Twice Cursed [Goblin] [M]

[Juno]

Conrey's features immediately screwed in confusion, not understanding why she would endanger her "best dress" knowing full well they would be going out. "Well, don't do that," he warned her gently. "I don't want to hear any screeching when you snag it on a branch or get a bit of dirt on it. Wear something you wouldn't be sad to see a bit...muddied? The bank seemed a bit soft, but it no, not terribly far." It wasn't a lie, but he was uncertain what her delicate standards of far might be.

"I'll give you privacy, though, if you wish to...get changed," he spoke slowly, giving her a not-so-hidden once over. He didn't think she looked all that disheveled but he wouldn't argue it if it made her comfortable when they had so much free time on their hands anyway.

He smiled kindly, not saying a word more as he released her hand and moved to step out. The stairs were taken quickly. He peeked out the front door cautiously, though opened it fully once he saw their striped friend had not loitered. Stepping out, he felt much more at home than in the stuffy manor.

He was able to breathe and feel the light breeze tickling the bareness of his arms. The sun caused him to squint a bit for its brightness, but he welcomed the warmth enveloping him. Conrey pondered the thought of taking the trip as a wolf, but he knew how the girl liked to chatter and thought better of it. He sat himself upon the bottom step to wait for her, his hands folded patiently as he stared out in the direction of the river as he listened to the sounds of life.

[GoblinFae]

"Yes you do that," she replied distractedly. Her face flushed as she noticed his look. She could not understand why he made her feel flustered, perhaps it was because they had spent the night together with her cuddled up against him but now Yasmine just felt awkward and self-conscious in his presence.

Once he had left she hurried to change, first removing her mussed dress before flitting about back and forth tossing dresses from her trunks to find the perfect one. His advice had been heard but was not necessarily being heeded as she searched for the perfect thing. Yasmine wanted something nice for outdoor wear but then that would also not make her look like a commoner. She was a nobleman's daughter after all and there were just some privledges of her past life that she was not willing to give up yet. She was no heathen, she reasoned with herself. There were protocols that still needed adhering to.

When she at last made her way down the main stairs to the front door, Yasmine had adorned a rusty-copper dress that reached down to the tops of her booted feet with bell sleeves that were nearly as long. Her hair was kept long and free down her back except for the sides which were twisted and pinned in the back as best as she could manage without a servant. She had wanted to do something more complex but lacked the knowledge or ability therefore giving up altogether. If she knew that it was crooked and she had stray hairs sticking out oddly she would have been mortified.

"Shall we be off then?" the noblewoman asked, coming to stand behind the seated man. Her hands were clasped loosely in front of her as she looked down at him politely with a gentle smile. "It seems like it will be a beautiful day today."

[Juno]

Conrey was still in his own world when she arrived and it was only her voice that reminded him he was not being caught up by some stranger. "If you'd like," he answered easily, tilting his head back to peer up at her.

Reaching out, he ran his hand gently along the skirt of the dress and then the sleeve that dangled near, genuinely fascinated by the color. It was certainly fine in its making but he hoped she would not be upset if it were damaged away from the shelter of the manor. "Pretty, but don't you think that's too nice to be going out it?" he scolded gently as he righted his posture and stood up to finally step out into the grass.

The werewolf turned to face her properly, his eyes studying the changes she'd made from a better vantage as he tried to pin what she'd done with her hair. He was oblivious to the ways of women's grooming and simply nodded approvingly once he'd given up his silent guessing. "I hope it stays nice," he answered with an easy smile, turning away to lead her out into the sunlight and make their way to the more sheltered and shadowed woods beyond. "I know the way still," he added, unsure if she might be wary of taking direction from him.

[GoblinFae]

She blushed with pleasure at his praise, her face completely lighting up like a summer day. "Well you can't expect me to dress in rags now could you? This is all I have that's a few seasons old. Everything else is newer." Yasmine lowered her head feeling a bit as if she had disappointed him with her pretty dress. "I trust your lead then. You said it's not far?"

[Juno]

The idea of clothing having seasons seemed strange to him, though he'd heard it mentioned before from other noblewomen. Fashion was an odd thing to him, coming from a world of relative poverty. He was used to living off the land not investing fortunes into a wardrobe that might be worn only occasionally. He did not disapprove, though, knowing she was merely exercising the luxuries of her class.

Conrey did not know her disappointment but turned slightly to give her a pleasant enough smile as he hummed his agreement. "Yeah, maybe just half a mile or so," he clarified. His long legs carried him swiftly yet gracefully onto towards the treeline and through it into the more shadowed woods. The dull path he'd taken from his previous trip still remained, the signs of it mostly being the unsettled leaves and broken sticks.

He pointed ahead at what seemed so obvious to him. "This trail, but just follow me if there's no rush."

[GoblinFae]

Yasmine held up some of her skirts in order to try and navigate her way behind Conrey. Her shorter legs kept her from being able to keep up with him easily and it was therefore not long before he was strides upon strides ahead of her. "If there's really no rush Mister Conrey then would you mind slowing down? Ladies I'm afraid aren't taught how to march along through the woods like naughty schoolboys. I would hate to get lost simply because I could not keep up."

[Juno]

He didn't quite realize how far behind he'd left her until she spoke up about it. He stilled for a moment, his eyes horrified as he realized that had she thought of it she could have easily given him the slip right then and there, at least for the moment.

Conrey rushed back to her, his eyes serious as he made note to keep her in his sight. "And am I a 'naughty schoolboy' to you, Yasmine?" he wondered, skeptical of the phrase for he personally did not understand what it meant.

"Am I to carry you everywhere then? It isn't that it's a rush so much that I worry if you cannot keep up with a normal pace that you might not be...of fitness to be hiking through the woods. Especially wearing something like that," he added, thinking her choice of clothes might have been constricting in some way. Unfortunately being so much bigger than she his concept of normal pace was also quite skewed.

[GoblinFae]

"You're something," she muttered, feeling dejected and disappointed by his comments regarding her clothes. "I'm not a ragdoll and there's nothing wrong with my clothes," Yasmine pouted while feeling like she would cry at any moment for his lack of confidence in her. "I just asked that you slow down not that you carry me! I'm not broken," she said with teary eyes. "Do you really hate my dress that much, Mister Conrey?"

[Juno]

The sadness in her voice stunned him, the werewolf completely oblivious to what could have upset her so much. If he'd had the ears for it they would have drooped for all her scolding, but he hung his head instead and winced every so often as some of her words stung to hear when it was only his intention to protect her and keep her happy.

"I don't know what gave you that idea, but I do not hate your dress," he hissed, feeling a bit defensive about her accusation. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you, I just... It seems far too fine, is all I meant. I thought you might have been taking it easy for the sake of the dress," he explained, hurrying to placate her and clear up the misunderstanding.

"It's something you'd wear to one of those...fancy people parties," he elaborated with a frustrated gesture of his hand as he could not find the proper words to describe what he'd meant. "Where there's all that proper dancing and drinking and music. Not a dress for the woods and animals and water. Too pretty for that," he muttered.

[GoblinFae]

Yasmine huffed and sniffled, digging the toe of her boot into the dirt petulantly. "And what would you have me wear? This is one of the least fancy ones I have let along brought with me. Frankly the dress is inconsequential and I wasn't 'taking it easy' as you put it. It's not my fault I can't keep up with your tree trunk legs with their league steps." Taking a deep breath to try and calm herself, Yasmine swiped at her face to clear it of a stray tear.

"Now are we going to argue about my dress or are you going to show me the nice place you found and suggested with sunshine and fish and plenty of fresh air? Personally I prefer the latter over the former."

[Juno]

He tried not to be insulted by her words, harsh as they seemed about something he had no control over. His natural gait was what it was. A brow raised in confusion to hear that her dress wasn't even all that fancy to her. Conrey remained silent and just nodded, his eyes betraying how bad he still felt for upsetting her.

"The not arguing one," he said evenly, not thinking it a real choice in the slightest anyway. "I think you'll like it," he added. Noting her mention of fish he decided to probe a bit deeper despite the poor topic choice in the past few days. "Does fish mean...that you would like some? Or did you only want to watch them?" Conrey slowly moved to step out and head down the path once more, only taking steps when she was within a few feet or so every time.

[GoblinFae]

"I can eat fish?" she exclaimed, perking up instantly at the idea of real food. "You'll cook it for me and everything? Really? I'd love that!" Yasmine was all but bouncing off the trees now as they moved. She still struggled with keeping up given her shorter stride but she made the best of it she could. At one point when she was forced to navigate over a fallen tree that would have been nothing for Conrey to step over she did mutter to herself over how unfairly short her own legs were. Her dress hem snagged slightly on the rough bark causing her to pause and look at it before shrugging her shoulders and hurrying to follow once more. "What do the fish look like? Are they pretty? Are they big or small? Do you think they're good eating?"

[Juno]

Conrey hung his head slightly for her excitement, wincing at her misunderstanding of him, though he wasn't sure he would have the heart to correct her. "Well, that is if you were wanting fish," he finally agreed. "I don't think that would be too difficult to manage. Would you still want to eat them if they were too pretty?" he wondered, though his smile said he was only teasing her.

"They might be, I haven't tried them myself. They were....all sizes, really. Just silver and black river fish," he shrugged, frowning slightly as he noticed the slightly tattered section of her hem. I suppose I'm to learn how to mend ladies' clothes, too, the werewolf thought, slightly disgruntled but knowing he was paid well enough to manage such a thing for her should she allow him.

"Are you sure you want them cooked?" he ventured at last, uncertain if that was something she should even be allowed to do. "Wouldn't raw be more....well, bloody?"

[GoblinFae]

Yasmine blinked up at him, unsure of what he was really suggesting at first. "Well you...wouldn't eat them with all the scales on and stuff...would you?" She certainly had never done such a thing and hoped that Conrey was not of such a different background that he ate those parts along with the rest of the meat. The young woman did not have long to consider that train of thought though before her servant's next words caused to her gag suddenly. Her body jerked strongly while her hand moved to cover her mouth. "Don't say such things," she gasped, feeling ill and dizzy. "I don't wish such images in my head."

[Juno]

While such a thing was certainly not uncommon with his wolf Conrey immediately knew he'd been caught out by her reaction to the dreaded word. It hadn't been such a good plan after all, and it truly gave him pause to wonder if he should really be pressing the issue any more. "Was just saying," he muttered, quietly ashamed that he'd caused her such disgust again.

"I'll cook them for you, it really isn't all that much trouble," he agreed after a few awkward moments of silence on his part. Truly he had no idea what might come of her indulging in such a way, but he hoped it would not be something he regretted allowing. "It's not much further," he added in encouragement, pointing out at the sparkling in the distance his keen eyes could already see.

[GoblinFae]

"Sounds like a plan then." she replied, trying to forget the images of blood in her mind and move past their painfully awkward moment. The mention of the river had her head shooting up to try and see. Able to make out faint glimmers in the sunlight, Yasmine suddenly burst through the foliage to the bank with a speed that she neither realized that she was using nor possessed. "It's wonderful!" she cried, looking back with a brilliant smile to where she thought Conrey would be.

[Juno]

The way she'd shot out towards the river startled even the werewolf, the man completely unaware she'd possessed any particular skill before. He stared at her from the trees, his jaw slightly slack as he watched her taking in the sight of it.

Conrey rushed out to her several moments later already painfully aware of how much he lagged behind her. He hoped she did not notice her advantage and instead was quick to join her at her side in more a defensive posture than a protective one. If she could bolt like that once she could certainly do it again and he needed to be ready to give chase at any moment. "Yes... It is, isn't it? Just a river, though, did you never take any trips by the water with your parents?" he wondered, hoping to distract her with conversation.

[GoblinFae]

Oblivious to what she had done and Conrey's apprehensions, Yasmine beamed up at him in pure pleasure. "Well of course we've been out and seen the lakes and whatnot but that hardly makes this any less beautiful. It's peaceful don't you think?" Without thinking, she reached out and took his hand to pull him along with her further down the bank, pointing out the fish she could see and cheering with innocence of a child as they glittered in the sunlight.

[Juno]

"As much as it can be in such isolation," he agreed, stunned at the turn in her attitude. Here she was suddenly happy again and even touching him voluntarily. He allowed her to pull him along, though he was careful not to grip too firmly despite how he was certain it wouldn't have hurt her even if he had. She was a vampire, as he had to keep reminding himself, not some girl being rehabilitated. He did wonder if she might keep her childlike excitement eternally.

"Shall I catch some, then?" he asked, leaning over the bank slightly to peer into the depths where more of the fish were hiding themselves. He wasn't about to yank away from her, though, thinking her hold upon him meant she didn't yet want to be separated.

[GoblinFae]

"What do you mean about that?" Yasmine asked, tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Are things more beautiful when not isolated? I thought that was part of the point of the beauty of the land, that it's so vast and peaceful without the hustle and bustle of the city. Granted I have always felt that it gets increasingly boring the longer you're enduring it but not like I have much choice now." She sighed and shrugged, peering over the bank edge again curiously. "You think you can really catch some? They seem to swim so quickly."