She had closed her eyes as she allowed her mind to be enveloped by the warmth. 
It had been so long, all else had been biting and harsh. A perpetual cold that seeped into all that it touched.
The switch had been instant, there had been no preperation, no warning of things turning to this.
She had been ripped from her fellow students and friends, put into a 'special bunk' it had been aweful. She had been tested rigorously, they had been so keen to mold her into their plaything, their weapon.
But she failed all the trials and tests. A memory of those days surfaced and was quickly repressed again as a shiver passed through her.
She had hated it all. 
[i]Why couldn't they just leave her be? [/i]
She was not strong enough to be a battlemage and she certainly didn't have the stomache for it.
Eilis wasn't a fighter.
 
As she drifted off into the warmth, she almost forgot what she was doing. 
If Arn hadn't placed his other hand on her arm and hadn't spoken, she would have drifted off to sleep. 
It would not have been the first time she slept upright. 
His voice however startled her and sprung her back from her slouching. 

[color=0054a6]“I can say without an iota of doubt that you have awakened something inside of me that I had believed lost.”[/color]

His words confused her at first, before a streak of crimson red flushed her cheeks not really understanding what the Battlemage exactly meant, but realizing its signifigance never the less.
In truth Eilis had been shocked the most by her own forwardness and actions. 
[i]To suddenly start to cradle the hand of a stranger....[/i]
[i]Where had her mind gone?[/i]
[i]No, not a stranger, she realized. Not anymore. [/i]
In the darkness of her mind, her imagination formed a warm fire. Its soft orange and golden glow lighting up an human looking form. An outline. Not defined or even clearly visible, but an idea. A representation. 
One day she would be able to see for herself what he looked like. 
What Arn looked like, she told herself, but for now this would have to do.
As she released his hand tentively, not wanting to let go, but not wanting to be a bother, she apologized.
She owed him that.
Goodness knows what the man must think of her.

"I am sorry Arn, I probably made you uncomfortable, you were wounded too. Forgive me for being so selfish." She offered as she hung her head in shame. "But your warmth was so intoxicating I had a hard time parting with it. I have been cold for quite a while now as it was always my punishment, ever since the trials began." She pulled the blankets up a bit more to try and keep what was left of it with her. 
"You must have an affinitiy with fire, to be so lucky to be blessed with the All Mother's warmth, you truly must be a great Magic user." She spoke with clear admiration.
Still she had a question burning in her mind, that her imagination would have to have answered.
"Might I...could, could you please tell me what colour your eyes are?" She asked with careful smile.