Smarter Than Your Average Bear

[Juno]

Quirking a brow as she watched him wander off deeper into the store, she rolled her eyes and kept her gaze focused on the window to look out at the street instead of the things the store was tempting him, and reluctantly her, with.

It was true that she was really only thinking of their immediate needs, but she couldn't help but scowl as Dorian returned to her. He looked tense. Irritated. She didn't want to deal with this again, they'd already been going back-and-forth so much lately in a sort of power struggle. She honestly would've preferred to not have this much disagreement between them, but it was what it was.

Sighing heavily and shaking her head as she walked through the door, Dacia headed further down the road, her arms crossed loosely still in a refusal to give in, to not give that small contact she knew he was accustomed to.  She didn't think she was helping at all, but she didn't care at this point, being fairly grumpy herself.

Figuring they could just get their food last, she walked for a while until she found a small store that didn't look all that expensive, but seemed to have practical clothing for their purposes. She entered, without a word to him, and immediately skittered her way to a row of stacked pants of all different colors and styles along the far wall, even ignoring the shopkeeper would had greeted her. No. She wouldn't be giving in this soon, not this easy, not quite yet.

[Haze]

Dorian walked alongside her, well aware of her choice to withhold contact. It irked him to no end. He hated fighting with her, yes, and this was silly, yes again, but eventually one of them would fold. And he knew it would be him. Dacia outplayed him fair and square in the stubborness department.

He entered the clothing store with an icy front over his features. His brow was set, and his lips formed a tight line. For a while he avoided her, busying himself with finding a new shirt. He didn't know how they did it so easily. They were like the oceans tide, coming in and out of moods like clockwork, finding their way about each other still. He cast a surreptitious look her way and felt a deep sigh rise from his belly.

Dorian moved his was around the store slowly, occasionally picking up items absently. Again he glanced at her, over the shelf. "I was just looking," he offered, "I didn't say we had to buy something right then and there."

[Juno]

She was acutely aware of him as they each did their own thing, not interacting for a long while as they remained in silence. Eventually, though, Dorian spoke. She glanced over at him, a frown still set about her mouth. For a few moments she just stood there mulling over what he said.

"But it was expensive," she hissed, forcibly occupying her hands with absently flipping through a few shirts so she didn't go over and do something she'd regret. "We can't have everything nice we see...I know you didn't say we had to buy anything, but still..." After another few moments of silence from her. "I don't want to go to dinner." It wasn't a statement, but a challenge. Who would truly break first?

[Haze]

"But still what?" He asked, only barely managing to keep his voice low. "Come on, Dacia. This is ridiculous."
She was ignoring him, and it was making him cross. He could feel the switch begin to flip. He thought he'd managed to keep a good grasp on his temper since meeting her, but this stupid, stupid disagreement was really getting to him.

"You don't want to go to dinner, or you don't want to go to dinner with me?" He asked then, accepting the challenge, and beginning to boil. He clenched his fists, and stared at her. "You don't want to go to dinner because of a stupid tent?"

[Juno]

She knew it was dumb. She knew it was so, so stupid to argue about this, but it was her pride that got her.

The look in her eyes changed as he challenged her right back and she glared unabashedly across at him. "You are thinking too much! It's just a stupid tent! For what?! Shelter? We can find a tree somewhere, goddammit! Rough it! Like we have been!" Her voice was steadily rising, making the shopkeeper well aware of what was going on now. The woman looked about ready to throw Dacia out.

Dacia clenched her fists and set her jaw as she began pacing a bit. She wanted to shake him. "You know what? I don't want to go! I don't! Why? That's expensive, too!" Dacia huffed, knowing full well it had been her idea in the first place to go out somewhere.

[Haze]

That was it. He didn't need to be seen with a grown woman throwing a tantrum like a two year old. He had two options - deal with her like a two year old, or deal with her properly. With a low growl he careened around the shelves to stand in front of her. "Cut it out." He said threateningly, grabbing at her wrist and hauling her into the nearest changing room. He didn't care about the shop owner. She could go hang, for all he cared.

"You. Deserve. Expensive. I am sick of you not trusting my judgement when it comes to what we can and cant afford, Dacia Ripley. I know what I can afford to give you. And this is what it is." He kissed her roughly then, not caring that she might hit him, or hate him.

"Now, " he said, eyes blazing as he pressed his coin purse into her hand, "Get something nice. Meet me back at the inn. We are going out for dinner." With that, he kissed her again, and stormed out of both changing room and shop, going home to have a long, cold bath.

[Juno]

Even his demands weren't enough to stop her. At first. The whole way he dragged her to the changing room she was practically growling at him through a slur of curses and insults. He did manage to shut her up, though.

He was serious. Really serious. She gulped as she listened to him, suddenly having no urge to kick and scream anymore.

She took the coin purse, not really desiring his wrath should she upset him further in the moment. Slowly, she lowered her arms to her side after their second angry kiss here. What the hell is wrong with you?! She thumped her head against the wall, refusing to come out right away.

Great. Just great! Now you have to do something or he's going to be pissed.

After a few more minutes of contemplation, Dacia slowly exited the small room, her head hung in defeat. She wasn't going to get a dress or anything, but she did eventually settle on just a new change of clothes after much grief and thinking on it and pacing about the store unnecessarily.

She worried about going back, about what she would find there, but she took her new purchases carefully folded under her arm as she headed back. He's going to be so mad, she thought, sighing. How did it even get that far? Oh, that's right. You. Dummy. YOU!

Entering the inn, she could feel the tightness in her chest as she drew closer to the door, afraid that he'd still be so angry at her. When she cautiously opened the door, however, only the bears were there. "Ah, it's just you?" she said with a sigh of relief. She didn't think to look to the other door.

Shutting the door behind herself, Dacia set his coin purse down by his bags and set out the new clothes she'd bought on a chair in the corner of the room, like she was afraid of doing anything with them just yet. Then, she flopped herself down on the bed, burying her face in a pillow as she dreaded the moment he might come back in the door. He's definitely going to be angry still...

[Haze]

Dorian had his eyes closed. It had taken him a long time to cool down. But he was calm now. Or calmer. Still determined to sort her out though. What she needs is a good spanking he thought to himself with a snort. He heard the door close, and her greeting to the bears. He hadn't closed the door to the washroom when he'd come in earlier, and he heard the relief in her tone. He shook his head in amusement, and then almost laughed aloud as he heart the tell tale poof of her weight thrown onto the bed.

He wasn't really that angry. He was frustrated yes, but he wasn't about to go and beat her, if that was what she was worried about. He got out of the bath then, letting the water slosh around noisily so that she'd know he was coming. Reaching for a towel, he contemplated his next steps. He could be steely, and aloof, or he could be warm and apologetic. Or he could be demanding - a shock of desire ran through him, hot and angry, like back at the store - and make her see his point.

He wrapped the towel around his middle, and moved to lean on the doorframe with his shoulder, arms crossed against his chest. His lips were still pursed in indecision, but he spoke, his tone firm and insistent.

"Dacia, look at me please,"

[Juno]

She was beginning to relax until she heard the water from the bath. Tensing up again and looking absolutely stricken, she didn't dare turn to see if he was there in the doorway, which he soon was. She did her best at just lying there, pretending to be asleep, as silly as that was.

The bears were looking between them knowingly, a delighted grin practically on Clarity's face as Constance had a "can we just get this over with?" look about her. They rocked back on their hind legs, waiting to see what would happen.

As Dorian spoke to her, Dacia buried her face into the covers even more. But he had said please. He was always serious when he said please. Slowly, cautiously, she turned her head and immediately regretted that decision. Look indeed... Dacia couldn't help herself, but she was looking at everything but his face for a few, long moments, appreciating the light sheen of water still on him as beads rolled off his muscles every now and then. "Hm?" she replied, finally, distracted, but forcing herself to look him in the eye. But only for a moment.

[Haze]

Dorian took no notice of the bears eyeing them. He was more interested in Dacia's reactions. He felt like laughing as he watched her dig herself deeper into the bed, but kept himself composed. This time, he was in control - not her.

His face was stone set, mouth drawn into a firm line, as she finally turned her head to him, but as her eyes lingered anywhere but his face an almost imperceptible smile twitched on his lips. He caught her gaze, and returned it with a brilliant stare. "Hm? Is that all you're going to say?"

Fine. We'll make this as painfully obvious as possible. I'll have you squirming by the end of the night.

He could hear his heart beat pounding in his ears, his blood warming the slight chill on his skin. He launched himself off the doorframe,striding across her her In a few short steps. Standing over her, he made no move to flip her over, though that is what every fiber of his being wanted to do. He wanted to make her see, to consume all her thought with just him. He wanted it very badly, and he couldn't explain the waves of hunger, the fire burning in his chest. As he stared down at her her raised an eyebrow.

"Dacia, go and have a bath. "

[Juno]

Dacia flinched, not knowing what to do as he stared her down. She didn't know what it meant, if it was good or bad, but she watched him as he quickly moved over to her.

He towered over her. It wasn't intimidating, but he was definitely making his presence in front of her a big deal. She glanced behind him to the bears, noticing their looks, but then her eyes were back to him. She wished she knew what he was thinking.

Sighing and rolling over onto her side before sitting up, Dacia kept eye contact. She wasn't about to show more weakness when she'd been trying to hide from him just moments before.

Her eye flashed a glint of defiance at his command, her spirit not wanting to obey, but it only took a few moments of silence for her to quell her instinct to argue further. Slowly, she calmed. Pushing off the edge of the bed, she stood, nodded, and went off toward the bathroom with a glance back at him.

Slipping her clothes off at the doorway as she watched him, she twitched a smile and went in. "Sexy bastard," she grumbled to herself, shaking her head. Getting into the chilly water, her skin immediately rose into goosebumps all over and she winced at the sharp tingling all over her body. Determined to make it quick, she grabbed at the soap and scrubbed away as she slowly slipped into shivers from the cold.

[Haze]

As Dacia scrambled off the bed and towards the door, Dorian simply turned on his heel, arms still crossed against his chest. He watched her just as she watched him, knowing the the air was beginning to electrify. His jaw clenched and arms tightened against as she undressed, and he followed her to the doorway.

He didn't go in, but instead veered off to the left, leaning against the wall. He let his head thump back and he let out a deep sigh. He'd give her this moment. Oh, it'd be so easy just to follow her in, watch her... but she'd probably throw something at him then.

Though he was waiting to pounce the moment she came out through the door, he closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of water and soap on skin. "Did you buy something new?" He asked slowly, stealing a peek out of the corner of his eye. He almost died then and there, and quickly averted his gaze.

"And is there anywhere in particular you'd like to go?"

[Juno]

She wasn't aware he was right outside the door, though she knew his voice was close. Focusing on getting herself clean as quickly as possible, she almost missed his first question over the sloshing of water invading the room.

"Yeah, over in the corner...on the chair there," she said before dunking her head under for a moment to soak her hair, the last remaining part of her unclean in her frenzy. "Why is it so cold?" she complained, teeth beginning to chatter. "I-I don't c-care where we go. Just pick. Somewhere. A-anywhere."

Dacia couldn't stand it any longer, though. As soon as she was done she slammed the soap down on the shelf and jumped from the tub. Snatching up the remaining towel, she loosely wrapped it around herself and made a dash for the door, ready to be back to the warmth of clothes. "Why didn't you w-warn me? It's f-f-fr...FREEZING!" she whined as she made a beeline for the clothes she'd been so eager to not wear not that long before.

[Haze]

He cast an eye over to the clothes, considering hiding the said items. It'd be funny, to say the least, to have her standing there in nothing but her towel. He could just see it now, the colour rising in her cheeks, mouth opening and closing in frustration at him. And she'd probably hit him. He grinned, but decided to leave the clothes where they were. No point in starting another argument, when he was so close to resolving the first one.

The instant Dorian caught sight of her coming out the door, he pounced. With cat-like reflexes he darted around her, placing himself between her and the chair. He put his hands up to stop her, letting go of the towel. "Quit your whining," he said, his voice cool, "It was cold because I needed to cool down."

Dorian placed his hands on the tops of her arms, and rubbed them down the length of her arms briskly, feeling to spiky goosebumps covering her skin. "Now," he stared down at her, eyes narrowed slightly, "you have two options. Either you can stop being such a child and behave like the lady I know you are on your own, or I can show you how to behave like a lady." He was being rash, he knew, and he was leaving himself extremely open to all sorts of not so lady like behaviour, but he impulsively leaned in, eyes boring holes into her own.

[Juno]

She wasn't expecting him there. When he put up his hands to stop her, she did, but glared at him nonetheless. "I'm cold!" she complained even after he demanded she stopped whining. As he touched her arms, though, her skin flinched all over for the temperature differences, causing a hard shiver to coarse through her. As Dorian stared her down, though, she made eye contact and tried to keep a solid front as he told her to stop acting like a child.

Dacia knew it was true. She was just throwing a tantrum still, but she didn't want to admit it and huffed at him as she tore herself away. "I will act however I want," she said, tense as she stalked toward the corner. "And that's not like a lady, so too bad!" She knew she was taking a risk, saying such things when everything had begun to calm down again, but she didn't want to give in completely yet, didn't want to be soft on this.

[Haze]

"Goddammit woman!" Dorain fairly roared as she flounced into the corner. Why the hell could she just not be normal? Dorian let a growl leave his lips, and turned away from her sharply. As much as he wanted to take her then up against the wall, that'd just be too easy.

No, he turned back to her again, and followed her, coming up close behind her until he was close enough to get his arms around her. He jerked her hard up against him, wrapping his arms tightly around her so that she couldn't get out of his grasp this time, and bent his head to her ear. "We're not going out until you have apologised." Dangerously said, warning, but teasing at the same time. "And you're not touching your clothes until then, either. And I don't mean just a 'sorry'" his voice rose to mimick the snooty tone he expected from a false apology, "I mean a real one."

[Juno]

Dacia ignored his angry outbursts, just kept on going until she had a hand on the clothes, ready to snatch them up and put them on to banish her dreaded chill. But then she felt herself yanked back sharply, slamming up against Dorian as his arms wrapped around her middle tightly. Immediately breaking into a frenzied squirm, she took to desperately trying to get herself away. But then he was at her ear, his vice grip not budging, and demanding a proper apology from her.

At first this put her in a rage, what with how he made fun of the way she probably would've just said "sorry" to be done with it. She fought against him, but was unable to do much but thrash around as he had her arms pinned to her sides. "Dorian!" she hissed through clenched teeth, turning her head to look up at him over her shoulder. This was so unfair. Honestly deserved, but she didn't want to admit that.

She settled down after a little bit as she tried to figure out how she was going to actually apologize when all she wanted to do was pin him with an meaningless utterance and be on her way.

"Alright, fine," she finally said, sighing heavily as she began to relax her muscles.

"I'm sorry I've been acting immature today," was all she offered, knowing full well her wrongs went well beyond that. "Can I get dressed now?"

[Haze]

Dorian winced as Dacia squirmed against him, sucking in as the towel scratched against his skin. His grip held fast, though, and he relished in the closeness. It was mean, he knew, to be holding her so against her will. But damn if he wasn't enjoying it. He wasn't sure whether she was  aware of what her persistant wiggling was doing to any remnants of self-control.

She apologised, yes, and stopped struggling against him, thank the gods, but Dorian wasn't quite ready to let go. Not to mention the fact that he was quite enamoured by the close proximity. It had been a while, a long while, since he'd felt so irrevocably turn on.

He grinned wolfishly against her neck, "No. No, you can't get dressed. You're going to have to do more than just that..." He pressed hungry lips to her bare shoulder for a long while, before loosening his grip.

"Turn around and look at me." He wasn't sure what to expect from her, as he let go. He had an idea that she'd most probably kick him, or hit him, but that was all fine with him, as long as she saw the unkempt fire in his eyes.

[Juno]

What? He was actually going to deny her this after she'd given him what he wanted? She wasn't mad, but definitely irritated that he wanted more from her. The contact of his lips to her skin forced everything else from her mind for a few moments as she sharply sucked in a breath.

It was a relief when he loosened his grip on her, but she didn't try to slip away. He wanted her to turn around, but what would that mean? Did he want to lecture her? Scold her again? As he actually let her go, she gulped, hoping he wouldn't be so irritated with her if she complied.

Slowly, Dacia turned herself around as she reached up to adjust the towel wrapped around herself since it had all but fallen off of her for all the wriggling around. She didn't glare, didn't pout or frown, just looked him in the eye. There was something different about him than there was before. It was unguarded and raw.

After a few moments, she leaned closer to him, putting her arms up to hug him properly and rest her head against his shoulder. "Okay... I'm sorry. Do you still want to go with me?"

[Haze]

She didn't kick him, didn't yell, or scream or cuss him out. He smiled at his small victory.

His hand came up to cup her head as she rested it against his shoulder. He took a deep steadying breath, stoking her hair for a moment, before allowing his hands to drop back down fingernails scraping along her back, before clasping his hands together near the base of her spine to keep her close to him.

"Yes, I do want to still go out with you." He paused, pursing his lips in thought. It was the truth, he did want to take her out. He wanted to wine her and dine her, and bring her back home to bed. "Come then, let's get dressed."

Tentatively, he stepped away from Dacia, and with a rue smile crossed to his own bag. He crouched, with his back to her, and rummaged through his clothing searching for something decent to wear. Sneaky. Very sneaky, mister man... he thought with grin, as he dropped his towel, with no guise of subtleness.

He was still facing away from her as he pulled on his underwear, and considered his next move. Lets see how she deals with this, then. Finding a clean pair of trousers and a shirt, he laid them out on the bed, cocking an eyebrow at Dacia suggestively and motioning to the clothes.

"Do you think these will be okay?"