#earthrunes

He closes his eyes, and trusts, and lets them guide him. He cant' see either way, but he'll trust her magics.

Siv ,Siv wishes she could see but instead shushes

"Zara," Earl says "We should talk"

"Have you aught to say?"

"Yes. " He says "A lot. You were happy, and I ruined that. You had been amazing, and instead of rejoicing in your success, I tried to snatch the moment away . I wanted to do .. i wanted to take our hostess' feelings into accoutn, but I didn't realize how it would..ignore yours. You are the woman I love. Not Coradel, not anyone else. And you ask me for so little, and then when you , on your own keen eyes and mind and hands, find something you want, I try to rip it away before you can even enjoy them. Whatever my reasons, that was insenstiive of me. I haven't...." A sigh

"..haven't what?"

"I haven't touched the box. I can barely look at it" He admits "And I haven't told anyone about it"

"It no longer delights me."

"I'm sorry" he says , standing in the dark, miserable. "I want you to be delighted again and I will do everything I can to make that happen. "

The roiling shadows thin - it is still dark, for the lights are off.

"Please, let me have the chance to make you delight again," He asks

"I know not."

He knows the shadows have thinned, but the dark makes it hard. He knows however she can see him. So he drops to one knee and says "My hind, Your hunter has no purpose without you."

"...aye..."

"I'm no poet, my river. I don't have the words. I never have, but what I have is yours"

Siv has been quiet, in the dark.

But she's definitely got 'aww' face

"...I want very much to be delighted, also."

"But I know not how to calm the wroth."

SEX! Siv thinks, but decides now is not the time to suggest anything

"We could walk by the river, hand in hand" Earl suggests

"..nay."

"I could take you to far away lands, you could walk the catacombs under Paris' heart again?" He says

Mournful. "No."

"I could hold you in my arms as we stared at the moon, and you could reach up and thwack my hear and insult me in Yiddish then we go back to watching the moon until you get tired of thwacking me, or tired of the moon?"

That was nearly a laugh.

"I would deserve the scolding, and love the holding" He admits "I am sorry, Zara. I love you so much don't think I need anyone or anything else in my life. I even leave my brain behind"

A cold hand touches his arm.

"We had an adventure , fall into our laps and I turned it into a chore. " And he takes that hand like a life line and kisses it

"Aye."

Siv rises slowly, and tries to slip past Earl unheard

She makes a good luck gesture to Zara, and vanishes

Earl nods "Aye. I am not wholy civlized it seems"

A nod at Siv, and then - a candle lights.

Earl blinks for a moment

Then he smiles to see Zara's face.

"My moon can be seen again"

"...aye."

He rises and takes her into a kiss

Then when the part "I was so insensitive. I'm sorry"

"Apology accepted."

"Good. But I still owe you a picnic dinner with floating candles on dark water.." he says

"Aye."

1122 comes in, dragging a chimerical scroll with almost HERCULEAN effort

"He does know he's not an ant, right?" Earl says a bit worried the spider will hurt himself

"1122? What is this?" She takes the scroll.

It reads in chimerical ink that's almost barely dried

Now that there is light, Earl can read over he shoulder "She stole it? "

Then a pause "And wrote... pretty slap dash poetry. The meter is all over the place"