[PRP] A Harvest Visitor (Gawain, Miriam)[FIN]

[Menelie]

Wolf

Word had reached Gawain of the harvest celebration in Koehaira. Of course, other words had reached him about Koehaira too. Koehaira had been a surprisingly popular topic amongst Porter's children, it was a surprise that none of them had chosen to move there. At least, not yet. The harvest seemed like a good enough excuse for him to pay his own visit.

Gawain had already stopped at the inn, made sure he had a place to stay for the night, given that the village seemed extra busy for the harvest and that it was not exactly close to his family home. With a room secured, he had gone downstairs to fill his tummy at the inn and then headed out into the main square of the village. It was time to see what festivities this harvest had to offer. Of course the wine had been a big selling point, but did he really want to enjoy a glass of wine alone?

Mene

Despite the busyness of the grape harvest festival, Miriam wasn't any busier than usual. It turned out that having all these extra tourists didn't actually translate into much more mail to deliver.

With her rounds done for the day, and Asher in town handling the girls, Miriam actually had some time to herself! That is, if she could avoid her mothers, who would undoubtedly put her to work. But neither was she really interested in going home. This was more pae in town than she'd ever seen before, and she was thrilled! Small-town life was great and all, but the energy of so many pae all in one place, while still not being as crowded as the City....it was like the best of both worlds.

Lazily she wound her way through the main square. One of the orchard workers had set up a little fruit stand, which she hoped they'd keep up beyond just the festival. She stopped, intending to buy herself a ripe peach, when she happened to notice a rather conspicuous tail. She followed it up to give its owner a once-over, and her own tail swished in response. Wow.

After going a whole lifetime without meeting anyone like her or Xalia, this was the third wolf who'd just wandered into Koehaira in the last season or so. Still, she tried to temper her reaction, as the last time this had happened with a cute guy, she'd completely misinterpreted his actions. But, as it turned out, even-tempered wasn't exactly in her personality. And yet....she was still going to make him do the work.

Miriam deliberately caught his eye, then smiled coyly and turned back to the fruit seller. She bought two peaches.

Wolf

As Gawain looked around the square, trying to find the part to the vineyard, someone caught his eye. He couldn't believe his luck as he spotted a pair of large ears and followed her body down to a floofy tail. His tail wagged in response to hers. Gawain had hoped to run into this wolf girl who had been the talk of his family, he thought maybe he would see her while he sat down to eat, but she hadn't been there. But there she was.

His siblings had not done her justice in describing her beauty, although that wasn't a surprise considering they both had eyes for other pae.

Wait a moment, he knew she had seen him. Why was she buying fruit? His smile quirked, not quite the welcome his brother had gotten. He nibbled on his lip trying to weigh his options. Gawain sighed and headed towards the vineyard, but then he had a change of heart and paused. What were the chances he would run into her again during his stay. He took a deep breath and wandered over to the fruit stand, standing next to the wolf girl and pretending to inspect the fruit. "Hello," he said, eyes shifting to the side to glance at her.

Mene

Miriam smiled to herself. She had thought to bring a peach to him, but his approaching her was a good sign, as far as she was concerned. "Hello," she responded in her best flirty voice. Her tail swished back and forth as she tried to decide what to do next. She didn't want to presume anything, that had gotten her into trouble last time. But she didn't want to just walk away, either. Ooh, but she did want him to chase her.

Quickly, she came up with a cheeky little plan. "I....bought this for you," she said, holding out the peach. Then she backed up a couple steps with a smirky smile. "You can have it...if you can catch me." She raised her eyebrows as a bit of a challenge, and didn't turn to go just yet. She wanted to see how he reacted.

Wolf

Gawain's head turned the rest of the way at the tone of her voice. As she held up the peach, explaining that she had bought it for him, the poor guy was confused. "You did?" He reached for the peach, his hand freezing midair as she added the stipulation. Gawain's eyes narrowed, and a smirk formed on his face. Perhaps she wasn't being so elusive to him after all. Well other than obviously eluding him with her little game. "Should I give you a head start?" He asked.

Mene

Miriam grinned, tail going faster now, clearly pleased. She held the peach to her nose in what she hoped was a cute and flirty gesture. "Mm, that depends," she teased back. "Do you think you're faster than me?" She backed up another couple small steps.

She recognized that this was a rather unconventional and bold way of flirting, but she was an unconventional and bold sort of girl. Guardians, she hoped this guy didn't also have a girlfriend.

 

[Menelie]

Wolf

Gawain stepped closer as she backed away. Her game had certainly enticed him, and he had a feeling it was every bit intentional. "Then you probably should start running," he suggested with a wicked grin. The wolfboy was ready to pounce as it was, his tail going full speed with excitement now, but that wouldn't make for a very fun chase if it ended before it started.

Mene

Miriam's heart leapt and a little titter escaped. He was playing her game! And the tone of his voice...it implied that he wasn't going to be all innocent at the end. It implied he knew what they were doing. With another, more intentional giggle, Miriam turned and took off, tail wagging behind her until she needed it to steer.

Something she hadn't counted on, though, was all the extra pae in the square. She had to slow down to dodge and weave in between everyone. So she headed for the south side of the square, towards where all the houses were. There'd surely be fewer tourists over that way as opposed to, toward the winery or pub. Every once in a while she threw a glance over her shoulder to make sure he was following her, but maybe not too close.

Wolf

Their little game probably looked strange to any normal pae passing by, but Gawain didn't mind. He gave her a moment that felt like an eternity to him. Seeing her take off running was almost more than he could handle, and it took all his restraint to give her that moment. He had played games like this with his siblings all his life, but it was an interesting twist to play it with someone as attractive as... had his siblings even told him her name... He tried to recall it. Oh! He needed to start chasing now.

Dodging the people in the square was very different from dodging tree trunks, he was relieved and yet more intrigued when the chase led him into a quieter part of town. Was their chase going to be over so soon, he wondered.

Mene

Anyone from town wouldn't take Miriam running around as anything unusual--she was constantly running here or there or someplace else. But the town was full of tourists today, which is why she'd led them toward a quieter part. It had the dual function of being less pae around to bother them, and creating wider spaces to run. Miriam sprinted down a row of houses, then ducked behind one to hide. She giggled breathlessly, then peeked out to see if he was still chasing. She still held the two peaches in her hand, and she was trying to be careful not to grip them too tightly, or they'd squish.

Wolf

Gawain followed her down the row of houses. He really wasn't any faster than she was, but he wasn't losing her either. That is until she went into hiding. He turned the corner of the house, expecting to see her ahead of him, but there was no one there. Gawain kept running, looking to the left and right down each little alleyway, she couldn't have gone too far before she turned, he hadn't been so far behind.

Mene

Miriam saw him approaching and pulled back behind the wall she was hiding behind. Her ears flicked as she listened for his approach. Then, just when he was about to pass by, she scooted out and ran past him in the direction he'd come, giggling madly. Was it a risky move? Sure, but that's what made it fun!

 

[Menelie]

Wolf

Gawain jumped as she came out from seemingly nowhere and ran past him. He whipped around, reaching out for her, his fingers just barely brushing her skin. Gawain's tail wagged, but then she was off like a bolt. His tail stopped, serious again, and he was after her.

Mene

"I thought you said you were faster than me!" she called over her shoulder, taunting. Oh, but that little touch had her feeling electric! Eyes flicked around, trying to calculate her next move. She was starting to get out of breath, and her heart was tight from the anticipation of getting caught. She turned down another row, checking over her shoulder to make sure he was behind her--he was following her much more closely this time--then rounded another corner that resulted in a dead end.

Wolf

"I don't think I ever said those exact words!" He retorted after her with a breathless laugh. As they turned the corner, Gawain was surprised that they had come up on a dead end. He stopped abruptly, she wasn't going to slip back past them this time. "Got you." He said proudly. "I would think the courier would know the streets well enough to not lock herself into a corner..."

Mene

"Oh no, not that," giggled Miriam. Her breath came heavily, exhilarated. Her tail swished merrily back and forth. "And you haven't caught me yet," she challenged. "Maybe I just want you to feel like you've got a chance."

She held the peach to her nose again. "This smells lovely...if you don't catch me soon I might just eat it myself."

Wolf

Gawain took a moment to catch his breath. "You sure you don't want to get caught?" He asked scooting closer. The male watched as she sniffed the peach, teasing him. To be honest, he cared less and less about the peach the longer the game went on. "I'm surprised you managed to hold onto it this long..." He continued to scoot closer, all the while tensely prepared that she might try to run past him again.

Mene

Miriam laughed. He had her there. "Of course I want to get caught, I wouldn't have gotten you to chase me if I didn't," she said matter-of-factly, backing up as he came closer until she was up against a wall. Her heart pounded. She wasn't exactly sure what she'd do if he actually did catch her. Well, she had some ideas but none of them were exactly appropriate for a first meeting. Not that she'd be opposed, of course.

 

[Menelie]

Wolf

Gawain felt kind of silly for saying so, she had a good point. Well it had been fun anyways, but now what? If she were one of his siblings, even as adults they would still pounce and wrestle in good fun, but that was a little different with someone he hardly knew. A particularly pretty someone he hardly knew. His own heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, the chemistry and desire in that moment was intense. He took another deep breath, quickly closing the distance between them and then... He held out his hand. "I'll be taking my peach now," he said with a twinkle in his eye. It was the only thing he could do to keep himself from being potentially inappropriate.

Mene

Miriam smiled somewhat breathlessly, but still playful. She held it up with a smirk. She didn't want this encounter to be over, so she was certainly hoping she hadn't misjudged him and he wouldn't take his peach and be off. At least not without sampling some other sweetness first. "I'm Miriam," she said, holding the golden fruit out to him.

Wolf

Recognition dawned on Gawain. Miriam, that's right, his brother or sister had told him her name. He quickly grabbed the peach with one hand, and his free hand shot out to grab Miriam's, now peachless, hand. He shook her hand, not really wanting to let go once he had. "I'm Gawain. So... Miriam... is this how you welcome everyone to the festival?"

Mene

Her heart shot into her throat and she flushed a deep pink. Now he had caught her. Or had she caught him? "Only when I see something I like," she said, momentarily tempted to pull him all the way close. "....Do you feel welcomed?' she asked with a little smirk.

Wolf

Gawain smirked from the boost in confidence she had given him. He couldn't imagine he had ever felt such an intense chemistry with anyone before. "I think... they chose the right pae for the welcome wagon." If all villages were this welcoming he might want to visit more, but he didn't necessarily feel like he was in a rush to start that tour at this particular moment. Gawain took a bite from the peach, "Sweet," he commented.

Mene

"Worth the chase, then?" asked Miriam with raised eyebrows, biting into her own peach. It was perfectly ripe, and smelled and tasted heavenly. It also put her right over the edge from playfulness into absolute hedonism (which she was never far from to begin with). Now she did pull him close, standing on her toes to murmur a suggestion close to his ear, which ended with "...my home's just over there." She chucked her chin in its direction.

Wolf

"I don't need a prize to enjoy a good chase," but as he eyed her up and down it was clear that wasn't entirely true. He raised his eyebrows as she pulled him closer. When Miriam whispered in his ears, his eyebrows couldn't raise any higher so instead his tail wagged uncontrollably, but at least he was standing next to someone who understood these things had a mind of their own. He backed away so she could escape the corner that she had backed herself into, but Gawain's pursuit didn't end there.