Not A Morning Person? (Open)

[Cernunnos Wilde]

The sound of seagulls scrabbling pulled Cernunnos from his sleep and he opened his eyes, but then immediately clamped them shut again, throwing his hands over his face in response the sudden brightness. Where was he? He stretched experimentally, groaning as one of his long legs hit...was it a wall? He sat up and then immediately hit his head on what was apparently a rocky ceiling.

Then he remembered. Last night, he thought it had been a bright idea to sleep here, in this little grotto close to the docks. He had wanted to stay out of sight, for he doubted many people in this region had seen a banshee before. Well, so far he had achieved his goal, but his muscles were sniff from sleeping in such cramped quarters for the entire night. Well, at least he had gotten a full night's sleep, a commodity that was often hard to come by.

He rolled over, rubbing his side, as he had realized he had been sleeping partially on his bow. Scrambling awkwardly to the mouth of the grotto, the banshee surveyed his surroundings and finding the immediate area deserted, he pulled himself to his feet, strapping on his sword and stretching his lanky body and his expansive brown wings simultaneously, yawning and blinking, still getting used to the bright morning light. Slinging his quiver over his back, he picked up his bow and plucked at the string, warming up his fingers.

[Lucy Hartford]

Lucy sat in the field, surrounded by poppies. A steady wind quivered the flowers, carrying their scent towards the girl. Wispy clouds made patterns in the sky, far up and out of reach. Yes, today was a beautiful day, and Lucy couldn't think of anything that could make it better.

Out of the blue, a figure came into view. He was obviously a banshee, due to his long brown wings. Unlike most folk, Lucy wasn't too afraid of this, well what seemed to be, man. For she had come across all sorts of different things in her life, and much of it was worse than this. So crossing paths with a banshee was nothing. Still, she wondered why he was out here, presenting himself to docks. Getting to her feet, Lucy began to stride towards the man, for her curiosity was too much to contain. She wanted to know why he was here, putting himself in far more danger than he seemed to realize.

As Lucy approached the banshee, a chill ran down her spine. Suddenly, going up to an odd being who had no idea who she was seemed pretty foolish. Then again, what had Lucy done that wasn't foolish? So, Lucy ignored her conscience, and followed her curiosity. Soon enough, she was right beside the man, his wings faintly stroking her arm. Which was, surprisingly comforting. Opening her mouth to speak, Lucy realized she didn't know what to say. Quickly shutting her mouth, she just stood there, side by side with this banshee, not knowing what to expect.

[Cernunnos Wilde]

He breathed in, taking in the scent of the salty air and the sound of the seagulls still bickering with each other. With another glance around at his surroundings, Cernunnos went to the edge of the water, a miniature shore where gentle waves lapped up to meet him. Crouching down, he used his hands to splash his face with the salt water. He didn't know whether salt water would cause any damage to his skin, something he tried to keep in good condition, despite his lifestyle. He shuddered to think that it might erode it and take away from his good looks, but he couldn't bear the thought of walking around with a dirty face, and if he was going to be ugly in a few years, at least his presumably unsightly face would be clean.

He shook his head with considerably more grace than a dog before pulling out the handkerchief he kept inside the breast pocket of his vest, wiping his face completely dry. Restoring the small square of cloth, one of the last artifacts from his life as a prince, he straightened up and felt the tip of one of his wing feathers brush against someone.

Driving by instinct, he whirled around at lightning speed, drawing his sword and beating his wings, simultaneously. He rose a few feet into the air, flapping his wings to stay aloft and glaring down at the young woman on the ground through narrowed eyes.

"What exactly did you think you were doing?"

[Lucy Hartford]

Abruptly, the man spun around to face Lucy. His eyes were narrowed and he was flying lightly above the ground. He didn't seem to pleased to see her there. His whole aura swapped from calm to almost furious. Perhaps approaching this man wasn't such a good idea.

"What exactly did you think you were doing?" The banshee snarled, still floating above the ground. Rubbing her arms uncomfortably, Lucy gulped down her fear. She couldn't show this man she was afraid, for he was a different species, and could rip her to shreds with a simple blow.

"I was just..." Suddenly, Lucy forgot what she was going to say. All thoughts washed out of her mind, leaving her head blank and empty. She just stood there, speechless with her mouth open. Besides, what would she say? She was only trying to find out why he was out here, putting himself in danger. Though, she was doing just that by going near such a creature. Even so, It was too late to back down.

[Cernunnos Wilde]

As his heartbeat slowed down to its normal breathing, Cernunnos relaxed a little in the air, but that didn't mean he let his guard down. Just because the girl looked innocent as the lamb born yesterday didn't mean she was harmless, as he had learned, through hard, cold experience. He flapped his wings with more force, gaining a few more feet into the air, for safety's sake, just in case she suddenly whipped out a sword and went bananas. She could be part of a trap to lure him into letting his guard down while a band of armed waited just out of sight until they could capture or shoot him.

"Listen, Goldielocks," He began, sword still out and senses still hyper-aware of his surroundings, "not to be a bag of dicks, but I really don't appreciate having my feathers touched...or having any part of me touched, for that matter." He shifted slightly in the air, feeling antsy from beating his wings and remaining in the same stop. "It's not that I'm trying to be antisocial, 'cause I'm not, it's just that I'd rather not have you off me while I was watching my face and doing my morning yoga. Capeesh?"

[Lucy Hartford]

Ok, obviously, this man was not going to be soft on Lucy. So, neither was she. Folding her arms, Lucy rolled her eyes. Wow, this guy kind of was being a bag of dicks. As the two stood in a brief silence, the wind picked up, flailing Lucy's hair into her face and killing any sense of tough Lucy had been portraying. She brushed it away delicately, putting her arms back into their crossed position immediately after.

"Look, I didn't mean to scare you. I came over here because I wanted to know why you were spreading your wings out to the world when if people saw you, they'd strike you down. In case you hadn't noticed, there are a few ships sailing this way. And they probably already spotted you." Lucy spoke, glancing from the sword to him. Why was he holding it out so close to her? It's not like she was going to do anything to him. "You know you can stop flying. The sound of your wings is pretty and all, but you seem to be getting antsy."

[Cernunnos Wilde]

Cernunnos just looked at her, and he smiled a little. This girl was no threat. No one who was in control or about to be in control of a situation acted that tough. And anyway, if she was being used as bait to set a trap for him, the men who had picked her obviously were either acerebral or desperate and both were the ingredients for an attack that wasn't worth the fussing.

Gradually, he slowed the rhythm of his wings as he floated back to Earth and although he lowered his sword away from the girl, he didn't put it away. On the contrary, it was ready should he need to use it still.

"You see that, Goldielocks?" He pointed with his left wing to the grotto he had, until so recently, been using as a bedroom. "I slept in there last night. You see this?" He motioned at his torso with his free hand. "This is a state-of-the-art flying, fighting, surviving machine, but like any machine, it must be taken proper care of, so it is not advisable that I launch it into the air without working out the kinks in the morning." He demonstrated, stretching out his wings and showing off his impressive wingspan. "Hostile individuals see me and I shoot them. You were very lucky. Now, if you are so concerned with other people seeking my demise upon laying eyes on me, what in the name of logic were you doing so close to me?"

[Lucy Hartford]

As the man spread out his wings, Lucy almost let her mouth drop. The light had caught them perfectly, and their length was quite impressive. Lucy hadn't noticed how beautiful they were. Lucy then flashed her gaze at the grotto, a few yards away from where the two where standing. Why on earth would he sleep there? He could have sleep in the forest or something, where it would have been more comfortable and safe. Obviously, he didn't care about such things. And he obviously didn't care about Lucy either, which kind of stung. Still, Lucy kept her poker face on.

"OK, first of all, you can stop calling me 'Goldielocks'. My name is Lucy, and you might as well use it. Secondly, I didn't want to be shouting from where I was, telling you to get the hell out of here. It would have been more friendly just coming to you." Lucy replied, releasing her arms to her sides. The man's wings were still spread, and Lucy gazed at them. She was in total awe at their beauty, and she sort of wished she had some. Of course, she was just a mere human, nothing more nothing less. She didn't have much ability to do anything but archery and singing.

[Cernunnos Wilde]

Ruffling his feathers, Cernunnos drew his wings in closer to his body once again, ending the vibrant glory of his wingspan. They could fan out again, at a second's notice, if he needed them to. Their ability to do just that had saved his life more than once.

"Well, don't." Cernunnos stated, simply, ignoring a particularly heated seagull argument a few feet away. "My life does not appear to be in imminent danger at this moment, so if you don't mind, I'm hungry and the only thing around here to eat appears to be seagull and while it is in abundance, I'd rather not eat one, thanks."

He pulled his bow off his shower and plucked the string a few times before striding past her, taking care to give her a wide birth.

"Thank you for your concerns, Goldielocks," He finished, snarkishly, "but I don't do friendly. Not anymore. Good day to you." And with that, the banshee took a few running steps before launching himself into the air, beating his wings until he caught a current, at which point he glided along, seemingly effortlessly. His eyes scanned the ground searching for enemies and something good, whether through hunting or stealing, to eat.

((If we want to keep the thread going, she could go into a more populated area of town and they could bump into each other again.))