One kiss is all it takes... (Eeva)

[Deleted]

Late Auguste 2026

He'd honestly considered running off to stay with Eeva as soon as he'd broken up with Carmen, but he didn't trust himself near her. Or well, he didn't trust his ability to control his actions all that well where Eeva was concerned. He'd been confused about the woman for a long time but the relationship with Carmen had made it all quite simple. Nothing could be there, so it made no sense that she kept sneaking into his mind ever since the break up. It had easily been one of the harder moments in his life, realising that his entire past had been made public in some Spanish tabloid magazine. He'd told her that he didn't talk about his past, but the dirty rats had dug it up regardless. Now she knew, and they'd decided to end their relationship there. It was a painful thing, but in the end better for both of them. It would have made sense to hide and lay low with Eeva, but he didn't.

Now it had been a few months and he was certain that there was nothing wrong about seeing her now. She still kept creeping up in his mind, but he also knew he'd processed his relationship with Carmen properly. They were still friends, although they took their distance to make sure no resentment might creep up between them. They wanted to make something work out of the time they'd shared together, just not as a couple. They didn't want the same things. Plus Ilija realised he most definitively felt attracted to Eeva and couldn't put her out of his mind. So the best he could do? Visit her at her super secret hide out and just get the rejection over with. Surely she wouldn't want a broken man that she feared only saw his dead fiancee when he looked at her. Except he didn't.

At first he had, on occassion. Then he'd come to see more of her. How she wasn't ashamed of her body and didn't try to hide it. How she loved the cold and the snow. How she teased and taunted him so endlessly where Hannah had been more about shy and gentle moments. Eeva was so utterly different from Hannah that he found it astonishing that they somehow had the same face and the same memories. They were such opposites....

So he knocked on the door of the entrance toward the cave that she had. He felt quite clever for actually having brought swimming trunks this time, yet at the same time he had a feeling she was going to teasy him about it if he actually got them out of the bag at any point. She was beautiful and impossible and he knew without a doubt that he longed for her. Not for the memory of Hannah, although it had taken him at the very least a month after even allowing himself to entertain the thought of her to come to that conclusion. He'd told her he was coming of course and despite the fact he knew her as a friend, he felt this odd mixture of completely at ease and utterly nervous. Well, he wasn't here to confess his feelings. Just to escape for a little while. "I'm here." He announced, runnign a hand through his hair for a moment. He better not have any bugs on him, because he didn't want to bring them into her home. "Can I come in?" He asked, just wanting to make sure he wasn't stretching his welcome before he'd put one foot across the threshold.

@eeva

[Deleted]

Late August, 2026
@ilija

Eeva was having quite the summer, though in a different way then most. After all, the Hogwarts and purifier incident was of little interest to her. As was the minister change, though it was reassuring to hear the new minister had Druid heritage and actually understood the culture because of it. No. It was because of Yrisle.

While visits were regulated, there was actually a way to visit the place again. Many would find her absolutely insane for wanting to go back there. Especially when they knew what had happened to her there. It was why she could hear the thoughts of creatures and possessed the memories of a dead woman. But visit she had. Quite a few times in fact.

Eeva was born when she heard from ilija, asking if he could come stay with her again. She, of course, had told him yes. The request wasn’t unusual or unwelcome. She liked his company. He was easy to talk to and there was a level of trust and comfort there that she didn’t have for anyone else. At first she’s thought those feelings were purely because of Hannah’s memories. But she’d come to realize it wasn’t that at all. Ilija was very different from his past self.

Eeva didn’t actually know when he might show up. She’d told him he could come whenever he needed, and didn’t ask for details of when or how long he’d be staying.

She was sitting at the small table in the main room of the cave, glancing over her many research notes and drawings of yrisle, when she heard the knock at the door. A moment later she heard his voice. She got up quickly, crossing to the door and opening it. She offered him a smile as she saw him, before stepping back and motioning him to come in. ”You don’t need to ask. Just come in when you visit. I don’t mind.” Considering only a few even knew where rhe cave was she wasn’t too worried about unwanted visitors after all

[Deleted]

She opened the door and pretty much told him to come in at any moment he wanted. He... wasn't going to do that. He still very clearly remembered the first time he'd been over and she'd suggested not wearing swimwear to the little spring she had in her cave. He'd thoroughly enjoyed it on his own but it had left the idea in his mind that she was a lot more comfortable without clothes than he was. On top of that it had sent his brain spinning in all directions and confused him so he wasn't going to risk walking in on her without clothes. It just wasn't proper. So he chuckled and shrugged slightly as he stepped in. "I can't help it." He said with a small laugh. "I was raised a gentleman, which defintively means knowing before you walk into a Lady's room. Most girls I grew up around most certainly wouldn't want to be caught in their undergarments, no matter how good of a friend was stopping by." He meant a male friend of course, as girls were alot more casual around each other from what he'd heard and seen. Or well, at least Hannah ahd been a lot more comfortable around her female friends than around him. Maybe that was one of those attraction things? He didn't have a lot of dating experience.

He took his bag over to the sofa and put it in the same place as last time as it hadn't exactly been in the way. He then walked over to the table where she'd been working. He looked down at the maps and couldn't help but frown a little as he saw some of the notes. He had a very uneasy feeling about it all. He noticed some drawings of things and creatures that had a distinctly unnatural look about them. He bit his lip as he picked up one of the papers and looked at the drawing. "Are these from the Island?" He couldn't help but ask. The place was deeply disturbing to him, not because he thought it was evil but more because it was very old and very powerful magic and that rarely ever ended well in his book as a cursebreaker. Especially with things having an unnatural number of limbs, as that had been quite a common curse in most of the tombs in Egypt he'd been to.

For some reason the fact she had such an extensive amount of paperwork on an island that gave him the creeps wasn't something he was overly happy about, but he knew she would be... well somewhat responsible. Or at least more so than they had been at first. He put the paper back on the table and looked at her, with a slightly concerned look on his face. "You know I trust you, but I don't trust this island. Not after what happened." He said, the concern not just obvious in his voice but also easy to read on his face. He just didn't want her to get hurt, or worse, to lose her entirely. He wasn't sure if he could take that.

He walked to his bag and rummaged through it. "Don't laugh at me... but I brought swimming trunks. I figured that we could maybe enjoy the spring together this time." He said with a bit of a smile as he pulled it out from his bag. He was hoping she wouldn't laugh in his face and humour him on this one and actually join him in the spring. It seemed like a very good way to relax, at least in his mind. It had been last time, although part of him wondered if this was going to work if she was there with him and he was only wearing swimming trunk. Maybe he should have thought this out just a little bit better beforehand.

@eeva

[Deleted]

Late August, 2026
@ilija

It was times likes these that reminded Eeva of the cultural differences between herself and Ilija. She'd grown up in a society that was very tight knit and close. It hadn't been unusual at all for people coming by to visit to just enter without waiting for an invitation. Even on Hy-Brasil, though she'd never lived there, had a similar style. Druids were all connected in some way. So unless it was clearly stated it was just a given you were always welcome. Though, Eeva knew the dark side of that as well. As what had happened with her family... No. She wasn't going to think about that. She smiled at his courtesy though. "You make it sound like I walk around in my undergarments," she answered. Though... well she wouldn't deny that. She hadn't done it last time he was there. She knew he was a bit... shy about that sort of thing.

She closed the door behind him, covering a yawn as he set his bag down and then moved to the table. She hadn't really thought about the fact that he didn't like Yrisle. While both of them had experienced traumatic events, he hadn't gone back, as far as she was aware. She nodded as he asked if it was the island. "It is," she answered simply. She wouldn't deny to him what it was. They hadn't much talked about Yrisle. They definitely didn't see eye to eye on it though. She found it incredibly fascinating. She moved to the table and sat down in the other chair, leaning back as he looked over the papers, before looking at her. She smiled. "I appreciate your concern," was her answer. Her answer didn't actually say she wouldn't go to the island though. She chose not to explain her research too much, as it might only make him even more concerned. Particularly when he knew it wasn't just research on paper.

Eeva leaned back in the chair, crossing a leg over the other and brushing her hair onto one shoulder while he moved away from the table. To her surprise though he'd gone back to his bag and... She could help but smile widely. He'd said not to laugh, though she was a bit tempted. It was still cute how shy he was about it. "It is a little big for one person, isn't it?" was her answer. While she hadn't said yes her words were affirmative. It also was a bit on the large side... she was sure about 5 people could fit comfortably in the spring with ease. Though... Now she had to think. Did she have a swimsuit? After a moment she remembered the one stashed at the very bottom of her drawers in her room. She'd gotten it in Italy, now that she thought about it. Hadn't used it since. But she supposed it would work. And if that's what would be required for Ilija to be comfortable? Well, who was she to refuse?

[Deleted]

Was she trying to make his head spin? Regardless of trying, she was very close to success. He smiled a bit awkwardly as she suggested he thought she walked around in her undergarments. For all he knew she did on a normal day. He shrugged slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, I do that sometimes when I'm home alone and not expecting guests." He admitted, although that usually meant underpants and a shirt for him. It meant he only had to quickly pull on some pants if the mainman did ring the doorbell or something in that direction. He was ever so polite after all, and didn't want to make anybody uncomfortable.

He wasn't sure how he felt about her researching the island. He understood it was needed, more than a little bit, but on the other hand he didn't want to see her getting hurt. She ahd a bit of a unique perspective on the world with everything that had changed about her in the fog but he still worried. The notes on surface level were already highly detailed and he dreaded to think just how much information she'd actually managed to gather, and how much danger that had put her in. At least she didn't deny it was the island, nor did she suddenly scramble to cover it up to keep him out of it. He sighed as she told him she appreciated his concern. He glanced at the notes again, recognising some of the things he'd seen himself, especially in the odd pillars around the island itself. "I just don't want you to get hurt is all....." He muttered, but clearly slightly distracted. He frowned slightly as he picked up one of the papers on the pillars. "Those are not related to the writing on the island itself, are they? They look more like druid marking to me." He said, distracted. Despite the fact he hadn't gone back, he had actually been keeping up with all publicatings from researchers on the island. He clacked his tongue briefly as he looked at her. "Can I maybe join you in the research? I think I'd feel a lot better if you weren't out there alone. At least we can watch each others backs." He knew he was taking a huge risk in asking that, as he'd lost Hannah while working with her. The problem was that he'd rather risk going through all of that again than try to stop her or sit back and fear hearing bad news every single time he heard the doorbell. He was far more proactive than that, but didn't want to kill the dreams of other people. He'd never stopped cursebreaking despite the dangers in it, after all.

As he pulled out the swimming trunks she could see in her big smile that she'd been tempted to laugh at least a little, although it didn't seem particularly malicious. Her answer was the most evasive way to say yes but he'd take it. He just hoped she had some sort of bathing suit, as he hadn't exactly considered that part. He smiled and nodded. "I'll go downstairs to the spring and get changed. If you can give me like three minutes I should be decent." He said with a slight smile, glad she wasn't going to make a point out of it. He left the room with his trunks and went to the spring, changing and sitting on the edge with his good leg in the water. He didn't really want to disconnect his prosthetic if she was uncomfortable with it lying around, but on the other hand he didn't want to get it wet in there if it wasn't needed either. While he knew the leg could withstand water perfectly there were a very few situations in which he preferred to not have it on his body. This just so happened to be one of them. He closed his eyes, smiling in satisfaction for a moment. This was going to be a good couple of days. He opened his eyes as he heard the noise of feet making their way down the stairs and waited for Eeva to come into view, although it is quite needless to say he wasn't really prepared for the view of her in a bathing suit. It made him want to get in the water quickly, before his problem became more... visible. Then again, he really just wanted to make sure she was fine with him taking his leg off. "Uhm..." He said as he looked down at his leg. "Do you mind if I take it off? It's more comfortable without." He said, motioning to the ostentatious golden limb. He just hoped she'd be fine with it so he could disconnect it and hop into the spring quickly.

@eeva

[Deleted]

Late August, 2026
@ilija

Eeva liked how easy it was to fluster Ilija. It was also quite cute to see his reaction. She never would thought Ilija was so shy, considering how he acted. So it was nice to see such a response from him. It made her want to tease him about it. As he spoke about how he did it she couldn't help but smile a little wider. The smile was a bit foxlike, silently acknowledging that she did the exact same thing. She didn't feel like actually saying it aloud though, as she didn't want to torment him too much... yet. She could have easily corrected him that it wasn't just her outer clothes she discarded when she was home alone, but that might make his head explode.

Eeva wasn't ashamed of her interest in Yrisle. She was quite open about it, and her opinions of why it should be studied and researched even more so then it currently was. But that didn't mean she went around provoking people that felt different about Yrisle. Ilija was one that felt quite differently about it. As he expressed his concern she couldn't help but smile. "Regular life can hurt me too," she answered simply. Life in general was dangerous, but that didn't mean you stopped living it. His work as a curse breaker was dangerous but that didn't stop him, did it? As he mentioned the pillars though she realized that he might not know about the druid connection to the island. "The belief right now is that the island is Yrisle, which has strong connectiosn to druid legends. Those markings on the pillars seem to confirm the theory," she explained. She didn't explain that if it was Yrisle it meant that the druids had actually locked away the island. He was already wary enough of it.

To her surprise though, he wasn't telling her to leave it be. In fact, he was... offering assistance? Eeva's eyebrows raised in surprise. "If you'd like," she answered instinctively, though she was still stunned he'd even offer. Though his words almost.. seemed like he was only interested for her own sake. There was a strange fluttering in her chest at the thought.

Eeva nodded as he grabbed his swimming trunks and asked for a few minutes to get ready before she came down. She hadn't exactly planned on going into the spring so early in the day, but it wasn't like she had any other plans. Plus... he seemed like he was... looking forward to it. She smiled just a little. He headed down, and she made her way to her room. It took a few moments to find the bathing suit in question she'd thought of, but she was glad she remembered it. And... it wasn't... too revealing? He was shy after all, she didn't want him to feel uncomfortable. It was still a two piece, but in terms of a two piece it covered all the necessary bits. There were styles much more revealing then the one she was wearing... Though there were also more modest styles as well. She changed quickly, waited another minute or two, before heading down to the spring. She was sure he'd had enough time to change. She descended the stairs and found Ilija sitting at the edge of the spring. She'd already known he had more tattoos then Hannah's memories, but she hadn't known what the hidden ones might be. It was a very nice sight. As he spoke though, her attention was drawn to his leg, the topic of this words.

Eeva hadn't known about the prosthetic but it also didn't surprise her. He was a curse breaker, one who'd survived the incident that killed Hannah. No way he'd have gotten out unscathed. She coloration was surprising though, gold. A bit flamboyant for his personality. But who was she to judge? It wasn't like he wore shorts around everywhere. She shook her head. "I don't mind." she answered simply. As long as he was comfortable it didn't make a difference to her. She crossed to the edge of the spring, sitting down next to him, legs in the water. She removed the hair tie from her wrist and and pulled her hair up into a messy bun. Hair out of the way, she slid into the water.

[Deleted]

He was plenty aware that regular life could hurt her too, especially since one of her hobbies included flying horses. Regular horses could already break bones when one fell off them but her fall was a lot longer if she did ever fall off. That didn't even include all the minor dangers people easily forgot about in regular life, especially those with dangerous jobs. They felt safe quite fast when they left their dangerous surroundings for familiar ones where they felt comfortable. He grunted shortly before answering. "I'm well aware, but the healers know how to solve that. This island works in ways that are not all that easy to fix. They might seem less dangerous but we don't know nearly enough to say if things won't get more extreme." In his mind they were plenty extreme to begin with, so caution was most certainly required. Even if he didn't mean to have her change direction, he wanted her to be careful. To not take needless risks that would offer no reward of any kind. He understood knowledge was a direct reward but there was always a balance between cost and reward. Even Gringotts considered that when sending their cursebreakers in.

She told him the island was likely connected to Druid legends, which fascinated him instantly. He was beginning to see why she was so interested in it, even more so if the markings on the pillars seemed to confirm it. He frowned slightly as he looked at all the research papers, hoping to make some sense of it. He wasn't even sure if it was possible but up to some point his job did teach him a lot of making sense of puzzles. It could make a world of difference if you knew which tomb you were in. Every era had some trademark curses and other curses were found only after certain time periods. It was interesting to watch it all develop, in a way. Yet nothing he'd seen on that island seemed to be connected to the outside world, which was all sorts of freaky. "Can you tell me about the island?" He asked, hoping to learn more. If he wasn't careful, he'd be drawn into her little obsession here.

She was quick to accept his help, which he genuinely appreciated a lot. He didn't much like the idea of going back to the island, although he was slowly warming up to it just a little bit. He mostly just wanted to keep her safe and make sure that she wasn't out there alone all the time. He didn't want her to disappear. He nodded briefly, considering the agreement a done deal. He'd accompany her, although he did want to read up on some of the research that had been done so far. The place was unpredictable enough without going in as good as blind again. If he was going back, he wanted to know more of the information that was readily available and he'd most certainly be making notes of his own. Two pairs of eyes saw more than one after all. Besides, on top of that his perspective was likely to be quite different than hers. She was druid and worked in entertainment where he was a cursebreaker that had seen a thousand ways to die by seemingly safe situations. Between the two of them he was fairly certain that they could figure out a thing or two.

When he'd gone down to the pool and she'd found her own way down there, she told him she didn't mind him taking his leg off and he gratefully clipped it off and put it on the floor next to the spring, within reach but not attached. It shouldn't be giving him any trouble that way. He let out a slight sigh of relief as the weight came off and he felt the light air that meant there was nothing there. Despite being made a perfect fit, it still wasn't the same as a real leg. It got sore and slightly uncomfortable, no matter how many cushioning charms were placed upon it. He wondered for a brief moment if they needed to be fluffed somehow, like pillows. He shook the thought off quite quickly and lowered himself into the spring, glad that the water would at least hide a part of him that he didn't want drawing attention.

His slight discomfort at the fear of her finding out just how not casual he was made him feel a little ill at ease, although he did his best to hide it behind his normal stoic nature. It was just hard for him to ignore how absolutely beautiful he thought she was now that his mind had decided to finally allow and admit to the idea. He glanced over at her. "How long did it take you to find this cave anyway? It's quite rare to have a cave with natural spring like this, I imagine." He said, attempting to make light conversation. Now that they were both submerged it most certainly helped to have his attention directed in some more productive directions, like conversation.

@eeva

[Deleted]

Late August, 2026
@ilija

Eeva found Ilija's worry... refreshing. She felt a soft fluttering and warmth in her chest. She couldn't help but smile. While many were worried about just the island being dangerous, Ilija's worry was specifically geared towards her. "Some of nature's most beautiful creations are it's most dangerous," she answered. "But I don't take unnecessary risks, if it reassures you," she added after a moment. It was true, those studying the island still had wisened up when it came to the risks and dangers.

While Eeva had been disconnected from her homeland for sometime (a topic she hadn't touched yet with Ilija), it didn't make her any less druid. It was literally her blood. Her heritage. Her culture. It was a part of her. As such, the potential of this island being Yrisle, despite the legends, spoke to Eeva's druidic side. Drove her to learn more about this ancient land, and her ancestors' connection to it. So, his request to know more about it brought a large smile. "As much as I know," she answered. Though that discussion may have to wait since he was so determined to soak in the spring first.

As Ilija worked on removing the prosthetic leg Eeva had waged into the spring, sinking into the deeper end. She ran her fingertips across the top of the water, silently muttering a warming spell and letting the magic seep from her fingers into the water. The spring was usually on the lukewarm side from being in the cave, but with a simple spell it would be like a japanese hot spring, in which you could melt all your aches and worries away. She heard the splash of the water behind her as he slid in and she turned back around, bending her knees to finally sink into the water until only her eyes were above the water. She'd tried not to "oogle" him too much but it was very difficult. As he spoke she raised her head out of the water. "The animals told me," she started to explain. Though... it might not make sense without further explanation. "You've heard of animal affinities, yes? I've heard sometimes wizardkind can have a particular connection to a certain species. You could think of it like that... only I can understand all of them. I can speak to all animals, just like we're speaking now." It wasn't a secret, after all. Growing up everyone in her village had known that Eeva could speak with all creatures, but it wasn't a skill that wizards or druids normally possessed. She drifted back in the water a bit, letting herself float, before treading back towards the side of the spring he was settled. "I wasn't necessarily looking for the cave. I was simply looking for a place untouched by the world. That's when the animals told me about this cave."

[Deleted]

Most beautiful being most dangerous? Most certainly true. That didn't mean that it made him worry less about her wellbeing. It wasn't that he didn't believe she could take care of herself, she could do so and possibly better than he himself could. That being said, he cared about her. The fact he cared meant that he didn't want her to get hurt while exploring something still so unknown and quite so dangerous. Hearing she wouldn't take unneccesary risks was comforting though. Or at the very least he felt it meant he had less to worry about.

She'd tell him as much as she knew, which was probably a large amount by the sound of it. Best to leave that for after a relaxing activity. Like bathing. It would most certainly help him to feel a little bit less tense for a short while. He imagined it wouldn't last too long though. This situation was all to strange and alien to him, even if it was a good kind of strange and alien. He'd take whatever he could get though.

Ever since Ilija had decided it was time to get his life back together, he'd been taking far better care of his body. He'd been exercising a lot, mostly because it was one of the ways he could keep busy in a way that didn't feel too depressing. It reminded him of physical therapy a bit, of learning to use his prostethic when he'd been in the hospital. The idea of something moving forward, even if it hurt. It meant that he had a very physically well developed body by now as he'd spent a lot of time getting in shape. Still, he didn't consider his appearance much, mostly feeling awkward about his missing leg. It made him feel rather uncomfortable, even if he was perfectly fine with his body. He was distracted from that by her mentioning the animals told her about the cave. Then she went on to explain that she could talk to all animals and he found that even more.. confusing. Not quite in a bad way, but it was strange nonetheless. Must have been the druid heritage then. She mentioned that she'd been looking for a place untouched by the world and this cave certainly qualified. Or well, not anymore, but it must have before. "It's beautiful. I admit that your gift in talking with animals is quite impressive. It makes sense that you'd be vegetarian if you can talk to animals that others would eat. Not that it wouldn't otherwise, but I guess it just makes even more sense." He shrugged. He wasn't familiar with druid culture, or how common it was for people to be vegetarian there. He was quite unfamiliar with their culture all together, although he supposed that'd change.

@eeva