“Oh holy hells,” Rue says softly, scooting toward him on the couch to take a better look. She stops short of touching his arm and asks, “D’you mind?”

"Oh, yeah. Plus, the two main security guys are totally banging. I caught them once." He shudders. That memory is, unfortunately, burned into his mind. "Well, I don't commit crimes, sadly, so I dunno if we'd vibe," he jests. "I like horror movies and stuff, painting, oh, and can't forgive my first love...." He rolls up one of his sleeves, showing off a forearm covered in more intricate geometric tattoos. "I'm a tattoo artist! I have lots of fun doing it... but it's also kinda my job."

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

ktwht (Tav: Rue)

ktwht

Close

Rue frames her face with her fingers and gives him a grin and a wink. “Yeah, the security at this school kinda blows. Guess they’re too busy blowing cash on student body field trips.” “Not that I’m complaining,” she adds, raising her eyebrows as she grabs her drink for another sip. “What about you? What do you do for fun?”

"Ah... so it'd be for grand larceny, B&E, whatever you'd get for jumping off roofs, and drug possession?" Man, I thought this was all a hypothetical. This chick is way more hardcore than me! "You're gonna definitely have the cutest mugshot in all of history, at least!"

“Well,” she starts, setting her glass on the low table in front of them so she can count on her fingers. “I stole a karaoke machine from the Prismari storage room, I also stole instruments from there and started a band with them, I’ve broken into the stables on like three separate occasions, sometimes I jump off the dormitory roofs for fun, and I grow weed in my room.” She looks at him and grins. “That’s the short list.”

"Well, that'd be fitting," he says, his thought interrupted by another sip. "Because your hair is all curly like one. Very adorable." Gods, this girl cracks me up! "And what do you think you'd get arrested for? I'm curious."

“Fifi?” Her nose wrinkles at him. “You make me sound like a poodle.” “But yeah, you get it. It’s nice to get the chance to choose who you are. Not everyone gets that.” “Plus it gives my parents some plausible deniability for when I inevitably get arrested.”

He laughs at how this woman he barely knows what able to clock why he was even given that name in the first place. Toloma definitely didn't pick the names at random. Russ was very much an annoyingly persistent little kid. "See? That's gorgeous," he sighs. "I probably woulda called you Fifi though. It's not that much better, but it's still kinda cute." Rue's reaction to his obvious flirt makes him think she isn't used to this kind of game. She's quite a bit different from the Dragonborn girl who matched his flirtatious energy with her own. So he decides to back off a bit and tone it down. "But I get it. There's something nice about a name you pick yourself. It's more your own than any you could have been given."

Rue fans at her eyes with one hand as her laughter slows, preventing tears from rolling down her cheeks. “Okay, all right, that actually makes sense. My family actually does a similar thing just… not so moral.” “I’m a druid, right? And my dad is too. So my parents picked a nature-based name that suited me. Filanna means ‘rain-daughter’ in Elvish. It was raining when I was born.” She rolls her eyes slightly. When he calls her pretty, she’s not quite sure how to react, settling on a snicker and a shrug. “I don’t mind the name really, but my nickname was Fi, and *blech.*” “Russ suits you though. Russula. But I don’t know… you seem like the persistent type.”

"Hey!" he blushes. Well, as well as a dark purple-skinned tiefling can. "At least my siblings called me Percy, thank you very much!" He can't help but laugh with Rue. "Look, I don't know why, but it's a tiefling thing to name yourself after a virtue. But all of those names sound so lame! Patience? Grace? Harmony? Perseverance? Gods." He finally registers the name Rue gave out. "Filanna is way better than Perseverance. Actually, I think it's quite pretty. Pretty name for a pretty thing like you."

“Filanna.” “AAA PERSEVERANCE?” she starts giggling, falling back against the couch.

"Oooh, now I think we need to drop the old names!" he beams. "Let's do it at the same time!" He takes a sip of his drink, and then holds three fingers up in the air. "Alright, ready? 3... 2... 1..." "*Perseverance.*"

She leans in toward him when he pulls out his phone, grinning at the sight of the mushroom and his subsequent explanation. “Okay, that’s really cute actually.” She takes another sip of her drink as she contemplates if she really wants to share this next bit of information, but. Why the hells not? “Rue actually isn’t the name I was born with either. I picked it. It’s a tradition in the circle I grew up in that you can choose a name that suits you when you come of age… ‘round 13 or so. Most people just keep their names they’ve had, but I hated mine.”

“Haha, weird, yeah?” he laughs in response. “I promise there’s a reason.” He pulls up a picture of the mushroom on his phone. It’s red and rather unassuming. “Red is my favorite color!” It’s silent for just a moment. “Er, let me explain. So I actually didn't get named when I was born. Unwanted tiefling baby and all. So the head of the orphanage I’m from gave me like… a placeholder name. When we’re old enough, she lets us change our it if we want. And boy did I want to…” His tail wiggles in interest at her desire to join Prismari. More on that later.

“Nailed it,” Rue says, clinking her glass against his. “Witherbloom, first year, undecided.” “I’ve taken a few Prismari classes, and honestly I enjoy them. I’d think about switching schools, but I don’t know what I’d do there either.” She chuckles a little sadly. It was Kili after all who suggested she switch, after watching her dance. It’s why she was in a dance class this semester. But he doesn’t know that. He doesn’t know her at all. Maybe that’s why it’s easy to talk to him. She doesn’t have to try to avoid any topics when he doesn’t know they’re there. “And it is a flower. Little yellow one. Great for healers. And you said… Russula, yeah? [Nature: 23] isn’t that a mushroom?”

He makes a performatively disgusted face. "Gods, fuck no. I hate math! I think I failed almost every math class I've ever taken," he scoffs. "I don't even wanna hear about math relates to my tattoos." He's heard it before. Connie and his nerd ass already gave him the spiel. "I'm an illustrative art student in Prismari, and really only because I was forced to. I'm plenty good at art already," he boasts. Oh, he is so lucky Buritak doesn't seem to be listening in on him right now. "How 'bout you? Witherbloom? Something about you screams Witherbloom. Maybe it's because your name? Rue is a flower, yeah?"

“Quandrix, obviously,” she replies with a grin, pointing to the geometric pattern disappearing up his sleeve. “I know a math major when I see one.”

He laughs to himself all the way to the bartender, coming back with two glasses of bourbon. He sits next to her this time. A respectable distance away, of course. "So, you a studen at Strix, too? Surprised I haven't seen you around. We must be in different schools. I bet you can guess which one I'm in." He mimics the motions of painting in the air.

"Oh, I like the way you think!" Definitely shut's that voice off in his head that sounds suspiciously like Toloma. "What can I get ya'? My treat," he replies with a wink, fully relaxed on the couch with one hoof bouncing on his knee.

Is she being asked out right now? Her self-inflicted girlrot hours had put the thought of her own appeal so far from her mind that she’s in a bit of disbelief at the proposition. But yeah, that sounds like… maybe not a date, but something. Is she ready for that? Maybe. Maybe not. But regardless, accepting a drink can’t hurt. “I think ski time is like… airport time. You can have a drink whenever, and no one can say shit.”

“Hey, what kind of guy do you think I am?” he scoffs performatively. “I’d never comment on someone’s daughter’s tits!” He listens to Rue’s explanation in interest. Russ just loves weird shit. She won’t ever melt? A student here? Damn, this girl is way exciting. “Hey, you want a drink?” he offers with another big smile. “I mean a real drink. It’s late enough, right?”

He’s got a nice smile, she thinks as her face cracks into one too. Contagious. “Yeah, and don’t comment about ‘em, or she’ll get super pissed.” She leans forward and points at Russ as she warns him, then sits back as she continues. “We got her this… oh my gods, explaining this sounds insane. So we got her this enchanted crop top? Partly to cover her titties so she can actually go places but we got it enchanted so she won’t melt.” She’s giggling like mad through the whole explanation, fully aware of how ridiculous the whole situation is. “But she’s like… 2 months old? I think?” Gods, I gotta look up when we made her. What IS her birthday? Do snow people have birthdays? Wait, focus. “I don’t really know how snowperson aging works, but she’s not like a baby. She’s actually a student this semester.” They grow up snow fast.

👏

1

Scram ( durge: Dreuer )

marilewd

👏

Close

He tilts his head a bit before bursting into laughter once again. “Alrighty, then! Thank you for warning me about your daughter’s massive snow tits,” he chuckles. “But uh, around? She gonna be ok if she comes inside? Oh, and what about when spring comes around? How old is she, anyways?” His tail is swishing back and forth quickly as he rapid fires several questions at once. So, sauna after? Hmm… a better place to strike.

Rue stifles a laugh with her hand, surprised at her own reaction. How many days had it been since she smiled, let alone laughed? But she’s a druid after all; she shouldn’t be surprised that the outdoors would lift her spirits. And if anyone can have a bad time around Snoelle, they’re beyond Rue’s ability to help. “Sorryyy, I always think of Tieflings as being “hotter than the hells”—“ She adds the air quotes as she speaks. “—but there’s two that are ice.” Oti’s frequent refrain is stuck in her mind. “But if you wanna meet her, she should be around.” Rue sits up a little straighter, craning her neck to look. “She’s a sentient snowperson, and she’s got… *pop*” She makes a little noise with her mouth and holds her hands up in front of the bib of her snoveralls (I said it, fight me about it) to mimic Snoelle’s reduced but still enormous boobs. “Then maybe I’ll check out the sauna… sounds nice.”

He’s silent for a few moments, but then he just starts to laugh. “Hahaha! Oh my gods… ooooh…” His tail slaps around on the couch. “Okay okay, I like you! Cute and hilarious! Whew…” Once that’s out of his system, he leans back, arms folded behind his head. “Well, okay, I like snow. Looking at it. What I really hate is cold weather. I’m cold enough as it is!” When he shook Rue’s hand earlier, it likely felt a bit cold to her. “Cold blooded tiefling,” he says, pointing at his face. “Fucking sucks ass. But I wanted to come on the trip because it seemed fun! Plenty of ways to keep warm. I actually just got back from the sauna…” Where I totally fumbled the bag. “So. Snow person daughter with your ex. Love, I’m very intrigued. I’d actually wanna meet her for real, snow be damned!”

“Yeah, we were on it earlier, then I brought her in here to sit with some cocoa. I should probably find her…” She pauses then, realizing how strange that probably sounds. “Kay, but she’s not like, a child child. It’s kind of a long story, but my ex and I brought a snow lady we made to life, and now she calls us her moms. I know you don’t like snow, but you’d like her.” Then she pauses again. Her head cocks to the side as she considers the obvious contradiction in front of her. “Dude, if you hate snow, why are you here?”

Daughter?! Damn, she looks way young to be a mom. Would it be weird if I called her a MILF? “O-oh? Hey, what’s awesome. I bet they’re having a hella good time here!” he beams, leaning back against the couch. His tail thumps against the couch idly. “You take em to that kiddie hill? I’d try it out, but I lowkey hate snow.” He’s been trying really hard to earn that enchanted tattoo from Buritak- one that’ll keep him warm no matter where he is. He saved a spot for it on his upper thigh, even. Guess he’s not worthy yet, though.

Rue takes his hand, looking down at it and the ink covering it. He’s cute, duh, but the tattoos add a whole new level. The boy’s a walking art piece. “Russ? Rue. I’m here with my… daughter? But like, it’s complicated.” Extremely complicated. Why didn’t you just say you were here alone?

“Nope!” he grins, showing off rather pronounced canines. “But would you like to?” He leans forward to offer out his hand to shake. While he’s wearing a thin long sleeved top, his entire hand, including his palm, is covered in an intricate geometric-style tattoo that is clearly visible. “Russula, or Russ for short.” Gods, she’s cute. I love redheads…

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

ktwht (Tav: Rue)

ktwht

Close

“Hey,” she chuckles as she watches him sprawl out across from her. “Kind of. Uh… do I know you?” It’s a genuine question, accompanied by a curious smile. The cold air has cleared her mind considerably.

A purple tiefling bundled up in a gigantic black puffer bursts into the lobby, shivering violently as he removes his multiple layers: the aforementioned puffer, the thinner jacket underneath, his scarf, and gloves… Sometimes he misses Calimsham. “Alright! That fireplace is calling my-“ Oops, there’s someone on the couch. Maybe he shouldn’t talk to himself. Instead he should talk to the person sitting on the couch! Genius. “Hey,” he says with a little head nod. “Ohh, what is that, chai? That’s a great idea…” He flops onto one of the other couches nearby. “Just gotta warm up before I move… I feel like my bones are frozen.” He shakes some snow off of his hooves, letting it melt into the rug beneath him. “So, you here alone?”

A rosy cheek half-elf makes her way in from the outside. She’s spent a long enough time outdoors for now between boarding with Sno and then sliding on her own. It’s time to warm up. And then she really ought to catch back up with her daughter before she gets up to snow good. For now, Rue sits by the fire with a hot cup of chai, staring peacefully into the flames.

4

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

Pim { Tav: Olifyr }

pimentisa

Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob]

.mushrooming

Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

theheckmachinebroken

Close

🏔️ 🔥 🩷 🏔️ 🔥 🩷

“Oh please, Helaena,” he huffs. “There’s a perfectly functional table in our room. We will be eating on that. I don’t need crumbs in the bed.” She must be reading his mind, because he’s also been eyeing that bathtub. It’s a far cry from the barely big enough for him tubs in the dorms. “The tub did look quite roomy. I might be able to sit in it with my legs stretched out all of the way,” he muses happily. Some more of that biting cold wind blow, making even him shiver. “Let’s head in, then. There’s a smaller fireplace in our room, anyways. And we can get unlimited hot chocolate from the lobby. Hmm… not sure I’ll ever want to leave, now that I think about it…” The pair make their way back to their hotel room… https://discord.com/channels/1151902831310274651/1301606057784639519/1335742423480926339 -# Ok sorry guys y’all can have this thread back now

1

ktwht (Tav: Rue)

ktwht

Close

Her toes are starting to freeze solid, so maybe he has a point. “Yeah, we should head in,” she admits. “But… roomservice? Boletus Zales, are you suggesting we eat in bed, like savages?” Apparently he’s fine with snacking in bed, but the one time she brought in a bowl of ramen he’d put his foot down. She loves her ridiculous tiefling and his arbitrary limits. “I’m fine either way, but I am in favor of a plan that includes curling up in bed together at some point… Ooh or we could see if that tub is as roomy as it looks.” Their hotel room is nothing _fancy_, but it is nicer than an aging university dorm.

“And I promise to always be available to lend myself out as a heated pillow should you need it, and to reach all of the things on the top shelf that you can’t get to, so you don’t need to waste a spell slot on a levitate spell or something.” He shakes his hand up and down a few times, sealing the deal. “You are everything to me, and you always will be.” When he pulls his hand away, he looks back out towards the snowy field. It’s a lot quieter now, not many people wanting to hang around outside in the cold at night. “I know I’m warm, but I can only do so much. Are you ready to head inside? Maybe grab some dinner? Oh… we could always get room service. Hmm.” His tail flickers around a bit.

He’s offering a pinky promise to always be her friend. She’s not sure if she should laugh or cry, but either way a strange sound gets caught in her throat as she links her pinky with his, the size difference near-absurd. “I promise to always love you, even if that love stops being romantic,” she vows in turn. “And I promise to keep feeding you snacks, and to talk your head off about the latest book I wrote. I promise to always be your best friend, no matter what else happens.” Her voice is just a little shaky, but she manages. No, it’s not a proposal, but it still matters. It’s a promise that what they have is important, no matter what happens to the romantic and sexual aspects of it. “I never want to lose you, Boletus. You’re far too important to me for that.”

The hand around her shoulders moves to her back, rubbing it in slow, gentle circles. “Hey, it’s okay,” he soothes. “You’re doing neither of those things. I feel the same way, anyways. I want you in my life for as long as you will have me. Whatever that looks like.” He never thought he’d get to have love like this, so he has never bothered to dream of a future with someone by his side. Her tomato blush is even clearer thanks to the brightness of his flame. He extinguishes it, holding out a pinky out toward her instead. It’s not like they’re proposing to each other. It’s far too early for that. No, it’s merely a promise. “I promise to stay in your life, even if our love doesn’t last,” he vows. “You were my dearest friend before we said our I-love-you’s. I never want to lose that. So? What do you say?”

”Don’t say that,” she scolds mildly, but she’s too busy blushing furiously to really protest his habitual self-deprecation. “It’s not… I’m sorry, I didn’t say that to pressure you, or be… too much. But I can’t really imagine a world where I wouldn’t want to at least be your friend. Not anymore. You’re too important to me for that.” They’ve barely been together more than a month, and here she is casually throwing around phrases like for the rest of my life. What is she doing? Maybe she’s waited long enough to know what she wants. And maybe what she wants isn’t something that ends once their time at Strixhaven is over. She’s not asking for marriage and kids and a white picket fence. She’s not even 100% she’ll ever want that, but certainly not now. But more of this? Them? Absolutely.

“I am deeply honored,” he answers, complete with a small bow of his head. “Never would I have thought myself to be more loved than the illustrious and all-important lemon pie.” The flame in his hand grows bigger and brighter, perhaps in response to his own heart rate increasing. “For the rest of your life…?” He doesn’t know what to say. It’s a lot for him to think about. All he knows is that no matter what it looks like, he would want Helaena to be a part of his life until it was over. “Wow. A lifetime supply of Helena’s beef jerky… what an amazing lottery I’ve won. I’ve probably exhausted all of my luck meeting you.”

Her gasp is playful, even facetious, but the way her heart seems to grow to twice its size can’t possibly be healthy. “That much, huh? I edge out even the tartare? Well I love you more than… lemon pie. And toffee.” Big words for someone with a sweet tooth as massive as her. “I really love lemon pie, Bo. You should be honored,” she tells him with a grin brighter than the sun that’s disappeared behind the mountain. “I love you so much I’ll make you beef jerky for the rest of my life if you’ll let me.” She… didn’t mean to say that out loud. Whoops. Well, to be fair, she’d still happily make him beef jerky after an amicable breakup, but still…

“I had once dreamed of knowing what fiend had been introduced into my bloodline,” he confesses. “But that could have happened millennia ago. All I know is that whoever they were, they came from the Hells, likely the first layer, judging by my skin tone and natural fire magic.” His tail swishes about curiously. “My research was fruitless, and one I found unfulfilling in the end. This plane is much more a home to me than the Hells ever could be.” Holding the fire close, he leans down to kiss her, surrounding Helaena with more warmth than she would know what to do with. “I love you too. More than…” Anything else in the entire universe. “… beef jerky. And tartare.”

No, it’s not a fireplace, and yes, she can cast warming spells of her own. But it still means the world to her he’ll use his magic to keep her warm. “I like your fire,” she tells him with a smile, burrowing into his shoulder as she leeches as much warmth as possible from him and the spell both. “It comes far more naturally to you than me.” She could cast a Shocking Grasp before she turned ten, but, unusually for wizards, it took her far longer to master the simple, ever-versatile Fire Bolt. “I love you,” she reminds him. “More than anything.”

“No, you weren’t good at hiding it,” he says with a rumbling laugh. “I knew how you felt. I just… wanted to make sure I could return the feelings in a way I felt that you deserved. Plus, I had the same fears.” ”Bo… don’t you think this is all too much? I like what we have now. Let’s not ruin it.” His chest feels warm at the admission. If it’s his heart and love of food she fell in love with, well, those are two parts of him that will never change. The last remnants of the sun are now gone, a harsh winter wind starting to blow. With his free hand, he summons a little flame and holds it close to Helaena. “It’s no fireplace, and I know you have plenty of your own magic, but…” He stops talking, the sight of her soft facial features lit up by the glow of his flames taking his breath away.

Something clicks into place as he speaks, and months of pining and back and forth will they won’t they finally begins to make sense. He finally stops talking, because she interrupts him without meaning to. “Gods, we’re both bloody idiots,” she laments. “I was trying not to scare you away by being too, well, me. I thought the only thing I’d get out of admitting I was in love with my best friend was losing that friendship.” He’d always been too important to her to risk it. Sad as it is she knows she’d have pined forever if it meant she could keep him as her friend. “I’m not… I wasn’t very good at it. It was probably far too obvious regardless. But I thought, well… I never thought you’d actually return my feelings in anywhere near the same way, and I’m past the point in my life where I’m looking for casual with no strings attached.” Their relationship couldn’t be anything further from that, and she loves it. They said I love you well before they saw each other naked, for hells’ sake. “I love a million little things about you that it would take hours to list, but… most of all I fell in love with your heart. And your love of food,” she admits.

Helaena doesn’t have dark vision, and thank the gods for that. He’s sure his orange cheeks are flushed, and can only hope the dark sky can hide that. Sure, some magic lights have since turned on, but they’re rather dim, more mood lighting than anything else. “Really? That far back?” he gasps, letting out a few nervous chuckles. “Well, your pizza was worthy of my reaction. Maybe that’s when I at least became interested in you.” She doesn’t need to know about how that noise she made when she ate it made me feel. “I was… such an ass,” he sighs. “When I was sick. I acted like a fool. I said awful things, and yet…” You still stayed. “It was the first time someone other than my mother or my sister ever cared. But I didn’t want my only reason for falling for you to be because you took care of me. I didn’t want to put you in that position. So… I held back. I wanted to be sure my feelings were real, and not just me clinging to the first person who showed me a single ounce of kindness.” Bo finally follows what his tail is doing, an arm wrapping around Helaena’s shoulders to pull her in close. “Now I know that I love you for so many other reasons. I love that way you dance around the kitchen. I love the way you hit the snooze button on your alarm while your eyes are still closed. I love the braid you put your hair in after washing it. I love the way you push your glasses up when you’re thinking really hard about something.” Good gods, I need to stop talking.

If anyone looked at her right now, they’d see the disgustingly besotted look on her face. Fortunately, it seems like her and Boletus are alone. “Really? That’s when?” She still remembers that day of course. Her worry, her fear, her mortification at the realization Bo is really fucking fit under those chunky cardigans, the chicken soup… “I think I first realized I could love you when you got really excited about my pizza,” she muses. “But I don’t think I can pinpoint exactly when I fell.” It happened slowly, and she was in denial for most of it. It snuck up on her, really, until it was as undeniable as the sunset. “I was trying so hard not to love you I’m not sure when I lost the fight. Embarrassingly early, probably,” she quips. It felt so horrifically one sided for so long. Hopeless. Six months ago she’d never believe this was possible. She’s never been happier to be wrong.

Leave to Helaena to fill him with the sort of hope that still feels so alien to him. Instead of dreading the end, she looks forward to the next. And the “next” she looks forward to is full of love and light. “Then I will give those moments to you,” he swears, like some sort of paladin making an oath. “So many that you’ll never remember what it was like to be without them.” He looks toward the sky, a thin orange stripe still left on the horizon. The beauty of this moment makes him want to reminisce about the “firsts” between them. “Remember when I had that cold? Last semester?” he asks, seemingly out of nowhere. “I think that’s when I fell in love with you.”

”With you? Almost always.” Her eyes slip closed as she breathes him in, enjoying this moment of closeness. “But then I remember when it ends, we get to make more. Thousands more, if I have my way.” Why would she ever want this to end? He makes her happy, happier than she’s ever been as an adult, and they love each other. She tries not to think too far ahead, not to worry or plan too far into the future, but… almost every dream of five or ten years in the future still has this. Still has them. Even though it’s far too soon. Her heart doesn’t care. “I want so many moments like this they start to blur together in my head. Until I forget to count.” Until there are no more firsts left, and instead just a million 10ths and 34ths and 52nds. Until she loses track altogether, and it’s just a blur of happiness and joy and love.

His tail wraps tighter around her legs as they kiss. It feels like they’re in their own little world, the sun setting and creating the most perfect backdrop just for them. When he pulls away, he doesn’t stray far. His forehead rests against Helaena’s and simply stays there. “Sometimes, I wish certain moments could last forever. Don’t you?” This would definitely be one of them.

Her eyes leave the sunset to meet his. His eyes have always held all the warmth of the sun to her, regardless. “I love you too,” she tells him with a smile. The sunset might be beautiful, but she has her own sun right here with her. She leans in to kiss him moments before the sun passes behind the mountain pass, the light dimming dramatically in the span of a heartbeat. “So much,” she whispers against his lips. -# [I make no excuses for her behavior, she’s just _like this._]

Without really thinking about it, he chuckles at that. Helaena might see his inner child, but he does not. She can see so many things he cannot. He hardly remembers his childhood, as if a large chunk of those memories were lost to the void. He has seen plenty of snowscapes bathed in the dimming light of a sunset. So he shifts his gaze toward Helaena as she leans against him, because seeing her in the orange and purple hues is a sight he has not yet seen. He almost wishes he had his camera to capture the sight of her blonde hair turning golden, of her blue eyes turning into a hard-to-describe greenish hue. But even the best lens might not be able to accurately take the picture that his own eyes and mind are committing to memory. His eyes don't leave her, which is fairly obvious as he has to lean forward and bit and crane his neck downwards to even see what he's currently seeing. "I love you," he says quietly. The words come from his chest rather than his head.

”26th, yes, so we usually celebrated the day before.” It worked well for her. Celebrating with her family on the day off, then a nice breakfast on the day itself and off to school to celebrate with her friends. When she had them, that is. That’s another matter entirely, though. “I think we all deserve to have a bit of our inner child survive into adulthood. Some of that wonder and playfulness.” Bo’s enjoyment of food is certainly his inner child showing, if you ask her. Especially with snacks. That man loves his jerky and gummy bears. She leans against his shoulder, leaching his warmth as the golden light begins to turn orange. She always loved the colors of the sunset, but they’ve only grown more dear to her now they remind her of the man she loves. This one is particularly gorgeous, the bright colors enhanced by the blanket of pure white over the landscape, reflecting everything.

"Oh, right. Your nameday is in Tarsakh, yes? That's coming up in just a few months." Hmm. Better start planning her gift now. And a picnic sounds nice... He smiles at the memories of his sister building snowpeople and trying to spook him by throwing snowballs at him. She was so bad at sneaking around, but Bo would pretend he didn't know she was there anyways. "I'm glad she still has it. The way she plays in it now isn't much different than how she was as a kid. Forever a child at heart, I think." The sky is starting to turn that lovely orange shade as the sun starts to move lower in the sky, so he glances at his watch: 6:05 pm. "Look at the sky," he sighs. "It's almost time."

”The Gate’s prettiest in late spring, if you ask me,” she muses idly. “Around my nameday. We used to take a picnic to the park if the weather was fair.” Her middle name might be Ivy, but only because her mother had already called Jeyne Rose and had decided against Tulip or Hyacinth. In her darkest moments she’d found it rather appropriate to be named after a woman so foolish she started a war and a vaguely decorative weed. “I’m glad Otidea had that. All children should get to play in the snow.” I know you would do anything to ensure her happiness. It had taken less than five minutes in the presence of them both to realize how important Otidea is to him, and how much she looks up to her older brother.

The ugliness of his hometown, in his eyes, is softened by the beauty right in front of him. "Despite the constantly freezing weather, the city proper didn't have a lot of snow that stuck for long. The steel mills and furnaces burn almost 24/7. Not very conducive for snowfall." He gazes out at the snow in front of him now. "But my father's house was on the outskirts of town, far enough away that we would have actual snow. Otidea loved to play in it." They didn't have these lovely pine trees, the area between Melvaunt and Thar being mostly rocks, but that meant the snow looked quite pristine whenever it fell. Miles and miles of hilly land covered in it, unmarred by heavy traffic, as sparsely populated at that area was. Now, he can't help but want to visit the Gate to see where Helaena grew up. He wishes he had a prettier home to show her in turn.

”No, down in the city we’d mostly get slush. Only the stuff sticking on the roofs would be pretty for more than a few hours.” Snow in cities is beauty quickly marred by people. She got so used to thinking of it as a briefly aesthetically pleasing inconvenience as a teenager the beauty of the winters at Strixhaven blew her away. Once she had her wits about her enough to appreciate them at least. They still make her long for summer on occasion, but she much prefers snow to the slush and freezing rain common in the Gate. “How was it in Melvaunt? It’s so much further north… it must be snowy up there a lot longer.” If Melvaunt went from a place she could point to on a map and say one or two moderately intelligent things about to somewhere she had researched as deeply as the resources at Strixhaven would allow once she started getting to know Bo better… well, that’s between her and the Moonsea section of the main library.

"It is..." he mutters, leaning on the guardrail while his eyes are tracing the silhouette of her profile. His tail curls behind her legs and gently squeezes. Bo is essentially a camping expert, mostly against his will. But he will admit the tranquility of nature brings about a peace in his mind like nothing else. Perhaps he can share that joy with Helaena one day. He'd be happy to do every single thing: pitching the tent, building the fire, cooking over the campfire, while all she'd have to do is laze around in a hammock. "Right... don't imagine you'd see snow like this over at the Gate..." he replies absentmindedly. Talk more. I want to watch your lips move. -# I swear he's just coming up with this all on his own wtf

1

ktwht (Tav: Rue)

ktwht

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Perhaps oddly for a person so prone to getting cold, Helaena loves the snow. Exactly this sort of beautiful winter weather is one of her favorite things in the world, especially because it was a rare treat back home in the Gate. Strixhaven tends a bit colder, but she never lost the sense of wonder at waking up to the world being covered in a blanket of fresh, crisp snow. “It’s so beautiful out here,” she marvels as the looks at the golden sunlight hitting the snowy slopes. “There’d be snow on Dusthawk Hill quite often when I was growing up, but it’s nothing compared to this.” She might not be the most outdoorsy person, but that’s more being a creature of comfort than any lack of appreciation for the charms of nature. Still, she could perhaps be persuaded to the merits of a more outdoorsy lifestyle… with the right motivation.

The blast of cold air hitting his face as they open the glass doors is oddly refreshing, the scent of crisp snowy air filling his senses. "Ahh, that is nice. And, oh, you're absolutely right. This is stunning..." They're fairly high up, granting them a wonderful view of the seemingly endless forest of snow-covered pine trees, along with one of the larger ski slopes. Since it's a bit later in the day, the amount of people still skiing has dwindled. The remaining skiers look like little ants sliding down a little hill. He glances over at Helaena, because how is he not supposed to look at her? Just as he predicted, her cheeks, ears, and the tip of her nose are already a rosy shade of pink. Does he look at her, or the view? Why doesn't he have two sets of eyes so he can do both at the same time? As they make it to the railway, it seems like his eyes have decided to stay glued to Helaena. It's not sunset yet, anyways.

She’d brought her warmest coat for this trip for a reason. Besides, magic exists, even if she shouldn’t use all her juice on warming spells. Her gloved hand slips into Bo’s, giving it a fond squeeze. Why would she not hold his hand when she has the option? “Bo, I’ll be fine, I promise. It’s not that cold, and you’re here.” She squeezes his hand again in emphasis. It’s absurd how fond she’s gotten of just holding hands. “Come on, the best view is this way,” she encourages, tugging his hand towards a southwest-facing overlook she remembers from her last visit.

Back with her puffy jacket that makes her look like the marshmallows he adores so much, his tail sways happily at the suggestion. "Oh, that sounds perfect. Let's see..." He hands over the jacket while checking the weather app on his phone. "6:12 pm, it says. Wonderful, we have about 20 minutes until sunset then." Clad in his own winterwear, more so because he likes how it looks and feels, he offers an ungloved hand for Helaena to hold. "I would worry about you being outside for that long, but I know you'll be fine with this puffer. And me, your personal space heater, I guess."

”You’re too sweet,” she protests, but she knows these little chivalries, holding doors and fetching coats, are part of how he shows he cares. Even if it is a little old fashioned, she loves him for it. It takes a moment to zip up her boots again, discarded at the foot of the sofa so she could get comfortable, and then off she goes after folding up the blanket they used and returning their mugs to the bar. “Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to see? It’s almost sunset, it’s pretty spectacular over the mountainside.”

He stands up, taking it upon himself to ruin the perfect cozy set-up they had going on. On the bright side... that just means they get to go through the wonderful process of warming right back up all over again one they come back. Gross. "It is cold," he agrees, only because he knows it is, despite how he perceives it to be. "You hung it up by the doorway, right? I can grab it for you." He can only smile lovingly as Helaena speaks his mind for him. Food has always been one of his greatest pleasures.

”A walk it is,” she agrees. “I’ll have to find my coat, though, it looks to be cold out.” Bo seemingly never really gets cold. She’s yet to figure out how his infernal heritage seems to defy the laws of thermodynamics, at least up until a certain point. On the other hand he seems to sweat and overheat easily. “And what’s wrong with that?” she teases right back with a grin. “We both love to eat, and food is one of the greatest pleasures in life… no harm in looking forward to it.” Besides, a good meal is only improved with good company in her book. Is it boring that one of her favorite activities to do with her boyfriend is simply cooking and sharing a meal? Probably. Especially since another is falling asleep on the couch watching documentaries. She doesn’t care.

"A walk would be nice. The scenery here is lovely, even if I saw snow more often than not growing up." Plus, I like the way cold weather makes your nose pink. Snow used to be a bother. It's hard to appreciate it's beauty when you have to trudge through it with a bunch of gear on your back and a body temperature that just melts the snow around your feet so that the ground just becomes wet, cold mud. "Sometimes I feel like all we do is just find ways to fill out time until our next meal," he says with a laugh. "That bone in ribeye is calling my name..." The end of his tail starts to thump around in Helaena's lap.

She giggles at the concept of _flavoring the marshmallows_, as if he couldn't just get flavored marshmallows to melt. Said giggle is mostly cut off by his lips on hers, but she's still smiling into the kiss, humming at the taste of, well, chocolate-flavored marshmallows. Maybe he has a point. "That was one of the things I wanted to do, too. But I almost always want to kiss you." It makes her stupidly happy he's gotten to the point of being comfortable kissing her in public, at least sometimes. That he doesn't protest the clasp of their hands as they walk, or her habit of pecking his cheek in greeting and farewell. "The vista? Hmm, sure, we can take a walk. Work up an appetite for dinner, maybe," she teases, as if both of them didn't already check the menu of the place they'd be eating that night days in advance. She'd refrained from making a reservation only because they didn't take them from lodge guests.

“Oh, Helaena,” he says with a shake of his head. “It wouldn’t be the same without the chocolate at the bottom. It flavors the marshmallows!” But just melting a a whole bag and eating that? Sounds like a food crime Bo would actually commit. “What else do I want to do…? Hmm.” He looks around again. It’s still just them. Most everyone much be enjoying the slopes… Not these two grandparents. So he tilts her chin up and kisses her softly, the taste of marshmallows mixing with his woodsmoke and pine scent. Bo is essentially the essence of a camping trip. “That was one of the things I wanted to do,” he says as he pulls away. “I’m still thinking of what else there might be… maybe we can stand out on the vista?”

Helaena grins like a fool, stupidly endeared by his absurdly sugary marshmallow habit. “Bo, your face is covered in melted marshmallow,” she laments, reaching up to wipe at it with her thumb, but it’s no good, it’s too sticky. “At some point you should just melt a bag of marshmallows and not bother with the hot chocolate.” She still pops the resulting sticky thumb in her mouth, humming at the overwhelmingly sweet taste. She prefers her own hot chocolate a bit less saccharine, but few flavors don’t have their appeal when Bo loves them so dearly. Her own hot chocolate needs reheating, too, something she does with a mumbled cantrip and a soft sound of pleasure as the decadent melted chocolate hits her tongue. Sure, marshmallows are great and all, but to her it’s all about the chocolate. “So what else do you want to do today? I don’t have any plans whatsoever. We can do whatever your heart desires, my love.” She puts a slight emphasis on the endearment, well aware it makes her sound like a grandmother. She doesn’t care. She loves him.

“Well, you did say almost anything. I guess even my voice can’t make that one sound good.” The marshmallows in his hot chocolate are staring to dissolve, Bo having been too preoccupied with his conversation to even remember to drink it. When he takes a big sip, white foam is left on his upper lip. “Darn. I let that get cold,” he mumbles, channeling his fire magic into the cup to the point where the liquid starts to simmer. When he takes another drink, the marshmallow mustache just gets more prominent as more foam is added onto it. “Ahh… much better.”

”Lotus blossom,” she offers after he’s perfectly described the other notes in her favorite shampoo. “I didn’t realize your nose was that sensitive.” The fact he’s noticed, taken the time to notice… it makes her wonder what other parts of her she thinks too unimportant to care about he’s perceived. If she was blushing already, it deepens as he suggests calling her lemon pie in the bedroom, if for a different reason than he might expect. She laughs too, though. “Yes, it might not go on the list of sexy nicknames. It’s more silly than anything.” She doesn’t mind silly. Silly means she’s comfortable enough with someone to be silly. “But in private… well, I’ll definitely take it over carrot cake. I’d prefer to keep that out of our bedroom in any context.”

“I was merely testing the limits of your previous statement,” he counters. “Of course I’d never call you a carrot cake. Now a lemon pie? Maybe… you do smell quite lemony often. And you’re sweet like a pie.” He leans in close again, burying his face into her hair. -# No room for Helm anymore… “Hmm. Lemon, some sort of floral scent, vanilla… it’s close enough.” He was always called a dog while he was in the army. He was never sure if it was an insult or a compliment. Either way, he sure does have the sense of smell like one. “I’ll save calling you a lemon pie for the bedroom. Oh, oh… not for bedroom activities, though. I think that’d spoil the mood. No, I just mean in private.” They both meant to do some leisurely reading, but all they’ve done so far is eat snacks and banter. It seems to be plenty entertaining for the both of them.

She's only the slightest bit disappointed when he moves away. Just a little. We're in public. "Of course you don't bore me to death," she starts to protest, but then snorts with laughter as he offers carrot cake as an endearment. "Carrot cake? Really? Not that I'm objecting to cake-based terms of affection, but _carrot_? Couldn't I at least be chocolate cake," she objects, just as expected. She knows full well carrot cake isn't his favorite, after all. "My little lemon pie, maybe. Since that's my favorite dessert," she offers.

“You’ve said as such before,” he says, leaning away from her to rest against the back of the couch. -# Leaving room for Helm… “I’m just happy I don’t bore you to death. But calling you anything? I know you don’t mean that. What if I just… called you something ridiculous like ‘my little carrot cake.’ Surely you would object.”

Please never stop whispering my name in my ear. "Either one's fine. Either one sounds wonderful if it's you saying it." She squirms a little as his hot breath tickles the sensitive skin under her ear. This is not the time to think about how good it feels when he kisses that exact spot. He's much more conscious than she is of behaving in public, so it's a true rarity to have him be the one pushing the limits. She's as soft as sunwarmed butter in his hands, especially when he's weaponizing that voice of his. "I think you could call me almost anything and I'd like it," she admits. "I quite like listening to you talk."

If he were to be honest, he greatly enjoys the few moments where he’s able to get the upper hand. Helaena can’t hide a blush at all. “Formal? I suppose it is,” he continues in his lowered volume close to her ear. “I know you said you like it, but would you prefer I start using Laena?” He repeats it as if he were conducting some sort of survey. “Lae-na. He-lae-na. Hmm.” Either name feels lovely coming out of his mouth either way. -# [gross]

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

ktwht (Tav: Rue)

ktwht

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"True, we musn't neglect- _oh._" It's her turn to blush as he whispers her name in her ear, drawing out each syllable like a caress. He's one of the only people to consistently use her full name, she's either Laena or Ms Cresswell to almost everyone. If his plan was to turn the tables on her, it's certainly working. She's blushing like a tomato, her first attempt at speech simply a wordless stutter. "I'm glad you like it?" Somehow it sounds like a question. "I didn't realize- that that was why. You always used the full name I mean. It always struck me as a little formal, but... I really like it when you say it."

The barrage of terms of endearment, as silly as they progressively became, still affect him to the point that he has to turn his head away to blush. His expression is one that seems to be embarrassment mixed with fondness. “I-I… good heavens, Helaena,” he stammers. “I can only take so much.” The very tip of his tail flickers. “You’ll hear no protests from me. Well, maybe if you try and call me a ‘cavity creator’. I take dental hygiene far too seriously for that.” After surveying his surroundings briefly, he determines it’s safe to engage in a little PDA. How daring of him. So he places a small kiss on Helaena’s ear, whispering into it. “As for me, I always loved calling you by your name the best. Maybe that’s boring, but I just love to say it. He-lae-na.”

”You joke, but I would have sworn to love you forever for a bag of toffees. Ugh, Rhi buys this one brand sometimes…” She is easily distracted by the prospect of candy. Helaena is a simple woman. “But if you protest, my beloved, I can always find other things to call you. My love. My darling. My sweetheart. The apple of my eye, my sugar plum, my cavity creator…” She can’t help but laugh as her proposed endearments get ever sillier, but the offer is genuine. She’d never call him anything he was uncomfortable with. Bo looks happier, too. Lighter. His smiles are easier, his laughs more frequent. He still has bad days, who doesn’t, but she can see the difference since they first started to truly spend time together. It’s probably not just wishful thinking.

He follows by scooping up the rejected dried fruits himself. He likes the texture much better than the raw ones. “Alright, alright,” he concedes, thoroughly convinced that his little anxieties are mostly unfounded. “I am happy to hear that. You having more free time, I mean. Oh, and being the one you chose to fill it with.” She just looks so much more rested, the color in her cheeks and the light in her eyes much brighter than they were last semester. He would know. He spent a lot of time looking at her face, whether it was stealing glances at her when they studied together, or all of those moments where they got so close, he could have kissed her were he not such a coward. “Calling me ‘your beloved’ is pretty grandma-adjacent language, too,” he jokes fondly, bumping his head against hers. “I should have brought a bag of those caramels for you.”

”Bo, my beloved, if I ever turn down snacks I’ve been replaced by an illithid.” She happily accepts a handful of trail mix, but picks out the dried fruit. She can do it in baked goods, but on their own, no thanks. “But for the record, I never feel obligated to spend time with you, or as if you’re hogging me. Besides, I, uh, I have quite a bit more free time than I used to. I’m just filling a lot of it with you.” Amazingly, her grades hadn’t cratered, and her student evaluations hadn’t as much as dipped. It probably helps she’s actually taking a normal course load, now… But fighting the perfectionist desire to always do everything, immediately, and always give everything 200%? It’s helped a lot. “I’ll tell you if my desire to spend time with you and my desire to spend time with my friends ever conflicts, okay? But the most that’s happened so far was me realizing I’d rather get takeout and watch a documentary with you than go clubbing, which, if anything, proves I was born clutching a set of hair curlers and a tin of homemade cookies.”

It will always be a bit of an insecurity for him, the idea that he is stealing someone away from someone else. It's why he's mostly kept his distance from his sister. And while he has enjoyed all of the moments he's spent with Helaena, he still has the same worries. Her social circle has always dwarfed his own, Part of the reason Bo clings so strongly to the few he has tried to date is because, to him, he has no one else. Helaena is the just the only one who has ever matched his strong committal energy. But he figures he's the one who has more to lose were anything to happen. Smothering her is the last thing he wants to do. "Don't worry Helaena," he laughs. "I've embraced it long ago. Sometimes I feel as if I was born with an argyle sweater on." And would you look at that, he is sort of wearing one right now. "Oh, are you hungry? I got the biggest bag of trail mix I could," he offers, holding out said large bag full of a mix of nuts, dried fruits, and candy.

"On a skiing slope at least," she clarifies. "I prefer being able to trust the ground under my feet." Same for ice skating. Rhiannon adores it, but she was falling on her ass every five seconds. The bruises had taken a tenday to fade. "And, well, since we're apparently grandparents already, we might as well embrace it, no? Be exactly as boring as we damn well please." If his tail is clinging to her, she's clinging back, all but buried in his warmth and halfway inside his knitted cardigan. He's just so comfy. And he smells so nice, and she loves him so much... She's down bad. "Hmm? Oh, sure, I'll spend some time with the others. But we have plenty of time for this, too." She's never considered Bo might cut into the time she spends with her friends. She still spends time with her friends. She just spends most of the time she would have spent alone with him instead, now. It's nice, to be alone together, even if they're just studying in the same room. Why would rarely eating or sleeping alone be a bad thing? Besides, many of her friends have all sorts of other things to do. That boyfriend she's half-engaged to, in Rhiannon's case.

"Two left feet, huh?" That sounds too risky, then. "Maybe," he shrugs, shoving a handful of trail mix into his mouth. "I might prefer what we're doing right now... even if this is what we already always do together. Besides, there is something more romantic about the setting." His tail is already curled up tightly around Helaena, as if she were going to float away. "However, despite what my tail is doing, don't feel obligated to spend this entire trip with me. Sometimes I worry I'm hogging you from all of your friends."

"I'm glad, too." She never would have gone if he hadn't agreed. They would have stayed back at Strixhaven together, instead. But a change of scenery might be nice. If nothing else, the food is good. "Skiing? Uh, no, not really, I've gone sledding a few times, and Rhi dragged me skating once, but I'm not really any good at it. I like the snow, but... Two left feet." She wiggles her toes, currently wedged against his toasty warm leg, in playful emphasis. "We could try it if you want, though. They rent all the gear out here."

"I've never been before today," he sighs, leaning his head against Helaena's. "I never saw much of a reason to go. But I'm glad I came." He can only chuckle about Helaena's younger siblings woes. As the big brother, he would always simply give up the good spots to Otidea. Her happiness was worth more than whatever minor comforts he would derive from being in the window seat, shotgun, whatever. "Have you ever been skiing before? I haven't. It's hard to say whether I would enjoy it or not..."

Helaena snuggles into his shoulder without a moment's hesitation. What does it matter if she gets too warm? The blanket can go before she lets go of her tiefling body pillow. "It's my specialty," she informs him as she sets her book aside for a moment to press a fond kiss to the corner of his marshmallow-stained mouth. "I'm the youngest of three. I had to claim the best spot immediately or know it'd be gone." Symon, of course, had always been enough of a little shit to simply steal said spot the second she left it unoccupied for even a split second. She'd learned to guard her nesting grounds carefully. Not just every loveseat is both close to the fireplace, the perfect amount of overstuffed, a pleasant material (she dislikes squeaky leather or scratchy wool) and has an end table perfectly placed for her hot chocolate and her book. Not that she couldn't have made do with a mage hand, but why should she have to? "I quite like it here. I think I've gone once or twice before, in undergrad. It hasn't changed much." Same comfortable lodge, same snowy slopes surrounding it, same fireplace with the same sofas. The choice of spot came from experience.

They must share the same really big brain cell, because this is almost exactly what Boletus does as soon as he hangs up his messenger bag and jacket, flicking snow off his tail (over the large door mat, of course.) He also orders a hot cocoa (they wouldn’t let him have as many marshmallows as he wanted)… and a somewhat large bag of trail mix, because he needs a snack at all times apparently. If Helaena wants to steal his knit wear, she’s in luck, because he’s wearing a rather large knit cardigan as per usual: a light brown with a subtle argyle pattern. “This is a lovely place,” he muses aloud. “And good job securing the best spot here before someone else did.” Between the fireplace, a blanket, and his own body heat, he wonders if it’s possible for Helaena to be too warm…

The first thing Helaena did after dropping off her bag was ordering a mug of hot cocoa. The second was finding exactly the best spot in front of the huge fireplace in the lobby and curl up under one of the provided blankets with a good book she'd chosen just for this exact purpose. Skiing? Sure, but she's mostly here to catch up on her leisure reading, enjoy the vistas, spend time with her friends... And maybe steal some of Bo's utterly cozy knitwear if she gets cold. She gets girlfriend privilege, that's definitely how it works. -# @Steffi 🍄 [Tavs:Mushroom Mob] (only if you want/no pressure)

Inside the lodge, at the center of it all is a large hearth with a roaring fire within. A number of sofas, armchairs, and loveseats are arranged in the open floor space. It’s a perfect place to warm up after spending time out on the slopes.

2

Alvilda (Tav: Helaena+)

alvilda_

Jackie (Tav: Meadhbh 🌿)

theheckmachinebroken

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