Fire & Ice II: Age of Rebirth(private/mature/continued)

"Well dont think me yet..." Noel frowned, his eyes shifting away from her. "I-I only told you...because I didn't want you break down when you reach the village...assuming you can get through the traps." he muttered stubbornly. Just because they had shared a nice moment didn't mean that he had changed his mind about only taking half way. Noel's bright blue eyes shifted towards the cave entrance. It had suddenly began to rain making him shiver a little. "Anyway..." he sighed turning back to face Soara. "You're my hot water heater so get back over here." Noel stated with half of a smile. He'd never admit it, but he actually liked having her near by, having her body pressed close to his.

Soara shook her head refusing to believe it. If she let ehrself believe taht then she would be giving up and she couldn't do that. "I get that but I won't give up. I can't lose him. I love him too much." she stated. She gave him a small smile. "Thank you for that..." seh replied looking at him.

"You can believe whatever you want." Noel frowned, yet his eyes were still soft. "I'm telling you that when I was young the mine had already dried up. Now, there are other mines in the area, but none of them carry the gem you're looking for."he sighed softly and leaned forward a bit. "Now maybe the villagers missed some. Maybe there's at least one somewhere...but it would take a while and allot of manpower to find." he told her and sat back now. "I'm only telling you this because...I lost my parents. As much as I hate your dad...I wouldn't wish for you to lose him."

At the mention of her name she opened her eyes which she had cloes. "Hmm?" she asked looking up at him. When he began to speak of the gem and the village she frowned. Sitting up she stared at him. "What? You must be mistaken. There could stil be some stones there." she insisted. "I don't believe you...I can't...." she whispered.

"This is true.." Noel breathed softly. His back was pressed against the cave wall, his head lightly tilted back. He kinda felt like she was expecting something...anything really. For the moment though Noel was content with massaging her ears. He was content with them being able to talk to each other normally too. "Soara..." he whispered, using her actual name for the first time. "Going to my village is pointless." he told her, his blue eyes now gazing down upon her face. "The gem I wore around my neck was a rare one. There are allot of different colors that were used within my village, but the one my family had was the rarest. I wasn't going to say anything, but by the time I turned 5 I remember my father tell my mother that the mine had closed. The gem you need can no longer be found. You could search the mine and whatever left of the village...but I doubt you'd fine anything. I'm...well...I'm not sorry...but I know how much you want to help your dad..."

Soara leaned down resting her head on his lap. It wasn't hard to figure out that's what he wanted. Though it was odd becaue they were both naked. However this seemed to escape her notice at the present. She purred softly rubbing her head up against his hand. Slowly the purrs grew louder as he continued to give her attention. "I'm not sure really...if i had something in mind it wouldn't be a ruprise would it?"

"Oh?" Noel smiled softly and moved closer so she could lay her head on his lap. Petting her wasn't that bad for him. Her purrs actually relaxed him a little. "So when you say you dont mind surprises...what exactly do you have in mind?" he asked softly. He gazed down at her working both her ears with his hands now. Her purrs were starting to fill the cave. Noel wondered if he could make her purr a little louder. He had actually had a cat growing up so he knew they loved getting attention behind their ears.

Soara blsuehd as he commented on the purring. "Yes...sorry about that. I didn't mean to..." she muttered. As he continued the motion though her purrs grew louder. "Yes I am..." she replied. "I like surprising people. And I usually don't mind when they surprise me." she added.

"Oh it wasn't that bad. This is the second time you've begged me. You should be getting use to it." Noel smirked. He looked down at her blinking slightly when she began to purr. He had never heard a sound like that from her so it shocked him. "Wow..you really sounded like a cat here. Does this feel that good?" he asked continuing to massage her ears. He took his time petting her allowing his fingers to make slow gently strokes behind her ears. "You're just full of little surprises aren't you princess?"

"Yes it was hard. That was humiliating." Soara snapped wiping away the tears tthat were in her eyes from laughing. "You are a crule man." she said then laughed. She purred softly as he pet her. The sound surprised her as she hadn't purred since....well in 17 years. "I try to be." she replied.

"Good girl." Noel smiled getting off her. He hadn't been bothered by her knees to his chest. He had been hit much harder then that in the past. "Now was that so hard?" he smirked reaching over to pet her like last time. He ran his hands behind her ears giving them a good scratch. "You're such a good kitty aren't you?" Noel teased letting of a genuine laugh. It was weird though. He hadn't felt this relaxed or this happy in ages.

Soara kneed him in the chest a couple times but not on purpose. "Stop please!" she cried out. Tears were spilling out of her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. She could feel him tickling her up and down both sides. "Okay okay! I am begging you! Stop!" she pleaded.

"You know..thats the second time today you've threatened me." Noel frowned, his body pressing more into her own to keep her from getting away. "I dont like be threatened." he stated with a devil like grin and began to tickle her with both hands now. He got all up and down her sides and under her arms. "Why should I stop? You sound like you're enjoying yourself?" Noel smirked. He then remembered that his sister was also ticklish on her feet. But, he knew that if he moved to get her feet she'd probably get away. Turning his head back around, he gave her a twisted grin. "Tell you what. If you beg me to stop tickling you...I might consider it. If not, well..I could do this all night if I have to."

"Well I am not sure but I am guessing that this isn't super imortant to you." she replied. She watched a he looked over her body trying ot decide where to strike. "Dont do it. I can't be responsible for what happens." Soara pointed out. Feeling him begin to tickle her she laughed flailing around trying to get away from him. "Stop!" she cried between laughs.

"I'm not...you sure?" Noel asked titling his head to the side as he stared down at her. A normal guy would have been blushing from having a nude girl pinned down right in front of him, but Noel's face never changed colored. He grinned looking down at her wondering where her weak spot was. If he remember correctly, his little sister's weak spot was under her arms and just below her last rib. "But I am curious. You look like a human for a most part. I'm curious if you're ticklish like one." Noel smiled arching his brow as he traced one of his fingers slowly down her side. "Could here be a spot?" he smirked and began to tickle her with one hand while the other kept her wrists pinned.

Soara frowned as he said his eyes were acurse. "What? No way...I get that you stuck out but they are so beautiful." she insisted. She watched as he leaned closer to the fire. "You still col-" she was cut off though as he pinned her to the wall. She was ready to go on the defensive but stopped as he asked his question. "Oh you are not truly curious." she laughed.

"You're welcome." Noel smiled gently, his eye softening once more for her. "Though I've never seen the appeal to these eyes. Because they're so bright and because no one else aside from my family has them..I get targeted pretty easily. I also stand out when walking through human villages. Sometimes..its just better to blend in." Noel stated and his smile vanished. He removed his hand from her chin and leaned in a bit towards the fire. "Being a child..alone..and having to take care of myself...I thought these eyes to be a curse. They did me more harm then good." he sighed, closing his eyes for a brief moment. "But thats ancient history now." Noel breathed. He felt like the atmosphere had grown a little depressing, but was actually surprised that he had noticed. Maybe wasn't as out of touch with the world like he originally thought...or maybe it was just Soara that brought him back. Eying her for a bit, a grin suddenly formed on his lips. Without warning Noel pounced on her pinning her wrists into the cool cave floor. "You know there's something else I'm curious about." Noel smirked, nearly purring as he hovered over her. "Are demons ticklish by chance?"

"I guess so." Soara replied. She was still blushing at the comment she had made embarassed that she had spoken it aloud. Feeling his hand on her chin she allowed himt o turn her towards him. Her own eyes instantly found his. "That is quite the reward." she smiled. The feel of his fingers on her jaw made her shiver.

"Well...I suppose I'm happy that you told me. I think we understand each other at least a little bit more." Noel replied softly and leaned back against the wall, his eyes closing until he heard her compliment. He looked at her raising a brow. A small grin formed on his lips as she turned her head away. He removed his hand from her ears and gently took hold of her chin turning her had back towards his face. "Well you're not the first person to comment on my eyes. Everyone in my family had them, my little sister, my aunt, her children." Noel explained. "If you really enjoy them tho I'll allow you to look into them a bit. I think thats a proper reward for not getting me killed back there with the ogres." Noel laughed, his fingers gently brushing again her jawline.

Soara was surprised at his ansewr. She thought for sure that he would think less of her. She looked at him with her tear stained face. Wiping away the tears she smiled slightly. "Thanks..." she sighed. "I have never told astranger what happened...I don't even know why I told you..." she shook her head at herself. Seeing his bright eyes she smiled. "You have the best eyes..." she whispered. THen blushed turning away "Sorry I don't know why I said that."

"I see..." Noel whispered again. He raised a brow hearing her thoughts on how he perceived her. "Well no." He smiled softly. "I thought you were a piece of shit demon when your cousin had to bail you out of our fight. I also thought you were a piece of shit when you allowed me to pin you against that desk in your room so easily." he chuckled softly and began to run his hands along her ears a little more..affectionately. "I dont think you're a piece of shit for missing your love though. No...I'd say having feelings like that...well it makes you a little less monster like." Noel replied softly giving her a soft genuine smile. His bright blue eyes shined brightly as the flames from the fire flickered back and forth.

Soara felt him patting her and rubbing her ears and hiccuped. "Yes that is why he hates me." she answered. She sniffled as she wiped at her tears. "I don't hate her no...she isn't technically my aunt but practically...I am still mad yes....they didn't give me a chance to say goodbye or anything...that what gets me...no goodbye..." she felt more tears forming. "God you must think I am a weak piece of shit demon..."

Noel fell completely silent. He listened intently to her story. Now it all made sense. He figured that must have been the reason why her brother hated her so much. "I see." Noel replied softly. He wasn't sure which demon was her aunt though. He remembered Nagi, the demon female who had sat next to the child and Ama, the lightning shooting bitch who had wounded him. "Do you hate her for what she did? Would you have preferred for your father to have killed him?" Noel asked softly. He looked over seeing her tears. God it would have been so easy to rip into her now, to break her to the point of no return. Noel's eyes shifted over towards the fire. He had already done so before back at the castle and had seen the results. He hadn't probed too much though. Now was different. Now he knew everything. Sighing deeply he leaned in a little more into her. He raised his hand giving her head a gentle pat while running his fingers behind her ears. "Perhaps...you and I are not so different. While I've never been in love...I have loved. I loved my family and my neighbors." he replied softly, still gently massaging her ears. Why was he being so nice to her now? Even his gut was screaming for him to use the information he had just learned to break her down..

Soara frowned at his question. "I...I..." she stuttered. She blinked back the tears that always formed thinking about it. The image of his head flashed through her mind again. "He...I loved him...and he loved me..." she whispered. "We met at a club then hung out at school. My father hated him so much...and I didn't listen of course I was young. Then I gave him this bookt aht was secret. And he gave it to someone else...who used it to kill my father...We got his soul back and he is alive now but barely. Jann however...his father took over and my father offered him refuge...but he wouldn't take it. He didn't agree with my fathers ways....so my..my..." she felt tears streaming down her cheek. "My aunt...executed him...his blood...got all over me...and it was my fault..." she started to sob now. "I buried him and I visit him but it isn't enough...I can't fix it..."

"I see.." Noel whispered, his head leaning back against the cave wall. He still had one eye on her though. He stared at her for the longest before finally popping the question he had been meaning to ask her. "Tell me about this Jann person, the love you lost." he asked softly, the hate in voice actually subsiding for a moment. "I'm curious...how did he die? He must have been important if you still feel for him."