tunasub | OPEN POST 2021

Mm, I understand.

[ Fiore's expression doesn't falter for the worse, though her lips twitch faintly in the sense of amused recognition. There it is, though his kneejerk reaction is new. Mostly because most people had to think before they spoke, out of fear of offending her.

It's honestly kind of refreshing.

But also not important right now, so she focuses on wheeling herself a little closer to Slow Dancer, keeping herself in the horse's sights so it doesn't look like she's trying to spook her. Provided this goes well, she'll try to reach up as high as she can in an attempt to get a grip on whatever binds the crutches to her, to undo it. She'd rather not use the horse to pull herself up high enough but if so.

Needs must. ]

[ Slow Dancer doesn't seem to mind now, apparently having judged Fiore as non-threatening - for a horse, she's surprisingly hard to spook. The crutches are just where Johnny said they were, latched securely but simply so they're easy to get in situations like this - albeit for someone not sitting down. Do what you must, Fiore. ]

If you can't reach, don't bother. I don't want you hurting yourself.

[ He could use the Spin and have Slow Dancer flip him up onto her back, but, frankly, he doesn't want to freak this girl out more than he probably already has, suddenly showing up and crawling around like this. Maybe he could grab the reins and pull himself up? He starts scooting himself over towards the horse again, just assuming that Fiore will listen to him. ]

[ She will not.

Fiore isn't unreasonable, prefers to be diplomatic where she can be, but her younger brother would be the first to insist that there is absolutely no one in the entire Yggdmillennia family who is as obstinate as his sister when she wants to be.

And right now, hearing this stranger's faint concern, that tenacity kicks in. It's a kind sentiment, really, it is, but it still rings softly of "you're not strong enough for this". To her, anyway. ]

Thank you, but I'm used to pain. This should be very little discomfort in comparison.

[ She reaches up, curls her fingers tightly around the reins and uses that grip to haul herself up. Her other hand grasps at the saddle and she switches her hold from the reins to undo the latch and free the crutches. They get tossed behind her, as carefully as she can manage, but she's sorry if you get conked, Johnny.

She is, of course, pretty much hanging onto Slow Dancer now for dear life with her legs dangling uselessly, but it's fine. ]

[ he narrowly avoids being bonked, and is about to give her a hard time for almost hitting him with the crutches (when he said "throw 'em this way" he didn't mean it that literally), but then he sees that she's just kind of clinging to his horse helplessly now.

Why. ]

Jesus, what're you doing? I told you not to do it if you couldn't reach!

[ He thanks his lucky stars that Slow Dancer is used to being weirdly manhandled when he's trying to climb up on her back, or else this might be a lot worse - although she doesn't look particularly happy about the current situation, shuffling her hooves a little. Okay. How does he solve this? If he gets up on his crutches now, he won't be able to use his hands -- and since his legs are non-functional, the crutches take so much effort that they're only really useful if he's not going far, i.e. from here to horseback, which is no longer the plan. Unless he gets up onto the horse and then pulls her up? No, then they'd both be on the horse and they'd have a new set of problems. Uhh.

Fuck it. Johnny grabs the crutches and scrambles to get upright as fast as he can (which is more than a little difficult, but he manages), then hauls himself over to Slow Dancer's side, planting one crutch stabilizingly on the ground to prepare for the extra weight. ]

Just -- get on my back for a second and I'll put you back in the chair.

[ Fiore chooses to ignore any further protest because the one that truly deserves any kind of apology is this poor horse, so she's already murmuring it to Slow Dancer as she hangs.

It's also why she doesn't protest or even try to politely demur. She just glances over her shoulder to verify that he's close enough and mutters something indecipherable underneath her breath before she lowers herself onto this stranger's back and gingerly grabs at his shoulders for balance.

Funnily enough, she seems quite a bit lighter than a girl of her age and build should feel, but it's fine. If he doesn't ask, she won't have to quietly lie through her teeth. ]

[ Fiore automatically gets some points for being nice to his horse, even if she's also losing points by causing trouble like this - although he supposes it's technically his fault for trespassing. Johnny is her opposite here: despite his lithe appearance and less-than-graceful display from a few seconds ago, he's remarkably solid, at least up top. This does not keep him from grunting a complaint. ]

Urgh... [ so she's not that heavy. Still feels heavy when he's basically only supporting himself with his arms. He does his best, but he essentially just turns and unceremoniously dumps her into the chair as fast as he can before he tears something and makes this even more embarrassing. Even so, he still asks before moving away: ] You good?

[ It's not the roughest manhandling she's ever received. Fiore just kind of releases a stifled "oof" as he drops her back into her wheelchair, gripping at the arms for balance and reorienting herself. ]

I'm fine-- [ automatically. She doesn't look like she's all that put-off, at least. ]

More importantly, are you all right? Is your horse?

[ She's aware she just chucked the crutches at him. She'll take responsibility if she concussed him or something. ]

[ he does kind of immediately tip forwards and into Slow Dancer. Luckily, she's not knocked over by it, only stumbling slightly and promptly hitting Johnny in the head with an annoyed flick of her tail as he crumples to his knees again, the immense energy required to both hold up his entire lower body and Fiore spent. At least he keeps a grip on the crutches so they don't fall forward and bonk her on the head. ]

Yeah, I'm -- I'm great.

[ there's sarcasm here. shock. What a couple of asshats they must look like out here. At least no one's around to see it except Slow Dancer? Hopefully? He sighs, sounding a bit fed up. Girls are always causing him trouble... ]

All right... How much are you gonna charge me?

[ No one is around to see it. Technically.

Though he's also not only on Yggdmillennia land, he's very close to their base of operations, which means he is absolutely being watched-- by something, rather than someone, but there was no such thing as a family of magi who didn't have familiars out to keep an eye on the perimeter and anything that entered.

Fiore just folds her hands in her lap now, head canted enough to have some of her hair spill over one shoulder. It's a bit of a puzzling question, but she has context clues going for her. ]

That depends. Do you wish to stable her here for the time being?

You did just assist the heir, so I doubt you would be charged for trespassing.

OPEN POST 2021

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