An Encounter

"Clearly, no one from your family has ever robbed mine," Caius stated, "not if they managed to keep all their body parts. All our important belongings have a magical trace on them, so the necklace would have been found. And no one has ever been able to hide from us; not indefinitely.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, watching the way she rubbed her arm.

Caius looked at her for a moment, taking in her response. "Fine. I'll accept that. One more question: did you intend to rob me? When we ran into one another on the street, was it so you pickpocket me? Or was the collision an accident and you stole out of habit?" He had to know. It was important, though the man couldn't exactly pinpoint why the response was so vital. It just was.

Bonnie gave a half laugh, running her fingers through her hair and shrugging a shoulder. "Maybe they did." She mused. "Maybe that would explain a whole lot of things."

His question startled her. Surely he didn't really care, did he? He was asking because it was the polite thing to do, which in itself was odd. Politeness toward someone like her was not something common. Her students respected her placement above them, but that was more due to Skydancer than anything she had done. The rest of them... just didn't care.

"I'm fine." She placed both hands behind her back and looked up at him once more, barely meeting his eyes before she had to glance away again.

"I found out I had it a few minutes before you did." She muttered. "My talent seems very inconvienent that way. I'm suddenly in possession of things that could get me killed. I didn't even know you had it." It sounded to her like ten thousand excuses, but what was she supposed to do about it? It was the truth, in any case, so that was that.

Slowly, she started removing layers, as the forest she'd dumped them in was tropical, and the heat was starting to be oppressive. "So what now? If you're going to chop off my hand, I'd love for it to be as soon as possible. I need to adapt, you see..." Holding out a slender arm, the blond offered it to the man, as if getting her hand cut off was the most mundane thing in the world. Her pulse belied her, however, spiking in apprehension.

"The one-handed bandit." She joked feebily. "I like the sound of that."

Cai gave a slow nod. "Good," he said simply. He had not intended to hurt her.

Something akin to relief formed in his chest. So their meeting hadn't been but a means for her to steal from him. Caius felt that he would have been almost... hurt if it had; robbed in an entirely different manner.

"It's my sister's," Caius told her. "It was being repaired. It's something that has been passed down through the women of our family for generations."

The man returned the necklace to his pocket as she began removing layers. He didn't bother to shrug off his own coat, though the weather where they were now was far too warm to be wearing it. Wrapping his hand around the wrist of the arm she offered him, Cai's fingers deliberately rested against her pulse even as his gaze went to hers.

"I told you. I am not my family." Caius lifted her hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to her palm. "Your hand looks far prettier on your wrist than it would in a trophy case. Just don't rob from a Raske again. And next time we meet-" He gave a soft laugh, the smile softening his expression. "Well, if I let you rob me twice, it'd be my own fault, wouldn't it?"

"Oh." She rubbed the back of her neck, wishing beyond anything else that she had a family to pass down something like that. She'd never had a- a-

Looking down at the ground she frowned slightly, blue grey eyes misting over slightly before she bit her bottom lip. What did a family feel like?

"That's two things then." She said with a grin, glancing up at him. Her pulse jumped at his kiss, a shiver snaking through her body before she could stop it. "Well, wouldn't want you to take the blame for it, would we?" A slight blush reddened her face as she found herself caught in his eyes. She wanted to trace her gaze over the way his smile changed his face slightly, but her eyes seemed to be trapped in the blue of his gaze.

"I-" She took a deep breath, eyelids fluttering as she tried to remember what they'd been talking about, unknowingly switching languages. "-think we should get off the forest floor. There are dangerous things roundabouts here."

Caius simply gazed back for a moment, drinking in the blue of her own eyes. Then, his attention was caught by the flush that spread across her cheeks. His free hand rose, fingers brushing lightly against the rosy hue.

"I... make you blush," he said with a trace of wonder in his tone as a hint of red touched his own cheeks. He wasn't sure why her blushing was having quite the effect that it was on him. In fact, he wasn't certain just why or how he was making her blush, or if he was really the cause at all.

"So, I've noticed," Cais murmured dryly, gaze ticking to their surroundings and back. "I assume this place is some sort of trap? Lead the way, then. Or shall we just climb up, here?"

Her eyes closed against his touch, a slight shiver spreading through her body once more. The blush that had barely been there before his touch deepened and spread at his words. Her eyes fluttered open, and she glanced up at him through her lashes, unsure how to take his observation. Slowly, her fingers traced his own blush, an almost grin flitting across her lips. "Suppose so." She murmured, before blinking rapidly and taking a small step backward. She twisted her wrist until she held his hand in hers, and tugged him toward the edge of the jungle clearing, just short of where the underbrush made the ground invisable.

"Ignore the jaguars for... a small while." Reaching up into the foliage, she extracted a Y-cord, clicking the hooks on the end. Snapping one onto his belt loop, she attached the others to hers, moving closer until they were flush up against each other. She looked up at him, the blush deepened further. "I- uhm- Hang on to something." Tugging twice upon the cord, her arm wound around his waist, as they were lifted upward into the treeline.

His own blush darkened as she mirrored his gesture and he gave a smile smile. The feel of her hand in his own just felt... well, he had no idea hand-holding could feel like this. Surely it didn't usually - he'd have remembered.

As their bodies were brought together, something foreign stirred within the man. At that point, he was certain that all these odd feelings and sensations were somehow because of her. She made him feel... different - and Caius was certain it wasn't wholly because he'd had relatively little experience interacting with women. He wound his arm about her shoulder, swallowing as his heart picked up pace.

Cai wasn't sure what was happening to him.

Her hold on him tightened as they left the ground, booted feet lifting much slower than she was used to. Pressing her forehead into his shoulder, she shrank into him, unfamiliar with the slight difference in balance. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt, even as they were tugged upward further. In fact, if one was to look down, they could assume - correctly - that a fall from this height could likely kill a person.

Swept up through a square cut out of the floor, Bonnie was suddenly in motion, wrapping her legs around the boy's waist to lean backward, doing a backbend to press the button that closed the floor beneath them. Once the wooden panel slid back into place, she straightened herself, slowly, quite surprised to find herself nose to nose with Cai when she was done.

"Would you like a tour of the place?" She asked breathlessly.

Cai found he suddenly had to swallow a lump in his throat as her legs wound about him. He watched, almost transfixed as she arched back gracefully, slowly rising until her face was mere inches from his, forcing their breath to mingle.

"Um," he began wittily, giving a nod. "Yeah. I mean, yes. A-a tour would be good. Great." He wanted to fidget, yet stood stock-still, instead. After all, her body was still pressed rather intimately against his own and it seemed to be wreaking havoc with his brain function.

Bonnie gave a half grin that almost faltered, a light blush flitting over her features before she qwelled it. Slowly, she unwound her legs from around him, sliding down his body slightly as she went to stand once more. Unclipping them both from the Y cord, she landed easily, rolling on the balls of her feet as to stay upward. Stepping off the small platform that now hid one of the only exits - other than the edge, that is - she ran her fingers through her hair and extended her arm toward him, palm an offering.

"Welcome to my humble abode, or something like that. I haven't had a guest in ages. I don't remember what to do..." She pulled aside what had appeared to be a curtain of vines, but was really a doorway, reavealing an intricate set of rope bridges and treehouses as far as the eye could see, all softly lit by the oncoming sunset. Or maybe it was sunrise. Bonnie could never quite tell. Glancing back at Cai, she grinned. "I helped build most of it when I was little, renovated a bit, and this is what happened. You like?" She fidgeted slightly as she offered the question, realizing that she cared quite a bit whether he did or he didn't. She chalked it up to not knowing if anyone liked anything she did, as the most feedback she'd ever gotten from adults was the slapping of handcuffs and the most she'd gotten from her last guests were the screams as they ran from the jaguars.

She let them escape after a bit of a scare, most of the time.

Caius landed lightly once he was freed from the cord. His gaze flitted quickly about the room, coming back to rest of her extended palm. Hesitating but a split-second, he took the proffered hand in his own. It was soft and slender and warm.

"It's charming," Cai responded warmly. He hadn't been certain what to expect once they had gotten up here, but it hadn't been anything like this. It was wonderful, and his appreciative gaze proved this even if his words did not.

Bonnie flushed with pleasure at his appearant appreciation, her hold on his hand tightening subconciously as a grin took over her features. "Come on, I'll show you areou-" she was cut off by the sound of a loud siren, the rope bridges closest to them dropping as to keep them there. She covered her ears against the loud noise pounding through her skull, but unbeknownst to her, only she could hear it, the defense mechanisms built to warn the owner of such a place, but not the intruder.

She paused briefly, on the edge, eyes sweeping the drop before she looked back at him. "You're a Raske." She observed, something almost sad appearant in her tone. Their hands were still together, but hers was simply there, as if she had already left. She spun, a dance move that pulled them closer together and forced his arm to wind around her. There was a crack of apparation, and they were transported backk to the cafe.

Her eyes stayed on the ground and away from him, even as she tried to escape his hold. As escapes go, it was not the most convincing, nor did it seem like she really wanted to go at all. "If we see each other again-" she cut herself off, keeping her gaze down. The belief that this would never come to pass was nearly touchable, eminating off her like the faint scent of orchid that always accompanied her presence. She shook her head, moving to take a step back. She was prepared to spin in a circle and disappear out of his life forever.

They had only taken a step forward, when it seemed Bonnie was suddenly in pain. The nearby rope bridges offered a plausible explanation: silent intruder alarm. "Bonnie, are you-" he began, cut off by her statement. Her tone cut, though it had not been intended to. "I told you that."

Bonnie had apparated them back to where they'd started. Momentarily in his arms, she soon ensured that was no longer the case, moving away from him, avoiding his gaze.

"'If'," Cai repeated, his voice a little too taut to be casual; he was stung, feeling rejected. "Why don't you just cut to the chase and say farewell? That's what you really mean, isn't it? You've no intention of seeing me again."

Bonnie glanced up at him for half a second, but something was different about her eyes. They were... dare she be... playful? Then she was shifting her weight and focused on the ground again. "Seeing each other again would be a bad idea." She murmured, though her voice carried deliberately, she put an extra emphasis on her words, and looked up at him again, willing him to catch on.

Suddenly she was in motion, wrapping her arms around his middle and squeezing him to her. "Sorry." She said at the same volume, then her voice dropped to almost below the human apetude of hearing. "The alarm called them to where ever I am. It would be safest for you if we-" her hold on him tightened, and it was suddenly very difficult to finish that sentance. "-weren't seen together." As if an after thought, she hummed. "I also enjoy not losing random limbs. I need my hands for other things." Her fingers traced a brief pattern on his back, then she stepped back, as if forcing herself. She shivered in the sudden cold, remembering she'd left her layers in the jungle.

"I suppose this is goodbye, then." She mumbled, back to gazing at the ground.

Cai's eyes narrowed minutely, expression otherwise unchanging. He had caught on, though. "You're probably right," he replied coolly.

He returned the embrace, holding her for that brief moment. She would probably have been surprised if she knew how very well he could handle himself, but Caius gave no protest. The man got the feeling that whoever 'they' were, they were friends or at least allies of hers. No need to hurt them unnecessarily. A flash of a smile crossed his features at her last remark.

"Goodbye, Bonnie," Cai returned quietly, gaze settling upon her, analyzing - no. Not analyzing her further. Memorizing her, committing her to memory. After all, that 'if' still hung in the air.