Deep Kiss of Winter.

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson stretched out, grunting a little as she pulled at her sore muscles. "Better. The soreness is less . . ." she said, smiling happily before she rolled over and swung her legs off the side of the bed and stood up. She wobbled a bit and stumbled forward, but she was able to stand. She beamed. "Conrad! I'm standing!" she exclaimed excitedly.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad rushed over and watched smiling happily. "Yes. I can see. Oh Alyson I'm so proud of you!" He gushed happily ready to help her if she needed it. But judging from how she was standing, she wouldn't need it. But being close in case made him feel a lot better.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson beamed up at Conrad, her eyes watering with happy-tears. "Here . . . help me downstairs. I'm not . . . quite stable yet." she said, wobbling a bit as she tried stepping towards him.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad nodded and held out his hands so she could take them. Stairs. How to help her down. . . Should he hold her hand only? Should he have a comforting arm around her waist too? Oh gosh he wished he knew what to do. "Do you want me to carry you? Or to have a comforting hand on your waist while you hold the railing?" He asked swallowing his pride and the possibility of spending New years Eve waiting for the ball to drop.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson shook her head. "The second one. I don't want to be carried . . . not when I can finally stand on my own." she said, too excited about that small accomplishment to really be even the slightest bit upset with Conrad's offer to carry her. Shakily, she let Conrad guide her, her steps growing more sure with each one she took. It'd just take some practice . . . that was all. And though dancing was likely to be tough, it'd just take practice as well. And maybe she could even convince Conrad to try it out . . . The stairs, however, were a bit more of a challenge. She had to take those really slowly and once or twice she buckled, but Conrad was there to catch her. She blushed and grumbled with slight embarrassment each time he had to catch her, but she really was glad he was there.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad nodded softly and smiled helping her down the stairs. Whenever she had a slip up he was there to help her recover. And they took the stairs on at a time, slow and steady. "I still think Yoga would be a good thing to do." He commented. as they walked. "It might help get your flexibility back up a little quicker."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson nodded. "I've always liked Yoga . . . I'd like to start it again." she said softly, clinging to Conrad, smiling a little bit. "Of course, you'd be doing it with me right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him in expectation.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad gave a sigh. "Okay. I'll do it with you." He replied. "Just. . . Don't laugh at me when I do okay? I'm not very good at that sort of thing." He added helping her to the last step.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson snorted. "Can't make any promises, but I will do my best not to laugh, will that do?" she asked, smiling up at Conrad. She sighed as she made it to flat ground once again. "So . . . breakfast?" she asked, looking towards the kitchen. She was hungry.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad smirked. "Okay." he replied softly. "Breakfast. . .English breakfast? With Tea? Or just Cereal?" he asked guiding her to the kitchen. "Or toast? Hmm. . .I wonder if we still have mushrooms. . ."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

"I don't want mushrooms. They're not a breakfast food." Alyson muttered, making a bit of a face. "Tea sounds nice though . . ." she added thoughtfully.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad frowned. "Stay away from Europe and Australia then." He commented. "Tea it is." He added. "Toast?" He asked. "Bacon and Eggs?"  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

"Yeah!" Alyson agreed to the suggestions, eyes lighting up when 'bacon' was mentioned. She sat down at the kitchen table with a sigh. She had grown a bit sore from the small exertion, but she was nowhere near as exhausted as she had been from previous exertions in her attempts to walk again. "So . . . what happened, exactly? The last thing I remember was laughing at a ridiculous mustache Clara put on you." she said, snickering a little at the memory.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad hid his face as he started to make up her breakfast. "You lost consciousness against me." He explained. "I took you to bed and tucked you in when Clara's sister showed up and it seems healed you. But the weather was frightening. Clara was freaking out because her sister was using a lot of magic. And Clara was worried she'd kill herself. The blood that flowed from the paths it made at the corners of her mouth was a bit. . .off putting. I was tempted for a moment but reason took over from bloodlust."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson frowned. 'Sister' didn't seem like the right word . . . but she shook off the strange feeling to listen to the rest of Conrad's words. She sat up a bit taller. "I . . . Marie . . . was her name, right?" she asked softly. "She said . . . you sent her . . ." she murmured out, her voice a bit mystified as she was just remembering that bit of information. "She said, you sent her . . . to help me get home." she tried clarifying, looking at Conrad rather quizzically. She was confused. She remembered some things, but she couldn't remember others. Something had happened between her passing out and her waking up but . . . not all of it was making itself known in her mind.