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 Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:15 pm
"Sorry," Ethan said quickly, dropping the stone. He threaded his fingers together obediently, trying to make himself stay still. He looked up at Björn again, briefly wondering if he was upset that he had intruded on something this private.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:19 pm
"AUGH," Björn laughed and grabbed Ethan's hands, pulling them apart and holding them.
"Why. can't you stop. moving."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:21 pm
"I can!" Ethan said, startled into laughing. "I can stop. Give me a second."
He tried to freeze, and immediately found himself fidgeting again.
"Alright, I lied. I have a condition."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:22 pm
"Suddenly developed it, huh?" Björn asked, snorting briefly, "I've never seen you do it before. Afraid? Anxious? Nervous?"
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:26 pm
"Maybe I do it all the time and usually I just hide it better," Ethan said in a failed attempt at looking sly. He grinned self-consciously, looking down at the ground again. "No, I'm not....afraid. Just...eh...hnn."
He paused, gnawing his lower lip.
"I'm not sure," he said truthfully. "Worried, maybe, for everyone. Maybe anxious. I mean...I realized you'd gone and followed you all this way so I could stick close to you. That is..." he trailed off, shrugging slightly.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:28 pm
"...what? Why?"
It wasn't so much the statement that confused Björn as the way it was worded. Stick close?
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:34 pm
Ethan shrugged again, trying to reason out his intentions himself.
"I don't like to be away from you," he said, suddenly blushing slightly. "I mean! I don't. Not like that. There's nothing wrong with that, but that isn't how I feel about you. I just...hnn! I feel..."
He realized he was stumbling over his words and took a minute to collect himself.
"I just...when I'm around you, I feel...like I'm home. Safe, y'know, something like that," he said, looking down at the ground and feeling monumentally stupid. "When I saw you were gone, I got afraid. I mean, I was afraid. Just for a second. And I wanted to follow, so I could stay close and be near you. I love you like I love my brothers, my father. I just...I don't know. It's silly, forget it."
He shrugged once again.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:38 pm
Björn ignored the first bout of stumbling and spared Ethan an accusing strain of questions. He actually laughed. The kid was cute when he was flustered.
Oh, but not like that. Not that there's anything WRONG with that but, no, not 'cute' like that.
He laughed right-out at this train of thought, shook his head, and placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder.
"I'm glad," he said, smiling and feeling (god damn it all) more tears pressing at the back of his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:44 pm
Feeling like an idiot but glad he hadn't gone further and made an a** out of himself, Ethan looked up with a shy smile, face still a bit pink as he wondered what had been so funny. The hand on his shoulder was a steady reassurance, and the confused feelings faded off.
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:45 pm
Björn sighed again and removed his hand, still smiling slightly.
"We should go back. You'll need sleep before tomorrow. It'll be eventful, I can tell."
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Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2007 6:50 pm
"Okay," Ethan said agreeably, getting up and wincing at the pins-and-needles sensations prickling his legs. More curiosity welled up as he wondered at what 'eventful' could mean, given what had happened today...and decided it best to leave well enough alone.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:31 am
~ Part Twenty-Five ~
Relatively early the next morning, Björn had to set about the joyous task of waking a bunch of irate inhuman beings from an unearthly slumber. It was less than twenty minutes later, however, when they stood near a copse of trees near the forest entrance.
"Well, crap. I didn't figure they'd station guards here."
Five Vavvian men in uniform lined the woods, staring off into oblivion.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:34 am
Still knuckling her eyes, Crow made a face and wrinkled her nose.
"What should we do?" she asked Liam in an undertone, not wanting to draw their attention. "Is there another way we could sneak by?"
Julian, nudging Ethan and Lenore now and again with elbows to their ribs to keep them standing upright and yawning, gave the guards an impassive look and said nothing.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:38 am
Liam immediately began assembling his rifle. Well, he could pick them off from here no problem.
Björn tutted.
"You pick one off, and they'll know where we are. We'll get bumrushed and slaughtered hopelessly."
Liam grimaced and stopped assembling. Made sense.
"Well, then, what do we do?"
"Distract them, snipe them, run in."
"And how do you suggest we dist--"
Björn was already standing to the side of the trees, whistling through his teeth and waving to try and get the guards' attention.
"s**t."
Liam once more went to feverishly assembling his rifle.
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Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 8:41 am
"Uh oh."
Crow took a step back reflexively, and grabbed Ethan's collar as he gave a strangled sound and tried to go forward.
"Sweetheart, your devotion's really cute, but now is really not the time," she said to him patiently, ignoring the horrified look he gave her. "Len..."
"Well, this is gonna be shot to hell, ain't it," Len said with some anxiety, wings spreading out just in case she had to start swinging.
Julian was still very quiet. He watched, a strangely considering expression spreading over his face.
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