|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Sept 26, 2014 18:53:47 GMT
Prudence sighed in the heat of the sun that bore down on every soul and plant in the wide acres of the White family's farm. Reaching up with a small hand, she pushed away the sweat-saturated lock of hair that positively insisted on obstructing her view at all times and looked every which way for any possible traces of another soul having accompanied her in her plight. Seeing none, and being so dreadfully warm thanks to the all-heating nature of the Summer sun above, she rolled her long sleeves up to her elbows. Yes, she was quite aware of the inappropriate nature of rolling up her sleeves and exposing the flesh of her arms when not in the comfort and privacy of her chambers, but it was dreadfully hot, and the chances of some other being having followed her out among the depths of the cornfields on her family's farm were few. In all truth, only one could have the audacity to accompany her out here, and she didn't see the spirit among the stalks. Prudence quite hoped this meant that he hadn't accompanied her today.
She would be wrong- for out among the fields, only a few layers of produce between his object of interest, he stood, readying himself.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 3, 2014 16:44:23 GMT
As if summoned by the irony of Prudence's thoughts and predicament, Rufus primped himself in preparation for his usual entrance. He attempted to smooth out his hair, to no avail, as the stalks of wheat were still too unruly to be tamed by any means and at least one piece fell back into his face as soon as he pushed it out of the way. Instead, he settled for adjusting his cape, which certainly didn't help with the heat but he couldn't care less. He had an image to maintain, thank you.
Deciding he was satisfied with his own appearance, he strode over to the peasant girl (she wasn't really a 'peasant' by any means, but the future-lord was never one to pay attention to that factor) as soundlessly as he could. Which was decidedly easy, since he was technically little more than a spirit in this realm.
"My, my, my..." He drawled lazily, stepping around her in a predatory circle. Prudence was a moment too late as she whipped around to face him, having recognized his familiar voice instantly.
"Aren't we in a state of undress, hm?" He teased further, and this time she managed to catch sight of him before his long legs carried him out of her line of vision again. Despite her head now working on a rotation as she watched him circle her, he continued to do so regardless, hands clasped together behind his back as he stood up as tall as he could.
"Don't tell me the show is all for me~"
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 3, 2014 19:17:52 GMT
Prudence's cheeks puffed out in distaste as he circled her. Her eyebrows tilted down in what would normally be an aggravated, almost angry look, but on her it merely looked out of place and extremely non-threatening. She began pulling down her sleeves before crossing her arms indignantly.
"What do you want," she said almost accusingly rather than asking. "Can't you see I'm busy?"
If her parents had seen the spectacle, they surely would have been ashamed and embarrassed, but Prudence's reddening cheeks told the story of her own humiliation without their help. Why was he always here at the worst time? And HOW did he pull it off? She could only assume she was only unlucky. Her golden brown eyes flicked over to a stalk of corn and she tried to go back to her harvesting as he spoke.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 3, 2014 20:27:57 GMT
He chuckled at her display of irritation, clearly not taking her seriously as a slow grin made it way across his lips. He crossed his arms and stood in front of her, not liking her choice to try to ignore him.
"Maybe I want to help!" He pointed out, coming up beside her and inspecting the corn. With a wiggle of his fingers, the stalk swayed suddenly, bending down towards them before abruptly all the ears twisted and fell off at once. Though he face flashed surprise for a second and he had to act quickly to lift his cape over both their heads as the corn suddenly tumbled down towards them, Rufus brushed it off as all part of the act and hoped Prudence would fall for it. These other-worldlies were usually easy enough to fool. It wasn't often they saw magic, and though he showed off to Prudence as often as he was able, Rufus figured she didn't yet know his tricks well enough to tell which ones were pulled off properly and which weren't. He was still learning, after all. But the display was always impressive!
"See? I can be ever so helpful. You won't be nearly as busy if I'm involved." For added measure, he picked up an ear of corn and held it between his hands. For a few seconds, it remained in its proper state, the husk still green and at the proper peak. However, it quickly started to change colour, darkening and growing dry as he did who knows what to it. Eventually, it let off several loud pops, pieces of white, fluffy corn bursting outwards as Rufus let go with one hand to shove the pieces in his mouth. He chewed the mouthful loudly, pausing to lick his lips after he had swallowed it.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 4, 2014 10:03:59 GMT
Prudence: She blinked at him, in a state between thankfulness and bewilderment. On the one hand, he was offering to help her with her chores (even if the corn was now on the ground), but on the other, what in Almighty God's creation were those white things that burst out of the corn he'd held and, she thought, ruined? Or was it ruined? She decided she should have no part in this... --it wasn't witchcraft, but it wasn't normal either... trickery?-- and stooped to pick up the cobs that littered the ground just in front of her boots.
"Yes, well, do what you like, Mr. Spirit, but if my father lays eyes on me talking to no one, he'll be gravely concerned to the point of terror. You know how the villagers get around things... not natural," she said, taking a business-like tone as she gathered her stalks. "If I had any sense, I wouldn't be affiliating with you at all. But, I suppose I'm too young to have any sense. I am only sixteen years, after all."
She liked to insist that sixteen years was young mostly due to the fact that her mother was insisting she marry. Her father, who was more generous to his children, and less rooted in the customs of the time (he didn't rightly care if the town saw him or anyone in his household as odd) had said her life was hers to live, be it married young, old, or not at all, and insisted he'd love her even if she was a 25-year-old spinster. She wasn't sure of her mother's affection remaining constant if that ever happened to her, but she tried not to think about it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 5, 2014 0:27:24 GMT
He scoffed at her, throwing up his hands briefly in disbelief at her gall before they dropped heavily to his sides and swayed there as he hrmphed.
He had a name! He had told her repeatedly - Rufus Augustine Cornelius the Future Presiding Harvest Lord. Not 'Mr. Spirit'! Like he was some random ghostly apparition that had nothing better to do than haunt her family's farm? And referring to him as something 'unnatural'. He was the most natural being there was! He could (sort of, he'd get better eventually, he remedied as a footnote in his inner monologue) communicate with the plants and get them to do his bidding. Mother Nature had NOTHING on him. The nerve, the utter nerve of some people!
"You're right!" He declared boldly, suddenly overwhelmed with his frustration over her, and her stupid previously revealed, faintly freckled forearms. "You haven't any sense at all!"
With that, he marched away. Or more accurately, stomped away. His powers ran amok in his wake, the stalks bending and crossing over each other behind him like knights protecting their lord, until they did the same thing as before. The ears twisted and fell off, leaving a mess all over the ground as he strode several yards away from Prudence, huffing indignantly the entire time. When he stopped, he crossed his arms for a moment, glaring off into the corn surrounding him. However, his wayward magic caught up with him, and as he began to get pelted with his own 'subjects', he yelped and crouched to the ground, covering himself entirely with his golden cape and curling up like a child shying away from a thunder storm.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 5, 2014 3:33:46 GMT
Prudence watched him storm away and was actually a bit confused about it. What in God's great creation could she have said? She was a little risky for affiliating with him, but she could only assume he liked her company because of how often he came back... right? Maybe he was saying that he didn't want to affiliate with her... Well, that wouldn't do! That was quite rude, and frankly, she was a delight to be around most of the time! After gathering her skirts, she tromped off toward where he went, hoping she could catch him before he... vanished or something? She'd never thought about how he got back to... wherever he came from. And she hadn't asked. When she found him, he was, frankly, rather pathetic, and she felt bad. Being pelted by her corn. What rude stalks of corn...!
She knelt down and reached to put a hand on his back when it phased through and she frowned, creating lines on her forehead that didn't belong. Sometimes she forgot he wasn't really there.
"Mister--" she stopped and took a moment to swallow her pride. "Or, rather, Rufus, I meant, you don't have to keep visiting on my account if you don't like to. Yes, admittedly, I would miss you, but if you don't enjoy my company then..." She trailed off. If only she knew how wrong she was.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 6, 2014 0:51:50 GMT
Still cowering under his cape just in case, Rufus felt the vague impression of her attempt to touch him. Like how one might feel when they were being watched - just a phantom of a feeling. His ears perked, about to lift his head out from under his cape, when Prudence started talking before he could and his ears were left burning instead.
She'd miss him? Did she really just admit that, or was he hit too hard with one ear of corn to the head and now he'd begun hallucinating?
"Don't be foolish!" Rufus stood up, cape still over his head. He had, admittedly, expected it to flow off of him dramatically as he stood, adding to the image. Instead, it got stuck on his head, and he probably looked more like a particularly golden ghostly goof. He hurriedly yanked his cape off and adjusted it, his hair in even more disarray than before. "You couldn't be rid of me that easily." He added with a wink, his tone returning to its much more charming and flirtatious range from earlier. His moods could turn on a dime, it seemed. "Did I scare you into thinking you'd lost your favourite ghost forever, little bird?" He asked in a slightly lower octave, using his height advantage to lean over her.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 8, 2014 20:09:33 GMT
((YO I THOUGHT I REPLIED TO THIS FOREVER AGO OOPS?))
Prudence: Oh dear, she'd said too much. Leaning back from him, she felt a blush creep up her face, tinging her cheeks with pink. Her brow took a nervous angle and her mouth didn't look like it was smiling or frowning- like it was confused as to what it was supposed to be doing.
"Uh-- I-- That is-- You--," she stuttered, leaning back from him subtly as she spoke. Eventually, she leaned back too far and ended up wobbling and teetering before landing on the grown amidst several stalks of corn. She groaned at first, but quickly stood and straightened out her myriad of skirts and apron. "It's not as if I've met many spirits," she said finally, still slightly flustered. "Now, I really need to continue harvesting." She turned in a flurry and made her way through the stalks as quickly as she could before finding roughly where she'd been before, gathering up her basket, and running away toward the woods. She nearly tripped once, but after she gathered up the bundle of cloth that was her dress, she was able to make it all the way to the river. Her boots were filthy, but she didn't care. She'd been so unladylike and so overly forward that she could only hope he wouldn't follow her. What was going on with her? This was the same unruly spirit that had nearly gotten her in trouble on more than one occasion- and had done it on purpose. She sat down on the ground and rested her cheek on her hand.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 9, 2014 1:58:21 GMT
((I WAS KINDA WORRIED THERE BUT NO BIG. Back on track and all that, right?))
He had made a move to catch her before she fell, but almost wound up falling on top of her himself. He had been leaning far too forward, pursuing her as she leaned back and away from him. Luckily, he managed to straighten up before he crushed her, but was disappointed at the turn of events. It would've been much more fun to catch her, and potentially sweep her quite literally off her feet instead. He busied himself with fixing his hair again as she sorted herself out, standing up quickly while he was still trying to force that one particularly stubborn piece of wheat out of his face.
He watched her go, snickering under his breath as she took off running.
'Good luck with that.' He thought internally, taking a step off directly into the cornfield before - if there had been anyone around to see him - he completely disappeared amongst them. The only indication of his presence was a slight rustling, but most wouldn't think it anything more than the wind.
Travelling at a much more leisurely pace, he gave Prudence some time to herself. At least a couple minutes or so. Let her think he really had left; Not that he had any intention to, mind you. Finally, satisfied she had been given enough time to sort herself out, Rufus allowed himself to become tangible again. He was poised partway up a tree, crouched on a sturdy branch with one hand against the trunk for balance. He let out a melodic whistle, so low it mingled with the air and blew itself past the younger girl's ear.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 9, 2014 3:01:53 GMT
Prudence sighed loudly and dramatically before leaning back on her hands and sticking her legs out straight in front of her. Her basket of corn lay forgotten a few feet away.
"Can't you leave a young lady to ridicule herself in peace?" she asked, looking around for a moment before finding him up in the trees, peering down at her like a fox that was about to trick its prey into dancing right into its mouth. "Or do you enjoy this?" She knew the answer, but she asked anyway.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 9, 2014 3:06:41 GMT
"Absolutely." He answered as predicted, standing up and twirling himself out of sight suddenly. Momentarily gone, his voice carried out from between the trees. "But why all the self ridicule of a lovely lady such as yourself, hmm?" He appeared again, seemingly having 'slid down' (magicked his way, what a cheater) from one branch to a much lower one.
He was now lounging on his back, head propped up slightly and resting against the tree. He had one leg bent at the knee, the other dangling downward and swaying back and forth as he kicked at nothing, with his hands clasped together over his chest. With his eyes closed, he looked quite content to be lazing about in the tree. He tilted his head towards Prudence, one eye opening to a bright orange slit and his lips parting in a mischievous grin.
"Don't tell me I need to shower you in compliments for you to get the picture."
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 9, 2014 3:44:19 GMT
"I would very much appreciate it if you did no such thing!" she answered, flustered now that he was so near her (AGAIN). "Don't you have Future-Harvest-Lord responsibilities to tend to or something?" She had no idea what those might be, but she asked rather often anyway as a way to hopefully chase him off. It never worked, so she knew it wouldn't now. She was getting desperate and flustered, and she knew that Rufus knew it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Andy on Oct 9, 2014 4:29:21 GMT
He shrugged nonchalantly, foot still swaying back and forth. Turning more towards her, he laid on his side, one hand propping up his cheek so it left him with a delightedly bemused expression on his face as he grinned down at her.
"Maybe my responsibilities to you are more important. Did you ever consider that?" That wasn't entirely true. He was more of a nuisance to Prudence than anything, that he knew. But he also knew the comment would likely fluster her even more, since it was a not-so-secretly disguised compliment, and that was ultimately all he was trying to do right now. The way her nose scrunched up and her cheeks filled with red was, without exaggeration, one of the young lord's favourite sights in the world, and he had travelled a large portion of it already at this point.
|
|
|
|
Post by zykrinnox on Oct 9, 2014 4:50:58 GMT
"No! I had not," she said, trying to counteract the blush on her face. It wasn't working. Eventually she took off her hat and hid her face in it. This was when she heard someone calling her name...! She stood up, picking up her corn in a flash before looking back over at Rufus. Biting her lip, she looked toward where the yelling was coming from and looked back at Rufus.
"Later?" she asked, making her way subtly toward the direction of her family's farm.
|
|
