Among the Stacks

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Anna stood still, her lungs seized. Far from making her mind stop running circles, his words gave them even more to dwell on. Would it hurt to relax a little and just enjoy the moment? Why was she always so focused on results? Could she deal with not knowing this moment, this experience, what this could be? Or could she live in the moment without knowing the path she was on?

Her nerves began to tingle, Her hand, which had instinctively rose to his chest to push him away now lay motionless. She gave in, her walls lowered a fraction, and she allowed herself to be kissed, forced her mind to focus on that, and to obey his words. Stop thinking. Stop fighting it.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase felt the moment when Annabelle relaxed, when she stopped fighting herself and accepted the kiss. He parted his lips slightly against hers, the warmth of his breath soft on her lips as he kissed her. It was soft, coaxing, and as controlled as he could bring himself to be. He wanted to leave her knowing she'd made the right decision, or at least with a highly pleasant memory.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle relaxed, leaning into the kiss, allowing herself to enjoy the moment, focus on it. Her senses leapt; her mind focused on the movements of their lips, the pleasure of his nearness. She felt his lips part. As passion swelled within, she made a spontaneous decision - she licked along his lower lip. Upon invitation, she explored. Let herself get lost in the sensation of discovery, refusing to think beyond the moment.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase accepted her invitation eagerly, his body heating as the kiss went on, deeper, sweeter, more. She seemed to have lost her fear for the pleasure of now, and that knowledge only made him want more, made him want things he couldn't take, couldn't even ask for. With a great force of will, he slowed the kiss and brought it back to something safer before pulling slowly away, somehow surprised to find his hands wrapped around her waist. He took deep breaths, calming himself before he spoke at last. "Do you regret it?" he asked softly.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle felt a loss when he ended the kiss, a sadness shone in her eyes. "Not yet. Should I?" She knew she should, that she probably would. But if she had to do it all over again, would she change things? She couldn't answer that, but knew that having kissed him once, she'd do it again. The caress of his lips had been soft, inviting, not demanding as she'd expected.

[Chase Firebrand]

"Not yet," Chase answered cryptically. He didn't want to hurt anyone. It happened now and then anyway, but he avoided it if at all possible. Maybe he loved every one of them a little, in his way. Chase loathed awkwardness, so he turned his attention back to the book, forcing his blood to calm. He was far more affected than he'd let her know. He stroked his finger down the spine of the book, an echo of her earlier motion, then flipped the cover open again. "Where were we?" he asked, the gleam stealing back into his eyes at the memory of exactly what had interrupted them.

((I'm out for tonight, but I'll be back another day!))

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle forced herself to ignore the disappointment she felt as he released her. He, after all, hadn't left. Nor had he tried to make fun of her, which is what she would have expected from a Slytherin. He was trying to take interest in her book, her interests. Realizing this, she smiled and turned back to the book, brushing along side him. "I think we were talking about what the book might tell me." Well, that was the last coherent thought SHE had had.

((Goodnight Then, It's Been Fun.))

[Chase Firebrand]

"Mmhm," Chase murmured. He slid his finger down the Table of Contents, pausing just a moment on the dragon taming chapter before making his way to the one on grooming. He figured that since he was here, with the book in front of him, he may as well go ahead and find out with her. He skimmed the first page, then the second before speaking. "It really does tell you everything," he mused. At the moment, it was describing the risk of ingrown claws by breed.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"I never knew that Hybrids existed. I guess that makes sense though, It's not unlike different types of dogs mating." Annabelle's voice rang with fascination. Chase had completely succeeded in diverting her attention. The paragraphs popped out at her as she quickly read through all the interesting facts. "Who in their right mind would purposely crossbreed? It saws right here the attempts are almost always disastrous since their characteristics are so unknown."

[Chase Firebrand]

"Adventure seekers," Chase answered absently. "The curious and the stupid." He looked aside at Annabelle, who seemed to have forgotten shyness for interest in the subject. "Some people would rather know and face the consequences than always wonder." His lips curved into a smirk.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

"Well," Annabelle hesitated before her thirst for an intellectual conversation overrode any lingering shyness. "They say knowledge is power. What the ignorant don't realize is that knowledge already discovered is often greater then that of the unknown." She cocked her head to look at him. When their eyes met she was reminded of what had just passed between them. She was suddenly aware of each inch of warmth of him against her side as they stood shoulder to shoulder.

[Chase Firebrand]

Chase's smirk widened, and his eyes gleamed as they locked with Annabelle's. "You can't search for the unknown if you've got no idea where you started," he agreed. Putting action to words, he took a second to think of what he knew about Annabelle. She had an almost desperate hunger for knowledge. He wondered if she'd done much living. You're already working on that, aren't you? Chase thought.

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle shrugged. "The unknown is often that way for a reason though, sometimes it's best to leave it alone." She sighed inwardly. Sometimes she wished she had more attributes of the brave Gryffidors, but knew that would probably only land her in far over her head more often then not.

[Chase Firebrand]

"That's where I have to disagree," Chase said. "If everyone leaves it alone, we'll never learn anything new, we'll just learn the same things and there won't be any moving on." His lips quirked into a smile. "We need the curious and the stupid, because once in a while they get lucky. Then all of a sudden they're geniuses."

[Annabelle Hennessy]

Annabelle let out a small laugh. "I pray I'm never thought to be a genius do to stupidity." She hid her eyes, embarrassed at her boldness. She wasn't good that this sort of thing and felt like she was saying all the wrong things.