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 Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:28 am
Fiona had looked for him, honestly and earnestly. She couldn't ask about him except in vague terms and didn't seem to run into him in her day to day life. She didn't even know his name, let alone where he was likely to be or who his friends were and what was worse it all made her feel like a puppy or something equally as dutiful, trailing after a treat she couldn't see but knew was there nonetheless.
She wanted to see him again, though. She thought of him often in the days since they'd first met. Or, almost met.
It was a mystery and she'd nearly given up trying to fit the pieces together convinced she was missing enough to be unable to make up a whole picture. It was around sunset when she took her place in the arbor at the center of the garden surrounded by tall hedges outside and flowers within. It was like her own little world, a natural plant wall blocking the outside from findings its way to her, or so she believed.
"Who are you?"
Of he was there she didn't hear a response.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 12:48 am
This was getting bad.
He was following her around like he had told himself he wouldn't do. But it was all he knew. He needed to find out her name, what she liked, where she liked to stay, so he could learn more about her and become her friend. The only way to do that was with the methods he had learned through his training as a child.
Following from the shadows like a creeper, of course.
He was watching her now, from behind a hedge, and he very nearly answered her when she spoke. He chewed his lower lip thoughtfully, not sure if he should speak or if he should stay hidden,
No, of course he should stay hidden: if he answered her she would realize he was following her around and most definitely not want to talk to him. Anyway, he had no real proof that she was speaking of him. He had noticed she seemed to be searching, but it was hard to find a guy when he was already following and doing his best not to be seen.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:18 am
Fiona moved from her seat and bent to smell a flower in a rosebush by the arbor. The aroma was sweet and the roses pale yellow in the sunlight. She liked yellow roses. They reminded her of being happy. It was a simple pleasure but one she did not forget.
She didn't know he was close by trailing after her as she kept her eyes open for him. He was a much better hunter than she was and once more she was an unwary rabbit caught in his gaze. It was just like last time except this time she wasn't on to him. It was like they were fated to do this dance, going around one another and never coming into contact.
The longer he stayed away the more she wanted to know about him and her mind could trace his image in her sleep she studied it so often. She sort of smiled to herself, tracing it onto the wood of the arbor, picturing it in her mind's eye. Here she was safe from judgment and, she thought, from anyone seeing her
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 1:38 am
Talfrid waited for a bit, then moved from the bushes and circled back to make it look like he was approaching from a different way. He looked over at her to see if she was watching, then moved closer to her.
"My lady," he said softly, so as not to startle her.
He had done it as subtly as he knew how, though he was still mastering the art of acting. It would be very important in his jobs ahead, but it was not something he had learned in his youth and thus he was hurrying to pick it up now that he was in the academy. He was a convincing liar, but he had something that usually never troubled him to deal with.
He was nervous.
It was unfamiliar and unwelcomed, but he did his best to cope. He bowed his head at her tensely, his movements stiff and uncertain.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 8:49 am
Fiona wasn't expecting anyone. It wasn't that the gardens weren't beautiful or generally inhabited, they were sometimes. It was a favorite spot for young lovers to come to because it was so picturesque. But it was deserted now, save her, and she just kind of expected it to stay that way.
"My lady."
She jumped, startled anyway despite his best efforts. That voice made a shiver go up her spine. She spent all her time thinking about him and trying to find him and here when she thought she'd be alone is where he found her. Found her! She turned around slowly to face him with a wondering expression.
"My Lord," she responded, though that might have been a bit too formal of an address.
She noticed the stiffness of his movements and the terseness of his look, like he was unsure of being there. Unsure of her? How could that be? He barely knew her! She sighed and made to make room on the arbor bench so he could sit down. She gestured that he could, she didn't mind.
"Have you been off hunting more rabbits?" she asked teasingly, by way of a conversation starter.
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 2:05 pm
Talfrid tilted his head.
"I was not following you," he said quickly, then realized she probably did not mean rabbits as a metaphor for herself, though he had drawn that line pretty easily. He blinked at her, silent for a moment.
"I... I mean..."
He frowned and looked at his feet, hands behind his back. The effect made him look wholly guilty and certainly like he had, in fact, been following her. If he had almost gotten away with it before, he definitely blew it now. He thought he was a skilled liar, but for some reason everything he knew just unraveled when he was near her.
"This area is nice. Did you come here to read?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2013 3:01 pm
"I see."
She didn't quite believe his words but that was probably because he didn't seem to buy them at all. Fiona shifted on the bench and tried to wonder how she should feel about that as being hunted seemed to raise two different thoughts to mind. One part of her wanted to be flattered and was happy he was looking for her as much as she looked for him. The other part, of course, felt a little creeped out that he seemed to succeed so well she didn't even notice she was being watched.
"To read, yes, usually."
She didn't have a book on her this time, though. She'd been there strictly for the pleasure of the view and gave him a helpless shrug and a smile to say so. That was alright, though, because she didn't really want to talk about books when there were other things on her mind, more important things.
"Why are you following me? Do I make you that nervous?"
Did he need to research her like or something? What seemed like mutual interest aside they had to stop meeting, or not really meeting, like this.
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 12:28 am
"I... I wish to speak with you. But I find... I am not very well versed. I don't even notice, though, when I'm following you... it is something I am much more practiced in. And because I do not know how to speak to you... I follow."
It made sense in his head, but he did not look up when he was saying it because he was sure he could not bear the look of disbelief that would no doubt be on her face.
No lady wanted to be told it was easier to stalk them than to talk to them. He was not doing this right at all, again. He was already considering escaping again, and almost hoped to see someone walk by so he might run into them for a distraction again.
That had worked last time.
So yes. She made him nervous. He couldn't tell her that directly, either, though.
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Posted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 8:50 am
"I don't bite."
At least, not usually. She was starting to be more creeped out than amused by his bumbling especially when he said he didn't notice he was stalking her, like this was just something to do with all the girls. Not only did she stop thinking it was cute she also wondered who the hell he was to think stalking a girl was not only easier than talking to her but was so much of a habit that he didn't even notice that he did it.
"I think on that note that I should probably go." She sounded a little frightened, though she was trying to be polite. "Stop following me, ok? It's weird. And creepy."
She started walking off toward the opening in the hedge in front of her and was thinking how strange it was that the only person whose attention she seemed to draw while there was a guy who was probably more awkward than she was. It figured with her luck in life. A feeling niggled at her and she paused, turning around to face him again. If he was being honest with her the least she could do was return it.
"You know, maybe if you came out of the shadows a little I could have found you. I was looking."
She gave him sort of a wistful half smile and shrugged. It was a bit too late now, wasn't it?
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Posted: Fri Feb 01, 2013 1:04 am
Talfrid knew he had ruined his chances with her. He just knew it. He had said all the wrong things, done all the wrong things. He had insulted her, maybe scared her. He had put forward a terrible effort, and it had all crumbled around him.
He bowed at her, keeping his eyes downcast and his head angled downward.
"Forgive me, my lady," he murmured softly, "I did not mean to make you feel... weird, nor did I wish to seem creepy. I am sorry, I... I will not bother you again."
He hated saying it, but it was better that way. He couldn't upset her if he was staying away from her, right? He felt like a heel, which was strange for him. Never before had he ever felt embarrassment. Never before had he felt like a fool. He had no cause to: such feelings made him weak. And they had been right, those that trained him.
He felt very vulnerable right now.
He retreated a few steps, still bowing.
"Enjoy the gardens. I am sorry to have upset you. It was not my intention. I... I will go now."
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