OOC: Tags
@Moonie
It was a hot summer day, sweat making her clothes stick as she rushed through the thickets, broad stick in hand, held not unlike that of a soldier's blade. She pressed herself against a tall tree, whose moss grew so thick it masked it like a beard. Several of these grandfather trees grew densely and gnarled in the Fellow'sworth Swamp, and she moved through the marshy grasses and crawled discretely on her hands and knees.
The cattails bobbed in the wind, while the sprouted tips of the tall grasses rustled and mingled in through the golden topped flowers that dominated most of the swamps this time of year. The dense foilage made for an excellent playground for war play- which was exactly what Dahnny Quill had herself in the thick of.
In a few short weeks it'd be her birthday, and that of her best friend, Chase. It was hard for her to imagine he'd finally be old enough for the draft, which had already taken a number of their friends within the past year. She had never considered what a small amount of girls had been born in her village until the draft came along and over half of their friends had gone away.
The war, to her, was like the summer nights, long and unending, but something intangible but real enough she could feel the heat of it. But summer nights, to her, were like a dream, for her village was pretty far North and made these hot long weeks the only hot long weeks the people would see. She knew places farther souht, like Serendipity, and even further south still into Adela, had robust summers and Essyrn- was a place where summer was eternal.
It was hard for her to imagine this, but many nights she did, and even played 'Essyrn Sun' with Chase out in the fields on the hottest of days. Though it probably wasn't very feminine of her, she did it with barely any clothing on- but at the time, she hadn't much on her body to show her womanhood. It wasn't until the past few months that she was beginning to develop that way at all, and the small buds of her bosoms made her feel awkward, and the first time she bled, mortified.
Still, she barely had any hips to her and was rather scrawny, but her face was filling out more in a mature fashion, her eyes giving way to a more exotic tilt, like that of her mothers, which framed her green eyes in a pretty fashion with long, dark lashes. She was pretty, cute before, but pretty now. Her features hinted at her and the potential for her good looks to come, which she could thank to both her parents, which had been handsome in their youth, and still were handsome even to this day. They had married young so were still young, and did her father not have an accident where he lost his arm, he would have been in the army long before she had been born.
So playing war was all it was. A play. Nothing real, but surreal, that happened in a world outside of the village and would be nothing more. She tried to treat it that way as today, she was playing 'soldier' with Chase in the mud. Although this time around she was playing the mage and he, the soldier (as most of the times she always insisted SHE be the soldier, because well, she ought ot be able to at least in play since she never would in reality.)
She'd be the best mage, she promised herself. Hiding and keeping deft, eyes always alert and ears open. It was just her and Chase playing on this day. Maecick and Kalry, whom they always played with (and were at least two years younger than them both) were supposed to come and play as well, but their family insisted they remain in for the day. They had gotten behind on chores. That was one thing Dahnny was lucky. She was always fast at her work and had ample time to seek out play.
She crawled now from one old tree tot he next, moving to lift a piece of heavy moss from old rotter's tree and snuck inside it, it fitting around her like a second skin. And from inside there, she peered out with mischievous glee, hoping to find Chase when he was not expecting it, and scaring him and catching him as the villainous moss hiding mage! She was going to win this! And for most games, she always did, and needed to rub it in his face just how bad of secret soldier he was! Hopefully, when he DID join the army, they wouldn't put him on THOSE types of missions. Surely he'd fail and well, he needed to come back in one piece!
Then she heard a noise and held her breath, waiting to see if it might be Chase walking into the small clearing where a fallen tree lay out in the expose, half canopy of trees. One side the tree was rotting and drying out while the other was entrapped in moss and braids of ivy.
War games.
Playing soldier.
Chase was thankful that was all this would ever be for Dahnny - play. She could pretend and run and shout through the swamps and glens of their childhood all she wanted and for as long as she wanted and nothing bad would ever happen to her.
He'd make sure of that.
Because for him, the games were almost over. Even today, stalking through the cattails with his "sword" held at the ready for an ambush, Chase treated these last fleeting play times with his dearest friend as a sort of preemptive training. If he could get a head start, learn to stalk Dahnny like he would a true villainous mage, and catch her without getting caught, well, maybe he'd be able to do it for real.
Chase had to be able to do it for real. It was the only way he'd survive, and he had to survive the war. For his mother's sake. She was already heartbroken, and only grew worse the closer to his birthday it grew. He pretended not to hear her sobbing herself to sleep at night. Wore the brightest smiles he'd ever worn in his life and all for her.
And for Dahnny.
She laughed it all away like any of the boys did, but he knew that she was worried about him. Why wouldn't she? All their lives had been spent together, looking out for each other. He'd never had a brother or sister, and neither did she. They'd become like siblings in his mind, and he'd always wanted one. That's why he loved her and felt so protective of her. She was the little sister he'd never gotten through blood.
And he really believed that. To him she was still the muddy little sister that he got into constant trouble with. Chase couldn't even begin to grasp the changes going on in their lives as they were transitioning from children into adults. Dahnny was becoming a woman, and a very pretty one, but his childish wishes kept him blinded to it and the evolving dynamic between them.
There wasn't enough time left to explore that.
He stepped into the clearing, swinging his sword lightly with a grin as it made a swishing sound. Chase knew Dahnny had come this way. Like a lot of the other children he hunted rabbits, and while his little sister was good at hiding her passage, she still left signs.
"Daaaaaahnny." He called softly, green-grey eyes darting back and forth as he looked for the slightest movement in the mossy grove. There was a tree with a hollow Dahnny was still just small enough to fit in. He didn't go for it. It would be better if she came out on her own, no doubt she was waiting for an opportune moment to try to ambush him. "You can't hide from me, mage. I'm going to find yoooou."
He just had to go and say her name like that. Taunting her, teasing her. Either way, he knew she hated it. And he knew he'd earn himself a bruise once she found him. A good slug to his right shoulder, that ought to do. Maybe a second one just to be sure he understood just how annoying he was!
As he neared where she was hiding, Dahnny held her breath,a nd watched as he simply walked by. She thought for sure he would have checked at least near where she was hiding, but there he was, making his way over towards the tree that looked like a bent over and gnarled grandmother. She held her breath again and waited until he was barely out of view before slinking out from her hiding place and keeping low and to the brush.
She had to be careful. Moving around in the swamps was by no means quiet. The grounds were sloshy and the clearing amplified any loud movements. She just hoped the small squishes her swamp soaked boots were making couldn't be heard from the distance where Chase had gone.
She had practiced endlessly to walk like a cat, and sometimes was mocked by the other boys for walking on her toes. But it came in handy when she did want to be stealthy and hear into what others were saying...
Especially when she over heard Thomas saying he had a crush on her, and Chress, too! Of all the boys, she couldn't believe either would say such a thing! But they were going off to war, so she did feel a bit bad for them when both had confronted her in private about it. Thankfully, it wasn't a huge shock when it had happened, because she had time to come up with a way to reject them without completely destroying their friendship (and man hood) Because of COURSe she couldn't marry both and wouldn't want to choose! And it would feel strange if she did, as she viewed all of the boys in the village as her brother!
She couldn't recall if they believed when they returned they might have a chance or not, she was just glad the awkward moment ended at that. But it was hard to shake off the feeling that any of the boy she played with growing up would have considered her as a wife! She was still too young to want to think about it, and would rather focus on her play.
Of course, when Thomas stole her first 'kiss' she had slugged him so hard he tried to blame it on Chess when he was leaving for the army with that shiner. He was lucky that's all she did to him! For a small thing that she was, her punches could be pretty lethal. And her rough and tumble ways with the boys could be to blame for it. Perhaps THomas just thought it was kinky or something when she used to wrestle with him when he was being an asshole. Then again, she wrestled with just about everyboy in town without so much as a second thought.
Only now things were becoming awkward. She didn't really have BOOBS but she was starting to get them, little buds that stuck out from the front, only amplified now as her swamp soaked shirt clung to her form. And it wasn't just changes she was going through, but as she thought about the boys trying to awkwardly flirt with her, to tell her she was so pretty and this or that (of cousre she was pretty, she was their only option as a girl!) but now that it was turning back around on her....
She found herself pausing an dcrouching low int he tall grasses as she studied Chase's form.
He had a nice form, a lean form, that was beginning to shape into that of a man's. She hadn't noticed much into it before since they were all growing up int he same way, but now that her own changes were brought to her attention, she couldn't help but begin to notice the changes in Chase.....
And part of her had to wonder why it wasn't him who had confronted her first, or him who had given her her awkward first kiss. Granted, the few other girls in town that were much older (and granted, well off and married with babies in their bellies by now, if not well on their second child...) were a type of pretty that made even Dahnny jealous. They had wide hips already from child birth and large breasts swollen with milk. But the boys always gawked at her and he heard them talking about her and well...
what they did at night THINKING about her made her slug one of them clean across the jaw. Chress was such a jerk! At least Chress didn't steal her first kiss! Ugh!
But each time she passed the other girls, she'd look at their breasts too and down at her own, which was more or less nothing. Part of her wish she had those sorts of body types, but another part of her was glad she still had the lean body of her youth. Then again.. her mother never had that curvy of a body type. At least she was pretty. She just hoped she'd be as pretty as her mom.
Of course Chase knew he was being annoying and that she hated it when he said her name like that. Annoying and provoking her was kind of the point. Innocent days of play were almost over. They'd be coming for him soon and how many opportunities would he get to tease and pester his dear little sister before then? Not enough of them.
There would never be enough moments like this for Chase to cherish in the coming years, but he put that out of his mind and focused on being in the moment and enjoying it. That's how he kept himself so upbeat all the time.
He wasn't stupid; he just chose to ignore the unpleasant truths for now.
The biggest truth he went to absolute painstaking lengths to ignore was the fact that they were growing up. It wasn't like Chase didn't know that Dahnny was a girl – a very pretty girl that was becoming a beautiful woman. Deep, deep down he buried that knowledge because he didn't want to think about it or what it meant for any of them.
Chase had heard the other boys around their age. They all talked about her. Sometimes right there in his face.
How many times had he had to grit his teeth and ball his hands into fists as he tried, and usually failed, not to let the talk get to him? Always a happy and friendly boy, but each passing month had seen him losing it more and more over idiots like Thomas and Chress. Part of him was glad they were gone! Of course the rest of him felt like a huge, unforgivable jerk for thinking it. War was horrifying.
Still, he'd ended up hitting Thomas pretty damn hard when he found out the jerk had gone and kissed Dahnny. Just like that! Who did that? He and Chress had ended up rolling in the dirt exchanging blows when the creep had mentioned what he did at night thinking about Dahnny.
That was just disgusting! Dahnny was like a little sister to him! To all of them!
All he could do was shake off any unpleasant thoughts and grin as he focused on the game at hand. It was a little surprising that she hadn't jumped out to hit him yet.
Everyone knew that Dahnny was quiet as a church mouse when she wanted to be. Some of the boys called it unfair when they played stealth games with her. If Chase didn't know her so well, didn't know where her best and favorite hiding spots were, he probably wouldn't have won very often at all even if he tried. You had to have ears like a wolf to hear her sneaking up on you – or at least know that she would be doing so.
Like right now, as he slowly moved through the clearing, still pretending to be looking for her ahead of him, Chase was straining to hear his pipsqueak stalker. If it weren't for the faint squish of Dahnny's soggy boots she'd have been able to pull it off.
It was a tough choice, whether to turn around and surprise her or let her win yet again. He wouldn't get many more chances to let her win any games. Then again, he didn't have many more chances to prove that he wasn't as bad at these games as he had let her believe over the years. That part won out, because he wanted to show Dahnny that he was better than she thought. He wanted her to be proud of him and not worry as much about him being such a klutz when he went off to join the rest of the boys that had left – many of whom wouldn't ever be coming back.
"I've got you now, mage!" He whirled around suddenly with a big smirk as he pointed the tip of his sword at her.
She hated to admit it but..
he had a nice butt. She never thought about it much until now, as she watched him stalk along, with his annoying voice grating at her nerves. But he did. Maybe he didn't before, but he did now. And it was a nice size. She kind of wanted to smack it and laugh in his face when she snuck up on him but...
His butt was her downfall, because in the time she spent admiring it, he had already turned around and put his fake sword in her face. And her entire face went white, before it went hot and red, and she yelped, throwing up her own fake sword to smack his away.
"Ah! chase!" She stumbled back and fell, ass into the muck with a cringe. What was this now!? He had found her too fast! She was going to win!
Another smack to his stick sword and she rolled away not carrying she was now lathered in mud.
"You can't get me that easy, soldier!" she cawed, and leaped to her feet like a cat and took off through the reeds.
Honestly Chase was a little surprised by her reaction. Dahnny wasn't usually so distracted, and he couldn't help but wonder what had kept her from pouncing sooner. He'd expected it, and had been prepared for it. If she hadn't dawdled so long he'd have let win as usual.
Really she would have none but herself to blame for losing this one!
His wooden weapon was turned aside at her strike, and he couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion at her blush. At her falling on her ass right in the muck, though, Chase cracked up laughing. Now wasn't that a fitting punishment for being careless!
She struck at him again, and with him not paying attention he got his own dose of punishment for being distracted. His stick was knocked from his hand momentarily, but he just laughed harder at her taunt as she ran away covered in mud. Chase forced his amusement back down and grabbed up his sword again as he bolted after her.
"Give it up, mage! You can't run forever." He crowed behind her as he pushed through the reeds in pursuit. Dahnny was fast, but he had a lot longer legs. Eventually he'd get her!
It wasn't just about out running the other, but out cunning the other. And she purposely didn't run in a straight line. When she turned, she directed herself near the stream, where it was the widest and could use it as a place to escape.
"Last one in the river loses!" she laughed over her shoulder, knowing there was no chance for Chase to catch her now.
"No fair Dahnny!" Chase hollered as she made a break for the water. She had a huge head start and you couldn't just change the game like that! With a look of determination he put on a burst of speed, sprinting to catch up to his fleeing adversary.
He'd never catch her before she got to the river, but he was going to catch her and make her squeal for being a bratty cheater.
Out of the reeds she burst and up over the Watermen's Hill. She leaped, using that momentum to grab onto the long hanging branch of a willow tree before swinging out over the water.
"FOR VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!" she shouted, throwing herself out into the air and squealing with delight as she fell freely, then splashed into the waters below.
Chase bound up the hill only a few seconds behind her - maybe ten or twelve feet at most. He watched her swing out into the water and make an impressive splash upon entry. Skipping the branch swinging, he dove into the water behind her.
His mum was going to kill him for getting his boots soaked through, but there wasn't time to take them off!
"That doesn't count! You totally cheated Dahnny!" He huffed, splashing at her with water.
She splashed him back and spit out any water that got into her mouth.
"How dare you accuse me! I would never cheat!"
"You so did!" He retorted, turning his head and raising his arm to vainly try to shield himself from the backlash of water. "You can't just decide that you win based on conditions that make for sure you win! That's cheating."
Chase had a look enter his green eyes as he glared at her, although his expression was never actually quite menacing. "I'm going to get you for cheating. I know all your weaknesses, Dahnny."
"Ha! Good one, Chase! You know nothing!" she countered, splashing him with even larger waves of water.
"Just because I'm not a smarty-pants like you doesn't mean I don't know how to make you surrender!" Chase shot forward to grab her, fingers dancing along her sides to tickle her ribs.
She hadn't expected that as her limbs flailed out defensively.
"AH! CHASE!" she screamed through laughter and splashes. "Get.. get away! Sto-.. Stop that!'
"Not until you admit you cheated!" Chase grinned, actually pulling her closer so his fingers could jab and poke a little harder at her ticklish spots. He was laughing too, ignoring the splashes as he tortured her. There was something about her breathless squeals that made him all too pleased with himself.
"AH!" she squealed, writhing in his grip, Her head involuntarily hitting against this shoulder. "NEVER!" But the tickling was quickly becoming too much, so her flailing intensified.
"Admit it!" Chase gave a little grunt as her head hit his shoulder, almost losing his grip on her for just a moment or two, but quickly regaining his hold.
It was only a few more moments later that he let out a gasp and released her as her kicking legs managed to strike him pretty good, right in the tenders too. His voice came out in a rasp as he tried to both shield himself from getting another kick and to keep his head above water. "Oh damn."
Dahnny floundered away with a gasp of her own, gulping for breath as her sides hurt from laughing. But upon realizing she was free, she turned around to glare at him. Upon seeing him doubled over, she jabbed an accusing finger in his direction.
"You deserved that, Chase!"
He knew she bucked wildly like an untamed colt when tickled!
Yeah, he knew it, but in the water like they were he'd thought maybe it would be a little safer, but apparently that was dead wrong.
Chase let out a soft wheeze and glared at her. "Nuh-uh! You're just a violent little monster."
Her eyes went wide.
"MONSTER!?" And there went her temper. She didn't care if he was recovering from a sustained injury, she stormed cleaned over to him and SHOVED him over byt he shoulders with an angered "HA!"
"I'll show you whose a monster!"
Maybe Dahnny was easily the tiniest girl in the village, and maybe Chase was the tallest boy, but that shove still made him go clean under, flailing about as he started scrambling for shore. They weren't fighting in the water. That was asking for trouble.
"I still say you are!" He taunted her, dragging himself out of the water onto the muddy banks.
She followed after, no where near ready to give up. She dove after and latched onto his shirt, using her weight to drag him down with her into the mud.
"Take it back or you're eating mud!" She threatened.
"No way, you can't make me take it back." Chase laughed as he was dragged back into the mud with her. Well if she insisted on mud wrestling, then so be it! Even if their parents were probably going to yell at them for getting so dirty. It'd be worth it.
"You wanna play dirty, so let's play dirty." He turned and lunged at her, fully intent on tackling her.
ANd she saw that lunge coming from a mile away. Being much smaller had it's advantages, and she ducked and moved away from him just in time to stick out her boot to make him trip- hoping to make him fall into the mud and eat mud with his face!
Chase saw her do it. That didn't stop him from being sent sprawling into the mud and muck by her boot. His entire front was caked in mud now, except half his face, because he'd turned his head just in time not to completely face plant. There was even mud in his silver hair.
"You little...little..." He really didn't complete the sentence, just sort of growled and shot his hand out to grab her by an ankle, giving a sharp tug to unbalance her.
If he was getting covered in mud, then so was she!
She squeaked when she felt his hand grip her ankle. She didn't think he'd be fast enough to pull that off, and before she knew it-
her face was in the mud.
Chase smirked and started pulling her to him by the ankle, a mischievous glint in his pretty green eyes. "I think they should start calling you Dahnny the Mud Monster."
Ugh, her face hurt. Her body hurt, and with his little comment, now her pride hurt! Feeling him suddenly dragging her towards him in the mud had her cringing and at his statement, fisting a hand into the mud before she turned to hima nd slapped a fat wad of mud against his cheek.
"Oh, because I like smashing mud on bad boy's faces?" she teased, sticking out a pink tongue at him which was in heavy contrast to her brown, muddied face.
Well dang, there went the other side of his face. Chase flinched a little at the smack of mud, but still grinned and dove on top of her, pinning her down by sheer size alone. His muddy face was mere inches away from her muddy face. What a pair they made.
"Who says I'm a bad boy?" His mother, probably when she saw how dirty he'd gotten while out playing. Wouldn't be the first time he got yelled at because of Dahnny.
She jutted out her chin.
"Me." And struggled to try to get more mud on his face. He wasn't entirely covered yet, anyway! And if she were effected by their closeness, it didn't show. Oh no, she was much too into their game and desire for winning this mud battle to care!
Okay, now he just wasn't being fair. Dahnny was a lot littler than him. With a smirk he grabbed a fistful of mud and plastered it into her long dark hair, laughing and rolling off her, getting his back nice and muddy in the process.
He started gathering up more mud to sling at her.
She could NOt believe he just did that.
Okay, maybe she could. He was Chase, after all!
So she was already accounting for his next muddy attack-
so he shouldn't have rolled off of her- because her next move was to TACKLE him with a roar! And this time, SHE was rolling and moving and wrestling in hopes to pin HIM down!
He was totally expecting that.
Of course Dahnny would jump on him and attack given even a moment's opportunity, but that had been the whole point. It was no fun to just overpower her and win like that.
So he grunted and landed back in the mud when she tackled him. They rolled and wrestled for a few moments before, going back and forth as he attempted to somehow smear even more mud on her while also grappling with her. Chase was pretty well covered head to toe by the time he rolled onto his back with Dahnny on top of him as he let her pin him.
He was panting a bit, a little out of breath from all the laughing.
She looked at him and mocked surprise.
"Are you laughing at me? I got you pinned down, and you're laughing!"
Chase put on the straightest face he was even capable of making. "When am I not laughing at you?"
Yeah, that lasted all of about two seconds, because then he was cracking up again. God he was going to miss this, and her. Suddenly he was laughing because that was the only way not to cry.
She couldn't believe him.
"You're still laughing!" She grabbed a fist full of mud and held it up threateningly. "Do you want to eat mud?"
"Only if you're gonna make me a mud pie, Dahnny." Chase chortled softly, trying to reign himself in at least a little bit.
Barbing her was fun, until it wasn't. Plus he had a feeling he really was about to eat mud.
"Oh, I'll give you a mud pie!" and she let the mud drop over his face with a laugh. She clasped her hands over her nose and moutht o hide her laugh, but couldn't stop laughing before she rolled off of him and stood.
"You look like a swamp monster!" she went on, offering him a hand to help him stand.
"Your mother is going to kill you!"
"Ack!" Chase sputtered and did his best to not get any of the dropped mud in his mouth, but wasn't all the successful. With how much mud was on him, it was inevitable that the dirty flavor would be on his tongue. He spit some out when he sat up.
"Yeah, well so do you. Let's call a truce on that one and just agree we're both mud monsters right now." He chuckled softly and took her hand, dragging himself back to his feet as he looked down at them both. Their clothes, faces, hands, and hair were caked in filth. Yep, his mother was definitely going to kill him. "I bet your mom kills you too. Look at us!"
Chase laughed again and tried to wipe some of the mud off his face. "Think we could get enough off with a pond bath to get a stay of execution?"
Dahnny rolled her eyes.
"I do my own laundry anyway, but my mom would kill me if I ruined anything,' she went on, matter of factly with her hands planted to her hips. She tilted her head to the side.
"But I don't know... mud might be a good look on you," she teased, flicking at some of the flippy mud pieces creeping down from his hair onto his face. She even flicked at some gooped on his shoulder. She shook her head and turned towards the water, when the sight of something made her breath catch in her throat.
There was a pair of wild coyotes, but they disappeared into the thick brush, which made her wonder if it wasn't just some figment of her imagination. When did coyotes ever venture this close to a person?
"Well lucky you." Chase grumbled slightly. His mother still did his laundry for him. He figured once they took him away to the army they'd probably make him clean his own clothes.
There was a lot of mud, and he was trying to get as much off his face as he could without getting it in his eyes. "Yeah, because everyone knows girls love a man that's covered in muck. I bet all the girls at the next fair will ask me to dance."
Except he wouldn't be here for the next fair. Preoccupied with scraping mud off, Chase didn't see the coyotes, but he did look up and see Dahnny's expression. "Something wrong?"
She jabbed him with a pointed elbow.
"No." ANd made a face at him as she began to walk towards the water. "Who'd ask you to dance anyway?"
"A girl that doesn't know I've got two left feet." Chase muttered, rubbing where she'd jabbed him. That had actually hurt a little. He followed her towards the water, trailing along behind her like a lost puppy.
He'd always followed Dahnny.
It wasn't like there were many options for Chase. The town was limited in it's young girl population. It seemed all the women could produce were boys- and the boys were in turn, eventually grown into young men who were drafted into the army.
She took didn't hesitate to step out into the water, trying not to think about the coyote she had seen earlier, but as she began to splash in deeper, she did look around- just to make sure the dogs had gone away (or perhaps, were never there to begin with).
She splashed water at her face and scrubbed roughly with her hands.
"Hopefully when you're a soldier, they won't condemn you to remain home because of your two left feet."
Their town did have a lot of boys, not really considered a bad thing. The army sure wasn't complaining as it marched all their friends off to war. It would help once they could go home too, since there wouldn't be nearly so many boys to fight over the few girls left behind. Still, other towns nearby had more girls!
Chase faltered a little as he stepped into the water, looking at Dahnny sideways over what she said. He would love to be condemned to stay home over his lack of coordination! That wasn't the honorable way, though. He should be proud to serve Allar and Connlaoth.
'Yeah...hopefully." He mumbled softly, kneeling down and splashing water in his face to rinse off some of the mud.
"Ahh, I swear this mud just doesn't want to rub off!" Dahnny said, laughing slightly at her plight as she continued to try to rub away at the layers of mud all over her arms.
Chase chuckled, swiping a bit more mud out of his hair before standing and stepping over to Dahnny, not even thinking as he tried to help her scrape the mud off her arms. "You really do look like a mud monster."
She placed a hand on his chest and shoved him back.
"Who you calling a mud monster?" she asked, still bent over and looking up at him through her hair. She wrinkled her nose up at him. "You still have mud on your face." She stuck her tongue out at him- you know,f or good measure.
The shove was enough to throw him off balance. Chase took a stumbling step back, his foot catching on a smooth, slippery rock, and then he went down. With a mighty splash, he landed on his ass in the shallow water with a yelp just as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Ow. You're so mean to me, Dahnny. No wonder I used to pull your pigtails." He pouted up at her.
She planted her hands to her hips.
"And if YOU had pigtails, I'd be pulling them right back!" She rolled her eyes at him and offered down a hand. "You really do have two left feet. Here, let me help you up."
"I bet I get less bruises training to be a soldier than I do now just putting up with you." He teased her with a grin. Chase grabbed the offered hand and pulled himself back to his feet, rubbing his butt where he'd hit in on the rocks.
She rolled her eyes.
"How are you going to survive your initial training if you can't even survive me?" she teased and wrinkled her nose at him.
"You still have mud.. right there.." she gestured towards her nose, meaning his. "It looks like you have mud boogers."
"Mud boogers, eh?" Chase asked, reaching his hand up to wipe the mud away from under his nose, then with a devious little glint in his eyes he wiped them on her. "That's for not believing in me!"
Dhanny shrieked and smacked him.
"Eww, gross! Chaaaaase!" How could he just.. just do that!?
He laughed, even if her smack did hurt a bit.
"They weren't real boogers! And it couldn't be as gross as Thomas kissing you." Chase made a face that definitely suggested he thought that was much, much grosser.
Dahnny was mortified.
"Who.. who told you!?"
She knew SHE never would! She didn't even want to remember that! Yuck!
"Thomas told me. He was kind of...bragging about it. Of course he was lying through his teeth about how he got that shiner." Chase scowled grumpily thinking about it. He kicked at a little rock in the water. "I ought to have wrung his neck. I wanted to when he told us about it. He...he shouldn't have been kissing you!"
"Why are you yelling?! I know!" she went on, exasperated. "I was the one he kissed!" And she made a face as she recounted it all. The horror. THE HORROR.
Ugh, why did it make him so mad thinking about Thomas with his gross, slobbery lips on Dahnny? Sure, kissing in general had been completely bleh and icky to him until very recently when it started to become more appealing - not that there were any girls to go kissing.
"B-because! It wasn't right. Y-you're like my little sister." Yeah, that's it. It was like Thomas had gone and kissed his little sister, which was just not cool. You didn't kiss your friend's little sister!
Dahnny placed her hands on her hips.
"Don't tell ME that. I KNOW. I had to go through it!"
With a shake of her head and roll of her eyes, she turned away from him and began to make her way towards the marshes.
"Come on. We should head home. Before our parents actually kill us."
Chase threw up his hands in frustration, wishing he'd never brought it up. He wanted to burn his eyeballs out or something to cleanse the mental image from his head. Obstinately he kicked at another rock before trudging out of the water.
"Mum's going to kill me, I'm still covered in mud." It was rare for him to not be able to just laugh everything away, but right now he felt really bad. Stupid Thomas. Stupid war. Stupid draft.
There was another eye roll. She was good for those today.
"Maybe you'll be grounded from joining the army," she teased, marching on ahead. She seemed confident, but then again- she wasn't the one with all of her life to lose. Even still, she was good at keeping her head even on her shoulders- or at least she thought she was.
"Too bad the same can't be said for Thomas after what he did." But at least she did get her own say on it- and of course, rejection. She still couldn't believe that had happened either. "Why did you have to go and bring that up?"
What a way to sour the mood!
"Maybe..." Of course his mother couldn't ground him from the army, but he didn't want to say it. Chase was reluctant to shoot down any idea that involved him staying home and not going off to war, even if it was a ridiculous idea. His head hung lightly as he trailed behind Dahnny, he was always a few steps behind her, it felt like.
"Sorry, I don't know why I brought it up." Or maybe he did. Thomas had told him about it, but he kind of didn't want to believe it. There was no way it wasn't true. "Ah well, when you get yourself a husband you'll have to get over thinking kisses are gross."
Maybe she'd marry Thomas when he came back home? If he came back home.
Chase scowled more just thinking about it. Dahnny could do better than stupid Thomas. Definitely not Chress, he'd walloped him good before he left home over Dahnny. Not that he would ever tell her about that!
That's when she stopped and planted her hands on her hips.
"When did I ever say kisses were gross?"
"Well you gave Thomas a shiner over it! And...you kinda act like it was gross." Chase waved his arms helplessly.
"That's because Thomas is gross."
Chase blinked and kind of shrank back from her a little. "Wha - What is so gross about Thomas? Aside from kissing?"
Like he would really know.
"I.. can't believe you just asked that! Ugh! I'm not even going to respond to that, Chase!" And she stormed away from him.
"Well I don't know!" Chase groaned and dragged his feet on the way home, letting her storm off. He didn't know what to do or say around Dahnny right now. Every time he opened his mouth he made her mad.
He wished he was smarter and better with words.
She wasn't just mad about the Thomas thing. That evening, the town was preparing a birthday send off celebration for Chase, considering he was at that age. It was one thing she didn't want to think about, and with the kiss from Thomas ontop of that...
She was a hot mess. Her mother yelled at her, scolded her and threatened not to let her go to the party. But nothing was going to keep her from going, her mother knew it, and she cleaned up quickly at home before slipping into a simply dress, one that afforded no real color (as her family hadn't that kind of money) but was a simple, sleek design and looked nice on her.
Rare was it that she ever wore such a thing, but she wanted to... She didn't know, let Chase, at least remember her as a girl and not just another 'one of the boys'. But she still felt.. awkward as she approached the city tavern, where she was already hearing the laughter from the others coming from inside.
He was just plain confused.
Chase wasn't good with words. Hell, he couldn't even read or write. All he knew how to do was plow and plant a field in the spring, then harvest it come fall. Being a farmer was something he could be good at. He was never going to make a great soldier or thinker. It was always something he'd been content with, but the war had thrown everything into chaos and question.
His mother scolded him for getting so dirty when he had a party to attend. A party that was for him! It was with great reluctance that Chase hurriedly cleaned up and threw on some clean clothes. His mother made him change into his "good" clothes, the ones he wore to church.
Why did they have to throw him a party?
That was all he could think as he was practically pushed onto a stool, forcing a fake smile on his face. Even his typically bright spirit couldn't paint this as anything happy. Sure, other people seemed in good spirits, but all the party did was remind him that he was leaving soon. His birthday was not a joyful occasion this year.
Chase forced himself to laugh at the jokes about how he better not impale himself on his own sword after tripping over his own feet. They meant well.
Pushing the door open, her pointed nose poked in first before she looked around. The place was crowded, but most were guests attending in honor of Chase. It was a tradition to do this for all the boys going off to war, and it pained her a little to see so many laughing.
Sure it was one last 'hurrah!' before they'd be.. just gone but it was hard for Dahnny to want to really celebrate, even as she forced a smile too when someone finally noticed her.
"Hey... oh.. WOW.. woah.. Dahnny..."
Dahnny rolled her eyes and strolled on by, taking a seat where there was room. She wasn't about to give in to any of the gawking stares but....
Dahnny rarely wore a dress and...
there she was and..
Soon ALL of the men were quiet and looking at her.
He knew the tradition. It was just a dumb tradition.
The room had been almost obnoxiously loud, but a hush fell over the space and Chase couldn't have stopped himself from looking when he heard Dahnny's name.
And then he could only stare.
Was she wearing a dress? Dahnny never dressed up! The longer Chase looked, the hotter his face got. Partly because, well, she was beautiful (not that she wasn't always beautiful!), and partly because he was beginning to get angry at all the men staring at her. She wasn't a piece of meat and they weren't dogs to be drooling over her.
He hopped off his stool and made his way over to her quickly, finding it much easier to smile for her than it had been for the rest.
"Hey Dahnny, geez, you look like a girl!" That brought out a chorus of laughter from the crowd, and he blushed and looked super sheepish. "Er, I mean, uh...you look nice. Really nice. Did you dress up for the party?"
Her face blushed hotly when Chase started gaping. She rolled her eyes at him and his words.
"Yeah. You kind of mucked up my other clothes. It's all I had."
Okay it was a lie, she wanted to wear the dress but...
She wasn't about to tell him that.
"Oh...right." He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking suitably apologetic. "Sorry."
Aaaaand...what was he supposed to say or do now?!
Why was he having trouble talking to her all of a sudden? Dahnny was...Dahnny. She was his best friend in the world. Chase never had trouble talking to her, but all of a sudden he felt shy and tongue-tied. It was annoyingly frustrating.
She...she was just a girl! An obviously very pretty girl that was drawing attention from men.
"Would you like to, uh, sit with me?"
She was pretending to play with some unseen lint on the corner of her dress when he spoke and she raised her head.
"It's pretty crowded here.. I don't see a seat near where you were vacant."
Plus all theboys he WAS sitting around well..
Were definitely oogling her. She turned her back to them.
"So are you drinking with them too?" her question was a bit accusing. "Looks like everyone is." She tried to play off her tone more smoothly but.. yeah, maybe the dress was the wrong choice.
Chase looked back to where he'd been sitting, noticing just how crowded it was over there, and then noticing all the young men still staring at Dahnny. He scowled at them angrily and turned back to her, looking contrite when she asked if he was drinking with them.
"Yeah, a lot of people are drinking, but I don't care about them or drinking." It was true enough. He didn't care about hanging out with them. He cared about her. "I can sit over here with you."
She shook her head and smiled a little.
"This party is for you, you know." she pointed out, then placed her hands on her hips. "You can't just sit over here and only party with me."
But hey, she'd be okay with it. Most of those boys were a bit... TOO rowdy and... 'boys' for her own taste. The looks she was getting, after all, were ebginning to make her feel.. insecure-
if only over the fact she knew exactly what each man must be thinking- thanks to Thomas and his damn kiss!
"Your birthday is the same as mine. Should be your party too." Chase huffed a little, normally they always celebrated together. It was easier with the two of them falling on the same day. Of course he knew this wasn't a normal birthday party. It was practically a farewell party. How many of the other boys were ever going to make it home?
He glared over his shoulder at the other boys that were just a bit younger than him, boys that were looking at Dahnny like that, and would still be here when he was gone. What a bitter thought. Chase felt guilty for feeling bitter.
Leaning down, he lowered his voice a bit. "Come on, Dahnny. This is my last birthday at home for who knows how long. I want to spend it with my best friend."
If he couldn't spend it with her, then what was the point?
She looked down at the hem of her dress when he lectured about it being her birthday, too, before doing another classic eye roll. But as he went on about it, she found herself looking up at him and unable to look away from his eyes.
He must've been thinking the same thing she was.
"Come on," she went on with a laugh, one she hoped didn't sound nervous, but confident. "You act as if you'll go away and never come back."
"My da never came back." Chase whispered softly, his expression sad. He didn't want to go, and wasn't counting on coming back.
Dahnny's fingers went cold, the chill tickling through the rest of her body. She had to look away. The pain now became too real.
"You're... you're not your dad." She told him, voice wavering. She wanted to sound strong. Why did he have to bring up his father? She shook her head, looking away.
No, he wasn't his father. His father was a lot better man than he would ever be. Chase was clumsy, immature, and dumb. Not that he actually was unintelligent, but he had a fairly low view in himself and wasn't good with words - especially around pretty women.
"CHASE! You're the birthday boy, are you going to hide over there chatting up Dahnny the whole damn night?" It was one of the older men, and the accusation brought another round of laughter.
"Yes!" The place roared with laughter. He blushed and ducked his head, then pulled a chair up next to her and sat down stubbornly. If it was his party he could sit where he wanted to. She didn't want to sit at the center of attention, so he'd just have to stay with her over here.
Dahnny looked down at the table.
"Maybe we should go over. If we don't, theyll just harass you all night."
"They're gonna harass me all night anyway." Chase almost whined, but he reached out and grabbed her hand, giving a gentle tug. "C'mon. I'm not going without you."
Dhanny went stiff a little when he grabbed her hand and found herself being pulled away before she could think. She stumbled along behind him, inwardly cursing that now it seemed their friends were now looking at THEM. Not them as in Dahnny and Chase, but THEm as in a pair-
because the seconds he entered all eyes were on her,a nd only Chase seemed to sweep her up and away, almost all for himself...
It didn't take long for the men to deduce and one drunken idiot to blurt out,
"Are you two sleeping together?"
And did Dahnny's face go red.
"Wh-what?!" Chase's eyes went as wide as saucers at the drunken question, and his face turned just as red as hers. Being the sweet, naive idiot that he was, he hadn't noticed the way their looks had turned from just Dahnny to the both of them. He also hadn't realized what his focused attention on her looked like.
"No, of c-course not!" He blurted out, ducking his head down abashedly, glancing at Dahnny with a look of absolute panic. Chase was still squeezing her hand. Sleeping together was for married people, and he couldn't marry a girl that he thought of as a little sister!
Could he?
Her hand sweated against his, but when the man laughed, she growled and yanked her hand free of Chase and got right up into some of the men's faces.
"Even if we were, what business would it be of yours?"
That only made things worse, especially when one larger man, who was on home from a brief break from the war, hefted up the small girla nd tossed her over his shoulder.
"Because your lover would be goin' off to war, and that means you're free to forget him and have fun with the rest of us!"
And the entire place was roaring with laughter- that was until Dahnny's rage made her act stupidly, as she bit the man's hand, and bit it hard, forcing him to drop her as she rolled from his shoulders and landed on the ground with a quick recovering, then a kick to what was between his legs. And the big man went down.
And the entire place was laughing with applause.
A boy nearest Chase nudged him.
"Maybe you should take her with you to the army! she could protect you out there better than your brother's in arms could!" She was feisty! And her next statement proved it.
Hands on her hips, she raised her chin.
"Any other of you boys want to try something? Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't take you all down!"
And there was a unionized mocking of their fear.
Just they wait! She knew what was btween their legs- and that in itself, was a definitive downfall.
Chase wasn't laughing.
How could he just grab Dahnny like that and say things like that?! Dahnny wasn't some whore they could take turns having fun with! He felt rage and terror gnawing at him for a few moments. What the hell was going to happen to her once he was gone? Sure, most of the guys wouldn't do something like that, but it would only take one scumbag to see her hurt.
Then of course she bit the fuck out of the asshole before kicking him in the balls.
Yeah...that seemed about right. Nobody was going to take advantage of Dahnny. Some of that fear for her ebbed off. She didn't need him protecting her. He laughed at the other boy's suggestion.
"Yeah, but they don't let girls in." Plus Chase desperately wanted her to remain safe and carefree in their little quite village. The town had no part in the war, it had never seen a battle even super close to it. He wanted it to stay that way and for Dahnny to never be put in danger.
Chase laughed at her threat to the room, they might have mocked, but he had no doubt she'd have put a hurt on any of them. Still, he felt...unsettled.
"You tell 'em Dahnny. If another of them touches you, though, I'm going to lay him flat. Nobody messes with my best friend. They mess with you, they mess with me." He glared at the man that she'd downed, wishing he could deck him good, but he didn't want to start a fight at his own party.
Chase didn't even want to be at his own party.
Dahnny was glaring fiercely, but then one of their closer buddies, Miklet, came with two fresh mugs of beer in hand.
"Look you two love bird best friends," he teased. "Just get some beer and drink with the rest of us! We're all here for a good time! Chase is going to be a man soon!" he went on, playfully ruffling the other boy's hair after they accepted their drinks.
"A man?" Dahnny rolled her eyes and took a drink of her beer, not realizing froth got on her upper lip as she made a face. "Why do you guys keep offering this to me?" She shook her head and stuck out her tongue. "Beer is so gross!"
Chase gave Miklet a little glare as he took the mug of beer from him, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head away at the ruffling. "We're...we're not love birds!"
It was a futile protest, of course. Everyone gave them a knowing look and it frustrated him because they seemed to know something he didn't. Chase gave a grumpy pout and took a drink of his beer, making a little face at the poor taste.
Some of the men chuckled at Dahnny's reaction to it.
"Because beer makes you drunk if you drink enough." Chase supplied unhelpfully. "And when you're drunk, you do dumb things."
"Yeah, well I'm not dumb!" she protested.
"And truly a girl! Only a girl would refuse a beer!" another of their friends laughed.
"Everybody's dumb when they're drunk." Someone said with a laugh.
Chase shook his head and drank more of his beer. It didn't taste good, but everyone wanted him to drink it, and expected him to. His friends called it an acquired taste, but who liked taking the time to acquire it?.
"C'mon guys, leave her alone." He muttered, throwing a glance around at the people closest to them. "Nobody likes beer at first."
Dahnny had enough and yanked the beer from the closest boy and knocked the entire thing back and chugged it down. It was unlady like, to be sure, with beer foam dribbling down her chin. And she made quite a face when she gave the last swallow, and slammed the cup down onto the table.
"It's awful. But anyone can drink that." And when she realized her face was a mess, she went to wipe off the foam on the back of her hand, and in doing so, jumped a little with a hiccup.
"D-Dahnny wait!" Chase couldn't have stopped her from chugging the beer if he tried, of course, but what was she thinking? The last thing he needed was to be worried about, and looking after, a boozed up Dahnny.
Hmph! And she'd been giving him the stink eye for drinking with the boys.
The guys thought it was hilarious of course, whooping and hollering encouragingly while she'd downed the beer. Except Chase who just scowled grumpily as he watched her wipe the foam from her face with a hiccup. "I thought you said you weren't dumb."
What if they got her all drunk and took advantage of her? Yuuuup, Chase had just found his worst paranoid fear for the day!
Dahnny gave Chase a smack.
"Who you callin' dumb?" She eyed him. Funny, her head felt weird. She shook the sensation away, or at least tried to. Tossing her hair back, she stole a stein from another of the boys and shoved it towards Chase.
"Here, just have a drink. Then we'll go."
She was getting impatient and didn't want to stick around. Even if she wanted to stay by Chase for as long as she could....
There was just too much tension and too many obnoxious young men to make her want to stay.
Sighing, her eyes pleaded a bit with him- all the while the boys all around them continued their laughing.
"Ow!" Chase rubbed where he'd been smacked and pouted at Dahnny sullenly. She didn't have to hit him. Chugging alcohol was dumb! Especially if you weren't used to drinking, which neither of them were, given their age. Despite being upset that he got hit for no good reason he took the drink she shoved in his hands. He really didn't feel much like drinking or partying, and was glad when she said if he drank it they could go.
"Cheers, I guess." The beer wasn't great quality, but he knocked it back much like Dahnny had done a few moments before. He had called her dumb for it, but he really wanted to leave. Spending time with all the men while they got drunk just wasn't appealing. Chase just wanted to spend time with Dahnny while he still could.
"There, I did it, let's get out of here." He set the empty stein onto the table and reached a hand out to her.
She couldn't hide her smile as she took his hand to stand- only to do so prematurely and yelp as she fell forward into him, the toe of her boot catching the table leg.
It was completely instinctual. Chase just automatically put his arms around Dahnny protectively when she fell against him. His cheeks flushed and concerned flashed in his eyes. "Easy Dahnny, are you okay?"
Laughter erupted from the room. Surely her ears were bleeding from how hot they felt and Chase may have heard his friend swear a few times as she regained her balance.
Barely muttering her thanks, she gave a hard tug to the shoulder of his sleeve as it seemed she was about to drag him with her.
"Come on," she growled, eyes avoidant. "Let them laugh it up I'm an easy drunk."
It was slightly better than presuming she had two left feet.
But as they made it towards the door, one of the other boys stopped them with a laugh.
"Wait. Woah, you two can't be serious and leaving us already!"
The boy was drunk and his face so red, it was hard to tell if it was from laughter or ale. For the life of her, she couldn't remember the boys name and simply growled but steeled her tongue. No use starting a fight when they were so close to the door.
Chase was happy enough to let Dahnny drag him by the sleeve out of the party, but he groaned -not at all subtly - when some boy got in their way. What was his name again? He really didn't care to try remembering at the moment. All the poor boy wanted was to get away from all the attention and fuss.
There wasn't a lot of time left for him here, and Chase wanted to spend as much of it with his best friend as he could. Everyone else was just getting in the way of that.
"We showed up, we had a drink, and now we just want to get out of here. I'm leaving soon and I just want to spend my last days at home with my ma and Dahnny. Okay?" Chase was giving a tired attempt at a half-smile, hoping people would just take the hint and leave them alone.
The boy made a face, then some slow realization crept over his face.
"Are you going to ask Dahnny to marry you!?"
Dahnny froze. And instantly she felt her ears and cheeks heat. And even the pit of her belly reacted, doing some kind of dropping somersault as she forgot how to breath.
"W-what?" Chase sputtered, eyes wide as his face turned crimson from hairline to below the collar of his shirt. "Why would you ask that?!"
The very idea was absurd! Dahnny was like a sister to him, they'd been inseparable since they were old enough to remember. Everyone knew that he acted like a protective big brother towards the rambunctious girl. You didn't ask your sister to marry you. It didn't matter if they had grown up into a pretty young woman.
"Then why you takin' her to your Moth-"
The question was interrupted by another drunk boy, who laughed and spilled his drink on the way over to them.
"Woo, you saying the pretty little Dahnny is free for one of us to take?"
"Shit, and here we thought we'd have to behave with her while you were gone!" Another chimed in.
Chase never said he was taking Dahnny to his mother's house now, only that he wanted to spend his time left at home with the two most important people in his life. Then a second drunk idiot stumbled over to them. Then a third spoke up.
"No I'm not saying that!" The idea of one of these idiots ending up with Dahnny was reprehensible. Usually one to be extremely easy going and quick to laugh, Chase took a step forward, hands balled into fists and looking as angry as anyone had probably ever seen him. "Ain't none of you good enough for her. If I hear about any of you hassling her I'll come back just to remind you not to mess with my Dahnny."
My Dahnny? Why'd he have to go and say it like that? It made it worse on all accounts and sure, rub salt into a wound when he already proclaimed he had no intentions of marrying her. So she couldn't very well hang around to listen to all of this, and slipped outside by herself while the boys continued to harass Chase.
She needed a few minutes. Or a life time to get over that.
Chase had no idea that he might have said something upsetting. After all, Dahnny was his best friend, someone he had teased and looked out for all their lives, and he still saw the spirited, slightly bratty girl that he'd grown up with. He couldn't wrap his head around the idea that she was becoming a woman, and he wasn't just a boy anymore, but becoming a man.
It took him a minute to realize that she had slipped out while he was glaring down the other young men. As soon as he realized she was gone he turned and bolted out the door, still feeling annoyed and embarrassed.
"Dahnny?" Chase called as he looked for her.
She hadn't gotten far. She was standing in the shadows of a nearby tree, hoping wiping away any of her tears that were threatening wasn't noticable. She didnt say anything either when he called for her. She still needed a moment.
Ansgar.. no she needed more time than could ever be allowed.
Chase felt a spike of panic when Dahnny didn't answer him right away, but then he caught sight of her standing in the shadows under a tree. He hurried over to her, brow knitted in concern.
"Are you okay Dahnny? Why didn't you answer me? Don't let those idiots bother you with their drunk stupidness." Chase thought that she was embarrassed by the boys asking about him marrying her or them having a chance with her. They were such idiots. He really didn't need to worry about chasing the boys away from harassing Dahnny. Chase knew that she'd give any boy that bothered her when she didn't want them to hell.
She saw him approach and turned her gaze away. She didn't know what to say, each time she started her voice sounded raspy, or the words just didn't come out right. She shook her head, sighing as she raked a hand through her hair and looked at him, really looked at her friend.
She had a million things to say. A million things she should of said.
But she was hurt.
And her words came out in the only means she could thing of to defend herself.
"Yeah well, this is how it's always gonna be from now on now ain't it?"
"What do you mean?" Chase was genuinely confused, but she wasn't looking at him and he knew that she was upset with him, even if he didn't know what he'd done wrong this time.
She tried to look at him but shook her head, needing to look away.
"You... you won't even be here for the next..." the sigh came out choked, frustrated. "I mean.. do we even know how long you'll be gone?"
Chase sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He stepped over to the tree and leaned his back against it, folding his arms across his chest and looking down as he scuffed his boot against the dirt.
"Did any of the other boys that had to go off know how long they'd be gone?" He asked quietly. They both knew the answer already. Nobody knew when the boys drafted to war would be back. They didn't know if they'd ever be back. "I don't want to go, Dahnny. You know I wouldn't leave if I had a choice."
She really, really didn't want to have this conversation. To make matters worse, her head was still funny from drink.
"Chase..." her words came out frustrated as she stepped away, looking at him once before dropping her arms with a heated sigh. "Are we really having this conversation?! You were conscripted." Her head was shaking. "Ansgar's name, no man, young or old, has a choice!"
"I don't even know what conversation we're having!" Chase threw his hands up in frustration, not knowing what was going on at this point. One minute he was just trying to leave the party with Dahnny so they could spend what was left of their birthday in peace together without all the drunkards bothering them, and the next Dahnny'd vanished outside by herself and was being weird.
Damn all the tears and booze! She had to turn away from him. Had to walk away. This was not how she wanted this night to go. She was turning into an emotional wreck and couldn't even verbally excuse herself as she was rushing to get away. She didn't want Chase to see her crying. He couldn't. She felt like a fool. She was a fool. Damn this night. Damn the Grand Duke. Damn this conscription!
"H-hey, Dahnny, wait!" Chase reached a hand out to try to grab her, but she had already slipped out of his reach. Why was she being like this? He really didn't understand what had happened to make the night to take a nosedive into disaster. This could be his last birthday to celebrate together with Dahnny.
It could be his last birthday ever.
Normally Chase would, well, chase her. Instead he was left standing there under the tree, staring after her until she'd vanished in the dark. He used his sleeve to wipe at his eyes angrily. Some soldier he was going to make.
She wasn't sure what direction she was going in until her boots were stamping in mud. She had come to a small babbling brook, near a place she and Chase would have played in their youth. She should have went home- for it was getting dark, and was kind of late..
And cold.
But she barely felt the temperature, and it was welcomed on her face- which was still flushed from tears. She brushed away at them- they were unrelenting, and paused a moment to just let herself cry.
She needed it, as much as she hated to admit it. She had to get all of that emotion off of her chest, out of her system or she felt as if she might die! (to be dramatic about it)
But part of her was about to die..
And thinking about it started her crying again as she just let herself collapse into the mud against the stream.
Chase didn't know what to do. He wasn't good at talking, definitely not to girls. Dahnny had never been much of a problem to talk to, she didn't make him nervous or anxious, at least not until recently. What had he even done wrong? He really didn't know and it was frustrating.
Not sure what else to do, he found himself sulking around the village, walking without purpose and running his fingers through his hair. He half expected for Dahnny to find him and give him more of an earful, but when she didn't Chase found himself getting more and more worried about his best friend. Where had she gotten off to? The village wasn't that big!
"Dahnny? Are you stalking me again? The game is over, this isn't funny anymore." Chase looked around, but didn't see her and she didn't respond. He started working his way further from the village, checking places they would normally play together.
Oh no.
She heard his voice, carrying across the night. She tried to scrambled off the ground from where she was, tried to find a place to run away from him but her boots were still slick from the mud, and it seemed fate had less kind things in store, for before she knew what was happening, she let out a little yelp and stumbled into the water.
Oh how she had wished the water wasn't so shallow and could just swallow her up whole, especially as more tears streamed down her face.
Gods, maybe if she was lucky- He wouldn't have seen or even heard that.