Grounds [evening]

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis had briefly gone back to her room to change from her gown into some comfortable pants and a warmer shirt before grabbing Ata and heading outside to meet Cor. She'd talked to Seely about the brawl, only fair she lecture the other boy involved.

That was her pretext, but really, she mostly had missed her friend.

[for he of the matching username, but open for all your ground-ly needs]

Comments

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

Cor wasn't sulking. He was used to being knocked down. He was, however, leaning against a tree in a decidedly schoolboy way, kicking at the dirt under his feet. He heard Aravis coming and looked up, looking a little worse for wear.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis let her dog run a little ahead of her, watching as Ata went to sniff at Cor's legs. "How badly are you hurt?"

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"I'm not hurt," he lied, crouching down gingerly to pet Ata.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis gave him a look. "Don't lie."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"Corin hits harder."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Seely is bigger. Come on. Stop sulking."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"I am not sulking!" he protested, standing back up. "I was not the one who took a friendly sparring session and turned it into a fight. I have no reason to sulk." He really did.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Seely said you baited him," Aravis said, raising her brows.

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

He faltered for a moment. "I wanted to understand why he didn't like me. When I guessed correctly, he didn't like it."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

She rolled her eyes. "It's not you he doesn't like, exactly. And I am sorry."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"Why are you sorry?" Cor asked, not exactly convinced that Seely didn't like him considering the bruises he had to prove otherwise. "You haven't done anything that needs an apology." He paused in thought. "Nothing recent anyway."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"I'm apologizing for him because he's probably not going to," Aravis said, shrugging. "And what have I done before that warrants an apology?"

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"You called me a thief when we first met," Cor replied with a small smile.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Already said sorry," she pointed out. "It was a logical assumption, though, really."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"At first. Then you kept at it, even after Bree started talking and insisted I wasn't."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"You were rude to me," she replied.

Pot, kettle.

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"You were rude first."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"No, you're just sensitive."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"I thought that was a good thing. I was reading one of those womens' books on glossy paper and it said that a man being sensitive was a good thing."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis stared at him.

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"What?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"...where did you find one of those?"

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"In the common room when I was fetching something for my bruises."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis sighed. "Don't read those. They're stupid."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"All right." Cor went quiet, feeling rather sulky. "We should probably be going soon. Father will send the whole army if we don't return soon enough for his liking."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

And now Aravis looked sulky. "I suppose so. How are you going to explain the bruises?"

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"I was knocked down. Father thinks it's good for boys to get used to fighting for when they're older."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis fidgeted. "At least it wasn't your brother."

[not-king-yet.livejournal.com]

"One good thing about eventually being King is that one day I'll be able to throw him in the dungeons if he tries to beat me."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"It's his way of being affectionate."