A Human’s Guide to Surviving Magical Mishaps by Kit Bryan
Rule 122- Subtlety is key, but if you can’t manage that, being blunt as a sledgehammer has its benefits too.

Ashton brings his fingers to my face. I stand completely still as he strokes his hands over my cheeks, then shiver as they trail down my neck and over my collarbone. He runs his fingers down my arms, trails them over my hips and around my back. He even runs a hand through my hair. He smirks as he inspects his work. I'm just staring at him and blushing.

"Your turn." He states with a wink. I'm just staring.

"Huh?" I say blankly, not totally sure that I'm capable of thought right now. Ashton holds his arms out, presenting himself as my canvas.

"Your turn to decorate me." He says with satisfaction. I glance around, people are DEFINITELY staring. Well, I've let things go this far, might as well commit. I start by placing my hands on Ashton's shoulders, then let them lazily slide down his chest. He tenses and his hands grip my waist. I put my hands over his then slowly spread the paint up his arms, over his biceps and back to his shoulders. I let my hands move to his face, then over his pointed ears. I take special care to highlight his horns with the paint because why not? I push him away a little so I can assess my handiwork. With a grin I gesture for him to turn around. Ashton raises an eyebrow but does as I ask, turning his back to me. I start at his neck and in one movement paint a stripe all the way down his back. The paint is just starting to run out, so it fades out as I reach his lower back. There, all done. Ashton turns back to face me, heat in his eyes.

"Now what?" I ask, suddenly a little shy.

"Now sweetheart, we dance."

The mood of the party seems to have changed a little with the arrival of the paint. The sun is now well below the trees and it's a lot harder to see what's goin on, even with the glowing flowers which emulate a soft, colourful light. The centre of the dance floor is mostly dark except for the glowing paint marking where everyone is. Unlike a human club, there are no strobing lights or anything like that, but they don't need it. People drink, then dance, then drink some more. The paint all over us smears as we move and soon the green and blue paint Ashton and I are covered in starts to mix together making a new colour altogether. It's a good thing we picked colours that look good together. I don't know how long we dance for, but I am definitely a little drunk, which is impressive considering I've only had one drink. Ashton did warn me that fae have strong alcohol. I'm breathless when we leave the dance floor and I feel a bit like I'm floating on air. This is way more fun than a regular club. I don't have a headache from the lights and music, there are no creepy people trying to get in my space AND I have Ashton.

"We should probably leave soon." Ashton sighs. Unlike me, he's totally sober. That's alright, one of us probably should be. He also only had one drink. Probably because we still have to head back to the human realm tonight. I would love to do this again sometime when we have nowhere to be and he can really relax and have fun. I want to see him like that. Either way, he appears to be in a great mood. He keeps his arm looped around my waist as he leads me back to the bar. Oh right, we need to say goodbye to Velgrus, I did promise.

"Miss Kat!" He perks up as we approach.

"Hi Vel!" I answer with equal enthusiasm. He raises an eyebrow at the nickname but doesn't object.

"How are you feeling?" He asks warmly.

"I think I am drunk." I answer bluntly, then rush to add.

"Not VERY drunk. I can still walk fine and I could take care of myself if I had to. I do not feel sick or anything. It is a GOOD amount of drunk." I decide with a smile and a nod. I casually run a hand down Ashton's chest, tracing a stripe of paint. "Her inhibitions are a little lowered, but she is not behaving too out of character." Ashton adds.

"Very good. I appreciate the information. I will definitely contact you again, miss." he says gratefully. I give a big thumbs up. He still doesn't seem to understand it which makes me giggle.

"Sure thing Vel. I look forward to hearing from you." I answer easily. We say goodbye and I let Ashton lead me away from the lights and towards the trees. He pauses on the way out and hands a fae some money telling him to give it to the musicians. The fae agrees and we leave.

I had a lot of fun and I'm almost sad to go, but right now I'm pretty happy to follow Ashton anywhere.

"Did you have fun?" Ashton asks casually as we walk. I nod enthusiastically.

"Yes, definitely." I respond firmly.

"Good, I enjoyed dancing with you." He says, his voice softer this time. I'm suddenly aware of the glowing paint all over us. Walking alone in the dark, it's just about all I CAN see other than the path a couple feet in front of me. The trees are blocking out any moonlight that there might be. Everywhere the paint glows shows an interaction between the two of us. I giggle again as I realise just how thoroughly we are both covered in the paint.

"Kat?" Ashton prompts and I realise he wanted a response to his statement. What did he say? Oh right, he enjoyed dancing. I hurry to answer.

"I love dancing with you, actually everything is more fun with you." I say cheerfully. I'm still in a great mood and I'm kind of enjoying hanging onto Ashton's arm as we walk.

"Really?" He sounds pleased and I keep babbling.

"Yep. It is probably because I am in love with you or something." I conclude. Ashton freezes, rooting his feet to the spot and jerking me to a stop.

"What did you just say?" He is staring at me. I blink up at him as I think back over what I just said. Oh shit. Did I seriously just tell him I'm in love with him? Maybe I'm more drunk than I thought because I seem to have zero filter. I'm trying to decide if I'm upset about my unplanned confession. Obviously I didn't MEAN to confess my feelings like this, I'm kind of drunk and it was a little blunt of me. But at the same time I DID mean it. I don't think I can really bring myself to regret saying it. If the alcohol is making me bold then maybe I should just roll with it rather than second guessing myself so much. Ashton and I are probably a little overdue to have this conversation anyway. I regretted letting him leave before without properly talking about my feelings. I suspect that maybe there WAS some communication about it, but that we weren't on the same wavelength. Seeing how seriously the fae regard touch and physical relationships, him kissing me that first time, and every time since, probably has a lot more significance than I realised at the time. Ashton groans and spins me to face him.

"Please don't go all quiet on me now. I know humans often don't mean the things that they say, but I need to know if you meant it. I know it isn't fair of me to ask when you're not sober, and I should probably just ignore it but I can't."