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[an_evening_star]

It begins, really, as any good and responsible royal journey should - in what is assuredly the complete, opposite direction of responsibility.

For example:

"Which way - hypothetically, of course - would we want to be going if we were on the way to Stormhold?"

"Well, if we turn right here, I'm pretty sure that -"

"Very good, left it is then!"

It really is terribly convenient, every once and a while, to have a boyf- a lov- a Tristran that simply knows which way will suit for their purposes at any given time. Especially when one considers that it's awfully difficult to stop and ask for directions when one is in the middle of nowhere.

And tree sprites?

Are terrible liars.

So it begins in the right wrong direction and it continues for sometime - until Yvaine is hot and her legs are sore and the tip of her nose is growing oddly pink from the sun and the soft tinkling of the stream off to the side begins to curl her lips upward in a decidedly troublesome manner under the shade of her hair.

Comments

[an_evening_star]

"They'd better be," she warns and twists herself slightly to poke him in the chest - they're walking slowly enough that she can manage, after all. And practical demonstrations of emphasis are always helpful.

She tilts her chin, smile in check.

"And you'd better not replace me with some Faerie-strumpet."

[tristranthorn]

"Replace you?" Tristran looks simply appalled. "Never. Not for anyone or anything in the world."

As over-the-top as he makes it sound, he really does mean it.

[an_evening_star]

"Oh, you're good," she arcs an eyebrow, grinning once more. "Very convincing. Do remind me to keep you around."

A pause, and then she leans a little closer, voice lowering conspiratorially.

(In case the trees are listening in, of course.)

"You know what?"

[tristranthorn]

He raises an eyebrow, curiously - after he is done grinning and generally being a little smug, that is.

"What?"

[an_evening_star]

"If I were a tree, I would be terribly jealous."

It's pretty true, really. As far as things go.

"I would have no legs to do this -" she takes a step forward, closer still. "- I would have no fingers to do this -" the very tips of them skitter over his eyelids, coaxing them closed, before they wind their way downward.

"And most importantly?"

Her lips hover dangerously close and the grin slips its way into a smirk, crooked and amused as the water shimmers pleasantly in the sun.

"I would have no arms to do this," and the hands braced at his shoulders shove lightly, but just enough to tip him.

[tristranthorn]

That was simply not at all cool, in the modern sense of the word.

As Tristran loses his balance - both cold and hot at the same time - falling into the water, he finds himself wondering if he could possibly have detected hints of Yvaine's evil plan.

The answer would be a firm no.

Still, he has tricks up his sleeve and crawling out of the water, resembling a drenched mouse, he wraps his arms around her waist.

"Whither thou goest, right?" He grins, lifting her up and making his way towards the water once more.

[an_evening_star]

"Tristran!" she yelps, wriggling and scrabbling with her fingers - trying very valiantly to not get herself soaked, as it was not part of the Plan.

It is, of course, a sadly useless attempt.

"I was only kidding!"

(This may or may not be a lie.)

"I cannot say that I want to go swimming - though you do look delightful when drenched, dear," another completely undignified squeaking noise. "Really! Please don't drop me!"

[tristranthorn]

"Now, it's only fair that we get drenched together," he says, feeling highly uncomfortable with his clothing sticking to him like a second skin. "Besides, didn't you complain a little earlier about how hot it was?"

They have reached the edge. Tristran laughs as he does, indeed, drop her into the water - gently, of course.

"You look delightful when drenched too, dear," he returns.

Tristran? Evil? Possibly.

[an_evening_star]

That just earns him a glare, one delicate eyebrow arced in an entirely unimpressed manner and body braced back on her elbows.

"I'm not feeling particularly together at the moment, darling," she is, in fact, rather on her lonesome. Dripping. In the water. "You could, of course, join me."

Voluntarily or not is the real decision here.

Dryly, "The water's lovely."

[tristranthorn]

He laughs again.

"Yes, I'm sure it is," he says, shaking his boots of water. "But I think togetherness counts when both of us are wet. And I am, of course, very wet."

[an_evening_star]

"Come closer so I can check, yes?"

A smile is tugging it's way across her lips again - not precisely with her express permission, per say, but it's there all the same.

She is not getting up.

Her skirts likely weigh more than she does now - and the water is lovely.

[tristranthorn]

"Nice try," he tells her, ringing out the bottom of his coat.

[an_evening_star]

"Well, I can't precisely pick you up and dump you on your ass."

Such ladylike eloquence, really.

The trees are very likely scandalized already - and if they weren't, they certainly would be at the way she is eying said ass.

A bright, utterly guileless smile, "And you're already soaked."

[tristranthorn]

Yvaine, you shameless, shameless star.

He laughs from the perfectly safe distance he is at, shaking his head.

"I am in the process of becoming pleasantly unsoaked," he tells her. "I don't need to get wet any further."

[an_evening_star]

It's hers. She can look all that she wants.

She rolls her eyes and cups a hand, swiping it along the surface of the water and half-heartedly splashing it in his direction.

"And how is that going for you, dear?"

[tristranthorn]

"At this very moment in time?" Tristran asks, glancing down at himself. "Not entirely pleasant just yet. But I'm getting there."

He is. Slowly.

[an_evening_star]

"I would join you," she muses, head back lazily and the ends of her hair fanning over the surface. "Only I don't particularly fancy trying to stand up in this much waterlogged material."

Yet another reason why skirts are utterly pointless.

"I think that I'll just lie here and wait until I have managed to soak up the entire body of water."

[tristranthorn]

Tristran starts to laugh. There is a possibility he is laughing at her, with some of her deep blue skirts floating about her like a balloon while some are submerged under water.

Then, staring at her for a moment, he lets out a sigh.

"Oh, why not."

Pulling off his boots and his coat this time, Tristran dumps them off to the side and jumps into the water, creating quite a splash.

If her hair had been at least partially dry before, Yvaine should now be quite re-soaked again.

[an_evening_star]

Lovely.

Just lovely

"I am having completely illogical flashbacks of jumping into puddles," she grumbles, one hand swiping a newly dripping cascade of hair out of her eyes. "Though I distinctly remember that being more fun."

[tristranthorn]

He waddle-scrambles towards her, wet fingers brushing that hair from her face as he grins.

"What do you mean?" he asks, having no recollection for himself of that very interesting and terribly cute day save for bits and pieces he thinks to be from dreams. "I thought you always lived in the sky."

[an_evening_star]

"I did say illogical, dear," she returns, lips curving upward helplessly.

It is entirely too kind and un-Yvaine to admit to having stupid dream-crushes on someone when you were hardly ten million and some change.

Also, it would be unseemly and out of character to go around boosting the poor boy's ego at this point.

The grin doesn't fade, "Though you were probably cuter as a child."

[tristranthorn]

He leans back a little, making sure not to lose his balance in the water.

"Cuter?" he repeats, raising an eyebrow. "You've seen me as a child, then, have you?" Well, he supposes she must have if she's had a view of the world all this time.

And then something occurs to him.

"Wait. Do you mean to say I am no longer cute?" He looks more amused than insulted, really.

[an_evening_star]

"Might have," the smile widens and she sits up to tug at the material of his shirt. "I've seen a lot of people."

It's true, really - and balance is a silly, pointless thing.

The last question gets a laugh, bright and amused, fingers winding their way upward enough to tangle at the ends of his hair. He is awful cute.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say that you were fishing for compliments." You know, or if his subconscious was a lot more devious than the rest of him. "But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and assure you that you are still lovely to look at, dripping included."

[tristranthorn]

He places a damp hand upon hers, laughing a little.

It is actually a pity that he hadn't been thinking at all about fishing for compliments. Looks like that deviousness will have to be worked on for the future.

"Perhaps," he says, "but in a moment's time I will simply turn pruney and that is hardly nice at all. I wonder - does that also happen to stars too?"

[an_evening_star]

"I'm not really certain," she wrinkles her nose thoughtfully. "The longest I've been in the bath was before some crazy woman tried to have my insides for dinner - I was not really paying attention to my fingertips at the time."

Tragic, that. Yet another opportunity for knowledge wasted.

A quiet hum, lips twitching upward, "It is also terribly unfortunate that there is hardly enough water to dunk you in."

Totally finding a larger body of water next time.