[FF] Firing

[Elsa Bellefonte]

A hand touched Elsa's shoulder, and she turned to look at it. She kept looking, kept silent, as Riley went through. She knew they were two different people, well, she knew that her sister and she were different. That had never been the problem, at least, not really. She didn't see any reason to respond to that: they both knew she knew. Though she did wonder: did they keep thinking this way? was there any way out of that kind of thinking.

Though at least something clicked. "Yes, that's essentially it," she said, looking to him. "I'm just as beautiful or cute or what have you as she, except that's never going to be true, because she's going to be the better looking version of me. Though cute is at least somewhat different," she looked to Riley, smiling wryly. "You clearly have to be delirious if you think I'm cute though."

She walked toward the exit then, again moving away from Riley. She paused there, looking back at him. "This is the part where you do the extended hand thing and we proceed with our little outing."

[Riley Coleson]

He remained quiet, nodding, and was suddenly hit with the urge to lean forward and... Elsa moved away. She didn't like to be complimented for her looks, because of that, and he wasn't going to push any buttons she didn't want pushed. He was going to respect that, and instead, compliment her uniqueness, if she so would let him. "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not," he replied, shrugging. He did follow her though, smirking somewhat, though, couldn't quite shake the nagging feeling of what could have happened had she not moved. It left him feeling slightly confused.

Instead of doing what he was told, he moved up close to her. Peeking down at her with a playful smile, he wrapped his arm around her waist and hoisted her up and over his shoulder. "Nah," he shook his head. "I'll rather go for kidnapping you. Seems a lot safer." He chuckled softly as he patted her back. She could squirm and yell as much as she wanted, but this was the most fun part about his ability.

He could easily and swiftly make moves like this and there was little anyone could do about it -- as long as they didn't throw a fireball at him, or she mindfucked him, or something, but he'd take his chances.

And with that, Riley moved out of the doorway and started heading upwards and away from the large groups of people.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Yes, definitely delirious. Elsa couldn't help but smile at that, shaking her head slightly. What was it with this boy? Why did he insist on staying near her, on saying things like this? Why couldn't she keep her emotions in line? She'd already made the decisions, made her call. She shouldn't even be flirting with this, with him.

Then a hand wrapped around her waist and she found herself letting out a shout. Before she could resist or do more than that, she found her feet leaving the ground. Soon Riley had her tossed over his shoulder. Elsa squirmed a bit, though she knew better than to try to fight him: his power would make that impossible. Technically she could essentially mindfuck him in response, but that felt a little extreme, even if she was flushing darkly with anger.

"This is extremely inappropriate,' she pointed out, tapping him. "Did you really think this was going to work? Because obviously I'm just thrilled that you've thrown me over your shoulder like some sort of barbarian chieftain. So thrilled that I think I'm going to kick your head," she wiggled threateningly, though she wasn't certain she could manage. Elsa was fairly flexible, but she wasn't that bendable. Plus, the movement made her slip, and while she did want to be let down, she didn't fancy falling down.

[Riley Coleson]

Laughing, Riley shrugged her threats off and continued his way up the small hill outside, further away from all the prying eyes. "Oh stop whining," he murmured, clearly enjoying himself. "If you haven't noticed, it is working, and there's little you can do about it. Unless you wanna fall down of course." He wasn't gifted with super reflexes, so if she actually did something to make him drop her, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to actually catch her. Besides, her squirming and protests only made it even more fun for him.

Their trip didn't last long though. As they reached the top of the small hill, Riley looked around for a moment. He glanced over to one of the nearby cabins and started moving towards it. As he reached it, he lifted Elsa's slender body towards it. He didn't let her go until they reached the small balcony, complete with railings and one of those benches that worked kind of like a swing. With a playful chuckle, Riley went to sit down on it and patted the seat next to him. "The view from here is going to be great."

He did however take the moment to study her, in all her furious glory. She was beautiful. But unlike her sister, Elsa was beautiful in the way a forest fire was beautiful. Something to be admired from a distance. He couldn't help but shake the feeling though, that the worst thing he possibly could do was trying to tame the chaos and confusion he was feeling whenever he was around her. It was almost like being told not to feel when being thrown into the fire. "You know..." he began thoughtfully. "Beauty is not about having a pretty face. It's about having a pretty mind, a pretty heart and most importantly, a beautiful soul. And before you roll your eyes and tell me how stupid that is, I read it somewhere, and I think it fits you quite nicely."

And then the boy wondered. Was this feeling of confusion he felt whenever he was around the brunette the reason he and Vera didn't... Wasn't... Noooo, that couldn't be it, could it?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"You don't want me to actually start whining," Elsa replied, her eyebrows raising for a moment. she shifted again, still tempted to attempt to kick him in the head. It wouldn't really do much besides show her displeasure, and it seemed likely to result in her ending up on the ground. She did, however, lean over and slap him on the head, knowing that he wouldn't feel much. He deserved something at least.

They headed back to the cabins, apparently to one that people weren't at at the moment. It had railings and looked almost perfectly set up for this sort of thing. The only reason people probably weren't here was that they were at the festival. Elsa made certain to scan the building, confirming that there at least wasn't anyone within who had discernible thought patterns. She landed lightly, instantly moving, her arms folded, her lips pursed as she watched Riley move.

"You do realize that--" she began, only to stop as he started. She'd felt his thoughts moving along those lines even before she spoke, and maybe her words had been her attempt to derail. Just as her wiggling hadn't resulted in him stopping his carrying, her words didn't stop this, talking about her beautiful soul and pretty heart.

"See, there you are being delusional again," she said, gesturing. "Everyone knows that I don't have a soul," she smiled, before turning to look toward the festival proper for a moment. "They should be starting soon. Though it does seem almost silly, doesn't it?" she looked back over her shoulder. "Fireworks always seem like such a summer thing to me,' she looked back at the snowy expanse they'd crossed. "This seems almost ludicrous then, as if we're insisting that things should be bright and sunny." Was she ignoring his heartfelt comment? Yes... no... maybe... she didn't know. Acknowledging it felt a little too dangerous, almost as dangerous as going over to sit down with him.

[Riley Coleson]

The slap only had the boy laughing even more. Yes, he understood why she was "mad", but he didn't care. She deserved to have some people around that didn't do her every bidding and if she actually stopped to think, she'd might even enjoy it. Of course, that was a long stretch, but hey, he could hope too, right?

Sighing as she walked over to the railing instead of sitting down with him, Riley pursed his lips. He nodded slightly at her words and waved his hand in the air, as if he was brushing her comment off. She really did that a lot, making herself seem unavailable. Like some otherworldly being that no one could touch. It was frustrating, to say the least, but it was also part of why he lik-- enjoyed her presence. "I don't know. I think the fireworks makes a really pretty contrast against the dark sky." He looked up towards the block sky for a moment. "Makes it even prettier if you ask me. Lights up the white, black and dead nature with bright, pretty colors..."

He pushed himself up then and started moving towards the railing. He placed himself next to her, but instead of turning towards her, he simple leaned forward and placed his elbows against the railing, his eyes locked forward.

Maybe she was right. Maybe he was being delusional. Maybe this had all been nothing but a huge mistake. He wanted to be here. He wanted to get to know her better, but she kept fighting him at every turn and he was running out of ideas to fight back. Maybe she simply wanted him to leave her alone? Maybe she just didn't want to outright say it. "You don't have to humor me. You know that, right?"

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded, half-agreeing with Riley's assessment of the display. The contrast, the defiance... she could certainly see the appeal there. The lights did have a tendency to reflect well across the landscape, to light up the sky like the Northern Lights did. Elsa supposed that it was just like a group of mutants to want to defy their situation, to provide a striking contrast in reality. And if they got to do so in a brilliant display of color, so much the better.

Riley moved. Elsa shifted to give him the space to do so, but she didn't move further away. It was a slight movement, one allowing him to come up next to her, not to get away from him. She kept her eyes forward, knowing that the fireworks would be starting any moment now.

He spoke; Elsa listened. "Do you really think that I wouldn't leave if I didn't want to be here?" she said, looking over at him. "Things are complicated, Riley, don't try to simplify them: you'll only tangle things worse," she shifted, looking up. "If I didn't like you, didn't want to be here, you'd know."

Yes, the fireworks would be starting any moment now.

[Riley Coleson]

Despite her words, he couldn't shake this feeling that was growing from the pit of his stomach. He didn't say anything else about it though. She was right; she was capable of leaving whenever she wanted to -- if she wanted to. But there was still something there, a feeling nagging at him. He wasn't sure what it was, but she seemed to be keeping her distance, and he didn't understand why. Like, for example; what was complicated about this for her? They were two friends, hanging out. Right? At least, from her side of things.

Sighing, Riley pursed his lips. "Alright," he said. He had so many questions. So much he wanted to ask and dig around for, but something stopped him. He was walking onto dangerous territory now.

And that made him feel more confused than ever.

"It's a good thing you walked away before." He looked at her, a playful smirk splayed over his lips. He did his best to put on a playful, almost joking manner, despite his words ringing true. "Otherwise I might have kissed you," he winked.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Two friends. Certainly, two friends who, under different circumstances, would have little qualm about stripping down and indulging in activities that generally aren't borne merely out of friendship. Elsa certainly wasn't going to even suggest as much around Riley: the boy thought enough with his penis without Elsa contributing to things.

All those questions: Elsa could practically read them already. Thankfully, he fell back on something more familiar, something more comfortable: flirting. Elsa smiled at that, even letting out a little laugh at the last few words. "Yes, that would definitely have been dreadful," she said, keeping a little bit more of that irony in her voice.

Elsa looked back up. "The fireworks are starting," she said needlessly. Already a bright line threw itself skyward, exploding out in a boom and a spray of color that lit up the cold night sky. Elsa kept her attention, her gaze there, feeling that boom deep into her already thudding heart.

[Riley Coleson]

"Mmm," he replied, nodding. "Maybe for you. For me I think it would be pretty fantastic." Of course, he added that with a wink, despite his words being true. He did want to kiss her, even now, but he wasn't going to. Clearly, Elsa didn't want to, and he didn't want to put her into any kind of awkward situation. Him and Vera wasn't a couple -- and he didn't know if they ever would be either, but he did know that both Elsa and Vera were friends, and he didn't want to ruin that for either of them.

Moving his eyes towards the sky, Riley found himself -- even though staring at it -- lacking the concentration to actually get a whole lot of it. His thoughts mainly circled around the brunette standing next to him, which made him feel equally confused and frustrated.

Maybe it was for the best though. He shouldn't have pushed his luck as much as he had already. Just because he couldn't make up his damn mind, didn't mean he should unload all his issues onto her. She deserved so much better than that. She deserved someone who wanted her, and no one else. "Beautiful," he said.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa rolled her eyes. "Yes, because I am quite the fantastic kisser," she drawled. She actually didn't think she'd kissed anyone since... since Felix. Agh, that was clearly part of why she was all tangled up. Being Demisexual didn't make you asexual, after all: you still had the urges from time to time. It didn't help that Elsa got to deal with people constantly being in happy relationships around her. Oh, and that Indian woman oozing sexuality everywhere.

Thankfully there were fireworks to distract her. The explosions of color lighting the sky. Unfortunately, she hadn't really disconnected her mind; she could still read those thoughts moving around in Riley's head. She wanted to just focus on the lights, but it was like having an excellent book in your lap while you tried to watch a program you'd seen several times before.

So tempting to just explain, to outright state that she was giving Riley and Vera room, that she couldn't let her feelings for them complicate issues. She didn't want to be part of a love triangle and she kept fighting desperately to stay out of it.

"It certainly is," she said, watching as one explosion after another lit the sky so fully it almost looked bright as day. She glanced over at Riley, felt the urge to apologize but, well, it wasn't as if she was leading him on... was she? Oh hell, she didn't care any more: she just looked at the fireworks, relaxed for a few moments, even withdrew her thoughts and just let herself enjoy the moments.