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 Posted: Fri Jan 15, 2021 10:52 am
With the passing of another year Asa was left to marvel at just how far he'd come.
It hadn't been so long ago that he was contemplating the short span of his life and the misery that lay before him when everything seemed to change. With Ygraine came a chance to start over; a chance to reinvent himself as something more than a simple title. The past few weeks had been...anything but glamorous and admittedly he hadn't been the easiest companion to travel with. Despite his attempts at remaining pleasant Asa knew he'd come across as short tempered more than a few times and as travel seemed to stretch forward his learning curve only seemed all the steeper. How was he supposed to catch up? It felt like each day he relied on Ygraine's survival skills more and more while contributing the bare minimum himself.
Well, he was just going to have to change that, wasn't he?
The day had started out so full of promise. Asa woke with the sun, as he was oft to do now that he had little choice, and went through his morning routine before setting out to 'hunt'. He'd been very adamant about going alone. He wouldn't go far, of course, but some things he needed to learn on his own time. Of course he wasn't adept enough at any weapon to even contemplate using one and his magic was meant for healing, not battle, so he settled for a simple netted snare.
It had all started out so simple and good. He set it up perfectly, hid the loop under some innocent debris, trailed the rope over a close branch and secured it around the thick trunk of a sturdy tree. Once his prey walked over the netting, Asa simply had to engage the trap and the net would scoop it up. Easy and simple.
So then how was it that he ended up in the net, suspended a good ten feet off the ground, shrieking with a parak scratching the ever living life out of his face? Where had he gone wrong?! The fox-like creature was squawling out as if it were the one in pain, despite the fact it's claws were digging into every ounce of exposed flesh Asa had. The iceling didn't even bother grabbing it at that point; instead he settled for covering his eyes to try and save them.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:35 pm
(1/7)
Life with Asa wasn't as flowery and romantic as Ygraine had half hoped it would be. But... she'd known, somewhere deep down, that that was likely the case so in at least a small way she felt she was prepared. The man was hilariously out of touch with the real world which, despite not being his fault, made things difficult, and in their weeks of cohabitating Ygraine had decided it would be for the best if she called the shots and he resigned himself to follow. Unfortunately - that didn't seem to be something he was content on doing.
Ygraine knew her faults. They were carefully hidden, as a young adult, but still omnipresent; she was bossy; some would say condescending, and definitely had a dominant personality when it came to the two of them. In many respects, when Asa insisted on helping she had to fight a long suffering sigh. She'd known what she was signing up for; but that didn't kill the urge to pull out her hair and grind her teeth when her charming companion pulled that upset face of his and insisted he wanted to be helpful.
'If you're really dying, then I want to take care of you! Just let me do this and focus on enjoying things!' She was tempted to shriek at him, some days. But - she stifled the urge. She could only imagine how frustrating her behavior must be, from his perspective, and ... there was a part of her that knew that if he was the type to happily sit back and let her do everything, then he wouldn't be the Asa that she cared for so much.
So- she made herself ignore his overeagerness.
Until that morning when, half asleep but resignedly gathering firewood, she froze when she heard Asa's familiar shrieks. She flung her armful of wood down and ran, terrified that she'd stumble into a clearing and find him accosted by bounty hunters or bandits. What she found was... on the surface rather funny, but in reality terrible.
"How did you get -- nevermind, I don't want to know!" She cried, with dismay, scrambling to pull her knife from her boot. There didn't seem to be a good choice here - she wanted to cut a hole for the creature to slip out through, but it was so panicked and distracted she doubted the thing would notice. So she had no choice but to roughly cut at the rope keeping them aloft, watching with a wince as the net went plummeting the three feet to the ground. Immediately, she was kneeling to untangle the ropes - cutting it open, then, and swatting at the parak in hopes it would realize it was free and scurry off.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2021 4:48 pm
The feeling of little paws on his chest may have been featherlight if Asa weren't so frail. As it stood each little pressure point was as uncomfortable as the claws burrowing into his flesh and when one of them caught on his earring the iceling let out a pure shriek. He moved his hands at that point, if only to try and get a handle on the parak, but it seemed hell bent on panicked warfare.
Of course he didn't notice Ygraine's arrival at first; he was far too busy for that! He only just registered her voice a moment before time sped up. In one breath she sounded just as frazzled as he and the next - thump! Asa cried out once more, this time out of surprise, and then immediately shifted into a groan as his body hit the ground. Thankfully the parak was much quicker in adapting. It was stunned at first, going as far as to back away from Ygraine at first, but once it realized it had a chance to escape the little creature took it. In an instant it was bolting off into the wilderness.
Asa, on the other hand, was left crumpled in the netting and looking as if he'd gotten stuck in a bramble bush. The iceling managed to roll over onto his hands and knees, lifting his head to look up at Ygraine with a sheepish smile. "Hello, Miss-" His eyes widened on a choked wheeze and Asa folded in on himself until his forehead touched the ground. His coughing was thankfully short lived, no doubt brought on by the flurry of activity, but in his eyes it was simply the nail in his coffin.
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 2:24 am
(2/7)
The moment she was sure the parak had run off, Ygraine sank down to her knees next to the ice man, her hands hovering uselessly above him. His face and neck (and ear) looked mangled, angry slashes of pink and red on his blue skin. Her stomach twisted unpleasantly, but his marred face disappeared for a brief moment as he rolled over. When he looked up at her though, his eyes were creased with pain despite his little smile, and almost immediately he began to cough.
She winced and carefully reached to rub her hand over his narrow shoulder blades, biting her lip as he recovered himself.
"What in the gods' names were you doing with a net?" She murmured out loud, her nervousness turning immediately to fretting. "I thought ... you'd be looking for berries, or-- or trying to fish again-" She heaved a sigh, then shifted to sit back on her knees, watching him with concern. "Are you okay?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2021 5:42 pm
Asa took a short, rattling breath and when it didn't end in another cough the iceling started to sit back up. He awkwardly maneuvered the netting off his head, pausing just enough to delicately pick it off his ears and from around his earring. It also gave him a chance to collect himself. What was he supposed to say? Just tell her the truth; glossing over it will only push your worries to another day. And this was a new day, wasn't it?
Gathering up his nerves, Asa cautiously turned towards Ygraine and steeled his spine. He'd never been good at speaking his mind, mostly because his opinions were never asked for or taken into consideration, so doing it now was nerve wracking. It made him feel all the more like a child, which was the opposite of what he'd been trying to feel all day! "I'm fi-" Pausing, Asa lifted his hand and felt the familiar pull of magic. He murmured a soft spell, drew a sigil over his chest and held his glowing palm against his chest. After a few deep, calming breaths he felt as fine as....well, normal.
"I'm...I'm frustrated." He admitted at length. "Please, I don't want you to think that I don't appreciate everything you do for me, but I wish I could do something to help. I know that meat is the hardest element to come by and I can't hunt, I've tried, but I thought if I could make a snare..." Asa dropped the wad of net into his lap with a huff. "I had it. It was right there, in the net and then I got too eager and ruined everything!"
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 9:44 pm
[3/7]
Only Asa could look so ruffled, and still hold himself so primly. It was times like this that his bearing as a noble really shone through, even if Ygraine was tempted to let out a frazzled laugh at the image. Instead, she sank somewhat relieved onto her knees. He was just going to tell her he was fine again, like he always did, which... was a damn lie, since he was using magic just to settle himself. It... was still impressive, to see the flare of power in his fingers, the glow of the sigil that he used to manage his condition.
So... when the next word out of his mouth wasn't 'fine' but... 'frustrated', Ygraine paused, blinking at him in surprise.
A snare? Part of Ygraine wanted to ask him just what it was he'd tried to do ... how did 'being overeager' somehow land with him trapped in his own snare, wrestling with a furious parak?
She drew in a deep breath- then let it out, slowly, as meditatively as she could, while a hand rose to push her wayward, silver curls back from her face, and out of her eyes. Her mouth was pursed thoughtfully, round brows drawn down in thought.
Ygraine wanted to tell him to forget about it. That she had this handled, and that it felt like such a waste of his precious time to worry about it at all. But... she could see that this was important to him. Asa ... wasn't frank, not as much as she wished he was, and ... even saying this much felt... important. "I don't know a thing about trapping." She complained under her breath with a soft huff. But then she looked at the net, thinking. "... But we could ask around for advice? No one gets a new skill right on the first few tries, right? ... I mean- if you wanted to try again, after..." She winced and leaned in a bit, her hand hovering over his rather angry looking ear.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:00 pm
Asa's cheeks were a mottled mix of violet and cobalt that flared at the touch. The tremor of release in his muscles when he just allowed himself to feel was so new that the iceling was never overcome by it. Feeling inadequate and helpless was far from new for him, but now it just seemed so much more emasculating than it ever had before. He was a full grown man living on the run with a lady who certainly didn't need to depend on him, but would surely appreciate the help and-
"Well that makes two of us." He answered sharply and just as quickly caught himself. His narrowed gaze shifted from an angry glare at the ground to a widened, almost sheepish gasp. "I'm sorry; that was uncalled for." Calm yourself lest you- No, no, why should be calm himself? What was wrong with being irritated?
You're making her uncomfortable.
And that sobered him.
"...I would like that very much....and I would also like to learn how to cook, if you have the time to teach me. I can mend clothes, but I don't know how to wash them and I just...Miss Ygraine, I want to be of use to you. Help me to help you."
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:16 pm
[4/7] Huh? Ygraine's eyes widened just a bit at that sharp tone, but rather than being insulted she was stunned. Asa, in every situation she'd seen, had never so much as lost his temper - least of all with her. But... somehow, rather than feeling annoyed, she felt a bubble of something she couldn't name in her stomach. It was... a bit of a bad feeling, roiling in her gut, but also... something almost proud too. His cheeks were flushed, and he looked grumpy, and - far more alive and human than the put together image he'd always put forward in the past.
And just as soon as he was angry, he was once again cowed - looking sheepish and almost worried. For some reason, it made Ygraine think of Asa's father. She never, ever wanted to be put in the same category as Asa's father.
The script for them, so far in their trip, was for her to say 'no' here. To dismiss it with a smile and a sigh and just say 'it's okay' or 'You don't have to do that!' ... Which... apparently had been making him pretty upset.
Ygraine looked at him for a long moment, stunned at her realization, then grinned guiltily, leaning forward so they were almost nose to nose. "Fine. If it'll make you stop - this." She gestured to his bloodied face, "Then okay. Just..." She tilted her head, feeling that guilt rising up again. "... Asa, you... can tell me when I'm being a nag, okay? Even if you think it's 'uncalled for'."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:32 pm
Now he was flushed for an entirely different reason. She really had no business whatsoever being that close to him. All at once he was forced to look at nothing beyond the scope of her voluminous gaze which was both intimidating and all together too magnificent for words. It made his heart shudder within his chest, causing him to inhale an anxious wheeze for a hot minute.
"Miss Ygraine I would never call you a...a nag." The way the word rolled off his tongue was as if it tasted like soured milk. "You are an astute young chasseur whose expertise is as vast as it is varied. I would never lessen your accomplishments by addressing you as anything less. And yet..." He took a deep breath and steeled himself before turning his darting gaze straight towards hers. Despite the close proximity he felt that this moment in time - this one stint in their journey - was perhaps the turning point he'd been needing.
Asa leaned in so that his forehead could brush hers.
"How am I to earn your respect if I am never given the chance to prove myself? I know that I can never be your equal in this, but I can at least try to shoulder some of the burden. You've taken on so much already."
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 10:58 pm
(5/7)
Gods, but he was cute. Ygraine's cheeks colored when he was quick to defend her, even from herself, her grin turning a bit soppy, if she was honest. But... then he continued, and she had to bite her lip to keep from barking out a rather unladylike laugh. But... if she laughed she worried he'd stop talking, so she focused on him instead. And thank goodness for that, because- he leaned in just a bit closer, and there was a point of contact that made her heart do somersaults.
Once again, Ygraine almost opened her mouth to dismiss it. 'You don't need my respect-', or, 'You already have it, you goof-'. But... he seemed serious about this.
"... Of course you can be my equal! I... grew up with my parents doing all these things for me. I had to learn, just like you, once I was on my own." She huffed, then trailed off for a moment, thinking. Then... she laughed softly, and bumped their foreheads together, almost as if trying to get his attention. "But... did you ever think maybe I just like taking care of people I care about?" She ended the statement with a quick breath - then boldly skimmed a kiss over his cheekbone.
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:12 pm
Her declaration of equality wasn't enough to bring levity to his heart, but it did help to make him feel validated. When he was around Ygraine Asa wasn't only heard but he was also seen and that was...something he was still trying to adjust to. It was so freeing just to know that someone cared enough about him that his opinions carried weight.
Asa felt himself start to laugh a little bit before he seized completely. All living functions in the boy stopped the moment her lips touched his skin. It was feather light, just a ghost of a kiss, but it was more than anything he'd had from a partner in his entire life and it was enough for him to pull away from her.
Without thinking, however, Asa stepped up the game and pressed a hurried kiss to her lips instead. The act was as fast as a bird's wing and when he was done he felt ready to faint. "I-I-I-I car-" His voice was comically squeaky to the point he had to clear his throat. "I care too. About you."
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Posted: Wed Feb 17, 2021 11:24 pm
(6/7)
For a brief, horrifying moment - when his body jolted as if struck - Ygraine worried that she'd overstepped some invisible line. Neither of them had... really confessed, per se... but she'd thought it was fairly obvious that she was... interested in him. Even with the death sentence hanging over his head (which, if she was honest, she understood logically but hadn't quite let herself realize emotionally), she just couldn't forget about him. She wanted him to be happy - even if it meant he was risking mauling himself with small animals, just to impress her.
But instead of backing away - he moved in and kissed her. It was gentle - a press of lips so brief that she barely realized it had been there before he had already pulled back. Her eyes went wide, and her mouth opened slightly, but Asa was speaking - stuttering - and so startled that she couldn't stop the breathy, happy laugh from escaping her this time.
It was like some invisible lasso that'd held her back had been torn off, because now she moved in a bit closer, slipping her larger arm around his slight frame so she could squeeze him into a hug, pressing their cheeks briefly together. "Really?" She asked, her voice delighted and higher pitched - like a giddy little girl, not the grown up lady he seemed convinced she was.
"Then- just promise me that, every now and then, you'll let me take care of you still. Once you're all accomplished and independent, don't leave me behind, okay?"
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 18, 2021 12:31 pm
(7/7)
There was something about the embrace that felt exponentially more intimate than their kiss. The iceling scion instinctively pressed his chest against hers and slid on arm around her waist with the other moving up to her shoulder. Asa passively toyed with a soft, ivory curl and gave a blatantly innocent smile. "Really." Would it be too much to mention that this was his first kiss? Or would that make him seem, if at all possible, even more sheltered now that he was before?
"How could I ever leave you behind if you're at my side?" The idea was laughable. Even if he had the time to become 'accomplished and independent' Asa would never dream of leaving her behind. Every moment he had left on this earth would be spent in service to their dreams and freedom.
"Do you think I might...hold your hand the next time we walk?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2021 5:21 pm
(7/7)
A kiss, and now he was holding her. Or... onto her? As it was, he was a small person already, and she was larger than many earthling women (although not, her baba had said, as big as Alkidike women either). But... the contact made her heart sing, as did the words that could be nothing other than romantic. Then, to be followed up by asking simply to hold her hand- Ygraine laughed, but it was a happy, bell-like sound, and she immediately reached to pluck the hand that was resting on her shoulder, instead squeezing it firmly in her own gloved grasp.
"I think I'd like that, very much."
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scarlett arbuckle Vice Captain
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