Spirits of the Earth

OOC: Since this initial thread never took off, I rewrote it to fit as an intro for my latest character, Angel!
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The bells were ringing across the town. Many were bustling around, many were so excited that two of the great Trading Lords were joining houses by the wedding of their two kids. House Lovett and house Dravish were to become fatefully unionized in a wedding (that had been a long time coming).  The skies were at their bluest, the flowers at their prettiest and Angel was in her most foulest as she hissed through gritted teeth as women fondled over her, fussing over her hair at great lengths (for great lengths her hair was not), and brushed it thoroughly, weaving flowers throughout her pink braids set amongst the cerulean blue that was her hair, and began powdering her nose and face and body with enormous puffs of powder and perfume that she began to cough and gag on it, desperate for air. 

She had had about enough of this wedding.  Once the dress was on, cinched and tied up in back, she was able to get the coddling old, hen-like women to leave her alone for a minute, and sighed with relief when she shut the door when the last old hen had left. Slumping against the closed door, she groaned.

"By the Gods.. look at me!" she exclaimed, catching sight of herself in the mirror. She approached it with caution. Her lips were painted a juicy pink, with finely trimmed eyebrows raising up into a sharp brow (she was so used to seeing them untweezed..), darkly painted lashes and blue eyeliner and shading, and her hair all shiny and tamed, her cheeks, pretty, rosy red, and her skin seemed a lot more paler and dull like from it's usual, golden tan.

"Ugh." she smacked her hand across the vanity, the brush and a few loose ribbons and flowers fell to the ground. "I look so stupid." And and as she moved to yank some flowers from her hair, she heard a knock on the door. Shit! She should have locked it.

"Angel, can I come in?" Angel froze. "It's your mother."

Shit! Turning around, she didn't have a chance to rush to the door and lock it before her mother came on in. She paused in mid-stride, and her lips fell open, looking exasperated as Angel watched her mother place a hand to her heart and a few tears come to her eyes.

"Oh, Angel.. you look beautiful."

Angel grit her teeth.
"Come on, mom," she said, smacking her mother's reaching hand away. "And if you touch my arm, all of these silly flowers will fall out." And it was partly true, she ahd flowers just about everywhere, and hoped to god none of them had somehow made it inside her dress, for they were down the dress, woven into the dress, inside her hair, around her arms, and even spun through her earrings and necklaces. Pretty pink and white petals everywhere. She sighed when her mother came to more tears. Angel idly ithced at her arm that had flowers wrapped all around it over an ivory arm band plate designed for just such a silly thing.

"Mom, please.."

"Oh.. it's just that.." and her mother moved to wipe at a tear. "You look so.. so beautiful I just.." and she tried to sniffle it back. Angel was getting annoyed, and as her mother moved to hodl her hand, she yanked it away.

"Mom!"

"Oh, let me just hug you Angel. I know you're so prickly, but give me this one moment." And before Angel could protest, her mother's arms were around her, holding her tight. Angel cringed, remaining stiff beneath the embrace as she released a hot breath. This was so awkward. not only was she out of her element, in a dress,a frilly wedding dress of all things, but now her mother was hugging her. Angel was never one for hugs. And then she felt the tears on her shoulder.

"Mom! You're crying all over me!"

Backing away, her mother brushed at her still falling tears.
"Oh, I'm sorry Angel. It's just you look so... so..."

"Ridiculous?"

Her mother laughed.

"Hardly." And she moved forward and took her by the hands and brushed a loose strand of Angel's blue hair from her eyes. "I was going to say beautiful."

Angel rolled her eyes.
"Mom.. really." she gave an impatient stomp of her foot.

"It's just, your father and I have been waiting for this day for a long time. We're just so happy for you. And proud."

Angel rose a sharp brow and reared back from her mother.
"What? Happy that you're marrying me off to be rid of me? I hardly think this is fair.. and if I had my choice.." and she reached to yank at some flowers in her dress, which caused her mother to gasp, appalled.

Snatching onto her daughter's wrist, she frowned and looked up at her.

"Now, stop that now. You're not to act this way. You're a lady," she scolded.

Angel looked back at her mother bitterly.

"But I'm not. I'm just.. me."

Her mother's face fell.

"Why can't I just not get married, or wait another ten or twenty years then commit? I'm not ready for this mom. I don't want to."

"Oh, Angel.. sweet Angel.' ANd Mrs. Lovett moved forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her wtih a sigh. "I love you sweety, but you have to grow up. This is how the world works. As the.."

"..daughter of a merchant, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it." she rolled her eyes and pulled away from her mother's embrace. "You've both said it to me TOO many times." She sighed, tucking back some of her hair.

her mother just looked at her, uncertain what else was to be said.

"Mom.."

"Yes, Angel?"

"Can I have a few minutes.. to be alone?"

The sound of hte bells came again, echoing through their silence. But her mother eventually nodded.
"Oh, alright." And she brushed at another tear. "You always were so stubborn." Then she paused at the door, giving Angel a look. "And be kind ot your husband. I do want grand children some day."

Angel rolled her eyes."Mother, really, Mathew already gave you grand children! YOu've got three of them already! Besides," she made a face. "I'm never going to have kids."

Mrs. Lovett smiled. "Oh, Angel." She shook her head. "Jus tbe happy, ok?" And with that, she kissed a hand to her finger tips and waved them Angel's way, then left.


FINALLY. Ugh, could her mother make this day any more awkward?
Returning to her vanity, she stood before it, looking down at all of the goopy make up, and frilly strings and flowers and the golden comb she hadn't pushed to the floor. Her fingers tapped over a crystal perfume bottle before the open window caught her attention through the mirror when she lifted her blue eyes. A cold wind drifted in through it. Blinking, she turned around and slowly approached it.

She was high up, several stories.. at least three to be exact, as she watched the world bustling below. It was then the slopping shingles on the roof caught her attention.... an the way they sort of funnelled into one another, like rocks in a stream. And she got a horrible, HORRIBLE idea.


Several curses and a jump into a pile of hay moments later, Angel had managed to scale down the side of the church, her long white dress trailing behind her and gettig caught awkwardly on the last row of shingles from the roof top she had just jumped from. So when she rose up to make a mad dahs to run away, she let out a sharp cry, her dress nad veil becoming tangled, and it snapped her back lik ea rubber band, and a rip was heard. She winced an turned around, seeing the damn thing was stuck on the iron posts jutting off the edge fo the roof, to keep the snow back in winter.

Frowning, she grabbed onto the long train of her dress, and the length of her veil and gave a tug, and a tug and tug, and eventually, they both were tearing free.
Now she had a much shorter dress, (which made her sigh with relief, for it'd be easier to run) and as she was torn free, white clothe and lace, along with the scatterings of broken flower petals took off intot he air, while Angel went int he opposite direction, clinging onto her skirts and making a mad dash down an alley way and rounded a sharp bend.

She had to get the HELL out of here! and fast! There was no way in HELL she was to get married today! But before she knew it, she had crashed into something with a sharp cry,... or was it someone? Her limbs went pinwheeling forward, entangling into the other man's as they both went down onto the ground, flower petals and frilly dress layers settling all around them.

The sound of church bells rung daintily in the air as Connor meandered through town, an expression of nothing but mild boredom on his face. It was an average day for him; at least, it was soon to be as soon as he stole something. However, there were simply too many people around him in all the most inconvenient places to do so. A better thief, or perhaps a more desperate one, would probably have taken an attempt anyway.

As he went a bit farther down the road, he found himself with an opportunity to swipe a roll or two. As the shopkeeper of the small food cart glanced away, he grabbed himself a roll and made off. It wasn't long before he turned into an alley, only to be confronted by a small child that stared at him contemptuously.

"I saw you do that."

Half of Connor's mouth raised into an amused smile. The little boy's dirt streaked face remained contorted into an angry pout. His skinny arms were folded across his chest.

"Whatcha gonna do about it?"

The kid pointed to the roll in Connor's hand. "You give me that and I don't scream for the guards."

"I'm sure they'd listen to you, street kid. But I'll tell you what..."

The boy remained silent, at first scowling but then deciding to listen.

He pointed discreetly to a man in richly coloured clothing,  then broke off half of the roll and handed it to the boy.

"If you have fast fingers, he seems pretty rich and oblivious."

With that comment he walked out the alley with the boy's eyes following him, but there was no shout to the guards. He carried on along the alley, slipping out onto a street and back off again, through alleys and sidestreets, until he reached a church on the outskirts of the city. He wondered absently who the bells tolled for while munching on the roll he took. Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his  eye, moving fast toward him. A flash of blue, white...pink?

"Oof!"

They collided with a thud that was partially cushioned by the dress she wore. He was knocked flat onto the ground, his teeth clacking together painfully. More than anything confused, he looked up at who had knocked him over. A girl with what appeared to be a disheveled wedding dress. He smirked.

"Cold feet, princess?"

Angel sat up with a gasp. But then at his comment, she sneered at him and gave him a dirty look.
"You could say that, but I'd like to think I have fast feet!" and before he'd have a chance to stop her, she scrambled off of him and took off down the alleyway, only to round the bend with another 'oof' as she smashed into the guards. This time she didn't fall over, as the men were a lot more sturdier in their armor.
And the guards looked at her peculiarly.

"Say, you must be the bride from the wedding!" one of them said with a large smile.
"Yeah, should be a pretty day for the event. THough say.. what are you doing out here in the streets? Shouldn't you be inside the church? Your wedding is about to start."

Angel set her jaw, grinding her teeth as she tried to mull over some sort of answer, but it seemed, while her feet were quick, her retorts were not.

At her reply he chuckled, watching her run off. The moment he was about to go off on his own way, he saw she'd run into some guards...literally. Clearly this girl was either unlucky on the verge of being cursed or hopelessly uncoordinated. He wasn't sure if he wanted to cringe or laugh at that fact. Though, he did want to help her; before he could think better of it, he ran up to her and the guards, painting a concerned expression upon his face. Now he had to think fast.

"Oh, there you guards are! It's a relief to see you. Some man just walked right into the wedding, drunk, and started causing a big commotion. She asked him to leave, and see what he did? Ripped her dress like this and ran off!"  A bit of the concern was genuine on his face; he hoped they'd fall for it. He hoped that because he happened to look presentable today and less like the nomadic thief he was that they'd listen to him. Fortunately, he'd not been caught around here so they didn't already know who he was. He poked Angel discreetly, hoping she'd get the message and go along with it.

Angel was making the most peculiar of faces, none of them making it seem too convincing she knew what the hell this man was talking about, though when he poked her, she only then realized this stranger was trying to help. Still, her face twisted in confusion, and composing herself, she turned back to the guards.
"Yeah, what he said." And she pointed back directly to the church. "He's being a menace to all of the guests! Please see he is taken care of!" And as the guards exchanged glances, she pressed. "Please hurry. I'll stay here, with my , er, cousin, until this is sorted out."
The guards then nodded.
"A good idea miss. And sorry to hear the news. A terrible thing ot have happen on your wedding day."
And as they walked away, Angel held her breath until they were gone around the bend.
"Gods, that was a close one." Then whirling around,s he almost walked straight into Connor.
"Er-" she blushed, realizing her body froze just an inches apart of his. Geeze, was she really about to plow into this guy again?

"Hey, er, thanks for the helpa nd all... But could you step aside? I've got a wedding to run away from."

The relief hanging in the air after the guards left was tangible. It would have been a tight situation to have them stick around and ask questions. He was about to say something as she turned around and almost crashed into him again. He smirked, amused. So she was trying to run away and couldn't go five feet without crashing into someone...somehow, it didn't seem likely that she'd succeed. That and as he got to look at her for a moment realized that she was actually rather pretty. Those two facts together gave him a little idea.

As she tried to get around him, he stood where he was and said, "So, you probably tried to escape not ten minutes ago and have already ripped your dress, crashed into three men, and almost gotten caught. I have an idea for you; how about I help you get away from these people and you pay me back later?" He was talking fast and low as to not attract attention and save time. He had no idea as for what the favor would be, that idea would probably form later. The look in his eyes was that of an invitation, as if he were extending his hand and offering to bring her along on a trip. He was bored, he wanted excitement, he had come across something interesting. Why not?

Angel's face fell.
"Wait, what?" She took a step back, face twisting in disbelief.
"Why would you want to help me? Besides, I just need to find some cart to hide away in from a merchant and I'm out of here." And she gave a fluff of her veil and tried to walk away, though paused  mid stride to consider...
"Say..." She peered over at him from over her shoulder. "How well do you know these streets?"
Maybe an alliance with this strange boy wouldn't be a bad idea after all. "And what sort of payment are we talkin'? It's not like I have a dime to my name unless I get married, so I think my actions are of little consequence to you." But then her eyes widened and she reached down, hiking up her tattered skirts and then proceeded to yank off her shoes.

Tossing the glittering ivory heels at him.
"There, as early payment. I can't walk in them anyways and you should get a couple gold easy for them. After all... that's real Adelan crystal on there."

Connor offered her an amused smile. "I know them well enough."
So she was going to accept his offer after all. He'd figured her too proud for accepting help; good that that wasn't so. This was going to be an interesting endeavour. When he was tossed the pair of shoes, he inspected them and appeared pleased. Not bad.

"Thanks. Now, I think we'd better get the hell out of here before they figure out what's going on."

It was a lucky break that they were already near the edge of the city. It would clearly be conspicuous as hell to pass through the main gates with a bride in a torn wedding dress with some mysterious man. Of all places, it had to be the well-fortified capital of a war-loving country. He took it as a challenge.

He motioned for her to follow. He slunk through the alleys with her behind, avoiding all the major areas in an attempt to keep hidden. Quickly he hugged the wall, sliding along it to fit in a particularly narrow gap between buildings, and the moment he emerged and turned to talk to her he bumped lightly into something. Turning, he realized it was a coffin.  As he emerged a bit more and saw a couple lying about in various stages of being constructed, he had an idea; a rather 'interesting' one, but it would work. With a slowly spreading sly smile, he turned to her.
"I wonder if one of these is comfortable enough for a runaway bride to stow away in." He leaned on the finished one he had bumped into, a spark in his eye.

Angel kept close to Connor, eyes sliding along the outside walls of buildings and towards the shadows, hoping that nobody saw them as they fled. But as the pair shimmied through a tight knit alley way, she halted just behind him with a blink. She caught a sign of the wooden coffin, and the other coffin and coffin pieces and gasped.

"What!? You expect me to hide away in one of those? What if I get buried accidentally?" she said, giving a hard punch to the side of his arm, aiming to give him a bruise. "What are you crazy?" Though she chastised him, she was huffing heavily through a low, heated breath. She didn't want anyone to hear them, after all as she glared dagger at him. But what was with that look in his eye!?

"Hey!", he interjected quietly as he was punched in the arm, with a hushed snicker. The entire situation to him was as amusing as it was insane; a runaway bride creeping with him through the alleys and now discussing the prospect of her stowing away in a coffin. He glanced about quickly to ensure that nobody could see them. Fortunately, the path nearby had very fer passers-by. He assumed it was due to the fact that Adelans are a superstitious bunch.

"First off, you don't have much grounds to call me crazy; I wasn't the one who jumped out of a window to run away from my wedding." Well, he assumed she did at least. When she'd run off he spied pieces of white cloth on the roof spikes.

"Secondly, I'll be the one to push you out of here on..." He looked around and spied the cart, pointing to it. "That cart. All you'd have to do is sit pretty in there and I'd move you out of the gates. When we're far enough away, I'll just take the lid off and you'll be fine. Alright?" He looked directly into her eyes, as if trying to shoo away her reluctance.

Angel just stared at him. And stared. And stared some more, before punching his arm again.
"You ARE crazy!" but then a smile drew wickedly across her lips. "But it just might work." And then staring at him, she added, "But don't think for a second I won't knock your teeth out if you try something funny, kid. Tch," she gave him a once over. He might look cute, and was probably older than her by a few years, but that look in his eyes. Yeah.. she could call him a kid if she wanted!

Yanking her shoes back from him, she approached the coffin and placed one foot inside, before turning back to him, taking in a deep breath that jutted out her chest, which bulged in high cleavage from the tightness of the laces on her dress.
"And I'm taking these back until you get me safely out of town," and with a sniff, she stepped the rest of the way inside the box and looked around at it, taking in a deep breath before her blue eyes went back over to him. She forced a smile his way, one that was a bit stubborn and bitter before she proceeded to slip her shoes back on and eventually, began to lay herself down inside the coffin.

Staring up at the ceiling, she let out a giggle.
"YOu know what? This is crazy. To think... I'd be lying in my coffin wearing my wedding dress." Then she paused and corrected her statement, "Well, a coffin, not MY coffin." She smiled again,  her heart fluttering with excitement, eyes sparkling at the thought, then drew in a breath, adjusted her shoulders, which fit slimly between the wood walls. It was still a tight fit, and she was anxious how she'd feel with a lid closed over her. but hey, at least she was escaping her crummy fate to get married. And now, she could make the open road her home.

Tapping the side of the coffin, she sat up and looked over at Connor. "Ok, I'm ready. Get the lid." And she moved to lay back down, drawing in another breath and peering up at the ceiling. Part of her worried he might be sme crazed kidnapper, but... hey, even a kidnapping sounded good to her right about now!

His smile mirrored hers, wickedly mischievous. She was seeing his point, good. The point that he found most amusing was the fact that she called him 'kid'; he was quite a bit older than her, even if he didn't look it. Or act it, for that matter. But he didn't mind, he liked the humour in it. The glimmer never left his eye.

Before she entered the coffin, he loaded it onto the wagon and pushed it in a place that he was sure was not visible from the street. It was such a kind as for one person to push, conveniently for him. As she took the heels and took a step into the coffin, he had a bit of trouble looking at her face. Gods, she was...well endowed. The dress didn't help. Not that he minded.

"Whatever suits you, Princess."

As he moved his eyes upward to meet hers, he gave her a small lopsided smile in return. While she put her shoes on, he looked around for the lid. He needed to poke a hole in it to make sure she would be able to breathe alright. Catching sight of it, he grabbed it and put it on the worktable that was out there for building coffins. He grabbed one of the tools and made a hole in it; small enough as to not be completely obvious but enough for the air. It wasn't beautiful but it would work. He made sure there weren't any splinters on it that would jab her before he carried it over to her. He chuckled at her remark.

"Lid's going on. Hole's there so it won't be so stuffy." He didn't want to say 'so you can breathe'; he didn't her to freak out. Carefully he lay the lid on. It was a tight fit. He looked around for something to keep the lid steady, as he clearly didn't want to nail it on. Spying a shovel, he set it on top. Not only did it hold the lid on, but it also hid the hole.

"Alright, now be very quiet."

Just in case, he pulled his hood up to hide his unmistakable red hair. Then he took the wagon and began to wheel her off. It was heavier than he'd expected, but fortunately the cheap coffin wasn't too unmanageable. From there, he wheeled it onto the street and out of the city. At the gate he spied one guard that was sleeping and another that was staring into the distance with boredom in every crease of his face. He wanted to snicker at them but kept his face impassive.

In a short while they arrived at the graveyard, where he brought the cart to a stop and took the shovel off, sticking it into the dirt nearby. Nobody was present, and he doubted anyone would arrive. He lifted the lid off, tossing it onto the ground. "Rise and shine, princess. We're here."

Angel sat up with a start, relieved to be finally out of there. Having to keep quiet forced her to assume she needed to take quiet, shallow breaths, especially during the first lurching trek across the cobblestone streets of the city. She had become  a bit more at ease when she felt the wagon wheels on the dirt ground, moving farther from the city and hearing more calls of wild life as they went. Though as she looked around, now free of her death bed, she blinked.

"You took me to the grave yard?" she asked, quirking a brow at him. But even she was having a hard time not smiling at the irony of it. She shook her head. "Here, help me out of this bloody coffin and I'll get these shoes off for you."

Connor chuckled in reply. Truth is, he didn't want to make himself look more suspicious than he already did. If they found a coffin cart in the middle of the forest, that was conspicuous; if they found it in the graveyard, even empty, it was at least a slightly less strange sight. Hell, he just didn't want to think of where else to put it. It just happened to be convenient and a bit ironic.

He walked up to her, helping her out and waiting for her to remove the shoes. While she did that he took inventory of their situation. Her parents were rich by the looks of it; after all, her shoes alone were likely worth a fortune. That meant guards would soon be looking for them, and very carefully at that. It was time to get out of here as quickly as possible. But how to go off on the open road without being incredibly conspicuous? The biggest problem was the fact that she clearly looked like a bride. He clearly couldn't go back in the city and steal something, as it would take too long. He didn't have any women's clothing. He only had his own clothing.

His own clothing. Well gods damn.

The entire time he had been thinking, his brow had been furrowed as he stared at nothing in particular, one corner of his mouth tugged into a small frown. It was clear by the way he was looking off that it wasn't due to something she did or said. As he had his revelation, his face changed into a smile that was a bit more forced than before. This was going to be difficult to explain.

"So." He turned to her.

"Obviously in that, you look clearly like a runaway bride. Now, here's the plan; I don't have any women's clothing. Because of this, you'll have to borrow mine. But, don't freak out yet!" He held a hand out to signal quiet.

"I'm a shapeshifter. I can turn into a wolf at will and back again. So no naked me, I promise and I just washed these clothes...you can freak out now."

He didn't find this as awkward as he should have; he was too busy trying to contain the fact that he found this hilarious. He would explain more later.

Angel was about to make a comment, a quick cut about the idea of him losing his clothing, but she grit back her teeth, her face scrunching, keeping tight, but then that expression let loose when her mouth fell open at his last statement. She didn't know how to reply, or what to say, so she simply stared at him, gaping, before somethign else caught her eye upon the road. So she didn't have a chance to say yes or no to his plan because a group of very rugged look men were fast approaching.

"Oh.. my.... God," and she pressed herself closer to Connor, as if standing behind him would hide the fact her white dress was flashing out easily against the plain, muddy colors of the graveyard. "Don't look now, but I think we've got company, and I don't think your ability to change into a wolf, or your men's clothing will get us out of this.." She grit her teeth. "Shit." And clenched her hands into fists. What were they going to do? These men looked tough, and had a mean look upon them.

Backing up, her rear bumped into the cart, and it gave a soft groan as it shifted off of it's perch from a rock, and began to slip down the hill side slightly...

The hill side. Her eyes wnet to the cart, to the coffin, then back to Connor.
"Hey... call me crazy, but I dont' think we can out run those men. But this cart has wheels." She then nudged him, her blue eyes going towards the steep hill on the other side of the graveyard, the side they hadn't come from that opened up into a massive valley before meeting up with forests on the other side.

"How good are you at steering a wheeled wagon down a hill side? Cause I think that's our best bet, wolf boy. Come on," and she moved behind it and began to push. "On three..."

"YOU THERE!" one of the men called after them, his voice carrying roughly over hte gravesite. "How much gold coin you got on you, kids? Cause we're looking fo ra pretty penny, and I think we just found one." THe man gave a dark laugh, exposing his rows of rotted teeth as he and his band of ten men began to approach.

Angel turne dto loo kat them, they were just at the fence lining around the grave yard. She grit her teeth.

"Forget on three.. let's go now!" And with that, she pushed with all of her might and kept on running, hoping to Gods they could pull this off, and once the pair had it pushed to the crest of the hill, she leaped inside, long white skirts and veil fluttering behind her; and soon the wagon was rushing dwn the hillside, bumping and it's wheel's squealing over rocks and tree roots along the way...

And as the winds rushed wildly around them, she clung onto her veil and gave a bark of a laugh back at the men who all stumbled ot a halt just at the crest of the hill. All the bandits could do now was watch the pair fly down the hill side.

"Goodbye, boys!" she called aftre them with a laugh, only to turn around and gasp when she noticed they were headed straight for a grave stone.
"WOLF BOY! LOOK OUT!" and she clung to him, hoping he'd be able to steer the damn thing out of the way! "Steer us out of the way, fast!"

Connor was anticipating a snide remark when suddenly she hid behind him. He followed her advice as to not turn around quite yet. He was about to introduce a witty remark of his own when she swore and turned to look at the cart. His eyes flicked to hers at the same time, accompanied with a gut feeling that she had a crazy idea of her own. He was proved right in a moment. Following her gaze, he looked along the valley. It was definitely insane, but that didn't bother him a bit; after all, what part of this journey so far wasn't insane?

He furrowed his brow for a moment. 'Wolf boy'? Well, it was better than a few choice words he'd been called in the past. No matter. He helped her push the wagon, eyeing one of the thugs. He didn't think he knew any of them, and he was glad he didn't. He jumped as quickly as he could into the wagon when she said to, turning his head to smirk at the quickly disappearing men as they shot down the hill. Smart move by her to use the cart; not bad, not bad. At her shout he turned immediately to look at the path ahead of them, only to see a gravestone directly in the way. He acted wildly to change their direction, and just in time; the side of the cart scraped against the stone, and fortunately did not damage the wheels. He let out a long sign of relief. After that, he had a deathgrip on the cart from then on with an unflinching stare forward. If he hadn't been so intent on not crashing the cart, he'd probably be enjoying the fact that she was clinging to him.

The ride was bumpy to say the least as they flew down the hill, though he got better at steering. They shot into the valley, which thankfully had short enough grass as to not tangle in the wheels. Soon he turned to his companion to make a comment.

"So, how-"

Suddenly the cart's front wheels caught in a ditch nearly invisible in the grass, causing the back end to fly up and catapult them forward. Fortunately their full speed had been diminished by the lack of steep slope and the softer ground. Connor tumbled in the grass. When he finally stopped, he looked around for a moment, spying her nearby. He begun to laugh hard, crawling over to her spot and attempting to ask her a question through fits of laughter.

"I'm sorry...are...you okay?"

Angel sat up suddenly, her a hair a complete mess, wiped across and completely covering her face, and the veil, set askew. But after she spat out the grass she had nearly eaten, she too, let a smirk tug at her lips as she began to laugh.

"Yea I guess so,"s he said, using the back of her hand to lift her hair away, then peered over towards the grave yard. "So.. how long do you think we've got until those men come after us? Cause I sure ain't waiting around to find out, come on." And she held onto her skirts and took a few careful bare foot steps away from the cart, making her way towards the forests, ditching the already torn veil behind as it caught to the wind and flew away towards the sky like a kite.

She didn't care her dress was now grass stained, or that her hands were scraped and her knees, bruised. There was a certain thrill to this, and the smile on her lips as she dashed across the grasses could not be erased.

They had just begun to make their way inside the forests when a small, bubbling stream caught her attention. Stepping her way around it, it was only a foot deep, so she dipped both of her feet in to cool them off from her run. Then, while standing in the shallow waters she peered over at Connor and began to work at fussing over her dress. "So what's your name anyways? Or should I just call you wolf-boy?" she asked with a smirk. She was already reaching back, working at the laces on the back of her dress and giving a few painful, grunted tugs, before she felt it come loose and she sighed easily, The dress now hung a bit lower down the front, but it still clung to her, but at least she could breath.

"I'm Angel, but the way,"s he said with a bit of a smug smirk. "Though if you keep wanting to call me a Princess, that would be fine, so long as you treat me that way." She teased. Now she moved to work at the flowers that were still left in her hair, unpinning them and letting them flutter down around her like snow as she moved to work on the next set. Gods.. there was a lot of them in her hair- she had to wonder HOW they had even managed to remain so intact.

Connor was a mess as well; his shaggy copper hair was wild, his face smeared with dirt. He used a hand to push the hair away from his eyes. In a moment he realized that he'd let go of the shoes. Fortunately they were only a little ways away, and he picked them up. Still in good condition but a tad dirty. Soon, they were dashing off. The grin that was spread across his face didn't leave as they dashed off through the valley. It had been a while since he had began an adventure quite as exciting. It was a very welcome break from the usual routine.

When they reached the stream he sat down on a flat rock to catch his breath. He noticed that she glanced at him and looked up to meet her gaze. Ah, they hadn't even been introduced. He smirked back with a playful air about him. "Connor, pleased to make your acquaintance. And you, m'lady?" He mock bowed.

It took a moment for him to reply as she unlaced herself a bit. He replied, "Will do. Now. Do you want my clothes now?" He glanced toward the valley. He couldn't see anyone chasing them, but they could have gone some other way.

Angel blinked at him and at his question.
"So like... tell me about this dog-shifting thing," she began, not quite sure she understood what in entailed as she took a seat on another flat rock across from his on the other side of the small stream and looked him squarely in the eyes while leaning forward. "How do I know if you turn into some wild animal you won't just eat me or something?" ANd she raised a brow at him, letting him know he'd better have a good enough reason to have her trust him. Then again.. after all they had ALREADY been through, it was funny she was questioning their trust now.

Connor leaned forward on his rock, returning her look with a completely serious expression. "I love eating girls that have fallen down at least four times in the past hour. Really tenderizes the meat." He broke into a smirk, snickering. "No. I have the same mind as I do now, I just become a wolf. And why would I want to eat you? I've been spending my time saving you, after all."

He looked at her expectantly.

Her eyes narrowed upon him. She was not amused.
"Well, it'd be easier to eat someone out here than in a city, that's for sure, wolf-boy." She siad, giving his chest a poke before glancing down at her dress and sighing. Part of her didn't want to get out of it just yet. There was something about a wedding dress that was.. she didn't know, exciting.

"Maybe we'll try that later, when we get near a city.. for now.." and she stood up and RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP. She ripped the train of her dress off, and began to work at tearing off the lenght of her skirts. Tossing the white fluffy remains of her skirts and train aside, she turned back to Connor with a grin, hands to her hips.

"There, much better." Now the skirt was to her knees with tatters all about. She still looked very muhc like the remnants on a bride running from a war zone, but hey, now she could travel.
"Now.. do you know which way the next town is? Perhaps there we can pay some coin to get ourselves some better traveling gear, cause currently.." she pointed down to the torn remains of her dress. "This is all the items I've got to my name."

"Psht." He watched her get up, still amused. He seemed to constantly be in some state of amusement. It was as if he saw everything as a game in a way. As she tore up her dress, he admired her lack of vanity. He found it interesting and funny.

Connor chuckled a little at what she said, standing up as well. "Pay? Who needs to do that when they have quick hands?" It was a more joking comment than anything, though he didn't plan on paying for everything. "As for the town, It's through this forest and a bit east. I have a friend near there, too. And..." He glanced at her bare feet. "You can have my shoes if you need them, you know."

Angel gave him a glance about his quick hands comment, pulling her skirts a bit .. er.. lower, as if she got a second meaning out of it. He was a boy, anyway, and most men would take a look at her and see a pretty face, boobs and legs (though the boobs then legs, first). But then as he offered her his own shoes? She stared over at her pair that he held and smirked.
"Oh? You want me to wear your boots so you have an excuse to wear my heels?" she jested. Then with a shrug of her shoulders she stated simply, "I should be fine for now, but thanks for the offer. One of us would have to go bare foot anyways." And she stared down at her shoes. "Since those things are impossible to walk in." And she turned from him and stared out into the forests with a sigh. "I suppose we should get going." She pressed her lips together. "Do you know how long it will take?" Afte rall, how long would it take for the news to spread there was a run away bride?

Or.. more likely the stories will say she was kidnapped.

Connor didn't notice her pulling her skirts down. He snickered at her comment about the heels. "Of course.", he said sarcastically. He liked her sense of humour. Too many people got their skirts in a bunch over the way he jested about things. He nodded in reply to her answer. He had no idea how difficult it was to walk in heels, but he would take her word on it.

"Oh, a few hours." Meaning to him, three if they were lucky. It was close, fortunately. He knew that the news would spread fast, and that they'd seen his face. He cursed himself for showing his face. Now his reputation was stained beyond repair in Ketra. Just another city on the list of those he couldn't go to easily any longer. While he thought, he began walking.

"Out of curiosity, I have to ask; why did you run away? Was he old and smelly?" The question was accompanied with an amused glance.

As they walked, Angel found more flowers in her hair and cursed, and worked at pulling them out, though at his question, she paused to look back at him from over her shoulder with a long face.
"Isn't it obvious?" she made a face. "A marriage has an entirely different meaning for a lady over a man, and I ain't ready to settle down into something like that. Feels like they're trying to keep me down with a bloody collar, and I'm no dog."
And with that, she turned back around and kept on walking, huffing as she felt herself getting riled up over the memory. Yes, she'd rather not think of it. Best to put that part behind her.
You know, until someone found a woman in a wedding dress traipsing through the woods... then she might have to confront such a question again.

Connor nodded, and for once he didn't make a smile in reply. Not in the sense of marriage, but he knew how that was. Goddamn awful, it was. It made him feel better for helping her out of the city. Nobody deserved to have their life written out for them in stone. He decided to change the subject.

"So, do you know any magic? You look at least part Serenian is why I ask."

"Magic?" She gave a casual shrug and shake of her head. "Not that I'm aware of anyways. If I did, I wish I had fire power, or some sort of power, maybe the ability to fly or blend into shadows. Then I would have been away from this all a long time ago."
THough the truth of it was, she wouldn't. Her life wasn't that bad. Just.. her fate of being married.... was. Then turning to him, she eyed him over. "I'm guessing you're only magic is your ability to shift? Into what did you say, a jackal or dog or something?" Of course she said it wrong to tease him, and just wanted to get that sort of response, as she turned away with a smile, her steps becoming a bit lighter as she went.

He shrugged. Compared to his, her life was probably a dreamboat. Not that he had anything wrong with what he had, but he was far from rich by any standards. It was only through luck and wit that he'd gotten this far while still having enough to eat.

He chuckled. "A dog? No, a wolf. And no, that isn't my only magic. I can do a little with fire, too."

Angel raised a brow at him. "Oh, is that so?" she'd have to keep a mental note of that for later.
"So what do you do for a living anyway? I mean, where's your family? Won't they worry about you if you're escorting me through the wilderness, or.." she paused to consider. "Do you live on your own?" She hadn't a lot of experience with cut throats or thieves, so she was a bit naive in that territory.

"Mmhm." He hoped she wouldn't put too much stock into it; it was more for distracting and showing off, after all.

He decided to avoid the 'what do you do for a living' question altogether. Connor didn't feel like answering that one at the moment. The part about his family worrying about him was accompanied by a light chuckle. "I live on my own. My parents live in Serendipity; or last time I checked they did. Pa's in jail, Ma's probably sleeping to prepare for her...night job." He didn't mind showing Angel the reality of his life, no matter how foreign and bad it may seem to her.

As naive as she was (or could be) she understood it pretty quickly what he meant.
"Oh." and she turned away, just leaving it at that. "So.. you never answered me what you do." Figuring to change the subject from the odd family matter to something.. er.. else.
"Do you save all women in wedding dresses from their doom, or am I the only lucky one?"

Connor was glad she wasn't naiive enough for him to have to explain the details. Regardless of how unafraid he was of the fact that his life wasn't ideal, it wasn't a walk in the park to explain it to someone who didn't understand. He replied shortly, "Odd jobs." It wasn't really a lie; he did indeed take on the occasional job when he could. He couldn't steal everything.

"Oh, you're the lucky one." He glanced at her with a smile. "I figured that somebody who crashed into two people within less than a minute would need some help," he teased her.

Angel rolled her eye at his comment.
"Ha,ha, very funny Connor." She narrowed her gaze upon him, but even her scolding was in good fun. And Connor.. it sounded funny on her tongue. Perhaps she should stick to wolf-boy. She eyed him skeptically. "So what sort of odd-jobs do you do? No wait, don't answer that." She gave a displeasing bat of her eyes. "I can see more jokes about you saving a girl running away in her wedding dress being used until we beat that dead horse into the ground." Even still, she smirked and continued onward before halting and putting out an arm.
"Shh.. hey.. do you hear that?"

Another twig snapped.

"There it is again," she said in a hushed voice, crouching low. She peered over at Connor. "You don't think those guys are still after us, do ya?" And no sooner did she ask it did the bushes part infront of them and an old man carrying a stick full of dead, bleeding animals appear. In an instant, Angel though she saw the devil himself and let out a scream.

"God, it's a monster, RUN!" ANd she pushed Connor over and attempted to book it, only to find herself running into some little old lady as they both fell into the mud.

"Oh, Goodness!" the old woman cried, blinking as she sat up from where she had fallen over before placing a hand upon her chest. "Blessed me!" her eyes went wide. "What on earth are you doing out here in the woods all alone deary.. and heavens, in a tattered wedding dress!"
The old man stepped out from behind the bush and helped his wife to his feet, then turned to the girl and offered her a hand.

"Well, from the look of things, it seems you've got it pretty bad." He stared between both Connor and Angel and frowned. "Run into a bit of a bad spell at the alter?"

Angel cringed. "Er.. you could say that."

"Oh Harold, we ought to help them. Look at the poor dears." And she shook her head sympathetically. "Was the wedding today?" She turned to Connor, just noticing him now and putting out an arm as if to wish him to come forward so she could comfort him as she was comforting Angel, for Angel found herself in an awkward hug with the old lady. ANd she smelled.. funny. Like.. old lady.

"Yeah the wedding was, er, today, and we ran into a bit of a spill. Apparently one of my cousins owed money to some nasty men, and the entire wedding was ruined."

"Oh, blessed! Harold,"s he looked to him imploringly, then back to Connor and gasped. "Good heavens," her eyes went up and down his body. "Where is your suit?"

"Eleanor, Eleanor, now now, stop with the fifty questions. It looks like the pair of them had a rough day as it was. To think, to be attacked on your wedding day!"

Angel cringed at their sympathy, but what other choice did she have but to play along, and she gave Connor and uncertain look and shrug.

"Now, why dont' the two you come back with us? Get cleaned up and you can stay the night htere, where its' safe." ANd Harold gestured for the pair to follow. "Our cottage is up here.." and as they walked, he inquired, "Say, where the two of you headed anyway? Surely you've got some place safe to go?"

"Um..." Angel found herself at a loss of words, and looked over at Connor for answers.

At her remark about the jokes, he smirked. All the better that he wouldn't have to explain that. He could only be glad that he wasn't in the position of his mother. Suddenly, he was stopped by her arm. He too listened carefully; although he couldn't imagine the bandits from on top of the hill had chased them this far, he didn't have time to say so.

Connor shrank away when she screamed, quite more startled from her reaction than the man in front of them. He'd seen too many hunters on his travels to be bothered. Apparently, she hadn't. Within moments he found himself staggering after being pushed. Gods, how many times had be been knocked over today? Probably still less than Angel. He didn't fall this time, though.

It took a moment for it to click; they thought they were married. Well wasn't that ironic. He let Angel answer the questions, as she seemed to have it on her own. He simply nodded when it was appropriate and tried to look lost and dejected. He returned Angel's glance quickly, giving a look that said 'I find this about as weird as you do'. But he did nod subtly back.

He quickly jumped to answering the question after Angel hesitated. "Serendipity...we have family there. From here we'll head north and stay with some relatives along the way."

It wasn't entirely a bad idea to try and make their way there. However, he wouldn't voice this until later. It was her escape, after all...no matter how bad she was at it.

"Thank you for your hospitality, we appreciate it more than you know." With that he flashed a charming, close-mouthed smile; best not show them he had sharp teeth. If possible, that could wait.

Eleanor and Harold smiled at the pair, Eleanor sticking close to Angel, who was still looking over at Harold warily. It wasn't that she was afraid of hunters, he startled her that moment when he stepped out of the bushes, all cast in shadows and stuff, and thought he had been, well.. maybe one of those mean looking bandits, but the more time she spent with the pair as they walked towards their cottage home, the sillier she realized her thoughts had been.

The cottage was small and cozy, nestled in small clearing amongst the trees, and as she looked to the mossy roof, she turned back to Connor.
"If we play this up, maybe we can get some directions to the next town. I doubt my parents will know to look for me here," she whispered.

"Come on, inside," Eleanor said, opening the door and waiting for the pair of youngin's to enter. Angel forced herself to smile, and took a step into the dimly lit place. It smelled musty, and the dirt floor kept it cool, despite it being away ftom the majority of the shade of the forest. She glanced around. Seemed quaint enough, with furs and hides hanging along the wall, a few antlers used as coat racks here or there, and a table with some white daisies in water at it's center.

"There isn't much to our cottage, dearies, but if you're hungry, I can make us up a batch of rabbit stew."

At the mention of food, Angel felt her stomach rumbled.
"Yes, ugh, food sounds wonderful about now."

And Eleanor gestured to the house. "Go ahead and make yourselves at home. I'll get to cooking and the two of you can relax. THere's a wash basin in the back room. perhaps the two of you could use a bit of a wash?" she said with a chuckle. Angel's eyes brightened at the idea.

"Oh that sounds wonderful!" and as she moved to the back, Angel realized.. there was only one tub.

She inspected it carefully before looking at the flimsy partition, and to a smaller tub (or wash basin, rather) on the other side. There was obviously one for bathing, the other one to simply use to dip a wash clothe in to wipe up or wash one's face in the morning. Angel sighed.

"Well, looks like we'll be taking turns.." Angel began. She came from a large family, and had been used to having a few tubs on hand, so only spying one in a home was awkward for her at first, and as she was about to mention Connor could go first when Eleanor called through the wall.

"The pair of you can take your time in there! The rabbit will need time to season." and the old woman gave her husband a playful smile and chuckle. It has been years since they had young ones to entertain, and she was only thinking the bride and groom might want some... 'privacy' after their run from the alter. They were 'adults' now, and surely wouldn't need the likes of Eleanor and Harold to watch over them as they got cleaned up. Eleanor recalled how it was to be young, and whispered a few memories to her husband as they both worked at preparing the stew.

Angel only made a face, hissing as she realized the pair were now stuck int he back room together, assumign to be er.. 'bathing'. ANgel groaned.

"Hey look, I'll just stay to one side of the partition and you can stay on the other side and we should be fine." and she took a seat at the stool inside the room, sighing as she worked at pluckin ga few pesky rocks that had been clinging to the mud caked at the bottom of her feet and had be jabbing the soles of her feet for a time. "I mean we might as well humor them." She then added with a roll of her eyes. THen she turned to him, "Say, can you help me with these laces? I doubt I can get out of this thing unless I can get them loose." And she sighed again, putting her back to him.

Ugh, dresses.

Connor nodded. It was true; an excellent turn of luck. They were in the middle of nowhere and fortunately so. He highly doubted they'd be looking in the graveyard yet or find the cart for a while. They were safe for now. It was a welcome feeling...even if they did think that he was married to Angel. The thought made him want to laugh outright. A poor thief, married to a rich girl; the most ridiculous thing he'd thought of in quite a while. 

When they reached the cabin, he glanced around. It was quite a nice place by his standards. The walls were adorned with furs, hides, and antlers. Hell, there was even flowers. Better than he'd ever had. He wondered to himself if he could have become a hunter rather than a thief. A quaint and unlikely idea.

Connor thanked Eleanor, smiling genuinely. Rabbit stew sounded delicious. He'd only eaten a roll all day, and that was lucky. Under the light leather armor he was skinnier than he wished he was. He was having a bit of a hard time lately. So much for turning it around in Ketra.

Connor caught on faster than she did to what the old woman was eluding to. It brought a mischievous smile to his lips and he followed after Angel into the back room, erasing it off of his face so she wouldn't see. He replied "of course" to her statement about the partition.

At her request he moved over to help with the laces. He began to loosen them with a surprisingly delicate touch. The truth was, he wasn't sure what he was doing exactly, but it seemed rather straightforward. He asked the question that popped into his mind.

"How do women breathe in these things, anyway?"

Angel laughed as she felt the strings come loose and held the front of her dress against her with a hand. "We don't!" she tossed a smile his way when he was done and turned around. "Thanks." then she moved over to the bath tub, studying it a moment before glancing his way. "Do we really look that dirty that they expect us to bathe?" Then she looked at the mud all voer her and smirked. "Well.. I guess so." then looke dowen at her dress and all the stains, only laughing. "Well.."s he drew in a breath, looking over at him while givin ga shake of her head to brush her hair out of her eyes. "Guess it's time for YOU to get on the other side of the partition."s he said, a playful glint in her eyes. "It's not like we're really married so we could share a bath."
And she let just the strap of her dress slip down her shoulder to expose a bit more skin, knowing full well Connor would be looking. If anything, Angel was a horrible tease.

He chuckled at her reply. She had a good sense of humour, he liked that. At least if she was going to hang around with him she'd be not too bad of a companion. As she turned around, he glanced downward a little but averted his eyes before he could stare.
He nodded vigorously at her comment about the dirt. He knew they looked filthy. It was somewhat amusing that she even asked.

The playful glint in her eyes was returned by a spark in his. He knew the game she was playing; he'd had it played before. It was amusing indeed. Deciding to make a play of his own he kept his eyes on hers, his mouth tilting into a smirk before he turned around and went to the other side of the partition. He sat down on a little stool that happened to be there, deciding to shed his leather armour ahead of time to be more efficient. Under it he had a plain black shirt and pair of pants. He took his shoes off, tossing them to the side.

"How's the bathwater, Princess? Warm enough for you?" He stretched and yawned.

With the boy on the other side of the partition, it was time to get naked. Her white dress fell to the floor, pilowing at her feet, which she simply stepped out of and into the tub.
She made sure to make a loud, contented sigh as she sunk intot he waters.
They were cold, but it felt good to just lay there nad let the dirt begin to soak off.

So at his words, she smile with her eyes closed and leaned back, resting her feet agianst the lip of the tub and curled them.

"Oh, the water's fine. A little cold, actually,but perfect." she purred. "How's your water basin?"

Connor glanced up at the partition at her sigh, then began to wash his face with a cloth and water from the basin while waiting for use of the tub. Or, technically, he didn't really need to bathe in it. He could just run out later, change into a wolf, and go splashing through a river. But wouldn't that be suspicious? Too many stupid questions hanging on the edge of his mind, he almost rolled his eyes at himself.

"It's stunning. Now, I have a question for you. What do you think about heading north to Serendipity? I think you'd be hidden there for sure."

Angel stared down at the waters, taking in what he said. She shrugged, though he couldn't see it.
"I don't know... I've never really been there. How's that kingdom like?"

He took a moment to consider it. "In my opinion, it's good. Lots of magic, excitement, and something new and interesting whenever you turn the corner. They treat their women well, too. Good for you." He scrubbed the dirt off of one of his cheeks, not particularly sure if he should be satisfied or grossed out when he saw there was a clear line on his face where he had scrubbed. Was he really that light skinned?

Angel thought over what he said, smiling a little at the thought, and definitely taking her sweet time in the bath.
"That place sounds nice," she commented, pursing her lips and considering it.
"How long of a journey do you think it is from here?"

Connor nodded, ignoring the fact that she couldn't see him anyway. He was still thinking about how he was much paler than he remembered. It was a little disconcerting. It wasn't the fact that he thought it was disgusting, but more the fact that his perception of time from his last bath was a bit off.

"Honestly? Dunno. Not too long, not months but a week or two. That much because the forest is kind of dangerous in some places."

Angel stared up at the ceiling, thinking over what he said.
"What sort of dangers are there? Are the wild animals along the way that bad? Or do you mean to say the roads and woods might be filled with bandits?"
She was sure taking her good old time enjoying her bath, but she didn't matter. It felt nice, especially after today, and it was working wonders at all of the tension in her body. She didn't care if she lay in there all day. Her mother used to scold her about her fingers pruning, but it was too late now, for they already were.

Connor didn't mind the fact that she was taking her sweet time. It gave him time to take inventory of their situation. And, well, the occupants of the house were probably expecting them to 'bathe' for a while. He smirked again at the thought.

Now, how to say this and not put her off. He debated lying altogether or telling a half-truth.

"Let me put it this way; bandits won't be much of a concern to you compared to what you might run into if you go too deep into the forest. Luckily for us, we can just stay on the outskirts."

Something told him her parents wouldn't be looking for her in the Draconi Forest, as no lady in her right mind would go there alone. And, well, if they took up the kidnapping story, no kidnapper in their right mind would go through such trouble. It really was a matter of finding the right path and not straying too far into the wrong places.



((OOC: It really is like Princess Bride, now they must go into the Thieves Forest! XD))

Angel chewed on her lips and thought it over.
"Dragons,"s he whispered, staring down at the waters with a frown. She knew all about them, at least the dwarf ones her family raised at their farm.
"So we'd be traveling through wild dragon territory then."

"Dragons? What?" He laughed, a mix between a chuckle and a giggle. "No, that's not even what I was talking about. I was thinking wolves and snakes and other strange beasties of the likes you've never seen."

Dragons, to his knowledge, were cooped up in the Thunderblacks for the most part. He doubted they'd go through the trouble to fly into a forest, especially so far away. He was more concerned with basilisks. However, he figured she didn't need to know that. Yet at least.

Angel felt angry, and embarrassed by his laugh.
"Well, snakes don't frighten me, and as far as I can remember, wolves are afraid of fire; so we shouldn't be so bad off," She informed him in a huff, the began to work at rinsing off the last few suds of bubbles on her body, but paused, sighing as she glanced over towards the other side of the room.

"Hey.. something smells good. I think they've begun to cook the rabbit." She smiled, her stomach rumbling. "Just in time, too," she said, stepping out from the bath, getting water everywhere as she began to towel off.

Connor replied with a distracted "Yeah" and waited for the bath to open up. He figured it was fortunate for her that she'd gotten to it first. He was no doubt filthier. He didn't really want to think about what was ahead of them yet; his mind was distracted by the thought of other things from his past, simple musings.

He was brought away from his thoughts by the smell. "Ha, yeah." He sat for a quietly for a moment.

"Are you finally done, Princess? Can your loyal escort use the tub now?"

Angel stepped around the partition, but only let him have a glimpse of her shoulder and leg, both of whcih were exposed as she was only clothed in a towel.
"Yeah, yeah," she said, with a playful roll of her eyes. "Let me get my dress first. I can clean it on your side of the room while you bath." Then as she gathered up her things, she stepped between the two partitions and smirked over at him. "Hope you don't mind the tub now reeks of my perfumes and flowers." She said, playfully batting her eyes bebefore taking a seat, then frowning down at the water basin. "Ew.. gross.. is this just dirt from your face?" she commented, noticing the small basin of water had since turned brown. She wrinkled her nose. "Think I'll go get some fresh water for my dress." And she moved to lift it up, slipping out the back as she dumped the waters out onto the forest floor. When she returned, the small tub had fresh waters in it, so now she could properly clean whatever was left of her white wedding dress.

Connor glanced at her, amusement on his face. It seemed as if he was always amused, but some times it was more apparent than others. As she mentioned the perfume he walked over, glancing at the tub with a grunt. Well, whatever. Hopefully the smell would go away soon enough.

He made his way to the other side of the partition fully, stripping what he had left. The bath was clean enough to not have to worry about getting more water. In fact, it was almost pristine. He assumed she'd been scrubbed to death before her wedding. He began to wash off. With a glance at how the tub already looked when he just stepped in, he assumed it would  be a vat of sludge by the time he got out. He pulled a twig out of his hair, tossing it on the ground.

"What's it like to be rich, I wonder? Can you simply ask for meals and servants come out of nowhere to bring you what you wish?"

Angel raised a brow at his question.
"Rich?" She laughed. "Is that what you think I am?" But as soon as she said it, the smile on her lips slowly faded. She supposed he was right. She was rich.. at least compared to him she now presumed, and had lived in somewhat of a bubble over the idea until that moment.

"Er, not entirely. There's a lot of work involved. My family owns a dwarf dragon farm so I help tend the fields, but we do have hired hands. We're always doing something, some sort of chore or going to some sort of event.." She rolled her eyes, working at scrubbing her dress clean as she did so, which, thankfully, didn't take much effort at all now that she had cleaner waters.
"Though Is uppose I could do such a thing, but well.."s he shrugged. "My mother would have killed me if I tried. Most of the servants sleep at night, and we pay them extra for night duties if they are necessary. So my allowance would be stingey that month I guess.."

But then, she realized what his question posed and turned towards the partition and asked, "Does that mean you are poor? I thought you said you had a job.."
Or wasn't it several jobs? Didn't he make enough to pay his bills or whatever?

Connor remained silent to her first question. Of course she was rich...did she not notice? Then again, he supposed, 'rich' didn't have the same sting as poor did. One feels poverty but not wealth, just as one feels the hard wood floor beneath them rather than the soft goosefeather mattress. He was lucky though, as he could become a wolf when he wanted and could live more easily, feeding off the land.

A dragon farm? He'd never heard of something like that. It sounded interesting but weird. He could almost hear the roll of her eyes in her tone and he chuckled softly at that. At least they paid them fairly, it seemed, and treated them well. He knew of many servants who had less benevolent masters. He almost laughed aloud at the word 'allowance'. As a child he could have been poorer; he wasn't a beggar or anything such as that, but his family had very little money to spare. The idea of her parents just giving her money monthly amused him.

"You can have a job and still be poor, Princess." His words could have been condescending, but they were more informative in tone and mildly amused. "It's not a very steady source of income and I started out with not much money. So yeah, I'm poor."

Angel made a face.
"That doesn't sound right. Maybe you're doing the whole job thing wrong?" she mused, finding something to fuss over on her dress, which was a series of burrs that had gotten entangled into the remaining layers of her fabric. Sighing, she began the tedious process of plucking them out, one at a time. Even if she didn't want to get married, a part of her was still attached to the remains of her wedding dress, which was evident only now in the care she was giving to it. And she wasn't even a fan of dresses.

"Yeah, some would say that." He figured most of the world would say that. It was alright, he got by and that's what mattered. Connor wrinkled his nose at the smell of the perfume which now drifted through the air. He was going to smell fabulous.

"So you said your family owns a dragon farm? How do you not get killed?" He could only think of the large sort that terrorized cattle and occasionally people.

Angel laughed at his question.
"They're dwarf dragons, so they're only slightly bigger than a dog, and some are a lot friendly than one." She shrugged, sighing as she continued to pick at the dirt inside her dress before dusting off the last few pieces of dirt and rising from where she sat. She set the dress aside, figuring to let it hang for a bit to dry before she woudl wear it again.
Well.. if she were to wear it again. It would be pretty silly to wear a torn wedding dress.

"Oh, so they're...friendly. And I thought I was weird. Here we have a princess who raises tiny, friendly dragons." His tone was teasing. "Maybe you should have brought one with you."

He finished up washing and got up from the tub. It took him a moment to find his towel, slightly beyond the partition. Fortunately it was close enough just to grab. He dried his hair vigorously, then wrapped the towel around his waist and exited the bathing area. His skin was all noticeably lighter and had a smattering of freckles.

"I should probably use that too...my clothes aren't really clean." He stood there, his brow furrowing as he muttered "but what the hell am I going to wear then?"

Angel sighed as she looked at her dress. "I was asking myself the same question," and she raked a hand through her blue hair and peered over her shoulder, and did a double take when she noticed how pale Connor's skin now appeared.

"My, my.. don't you clean up to shine like the clouds in the sky," Angel teased, and even openly leered him as her eyes took in his toweled form. Granted, they were now BOTH in towels, but still...
that's what made it all the more scandalous!

Connor's lips twisted into a devious smile. He allowed himself to look at her as well. She was rather pretty, wasn't she? He liked how she cut her hair short. It fit her in a way.

He put a hand over his mouth as if to say 'oh my!', saying in an imitation of a woman's voice, "Oh stop it, you may just make me blush!". He proceeded to turn and pick up his clothes, sitting next to the water basin to wash his own clothes. "One could say the same of you, m'lady. The 'noble getting married' look doesn't suit you."

Angel raised a brow as he looked her over,a nd gave a snort through her nose at his jest and she simply shrugged.
"Oh, I know other ways to make a boy blush, and a look is just one of them." And she gave the boy a wink. BUt at his last comment, she rolled her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "And what look does suit me?" she challenged, approaching him in three careful steps so they were but inches away, her one brow raised as she looked challengingly into his eyes.

Wasn't that interesting. He was about to wink back but was distracted by the fact that his shirt was falling off his lap and scooped it back up. Curiously he wondered if she was telling the truth or saying that just to come back to his comment.

As she walked up to him, he stared her in the eye right back. "Whatever clothes you don't trip and fall in every two minutes." He had wanted to say something dirtier but decided against it; he didn't want to get hit. He chuckled.

Angel smirked and lifted her nose a little higher into the air.
"So are you implying if I walked around all day in this towel I might be safe?"

Connor shrugged. "Safer? No. But I'd get a better view when you tripped." Through his smirk he expected to get smacked. Worth it.

Angel quirked a brow, stepping close, eyes never leaving his...
when suddenly her knee came up to collide into his crotch, that of which only brightened her smile.
"Keep in mind we're only playing pretend. We're not really bride and groom, and if we were.. well.." she laughed and left it at that, not indicating either way if she'd actually let him enjoy all the things a 'husband' might enjoy. Though the sparkle in her eyes suggested she'd be much more interested in something playful with him than perhaps the servitude she might have endured had he not stepped in to assist.

"You might need another shower just to cool off," she then added with a chuckle.

Connor's face blinked to surprise as a wave of pain hit him before he could react. Doubling over slightly, he groaned. He'd been expecting a slap and he should have known better. He nodded with a sort of forced smile at her comment and a distracted 'mmhm'. He paused for a moment, sitting up straight after some and glancing at his clothes. Well, they were clean enough. Now to dry them. He didn't have a change of clothes with him.

He started with the shirt, pressing his hands against either side of the cloth. In a moment, little puffs of steam were coming off of it as he worked his way quickly around it. Knowing a tad of fire magic was useful. He quickly did the same to his pants and such. Soon he made his way to the other side of the partition, changed, and returned fully clothed other than his armor which he simply had wiped off and put in the other side of the room.

"Helpful knowing a little magic sometimes, eh?" His perpetual smirk had returned.

Angel peered over his shoulder when the steam began to rise up, and she gasped. THen at his comment, she took her wet dress and pressed it onto his shoulder.
"Since I don't have anything else to wear, do mine next!" she ordered. It was the least he could do for her, right!? And she could only imagine how uncomfortable it would be to wear the thing still... soggy. It wasn't that comfortable to begin with, so yeah... it being heavy with water wasn't exactly her idea of a picnic.

Connor grabbed the dress that was being thrust toward him. Or, what remained of it. "Well...", he said, turning it over in his hands. He carefully draped it on the partition before turning to look at her again.

"Maybe. But first..." He quickly leaned close to her, making like he was about to kiss her and paused for just a moment, looking into her eyes, his lips slightly parted. Suddenly he thrust a wet finger into her ear, giggling in juvenile glee while backing away as fast as he could.

"That was for earlier!"

Angel backed away, tensing as he grew ever closer with a certain look within his eyes.
"Hey- what are you doing!?" she asked, her cheeks growing hot and pink. But hten it happened and she shrieked. Socking a few fists onto him to push him away, she was suddenly leaping upon him and tackling him painfully to the floor.
"You jerk! You idiot! I ought to kill you for that!" she said, beating him over the face with her hands as her legs were straddled over his chest and her body helped to keep him pinned down. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!!"


The old couple, who could hear almost everything from the other side of the cabin, looked to one another and chuckled.
"Ah, to be young again," the old man said with a sigh.

Connor was now lying on the ground, laughing very hard despite the fact that she was pummeling him. He tried to shield himself with his arms whilst attempting to talk.

"What's the matter...? I don't understand what's made you angry..." He grinned and grabbed one of her wrists, unable to catch the other one.

"Funny thing is that your towel is slipping."

Angel kept trying to beat on him, but once one hand was captured by his, she squirmed even more.
"Hey- LET GO!" she demanded and then at the towel comment, she gasped as it did slip down, barely an inch away from giving him a show.
"LET GO OF MY HAND YOU PERVERT BEFORE-"
and then her towel slipped completely open, and she froze, her face going beet red as he got to see everything.

OOC: lol