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Who: Asbjørn & Ruby.
What: Moonpool hunting.
Where: Sobek Croix.
When: A week or so after Bad Blood.
Notes: Glow in the dark shenanigans!
Warnings: Partial nudity because swimming in moonpools.

Prior to the bad blood business, Asbjørn had learnt that there was something in the forest surrounding Sobek Croix, in that roundabout 'I heard it from a guy in a pub, who heard it from his sister's hairdresser' sort of way. The locals were wary. A few magic users he'd encountered, who had lived in the city for several years, had nudged each other and shared knowing looks. And thanks to being cooped up in his flat with nothing better to do than lick his wounds and read, a few books on local history and landmarks had hinted at interesting things.

...what's telling is that he took that information and decided a place widely rumoured to be haunted was best explored after dark. At some point during the day, Ruby would have gotten a text that read:

up for a late night forest adventure in sobek croix? i can promise food, good company and supernatural goings on. and only one of the last two things is me.

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It's about five minutes before Ruby responds, but at least her response is enthusiastic: I'm in. I'll meet you there--just tell me when to show up!

When she does turn up, Ruby's dressed in a muted silk dress, her trusty old flat boots, and a thin jacket. She's told Penny (and Angus, naturally, whom she talks to like he might talk back) where she's going and what she's up to, and fully expects a full round of teasing once she returns, but that's just Penny, right? Right.

It's a tiny bit chilly, but not in a way that bothers her.

A reply is presumably sent back with more specifics, so when Ruby does find Asbjørn, he's waiting at a central location in the village where he's easy to spot. There's a backpack at his feet and he's dressed comfortably but casually in jeans, a thick pullover hoodie and trusty boots of his own.

Most of his cuts and scrapes from last week have healed up. Most of them. He sort of forgets about his ribs in his happiness to see her (it's been a weird week, okay? Okay) and his usual greeting-hug is swiftly followed by, "Haaaa -hey. I mean, hey. How are you?" ...not that he lets go or anything.

When he hugs her, she kisses him on the cheek, impulsively and because things in the city lately have been weird--she's glad to see him in one piece. Once that's accomplished, Ruby leans back slightly to look Asbjørn in the face, smiling all the while. She raises her eyebrows, expression a little bit searching.

"I'm pretty good. How are you?" She heard that, sir.

Edited 2011-10-21 18:21 (UTC)

Slightly red cheeked from pain and not blushing due to cheek kisses, he would like to assure everyone.

"Ready to do something outside the four walls of my flat?" He knows that's not the answer she's looking for, and concedes with, "I'm fine, really. Weres heal quick, bears heal quicker. I assure you my health bar is nearly full again."

Behind the jokes, he's surprisingly resolved about the whole matter. There were reasons and impulses behind what he did, although whether anyone would understand or agree with them is something else entirely.

"Okay, okay. I won't hen at you." Although her tone is teasing, she's accepting of what he says--Ruby does tend to fuss, sometimes, but only if her instincts tell her it's necessary, and she trusts him to be honest if things aren't great. Furthermore, if the weren't, she doesn't think he'd have proposed this adventure.

Ruby turns her head to look at the forested darkness of Sobek Croix at night.

"But I will expect you to lead the way on this expedition. I brought a lantern." Which she displays to him. Normally she might have looked for a flashlight, but lanterns are actually easier to find in this city.

"Cool. I brought one along but, to be honest, I don't really need it." His senses more than make up for the lack of light, although lanterns in general are handy things to have. Not to mention he wasn't thinking purely of himself whilst packing. "I'm guessing you've got something to light it with?"

In the meantime, he'll swing the bag onto his back, ready to get set and go.

Ruby gives the lantern a firm little shake, and it suddenly warms up with white-gold light, dimmed only by the confines of the lantern's glass. She smiles at Asbjørn.

"I gave it a few modifications," Ruby admits, a touch impish. "Let's go."

No sense in wasting any of this creepy nighttime--and they're nearing the witching hour, which promises to be interesting out here.

And so, Asbjørn leads on. There's a brief pause as they reach the trees, and he seems to consider something for a moment, before decisively walking in one particular direction.

He also reaches out for Ruby's hand as the trees get a bit thicker. "I'm trying not to make this creepier than it already is, but I kind of want to avoid any horror movie scenarios. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not."

She immediately wonders if that response was too prompt. Ruby bites her lip, slipping her hand into his. "I'd definitely like to avoid any horror movie scenarios, too. The rule is if you split up, you're doomed, right?"

As they head toward the thick of the forest, though, she has to admit: it really does look creepy in there. Ruby's seen a lot of ghosts over the years, and most of them weren't as frightening as films would have you think, but there were exceptions. And Baedal is a city prone to creating malevolent spirits, she's pretty sure.

Edited 2011-10-22 15:10 (UTC)

"Something like that. But sassy redhead girls always make it to the end." There may be the tiniest of reassuring hand squeezes as he smiles. "Blond guys on the other hand -well."

The forest is definitely creepy, but as they walk, Asbjørn keeps pushing his more human instincts away in favour of others. If there is any sense of malevolence, he's not picking up on it. There's only the low level hum of whatever makes up the city. And Ruby, of course.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." She keeps an eye on the forest, though--as magically keen as her senses are, it's not impossible for something to sneak up on them. Ruby sort of enjoys the suspense, in a weird way; it's so scenic here, even at night.

Of course, any cinematic references are likely gothic horror films, but she'll still appreciate the trees.

"I love places like this," she comments, "I wish there were more of them."

"I miss it. The stillness, the silence of it all. It's not that different from home -well, maybe not so many rumoured hauntings." But there were plenty of forested areas in his little corner of the world and plenty of dark nights. It wasn't so different in that respect.

"The funny thing was, I'd just moved back to the countryside before I was brought here. I think I'm beginning to find the idea of being stuck in a city for the rest of my life more daunting than anything this place could hold." It's only a half-joke.

Even though it is a half-joke, she gives his hand a little squeeze. "We'll knock down some buildings for you if we have to. But I know what you mean--I have lived in cities before, but only briefly, and...I don't know how to explain it. It feels like after a while you need more room to just be, to go a while without hearing a car alarm or even someone else's voice."

She is ultimately a social creature, Ruby, and though she is not driven to periods of independent solitude the way Asbjørn is, she knows what it's like to need that, too.

Asbjørn lets off a deep chuckle at Ruby's suggestion. "Guess I'll have to start saving my pennies for a farm. Just imagine--"

As he turns towards her, smiling, his eye catches something in the distance. There's the faintest of glows coming from between some faraway trees. "Do you see that?"

She tips her head to the side, squinting--it could be some other kind of light, but out here, that's sort of dubious. Ruby picks up her pace a bit, hoping that if they get nearer to the light source, they'll get a better idea of what it is they are looking at.

"I think we might be in luck."

"Let's hope so. I have to admit, I don't completely know what's here --some of the books weren't written in English, and my reading in anything other than Norwegian is a little rusty anyway-- I just know that there's supposed to be something interesting--"

Someone likes to chatter when he's excited.

As they approach, the outline of a large pond comes into view, and it becomes clear that that's the source of the glow. "Whoah. What is that?"

When they reach the glowing moonpool, it is bright enough that it illuminates the surrounding trees and their figures next to it, too. Ruby's appropriately awed; it's beautiful, the sort of thing she saw in her childhood that everyone told her was only in her imagination. Now, of course, she knows better.

She crouches down next to it, setting her lantern down on the ground.

"Unbelievable." She dips her fingers through the water, looking up at Asbjørn.

"Mind if I go swimming?"

It's got to be a rite of passage where these things are concerned.

"Sure. Just tell me when to break off a tree branch and I'll carry you home like a giant popsicle." Which is to say Ruby, it's cold and you are not indigenous to the Arctic circle. But then again it's doubtful he could stop her, even if he wanted to.

In the meantime, Asbjørn sets his bag down and unpacks a few necessities. "I seriously hope I can make an ink out of this," he says as he lowers a jar into the pool. Moonlight splashes up his arm in the process.

Edited 2011-10-31 22:22 (UTC)

"It's not like it's the dead of winter," she protests, cheerfully, "not to mention if I freeze, I happen to know a certain tall guy I can climb all over to leech body heat."

Ruby starts unbuttoning her dress, watching him with the moonpool in the meanwhile.

"It looks like you could do a lot with it."

"Mmhmm. One of these days I'm going to wise up to your, what's the word, uh..."

While Asbjørn's kind of were isn't cursed by the moon, they're not precisely immune to its effects (especially the older he gets; a fact that's slipped his mind more than once over the past several months). Right now, the edges of the more human parts of his mind start to blur slightly.

He sits back, securing the jar and trying to finish the end of that sentence. "Damn it, I should have had my coffee before I left."

"Wiles? ...shenanigans?" Ruby suggests, helpfully.

She steps past him and slips into the moonpool (dressed in her underwear, at least, which are off-white in color and a bit sheer as it is), which given her general level of paleness and hair color creates quite a look. She turns to look at Asbjørn, treading water.

"This is really goddamn cold," she admits, laughing a little. Ruby is aware that if they get caught out, this will be fascinating, but she can't resist.

"Mmm." That was intended to sound like more of a vague agreement, but instead it tails off into a small chuffing noise.

Either way, Ruby's movements distract him from whatever he was trying to say. If he were inclined to think more coherantly, he would be aptly reminded of Leonard Cohen lyrics: her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you.

Instead he has a sudden desire to be as near to her as she'll let him. A jar rolls off his lap as he crawls over to the edge of the pool, stretching over as far as possible.

She quiets when he does, moving closer, toward the edge. Ruby tilts her head up to meet Asbjørn's eyes, with a little smile. Moonlight spills over her hand and down to the glowing surface of the pool when she lifts it, just barely touching the collar of his shirt.

She wants to say something, but she's afraid of ruining the stillness, somehow. Like if she does say what's on her mind, the spell--the moonlight's, maybe--will change.

A little unknown fact for most people is that wild polar bears have a sense of courtesy. One of the ways they interact, especially when it comes to asking for permission, is meekly touching noses.

Which is what Asbjørn does as he bends down towards Ruby. It might look like he's about to kiss her; instead he's quite content to give her the slightest of nuzzles.

There's a half-dreamy expression on his face despite the little hint of wildness in his eyes. And a low sounding purr makes itself heard from the back of his throat.

That's something she wasn't expecting--of course, she's not surprised, in a way, it's natural because it's who he is. Her eyes widen a little.

"You're..." She doesn't finish the thought. Instead her fingertips travel to barely drift over his throat, as though she can feel the vibration there.