Welcome to Gaia! ::

Julien blinked at her, trying to decipher her expression for a few moments before he finally caught on, and his face darkened finally, embarrassment offering a faintly better camouflage for those few moments. He tried to scrunch down into the bush more, hearing the way the leaves rustled and the branches beneath him crackled at his movements, and suddenly, he was laughing at himself, at the thought that he could somehow compete.

Julien's face was red as a beet as he gathered himself together, far darker from embarrassment than humor, and he sighed softly. "I'm laughing at the thought that I could ever be as good as the two of you," he said, smile still on his face. He rose, stretching a bit before holding out a hand for the flashlight. "I was worried about one of you maybe getting lost or hurt. I should've been worried about being soundly trounced," he added, rolling his eyes at himself. "Sorry I'm horrible at it."

Julien turned back to her, grinning widely as he bowed, the over-the-top gesture saved by the obvious good humor attached. "And I don't mind losing again," he assured her, warm happiness in his face. "It's my turn to be it, I do believe?" As he walked with her to the deck of the house, his eyes searched her face again, and it occurred to him that she really was a beautiful girl, and would grow into an exquisite woman. "Just promise you'll stay in hearing distance?"

Julien returned to the deck, trusting Kashya to keep her word as he began to count. It made him feel better, knowing that she'd stay close enough to hear him and for him to hear her. At least then, if something happened, he'd be able to reach her, most likely. He began to count, being certain to pace the numbers slowly, to give her ample time to hide... not that she really needed it, given how good she was!

Caught by the soft voice, Julien looked up, frowning a little. But Kashya didn't sound as though she were scared or in pain. If anything, the voice had the oddest hint of excitement to it. "Are you okay?" he called back, his own voice somewhat hushed as he made his way carefully to her. Whatever it was... he wasn't taking any chances.

Julien immediately froze but for the blooming smile on his face. Rarely without it anyway, now it was filled with a wonder, and he knelt down, trying to appear as small as he could. He shone the flashlight a bit away from it, not catching it in the beam itself but hoping that it would still be more easily visible for being somewhat near the light. And he said nothing, not wanting to scare it until he could determine if it was on a scavenging hunt, or if it were hurt.

The moment the raccoon moved, Julien froze, dropping the light down so that it wasn't so close to the creature. It didn't feel hurt to Julien, but he had to admit that he didn't know everything, either about his powers or about raccoons.

"I think he just wanted food," Julien said with a smile, as the creature continued to amble off, away from the light and the larger creatures waiting for it. Moving to stand beside Kashya, Julien smiled down at her. "The night really is perfectly your element, isn't it?"

Julien chuckled, nodding at her as he agreed. "If you're ready to go in now, I can dish up some pie for us," he noted, then frowned at himself, shaking his head. "Or rather, I can make the pie for us, and we can bring it out here to eat, if you'd like to do that instead. Mireille has some nice cushions for her deck chairs that I can set in place, and we can sit and talk and enjoy the night?"

Turning toward the house, he offered her the crook of his arm in an impishly antique gesture, warmth in his eyes. "I even have whipped cream for the top of the pie," he added.