Snow. No no no no there should not be snow. And trees. Okay yes there should be trees, trees are good, trees are nice, but there should not be so many and they should not be so... here
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Gabriel may have just decided that because his mouth doesn't take a holiday ever that it's probably best if he... Moseys out of the barracks for awhile. It's not like he's wandering around looking for trouble (in fact, he's actively avoiding it to the point of being bored out of his skull, but since his main source of entertainment is the kind of thing that would make Anna and Murphy lose their voices if he keeps it up... It's either be bored or his friends suffer for however long until this Gala thing happens- sometimes he's surprisingly selfless). And plus it's not like he... Acknowledges the cold.
Which is why it's probably kind of weird that there's a guy in little more than an army jacket, a flannel shirt, and jeans, standing in the snow like it's not even there and watching Winny flailing like this is the most entertaining thing he's seen in awhile.
Spoiler: It is.
...Look, he can't say anything, but no one's stopping him from thinking... Things. Yeah.
It takes her a second to notice he's there. And then there's another squeak and a flail and she lands on her butt in the snow. She sort of crab-crawls backwards and onto her feet again, never quite taking her eyes off of Gabriel.
Winny hesitates, and then ducks behind the tree she just fell away from. "...Hello?"
....And suddenly it's less funny and kind of sad, but, of course, he can't admit that, because that would be like admitting that he has feelings and has a weird fondness for humans, so obviously he should cover it up with sarcasm- OH WAIT.
He turns away, so he doesn't look like he's staring awkwardly at her as he tries to find... Words. Non-sarcastic words. They're there somewhere. Maybe. "....You okay?"
...There. That was like... Doing a root canal with a bendy straw.
And now he just has to stare. Do... People like this really exist? Really? Maybe it'll be easier than he thought to not be a total dick at her, since... It just seems like kicking a puppy down a fire escape.
"That sounds like a good way to freeze to death, kiddo," he says, shrugging and knitting his brows together in an expression that's half incredulous and half sympathetic.
"...It's not supposed to be snowing." It sounds almost guilty, like she should have noticed the sudden change in weather from late-spring warmth to midwinter cold. She picks at the bark, wincing at the feeling of the soggy wood under her nail. "It can't be that far to a road, right? I mean... Well. It's. Kind of quiet so I guess this is sort of a. Big park. And... Everything..."
That sounds so dumb. Winny winces. "I'll be okay?"
Gabriel looks up at the sky, squinting at the falling snow. "Uh-huh. I don't think it cares." He snaps back to attention, however, at the park comment. Oh, you poor deluded child. Saying this is a park is like the Virgin Mary waking up after the Annunciation and saying it's just a bad case of gas.
"If you think this is 'just a park?' There's no limit to how not okay you're gonna be if you keep going, princess. Just a tip."
Oh no, oh no no no. He's going to kill her. She's alone in the woods with a strange man who is going to hurt her and then kill her.
Winny huddles against the tree, trying to piece together a prayer that's more than PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?
"Sorry, I'm sorry, I won't... I don't... I mean. I don't know what I mean but if I leave right now really, really fast, will you just... not... hurt me?"
The silence that hangs in the air after she gets done begging lasts far longer than it should to be utterly comfortable, especially since any person who had no intentions of hurting her would have probably said something by now. The truth is, Gabriel's brain has to process a hundred different reactions to that to find one that's not utterly bitchy.
He holds up his hands. See, Winny? No weapons? Also, he's short and aside from the fact that he could give her a heart attack from fifty paces with his brain, he doesn't even look that intimidating! ...Except where he kinda comes off that way anyway without meaning to. Normally, that... Isn't a problem. "Whoa. Slow down, okay? Relax. I'm not gonna hurt you." He points at the woods. "There's just... Things out there that might."
There's an equally prolonged silence from her side before she squirms and looks down, blushing ferociously.
"Oh." It makes sense. Ish. Kind of. Except. It's a park. One she's never been to and doesn't know how she got to, but... It still is. "...What. Kinds of things?"
Think. Think. WHAT IS THE RIGHT ANSWER? ...This continues to be the most awkward conversation in the history of ever, because Gabriel has to keep pausing like he's mentally deficient in order to come up with something reasonable. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to come up with actual answers. You'd be wrong. He's a fast talker and has a thing for insults. And Tempest is a royal bitch.
Oh, the usual. Gangbangers, druggies, cultists, the occasional stray dog... And monsters.
...Frickin' A.
"Bad things," he deadpans. It's almost hilarious how long it took him to come up with two words. "Things you really don't wanna meet in the middle of the woods."
Because clearly she needs it spelled out for her that she ain't in Central Park anymore.
Fortunately for Gabe, Winny doesn't seem to take the long, thoughtful pauses amiss. She's still getting increasingly more uncomfortable the longer this conversation goes on, however. Mostly because she's distracted by squishing her soaked sock against the bottom of her shoe and having a quiet mental flail every time she does it.
"Where... are we... exactly?" She asks it while not really looking at him. She's moved on to wriggling her toes to try and get the soggy lump of sock that has developed out from under them.
About six miles east of Rivendell, princess. What d'you think?
"Couldn't tell you," Gabriel shrugs, looking about as uncomfortable with the conversation as Winny, albeit for entirely different reasons. "Other than... Y'know, giant, creepy forest in the middle of nowhere."
"Which kind of nowhere? Because there's, you know... Midwest-nowhere, and then lost-in-the-city nowhere, and then... there's nowhere, which is kind of different." She's not sure if that made the same kind of sense it did in her head.
Squish, squish, squish goes the sock. The element of horror is mounting slowly into the returned desire to rip her shoe off and fling it into the woods as far as she can. This time with the sock for company.
This is one blank white sheet of paper with a dot on it that says 'you are here' levels of nowhere, precious.
No.
I'd draw a map, but it's kinda hard to figure out 'alternate universe' in relation to the Midwest.
Nope.
You're screwed.
...Definitely not.
Gabriel shifts his weight and the sound of snow crunching sounds ridiculously loud in the silence and checks the collar on his wrist. A few more days until the Gala. And then he can talk again.
...Oh right. He should be talking now, shouldn't he?
One can almost see the slow build into complete horror going on behind her eyes. She's busy running down the possibilities - kidnapping, unnoticed nuclear holocaust, insanity, sudden violent climate shift like in one of those shows from the History channel, someone drugged her, or...
Or.
"...I didn't. I don't. I didn't think I'd get purgatory, even, but I do? Is it, does it, is it like Dante's Inferno because we're reading that right now but I didn't get a chance to finish I'm sorry I knew I should have read ahead do we have to tour hell or can we just... stay... here? Because it's cold but I don't think I can do the part with the gluttons and the slush and the
( ... )
Which is why it's probably kind of weird that there's a guy in little more than an army jacket, a flannel shirt, and jeans, standing in the snow like it's not even there and watching Winny flailing like this is the most entertaining thing he's seen in awhile.
Spoiler: It is.
...Look, he can't say anything, but no one's stopping him from thinking... Things. Yeah.
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Winny hesitates, and then ducks behind the tree she just fell away from. "...Hello?"
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He turns away, so he doesn't look like he's staring awkwardly at her as he tries to find... Words. Non-sarcastic words. They're there somewhere. Maybe. "....You okay?"
...There. That was like... Doing a root canal with a bendy straw.
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Winny squirms and starts to duck behind the tree again. "So I'll just be... lost in another direction until I'm not. Sorry. To bother you."
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"That sounds like a good way to freeze to death, kiddo," he says, shrugging and knitting his brows together in an expression that's half incredulous and half sympathetic.
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That sounds so dumb. Winny winces. "I'll be okay?"
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"If you think this is 'just a park?' There's no limit to how not okay you're gonna be if you keep going, princess. Just a tip."
Reply
Winny huddles against the tree, trying to piece together a prayer that's more than PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE?
"Sorry, I'm sorry, I won't... I don't... I mean. I don't know what I mean but if I leave right now really, really fast, will you just... not... hurt me?"
Reply
He holds up his hands. See, Winny? No weapons? Also, he's short and aside from the fact that he could give her a heart attack from fifty paces with his brain, he doesn't even look that intimidating! ...Except where he kinda comes off that way anyway without meaning to. Normally, that... Isn't a problem. "Whoa. Slow down, okay? Relax. I'm not gonna hurt you." He points at the woods. "There's just... Things out there that might."
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"Oh." It makes sense. Ish. Kind of. Except. It's a park. One she's never been to and doesn't know how she got to, but... It still is. "...What. Kinds of things?"
Reply
...Dammit. And that was a good one too.
Think. Think. WHAT IS THE RIGHT ANSWER? ...This continues to be the most awkward conversation in the history of ever, because Gabriel has to keep pausing like he's mentally deficient in order to come up with something reasonable. You wouldn't think it would be that hard to come up with actual answers. You'd be wrong. He's a fast talker and has a thing for insults. And Tempest is a royal bitch.
Oh, the usual. Gangbangers, druggies, cultists, the occasional stray dog... And monsters.
...Frickin' A.
"Bad things," he deadpans. It's almost hilarious how long it took him to come up with two words. "Things you really don't wanna meet in the middle of the woods."
Because clearly she needs it spelled out for her that she ain't in Central Park anymore.
Reply
"Where... are we... exactly?" She asks it while not really looking at him. She's moved on to wriggling her toes to try and get the soggy lump of sock that has developed out from under them.
Reply
"Couldn't tell you," Gabriel shrugs, looking about as uncomfortable with the conversation as Winny, albeit for entirely different reasons. "Other than... Y'know, giant, creepy forest in the middle of nowhere."
Reply
Squish, squish, squish goes the sock. The element of horror is mounting slowly into the returned desire to rip her shoe off and fling it into the woods as far as she can. This time with the sock for company.
Reply
No.
I'd draw a map, but it's kinda hard to figure out 'alternate universe' in relation to the Midwest.
Nope.
You're screwed.
...Definitely not.
Gabriel shifts his weight and the sound of snow crunching sounds ridiculously loud in the silence and checks the collar on his wrist. A few more days until the Gala. And then he can talk again.
...Oh right. He should be talking now, shouldn't he?
"Uh ...The last one?"
Reply
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One can almost see the slow build into complete horror going on behind her eyes. She's busy running down the possibilities - kidnapping, unnoticed nuclear holocaust, insanity, sudden violent climate shift like in one of those shows from the History channel, someone drugged her, or...
Or.
"...I didn't. I don't. I didn't think I'd get purgatory, even, but I do? Is it, does it, is it like Dante's Inferno because we're reading that right now but I didn't get a chance to finish I'm sorry I knew I should have read ahead do we have to tour hell or can we just... stay... here? Because it's cold but I don't think I can do the part with the gluttons and the slush and the ( ... )
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