middaeg | november catch-all

[It was good to get out, anyway. There was only so much misery-wallowing in depression someone as active as Maria could do, and spending a couple weeks infirm had more driven her crazy than made her complacent.

She pauses, raising her head a little, as though to get a better vantage deeper into the woods, considering the question... and then shakes her head.] I may have spent a couple weeks injured, but I've been quick to get back into fighting shape. It helps that I have been hired to instruct fencing.

[Gives her something to do to get her out of the house, gives her money, gives her social interaction. Things all quite important for someone that could otherwise very easily isolate themselves and tread a dangerous path.] A quick jaunt to the Wildes should be doable. My leg and knee healed admirably.

I doubt we're going to run into any hostiles in this part of the Wilde. Not from the Cwyld, at least. [ Scathach chuckled, shaking her head. ]

The local fauna is likely to see me as a predator, anyways, and avoid.

[ But it wasn't the fauna they were after, in the end... ]

But if you're so certain of your footing, should we make a game of it? A race to the edge of this wood?

No, but stranger things have happened.

[Honestly, if they don't parse Scathach for a predator, they'll parse Maria for one. The scent of a Hunter may have left her a while ago, but the demeanor remained.

... A race. She huffs a noise that's briefly amused - not the first one she's made, but the first in a while, and looks out over the woods.]

You mean, toward that copse of trees, then? Toward where Tamash disappeared?

[Honestly, she shouldn't entertain the idea. A race, like a child, but a run wouldn't be too bad, especially as a way to ensure her leg still is good after all this time.] Very well. We'll make a short race of it.

[She won't even teleport to cheat. She has the leg-length advantage anyway, though she isn't quite sure how the Monster traits will work for Scathach's advantage.]

On three.

[ Scathach rolled her spear over her shoulder to being held behind her, but close to her side, as she knelt down, tail rising and flicking behind her. ]

One... two...

[ "Three" was shouted before she began her sprint, exploding from her starting position but keeping low to the ground, running not unlike one expected a dog like her to do, just... avoiding being on all fours, at least. ]

[She tenses, ready for the three, and once it's gone, she's off the line. She runs like a person - a seven foot tall person with legs to match, and sprints across the ground like she's used to running things down to kill them.

Because she is.

Even if, right now, this is more friendly competition than Maria trying to run down a Hunter or even a Beast. Her leg feels good, as well, it's holding weight and not twinging or aching as she moves it, as her weight shifts from side to side, as her legs propel her forward at almost a terrifying rate.

She teleports around so frequently, she almost forgets what it's like to just run, and let herself move without the aid of magic.

By the time they hit the clearing, it doesn't actually matter to her which of them wins. The point was that the sporadic burst of energy felt good, and she takes a moment to catch her breath, turning unhurriedly at the sound of something coming through the underbrush - drawn by the noise, doubtlessly - as the pink petalwolf lopes into the clearing, shaking a few extra leaves from his hide, and wagging his tail, tongue lolling.] It's not far, then. That was refreshing, though. Thank you.

[She's only been in a good mood on very infrequent occasions lately, but... this might just be one of them.]

[ Honestly, she couldn't think of a time she saw Maria in such a champion mood. Her smile felt bright, however reserved it was, and the air about her almost seemed sweet, like wine. That, or the flower was closer than they thought...

Actually, the sustained warmth she felt in her face after that sprint was, itself, another sign. She sniffed the air, and looked in the direction the wolf had emerged from. ]

I feel our charge is close.

I think so, as well. Tamash seems excited. Here, boy. [She reaches into a little belt pouch to pull out a mushroom. Tamash sits, obediently, waiting for his treat, and is rewarded as Maria tosses it, and he snaps it out of the air. Then she motions.] Now, lead.

[And his tail goes up like a flag as he starts to trot off into the underbrush. She's feeling... well, just more upbeat than usual. It's a far better mood than the awful, dark, sludgy spiral of depression she's been fighting with up to this point.] Can you smell them, too, then?

Aye. [ Scathach nodded, righting herself to sidle up beside Maria, though not too close just yet. She stepped in the direction Tamash was leading for them, following and keeping her senses trained ahead. ]

My sense of smell is well sharper due to my nature in this world. It helps in moments like these, and makes particularly well made drinks taste all the better.

I would've thought, perhaps, to make them all the more bitter. Interesting.

[Scathach had already been on her list of people to send a bottle of the gin she's been distilling and working on, but it just helps cement it. Even if she also know the woman's preferred drink is whiskey; free alcohol is free alcohol, she figures.

Tamash noses his way through some underbrush, rustling loudly, and then barks a note that basically indicates here!

Surely enough, through some thick brush, and there they are.] Ah... they're more prolific than I thought. I was under the impression they'd be rare and hard to find. Shall we?

So simply plucking one and burning its roots will be more difficult than we thought... We may have to change tactics entirely.

[ Scathach sighed, twirling her spear out to give a few cursory pokes around the brush surrounding the plants, to see where its roots traced, how deep it might go. With that many buds, it had to be quite the network. They'd risk razing the whole wood if they tried their original plan, still. ]

They're paying rather handsomely for parts of the flowers. It may be worth it simply to harvest them...

[It would take longer, but they'd make more money. They might not be able to clear them all out, however.]

Hm, and now that I am thinking about it, perhaps it would be worth it to see if I can grow them, myself. Some flowers have interesting properties, and I've been... experimenting with distillation. [Actually, a nice, quiet drink also sounds really good right now. Maybe the kind that comes with company.]

The job detailed getting rid of them. Never said we couldn't keep a bounty of it. [ Scathach shrugged, not particularly minding Maria's idea, however... ]

But we'll need to be careful. This pollen is exceptionally intoxicating. Have you a spell that will help with this?

[ Get ur mind off the booze, Maria. Not that her own thoughts weren't starting to feel just as fuzzy... ]

I think we could use that to our advantage, if we can harvest at least a bit.

[The question does prompt a hum.] I've skill in enchanting, but it'll be a general ward unless I know the precise effects, which will make it a bit weaker than average.

[She feels... some kind of effect of it, but it's just making her feel warm and nostalgic for... what, she's not quite sure. Physical contact, perhaps. That's the worst it's doing to her so far - and though it might get progressively a bit worse, Maria isn't exactly very lusty.] It's not as bad as the roses, at least. Those robbed your mind entirely. Shall I get a bit of a barrier set up?

That may be for the be-

[ She was hardly allowed to finish her words before one of the bulbs opened up, letting out a burst of pollen right into Scathach's face and fur, the warrior stumbling back and tripping over a root, her spear clattering to the ground beside her. ]

Damn it all! Rude little sproutling, I ought to rip it from the earth!

[And Maria steps back, trying to avoid the concentrated burst of pollen. Not that it's going to do her entirely any good, considering the sheer amount of it in the air, but she'd rather avoid being covered in it.

It smells... odd, now that she thinks about it. Not unpleasant. It must be doing something to her senses for what should sort of smell like floral pollen to have hints of spice and earthy tones that do not make her want to sneeze. In fact, it makes her face feel warm - and her whole body, as well. Not too bad, but the wildes are starting to heat up, and she's in way too many layers for this.

She squeezes her nose shut, pinching it between thumb and forefinger, then shakes her head.] ... I suppose we should start the culling now, then, before any more of them try anything else like that.

Agreed...

[ Scathach reached down to pick up her spear, brushing beside Maria as she did so, and it was not lost on her how that... felt. How it sent goose flesh bubbling along her arm, beneath the patches of fur that were now powdered in that pollen they were warned about...

And by the time she could really bridge the small cognitive gap in her thoughts, she was already righting herself, a hand moving to Maria's cheek, her jaw, and... just hovering there... ]

... Troublesome thing, however... Is I find myself driven to distraction.

[Problem is, Maria feels it, too, light as it is, the little electric-like shock as Scathach passed her. It's not just the brief transference of mana between a Witch and a Monster, there's something else there. Something that brings up thoughts of touches - hands, whatever they may be - on more parts than just the elbow the other woman had brushed against.

It's almost perfectly timed when Scathach reaches up, and Maria begins to lean down until they both stop almost - almost - touching.

When she realizes what's going on, she tenses a bit, lips pressing into a line.] ... We can always try for another time, now that we know what we are up against. Unless you're enjoying luxuriating in the effects?

[The tone implies Maria's on pretty neutral ground. She's pretty sure she can handle it. She's also pretty sure she doesn't really care either way and wouldn't mind a bit more contact.

... Maybe that second one should be re-examined before she gets in trouble.]

[ This... Her hand finally settled, fingertips on flesh, feeling the way Maria's throat moved as she spoke, as she swallowed. How it felt almost cool to the touch, but warm just beneath. It reminded her of Jill, in a way... A rather dangerous comparison to make, given how often she and her lover were intimate.

The comparison really ended there, though. Maria was taller than her, something rare in itself among women, but she also had an entire air about her, and in that moment, the air felt almost fragile, like there was a film of ephemeral bubble waiting to break beneath the slightest pressure...

... She let out a shaking sigh. ]

This... isn't how I wanted this moment to be. It's simply the pollen, nothing more...

[ It was a lie. It was a lie and nothing a heart still mourning for a lost Bonded could find itself within, nothing that would disguise those wounds any better. ]

You wanted this moment to be...? You think about me in this way a lot?

[What Maria can't do is read Scathach's mind. Her relationship with Zelda wasn't... nearly anything like what this other woman had with the Hylian princess, but Maria does miss Zelda and her... well, and the fact they both liked to watch goings-on with carefully raised eyebrows belying only a hint of the true judgement beneath the motion.

The touch is something her mind decides it wants more of - thing is, Scathach isn't the only one who'd lost a Bond recently, and feeling the strange sense of loss from it. But this... this is different. Maybe it is just the pollen.

She closes her eyes, breathes a soft sigh, and slowly draws back a little.] A field of flowers trying to compel us is not the time or place. No matter how good it feels. But you know that.

I do think of you, this way, at times... I can say I have since that first moment we fought alongside one another. Your strength... it was infatuating...

[ Her hand lowered, and her gaze turned away, back towards the flower. Despite the bothersome pollen it had spread, she couldn't help but think it beautiful... ]

As I've come to know you, respect and affection blend further... But I do not want this to do so merely under the influence of something outside yourself...

Then that was when it started...

[She raises an eyebrow. It makes sense. Scathach's always had a flirtatious streak toward her, but it was really after they'd fought together that it seemed to amp up. Maria hadn't been thinking much of it - though now the pollen thinks accepting the advances might just well be the best idea right now.

... And that's how she knows she should stop while she's ahead. Hard as it is to fight the pull.] Your admission certainly has given me something to think of, but... you are also right. I don't consider such intimacy with people often, that I am now is undoubtedly these flowers.

I prefer to ease into such things, anyway. Fervent, desperate encounters are things for youth, before you learn how to slow down and enjoy yourself and your partner. I'd like this not to be a trip in vain, however... what do you think would work best? Simply starting on opposite ends of this flower patch?

That would be for the best...

[ And even so, she didn't feel particularly compelled to move from where she was, still finding herself unable to part from Maria, and even felt herself pull even closer, reaching to take a length of the woman's hair, as if idly, as if it were so casual... to bring it to her own face, to take in its scent, to press a kiss to the strands... ]

[Hm. Maria has very little inclination toward stopping Scathach at first. It not actually touching her, but the motion is... surprisingly intimate, and that's appealing to the part of her soaked in the pollen.

So she lets it go. For a moment, at least, and just when it seems like things are winding down a bit, she reaches up, delicately wrapping long fingers around Scathach's hands, touch quite delicate, before gently pulling her hands down. There's an urge to press her lips to the knuckles of the hands she holds, but she fights it down at the last moment.]

... We'll have to separate to do that.

Aye...

[ It wasn't a blithe or absentminded response, but rather what she could muster given the battle of willpower she was engaging. Maria was so close, her hand felt so warm despite the chill around them. She felt like a teenaged girl, again, her heart pounding in her chest as a particularly dashing spear instructor held her hand to assure her positioning was correct.

It was silly. Ridiculous and entirely incorrect for them. This wasn't what she'd wanted, but she found herself waning, and...

The petalwolf barked. It jarred her. She let go of Maria's hand without conscious thought, simply a reflex born from being a turnskin, her tail swishing about as the fellow cannus had her attention in the moment. ]

... Thank you, my friend. [ She couldn't help a small chuckle. ]

[And it's a good thing he did - Maria was sure she'd be able to stop things before they got too far, but her mind couldn't help but play the scenarios over and over again of what would happen if she just... let... Scathach get a little closer.

She shakes her head, a tiny, fond smile edging up the corner of her lips, and she reaches down to give the wolf a pat, and a ruffle through the fluffy chrysanthemums adorning his back.]

Right. Let us harvest these and make our way back. If we're lucky, we'll be able to do it without needing to bathe in the icy streams.

november catch-all

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