Videoland - Closure
WHO: Elsa von Spielburg, Red Wizard
WHAT: Elsa stops by the Adventurers Inn to tie up some loose ends before heading back to protect Gloriana. And while she's there, she figures she may as well ask Red to look after her garden. And then she goes home.
WHEN: June 15, 2008 - Evening
WHERE: Adventurers Inn, Coneria
A crisp not quite summer night, really. It's been months since he'd been home, and despite Maya's best efforts at keeping the place up and running, there were yet a few things that really needed taking care of. In particular? The Onsen.
Thus, one particular Red Wizard was carefully working the stiff scrub brush across the stone slabs of the pool, letting the stars pass by over head. Somewhere a war was raging. Somewhere a world was being lost to the Primids. But now? Red was just trying to put his life back together.
Coincidentally, someone else was trying to put hers behind her entirely.
There were a lot of loose ends to wrap up before Elsa von Spielburg made her way back towards Gloriana, her place of birth. Her cottage in Jova Village was cleaned up, all her belongings left behind but for a few changes of clothes and really precious mementos. A sign was stuck out front that read: "For Sale. Price: FREE" She knew she wouldn't be going back. So she'd set off, pirahna plant tucked under her arm.
The warp zone spat her out, and she'd landed on her feet out of instinct where, in the past, she would have probably fallen on her face. She was used to it now. And here she is, at the end of the path before the Adventurers' Inn. It /was/ good to hear that Red Wizard was back. Elsa means to say goodbye and ask for a favor. And while she's sure no one would protest if she just walked in like she used to, well... It doesn't feel right. So she knocks, clearing her throat as she takes a step back. Hopefully he's home. If not, well...she'll leave a note, she supposes?
For Elsa? The door swings open easily hen she knocks. Something seems to be drawing her inwards. A thought, tickles the back of ther mind.
It wouldn't be fair to not say goodbye, would it?
Eh? Elsa's knuckles swing forward to hit air after the first knock, then again as she stands there dumbly, blinking. Uh...? Oh, right. Red's a wizard, after all, of course this place would start responding with magic again! ~I'll never get used to that...~ she thinks to herself, stepping inside and looking around. The pirahna plant is asleep, snoring on her shoulder.
She stops to scratch at her head with a wince before realizing this might be some sort of telepathy. Could he do that now? Elsa whistles lowly. Quite a feat! "Red?" she calls out, the floorboards creaking beneath her boots.
The door closes behind thewoman, befor,e clear as a bell, she can hear the scraping of that scrub brush, the sound of the wet tiles giving up the algae that had caked onto the cold, dark surfaces of the stone. The feeling of warmth carressing her frame.
The hotsprings. The mental tickle turns her attention that direction.
Elsa smiles. He'd always loved those hot springs. She can even remember the time Waluigi and Dalton had hidden behind the walls to peep, back in the day. What a nostalgia trip.
She sets the plant down on the counter, gently easing its head onto her pack which she slips from her shoulders. She's got a feeling they might stay up all night talking about the things that have gone on in the years of absence. Swallowing back an aching lump in her throat at the thought that this might very well be the last time they meet, she turns down the corridor towards the spring itself, easing the door open with the heel of her palm. "Hey," she smiles quietly. "Long time no see, huh?"
The hands are a little more calloused and scarred then she may remember, but his voice is still that low tenor. Hands cup around her eyes, as he leans in back behind her frame. He must have been hiding behind a curtain near the entrace to the springs...
A long and happy murmur, breath warm on her neck, before Red whispers quietly. "You certainly do know how to make an entrance, little lady... Whas it been? 4 years?" He's got her eyes covered, but the feeling of his body against her shoulders is an old comfort, long forgotten to him.
"I think so," Elsa grins, deciding NOT to judo flip the wizard over her shoulder once he speaks and identifies himself. Who could blame her? She was jumped a LOT back in the day. Instead, she pats his wrist, leaning back to playfully bump his chest with her back. "But it feels like it's been a lot longer."
Elsa tugs at his wrist to draw his hands from her eyes, half-turning to smile back at him over her shoulder. "Glad you came back. A few days later and we would have missed each other entirely. How've you been?"
But he doesn't answer her right away. No no no. Well, not verbally. Hands cup at her sides, turning the Hero to face the wizard, before Red leans forward, and plants a kiss at her lips.
And it must have been 4 years. Maybe more. Maybe a lifetime, the way he's kissing. A range of emotions can be felt crosshing his face as he leans in, expecting to get slapped, something, anything... but still kissing until she stops in.
Hands slide up her waist to her cheeks, holding that lovely face in place for his efforts.
Wh-wh...what?
Wait, what?
Elsa's eyes go wide, and her breath stills immediately in her throat as she feels his mouth settle on hers. Whoa? She should /probably/ step back, especially once she realizes that this isn't a mere peck in greeting. She wasn't expecting so much affection, certainly! The last time they'd been intimate, each had spoken of pursuing a different love...he, Lady A, and she, Cody. So what brought /this/ on all of a sudden?
"Ah...?" Elsa's lips finally part, eloquently expressing her confusion. Nonetheless, her heart is pounding, and her brain is hazy. It's been two years at /least/ since someone kissed her like that.
A goofy grin is the response she recieves, as Red takes a half step back, swallowing.
"Ah, go ahead and slap me if you want I suppose, just... just I'd been... I'd been holding that in for years, and I just thought you should know ah... before... Uh... I...' Red Wizard looks suddenly a little confused himself, a hand lifting up into that silver hair, as he sighs a little bit, pink suddenly flashing across his pointed ears.
He sighs, before shaking his head. "What I'm trying to say is, 'I missed you, Elsa...'"
Slap him? Elsa blinks. And blinks again. "Uh...no...no, that wasn't what I had in mind," she grin sheepishly, looking down at her feet as her hand finds the back of her neck.
After a moment of awkward silence, Elsa closes her eyes and tips her head back, exhaling slowly. "Laws...where were you two years ago..." she murmurs with a crooked, melancholy smile. Her head drops level once again as she opens her eyes to look at him. "I missed you too. I really did. ...Hey, come on," she reaches for his elbow, tugging gently backwards. "Let's go for a walk. Catch up on things, you know? Talk. Just once more."
After all that, Red is actually a little hesitant to move, but the tugging helps, as he plucks his hat up from the top of the scrub brush tilted against the wall of the locker rooms. He affixes the jaunty cap, before nodding. "Sure, we can walk, Elsa... I... Mmmmh. I'm sorry I didn't come find you... find you before."
He's not exactly looking thepicture of his usual dashing self, his eyes looking ages older than hey once did, and a interminable... otherness to his features. But he does walk along, letting his sneakers squeak against the cold damp stones.
"Oh, no. No no no, that wasn't meant... You don't have to apologize!" Elsa laughs. Once he's moving, she hooks her arm through his and leads the way to the great outdoors. That's the nice thing about Coneria. Most of the area around the inn is free of monsters. As long as they avoid the woods, they won't be bothered by imps and wolves, or the rare rabid horse that occasionally runs around beating people up.
"So where have you been, anyway?" she grins, her steps slow and dawdling once they've left the porch steps and the gravel path to walk across the lush expanse of grass. "You must have been on some pretty amazing adventures, you look all...seasoned."
A distant look in his eyes, before Red blushes a litle bit, and chuckles. "I suppose so, though I'm not sure how... amazing they all were... I... Oh this is going to sound silly." He sighs, before stopping to look up at the Pliedaes, the stars twinkling in the night's sky.
You know how I always said, how I wanted to go out and find... find peace? Find enlightenment? That's what I was out there looking for..." A hand lifts up, pointing across stars. Across worlds. "Out there, Elsa. Just... jsut looking for what Bahamut gave me. Trying to find it again. I'd lost if for so long, just..." He sighs... and then squeezes her hand gingerly. "Feels like I ran away..."
Elsa says nothing, just listening. Her gaze lifts to the stars as he points them out, and remains there for a long, long moment. "Yeah..." She squeezes his hand softly in return. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
She could justify it all she wanted by saying she was searching for a cure for Simon was to really get away from her guilt and the knowledge of her mistakes. Nothing would ever repair them, either. The feelings they'd shared had faded, and would never come back again. It was a bridge she'd foolishly burned, and she'd always feel badly about it.
Elsa exhales slowly. At least it's nice to know that someone has missed her presence. Words couldn't begin to explain just how lonely she'd felt, despite her pretense at apathy. She'd gone into suicidal fights, not caring for her own welfare, seeking /anything/ just to make her feel worthwhile again.
"So...did you end up finding anything?" she asks, looking up at him again.
And as the pair pass a tree, Red Wizard stops and smiles, hands tuging Elsa close again. No kisses, just.. her holds her close from behind, letting them both keep walking and looking. "That enlightenment is a lonely place. That the tallest peaks mean that you've n way out, and that... welll." He smiles sadly. "that one has to be able to be, not just have. Elightenment is nothing if you've got no one to share it with."
"...so I came home."
Elsa grins crookedly, her steps more like an awkward shuffling waddle at the change in position. She'll have to be careful not to step on his feet, or get her feet stepped on. As sudden as it seems, though, she really can't deny how nice it feels just to be held again. It's been way, way too long. "Yeah... Yeah," she agrees in a low murmur. She folds her arms over his, heaving a quiet sigh.
Of course, now it seems weird to just up and tell him 'Welp, off to Gloriana! Take care of my garden for me, okay? Bye forever!' So...she won't. Doesn't seem like the right time for it, that's for sure.
The wizard takes a moment to simply rest his chin in her hair, and murmur. "From the reaction, I guess... It's been a while since you found someone, huh?" He smiles crookedly, before planting a soft kiss in those curly locks, feet slowly swaying the pair back and forth, a half dance under the starlight.
"Grk!" Elsa's face screws up in a mixture of embarrassment and chagrin. Looks like Red nailed it in one. "Er...yeah...guess I'm not really good with them," she chuckles sheepishly, looking at the grass. She stops walking as he rocks her, slowly starting to relax again. "I guess...I never really know what I want. S'embarrassing."
hands ease to hers, as Red idly whistles a tune, which slowly starts to play itslef in the cool Conerian air, a lilting soft air which eases the dancing somewhat. Especially when he twirls Elsa out, smiling at her, and sighing. "Being alone on a mountain top reduces your chances of meeting anyone either, so... Understandable that I'd notice, I suppose." Red chuckles, taking the lead into a slow waltz. Very slow.
It's sort of amazing. Maybe he's acting like this because he didn't see all of Elsa's mistakes...doesn't know what kind of person she's become. She's a little more jaded, a little more cynical, a little more brash, a little more rough... Would he be dancing with her if he really knew all that?
"Guess four years of solitude would make a guy real desperate, huh? Heh heh..." she laughs lamely. And swallows her words. Maybe she shouldn't have said that, it might be considered insulting. "Not...that I'm saying you ARE!"
At that? Red actually laughs, before shaking his head, and pulling Elsa closer. He can see the hurt in those eyes. The changes... before he leans in, whispering, lips close to her ear. So close. "Are you still Elsa Spielburg?"
"......." Elsa closes her eyes. She slumps forward until her brow rests heavily on Red's shoulder, and she ceases to follow his dance. She never was all that good at dancing anyway.
"I don't really know anymore, Red," she confesses quietly. "So much changed, I messed up so much, hurt good people... If I could leave without saying a word, I...I would. I just came back to ask if you'd take care of my garden for me. You know how much I loved that place when I still lived here."
The warrior mage murmurs a little bit mor,e before shakes his head, and lifts that chin, looking into her eyes. "You could never jsut leave it all behind, Elsa. I know you too well." He sighs, and shakes his head. "always worrying about people. Maybe a little too much, which I think is what got you in trouble, little lady." He sighs a little bit, stopping the dance as well, and carefully leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
Lips rest there, as the Wizard murmurs. "Have I changed too much?"
Elsa's eyes fly open in surprise. Not from the kiss, but from his assessment. He...! No /way/ he got that from telepathy. She thinks back, remembering Bo, how she'd cared for him the moment he learned he cared for her...that she'd loved him because she'd known it wouldn't last...and it wasn't fair to Simon, she'd known that. But she'd done it anyway.
Elsa swallows hard, feeling her eyes grow damp as he seals his words with that gentle kiss. She closes her eyes, tears welling behind her lashes. "I messed up so much..." she whimpers, feeling...awfully pathetic and vulnerable. But he's holding her just the same. It's what she needed for so long, to know that she's not perfect, to know that someone else knows she isn't perfect, and accepting her anyway.
She puts her arms around Red Wizard's shoulders, hugging him tightly.
It's a long moment holding her, before Red Wiazrd shifts a bit, stepping backwards to that tree to lean up against it, and hug Elsa close, letting her cry. A hand lifts up into her hair as he quietly starts petting and kissing at it, making quiet shushing sounds... He murmurs lowly finally, before shaking his head.
"No, Elsa. You grew up. You grew up and you learned the hard way like everyone else. You grew up and learned that not everything turns out like kittens and puppies." he smiles a little sadly at that. "You learned that sometimes? You just have to go home."
"Welcome home, Elsa von Spielburg."
This time the kiss isn't quite so needy, quite so forceful. No. This is the other kiss he'd been saving for a long time. Something familiar. Something welcoming. Something remembered.
Elsa smiles, closing her eyes as those words sink into her mind like an emotional sort of aloe vera. She had yearned to hear someone say that to her for a very long time. And who would have thought it would be a friend she hadn't seen in years to do it? Sometimes it just took something drastic to bring people together.
Her fingers comb gently through the long, silky white hair, fingertips caressing the back of his shoulders. Her kiss is sweet, and gentle, matching his own. It's not passion she seeks, or even needs. It's love. And she's starting to think she might have finally found it after all this time.
"Mmmm... Thank you," she whispers, breaking away for a moment with her brow resting against his. "Thanks, Red. I think...I'm ready to call it that."
and then that goofy grin is back. The old one. The real one. He smiles happily down at his friend, before whispering. "Hey you. Havn't seen you around here before... Name's Red..." He chuckles, before a hand slides down to the small of her back, cupping. "Red wizard, the master of Coneria. Nice to meet ya."
Elsa laughs, shaking her head and curling her hand over Red's shoulder. "Yeah, you haven't changed much at all," she grins, nose wrinkled as she pulls back to look at him. She leans in to peck his cheek, smiling warmly. "Definitely glad about that. So, uh...can I have my old room back?" The pirahna plant would certainly be happy to reclaim his old spot.
"It's always been there, love. Just waitin' for ya to get back...' He smiles warmly, before that hand at her back slides gingerly upwards, teasing faintly. "And I think I have, actually. I mean, At one point in time I might have just tried to keep kisin' ya like I did when you showed up... And, well... I'm not sure how well that would have worked... after a time, I mean."
A little face, before Red smiles. "Missed ya, kiddo."
"Hee hee...missed you too," Elsa grins, almost purring at the hand on her back. (If it had gone into her hair, she probably would.) And the strange thing of it was, she /did/ start to feel more like her old self again. Castlevania had hardened her, and all those long, cold nights doing battle against creatures of immense evil had dampened her spirits considerably. Now, she's starting to feel more like she did when Bo was around. She'd affectionately called him her sunshine boy, since his cheer and sweet nature was infectious. It's the same effect that Red's starting to have on her now. No more lonely, frigid winter nights. She's looking forward to spending days in the sun with someone to care for.
"Yeah, well...you made the right choice," Elsa smiles, thumbing his jawline. One-night flings are nice for just that...one night. But they don't last, and rushing the physical can kill the emotional. She's learned that too. "Wanna head back, then? I could make some tea."
A happy smile, and Red nods, laughing, before hoisting the woman up in the air with an arm behind her knees, laughing. "Come on, Elsa... I think I've got some Hylian white waiting for ya..." He chuckles a little more, before placing her abck on theground, and murmuring. "On second thought, walk and talk, right?"
"Eep!" Elsa squeaks, laughing as she's literally swept off her feet. "Wh-whoa now..." And just as quickly she's back on the ground. Well, now she knows he's not puny. Unusual trait for a wizard! But she's got no complaints.
"Well, whichever," Elsa winks, slinging an arm around his shoulders and starting to march forward. "Long as I'm with you, we could cartwheel back to the inn for all I care."
WHAT: Elsa stops by the Adventurers Inn to tie up some loose ends before heading back to protect Gloriana. And while she's there, she figures she may as well ask Red to look after her garden. And then she goes home.
WHEN: June 15, 2008 - Evening
WHERE: Adventurers Inn, Coneria
A crisp not quite summer night, really. It's been months since he'd been home, and despite Maya's best efforts at keeping the place up and running, there were yet a few things that really needed taking care of. In particular? The Onsen.
Thus, one particular Red Wizard was carefully working the stiff scrub brush across the stone slabs of the pool, letting the stars pass by over head. Somewhere a war was raging. Somewhere a world was being lost to the Primids. But now? Red was just trying to put his life back together.
Coincidentally, someone else was trying to put hers behind her entirely.
There were a lot of loose ends to wrap up before Elsa von Spielburg made her way back towards Gloriana, her place of birth. Her cottage in Jova Village was cleaned up, all her belongings left behind but for a few changes of clothes and really precious mementos. A sign was stuck out front that read: "For Sale. Price: FREE" She knew she wouldn't be going back. So she'd set off, pirahna plant tucked under her arm.
The warp zone spat her out, and she'd landed on her feet out of instinct where, in the past, she would have probably fallen on her face. She was used to it now. And here she is, at the end of the path before the Adventurers' Inn. It /was/ good to hear that Red Wizard was back. Elsa means to say goodbye and ask for a favor. And while she's sure no one would protest if she just walked in like she used to, well... It doesn't feel right. So she knocks, clearing her throat as she takes a step back. Hopefully he's home. If not, well...she'll leave a note, she supposes?
For Elsa? The door swings open easily hen she knocks. Something seems to be drawing her inwards. A thought, tickles the back of ther mind.
It wouldn't be fair to not say goodbye, would it?
Eh? Elsa's knuckles swing forward to hit air after the first knock, then again as she stands there dumbly, blinking. Uh...? Oh, right. Red's a wizard, after all, of course this place would start responding with magic again! ~I'll never get used to that...~ she thinks to herself, stepping inside and looking around. The pirahna plant is asleep, snoring on her shoulder.
She stops to scratch at her head with a wince before realizing this might be some sort of telepathy. Could he do that now? Elsa whistles lowly. Quite a feat! "Red?" she calls out, the floorboards creaking beneath her boots.
The door closes behind thewoman, befor,e clear as a bell, she can hear the scraping of that scrub brush, the sound of the wet tiles giving up the algae that had caked onto the cold, dark surfaces of the stone. The feeling of warmth carressing her frame.
The hotsprings. The mental tickle turns her attention that direction.
Elsa smiles. He'd always loved those hot springs. She can even remember the time Waluigi and Dalton had hidden behind the walls to peep, back in the day. What a nostalgia trip.
She sets the plant down on the counter, gently easing its head onto her pack which she slips from her shoulders. She's got a feeling they might stay up all night talking about the things that have gone on in the years of absence. Swallowing back an aching lump in her throat at the thought that this might very well be the last time they meet, she turns down the corridor towards the spring itself, easing the door open with the heel of her palm. "Hey," she smiles quietly. "Long time no see, huh?"
The hands are a little more calloused and scarred then she may remember, but his voice is still that low tenor. Hands cup around her eyes, as he leans in back behind her frame. He must have been hiding behind a curtain near the entrace to the springs...
A long and happy murmur, breath warm on her neck, before Red whispers quietly. "You certainly do know how to make an entrance, little lady... Whas it been? 4 years?" He's got her eyes covered, but the feeling of his body against her shoulders is an old comfort, long forgotten to him.
"I think so," Elsa grins, deciding NOT to judo flip the wizard over her shoulder once he speaks and identifies himself. Who could blame her? She was jumped a LOT back in the day. Instead, she pats his wrist, leaning back to playfully bump his chest with her back. "But it feels like it's been a lot longer."
Elsa tugs at his wrist to draw his hands from her eyes, half-turning to smile back at him over her shoulder. "Glad you came back. A few days later and we would have missed each other entirely. How've you been?"
But he doesn't answer her right away. No no no. Well, not verbally. Hands cup at her sides, turning the Hero to face the wizard, before Red leans forward, and plants a kiss at her lips.
And it must have been 4 years. Maybe more. Maybe a lifetime, the way he's kissing. A range of emotions can be felt crosshing his face as he leans in, expecting to get slapped, something, anything... but still kissing until she stops in.
Hands slide up her waist to her cheeks, holding that lovely face in place for his efforts.
Wh-wh...what?
Wait, what?
Elsa's eyes go wide, and her breath stills immediately in her throat as she feels his mouth settle on hers. Whoa? She should /probably/ step back, especially once she realizes that this isn't a mere peck in greeting. She wasn't expecting so much affection, certainly! The last time they'd been intimate, each had spoken of pursuing a different love...he, Lady A, and she, Cody. So what brought /this/ on all of a sudden?
"Ah...?" Elsa's lips finally part, eloquently expressing her confusion. Nonetheless, her heart is pounding, and her brain is hazy. It's been two years at /least/ since someone kissed her like that.
A goofy grin is the response she recieves, as Red takes a half step back, swallowing.
"Ah, go ahead and slap me if you want I suppose, just... just I'd been... I'd been holding that in for years, and I just thought you should know ah... before... Uh... I...' Red Wizard looks suddenly a little confused himself, a hand lifting up into that silver hair, as he sighs a little bit, pink suddenly flashing across his pointed ears.
He sighs, before shaking his head. "What I'm trying to say is, 'I missed you, Elsa...'"
Slap him? Elsa blinks. And blinks again. "Uh...no...no, that wasn't what I had in mind," she grin sheepishly, looking down at her feet as her hand finds the back of her neck.
After a moment of awkward silence, Elsa closes her eyes and tips her head back, exhaling slowly. "Laws...where were you two years ago..." she murmurs with a crooked, melancholy smile. Her head drops level once again as she opens her eyes to look at him. "I missed you too. I really did. ...Hey, come on," she reaches for his elbow, tugging gently backwards. "Let's go for a walk. Catch up on things, you know? Talk. Just once more."
After all that, Red is actually a little hesitant to move, but the tugging helps, as he plucks his hat up from the top of the scrub brush tilted against the wall of the locker rooms. He affixes the jaunty cap, before nodding. "Sure, we can walk, Elsa... I... Mmmmh. I'm sorry I didn't come find you... find you before."
He's not exactly looking thepicture of his usual dashing self, his eyes looking ages older than hey once did, and a interminable... otherness to his features. But he does walk along, letting his sneakers squeak against the cold damp stones.
"Oh, no. No no no, that wasn't meant... You don't have to apologize!" Elsa laughs. Once he's moving, she hooks her arm through his and leads the way to the great outdoors. That's the nice thing about Coneria. Most of the area around the inn is free of monsters. As long as they avoid the woods, they won't be bothered by imps and wolves, or the rare rabid horse that occasionally runs around beating people up.
"So where have you been, anyway?" she grins, her steps slow and dawdling once they've left the porch steps and the gravel path to walk across the lush expanse of grass. "You must have been on some pretty amazing adventures, you look all...seasoned."
A distant look in his eyes, before Red blushes a litle bit, and chuckles. "I suppose so, though I'm not sure how... amazing they all were... I... Oh this is going to sound silly." He sighs, before stopping to look up at the Pliedaes, the stars twinkling in the night's sky.
You know how I always said, how I wanted to go out and find... find peace? Find enlightenment? That's what I was out there looking for..." A hand lifts up, pointing across stars. Across worlds. "Out there, Elsa. Just... jsut looking for what Bahamut gave me. Trying to find it again. I'd lost if for so long, just..." He sighs... and then squeezes her hand gingerly. "Feels like I ran away..."
Elsa says nothing, just listening. Her gaze lifts to the stars as he points them out, and remains there for a long, long moment. "Yeah..." She squeezes his hand softly in return. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
She could justify it all she wanted by saying she was searching for a cure for Simon was to really get away from her guilt and the knowledge of her mistakes. Nothing would ever repair them, either. The feelings they'd shared had faded, and would never come back again. It was a bridge she'd foolishly burned, and she'd always feel badly about it.
Elsa exhales slowly. At least it's nice to know that someone has missed her presence. Words couldn't begin to explain just how lonely she'd felt, despite her pretense at apathy. She'd gone into suicidal fights, not caring for her own welfare, seeking /anything/ just to make her feel worthwhile again.
"So...did you end up finding anything?" she asks, looking up at him again.
And as the pair pass a tree, Red Wizard stops and smiles, hands tuging Elsa close again. No kisses, just.. her holds her close from behind, letting them both keep walking and looking. "That enlightenment is a lonely place. That the tallest peaks mean that you've n way out, and that... welll." He smiles sadly. "that one has to be able to be, not just have. Elightenment is nothing if you've got no one to share it with."
"...so I came home."
Elsa grins crookedly, her steps more like an awkward shuffling waddle at the change in position. She'll have to be careful not to step on his feet, or get her feet stepped on. As sudden as it seems, though, she really can't deny how nice it feels just to be held again. It's been way, way too long. "Yeah... Yeah," she agrees in a low murmur. She folds her arms over his, heaving a quiet sigh.
Of course, now it seems weird to just up and tell him 'Welp, off to Gloriana! Take care of my garden for me, okay? Bye forever!' So...she won't. Doesn't seem like the right time for it, that's for sure.
The wizard takes a moment to simply rest his chin in her hair, and murmur. "From the reaction, I guess... It's been a while since you found someone, huh?" He smiles crookedly, before planting a soft kiss in those curly locks, feet slowly swaying the pair back and forth, a half dance under the starlight.
"Grk!" Elsa's face screws up in a mixture of embarrassment and chagrin. Looks like Red nailed it in one. "Er...yeah...guess I'm not really good with them," she chuckles sheepishly, looking at the grass. She stops walking as he rocks her, slowly starting to relax again. "I guess...I never really know what I want. S'embarrassing."
hands ease to hers, as Red idly whistles a tune, which slowly starts to play itslef in the cool Conerian air, a lilting soft air which eases the dancing somewhat. Especially when he twirls Elsa out, smiling at her, and sighing. "Being alone on a mountain top reduces your chances of meeting anyone either, so... Understandable that I'd notice, I suppose." Red chuckles, taking the lead into a slow waltz. Very slow.
It's sort of amazing. Maybe he's acting like this because he didn't see all of Elsa's mistakes...doesn't know what kind of person she's become. She's a little more jaded, a little more cynical, a little more brash, a little more rough... Would he be dancing with her if he really knew all that?
"Guess four years of solitude would make a guy real desperate, huh? Heh heh..." she laughs lamely. And swallows her words. Maybe she shouldn't have said that, it might be considered insulting. "Not...that I'm saying you ARE!"
At that? Red actually laughs, before shaking his head, and pulling Elsa closer. He can see the hurt in those eyes. The changes... before he leans in, whispering, lips close to her ear. So close. "Are you still Elsa Spielburg?"
"......." Elsa closes her eyes. She slumps forward until her brow rests heavily on Red's shoulder, and she ceases to follow his dance. She never was all that good at dancing anyway.
"I don't really know anymore, Red," she confesses quietly. "So much changed, I messed up so much, hurt good people... If I could leave without saying a word, I...I would. I just came back to ask if you'd take care of my garden for me. You know how much I loved that place when I still lived here."
The warrior mage murmurs a little bit mor,e before shakes his head, and lifts that chin, looking into her eyes. "You could never jsut leave it all behind, Elsa. I know you too well." He sighs, and shakes his head. "always worrying about people. Maybe a little too much, which I think is what got you in trouble, little lady." He sighs a little bit, stopping the dance as well, and carefully leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
Lips rest there, as the Wizard murmurs. "Have I changed too much?"
Elsa's eyes fly open in surprise. Not from the kiss, but from his assessment. He...! No /way/ he got that from telepathy. She thinks back, remembering Bo, how she'd cared for him the moment he learned he cared for her...that she'd loved him because she'd known it wouldn't last...and it wasn't fair to Simon, she'd known that. But she'd done it anyway.
Elsa swallows hard, feeling her eyes grow damp as he seals his words with that gentle kiss. She closes her eyes, tears welling behind her lashes. "I messed up so much..." she whimpers, feeling...awfully pathetic and vulnerable. But he's holding her just the same. It's what she needed for so long, to know that she's not perfect, to know that someone else knows she isn't perfect, and accepting her anyway.
She puts her arms around Red Wizard's shoulders, hugging him tightly.
It's a long moment holding her, before Red Wiazrd shifts a bit, stepping backwards to that tree to lean up against it, and hug Elsa close, letting her cry. A hand lifts up into her hair as he quietly starts petting and kissing at it, making quiet shushing sounds... He murmurs lowly finally, before shaking his head.
"No, Elsa. You grew up. You grew up and you learned the hard way like everyone else. You grew up and learned that not everything turns out like kittens and puppies." he smiles a little sadly at that. "You learned that sometimes? You just have to go home."
"Welcome home, Elsa von Spielburg."
This time the kiss isn't quite so needy, quite so forceful. No. This is the other kiss he'd been saving for a long time. Something familiar. Something welcoming. Something remembered.
Elsa smiles, closing her eyes as those words sink into her mind like an emotional sort of aloe vera. She had yearned to hear someone say that to her for a very long time. And who would have thought it would be a friend she hadn't seen in years to do it? Sometimes it just took something drastic to bring people together.
Her fingers comb gently through the long, silky white hair, fingertips caressing the back of his shoulders. Her kiss is sweet, and gentle, matching his own. It's not passion she seeks, or even needs. It's love. And she's starting to think she might have finally found it after all this time.
"Mmmm... Thank you," she whispers, breaking away for a moment with her brow resting against his. "Thanks, Red. I think...I'm ready to call it that."
and then that goofy grin is back. The old one. The real one. He smiles happily down at his friend, before whispering. "Hey you. Havn't seen you around here before... Name's Red..." He chuckles, before a hand slides down to the small of her back, cupping. "Red wizard, the master of Coneria. Nice to meet ya."
Elsa laughs, shaking her head and curling her hand over Red's shoulder. "Yeah, you haven't changed much at all," she grins, nose wrinkled as she pulls back to look at him. She leans in to peck his cheek, smiling warmly. "Definitely glad about that. So, uh...can I have my old room back?" The pirahna plant would certainly be happy to reclaim his old spot.
"It's always been there, love. Just waitin' for ya to get back...' He smiles warmly, before that hand at her back slides gingerly upwards, teasing faintly. "And I think I have, actually. I mean, At one point in time I might have just tried to keep kisin' ya like I did when you showed up... And, well... I'm not sure how well that would have worked... after a time, I mean."
A little face, before Red smiles. "Missed ya, kiddo."
"Hee hee...missed you too," Elsa grins, almost purring at the hand on her back. (If it had gone into her hair, she probably would.) And the strange thing of it was, she /did/ start to feel more like her old self again. Castlevania had hardened her, and all those long, cold nights doing battle against creatures of immense evil had dampened her spirits considerably. Now, she's starting to feel more like she did when Bo was around. She'd affectionately called him her sunshine boy, since his cheer and sweet nature was infectious. It's the same effect that Red's starting to have on her now. No more lonely, frigid winter nights. She's looking forward to spending days in the sun with someone to care for.
"Yeah, well...you made the right choice," Elsa smiles, thumbing his jawline. One-night flings are nice for just that...one night. But they don't last, and rushing the physical can kill the emotional. She's learned that too. "Wanna head back, then? I could make some tea."
A happy smile, and Red nods, laughing, before hoisting the woman up in the air with an arm behind her knees, laughing. "Come on, Elsa... I think I've got some Hylian white waiting for ya..." He chuckles a little more, before placing her abck on theground, and murmuring. "On second thought, walk and talk, right?"
"Eep!" Elsa squeaks, laughing as she's literally swept off her feet. "Wh-whoa now..." And just as quickly she's back on the ground. Well, now she knows he's not puny. Unusual trait for a wizard! But she's got no complaints.
"Well, whichever," Elsa winks, slinging an arm around his shoulders and starting to march forward. "Long as I'm with you, we could cartwheel back to the inn for all I care."