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Post by The Jenn on Feb 15, 2009 22:13:36 GMT -5
Felaria's startled expression slowly fell into a pleased, amused grin. That had been cute. So was the red flush spreading up his neck and onto his face. Humans really did have a disadvantage without fur to cover up their flushes, didn't they? It was kind of like having white or cream fur on their faces, but without even that layer of protection.
"C'mon then," she agreed in a cheery tone, moving out into the marsh. Her steps were deliberate and planned, sometimes quick from intimate knowledge of the path and sometimes cautious, in case anything had shifted or changed since she'd last been out. It was known to happen, quite often, and while she didn't usually mind a dunk... getting stuck in thick, cloying mud would be far less pleasant. Besides, she had someone following her to worry about. She made sure she didn't get too far ahead.
When they got to a certain point, her eyes began scanning the trees and she made a silencing gesture towards her lips. "We might start to run across some gator-rats 'round here, or somethin' else," she whispered, eyes scanning the still branches for signs of movement.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 16, 2009 0:05:11 GMT -5
He followed. It was quite the workout, and he had hardly expected something like this, even if he should have. It made him realize that he had spent far too many hours sitting behind a desk reading and doing paperwork.
But he didn't really have time to focus on the past, he was trying his hardest to focus on his footsteps. It just didn't seem very fun to fall in the muck or the unpleasant looking water. No wonder she didn't leave this place more often.
He froze dead in his tracks when she spoke. What did she just say? What? He gave her a thoroughly terrified look as he choked back the small sound of distress that was welling up inside his throat.
He didn't like this version of "outside" very much. For the first time in a long time he wished that he was back in Esterberry.
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 16, 2009 9:43:20 GMT -5
That terrified little look her way made something in Felaria's stomach go 'squish', in the good way. Damn it, no, she needed to concentrate on her surroundings, not the delicious man so close she could reach out and touch him. He really stood out in the drab green and brown surroundings of the marsh, what with that lavender hair swinging along behind him.
"Ain't you ever eaten gator-rat?" she asked with a confused tilt to her head. "They're everywhere around here. They gotta be where you are, at least some of 'em. Long snouts fulla teeth, scraggly pale fur, pouches with their babies, maybe 'bout this big?" She sketched out the size with her hands, the equivalent of a watermelon. They tended to grow bigger in the heart of the Golfam than they might otherwise...
"A'course, there's actual gators to worry 'bout too, but they tend to be a lil' ways away from here. Not as good huntin' for 'em, since they can't get nothin' from the trees. You gonna be okay?"
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Post by Kari Muffin on Feb 16, 2009 11:49:24 GMT -5
Horrified. That was the word that described everything about the very moment Felaria started describing what she meant. The Esterberry's eye twitched and the description. "Please, please tell me... you mean opossum," he found himself whispering in protest.
And his eyes widened even further, his monocle giving up on staying in it's proper place as it slid down his nose and off his face. He opened his mouth and a rather pitiful squeak came out. Alligators weren't something he normally dealt with. They were something that he never wanted to deal with on any occasion. Why had he thought that going outside was a good idea?
Harold gave Felaria a pitiful look. "Okay....? I'm not really sure."
If he made it out of this alive, perhaps it would be funny one day. It wasn't right now. It was terrifying and he wanted to go home. Even if he didn't currently have a proper one, any place was better than here.
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Post by The Jenn on Feb 28, 2009 13:26:33 GMT -5
Felaria snerked a little, gripping her sling tightly. "Yeah, a gator-rat's a possum. B'tween the big snouts an' the sharp teeth, they may's well be related, right?"
Oh, and his little glass-duber just fell off his face. Monocle? Was that what he called it? At least it was attached to a string. The look in his eyes just made her want to go up and cuddle him and let him know it was all going to be just fine.
...so why was she resisting? With a slightly brighter look in her eye, she walked back a few steps to where he stood, twining one arm around his waist in a supportive gesture. "Ain't nothin' gonna get you while I'm here, boyo," she reassured him, squeezing a little. She fit against him rather perfectly, didn't she? The thought made a part of her wiggle inside, the part that was very firmly a fifteen-year-old girl with a crush that had been nursed for a full week.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 3, 2009 22:37:48 GMT -5
Part of Harold was relieved, the other part of him was still panicking. He honestly did not want to be out in the middle of nowhere with things that could possibly chomp off bits of him. The idea alone was enough to make him panic internally.
He was, however, completely taken by surprise when Felaria wrapped her arm around him. He raised an eyebrow and gave her a rather curious and confused look. Last time he checked this wasn't how a typical relationship went... then again he was standing in the middle of a swamp, with a young teenage girl, hunting for who knew what.
Still he didn't quite know what to do in response to her actions.
"Uh... thank you?" Harold said quietly, feeling the small blush returning to his face. Really, this shouldn't be all that embarrassing, and it wasn't as if anyone would find out about this.
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Post by The Jenn on Mar 5, 2009 2:15:24 GMT -5
The look he gave her made Felaria's grin widen and she squeezed once more before loosening the grip. "No trouble," she replied casually, pushing a little to move them both forward. She kept flicking her eyes alternately everywhere, from the potentially treacherous ground ahead to the trees for their quarry, and sometimes off to the sides to make sure they weren't being watched by anything too unfriendly, animal or otherwise.
They spent a grand total of three and a half hours trekking through the marsh around her house, bagging four opossums for their troubles. She got in a good amount of squeeze-time, which left her happy as shit, and she felt that her touch quota was in the comfortable level after their little excursion. It got him out of the house - and her out of the watchful gaze of her granddaddy, who could be stifling at times - and left him with a healthy appreciation for the room they were giving him. Perfect!
When they got back, she told him to go and get cleaned up while she started skinning and gutting their meal for the night.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Mar 13, 2009 13:25:17 GMT -5
Three and a half awkward strange hours. Part of him had enjoyed the company thoroughly, despite the circumstances of why they were out. It was strange that he was even doing this at all. One minute he had been in the courts, miserable and hating his life, and now he was... in the middle of bum fuck nowhere with a cute girl doing something he never dreamed of.
Getting back was a bit of a disappointment, though he was happy not to be in someplace laced with alligators or other creatures that had rows of sharp pointy teeth. He did clean himself up, as best as he could. It would be nice if he had some different clothing or different not to have his hair frizz out constantly. But he should just be thankful to be alive.
And he certainly was. As he buttoned his vest, wondering how long Felaria was going to take. He didn't exactly want to catch her in the middle of cutting things. The mental image just didn't sit well with him.
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Post by The Jenn on Apr 6, 2009 9:17:58 GMT -5
Felaria had gotten very good at skinning and cleaning the various critters that inhabited their area of the swamp. With a little bit of help from her granddaddy, mostly in grabbing a few other ingredients for the meal from the larder, she got things ready to eat in about an hour and a half. The little things were what really took up time.
When it smelled good and ready, she scooped out a portion for her granddaddy and told him it was a pre-dinner snack so he didn't feel bad about chowing down before the two of them got to the table. Eating a little bit early left him less grumpy and disagreeable over the actual meal itself, especially with a visitor in the house.
She went to Harold's room and, grinning proudly, told him that dinner was ready. She'd been trying to gauge his taste for the past week and eventually started to forgo some of the spicier herbs in the meals, sprinkling some on hers and her granddaddy's after they'd been dished so the man's apparently delicate palate wasn't lit on fire again.
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Post by Kari Muffin on May 15, 2009 14:32:24 GMT -5
Harold glanced up from the small book he had been looking over, hastily shoving it back in his vest. It was one of the few things he had managed to salvage from one of his pockets. It, at the very least, kept him busy when Felaria wasn't around and he wasn't stewing in the fact that he was probably never going to see "home" again.
At least the dinners were getting more edible. Being able to hold down the food made things easier. Even if it was only a little bit. Harold truly suspected that her Grandfather was going to kill him while he slept just from the dirty looks he got. Of course the Esterberry remained quiet even if he was twitchy when the man was around.
Dinner tonight was far less spicy than the previous dinners. It still managed to burn the poor man's tongue, but he would just have to get used to it.
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