[center][h2][color=8dc73f]Kenia[/color] [color=0072bc]Malachi[/color][/h2] [/center]

[color=0072bc] Time:[/color] [color=8dc73f]Dusk[/color] 
[color=8dc73f]Location:[/color] [color=0072bc]The Nest[/color] 
[hr]

	Kenia found herself glancing towards Malachi, but before she could stare for long her vision was blocked by a tall and very drunk light elven man. She blinked up at him in surprise, wondering why he was grinning down at her in such a way.

	[color=gold]”Well hey there, pretty little thing. Looks like you need a dance partner.”[/color] The smell of alcohol assaulted Kenia’s nose and her own drunken state couldn’t keep her from looking up at him in disgust. She did not want to be near this man.

	[color=8dc73f]”No I’m quite content dancing alone. So if you could just fuck off, that would be wonderful.”[/color] Tact wasn’t her strong suit at the moment and as she tried to move away from the man she found him gripping her arm. She looked at his hand in disbelief, but before things could fully register she found herself being pulled towards him.

	[color=gold]”Hey I don’t appreciate being talked to in such a way nor do I take well to being rejected. So how about you apologize.”[/color] She tried to push herself away from the man, but his grip mixed with her befuddled mind was making that impossible as he basically had her in a grapple. If only she could reach one of her knives, then he wouldn’t be so confident.
	
	Malachi’s footing was harder to place than usual as he stumbled after her, pushing people out of his way without a second thought. The room around him seemed blurrier than usual. It had been a long time since he had been inebriated, but it was not an unfamiliar feeling. The lack of filter and the over-willingness to do anything without a second thought was something not easily forgotten once one had been through the experience. Malachi was his honest self right now and that scared him more than anything had in the last week, for he didn’t really know the person they’d all be meeting tonight. His emotions were something he kept under lock and key. If these were his honest thoughts, why did they revolve around Kenia so much? 



	When Malachi finally found her, she was with another elven man. His heart was pounding in his ears as he overheard him call her a pretty little thing. [color=0072bc] [i] You disgusting pig. [/i][/color] She rejected him to his pleasure and he smiled smugly. Kenia was obviously out of his reach. His best bet would be for him to get the hell away from her while he still could. Of course, he didn’t though. Beautiful elven women were not so commonplace in Roshmi. No man was going to just give up on her. It had been a while since he had seen a woman like Kenia anywhere in Avalia. 

	The man ended up grabbing her arm. Malachi immediately started pushing people out of the way again to move up to them. He could not even hear his own thoughts. It was a blind, numbing anger that only escalated as he tightened his grip on her. His fists were clenched so tightly he thought he would break skin. Finally he grabbed the elven man by his shirt, yanking him away from Kenia and up to the wall with strength he had not used against another in a very long time.  The loud music started to lower its volume and nearby folk began to all turn their heads to the scene. Malachi barely noticed all this as he stared him in the eyes. He wanted to curse the man out and tell him how much of a low-life he was, but the clouded intelligence looming in the back of his mind reminded him that making the scene worse than it already was, was a bad idea. His ears rang as the anger he felt seemed to make his blood feel like it was boiling. He simply stared into the man’s widened, terrified eyes, letting him have a moment to take in how angry Malachi was with him without telling him a word of it. 
	
	 [color=0072bc]“Get out.”[/color]  His voice was cold and threatening, but low in volume. There was no need to give him a threat or say anything of the like. It was clear what his intentions were and the elf clearly recognized it. Malachi’s grip loosened and the elf moved away as quickly as he could. He stayed in place for that moment, letting his arms fall to his sides and trying to collect himself once again. The music started to play at full volume again and interest was lost as there was no fight to entertain them all.  

	The suddenness of the man grasping of her being yanked away made Kenia gasp in shock. She nearly fell over, but a kind soul caught and steadied her. She took a moment to catch her breath before looking over to see who’d helped her out of the situation. There stood Malachi with the man up against the wall. She stared at the scene in a bit of shock as she hadn’t expected Malachi to come to her rescue. She felt a strange allure towards her defender and her feet seemed to grow a mind of their own as they slowly carried her closer towards him. She stepped aside as her assailant quickly left the scene before closing the rest of the distance to Malachi. She placed herself in front of him, at a complete loss of words, as she stared up at him.

	She scanned his face for a brief moment before her gaze fell upon his eyes. It was as if it were the first time she’d ever really noticed them. They were like deep pools of silvery blue water that seemed to enchant her. Without realizing it, she moved closer and closer until there were only mere inches separating their bodies. Her eyes traveled down to his lips and her heart beat wildly in her chest. She couldn’t help, but wonder what they would feel like, taste like. Before she realized what she was doing, she pressed her lips against his and the world around her seemed to slow down. A warmth filled her, but not like the warmth alcohol brought. This was something deeper, comforting, something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Suddenly reality and realization came crashing over her like a tidal wave and she looked up at him in panic.

	[color=8dc73f]”I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I...I don’t know what came over me, but I couldn’t help myself...you just...and then...I’m an idiot, I’m truly and idiot. You were just helping me and I guess I got swept up in the moment…”[/color] She was rambling like a mad person, but she feared if she stopped the rejection and revulsion for what she’d just done would come. Kenia feared that she’d just royally messed things up between him and her and soon harsh and berating woulds would pour out from him. She felt vulnerable, far more vulnerable than she’d felt in a very long time and she could only hope that he’d be kind. She still remained rather close to him despite it all, but she averted her gaze as she debated on bolting. Where would she go though? It was far to crowded in here, so she settled on remaining where she was and facing the consequences of her actions.

	Malachi had been caught up in his thoughts as Kenia started to approach him. His own reaction had startled him. He had hated that man with every ounce of his being in that moment. The idea of someone hurting Kenia had driven him up a wall. It was strange how feelings could build up over time for someone and one could not notice. There was no denying them though; something was there for her that he had not felt since his wife.

 He finally noticed Kenia as she took her place right in front of him. She probably thought he was crazy now. This whole time, he had always been so composed and careful with his emotions only for him to blow up in front of her like some out of control drunk. However, she said nothing of the sort. Instead, her eyes seemed to be searching his and he found he couldn’t pull his gaze away from them. They were a radiant golden color, which was something he had noticed from day one and secretly admired. Being so up close, he could notice there was a blue outline on the perimeter of her iris. It felt like looking into stars. He barely noticed her moving closer to his face since he was instinctively mimicking the movement. 

	Then her lips met his and the room seemed to melt away around them. It was like having a wish fulfilled he had not even known he made. Cool air once again caressed his lips instead of her warmth faster than he could move to kiss her back. He found himself instinctively frowning and glanced down at her as she started rambling; he had not seen her so flustered before. It was actually quite cute.  [color=0072bc]“Shh…”[/color] Malachi gently brushed strands of hair from her face and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. It felt like a wave of heat washed over his body as he found himself pressing his lips against hers. The thought that they were in a public bar had not even crossed his mind. In that moment, he felt the need to kiss her until the two of them could not breathe anymore.  His hands drifted to her waist, wanting to pull her closer, but he held off in order to allow her to decide if this was something she wanted to continue.

	The reaction she got wasn’t entirely what Kenia had expected, but in fact came as a relief. His calming touch silenced her and she let out a shaky breath. Their lips met again and she felt herself melt into the kiss. She wasn’t sure if this was the alcohol prompting their actions or if this was their true feelings, but she didn’t care. That could be a worry for another day, for now she was focusing on the moment, on him. Her hands found their way up his chest until her arms lay comfortably on his shoulders and around his neck. Her body instinctively closed the remaining distance between them, wanting to feel the warmth of his body pressed against hers. As her lips moved against his she felt every worry, fear, and sadness she always had on her mind melt away. She felt safe there in his embrace. He had found her, saved her after so many years of being completely lost. He was becoming her home and if she were sober the thought may have scared her, but for tonight she welcomed it. All she wanted was to remain there in his embrace, to kiss him until they both collapsed breathless. She found herself pulling him with her until she was leaning up against the wall and he was pressed to her. One of her hands slid back down until it rested on his chest and she could feel the beat of his heart.

	Malachi was used to always thinking through every action, but it felt like he had lost all sense of that, moving on pure instinct. She moved closer to him just as he had to her, conversing their emotions with each kiss and pull closer.  He wrapped his arms around her and entangled a hand in her hair, barely moving away to breathe. For a moment, Malachi felt like himself and not the empty shell of a man that had pushed all his energy into defeating Aklenroth and the dark elves.  Knowing their feelings were mutual, made him feel safe, like he had someone to always come back to and to trust.  He knew they’d probably not act with the same amount of passion when they started to sober up, but for now he could not help but fall victim to it as this was a feeling he had not even known he missed so much.  

	Kenia surprised him when she led him with her to lean up against the wall, pulling him to her once again. He hadn’t untangled himself from her and instead gave in, kissing her like she was a lost lover he had not seen in years. There was no telling if this would ever happen again, so the two seemed to want to savour the moment and each other as much as possible.