A Clearing in the Preserve, Wednesday Afternoon

[not_every_mage]

The different calendars made it hard to track exact dates, but Anders reckoned it was right about a year since the last time he got dragged back to the Circle -- and almost a year since what he hoped was his final escape had taken him to Fandom.

It was a victory. As far as he knew, no runaway his age had ever lasted anything like that long.

The thought of all that kept him cheerful as he set up for a picnic in the preserve with Nathan. He spread out a blanket, laid out the pasta salad, cheese, and fruit -- and then, out of restless energy, started picking violets. He wasn't sure what he'd do with them, but they were pretty.

[OOC: For the boy, please.]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"It looks more like a ram, actually," Anders informed him, undaunted. He pointed up to show Nathan what he was talking about. "Look. Head, legs, tail, and I think it's wearing a hat."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"What rams do you know that wear hats?" he asked, sliding onto his back to look up. "It just looks like a blob of white to me."

[not_every_mage]

"The hatted rams of Ferelden," Anders told him, rolling slightly to the side to nuzzle against Nathan's shoulder. "Use your imagination."

He squinted some more, pointed up again. "See? That one's a duck playing guitar."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I don't have much of an imagination," he stated, squinting at the clouds. "Not often, anyway. It looks like...I don't know, maybe a shoe to me?"

He glanced down at Anders.

"Are there clouds on my shoulder?"

[not_every_mage]

"There's me on your shoulder."

Anders had gotten bored with chatting and was trying to be halfway smooth about kissing Nathan. He suspected he wasn't doing a very good job of it.

... But at least he'd stopped talking about skin conditions, so that was something.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You're probably a little more interesting to me than clouds," he said, smiling quietly. "Or maybe a lot more interesting."

[not_every_mage]

"I'd be sad if I wasn't ," Anders said, more softly, and finally tilted his head up to claim a kiss.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"Clouds are pretty cool," he mumbled, giving Anders that kiss he was trying to claim. "All white and...fluffy."

[not_every_mage]

"Mmm," Anders agreed, mumbling between kisses. "Fascinating. Tell me more."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"About the clouds?" he asked, snickering quietly. "They move slowly and they're like sunglasses for the sun."

[not_every_mage]

"The sun needs sunglasses?" Anders asked, a smile in his voice. He'd moved a hand into Nathan's stomach to toy at the hem of his shirt. "I'm learning lots of things today."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I think it does," Nathan said, nodding. "I mean, what's the sun doing when the clouds cover it up, right?"

[not_every_mage]

"Makes sense," Anders agreed. "Probably it likes having them to talk to, too. I bet being the sun gets lonely."

His hand kept creeping up, running across smooth skin.

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan squirmed a bit but kept snickering and stayed mostly still. "What would the sun and clouds talk about? Us? Puny people below?"

[not_every_mage]

"They couldn't see us, could they?" Anders asked. He wasn't sure how to read the stillness, so his hand stayed about where it was. (It was a good place for a hand, anyhow.) "We're too small. Maybe they talk about the shapes they see in the land and the water and the big buildings."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

Nathan just didn't want to jostle him, that was all. He didn't want to squirm away even if it tickled a bit.

"You think we're too small?" he asked, glancing over at Anders. "The sun and clouds are big. They could have big eyes. Somewhere."

[not_every_mage]

"I can't argue with that," Anders had to agree. "We can't see them, but you aren't supposed to look right at the sun anyhow, and the the ones on the clouds might be hidden in ... cloud stuff. Fluffiness."

He lowered his head to kiss just beside Nathan's navel. Which probably would tickle, but he was feeling reckless.

"What do you think they think of us, if they are watching?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"That we're small," he said, letting a laugh slip through because that did tickle. "Small and sometimes ridiculous."

[not_every_mage]

"The sun and clouds are smart." Anders smiled up slyly and kissed a few more times in a rough triangle. "We are small and sometimes ridiculous."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"I think you're just talking nonsense now," Nathan said, peering down at Anders and snickering. "Barely even paying attention."

[not_every_mage]

Anders raised his chin to look up, mock confusion on his face.

"Am I supposed to deny that?" he asked, and then dropped the act for a moment. "I'd just ... rather kiss than talk right now. It doesn't help my concentration."

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"You could have just said that," Nathan laughed, shaking his head, "instead of going along with my ridiculous talks about clouds and sun."

[not_every_mage]

"But I like the way you think, and besides, that takes all of the fun out of trying to get you to be so overcome by desire you can't help yourself," Anders said -- and laughed, because he was being slightly ridiculous. "All right. Nathan, we've had a rotten couple of weeks, and I would really like to just make out with you until we forget about that. Interested?"

[halfbad.livejournal.com]

"It might be hard to make me become overcome with desire," he admitted, laughing. "I'm pretty low key in that area. You'd have to do a lot of work."

Still, he turned a little more towards Anders.

"But yes, I am interested."

[not_every_mage]

"I know, but luckily I like challenges," Anders told him, and stretched upward again, leaving his hands at Nathan's waist as he went to kiss him -- more deeply this time.

[OOC: Best bad icon ever?]