Dragons and Danishes

[kleineklementine]

Ashra was oblivious to the scene between Ife and the guards. He'd been determinedly looking anywhere else! since the guards made their little observation. He wasn't interested in her! She was a spoiled, whiny, girly...

The dragon rider actually jumped when Ife called his name from behind - and so close! - whirling around to face her. For a moment he just stared at her, mouth partially open. Finally he pulled himself together, sort of.

"Eh, what? I mean, do you need something?" he asked too quickly, self-consciously rubbing the back of his neck. It was clear he was trying to compose himself, but also that he was utterly failing. Just to be this near to her put him in almost physical agony. What was wrong with him!? "I mean, uh, can I help you... with something?"

[Rhindeer]

Ife grimaced a little, because his obvious discomfort and the rubbing of his neck confirmed that the itchy effects had still not worn off. Erk. How long would it last? It should have worn off by now!

"No," she finally said, and scuffed at the dirt with the toe of her shoe. "I..."

Sigh. Lyra was right. Just get it over with, Ife. Swallow your pride.

"I actually just came to apologize," she said, looking anywhere but at him as her face burned with shame. "See, I, uh...I was really frustrated with you, and I thought I'd get back at you by pranking you, and...er...it really should have worn off by now! The itchiness, I mean. Um. You probably hate me even more now, and I don't blame you for that! Your behavior before was unwarranted, but on this matter, I understand if you're angry!"

Wincing, fumbling over her clumsy apology, she thrust the bag of pastries at him. "These are for you. Real ones. The happy-making ones. I promise they're not laced with any other effects! Maybe the happiness will counter the itchy spell? I'm not sure, just...I'm sorry. Honestly. That was really immature and cruel of me."

[kleineklementine]

"'Itching?'" Ashra repeated dumbly; his slightly wide-eyed look hadn't quite warned off yet, and he looked at Ife in confusion. What did she mean, 'itching?' But in truth he wasn't thinking too much about that. She was so close. He could reach out and touch her, and for some reason he wanted to reach out and touch her! He was especially distracted by the area where her neck curved into her collar bone. Her skin was so smooth there and he just wanted to...

What was he thinking?! Surely he didn't want to do that! Then he realized that Ife was still talking. It took him awhile to understand just what she was saying, but once he understood that she'd meant to curse him with itches or something, he quickly broke, waving his arms.

"Oh, no! I mean, you didn't. I don't... Itchiness? I guess you messed it up," he said after a bit of verbal fumbling, and even managed to smile. A charming smile? He hoped so. What? No he didn't! He tried to look serious again, crossing his arms. But he looked uneasy as Ife continued.

"No, really, Ife, I'm sorry, I should apologize. Even if what you did was dangerous, I never should have acted that way towards you. I mean, all that violence today, it's a big shock and, well, obviously I know that it's a big shock for you... when you're not used to that sort of thing... And even if we disagree on some views, well, it was stupid of me to be so sharp with you. I... I'm sorry."

And that was not something that Ashra said often. And it showed, because by the time he got that fair, he was kicking a little at the dirt and looking at his feet. He didn't even notice the other cakes, the 'good' ones, that Ife was offering him.

[Rhindeer]

She messed up? So he wasn't itching at all? Ife's brows knit together in confusion as she watched him, and listened to him fumble over his words. Really? Because he certainly seemed very distracted by something, like it was difficult to hold onto his train of thought--and that wasn't the most bizarre thing about his behavior!

It was the weird staring. The charming smile? SMILE? When did he ever smile at her?! She didn't think him capable!

And then the granddaddy of them all: he apologized!

He apologized, and he wasn't even upset about the fact that SHE HAD JUST ADMITTED TO TRYING TO CURSE HIM.

Her eyes went wide as she stared at him, her mouth dropping open as he looked as his feet like a guilty child. No. No way. Really? Her head spun. He had gotten short with her for far less! Why was he taking this so well?!  Maybe he was just in a bad mood earlier? But this felt weird. Really, really weird. "I have just stumbled upon your evil doppelganger" weird.

"I...huh." Maybe he was mocking her? Or maybe Lyra had spoken to him and so he was trying to try? "I see. Ah. Well. Thank you, then. Um..." She didn't know what to say to any of that! "Very good, then! So, we're good? All that nastiness behind and all that?"

[kleineklementine]

Ashra wasn't really looking at his feet. His eyes had crept up to Ife's ankles, the hem of her dress. He was having a hard time focusing on what she was saying. Somehow suddenly having her so near simultaneously put him in some sort of physical agony and yet have him a rush of excitement. Maybe there had been something in those cakes...

Gradually he realized, though, that Ife had been talking. And maybe she was waiting for a response.

"Oh, what? Yes, yes, water under the bridge. Of course. But really I can't apologize enough. I mean. It's my job. If nothing else, being so rude to you,  it was just, well, unprofessional."

Unprofessional? What was he talking about? But Ashra had some sense that when the conversation was over, Ife would leave, so...

"Lyra and I always pride ourselves on being very professional. After all, if not then what would we be? Just a madman flying around on a dragon."

Oh god. Stop talking, Ashra, stop talking. But somehow he couldn't.

"Not that we're mad. I mean, not usually anyway." He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck again. "Um, did you say that you still had some of the good cakes?" he asked in a desperate attempt to stop his babbling. "I hope you saved one for yourself. You deserve to s bit of a lift, too."

[Rhindeer]

...Er.

Yeah. Ife was getting the vibe, more and more, that he was taking the piss! Or something! Either way, this new Ashra was...kind of creepy! He was waaay too nice and weirdly awkward after being such a horror! A confident horror. What was with these over the top apologies and rambling about things that made absolutely no sense?

Crossing her arms over her chest, Ife scowled at him. Might as well cut straight through the bullshit to the heart! "Are you making fun of me?"

[kleineklementine]

Who knows how long Ashra might have gone on if Ife hadn't stopped him. For that, probably, he should have been grateful. What was he doing? He was acting like a madman and he knew it, but when Ife asked that question, he looked up at her in a sudden, open-mouthed look of surprise and, was it?, hurt.

"What? I'm not, just because -"

He faltered, suddenly he felt very vulnerable. Here he was, trying to be nice to her, here he was, having all these feelings, but just trying to be nice and - Oh, did she know? Could she tell? Questions like 'know what' and 'tell what' remained unanswered at the back of his mind. Ashra didn't dare answer them.

So after half a moment, his surprised look turned into a more familiar scowl. "Look, I was just trying to be friendly," he finally answered. His tone, he could hear, sounded something like a little boy who'd been accused of being too sweet and wanted to show how tough he was, but he pushed that out of his mind. "If you're determined to always make me out to be the bad guy, though, well..."

But Ashra couldn't think of a clever way to finish that, so he just scowled again. "I have to go set up the watch," he said finally, turning on his heel and stomping away from her. The bag of cakes left abandoned on the ground.

Once he was turned away and walking away from her, Ashra felt a like he could breath again. But he also felt like he was going to throw up. And his heart was pounding so loud in his ears it may as well have been a drum. What was wrong with him?

[Rhindeer]

And there Ife was, left feeling even more confused than before!

It had been pretty straightforward previously. Ashra disliked her, and liked to give her a hard time. That was annoying, but easy to deal with because she at least knew what to expect from him. This, however? This threw her for a loop, and she stared at his back as he stomped off with her mouth hanging open. His exasperation was more familiar, as was that scowl--and yet also completely different than before. Was that petulance he was displaying?

Was he pouting?

Whaaaaat?

As soon as he was out of earshot, Ife threw her hands into the air with a frustrated huff because she didn't know what was going on anymore, turned on her heel, and snatched up her bag of pastries. She marched her way back over to Lyra and let out another huff to announce her presence.

"I don't even know what's going on with that man anymore!"

[kleineklementine]

[[OOC: Sorry for such a short post after so long!]]

The dragon had watched the entire exchange, and she was left just as uneasy about it as Ife was. So when the baker marched back over at her, Lyra blinked her bronze eyes at Ife. "No," she said slowly, turning her gaze back to Ashra, who by her trained eye was clearly sulking, "neither do I... He's not usually like... that."

Lyra turned her head back to Ife, looking her over anew. A new thought had occurred to her. Hmm. Ashra did like to argue and strop and complain. So maybe... "Maybe he likes you," Lyra finally said plainly, in that objective way that only a non-human could really manage.

[Rhindeer]

[Pshht! No worries! <333]

"WHAT?!" Ife yelped as her cheeks went hot, then realized that came out rather too loud and shot a worried look Ashra's way. Looking back to Lyra, she stepped in closer and pitched her voice to a whisper.

"What? Like me? What on earth would give you that impression?"

[kleineklementine]

Lyra's wings lifted and fell in what might have been the draconic equivalent of a shrug. "I may be wrong," she stated with a light matter-of-factness. "But he is acting very oddly."

In fact, in that moment, Ashra had finished talking with the guards and was moodily pacing the perimeter of the camp. That, actually, wasn't so odd. But Lyra caught the dark, self-conscious look he cast back at the girl and dragon.

"Then again, humans have never entirely made sense to me."

[Rhindeer]

"I'm human and this doesn't make sense!" Ife whispered, tugging at her curly hair in budding distress. She felt like she'd just taken a dive into Opposite Land. What were they, five years old again? That age when a boy pulled a girl's hair and her mother soothed her tears by telling her it was just a boy's way of saying her liked her?

Still holding her hair, she stole another look at Ashra, then looked back at Lyra. "What am I supposed to do? We're not five anymore! That sort of childish logic doesn't work anymore!" she said, completely forgetting, in her panic, that Lyra was not privy to her thoughts.

And that, you know, she was a dragon who'd never had her hair pulled by a boy.

[kleineklementine]

Lyra's head tilted in a curious look at Ife... and maybe a slightly amused one. "Don't worry, little baker," she told her, with the vaguely patronizing tone she usually reserved for Ashra, "I may be wrong. It isn't logic... childish or not. Just a guess based on a hunch based on instinct. Probably nothing reliable. I should have kept it to myself."

The dragon looked back across the campsite at her surly, stalking, sulking rider. She wondered if she was right. Ashra always enjoyed a challenge, after all. Well, maybe 'enjoyed' wasn't the right word. Rose to?

"Hmm." For a moment, it seemed as though Lyra had forgotten that Ife was still there. When she remembered, it was as though she'd just heard the last question. "I think you should go to sleep. You've had a trying day. Ashra and I will keep watch over the camp. You can rest easy."