[closed]

[stonefaith]

Date & Time: 01/13, morning
Location: ALONG THE FROZEN THAMES
Characters: Syllona and Bariyan
Summary: sledding !!
Warnings: n/a

---

[ Bariyan's sitting at the edge of Exsilium, along the approximate shore of the Thames. The sled's still on the ice, with its cargo, and the harnesses are empty. The dogs are out and about, wandering, eating, resting, doing what sled dogs do. Bariyan waves at one and whistles her over. He digs around in the bucket at his side and tosses her a chunk of frozen meat once she's close enough.

He gives the bucket a rattle when that's done, and doesn't receive much of a reply. That's the last one, then. A few more minutes, and it'll be time to get going again.

Bariyan yawns and keeps watching the dogs. His attention is absolute. Nothing that walks on less than four legs is in his thoughts right now. ]

Comments

[lexiconning]

[ That makes sense, so at least this man isn't suspicious. Outwardly, anyway. ]

I'm Syllona of-- [ Her turn for pause, but more due to a snout nudging her leg. She yips, and hops a step away from the dogs. She sputters.] N-nnot. Wolves.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan blinks, then grins, then puts a hand against his forehead and bursts into laughter again. ]

Oh! That was good.

[ The dog that had nudged Syllona follows after her, tongue hanging, panting. Bariyan smiles at the two of them, still oblivious to anything wrong. ]

Aw. She likes you.

[lexiconning]

I, I can see that...

[ A gulp follows the sentence, Syllona frowning as the dog moved closer. Really, she wants to kick herself for it, but looking at it's open mouth all it takes is one glimpse of teeth approaching (no matter how innocently) and she's backing away.

...As well as she can, through the snow. ]

[stonefaith]

[ All right, now Bariyan's getting the picture. He frowns, whistles, and calls the dog back to his side to sit.

Then he gets up from his own seat and walks over to Syllona -- the dogs stay at a distance. ]

I'm sorry-- are you all right?

[lexiconning]

[ Her eyes are still on the dogs, wide and blinking before she snaps up to look at Bariyan. There's just the beginning of tears welling but she rubs them away viciously and side-steps away, mumbling from under her arm. ]

Fine. No problems here!

[stonefaith]

[ Now that he's paying attention, those tears aren't getting past Bariyan. He puts his hands on his hips, tilts his head to the side, and frowns. Oooh, there's something wrong here. ]

Are you... are you afraid of dogs?

[ He casts a glance over his shoulder, just to make sure the team is behaving and staying where they are. ]

[lexiconning]

Nope! No way!

[ Except yes, yes she is, dogs are terrifying. But she doesn't want to be, either. The moment she's sure the tears aren't showing she lowers her arm, sucking in a deep breath. ]

Its, um, just that I haven't come out this far before. [ Double whammy lie. ] The cold is getting to me.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan's suspicious, but he's not going to call her out on a suspicion. Or even on a certainty. It's not his place. So he just smiles. ]

We are a little far out. Here. [ Bariyan shrugs out of his coat, and swings it over Syllona's head to drape over her shoulders. He's got another coat on the sled. ] What brings you this ways, anyway?

[lexiconning]

[ A coat? Syllona is slow to react, uncertain of the gesture but... a big, warm coat is a hard thing to turn down. She curls her fingers into the edge and shifts in closer, watching the ground. ]

Er... Just, learning the area. [ She moves a foot and feels the slow give and crunch. She frowns. ] M'not used to s-snow.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan nods, then turns to walk towards the sled. The dogs follow after him in anticipation of moving on. ]

No? [ He smiles as he starts digging around on the sled for his extra jacket. ] You're not native, then.

[lexiconning]

[ A beat. ]

No. You either?

[ She trails along, further off and going on tip toes to better keep him in view. ]

[stonefaith]

Absolutely not. [ Bariyan's having some trouble finding the jacket, so he just grits his teeth, represses a shiver, and moves on to look at the empty harness. ] I only arrived here, mm, a little more than a month ago? What about you?

[ He shakes the harness out and looks to Syllona. ]

I'm going to strap the dogs in. You can help, if you'd like!

[ He doesn't expect her to take him up on that offer. He's just trying to warn her, tactfully. DOGS INCOMING. ]

[lexiconning]

Oh... [ The question has her scrunching her face in thought -- she stopped counting recently. She shifts her hands to poke her fingers out of the coat. One, two, three... Syllona nearly yells next, lowering the volume as she goes. ] Oh!! Ah-about eight months. [ A smile is ducked and hidden. ] I'm fifteen.

[ It's a good long moment before she answers again. staying put where she is, watching the dogs... She comes a little closer, at an angle where Bariyan is more between her and the sled team. ] Mmaybe.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan looks up sharply at her exclamation, but he doesn't ask about it. He is likewise surprised by her answer to what he intended as a warning -- but, hey, he's not going to actively discourage her. Besides, he knows the dogs will be good.

He whistles to himself. ]

Eight months... that's quite a while.

[ He moves to the front and calls the lead dog over, picks up the harness, folds it together, and deftly slips it over the dog's head and neck. Then he moves to her left side and turns to Syllona, beckoning to her. ]

If you'll just hold her harness in place for me? Just like I'm holding it now.

[lexiconning]

Yeah... I guess so. [ the bit of energy from her outburst makes the call over easier, thoughts not fully on the dogs when she makes her way over.

Its all the hesitation, she knows, that's the hardest part to get through so at Bariyan's instruction Syllona breaths in, then forces her hands to touch the harness. A poke first, feeling leather and watching the dog for any sign of snapping. A breath out when none comes, and she inches the rest of her fingers, gingerly, where his wants. ]

I can do that... Its easy. [ she's not looking at Bariyan when she says it, but she nods shortly; determined. ] If-if it stays still, I mean. Did the family you live with train them?

[stonefaith]

Not the family I lived in, but one of their friends. [ Bariyan gives the lead a scratch behind the ears, then leans over to pick up her left paw. ] I'm gonna pull her through -- just hold it right there, thank you!

[ He's already gone and started pulling her paw up through the harness loop before he's done speaking, though. ]