Katrina chuckled and allowed herself to be helped up. That was new for her too. "Falling down the stairs could work.. only the landing isn't so comfy." The reply was almost a little chirp. Why did se feel this need to submit? To play the role of a silly little 'dragon who was very much enfatuatd? So strange.... She grinned, a sense f humor was good in a 'dragon of logic and science. Ah yes, science. That WAS why they had come here, but many inventions were discovered on accident, were they not? "But yes, your labs. You've made great... great progress?" Her mind wandered so much! Kat could hardly keep from throwing herself into his arms, nuzzling up close, talking of science and of love. Ack, she was doing it now. Science. Yes, science... The science she dealt with was certainly much different than the sort Nub enjoyed. Talk about that. Only she could not make herself concentrate. Just start walking. With that thought she took up his paw in hers once more and willed him to walk with her. Onward to science.. and things much more moving.
Tearing his eyes from hers relunctantly, he followed her. "Oh...", Nub volunteered, desperately trying to concentrate, "The labs. Yes, they arn't very far away now. I warn you, they're not exactly esthetically pleasing, seeing as my interior decoration skills are non-existant. I've made do with what I had, though with the money from the Polychroma rainbow pens I've been able to buy some state of the art apparatus..." "How about yourself, do you have your own equipment, or do you use the academy's?" Nub quickly added, anxious to take the attention off him for his mind was too full of thoughts, of a pandemonium of words and ideas swimming in his head.
Kat grinned up at him, giving his paw a little squeeze absentmindedly. "I actually don't use a lot of equipment. The basics really. Mostly beakers and burners... and then you've seen my room." She gave a laugh at that and went on. "So I suppose I mostly use my own things, though I wouldn't say they're the highest quality stuff." The young 'dragon peered ahead, anxious now to see his labs and this equipment of his. Now for some reason her mind linked her last t hought with certain other thoughts... Thoughts that weren't necessarilly naive or lady-like. Then again, Kat had never been much of a 'lady'. Nub did not seem to mind though. He seemed to understand her like no one else had. He enjoyed science too, which was a plus. Wait! She was supposed to be thinking about science. Yes, equipment... Nub's equipment... No! Ugh, she really needed to stop this. She didn't have to though, and that was the beauty of it. Kat found herself wanting to go back to that position on the floor, to be in his arms... There she went again! Beakers, clamps, test tubes, reagents. Yes, there we go. "Healing really doesn't require many technical apects. Not yet anyway... I think I'd like to branch off into herbal healing rather than the magic-based sort..." Katrina gave him a little nudge,"You get to play with chemicals then." Oh it was no good, she couldn't get that kiss out of her head! It took all her will power not to throw him against the wall and hold him. This was no good at all... Where had all her self-discipline gone? All her schooling revolved around selfcontrol, so she was sure she could hold off on making her daydreams reality... for a while at least. <span style='width:100%;font-weight:bold; font-size:10px'>Out of Character</span> <table class=ooc><tr><td>Wow.. I use a lot of free indirect style... That's kinda weird. O__o</td></tr></table>
Nub smiled warmly as he returned the gentle squeeze. And yet for some unknown reason he felt a pang of sadness fill him as they neared the labs. It was only a matter of minutes now... Then they would forever leave the dimly lit corridors... Forever? What was he speaking of? They would be passing by them again when they went back to their dorms wouldn't they? But it wouldn't be the same, would it? Would it? Would he... They, together, feel this strongly again, ever? "You're just being silly. And illogical" Nub chided himself. And yes. Yes, if he could help it, he and Kat would have more of these intense moments together. He didnt want to think of the consequences it would have on his heart if they didn't. "We're almost here", he announced softly, "But before we go in... I'm going to have to blindfold you. Not knowing what he was doing and acting entirely on impulse, he freed his paw from hers and gently covered her eyes. "Ready?"
Katrina laughed quietly. "I'm always ready." It was true, and it was what she said most of the time when she was asked. Maybe people got sick of hearing it after a while. Now all that was left was for Nubajek to lead her in to see. The lack of sight boosted her other senses. It made her ears perk up. With her hearing at the ready, she could hear his heartbeat... felt her own heart as it sped. She had a feeling that she knew exactly why it thumped so hard against her chest, becuse her thoughts had taken advantage of the darkness before her. It was Nub's paw there, touching her. Was it her fault that she wanted to be in his arms? To have his paws somewhere other than her face. Her breath came heavy now with anticipation and the thoughts that swirled in her head. She didn't know how mauch longer she could go before she hugged him close. Kat had never been a shy dragon. She supposed that if she were though, that she would never actually dream of kissing him. Taking initiative.
Standing behind her, his left paw gently covering her eyes and his right place on her shoulder, slowly guiding her, Nub desperately tried to remember the last time he had bothered to clean his labs. "Lonyt", whispered Nub. The lights came on, revealing a large room filled with haphazardly postioned benches, some of them broken, most of them laden with extravagent-looking equipement. To the far right stood an old red couch which suspiciously ressembled those of the front foyer, and next to it an old oak table, entirely covered by files, documents and scrolls of all kind. "What a mess!" thought Nub, wincing slightly as he took his paw away from her eyes.
"Goodness!" came bursting from her mouth as she struggled to contain her excitement. Wow, this really was intriguing. She made her way over to the nearest set of of equipment and bent over to examine it. "Now you've impressed me." Nub had to be one serious scientist. To tell the truth, she was too busy fawning over the things before her to think about fawning over Nubajek himself. Kat bounced to the next table, thinking how very familiar things were here to how they were in her dorm room. Someone walking in would think it was complete chaos, but for the 'dragon who actually used the stuff strewn about knew exactly where everything was. Fascinating really. She stood back and scanned over everything in silence, her eyes finally resting on Nub. A bright grin shone on her face. "This is really something, Nub." Okay, she couldn't contain herself. Katrina made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. "Anything in particular that you're proud of and want to show me?"
Nubajek smiled broadly as relief began to fill his bright eyes. He hadn't known what to expect. He had never really had many friends of the female gender, but Nub was pretty sure some of the ones he did know would have screamed their heads off had they seen the absolute state of chaos the room was in. But then again, Kat wasn't like any girl he had ever met. "Well, chaos, like most things, is relative." he mused. He, for one, knew exactly where to find everything and anything in the room. Besides, he was sure that if one analysed the organisation - or lack thereof - his labs, they would find that it actually made some sense, in a scientific kind of way. "Anything in particular that you're proud of and want to show me?" What could he show her... Hmmm... She had seen the Ukep already so that wouldn't do... No, he wanted to surprise her... "If you would follow me this way" he called, handing her safety glasses and walking to the furthermost table, which was laden with relatively little apparatus. "Emkampey". He barely noticed the spell's recoil as blistering warmth envelopped his paws whilst he cast the simple fire starting charm onto the burner. The piece of wood atop the burner burst into flames, illuminating tripod, gauze and beaker with a warm yellow glow. Bringing his emerald eyes to level with the silvery substance within the beaker, Nubajek waited. At first nothing seemed to happen, and then, as the heat of flame began to warm the beaker, it's contents began to stir. "I don't know yet what I shall do with this experiment. I haven't even a name for it yet." he explained as the silvery substance slowly changed, both in shape, colour and texture. The bottom layers of the substance were slowly changing colours, shades of yellow, orange, red, purple, blue, green... It was truly a beautiful thing to watch and it reminded Nub of the little kaleidoscopes he had played with as a nioti. Small bright colourful tentacle-like structures sprouted out of the substance, causing it to ressemble an alien shapeshifting creature. "Myz" he whispered and the burner went out. Carefully using a spatula, he extracted some of the eerie subtance and "poured" it onto his paw. There it continued to change in shape an colour, tickling him slightly. "It's only slightly warm" he told Kat, holding his palm out for her to see and, if she wished, have it on her own.
Katrina gave him an odd little look; half a smirk and half a purse of the lips. Surely it was safe to touch... it would not explode in her hands or anything... would it? Letting a soft grin rest on her features, the silvery 'dragon reached up a paw and cupped it under Nub's own. She lifted the thing up a bit so she could be at eye level. "I wonder what possible use this could have..." Kat mused cheerfully, proding at the substance a bit. Hazel eyes turned shining to Nub's face as she smiled up at him. So smart. So charming. So perfect.... But yes, focus on science. Make your mind stop from wandering to his strong, dark features. That's it Kat. Good job. But it was dark. They were alone. She had all these feelings! Goodness, just focus on the shiney metallic stuff. "What did you use to make this?" she questioned in order to keep her mind in focus.
Once again Nub couldn't help but smile broadly - "and probably stupidly" he thought - at Kat's reaction to the strange substance. He could sense that she, like him, was more intrigued by it than repulsed or indifferent as would be a non-scientifically inclined 'dragon. He quite liked it actually, liked the way he could never quite figure out how it managed to be move without the help of Fronima. Of course, those effects were only temporary since it needed to be maintained at a constant temperature of around 37°. Even now, as he watched it dance in Kat's silver paw he could sense it slowing down. He supposed a permanent warming charm should do the trick. All thoughts of the multicoloured substance were soon forgotten though, when he felt himself melt under Kat's hazel gaze, a sheepish grin mirroring her smile. "Focus... Focus..." he chided mentally. "Well the funny thing is that I am not quite sure how this came to be. You see, it was a bit of an accident. During the perfecting stages of the polychroma ink I accidentally poured a lot more silver nitrate than needed... And well, let's just say there was a bit of an... Explosion, a small one mind you... [I'm just grateful I was wearing safety glasses at the time ] The result of which now dances in your paw. How it manages to move like this is beyond me, though I suspect it must obtain some of it's power from Fronima. Not much, mind you, but enough to allow it to move when heated."
Kat tilted her head to the side. Now, depending on if double or single replacement had occured, she should be a able to figure out the precipita- No, stop that. Just look at the pretty, shiny thing. The young 'dragon smiled, placing the strange substance where it belonged. "Some of the most ingenious things are stumbled across on accident..." she mused aloud. Smiling still, she returned her paws to clasp his own. She could not take this anymore. She had to know. She was a warrior; she could not allow herself to come to harm in any way, and she was sure that if she never saw Nub again it would hurt very much indeed. "Hey...." Kat started, trying to think of the right words to say. "I will be seeing more of you after tonight, won't I ? What I mean is..." Oh this was so uncharacteristic of her. Hazel eyes searched his face, as if she could find the words she needed written there. "We can... we can be.. together, right? We can try..." Katrina sighed and looked to the side a bit. Most of the male 'dragons she knew had no thoughts of romance about her. She supposed it was because they were intimidated. No lack of self-esteem on her part. But one had to take into account the fact that she was a warrior, that she had quite an intelligent, although exitable, mind. Maybe it was because she was always so hyper, too friendly, too loud and bouncy and boisterous. Katrina did not know what she would do if a negative answer reached her ears. She supposed she would just try to make the best of it. She had always been rather to the point about things and so she did not regret asking the question to which all her heartstrings were attached. Most every one of her emotional eggs were placed in that basket....
Try as he might, Nub couldn't bring himself to concentrate , to focus on what he was saying. Instead, his brights eyes and thoughts would always find their way back to Kat. And so when he felt her eyes search his dark face, and her words search his heart, he had listened intently. Time had seemed to slow down and his heart had seemed to hasten as her voice trailed into a silence pregnant with meaning. "Sure, we can see... Each other again and... Be together." He struggled, hating himself for his lack of eloquence. "I would love for us to be "together", Kat." he finished with more certainty in his voice and a hopeful grin on his face.
Her eyes were wet and bright because of it. Her heart pounded against its cage and fluttered. Oh to have this light feeling everyday! Kat smiled brightly and held his paw tight in hers. It all happened so fast, but she really didn't care. Perhaps the silly young thing would go over it all in her head at the end of that night once she was snug and alone in her bed. Those thoughts did not even have to come to her now. It was an eventuallity that she would probably never think of, true though it may be. "I think that sounds wonderful." Strange thing was, Katrina had always planned out her first kiss. Never once had she guessed it would come right after falling down a flight of stairs and landing with a thud. It was not elegant. None of it was very beautiful in the way of asthetics, but the meaning and the feelings were the most beautiful thing. Something she could not have prepared herself for. But now she was blushing deeply, a thing, so far, that only Nub had been able to make her do. At the least they could try. She was eager to try, desperate even. "Wonderful indeed...." She did not know what to do with herself. No thoughts were in her head now. Not really any other than what to do next. She debated with that logical side of herself. Debated with the emotions. It seemed they wanted the same things this time, but could not decide on how to go about it. Biting down on her lip, Kat simply looked at him. Looked into those deep, dark eyes. "But it's... getting late. We have classes tomorrow..." Why with him of all 'dragons did the words have difficulty springing from her mouth as they usually did? He was something special. She told herself he was, so she would have to wait and see if the trend kept up.
Leave... Already? But of course... It was getting late... "Get a grip..." thought Nub. "You're right", he condeded reluctantly, his sheepish smile filling his dark face, "It is getting late... And dark." Then, bringing his head to her level, he mischieviously added, his eyes shining, "And I will of course have to escort you back to your room, m'Lady? We wouldn't want you "tripping" again, would we?"
