Camping Out

Time passed. The near run-in with the armed patrol and the homicidal archer was just the start of things, or at least that's what Ian would tell people were he to wake up at home the next day. The truth was that the rest of the day was quiet. Sunny had picked up a bow back in that armory but the string didn't look all that reliable... Still, the group managed to retrieve some of the arrows from the maniac who'd tried to kill the young nobleman and continued to make their way forward.

It was, apparently, just a bit on the alarming side to have unidentified groups of armed men in the woods. "Who'd have thunk it," he muttered to himself, then snorted at whatever thoughts were going through his mind just then. His blue eyes took in the area around them, once again noticing little things. While not exactly an expert, even someone like Ian could recognize some of the basic herbs.

For instance, the mint wasn't obvious at a glance, but when he crushed the leaves he got that wonderful scent of... chocolate mint? It wasn't exactly a cold weather plant, if he remembered right, so seeing it this far into the mountains was a bit of a surprise to him. Granted, he'd rather have spearmint because he thought it made a better tea but... Well, beggars don't get to choose. They'd found some ripe persimmons along their path and the youth was excited to the point where he insisted on stopping to gather a large number of the things. The boy had plans. They should go well with dinner at least... It was hard to say he 'liked' the idea of eating goblin food and who knew how long his MRE's would last with this crowd?

Granted, he was getting odd looks. It was possible that the plants were different than their Terran counterparts, though it was equally likely that their 'Ian' didn't know a thing about wild plants, let alone what was edible. Well, who cares? The Ian they had wanted tea! And he wanted it to be a sweet tea if possible, though the boy know there were limits.

Alright, so it was more than just that. He was, in fact, testing the boundaries his putative 'escort' had set for him. At first, there was someone at his side at all times. Even while he checked out various plants, largely in passing, he felt that impatience. Then again, when he found some wild berries... raspberries at a glance, of which he collected the fruit and the leaves, and started putting his escort to work they were a little more reluctant to seem too clingy. Ian had a number of witty one-liners in store for the lot, but... Well, it was unfortunate that he couldn't find an appropriate time to use them.

It was like training cats or something, only instead of being too shy it was the opposite. There's nothing like teaching dwarves to stay the hell away from you to really get the blood pumping. Who could have known they weren't as fond of plants? Well, in fairness it might be more about gathering than anything else. It wasn't exactly a 'manly' sport so to speak, not like hunting dragons and boar and whatever.

Still, day one on this new world had been a bit to interesting, in the Chinese Curse sense of the word. It wouldn't do to relive that literal day in his head, but it wasn't what he'd expected to be doing when he'd woke up that morning. He kind of wondered if the antique guy was going to get in trouble or how long it would take for people to realize he was missing. What gloomy thoughts...

"Hey... So about how long would you all say it is until dark, anyway?" he asked, curious.

The grumpy dwarf trying not to be too close to him, yet kept him firmly in sight, considered the boy thoughtfully. "Not too long, an hour or two. Why, know of some interesting thing that can only be picked at night?"

"No... I was thinking we might need to see about a place to camp for the night. Ah, that's unless we plan to make our way in the dark?"

"A fair point... Hey, Rokal!" the grumpy looking fellow called, heading over to confer with his leader.

And, without missing a beat, Sunny just happened to find him right then. Seriously, they seemed to be such untrustworthy people. You'd think they were used to dealing with a child or some such. Ah... Then again, if their world's Ian was a spoiled noble, perhaps it really was the same thing. Sunny's name had come to the boy all on it's own, yet he'd never seen her before. Would the same thing happen with other people? Was this magic at work, a hint given to him by the god(s) of this world, or perhaps it was all some big setup.

"Hey Sunny," he greeted her, wandering toward the dwarves. "About how long have we known each other now?"

"Well... It's been a few years," the girl replied, eyeing him suspiciously. "Since I was eight or so. Why are you asking?"

With wicked delight, he nonchalantly turned to her, offering his most innocent of smiles. "Have you ever thought about getting married? The future and all of that? Knowing you as long as I have... I wonder if my father meant it when he'd suggested we might get married some day."

The girl stopped, staring wide-eyed at the blue eyed boy. "What brought this on? Hey, you have never shown an interest in things like that before!"

"It's just..." he trailed of suggestively, turning his head away from her as if he were shy. He took it a step further, playing it for all it was worth. He toed the ground with his left foot, bringing his hands up to hide his face as though embarrassed. Then, he peeked at her side-long over the top of those hands, a hint of a smile in his voice as he finally said, "I never really paid attention to it before but... You're always taking care of me, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't say always," she started to say, but he was quick to cut her off.

"On top of that, I feel like I can honestly trust you with secrets I'd be too ashamed to ever tell my mother, or far to embarrassed to consider telling my father. Besides..."

"Besides?" she asked, obviously embarrassed herself now. No, it was more... she was blushing furiously!

"You might honestly be the most beautiful person I've ever met. Even prettier than... you know. THAT girl we knew from back home."

"K-Kaela? You're talking about Kaela, aren't you? Surely you don't mean Tamara...?"

Wow, she was kind of easily impressed... "More than Kaela, Tamara, more than anyone... My own mother is said to be a beauty that men would go to war for, yet I think you are even more beautiful than that. Sunny... I think I'd be willing to even die for you. I think... maybe if I had to get married... it would be pretty amazing if I got to marry you."

So, this wasn't funny any more. His heart was beating rather swiftly and... yes, he was blushing. "AIE! Ah... H-hey, j-just forget I said any of that! How embarrassing! My Dark History begins again..."

"Dark History? Nnn... No, I'm not going to forget anything! How could I?" She was moving closer, grabbing his hands and pulling them toward her. It was a good thing he was actually blushing by this point or she would have been EVER so put out with our young hero. "I... I feel kind of the same way." She sighed, "If only our parents would just agree already, we could get married and everything would be fine."

Oh right... he had obligations, or something. Hmm... "Do you think it might be okay... if we started ah... courting, pending our parents approval? I know we shouldn't go behind their backs or anything, but I feel like a different person around you." Stupid, what a dumb thing to ask her! And yet he couldn't have withheld the question at this point. The boy had dug himself a deep hole and getting out might be a pain. Then again, if she'd trust him, maybe he could escape later on. He wondered if his father would be amused...

"Well... I uhm... I want to but... I n-need to get father's permission, it wouldn't... I won't do something to... to dishonor my family's name."

Calm down lady, what are you thinking? "Of course my dear, sweet, beautiful Sunny," he murmured, his hand reaching out, the back of it gently caressing her cheek. He smiled when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. "I'm the same... That said though, I can't wait until we get home. Our parents are, no doubt, beginning to worry about the both of us and... I'd really, really like to know what father thinks of our getting married."