"Oh?" One of Vex's brows rises at the suggestion. She considers both first Percy, taking in his expression, his posture, his absurdly long legs, then in a quick pass the rest of their little party.
Her brother, the cornerstone of her world, appears to be engaged in a debate about the finer points of ball tag with Scalan.
"I suppose I could slip away for a bit. It's still rather early—and it would be dangerous to let you wander the woods alone."
Before anything else, she checks on her brother. He'd expected as much; it doesn't take more than a few days' travel with then to realize just how much the twins arrange their lives around each other. In small ways and large ones, the brushing of hair and divvying of responsibilities, there's no Vex without Vax...and vice versa.
(Whenever he notices, he wonders If Cassandra had lived - before forcing himself to look away and think of something, anything else.)
To his delight - barely restrained behind a stolid expression because he knows she'd prefer it that way - she agrees. That telltale wry humor of hers says everything he wants to hear.
"Terribly," he agrees, doing his best to match her tone, and when he stands, he resists the desire to offer a hand to help her up. "This isn't my first walk in the woods, but I'm no tracker."
And the trees they've been passing through grow thick fast, with plenty of underbrush. Had she said no, he wouldn't have ventured out alone - going further than the area they've designated as a privy sounds like a great way for him to get lost and die of starvation.
But not with Vex at his side, and as they move away from the group, he lets himself smile. It's not until there are branches between them and the others' sight lines that he offers his arm.
When they're safely screened by rows of trees and dense underbrush, Vex takes Percy's arm. She puts on the air of a lady in a ball, being escorted through a hosts fine estate even as they trek through the mud.
The forest here isn't especially dangerous, but the country is wet, occasionally turning to fens that could be surprisingly difficult to spot if you didn't know what to look for. It wasn't highly likely that Percy would get sucked under, but he could easily lose a boot or need to be collected.
Luckily, Vex is here to keep him safe.
(Ish.)
"It is a nice evening to stretch my legs," she admits a little further on. "And for some more selective company."
He carries himself the same way, and they might as well be walking through the gardens of Whitestone. These flowers were my mother's favourite. And here's the poison garden - it's centuries old, and quite dangerous to walk through ungloved. We'll observe from afar. Fortunately, the landscape is nothing like home, damp and untamed, and he can push old memories from his mind easily.
(It helps, too, that he never went walking like this with a woman, when he was still a boy. Vex's hand resting on his arm is familiar in terms of etiquette, not experience.)
"I've heard enough about ball tag for one lifetime," he agrees dryly, as they carefully pick their way over exposed roots and around brambles. "Which is unfortunate, because I've gotten the sense that I'm going to hear quite a bit more about it in the future. But I'd like to know more about you."
It's not terribly smooth, as transitions go, but this is still rather new to him - and so is she.
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pathography) wrote2004-12-29 06:14 pm
no subject
Her brother, the cornerstone of her world, appears to be engaged in a debate about the finer points of ball tag with Scalan.
"I suppose I could slip away for a bit. It's still rather early—and it would be dangerous to let you wander the woods alone."
no subject
(Whenever he notices, he wonders If Cassandra had lived - before forcing himself to look away and think of something, anything else.)
To his delight - barely restrained behind a stolid expression because he knows she'd prefer it that way - she agrees. That telltale wry humor of hers says everything he wants to hear.
"Terribly," he agrees, doing his best to match her tone, and when he stands, he resists the desire to offer a hand to help her up. "This isn't my first walk in the woods, but I'm no tracker."
And the trees they've been passing through grow thick fast, with plenty of underbrush. Had she said no, he wouldn't have ventured out alone - going further than the area they've designated as a privy sounds like a great way for him to get lost and die of starvation.
But not with Vex at his side, and as they move away from the group, he lets himself smile. It's not until there are branches between them and the others' sight lines that he offers his arm.
no subject
The forest here isn't especially dangerous, but the country is wet, occasionally turning to fens that could be surprisingly difficult to spot if you didn't know what to look for. It wasn't highly likely that Percy would get sucked under, but he could easily lose a boot or need to be collected.
Luckily, Vex is here to keep him safe.
(Ish.)
"It is a nice evening to stretch my legs," she admits a little further on. "And for some more selective company."
no subject
(It helps, too, that he never went walking like this with a woman, when he was still a boy. Vex's hand resting on his arm is familiar in terms of etiquette, not experience.)
"I've heard enough about ball tag for one lifetime," he agrees dryly, as they carefully pick their way over exposed roots and around brambles. "Which is unfortunate, because I've gotten the sense that I'm going to hear quite a bit more about it in the future. But I'd like to know more about you."
It's not terribly smooth, as transitions go, but this is still rather new to him - and so is she.