wandbreaker | (no subject)

[He pulls his coat on tighter, and he knocks snow off a nearby bench and moves to let her sit, then does the same for himself]

I think we've moved beyond the part where fear is an acceptable excuse for trampling people, Rosella.

[She nods in thanks and then sits gingerly, making sure to keep her cloak between herself and the bench. And it's such a relief, as soon as she does, that she slouches down a little and stretches out her feet to take the weight off them, not really caring about proper courtesy and good manners at the moment.]

I didn't mean to say it was acceptable. But it'd explain why there have been so many attacks, wouldn't it?

[He pulls out a flask from his coat and takes a drink - it's cold, okay? - and he offers it to Rosella]

It certainly would. I just can't believe it's so bloody fast.

Well, being cooped up in the zoo for so long, I suppose I can hardly blame it for wanting to run around.

[She gives the flask an uncertain look, then slowly reaches for it and gingerly takes a sip herself.]

[Spiced brandy, warming enough, and tasty]

I would imagine it would be exhausted by now.

[The tree above them is growing mistletoe, to their ignorance]

[Oh, that is good. And so warming, in fact, that she sneaks a quick glance to make sure he's not watching before taking another, longer drink. (And swallows back the cough that threatens to escape afterward.)]

It could at least have the decency to be as exhausted as we are.

[Because she is tired. And the longer she sits, the more she comes to realize it.]

[He puts his arm around her and draws her close when he notices how tired she is, letting her rest on him a bit]

I'm sure we'll find it soon.

I hope so. I feel just awful every time I look at the Network and hear about someone else running into it.

[She hands him back his flask and settles in, her chin beginning to creep toward her chest as she gradually gives up on trying to hold her head up.]

A few of them want to kill it now, even.

No one will kill it, I promise.

[He leans down and tilts her chin up, and kisses her]

Mmm--!

[Well, of all the things she might've been expecting out of him at the moment, that certainly wasn't one of them. And suddenly warmth doesn't seem to be a concern at all, because she's fairly certain her face is on fire, what with the way her cheeks are burning and the way her heart is pounding.

She hasn't seen the mistletoe yet, still doesn't realize this is only a curse, and that probably has a lot to do with the strangled sort of squeak that escapes her throat as she tries desperately to figure out whether she wants to lean forward or squirm away.]

[He tips back and takes a breath]

I...

I'm sorry.

[She's still wide-eyed, and red as a beet.]

What...what in the...why did you--

[Words are only failing her a little bit, really.]

I'm not sure, actually.

[It was a nice kiss, though]

[She wouldn't be nearly so flustered if it wasn't.]

You're not sure?

[And that's when it's her turn for the compulsion to strike, and she frees her arms from her cloak as she twists around, circling them around his neck as she kisses him herself.

...And are those the faint sounds of hoofbeats in the distance?]

[Mmm, kissing. She tastes like his brandy, and it's certainly warming him up]

Well, I'm not!

[And he goes in for another kiss. There is a whinny, and suddenly there is an angry unicorn charging them. If it could speak it might be saying 'DEFILER']

How can you not be s--there it is!

[Which comes out as less of an excited cry of recognition and more of a shriek of 'oh, bother it all, we're going to die'. Because that is a unicorn, all right, and it looks enraged.]

[Edmund grips Rosella, moving in front of her because god damn it, he's a King, okay? Why doesn't he have his sword? Bother!]

Rosella, run!

[For one brief, fleeting moment, Rosella finds herself frozen as his words strike her like a bolt of lightning--because it's deja vu, an encounter like this, with one of the Pevensie brothers throwing himself into harm's way to protect her. And for the duration of that moment, she entertains notions of ignoring the warning and leaping in front of him instead, because Peter died for her the last time and she doesn't want to be the cause of Edmund's death--or wounding--this time.

But that thought only lasts a moment before being replaced by good sense and reason, and she bolts out of the way, hoping that Edmund has the equal good sense (and the chance) to do the same.]

[He jumps on the bench, and when it's close, he tries to jump on it's back. He manages to get on, and it begins to buck like crazy.]

Edmund!

[Seeing this, she comes to a halt a fair distance away, hands clapped over her mouth as she watches. Her first instinct is to run over to help, but she clamps down on it; it'd only make matters worse, agitating it further, and with Edmund on its back, there's too much chance he'll get hurt if the unicorn gets any angrier.]

[He's holding on for dear life but there's only so much he can do with it bucking like crazy and not having any way to control it beyond the mane. Finally it kicks him off, and he falls in a bank of snow while the unicorn takes off.]

....oof.

[Well, at least the snow broke his fall, sort of. But she's still booking it over at full speed, red cloak billowing in the wind as she sprints to his side and drops to her knees next to him.]

Goodness, are you all right? Are you hurt? Do you need me to call someone? Oh, drat it all, is anything broken, are you...

Edited 2010-12-23 04:08 (UTC)

Fine, I'm fine.

[Just a little winded]

Drat, that damn-

[And he pulls up enough to kiss her.]

Mmph!

[Honestly, Edmund, this really isn't the time to--you know, protesting this would be a lot easier if these kisses weren't so drattedly nice. But she does manage to mumble out a: ]

--so close, too--

It just keeps -

[He keeps kissing her, which is nice and also distracting from the cold and wet]