[A] Stumbling around the woods. (With the Prince, please.) [FINISHED]

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[Character of the Month]

Character of the Month
Prince Caspian

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Played by Cara

"Cara has managed to...create a character that is both mythical and life-like. Impulsive, moody, and yet kind and good-hearted, Caspian is just beginning to show the makings of a true leader."
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[Arina Penley Carison]

Warning? Yes! Warning would have been nice before he so suddenly... Manhandled her! She didn't know why she didn't just let go of the branch now that the ground was much closer to her feet. For some reason, the branch was like a life line and if she let go, something terrible would befall her. She didn't know how to explain it to Caspian without sounding like an inept fool.

"I just- I don't- It was- And you- Too close-" Oh yes, an inept fool indeed. Her thoughts wouldn't get in order until once again he helped her and her feet were firmly on the ground. Her knees wobbled and shook and she felt like she'd just stepped off her father's boat after a seven day fest at sea. Carefully, she sat with her back against the trunk. "I apologize, Sire. I... I suppose you caught me off guard. I'm not used to being... held. Or carried. Or picked up, for that matter." She took a deep breath.

She laughed again. It amazed her, actually, and settled her stomach. "Well, I'm not usually spending my time in trees, now am I?" she jested back. "How should I know proper tree etiquette?" Another laugh. Feeling better, she reached for her fallen arrow and twisted it between her fingers. She knew that collecting one's arrows after they have been used was not a practiced trait, but she would collect these when she could, fix them when it was possible, and use them again if she had to. They were a gift, along with her bow, and the quiver and she would keep them for as long as she was able to use them. "Well, I think my life long plans have been completed. Join a wayward army. Insult royalty. Make a fool of myself by falling out of a tree. I think I can die happy." She smirked.

[Prince Caspian]

Caspian grinned. “What? No proper tree etiquette? Shameful! Your parents really should have taught you better then.” He really was sorry for startling her, he hadn’t meant to at all. And he was relieved that no real harm had come to her in her little fall – it could have gone a whole lot worse. He told himself it was because he’d rather none of his people were hurt, that they needed every person, every creature that they could get. But he would have hated to see her hurt, specifically, though he couldn’t put his finger on why. And he wasn’t going to bring it up either, if he couldn’t explain it away. He couldn’t help the small smile that settled on his face and he hoped that they would cease the arguing, at least for a little while. He really was tired of arguing.

“I’m glad to hear you’re content then,” he commented, amused. “The army certainly is wayward, you’ve succeeded in insulting me, and you fell out of a tree.” He laughed quietly. “Now, I’m not completely sure you’ve made a fool of yourself.” Not completely true, she kind of had, but he wasn’t going to admit it. He’d made a bit of a fool of himself too, so he supposed that there was no real harm done. Caspian wondered what was going through her head and he could hardly make any sense of what was going through his own.

He stood awkwardly, wondering what to say. “Are you really alright? You took a bit of a fall and you seemed rather shaken. Shall I take you back to camp?” He wished he wasn’t at quite a loss. He rarely felt so out of his element but at the moment, that was all he felt. He folded his arms behind his back, studying her. She looked fine; he could only hope that she hadn’t actually suffered any injuries.

((occ:: sorry it’s lame; all the IC-ness killed my muse lol))

[Arina Penley Carison]

Choni just laughed more and it felt good to laugh. Tree etiquette indeed! She felt as if some punishment was lifting. Perhaps she had been punishing herself since she left home. When was the last time she had laughed? All she could remember lately was anger. But then, the prince seemed to anger her quite a lot, so she supposed rather than say she'd been punishing herself, she could just blame him. Now, she really didn't care. She sat against the tree and continued to laugh at herself and the business of tree etiquette.

"Oh, I have, a right fool of myself," she said with a confirming nod. And another laugh. "Merciful Prince, can you ever forgive a poor farm girl?" She smirked. While she had no riches now, she was certainly not poor and most definitely not a farm girl, but she wasn't quite ready to give up that guise as of yet. She wasn't sure when of if she ever would. It had become a sort of security for her, just like taking her bow out whenever she was off alone.

She nodded. "My shoulders are a bit sore from the sudden jerk when I caught the branch and my legs don't seem to like my company at the moment, but I am, for the better part, just fine, thank you." Take her back to camp. What a sight that would look. Perhaps the creatures would cheer, thinking that the prince had finally lost his temper with her. She hadn't exactly been striving to make good impressions, neither had she tried to purposely be distant.

As if for some reason, she hadn't noticed it before, Choni's eyes fell on the sword at Caspian's side. She had never gotten to finish learning it's use. Had barely begun, in fact, when she had left. "Sire?" she began, holding her arrow in her fists across her knees. "Could you possibly teach me to use a sword?" She loved her bow, but it would be no good for close quarters combat. The thought of combat made her want to take the question back entirely, but this was a budding war. It was to be expected.

[Prince Caspian]

((Yup so  my muse has been dead. Here’s a long overdue reply!))

She was a little sore, she said, but that was to be expected. She was lucky she hadn’t been worse off, Caspian decided, looking her over to determine whether she was telling him the truth. She wasn’t acting like she’d broken anything, though it wasn’t like she’d actually fallen. Still, if she had... she could have gotten quite a bit more injured than she was presently. He frowned a little, feeling guilty. He hadn’t meant to catch her off guard like that – well, fine, that was only partially true. He had been hoping to catch her off guard. He hadn’t expected just how she would react to it. he hadn’t thought she would push away and fall right out of the tree! He definitely took most of the blame for her little incident, though he was loathe to admit it.

He was drawn from his thoughts by her inquisitive tone. He tilted his head to the side a little, watching her. He was curious what she wanted but she seemed to think there was no point in drawing it out and asked him if he might teach her to use a sword. He certainly hadn’t been expecting that! Then again, he was usually caught off guard around her. She never seemed to do, or say, the things he expected. And it both intrigued him, and drove him absolutely insane. He didn’t like when he didn’t know what was going on, he didn’t like being caught off guard.

“To use a sword?” He asked, thinking it over. He wanted to ask why, he wanted to tell her that if he had anything to say about it, she wasn’t going to fight anyway. She couldn’t even keep from falling out of a tree, and he’d been holding onto her! Why did she think she’d be able to take care of herself any better in actual fighting? She could use a bow, she was good with that, she ought to be at the back with the archers – one of the safest places, he figured. But from the little he knew of her, he knew that if he said he wouldn’t do it, she would just find someone else to teach her. And if he said she couldn’t fight anywhere but with the archers, he knew she would go against that too.

So he was best to say yes and keep an eye on her. “I suppose I could,” he said slowly, trying to think. It was an odd request, and he wondered what those around the camp would think of it. Though, it would definitely be a welcome distraction from the consistent , often foul, mood at camp. “If you wanted me to.” Why did she want him to? It didn’t make sense. He was puzzled, but he would have preferred not to show it. Sadly, he was probably failing quite terribly at hiding his confusion. “Have you ever used a sword before?”

[Arina Penley Carison]

She merely gave a slow nod as he repeated half of her question, almost as if he weren't sure if she, a girl, had actually asked to learn. Was it really that uncommon? But then, it was uncommon in her own country. She was just very persistent with a persuasive mother, a father who easily gave in, and a brother who made her want to beat him at everything. Of course, she thought as she rolled her sore shoulders trying to loosen the muscles, if her father had ever suspected she would use such skills outside of sport or even the courtyard, she was sure he would never have been swayed. Then again, she hadn't known she would ever have need of such skills either. Except to best Karth.

He was slow to answer and she wanted to immediately thank him when he agreed, but instead replied, "If you do not want to, I could ask someone else. But I suspect you've have fine training, being a Prince and all. You'd be, if not anything else, a logical choice. If you don't wish to, though... Well, I know personally I'm not the best of company." She wished she could be. Other farm girls were nice. They weren't always on the defensive, trying to hide something, though. Which probably made her look all the more suspicious. She took a silent vow then to at least try very hard to be nicer and more compliant. And she stressed the word try in her mind because whether she was a farm girl or nobility, sometimes, she just couldn't keep her mouth closed.

Choni nodded again. "I was learning before I left. I had a slow teacher, though, so I'm afraid I don't know as much as I could would that I had someone else." Would that I were a boy. She added this silently, of course, but the fact of the matter was that had she been a boy, her father would not have hesitated to let her learn. In fact, it would almost be required. "Beggars can't be choosers. I was very grateful to my teacher, regardless." She smiled almost fondly at the arrow she still held, lost for a moment in memories of the first time she had shot one and actually hit the target. She couldn't remember anyone looking so proudly at her as her teacher had that day.

[Prince Caspian]

Caspian couldn’t help the slow smile that crept across his face. Sure, she could be disagreeable company but she was also oddly intriguing as well. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind teaching her what he could; so long as it didn’t interfere with the other things he needed to do. Actually, to be honest, at the moment there wasn’t much he really needed to accomplish – most everything that could be planned had been planned, most everything that could be arranged had been arranged. The dwarves were working practically night and day to fit out their wayward army and while there were new “recruits” arriving every day nearly – Caspian continued to be amazed at how  many Old Narnians there truly were – the dwarves seemed to be keeping up. Caspian couldn’t help them there, it was just another thing among many that he was useless in. In fact, as each day went on, his self assurance faded and his insecurities grew. But it wasn’t all bad; there was something genuinely... humbling, about being able to see one’s own faults and weaknesses. He didn’t like them being pointed out, sure, but he was content enough to know them. Mostly so he could try and turn them into strengths. He was hard on himself. Often, too hard on himself. Even more so now that he had an army, a civilization, waiting on him. Praying to Aslan – who had yet to send help – that he and they might succeed.

But now wasn’t the time to doubt.

Teaching Choni what he knew might not only help him practice (no one wanted to practice fighting against the prince, it seemed, and Caspian needed to practice, he needed to train) but it might give him an opportunity to take his mind off of the pressing matter of the war. It might not have seemed like the most logical choice of something to use to distract himself, but as long as he could be doing something, as long as he could be feeling useful... he might feel better. Doing nothing was taking its toll on him, doing nothing was making him edgy, nervous, making him feel unprepared. And now was the worst time in the world to feel unprepared.

“No, no,” he said quickly, dropping to sit across from her. “I’d be quite pleased to teach you what I can. I’m honoured.” Honoured that she’d ask him. By all accounts, and if the way she acted and spoke to him was any indication, he had been quite sure she’d seen nothing at all good in him. Not that asking him to train her with the sword was an acknowledgement of some quality of character, but surely she had to think there was quality of some sort in him then. And if she, one of his worst critics, could be won – even if only partially – perhaps there was hope for the rest of the Narnians who regarded him with great disdain. “We’ll have to find you a sword,” he commented, “something sturdy. You’ll need your own anyway. It shouldn’t be too difficult.” This he thought over, thinking back to the dwarves who were working so tirelessly. They’d be greatly rewarded for their work when all of this was over, he would make sure of it. Everyone who had contributed, somehow, he’d do something. He couldn’t let them go without recognition; in fact, he was quite convinced that if they had wanted to, they could have very well done this without him. What had he been to anybody but a figurehead? It was a frustrating thought but he was eager to help, eager to lead, and doing the best he could. What more could possibly be asked of him?

At least she’d learned a little, he thought, listening to her speak. “You’ll have to tell me where you left off,” Caspian said, “when we have a sword for you. I’ll speak to someone later today, or tomorrow at the latest, to see what can be done.” It might take a while, however. There were plenty waiting on weaponry. “Perhaps I’ll have to find you something temporary, until something of your own can be crafted.” He thought this over too, glancing in the direction of the camp. That might be the best that could be done, for present. Still, it would work well enough he supposed.

[Arina Penley Carison]

He was... Honored? Choni blinked. Honored was quite possibly the last thing she'd expected to hear in relation to her, but he'd been the one to say it. Shouldn't she be the honored one that he'd said yes? He was a Prince and she was pretending to be a lowly farmer's daughter. Not that her ruse was a very good one- she wasn't a prime actress. It was then she realized that he had sat. On the ground. In the wood. She stared for a moment, for the first time doubting that he was the very same Prince she knew as a girl.

Eventually, she once again found her tongue. "Please, Your Highness- it's I who is honored by your acceptance. Thank you." she bowed her head to him since a sitting position was no good for curtsies. "I did bring a short sword. It's what I was learning to use before I left. I wasn't foolish enough to venture off unarmed." Preparing and expecting the unexpected was something that Choni had tried well to teach herself. She did not like to be caught unawares. Grudgingly, she supposed she had Thulgis to thank for that. "It's a fine blade, but it was for practice. I'll wager it need to be sharpened up quite a bit." She had no knowledge as to how that was done.

"As I said, my instructor was slow to teach. I had a little combat training, but most of it was to teach me how to stand, how to step, and how to hold the weapon." Rather boring and uneventful, but she'd tried to be a very attentive student and absorb everything she was told. Of course, the reason for that was so she could be better than her brother. Learning now might possibly be a matter of life and death if the time came. And as already stated, Choni did not like to be caught unawares.

"Something of my own?" she echoed, trying to quell a sudden feeling of excitement bubbling inside. She had not expected, among other things today she had not expected, to have a weapon made for her. The prince was severely putting to shame her 'expect the unexpected' disposition, but at the moment, she didn't quite care. Once again, she bowed her head to him. "Thank you deeply, Sire!" Well... She had the sinking suspicion she'd have to be nicer to the prince whether she wanted to or not if only so that he wouldn't change his mind. She would not, however, apologize for anything she had said or might let slip in the future. Most of it was for his own good. the rest of it was because... Well, she'd have to think about that.

[Prince Caspian]

It seemed to Caspian that he wasn’t quite what she had been expecting. It was a little disconcerting, perhaps she’d heard of him, heard that he was quite a little terror. Which, to be fair, he’d been pretty close to in his younger years. But he’d started to grow up long before even reaching the camp – though the process had been sped up exponentially upon reaching it. He really didn’t want anyone to think poorly of him, though he supposed he could never make everyone like him. But maybe he was making just a little bit of progress, yes? He could hope, anyway. He wasn’t all bad. Far from it. He was just having a difficult time adjusting to a completely different way of living and it was taking its toll on his patience and generally easy-going nature.

She said she’d brought along a short sword, one she’d been learning with before she left. It was for practice, she said, and it could probably use some sharpening. “We’ll get it sharpened then; it’ll be fine enough for learning, unlikely fine enough for actual fighting but as I mentioned, yes,” he grinned at her excitement, “yes I shall find you something strong and sturdy, something good, that you can fight with. For you.” At least she said she had a little knowledge of it, he wasn’t going to have to start from the beginning. If she could remember, that was. If she hadn’t been paying attention... well, it was important to know the basics, to know the beginning because everything after that built upon those initial steps. He didn’t know how good he’d be of a teacher, but he’d give it a try. It would give him something to do, and maybe it would put the two of them on better terms.

“We can start...” he trailed off, thinking it over. “In the morning, maybe. Dawn, perhaps, and back here?” Until he knew where she stood, he didn’t want her practicing at camp and besides, he’d come to the conclusion that he rather liked having his own little project. At least, he did now. And if he was teaching her too close to the camp, someone might insist that he shouldn’t waste his time in such a manner, and that there were other things for him to do. And that he should leave her instruction, if it had to happen at all, to those heading up the training. And he wouldn’t like it, because he would feel obligated to agree. Agreeing to teach her was nearly as much for him as it was for her. He needed this. He was rather pleased that she’d asked him.

“Is dawn alright with you?” He didn’t see why it wouldn’t be; she was a farm girl, surely she was accustomed to early mornings. He’d gotten used to them. He didn’t particularly like them, but he had to admit – Drinian had been right – they were a good part of the day, regardless.

[Arina Penley Carison]

"Dawn is perfect. The sooner the better," she said, while her mind yelled at her. Dawn? Dawn?! What about sleeping in! You've always had to get up early, but never at dawn! She, however, tried her best to ignore her mind. If dawn was what would be required, then dawn is when she would wake. Perhaps she'd go to bed early to make sure she didn't sleep though it. How embarrassing! Besides, given the identity she had chosen to hide behind, getting up at dawn should have been part of the deal. If she was late, she could blame it on her routine slacking, couldn't she? Given that she'd run away, obviously things had changed.

She would just have to make sure there was no reason for her to have an excuse. Perhaps she would wake before dawn and be here before the prince. Maybe she should just sleep here so that she was already present when he arrived. That seemed like the worser option, yet it also seemed like her only hope.

"How, Sire, are we going to get back... here? Will you remember the spot?" Quite frankly, all the trees looked the same to her, but if he could tell one from the other, then she'd just have to follow him in the morning.

[Prince Caspian]

Caspian nodded. Yes, the sooner, the better. Likely if it was at dawn, there would be fewer around to notice them. Fewer to ask questions – they were less likely to be interrupted. And if they were interrupted, someone would send Choni away because there were a million other things that Caspian should be doing. He heard it often enough. But he was at his rope’s end; what else could he do? What else could he really do? He was no aged, learned man. He was young, he was inexperienced, he didn’t know how to wage or win a war. And to be fighting against his uncle? An uncle who had only weeks ago tried to kill him? There was a lot for him to be thinking about but he didn’t want to think, he wanted to do. He wanted to feel useful, no, he wanted to be useful.

She did ask a valid question – how would they get back here? Caspian doubted it would be too difficult, still, they might end up wasting time wandering around in the woods trying to find each other. Might be better if they met up somewhere a little... easier to locate the first time around. “Fair enough, Let’s meet on the edge of the forest then, just inside it, by the How. We’ll find a good spot after we meet up.” He didn’t really want to meet up out in plain view; anyone who was watching might wonder why he and Choni were wandering off in the forest on their own. Their little lessons probably couldn’t be all too long else he’d be missed. So they would have to be frequent, to make up for it. “At dawn, then.” He stood and dusted himself off. He should probably be heading back soon. He shouldn’t disappear from camp for the whole day.

He hadn’t really gotten the quiet he’d been looking for but at least it hadn’t all turned out badly. Now he had something to do. Something that he could maybe look forward to. He’d be able to feel useful again. It was a cheery thought.

He offered his hand to help her to her feet, a small, warm smile upon his lips. “Perhaps we ought to head back to camp, before we’re too missed.” He didn’t want to go back, not yet, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Sooner or later, someone was going to get curious.

[Arina Penley Carison]

Edge of the forest at dawn, just inside, hidden by the How. Well, was he really honored to be teaching her, or was he embarrassed, she wondered. She was about to open her mouth and say something, but the fact that she couldn't think of many other people who might help her made her hold her tongue. It would be fine and she would learn what she needed to. She could bring the subject up at a later date because she knew she wouldn't forget. Let him be embarrassed. At least she'd get more training. Even if it was not the full training she would get at home, it would be enough to defend herself if the need came. She wasn't too keen on leaving her bow for a sword if she had to, but she wanted to be prepared. She wanted to survive this.

Her head tilted to the side as she watched him stand and dust himself off. It was then that she realized how little her appearance seemed to mean since she left home. For instance, she did not care that there was dirt on her backside or if there were leaves in her hair. The only thing she hadn't given up was personal hygiene. She rubbed her hand down her shin, the leggings covering it still feeling strange. She missed her nice dresses. But then, she also nearly felt like a kid again. She wished she were, about eight or so, with Karth. She chased the thought away as soon as it came to her. She'd start missing him.

The next thing she knew, the prince was offering her his hand. "Yes... I suppose so." She hadn't wanted to remember camp for a long while. The wood was like a separate world where the camp and the war didn't exist. If only she'd stayed there to begin with, she wouldn't have these problems. At least, not this soon. Not in this amount. She wondered how long she could have holed out in the wood if not for that dratted storm. With a sigh, she took his hand and let him help her up. On her feet, she reached for her quiver and bow. "Well... I won't be missed, I'm sure. You, on the other hand... They've already formed a search party, I'll warrant."