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 Posted: Mon Oct 28, 2013 7:00 pm
Faroth stood back, allowing Celestia to settle in comfortably first. She didn't take long at all, soon falling still beneath the blanket, her breathing slowing to a regular rhythm that he noted as the cover shifted subtly. 'Wow...she really was tired, ' he thought with a soft chuckle.
He sat slowly on the edge of the bed, cringing at a creaking noise when he let his weight rest. No signs of weakness, simply a noise, he sighed and shook his head, turning a bit to make sure he hadn't disturbed the princess. She was already out as far as he could tell. The corner of his lip curled upwards, remembering how earlier, she'd admitted to him that she'd been having trouble sleeping because of the nightmares. She'd even fallen asleep on him out of exhaustion, if only briefly. There was no sign of fear or concern in her sleep now; only peace.
Maybe it was selfish, but he took some pleasure thinking he might have had something to do with that. He didn't have to be a hero, not some grand, shining beacon, or any of that. But that didn't mean he didn't enjoy the warm feeling he got from helping someone who needed it. That wasn't really selfish, was it?
Deciding that no, it was not, he lay on his back, folding his hands beneath his head as he studied the ceiling. He felt a bit more at peace, more at ease with his intentions. More at ease without that horrible grumbling in his stomach as well. Smiling a bit, he allowed his eyes to close. Just a bit of rest, he didn't even really need to sleep, he supposed, not really. He could just rest a bit, long enough to convince Celestia that he had, then he could go get to work on digging them out of here. That archway...it had to lead out of here, right? Had to...
He yawned. Alright, maybe just a short nap. He pulled the blanket over him, glancing over sleepily, and noting he'd inadvertently shifted it in the process, pulled the edge of the cover up over the princess' shoulder again. Careful not to disturb Celestia, he rolled away from her onto his side, staying far to his side of the bed, curled up practically on the edge. Despite his earlier beliefs, he soon drifted into a deep, peaceful sleep.
****
A few hours later...
*****
The grey Faun was slow to wake, feeling groggy and drawn back into the land of dreams. He was somewhere warm and comfortable, so the temptation was great to stay where he lay and simply drift off again. What would be the harm...he didn't need to be anywhere today...the Tree hadn't even begun to wake yet, given the silence...
He yawned, eyes still closed, though something soft had started to tickle his nose. If he hadn't pulled back, he may have sneezed. Still, the action, though small, was enough to spur towards wakefulness. He opened his eyes blearily, trying to make sense of the light colors in front of his eyes, despite the relative darkness of the area. Then, he realized his arm was wrapped around something warm...
And he remembered, he wasn't in the Tree...
He tensed, suddenly fully awake. Suddenly panicking. Oh, spirits, let him have woken first. The princess had yet to stir, perhaps he was in luck...he could slip away before she woke any the wiser. At some point while sleeping, he had apparently subconsciously forgotten the whole 'keep to your own side' rule. For that matter...was Celestia also closer than...
Not the point! The problem lay in the fact that Faroth had woken to find himself nearly lying on her silken tresses (likely what had tickled his nose, waking him initially), his arm draped over her waist. No, no, no, nonono! He could not wake her. If he could just slip away without disturbing her...
Much easier if her arm wasn't lying over his.
Cue mental stream of curse words.
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:45 am
From what seemed to be ages of dark bliss, the princess was stirred slightly as she felt movement to the side of her. Her eyes remained closed, as she pouted, whining lightly in protest to her being awoken, "But sister dearest... The sun has not arisen yet..." Moving her hand to feebly push away the pae of fault, her palm stopped as it felt hair courser than that of her sisters.
Strange... Had she not been taking care of herself recently...?
Bringing her hands back and pushing herself up, her eyes still only half-opened as she glanced at the blurred room around her, she closed them again with a yawn and a rub of her eyes. "Sister... Have you been eating right? Your hair is far coarser than usual..." Letting one hand fall behind her to support herself as she leaned back and opened that eye, she continued, "...You should know better than that, even going to the trouble to awake me before the sun's..." before pausing, her mouth hanging slightly open as she registered the pae that she had been chastising in front of her.
Not her sister. No. It was Faroth, and they were still in this place, and she had...
Her other hand fell to her lap as she flushed lightly, suddenly filled with the urge to embrace him. Damned be this situation. Celestia had to quickly avert her eyes in embarrassment before she mumbled so softly it might have been meant just for herself, "So... It was you, not Luna, that I..." It faded to something incomprehensible before she bit her lip, feeling rather silly in this moment.
Perhaps this was the reason he had insisted on them sleeping in separate quarters? If so, then it only served to strengthen her idea that he was not interested in any sort of closer relationship with her at all, that he did not have those sort of thoughts for her at all, that this was all some silly nonsense, a fantasy, playing through her head and would surely end once they were able to leave.
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 10:59 am
Faroth had frozen as Celestia stirred, hoping that she'd settle and go back to sleep so that he could remove his arm from her waist without waking her. He'd hoped she'd not discover what he'd apparently decided to do in his sleep, but it seems that his fears were to be realized instead. Something mumbled about her sister and...her hair? Her hand reached out to push his chest and he backed away swiftly, raising both hands palms forward defensively. Hands in plain sight, try to look innocent. He felt a bit too flushed to be feeling very successful with that.
The look on her face when she realized who he was...he felt his heart plummet...and he had no idea why. Of course she would have rather been back in the Tree, waking up surrounded by family. Heck, he'd thought he'd been back at the Tree as well. Yet, he hated to note, there'd been some hesitation before he'd tried to extract himself from where he'd woken. He didn't want to wake her; of course. That had been all.
She seemed so disappointed, upset even. He felt bad...and he also felt guilty on top of that. "I...I'm so sorry," he stammered, backing towards the edge of the bed. He swallowed hard, noting how she looked away from him in embarrassment. Of course she was embarrassed...waking up with someone like him apparently pawing at her in the night. Poor thing. She looked so upset, her hair disheveled by sleep, falling over one shoulder like a pale, rainbow waterfall. He was seized by the sudden urge to reach out for her, then caught himself. Hadn't he been providing enough unwanted contact already?
"Sorry, it's just me," he said, trying to force a more upbeat note into the statement to hide how the obvious rejection hurt, personally. He shifted his gaze aside as well, looking shamed. "I'm really sorry about this. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I...I don't know how...this has never happened before...as far as I know," he added quietly, trailing off. He turned, dropping his hooves to the floor, letting his head hang in shame. He felt like fleeing the room on the excuse of having work to do. He also felt the need to stay, to try and comfort her. He also wasn't sure which of these would be the better or worse idea at the moment, so instead, he just sort of sat there, mired in indecision.
Finally, "...I'm sorry again. That was completely inappropriate. I'll understand if you don't want me to..." He shook his head. Alright, so he'd apparently rolled over in his sleep and curled up against the only other source of warmth nearby. That had to be it, right? It hadn't been a conscious thought...right? It was embarrassing, but not something he could help, aside from apologizing for it. Even if, inside, he hadn't been all that sure he was actually sorry for it; until he'd seen her expression upon waking.
Ugh.
"I'm...going to head out to the corridor and get to work," he mumbled, thinking 'before I make this any more awkward than it already is.' He stood, stretching briefly as a few joints were slow to wake this morning. He assumed it was morning at least. "I'll...be out there if you need anything," he offered, glancing back with a look that said he'd be available if she needed something, but otherwise...he was going to give them both some space to ease the awkward feelings between them. For now, he had a promise to keep.
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 11:36 am
Celestia had not meant to imply that it had been offensive or unwelcome for him to have been so near her. Thinking back, she wasn't even sure how close they had been, if closer than normal at all. She had simply been murmuring half-awake, and it had led to her hurting his feelings in such a way. Smiling lightly, hesitantly, she raised her hand to brush away the notion that he had something wrong, pausing only as he continued to act distressed. "Honestly, do not fret over something so little..." her smile faded as he went on, "...it was an accident. I did not mean to mistake you for another in my sleep..." before it disappeared altogether. "...please wa-...!"
And like that, he was gone from the room.
Biting her lip and bringing her hands to clench themselves together tightly, the princess cursed herself and her ability to sour the situation. Even with something so simple as sleeping, she was not useful, only a hindrance. She had said something rude, had offended him in some way, and now he was angry with her. That made her disappointed in herself, yes, but it hurt more than anything. Why did she continue to make Faroth uncomfortable, despite her trying to do just the opposite? Did he really dislike her so much, think of them so distant, that he had to always take the blame for her mistakes?
Just why did this hurt so much? It was silly, probably the result of emotional stress and physical weariness, but that did not remove the pain.
Moving to let her legs hang off the bed, she wiped her eyes and nose, breathing in deeply and calmly as she regained her composure before walking to the kitchen area. He must be hungry again, right? Especially if he was going to work. Placing a generous (but not overly so) portion of food on a plate, she sighed before walking over to him. The princess stood in the doorway a few moments before speaking up, "B-breakfast, for you?" She waited only a moment for a response as she walked over to place the plate by him and then return to the door.
Her eyes moved to look at the dirt mound, an almost cynical weariness in them. "How deep do you suppose it goes?" Then back to him. "Is there any way I might help?" Is there any way I can be of use to you?
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 2:39 pm
Faroth had settled into the silence in the blocked corridor, his morning already seeming to take a turn for the better with the discovery of a proper shovel nearby. A sturdy wooden handle, stone blade; yeah, this would work much better than the small travel shovels in their bags. He'd forgotten to grab those anyway in his hurry to get out of the room earlier.
He was surprised to hear Celestia's approach behind him just as he was preparing to start digging. He didn't turn around at first, looking up at the wall of soil in response to her question. "Don't really know. I could try to guess judging by the length of the corridors here, but...that still doesn't tell me anything about where the caved-in section ends. Hopefully, I can tell a bit better once I start digging." His tone was even, but when he turned, a frown touched his face. She seemed so withdrawn...and yet, she'd brought him breakfast and was offering to help. His resolve to stay distant cracked and he set the shovel down against the wall, picking up the plate, and moving towards her. He set it down when he got closer, reaching for one of her hands. "Hey...are you alright?"
He took one of her hands between his, bowing his head to meet her eyes. "I'm sorry. I was so worried that I'd upset you...that in trying not to, I upset you more, didn't I? Figures," he huffed with a soft breath and a shake of his head. Never could do anything right. Every time he thought they'd start making some progress, learning to relax and take focus off of themselves, then he felt like he'd say or do something stupid to make everything all awkward again. He patted her hand, explaining, "I'd never want to upset a lady. I apologize if I was rude, while trying to apologize for my rudeness," he couldn't help but smile at the quip, and seized by an impulse, followed through by lifting and kissing the back of her hand with a bow. Only afterwards did he wonder if he'd been seized by madness rather than impulse. What in the dear Earth was he thinking? It had seemed like one of those 'polite high society' type gestures, and yet, in retrospect, now that he'd done it, he wasn't sure. Play it off casually, Faroth...
"I know we made an agreement earlier, but maybe we're having trouble sticking with it," he started awkwardly, staring down at their hands. "I mean, we have plenty else to worry about right now, so maybe...just for now, we set aside all the worries about 'proper protocol' and worrying about whether every little thing we say or do is the most polite. I'd like to just...be able to relax and focus on getting us out of here. No titles," he nodded to her, then smirked a bit to imply himself in the next line, 'and no worrying that what I say is going to prove what a crude, klutsy baffoon I am. Or at least, that you're not going to hold it against me. All faux pas are pre-forgiven," he chuckled quietly.
Raising an eyebrow, he looked up without raising his chin, wearing a hopeful expression. "Deal, Celestia?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 3:50 pm
Her eyes looked away as he came closer, her cheeks flushing lightly at his touch and the from the concern in his voice. "Of course..." she mumbled, almost slurring the words together. Again, all she was doing was worrying him. How ever would she be able to stop...? The princess's thoughts grew blank as she felt his hands to either side of her own, and she looked back at him, her eyes meeting his and drawing a small smile onto her face. Had they been worrying of similar things?
"You gave me a fright, really, that I had done some sort of action to grief you, with the way you continued to apologize. I never was upset, rather I was simply caught unawares by how I was behaving and speaking, as if you were my sister rather than a..."
What was he to her? A friend? More than that? Did she wish for him to be so?
"...dear partner." The princess had to restrain herself from frowning as he commented on her position. As hard as it had been for her to accept that she was no longer a princess in this land, the other faun seemed to be having an even more difficult time doing just that. How many times had she told him that he should not be caring for titles and all that? A lady, hah, she was simply another female. Unless he was using the term lady to refer to female, in which case she might feel rather silly, she did feel rather silly.
Her cheeks flushed a bright red as she felt his lips upon the back of his hand, so warm, soft despite the dry roughness (perhaps a result of their lack of water for so long and the generally dry conditions). It left it feeling cold, more so than it had been previously. Her eyes looking away, then back on him, then away again, she laughed lightly before shrugging and letting them rest on him. "That is all I wished for, all I have ever wished for. Being a princess is a lonely thing; I would rather hold a friend dear than hold onto it, the present considered."
Carefully, deftly, she leaned forward to place a small kiss on his forehead before pulling away and, in a spinning motion, returning to the door. "You must let me know any and all things you require, so I might tend to them. Even if it is not digging, per-say, perhaps I might keep you nourished and entertained with songs or stories of my people." Smiling innocently at him, she placed her hands behind her back and, again, tilted her head, awaiting his answer. "This would be pleasing to you, yes?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 4:44 pm
Faroth smiled at her reply, though the words 'dear partner' coming from her lips caused a strange stirring in his stomach. No, probably just hungry. Because...that's what he was, wasn't he? A partner, sworn to help her get out of a bad situation and get back home safely? Of course he was.
However, he'd never considered how lonely being a princess might be. Her former subjects spoke so well of her, it'd never occurred to him: how many Faunies had she actually been close to? Besides her sister and family? "Maybe it's just me struggling then. Just part of being a bumbling fool and all, if you can forgive that," he teased lightly. Having a new view into her life, if only a small one, felt like an honor. Not one granted from someone higher than another, but one between friends.
Her kiss came as a bit of a shock, and even if only for a split-second, he seemed to freeze, a shiver traveling up his spine...shortly before he felt flushed warmly. He could have sworn the spot tingled pleasantly afterwards and he couldn't help answering her innocent smile with a goofy grin, after she pulled away.
"No more misunderstandings then," he answered, picking up the plate and following her. "We shall seal the deal on this official partnership agreement over a plate of fine food." He glanced down, then shrugged. "Or leftovers from last night, whatever." He wrapped his free arm around her shoulders with a casual squeeze. "Come dine with me, milady," he chuckled. "There's still a couple of rooms to search for anything interesting, but I certainly wouldn't argue against your helping keep my spirits boosted," he grinned, guiding her gently towards the hallway where they could sit together. It felt good to clear the air after the tension from the misunderstandings before, and after some food, he was sure that the digging work would come much easier now.
****
[FIN]
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