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

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

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. )

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Oh?

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

I am not... an able swimmer.

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?

( 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

( 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. )

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.]

( 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?

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?

A walk by the docks. No swimming, I think, without sufficient devices ( she adds, gently teasing, as she catches Cosima's hand with her own. The docks aren't too far, and the moon is shining bright. ) You'll be back to your lab in ample time.

Sounds good to me. [She laces their fingers together, giving Herian's palm a squeeze for good measure.] Fair warning, I'm still no help if we get mugged.

[Kirkwall jokes!]

Fear not. You can protect me from the water, and I will protect you from those with less than noble intentions.

( Well. A little tilt of her head to the side, and she lightly continues, ) Unless a kiss from myself would be counted as "less than noble," and then there is every likelihood I will fail in my cause.

I think if the kiss comes from you, it automatically counts as 'noble intentions.'

[Because come on.]

Even if not, I won't tell.

( She laughs at that - can't help it, really, and glances sidelong at Cosima. )

I suspect you may grant me more credit than I deserve.

( Herian stops walking, for a moment, and gently tugs Cosima's hand to urge her towards a staircase, leading up to a higher vantage point. )

[She follows without hesitation.]

Believe me, I'm not actually known for cutting people who don't deserve it a break.

Good.

( She stops walking once they're at the top of staircase, but not quite stepped out into the moonlight that bathes the walkway. There's almost an abruptness to it, and yet, its more like coming back to this same pull that they've been skirting around, and maybe that makes it less abrupt and more like determination not to be swayed from the point, as she considers Cosima. )

I must confess I-- thought often of you when I was away. Enough to render doing what I want to close to intimidating, lest I commit some miss-step.

Oh my god, Herian.

[She smiles, crooked and warm.]

Look, it only has to be perfect if you only plan to do it once. No pressure.

[Unless Herian plans to only kiss her the once, Cosima supposes.]

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