Work Text:
Drawing is Like Spellcasting, Right?
AN : This is for Day 5 of Widojest Week 2020: Teaching Spells or Anything Spell/Magic Related.
"Drawing is kind of like spellcasting, right, Cayleb?" she asks the redhead reading and muttering beside her. He normally mutters as he's reading, a fact that she's always found endearing. He stops his mumbling and lifts his head to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not sure I know vat you are talkink about," he answers.
"Weeeeeelllllll….you, liiiiike, draw runes and symbols and stuff when you do your magic and, like, teleport and do stuff like that. Soooooo, that's kind of like when I draw stuff, right?" she asks. He chuckles as he closes his book. He doesn't worry about leaving a bookmark inside it as he knows he'll easily remember what page he was on.
"It's actually not zee same. It's true zat I have to draw runes vhen I cast some of my spells, but zee runes have to be drawn out exactly in order for zee spell to actually work," he explains.
"Weeeeelllll, if I draw something and it's not drawn out exactly it doesn't look right," she argues. His lips pull up in a warm smile.
"Point taken." She giggles. In her sketchbook, he can see that she's drawn a circle with various lines and shapes that to a layperson would appear to be runes. She goes back to drawing fake runes and fake spell work into her sketchbook as her companion gets up to stand behind her.
"Here. Like zis," he tells her as he picks up one of her pencils and reaches around her shoulder. He draws a rune on an empty spot inside of the circle she created. She watches him closely as he draws, and after his pencil finally stills, she copies his movements and the design with only a small flaw or two. The two's elbows and hands don't bump or touch during the entire drawing process as Jester draws her runes with the opposite hand as him.
"How's this?" she asks proudly. She smiles brightly, and he finds himself unable to keep a similar smile off his face.
"Pretty good for a first try, but here let me show you again how it goes." He once again draws the rune, but this time he draws it out very slowly and methodically while instructing her in the ways of how to draw it out. Her second rune is far better than the first and a near-perfect copy of his. She gives a little squeak of triumph that he chuckles at.
"Very good, Jester," he compliments in a proud tone he typically reserved for praising Veth. A rush of pride washes over her. It isn't very often that she feels like she is particularly smart or validated, especially by someone that she respects.
"You are a good student," the redhead continues. He stretches his arm around hers to reach another blank piece of the parchment. Blood rushes to her cheeks as she feels his arm brush against her. If she didn't know better, she would swear that he is hugging her. He draws and starts explaining this new rune and what it means, but all she can think about is how close he is to her.
"Did you get all of zat, Jester?" he asks after she fails to say or do anything.
"Oh?!" she exclaims in shock.
"Yeah, I totally did…'Cause you know, you're a reeeeeeaaaaaaallllllly good teacher, Cayleb," she gushes. The blue tiefling delights when a blush heats up his face as well. They stay in awkward silence as they remain eerily still. She wonders whether or not her wizard companion has realized how close he still is to her, but with how heavily she can hear him breathing, she figures he has and is freaking out about it. She dares to take a deep, calming breath she's sure he feels, and attempts to recreate the rune she truthfully wasn't paying attention to the explanation of.
"Like this, Cayleb?" she asks. She hopes he doesn't hear the way her voice trembles. He takes a moment and swallows down the lump in his throat.
"N..n.." he stutters. He swallows again.
"Nein…it's more like zis," he finishes in a raspy, barely-there voice. His hand shakes as he maneuvers his pencil to another empty place on the paper. Jester marvels at how quickly and efficiently he manages to still his trembling enough to draw out the rune once again without any flaws or hiccups. Her jaw drops as she watches him masterfully drags his pencil through the dips and weaves of the symbol.
"Wow, Cayleb! You're sooooooo good at drawing runes even when you're all sorts of, like, nervous and stuff!" she enthuses. His face turns a brighter red.
"Did you, liiiiike, get taught how to, liiiiiiiiiiike, draw runes and spells perfectly even when you're, liiiike, suuuuuuuuuuuuuper nervous and stuff?" she questions.
"Uh…" he gapes. His pencil hovers over the page, and it continues to hover there even as Jester adds a near-exact copy of the rune beside his. Their pencils click against one another, and he glances at them out of the corner of his eyes. As she draws, her hand brushes against his slightly. He flinches, and his pencil wobbles but doesn't fall out of his grasp. Jester picks her pencil up and turns to look up at the wizard behind her.
"Is that better, Cayleb? Ooooooo, since you're teaching me does this mean that I can call you, liiiiiiike, teacher? Or maybe, liiike, professor?" she rants. He closes his mouth and contorts his face into a pained expression.
"Professor Cayleb," she tries out. She sighs.
"I kind of like the sound of that. How about you, Professor Cayleb?" she asks him. She can see a hint of a smile break through his misery, and she sends a shy smile his way. He sighs and bobs his head in the slightest of motions.
"Ja," he breathes out.
"Cool. So how am I doing, Professor Cayleb? Aren't I, liiiiiike, your bestest student, liiiiiike, ever?" she asks teasingly.
"You're doing very vell, Jester," he admits.
"Yes!" She makes a triumph motion with the hand not holding the pencil, and he finds himself unable to resist a chuckle. He stares longingly at her and heaves a heavy sigh. On his face he wears a warm, affectionate expression and a blush that colors his cheeks.
"So, Professor Cayleb, what other runes are you gonna teach me? Oooooo, maybe you could teach me one of your spells?" Jester questions. Another chuckle from the human.
"You still have a lot of runes and other basic things to learn before I could teach you any spells," he tells her. She turns back to him again and pleads with her eyes.
"Could you teach me? I don't want you to, liiiike, think that I'm stupid and stuff when I draw these sorts of things, ya know?" she whispers gloomily. The pained expression contorts his face again as he gazes at her tenderly.
"You're not stupid, Jester. You are very smart. You're just smart about different things than me. I don't know anysink about faith or a..a..about..drawink…or about zee best pranks to pull on people," he raves. Her expression brightens as a surge of warmth rushes through her. She isn't sure how, but the Zemnian always knows how to make her feel better.
"Besides, you are very strong, and you have no need to be smart to be useful, or amazink," he continues.
"You think I'm amazing, Cayleb?" she swoons. He nods.
"Ja," he breathes. Her heart fills near to bursting, and she can't stop herself from acting. Her pencil clatters onto the table as she stands and places her hand on his shoulder. He freezes and gawks at her through wide eyes as she moves herself bodily to plant a gentle kiss onto his lips. His pencil joins hers on the table as his hands and finger forget how to work. She breaks away with a fierce blush that she makes to apologize for but is stopped when his soot-stained hand finds her face and pulls it towards his.
Their lips meet again, and sparks fly. Her heart melts as his lips move wantingly against hers. Her own lips match his enthusiasm, and time stands still as she wraps her arms around his neck. A pleasant warmth and comfort overcome her as his arms take her in his.
As with all things, though, this too must come to an end, and all too quickly, in Jester's opinion. She has to catch her breath again and get her heart to stop pounding, even though she really doesn't want it to. She considers kissing him again, but the panicked and confused expression on his face gives her pause.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes softly. That warm, loving expression crosses his face again as he breathes her name.
"Cayleb," she sighs back. His calloused, soot-covered thumb traces her cheek tenderly. Her tail caresses his arm absentmindedly. Their eyes meet, and she can feel the love radiating off of him. He slowly bends his face to hers and pecks her lips again. She tries to deepen the kiss, but he pulls away before she can.
"We're going to have to talk about this," he whispers.
"Ja," she agrees.
"Later," he offers. She nods.
"Later." He sighs and nervously traces the room with his eyes. She huffs out a giggle. Their faces both share the same deep blush, and she's sure that he also shares her desire to kiss again. She sighs and lays her head on his chest. He glances at her and, although his mind quarrels with him, he lays his head on hers and holds her tight. They remain that way for a time just enjoying each other's warmth.
Caleb is the first to break free, and he clears his throat awkwardly. She shyly looks away and giddily giggles. She removes her arms from his neck and hugs herself instead.
"That was really good, Cayleb," she admits.
"Later…We'll..uh…" he takes a deep breath, "We'll talk about zis later." She hums her approval. A few moments of silence pass over them with neither being able to look at the other.
"Ummm….Cayleb?" she tries.
"Ja?"
"Can we do this again sometime?" His eyes go wide again.
"Y..yo..you…mean…uh…" he splutters.
"What?!...Pffffftttt, noooo…I mean not if you don't want to," she rambles.
"Uh…ummm…"
"I mean…ummm…I reeeeeeaaaaaallllly enjoyed you showing me this stuff, Cayleb," she tells him. Jester can practically see the weight lifting from his shoulders as his face brightens again.
"Ja?"
"Ja, it was fun. I like seeing this side of you, you know?...It, liiiiike, makes me feel like I'm apart of what you enjoy, you know?" she confesses. He smiles and nods.
"Ja."
"Soooooo, can we?" she pleads.
"Ja, of course, Jester," he breathes.
"Yay!" she exclaims. And from that day going forward, Caleb would always find some time to tutor her, and she would always find a way to sneak a kiss here and there.