Anonymous Musings (cont.)

[Existentially Odd]

"Mmm," he nodded, following her down to take another kiss, even though he knew he shouldn\'t.  What was that he\'d just been telling himself about getting caught up?  He was so hopeless at keeping a distance from things.  His tongue proved that, sliding into her mouth lethargically and taking a nice, long taste of her before he pulled back.

"I work in the afternoon, \'til midnight," he elaborated then, a light dancing in his eyes as he looked at her.  "Why?  What\'d you have in mind?"  A half grin accompanied the question, all sorts of answers that she might give coming to him, but he didn\'t entertain any of them yet.

[Kysis]

"Just wonderin\' when I\'d have to mosey me way out of bed."

The kiss was returned, but not in a lustful sort of way.  It was in a fun, soft, comfortable sort of way.  That was just the way she was in the morning though, any other disposition hard to foster before there was breakfast, or at least coffee, in her system.  Until then, she would be friendly and lucid, which most people never, ever saw her like.  Then again, most people did not see her in the morning.  If they had, they might have been surprised.

"\'Ave to take a bath b\'fore work and all."

In her morning fog, Ryanna just said what was on her mind, not thinking about how such a statement would come off.  Of course, since she was already naked and all, Ryanna didn\'t see how the thought of her naked might spur anything.  It was already right there.  Still, Ryanna stopped herself from going into more detail about how she bathed in the mornings, thinking about the warm water she would get later with delight.  Baths were always great.

"Not sure what else, yet.  Mmmmm....."  Ryanna nestled in a bit closer, wanting to take full advantage of John\'s warmth before she had to part with it.  It would take a bit to get the fireplace hot enough to heat the water she would need, and then take some initiative to drag in the metal tub she used for bathing into the house, for the heated water to go into.  Ryanna really did not want to do that at the moment (though it was still better than the public baths).

[Existentially Odd]

"I\'ll get that organised for you!" he told her eagerly and, dropping another kiss on her throat, he crawled over and got out of the bed.  His pants and boots were still on the side of the bad that he assumed was hers (hence the climbing over her, rather than getting decorously out the other side) and he made sure the covers were still over her as he got out, his skin puckering with goosebumps in the chill of the early morning.

He was a little shy about standing naked before her, but he glanced up through his lashes with a grin as he straightened his undergarments inside the pants, then pulled both on at the same time.  He made a vague attempt at tying the fly closed as he stepped into his boots (though he was about to go outside and use the facilities so he didn\'t put a lot of effort into it, admittedly) then straightened, that same jaunty smile on his face as he squeezed his fists together, causing his arm, shoulder and pectoral muscles to flex.  It was his way of psyching himself up to ignore the cold.

"Save my spot, I\'ll be right back!" he promised her, and strode out of the bedroom.  It was rather a lot colder in the main room than their combined body heat had made the bedroom, but he didn\'t mind.  He liked the cold, his body temperature was generally a bit higher than most people\'s and he didn\'t feel the need to pull his coat on just yet.

After repacking the fire, he lit the kindling and blew on it to be sure it would take.  Replacing the flint and steel, he then hurried outside to the outhouse.  He sighed with relief as the hot stream exited his body and he realised he\'d been holding it in a long time - he was the type to frequently get up through the night but last night he\'d slept so well, his body\'s urges hadn\'t been able to rouse him.  The smile didn\'t leave his face as he thought about why.

On the way back into the little house, he spied the large bathing tub and so he picked that up and carried it inside while he went.  His next mission was to search for water and he did his best to imagine Ryanna getting the heavy tub inside without assistance, to no avail, while he did.  Once there was a large pot (or as large as he could find, considering he didn\'t rifle through everything she owned) of water warming over the fire, he went back into the bedroom.

He took a few moments to toe his boots off, then walked around the other side and dove beneath the covers, embracing her with arms he knew were chilled and pressing a cold nose against her throat in an effort to make her squeal.  "Mmm, you\'re warm!" he exclaimed with a playful growl, his lips following where his nose landed and his chest rubbing against her as much as she would allow.  "It\'s a lovely brisk morning out there.  I brought your bath in.  So tell me, does your neighbour come over to help you get that in, too?  That thing\'s huge!"  All he\'d been able to come up with was that the neighbour who served corset duty also served as a bath-carrying helper in her down time as well.

[Kysis]

Organized?  It wasn\'t like taking a bath was a huge event.  Yes, it took some effort to get set up, but Ryanna didn\'t mind.  It kept her on her toes, and helped with keeping her in shape.  Ryanna cocked a red brow but did not protest, watching him go with her smile intact (even though he let out some of her warm air while getting out).  He was cute, the way he was acting and all.  It was like.... a puppy dog, Ryanna decided, laughing mentally, keeping it from coming out though.  If she did laugh, he might not bring the bath tub in.  That would not be good at all.

"Mhmmm.  Spot saved."  He was really funny in the mornings, which Ryanna decided quickly.  Why would his spot need to be saved?  It wasn\'t like she just could randomly summon someone to come and keep her warm while he was gone.  Ryanna sighed, shaking her head and snuggling in with the blankets while he went out and about stuff.  She considered getting up and pulling on at least a tunic so she could visit the outhouse, but decided the warmth was better, and that if she waited, when she got back from the outhouse she could jump right into the warm bath and be a much happier person.  Oh yes, that was definitely her plan now that she considered it.

For a moment she started to slip back asleep, drifting off....

"Ahhhhheeeeeeeeee!!!"  Ryanna nearly jumped out of her skin when the cold Freddy wrapped around her, flaring wide awake, eyes huge.  His cold lips on her neck had her squirming and writhing, trying to wiggle herself away. "I\'m getting up!  I swear!  Why?!"  Ryanna was shivering majorly, wishing John was all warm for her but knowing that would take a bit.  He had gone outside, meaning there was water warming up for the bath.  She hoped.  It was possible he didn\'t know where she kept the kettles.

"That was mean...." Ryanna stopped wiggling, just sitting still (and shivering) in hopes that he would warm up already.  Sheesh.  That was not how she liked waking up, and her bladder was complaining about the sudden cold.  As soon as John would let her go, she\'d be getting up to go use the outhouse.  Oh, she hoped he let her go soon.  He was damn cold.

[Existentially Odd]

He saw immediately that his little joke had gone completely awry; where he\'d envisioned her squealing a little and then rubbing him vigourously and hugging him to warm him up, she\'d obviously felt a cold so intense it made her shiver and want to get away from it.  Regretfully, he let her go, tucking the blankets back around her sheepishly.

"Sorry," he mumbled, watching her with wide, wary eyes.  "I was just... sorry.  You\'re not much of a morning person, I take it?" he offered hesitantly, trying to smile and make light of the situation but obviously feeling he\'d gone too far.  Although he\'d been loosely entertaining asking her if he could use her bathwater when she finished - to save him doing up his own bath when he got home - he saw now that he\'d probablt do best to get dressed and head out before he made some other blunder that had her grumpy with him.

He didn\'t want it to be his fault that the fantastic memories and feelings from the night before were ruined by morning-after mistakes, if that could possibly be avoided.

[Kysis]

"Awwww, I didn\'t mean ta make ya feel guilty!  Jus\' raise some hell...."  Ryanna had gone a little overboard with her bitchiness, though he was damn cold.  Hmmmm.....  Knowing she had to get up soon, and his making her cold spurred it on faster, Ryanna sat up, stretching her arms up, rolling her neck, before sliding off the bed.  It did not bother her that she was naked, or that there was better light now, so he could see her properly.  Not at all.

It was about time she got up anyway.

"The shop doesn\'t open too early, so I sleep in a lot.  That\'ll change if I go for the guards, so, bein\' up now isn\'t too bad."  Ryanna shrugged, walking lethargically for where her clothing was stored, riffling through a few things before finding a loose tunic and pulling it on, stretching a little more once it was on.  Ah, much better.  She heard a quiet click, sounding off that her back was in good placement, only one of her back bones needed to be put into place, which she just did.

"Outhouse."

That was all she said to signal what she was doing as she walked out of her bedroom, and out to the back, her bladder thanking her once it was emptied.  Much, much better.  However, now her rear was cold, and her exposed legs (and where the draft reached), so she was really looking forward to seeing if the bathwater was warm.

Ryanna came back in, dancing on her feet as if that would help her be warm.  It was nice to see how much Freddy did for her, getting everything set up and all.  Knowing that was not everything, Ryanna fetched the other kettle for water, getting that set up (with a lot of straining and slow waddling to transport it) next to the fire as well.  Soon, the bath would be ready.  Yay!

[Existentially Odd]

He watched her get up and stretch, admiring in the early light the smooth look of her skin and feeling a shot of lust go through him at the mere sight of her naked form in motion.  Damn, but she looked young and soft... and so desirable.  With a sigh, he got up and followed more slowly after her, watching her go outside with a pensive look on his face (that she didn\'t see, obviously).  He checked the water he\'d put on, found it wasn\'t near to boiling yet, looked around and wandered over to get his jerkin back on.

He was back standing in front of her weapons rack yet again when she came back inside and immediately set about getting another lot of water on to heat up.  He turned to face her, arms folded across his chest because that had been the most comfortable position in which to stand and look at the weapons.  "Well," he began, forcing a smile.  "I suppose I should head out... "

[Kysis]

Ryanna turned suddenly at those words, looking at the way he was standing, and where he was standing.  By the weapons.  Interesting.  Last night, when he had been trying to distract himself (it had seemed to her), Freddy had been staring at the weapons.  There was an undeniable similarity there, though it might have been that the weapons reminded him of something he was supposed to do for work....

"Is som\'thin\' wrong?"

The question was blurted out before her brain had time to screen whether or not she should ask it.  Ryanna wrung her hands before her, looking down at the fidgeting things after she asked.  There probably was something wrong, so why Ryanna asked... Oh blast it, this was not good at all.  Now things were not looking so bright and chipper and nice so more, and Ryanna could not stand this chain of events ending on such an ugly note.  Boo to that notion.

"If it\'s about my bitching earlier, I went a bit ove\'the top there, really.  I wasn\'t that cold."  Ryanna swallowed back the sudden lump that had formed in her throat, blinking a few times before she found the nerve to look back up at Freddy, who looked all dressed and ready to go.  After everything that had happened at the Gulbrand Farm, Ryanna had not just wanted an escape, she needed on, and it looked as though her escape was running away.  Even if they never fooled around again, Ryanna at least wanted to be friends.  This note wasn\'t really getting them there.

[Existentially Odd]

He was reassuring her and denying that anything was wrong even as she spoke, walking towards her hurriedly but stopping a few steps from her, falling silent as she continued to speak.  He watched her wring her hands and cringed internally, shaking his head and smiling at her as best he could while arguments tumbled from her lips.

"No," he said firmly, when he could get a word in edgewise, reaching a hand out to grasp her upper arm.  "Nothing\'s wrong and I wasn\'t that thrown by your... uh... bitching," he argued with a gentle laugh, having not thought of her protests like that at all.  "It\'s just that... well, you have things to do," he broke off slightly, giving a pointed look at the tub nearby, "and I don\'t want to be in your way."

He trailed off with a shrug and a smile, his gaze sliding away from her eyes and landing on her lips as he continued.  "If I stayed... well, I have to leave sometime, don\'t I?  Might as well be now to... uh, so... well, I need a bath and all as well so... " he blustered, not feeling his words were coming out right but unable to fix it without being blatantly obvious.  He scratched a hand across his scalp nervously, pulling an apologetic face at her as he stood before her, feeling big and foolish.

[Kysis]

"Well...."

He was right.  She had things to do this morning, and even though she was awake earlier than usual, she probably did not have time for everything.  That was her faulty planning though, not any fault of--- damn, but he had a good point.

Slowly, she gave a nod, letting her hands drop to her sides.  Ryanna forced a smile, even if it felt a little fake on her lips. "True.  We both \'ave our days to get to."  She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment while she thought.  Surely there was something else she had to say, something else she needed to add to it.  There had to be.

"We\'ll at least talk to each other again, right?"

That was her main worry, again darting from her mouth before it could be filtered.  Ryanna let out her breath, letting the question cling to the air.  Last night met most of the requirements for the classification of one night stand.  Ryanna just didn\'t like the never seeing the person again part, even if intimacy didn\'t happen again.  It was bothering her, and Ryanna needed to address it now, lest it eat at her all day at work.

[Existentially Odd]

"Oh yes," he assured her, grinning broadly.  "I imagine we\'ll do plenty of talking, after last night."  He leaned down and kissed her cheek - unless she interpreted the move and turned her head to meet him, which he certainly wouldn\'t fight.  Either way, he lingered near her face after the kiss was through, allowing himself the reward of inhaling her scent one last time.

It\'s for the best.  She\'s too young for you, and see?  Even she doesn\'t care if you never do this again, she\'s just checking that the potential for a working relationship isn\'t spoiled, that\'s all you were.  A convenience and a distraction, like always.  Don\'t go on at her.

With a smile and a nod, he turned to gather up his coat and cloak and leave.