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This is a WIP, NaNoWriMo 2015, Forest Wed. Adann and Kaie (who was engaged), are married as symbols of their gods, and 2 weeks into their marriage, the gods’ blessing and the town are suffering, so they are sent on a hunting trip with two experienced hunters (Rui and Corliss). On the third day, Kaie and Adann kill a kien (snake/anteater monster), and later, Adann asks for a kiss and Kaie reacts badly–I’ve skipped over Adann leaving the conversation and packing up so they can move on.
He took the hand on her uninjured side, studying the nicks and calluses on her lovely, capable hands as if he’d never seen them before, “I’m sorry, I’d like to give you that kiss now.”
“Really?” Adann touched his chin, bringing his gaze up, and stared at him for a long moment, her eyes bright and hopeful. Then her face fell, and she pulled away from his grip, “No, not really.”
“But—” Kaie didn’t especially want to kiss her, but after that first, unthinking reaction, he thought it wouldn’t be too bad.
“Kaie, we can’t strengthen our relationship without honest feelings. I don’t … I don’t know what it does to the heart, to submit to something you don’t desire, but how could such a thing not make it shrivel up?”
“You don’t think I meant it?” Kaie turned away, “I’m going to go check on the hunters.”
* * *
Beikife is a small town in something like the Amazon rain forest, protected by a pair of married gods. The gods are represented by human avatars, two young people chosen and married by divine power. The strength of the marriage represents the bond between the gods’ blessing, so the new forest wed must find a way to connect to each other, or the crops will fail, the rivers will flood, and the cursed monsters that live in the forest will claim many
Grr. She’s trying really hard, so just kiss her already, kid!
Well, now she won’t let him, so he’s kinda stuck. 😉
Lol! What Ed said!
You have perfected the approach and retreat of their relationship, Caitlin. Nicely done
Thanks! 🙂
Oh, man! This is torture. They’re so close, but not quite there yet!
They’ll get there. 🙂
Hmm. I agree with the gang. She may lose him if she keeps holding back. And you, Ms Caitlin, have us all on a string!
Kaie and Adann have very different approaches to romance. Adann thinks it needs to be honest, Kaie figures you can just wing it. Who knows who’s right?
Their both really struggling and trying so hard. I’m sure Kaie will actually want to one day. They’ve come far already. Look forward to your excerpts every week! 🙂
A lot of their struggles come from Kaie not being so good at sharing what he’s feeling. But despite saying ‘no,’ he’s thinking ‘maybe…’ 😉
Aww, the poor thing. Sha la la la la la, don’t be scared, you better be prepared, go on and kiss the girl! lol I couldn’t resist Disney-ing up my comment. 😀
Kaie’s not so great at talking–he might make a good Ariel. 😀
Oh, this is just heart-breaking. She’s right about the heart shriveling up though.
You can hope for love, but no one can force it!
OK Kaie lost ground with me LOL. But the ups and downs of this certainly keep us guessing and coming back for more. Great snippet!
He is, as you probably guessed, about to go something less than smart…
Thanks!
Pull close, push away. I hope the dance will be worth it for both of them.
I hope the love interest can be sustained as long as it’s taking to unpack all this emotional baggage…
It’s only been a few weeks, story-time. But I hope I’m showing that they’re making progress!
They have some big problems.
They do.
Excuse me while I sneak up behind these two and push them together.
Tweeted.
Hah! That might work. 😀
Stubborn Kaie! He has no idea what he’s missing out on and better see it soon, otherwise I’ll be helping Victoria with her plan! 😉
He does have a hint of what he’s missing out… he has been noticing her eyes, for example.
He’s not there yet it would seem or he’s trying to deny it. Maybe he feels it is a betrayal to start to care for her. He did love someone else or at the very least believed he did.
People don’t always realize when they’re falling in love… and Kaie is, as you noted, in a difficult situation!