THE PLACE WHERE MOST DENY (Seraphina)

[vaan]

Woo!

The harsh, cold wind whipped callously across Vaan's face, causing him to pull his scarf tighter around him, and his cloak tighter around his body. The snow was intense, and Vaan could barely see at this point, as he had to squint to keep from getting a lot of snow in his eyes. He did, however, manage to climb to the top, which was his desired feat for the day, and as the sun was setting, he knew two things: One, the temperature would drop, which was bearable but unfortunate, and two, the snow would settle down, which was a good thing.

As things were, he could barely make out some of the lights coming from Hyrule Castle. There was a ball or something taking place there, he knew that much, and wondered what it must be like to be lucky enough to attend such a wonderful fete. He was, of course, too lazy to go himself. Too lazy to buy something nice to wear, too lazy to go around looking for a date. Too lazy to spend so much time doing something he loathed so much. The young man yawned. He did wish he was there now, though. The cold was starting to get to him, and he disliked it more and more every minute.

Looking to his right, he saw a massive tree with hanging ice, and decided to rest there. He walked slowly over towards it, his cloak billowing in the wintery wind, and then finally sat down in the snow. He had layered enough to keep himself warm, even when sitting in the snow, so he was more comfortable this way than standing. He did, however, wish he had someone to talk to.

Vaan, unfortunately, had no idea how he was going to leave this place. It would be very unwise to stay the night up here where he was, but it was likely more unwise to attempt a descent, especially with these temperatures and at this time of night. He was careless, but knew better than to make such a perilous journey. He also, to his benefit at the moment, didn't worry himself with it. Instead, he looked out towards Hyrule, and longed for warmth.

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Fire had no place up here. High winds and cold temperatures made it nigh impossible to catch. Wood here was wet inside, and usually caked in snow, and generally a very poor burn. Wind snatched pilot lights and beginnings of unsheltered flames before they ever had a chance to bloom into their truest forms. But then, Seraphina never really adhered to the norm.

She had sat upon the mountain, contemplating a thought. The wind up here, so often seen as a curse, was a source of power of some sort. Like running water, wind could provide motion. The humble sail was proof of this. But, like water, to harness it required more thought than simply implementing basic ideas. It required development. And that was why she sat up on mountain high, the rock around her bare of all but itself, the snowstorm evaporating several inches away from her, as she defied nature, smiling to herself as it vainly tried to assault her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of someone trudging up the slope, carried upon the severe winds to her ears. Who else had decided to make the long walk up here? She stood up from her perch, intrigued, before walking in the direction of the noise, ice and snow melting before her, before she reached a small male, Hylian by the looks of him, huddled up in little more than a coat. She shook her head, running over to him.

[red]What in Din's name are you doing up here? Not the best of nights for someone like you to come up, you'll freeze in just a coat. Stay there, you'll warm up quickly.[/red]

True enough, the ground thawed, as she stood over the youthful looking guy.

[red]So, what bring you up here? Can't just be the view, and more importantly, why haven't you returned? There's not much to see up here really. Well, aside from a flaming woman this time round. But I'm not exactly a regular fixture.[/red]

She looked at him impatiently, tapping her foot, her hair ablaze, annoyed not only because some fool had decided to interrupt her thoughts, but also because this fool meant she was being hit by water, though it quickly evaporated. Being as most people would start to burn under her previous heat.

[vaan]

Before he knew it, Vaan had semi-drifted into a half-awake state in which he felt as though he were sleeping, but he was still staring out and down into the Castle Town, illuminated still by the lights of homeowners and shopkeepers. It was a pleasant sight, and he still wished to be a part of it, though he himself had decided to further himself from it. Perhaps coming up here really was just running away from his problems. Vaan didn't want to do that, but it was what he did best, and it had unfortunately become almost like a second nature to him. He was too lazy to face his problems head on. He was not driven, nor was he dedicated to nearly anything.

Suddenly, something woke him from his pseudoslumber. A voice, perhaps? Yes, there was a voice, but there was also extreme warmth. Looking down at the ground, Vaan noticed the cold and harsh snow giving way to ground that he hadn't ever seen before. Most people didn't even think about the fact that even Snowpeak, covered in a white blanket at all times, still had soil and ground underneath it all. Before looking up to the woman addressing him, he looked down at the ground.

Then up to the woman. He stared at her from under his hood through bright green eyes for a moment, and then, realizing the wind and cold had settled with her presence, removed his hood, revealing his face and his hair. He then saw the reality of her being: she was literally ablaze, perhaps why she was so warm to be around, and her hair was on fire. It was an interesting sight to behold, as Vaan had never seen something like that before. Perhaps appearing to be either rude or curious, Vaan stared at her for a moment or two before addressing her.

"Uh..." He began stupidly, still taking in her appearance. Where had she even come from, and why was she nearly covered in a blazing coat of warming fire? "Well, I... decided to go for a walk." he lied, looking back towards the castle down with a careless look on his face. Vaan yawned very heavily, then scratched his head to wake himself up. Then, he stood, meeting her on an eye-to-eye level instead, and offered his hand, the careless expression still on his face.

He yawned again, this time in her face, though he didn't seem to care. "Thanks for the heat. I'm up here because my alternative was facing my family, and them forcing me to go to the ball, both without desire and without a date. So, I came here." He chuckled a bit, then coughed into the crook of his elbow, and looked back at her. Indeed she was not a regular fixture, he knew that much.

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

Seraphina had to shake her head. What a truly ridiculous excuse to come wandering up the mountain. In all honesty, he'd have been better off saying that he had no idea why he climbed one of the most hostile environs left in Hyrule, wearing little more than a lightweight coat, and no apparent means of shelter or sustenance. And even then, she'd be seriously worried at the mental aptitude of the person in question. As it was, she had little doubt that this fool was a first class candidate for this sort of thing, on a regular basis.

[red]Can I just say, that is possibly one of the single weakest excuses for such an act of idiocy I have ever heard. Ever.[/red]

She looked down at him, before feeling a small measure of pity for him. She could understand the reasoning behind his actions, even if the actual action was a ridiculous one. She continued to warm the area around the two, shaking her head at him, before asking the obvious question.

[red]And how exactly did you plan on getting back, should a snowstorm strike? Or had you not thought far enough ahead to plan for the inevitable?[/red]

She looked him dead in the eye, eyes blazing with intensity. One thing that she abhorred was the absolute lack of common sense and basic thought process. The other was laziness. This... Youth, displayed both. Quite drastically as well. She continued to lock her eyes with him, a reproachful gaze, trying to impose the idiocy of his actions more clearly through eye contact alone.

[vaan]

Vaan couldn't help but let out a loud laugh. She was brutally honest; straight to the point. No holds barred, either, and she seemed to be the type to say whatever she felt to be most honest. Vaan liked and respected that, and looked her in the eyes, still laughing. Her gaze was serious a stern, like a parent reprimanding a child who had done something out of sheer ignorance. He still smiled at her with a careless smirk of happiness written across his face, and decided to answer her questions. "Okay, okay, so I didn't just come up here to take a walk. You see," he began, turning his head to her fully so he could communicate with effectiveness.

"Turns out that my parents want me to go to that damned ball," he said with a disdainful chuckle, a clear sense of defiance in his voice. "And really, there's about nothing that could get me to go to that ball unless a really, really attractive girl wanted to take me." He looked at her again, his face full of joy and laughter, as it commonly was. "And since that doesn't often happen, instead of sitting around until they MADE me go, I decided to come here!" He knew it was ignorant, and so he laughed again, still looking at her in the eye.

Then, Vaan turned his head away from her and back to the lights of Hyrule. His expression grew grim and joyless, and he removed his hood, seeing as it was warm now, and he didn't exactly need it. The wind still whipped through his hair, however, and caused him to have to squint a bit. "Get back? I'm the type of person that crosses bridges when I need to." he said frankly, looking back to her for only a moment. He was intelligent, and often got out of the strangest situations. However, while Vaan was of high intelligence, common sense was often out of his reach due to his extreme laziness. "But fate has a funny way of working things out. You're here, after all. A tower of warmth for someone so blissfully ignorant, hm?"

[SERAPHINA HERODOR]

All Seraphina could do was shake her head. She couldn't be much older than this idiot, and yet the difference in thinking was colossal. She felt... Not old, but perhaps, more experienced than she had in her life, in such a mundane way as almost looking down upon him, or rather his complete lack of sense. Because freezing to death upon a mountain was preferable to going to the Ball without a date. She rolled her eyes, before looking at him, the statement irking her once again.

[red]You realise that most girls with half a brain, let alone a full one, wouldn't be as dense as to ask someone to the ball who would prefer to take an impromptu, unprepared stroll up the mountain? Sorry to bring this harsh reality down upon you, but we do think. Din save me, I'm probably not much older than you, so I'm not just making stuff up. Besides, what ever happened to the guy asking, or does chivalry mean nothing to you?[/red]

She crossed her arms across her chest, tapping her foot, the evaporating water steaming from her pale, but aglow flesh. She'd felt somewhat gutted that she'd been unable to attend. Not least for the look on peoples face because of what she'd probably have worn. She smirked faintly at the thought, before frowning again. She looked down at the ground, before looking at the cretin again.

[red]Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Fairly simple idiom to live life by. While fate clearly has dealt you a good hand this time, what about next time? Or the time after? You can't blunder through life aimlessly, hoping it works out for the best. To put it in terms that you seem to appreciate, you aren't going to get any girls sitting around idly, waiting for one to come running into your arms. You need to go hunting for them.[/red]

She frowned. Wow. Of all things she'd expected never to do, this hadn't even been thought of to put onto the list. Explaining to teenager(?) on mountainside why constant ad lib is bad in terms of girls. Check. She rolled her eyes again, wishing she could have had another few minutes to contemplate the problem. Then again, he'd have probably been dead by then.

[red]Speaking of making the effort, we should probably get names, since I'm lecturing you and you're listening. Seraphina.[/red] You?

[vaan]

***They are about the same age. Vaan is almost 19.

A lecture wasn't something that Vaan was particularly used to, but that wasn't to say he didn't enjoy it. No one ever gave him something like that, and he knew he needed it, and from the right person. This Seraphina seemed to be the kind of person he needed at the moment, and while he didn't plan on changing his mind about what he was doing, Vaan had always been the open-minded type; the type to listen to others and consider what they had to say before he acted on his own impulses or thoughts, which he was about to do.

Casually he met her eyes again, listening intently to what she had to say before offering a rebuttle. She was intelligent and dignified, something he didn't often see in people these days, and while he thought such characteristics were extinct, this woman seemed to show otherwise. He smiled at her wryly; she was definitely intelligent, which was good, because it was another thing he needed: an intelligent conversation.

"Indeed," he said matter-of-factly, looking away from her, but keeping the smile writ on his face with a clever expression. "Oh, you misunderstand. I would never expect someone to ask me," he began, starting to yawn a bit as he did. "I would always ask first. The issue I have with that is that I know that no one would want to go with me, so I don't ask." Quickly, he added in a note, "But trust me, I have tried. It's not as though I'm giving up without trying," What seemed to be a negative or hopeless statement was said with a careless and genuine laugh. "I am a gentleman. However, my laziness impedes my ability to act in a chivalrous nature. Most women are seasoned mistresses these days, and I, in my current state of laziness and carelessly, realize that they do not willingly give of themselves, and thus I retire to places like the mountain. You see?" He smiled at her, winking jokingly.

"Ah, how fate acts in the favor of those like me," Vaan began, a wishful tone in his voice. He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes, letting himself fall into the warmth that this woman provided. "To those who go searching for a fate better than the one they have find only destruction. Me," he continued, laughing at himself again, "Well, I don't go looking. Fate finds me, meets me as a hungering friend, and shares with me the goodness it has to offer. Except, well, with women." He smiled again, not being able to contain his retrospective contentment at the situation. He was a ladies man that had yet to settle down with anyone because he could never find anyone who really wanted him for the asshole that he was, cynical in his ways.

"My name is Vaan," he said, meeting her face again without a smile this time, a more serious expression. "It is truly a pleasure to meet you."