Let's see how was the fall

Lex never has thought how it is to be an arrow - even thought he has launched hundred - if not thousends - of them. He was a simple half-elf and such question wasn't something that was bothering him. Yet right now, as the wind whistled in his ears just like a terrifying announcement of incoming ****, he understood how his arrows have to feel like at the moment he loosens the string. For first few seconds surprise and fear stunned him while his slightly pointy ears were catching receding shouts of Mira from above and a scream that the archer hasn't heard before. After a moment of falling into the darkness, she actually looked around for the source of the scream and noticed Khala, falling few meters beneath him with her pigtails and armor belts being jerked by the wind. He nearly dodged a dagger that slipped out of her scabbard and shooted into his direction. With the corner of his eye, he noticed that his arrows were slowly escaping in similar fashion. That was the moment when he looked at his hands and what was just an act of desperation became a stroke of genius.

"Khaaaalaaa!", shouted Lex feeling the wind filling his mouth the moment the man opened it. "Iiii caaaan stoooop it! Just graaaab meeee!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

The ranger dived and reached to grab the girl and as his arm embraced her belly, his second hand aimed to the wall of stone building the pit they were falling in. The fingers of his spider gloves were getting closer to the surface as drops of sweat were running down his face. He practically got it when... suddenly his shoulder hit the stone and half-elf groaned with pain. Filled with panic Khala started struggling in his embrace, throwing her might-have-been savior on the rocky wall.

"No, Khaalaa, stoooop!", shouted Lex and tried to cover her wide opened eyes - gazing down from the beginning of their fall - but one panicked punch in his face stunned him and the girl slipped out of his arm and with loud "Aaaaaaaaaaaaa!"she hit the water, causing loud splash. The archer blinked as he saw dark blue... "SPLASH!". After a second of thermal shock under the water, he noticed that the rouge was slowly falling towards the bottom of the pool. Without thinking he went for her and after a moment his hands grasped her arms. This time Khala didn't struggle, she was barely moving much at all, only lying loosely in Lex's embrace as he was lifting them both towards the surface. With a deep breath they emerged, both twitching because of the cold. The archer's eyes widened as he looked up and saw... a rain of his own arrows that slipped out of their quivers. Lex quickly dived with the girl again as the missiles were falling around them.

A twenty minutes later the frigid water splashed again as Khala surfaced and threw few arrows on the dry ground near. There was a big pile of wet missiles already, next to two sets of clothes drying slowly - there was no source of light or heat in the cave with the lake and their torches were wet as well. Good thing that half-elves could see in the darkness, especially for Lex who could observe the water falling down on Khala's nude body as the girl was climbing out of the pool. He was siting next to their clothes with bandage on his upper arm and was wearing nothing but his underwear. It wasn't really helping the fact that he had been peeking on girl's effort to pick all of their equipment from the bottom.

"That's all", said the rouge as she approached her clothes, leaving a trace of water on the floor. Lex quickly changed direction of his sight but couldn't resist the urge to look sometimes at the girl that was busy drying off with a piece of cloth. The way she was moving the rough fabric against her smooth skin... For sure didn't help the ranger to hide the problem that appeared on his crotch. He couldn't also believe Khala wasn't commenting this at all or telling him to turn around. Even when she started to dress with her slick moves - pulling leather pants up on sticking out butt and exposing her breasts even more before covering it with her shirt. She looked at him once when she finished with a delicate flush, not possible to observe in such darkness even for their kind. "Dress yourself, they are not fully dry but we can't wait longer. We should try getting out of there."

"Oh, right!", responded the red-beet half-elf and he quickly started dressing while the rouge gathered all salvaged equipment. After a moment both of them were in front of the only corridor in the cavern, ready to explore further. Only one thing wasn't right... "You are suspicious quiet."

"Oh, am I? Sorry", Khala gently scratched her head. "I'm just really sorry for how I was acting during the fall and..."

"That's why you volunteered to pick all the things and didn't mind me... I mean...", Lex became even more red now.

"Yeah, I hope you enjoyed the view. Just don't tell Mira how my apology looked like. I enjoy having legs."

"Riiight..."giggled a bit nervous Lex. "You don't have to feel bad. Forgiven and forgotten. Just pretend it never happened."

"Okay! Let's go!"

And so the two half-elves started exploring the twisting tunnel. It undoubtedly had to be created naturally, the irregular rocky walls were building the long part of it with no evident sign of dwarf civilization's remnants at all.

"And about losing legs... what's the thing between you and Ariane?"

"WHAT? What thing?"

"You know, you looked at her like wolf at a thick delicious meat."

"You took this 'pretend it never happen thing' seriously..."

"I am rouge, pretending things don't happen is my job!", laughed Khala. "Anyway, as I said..."

The charming girl silenced as the tunnel suddenly enden and their found themself inside of...