((i ship it))

After what felt like mere moments of wonderfully comfortable, deep sleep, Lin was shaken awake by some unknown force that had decided to tell him it was morning. How he was aware of that, he didn't know, for they were underground and obviously couldn't tell the time of day. But he had, and knowing the day had begun kept him from falling back asleep. He rose, unsure of when he even shifted back into his human form, or when he got into bed. Well, there was no point dwelling on such things anyway.

Swinging his legs over the edge of his magic-made bed, Lin stretched his arms high over his head, giving a stifled yawn and looking around patiently. He wondered faintly if anyone else in their little group was awake yet. If they were, they were being quite silent. He couldn't hear anything, though hearing wasn't his strongest skill.

Artair Croft | Male | 28 Years Old | Water Kelpie

Dreams always proved to be one of two things for Artair. Either they filled him with warmth and serenity or plunged him into terrifying darkness. Once he awoke and had time to think it over he would be uncertain whether this particular dream had been a good one or a nightmare. Not when it involved himself and his captor in a scene that could not be described as anything less than intimate. It was a fantasy he'd never deem appropriate in the waking world and likely would have found rather disturbing, but here in the land of sleep it was almost tranquil. The dream held nothing of the bitterness or anger he kept carefully hidden beneath an amiable facade when he was awake nor any of his conflicting feelings toward Sariel. Everything seemed so certain, unblemished by negative emotions.

It may have been a blessing he was such a light sleeper, as even the subtle creak of Sariel leaving her bed was enough to disrupt the dream and by the time her hand touched his face Artair's mind was already returning to conciseness. He kept his eyes firmly shut throughout the wake-up call regardless. The close proximity paired with the feeling of her breath against his ear as she spoke sent an involuntary shiver down his spine and he fought the heat flushing his face with embarrassment and perhaps a bit of shame. Lord, he could only pray he hadn't mumbled something compromising in his sleep. How mortifying would that be? As she finally moved away after what felt like ages Artair finally peeked an eye open, his attempts to appear unmoved by her teasing clearly a failure. "What kind of bodyguard would I be if I left you alone in a castle full of strangers?" He attempted weakly, his excuse sounding feeble even to himself. "It was my duty to insure your safety."

As he ran a hand through his hair, realizing it was knotted and messy after such a sudden and apparently good night's sleep, a gentle tingle slid over his body, almost like a spark of electricity. It had become a sort of involuntary habit now, changing his clothes. It was convenient that he didn't actually need any physical articles of clothing, and instead could just materialize a new set over his old ones. These were relatively similar to the last, the only real thing that changed being the color of the seams and straps that ran across his waist. Those were gold, now, but everything else had remained the same.

Doing a surprisingly efficient job of brushing the knots and tangles from his hair using his fingers, Lin finally stood, looking himself over from his mind's eye and deaming himself appropriate and ready for the day. He could hear the quiet, hushed voices of others waking up, and wondered what today would bring, if anything. Hopefully they would be able to start their mission soon; the prospect of undead beings had intrigued him, and he was eager to begin.

Artair Croft | Male | 28 Years Old | Water Kelpie

Artair wasn’t sure whether it was the little snicker or the condescending smirk now crossing her face that had his blood boiling, but it was quite difficult to keep his outward appearance relaxed and unbothered when he was positively bristling on the inside. Did she really think he had any true attachment to her? Dreams meant nothing in the real world. He was here because she had his bridle and that was it. Once he managed to either fool her into giving it back to him or snatched it away on his own he was out of here. In the beginning he had considered revenge, but found after spending time with the woman he’d lost his taste for such a bloody retaliation. Given the chance he would simply take his things and go, or so he told himself daily.

He busied himself with getting ready for the day ahead as Sariel did the same. It wasn’t much. A quick change of clothes, pulling his tattered boots back on and running his fingers through ruffled dirty blond hair in an attempt to make himself look somewhat presentable, but not truthfully caring much if his appearance was unseemly. He was a creature who had once spent most of his days in the murky depths of a vast lake after all, his mane and tail tangled with seaweed, limbs splattered with mud. He had intended to leave the room before her, but as luck would have it Sariel was once again a step ahead of him. The playful wink she sent his way was met with a slightly deadpan expression as he followed her out into the corridor, moving past her to enter the room they had all met in the night before as the Daemonfey set to waking up their company.

As he entered the larger room he found he was the first to arrive. Upon closer inspection however something seemed off and he realized a new presence was among them. His gaze swept the room until he spotted Selena hidden among the columns above. Previous exasperations forgotten for the time being, he smiled up at the newcomer in welcoming. “Hello stranger. How long have you been up there?”