The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Zevran]

I... am free. I did not truly believe the tiny angel cat, but after so many years I was willing to risk the pain anyway. But... it has been more than long enough for Jadan to have long since activated my collar. I.... am free. Free. Hah! What does that even mean to me, after all these years? How do I find out? What do I do with myself? Who even am I anymore? Zevran bows his head, hands clenched tightly enough to draw faint smears of blood around his nails. Hearing footsteps, he forces his shoulders to relax and puts on his easy smile. And then there is...

"Isabela," he draws with a lazy smile. "Cleaned up?" I find myself very confused about how I should feel and how I do feel about my Beautiful Hope being... here. Alive, vibrant, powerful and every promise of beauty fulfilled twice over. Ciren... Send me some kind of sign, please...

[Isabela]

"They tell me I clean up nicely," she purrs, moving to sit beside him. Normally she'd press on, flirt harder, but... Does he want that from me? She's never been afraid of men's disapproval before -- but this isn't a man, this is her Midnight Savior. 

[Zevran]

"'Nice' is perhaps not the word that comes to mind," Zevran replies with a wink, leaning back to regard her more squarely. "Ravishing. Naughty. Beautiful. Strong." His eyes dart to the side. "Miraculous."

[Isabela]

"Never been called a miracle before," says Isabela, with a small smile. "A girl could get real used to talk like that."

[Zevran]

"Then clearly you need to associate with a more... perspicacious crowd," Zevran replies. "Because I cannot help but see it every time I look at you." Despite the over-the-top floweriness of his words, his eyes shine with sincerity.

[Isabela]

"Perspicacious, huh?" her mouth says, but she can't fathom how -- her breath is caught in her throat, her heart thudding so loud she can hear it in her ears. She smiles, a genuine, almost shy smile. What is wrong with you, Isabela? It's just flirting. He's just a man. 

[Zevran]

The hint of shyness in the girl- no, she is very much a woman- loosens something inside Zevran. Perhaps it reminds him of Beth, the closest thing he's had to a friend in years. Perhaps it reminds him of that dark-eyed little girl forced to become a woman far too fast and a widow not fast enough. Or perhaps it's simply because it's so drastically opposite of Jadan and his ilk. Regardless, that hint of vulnerability reaches right past his wariness. "I cannot fully believe this is truly happening," he admits. "You, the brightest moment in my darkness, sprung forth from my past to save me. It's just like one of Beth's stories. Doesn't feel real yet."

[Isabela]

"I assure you," she says, in a husky voice, leaning in closer to Zevran. "I am entirely real."

[Zevran]

Zevran chuckles, the sound as much bedroom as humor. "Do I find myself in the presence of a fellow devotee of Ciren?" he asks playfully.

[Isabela]

"No," she purrs. "Alas, I am only Terisine. Unless you care to try and convert me?"

[Zevran]

"Well...." He says with a lazy smile. "It is customary to offer your thanks to the divine after receiving a miracle. And what better offering could I possibly give to Ciren?" Reaching out with noticeable hesitation, he gently stroked her cheek with the backs of two fingers.

[Isabela]

That does it; she leans in for a kiss, gentle, hesitant, almost tender.

[Zevran]

Zevran returns it in kind, using more emotion than skill for their first kiss. "Why?" he whispers, eyes dark with emotion, voice husky with arousal. "Why would you do all of this, why would you risk yourself against someone like Jadan?" 

[Isabela]

"Because no-one should be hurt like that," she whispers, meeting his gaze. "Because it's wrong, because I could see your pain."

With a quick mischievous smile, she adds, "and because I owed you."

[Zevran]

Zevran winces a little at that last. "I... I do not like the idea that you... felt obligated to rescue me. I did not save you that night as some kind of..." He gestures vaguely. "Katoian plan to engineer my own freedom. I..." His lips suddenly quirk upwards. "See my pain? That... sounds familiar, no?"