“Do you care about your image?' Even as the words were coming out of my mouth, I was mentally kicking myself. He'd been kidding around, and meanwhile I sounded like an afternoon special. But he didn't seem to mind.'Sure. It's my armor.''Your what?' The WALK sign flashed, and he put a hand on my elbow as we crossed the street. And yes, even that faint pressure on that small spot made my entire arm tingle.'My armor. You know. Self-protective camouflage. Everybody has an armor. Even you, I bet, even though I still haven't figured out what form yours takes.”

“What can I say,” he rolls his eyes at me, “you made me play your knight in shining armor for so long, I just can't seem to get it out of my system.”

“Are we going to do this again?” I grumbled. “Do what?” “The damsel-in-distress and knight-in-shining armor bit.” Pain flashed in his eyes. “That's not how I see us,” he murmured, sliding his hand to the side of my neck. “I told you before, you're no damsel. You're more like a butt-kicking dragon.” He caressed my cheek with his hand. “Oh, thanks.” I attempted to sound annoyed, but his touch melted away the irritation in my voice. “Plus, I've worn armor before, and trust me, it's not my style.”

“Even though i'd admittedly accepted every advance he made on me, picking up my hand and putting it on his thigh seemed mighty forward of him. I didn't take the radical step of removing my hand,but I did open my mouth to act all indignant.He put two fingers to my lips to stop me from talking.He knew me pretty well. His mouth close to my ear,he growled, "You know,you and I are exes.""So?" I asked around his fingers.My skin tingled with excitement,or possibly eucalyptus poisoning.”

“Sorry, I got hung up or I’d have been here earlier. I made sure I made it for closing, though. I didn’t want the streets to suffer if you walked alone.”A glance at him showed his lips twitching. Humor, a new facet to my knight in leather armor; one I liked, given my oftentimes sarcastic attitude towards life. He wore the same leather duster of the previous evening, and, once again, I enviously admired it. Unable to resist, I reached out a hand and stroked its supple surface, feeling a thrill that my hand strayed so close to his actual body. “It’s so soft,” I murmured.“Not for long, if you keep stroking it,” he drawled.”

“I'd never describe even myself as safe when I go into the Magical Realms; no one's safe in there, not even if they're armed and armored with every protective charm on the planet. The place has this habit of changing the rules and pulling the rug from under your feet....""Is it carpeted, then?" asked Tharaman."What?""The Magical Realms, are they carpeted? It's just that you mentioned pulling a rug from somewhere and I just wondered if perhaps...""I think it's a figure of speech, my dear," said Krisafitsa. "I do believe it means to be taken by surprise when you least expect it.""Oh, I see....Odd expression...”