Sick as a dog <Shai City, North Pole>

[aden]

Aden heard Desna from outside and called back, "Okay. I'll be right there." He finished pulling on his boots and neatly tucked the edges of his pants into their tops. After that he stood up, smoothed out his shirt, and then grabbed his parka as he headed for the door. "I'll be back around noon, I think," he told his mother as he crossed the room.

Aden looked back in time to see her nod, but for some reason he couldn't help but feel she was giving him an odd look. The young warrior put it out of his mind though, and gave a farewell wave before slipping outside.

The morning air was chilly as usual, so he made haste in pulling his parka over his head. Desna was standing by the side of the house where he had stored her sled. "Feeling better, I hope..." he said as he approached, making small talk. Aden raised a hand and then dragged it across to the side, dissolving the barrier of ice he had erected around the sled to keep it safe. He pushed the water away and then froze it into the ground.

"So are you ready to go?" he asked, allowing Desna a moment to inspect the sled and make sure everything was accounted for.

[desna]

Desna trailed Aden outside of the house re-joining with Pikatti she kept pace behind the boy. She paused as he bent away the door from the shed he housed her sled in and she glanced at him carefully waiting until he'd finished bending to move forward. " I'm feeling a lot better, thanks." Honestly she could give him an ear full about how she had hated being there and disliked the healers but why ruin the day right?

A quick glance over her sled told her everything was in order, she trusted him enough to not go through her things, it would be odd for a boy to help a sick girl then rob her. Then again stranger things had happened.

Like the good boy he always was Pikatti plodded over to the sled as Desna ran the leather straps around his body buckling them in place before ruffling his head and giving him a bit of a hug. She slipped her coin pouch from inside the sack on the sled to inside her pocket. There were still some things she needed to do before she headed back home, she didn't know when she'd next be in Shai after all. When she felt 100% again she supposed.

" Yeah I guess, before I go I need to get whale oil, fish, sea weed, rice and flour." For some reason Desna couldn't bring it in herself to meet Aden's gaze, she just felt too odd about it. Instead sge pat her hip and began to walk off down the street with Pikatti following dutifully.

[aden]

Aden shrugged as Desna mentioned her need to gather some more supplies and simply said, "All right." He hadn't expected to have to do some shopping, but it wasn't too much of a hassle. Besides, he'd made a promise to see her safely back home and being well-supplied fell under the slause of 'Safely'.

The shopping delayed their departure by about a half hour, but by the time they were making their way towards the main wall and the lifts up to the shelf the sun was still low in the sky. Desna's sled was laden with her newly purchased supplies and Pikatti was easily towing them along. Aden was content to walk on his own, though he entertained toughts of fashioning himself a sled of ice and using bending to propel it along.

"So," he asked as they approached the lift that would take them up to ice shelf, "How far away is your house? I don't think I've ever asked exactly where you live."

[desna]

She was too tired to haggle, sure she could have saved a bit in doing so but instead she focused on the aspect of time and the prospect of slinking into her bed after having checked on the plants and putting everything away of course. For some reason even as Desna walked to the lift up to the shelf she was surprised Aden was still following her, not that she expected him to just walk away but he wasn't making much fuss over a good bye or even acting nervous as if he were about to say it.

With a guarded glance she turned her head toward Aden with a surprising jolt of pain from her neck, she merely put her hand to it tenderly and then set it straight again. " A couple miles? I don't know I've never measured it." He had said he was walking her home hadn't he? She couldn't help but be suspicious of such a claim, after all it was taking time out of his day, energy, why should he care? Things didn't add up.

" It usually takes about a half hour." She finally admitted pausing before the lift and turning towards Aden fishing her hat out of her coat pocket. " I should be fine, thank you Aden."

[aden]

Aden glanced sidelong at Desna while she pulled out her hat. By her tone it sounded like she was starting toward a farewell. He'd promised to her her home safely, though, and up until now he assumed that she expected him to hold true to his word. For a moment he just stood silently, pondering how to respond.

"Well, just to be on the safe side," Aden began to say while rubbing the back of his neck. He took a step ahead towards the lift as if to prompt Desna to continue the trip up to the shelf. "I should probably see you safely home. My mom will skin me alive if I don't, anyway..." The young warrior offered a small smile and shrugged helplessly.

He hadn't thought on it much, but chances are it was true. Despite the weird look his mom gave him about heading over to Desna's house, she'd probably be angry to hear he let a sick girl out on the tundra without any garuntee that she could even make the trip safely. And the more he could make this seem less like a social visit, the less awkward he would feel.

[desna]

So his parents were on his back about this, that made more sense than someone genuinely caring, why did it matter anyway? Resolutely Desna pulled the hat onto her head straightening it slightly turning towards the lift and consequently turning her back on Aden. Did she want him to care? Was that the problem, she didn't know but once again her stomach felt funny, she must have still been a little queezy.

" You really don't have to..." She offered trying to persuade him against following her but Pikatti was happy enough with the idea of a prolonged good bye, his tail was wagging, it was surprising how much he'd warmed up to Aden. Only a couple weeks ago he would have been growling and nipping at him. No one would believe it now though. With a casual shrug Desna found herself sighing and starting towards the lift with Pikatti at her side.

Moving onto the slide she stood up a bit straighter, hands in her pockets, the sled and her polar bear dog situated on the ice slab, the lift operator nodded to Desna knowingly, " Ready to go up?"

" Nope." she quipped inclining her head towards Aden, he seemed a little surprised but waited for the boy to get on the ice before propelling it up to the top of the shelf. It seemed she was going to have to suck it up.

[aden]

Despite her obvious hesitance about him coming, Aden still felt like it was the right thing to do. He was grateful that Desna finally seemed to accept his company and signaled the lift operator to wait. Nodding slightly to her and the other bender, Aden stepped up onto the platform of ice.

Within moments they were rising steadily towards the top of the ice shelf, sliding up along the steeply inclined wall thanks to the lift operator's bending. Aden remained silent as they went, not feeling like carrying on the previous conversation in the company of the other man.

However, when they finally reached the top and resumed walking toward Desna's home, Aden figured it was safe to pick up where they left off. "I don't need to stay long once we get there," he told her, assuming she was uneasy about him escorting her, "Just a moment to catch my breath and then I'll be out of your hair." Aden offered what he felt was a friendly smile hoped he hadn't misread her thoughts on the matter.

[desna]

Her legs felt like lead but at least they weren't sore like her back or her neck, they would be though about half way there the familiar strain would seep into her muscles, she was getting old and she was only seventeen. Alright so it wasn't old age, it was just a really long walk through snow with her muscles pretty minimal, at lest they were something, unlike the rest of her body. Stepping off of the lift she regarded Aden quietly while rolling her eyes.

" Moment for me to catch my breath before I walk you back." She corrected him with a quick shake of her head, just as Pikatti shook himself out the harness's metal loops jingling together cheerfully as he broke into a lope to catch up alongside his master who was wasting little time despite her somewhat woozy path.

" Because you'd get lost." Desna finally added a bit of a smirk on her face. She was rather sure of herself, this was a path she'd taken nearly every day for years, she knew the tundra like the back of her hand still when it got dark, or the wind picked up, it was all too easy to forget where you are, get turned around or step into some fluffy looking snow that would have the surprising result of dropping you down who knows how far.

[aden]

Aden hummed a curious note when he heard Desna say that she would be walking back with him as well. Considering that the reason for him doing this was the fact that she was sick, he couldn't imagine even asking her to then walk the distance two more times in order to ensure his safety. Her claim that he'd get lost made him raise his eyebrow in skepticism as he studied her smirk.

How hard could in honestly be? If things looked hazy he cold just head towards the ocean and then follow the coastline all the way back to the city.

"Uh huh," Aden replied, sounding plenty opposed to Desna's claim. "I'm sure I'll be able to find my way... I don't want you making the trip twice more in your state." And at that moment, an idea also entered the young warrior's mind that would ensure that he did indeed find his way back.

So close to the watchtower on the edge of the city there wasn't a need for landmarks, but Aden resolved to leave himself a few milestones along the way. Every hundred yards or so he figured he could just raise a pillar of ice for himself to follow on the way back. That ought to steal the wind from the sails of Desna's argument.

....Not that he would mind having some one to chat with on the return trip, but he couldn't justify keeping Desna outside any longer than she needed to be. She was still sick and hopefully she would spend the next few days taking it easy.

[desna]

He seemed to diffuse her snarky comment easily enough making the girl bite her lower lip, honestly she was never quite sure how much she could trust people, how much they honestly cared about her, then it was hard to figure out why they would bother caring about her. It wasn't like she was anything special, everyone else grew out of her and left, why wouldn't he? History tended to repeat itself and she'd rather spare her heart keeping herself up beat and stop caring enough that it wasn't as painful when she had to let people go. It tended to be so painful to tell her heart to shut up, perhaps that was because it still had a large festering hole where the death of her grandmother hit her.

She kept moving wanting to make the trip go as quickly as possible but avoiding a possibly awkward silence she'd sacrifice her breath for some conversation, besides it might make the trek go faster with her mind distracted from various marks that told her how close she was.

"If your mom wasn't going to shout at you I bet you wouldn't be out here huh?" She sent back at him a bit of playful sass in her words, honestly it didn't seem to far fetched, parents seemed to always be worried about things like that. Instead of seeing to such matters themselves they'd just send their children off with a stern word. Why did it even matter? Maybe she was fishing around to just know she was right and set her mind at ease. It wasn't like he seemed the type to genuinely care or go out of his way for people... though he did help her with her sled, her ankle... but those... they were differant weren't they?

[aden]

"Hm?" Aden hummed at Desna when she supposed his reasons for joining her. In truth he had been paying attention enough to catch what she said, but uttering that questioning syllable bought him a moment to consider his response. After all, he had been quick to jump on that reason in order to convince her to let him come along. But now that he was decidedly making the trip, he felt weird telling her that he had absolutely no personal interest in seeing her home safely.

Aden stared straight ahead for a moment, starting with a long, "Well..." Why is it, he wondered, that Desna's questions always seemed so difficult to answer? As a general policy, Aden hated to lie. And as a gentleman he would be remiss to bluntly say that he was only going so far out of his way because he felt obligated. And yet, a third reason that was nearly subconscious in its origins remained... To state that Aden was truly concerned for her safety and wanted to personally ensure she was unharmed would open a whole other batch of questions. Questions that seemed very uncomfortable and inconvenient to answer right now...

"Every now and then," he said at length, "my own decisions line up with what my parents would tell me anyway." Aden cast a side-long glance at Desna, hoping his choice of words was suitably vague enough so as not to offend or discomfort her.

Inwardly Aden wondered why it was he felt the need to keep everything he did around Desna shrouded in a cloak of ambiguity.

[desna]

She bristled slightly, she didn't know why but perhaps it lent to the fact that everything that Aden said had to seem so aggravatingly unspecific. There was no yes or no but a round about stab at a reply that forced her to look at him a confusing mixture of emotions on her face, strains between her eyes were her brows were down turned but furrowed, shaky eyes trying to read his expression better than his words with a dash of, something illegible. There was tenseness to her lips, but he wasn't betraying anything and they parted letting out a soft sigh into the air, steam from which cascading into the air.

What the hell did she want from him? A yes or no answer, that was all, but maybe there was a more specific answer she wanted. It was odd, usually when she was around people she couldn't help but find it in herself to keep a big grin on her face, right now her arms and chest felt odd, like she wanted to smash against something and be held so tight her ribs would just shatter. When she was little her grandmother would hug her so tight and she'd scream that she was going to break just to be set down with a smile on both of their faces. As quickly as the memory came it went leaving a knot in her throat.

After a moment of silence between them she finally laughed halfheartedly. " Why is it that you always have to be so damn nice to me...?" Her eyes trailed away from him numbly with her mouth pulled into a fake smile. " It's not just because I wasn't feeling well, you were always nice." Desna put a hand over her mouth and cleared her throat a little, still feeling odd from her illness but her mind just couldn't wrap around him anyway.

[aden]

"Well," Aden began once more, looking at Desna's slight smile and deciding that she wasn't looking for some heartfelt explanation, "I could trip you and kick snow in your face if you'd like that better?" He kept a straight face for just a moment before a smirk tugged at his lips and he chuckled lightly.

The young warrior shrugged at his own attempt at humor and then sighed a bit until he wiped the grin from his features. "But seriously... I consider you a friend," he explained, though certainly not in any touchy-feely tone, "And friends are generally nice toward one another.... Or there's karma, if you'll buy that.... Chivalry.... A desire to help everyone just for the warm fuzzy feelings...." Aden smiled sheepishly, knowing his ongoing list of reasons was probably a step too far in belittling the kindness he had shown Desna. Sometimes though he felt that he took after his father a little too much when he attempted to carry on a joke past its usefulness.

[desna]

Trip her in the snow? He always covered his tracks with humor. she did the same so honestly she shouldn't be judging but she couldn't help but find herself doing just that. At least he had one thing right, they were friends, stick that label over the situation and she could attempt to ignore everything else that seemed beyond friendship she felt for him.

Fixing her scarf around her face with a hand she quirked an eyebrow at Aden a little of that stomach churning embarrassment dissapearing with another smile, abet a weak one. " Warm fuzzies? Your such a mothers boy." She teased lightly turning her attention to the sprawling white in front of them. Honestly sometimes the path was burdensome but she was familiar with it, she'd been walking along the shelf since she was very little and there wasn't really a faster way unless she put the burden on Pikatti, she could never do that. " I've got a big warm fuzzy, and you can't have him." Placing a hand on Pikatti's head she playfully stuck her tongue out at Aden, maybe she was making a lot out of nothing.

[aden]

At the very least she didn't seem affronted by his last words. Aden smiled back at her and responded, "Not sure he'd get along with the furball we already have." He remained silent for a moment and dropped back a step behind Desna's side. With a swift wave of his hand he raised a five foot tall column of snow from the ground as a marker to lead the way back home. The watchtowaer on the edge of the city was beginning to grow small in the distance.

"But you know," Aden said, taking a few quick steps to return to his spot beside her, "I'm not a complete mother's boy. There was one time when she told me to straighten up my room and I said I'd do it later... but I never did." The young warrior folded his arms and glanced down at Desna with a bit of a haughty expression, as though she should be impressed by that daring feat of rebellion.

It was, of course, purely for show but he figured she could see through that easily.