Meadow

When Ailill talked about Taika, Vesna could have sworn she saw a light in him that she hadn't noticed before. At least, a different kind of light. She could not help but grin at what he said, his comments having reminded her of her own mother, or a different version of herself. Once, she might have been seen as wild, free, a heart let loose on the world but... Well, she hadn't felt like those words had been fitting for her for some time. Those parts of herself had started to feel like a small bird trapped in a thicket, just loud enough to be heard if one listened close enough but otherwise locked out of sight, out of mind.

"One day, perhaps I'll be fortunate enough to meet her. She sounds like the kind of company I'd like," she said after a moment, having taken one to glance over Ailill again. Taika, was it? She couldn't help but wonder if Ailill thought there was much of her in himself, or if he'd ended up like her in a sense: keeping those parts of himself locked away, voluntarily or not.

Vesna had been caught off guard by her comfortable she had started to feel. Rather, she had at least stopped feeling uncomfortable, despite her tendency to feel a little awkward at the best of times. Perhaps, unknown even to her, she had felt a shift in Ailill's own energy; his excitement and curiosity fueled hers.

"Cold, and a little nervous, I think -- the excited kind," she said with a small laugh. She had barely noticed Ailill's awkwardness, too caught up in it all to have even considered that he might have an ulterior motive. The realization of having let that thought slip by made her take pause for a moment, a sudden rigidity in her body, but she was quick to breathe it out. "Thank you, Ailill. I'm Vesna," she offered her name with a small bow of her head, silently hoping that he hadn't taken offence to her moment of...concern. "We can warm each other, for I'm sure this is only a taste of what cold is to come." Vesna's grin had more than a hint of apology in it.

She took the first step towards him, then. In a way, it felt empowering to herself to be the one to do so. It felt strange, yet freeing in a sense, to cast away her suspicions if only for the time being. Ailill had given her his word and though words weren't tangible, she found confidence in knowing she could handle herself if things became dangerous. They were alone, yes, but that meant he had no backup either, and no way of calling for it either. She couldn't help but grin to herself, amused by the thought: sometimes, the safest place to be was trapped in a cave in the middle of a storm. Who would have thought of that?

The wind howled like a demon, she thought, or like some grand pack of wolves rushing at them. Yet, the icey plane that spread across the cave's mouth stood strong; Vesna could feel the wind trying to find its way through, cold tendrils at her legs from time to time. Yet, in front of them, the ice seemed to dance. She stood in awe, huddled up neatly next to Ailill, and her breath was like smoke. "Have you ever seen anything like it before?" She did not look at him when she asked, but she nudged into his shoulder gently to get his attention lest he, like she had been, was too fascinated by the storm playing out before them. "A few times, I've skated over frozen water. I always wondered...What would it look like from underneath? If I were down there floating, looking up..." She mused aloud, then looked to Ailill with a grin. "I'm starting to think I'll find answers to a lot of questions here, you know." Perhaps a strange thing to say, but Vesna couldn't help herself. For once, she felt almost relieved, and there was no way she wanted to just squander that feeling.