A lesson in leadership and a bug
Who: Fiorella, Phara, Winston
Where: Herb garden
When: Afternoon on day 21, month 12, turn 18
What: Winston's out for a stroll and comes across Fiorella who is startled by a bug and Phara who offers to take them flying.
It can't be the weather that draws Phara to the garden. There's nothing in bloom, nothing green or colorful left here. The midday sun shines only weakly this late in the year, and it's warmth is only a very soft comfort. Phara is bundled up because of this, sitting on a bench and staring off into space. Her booted feet swing idly, just skimming the ground, brushing pebbles backwards and forwards with a steady clatter.
The jacket Winston wears must have been acquired before the fabric shortage. It's a brilliant red with gold braid and gold buttons running down from the black fur lined collar and hem. It's unbuttoned right now not being cold enough for him to not want to show off his clothes. His steps are not silent, not even quiet. He clomps in his boots towards the garden while whistling a merry tune.
Sadly there are no flowers to pluck in the gardens this day, but that doesn't mean that there's a lack of things to keep a young girl occupied. Sticks and leaves can turn into 'beautiful' art projects and there's always playing in the dirt - then again dirt isn't exactly something that falls into the area of Ella's likes. The dark haired girl isn't visible at first, but the green of her new jacket stands out clearly against the shades of brown the garden is colored in this time of year as she quickly jumps to her feet with a shriek.
Phara is on her feet like a shot when Fiorella screams, her head turning towards the sound. The green coat is what she recognizes, and prompts an, "Ella, are you hurt?" even as she runs over to investigate the reason for that shriek.
Not having been in any hurry that changes when Winston hears the shriek as well. Dark eyes scan the garden until he spots the girl who did it and he runs for her as well converging with Phara a short distance away. He doesn't bother repeating the rider's question, but looks ready to do what needs doing.
"It tried to -eat- me!!" Fiorella exclaims in a rather overly dramatic fashion, curling into Phara's side being that the blue rider was the one to arrive at her aid first. Well that and she's known just that much better by the girl. A finger flails towards where the offending creature was discovered, a hollow space among the withering vines. Of course by now whatever it was must surely be gone, however on closer inspection one might just find a rather strangely shaped grouping of sticks and leaves.
Phara puts her arm around Ella instinctively, her eyebrows raising. "What did?" she wonders, staring at this place Ella is so frantically pointing to. She peers down at the girl, back to that spot. "You know, you're at least ten times bigger than anything you could have found in here."
"That simply cannot do, Miss Fiorella," Winston says loudly as he stomps forward to the spot in question. "Let's see what nastiness we can find!" He winks at both women as he looks for a stick to pick up. "We shall just poke about. After all it would do no good for me to get bitten. I might swoon and then you'd both have to carry me to the infirmary. Miss Fiorella I would trust me head to you because I think Phara there would like to watch it bounce a few times on the ground. I trust you to protect it!"
"That!" Fiorella replies, shaking her finger at the garden once again at Phara's questioning. It tired to attack her and people expect her to know what it was?? The girl peers around the blue rider as Winston steps in, "Careful..." she warns the man before lifting her gaze to the woman's face, skeptical of her assurances. "It still tried." she whines.
Phara rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, "A few bounces might just set you straight, naughty boy." She shakes her head, patting Ella's hair lightly. "It was probably just a bug, sweetheart. Bugs won't hurt you."
"Unless it was one of the rare fiddlehead climbers," Winston points out to Phara as he selects a stick. "But I doubt there's any still awake this time of the turn. Probably all sleeping cozy in a tree." The stick is examined and then Winston gives it a few swipes through the air like a sword. "Watch yourselves! If I scare the bug it may run." The stick is set to the ground and then he starts poking around. Poke. Poke. Shuffle. Poke.
Fiorella peers after Winston as he moves further into the territory of the creature. "Fid.. what?" she inquires, making a face as she tries to make sense of the words. "I've never heard of those..." Beat. "You're just making that up. Aren't you." she goes on to accuse.
Phara rolls her eyes. "So rare they don't even exist. Amazing." She releases Ella. "Stop being ridiculous, Winston. You're not helping anything. You're going to hit us both in the face swinging that thing around. Just move." And she might even stomp on his poking stick if he doesn't do just that. Someone's in a bad mood.
Winston's poking stops and he looks back at Fiorella with wide, sad eyes. "Miss Fiorella. I cannot believe you are calling me a liar. Me? Lie? Nonsense. I've seen one with my own eyes." Phara just gets a look comprised of an arched brow and a light frown. "Ain't swinging it, darling. I'm poking it." See? He's not swung it since he tested it. He's been poke, poke, poking it into the ground. "Fiddlehead climber. And I can show you a picture in a book." Poke, poke, poke.
Fiorella pouts. Well not quite, but she does huff up to send a glare towards Winston, crossing her arms as Phara steps away. "Didn't say that. I just don't believe you they exist." Which isn't exactly the same as calling him a liar. A glace towards the bluerider and her apparent mood and the girl hesitates, features falling just a bit as she pulls in the corner of her lip to bite it. "We don't have to tell T'rev. Do we?"
Phara snorts. "Good, you show us that book, Winston, and keep poking at the leaves. Productive, completely productive. There's nothing /there/. It's gone, whatever it was." She looks down at Ella, her eyebrows raising. At least here, her expression softens. "Tell him what, that you got scared? You know, darling, you're a big enough girl that we don't need to tattle to T'rev every time something happens." She rubs her head for a moment and then makes a motion. "What are you guys doing out here, anyways?"
"Called me a liar," Winston tells Fiorella with a nod of his head. "Ain't appreciating it, Miss Fiorella. Just offering my help here, but if you ladies don't need it I can be on my way." He drops the stick and folds his arms across his chest. Shoulders shrug as he looks from Phara to Ella. "Got no cause to tell anyone anything. And your mood, Phara my dear, seems to get more sour every time we meet. If my presence is such a bother you've just to say so and I'll do my best to never bother you again."
Fiorella might have been at Fort over a turn now, but she still has it in her head that sooner or later -everything- gets back to the man in charge. Which in her case is the Flint Wingleader. "Right.." she agrees with a nod towards Phara. Then to Winston, "What she said. You show us that book." she echoes the other, trying to sound more authoritative that she is. "I never called you a liar." ... "Not yet."
Phara frowns, her hand moving down the back of her head to knead at her neck. "Not you, Winston. Sorry. Just been bothered lately." Her hand drops to Ella's shoulder. "Be nice, love. Winston's just trying to help. Misguided as it is. What do you guys say to heading inside out of the cold? Some hot cider or klah, maybe." She digs her heel into the soft ground and adds in a sly tone, "Or I could take you both for a fly."
"Think, Miss Fiorella, that you should be more careful with your words," Winston goes on to say with a shake of his head. "Pretty girl like you, smart too from what I see, you're going to be the sort who makes all kinds of friends. Those friends are gonna listen to you when you say something. Means you call someone a liar you're going to be believed and that poor person will be branded it true or not. Unless you're just looking to grow up mean it's something you better keep in mind." At least his lecture is short and when done he tells Phara, "Well, darling, I am always happy to see you bad mood or no I suppose. And much as a trip in the air sounds nice I ain't got that much free time today I think. But if you two lovely ladies got a need to go flying I will not take it as insult to be left on the ground."
"But I -didn't-," Fiorella protests loudly towards the pair of them, words paired with a stomp of her foot. "-You're- saying I said it and I didn't!" this directed more towards the man. Huff. So there! The girl's arms crossing tighter over her chest. At mention of flying the girl's eyes light up, "Can we!?" she asks excitedly, nearly bouncing as the rest of the last few minutes are all but forgotten. A grin is turned on Winston then, "Are you afraid?" she teases.
Phara presses her lips together. "Ben's very fast, Winston. I'd like it... if you'd come with us. But I understand if you can't. Maybe another time." She even looks disappointed at his refusal. Ella is smiled at. "Of course we can. Nothing like a ride on Mecaith, that's for sure."
"It's not just about what's said, you know," Winston tells Fiorella with a grin. "It's about how it's said. But you don't want to believe me you wait and learn that lesson later on. It ain't skin off my nose." Rocking back on his heels he gives his head a shake as he laughs. "Ain't afraid of flying, Fee my dear," he tells the girl with a laugh. "Just have work to get done today." His grin turns on Phara then and he tells her, "And I would love to go flying with you, Phara darling. Alas I am just on a little lunch break. Things are a bit hectic in stores with all the problems we've had over fabric and such. I've an afternoon off coming however and I shall take you up on the offer then."
Fiorella grins. "Not at all like Mecaith." she agrees with a bob of her head. "I like both, but.." and this is said lower in more of an aside to Phara least the bronze be about and hear her. "I like Ben's better sometimes." she giggles. A roll of her eyes is shared with Winston. That lesson, yes, she'll just have to learn later it would seem. "Well don't work -too- hard."
"You better," Phara says with a stern look at him. "Bennath will be very insulted if you don't. All work and no play makes Winston a dull boy, after all." Ella continues to bring smiles to her face. "Tell you a secret. I like Ben better too." Some secret. "Always have loved Mecaith, but I like to go /fast/."
Doffing an imaginary hat to the ladies Winston's grin is in place as he bows as well. "Not working too hard, just working," he assures them both with a wink. "And I am never dull, Phara my dear. Surely you know that by now?" He also doesn't head back to work just yet. Seems he came out for a stroll and instead of the garden he's just going to head for the lake until work beckons once more.
Where: Herb garden
When: Afternoon on day 21, month 12, turn 18
What: Winston's out for a stroll and comes across Fiorella who is startled by a bug and Phara who offers to take them flying.
It can't be the weather that draws Phara to the garden. There's nothing in bloom, nothing green or colorful left here. The midday sun shines only weakly this late in the year, and it's warmth is only a very soft comfort. Phara is bundled up because of this, sitting on a bench and staring off into space. Her booted feet swing idly, just skimming the ground, brushing pebbles backwards and forwards with a steady clatter.
The jacket Winston wears must have been acquired before the fabric shortage. It's a brilliant red with gold braid and gold buttons running down from the black fur lined collar and hem. It's unbuttoned right now not being cold enough for him to not want to show off his clothes. His steps are not silent, not even quiet. He clomps in his boots towards the garden while whistling a merry tune.
Sadly there are no flowers to pluck in the gardens this day, but that doesn't mean that there's a lack of things to keep a young girl occupied. Sticks and leaves can turn into 'beautiful' art projects and there's always playing in the dirt - then again dirt isn't exactly something that falls into the area of Ella's likes. The dark haired girl isn't visible at first, but the green of her new jacket stands out clearly against the shades of brown the garden is colored in this time of year as she quickly jumps to her feet with a shriek.
Phara is on her feet like a shot when Fiorella screams, her head turning towards the sound. The green coat is what she recognizes, and prompts an, "Ella, are you hurt?" even as she runs over to investigate the reason for that shriek.
Not having been in any hurry that changes when Winston hears the shriek as well. Dark eyes scan the garden until he spots the girl who did it and he runs for her as well converging with Phara a short distance away. He doesn't bother repeating the rider's question, but looks ready to do what needs doing.
"It tried to -eat- me!!" Fiorella exclaims in a rather overly dramatic fashion, curling into Phara's side being that the blue rider was the one to arrive at her aid first. Well that and she's known just that much better by the girl. A finger flails towards where the offending creature was discovered, a hollow space among the withering vines. Of course by now whatever it was must surely be gone, however on closer inspection one might just find a rather strangely shaped grouping of sticks and leaves.
Phara puts her arm around Ella instinctively, her eyebrows raising. "What did?" she wonders, staring at this place Ella is so frantically pointing to. She peers down at the girl, back to that spot. "You know, you're at least ten times bigger than anything you could have found in here."
"That simply cannot do, Miss Fiorella," Winston says loudly as he stomps forward to the spot in question. "Let's see what nastiness we can find!" He winks at both women as he looks for a stick to pick up. "We shall just poke about. After all it would do no good for me to get bitten. I might swoon and then you'd both have to carry me to the infirmary. Miss Fiorella I would trust me head to you because I think Phara there would like to watch it bounce a few times on the ground. I trust you to protect it!"
"That!" Fiorella replies, shaking her finger at the garden once again at Phara's questioning. It tired to attack her and people expect her to know what it was?? The girl peers around the blue rider as Winston steps in, "Careful..." she warns the man before lifting her gaze to the woman's face, skeptical of her assurances. "It still tried." she whines.
Phara rolls her eyes and mutters under her breath, "A few bounces might just set you straight, naughty boy." She shakes her head, patting Ella's hair lightly. "It was probably just a bug, sweetheart. Bugs won't hurt you."
"Unless it was one of the rare fiddlehead climbers," Winston points out to Phara as he selects a stick. "But I doubt there's any still awake this time of the turn. Probably all sleeping cozy in a tree." The stick is examined and then Winston gives it a few swipes through the air like a sword. "Watch yourselves! If I scare the bug it may run." The stick is set to the ground and then he starts poking around. Poke. Poke. Shuffle. Poke.
Fiorella peers after Winston as he moves further into the territory of the creature. "Fid.. what?" she inquires, making a face as she tries to make sense of the words. "I've never heard of those..." Beat. "You're just making that up. Aren't you." she goes on to accuse.
Phara rolls her eyes. "So rare they don't even exist. Amazing." She releases Ella. "Stop being ridiculous, Winston. You're not helping anything. You're going to hit us both in the face swinging that thing around. Just move." And she might even stomp on his poking stick if he doesn't do just that. Someone's in a bad mood.
Winston's poking stops and he looks back at Fiorella with wide, sad eyes. "Miss Fiorella. I cannot believe you are calling me a liar. Me? Lie? Nonsense. I've seen one with my own eyes." Phara just gets a look comprised of an arched brow and a light frown. "Ain't swinging it, darling. I'm poking it." See? He's not swung it since he tested it. He's been poke, poke, poking it into the ground. "Fiddlehead climber. And I can show you a picture in a book." Poke, poke, poke.
Fiorella pouts. Well not quite, but she does huff up to send a glare towards Winston, crossing her arms as Phara steps away. "Didn't say that. I just don't believe you they exist." Which isn't exactly the same as calling him a liar. A glace towards the bluerider and her apparent mood and the girl hesitates, features falling just a bit as she pulls in the corner of her lip to bite it. "We don't have to tell T'rev. Do we?"
Phara snorts. "Good, you show us that book, Winston, and keep poking at the leaves. Productive, completely productive. There's nothing /there/. It's gone, whatever it was." She looks down at Ella, her eyebrows raising. At least here, her expression softens. "Tell him what, that you got scared? You know, darling, you're a big enough girl that we don't need to tattle to T'rev every time something happens." She rubs her head for a moment and then makes a motion. "What are you guys doing out here, anyways?"
"Called me a liar," Winston tells Fiorella with a nod of his head. "Ain't appreciating it, Miss Fiorella. Just offering my help here, but if you ladies don't need it I can be on my way." He drops the stick and folds his arms across his chest. Shoulders shrug as he looks from Phara to Ella. "Got no cause to tell anyone anything. And your mood, Phara my dear, seems to get more sour every time we meet. If my presence is such a bother you've just to say so and I'll do my best to never bother you again."
Fiorella might have been at Fort over a turn now, but she still has it in her head that sooner or later -everything- gets back to the man in charge. Which in her case is the Flint Wingleader. "Right.." she agrees with a nod towards Phara. Then to Winston, "What she said. You show us that book." she echoes the other, trying to sound more authoritative that she is. "I never called you a liar." ... "Not yet."
Phara frowns, her hand moving down the back of her head to knead at her neck. "Not you, Winston. Sorry. Just been bothered lately." Her hand drops to Ella's shoulder. "Be nice, love. Winston's just trying to help. Misguided as it is. What do you guys say to heading inside out of the cold? Some hot cider or klah, maybe." She digs her heel into the soft ground and adds in a sly tone, "Or I could take you both for a fly."
"Think, Miss Fiorella, that you should be more careful with your words," Winston goes on to say with a shake of his head. "Pretty girl like you, smart too from what I see, you're going to be the sort who makes all kinds of friends. Those friends are gonna listen to you when you say something. Means you call someone a liar you're going to be believed and that poor person will be branded it true or not. Unless you're just looking to grow up mean it's something you better keep in mind." At least his lecture is short and when done he tells Phara, "Well, darling, I am always happy to see you bad mood or no I suppose. And much as a trip in the air sounds nice I ain't got that much free time today I think. But if you two lovely ladies got a need to go flying I will not take it as insult to be left on the ground."
"But I -didn't-," Fiorella protests loudly towards the pair of them, words paired with a stomp of her foot. "-You're- saying I said it and I didn't!" this directed more towards the man. Huff. So there! The girl's arms crossing tighter over her chest. At mention of flying the girl's eyes light up, "Can we!?" she asks excitedly, nearly bouncing as the rest of the last few minutes are all but forgotten. A grin is turned on Winston then, "Are you afraid?" she teases.
Phara presses her lips together. "Ben's very fast, Winston. I'd like it... if you'd come with us. But I understand if you can't. Maybe another time." She even looks disappointed at his refusal. Ella is smiled at. "Of course we can. Nothing like a ride on Mecaith, that's for sure."
"It's not just about what's said, you know," Winston tells Fiorella with a grin. "It's about how it's said. But you don't want to believe me you wait and learn that lesson later on. It ain't skin off my nose." Rocking back on his heels he gives his head a shake as he laughs. "Ain't afraid of flying, Fee my dear," he tells the girl with a laugh. "Just have work to get done today." His grin turns on Phara then and he tells her, "And I would love to go flying with you, Phara darling. Alas I am just on a little lunch break. Things are a bit hectic in stores with all the problems we've had over fabric and such. I've an afternoon off coming however and I shall take you up on the offer then."
Fiorella grins. "Not at all like Mecaith." she agrees with a bob of her head. "I like both, but.." and this is said lower in more of an aside to Phara least the bronze be about and hear her. "I like Ben's better sometimes." she giggles. A roll of her eyes is shared with Winston. That lesson, yes, she'll just have to learn later it would seem. "Well don't work -too- hard."
"You better," Phara says with a stern look at him. "Bennath will be very insulted if you don't. All work and no play makes Winston a dull boy, after all." Ella continues to bring smiles to her face. "Tell you a secret. I like Ben better too." Some secret. "Always have loved Mecaith, but I like to go /fast/."
Doffing an imaginary hat to the ladies Winston's grin is in place as he bows as well. "Not working too hard, just working," he assures them both with a wink. "And I am never dull, Phara my dear. Surely you know that by now?" He also doesn't head back to work just yet. Seems he came out for a stroll and instead of the garden he's just going to head for the lake until work beckons once more.