( closed. ) I don't wanna always play nice

[dashing]

WHO: Herian Amsel & Cosima Niehaus
WHAT: Theeere you see her, sitting there across the way—
WHEN: a vague span of time in which Herian is deeply frustrating.
WHERE: A TAVERN. maybe other places.
NOTES: Herian is still Herian, unfortunately.

( Herian is not late. It would be a rare occurrence, although she remembers Cosima's own inclination to fashionably delayed arrivals. As a result she is unconcerned as she waits at a table in the corner, pressing a metal spoon to her slightly swollen and bruised lip. Her eyes are closed, head tipped back against the wall, and then her hand closes around the wrist of a stranger. )

Do not, ( she warns, and sure enough the man retreats, leaving the jug of wine undisturbed. It's breathing, or something.

Herian, for her part, could probably be feeling better for something that she's been looking forward to, but that means she probably shouldn't have sparred with Coupe, and that is not a compromise she would have made happily. The injury isn't bad, but she has been broody. Best to try and set it aside.

She is, however, very much considering setting aside her usual inclination away from wine to indulge. It seems the day for it. )

Comments

[youwonscience]

Hm.

[She tilts her head to one side, considering.]

No, fair. Besides, your jawline sort of speaks for itself, doesn't it?

[dashing]

( Her brow quirks. Quietly, just a hint of dryness:)

Was that a compliment, or a terrible play on words?

[youwonscience]

[She bursts out laughing.]

Oh god, totally the former. The pun was 100% accidental.

[dashing]

I'll allow you the benefit of the doubt - this time.

( Her severity is dramatised, and undermined by the smile that Cosima's laughter has drawn out. )

But be careful, too many compliments and I'll be all too easily swayed by your opinion.

[youwonscience]

I'll definitely keep that in mind. I'd hate to exert, uh, undue influence.

[Smiling this much probably counts as undue influence, given Cosima's smile.]

[dashing]

( It certainly has the terrible tendency to make Herian smile more, that's for sure. In fact, it could almost be considered beaming, the smile she flashes Cosima now. )

I think you might find yourself leading people with your goodness, even without the intention of it.

[youwonscience]

Well, I mean, if I end up hanging up with notorious scoundrels, I look virtuous by default. You've uncovered my cunning plan.

[dashing]

And who are these notorious scoundrels?

( So very scandalised, so very teasing. Her hand rests over her heart as she reels. )

Have you need of rescue from their depravity?

[youwonscience]

I mean, I was just kind of generally counting Kirkwall. You've been to the Hanged Man?

[dashing]

One knight against a city entire does sound worthy of an epic. I hope you'll be suitably impressed.

( And a quiet laugh, as she sips her wine. )

I'm not sure I can truly say I've been to Kirkwall until I have visited that tavern.

[youwonscience]

That's the word on the street.

[She sits back a little, pleased to have made Herian laugh.]

I've gotta admit, I like being in a city. I'm better at cities by the ocean than fortresses in the mountains.

[dashing]

I— did not realise my own fondness for cities until I had returned to them. They hold so much worthy of caution but— it is amazing thing, to think of all the lives that twine together in a city. Countless stories and ideals and desires, all wound around each other.

( Herian realises she has gotten quieter, more pensive, and she huffs out a breath. ) Although I prefer heights to the water, to a degree.

[youwonscience]

Really? I guess I'm partial, since I grew up on a boat. [Hopefully Herian will be slightly less outraged than Araceli was that Cosima did not bring this fact up immediately upon introduction.] But a boat harbored by a city.

[dashing]

Oh?

( Herian's torn about the impending confession, perhaps it's a little evident. )

I am not... an able swimmer.

[youwonscience]

Oh no, [Cosima says, laughing, not unkind.] Look at us, a bird and a fish, trying to find a common ground. Do you not like water, or just never learned?

[dashing]

( Her smile is a little sheepish, as she sips her wine and then leans forward against her arms. )

Never learned. There were no large bodies of water in the alienage, and then I was in the Circle. I don't-- dislike, I simply take care not to stray too far in without due cause. ( And, somewhere between bravado and deliberate absurdity, ) Perhaps in the moment a revelation would happen upon me, and I'd prove myself quite talented in the art.

[youwonscience]

They say instinct is a very powerful force, [pseudo-serious in the extreme.]

But if you don't want to trust to that, I could totally teach you. If you wanted.

[dashing]

You could? How very gallant.

( Hmm, but she really has to agonise over that decision. )

To risk drowning, or to spend time in your company... a grave dilemma.

[youwonscience]

Okay, that's terrible, I wouldn't let you drown. There'd be, I don't know, safety precautions.

[dashing]

Safety precautions.

( it should be a question, but it isn't, more like an assessment. Gently incredulous, gently testing it all out.

What incredulity is there is playful, mind, perhaps given away by her smile as she lists slightly closer, and lightly trials her fingertips along Cosima's jaw.

She could lean forward, could move even closer, but she doesn't. ) Then I will entrust myself to your care.

[youwonscience]

If we were in my world, I'd get you these little devices that strap to your arms filled with air. It's what you use to teach young children, but there's gotta be an adult version.

[For Herian's dignity, probably best there's no direct equivalent here.

She leans into Herian's touch, just a little.]

I wouldn't let anything happen to you.

[dashing]

( Its very charming, that little promise. Herian draws closer, fingers resting against Cosima's skin and she's almost close enough to kiss her, when-- )

Devices for children? You'd compare my abilities to a child?

( It seems to only just register. Not indignant or offended, so much as bemused. Now, in this moment, she was just compared to an infant.

Really. )

[youwonscience]

Strictly in your capacity as a novice swimmer, [she says, immediately.]

I promise, I've definitely noticed you're not a child.

[If it sounds like an invitation, it's meant to.]

[dashing]

( Herian is very aware that sounds like an invitation, and yet she is equally aware that she'd rather kiss Cosima when she isn't in danger of laughing, or being distracted by further contemplations of really.

So she leans back in her chair, arms crossed and quirks her brow. That, apparently, was defeat snatched from the jaws of victory, though maybe the very amused shift of Herian's demeanor would have softened the blow somewhat. Maybe. A little.

The hours stretch out, and eventually, Herian is holding open the door for them to exit back through the door they entered by, heavy and wooden and leading them to the summer air. ) Do you have need to return to your quarters direct?

[youwonscience]

Uh, no, not really. I mean, I should probably turn up at the lab sometime while it's still daylight tomorrow, but other than that my schedule's wide open.

[She doesn't quite know what to make of it -- the way Herian keeps pulling back when they get close. But regardless, she's still glad of Herian's company, and in no particular hurry to be rid of it.]

What did you have in mind?