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He holds her gently, one hand running through her golden strands of silk like hair. She's curled up in front of him, forehead against his side, her bangs brushing against his gills. She's sleeping, the teen who could catch the the world on fire, and would laugh as it burns, the rabid cackling that follows her when she hunts. She purrs, a sound so alike yet so different from the rumbling growls that seem to rip themselves from her throat to prowl on their own.
The door opens quietly, and he looks away to keep his night vision safe from the feebly flickering candle that illuminates the pile of blankets and pillows. His scales glimmer when they're hit with the light. Rippling reflections dance across the walls, blending with tapestries of the sea and adding the feel of looking through water to the the rest. The door closes with a slam, putting out the candle and freezing Jet, whose pointed ears swivel to hear behind him. Hearing nothing but purring at this distance, he turns, fumbling slightly, as his night vision is equal to a human’s. He sets the candle on the desk next to door, and moves farther into the room.
About half way through to the pile in the north-eastern corner of the room, he trips over one of the rugs. He falls rather gracelessly and almost hits his face, but a coil of scaled tail saves him. Garet chuckles as he scrambles to get up, and the tail wraps around him lightly. The cool scales under him ripple with muscle as he is pulled into the pile. He drops next to Bet, and her purring increases in volume. She pulls him into her arms and rests her head on his. He sighs contently and drifts off listening to her heart beat.
Garet smiles softly at the nearly adults in his lap as he coils around them carefully. He rearranges the blankets to better cover them all, and runs his hand through Jet's hair so he doesn't sleep on it. He slips into the world of dreams, listening to the heart beats and breaths of the ones who he loves.
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Jet threads his fingers through Garet’s hair. The soft strands shimmer blue and green battling for dominance. Jet braids gently doing his best not to pull. Garet plays his old lyre, with lizards that were supposed to be dragons carved into it. He’s been carving a new one with dragon like dragons, but it’s not finished. Bet, draped over the entire rock, sings along, voice dropping and rising in perfect tune with what Garet is playing despite the fact that the words and language are hers and hers alone. Her short golden hair sways in the wind like wheat in a human field. Her green eyes met Jet’s gold ones, and she winks at him with a smirk, and she waves what would be an air kiss at him if she weren’t still singing. He blushes and turns back to Garet. He notices that he has finished the plate, so he ties it of. He picks up a thread of gold from the small pile next to him, pausing to untangle it, and starts weaving into the plate.Bet rolls off the rock and splashes into the Western River. She swims upstream to the the small pond then floats down the Eastern River till she comes to the sand bank that the others are on. She pulls herself up onto the sand bank before draping herself over a coil of Garet’s tail. She picks up the necklace that he took off, so Jet could properly do his hair.“Tell me if I’m wrong, Gar. I'm tryin’ ta learn ‘bout your culture, like how you learn about ours. The shark tooth says your a noble, an’ it’s front an’ center cause it’s required, an’ other noble’s think it’s most important ta who ya are.” She pauses and looks up at Garet who smiles slightly. “Next is the mouse tail carved ta look like a sun, an’ it means ya work on land.”“It actually mans I was born on land. The fact that it is on a mouse’s tail bone states that I still live on land. It says nothing about my job. If I lived on land, and I was not born on land it would be a flower.” He smiles humorlessly “My mother once wished for me to live in the sea. She was certain that I would be chosen as a consort for a royal.”Jet speaks up while still weaving only a quarter done with the pile of gold threads. “You didn’t want to be arm candy. You wanted to be you.”Garet’s smile softens. “Exactly, My Love.”“Got it. Now the next one is mouse too, so it's a land, an’ it's an arrow, so i'm gonna guess it's got somethin’ ta do with the elves down South.” Bet says changing the topic.“That is correct, Darling. It is my job. I am considered the elf ambassador. I inform them of changes. They then tell me what changes they have and I report it back to the king” He smiles fondly. “I got my job when the others of the court found out that I have taken an elf as consort. It caused quite a ruckus, and the court had to stay another day.” Jet giggles.“The next two are the courtship tokens we made ya, an’ after em are others that look important.” Bet says running her fingers over the dragon she carved out of a deer antler and the lopsided bird from a lightning struck tree that Jet carved. “Why’d ya do that?”Garet switches from a happy tune to a sad love song. “I have my courtship tokens next, to avoid unwanted advances. I am considered highly attractive to others of my kind. Adding to that, I am midlevel nobility and a friend of the King’s younger brothers. The King once had a crush on me and I am godfather of the crown prince, who is still a youngling, and the eldest princess. My job only adds to the benefits. `I am a land skimmer and some may be dissuaded, but others will still wish to court me.”Bet nodes in understanding. “You prove you’re taken. What are the others. I don’t know em?”Garet puffed out his chest as much as he can without taking his hair from the elf, who is finishing the last thread of gold. “The eel stands for the time I worked in stealth. The sword speaks of my skills in the hunt.”Jet ties of the last strand of gold woven into the plate. He reaches up and unhooks his own earrings before slipping them into Garet’s ears. The earrings are small enough that they won't bother him when he’s swimming. They are made of elf silver, and have protective charms woven in. They also have a mild translating spell, but it only translates others words to what the person means. Jet shifts leaning around, so he can put bracelets on Garet’s wrists.“If I enter a peaceful meeting wearing defences such as these then I will be questioned.” Garet says looking over at Jet. While he’s distracted Bet slips into his lap and fastens his necklace for him. He turns back to face her, and she leaves her arms over his shoulders. He raises one hand to cup her cheek and bends down. She closes the distance between their lips. They pull back and smile at each other. His smile meets his eyes and is vulnerably adorable, and her smile is so different than the ones she normally wears, full of mischief and chaos even when she’s calm, is full of love. Bet leans up and pecks his forehead. Then she slips off his lap. A dull shimmer of light settles into his hair, and an air of protection, that only she notices, drapes around him.Garet feels the anxiety coming from behind him. He turns and sees Jet thinking. He leans down and pecks him on the nose. Jet startles slightly before giggling. Garet tries leaning away, but Jet leans up to kiss him.Garet rises, and bows. “Watch this for me please, My Love.” Jet takes the lyre. Garet looks to the sky to tell the time. “I must leave soon if I wish to be there before next sunset.”“In time for dinner with the King?” Jet asks holding the lyre carefully.“Yes, My Love. The King has scheduled dinner for me the night before. I also have a room in the royal wing at the palace. Thank you for doing my hair. See you in a week.” He bows to them again before entering the Eastern River. He skims for a second before disappearing under the surface.Bet Kisses Jet quickly. “Come on, Jet. I’ve got some mead in the den,” she says before lopping off. Jet glances at the river before following her at a walk.