A vivid understanding

Jin

Only twenty meters laid in the space between Erinara and me. I knew I could close that gap before she would be able to create a complicated glyph. In an insanely swift motion, I dashed toward her. My blades shone in the morning light. With but five more meters between us, a new rune suddenly popped into existence directly in front of me. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to even acknowledge the symbols within it, as the rune promptly detonated in my face.
“Did you create an invisible trap?”, I asked, staggering back. My approach was halted purely due to surprise, as I didn’t suffer any damage from the attack.
“No. I simply created a rune that doesn’t gather magic for its effect. It makes the mana that happens to be directly within its surface during its creation explode instantly. That way I can skip the activation time of usual runic compounds. Though its actual power is quite weak, as you have noticed”, Erinara explained.
‘A rune that isn’t required to collect magic? That’s possible?’, I wondered.
I was starstruck at her skills.
Getting back into an upright position I said: “This isn’t even your preferred magic type, just how amazing are you?”
“Admittedly, this type of rune is much rarer in regards to utilization. It doesn’t have much use apart from briefly disorienting someone or scaring them. In your case, I doubt either would work anymore”, as if to prove her point, she triggered another one of those runes near my head. It only acted as a loud noise and brief visual if anything, it was of no threat to me.
“See, you didn’t even flinch”, Erinara laughed, “looks like you’re just as special.”

Our battle resumed. Erinara managed to keep me at a distance using a myriad of runes. She once even summoned a lightning rune above me when I finally got into melee distance with her. I had to very quickly dodge to the side before the electricity struck the ground, cancelling my attack to do so.
When asked about that defensive maneuver she simply replied that it was quicker than having to create an anchor too, while calmly shrugging her shoulders.

After a few more failed attempts to get close, I finally managed to get her into my range. My left blade parried an icicle while my right rushed toward her. My slash was blocked extremely close to her body, by a rune formation that I once again had no idea what any of the symbols meant. She did, however, slightly stagger to the side my sword was swinging to.
The tiny moment of lost concentration of mine was enough time for Erinara to create another wind rune, albeit on a much smaller scale this time. Since I wasn’t paying enough attention, it knocked me off balance, allowing Erinara to get to some safer grounds yet again. The magic blocking my sword seemed to follow her, as the counter pressure I felt vanished when she moved away.
“Allow me to explain this rune as well. It is a decently complicated defensive spell, surrounding me and protecting me from attacks. It stays in formation near me at all times, but I do feel a part of the impact of attacks still.”

Not knowing how long it would take to break through the runes, I decided to exploit a different flaw I noticed in their defense. The runes were close enough to her body that I could potentially immobilize her.
I rushed toward Erinara, narrowly avoiding several of her magical traps and attacks. I lost my grip on my right sword as I tried to parry two projectiles at once, and had thrown my left sword directly behind me to intercept an icicle trying to shoot at my back.
‘So she is one of the warlocks able to attack a blind spot. As to be expected’, I mused ever so briefly as a distinct clang of steel hitting ice rang out from behind me.
With all the speed I accumulated in this one long dash, I jumped at Erinara, intending to tackle her. A rune briefly flashed into existence, but disappeared shortly after I collided with her, having pinned her to the ground.

“Uhm”, Erinara voiced quietly, before becoming silent.
“Sorry! Did I hurt you?”, I asked, instantly worried that I had taken the sparring too far.
In the same moment, however, I forgot about our combat as I looked at Erinara’s face beneath me. Her cheeks were completely and utterly bathed in pink.

All of a sudden, my mind kicked into high gear.
“Ah- Sorry! I didn’t mean to”, I stammered. I was helplessly floating in the air, stuck on the barrier of runes she used to defend herself. Since the magic had no solid body, I was also entirely unable to get a sufficient grip to push myself off of her. It never even occurred to me that I could roll to the side.
My own face began radiating with heat.
“The runes”, I helplessly said.
“Right”, Erinara said bashfully, instantly dismissing the runes.
For but a split second, a thought formed in my head.
‘Wait, wouldn’t that mean that I’d fall…?’
In the very next instant, the slight layer of magic keeping Erinara and me apart disappeared.
Gravity took its course.
I barely had the presence of mind to stretch my elbows and knees to the ground on either side of her body, coming to an abrupt halt with just centimeters between us, instead of crashing down on top of her. If my head was red before, it had certainly turned crimson by now.

Time stood still for a moment.
Or maybe it was just my mind that did.
Neither of us moved a muscle, all we could do was stare at each other. Her purple eyes widened as much as they possibly could. I was certain mine did the same. Her face was so tantalizingly close to mine.

Thoughts that I had forced into deep corners of my mind suddenly reared their head.
This was Erinara, the first person I had built a deep, but unique connection like this with. The first person to reach out to me, to understand me, to support me. The first person to be this… beautiful.
“I- Ahm. Sorry”, I stuttered.
‘Focus damnit!’, my mind yelled at me, while simultaneously spinning out in ever more frantic circles.

Erinara seemed to be frozen, apparently having realized the error in dismissing the runes as well.
She had opened her mouth a few times as if to say something, before simply closing it again without making a sound.

‘Come on, focus! Don’t make her figure this out on her own. Take action, ANY action!’
I wanted to lean down, to get closer to her still.
‘Not! That! Action!’, I reprimanded myself mentally.
I felt like I was getting enthralled by her eyes. Something glimmered deep within them. We were this close to each other already, what was a little more distance bridged?
I entertained the thought for a few seconds. She didn’t seem to be directly opposed to that line of action, I’m sure she could have sent me flying with any of her magic if she was.
But that is not a sustainable answer, in fact it isn’t an answer at all.
After all, neither Erinara nor I had managed to communicate with more than singled-out words for this entire interaction.

Summoning every ounce of willpower I could muster, I shifted my weight to the right, rolling on to the floor beside her. Neither of us said so much as a word for a long time.
We were both way too preoccupied with our own thoughts to do so.
The entire situation repeated itself in my mind, as if on loop. I couldn’t help but wonder, would Erinara have accepted it if I tried to get closer to her then and there?
I never would spring something like that on her, but that didn’t keep the question from pestering me over and over.
I tried shaking my head to free myself of those thoughts, but it proved to be of no avail.

Erinara had fully rooted herself in my mind.