Blackwood Grove, Tuesday Evening

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian and Rey'd had a date planned for tonight - nothing major, just some spending a bit of time together. But when he saw the reindeer made of lights wandering through the Grove, he'd had a much, much better idea than just cooking dinner and maybe enlisting her help with making Christmas gifts.

"Do you think telling her to dress warmly will give it away?" he fretted at asked Boston. Boston, who was once again reminded how much energy Lydia-kitty had, opened one weary eye. "Yes," he said. "Telling her to dress warm in December is surely only something one would do if they were up to something."

Adrian scooped up Lydia-kitty, pulling her away from her current favorite toy: Boston's tail. "It's not that cold," he scoffed.

"Spoken like someone who grew up in a forest in Massachusetts," Boston said, letting his eyes drift shut again. "You should tell her to dress warmly. You'll only fuss if you don't."

"Good poi--hey! I don't fuss!"

Boston was not inclined to dignify that nonsense with a response. Not when there was prime napping to be done, and he was going to take advantage of it while Adrian entertained Lydia.

"Oh! Oh! Boston, I know the best way to handle this!" Adrian said, excited. He read off the text he'd just sent Rey. "Don't forget to dress warm--Baby, It's Cold Outside. Get it? Like the Christmas song!"

...If anybody needed Boston, he'd be hiding under a plant in the greenhouse. Emphasis on hiding.

[For the aforementioned date, if you'd be so kind!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

Adrian was welcome to not think it was that cold. Rey however had been in Cold Wimp mode for about a month now, so getting that text meant meant there were additional layers being worn, including the sweater he'd made for her last Christmas. She was excited to see what that text meant, she'd rather not find out while shivering/complaining.

And once she thought she was appropriately prepared, she made her way down to the Grove, knocking at the door.

[witchoftheflesh]

Apologies, Rey, because this was probably not the first, last, or only time he would be Like This about it Not Even Being That Cold. It was a New Englander thing. Forest help them if there had been a thermostat involved.

"Hey," he said, when he opened the door, tugging her inside and shutting the door before giving her a kiss. "Thanks for coming. I'm mulling some cider on the stove if you'd like some."

Apple cider was also a thing. Sorry not sorry, Rey, cider was delicious.

[thatwaslucky]

Cider was a welcome thing! They'd have to work out the cold thing.

"Of course you're mulling cider," she said with a smile and an appreciative kiss for that. "I'd love some."

[witchoftheflesh]

At least his cabin was kept at toasty levels because I'm not nearly a good enough roleplayer for not, so once she was inside, she'd be welcome to take off her coat and a few of those layers. At least until they went back outside again.

Sorry, Rey. Tonight's date involved 'outside.' Hopefully it would be worth it.

"Of course I am," he agreed. "It's part of the original Massachusetts charter; we have to drink so many gallons of cider a year or else we get fined."

You could tell that he didn't really spend any time with New England scalies, or that joke would have been about Dunkins coffee.

He helped her out of her outer layers, grinning brightly when he saw the sweater (and giving her another kiss for that), and then escorting her into the kitchen to ladle out a big ceramic mugful of cider. "How've you been? I ended up staying in the Blackwoods longer than I expected, and didn't get a chance to catch up with you after Thanksgiving."

[thatwaslucky]

"Good," she said, watching him. "I had fun in Connecticut, but I'm glad to be back to normal."

Not that she'd missed him or anything. Crazy talk.

"How's the Blackwood? Everything all right there?"

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian nodded. "I mean, as good as it can be these days. But I ended up finding a guy passed out on the road at the edge of the Blackwood. The old fool had been drunk and dying of frostbite. He would have lost both his feet if I hadn't treated him." He chuckled. "He did not really know how to parse waking up with a man in a witch hat with a cat on his shoulder keeping an eye on him, but he was more grateful than anything, especially when he'd learned that I hadn't called his wife."

[thatwaslucky]

"They would be quite the shock, considering how the rest of his night must have been going," Rey agreed. "That was kind of you."

[witchoftheflesh]

"It's what I do," Adrian said with a kind of soft, quiet pride. "I'm a witch of the flesh. I heal people and nurture the land. It was really nice to get to do both, you know?"

[thatwaslucky]

"I know," she said softly. "I'm glad you got to do it. The extra time was for the best, then."

[witchoftheflesh]

"Yeah," he said, just taking a moment to lean against Rey and appreciate that she did know. It was one of the things he appreciated them having in common, though they expressed it differently.

"So," he said a moment later. "How long before you want to go back outside again?"

[thatwaslucky]

"That depends," she said slowly, and not at all suspiciously. "What are we doing?"

And did she have enough layers?

[witchoftheflesh]

"Going to look at the reindeer lights," he said innocently and not-at-all suspiciously. "Have you seen the reindeer wandering around today? They're gorgeous."

[thatwaslucky]

"I have." Which called into question why she'd need to see them again, but she was curious. What with the lack of suspicion. "I could always take another look."

[witchoftheflesh]

Listen, wandering around and looking at Christmas lights was an acceptable date activity! He had looked it up on the internet to double check!

"Great!" he said. "And we'll get dinner afterwards." He glanced down at her cider. "And we can bring travel mugs so you can stay warm while we're out there."

[thatwaslucky]

"Sounds great," she said, and teased, "It might take me twenty minutes to bundle up again."

That would be ridiculous.

It might take five. Possibly seven. Ten if she went slow.

[witchoftheflesh]

"It's not even that cold!" Adrian protested. Incorrectly. But he was laughing while he said it and also pulling out a long scarf (black, naturally), made of a yarn soft and warm as cashmere. "Here," he offered, holding it out for her. "See if you like this?"

Was this also secretly a test run to see if this would be a good Christmas gift? Maybe!

[thatwaslucky]

"It is too that cold!" Rey protested, but did reach out for the scarf. "This does feel nice."

[witchoftheflesh]

After Rey finished getting otherwise bundled and Adrian helped her wind the scarf around herself (while stealing the occasional kiss, citing that soon enough her face would be covered, so he had to get them in now while he could), and then they headed outside and started wandering deeper into the Grove, Adrian reaching for her hand as they went.

It didn't take them long to find some of the reindeer, white lights twinkling in the darkness of winter twilight. There were many here, gamboling about doing reindeer things, looking like, well, exactly what they were: Christmas decorations come to life.

"I saw them this morning," he said softly, so not to startle the herd. "And thought that if they were pretty then, how much prettier might they look after dark?"

[thatwaslucky]

"They look... well, magical out here," Rey said, just as quietly, happy to pull herself closer to Adrian (for warmth, see) and watch them for a moment. This scene was just better in the quiet.

"Thank you for inviting me down here for this."

[witchoftheflesh]

It really was, and he was glad she understood that, too. They really were on the same wavelength a lot of the time.

"I couldn't think of anyone else I'd want to watch it with more," he said with a smile. And then he looked around. "Huh. Do you know what? I think we can get an even better view if we try."

Yes. This was definitely a spontaneous idea that had just come to him and not at all preplanned.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey raised an eyebrow, and asked, "How's that?"

She wasn't looking around, just at him. Maybe she was thinking about the non-suspicion over this. Maybe she just figured that of course he had a plan.

[witchoftheflesh]

"We could fly?" Adrian said, ultra-casually. "Though, of course, I'd need Bran." He paused, clearly waiting for something.

Nothing happened.

He coughed, and repeated himself a little louder. "Of course, I'd need Bran."

Noises came from the brush to their left and out flew Bran, stopping in front of Adrian, who just sighed at him.

#NailedIt

[thatwaslucky]

Rey laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. She loved when Adrian did something special. It was even better when it was adorable.

"Very handy that he was right there," she said. "Hello, Bran."

[witchoftheflesh]

Bran twirled at Rey in greeting--and then suddenly tipped over, as if it had suddenly lost its animating spark. Just before it hit the ground it stopped. Stopped and changed, the carved wood stretching and moving until it wasn’t a broom at all. It was a raven. A huge wooden raven the size of a car with broom-grass feathers and carved wooden eyes.

"There," Adrian said with no little satisfaction. "I mean, Bran could fit us both, but this way is a little more comfortable and you'll be able to hold on to your cider."

He hopped onto Bran-the-raven's back and held out his hand. "Shall we?"

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had watched that, only looking a little surprised. A tiny, minuscule amount, really.

She also took Adrian's hand with zero hesitation so that she could hop on alongside him. "This is going to be even colder and it's going to be completely worth it."

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian laughed. "I was hoping you'd think so," he said. "I know I said you could hold onto your cider, but you're gonna wanna hold on when we start. He's a little fast."

Rey would be thrilled to note that Bran's broom grass feathers provides a decent amount of insulation, and also stopped the worst of the wind, at least for the parts of her they covered.

"Ready?"

[thatwaslucky]

So happy. She'd be so happy.

"I like fast," she told him, but made sure she was steady (and still holding her cider) before saying, "Ready."

[witchoftheflesh]

She'd barely finished saying the word when Bran shot into the air. Didn't even flap his wings, just shot straight up into the evening sky like a cork. They were high above the trees in an instant and still climbing, and below them the island looked like it was home to hundreds of little glowing stars as they were able to spot more and more of the reindeer ambling across the island in the dark. Finally, Bran stopped rising, high enough that they could not only see the entirety of the island below them, but also the dark ocean and the lights of Baltimore beyond it.

"Fast enough?" he asked, cheeky.

[thatwaslucky]

"Yes," Rey said with a little laugh. She was a pilot. She was into that.

And now that she could really take in the sights from here, she found it fascinating. "I've flown onto the island before, but I've never really been able to look at anything from up here."

[witchoftheflesh]

Bran started making slow, lazy loops in the air now, letting them admire the island from different angles.

"I figure you're probably busy making sure that you're landing okay," Adrian agreed, shifting so he could see her. "Not really getting to take a moment to soak in the beauty."

Was he looking at the island when he said that? Don't be ridiculous, of course he wasn't.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey glanced over at him, maybe- maybe- blushing a little.

"This is by far the most romantic thing anyone's ever done for me," she told him. Not that there had been many options for anyone to do anything like this, but her point stood.

[witchoftheflesh]

"So what you're saying is that I'm only competing with myself from now on?" he teased, holding his arm up in invitation for her to come cuddle closer. "I don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for me."

[thatwaslucky]

She set the cider down, happy to accept that invitation to slip under his arm. "I'm not sure. I know it's great for me," she grinned.

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian nudged Bran to shift directions slightly, heading away from the island. "Well, I guess I can't be too upset in that case," he said. "I've met my competition he seems pretty soft."

[thatwaslucky]

"May the best man win," she teased. "Though I'm rooting for you."

That was dorky. And she did not care, she was really happy right now.

[witchoftheflesh]

"At least I've got that going for me," Adrian said, and then gave her a suspicious look. "Hey. You're not gonna say the same thing to him, are you?"

Absolutely dorky, yes. But still fun.

And yes, happy.

[thatwaslucky]

Rey smiled. "I would never. You really are my favorite," she said, giving him a kiss. And just staying there for a moment. Reveling in it a little.

[witchoftheflesh]

It was a good moment to revel in as they lazily flew over the Bay towards Baltimore. "That is lucky for me," he said with a smile.

And then kissed her.

[thatwaslucky]

She smiled against his lips, bringing her hand up so she could stroke his jaw with her thumb while she kissed him back.

She stayed close when she pulled back, murmuring, "How do you think we're doing at 'pretty casual?'"

She wasn't trying to complicate things. She worried about that a lot, actually. She was worried about ruining this with that right now. But if she was crazy, she really needed to know.

[witchoftheflesh]

"I..." Adrian sighed, taking his hand through his hair. "Not...great?" he admitted. "But the things we talked about originally are still there."

[thatwaslucky]

"I know," Rey assured him. "And I'm still okay with that."

She loved it less than she did then, but she knew what the reality was.

"You just make me really happy."

[witchoftheflesh]

"You make me happy, too," he said. "But...happy doesn't stand up to our responsibilities."

[thatwaslucky]

Yep, shouldn't have said anything.

"I know. I know how this goes, even if I don't like thinking about it. But until then," she said firmly, "I'm happy."

[witchoftheflesh]

"Me too," he said quietly. "I'm happy now. I'm a Witch of the Present, it's when I live. And I'm happy now."

[thatwaslucky]

"I'm usually terrible at that," she admitted, giving him a light kiss. He'd heard about her past. He knew. "But I think I'm doing pretty well here."