SUMMER

Angkar: Wet season. Precipitation is common during the late afternoon and evening hours. Vegetation grows significantly during the summer, but flooding is a danger due to the monsoons that ravage the country. The rainforest sees evenly distributed rainfall throughout the season.

Ashoka: Desert: Extremely hot and dry. Violent, heavy downpours following long dryspells. Jungle: Hot and humid with frequent, violent rainstorms.

Morrim: Relatively hot and dry, but with a chance of thunderstorms from time to time. The heat may cause forest fires.

Soto: Hot and humid, tree cover is dense while ground growth is restricted. Thunderstorms see the most amount of rainfall during the season, and it can be very windy. On occasion, there are flash floods that can destroy homes and farms built on flood plains.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

March 30th, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has changed hands and is now under new management! If you have any questions, please direct them to DaringRaven! As for the rest of the announcements, including a season change, you can find them over here at the following link!

January 16, 2018 As you might have noticed, Elenlond has a new skin, all thanks to Mel! Don't forget to check out the new OTMs as well!

December 2, 2017 Winter has settled on Elenlond, bringing sleep for some and new life for others.

September 26, 2017 With the belated arrival of autumn come some interesting developments: new OTMs, a Town Crier and the release of the Elly Awards winners!

July 14, 2017 After a bit of forum clean-up, Elly Awards season has arrived! Head on over to make your nominations!

May 31, 2017 Summer has arrived and so has activity check! That's not all though – we also have some new OTMs for you and some staff changes!


WHAT IS ELENLOND?

Elenlond is an original free-form medieval fantasy RPG set on the continent of Soare and the Scattered Isles, which are located to the south in the Sea of Diverging Waters. The four chief nations of the western side of the world—Ashoka in northern Soare, Soto in western Soare, Morrim in eastern Soare, and Angkar, the largest of the Scattered Isles—continue to experience growth and prosperity since the fall of the Mianorite gods, although power struggles within the countries—or outside of them—continue to ensue.


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    Home is Small Comfort; Cricket!
    Topic Started: Nov 26 2011, 12:18 PM (1,090 Views)
    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket sort of cringed into the silence, feeling guilty and overwhelmed. It was amazing how quickly she could ruined a truly happy moment. She fidgeted a bit in her seat, eyes lingering on the food left on her plate but she didn’t eat another bite, her stomach soured by the sudden change in mood. Hugo however seemed unperturbed, eyes still on whatever invisible thing Alexandros couldn’t see.

    <Interesting. Suffering from the inside out... I wonder what that feels like.> The grim mused darkly, trotting around the table and away from the trio, trotting off into the distance leaving Cricket sitting in her melancholy state, drinking her wine and watch As Alexandros slid down, speaking, his leg touching hers. The contact made her smile a little but she lost that little bit of happiness as she listened to him speak, nodding while he was in the middle of a sentence and, when he finished, she stood and stumbled over to him.

    She stopped behind his chair and wrapped her arm around him, leaning over a bit so he could feel her heart beat against his back and kiss him lightly on the cheek, resting her head against his a moment. It felt excellent, stubble an all, and she squeezed him lightly. “You can’t be doing a terrible job, since your father seems happy enough.” She said finally, whispering in her ear.

    There was a light chuckle from Hugo, hidden somewhere in the garden either lounging in the shade or pouncing on an unfortunate rabbit. He seemed quite professional at abandoning Cricket when he wanted her to fend for herself. She tensed a bit, after she spoke and there was a long stretch of silence and she said quickly, “I’m not crazy, his name is Demitrios.” She insisted, hugging him a bit was was prepared to be pushed away at any moment, eyes closed a bit. “He’s just... he wanted me to tell you you’re doing a good job and he’s proud of you.” Hugo appeared a short ways away, watching them, gauging Alexandros’ reaction.

    <She didn’t want to tell you, but he wont let the table be. And you had to go on about your mother and the estate.> He chastised, watching as Cricket finally withdrew a bit, stepping back, braced to be sent away- how could she expect him to let her stay, after all? Some part of her hoped he’d understand. This wasn’t the worst of her little “gifts” after all.
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    Alexandros
    Member Avatar
    One-Liner Wonder

    He drew comfort from her, closing his eyes and taking a long breath, resting his cheek against hers as she stumbled over to him, moody as he was, she still reached out to him. At her words though, his eyes flew open and he turned his head to look at her best he could, catching her wrist with his unoccupied hand before she could pull away.
    "My father? But he's..."
    He fell silent, listening as she continued on.
    "How do you know that? I...don't know what to say."
    Emotions boiled within him, the concern for his family mixed with the distant grief of loss, the unease, his eyes casting about as if he might see his father standing before them. He really was at a loss, but that was near driven from his mind once he spied three figures making their way towards them across the garden.
    "I don't think you're crazy, Cricket, just- wait...best we talk about this later."

    Slowly he stood up, drained the glass and rather unsteadily scooted the chair out, pulling several others to the edge of the table as well that the new arrivals might join them.
    His mother from earlier, minus the gargantuan hat, her grey hair pulled into a neat bun and her thin figure decked in a grey silk dress, slashed with blue and laced at the cuffs, her narrow face pinched into an expression of disapproval, sharp blue eyes surveying them. He wouldn't have been surprised to know she'd seen the kiss from all the way over there.
    His sisters accompanying her one to each side and linked arm in arm were both expressing a mix of polite curiosity and guarded friendliness, Magdalen barely suppressing her excitement before she broke free of the other two to her mother's long-suffering sigh, and threw herself on her brother, arms looping around his neck as he rocked back trying to keep his balance and lifting her tiny frame off her feet in a rustle of yellow velvet and lace, her light brown curls bouncing.
    "Magdalen!"
    "Sorry brother, I was just so excited!"
    Alex laughed sheepishly for the reprimand, his youngest sister though recently married was still as girlish as always. He eye fell on the elder of the two, dressed in a modest blue woolen cut, though of good quality, her grey eyes meeting his and a tight smile touching her lips. Were she older, they could have been twins for their likeness, her hair loose and cut short to just below her ears in a bob.
    "Talia...Mother. We were just having lunch."
    "Of course."
    His mother's tone was pleasant enough, though her eyes said she'd seen everything and knew they were up to no good. Grinning good naturedly as he felt the wine warming his blood, he threw an arm around Cricket's waist and introduced her.
    "I suppose I best introduce you to the female brood."
    "Alex.." the tone was warning.
    "Alright not so much the brood as the females. Without the brood."
    "Alexandros, get to the point." Talia raised an eyebrow, composed.
    "Cricket, my family. You met mother on the way here, this is Talia and Magdalen, my sisters. Girls, Cricket."

    The younger of the two almost bounced as she stepped up to Cricket, beaming with delight.
    "It's so good to see Alex has found someone to snuggle up to- I mean, you know. To prance around like a peacock, showing off. Mother so dislikes it when he doesn't."
    "Maggie!"
    "What a cute doggy? Is he yours? He's so gruff and fierce! I bet he's a fine protector."
    The young woman giggled, then seated herself with a rustle of her skirts beside her mother. Alex helped Cricket to a seat then plonked down beside her, lounging, before shooting to his feet again with an uncomfortable grin.
    "Well this is all delightfully awkward-"
    "Sit down, Alexandros."
    He found his knees automatically buckled, heavily dropping into his seat with a perplexed expression.

    How?! Why! I will resist!

    He stood again, flailing his arms a little vaguely towards the house.
    "Cricket and I were just-"
    "Sit."
    His knees buckled again and he thudded back into the seat beside Cricket.

    Gods damn it.

    Talia narrowed her eyes, hands carefully resting in her lap. "Alex...are you..drunk?"
    "I am perfectly sober."
    "I don't think Miss Cricket drank the bottle by herself."
    "...I am mostly sober."
    "It's not even two-thirty!"
    "Exactly, I've hardly had any at all!"
    "Mother!"
    The elderly woman raised a brow, then shook her head, turning instead to Cricket and ignoring the muted argument between her children, one disapproving, the other cheerful.
    "So, an unusual name you have there. How did you come by it?"
    Edited by Alexandros, Nov 28 2011, 10:34 PM.
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket felt a surge of relief wash over her when Alexandros’ hand curled around her wrist, holding her in place while he did his best to wrap his head around what she was telling him. Despite how unbelievable it was Cricket was relieved that he didn’t face her odd announcement with hostility. She opened her mouth, wanting to explain more but wasn’t given much of a chance as Alexandros spotted the gaggle of oncoming girls, and Hugo came over to them then and stood beside Cricket, ears perked.

    He growled a little when a glamourous mess of yellow velvet flung itself at the engineer, arms curled around his neck. Cricket was surprised at first, but a smile crept over her face a moment later. It was sweet, witnessing the siblings so happy to be together. Still, the one-armed girl couldn’t help but fidget, anxiety blossoming in her chest as she watched the interactions between them all. Hugo nudged her forward a bit but she resisted, and he didn’t press the issue. Only a moment or so after Hugo’s gentle prodding Cricket felt a familiar arm curled around her waist and she stepped closer, leaning on him a bit and shyly looking at the ground.

    “Hello.” She managed the same polite greeting after he was chastised for his choice of words, smiling a little, “It’s nice to meet you.” The words flowed seamlessly, without stutter as they had been well practiced for use on new customers- not that there would be any new customers. She felt a sudden weight fill her body at the thought but she didn’t have time to dwell. Magdalen’s comment about her giving Alexandros a purpose to prance around like a peacock made her laugh a little, looking up at him a moment and then said lightly, “I’m glad if I do give him a reason to show off, but I’m usually impressed by him no matter what, he’s brilliant.” Her face colored a bit but she couldn’t help but compliment.

    Hugo took that moment to lift one paw and drop his head in a surprisingly elegant bow for a huge mongrel before he moved over and licked her hand, nosing it and telling the girl through telepathy, <I suppose I am a fine protector. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.> Hugo sat beside Cricket’s chair, head tilted tail wagging a bit.

    She looked over at Alexandros with a small smile that widened when he stood and tried to excuse himself not once, but twice. “You’re being silly.” She told him softly but her eyes were soft with warm fondness as she looked at his face. She wanted to kiss him again, but was too shy with the audience.

    Her eyes turned back to the sisters when the argument began though, and she openned her mouth to chime in only to find there was no space between the dialogue of the two for a third party to object and insist that she had had her fair share of the practically empty bottle the two were bickering over. Even now she could feel the wine so warm and calming, coaxing her to not panic. She rested her head against Alexandros a little for a moment but lifted it when his mother questioned her name.

    “Ah..” Not the most eloquent way of starting a sentence, Cricket cleared her throat and said quietly, “My name is really Persephone, but my father thought it sounded too dignified, like a princess... So he started calling me Cricket because there was this song I used to sing about crickets all the time. It’s still my favorite- anyway thats how I got called Cricket...” Her face reddened a bit and she quickly apologized, “Sorry, I was babbling... Uhm... You have a lovely home.” She lowered her face and turned it a bit, the bandaged side toward the new people as she looked up at Alexandros for some sort of comfort.

    Hugo however had moved behind the girls and put his paws on the back of Magdelan’s chair, threatening to overthrow it as he nosed her curls and then leaned over and licked Alexandros’ mother on the cheek, more the breath the awkward silence than anything.
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    Alexandros
    Member Avatar
    One-Liner Wonder

    "Watch out, his head will be so big he won't be able to stand up with it."
    The younger of the sisters grinned playfully teasing the pair, then began giggling over the argument as the hound began nosing at her hair.
    "My, we are curious!"
    She reached over, plucking a slice of beef from the tray and holding it under the table while her mother was having her face licked. She hadn't moved, merely twitched, her eyes flicking to the mutt, one brow raised as if to question the action.

    Alex sighed, then teased back, "well if my head is inflated that much maybe I'll finally get to fly away hmmm?"
    "Best you let Cricket hold onto you then to stop you."
    The banter shot back and forth until their mother rested her hands lightly on the table and cleared her throat.
    "I received a pigeon today, from my sister, Laticia."
    Alex said nothing but his grip suddenly tightening a little on Cricket's clothes. Laticia was his aunt, his Ashokan aunt. A slight hardness came back into his face then as he turned towards her, though he said nothing, merely listened.
    "Apparently some fool managed to burn down one of the prisons and a good portion of the buildings. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you? You really should have sent someone down with a pot of tea as well."
    He shrugged uncomfortably, quite suddenly willing the floor to swallow him whole, though he knew it wouldn't happen. He was going nowhere and by the look in her eyes she knew exactly what he was thinking.
    "Funny that...the description was rather vague but...if I didn't know better, coupled with your sudden departure..."
    "Mother you can't be serious..."
    Talia stood, her face turning from one to the other, concerned, then rested on Cricket a moment, before going back to her brother's rising discomfort.
    "Alex...what have you done?"

    Folding his arms now he scowled at the wall beside him, as if it might give him the answers, then turned back to the girls, and his mother, watching him like a hawk.
    "You do know they're out for blood boy. If they come here-"
    "To hell with them! It was justified!"
    "Don't you dare speak to me like that young man!"
    He twitched, snapping his mouth shut with a click and returned to glaring in silence.
    "If they realize where you're from, they'll petition the Empress to hand you over. You do realize this?"
    "I had plenty of time to think on it on the road."
    "And what then? Will you go on the run? You will bring shame to this family!"
    "Mother, you're being a little harsh..."
    "Silence, Magdalen! He does not understand!" She wrung her hands, the soft material of her gloves twisting around her fingers. "I do not wish to lose another child. You..you are my only son. Why?"
    He sat for a moment in silence, weighed down by those accusing, questioning stares. He should have expected that his mother would piece it together, and it wouldn't take that long for the news to spread. But if the description was vague at best, he could remain hopeful. The thought that he should have killed the disarmed guard, instead of letting him go struck him as cold, but then maybe he wouldn't be in this situation had he not shown mercy.
    He knew they'd argue him into the ground but what else could he do about it?
    "If the Empress wills it...then I'll go. I won't dishonor her and the rest of you, like I've done myself."
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Out for blood

    If nothing else was heard, those three words hung heavy in the air, suffocating Cricket as she sat in deadened silence watching the fighting. Harsh words shot back and forth, and Talia’s gaze resting on Cricket even for that moment made her skin crawl. Alexandros’ arm had moved to away, crossed across his chest with a certain hardness that touched his face and his blue-gray eyes. She glanced at it, and then at his mother as her tone grew progressively more accusatory. Her heart pounded in her chest and Hugo’s ears laid back.

    The oversized dog growled and put his paws on the table, <I suppose you’d just let someone you love rot in jail, wouldn’t you you heartless old wench!> His voice was a roar directed at the matron, but heard in the minds of all at the table. <Do you know what they did to her?! I should sink my teeth-> Cricket stood with enough force to send her chair falling backward, “NO! Hugo stop it! Everybody stop it!” Her voice rose, not hysterical but sharp commanding.

    She turned her eyes to the sisters, and the the engineer, and then his mother, back and forth as tears filled her eyes. She took a step away from them, almost tripping and taking a few more, staggering. Finally she spoke again, voice no longer cutting, but firm and full of pain, “It’s... It’s all my fault.”

    It had never crossed her mind, in the thick of the fight or the following agonizing journey to Morrim that Alexandros would face a healthy amount of punishment of even death for rescuing her. After all, wrong or right, she had been convicted of the crime... And now he was going to suffer, and she was here, eating ham and drinking wine as if suddenly her life would just be alright. Things are never going to be alright.

    Tears dampened the bandages around half her face while, on the other side, tears finally slid down, “I’m sorry... I’m so sorry..” She turned to move away, a pitiful sight as her rushing was a bit like continuously falling of her damaged leg. Hugo growled, rushing to stop her, blocking her path with his body but she gave him a harsh shove, teeth grit, tears streaming down her face. She had to get away- she couldn’t stay there a moment longer, baring the stares of the family she was tearing apart.
    Edited by Cricket, Nov 30 2011, 01:46 PM.
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    Alexandros
    Member Avatar
    One-Liner Wonder

    Watch your tone, that's my mother you're talking to!

    Alex stood, his chair scraping on the stone as he reached for Cricket, but she was gone again. Frustration rippled across the surface and he gripped the back of the chair, shoving it out of the way, but not before his youngest sister reached her first.
    "Where are you going? Please stay...things just got a little heated..."
    Her small gloved hand clutched desperately at the taller woman's arm, her eyes imploring, face earnest.
    "It's not your fault, Alex would have come after any of us if we were in the same position."

    He stopped, dropping his hands to his side and glancing from one party to the other, unsure where to put himself, or what to do, let alone say.

    "You would, wouldn't you Alex?"
    "Of course."
    "See? It's alright. Please don't go." In an undertone she added just for Cricket's ears, "I really think he needs someone else in the house besides mother, I've seen him sometimes just staring out the windows, so lost. I'm sure..you know what I mean."
    She turned looking back over her shoulder, curls bouncing as she did so.
    "I'm sorry doggy, momma didn't mean it to sound like that."
    She resumed her gentle tug on Cricket's arm, shooting Alex a look that suggested he stop standing there like a useless lump and do something.

    The wine was making his head buzz, or maybe it was the frustration that no one seemed to understand why he'd done it. He'd known that if he went there would be trouble, that it would have likely had repercussions.
    "Cricket, I'd have come anyway. I knew what I was getting myself into, if I didn't feel it was the right thing to do, I wouldn't have come. Whether Hugo dragged me there or not."
    He was still bristling at Hugo's behaviour, his mother's shock that settled into stony silence as she merely observed them, caught in the conflict. He wanted to defend them both, not be stuck in the middle like this being pulled into choosing sides, however unwilling the parties.

    The silence was beginning to drag as Talia looked between them, then spoke mildly, "well, I think you should run. Stay together, and go into hiding."
    He turned to look at her in disbelief, the last thing he'd expected of his milder less excitable sister. She was always the understanding level headed one, and now this?
    "I...that's just...no!"
    He wanted to say ridiculous but the words wouldn't come out, instead swiveling to face the tearful young woman with Magdalen, seeking her opinion, a touch desperate.
    "Cricket?"
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    <I don’t care if she’s your mother or some ugly-> But suddenly Hugo fell silent, turning angry teeth towards the sister who seized the crippled woman’s arm. They snapped shut, an empty threat as he heard the girl imploring Cricket to calm down, to come back, to just relax and take a breath. Hugo let out a low long whine and pumped Cricket with his nose as she turned her bandaged face onto Magdalen. “I could tell them it was me though, and he’d be alright...” Was her immediate reaction, though her face turned away as the girls words went on and her bruised and bitten shoulders slumped a bit, eyes cast to the oddly festive little pin on the empty sleeve.

    Cricket nodded a bit, at the comment regarding Alexandros’ empty stare out the window and murmured, “I know what you mean...” Her eyes grew glassy again as she said it, looking at the girl with pained eyes, the red orbs filling with something like depressed nostalgia while memories of her own longing stares came creeping back. Hugo let out another whine and nudged her again but Cricket just turned her face away. That was why the grim had pursued the weary engineer after all, it hadn’t been at random that he had gone barking from under his porch.

    The spectral mutt looked up at Magdalen and nodded his head a bit, looking down between his paws before he moved over to the yellow-clad girl and eyed her before he rested his head against her leg, <Alright. That was uncalled for, you’re all just worried, and I am sorry for what I said.> His voice resounded in everyones mind with his typical telepathy, lowering his head and moving closer to Cricket who, after gently prying her arm from Magdalen’s arm dropped to her knees and wrapped her arm around the mutts neck.

    In the uncomfortable silence she held a fistful of coarse fear and pressed her face against the dog who looked back over his shoulder at Alexandros. He stepped back when Talia spoke but showed his teeth a little, more a sneer than a threat. He had a certain formidableness to his aura now, something he hadn’t had while prancing about with his ham. A sort of serious quality that made his eyes hard, <Alexandros->

    But Cricket spoke first, rising her red eyes to look at Alexandros’ face. Only three words passed her lips to start, her tone had some sharp note, as if she were stating her case in an argument, “I-I love you!” Her eyes wavered and she turned her face away. She hated crying in front of people, hated speaking to them, and here she was with a fresh audience spilling her heart. Her tone grew more quiet, like an urgent whisper, “And even if you don’t, I don’t care. I’ve never cared more about someone in my whole life and I don’t want anything to happen to you...” Her eyes lifted again, a tear sliding down the whole half of her face. “We should run.”

    Hugo moved behind Alexandros and tried to force the other closer, sort of walking sideways with his ribs pressed against the reluctant engineer. The silence was so heavy it was hard to stay up- or maybe it was the exhaustion that always came when her bones grew too heavy for her soul. Regardless, in that long pause Cricket’s hand covered her face and she whimpered, “...I-I can’t breath...” The anxiety was making her heart pang and her chest tighten, the world starting to spin.
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    Alexandros
    Member Avatar
    One-Liner Wonder

    For him, the world seemed to stop and hang for a moment, his breath locked in his chest as he took a half step back, eyes widening a little. He'd not really considered where things were going, merely trying to get them to a safe point in time and just let it go from there. He was certainly fond of her...no, that wasn't right. More than fond, but he'd not really sat and straightened his head out over it. Not that he hadn't had the time, it just seemed to be...less important than the recent events. Finding somewhere safe to recover had take precedence.

    "I..."
    No words would come, his youngest sister was beaming as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, and the most celebrated, the elder of the pair had a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips, and mother...he raised his eyebrows. If he didn't know any better, he saw approval there, though for what was hard to tell.

    His expression quickly melted into one of anger as he cast his gaze about the four women, tinged with disbelief, and a little betrayal as he turned back to Cricket. He certainly felt betrayed, how could she not see where the problem, lie, being from Ashoka? There could be no running from that...no matter how hard he ran, they'd always follow, there was no safe place to hide from the Moghul's hound if she wanted someone, and if it came to that, she would.
    "I agree. You should both run."
    His gaze lingered a moment on the tearful woman, hugging her hound, cut off as he'd been about to say something, and flicked up to his sister, standing beside Cricket with her fists clenched and stamping one foot.
    He shook his head, turning back to the elderly woman at the table. She refused to meet his gaze, instead staring at her hands, still now.
    "Mother surely you..."
    Her voice was tired as she finally straightened her back, lifting her head to sweep her gaze over her children and the woman her son had bought to them.
    "My son.....I too, would see you run."

    I don't believe it. I won't do it! I'm not a coward!

    He growled, striding out and meeting the maid at the last stretch as she reached the end of the path, carrying another tray, this time bearing a pot of tea and several cups, and another bottle of wine. Snatching the wine in his hand, he strode back to the small gate in the wall with a snarl of, "I don't have to listen to this!"
    He wrenched the gate open, the latch protesting as it was pulled from the catch, slamming the small wooden door behind him and striding off into the woods, kicking at anything that got in his way.

    In the silence, Talia murmured in a small voice "should I go after him? He looked very..." She stood, walking towards the gate when Cricket exclaimed that she couldn't breathe, her sun-kissed skin looked pale and her eyes glassy.
    Without thinking the elder of the sisters reached out, clasping her shoulders with both hands to steady her.
    "Are you alright?"
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    The world was spinning in lazy circle that made Cricket’s stomach churn and her teary eyes roll a little. Her bones were heavy- she wanted to just let them fall, to run away from all the yelling and upset that had ruined an otherwise heavenly day. His look of betrayal was both infuriating and crushing. How could he narrow his eyes that way, when all she wanted for him was the best? Could he not guess from her own sorry state just what would be done to him? Talia’s hands held her steady while his foot steps made her blood boil. Gently she took Talia’s hands off of her shoulders, taking a deep, pained breath and then she turned on her heel. “Don’t walk away from me!”

    Hugo ran ahead, doing his best to block Alexandros’ path long enough so that Cricket could run up to him- stumbling all the while her leg feeling as though it were on fire from the strain. She grabbed his shoulder and pulled; whether it turned him around or turned her body around his the result was the same as Cricket attempted an open palmed strike across the side of his face, meant to sting but cause no actual damage. Her red eyes were on fire in a way he hadn’t seen, glowing with a livid sort of life one would not expect from such a timid little maid.

    “For a genius you’re acting like a child! Are you an idiot, Alexandros? Do you know what they’ll do to you?!” She shouted at him, trying to give hima s hove then, though her body was weak. Hugo growled behind Cricket but did nothing to intervene, as if he too was startled by the reaper’s sudden outburst. “I’ve been captive not once Alexandros, but twice and I’m fortunate to only be this ugly! I was there! I’ve seen what Orion does to people and if you don’t give a shit about how I feel then think about your sisters! Think about your mother!” Her fist was whine knuckled as she glared into his face, “You’re so lucky to have these people who love you so much! You’re so lucky and you’re too proud to run?! You’d rather they get you back in pieces?! You’re acting like a child!”

    She stepped backwards then, Hugo met her to steady her with his body. Cricket’s heart was thudding hard and face in her chest, but her voice grew more quiet, “You’re acting like a fool. I can’t believe I thought...” She moved away then, as fast as she could, managing a sort of staggering run all the back to the stable. Her back hit the wall, sliding down to sit, pulling her knees to her chest while Hugo whined and laid down beside her. Slowly she slid down, resting her head on the immense animal. “I-I want to go home.” She told the grim, who remained in silence, just letting time pass until Cricket was quiet as well, just staring up at the sky with wide eyes as it changed color with the passing day. After a few hours when the sun was starting to set Cricket's voice rang out quietly, a bit shaken:

    "Here last night was w-warm and moist,
    in a dream I thought I heard your voice.
    I went outside and started to sing,
    the crickets were doin' the very same thing...
    Well me and the crickets sang all night long,
    me and the crickets sang the same damn song,
    a song of how love should be,
    a song of how you should be with me."


    When the song ended she fell silent again just staring at the darkening sky. The song was a sad and quite failed attempt to sooth the deep heart ache she was starting to feel. Her anger had drained slowly, like electricity flowing from her viens to the ground. She was exhausted but she couldn't sleep, even with the steady thump thump thump of Hugo's heart in her ear. The grim turned his head and licked her on the cheek, but he had a certain weakness to his form too. Still, now was not the time to pester his maiden to hunt, so he rested his chin back on his neatly folded paws and listened to the heavy silence that had fallen.
    Edited by Cricket, Dec 1 2011, 05:26 PM.
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    Alexandros
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    In all honesty he hadn't expected her to catch up with his long stride, and he tried to shrug off the hand that clasped his shoulder firmly, but it wouldn't leave, forcing him around with the intention of grabbing at it and shaking its owner off more thoroughly.
    So when the slap came, he took it, doing nothing more than letting a muscle in his cheek twitch, stinging like fire.

    Her eyes drew him and he stopped trying to break away from her, glaring, trying hard not to be the first to look away and lost the battle. He was angry, but not angry enough to face her as she was, a goddess in all her fiery glory. Thrilling, this side of her that he'd not yet experienced, though he figured stealing a kiss now would warrant not just a slap but a beating. Instead he stood, back tense as he listened to her wear out her fury on him, then stalk away, crashing through the dense foliage back to the gate.
    Wordlessly he turned and stepped back into the trees, continuing on the short trail to the little pond he'd always sat at in his teens, when everything got to be too much, sinking down on the old stump and setting the bottle by his knee as he glared at the water.

    There was just too much to think about, and not enough time. Or maybe there was. She was right, and he knew he was being stubborn, pig headed, but at the same time she was wrong. If they ran now, it would only get so much worse by the time they were caught. And by that point, what would they do to her then?
    There was no real place they could hide from the mistress of blades, he was sure she knew it as well. They'd just run, and run, and run. There'd be no real time because they'd be counting out every second, expecting to be apprehended at every corner. She didn't deserve that, that constant lurking fear. How could he protect her from something like that?
    Alex sighed, squeezing his eyes shut and resting his head in his hands, elbows on his knees.
    Why did he even have to protect her? He was sure she could stand on her own two feet, and she had Hugo...but what she'd said...did he feel the same? There was too much crowding the way to that thought, his head felt tangled as a ball of yarn, even as he picked up the bottle and clumsily uncorked it with his incomplete hand, chin resting on his knuckles as he took a long pull from the bottle, thinking as the afternoon wore on, and began to dim to evening, the fireflies beginning to come out and dance over the still water.

    The hairs on the back of his neck prickled and he looked up, the little grove empty but for the last few birds lingering before flying up to roost. Yet he felt watched. Odd, really, considering what Cricket had said earlier though, he shook his head. He didn't think she was crazy but he wasn't sure he believed in ghosts, or spirits, or whatever they'd have themselves called. The same way he didn't accept that religious crap.
    Smiling lopsidedly he glanced down at the bottle, nearly empty and shrugged to himself. There wasn't any real harm in it, maybe it'd talk back, give him some insight to his own messed thoughts.
    "That you Popsh? Take a sheat, welcome to my humble abode..." he swung his arms at the pond then shook his head, grumbling about stupidity.
    "I shtill don't believe it wash...you know, all natural. Nevermind though eh? I have enough..thingsh, to think about. Yesh, women! Love them and hate them but you can't live without..!" He swayed unsteadily, grabbing at the stump to support himself, slurring softly into the twilight.
    "D'you think I love 'er? I might. I wash...I need to...you're right, I am an assh!"
    He said the last triumphantly, standing and dropping the bottle into the grass, though he frowned again a second later realizing he'd just insulted himself.
    "I don't desherve...she doeshn't desherve to...you know...be dealing with all that. I can't even...haha, that'sh a frog. What wash I shaying? I should go home.."

    He stumbled back along the trail, near falling into the gate and clinging to it a second as he tripped on an exposed root, then mumbling righted himself and pushed it open, letting it clatter shut behind him as he began to walk back towards the house and it's distant lights, doing his best to go in a straight line, listing lazily from side to side.
    "Bloody..shtay shtill while I walk!"
    The thought of facing them all after earlier made him go cold, and he turned away from the house, swaying merrily along towards the stables. He wasn't so much intending to ride as to talk to his horse, if he'd put up with him. He did it often enough.

    After staggering in through the rear of the building he flopped down in the hay just inside the stall, the disgruntled warhorse leaning down to nose him as if to say 'get the hell out of my food!'
    "Ahhh..Shpot old buddy, old pal, old...bashtard! Don't bite! Have you ever been in love? No don't shpose you have...you jusht like to..." he subsided to giggles, rubbing the stallion's nose instead.
    "Ahaa...ahhh...I dun wanna go back in there...itsh comfy down here neh?"
    The horse nickered, stamped a foot in annoyance and began nudging his master, whence a tussle broke out, both of them shoving and headbutting at each other, one trying to push the other out of the stall.
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Hugo lifted his head as a drunken slur broke the suffocating silence. His ears twitched a bit and he sighed, saying nothing to the melancholy girl beside him. She too heard the shouts soon enough however, sitting up and curving her spine to make it pop loudly before she sighed and furrowed her eyes brows. “What the hell?” She stood and had to lean on the barn a moment as her legs remembered how to walk, “walk” here being a loose a term. Hugo too stood and stretched, shaking his fur a bit and looking around.

    <Sounds like Alexandros found his way back.> Hugo mused, not wanting to push Cricket into another one of her rages. She just sighed, turning her head away from the dog. “I don’t want to see him.” She said quickly, trying to mask pain as anger and failing quite dismally. Hugo heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head, pumping her with his head, <For deathsakes, we’re both exhausted. We both need energy, which we will only get if you do your damn->

    Cricket recoiled a little from him and cut off the large, impatient dog, “What does that have to do with anything?” Her voice was short and sharp but he responded with the same sharp quickness, <He makes you happy, even if he doesn’t love you. You'll be more at peace with your wretched job if you have some sort of warmth to come back to.> Cricket looked up a little, at the side of the barn where she could hear muffled speaking. Finally she moved along the edge, leaning a little still, gimping around to the front door which she grabbed and tugged. It barely budged, making Cricket grimace as she tried again. 


    There was a small chill as suddenly large masculine hands tipped in long black hands seized the door and helped her jerk them open. By the time she looked back Hugo was a dog again, but she smiled just the same. He wrinkled his nose at her and said nothing, the pair moving in to peek around the corner into the stall where something of a tussle had broken out. Alexandros and the horse each shoving and making angry sounds, the warhorse head butting the man who appeared to have just flopped down in the hay. Cricket couldn’t help but smile a little, leaning in the entrance to the stall, she asked. “What are you doing?” She moved in and pet Spot’s neck a bit to try to calm him- she had no experience in horses, after all.

    “He’s a drunk mess, isn’t he?” She asked the horse, glancing out of the corner of her eyes as Alexandros before she moved over and held out a hand, “Come on, up.” Though any weight he tried to put on her to stand would only result in her tumbling into the hay beside him, half on top of the inebriated male.
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    Alexandros
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    Alex sprawled as the door opened, butted back into the hay, and just lay there, the horse clamping his teeth around the man's shirt collar and yanking on it with a disapproving snort.
    He stopped however, turning his attention to the woman as she began to pet him, ear flicking back and forth.
    "I wash lishtening to the looovely maiden shinging outshide, and wreshtling with my mount of a brute. No wait..."
    Pushing himself up into a sitting position the engineer grinned up at her, not sure what he was grinning about but everything seemed just wonderful then. Watching her there though, he recalled the earlier thoughts and felt a brief ache in his chest as he considered her hot words, smile fading a little.

    I can't let anything happen to you, not again, I won't let them.

    The thought had been oddly lucid amidst the drunken haze, and though he smiled, his eyes were serious enough, just watching her while she spoke to the stallion. Before he'd thought about it fully, his mouth was running away again, though he kept his eyes firmly rooted on her knees.
    "There's a man who caresh a lot about you, you know. But he's an ass, just wants you to know it's all for the right reasonsh...moshtly."

    As she told him to get up, he almost did, then thought better, taking her hand and pulling her down instead, catching her before she hit the hay, laughing and slurring his speech.
    "No, you should come down here. Pretty comfy neh?"
    He didn't mind that he had straw tangled in his hair, or that his shirt was loose and undone, that he could barely communicate properly for the amount of alcohol he'd managed to consume in the space of an afternoon, nor the fact that it was chilly outside. The stable was warm, as was Cricket leaning over him, and he grinned lopsidedly again, one eyebrow raising.
    "He should should have mentioned before he got drunk how pretty you were, lady, and maybe how sorry he is for making you cry..."
    His thumb traced the edge of her face there in the dark, from the corner of her eye to her chin where he'd seen the tears fall.
    "Makesh him shad to see you cry...all achey in the chesht. Thinks he might be trippin' o'er his own feet every time you look at him."

    It wouldn't surprise him if she was angry as hell at his behaviour, in her position he would be, he'd probably have slapped him by now, or even punched him, bloodied his nose. But as nothing seemed to have started that way, perhaps she'd forgive him, if she'd burnt out her anger already.
    He reasoned, that for now, it couldn't possibly get worse.

    Slender fingers pulled her down until they pressed firmly together, slipping around her neck and back as he drew her into a slow kiss, one hand sliding across her cheek to the back of her neck, the other settled lightly on her waist. If she shrugged him off, he wouldn't complain, but he rather hoped she didn't. Seeing her so angry made him feel like a scolded child, worse than that, he'd had the fear that she might hate him, and it slipped out as he drew back, nipping gently at her lower lip.
    "Do you hate me? I only wanted for you to be safe...to shtop hurting."
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket crossed her arm across her chest and warned as he began his slurring speech, “Flattery will get your no where.” His calling her a pretty maid did little for his case except make her blood start to boil a second time, though his next phrase did wonders to calm it, making her tilt her head as she watched him lounging drunkenly in the hay. All she did was step closer and hold out her hand in response, with her soft words coaxing him to his feet. She was rewarded with the opposite instead, tumbling down into the hay she cried out and was rewarded with warm arms catching her. She sighed heavily and lifted her face to give him a disapproving look but found it melting away as he slurred on. Her red eyes closed when his finger traced her face, and when the openned they were glassy, listening to him go on, “Do you mean th-this or are you just drunk enough to think it?”

    Her hand rested on his chest, eyes casting down in the darkness, her thoughts racing but she was doing her best to keep her hopes in check; low, almost to the floor. he could very well sleep off this stupor and change his mind come morning. Still when she lifted her eyes to him, opened her mouth to speak, she found once more that she was unable. His arms coaxed her body close against his, lips together in a slow kiss. At first she was hesitant, but it only took a moment before she became a willing participant, body pressed against his a bit in that warm darkness.

    The nip when they parted made a sweet shiver run down Cricket’s spine, and she slid down ever so slightly so that she could rest her head on his shoulder more comfortably. His words hung heavy between them, but she was quick to shake her head no. “ ‘course I don’t hate you...” She murmured quietly to him. She felt out of breath but it had nothing to do with the walls around them. Her eyes just lingered a moment on his and her fingernail idly traced circles on the bare expanse of his chest. Finally she lifted the hand and pulled the bandages on her face away, looking down at him with her ruined face, biting her lip.

    “It’ll hurt me, if they hurt you Alex... I really care about you, too.” She toled him quietly before she rested her head on his shoulder again, guiding his hand with hers, making him rest it on the deformity.

    “And it hurt because I thought you were different.. I thought you didn’t care about the way I look or how I can’t spend time inside, but then you...” She closed her eyes and leaned up, kissing him again. She pressed down against his body, and he lips left his mouth, kissing lightly across his stubbled cheek and letting them linger a moment on his pulse before she tried to sit up. “You’re so drunk, you probably don’t even know what’s going on.” She accused gently, face red in that comfortable darkness. “You’d regret this, I bet.”
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    Alexandros
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    Alex was feeling drowsy, lying in the soft warm darkness with the comfortable weight of Cricket on his chest and the smell of horse beside them. Disgruntled horse that was giving them a flat eyed look as if to say 'if you're going to do that, I'm going to step on you.'
    He found a languid smile stretching his lips as he listened to her talk, thumb moving back and forth, stroking the ruined side of her face. Odd really, still smooth, slightly textured, like scars over skin. At least she didn't hate him, she'd looked furious again for a moment there, then calmed. If he didn't know better she was probably blushing right now. He wasn't sure why he wasn't, though glad of the dim light, just in case he was. His cheeks were a little flushed anyway from the wine, maybe that was it.

    "'m not drunk enough to forget yet."
    He chuckled as her fingers tickled against his chest, and made a low contented growl deep in his throat as she found his pulse, reluctant to answer, lest she stop her delicious nuzzling.
    When she did, he was a touch disappointed, and returned to stroking her hair, delightfully silky and cool from the night air against his fingers.
    "I don't regret nuthin'...cept maybe blowin' that guys arm off with a sky light. Ruined his coat somethin' awful."
    There was an awkward pause.
    "I din't mean to say that."
    He grunted, shifting in the hay to a more comfortable position, and would have shrugged too had he not been on his back with a woman nestled against his shoulder.
    "Don't regret shayin' that, if that'sh what you meant."

    He pulled her into a kiss again, one hand sliding under the edge of her coat and shirt, to the small of her back when there was an impatient whinny and Alex jolted, the stallion headbutting him again in the shoulder, spoiling it all.
    "Oh...bugger it all. Damn it thish is my stable!"
    Spot was insistent though, whinnying loudly and stamping his hooves, kicking up dust.
    "I don't bother you when you find a nice filly in the field!"
    It didn't occur to him that having an argument with a horse wasn't the best thing to do, nor the sanest in any sense, but the fact that the horse was arguing back made it better. Sort of. He watched as the beast loomed over them and began nibbling on Cricket's hair, attempting to coax her to his way of thinking perhaps, easily stepping around the man's suddenly flailing leg trying to boot the animal in response.
    "Well I come for a nice chat and all you do is tell me to piss off, how nice!"
    Making a sound of annoyance, the engineer propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at the woman in the darkness of the stall, not that he could see much. Night had fully fallen outside and crept in while they were talking, giving everything its soft shadowy cast.
    "Maybe I should romance you with a nice walk in the woodsh, but I'd just make a tit of myshelf. We could raid the pantry...or attack the old biddy in the dining room with a toashting fork."
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    There was a soft silence that lingered after Alexandros, in his stupor, told Cricket about the time he had blown a mans arm off. She laid there a moment on top of him, feeling him breath under her, feeling his heart beating. How long had it been since she’d been close to another human like this? Her eyes turned up to him at the shocking revelation and she responded quietly, smiling, assuming that in his state he might not remember it, or he might just assume she was teasing, “I regret selling my soul to Hugo in the name of a second chance at life...more, I regretted it, until I met you.” She sighed and just leaned in to the kiss he pulled her into.

    Her hand slid over his chest a little, finding some bravery and shivering a bit as she felt his hand duck past fabric and come to rest on the smooth skin of her lower back. The moment was broken though, as Spot voice his disapproval. Cricket couldn’t help but laugh- starting as a little giggle and growing to sheer mirth as she sat up, cross legged, looking at him propped up on one elbow, head tilting. <You’re grinning like a moron.> Hugo felt the need to inform her, but she ignored the comment.

    Standing, she picked hay from her hair and reached out to pet Spot’s long face, smiling a bit, “Now now don’t be too hard on him, Spot. I already slugged him earlier... besides, he thinks I’m a ‘nice filly’.” She fumbled with her pocket, a bit shy still, and offered the horse a sugar lump she had stolen off the table earlier. “Horses like this, right?” She glanced over at Alexandros and fidgeted a bit. Her leg was sore still but she didn’t complain, limping closer to him. “Old biddy? What do you mean? Uhm... We can raid the pantry, but after you should go to bed. I mean look at you...” A small smile followed the statement before Hugo crowded into the stall with everyone else, doing his best to help Alexandros to his feet. <Come on- up! On your feet you damn drunk...>

    Cricket was waiting to meet him, thankful that they were almost eye level as she leaned close and kissed him again, hand taking a fistful of his shirt as she pulled him close, withdrawing. Her red eyes peered into his, so in human, and she managed a small smile before she put her arm around him and moved from the stall, as much leaning on him as she was trying to hold him up. Hugo rolled his icy eyes and raced ahead a ways. The ex-coffin builder glanced over at her companion as they walked, still confused a bit by his change of heart regarding how he felt towards her. Her head tilted a bit and she said lightly, “Are you only being so sweet to try and get me in your bed?”

    “N-nevermind-!” She added quickly, almost as soon as she’d finished asking her question and instead inquired quickly, as if to erase her earlier question, “Do you think you could make me an arm? I know it’s a long shot, but I was thinking and... you’re really smart, I’m sure you could make something, and I could do a little magic too...”
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    Alexandros
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    "Sold your soul?"
    He wondered what she meant by that, and shrugged slightly. She hadn't minded his slip of the tongue about the sky light incident, so he'd not comment further, settling into that comfortable silence before drawing her into the kiss, lips so soft and warm, delicious.

    He missed the warmth almost instantly when she drew back, leaving him there with a languid smile on his face, still draped on the hay, his gaze following her, unashamedly rooted on her backside admiringly, only half listening to her words.
    "Mm...they like sugar, apples, carrots...near enough anything. Oats too...spoiled bugger."

    Grunting he sat up, then gripped the top of the stall and heaved himself up to his feet, swaying slightly as if guided by an unfelt breeze, blinking and chuckling softly as the woman grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a slightly rougher kiss. His feet found solid ground, kicking hay across the stall as he pushed her gently but firmly against the wall, nuzzling at her neck until she pulled away, leaving him grinning, only the more determined to catch her.

    One arm slipping around her shoulders he weaved a little stepping out into the cold air, taking a deep lungful for a moment, like a lance of ice to the chest, a cheerful laugh breaking the still air as he turned his face towards her, eyes sparkling and nothing if not inviting.
    "No, but that's a wonderful idea. I would carry you if I didn't think I might hit your head on the doorframe."
    Her question about an arm though tickled the engineering part of him and set the gears in motion again.
    "An arm...like a mechanical one? Hmm..ahh...Cricket, you're a genius! Brilliant! Why didn't I think of that?"
    he was distracted again by the sight of the moon breaking out of the clouds, and lifted his hands, boxing it in, squinting one eye shut and his tongue poking out of his mouth. "I should catch the moon for my lady, and offer it to her on a...a....shiny plate thing that is shiner than the moon. No, nothing's shinier than the moon, that won't work. What would you even do with the moon if I got it anyway. Catch it and make it into a new arm..."
    Catching her by the waist he danced a few steps around then lifted her up, plonking her back gently on her feet again, laughing.
    "I'll get you the moon. And some cheese. My stomach tells me we need a good slice of cheese, and some wine. Lots of wine."
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket’s face was red and hot, cooled only by the brisk night air as they stepped outside, her arm still looped around Alexandros to help guide him to the house. Her lips tingled softly, suggestively. but she was pushing all thoughts of such an indecent nature from her mind. For the time being, anyway, he motive was to get something in him to soak up the wine and then to get him to his room, where he could sleep off the drunken stupor he’d gotten himself into. The ruined half of her fragile face was most grateful for the light breeze, so relaxing after a day in tight bandages. Her mask, at least, had been more comfortable.

    “I don’t much like being carried, anyway. Except by Hugo, maybe, because he’d never drop me.” Cricket glanced at Alexandro as they ambled, their path far from straight, towards the house. He pulled away and she just smiled a little, watching him while he caught the moon between his fingers and shook her head, shrugging “I get great ideas when I’m mad.” Her eyes followed his, up to the moon, before the closed and she just basked in the pale light a moment.

    Hugo sat beside her, watching the silver orb as well, oddly transfixed and somewhat bothered as Alexandros began to babble on. Cricket kept her eyes close,d just listening before they flew open and she curled it around him quickly, lifted into the air by his hands on her waist and turned about she laughed finally and shook her head a little, but only after kissing him lightly on the cheek. “Ah, but Alex, I don’t want the moon.” She looked back at it and then at Hugo from the corner of her eyes as he let out a low, blood chilling howl.

    “Lets get inside and get you some cheese. Come on.” She put her hand on his chest and gently eased him away, before using a handful of the open garment to try to steer him up to the dwelling. “But no more wine. You’ve had enough alright? You’re kissing the hideous and trying to pocket the heavens.” She teased lightly though firmly. She lacked the strength to get Alexandros to the house on her own if he did not want to, or could not walk straight enough. Hugo just watched them, wagging his tail slowly with mild amusement and some sort of sadistic satisfaction at Cricket’s hardship.

    Once inside, however, Cricket moved into the pantry, peering on the shelves looking for cheese with a furrowed brow before she took a shuddery breath and head to step backwards, “A-ah- sorry, you have to get it yourself Alexandros, I can’t...” She moved away from him quickly, leaning in the doorway they had just passed and breathing in the brisk night air. Hugo laid his ears back, frowning a bit, his black canine lips turned down at the corners.
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    Alexandros
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    "You don't want the moon? Then what do you want?"
    He laughed softly, trying to catch her up in his arms and managing to miss stupendously, grasping at air, then allowed himself to be tugged along with the promise of cheese, though the denial of wine made him frown a bit. She was probably right though, he already felt warm and fuzzy, and more besides.

    "No no, you have it backwards, I'm kissing the heavens and pocketing the cheese."
    He jumped, startled at the howl, then grinned, stepping up onto the low wall, only about a foot high and bordering one edge of the path, throwing back his head he joined in, then windmilled his arms and wobbled as if the short wall were a half inch tightrope over a yawning chasm.
    His foot came down soundly enough though and laughing softly he pranced along behind Cricket, taking her hand again.

    Following her inside he stood behind her, quite obviously not paying attention to the contents of the pantry. On impulse, he reached out, one hand falling on her backside and squeezing then snatching back as if burnt, his eyes widening in mock innocence.
    "Sorry! I'm sorry! I meant to grab your breasts but I missed. I mean...shit. Um."
    His eyes followed her and he leaned against the door as she walked back towards the garden, though she didn't leave entirely. He was quite content to stand there all night watching the way the moonlight silvered her hair and highlighted the contours of her neck and shoulder, head buzzing cheerfully.

    Carefully he stepped up behind her, folding arms around her and pulling her back against his chest, resting his mouth on the top of her shoulder where it met her neck, mumbling.
    "'m not hungry for cheese."
    His grey eyes were glazed as they wandered across the smoothness of her neck, across her jaw and up to the ruined side of her face, reaching up from where his arms were folded around her middle to run his fingers over the skin again, nibbling on her ear with a wolfish grin.
    This likely wasn't what she meant by 'get it yourself' but if she didn't enjoy it, he was fairly certain she'd say as much, either with her tongue, or her fist. He wouldn't press the matter if that was the case, after all, Hugo was there if he thought he was being too presumptuous or overbearing and he didn't doubt the hound would sink his teeth into him to let him know either.
    Edited by Alexandros, Dec 3 2011, 09:21 PM.
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    “What do I want? I want...” Cricket seemed thoughtful as she moved into the pantry to look and responded, “I just want to be happy, I want to have a house, and a husband, and a horse, and maybe someday some kids... but only maybe. I’d like to travel too, see things like forests and jungles and-behave!” Cricket was cut off as Alexandros rogue hand felt the ned to grope her backside and she turned, smacking him for the second time that day. She sighed and moved away letting the clean night air sooth her tightened lungs. She looked back out at the moon while Hugo moved in to nose at the abandoned pantry. Surely there was another ham somewhere...

    Cricket blinked a bit, surprised as she felt his body behind hers. She was going to glance back at him but quite quickly she felt his lips on her shoulder, making her shudder and close her eyes. her hand grew white knuckled on the doorway as he mumbled and his lips moved. She let out a breath she’d been holding as his fingers slid against her wrecked skin, his teeth teased her ear. Her body turned, hand taking his chin, tilting it up a moment, looking into his eyes before she moved it down to his bare chest and gave him a rough shove, intent to send him sprawling back to the floor.

    She dropped down, pinning him, a leg on either side of his waist while she leaned forward and kissed him, eyes closed. She slid her hand over every bare inch of his torso she could find, pressing their bodies close, but it was finally Hugo who voiced his disapproval with a short loud bark that echoed through the house, <Really Persephone? Really?!> He scolded, voice in both their minds, and she just laughed a little. “Sorry...” She stood and moved away a few steps, dancing (staggering?) away like she always did, lingering just out of his reach.

    “You need to go to bed Alex, you’re drunk, you’re out of your mind.” She scolded softly, face red as she moved a handful of stumbling steps backwards, beckoning with her hand while Hugo nudged him from behind. <After her! On your feet!> He encouraged. Cricket was almost to the stairs now, where she had to turn to amble up them forward but she asked over his shoulder, “Do you know why dogs cry at the moon? I was thinking outside, I bet its the same reason why you invent.” She was only talking to try and erase her earlier actions from both their minds, face still red.
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    Alexandros
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    One-Liner Wonder

    The slap hadn't deterred him, only made him more persistent, and as she shoved him, he stumbled over the tiles, boots slipping on the smoothness as he unbalanced, landing hard on his backside with a startled 'oof.'
    Startling still was her next action, pressing him down and near enough mounting him right there and then on the kitchen floor. His arms encircled her waist and he couldn't help laughing at the thought that any moment someone might walk in, quivering with suppressed laughter, a wide grin on his face.
    The laughter began bubbling forth from him as he lay there on the cold floor, echoing off the walls of the otherwise empty room as she stumbled away again, Hugo's words only making it so much worse, until his stomach ached from it.
    A fine chase she was leading him, certainly.

    Awkwardly he got to his feet, still chuckling and groaning at intervals, holding his sides as he lightly jogged after her, intending to quite literally catch her when he did, egged on by the hound's words. Stumbling a little as he reached the foot of the stairs and breaking out into another bout of laughter, resting one hand on the rail as he looked at her, still grinning.
    "Yes, bed. Aren't you coming, or am I going to have to catch you and carry you there?"
    He took one unsteady step forwards, climbing the first stair, advancing slowly.
    "Because it makes us feel alive. Like a good chase."
    He took another step, that wolfish grin returning as he let his eyes wander over her, fingers walking slowly up the banister, still chuckling low in his throat.
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket smiled a little despite her own embarrassment, looking back, “You’ll never catch me.” She challenged, sliding up three more steps quickly, leaning a bit on the rail. It was almost a fair race, with her bad leg and his drink-damaged coordination. Her eyes cast back over her shoulder, careful to always stay a few steps ahead, smiling a bit. Hugo was already at the top of the staircase, watching. Alexandros didn’t know it of course, but if Cricket really didn’t want him to catch her, he’d have a hard time keeping her confined to her bones.

    Still she laughed at their game, making it to the top of the stairs and moving away, a lumbering jog that held its own grace. She paused, letting him almost catch up, and then she twirled away from him, dancing away the way she had before, laughing carelessly. Hugo cocked his head to one side as he trotted to the end of the hallway and looked back. It was rare, seeing Cricket in such high spirits without the aid of copious amounts of liquor- though to be fair over indulgence of alcohol was exactly her delight.

    In the darkness she was a ghost, gliding away from him, moving around him once or twice, just to tease him, getting cocky. “Come on, Alexandros, keep up!” She laughed but it was cut off as she finally tripped and stumbled, catching herself, but losing her head start. Her smile returned though, and she moved away, trying to slip from his grip and past the threshold of his doorway. Hugo stayed where he’d sat at the end of the hallway, watching the childish game with a new cross between amusement and slight worry, <Watch your skin, Persephone!> He warned as the girl disappeared from sight and he just laid down, ears drooping. There was no need for him to play protector now, she was safe inside.

    Cricket moved over to the open window and hopped up, sitting in it, waiting to see if Alexandros had been close behind while the wind tugged her hair a bit. Her body was tired already from their game, though it felt so in ways hard for the typical mortal to comprehend.
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    Alexandros
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    One-Liner Wonder

    She was always just a few steps ahead, luring him up the stairs and across the darkened balcony, once stumbling into the wall for support and elbowing a vase from the small display stand to the floor with a muffled thump. He ignored it of course, concern for that was fleeting when he was being drawn always onwards by that teasing laugh, those promising taunts.
    She did of course promise nothing, but that wasn't about to put him off.

    He felt like a lumbering idiot stumbling around in the dark while she casually glided away, confounding him, though he caught up to her as she stumbled, pinning her to the door frame with a small satisfied noise, brushing her cheek with his nose in the dark, and then she was gone again, leaving the faintest memory of warmth, and the whisper of her scent, voice guiding him towards the window.

    "Damn it, woman! Get back here, I'm not done with you yet!"

    Laughing he swayed into the room, nudging the door with his foot so that it swung to, and flopping down loosely onto the window seat opposite Cricket, watching her with a smile, part tired, part admiring as he let his gaze wander lazily over her, before groaning tiredly, one hand pressing to his bandaged side, he got to his feet again and kicked off his boots, stretching, loosening the muscles across his back and shoulders.

    "Well...if you're going to flee at the sight of me, I guess I'll go sleep it off, as milady commands..."

    He crossed the room, removing several small piles of books from the bed and depositing them beside the chair on the floor, neatly stacked until he turned and kicked them over again with a curse. His coordination was shot, apparently, though for the last half hour it had been wearing off slowly, he still felt clumsy as a young colt trying to run before it could walk. More so when he fumbled awkwardly with the buttons of his shirt, casting it off over the chair and checking the bandages around his middle, before crossing the room again and settling on the edge of the bed, hunched over and staring at his feet groggily and pinching the bridge of his nose.
    He didn't need to say anything, merely sat watching her, hands dangling in his lap, grey eyes turned to silver in the pale light, a faint smile shadowing the edge of his mouth.

    "You know, you're a beautiful Cricket. Are you going to sing me a song, like the crickets do?"
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    Cricket sat like a phantom in her window sill, just watching him, head tilted slightly. In the darkness a shadow fell across her face, obscuring the tainted flesh so her eyes and her dark lips were visible, her tossled hair tugged at a bit by a rogue breeze that proceeded to run through the room, tugging at papers and making a particularly tall stack of books sway. Her leg ached fiercely but she said nothing, rather, she just watched as he whisked himself away, fumbling with the buttons on her shirt. His lack of dexterity made her smile, laughing softly and leaning her shoulder slightly in the window. “Got it?” But she was answered as he tossed the garment aside and moved over to his bed.

    She lingered in silence as he watched her, red orbs finally averting to the empty fireplace and all the little obelisks of literature. She stood finally, limping to one pile and picking up an old leather bound copy, running her fingers over it curiously before flipping it open. In the dark she couldn’t read the words, but she could enjoy the smell of the paper and the print. Finally he broke the silence though and she turned, head tilting. “Sing you a song?” She blushed a little and shrugged shyly, moving over and sat at the foot of his bed, glancing to his bandages with a twang of guilt.

    Lightly she rested her shoulder against his, “I don’t know what to sing for you, Alexandros.” She admitted lightly, smiling a bit at him, eyes soft. Even in his drunken state, face stung twice now by well-aimed slaps, she found her heart fluttering a bit. She kissed him on the cheek, “Wait uhm...” She took a deep breath and began to sing softly, looking over him as her voice rang out quietly.

    “As she walked past the jailhouse door,
    She spied a man with head hung low,
    And all because of bolts and bars,
    His homeland he would never know.

    'I am a prisoner far from home,
    But if you'll only steal the key,
    I'll take you were the grass grows green,
    And make of you a great lady.'

    'I cannot go, I will not go,
    And be your great lady,
    For you have got a Morrim wife,
    And you've got babies three.'

    She's done to her father's stable,
    She's done to her mother's till,
    She's got the jailhouse key so large,
    And she's galloped o'er the hill.

    And as they galloped o'er the plain,
    It was "my dearling dear,"
    But as they came to Morrim,
    Well changed was this cheer.

    'Oh pity, pity, pity, please,
    As I did pity thee,
    Or fling me from your castle's walls
    And break my slim body.'

    'But how can I have pity
    When you are just a whore?
    Now get you back to Eldahar,
    Where I'll see you no more!”


    Cricket sighed as she finished the song and kissed him on the cheek, pushing him back a bit. “You should sleep.” She told him firmly, but laid down next to him, curling up close, head resting on his chest. She knew sleep wouldn’t find her, but she assumed she could at least humor him this much. Besides, inebriated or no, she enjoyed the closeness, and the open window seemed to be keeping her at ease at least for the moment.
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    Alexandros
    Member Avatar
    One-Liner Wonder

    Tilting his head, he listened to her song, then reached out for her as she sat, folding an arm around her and holding her against him. The wind coming in through the window was making the papers rustle and flutter, the books sway gently in their slapdash towers around the room, quenching the fire in him a little, though admittedly, not by much.

    He allowed her to push him back, kicking his bare feet, gooseflesh rising on his chest from the cold, or maybe it was because she was lying with her head on his shoulder again, curled by his side and talking, as if trying to let her voice lull him into that wonderfully elusive state that was sleep.

    "T'was a good song..."
    Mumbling he found his hand running through her hair again, lying as if they'd always done this, always just been there in that fuzzy headed state, sliding down towards sleep.
    "Mm...you are deliciously warm, lady."
    He closed his eyes on the dimness that was the ceiling, trying to fall into that calm state and stop the rushing organ that was his heart from hammering out of his chest, loud enough that he thought it must sound like a drum insistently beating against his ribs.

    Suddenly paranoid that all they could both hear was that thudding, he sat up, rubbing the back of his neck and picking straw out of his hair, mumbling to himself again. The alcohol was wearing off and already bringing the gentle ache in the back of his skull, though he knew it would get worse than that. He should be thankful really, she wouldn't want to see him in the morning, he'd likely snap at everything.
    Heat rushed to his face as he sat in the uncomfortable silence, mentally beating himself down as thoughts of the woman lying there waiting in the dark and the softness on her filled his head.

    Shut up and go to sleep Alex...don't make it worse...

    Sighing he stood, fumbled a moment with his belt and threw it off onto the floor, then sparing a glance at Cricket decided he'd save them both the embarrassment and slipped under the blankets still half dressed, leaving them pulled back so that she could still jump in should she choose to. The wind was chill, bringing with it the scent of frost, and dimly he wondered if it would snow this year.

    Behavebehavebehavebehave. Think cold things. Snow. Dead bunnies. Frozen things. Ice. Prunes.
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    Cricket
    if love is a labor I'll slave 'til the end

    The death girl’s eyes lingered open, though not excessively wide or squinted, just peaceful there with her head resting on his bare flesh enjoying the rythem of his heart beat and his breath. The wind tormented to papers and books a bit more, thumbing through the open one, flicking the pages quickly and then making the house creak softly. Suddenly he sat up though, pulling hay from his his messy hair and Making Cricket roll onto her back with a sigh, just watching his stand and toss his belt aside. She was grateful for the remaining clothing, not so much for her sake but because it would be a shame to have to turn him down point blank. Not for lack of wanting, but because the idea of climbing into bed with someone so drunk was a little worrying. She wondered off handedly if she had ever done anything excessively ridiculous while drunk.

    The thought left as Alexandros flopped back down and slid under the blankets, and finally the coffin builder was coaxed to sit up. She looked at him a moment, weighing her options before she slid under the covers beside him, resting her head against him again. After sleeping on the road both in the saddle and off, it didn’t really feel strange to be so close to the engineer. She turned her head, looking up at him and gave him one last light kiss before she told him softly, under her breath in the absolute silence. “Good night Alex.”

    She found no sleep herself, but would remain there in that welcoming darkness until he did. Outside Hugo was waiting patiently, at the edge of the property, eyes cast up at the house. It was a welcome change, for him at least though he wondered how long Cricket could last in such finery, surrounded by walls and company. It didn’t matter, he waited with slight frustration for her to reappear, pacing a bit. Cricket took her time though, making sure Alexandros was very much in an wine-induced coma before her eyes went glassy, and her breath slowed to a painfully shallow rate. A pale figure stepped out of the body, standing on the side of the bed. She lifted both hands and flexed the fingers a bit fondly before the ghost glanced back at her body curled against Alexandros.

    In such a state her face lacked any hint of the deformation, whole and fully human, the specter moved away and down the hall, spinning a bit as she had before, humming softly to herself in an attempt to keep her moral up as she disappeared down the stairs, off to do the job she so often neglected. She paused though, glancing back down the hallway before she broke into a run. It was less of a chore gathering the restless dead, when there was a reason now to keep on living.
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