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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:28:26 GMT -5
Rosalie raised an eyebrow at him. "Trying? Who said anything about trying?" She smiled playfully at him, "I happen to be very comfortable in these", she made as if to sound mockingly offended, "if I'm distracting you, well so much the better." She began opening and closing cabinets, pulling seemingly random items from the shelves. Measuring cups, flour, eggs, "I hope mum remembered to get the...yes!" She pulled a bag of onions down from a cabinet beside the stove. She needed the sauce pan now, but the sauce pan was in the cabinet above the stove. She managed to get the cabinet open, but even standing on her toes she couldn't quite reach the pan in question. She returned to her flat feet and sighed before turning to Taranis. "Would you mind getting that pan down for me?" she motioned to the saucepan. "Its rather important if we're going to have any sauce tonight."
When he asked her to describe the pasta, she smiled, and obliged even as she continued pulling ingredients. "The recipe is actually pretty simple, there's just a lot to it." She pointed to the saucepan. "I mix tomato paste, some white onion, garlic, black pepper, and.." She paused as if trying to remember "black olives! That's it! Anyways, I mix all that into the sauce pan and let it simmer while I roll the pasta, which is stuffed with three different kinds of cheese by the way." She ticked them off on her fingers. "Ricotta, cheddar and...where is the parmesan?" She frowned, glancing around the kitchen to see if it might have been left out somewhere. Her expression said she obviously hadn't found it. "Let me go ask mum", she said after a few moments. She pushed the door to the sitting room open.
"Mum, where is the...Concerto no!" Her kitten was currently laying on his back, paws up, gnawing on one of her favorite Christmas ornaments, an enchanted train that circled around a miniature hogwarts' castle. Her parents had bought it during the Christmas of her first year. She padded over and dislodged his claws from the offending ornament, and pulled him into her arms. "Mum, where is the parmesan?" Her mum, looking mildly frustrated at having her concentration broken, responded rather distractedly. "Its in the pantry dear, second shelf." Had her mother been paying attention, she would have seen her daughter shaking her head as she returned to the kitchen, cat in tow. She offered the ball of fluff to Taranis. "Taranis Summerby meet Concerto, he was trying to chew his way through the Christmas ornaments so I thought I'd bring him in here." She went to the pantry, and sure enough, the parmesan sat as cool as you please. Ingredients gathered, she turned the oven on and waited for it to heat.
In the mean while, she took opened the bag of flower and dusted her hands. "To keep the dough from sticking", she explained, a moment later, she added: "Would you like to help?"
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:29:51 GMT -5
Claiming she wasn't trying to distract him, but not turning around to get after him about looking, she continued pulling out ingredients and he watched, enjoying the fact her outfit slid over her curves as she stretched to get things. He was almost disappointed when she asked him to get a pan down; the door had pulled the outfit rather taunt really. "Of course, Ree-love. I'll make sure to keep the kitchen cabinets a bit lower in the mansion just for you." he smiled, not making a comment about her height as much as saying he wouldn't forget this part of kitchen design. The recipe sounded simple, but one thing confused him about her statement. "Now I thought pasta was spaghetti? How can you possibly stuff that? or are there more names for pasta then that?" Hearing it was a cheese dish (and apparently no meat or real vegetables in it) his eyebrows rose, even as his mouth watered at the sound of what his tongue was expecting. "Hmm! Sounds good! Now, can you stuff it with other stuff too? Or is it cheese cause that's all that will work in it?" He watched as she found one item missing and went to ask her mother, returning with a shaking head and a kitten. Surprised as she handed him the tiny thing, he held out his fingers for the cat to smell first and then rubbed his head awkwardly. "My first cat experience where the cat isn't out to get students in trouble." As he shuffled him in his hands he attacked his tail like it was the world's best toy and he played with him for a moment, amused at the play. He did, however, get a claw in one finger and pulled his paw out rapidly and set him down on the floor. "Wow, those are sharp little claws..."Leaning off the counter he came over and said "Sure, I can try. Be sure and let me know when I'm screwing up more then helping though. Mom has traditional thoughts about my sisters helping learn kitchen stuff while I do the other outdoors stuff."
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:31:12 GMT -5
She blushed, but she wasn't sure why. She was touched by his thoughtfulness, if a bit embarrassed by her lack of height. She paused in her preparations, long enough to grin up at him, looking very much like she was trying hard not to laugh. She looked as though she were trying to decide which of his questions to answer first. She took a deep breath, and began explaining. "There are several different kinds of pasta, some you can stuff and some you can't. You're right, if its possible to stuff spaghetti I don't know how" she agreed. "But there's also ravioli, manicotti, and several other types of pasta that are in the pasta shell category. Still pasta, but hollow inside to allow for stuffing." Which brought her to his next question. "Logically you could stuff a pasta shel with just about anything, from cheese or mushrooms to lobster", she shrugged, "I've ony had lobster pasta once, I prefer the cheesy kind."
She smiled at his reaction to Concerto. "You can help me bottle feed him later if you like. He's still not quite big enough to drink on his own yet." She nodded to his claws comment, pointing out a line across the underside of her arm. "I got that for waking him up from a nap on my pillow", she explained. "He seems to think he owns my bed." She pulled the red ribbon she'd taken from her desk out of her hair and dangled it in front of Concerto, who batted at it happily, mewing his approval. "He's precocious, but mum says he gets it from me." She gave the kitten an affectionate pat on the head before she dropped the ribbon over his nose. He continued to slide it around on the floor, unaware of his audience. "Mum suggested getting him declawed, but I did some research on it and convinced her to change her mind. Did you know they break a cat's knuckles when they declaw them?" She looked disturbed by the idea. "We made a deal, he could keep his claws if I agreed to be the one to cut them every two weeks." She wrinked her nose at the writhing ball of fluff.
She shrugged, "I found him wandering around the pitch one day, I think something happened to his mother." She looked thoughtful, remembering. "Did you know the elves actually have a bunch of nursing bottles on hand?" She shook her head, "I didn't have the nerve to ask what they used them for." She shook her head, the memory still gave her pause. What could a bunch of elves need with nursing bottles? She was sure now, as she had been then, that she really didn't need to know. "Making the dough is easy", she assured him, "its just flour, water, and a bit of egg." She turned to grin mischievously at him, "but it does tend to get a bit..." she wiped her hand across his face, leaving a trail of white powder in her wake, "Messy."[/quote]
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:32:23 GMT -5
He really didn't realize how little he knew about food. Being poor and out in the country their recipes were limited, though satisfying and perfect for his long work outside, filled with what he needed to keep going. Farm food was good wholesome stuff which was also simple to make often. He had always thought the stuff at Hogwarts was good and tasty, but didn't ask for it at home really, maybe somewhere down deep he knew his mother could do it but it would have stretched the money they needed for other things. No, his mother was an excellent cook, but he wasn't about to add stress to her shoulders when he was already taking up the rest of her load to make her life easier. Knowing Rosalie knew how to cook and her father thought she did very well relieved his mind on yet another background worry, even if she didn't do foods he was familiar with. That was hardly something to worry about really! Still, as she spoke he realized how little he knew about even one kind of food! "Wow, you know a lot about pasta! This a family thing I take it? Or just you?" Lobster? Sheeze, he'd only heard about that stuff and she'd had it before in something he'd never even heard of before. A bit more uncertainty entered his mind as he thought about how much different their lives were, even as he knew they could make things work out. But how much was she giving up by choosing to be with him? It hardly seemed fair to her really. Rather then show the darker turn his thoughts were taking however, he concealed them to think about later on at night and listened as she spoke about the cat. "Done the nursing thing, but with a calf from one of our neighbors. Long as he doesn't sink his claws in me while he's drinking we'll get along just fine. he'd probably think the entire manor house was his personal property," he said with a smile. The idea of cutting claws didn't seem bad, though he could understand her worries about cat claws. "I know my neighbors have to do stuff to their animals, the goats, to keep their horns from being too dangerous for them to handle.""Never cared for it much, but raising them with the horns can be really nasty injuries along the cliff face." Poor cat, broken knuckles? Ick. Fortunately he hadn't found any issues with the alpacas yet like that. The news that the elves were nursing something did make him a bit worried too. "Really? Oh now that's not a good thought. Maybe they were only keeping them around for that games keeper." While she spoke about making the dough he held out his hands for her to flour them or whatever it was she had done, but then she got him across the face instead. His eyes flickered up to meet hers. "Now Rosalie. You realize you are tempting me with a food fight in your parent's kitchen with them feet away with something which will show my hand prints quite clearly on your clothes? Think about that for a second and the reaction that would come afterwards..." His eyes glinted as he thought about how her mother would feel about a big hand print on her daughter's ass after he spanked her.
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:33:50 GMT -5
She smiled, he was easily impressed, but Merlin he was good for her confidence. She tried to give him a nonchalant expression, somewhat ruined by the glowing smile on her face. "Just me I guess", she answered. "I like Italian cooking, there's so much room to experiment and alter, almost like potion making but with less explosions if you do something incorrectly." She saw the concerned look on his face, and while she couldn't be sure exactly what he was thinking, given the topic of conversation, she could guess. She stopped gathering for a moment, and turned to face him. "None of that", she said simply. "I like simple things, Taranis, you can't hold it against me that I 've been raised a certain way, it isn't fair." She knew he probably considered her somewhat spoiled, which didn't really offend her because she was the first to admit she was...just a little...sort of. Still, having the notion that her life might be a bit charmed and worrying himself over the ramifications if they got engaged were two completely separate principles. One she could deal with, the other she refused to, it was that simple.
She was glad when the topic shifted. "He shouldn't. I usually cradle him so he can't. He's rather content to be treated like a baby, though dad says I spoil him." She shrugged, "I'd say he deserves a little spoiling after what he's been through." She also thought he wasn't the only one, but knew Taranis would disagree vehemently if she said it. They could be very good for each other, she thought. He'd teach her the value of hard work and perserverance, and she'd teach him the value of learning to relax and appreciate what life had to offer. If they could make it work, it seemed a worthwhile combination for both of them. The image of her trying to nurse a calf the way she nursed Concerto made her chuckle. "I don't know how well I'd handle a calf, but I'm not too bad with a cat." She nodded, she could just picture Concerto perched on one of the fireplaces taking a nap, or taking over the window seat. "Probably", she agreed, "he tends to think he's king of everything, or at least the prince." She leaned down to scratch the kitten's ears affectionately. He was distracted, but only momentarily. He paused in his game long enough to nuzzle Rosalie's hand a moment before he batted it as well.
She pulled it back, and wrinkled her nose at Taranis with a smile on her face. "See what I mean?" The idea of nursing something with horns made her decidedly nervous. She tried to picture it, and found she didn't want to. "Claws are bad enough", she shuddered lightly, "I can't imagine getting caught by something's horns." His statement about the flour made her blushed six shades of crimson. "Taranis!" the word came out like a scolding, but in a whisper so her parents wouldn't hear. She swatted in his direction, while looking at the floor so as to regain her calm. When she did look up, it was to grin. "I would also point out that flour comes Out of clothes rather easily", she gave him a mischeivous grin. She pointed to a spot on his collar where she'd unintentionally given him a flour bath. She crept over to the sink slowly, pulling the sprayer out that she used for doing dishes. She held it in front of her like a weapon. "Want me to show you?"
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:35:12 GMT -5
He saw her smile and knew he wasn't doing too bad at encouraging her either, something his mother had always told him was very important in a relationship, even one as odd as this one had started. "Well you got me beat. I barely have any time to learn it at home, but you seem to have it down well enough. Heck, your parents don't even stand in here to keep an eye on you. My sisters are not that advanced I suspect." Heck, she could experiment all she wanted as far as he was concerned. He might not know a lot about different kinds of foods, but if she made good food he wasn't going to complain. "I suspect mom will want to teach you some of her recipes anyway eventually, afraid you won't know how to keep me fed," he chuckled. The cat was cute and he would need cats in the barns eventually, but this was no barn cat, but a house one. "Heh, well he's not like the barn cats I know. But then again he seems to really like the attention so I suspect I could get very used to having him around." While she had the cat distracted he picked up the ribbon and distracted the cat again for a few before he jumped to get it out of his hand and he hastily let go. "Hey now! Not my fingers again!" "Calves are not bad. When they're first born you can bottle feed them sitting down before they learn to walk and then after you do it through bars on the pen. You mostly have to keep hold of the bottle which is kind of hard. They...have a lot more strength then you would think when it comes to food." That was true with most animal he suspected indeed. He ducked away from her swing though and laughed out loud, not bothering to keep his voice down. Her parents would want to know they weren't too quiet after all. "now now, you want to not get too active, you are making dinner after all. We can't use magic to clean everything up."Since she hadn't floured his hands he got off what she had smeared on his face with the back of one hand. Eyeing the water thing he stepped back away and said "I think I'll wait till we're done for any demonstrations. After all, you are likely to make more mess with me just to use that thing again." He stuck his tongue out at her again with a grin. This was fun so far...
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:37:17 GMT -5
She smiled, appreciating both the compliment and the humor in his tone. "I like to think I'm not half bad at it", she answered, "but I'm also a bit older than your sisters. Mum didn't trust me alone in the kitchen when I was their age either." She began flattening the dough. "Now all we have to do is cut, stuff, and fold it. Then, after we get the water boiling for the shells we can start on the sauce." She demonstrated what she meant as she spoke. "You can't add too much cheese, the shells will bust", she warned him. She paused a moment before adding, "trust me on that." She heard a scratching noise and turned to look, Concerto was on his hind legs, scratching furiously at the door. She smiled, shook her head, and motioned to Taranis. "His highness has decided he's done gracing us with his presence. Would you mind letting him out?" She had to resist the urge to laugh when Concerto excitedly jumped for the ribbon. "Yeah, he does that, a lot."
She returned to the counter. "Can't keep you fed? We'll see about that!" She grinned, "although I wouldn't mind adding some of your mother's recipes to my box, nothing wrong with some variety." She pulled a knife from a drawer nearby and began cutting the dough into rather large squares. "I can imagine", she nodded, "Concerto's the same way, but he's small enough to handle." Momentarily distracted by the conversation, she hadn't been paying as much attention to the knife in her hand. "I think maybe it might be fun to tr-Ouch!" She looked down, sure enough she'd knicked her finger, without thinking, she stuck it in her mouth, then blushed. Going over to the sink, she ran water over it before turning to Taranis. "I'm such a klutz", she lamented. "Let me go see if mum will heal it for me, I'll be right back."
She disappeared into the sitting room, her parents had finished their chess game, and were currently on the couch, making out. "Mum! Dad! Eww!" Her parents sprung apart like two teenagers caught on a first date. "Sorry dear", her father's grin was playful. "I couldn't help myself", he winked. Rose shook her head at them. "Mum, would you mind healing this for me? I had a bit of an accident with the knife." Her mother's attention went from Rosalie's face to her finger. She nodded, frowning. "You've got to pay more attention when you're using sharp objects Rose", she scolded, but not unkindly. She took her wand from a side table and waved it over Rosalie's hand. The skin healed unmarked, and Rose smiled, "thanks mum", she practically skipped back into the kitchen, missing both her parents' amuse expressions. "She gets it from you you know", her mother commented. Her father nodded, smiling, "that she does."
She returned to the kitchen, "good as new", she smiled. "So? We clean it up the old fashioned way!" But she willingly put the sprayer back in its holder. "You're no fun!" she stuck her tongue out at him.
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:38:39 GMT -5
She took over flattening the dough as he watched, showing him what she was doing and how. Clearly she would also be a good teacher if she wanted to be, though he already knew that some from things she had showed him in the past that she had learned he had not. Not all of their classes were the same and over the years they had traded tidbits back and forth from what they were learning. Looking towards the cat he said "Sure, I can do that," and walked over to let him out. The kitten was half-distracted by the ribbon then darted out the door instead. He rolled up the ribbon and slipped it in his pocket without thinking about it, since her hands were in dough as he recrossed the room to where she was. He saw her cut herself and stepped forward to say something, but she was too quick for him, mentioning her mother healing it. As she slipped out he wondered, suddenly startled by the thought if either of them had any healing skills beyond Quidditch ones. He knew how to patch up the small stuff like cuts and small breaks and how to get someone to a healer fast. But he didn't have any real healer's skills per say beyong the basics. Every Quidditch player had to learn those fast enough. He heard her say loudly eww and turned to look at the door and wondered if he should go out there, but she was back fast enough. After she put the washer attachment away he said "Um, Rose? I heard you get upset about something out there. Everything okay?" After she explained her laughed softly and said "We must be rubbing off on them, having two teenagers around has them thinking too much. Well now I know I have to be extra careful not to try and distract you in the kitchen so that will be one place I have to keep my hands to myself, is that right?" He stepped behind her and slipped his arm around her middle from behind as she stood there and spoke softly in her ear, hinting at the kisses she had had by letting his breath touch her ear. "So....this is a no-no I take it then?" He was carefully doing it now that the knife was down on the counter, wondering how she would react.
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:40:03 GMT -5
Taranis looked like he was thinking about something serious when Rosalie returned to the kitchen, she wondered what it was, but didn't have time to ask before he asked a question of his own. She laughed, "not upset, per se", she ammended. "Mum and dad were being teenagers on the couch", she shuddered lightly and shook her head. "Maybe, but really, they're always like that, have been for as long as I can remember and probably much longer." She blushed, but she wasn't sure why. "Well, at least until I get a bit more confident in the kitchen", she corrected him softly. "It might be a good idea." No sooner had she spoken than he was standing behind her, one arm around her waist. She could feel his breath on her neck as he spoke softly, and the warmth she felt at his closeness had nothing to do with body heat.
Her hand, which had previously been reaching for the knife on the counter to continue with the dough, hesitated, and finally relaxed on the counter's edge. She leaned back slightly, relaxing into him. She was having trouble articulating her thoughts. "When I...have a knife in my hand...it might be...a bad idea." She felt frustrated with her speaking difficulties, he was entirely too good at this game. She turned, so that she could look into his eyes, her own twinkling. "However as I don't happen to have a knife at the moment, I think we're both safe." She draped her arms loosely around his neck. Was this what domestic bliss felt like? The thought made Rosalie smile. She had surprised him when he'd offered to help. While her father was often in the kitchen while her mother cooked, it was mostly to be a distraction, the way Taranis was being now. Maybe, she thought somewhat idealistically, if they did have to get married, it might be more like her parents than they'd originally thought.
She resisted the urge to shake her head, there were too many things wrong with that thought process. One: the ultimate goal was to not have to get married. Two: her parents were madly in love, she and Taranis were a couple of teenagers who, while admittedly possessing enough chemistry to blow up a potions lab, were not in any way shape or form in love. Sure, she loved him, but being physically close to him still made her nervous. Every step they took was shaky ground for her, anxious, uncertain, though admittedly very enjoyable. Her thoughts warred with each other, and she knew he could probably read that fact in her eyes. She didn't know what she'd say if he asked her about it. She felt as though she was being pulled between being an adult and being a child, warring between going as far as they could as fast as they could and running screaming in the other direction. Curse him for doing this to her! Well, not curse, maybe just hex.
She could understand with new clarity the emotional rollarcoaster her friends had experienced in their relationships. Things she had waved off as trivial emotional reactions now gained not only sympathy, but empathy. He was still looking at her, she should say something. "Oh, um...hi." She looked up at him apologettically, blushing. "Sorry, I got a little carried away in my thoughts." She knew the grin would come before she actually saw it, that knowing look that told her he understood. His face was fast becoming one of the most familiar things in her world. She wondered absently if she would ever feel that way about the rest of him, and then her eyes widened, surprised by the direction of her own thoughts. She needed a way to distract him...but how? She could kiss him, but given her confusion over that particular topic at the moment, best not. She settled with, "So what is it you're used to eating?"[/quote]
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:41:47 GMT -5
Maybe it was hearing he parents were feeling romantic which got him thinking about it, but he truly had only meant to tease her with distraction, not so much move it to another level. Her parents were, after all, in the next room and he wasn't going to push anything in this house at the very least! When she spoke it was clear he was getting her distracted very well too; he was glad he did it before she had reached for the knife! "I don't think I would ever do anything to you while you were holding a knife, Ree-love, that would be foolhardy."She turned in his arms to face him, putting her arms around his neck as he looked into those pretty eyes and grinned. Damn, he was a lucky guy to be here right now. At her question he tilted his head giving her an odd look. "So...being romantic makes you think of food? Interesting, the things I learn about you Rosalie. Let me see," he tilted his head in thought, distracted from his earlier intentions as she had intended, tricky woman. "Mom makes a lot of porridges and pies, we can a bunch during the summer and fall so we have fruits year round in different drinks. Homemade bread, a lot of fresh fish, ploughman's pies and pasties."Hearing a creak from the other room (and having wonderful instincts) Taranis suddenly stood straighter, letting go of her and stepping to her side softly as she released him looking down at the counter. A ten count of seconds as he began speaking again and he heard the door suddenly open and her mother was there asking something. "...a lot of stuff we trade with the neighbors too." and turned to look at her and smile. "So far so good, though I don't think I'm much help. I'm not much in the kitchen except for prep like cutting up stuff. She's being pretty patient with me so far I think."Close. Fortunately they had been partners long enough that they often were used to moving together, understanding each other's movements and hearing possible interruption had been able to move with the same thoughts. Did that bode well for the future? He thought so if things continued the way they were. "I'm going to take a moment to find the bathroom, be right back," and he slipped out the door and stepped over to the tree, not seeing her father in the room at the moment. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out the two slim packages and slid them into the tree in two different places, behind ornaments. They were not much, mind, just some simple broaches his mom had woven out of some fine stitch work and his own knot tyeing to make something wearable. Her's moved in the wind slightly, a nice charm his mother had she didn't show often and his could actually hold a picture or a family shield in it's circle. The special gift for Rosalie he kept in his pocket.
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:44:46 GMT -5
She bushed, "it does not!" she shook her head, a mildly embarrassed expression on her face. His mother's cooking did sound good, very good in fact. She knew a moment's hesitation then. If those were the things he was used to, what if he didn't like her cooking? She bit her lip, glanced at him, and then at the counter, it was too late to change her mind tonight, she'd have to try something else another time. She couldn't decide if her parents interruption was welcome or not. She only half heard their conversation with Taranis as she continued stuffing pasta shells. Her parents left the room a few moments later, and Taranis not long after that. Rosalie found herself alone in a rather sudden fashion, but she didn't mind. She really needed to move things along if they were going to eat some time before midnight. By the time Taranis returned she had the pasta boiling and was working determinedly on the ingredients for the sauce.
Time seemed to speed up as she flew through the recipe, chopping, mixing, and stirring as she went. It seemed like only seconds had passed when she was setting everything on the table, aided by Taranis who was proving extremely useful in the kitchen. She called her parents, and as everyone sat, she felt a sense of bubbling relief followed almost instantly by an anxious sense of the unknown. She knew her parents loved the dish, she'd made it before, her concern now was about whether Taranis would find it too foreign for his tastes. She eyed him warily, trying not to look obvious as she picked at her plate. Her parents, after praising Rosalie's cullinary skills profusely, focused almost entirely on Taranis. Her parents weren't dim, they could sense something coming a mile away, and they seemed intent on getting to know him in the meanwhile. Rosalie was fine with that. She was certain that once they got to know him her parents would like Taran, he was easy to lov-like, easy to like. Rosalie made a frustrated sound, then flinched, wondering if anyone had heard her.
She was deluding herself, not to mention on the verge of making everything infinitely more complicated. Stupid teenage hormones, and that's all they were, Rosalie was certain of it, at least, she thought she was. She resisted the urge to sigh. While she and Taranis were good friends and had plenty of chemistry, everything else was an arrangement. Granted they'd made the arrangement themselves, but it was still an arrangement. Her attention jerked back to the outside world, her parents' plates were clear, so was Taranis'. She glanced at her own half-eaten food, she wasn't particularly hungry at the moment anyway. She needed a distraction...any distraction...and then it hit. She could give him his present, that would be a nice way to relieve her incessantly tumultous thoughts.
She stood from the table as well, "I'll be right back", she offered no explanation, simply because she couldn't think of one. She dashed out of the dining room and up the stairs. Taranis had two presents, one she and her mum had devised, and a special one that not even her parents knew about. Theformer was sitting under the Christmas tree, the latter was in a small yellow box in a drawer of Rosalie's desk. She picked it up, knowing it wouldn't fit in her pants pocket, she struggled momentarily with what to do with it. Finally, she slid it into the somewhat larger pocket of her jacket. When she returned to the kitchen, most everything had been cleaned up, and Rosalie felt a sense of anxious excitement. She'd put a lot of thought into this gift, though it looked rather simple to behold. After all, it was only a coin. Fortunately, it wasn't what the gift was, but what it could do that she was proud of.
She attempted to look calm, but could tell her parents weren't fooled. "Would you like to see the gardens Taran? I don't think we've been through those yet."[/quote]
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:46:45 GMT -5
Things passed much smoother after the interruption; maybe stashing the presents had been a good relief of his mind, but things just seemed to move along. And her parents kept him hopping with questions during dinner, nothing too iffy, and all good, reasonable ones about his homelife. The food was like nothing he had ever had before; eggs were not as common at home as some things so his food was often solid stuff. Pasta was so wildly foreign it was an amazing thing, almost a treat in a way. This was a meal? But it was fantastic tasting and he enjoyed it very much, getting seconds when her father did as it seemed okay enough. After dinner as they finished Rosalie excused herself and he was surprised when his eyes fell on her plate, noting her father's raised eyebrows as well. He helped carry dishes into the kitchen, but was refused when he offered help, being told he was a guest. He saw her father sneaking the leftover pasta in a bowl behind his wife and hiding it with a finger to his lips and he grinned, not missing his wife's smirk as well since she clearly knew what was happening. Apparently her father liked his daughter's cooking very much indeed and he felt...accepted, seeing the double secret there. Then Rosalie was back and clearly with stuff on her mind. "Okay, that sounds nice. Lead the way, Rosalie," and he followed her out to the back, smiling as he saw the pool again. Making a joke out of it he said "Now stay away from the water! We don't want a repeat of earlier..." He was smiling, feeling like the day had been very successful and his gift was in his pocket. Surely this was going to be the time he could surprise her with it. Around past the pool was where she led them and he spoke while they walked. "I have to say, Ree-love, that was really good food."She probably wanted to talk about when to surprise her parents with the news or maybe the dates, he decided as he spoke. "Is all pasta like that? I mean, I'm really surprised, that was more like a dessert then a meal. I think your father adores it not just likes it..." He chuckled again remembering what he had just seen and wondering if most families were like that. The problem was... it also made him think about how much his mother had given up by being isolated where she was as well. Had she given up on a second chance at love? Suddenly the smile was gone off his face, or at least dampened down a bit as a clear idea of her sacrifice suddenly hit him full in the face.
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:48:44 GMT -5
She smiled and took his hand. “I probably should, since I’m the only one who knows where we’re going.” As they stepped outside, the definite chill in the air made her glad she’d thought to take a jacket. She laughed at his teasing about the pool incident. “Trust me, I’ll steer clear”, she assured him. “The last thing we need is you to have to carry me in another bundle of towels past my parents.” She could just picture that scene, and it almost made her laugh. She flushed at the compliment, in all of her introspection, she hadn’t thought to pay attention to whether he liked it or not. “I’m glad you liked it”, she said sincerely. “I was worried that it might have been a bit too…different. It was too late by the time I thought about it.”
When he spoke she laughed. “No, it’s definitely a dinner dish. I’ll make you desert pasta some time”, she promised. “Those are usually filled with whipped cream or some type of chocolate.” She smiled at his estimation of her father. “Dad likes food, period.” She was determined to be modest, "although he does seem to have a certain affinity for pasta dishes”, she conceded softly. When they reached the middle of the garden, Rose found what she was looking for, and motioned to Taranis that they should sit. She took a deep breath. It didn’t make much sense to be so nervous, but she was having trouble getting her mind to communicate that fact to the rest of her body.
As it stood, she took a deep breath. “I wanted to give you something, a Christmas present I guess you could call it.” She was speaking softly, almost hesitantly. “There’s another one under the tree with your name on it, but I kind of wanted to give you this one in private.” She pulled the box out of her pocket and handed it to him. Once he’d opened it, she began to explain. “It’s charmed to heat up when anyone attached to the charm is in danger”, she explained. “Remember the protective charm I put on your sisters’ bracelets?” She motioned to the coin as if to say ‘that was why’. “I asked mum to charm one of the pillows at your mum’s, so she’s included too.” Rosalie exhaled before she took out another coin, “I have one too, they’re the same except that I also included you as well as my parents.” She continued on rather blithely, trying to get everything out at once. “If the coin reacts, the lettering on the coin will tell you who it is, and where they are.”
She sounded rather proud by this point. She’d gotten the idea from the coins the DA used to discreetly announce its meetings. In the case of those, the coin heated when a meeting had been scheduled, and revealed the time since everyone already knew the place. Rose had gone to the library several times over the course of the last three weeks researching ways to tweak the spell to her liking. “I thought you might like a way to watch over your sisters even though you can’t always be around”, she explained, “I did the best I could with the spellwork, though I won’t claim it’s foolproof.” She gave him a nervous look, “I hope you like it.”
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:50:07 GMT -5
When she took his hand to lead, he paid attention this time to the feel of her hand, not nearly as strong or as large as his of course (he had that from his dad as well, big feet, big hands, big- - well you get the picture), but when she took his hand he followed, feeling a sureness in her that he would follow. It would be easy for her to lead him into trouble, he realized, as he trusted her so easily. Something to remember. As she led him into the garden he stopped suddenly, eyes wide as he looked out, only starting walking again at her tug. "Ah...sorry, wasn't thinking flowers when you said garden, dumb of me." Geeze even the garden was big. He'd never seen such a space set aside just for flowers with big wide paths and as she led him along his head swiveled around everywhere. "They have a dessert version too? Damn, I can't even imagine that..." He then realized the plants had so much space they had been set down in patterns of all things. "Who takes care of all this, Rosalie? This is a lot of work!" Maybe he needed to rethink what she had said about being busy over breaks... When they sat down, he was worried at first about it holding his weight, but it seemed steady enough and he found that he could lift his feet and let it swing them both gently. He hadn't been on a swing since he was very small! "Huh, a swing seat. Doesn't that just beat all..." Taranis got his mind back on her words as she sounded serious, accepting the little yellow box with a smile. So! They had each been planning something! "Two presents? Sneaky..." As he discovered what was inside, he wondered if this was some gift based on money cause he was poor, but she didn't even hint that way. As she explained, it became clear what she had been planning out and his smile grew larger as she kept on. "Really? It spells it out? Nice!" He couldn't think of something which would make him feel any better about school, actually, knowing his sisters were off in another house he could not enter. "Rosalie...." he couldn't think of the words to tell her how much this meant to him; his family would always be forefront of his mind, it was the way he was. Instead of speaking more he leaned forward and pulled her into a hug, a solidly appreciative hug which also held a lot of relief. This would give him more confidence in his family's well being and that was huge. It wasn't till he sat back and was running his finger over the coin that a second thought occurred to him. "Ree-love, this is magnificent and way more then I was expecting, you naughty wonderful woman, but you said I was included in yours...but you didn't mention anything about you being in mine? Was that on purpose?" The delight in his face was only edged out a bit by concern as he looked at her wondering what the trick was there. She was his best friend at this point, did she think he wouldn't want to know she was safe as well always?
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Post by Shava on Feb 6, 2016 15:51:45 GMT -5
Rosalie arched an eyebrow at him. "If you don't think flowers when you hear garden, what do you think?" she asked him curiously. She knew there were other types of gardens, and it occured to her given his background that he might have been thinking one of those. She shrugged, "we can't really grow anything else very well here, not that we haven't tried." She laughed softly as they talked about dinner and desert pasta. She imagined that if she'd been in his place, she wouldn't be able to fathom it either, but it did indeed exist. She grinned, and nodded. "It is a bit bothersome sometimes, but its a family effort. Mum and dad do it to relax, I take over during the summers since I'm not around to help during the school year." She glanced around, "it is a lot of work, but worth it in the end I think. Sometimes I bring a notebook out here when I feel like composing. I wrote a couple of your letters out here."
She was amused by his reaction to the swing, but tried not to show it. "Dad built it at as a wedding gift for mum", Rosalie explained. It was one of her favorite stories to tell. "He knew she like roses, so rather than give her flowers that would wilt, he carved them. Her eyes took on a sort of romantic glaze. "Mum said they used to come out here a lot when they first got married, just to talk and swing and be together." She grinned as another memory took over. "I had my first broken bone when I was four because I was convinced I could fly if I swung out and jumped high enough. I made it to the fountain..." this she said somewhat proudly, "but I landed on my arm." She shrugged when he called her sneaky. "The other one doesn't count, I made it, well, mum and I made it." In fact, she was almost as nervous about the present under the tree as she had been about this one. She'd spent a lot of time working on the spellwork for the coin, but it was nothing compared to the weeks she'd spent knitting that scarf.
Rosalie was trying to be modest, but she was also proud of her gift. "I thought so", she agreed, "seemed like it could be useful." She laughed, ,she'd wondered when this question was going to come up. "I actually had trouble deciding what I wanted to attach the charm to. When you mentioned a promise ring to Gran this morning I thought that would work pretty well and decided to wait until we got that worked out." She shrugged, "the charm that attaches you to mine is on your coin, so I figured it was a pretty safe bet you'd have it close by." She tilted her head so that she could look into his eyes, and smiled. "Happy Christmas Taran, I know it isn't quite here yet, but I want you to know how much I appreciate everything you've already done. You've been a life saver." Literally, she thought, but didn't think it needed stating. A gust of wind made her shiver gently. "Oh yes, its definitely Christmas time."
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