The smile on Ava's face calmed Aelia more than she let on, yet her shaking did not cease. Aelia was still quite focused on the smile when concern shadowed Ava's face. Her words made Aelia's brow furrow and her head tilt a little to the left. "I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean Ava. I've been inside for a while now because I was sick, I still am I guess. The physician says I'm weak because I don't have a tree so Father tends to keep me inside." Aelia shrugged as she finished, still not quite sure what Ava meant about 'getting sun.'

Although Ava tried not to, her mouth gaped open, and she stared at Lia in undisclosed shock. The witch continued to open and close her mouth, seemingly at a loss for words, even as she attempted to gather her thoughts. Eventually, Ava loudly exclaimed, "What?! Lia, you-you... You need sun to live. If you had been able to spend time outside, your healing would have taken a few days."
Ava could feel a rant growing in her chest, so she paused, halting the pacing she had unconsciously started. Taking a deep breath, Ava tried again, calmer this time, "Darling... you are part dryad. That means that you have some similarities to pure-blooded dryads - needing lots of sunlight and water - but you also have the benefit of a human - which is not being tied to a tree. In most cases, half-dryads are often stronger than pure dryads."

Ava met Lia's eyes steadily, "Being inside all of the time was, quite literally, the worst thing to do for your health."

The shock that covered Ava's face confused Lia, but as the woman explained, it was soon mirrored by her own. It seemed that the news had seemingly upset Ava, and that worried Aelia more than anything else. Despite her own shock as her world turned upside down, she didn't hesitate to put what she hoped was a comforting hand on Ava's arm.

"I-I'm sorry to have upset you, Ava, I suppose that I should have known that something was wrong with what the physician said a long time ago. I've just never known anything about that side of myself, and Father tries to avoid talking about it as much as possible since it tends to make people... avoid me." The words made Aelia wince as bad memories rose, but she forced it aside to look Ava in the eyes, seeming strong for the first time that day. "Thank you, truly, Ava. This knowledge has saved me months, maybe even years of time coupled up inside my bedroom. It will be hard to convince Father," Aelia's hand slipped from Ava's arm as the woman began to pace back and forth.

"I mean he's never really done any research into my mixed blood, I guess no one even considered that it might make me stronger than the average dryad. Even then he probably won't believe me for a while, but perhaps he will if he sees a visible difference. He's never been a man that believes solely in the words of people. Perhaps I can.." Aelia continued to ramble on, her brows furrowing as she tried to figure out a way to explain this all to her father and get him to actually believe it.

Ava calmed down quickly at Lia's touch. Although she was upset, she wasn't upset at Lia, like the other woman thought.

No, Ava was upset by the situation - that no one thought that perhaps someone who is part tree might need the sun.

As Lia worked herself into a frenzy, Ava gnawed on her lower lip, finally darting out and grabbing her hand. Ava tugged Lia behind the curtain of her stall, out of view of the villagers who were curious as to what the commotion at her stall was about.

"Sorry," Ava said softly, "But I didn't want anyone to realize that the Princess was in the market, and we were drawing attention."

Keeping her voice low, Ava continued, "I cannot help with your father - as I don't know anything about him, or how best to convince him - but if you want, I have some tomes on Dryads, so you can learn more about your heritage. Maybe something in there can help convince him, although I'm not sure how you'd explain the appearance of the book..."

-

ava hasn't let go of lias hand 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

Good

~~~~~

Ava's sudden movement startled Lia, making her pull back for a moment before faithfully following her hand in hand behind the curtain. Closeness with Ava never failed to take Aelia's breath away, and this time was no exception. It was Ava's voice that allowed Lia to pull herself away from the woman's entrancing, luminous eyes.

"Oh please don't apologize," Lia stated, waving off the words as if they were motes of dust. "I should be the one apologizing, it seems as though I am always running to you for help and not quite thinking through the consequences of my actions. For that I am sorry." Aelia gave Ava a small, remorseful grin before squeezing the other woman's hand. "As for the tomes, I would love them but I fear I have already taken so much of your time, it would be awful of me to take such important, rare items without proper payment at the very least. Is there anything I can get for you? Anything at all?" Lia peered up at Ava, wanting to somehow repay her for everything she'd done for her.

MOTES girl u so fanccccyyyyyy

--------

Ava would give Lia everything if the other girl would keep looking at her with a face full of kindness.

But that was probably a lot to put on a person all at once, so Ava pretended to think of a "payment" while she internally kicked her feelings into submission, and tried to calm her racing heart.

"There is no need for a payment, alright? I want to do this for you. Although," Ava bit her lower lip, then decided to just commit to it, "I wouldn't say no to seeing you, whenever you have the chance."

Bro I don't even know where I heard that word lmao)

_____

Ava's words brought a dazzling smile to Aelia's face and a wave of warm pink across her cheeks. "Well," Lia looked away coyly, "I don't suppose I could say no to that. Though I know not when I would have the moment to return, I promise that I shall return as soon as I have even the smallest moment to myself." Lia gave the other woman a hopeful smile as she finally turned to look at her, gently taking Ava's hand and lacing her fingers between hers. "Thank you for all you've done Ava, truly. I would not be alive if not for you, and you never fail to make me feel better no matter the situation. I know not what the future brings me but I hope that you are in it somehow."

Ava's ears flushed a bright red, as did the back of her neck. She was... unused... to such affections, especially from someone that Ava liked back. With their hands laced together, Ava silently reveled in the fact that she was able to hold such a woman's hand, giving it a soft squeeze, "I want to be with you too," she admitted, any suaveness the witch once possessed having flown out the window the moment Lia reciprocated her feelings, "Please, Lia... keep your promise. I don't... I know it hasn't been long, but please, I cannot see myself without you."

Ava refused to meet Lia's gaze, instead keeping her eyes trained on their joined hands, hoping she hadn't sounded too desperate.

I genuinely can't remember how Aelia's biology worked but from here on out she flushes green, ignore it if past me said anything else)

______

The emotional words brought a fresh wave of tears to Aelia's eyes and a subtle tinge of green to her cheeks. Emotions welled fitfully inside of Lia and her stomach filled with butterflies. Romance was new, uncharted territory for Aelia, and hearing Ava admit the same feelings she was experiencing brought a sense of relief to Lia, so she was not the only one who felt this strongly about their newfound relationship after all.

"Nor can I see myself without you, Ava." The words were soft, spoken tentatively yet filled with a boldness unlike Aelia. Without thinking she gently removed one of her hands from Ava's own and raised the woman's cheek with a trembling finger so she could look her in the eyes when speaking. "I have not known you for long Ava but I have felt more content and happy with you than I ever have with anyone in my entire life. You have revealed to me who I truly am and have embraced my oddities with open arms. I could not be more grateful to have someone like you in my life." Aelia took in a deep breath, removing her hand from its spot tucked under Ava's chin.

"I have no intention of ever leaving your life Ava, and I swear with my whole heart that I will do whatever it takes to return to you." Lia gave Ava a lovely smile, though her hands trembled slightly at the confession she had just made.

this is cute, this is sweet, i have no memory of what we were doing in the RP. shawtys like a melody in MY head and i cant remember what it was screaming.

anygays, love these two fellas, do you want to continue this RP? i have lost the plot of the movie.