A Rather Appealing Tree

[Griff Aubert]

He would have been more put out by her answer had he thought there was actually a chance that she would have undressed just because he'd taken his shirt off. The fact that she was clearly enjoying what she saw was enough for him, for now at least. His own eyes did not leave her chest. If she was going to be so obvious in her staring than so was he, even if he was forced to use his imagination.

At her words he had a look of confusion. "A better reason? You mean my being here is not enough?" Was there a better reason? If there was it was certainly beyond him. He never needed a reason to persuade a woman to undress other than his own presence. It was utterly absurd that Caitrin should require something more. Well, no, it wasn't absurd. It was Caitrin. It was just his luck that he would find a woman he actually had some real feelings for only to discover that the thing that attracted him to her most was the thing that most irritated him. He couldn't just bed her and move on - well, she wouldn't let him, as this exchange was so clearly proving - no, he had to start liking her, and then getting irritated by her but liking the fact that he was irritated and it was all starting to turn into a complicated mess that was only unravelled by her wealth and his lack thereof.

Everything was going back to money, as it usually did with Griff, if it wasn't that it was women, as his brother was so often pointing out and disapproving of. Well, he had to do something, didn't he? As he had told Lucan in the tavern he didn't have any skills other than being charming and since being disowned by his father it was all he had to gain financial security. Women did it all the time, why shouldn't he?

His mind was wandering again. It shouldn't be wandering, it should be focussed solely on the removal of that dress. "A better reason?" He repeated, thinking aloud. "How about...we're all alone and you kissed me first." In his opinion that was certainly a good enough reason. If Caitrin didn't want to see him naked then she wouldn't have made a move first. It was logic. But, much to Griff's annoyance, the first part of his reason was no longer valid. A messenger was making their way towards them. What great bloody timing.


Ah. Of course. Lucan would no doubt think he was helping Caitrin, protecting her feelings or some such nonsense and Caitrin would of course refuse to do as he said. He quickly decided that his brother and Caitrin would not be allowed together without him there to mediate. While Lucan did not have so forward a personality as Caitrin he was more than capable of holding his own, especially when it involved telling the world to stay away from Griff. Lucan was clearly determined that Griff should have no fun whatsoever. The more he thought about what their conversation would have been like the more angered he became. It was none of his brother's business what he spent his time doing, and he certainly had no right to tell Caitrin that she was "another conquest". She wasn't. Well, she was. Alright, he wasn't sure anymore, but whatever she was to Griff she had absolutely nothing to do with Lucan. It was not his place to comment.

Her change of tone snapped him out of his mental rant. There was something not right about the way she said the last part. Did she believe that Lucan was right? Alright, even Griff had to admit that there was more than enough proof to suggest that was indeed the case. But...did she believe him? And what's more, did this upset her? It was confusing, and that was putting it lightly. As always, his egotism was telling him that this Caitrin's behaviour was a good thing. It proved she liked him. It proved his charm was working. But he still couldn't help but feel responsible for the sudden change of atmosphere.

He bit his lip. He didn't know what to do to make the situation better, to make Caitrin feel better. And then a little voice popped into his head, an unfamiliar voice that said quite firmly Well there's the truth. And because there was nothing else he could do but listen to the mysterious voice he swallowed and said quietly, eyes dropping to the grass. "You were." The words hung thick in the air. Should he continue? Nothing he could say could make it worse, surely? And Caitrin must already be aware that she was right to call him "that kind of man". So he continued, although he couldn't for the life of him couldn't explain why. "But you're not. Not anymore." And this was where the truth got fuzzy. He'd spent so much time and effort trying to convince himself that anything he felt for Caitrin was purely physical, that he should ignore the new emotions she caused that he was finding it hard to understand what was real and what was his womanising facade.


Normally when Griff was presented vital information he ignored it, this was especially true when said information was given by a beautiful woman. This time however his brain started shouting at him until he fully realised just what had been said. He stared at her, eyes widened and mouth slightly open. "Up the aisle again? As in not for the first time?" Why was this only being mentioned now? Wasn't a previous engagement something that was usually said before you ended up in a field with a half naked man, just out of politeness more than anything else. Well, clearly not if you're Caitrin de Archer and again determined to be attractive and irritating at the same time.

The revelation, however, was soon forgotten about - or at least set aside - because her fingers were running up his back and he felt a shudder that he hoped was caused by the wind. Caitrin should not be causing him to shudder. That was not how these things worked. Her speech wasn't helping matters much. Griff was rather a one track mind sort of man, fingers and grinning and wrinkling of noses did not help, well, they did, but not when he was trying to practice self contr- oh, to hell with it.

He pushed his body forward, and due to their close proximity ended up on top of her, a grin across his face that quickly turned into a smirk. His fingers ran down her arm, eventually finding hers and tangling them up. Here, now, was definitely a good enough reason for her to be naked. He was still smirking, mind racing and...other parts racing too. "And what exactly would these good things be?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin found her familiar confident smirk form on her lips as Griflet spoke. She saw his eyes where they really should not be and she would have warned him off her if she hadn’t been returning the gaze. She was probably enjoying the view a bit too much but that didn’t matter and she raised her eyes at his words, “It is not, surprisingly.” She even managed a small laugh, honestly, what was he expecting her to do? Fall at his feet? Didn’t he know her better than that to know that would never happen? She would have replied to his words, but Simon had to go and interrupt them. Even from a different Kingdom her father had a habit of managing to screw up her life.


The first time Caitrin had met Griflet she had thought him to be that sort of man, and what his brother had said to her had not helped her suspicions one bit. She wouldn’t care if it was just some other noble who was courting her, but Griflet was different; she didn’t want him to be like everyone else. She placed her fingers on her stomach and drummed them against her dress idly, she had fiercely defended Griflet to his brother, and she still felt like she had done the right thing, but Lucan had laid the seed of doubt and it was proving hard to shift it.

She turned her head back to him as he spoke and her eyes widened as he admitted that she had been a conquest. A part of her wanted to get up and leave him here by himself and she bit back bitter tears. She had been right in the first place, and she should have trusted her judgement, but his choice of words made her stay; for now anyway. “Why not anymore?” She asked him softly, but there were tones of seriousness noted in her words and she was still speaking more quietly than she actually should be. She hadn’t let herself be conquered so it couldn’t be for that reason could it? She had inched herself slightly more towards him to close this gap between them, she needed just some small reassurance that he did care for her. She didn’t want to be just another woman in his life. Then she caught herself mid thought, suddenly realising how much she did want Griflet to just feel something towards her. She wasn’t as angry at him as she thought she would be at the fact that he had admitted she had been just a conquest at first, because she had suspected as much already. She did however just hang on for his reply, knowing what she wanted to hear.


Caitrin pressed her lips together but wasn’t altogether fazed at Griflet’s reaction to her grand revelation. Her previous engagement was something she thought about quite a lot, despite the small period in her life which it had occurred within. She had only been fourteen when she had been engaged to a man who was of her father’s age and status. Caitrin could still remember how she’d felt when he’d told her, of course she’d refused, and she’d had the bruise on her cheek to prove it. She was used to him being violent with her, but he’d never been that angry at her defiance before. She physically winced for a moment, she’d locked herself away from her family for days; she had even taken her meals in her room. The only time she’d come out was when her father had told her that her betrothed had died on the battlefield.

She looked back up at Griflet, who was unsurprisingly expecting an answer. “He betrothed me to some rich, old man.” She said, trying to make it sound dismissive but failing miserably. Still the prospect of what her life could have been like was niggling away in the back of her mind whenever she even thought about her betrothal. “I was only fourteen, but the man died before I even met him. And then I was given a choice, get sent here,” She gestured to her Uncle’s home, “Or stay in Mercia and get married to another obscure nobleman.” Of course Griflet wouldn’t know how conflicted she had actually been at the choice. He didn’t know she possessed magic, so the choice was to throw her life away and marry some noble, or get sent to Camelot with the possibility of being executed for who she was. She bit her lip nervously and downcast her eyes for a moment, she hadn’t been caught yet, but that was because she wasn’t stupid enough to even think about using magic overtly. She hated hiding that part of herself from the world, like she had to be ashamed of it.

Caitrin blinked and tried to push that little ordeal out of her memory. It was all in the past, and now she was here. Although she wouldn’t have believed it when she was fifteen and being sent here, she was happier here than she ever had been in Mercia. For one, it was an improvement her face wasn’t constantly being bruised, her Uncle didn’t believe in any of that apparently and she hadn’t complained. She turned her attentions back to the man in front of her and gave a soft smile, she was nineteen now, but still she felt the hurt from her early teenage years. The realisation that she really meant nothing to her father, and that she was just something to be passed around for the advancement of men still hurt her. She’d been too young to put this experience to good use, but as she had moved to Camelot she had found herself quite untrusting of men and their want, and need, of advancement and power. Then she had just started to use her teases, and her wit, to scare off suitors, to make them leave her with their tails between their legs and despise the day they even thought of wooing her.

Griflet however was different, he hadn’t even tried to leave her even though she had given him plenty of reason to. She’d rejected him physically and verbally in their first meeting, but he had still kept an eye out for her and spied her at the ball. He confused her, but intrigued her at the same time. He made her feel like she didn’t want to chase him away like she had done with the others, she wanted him to stay, and that was a completely alien feeling to her. She flickered her eyes over Griflet and felt the familiar flutter in her stomach as she locked her gaze with his. No, this wasn’t her. She didn’t do this kind of thing. She didn’t care what men thought of her, and she certainly didn’t fall for them.

She tried to just concentrate on him physically, instead of her conflicting feelings for him. She wasn’t going to let herself fall for him, her hand was still running along aimlessly on his back and she could have sworn she felt him shudder. She didn’t have time to tease him about it however because she suddenly felt her back hit the floor as Griflet moved on top of her. She smiled up at him, quite taken aback by his impulsiveness and felt her cheeks twinge with pink as he flashed his familiar smirk at her. She remained quite still as he ran his fingers down her arm and as he entwined their fingers together she squeezed his hand softly and gave him a gentle smile. She could still tell herself that she wasn’t falling for any of his charm, or the way he always flashed that grin of his at her, or the way he made her pulse flutter, but she wasn’t doing an amazing job at convincing herself.

Her heart began to race and she had to concentrate to keep her breathing steady as she raised her head off the grass, closer to his lips, just stopping them before the moment when they should have merged. Her free hand brushed down his back again and she was trying to ignore the tingle at the forefront of her fingers as she spoke, “Well this is one good thing.” She mused suggestively, gesturing to their current position, and drew back slightly, “Perhaps you could show me some others.” And now her hand was at the back of his neck, her eyes gleaming at him. She knew she shouldn’t want to feel this good with just a flash of his grin, or just from knowing all his attentions were on her, and only her; but she couldn’t help it. This wasn’t the plan, she wasn’t supposed to be falling for him; so why did it feel so good?

Notes:
1. This is appallingly long
2. I’ve just officially screwed up my own OC *squishes Cait*
3. The 1st section makes no sense to the rest of the post, I apologise.
Music: Hard to Believe- David Hodges (totally inspired this post)
[/size]

[Griff Aubert]

Why not anymore? Well, wasn't that an excellent question, and one Griff had no idea how to answer. He wasn't sure himself, but that was hardly going to be satisfactory answer for Caitrin. And he couldn't just say it was becaused he liked her. That line had been used enough already and was only going to become less effective through over use. No, he had to think of something good. He had to work out the answer himself. Well...that was going to be easy...

Why did he like her so much? She was stubborn and angry and flirtatious and certainly amusing, and he definitely liked her - he'd set it enough - but what was it that set her apart, that made her different? He had absolutely no idea. She made him feel things he'd never experienced before. She made him want to be a better person, but at the same time he was still reminding himself that this was not what he did. He didn't care about women, he used them. He should just be using Caitrin, so why wasn't he?

Eventually he was forced to answer her question with a reply that was in so way satisfactory but the best he could do at the moment. He just shrugged. "I don't know, you just are." There was a pause. "I care about you, a lot." There. He'd said it. It wasn't much but he'd made himself vulnerable, he'd shown his feelings and regretted it almost instantly. Griflet Aubert did not show his feelings. He kept them as hidden away as possible, that way he'd always be fine. That way he would remain cocky and arrogant and flirtatious and in control of the world, just the way he liked it. So why would he want to go and ruin all of that by doing a stupid thing like falling for Caitrin?


So far everything that he head learnt about Caitrin's father just confirmed his opinion of the man. He didn't like him one bit. In fact, that was an understatement. It was hard to determine exactly how he felt towards Caitrin's father when he was still struggling to determine how he felt about her but so far he could think of nothing positive. Already the man had managed to insult Griff, it may have only been through a letter but that was not the point, and while Griff was more than used a father's insults they usually came after certain...events with the daughter. This was just premature insult and in the case of Caitrin completely unnecessary.

And then came the truth, the history, and probably the reason why Caitrin had seemed so determined not to have anything to do with Griff when they had first met. A previous betrothal, and an unhappy one at that. While he had no personal experience with such matters he had seen Lucan in a similar position. Unsurprisingly his older brother had not been too keen which was part of the reason that he left Glouchedon. Clearly, as with his brother, this had not been the perfect match.

It was stupid, but as he listened to Caitrin, learnt about what had happened and saw how she had felt, how she felt now, he couldn't help but feel anger. Anger at her father, anger at her betrothed, anger at the world for letting someone like Caitrin suffer through such an experience. He wanted to do something, anything, to make things better, but it was clear she was trying to make the whole thing casual, unimportant so he tried too. He grinned. It was what he did in situations like this. If things were going bad you made them better. You ignored them, you made light of them. They wouldn't go away, of course they wouldn't, but at least you could forget about them for a while. "So of course you chose to come to Camelot and find a man like me instead. Well, I can see the logic there."


It occurred to him, as he looked down at Caitrin (God she looked beautiful) that he'd never seen her blush. It was almost absurd that she should, and for that very reason it reminded him just how damn charming he was - not that he really needed that much reminding. He'd surprised her. Ha. He liked being surprising, and he definitely liked her fingers running along his skin. It was an altogether good situation.

“Well this is one good thing. Perhaps you could show me some others.”

A grin formed across his lips. Part of him had been convinced that she'd just push him away from her, this was definitely the better outcome. "I could yes, I'm rather good at that sort of thing." His head dropped, allowing his lips to find the skin on her neck, trailing down the soft warm flesh to her collarbone. He could feel her pulse quickening, causing his grin to increase. He liked having this effect on women. He liked the power of making someone react like that. But he stopped abruptly, looked up at her and asked as straight faced as he could manage, "Is this a good enough reason now?"

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin smiled in a satisfied sort of way at Griflet’s words. “I’m glad someone does.” She found herself saying, and then her eyes widened as she realised what she’d said and felt like she wanted to just go back into herself. This wasn’t her, she was usually incredibly private, and she certainly didn’t tell anyone what bothered her. She wanted to take the words back, just take them back and then she could put her defences back up and pretend none of that had ever happened. She’d gone too far, she’d let him in to her feelings to much; she was sure of it. She just stayed very still for a few moments, she’d said it, there was no going back from that now she supposed.

Caitrin felt like she had been on her own with her feelings for so long that it was hard to imagine anyone actually truly caring for her. Her family certainly didn’t care an incredible amount for her wellbeing, but then again she wouldn’t be in Camelot if her father had truly ever cared about her happiness. The only person who had ever cared for her had been Helgund. It was silly, but Caitrin still could not get over the woman’s death; no one had understood their friendship, and she doubted that anyone ever would.

Caitrin knew she should believe Griflet, because everything about his actions reaffirmed that he did have feelings for her, and that he did care about her. She just wasn’t sure if she wanted to believe him. If she did then he would cross the threshold into her affections, like Helgund had done many years ago. What if he was lying and she had let her guard down for nothing? Caitrin wasn’t sure she could cope with another loss like her friendship with Helgund. Of course the nature of hers and Griflet’s relationship was different; it was still intimate on her emotions and something which she wasn’t used to experiencing.

She looked back at Griflet and considered him for a moment, he too seemed like he was letting his guard down, so why was she finding it so hard to do? Well, the answer was obvious, if you didn’t care about anyone else then they couldn’t hurt you when they left. But if you did care about them then their absence from your life, and emotions, would be heart-breaking. Her stomach was stirring again, as it always did when she looked up at Griff. She was starting to get annoyed with herself, she was Caitrin de Archer, she didn’t do this kind of thing, she had been so stubborn not to fall for his charms, had she not noticed that she had indeed been falling for them all this time?

The truth was, Caitrin did want to be cared for, and she had always wanted someone else to care for as well. She could pretend she was cold, and heartless and nothing more than a playful flirt, but her emotions ran deeper than that. She didn’t want to go through life completely isolated from everyone else emotionally, she had spent enough of her time like that already. So, went out on a whim, hoping this was the right man to trust, and gave Griflet a small smile. She raised a hand to brush her fingers past his cheek softly. “Well then Griff,” She began, finding the small strands of hair at the back of his neck and fiddling with them, “I would have to say then, that I care about you as well.” Her smile increase slightly as the confidence in her words grew, “Very much so.” There, that hadn’t been so hard had it? And she was sure that Griflet meant his words as she meant hers; completely truthfully.


Caitrin forced a small giggle out at Griflet’s next words, about her reasons for coming to Camelot. In truth she had always known her Uncle favoured her out of all his nieces and nephews, and it was the only alternative to not being wedded and bedded to put it crudely. She kept her smile on her face, both she and Griflet had been turned out of their home for very different reasons, but she still felt like he would understand what she had gone through to be taken from her home and put in a completely different Kingdom. Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn’t, but she felt more comfortable speaking to Griflet about Mercia and her reasons for coming here than most at court. “And of course your reason for coming to Camelot was to find a woman who would constantly argue with you.” She gave him a soft wink and then began to think of home once more.

She had long ago decided that she had never fit in with her family in Mercia, they were all about duty and doing what was best for the family name. Caitrin had no interest in dishonouring the family name, but neither did she have any interest in bettering it by sacrificing her own happiness; she was selfish like that. She had been brought up in a household with little love, and it made her angry to see other noblewomen, and men, at court who had been brought up in loving homes. “Do you really hate your family?” She then asked him, recalling on his earlier words. She wondered how different their upbringings had been. She hated her family, but she had her reasons, true Griflet had told her he had been cut off, but Caitrin had a lifetime of offences against her to back up her feelings towards her family.


Caitrin couldn’t really think as Griflet started to run his lips across her skin. She put her head back, exposing more of her pale skin, and gave an involuntary sigh. Her pulse started to race and she closed her eyes for a moment, just enjoying every part of his touch. He was flooding her senses, the feel of his body pressed up against hers, the way he smelt and the way she could still feel his lips on her skin even once they had been raised.

“Maybe.” Caitrin mused, biting her lip thoughtfully in answer to his question. She paused for a moment, just to see that anticipation on his face, she loved that part, before raising her lips to his neck. She trailed her lips along his warm skin slowly, leaving soft kisses along the way. She then raised one of her hands and brushed her fingers softly across the warm flesh of his chest. Her lips were still moving, and she nipped the skin of his neck slightly, and then moved her spare hand down from the top of his neck down to the small of his back. Two could play at this game. “But I think that my actions are better than your reasons, so I’d have to decline. Unless …you have any better reasons?” She bit her lip again, just for the effect, and the fun of it all, “You didn’t think it would be that easy did you?”

[Griff Aubert]

Her words were met with confusion. Why would she say something like that? Of course people cared about her. Her uncle definitely cared about her, and alright, her father was not the best of parents but surely there was someone else who cared. Nobody had no one. Did she really think that? She must do, she wouldn't have said it otherwise, but he still couldn't understand why. How could anyone not care about her? She was wonderful, and bright and it was impossible that someone could know her and not care. "Of course someone does, why wouldn't they?" It was meant to be a reassuring question rather than a confused one, but Caitrin was always so confident, so sure of herself, mostly annoyingly so. It was quite absurd for her to be doubting herself. He didn't like it one bit.

But she was opening up to him, really opening up to him. That had to be a good thing. No one was ever this honest with him, he was never around long enough. But with Caitrin he was far too gone. It wasn't just her, he was opening up too. He was letting his guard down, and it had to stop because he was not going to do anything stupid. He wouldn't let himself. He didn't do...this. Strictly speaking he didn't even know what this was, so the likelihood of him being able to cope with it was rather slim.

He was trying to tell himself what an idiot he was being when she went and said that. He smiled at her, it was an immediate reaction. It wasn't his flashy grin, it wasn't his inappropriate smirk. It was a simple smile. It was him being happy, it was her making him happy. She cared about him. And it was absolutely terrifying. The idea that anyone cared about him, let alone someone like Caitrin, just...scared him.

He wanted to do what he usually did. He wanted to fall back on his arrogance and carefree attitude, but he couldn't allow himself to do that, not this time, not to Caitrin because she deserved more than that. She deserved so much more. What she definitely didn't deserve was him.


“And of course your reason for coming to Camelot was to find a woman who would constantly argue with you.”

Of course he could have thought about his reply before speaking. He could have said something along the lines of how right she was and how leaving Glouchedon could no longer be seen as a bad thing, as a hardship because it was through his leaving that he met her. But he didn't. He just shrugged and said, "Just any woman really." He grinned at her and continued with a wink. "You just happened to be first."

She probably wasn't going to approve of that answer, she may even be annoyed and then they'd argue. Arguing was good. Arguing he could do. Arguing meant good emotions, emotions he could cope with, completely fear-free. He could hide behind an argument, behind some stupid comment and all would be well with the world. There. See, he was reassuring himself. He wasn't getting in too deep, he wasn't out of his comfort zone. There wasn't anything wrong with him. Nothing at all.


“Do you really hate your family?”

Well that was a question and a half. He let out a sigh and rolled over so he was lying on his back and staring up at the sky. He'd never had a functional relationship with any of his family. His father was too busy trying to turn him into Lucan and just becomming more and more disappointed. His mother was just...he couldn't think of the word...they just didn't fit. They didn't understand each other. They'd never really tried. And Lucan...Lucan had always been perfect. He was a knight. He was honourable and noble and everything that he should be, he fought for king and Camelot. And no one could understand why Griff wasn't like that. Why Griff didn't want to be like that. Well, he did. Or had, whatever, it didn't matter now. He was what he was, no matter how much of a disappointment he'd turned out to be. He was never going to be anything else.

There was a silence between them. He didn't particularly want to answer her. His family was not something he spoke about. But he knew Caitrin enough to know that he was going to have to answer her eventually. Simply ignoring her or trying to change the subject was not going to work, especially after she had been so open about her past.

He did not have some tragic history, something thrust upon him, some life changing event. He'd just hidden while everything was being slowly chipped away until he was all illusion. He was a coping mechanism, nothing more. So yes, he hated his family. They'd all played their part in shaping him, even Lucan, they'd made him the boy hiding behind the grin.

"Yes." he said firmly. He was still staring at the sky with quite some determination. No matter how much Caitrin pressed him that was all she was getting. He didn't talk about his family to anyone. He was not going to start doing so now.


And now she was kissing his neck, and it was her fingers tracing along his skin and he couldn't quite think or even acknowledge anything else because everything was just good. It was just him and her and she was so soft and beautiful and being so challenging and inappropriate. He had to chuckle at her words. Her actions were definitely well received, but he himself still had a few tricks up his sleeve, or rather up his trouser leg as his sleeves lay discarded a few feet away. "Well I could always take my trousers off," he replied with a smirk. "Surely that is more than enough reason?"


OOC - I'm not taking his trousers off. If Cait wants him to she's taking the dress off.

[Caitrin de Archer]

For Caitrin, her words had been a moment of weakness that she hadn’t really experienced before. She’d grown up with the absence of love from either parent; her father despised whatever she did and only made physical contact with her when he had beat her, her mother was worn out with children and had for the most part just left her to her own devices. After all, Caitrin was the seventh child, and as she had always been reminded she was just another mouth to feed; another dowry to fund.

Griflet questioned her words and she dropped her eyes to the grass, not wanting to look at him. Why couldn’t he have just not heard her? Or perhaps just ignored her, it would have been simpler that way; she wouldn’t have then had to explain herself further. She knew that people cared for her on a personal level, her Uncle for instance didn’t want to see her harmed, but few people in Caitrin’s life ever seemed to want to help secure her happiness. Even her Uncle was always clipping her heels, moaning at her to find a husband or he would find her one himself.

Caitrin let herself fall back into the grass, she didn’t have to look at Griflet if she was staring up into the tree, and it was easier that way. She was quiet, uncommonly so, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to just wave this conversation off, because she only wanted to have it the once. Caitrin hated these moments enough without having to continue the conversation on a different day. She ran her fingers along the grass slowly, just thinking about her upbringing, and what had led her right to this moment. She thought back to her immediate family, none of them had cared about her when she was growing up, why the hell would they care now?

“They don’t; no one does anymore anyway.” Was all Caitrin could say and she turned her head away from Griflet, she wasn’t going to cry, after all what would be the point in that? She’d cried enough throughout her younger years to know that tears didn’t really get you anywhere, apart from a headache. So this was her, with all her bottled up emotions, and her lonely past. Of course the fact she had said no one care for her anymore was in reference to Helgund, but Griflet wouldn’t know that would he?

But why did they not care for her? Caitrin didn’t want to just say ‘because they don’t’ because that would have been the answer she’d have given at the age of six. She still wasn’t looking at Griflet and she closed her eyes for a moment, “They don’t care about me because I’m too...” Disrespectful? Headstrong? Disobedient? There were a wealth of words spinning round in her head to describe what her family thought of her and she didn’t finish off her sentence, she just remained very still, not wanting to continue her rant. She was too many negative things in the eyes of her family to give them justice in a few words. So, she moved her arms so they were hugging her sides and just stayed quiet, listening to the sound of the wind ripping through the trees, wishing she hadn’t said anything, wishing Griflet just wasn’t here, he wouldn’t have heard any of that then.

She did turn her head back to him finally as he smiled as she told him she cared for him. It was a genuine smile, and Caitrin found herself matching it. She didn’t want to be alone anymore, she wanted him to be with her for as long as their journey would take them; now she had someone who she could care for, and who could care for her.

Caitrin raised her eye brows as Griflet said she had just been the first woman in Camelot. She sat up slightly, one hand on her hip and kept her eye brows raised. “Well aren’t you lucky, because just look what you got on your first try.” Now it was her turn to wink at him and act confident, because that was what she did. She knew he was joking, or at least hoped he was joking. “As long as I am the last, I’m satisfied.” She then said and smirked down at him before resuming her position lying next to him.

After she questioned him on his family she noticed how quiet he had become; much like her silence earlier in the conversation. She wondered if she had hit a nerve, many people had things in their past they didn’t want to express to anyone, not even those who they had known for years. He rolled over onto his back and Caitrin shifted her position, so she laid her head on the flesh above his ribs so she was still looking up at him, but she just wanted him to know she was here in a way. She didn’t press him for an answer, and when he did reply it was short and sweet. Noticing the tone in his voice she didn’t chase him up on his answer straight away. Instead, she stayed with her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat softly before she spoke, “Seems like we both have family issues.” She gave a gentle smile, but didn’t laugh because of the tone in which he had spoken in.

Caitrin matched his chuckle as he spoke, she raised an eye brow and had to laugh again. It was the middle of the day, and they were in the middle of a field, he couldn’t be serious? She laughed again, and ran a hand though his hair, “It’s the middle of the day, someone will see.” She hated herself for having to be serious, but these were her Uncle’s lands, and she was part of the reputation for that. She certainly didn’t want the farmhands and the servants speaking about her affairs; her Uncle would be annoyed at her if he detected one part of her behaviour which had been badly done on his lands, in front of the servants.

The corner’s of her mouth twitched, and she formed a small smirk, they couldn’t do what they obviously wanted to do, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t have a bit of fun in the meantime did it? She raised her arms to Griflet’s back, running her fingers softly across his flesh, then used her hands to bring his body down so he was lying fully on top of her. She stopped for a moment to give him a quick wink and then, using all the strength she could muster, she pushed herself off the grass, and consequently ended up on top of Griflet.

She was slightly breathless, and grinned down at him, running a hand through her hair to lift it off her face. Perhaps she had managed to surprise him as he had surprised her. Her heart was racing again as her chest was now fully pressed up against his. She just set her eyes on him for a moments, just caught up in him, how handsome he was, how charming that smirk of his was, and how now she had his full attentions. She bit her lip again, running her tongue slowly on her bottom lip and lowered her lips down to his, but did not merge them, “It seems now that I have the advantage.” She teased and then kissed the tip of his nose softly, “Do you have a problem with that?”

[Griff Aubert]

Griff didn't like seeing Caitrin like this. He didn't like her upset and vulnerable and not knowing how - or even if - he could make everything better again. He could reassure her (or at least try to) that he really did care about her, and that if other people didn't, that didn't matter. She was far stronger than that. He needed her to be far stronger than that.

She'd turned her head away. That just made him worry about her more. This was clearly hard for her, all he wanted was to stop her feeling how she did right now. He shuffled closer and put his arm around her waist and kissed her shoulder, as it was nearest part of her. He wanted her to know that no matter what anybody else thought he was there. "I don't care what anyone thinks about you." If they didn't care then it was their failing, not hers. "And neither should you."

In any other situation it would have amused him that he was saying that. He was the worst person in the world to say something like that. His whole being had been shaped by how people viewed him. That did not matter however. This was not about him and his own feelings, this was about Caitrin and hers and this was new...he never put anyone before himself, especially when a bout of self pity was due. He kept people at a distance, he cared about himself more than anyone else, he didn't start worrying about other people's emotions, or how he could attempt to make everything better. Yet here he was. Worried. Worried over Caitrin. It didn't make sense. It wasn't him. But it wasn't entirely unpleasant either. It was bloody confusing and just made him think stupid things, but he could take that because it meant he was with her.

“Well aren’t you lucky, because just look what you got on your first try.” “As long as I am the last, I’m satisfied.”

Eyebrows rose at her comment. "Lucky? I don't think that's the word I would use..." He grinned, and pretended it was just a joke and she wasn't in fact completely correct. He was lucky (and a bit of a stalker), but it was luck that she had happened to be there when she was, and it was luck that they had met again. But everything else was his charm and good looks (and, alright, his being a bit of a stalker). "Unfortunate?" That was probably going to earn him a slap.

He was now feeling slightly uncomfortable and vulnerable, having to look up at her now she was sitting up slightly, especially after coming out with a comment like that. He was in a very easy and attackable position. "Unfortunate...that you didn't like me?" Was that in any way better? Probably not. What was probable was that she would be the last, if only because after that comment he'd no longer be in a position to charm any other women. He raised a hand as he spoke, because that was going to make everything he said better, "Is there a way of not regretting that comment?"


“Seems like we both have family issues.”

Well that was an understatement, but he was glad that his answer hadn't been pressed further. He couldn't talk about his family without anger - at both his family and himself. It was ridiculous situation, he was fully aware, but there was nothing he could do about it, and from the sound of things, Caitrin was of a smiliar mind. Still, his family weren't here (well, except Lucan but things between them were definitely improving and it wasn't Lucan that had been the issue, rather the Myth of Lucan), so there was no point thinking about them, not when he could be enjoying him time with Caitrin.

He started idly playing with her hair. He liked her hair. "It's a wonder we turned out so normal." He joked, he was definitely far from normal, and not in that unique and individual way, in a seriously having issues way. Even so, he was going to make light of the situation because that was better than having to deal with anything.


“It’s the middle of the day, someone will see.”

Her laugh was rather contagious and he found himself joining her, even better was the fact that she had just proven him right. "So what you're saying is, you would have me in a further state of undress if we wouldn't be seen? Therefore my lack of trousers would be enough for you to lose that dress?" He grinned with an air of self-satisfaction. "I thought as much."

His smile faded when he noticed her smirk. She was clearly thinking of something highly inappropriate, and probably quite fun, and he was therefore determined to find out exactly what that was. After all, it was more than likely that it involved him. What he wasn't expecting was to end up on his back underneath Caitrin, well this was an interesting development.

"Oh, hello." Was all he could think to say, which he thought was quite impressive seeing as all he could think about was certainly not something he could voice. And now she was biting her lip, and licking her lip and he was aware that his breath was quickening, any other time and he would be embarrassed at having such a reaction, now it didn't matter because she was licking her lip.

“Do you have a problem with that?”

...did he have a problem with her being on top of him? Was that an actual question that needed an actual answer? Well, of course she knew what he'd say, otherwise she wouldn't be asking. She just wanted him to give in and let her have power over him. Just this once he was inclined to acquiesce.

"Problem? I am more than happy with the...current situation."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin needed to get out of this frame of mind. It was done, finished, her family were in Mercia where they couldn’t do her anymore harm. She never had to see any of them again if she so chose. Caitrin was not sure she did ever want to see her father ever again, let alone any of her brothers or sisters. She was a woman now, and she knew she would find it difficult to see the man who had tried to ruin her childhood in her more adult years. As a girl, she could run from him and hide away, but as an adult she would have to stay and act like she was stronger than she actually was. She was a different person now to the one who had left under her father’s guards many years ago, Camelot was her home now, and she had to try and airbrush her family from her mind. They were nothing but trouble anyway.

She could feel Griflet’s arm at her waist, and she just let herself fall into his embrace. She needed this, she needed someone to just care about her and just her. Everyone in this world seemed to have an agenda, and as a woman she was always a part of that. Everyone had their Achilles heel, and Caitrin’s was her need to be loved. It hadn’t been as bad when she had Helgund, the woman had fulfilled the position as a sort of surrogate mother. They’d only had each other for years as all of Helgund’s family had been wiped out during the Great Purge.

She dropped her hand until she found Griflet’s fingers and entwined them together and squeezed them softly, just to let him know how much she really did appreciate him being here. Perhaps her outburst had not been such a bad thing, it had made Griflet move to comfort her, and that was what she had been craving in that area of her emotions; its what she’d been missing for years. “I know I should not.” She turned her head back to Griflet, if anything just to show him she wasn’t about to burst into tears, no, she was stronger than that. She’d made herself vulnerable through her words, but she wasn’t making herself emotionally unstable as well. She shrugged softly, she needed to turn this conversation around, she’d been too vulnerable for too long, “And I never have to go back to Mercia, so that’s just... fine.” Her words were unconvincing and she paused for a moment, only then realising how unfair she had been being.

She finally managed a smile, feeling slightly happier as she thought there were two other people who did care about her in some ways. Both were men, which was nothing for Griflet to worry about of course, but that in itself stuck Caitrin as an odd thought. She had always thought herself a pawn for mens advances, yet the three people she could think of that did care about her were men. “I’m being unfair, Arthur cares about me. Oh and Dristan, he does as well.” Did Griflet even know who Dristan was, and would it click which Arthur she was talking about? Oh well, she’d let him work it out for himself. Arthur was one of her closest friends, he’d made Camelot bearable when she’d first arrived from Mercia. As for Dristan, well, they had such similar personalities it was hard for them not to get along, and to not care for each other. He was like the older brother figure she’d always wanted. “And you of course.” She finished, giving Griflet a genuine smile and squeezing his hand again.

Caitrin looked down at Griflet as he spoke and found an eye brow raised straight away at him. As he finished off his sentence with the word unfortunate she instinctively slapped his arm with the back of her hand. It was slightly playful, but also meant as a sort of warning. She remembered she had nearly slapped him the first time that they had met, it was insane any man would want to keep your company after you had practically assaulted them, and Griflet certainly seemed to break a lot of the conventions Caitrin was used to in noblemen.

She scoffed slightly but couldn’t help but give a small smile at Griflet’s latter words. He was still in a vulnerable position if she did indeed decide to raise her hand to him again. It had seemed so long ago since she had been trying to get rid of him so she could have her peace and quiet. “And why on earth would I have ‘liked’ you on our first meeting?” She asked him, “You just seemed intent on disrupting my peaceful ride out to the forest.” She gave him a sharp wink. She’d been annoyed at him at the time, but she supposed if he had not followed her out to the forest then they wouldn’t be where they were now.

Giving Griflet a warning glare for a few moments, Caitrin moved again so that her head was set on his chest. She liked the feel of her face against his warm flesh. She just felt secure in a way, and she needed that. Then his fingers started playing with the strands of her hair and she nuzzled her cheek into his chest. The feel of his fingers into her hair was comforting; she loved people playing with her hair, she wasn’t sure why, she just did. Caitrin found herself laughing at his words, she didn’t feel normal, not at all. Everyone else at court seemed to have come from a loving household, or at least one where some love was felt, and Caitrin stuck out like a sore thumb in that aspect. However, Griflet was trying to make light of the situation, and she would follow suit, “If you think I’m normal, you don’t know me at all.” She teased softly, moving her lips to kiss the soft flesh of his chest. Caitrin didn’t consider herself to be a normal noblewoman, she doubted many would be this comfortable just lying in a field with a man without his shirt on.

Caitrin would have been inclined to blush if she was like any other noblewoman. Fortunately she wasn’t so she just raised an eye brow at him and smirked. “Well, as we are not anywhere we would not be seen, you will never know if it would have been enough for me to lose my dress.” She finished with a quick wink at him and fell back onto her confidence. In truth, she didn’t know how exactly she would have reacted to him being in a further state of undress; perhaps that would be one to discover at another time, and in a more private setting. “You can merely guess it would have been enough.” Now she was running a hand down his arm, just because she could, and because she loved the feel of his skin beneath her fingers.

She grinned down at Griflet, noticing how his breathing had changed to match hers and she knew that she had taken him by some element of surprise. She liked that, through all of Griff’s ego, and his charms, she had still surprised him. Her breathing was still quickening and she carried on grinning as he spoke, feeling like she now had some power in the conversation. Funny, not too long ago it was so much harder to gain any element of control in a conversation with Griflet.

“Good.” Was all she could think to reply with and then another playful smirk fell across her lips, she could do better than this couldn’t she, “But I’m sure I could make the current situation...more enjoyable.” She dropped her lips again to his neck and nipped the skin again, then moving to plant kisses along his neck, moving up to his lips. She ran her lips along his, not merging them fully, but just enjoying the feel of his lips against hers for a few seconds before she lifted them, just grinning down at him, enjoying the effect she was having on him. Then, slowly, and gently, she finally merged their lips, moving her lips against his softly, moving one hand to caress his cheek at the same time.

[Griff Aubert]

OOC - yeah, I don't even know what happened here. And, as I'm sure you can guess: massively sectiony post wahey.

Caitrin squeezing his hand should not make him feel the way it did. He should not have a tingle where their skin touched. He should not feel better, happier, just being with her. This was not something he experienced. This was not something he allowed himself to experience. It was ridiculous and it was uncharacteristic and he needed to stop being so damned affected by everything. And yet here he was, being made happy just because Caitrin was with him. What the hell was wrong with him?

He needed to step back, start thinking rationally again, start thinking again, well, with his brain. He would just assess the situation and go back to being his charming and seductive self, then he could have the money without the...other things. He had a plan, and he was going to stick to it and not allow himself to be distracted by ridiculous feelings.

That would be a lot easier to do, however, if her own feelings just now did not parallel his own and although she protested that she was fine Griff was quite convinced she was not. He knew what it was like to feel like an outsider to your family, to be a disappointment, to feel unwanted. He could hear it in Caitrin's voice. And yet (and he was assuming this was how Caitrin felt as well), however much he hated Glouchedon it was his home, it was the only place he'd ever belonged - or attempted to belong, whereas in Camelot he was just another noble. It probably didn't help that he had never tried to be anything more than that, he had never had a reason to. Perhaps now he did.

And there he went with those ridiculous feelings of his. He needed to stop, right now, for a number of reasons, all of them being good, solid reasons that could not be ignored no matter how much he wanted to. Perhaps that was the most ridiculous thing of all, definitely the worst thing, probably the most stupid thing: he wanted to ignore the reasons. He wanted to just be with Caitrin and ignore everything inside his head. He squeezed her hand back and pretended that everything was fine and it was just them.

He didn't know who Arthur and Dristan were, well, he assumed by Arthur she meant the prince, but he didn't care, or at least he was trying not to care because he was trying to focus on solely her and not let anything like his own issues and a little jealousy get in the way of that. So he just ignored that and focussed on the latter part of her speech, that was definitely the most important part. It was about him. He matched her smile, her words managing to block out all of the reasons and doubt and just leaving her. His smile grew bigger and he replied, with his usual tone of self-assurance, "Well, I am clearly worth a hundred Arthurs and Dristans," he bit his lip as he tried to decide whether or not he should voice his next thought. Oh sod it. If he was going to ignore the reasons then he might as well ignore them properly. "I can't imagine ever not caring about you."


"Ow!" Alright, he had been expecting that reaction, and it didn't actually hurt that much but it was an automatic reaction and he was being overdramatic and she shouldn't go around hitting people. And she was asking silly questions. "Why would you not like me? I'm charming and funny and handsome and, I said charming, didn't I?" He was grinning at her now, fairly confident that another slap was not in order. There was nothing like a bit of narcissim to make you feel better, and Griff was certainly feeling better now, having dispersed his earlier doubts and successfully ignoring all those reasons why he shouldn't be having feelings for Caitrin. They could bother him later, he was rather preoccupied right now.

This preoccupation was now in the form of Caitrin kissing his chest, which was fairly distracting when he was meant to be answering her. Now this was hardly fair. She couldn't attack him for answering her in a way she didn't like and then distract him like this. He'd only end up saying something wrong again, and then she'd hit him, again. This was clearly her plan. He shifted slightly, his skin was still tingling but he was trying to ignore it and focus on the task at hand: not giving her another excuse for assault. "Alright, maybe not normal. We wouldn't be here if you were normal." As he spoke he realised just how odd a situation this was, well, not odd for him. He'd been shirtless around countless women, but it must be weird for Caitrin, although she seemed to be enjoying it. Well, why wouldn't she?


Well that was irritating. She could at least give him a yes or no, just so he would know if she would have taken her dress off, even if she wasn't going to. He more than deserved it. Bloody women. She probably thought she was being mysterious and alusive. She was just being annoying. He glared at her, although having to suppress a grin was probably ruining the effect. "It clearly was. Otherwise you'd just say no." That was his argument anyway, and he was going to stick to it firmly, no matter what Caitrin said.


"Oh could you now?" Griff laughed, rather taken aback by Caitrin's actions. He really shouldn't be surprised that he was the one on his back, after all, she had made that quite clear during their first meeting. He decided to just let her carry on in control, he was curious and rather looking forward to seeing how far she would take this. She was the one who had pointed out that they could be seen, yet she was the one on top of him and being very inappropriate and kissing his neck and he couldn't really think in straight sentences, which was embarrassing. "I'd...erm, be," he tried to clear his throat, hoping that would make his voice less high pitched. "Very...that is to say, looking forward to, well, to enjoyment."

He inwardly cringed. That, that was smooth.

[Caitrin de Archer]

As Griflet squeezed her hand back Caitrin instinctively smiled across at him. She rubbed her thumb along his skin and just enjoyed that small embrace, just knowing he was there for her was enough. Caitrin was starting to come out of whatever dark place her thoughts had been in for the past few exchanges. Her family was not a topic she brought up frequently, Griflet had been the only one she had truly opened up to. Of course her Uncle knew of her loveless upbringing, but he’d witnessed it so it wasn’t the same thing really was it?

It wasn’t that she was scared of her family, or even just scared of facing her past. It just hurt to look back on her childhood because she had no fondness for it where her family was concerned. For many years after Helgund’s death she had meant little to any of her family, she was just seen as a way of advancing their position, and they had often made that point overt. Even being sent to Camelot had some ulterior motives as her father obviously expected her to marry within Camelot, and therefore provide links for him on a more personal level than his brother did. She just wanted to be her, and enjoy her life however she wanted and in whichever way she wanted to. Was that really too much to ask?

Caitrin shook those thoughts from her head, she was in Camelot now, her father wasn’t and he couldn’t hurt her anymore. She was a woman now, and she was more than capable of standing up to her bully of a father. Griflet’s words pulled her from her thoughts and she laughed, wondering what Dristan and Arthur would say if Griflet ever repeated that sentence to them. Dristan would probably not mind, but she was incredibly close to Arthur, and he might mind. “Would you really want to tell the Prince of Camelot you’re worth a hundred of him.” She winked just to let him know she was joking and let out a small giggle at the thought of Griflet telling Arthur just that.

She stopped her giggles at his next words, as he bit his lip and she could have detected a note of seriousness about the words which she appreciated, given what he had said. Caitrin turned on her side so that she was facing Griflet and put her arm across his waist and just held him there for a few moments, “Hopefully you will never have to imagine not caring for me.” Her words were quiet, not because of what she was saying, but because of what she was about to say, “I will never stop caring for you.” There, she had said it, she wasn’t sure which bit of her mind had been okay with her admitting anything like that, but she’d said it now, and that was that.

Caitrin rolled her eyes, she was sure she hadn’t hurt him that much, he was just being dramatic. She raised a warning finger at him, to show that she would not hesitate from raising her hand again at him. Of course she would never cause him any actual grievous harm, but it was nice sometimes to have the upper hand. Her face lit up with a wild smile at his words, she couldn’t help herself; his ego was actually bigger than her own and that was some achievement. “You missed out the fact you have an incredibly big ego Griflet Aubert.” She poked the tip of his nose playfully and raised an eye brow at him. Although she playfully mocked his ego, she couldn’t imagine Griflet being anything other than big headed, or charming, it was just him.

Caitrin couldn’t see much point in still trying to deny she had any feelings for this man. She couldn’t just run away and pretend none of this had happened, no it had gone too far for that, and anyway she had no intentions of running anywhere. Everything about Griflet was just filling her head, she just felt like she didn’t want this to be a fling anymore, and for Caitrin that was an odd and scary thought. She had never supposed any man could be anything more than a fling to her, but with Griflet it was different, she didn’t want him to go away and find another woman like that stupid brunette at the dance. Neither did she just want to go and find the nearest courtier which took her fancy. No, she just wanted him, and she wanted him to want to stay there, just with her.

Although Griflet shifted, Caitrin kept her head on his chest, she was enjoying the feel of his skin on hers to contemplate moving anytime soon. It was safe to say she couldn’t remember ever being this comfortable with a man who was half naked before, so she nodded, letting a little bit of laughter escape her lips. “That’s true.” She agreed, placing a hand on his chest as well, “Although I was never one for being traditionally courted.” Caitrin found that few men could actually step up to the mark at court and really challenge her mentally, as well as physically. In only a few meetings Griflet had blown her away in both of those aspects. He was just so...different, but in a good way, and one that just spurred on her feelings towards him.

Caitrin's lips curled as she tried to stop herself laughing at Griflet's reaction to her words, not to mention her actions. The only time he had ever spoken like that in front of her before was when he had been obviously nervous at her Uncle discovering them in the gardens. Was he nervous now? Caitrin raised both her eye brows, but not in an accusing way, more in an amused way. She didn't believe for a second he was nervous, she didn't know exactly how to describe what she thought Griflet was feeling, but she was sure he was probably just caught up in the moment. She grinned down at him and stole a quick kiss from his lips before drawing back and just taking a few moments to look down at him. She had held the attentions of many men over the years, including some she would really rather forget, but Griflet just felt different in every way. He was incredibly handsome, especially when he flashed that grin of his up at her. She felt a flutter in her stomach every time he did, and she was in no hurry to stop any of those feelings.

She ran a hand through his hair and kissed him softly again, just to feel that tingle in her lips again. Her pulse fluttered as their lips met and she then just grinned down at him, raising one of her eye brows in a suggestive manner. “Well as I said earlier, someone will see.” She raised her body, so she was sat on his chest rather than lying on it, “So you’ll have to just look forwards to more enjoyment.” She gave a little smirk and smoothed a hand down his chest and gave him a small wink before shifting off him. She didn’t really want to be in that sort of position for too long; knowing her luck someone would see and she’d be confined to the house for even longer.

Caitrin shuffled herself so she was now sat quite close to Griflet, with her back up against the tree. She smiled down at him and ran a hand through her hair. She knew Simon, her fathers messenger, would be itching to be back on the road to Mercia soon enough and she inwardly groaned at her own sensible thoughts. She shouldn’t be thinking about her family still, she was in a field, on her own, with Griflet who incidentally was half naked. “I should probably return to reply to my father soon.” She said quietly, frowning slightly at her own words.

[Griff Aubert]

Hmmm...alright, maybe he wouldn't say that to the prince's face, or to any part of him thinking about it, or just in his general vicinity, but it didn't mean his statement wasn't true. He was worth a thousand of most people, only everyone seemed to keep forgetting that and they needed reminding. Even so, he wasn't going to let Caitrin know that there was no way he would say such a thing to Camelot's prince. "You doubt me?" He was doing his best offended tone and expression which worked on most people, and yet he had no doubt that Caitrin would just ignore it. She had an annoying little habit of not going along with everything he said and did.

Her words came as a shock and he simply stared at her for a few seconds. He swallowed, and tried to think of something to say, something that was good enough for a reply. No one had ever cared about him before, well, alright, people had said they had, but they didn’t care about him. They cared about what they thought was him. They cared about the flashy grin and the huge ego and the smirk and banter. Caitrin, however, Caitrin had seen the worst of him – or at least the not-quite-so-good – she had seen him cocky and arrogant and jealous and nervous and everything everyone else wasn’t allowed to see. She’d seen him, and yet here she was, declaring to the world that she cared about him. And here was the stupid thing, the thing that would make Griff laugh it was happening to anyone else. He was afraid. No one cared about him, no one had been allowed to. He didn’t know what to do; he didn’t know what to say, or even how to feel. So, once again, he fell back on his charm and ego. He could do that. “Well, yes,” he grinned at her, a grin that was very good at hiding everything else. “I assumed as such. It’s only natural, after all.”

She spoke of his ego as though it was a bad thing. Griff's ego had more than done him proud over the years. It was his first line of defence. And anyway, there was nothing wrong with having an ‘incredibly big ego’ when you were as fantastic as Griff was. “There’s nothing wrong with my ego.” He replied rather childishly, folding his arms across his chest. Why was having an ego such a bad thing anyway? The whole world should be made aware of just how brilliant a person he was.

He was not in the least bit surprised that she was ‘never one for being traditionally courted’, whatever ‘traditionally courted’ was. He supposed it was something along the lines of being introduced by family members and forced into awkward situations in the hopes that such a match would benefit both families. Well, that way had never really appealed to Griff, so he’d always taken matters into his own hands. And, let’s be honest, his approach had more than worked in his favour. It was entirely on his own merit and, alright, persistence that he had ended up in a field with Caitrin, not because their families had decided it would be a good match. This was then proof that the Griff Method was the best, but then, that really hadn’t been under question.

Neither of them were what you could call perfect examples of nobility, so it came as no shock that this should hardly be a perfect example of courting. If they had they’d probably still be at the awkward small talk stage of their relationship, whereas now...well, he was half naked. “Good, traditional isn’t fun. The Griff Method definitely is.”

Well, now Griff was just even more embarrassed. It was bad enough being flustered because of a woman, let alone her being so amused by it. He couldn't help it! There'd be lip biting and everything. She'd shifted her body, which wasn't helping the situation in the slightest; in fact, he'd go so far as to say it had had the opposite effect. He ran his hands up her thighs, resisting the urge to try to get them under her dress; Caitrin would only disapprove of something like that. "I don't care if anyone sees." He declared and arched his back so he could reach her lips. One hand found it's way to the small of her back and managed to pull her body down slightly. He hadn't liked the gap between them. "That's better." He grinned and kissed her again.

But then she had to go and ruin it for no reason and move again so there was a gap between them again. Now she was just being a spoil sport. There was no one about to see, and even if there was they were both of nobility and could therefore do whatever th- look forwards to more enjoyment? Had he heard that correctly? Forwards as in happening in the not to distant future and more enjoyment as in, well, more enjoyment? Get in! He would be more disappointed at the lack of enjoyment right that moment, but he was far too pleased with himself. He'd finally broken her. He was amazing. Griflet Aubert was definitely back on form.

"When you say 'more enjoyment', what exactly do you mean?" Of course he knew exactly what she meant, neither of them were being at all subtle, still, he wanted her to say it. His ego definitely deserved a boost now. "If you could be as clear as possible..."

Wait, hang on. Why was she moving? That wasn't part of the plan. That was anti-plan. They were supposed to carry on like this until she gave in and, like him, stopped caring about being seen. He had liked where the conversation had been going, and this sudden change was decidedly less fun. And less naked. Still, he did pick up on Caitrin's "should". That left enough room for Griff to persuade her that leaving would be a bad idea and that she'd have a much better time with him. "You should yes, just like I should put my shirt back on...but isn't it better for all if I don't?" He winked, mainly because in his experience few women could resist him when he did. Of course Caitrin had proved immune to his charms before but it was the wink. It was famous. "Besides, I'm more fun."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin frowned slightly as Griflet grinned and spoke to her. She loved his grin, and the way it lit up his face, but she didn’t like it at the same time. In a way, she felt like it was taking a step back for them both. It hadn’t bothered her that much in the gardens because she’d been preoccupied by other thoughts, but now she felt like it was bothering her. She didn’t want Griflet to close her off, in the gardens, even though it had been for a short while, he had opened up to her. The corner of her mouth twitched, why should she be bothered if Griflet was opening up in her, she had opened up to him but what did that matter? She didn’t say anything, but didn’t shuffle closer towards him either and just gave a small smile at his words, not really wanting to give them anymore thought.

Caitrin raised an eye brow at Griflet’s words on his ego. It was bigger than hers, and bigger than her Uncle which at one point she would have been convinced was impossible. She ran a hand over his hair thoughtfully, “If there is nothing wrong with your ego, then theres is nothing wrong with mine either.” She declared happily, she was not going to be accused of having a big ego beside Griflet; his was worse than hers.

Traditional courting had never really appealed to Caitrin. She had never really seen the appeal of talking to some lord her Uncle thought was ‘suitable’ for her affections. Usually it was a man twice her age, ugly but incredibly rich. Somehow her Uncle always thought that the last quality made up for the first two but it never did. Plus it was just awkward meeting men whilst having her Uncle breathing down her throat. That was why she usually tore the men apart with her words; it was too amusing to see their faces as they watched the woman in front of their eyes turn into a quick witted young lady. The reaction was always the best part.

Her attentions were directed back on Griflet as he spoke and she nodded, a playful grin emerging onto her lips. Though at his latter words she couldn’t help but laugh, the Griff method? She had heard him right hadn’t she? “The Griff method?” She asked him, laughing again, “And what exactly does that detail?” And as she asked him she let her body fold into his again, enjoying the feel of his warm flesh against hers.

A small soft sigh escaped Caitrin’s lips as she felt Griflet’s hands on her thighs. The feeling was so strong she broke off their kiss, just for a moment as she felt a surge burn through her body. It didn’t matter there was the fabric of her dress in-between their flesh, she could still feel the warmth of his touch. She wasn’t quite sure what it was doing to her, but she certainly didn’t want him to stop, and was almost disappointed when he did. She grinned into his kiss and nodded at his words. The current situation certainly was a more preferable one to them being apart. She put her hands on the ground so she could steady herself, and sunk her lips down into Griflet’s. She didn’t reply to his comment about not being seen, because while he had his hands on her body, and his lips at hers, she didn’t care either. And, annoyingly, she suspected Griflet already knew that. “I don’t care about anything else,” She declared boldly, running a hand through her hair, “Just this moment; that’s it.” And she quickly merged their lips again, not wanting them to be parted for too long.

Caitrin knew he knew what she had been implying. But she wasn’t about to let him have the satisfaction of her saying it. She shifted her weight again so that her chest was pressed up against his and she looked down at him, licking her top lip softly and then leaned down to him, “I’ll let you figure that one out for yourself.” She now gave him a small wink and, unable to resist the urge any longer, sunk her lips down to his softly, moving her lips over his gently at first, but then increasing in urgency before she forced their lips apart. She noticed, as she drew back, her breathing was slightly rough and her heart was beating like she’d just run a mile. Blinking a few times she stepped back onto her confidence with relative ease, giving a wide smile, “Being clear wouldn’t be fun now would it?” She pointed out playfully and poked the end of his nose, placing a small kiss on it before rolling off him.

Caitrin had to admit that she felt a small pang of regret as she rolled off him, she’d been enjoying the warmth and comfort that lying on top of Griflet had brought. She wrinkled her nose slightly, wondering if she should just go back and lie on top of him. For a few moments she seriously considered it, there was no one about, what the hell with it? She blinked again a few times, an unfamiliar warm pang pulsed through her body and she felt slightly uncomfortable for a few moments. It didn’t feel wrong, quite the opposite, it felt good, and she didn’t particularly want it to stop either. She took a few moments to breathe softly, trying to calm herself, she couldn’t let herself just get like this; especially not over a man.

Caitrin leant herself up against the tree and laughed at Griflet’s words. Of course he didn’t want her to go why would he? She felt slightly bad suggesting that she would have to go back to the house. However, the last thing she needed was to give her father another reason to be constantly on her back about suitors and such like. “Hey, just because I have to go and write a letter doesn’t mean you have to put your shirt back on.” She teased softly, drawing herself up beside him and running a finger down his chest. She didn’t blush at his wink, nor did it have that much of an adverse affect on her. She carried on trailing her fingers around his chest aimlessly, thinking about what she should do.

She nodded at his words and grinned slightly, “Anything is more fun than writing a letter to my father.” She pointed out, looking back to the house. She knew Simon would want to be off as soon as possible, and she didn’t want him breathing down her neck whilst replying to the letter. Caitrin blinked as an idea popped into her head, and a grin curled onto her lips. Looking down, she found one of Griflet’s hands and entwined her fingers within his and squeezed them. She pressed her lips together before leaning closer towards Griflet and said softly, “Come with me, just while I write the letter.” She gestured towards her home and then thought on her feet quickly, “My Uncle will not return from his hunt for a while anyway.” She squeezed his hand again, a smile escaping her lips as she waited for Griflet’s reply.

[Griff Aubert]

OOC - apologies for the lateness and length of this. I don't even know what happened here. Massive writer's block.
Okay, to stop my brain from hurting and because I feel really bad about making you wait to long I'm skipping the making out bit and I'll come back and modify when I think of something.

Caitrin's words brought a smile to his face. There was definitely nothing wrong with his ego, that had never been under question, but her logic was rather amusing. He had been unaware that his ego directly influenced hers, but he did not question this as she would only try and deflate his and that would certainly not do, and besides, just like him she had a number of things to be egotistical about. "That's settled then," he declared, "both are egos are perfectly fine as we both rather good at being alive."

“Well, firstly you have to find someone with a horse and then follow them on another horse and keep following them until you end up in half naked in some grass. Tried and tested.” He replied with more than a little self-satisfaction. When they had first met outside the stables Caitrin had been less than subtle with how unimpressed she was by him, and yet here they were, he chuckled as he thought about the absurdity of it all. What would his brother say? Probably something with a sigh and his head in his hands. Lucan was bound to disapprove of something. Well, he could disapprove as much as he wanted, Griff was quite enjoying himself.

Hmm. She did have a fair point, and she was clearly more than happy with him keeping his shirt off - this theory was strengthened by her running a finger along his skin, something he was more than fine with. But, even so, she was missing his point, which was something he noticed she had a habit of doing, especially when they were excellent points. And she was managing to resist the wink, and that was simply unacceptable.

Griff didn't comment as she spoke of her father. He had never met the man, so it was not his place - well, it wasn't his place anyway, and commenting would only serve to remind him how useless his own was. Instead he ended up pressing his lips together and looking a bit vague. Luckily, she had already moved the conversation on and suggested something that certainly surprised him. He furrowed his eyebrows. This seemed like some sort of test, and not an actual suggestion. "Are you serious?" She was holding his hand again, a gesture that gave him some reassurance, but he was still wary. Even if her uncle was not expected he would not be surprised if he suddenly turned up. "If your uncle does turn up I'm blaming you."

[Caitrin de Archer]

The more Caitrin conversed with Griflet, the more she believed he was something completely new and different. She’d never met a courtier like him. She smiled as he told her how the Griff Method was actually put into practise; in retrospect his method was better than the typical courtiers way, but it was strange as she thought the total opposite on their first meeting. She would have probably given anything to have her Uncle by her side the first time she had met Griflet, perhaps if she had then things would not have got so intimate so quickly. However, now Caitrin was glad it happened the way it did, for she was sure she could not be happier than she was just lying here in the field with Griflet.

She rolled onto her tummy and turned her head so that she was looking straight at Griff and gave a small sort of grin, accompanied by a quick laugh. “Saying it like that makes it sound like you were stalking me.” Then she wondered if he actually had been, after all, one of the first times she had come back to Camelot after their little incident he had come across her at the ball. No, that was absurd wasn’t it? He wouldn’t have thought about her that much would he? After all she hadn’t thought about him that much until what had happened at the ball; now everything felt different.

Although Caitrin was enjoying the current company, she could see Simon’s horse at the front of the house and it served as a quick reminder of what she should be spending her morning doing. She didn’t want Simon to be around long enough for him to get a grasp of Griflet’s personality; that would only cause her more problems. She liked Griff, and she enjoyed his company, but her father would not see that, he would just see whatever negativities Simon cared to comment on. She shifted slightly uncomfortably, removing her fingers from Griflet’s chest; she was worried how reluctant she was to actually complete that task but she tried to brush that worry from her mind.

She reached for the letter which was lay rather neglected a few feet away from the pair. She skimmed over the words once more; this was what her life had become, trying to please everyone and usually failing miserably. In replying to her father she was ignoring Griflet somewhat, not to mention her own wishes to just remain here with him. She frowned slightly and used her spare hand to link through Griflet’s nearest hand, squeezing it again.

Caitrin couldn’t help but laugh as Griflet asked her if she was serious. She nodded probably too eagerly, but she wanted Griff to accompany her because she didn’t just want this to be the end of their meeting. She hadn’t seen him in a few days, and now that seemed like too long to be apart. She moved herself so she was sat beside him, looking over him, “Perfectly serious.” Was her satisfied answer and she rolled the words around in her mouth, giving a small smile.

Knowing her Uncle Rouland, he probably would turn up unexpectedly, because he had a habit of arriving at the wrong moment. She pressed her lips together and turned them into a smile, raising one of her eye brows, “How is it my fault if he does turn up?” She asked, mocking an insulted tone, but the effect was ruined as she was on the verge of laughter and she used the hand that was linked with Griflet’s to try and pull him up with her so they were both standing. Caitrin was a woman of action, so this was probably the easiest way of getting Griflet to get anywhere near her house anytime soon.

She left Griflet, taking her hand from his and walked over to the horse, stroking his face and taking the reigns in her hand. She held them up slightly, as if bragging to Griflet that she now held the reigns and he did not, and winked, “Well I have my way of getting back; I assume you’ll be walking then?” She finished her words by giving him a knowing grin, he wouldn’t just give up his horse like that, but his answer should be amusing nonetheless.

Notes: Slight God Mod, I’ll edit if you don’t like
Music: Saturday- Ed Sheeran[/size]

[Griff Aubert]

OOC - 1. I cannot think about horses without thinking of riding, and then I get inappropriate. I'm pretty sure this is your doing.
2. Dan wanted me to tell you that his internet is being annoying so he can't reply at the moment, but he's getting it fixed.

"I wasn't stalking you!" He declared with a lot more indignation that was necessary, and probably proving her correct in the process. He actually hadn't, well, alright, the following her during their first meeting was stalking, and he had ridden to her estate to see her, but meeting her for the second time was completely coincidental. "Anyway, whether I did or did not, surely the outcome outweighs creepy stalking?"

Of course it would be Caitrin's fault if Rouland made a sudden appearance. He'd only met the man once, when he had made a sudden appearance. It had been Caitrin's fault then because Rouland had been looking for her, so it was probably going to be her fault if it happened again. "It was your suggestion that's why. And I seem to recall it was your fault last time for running outside." Not that he was complaining, well, he wasn't complaining about her running outside. That had actually all turned out rather well, most of it had at least, until Rouland turned up and everything went downhill from there. Griff was certainly in no mood to face the man again.

He didn't protest as she pulled him up, mainly because that saved him the effort of having to get up himself. She probably knew just how lazy he was by now and that dragging him would be a lot quicker and easier than trying to make him move himself. He did, however, protest at her stealing his horse. "Erm, excuse me, I think you'll find he is my way of getting back." In very ungentlemanly fashion he managed to snatch the reins from her hand, "So you can walk." He gestured with his free hand, before bending down - still tightly holding the reins - to retrieve his missing shirt. Hmm...this was going to be tricky, how could he put it back on without letting go of the reins? After a moment of staring at the shirt in his hand he decided to hold the reins between his thighs and throw the shirt over his neck as quickly as possible. He was more than used to removing his clothing swiftly, and far too used to putting it back on even quicker.

He was rather pleased with himself at having managed to keep hold of the reins and get his shirt back on, Caitrin should be equally impressed. It was not the time, however, to further feed his ego. He had to be inappropriate first. "Unless you'd like to join me for a ride?" He asked, eyebrows raised and a smirk across his lips. He still couldn't think of that word without inappropriate thoughts, and it was entirely her fault.

[Caitrin de Archer]

“Hmm.” She said softly, raising her eye line to the sky, as if seriously considering Griflets question, whether his stalking was worth the outcome. “Does that mean you are admitting that you were stalking me?” His answer would probably be amusing, but she wasn’t just going to lie here and feed his ego because it was big enough as it was.

His words rung true, it was her suggestion that he should accompany her back to the house, but he had agreed so he should take a part of the blame surely? That made perfect sense to Caitrin even if it made little sense to anyone else. Ah, of course he would bring up last time in the gardens. It was true her Uncle had been looking for her, but if she hadn’t run off then she and Griflet would not have got any time. Hold on, she hadn’t been running off, she had needed some air! “I didn’t run off.” She pointed out quickly, that made her sound like she had been running away from a situation rather than facing it head on which was her way. “Are you complaining about what happened in the gardens anyway?” Now that was Caitrin falling back on her confidence, of course there were bits in the garden which had been uncomfortable for both of them, but overall it had been an enjoyable situation for them both so he really had no reason to complain. “Anyway, I cannot stop my Uncle turning up, it is after all his house.”

Caitrin had been probably a bit too preoccupied looking at Griflet’s chest to register that she should be holding onto the reigns a lot tighter than she was. The thought that he was going to take the reigns off her didn’t even cross her thoughts until it was too late. As he snatched the reigns from her, her glossy eyed look at his body changed and she gave a small huff, folding her arms angrily, “Hey!” She protested, that was hardly a gentlemanly thing to do was it? Then again, if there was one thing Caitrin was sure of, it was that she was no lady, and that Griflet was no gentleman; therefore they went perfectly together…somehow.

She kept her arms folded at him, she didn’t appreciate having the control of the situation taken away from her, and it was a rude thing to do anyway on his part. Caitrin glared up at Griflet as he suggested she should be the one to walk. She let out a small huff again and then opened her arms up, using them to illustrate her protests, “I had the reigns first.” She pointed out, “Therefore if anyone should walk, it really should be you.” She held out her hands for the reigns once more, knowing that there was more chance of Griflet becoming best friends with her Uncle than there was of him just handing her the horses reigns.

Caitrin considered getting the reigns back as he held them inbetween his thighs, but he had probably put them there on purpose and would only see her actions as being inappropriate. As much as she wanted the reigns back she wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of her being the first one to make a move again so she remained quite still; although she was slightly disappointed that he did have to put his shirt back on.

The last time Griflet had asked to join her on a horse had been on their first meeting, and obviously she had been incredibly unimpressed at his request. His smirk irritated her somewhat, because it was him telling her that he was in control of this situation and not her. She could have tried to grab the reigns back, but that was less fun. Caitrin placed one hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of accepting his offer, but neither did she want to walk back with him teasing her from horseback. She considered her options for a moment and pressed her lips together, “Only if I can lead.” She challenged softly, she knew how big his ego would have been if she had simply just said yes and allowed him to lead and dictate the situation. Altogether that was too easy, and banter was a lot more fun than compliance in Caitrin’s eyes.

Notes: 1. Your inappropriate thoughts are your own problem XD
2. Tell Dan it's fine ;D

[Griff Aubert]

Stalking was such an ugly word, and one Griff would not use to describe his actions. Besides, Griff never admitted anything unless he was certain that whatever he was admitting to would make him look better. Somehow he didn't think saying "Yes, alright, I'm a massive stalker" was going to show him in a very good light. There must be a better way to word it. Hmm. How could someone make following a woman through a forest and refusing to leave sound romantic? "It was not stalking, it was for your own protection." That wasn't going to go down as well as he'd hoped, Caitrin would of course have something to say about that. In truth, she would probably be the one protecting him, if such an occassion should arise. Even so, that was his excuse and he was going to go with it with enthusiasm.

Her protestation earned her a questioning eyebrow raise. She had definitely been running off, no matter what she said. But then he couldn't really blame her, not when that stupid nobleman had had his hands all over her. He never did punch him in the face, come to think of it, but then the incident outside was probably enough of a metaphorical punch, so Griff could feel as though he'd still managed to win that one. "Of course I'm not complaining. I was on top form." He grinned, any excuse to tell the world how great he was was quickly seized.

This was completely ruined, however, when her uncle was brought up. Griff had spent little time in the man's company, but he had already decided he didn't much like him. He'd managed to make an appearance at a rather inoppurtune moment, and Griff was quite convinced that it would happen again, it was, of course, inevitable. Caitrin's uncle was bound to be one of those men who managed to make Griff's life difficult, because anything else would be life actually being nice to him. He didn't reply to her comment, mainly because he would just be repeating his earlier words. There was no doubt in Griff's mind that Rouland would interrupt them, so he chose not to dwell on that fact. He found things so much nicer if he just ignored them.

Griff simply grinned at her, a rather self-satisfied grin as she demonstrated how annoyed she was about losing the reigns. Maybe if she hadn't been so distracted he wouldn't have been able to take them, but then, he had had his shirt off. If he was a woman, he'd be distracted so Caitrin couldn't be blamed for that. It was amusing though, he'd have to use the shirtless tactic more often.

Did she honestly think just holding out her hand was going to work? He hoped not, otherwise she really didn't know him at all. He just shook his head with an amused smile and tightened his grip. He wouldn't put it past her to try and snatch them off him, after all, that had just worked for him. "Nice try, Cait. But it's really not going to work." With that he pulled himself onto the horse, and although he had a look of triumph across his features, there was a voice reminding him that he shouldn't ignore the possibility of being pushed off. "Only if you can lead?" He repeated, even more amused now as he looked down at her. "I wouldn't say you were in a position to make such demands. Now, are you going to be nice or shall I just leave you here?" He was having far too much fun teasing her and was probably going to end up paying for that later, but right now he didn't care.

[Caitrin de Archer]

Protection? Had he honestly just said that? Caitrin half scoffed and widened her eyes at him. That was one thing she could not stand, and if Griflet had really thought he was protecting her on their first meeting then that just made the memory of the whole event even more irritating. Her arms were now tightly crossed against her chest, “I didn’t need your protection.” She pointed out irritably. To be honest, Caitrin had been involved in enough trouble on the forest roads to really know better about riding off on her own, but that was not the point. She doubted that Griflet could be really much use in a fight, but she supposed that was really something which would be proven in time; sort of. “I would have been perfectly fine on my own.” She even gave a small nod of satisfaction, there, she was pleased with that little retort. Caitrin’s safety had always been something she had wanted to keep in her own hands, and she hated it when men presumed she was weak and helpless because of her gender and size; she was neither and it frustrated her that the world couldn’t see that.

Caitrin felt slightly patronised at his words and it really wasn’t helping her mood at the current situation. She managed to hold a glare at him and raised her eye brows but shook her head nonetheless. No, she had not honestly thought it would be that easy at all, but it had been a nice thought to hold for those few moments. She was watching Griflet carefully and her fingers twitched as the impulse to simply grab the reigns from him pulsed through her. She stepped forwards, trying to put her plan into motion but before she could he mounted the horse and she was forced merely to look up at him. Well wasn’t this fabulous?

She kept her arms folded at him, wanting him to know just how much she was annoyed at this current situation. It was probably having little effect as Griflet had all the control of the situation he wanted now didn’t he? A few thoughts popped into Caitrin’s head, at first she just thought of walking back to her Uncle’s manor, it was not far after all. However, then she would have to endure Griff’s torments and teases from the unreachable point of a saddle all the way there, and that was not something she wanted to put herself through in a hurry. Her next thought was to merely gain her seat on the horse by removing its current occupant; that of course could work, but no doubt Griff would moan about that too for the foreseeable future.

She bit her lip, not because she was flirting with him, but because she was actually thinking for a few moments. Then, half swallowing her pride she rested one hand on her hip and smirked up at him, “Do you think I would just let you leave me here?” She asked him seriously and then, without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the saddle of the horse and pulled herself onto it. She sat astride the beast which she knew was uncharacteristic for a woman but Griff had already seen her ride like this before so he shouldn’t find it too shocking. However, the difference was this wasn’t one of her riding dresses so her the hem of the dress rose up to just below her knee, showing off her hose. She felt a small twinge of pink go to her cheeks but ignored it and fiddled with her dress for a moment before turning her attentions to the matter in hand; she was already up here now, even if her hose was partly on show.

She turned back to Griflet, realising then that she had nothing to hold on to. She pressed her lips together, she could pretend that she was going to hold onto the side of the saddle, but they both knew she would not be able to keep a tight enough grip. Instead, and rather hesitantly at first, she slipped her arms around Griff’s waist and locked her hands around his tummy, to give her support. He still felt warm against her skin but she tried to not let it distract her for the moment anyway. “Do not think this is a regular occurrence.” She warned him mockingly but her smile rather ruined the effect of her words and she shuffled slightly forwards so that their bodies were touching.

[Griff Aubert]

Griff couldn't argue with her words, while he had yet to find himself in a life threatening situation he was more than certain that he would be utterly useless. Unless, of course, whoever was trying to kill them happened to be a tall, slim blonde, in which case he would be in his element. The chances, however, of that particular situation happening were frustratingly slim, so Griff had no choice but to agree with Caitrin's words. "Alright, you probably would have been fine on your own, but you have to admit, I made the situation a lot better." Ah, masking his decreasing masculinity behind what he thought was charming narcissism, something he was amazingly good at.

Caitrin making her irritation obvious made it all the more amusing to Griff. He was in control now, and he wasn't going to let her take that away from him. So he just grinned down at her. She clearly wasn't amused. Well, he was going to continue regarldess. He was having fun. Any answer he would have had was quickly dismissed as Caitrin mounted the horse - in a rather unladylike fashion, which really wasn't a surprise. He raised her eyebrows, no doubt it was a reaction her horse riding often provoked.

Rather uncharacteristically, Griff hadn't actually noticed the hem of her dress had risen as she had mounted. He was far too busy trying to be annoying. It was only when she tried to make it less obvious that she succeeded in the exact opposite, and his eyes dropped to her legs. Due to the annoyingly long skirts he hadn't actually seen much of her legs, now he was going to make a habit of doing just that. From what he had glimpsed they were rather impressive.

His thoughts were rather quickly cut off when he felt her arms around his waist. Suddenly, trying to see what her legs looked like wasn't quite as important as the fact that she was holding onto him. Despite her words, he was convinced that this would be a regular occurance, well, perhaps not the horse riding, but definitely Caitrin holding onto him. He'd felt her shuffling closer to him, and it brought a rather satsified smile to his face. "I can make this a regular occurance."

[Caitrin de Archer]

Caitrin felt slightly smug that Griff had admitted that she probably could take care of herself. Not many would agree with him, but it still made her feel relatively proud. Even more so seeing as Griff didn’t know she was a sorceress, and therefore more able to look after herself than most noblewomen in Camelot. She did however have to laugh at his words his presence would probably make a situation a lot better. She nodded but found herself almost consumed in a fit of giggles once more, “But then I would have to defend us both.” She pointed out rather rationally. Caitrin thought men were all taught how to use swords from a very early age, surely she had not come across the one man that was an exception to this?

His shock at how she naturally mounted the horse didn’t go unnoticed. She received that reaction too much. She knew she was supposed to ride to the side of the saddle, but when she rode like that it prevented her from going any faster than a snail’s pace, and where was the fun in that? “What is it?” She asked irritably, she knew what had provoked the reaction he was displaying, but it would be all the more amusing for him to voice it. Her Uncle had once tried to get her out of the habit of riding astride a horse but had failed miserably and since then had left her to it.

Caitrin was now slightly regretting mounting the horse in that fashion as Griff was certainly not being subtle in where his eyes fell. Her cheeks flushed and she ran a hand through her hair, annoyed with her own reactions. She didn’t exactly make a habit of having her legs on show, and she certainly wasn’t going to start now. However for the moment she would have to bear it, and perhaps Griff would remember that he was supposed to be watching where they were going so his eyes would be on the path ahead rather than her hose for most of the journey.

Caitrin pulled a face at Griflet as she picked up the flirtation in his voice. Even though she had to hold onto him for support, she was quite enjoying the sensation, probably more than she should. She didn’t voice that of course as it would just give Griff more cause to be smug and annoying, and she didn’t want to do that now did she? “Oh can you now?” She replied with a grin on her face, “I would like to see how exactly you propose to make this such a regular occurrence.” Now she accompanied her grin with her raised eye brows and left her flirtatious remarks at that. She had however noticed that they weren’t actually moving yet, honestly, she had been serious about getting that letter out of the way as quickly as she could. “Are you able to lead us on? Or do you want me to do it instead?” She teased Griff softly, but hopefully that would either provoke him to start towards the house or give her the reigns, though she knew which one of those was the more likely outcome.