Upriver

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shoutoku picked up the oar and threw it inside the canoe. He winced as the sound echoed around him. Well, what was what happened when you made a loud sound in the woods. “Whoa, there! Careful wit h the rental, dude!” Shoutoku looked over at tee ‘guide’. He wasn’t really going to on the boat ride, but he would pick them up at the falls. It was “company policy” to not allow people to boat downriver. Such a waste, he thought. There would be a hike back from the falls, of course, but Shoutoku didn’t particularly like the idea of hiking with a strange man. Especially since Aeon was coming along. Speaking of which… He sighed as he turned toward her. He had been anxious all day, worrying if she would enjoy herself or not. He was pretty sure horses liked water, but how much did Aeon like river in the middle of the woods? A lake seemed to fit her better… and he could have chosen a lake trip, but he kind of liked the idea of canoeing upriver to a waterfall. It would be beautiful, he knew, and even if she didn’t like the boat ride she was sure to like the waterfall! Right…? ”You ready to go?” He looked back over at the guide after asking her. He was waiting for them to get going so that he could leave. Typical. Probably had somewhere he wanted to be, maybe a girl waiting for him. Either way it didn’t matter. If Aeon was ready they would leave. If she wasn’t (and he couldn’t see why she wouldn’t be) then they would wait. Surely the man could at least understand that.

[Anzeh]

Aeon stood with her hair tied back in her now quite characteristic two ponytails. She could hardly call them pigtails, they were too long to be called those cutie-pie curls at the rump of pigs. Not to mention the length was a problem. They tended to drag along the ground, so for this occasion they were also in Princess Lea buns, which still ended up being much larger than they were supposed to be for that specific style. They looked almost like oversized earrings. But she didn't care.

As a unicorn--no, as a horse in general--Gunner simply adored the forest. Something about the smell and the simple existence of it drove her senses wild. She felt more at home here than she had felt anywhere in the world. More at home in those forests than she would ever feel anywhere else in the world.

Even as a child she wanted to live in a forest. That was a simple enough request for a unicorn. But now that she was older and she understood that she had a human form and human obligations, that dream had fluctuated. Being here reminded her of that. A little house in the forest. A cottage if you would. Or maybe a mansion if we have the resources. Oh it would be simply devine...

...who was 'we'?

Hearing Shou call her, she was snapped out of her reverie. She hadn't heard anything that the guide or Shou had said about the trip they were embarking on, and frankly she kinda didn't want to know. It was the not knowing that made it exciting and mysterious.

But, also when she looked up, she seemed to have a feeling of... clarity. Aeon wanted to build a nice wooden mansion for her and Shou. She didn't like city life, no matter how rural or quiet. It was always too... strange. One species trying desperately to control every aspect of their surroundings... trying to force order only caused more discord and disorder. It seemed wrong.

"Hm?" it took her a minute to realize what she had just been asked. "Oh, sorry. I was spacing. Sure, I'm ready."

With that she advanced on the craft. This felt like something that she should be able to do--after all, she had spent a substantial amount of time on a ship--but that one was much bigger than this one. This one looked like it would fall to pieces at a single cannon shot.

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shoutoku smiled as she headed toward the boat. This was going to be a fun day, he thought. Canoes weren’t as easy to steer as some thought, and much easier than others made it seem. Shou himself hadn’t much experience on boats in general, but this one was what he was most familiar with. As a scientist, he had gone into the field a few times to collect data or to aid a comrade, mostly the latter. He hoped he still remembered how these things worked. ”Have you ever been on one of these?” He wasn’t sure whether he should explain how they are steered or if he should assume she knew. Both seemed equally insulting. If she already knew it would seem as if he thought she was incompetent. If she didn’t know and he assumed she did… it was just a mess he never liked dealing with but knew was sometimes unavoidable. Today he was trying to avoid awkwardness, if that was at all possible. ”You take the front of the canoe and I will take the back. If you want to switch later we can.” Once they were in the small craft he used the paddle to push off from the bank. As he turned around he caught glimpse of their ‘guide’ giving a short wave goodbye. He didn’t wave back, just made eye contact and gave a small nod. And then they were off! The boat slid gently and quietly through the water as the ores made small whirlpools that lasted only a few seconds. The current of the river was against them, so it was harder paddling, but once they reached a good speed it should be easier to keep it. Thankfully they were an hour or so from the water fall so the current wasn’t very strong. It would eventually get strong enough that they would have to walk. At least that was his prediction. For now, though, it would be best to enjoy being alone with Aeon on the water.

[Anzeh]

Aeon was a girl of many talents. Her personal favorite was her physical talents, how she could outdo many boys in many things, one of those things being physical labor. No boy could outdo her there... except maybe Shou, but even that was only because he was older. Yeah. Only because he was older than her.

Still, she had never been inside a craft like this. She remembered seeing humans going on little trips in them from the safety of the brush. Although it was true Gunner had never steered one personally, she had seen them do it enough times to be able to do it herself. At least, that's what she thought she was capable of, and he would hardly be able to tell her any different, no matter how bad she was at this rowing thing.

"Nope." She said, climbing into the craft and sitting down. There was a moment of uneasiness as Aeon felt a bolt of seasickness, but after a couple of seconds the uneasiness has passed and in her hand was one of the oars. "But I've seen enough people do it to at least have an idea." Another sentence almost left her mouth but she bit her lip. There was no reason to doom themselves before they had even left the shore.

The oar entered the water and the young unicorn simply watched it. What was it about water and wood that was so interesting? For a moment she forgot they were on an expedition.

'Not an expedition.' She thought to herself with the slightest hint of a smile. 'A date.'

Then Aeon wondered if it could be counted as a date if she was also doing part of the work.

Gunner smiled as the canoe went out into the water. Doing this made her feel nostalgic. She should have worn her old bandana. That would have been fun! Then with a sad sigh she realized that she was older, and that the bandana would no longer fit her head. What a travesty.

She began to row, looking up at the sky as she did so. Vaguely the unicorn wondered if her family was looking up too right now. What did they see when they looked up?

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shou moved his paddle through the water and watched silently as Aeon did the same. They had been doing this for a while, though not always in complete silence. Right now was just a moment or two when they were both enjoying the nature around them. Most of the river was very easily canoed through, but the guide had warned that the last bit had to be hiked. When they reached that point, he told them to pull the canoe onshore and he would send a flier to come get it. After all, this was a one way trip. Seeing as they had been going along the river for a while, Shou figured he could safely assume they were going to have to hike soon. He wasn’t thrilled with the idea because boating had a certain magic to it, but he figured it would be easier to walk rather than boat once they got close. That’s at least what they had been told. He looked up at Aeon and smiled. A light breeze caught her hair, adding to her beauty. But something caught his eye when the wind suddenly picked up. Her shirt was pressed against her body, and he noticed she wasn’t as thin as she used to be. But… it was just her stomach. The rest of her still looked as thin as always. But maybe he was just seeing things. The wind died down and he looked past Aeon, upriver. He noticed that the river looked to be… going upward. Well, of course it was, because they were going upriver, but this wasn’t just a slope. There almost seemed to be a natural dam in the distance. As they got closer he realized it was more of a series of small dams, logs that had fallen down the river, gotten caught, and stopped other logs and large sediments from going downriver. This, he assumed, would be where they dropped the canoe off. It didn’t take too long to reach the natural dams. They stopped by the bank and Shou held the canoe still so that Aeon could get out and tie the vessel to a sizeable root. This would keep it still while they unloaded lunch and other supplies. ”Well, this is where the boat ride ends.” There was a hint of sadness in his voice, but he was still looking forward to the rest of the trip. The falls would be beautiful, he was sure, and Aeon standing next to it would probably take his breath away. He really didn’t want to wait.

[Anzeh]

It took her breath away, this landscape. The way the light bent off the waters, the crisp greeness of the trees and the call of wildlife made her feel so at home. She had decided that it was good, this little trip, for them. All three of them.

It was true. Gunner was pregnant, and most of the silence, while she mused and smiled at the natural feeling of the ride, was dedicated to her figuring out a good way to explain to her boyfriend that she was currently pregnant with his child. Well, not explain so much as tell. Aeon was fairly certain that the mechanics of how she had managed to get pregnant were all too clear to the griffin. They had--irresponsibly, now that she thought about it--made love without a condom. Unprotected sex. The number 1 cause of pregnancy.

Still, the unicorn felt extreme worry for her health. She was grouwing at an abnormal rate, the baby was developing too quickly. It had only been a month and alread the baby bump was nearly perceivable. Pretty soon she would be unable the hide her stomach under clothing, and even now she could feel everything expanding. Mostly her stomach, though she had had to upgrade on bra size too.

She felt awkward just saying that in her head.

What was so awakward about admitting to being pregnant? For one thing, they weren't married. She supposed it had gone against his morals to even have sex with her when they weren't married, but still. This was different. This was more extreme. Also, she wasn't even sure that Shou wanted kids. He never talked about them.

Aeon noticed the natural dam and could only stare and continue to absently row towards it. The slowed and she climbed out of the boat, hopping on to the grass and tying up the boat. though considering there was a large series of logs and fallen trees to act as a barrier, it wouldn't exactly float merrily down the stream.

"So... we're walking now?"

Gunner helped as much as she could, but had already come to realize that she had gotten weaker. Apparently her body was releasing some kind of muscle relaxer that made it harder for her to lifter heavier things. But she had to appear normal. Like nothing was wrong.

Except she was inexplicably fatter for no reason.

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shou smiled at her and said, “If it’s not too much trouble. I can carry you if you get tired.” The last part was more of a mock than anything. Aeon would rise to the challenge, he knew, and she would be sure to not show signs of being tired if she could help it. In turn, he wouldn’t try going fast and would always pick the easiest thing. While he could easily make fun of her just because she was his girlfriend, he didn’t want her to get hurt. Taking a small collapsible flag out of the bottom of the canoe he lengthened the shaft and plunged the end into the ground. Taking the piece of tape off the tip of the red fabric, he turned to Aeon. ”All set? Got the picnic basket?” He turned and looked at the canoe once more to make sure that the life vests and oars were securely inside and that all of their things were out. ”Alright, let’s go!” They began the hike, every now and then seeing small wooden signs pointing them in the right direction. The guide had explained earlier that sometimes a wooden sign goes missing and that they should trust the map he gave them before the tenth-of-a-mile markers. After a bit they could hear the water, but no matter how long they walked or how close they thought they were getting, the sound just kept getting louder and louder, closer and closer, but not quite close enough to see. Even though Shou was enjoying the hike, he had a feeling they had been walking a little longer than what the guide had said. He was getting tired and knew that Aeon must be as well. No matter how strong she was or how tough she pretended to be, she was still a woman. And for some reason she was still carrying the picnic basket… He sighed and turned around. Why wasn’t he more attentive? There was no reason she should still be carrying that thing. “Hey, hand that here.” He nodded toward the basket and held out his hand. There was almost no way she was going to just hand it over, especially after his comment earlier, so he was planning to use the ‘I’m your boyfriend, let me treat you right’ approach if she tried to keep it. After all, he was her boyfriend and he did want to treat her right.

[Anzeh]

Aeon rolled her eyes. Was he TRYING to make her angry at him? She would never ever admit to exhaustion. She would collapse before she admitted to Shou that she was actually tired. That that foul emotion dared to rear its ugly head in her direction. How dare he even think that?! Instead of dignifying that with an answer, she hmphed and crossed her arms, turning away from him for a moment. It was childish, yes, she had never implied that it wasn't--but hey, sometimes the most cliched actions got emotions across the easiest.

Still, she couldn't avoid watching him finish up everything.For some reason, the idea that he already knew raced frantically in the forefront of her mind. Like he had known from the very beginning but was simply mocking her by making her worry and fret over trying to come up with a smart way of telling him. Gunner let herself be enraged by this long enough to realize that she was being talked to, before it occured to her that he couldn't possible already know. He wasn't that type of guy. He wasn't confrontational, but he wasn't exactly a backseat driver either.

"Huh?" She asked, then remembered. Aeon bent over and picked up the basket that was set near her feet. "I got it."

Then they set off.

Aeon let Shou walk a little in front of her to lead the way while she carried the picnic basket and enjoyed the view. They had passed about two markers with the third in distant sight when Aeon's arms began to shake and she wobbled a little. Even being a girl she was a strong girl, and she should have been able to at least make it to the sixth or seventh marker before weakness overcame her, yet she could hardly make it past two.

But she'd be damned if she would let Shoutoku know that she was already tired. If he hadn't mocked her before they started walking, she would have whined for him to carry it and she would smile at him and tell him to do his job. But her pride wouldn't allow her to do that now. So instead she started to lag behind him.

The sound of water came to her ears. She was willing to bet that the water was cool. She was going to also bet that it was refreshing, and she was tempted to vy off the path and get a drink, maybe soak her ineffectual muscles in the icy water... that sounded good... But she was already lagging far behind her boyfried, and would no doubt get lost if she tried to do it. So she ignored the impulse as best she could and just trudged behind him.

Shou was coming up on the sixth marker when he turned around. She was significantly behind him at this point, about seven or eight yards behind him. She walked up to him and, without second thought of how she SHOULD have acted to avoid suspicion, she was tired and achy and unbelievably hungry, so even she didn't want to deal with her own foolishness.

"Take it." She said bluntly, and dropped the basket into his possession. She stretched, relieved to have it gone.

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shou stared at her for a second and then at the basket in his hand. She… just gave it to him? That wasn’t right. She… was she feeling alright? When they began the trip she had looked fine but what if she had a headache or hurt herself before today and hadn’t told him about it? He glanced down at her feet, slightly worried she had twisted her ankle a few days before. It wouldn’t surprise him if she had… ”Hey, are you alright?” Putting down the basket, he stepped towards her. “If you’re feeling bad we can stop.” He was such an idiot. How did he not notice before now?? He knew he was pretty bad with his people skills but… not that bad! Sure she had been walking behind, but how did he miss the exhausted expression and posture? How had he not noticed her shaking arms? Not even waiting for her reply, he took her hand and walked toward a small incline they could sit on. ”Come on. We’re going to sit for a bit.”

[Anzeh]

Aeon was SO glad to not have that weight on her arms anymore! Not having to trudge on and on, pretending the basket wasn't getting heavier and heavier, that the weight wasn't overwhelming her weakening muscles...

Unfortunately, in the process of lightening her load, she had managed to set off a major red flag. It then occured to her that if she had put up a little fuss then he might not have caught on. But she was so TIRED!

"Uh... no, no, I'm fine, really." She said quickly.

When he suggested that they rest for a little while on an incline, she nodded and sat down heavily on the ground with a soft oomph. Sitting felt good... really. Reaching down, Aeon removed her shoes and socks, just for a little while, and began to rotate them a little. "My feet hurt..." She muttered and rubbed them. They did look a little swollen...

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] They sat down and Aeon took off her shoes. He caught himself holding his breath to see if her ankles were alright, not bruised or anything. Slowly letting out his pent-up breath, he looked at the basket. Should he ask if she wanted to just eat now? No, not with the roar of water so near. There had to only be a short ways left! They had been saying that for a while, but still! It had to be true sometime. She spoke first, and it shot a chill up his spine. So she was hurt… looking down at her feet he noticed the her shoes had made small impressions where they usually fit just right; her feet were swollen. He gave an exasperated sigh and let his head drop into his hand. His hand fell to the ground and he looked at Aeon. ”If you’re in pain, tell me. I know you can handle it, but I don’t want you to have to.” Standing, he offered his hand to help her up. ”I don’t want you walking anymore. I’ll carry the basket; you can get on my back. The waterfall can’t be too far away now, so I’ll carry you the rest of the way.” Hopefully she just agreed like with the basket. Unlikely, but a guy could still dream, couldn’t he?

[Anzeh]

When he stated that she should tell him whenever she's in pain, a small look of confusion crossed her face. If she could handle the pain herself, why should she even bring Shou into the equation? There was no need for him to bother himself with her pains. She was always in pain, particularly since she still tried to do things like run and stuff when all she wanted to do was throw herself onto her bed and hibernate.

She had to pretend everything was okay so he wouldn't know. Aeon could handle it. She could always handle it because she'd always BEEN handling it. Therefore, shouldn't she continue to handle it?

"No... no, I'm fine, okay? I can walk." She reached down and grabbed her shoes and socks, putting them back on. She could walk. It was just the basket. She didn't need him to help her.

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] Shou quickly took her hand, stopping her from putting her shoes on. He wasn’t about to let her walk. There was no way. “Aeon, it’s not that you can’t, it’s that I don’t want you to.” He stressed the last few words, hoping she would accept that he was doing this because he wanted to. Looking at her beseechingly, he continued. ”You understand, don’t you? It’s my job to keep you safe and I’ve done a crappy job of it so far. Please, lean on me for just a bit.” Even as he said the words he had a sinking feeling that she wouldn’t like it. She might comply but it would make her upset. So independent, so strong, so against being weak… he knew submitting would be hard for her. But what would he do if she refused? He didn't want her walking, and if she did walk it would be without shoes. They were hurting her; they had to be half of the problem. If all else failed... He'd cross that bridge if he came to it. Please, he thought, please let me do this.

[Anzeh]

Aeon looked at him when his hands prevented her from putting on her sneakers like she wanted to. What did he think he was doing? They were wasting time here, valuable time they could be using to get to... wherever it was they were trying to get to. That was the issue. Did he not understand why she was acting the way she was? Did her spunky attitude confuse him? It shouldn't. More than almost any other she'd ever had the pleasure of meeting, Gunner was extremely anti-weakness.

She let out a loud, heavy sigh, a sign of her reluctance. She hmm-ed to herself and looked down at her swollen feet, flexing her toes. The unicorn would never admit that her legs felt like jelly and her feet felt like stones. It was the worst feeling imaginable... and she didn't want to walk.

But she could, and therefore why shouldn't she?

'Because it hurts?'

Sighing she nodded. "Fine."

[Ωᴚԑɲ]

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[atrb=background,http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab198/Orenji_Hana/Deviancy/ShouBack03.png] As she looked at her feet and wiggled her toes he knew she was thinking about it. Hopefully she was realizing that it wasn’t good for her to walk with swollen feet and that he was capable of carrying her. And the sooner she decided to let him carry her the sooner they could get moving and the sooner the walking would be over. It’s not like he wanted to stay here longer; he wanted to get there as much as she did. However, there was only going to be one of them walking. She finally agreed and he stood up straight, grabbing the picnic basket. He also reached over and grabbed her shoes. ”Alright, hop on. You can wear these later, okay? For now you should let your feet We’ve been hearing the waterfall for so long, there is no way it’s much farther. Sound only travels so far.” This was good. This was very good. She was going to let him carry her, her feet could rest, and they would be at the waterfall in no time! Once they were there… It was going to be so much fun. The waterfall was supposedly breathtaking and the pool at the bottom would be perfect for swimming. There might even be a ledge a short ways up that they could jump off of! Just thinking about it got him excited and wishing they were already there. His excitement from the beginning of the trip was back and he couldn’t wait to jump in the water with Aeon right beside him. ((Go ahead and have them arrive at the waterfall if ya like))