What a Man Wants [VisualSpice] (M)

[Ivory]

Kathryn grinned down at her sister, pleased to see that the gossip was having the desired effect on the younger girl!  It had snapped her out of her depression quite readily, it seemed, and Kathryn was glad for that.

"Yes," Kathryn answered with a quiet laugh.  "By tournament rules, I won, because he only had one arrow in the target.  However..."  And here she lowered her voice even further, eyes sparkling, "The only reason his second arrow didn't stick is because it struck his first arrow -- in the center of the target."

It was an impressive series of shots...

Kathryn blushed softly, adding, "So I told him he had won, of course..."

[visualspice]

Valia thought she had lost her breath, and was probably hurting her sister from how hard she was squeezing her arm. But in reality, she was simply holding her breath and when she released it, an anxious groan accompanied it.
"Are you serious!?" she squeaked. "Kathryn!" she pinched her sister's arm excitedly. "But if he won, then..." she grinned wickedly up at her sister. "Did you let him have his wedding night early?"

Of course she had to ask. Valia's mind revolved around few things.
Pink. Shoes. Dresses. Boys. And the idea of what could be scandalously done behind closed door.

That.

And gossip. This was no exception and she was so thrilled.
"You must tell me what you did since he won!"s he asked, hugging onto Kathryn's arm again, keeping it tight.

[Ivory]

"I think he's far too proper for such things," Kathryn answered with a deepening blush.

If he had chosen to accompany her into the hidden tunnels, perhaps something else might have happened there, away from the prying eyes of guards and family alike.  She rather doubted it, however; he seemed a proper gentleman, through and through.

And she should count herself lucky for that.

If it had been Dekka, however...  She shook the thought away.

"We parted in the gardens," she answered softly.  "And each returned to our rooms in solitude."

[visualspice]

Valia's hold loosened, her face deflating at the lack luster response.
"Just like that?" she said, sounding very much annoying. She glared at her sister. "Really now, how do you aim to please your husband and woo him into your bed chambers if you can't have some fun escapades int he moonlight?" Valia fluffed her hair. It was, after all, one of the most exhilarating things to fool around with a handsome, well muscled knight int he straw...
and if they were ever to get caught..
That added all the more to the intrigue!  Too bad it seemed her sister was not feeling the same way. So she huffed.
"I would have taken him down right there in the woods!" Valia pressed, matter of factly as she folded her arms over her chest. "Really, Kathryn. Think of your duties as a woman!"

[Ivory]

"When we are married, perhaps," Kathryn answered with an expression of amusement.  Oh, her poor sister...  "I was mortified enough that he caught me shooting arrows in the dead of night...  With most men, that alone would have tarnished our family name..."

She smiled slightly at that, glad that her future husband had simply accepted it.

"Anyway, if you absolutely must know, I nearly shot him for a poacher or a bandit before he came out of the shadows...  And wouldn't that have been a nice ending to our engagement?"  She sighed softly.  "That, and..."  She paused with another blush.  "Well, if it had been you-know-who who met me in the woods..."

Well, the night would have ended differently.

[visualspice]

Valia made a face, repulsed that her sister would have shot the duke. A terrible twist of fate indeed! (but then her sister wouldn't be getting married yet so...)

Sighing, she fanned her face off, but then grew more coy, her lips curling, twisting at the ends in amusement when her sister pressed her thoughts over.. if it were the other man.

"Oh? How so?" Valia just had to ask, fanning off her fast a little more quickly than before.

[Ivory]

Realizing the pickle she had put herself in, Kathryn's face turned a series of ever-deepening hues.

"Well..."  How could she explain?  It certainly wasn't lust -- at least, not to the same degree from which her sister suffered! -- but it was something else...

"It just...isn't the same," she said, a bit lamely.  "I suppose, like you, I like having that...thrill."  Of doing something she wasn't supposed to do...  With Calent's assent, it had taken some of the thrill out of the evening...and, although she had enjoyed their little contest, her contest with Dekka had been...so much more.

Of course, not even Valia was privy to that story in its entirety...

"But I am lucky that he's accepted my archery as he has," she murmured, trying to find the good in the situation.  "And he hasn't told Mother -- can you imagine her face if he did?"

[visualspice]

"Yes, it would be rather scandalous," Valia agreed, continuing to fan her face off more furiously, despite the growing winds. It seemed a storm was brewing- definitely at least rain. A good day for hunting, but Calent worried some, peering up at the darkening clouds and then over at his fiance.
It seemed everything was about ready to start, so he gave his horse a kick and moved over to her side- interrupting Valia before she had gotten a chance to ask more questions and the young girl all but faded to the background as she stepped aside, bowing humbly away.

"Lady Kathryn, Lady Valia." he bowed to them both then looked to his lady. "Are you ready? It seems there might be rain,a nd the men are all prepared."

[Ivory]

"Of course," Kathryn answered readily, sparing her sister a smile, and adding, "We'll talk more later, my dear sister."

She then allowed Calent to lead her back towards the hunting party.

"Forgive me, Duke Calent.  I had not realized the party was waiting for me.  I thought more preparations were being made..."  She sighed softly as she, too, glanced up at the coming storm.

"The rain should do little to deter the hunt," she offered, the sage opinion of one who had seen such storms and such hunts before.  "The forest keeps the worst of the storm at bay."  She offered the Duke a sincere smile as they made their way away from the palace.  "Are you still convinced you will out-hunt my father even in such a storm?"

[visualspice]

Calent gave a brief smile when she apologized before shaking his head.
"No worries, my lady." But at her next question, his eyes simply sparkled.  "But of course."
With a quick kick, his horse moved before hers, eyes catching to her but once before he approached the others. The men all agreed to be on with the hunt- for the stag had been already off in running for nearly an hour.

A long, golden horn was raised, it's call wailing into the air and carrying over the forests...

Now the hunt was official! It was time to begin!

------------------------

Sitting upon a dark horse, a cloaked figure waited, studying the activity from the breast of a hill. Smirking, Dekka's eyes followed the form of Lady Kathryn as she and the other riders disappeared into the woods.  The party was not the only one hunting. After a time, he gave a kick of his horse and tore off after them. After all, he knew exactly how to find what he was seeking for. She could not disguise herself from him so easily. Nor that horse.
Pressing further, the rain broke just as he was rounding a hill,a dn the winds suddenly began to pick up speed, nearly lifting the cloak off of his body. The sky was getting ominous and dark- and part of him was thrilled but also feared by it-

This sort of weather...
it was dangerous.
But he had to press on..
He had to find Kathryn. After all, he had waited far too long in this coy little game of cat and mouse, where he always enjoyed the role of the cat.



-----

Elsewhere, his horse thundered across the lands, rain soaking his dark green cloak, but hte heavy winds still tosseled it behind him. The nostrils of his beasts were steaming, hooves clattering across the rough and rocky terrain of the mountains and the bray of the hounds kept his spirit unjaunted. Kathryn's father, the expert rider that he was, was already gaining a lead, with Calent trailing not too far behind. THough his eyes were focused on picking out the stag amongst the woods, the rain...
He took a moment to peer back at Lady Kathryn- wondering how she might be fairing on this change of weather.

[Ivory]

Kathryn looked as at home on her mount now as she had racing across the sun-soaked fields the previous day.  She had dressed warmly, and, although she would have loved to participate in the hunt itself, Calent had promised to keep her secret...and, so, unlike the men, she was allowed to bundle herself in thick furs.

Even her heavy clothing could not keep the rain entirely at bay.  Beneath the hood of her cloak, her dark hair was wet, and a few strands clung to her forehead and rain-flushed cheeks.  Her eyes were bright and alert as she read the ground around them, searching as Calent and her father did for signs of the stag, and she rode with an easy grace that came naturally to her.

Her eyes lifted, and she looked visibly surprised to find Calent looking in her direction.  She offered him a smirk and a quick wink.  With a subtle gesture, she pointed to tree whose bark had been scraped by an antler.  A single tuft of fur stood out on the trunk, caught, no doubt, when the large animal had rubbed against it.  Up ahead of them, her father was looking down at the ground, searching, no doubt, for tracks he wouldn't find.

[visualspice]

Her smile sent a shiver of excitement up his spine, and her gesture, not missed as his eyes followed it's course. Noting the markings and fur, he was quick to yank on his reigns, kicking his boots heavily at his horses sides and changed course. Smiling, he had to wonder how his fiancee had become to well versed. But perhaps it was something they could discuss at a later date, as he rushed off across a hill side, an action of which now split the hunting party apart.  His horse moved faster than the roaring winds around them, as trees began to rock across the skies and the rains began to pound down mercilessly upon the ground.  He would find the stag first. he would prove to everyone and make a name- he would prove to Kathryn she had married someone worthy of her as pride swelled within his chest.
A bolt of lighting lit up the area and the stag came into view. with his heart now in his throat, the duke pressed his boots into the horse and shouted, snapping the reigns and forcing him onward. THe chase was on.


------

Dekka had remained back, but as the rains got heavier and heavier, the world around him was nearly clothed in it's violent veil of cold rains and winds. His clothing was mostly soaked through,a nd he found himself slipping off his cloak as he halted his movement in the woods. He had seen Lady Kathryn come this way, had noticed the split in the hunting party- but which way would she choose? His horse moved antsily beneath him as his green eyes cut through the rains, surveying the area, but his efforts seemed fruitless.




OOC: Sorry it's short! I can add more later if you'd like? But I figured if you want, you could set up the next post with Kathryn following either one, but perhaps far enough back Dekka could make his appearance? Or maybe she spots Dekka?

[Ivory]

OOC: *cackles* Oh, this post was perfect!

A chain of lightning arced across the sky above, momentarily lighting even the darkest corners of the forest below.  Kathryn had turned in her saddle -- by happenstance alone -- at this perfect time, and she had caught a glimpse of a lone figure trailing behind the party.

Only one bandit would be so bold.

She let her fiance and father rush off in different directions, and she instead turned her horse towards a thicket off the path.  By the time their shadow had reached them, she was lodged quite comfortably in a tree high above his head.  It was nice to be able to turn the tables on him for once!

As Dekka hesitated beneath her, she pulled a pinecone down from the tree's branches.  It struck him square in the back of the head, and she had to stifle her giggle with a hand pressed over her mouth.  It didn't keep her from pitching a second one and nailing him on the shoulder, however.

"I think you're getting rusty," she teased with a grin when his eyes finally found hers.  "You're lucky I'm not a guardsman, Mr. Blade.  You'd be dead."

[visualspice]

OOC: Ho, ho! And your reply was more perfect 8D
I really need to draw Kathryn/Dekka sometime >.>
I think the last time I tried the drawing came out poopy u.u

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Thunk!
A pinecone hit him square on the head. His eye wet wide, perhaps even a little cross eyed before he looked up.
Thunk!
Only to have another pinecone hit him square on the shoulder. Smirking, his green eyes danced at the sight above him. It was definitely an interesting way for them to greet one another since their last encounter, and he wouldn't lie, it put him a little on edge he was able to get such an advantage over him, if only because he realized her comment had rung true-
But to be fair. It was raining.
And storming..
And there was wind.

A flash of yellow light fluttered, illuminating them as Dekka bowed down to her, then lifted his eye once again to where she was positioned high up in the tree.
"I believe the stag went that way?" the thief said, gesturing back in the direction that headed North, but his eye never left her.  Glancing down, he stared at the two pine cones, then back to the woman and his smirk grew wider.
"If we're counting in pinecones, I'd already be dead twice." he pointed out, his horse moving uneasily before he calmed him. The thunder made the beast uneasy, and the winds. The sky was growing darker by the moment, pulling his attention from the young lady only for a moment as he furrowed his brow in concern, before turning back towards her to study her with more interest, eyes moving across her body, despite the warm fur coat that clothed her.

"So what's a proper lady such as yourself doing all the way up there in a tree? Last time I heard, you got yourself engaged?" His eyes flashed a bit, knowing full well the pair of them played this exact game before.
After all...
her first proposal was by the fake duke of allar who was staring straight up at her now.
"Why don't you come down from there before you break your neck?" his horse seemed to agree, remaining antsy as the winds picked up, so strong, it felt as if it may have had the power to pluck the smaller woman from the tree. He clung fiercely to his reigns, but the horse remained, as did the rider, waiting to see what the woman would do.
"Unless you plan to drop pinecones on me all day.."
his smirk twitched a little at the thought. This woman might consider that..

[Ivory]

"It's a thought," Kathryn answered with a wide grin.  It was true that the wind was powerful, driving cold, wet rain and shaking the tree limb beneath her.  But it was equally true that Kathryn was thoroughly enjoying herself and the adrenaline coursing through her system.  "My, my," she added, laughing.  "Don't tell me the King of Thieves is worried about my well-being...  Anyway, I can't come down!  I'm hiding from a dangerous mage," she teased.

A sharp gust kicked up, then, trying to knock her off as though to prove the thief below correct in his concern.  Her foot slipped against the wet bark of the limb she was perched upon, and she fell back against the trunk with a yelp of surprise.  Her arms quickly went around the tree, clinging tenaciously until the wind died down and she was able to catch her balance again.

Letting out a laugh, as much in relief as at the danger, she leaned down to look at him again.  "Though you may have a point...  Just this once."

Carefully, she began to climb down the tree, feet occasionally slipping against the slick surface of the tree.  "What are you doing here in Highheart?  I thought you were--"

That was all the further she got.  Still a foot or two above Dekka's head, there was a sudden crack as a lightning bolt found the very tree she was climbing down!  She never even felt herself let go; suddenly, she was simply airborne!

OOC: And that, Kathryn, is why you don't climb trees during thunderstorms!

[visualspice]

Conversations could be reserved for another time, since while he was observing her climb down the tree, a chaotic series of events seemed to unfold. It was like a dream, or more like a nightmare.
The bolt of lightning struck, a near blinding force that nearly tossed him off his horse as the horse reared up out of fear-
and in the same instance he was fighting to keep himself within the saddle, he watched in horror as woman and tree began to crash towards the ground.
With a heavy kick, he moved swift, racing beneath her where she fell and caught her unceremoniously within his arms while her long hair fluttered about his face, fur coat scattered within his arms and winds as the horse tore across the muddied ground. He pressed all of his weight agaisnt the horse, and upon her, shielding her as the tree came down, scratching roughly ontop of them as they barely slipped out beneath the thing alive-

And then up over the crest of the hill he went, woman in arms, heart in his throat, beating, pumping heavily with the rush and mix of adrenaline. He only slowed down when another fierce wind blew, cracking another nearby tree and uprooting it. He found himself paused, watching in horror as the damned thing crashed down, smashing into the tree below it and nearly tear it from it's roots as well. He gritted his teeth, staring up towards the sky. It was almost as black as night- and the peeks reaching down from the skies gave him a sinking feeling.

But for now, he turned his green eyes down to the woman in his arms.
"That was a close call." he smirked and tried searching for her eyes. "Are you alright?" his eye flickered to the world around them- an ominous wind picking up and pushing against the horse.
"We should really find shelter. This storm looks bad."

[Ivory]

Kathryn was half-convinced she was plummeting to her death -- and so, it seemed to pull all the breath from her lungs when she was suddenly caught by the King of Thieves.  As the tree crashed down around them, she leaned into his embrace, huddled against his larger from for protection.

It was not until she heard his voice that she realized he was speaking to her.  She cracked open an eye to peer up at him and nodded once, her voice seemingly lost beneath the flood of emotions that overwhelmed her.

Danger -- as bad as it seemed -- had always been something she enjoyed a little too much.

Her hand reached up to his forehead, tracing a cut that had appeared in his forehead a moment.  A smile suddenly pulled at her lips, and she leaned forward to kiss him soundly -- a wild, passionate kiss that was fed by her adrenaline and near-death experience.

[visualspice]

The kiss was enough for him to forget the storm. His breath lost, he found himself pressing the reigns into her hair, his large hands going over her face and shoulders and back.
But a bright burst of lighting had him gasping, and he  pressing into her, chin into her shoulder as he coaxed the horse onward, fighting it as it became startled by the malevolent, stormy conditions.
"This is some fuckin' storm," the man swore, gripping on more tightly to Kathryn as he looked around, but it was nearly impossible to see through the rain. Wiping at his rain soaked hair, he peered down at the woman in his arms and-
instead of doing anything wise, he found himself overwhelmed by his desire to kiss her again.
So he did, scooping her face into his hands and crashing his lips again into hers-
that was, until the horse reared up again and Dekka found himself, and the lady, thrown from the beast, where the pair both crashed into the muddy ground below.
Thankfully, Dekka had the sense to wrap her into his arms and took the brunt of the fall.
Rollign to his side, they both lay in the mud as he asked, "Are you alright?" Despite being right next to her he had to shout. The rains were getting louder.

[Ivory]

Kathryn, too, momentarily forgot about the storm.  She was soaked most thoroughly now, but the heat between them was more than enough to keep her warm.  When he drew away, the lightning flashed in her eyes -- or was that just an echo of her laugh?

"I don't mind," she answered glibly, only to have him kiss her again.  As they fell to the earth, she huddled once more against him until they had safely landed.

"You sure know how to show a girl a good time," she shouted back with a smirk, reluctantly untangling herself from his arms.  She extended a hand down towards him to help him to his feet, then turned to watch the horse bolt into the heavy brush.  As well trained as Evoric was, he would probably be gone as well...

It seemed they were stuck with each other!

"Where to?"

[visualspice]

Another bolt of lighting tore across the sky, lighting the blackening world around them and making the wind tossed world seem even more chaotic-
and Lady Kathryn even more desirable.
Though it was the storm that spooked their horse, Dekka cared not that the pair might be damned as his eyes took in her body and his lips met to hers again, fingers entangling within her hair, coming through it, hands moving across her body as he pressed her into the mud as the rains came down in cold, wild sheets about them, soaking them both to the bone.

"Right here," he breathed hotly through a breath, lips sealing back hungrily to hers. "Is just fine with me." Though the wind tore at them, threatening to take them away, his lips met to her with even more force and need, body pressing into her and mind reveling in the chaos and heat.