A walk in the park

[themascura]

Steele gave Conner a parting look of warning. The boss's gardens were off limits, and everyone who lived here knew that. Just to be on the safe side, though, he turned to look at Krepta.

"The gardens around the back belong to Maximus, our employer. He is very possessive of them, and they are very much so off limits. I'm certain Conner wouldn't take you there, though. He knows the rules." He grinned with false sincerity, gray eyes flat. Conner flushed slowly, an interesting change from his normally pallid skin-tone.

"Wasn't intending to go into Maximus's gardens!" Conner muttered softly under his breath. He threw a sullen, agitated glance toward the big Italian in the pinstripe suit. The Irishman cleared his throat, Adam's apple bobbing, and looked over his shoulder at Krepta.

"Shall we?" He invited the dragoness, bowing and gesturing toward the door with one hand, like an old fashioned gentleman. Steele frowned a little at Conner's dismissive manner. The Irishman might have thought he was getting away with it, but he really wasn't. Steele entirely planned on waiting and then following them at a distance. For now, however, he simply stepped back and watched them with his cold, gray eyes.

[Krepta]

Krepta grimaced along side Conner. She would be glad when they were away from Steele and his stern gazes and hard words. Something about the man unsettled her as well, though still not as much as Lucien. In fact, even Conner set her off a little--- though his benign and friendly nature balanced it enough that she barely notice. What it was though, that was common amongst all three of them, she wasn't sure. Yet another mystery of Timbre Ridge to uncover. This place sure had a lot of secrets... And that many secrets in one place was never good.

For now though, fresh air and sunshine. And that meant now. She shot Steele a warning look and shouldered roughly past him and out into the fresh air, leaving Conner to follow if he so wished. It was time she had sent a clearer message to the gray eyed man, and beyond that, she had had enough stalling! Conner was supposed to be leading, but she found herself forging away as she lumbered grouchily off over the grounds, scaly red bulk swaying as she walked.

"There's a nice little lake I saw not too far from here. Maybe we can go there instead," she answered, "If gardens aren't an option. I'm assuming that's not off limits." She glanced over her shoulder at Steele, and her tone insisted clearly that nothing was off limits to her if she didn't want them to be. She would play their little games for now, and stay away from this Maximus's precious gardens, but they did not want to push her. She hadn't come all this way and survived so much just to be bossed around by a couple of yucks in pinstripe suits. It wouldn't be pretty if they tried.

[themascura]

"Aye, the lake sounds lovely. Much better than the gardens now, fer certain." He nodded, snagging a little wicker basket that was resting beside the door on his way out. The strawberry blonde Irishman practically leaped out of the door, shooting another sullen glare at Steele on his way out.

"'course, the lake is still mostly frozen over a' this time o' year. There are some lovely spots on the river that would be thawed by now. Down next to the waterfall, for instance. It's a lovely little grotto. Stays pretty active year-round. Would be pretty nice right 'bout now. Might even be some flowers bloomin'!" He grinned at his pretty little companion, leading the way up the hill and toward the forest. The trees were still covered in snow, limbs drooping with their burdens. Here and there little bits of water were running down trunks and forming slushy piles between roots. The wind occasionally pushed a branch, knocking more snow loose and tossing it into growing piles on the ground. Between the tracks of snow a small, winding path had been cleared. Someone had obviously been this way recently, and most likely several times.

"I'll be good to get out of the bar anyway. Steele was startin' to bug me." He announced with a conspiratorial little smile over his shoulder, "Don' get me wrong, I would never disrespect the boss... but Steele on the other hand..." He rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh.

"Man seems to think he's our nanny. Always followin' us about and askin' us what we're doin'. God forbid we try to have any fun in his presence."

[Krepta]

Krepta ducked her head, casting one last predatory glare Steele's way before turning away and lifting her head to scent for water. The lake it was, then! She always enjoyed a good swim anyhow, and the cold wouldn't bother her with her high body temperature and thick skin. In fact, sometimes it made her pleasantly sleepy afterwards. A good picnic lunch and a nap in the sun sounded just like what the doctor ordered!

"Oh, I woudn't worry," she replied to Conner, glancing over at him as they walked. "I'll just give the water a nice blast of heat and you'll have a warm patch for a little while. If you want to swim, that is. It'll cool down again fast, but it'll be enough time for a little dip if you want. Or you could fish. I used to fish with a friend of mine. He'd sit on the shore with a net or a pole and I'd drive the fish his way. Then we'd sit and roast them after. It was pretty fun."

Her footsteps were heavy and crunched softly in the new grown underbrush and still melting snow. She breathed in the fresh air and the heady scent of pine loam and felt a weight lifting off her shoulders. There were few things in this world a nice long walk in the woods couldn't cure, this she was sure of. It was just a shame it wasn't later in the year, when it was warmer. She wouldn't mind a little hunt for some blackberries. They never tasted better than when they were wild and right off the bush.

Snorting a little, Krepta nosed aside a low tree branch and cocked her head, bird-like at Conner. "Why do you let him push you around, then. He doesn't seem so tough. A lotta hot air if you ask me. A real pain though, and he's got the leadership skills of a nervous dachshund." She shrugged and raised her head again. They were at the lake. The bright morning light shone cheerful and shimmering off it's mirror-like surface, and here and there stark ice crowded the shore where the water met the forest, quietly jostling up against the dirt like breaking waves.

Water swirled around her head, the rushing of waves and the howl of the wind. Darkness closed over head; there was a tightness in her chest, a crushing weight boring down on her skull. She couldn't breathe! She was drowning! Uttering a low moan, Krepta backed away, shaking her head. As soon as the vision had come, it was gone, but it left her weak, shaking. Doing her best to cover up her sudden weakness, she heaved a sharp cough and butted her good horn against the trunk of a nearby tree. Snow swayed dangerously above, threatening to come down on both their heads. Thankfully, it stayed put.

"I, uh, thought I saw a buck over there. Guess I was hungry. D-do you hunt?" She bit off the stammer with a soft growl, ashamed of herself. Afraid of a little water! What was wrong with her?! She could do this. She could do this. She wasn't a weak little cry baby!

[themascura]

Krepta was cheering up quite nicely now that they were out of the dark, dank bar and far away from the attention she had been getting, Conner thought. She was bounding beside him, discussing warming up the water and fishing. He grinned right back at her, lifting the edge of his basket to reveal the apple pie he had managed to cook and stash before anyone was any the wiser. His collapsed fishing pole was wedged comfortably beside pie.

"I'd like ta try tha' finishin' trick." He responded happily, although he looked at her sideways, wondering if he should ask about the friend she had gone fishing with all the time. He decided that now was a better time than any other... and he could gauge her reaction to his question and decide if he should ever again ask a similar one.

"Your friend?" His voice was most likely tentative sounding, clearly inquisitive but wary of pushing any buttons that did not need pushing. He didn't want to ruin her mood, after all. The friend sounded like fun, though. Roasting fish after catching them was not a trick he had tried. Normally he took them home and put them in a soup. He could feel the warmth in her voice, the pleasure of a good memory. Did this fellow have something to do with the place she had lived before the nexus had swallowed her up?

They rounded the corner to the lake, and for a moment Conner thought he had mistepped badly by asking that question. Her expression darkened noticeably, even for a dragon. She froze, staring at the lake as if lost in thought. She started to shake, he thought, but a moment later she was hitting a tree with her horn and threatening them both with a mini-avalanche. He yelped and held the basket over his head, waiting for a tumble of ice-cold snow to hit him. Thankfully it all stayed put, sparing him a cold shower. He took a deep breath, looking up at her when she mentioned seeing a deer and hunting.

"Aye!" He nodded in response, hot-stepping it away from the trees and their cold burdens, "I prefer to hunt with arrows, though."