[oom] April Fool's Day

[hell_in_highheels]

Oh, River is not a morning person, but this prank requires some dedication and preparation.  She has her sonic screwdriver set to wake her an hour before the alarm, and she'd packed the blanket and the picnic basket the afternoon before while he was out running.

The matter of the prank itself is a simple few moments with the screwdriver on the red setting.  Quick.  Harmless.  And best of all, reversible. 

She still expects to get a bit of a hiding for it, but he did throw down the gauntlet.  Her cheeks ache from grinning at the very thought of the look on his face when he figures out just what she'd done.

Prank accomplished, she slips into her boots and shushes Damocles, swearing him to silence.  Rather, bribing him with future promises of bacon.  She leaves the note on the pillow and catches herself just before she kisses him on the cheek.  If he wakes, the surprise will be ruined before she can make her escape. 

Dear Richard~

Have been kidnapped by rabbits.  They said something about their pelts being used for "unseemly" purposes. Their leader says, if you ever want to see me again, come alone.

(crudely drawn map of the lake side and the meadow with an X)

Love,
~River

Comments

[hell_in_highheels]

She holds him with all her strength, pressing her face into his neck, explaining quietly. Okay, babbling, really.

"It's a privacy screen, just a little thing, like a force field, only it bends the light around it when you look at it from one direction, and I thought if you could smell me it wouldn't be such an issue, and I really just wanted to surprise you with a breakfast picnic, but those bloody rabbits started coming out of the woods, and I thought they were cute at first but they were all red-eyed and angry..."

He's going to have to shush her if he wants to get a word in edgewise.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Nono, Suzi's taught him quite well that you let the babbler go until they run out of breath, decipher what they said, and then say your piece. Really, it's second nature to him for pack members.

"It wasn't the rabbits," he murmurs when he gets the chance.

Damocles plops down on the blanket with the remains of one of the rabbits and starts eating.

[hell_in_highheels]

"Oh Richard, it's two seconds with the sonic screwdriver, I can have them back to normal in a heartbeat."

She's pushing away from him, fumbling in her pocket for the screwdriver. Her scent is worry verging on fear.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He doesn't let her go.

"It's not that either," he says dryly, letting his tone and eyebrow convey his displeasure with the pink.

"River, you know Milliways isn't always safe, correct?" She should. She's sleeping with a werewolf, after all.

[hell_in_highheels]

She quits fumbling in her pocket and wraps her arms back around his middle, resting her cheek against his. She takes a deep breath and lets it out in a shaky sigh, trying to compose herself. She can feel the fear in him now, what's left of it.

"I know." And even more gently, "And I can take care of myself. I shouldn't need an armed escort to pull off a simple picnic."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"It's not just the rabbits," he says a bit sharply. And he knows she can take care of herself. He wasn't even thinking of that, he was thinking of how to explain why he reacted the way he did.

"Nevermind. You're here and safe, that's all that matters."

[hell_in_highheels]

It takes her a moment, but she's beginning to see just how frightened he was. "Richard," my mate. "I'm sorry I scared you. I should have given you more information." She kisses the corner of his mouth, nuzzles against his chin. "I promise. It won't happen again."

She can't help but think, live and learn.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Gah, it's hard to stay irritated when she does that. It triggers all sorts of instincts, both wolf and human.

"It's not that either," he sighs, a bit exasperated. "It was...a fluke. Nevermind.

"I'm sorry the fun bit of your surprise was ruined."

[hell_in_highheels]

She rests against him for a long moment, breathing his breath, just feeling him in her arms, holding him close. Her scent wraps around him.

I love you so much it hurts to breathe.

She hardly knows him, she thinks, but that doesn't matter.

"Is there any place where there aren't rabbits out here?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

He's still fairly sober himself. This has brought back bad memories for him.

"There's a place in the woods. It's a good hour and a half walk, though."

[hell_in_highheels]

"I don't mind a walk," she murmurs, her smile returning. She pulls back to look into his face, one hand coming up to brush along his jaw. "I wore my boots and you can tell me, on the way, if you want."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Richard arches a considering eyebrow.

"I'll tell you if you turn my boots, weapon, and holster back to their proper colours."

They're still pink. In case anyone forgot. Because he hasn't.

[hell_in_highheels]

She fumbles in her pocket again, slipping her finger through the loop of the sonic screwdriver and pulling it out with a little smirk. It really does take just a few seconds to revert his boots to their original condition. "You were the one who put the idea in my head," she teases.

Another few moments and the holster and weapon are similarly repaired.

That done, she turns to shoo Damocles off the blanket and starts picking up the pieces of the destroyed picnic basket.

"Fucking rabbits."

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"Me? What did I do?"

Richard helps by tossing the rest of the dead rabbits to the centre of the blanket. He's thinking he'll make a little picnic satchel of his own.

[hell_in_highheels]

"You don't remember?"

She watches him throwing the carcasses and give him a speculative look.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"...no?" He suddenly looks wary.

"I still haven't had breakfast," he explains at her look.

[hell_in_highheels]

She blinks rapidly, swallowing once, her smile never faltering even as she sighs. The perils of dating a werewolf, she supposes.

"Dinner, that first night. You challenged me to prank you on April Fools. I've been planning for weeks."

The picnic debacle tidied, she holds her hand out to him.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"That was playful banter! I didn't actually expect you to follow through," he grumbles.

He finishes gathering the corners of the blanket together and throws the whole thing over his shoulder before taking her hand.

"Remind me not to offer you idle challenges."

[hell_in_highheels]

She turns to face him, an incredulous smirk on her face. "Honestly? So you didn't give it a second thought?"

She's decidedly disappointed. She'd been looking forward to seeing what he'd come up with.

Congratulations, Ryan. You've made River pout.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

"If I had, I would have expected something besides Bar's prank and you wouldn't have surprised me."

There's a faint little smirk on his face as he adds, "Anyway, now you won't know when to expect me to return the favour."

[hell_in_highheels]

"Well, all right then." Still a bit disappointed, but mollified. Somewhat. "I suppose that's fair."

She squeezes his hand, falling into an easy pace beside him. Her legs are long enough, it's not at all difficult for her to keep up with him.

"Where are we headed?"

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

We're going to the den! Dam yips happily before bounding ahead of them.

"It's not much," Richard warns, not sure how much of that she understood. "But the rabbits avoid it upon pain of death."

It still took them a while to learn even that much, stubborn little bastards.

[hell_in_highheels]

River grins at Damocles. Sleeping place where he forgets?

It's rudimentary canine still, but the gist is plain.

"I think, if it's safe, we can make do." She raises an eyebrow at him in silent query.

[captainryan.livejournal.com]

Yep! You just gotta remind him lots!

Richard's...a hair anxious, actually. No one except Damocles has ever been back here with him. He's suddenly wishing he cleaned out that pile of bones ages ago.

"It's...not what I would call romantic," he says apologetically. It's just practical, but then, he's a practical sort of guy.

[hell_in_highheels]

River has no problem at all with practical. She wears field boots under her skirts, for pete's sake.

"I bet it has it's own beastly charm about it," she teases gently.

She bumps her shoulder against his, bringing their clasped hands up to her lips. "Besides, I think you and I don't need candlelight and mood music, do we?"