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The group of sentinels found themselves, yet again, forced onto a cliffed coast; much to the annoyance of well over half the group who made it a point to let it be known through various groans and sighs.
Gwen however, didn’t have such grievances. She was just grateful to have escaped those Black Mist wraiths with minimal injuries all around. Nothing that couldn't heal naturally as they continued on their expedition.
As she leisurely broke away from the group she heard Graves talking with the others about needing to scout ahead and take care of something else she didn’t quite catch. She continued on her own way regardless. The sounds of the nearby waves catching her attention more than whatever it was that Graves was discussing.
Enjoying the powerful breeze that greeted her, Gwen walked right up to the edge of the cliff. As gracefully as she did everything else Gwen sit down. She swung her feet in needlessly, big sweeping motions as she gazed upon the roaring waves that crashed into the rocks below.
Despite the ever constant threat of the Ruination looming over everyone’s heads, Gwen couldn’t help but feel her heart calm from the pleasant sight before her.
Taking this chance to enjoy a break for it all, even for just a moment, felt... nice.
Gwen fought against the shimmering guilt that crept up her spine at that thought. She closed her eyes and matched her breath to the calming rhythm of the waves. Allowing the smell of the salt water to distract her mind.
“You truly do want to see it all, don't you Gwen?” Akshan spoke up behind her.
Gwen turned and smiled at him as she said, “Of course! I don’t want to miss out on anything this life has to offer.”
“You continue to inspire,” Akshan said with a flourish in his voice.
“Thank you, Akshan.” Gwen replied with an attempted curtsy from her seated position.
A powerful, rushing gush of wind hit the pair and as Gwen spread out her arms Akshan in turn crouched low to the ground. Gwen looked back to give him a confused look.
With a newfound yet slight tremble in his voice Akshan explained, “You know, most people would advise against sitting right on the edge like that. It’s dangerous.”
“I’m sure those same people would say the same thing about this quest of ours, and that’s exactly why we’ll be the ones who save our world and not them.” A playfully smug grin grew across Gwen’s face, “Besides, I don't care to listen to what strangers tell me not to do.”
Akshan stood back up and let out a laugh, “That’s something you and I can agree on.”
“Besides, I find it hard to believe that the wind could be powerful enough to send a grown human flying. However…” Gwen paused for dramatic effect before instantly turning back into her small, doll form, and as if on cue a surge of wind picked her up into the air.
Much to Akshan’s horror.
With a rather frightened shout he shot up into the air with both of his hands outstretched. But his frantic grasping wasn’t successful because as moment after moment passed by, Gwen continued to fly higher into the sky out of Akshan’s reach.
Gwen offered him a tiny, yet enthusiastic wave as she relished in the entertainment that came in watching Akshan be the frantic one due to another's reckless actions. Perhaps now he would understand how the others felt when he went off without telling them his plans.
Akshan's yells continued until the winds finally changed direction carrying with it a powerful oceanic scent. For no other reason than luck the wind had pushed her farther back toward the cliff instead of out into the water. But that didn’t help to relieve Akshan’s panic.
As soon as Gwen was back within Akshan’s reach, he—as fast as humanly possible—wrapped his fingers around her tiny, plush body. Pulling her close to him he could only look down at her with wide, frantic eyes as he fell to his knees.
Gwen looked back at him surprised to find that he seemed truly uneased.
“Wha-? Why!? You could have died!” Akshan yelled at her having finally found his voice.
“You do that type of stuff all the time, don’t you? I just thought-” ‘you’d find it fun.’ Gwen finished the sentence in her head. Gwen could feel his hands trembling against her. She placed her tiny arms across his fingers. Her eyes downcast.
His mouth hung open, aghast, “Well yes I do, but why would you do that?”
It now felt foolish to admit aloud, but she owed him the answer. Through a shameful pout Gwen said, “To have some fun teasing you. I'm sure I was going to be fine…”
Akshan’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration and what appeared to be confusion, “How could you be so sure? That was beyond reckless!"
“Well, there’s only one way to learn. Isn’t there?” Gwen argued back. A wave of defiance shot through her.
Akshan paused, his body relaxing. His hands lowered to his lap. He seemingly relented as he mumbled out with a wry laugh, “Is this what Shadya must have felt like?”
The grip around her body loosened as he let out a slow, deep breath. “I suppose I’m not the one who can argue against that." Akshan paused to offer a glance into the sky, "Just… warn me next time. My poor heart wouldn't be able to handle that again.”
To help emphasize his point, Akshan placed a hand over his chest and granted Gwen one of his fantastically charming smiles.
Gwen nodded. Although, she wasn’t entirely sure if he could even tell that she did while in her doll form.
“Can I make it up to you?” Gwen sheepishly asked. Nervously her eyes went back down.
Akshan agreed, making sure to place her back onto the ground quite far away from the cliff’s edge.
Gwen sat idle for a few moments to transform back into her human version. She matched his gaze and shared, “Diana recently taught me how to make a flower chain. Apparently she made ones to mimic the look of a crown often with a friend of hers when she was younger.”
She turned her back to him and continued, “I’ve been playing around with seeing the different ways I can create them.”
She leaned her head back toward Akshan to show the flower chain bands holding her twin-tails together.
“Oh?” Akshan sounded intrigued.
“I’ve been crafting them with my magic to make them last longer. They end up sturdier that way.” She turned back to him, “I’d love to make you one,” Gwen pointed to his bun.
Gwen said with a hopeful smile, “I think a pop of color there would look quite nice on you.”
Akshan smiled back, “I’d appreciate such a gift.”
Gwen looked around, grabbing all of the flowers within her reach and quickly got to work. Akshan sat down in surprising silence, and looked on with interest. Thin, blue threads slowly started to appear around her hands. They danced around her fingers as she worked, blending into the flower steams seamlessly.
“Wow… I thought your magic could only be used for fighting.” Akshan was beginning to sound truly astonished. He moved in closer, and reached out toward the strands of thread. They disappeared under his touch, but that didn't stop him. He worked to make them swing and sway between his fingers instead.
“There’s many uses to a magic like this. This…” Her hands worked smoothly. Weaving the stems of the flowers together like she was braiding threads of lace—delicate and precise, “is just one of them.”
Akshan let out a soft hum as his eyes stayed locked onto her hands. An amiable silence fell between the two. One that Gwen wasn’t used to experiencing with Akshan. Having that happen with Pyke or Senna was common, but Gwen couldn’t recall a time when she was around Akshan and he hadn’t been talking—be it him sharing a tale or otherwise.
‘This is quite unusual.’ Gwen admitted to herself. She risked a glance up at him. His eyes were shrouded by his lashes, and his expression was calm. Gwen was surprised to find that he was quite serious-looking when he wasn’t sporting his classic, smug smolder. It got her curious about what other expressions he could make or how different he may act when he truly dropped his guard.
Gwen suddenly hoped she could see that one day.
‘I like this look on him. He’s actually quite handsome.’ Gwen was now realizing as her hands wrapped back around to the start of the flower’s chain.
“I’m done!” Gwen exclaimed as she held up the small, colorful chain, “Here’s let me put it on you.”
That smolder returned to his face as he unraveled his bun. Gwen watched as his hair gently fell down to meet with the rest.
Gwen leaned toward him and began to run her fingers through his hair in a slow and soothing manner. She made sure to be careful since she did to not accidentally pull on any knots his hair might be hiding. But as Gwen continued to work she found no such thing.
‘It’s so soft.’ Gwen was happy to learn, 'He must take great care of it.'
Enjoying the way his hair felt and flowed between her fingers Gwen found herself playing with it longer than she honestly needed to, but neither Akshan nor her were complaining. If anything, it appeared that he was leaning into her touch. Her nails dragged along his scalp as she gathered up his hair. Gwen watched as a jolt ran its way up Akshan's spine. Gwen wanted to apologize, but the way his head rested back into her hands afterwards made her reconsider.
'It must not have been all that painful.'
“Your hair is so thick, but that shouldn’t be an issue.” Gwen reassured both him and herself with that statement. “Hopefully.”
Gwen leaned forward to the side to look at Akshan. She was pleasantly surprised to see that his eyes had closed. She found it sweet.
He let out a huff of a laugh with his eyes still closed, “Only one way to find out.”
“Indeed.”
With just a bit more fidgeting around with his hair Gwen succeeded in tying it up with the flower chain. “There! I’m done. How is it?”
Without a word, Akshan intensely shook his head side-to-side. When the bun didn’t fall out of place, he turned back to her, and gave her a thumbs up with a wide grin on his face.
He then proceeded to ask a question of his own. Making sure to emphasize it with a wink, “So? How do I look?”
“Dashing as always.” Gwen replied.
For just a moment, an incredibly cute smile crossed over Akshan’s features before getting replaced with his much more practiced one. “That’s what I love to hear.”
Gwen wanted to respond but her attention was pulled away by the sound of friendly voices approaching. Shockingly, she found herself feeling slightly peeved. They stood up in unison as both of their attention was now drawn toward the shrouded woods.
As she looked on she couldn’t help but think, ‘I don’t want this to end.’
Gwen didn’t know that she could be so greedy.
After some quick, calming breaths Gwen went to step forward to greet them, but was stopped by Akshan’s hand grabbing onto her chin. He pulled her head back to look at him and said, “Oh, before I forget…”
In a swift motion, he leaned down and placed a kiss onto Gwen’s cheek. It was a quick action, but more than just a simple peck. In a flash, her hand went up to cup her cheek. Her face felt oddly warm.
Akshan gave a wink as he declared, “A gentleman’s kiss in return.”
Gwen could only look up at him with her wide, mismatched eyes. The longer she looked, keeping Akshan trapped in her gaze, the more he began to squirm. He teetered back and forth on his feet as his hands went to fidget with the edge of his cloak. Frozen in place, Gwen watched on as his eyes traveled between her own eyes down to her lips before shooting away to the woods behind her.
If it was even possible, Gwen’s eyes widened even more once she realized, ‘His cheeks are pink.’
Yet again, Gwen thought he looked quite cute.
Akshan’s voice broke through her thoughts. “Umm-you know I think the others are going to be here soon. So, I’ll-uh-go greet them, you know?”
Akshan finished stumbling out a half-hearted excuse that Gwen was barely even paying attention to before turning around and walking toward the voices.
As Gwen watched his back in a daze her hand dropped from her face, and she noticed, ‘I still feel his lips.’