Sylvie sat down next to him and put an arm around his shoulders, pulled him close. Her other hand reached for his face. There were tears in her eyes, but she gave Sebastian a warm smile. "We'll see how this turns out. Eventually."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
<em>Why do you want me to decide other people's fate?</em> was what Sylvie had meant, but Sebastian's words freed her from having to ask. She took the half step towards Sebastian, her shoulders dropping, and stroked his hair. She closed her eyes, and leaned back her head briefly, sighing. "I want us to go home. I agree."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
The first answer drew an almost-amused snort from Sylvie; she knew that would be a challenge and accepted it. The other... She sighed and shook her head. "And why are you so obsessed with making people decide other people's lives for them?"by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie had faced down the heads of her school over the matter of being allowed to leave, and those people had earned her respect. With the goddesses, her anger was strong enough to cover most of her fear. But that, now, worried her. "What repercussions?"by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"One thing must be absolutely clear. No games. No added complications to make a more amusing show."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"A month ago, I might have tossed a coin." Sylvie smiled lopsidedly. "What are the terms if we agree to work for you two?"by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie smiled at him, but let her breath go in a soft sigh. Back to being the strange foreigner. Well, one of two, now; if that made things better or worse remained to be seen. "All right. Can't hide forever."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Later, during the suggested second bath, Sylvie demonstrated that fishing with your hands was a whole lot easier if you could cast out a net of magic that prodded the fish you wanted into your direction. Putting big questions aside and focusing on the present helped her relax, as did Sebastian's company. Mind at peace, not harried by events or inhibited by worries about reactions fromby Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
And he made her laugh. "Look and touch all you want, love." She kissed the tip of his nose and nudged him gently to go on to actually dry ground. Maybe they could keep it together long enough to check they didn't end up on an ant nest, oreven put down the bedroll.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie kept moving, until she was almost nose-to-nose with him, at which point she went to drape her arms around his neck. But, well, he had asked, and that might just be a good thing. "Maybe a <em>little</em> less... manhandling?" She smiled, her voice was soft, and when she went on she sounded amused, gently mocking them both, or maybe only herself. "I need to get useby Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Well, that was another method to cause tingly feelings. She really did not need to be dragged.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
A chuckle underlying her words, she said, "On dry land, please."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Just for a moment she feared she had misjudged things, but then all was good. His heartbeat relaxed her. She was tempted to sink into a deeper trance that would let her feel that rhythm and the warmth of Sebastian's blood all through her body, but it did not seem to be the place. She leaned close to his ear and whispered, "I'm getting cold."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"I don't think I need one." Sylvie's hands were still on his shoulders, and she let her feelers emerge from her palms and fingers, not doing anything but sinking under his skin and sensing, but from what he had said, he should pick up on it. It was far from usual behaviour from her, but they seemed close enough now.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"I sure hope so." She smiled, a bit mischieveously. "I promise I won't run away from you unless you get way too crazy. And I'll warn you first."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
<em>There goes that bit of work, then. Oh, well.</em> "Good."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
After a second's confusion, Sylvie lunged and grabbed for his shoulders, momentarily pulling both of them under. Her first words back in the were, "Don't you dare run off on me after that!" She was grinning, but there was genuine feeling behind it.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
She straightened up and looked at him, surprised and puzzled. "Yes." It sounded a little like a question, because she wasn't entirely sure if he meant "I love you", or wanted to start a philosophical discussion, or what.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"I'm not sure. What do you have?"by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"That I believe," she muttered, and steered herself with a few strokes closer to land, where she could stand on the ground - slightly slippery rocks and nests of gravel between them - and keep her head above water. Trusting Sebastian wasn't drowning himself, she turned to face the gentle current, leaned back, and combed her hair with her fingers.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"Just a tiny bit maybe," she answered, smiling a little nervously. "Bad timing for breathing on my side." She raked her own hair back with her fingers and hit on something to try to bridge the awkward moment. "Could you maybe later braid my hair? I could leave it for a few days and not worry about tangles."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
A bit too startled by that last trick, Sylvie pushed herself off him. When she surfaced again, treading water - a bit more than armslength away from Sebastian, but not out of reach - she coughed once or twice and snorted repeatedly.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
It was promptly hit by a splash of water. Sylvie snorted and laughed. "You're crazy." Not that she minded this kind of crazy.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie gave another laugh before holding her breath and dropping the rest of the way and into his arms. Still grinning she said, "Scared off the fish, you!"by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
That surprising display of enthusiasm got the all-out laugh out of Sylvie he had been fishing for the day before. Still chuckling she walked to the water's edge and made sure there was no sign of anybody else being in the area before starting to undress herself. She just walked into the stream, submerging slowly to get used to its temperature, when Sebastian surfaced. "Were yby Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
They followed the valley, sometimes on narrow paths that were clearly more often used by deer than people. Following the water should take them towards the river, which flowed in the general direction they were headed. It was slow going on the soft and fragrant forest soil, but at least they headed more south than east, not back into the area affected by the unnatural rain. They did not talkby Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"I think I do. I also think what we should be after right now is breakfast." Not teasing him, instead maybe a little apologetic. The fact of the matter was that half-formed thoughts about power and the lack thereof churned in her head, leaving her off-balance and uncomfortable.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie didn't have it in her to make the obvious joke about leaving some energy for other things. Instead, she leaned in for a kiss.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
Sylvie slung one arm around Sebastian's shoulders and leaned back a bit so she could get a better view of his face. "I want to go home, and I want to be with you. And I want both of us to be sane."by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie
"If Lady Land didn't mean we'd agreed to the whole deal already, that makes sense, yes." What she really wanted right now was time and peace and quiet so they could sort themselves out properly.by Anke - Sebastian and Sylvie