"C'mon, Zhang, pick up the pace!" Leona calls, glancing back over her shoulder. The melody to "Over the River and Through the Woods" goes through her head as they go further into the trees, and she has to resist humming the tune. And as luck would have it, there is a stream. Perfect.
A glance at the compass (GPS-enabled, but with the awesome aesthetic of the olden days) tells him they're headed in the right direction, but if she doesn't get on the ball, it'll take forever to get there. Leona stops to wait with a sigh of irritation, letting Fran catch up. Maybe she's just too eager to get there, to see what amazingly cool gadgets are waiting for them at the end of the line. And maybe another set of Chinese handcuffs for lizard girl back there.
The worst part, at least to Fran, is that it's not like she isn't used to this kind of trekking. So the fact that Leona of all people is telling her to hurry up has the Roman rolling her eyes and fighting back the urge to just kind of push her into the stream. She grits her teeth when Leona slows down to wait for her, and she picks up her pace, trudging forward and past the other girl.
Maybe she can catch up for once.
Except, you know, Fran doesn't have the compass at all, so that edge doesn't last too long.
"My pace is fine. You're the one skipping through the woods."
Rolling her head back in frustration, she drawls, "Well, excuse me, princess, for actually wanting to find the stuff we came here for."
And because Fran is clearly so eager to move on, Leona holds back, fighting off a smirk because yeah - she does have the GPS. But the other girl is clearly fine without her help, so, you know. It's no big if she lets Fran lead, right?
Maybe she could just become a boa and strangle Leona to death. Where's Hazel when you need her, honestly? The idea that her and Leona could do this without a buffer somewhere was ridiculous. But then there's a sense of shame at the thought.
Fran is not incapable of getting along with Leona, even if the other girl gets under her skin and dances over her nerves.
"I want to find what we're looking for. I just don't think tripping over ourselves to get there without keeping an eye out is a good idea," she explains herself, ignoring the princess comment.
"I wasn't tripping over myself," Leona retorts defensively. "I'm as graceful as a ballerina, thank you very much. We could go all Swan Lake up in these woods and I'd totally be able to keep up. Would you?"
Of course, that's just the moment that she trips over a tree root. Shit. Did Fran see that? Fran totally didn't see that. It never happened.
"And don't worry," she adds with a grin, "if anything jumps out at us, I'll let you play the hero. You can be my very own knight in shining armor. You can even turn into your own noble steed!"
A smile flashes over her face before she presses her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing. "I can't say I have a ballerina's grace. Maybe you could teach me."
Okay, now that definitely gets a laugh, even as she rolls her eyes. "Be careful, Leo. Maybe this noble steed won't let you have a quick getaway if we need it."
Completely recovered from that little mishap, Leona trudges on after Fran. "You do that, and I'll just have to set the woods on fire, and then we'll have come here for nothing. And nobody wants that, do they?"
Say you do, Fran, and she's going to leave behind. Without the compass.
"You're the one tripping over yourself," Fran huffs.
"That's completely dumb. Why would you set a forest on fire? Where animals live?" Leona, please think. That's all Fran wants out of you. To think. Forget the mission at that point.
"I don't see you showing off your mad dance skills," she retorts. Really, Leona has some grace when she wants to. She rarely wants to, except when fingers get hammered, but that's beside the point.
"Exactly! There's, like, bears and things out here! Why would you leave a poor, innocent damsel in distress in the middle of the woods, all alone with no way out? What kind of a knight are you?!"
"This isn't the time for that," she huffs. Does she even have mad dance skills? Probably not. Fran doesn't think she's ever tried to dance. She tries to not blush in embarrassment at just the thought.
Her brow twitches, and she can't figure out if she's amused or irritated. Both. Definitely, probably both. "Are you trying to call yourself a damsel and me your knight?"
"Look, Fran, if I were in your shoes, I'd totally want to be my knight, too," Leona says reasonably, keeping her eyes on the woods ahead. "And no offense, but I could do so much better."
"If you were in my shoes, you'd want to hit yourself, too." There is no way that Leona would ever want to be her own knight. That would require actually doing something for the sake of someone else.
Fran glowers at the other girl. She doesn't want to admit it, but it kind of hurts. Really hurts. She's not like Percy or Jason. Not as tough or strong or great, but she doesn't think she's terrible. "Nobody's stopping you from it then."
"You're kidding, right? Dude, if I were in your shoes, I'd totally be swooning over me. But I guess I can't really blame you for wanting to hit that," she says cheerfully, unaware of the change in Fran's demeanor. It's pretty normal for her to scowl in Leona's general direction; how is she supposed to tell something's different?
Fran's never really wanted to kill anyone before, but she can hear her father in her ear's - and she can't really tell if it's actually him or if she's imagining it - and Mars is telling her to Leona over the head.
She takes a deep breath and ignores the voice and ignores Leona. "I don't want to - what does that even mean?"
Leona rolls her eyes. Really, she shouldn't be surprised. "Man, are you sure you're not from the 1800s? It means - Actually, never mind. If you don't know, don't worry about it. If it's still bothering you when we get back, I'll show you how to use Urban Dictionary."
Seriously, who could believe this girl? Exactly how sheltered was she?
"It doesn't bother me now. You bother me," Fran mutters. She should calm down, not let her get under her skin, of course. This is about their mission, not about them. Even if Fran finds Leona annoying like no other person she has ever met, what they have to do is ultimately more important than her feelings.
Continuing onward, she asks, "And who said talking while you walk is wasting time? You would rather walk in complete, utter silence?" How boring. Leona should've brought some headphones; then she could at least turn on some good tunes while they do this stupid fetch quest.
It's like she's completely incapable of being able to stay quiet for more than a minute at a time. And what's wrong with silence, anyway? You can get in some good thinking time when everything is quiet? Well, not completely quiet. Nature doesn't just turn itself off.
"We're not talking. You're being irritating. There's a difference."
"See, irritating. You're still doing it. Is there something in that brain of yours that tells you to keep getting under people's skin?" It's supposed to come out as a snapped question, but it ends up ending in a more curious tone.
Some days, Leona wonders if Fran is actually serious or if she's making jokes in a really weird, roundabout way that isn't actually funny. Other days, like today, it's pretty clear she's just not the sharpest tool in the shed.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
commandertoolbelt) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
arrays2013-12-22 03:34 pm
no subject
no subject
A glance at the compass (GPS-enabled, but with the awesome aesthetic of the olden days) tells him they're headed in the right direction, but if she doesn't get on the ball, it'll take forever to get there. Leona stops to wait with a sigh of irritation, letting Fran catch up. Maybe she's just too eager to get there, to see what amazingly cool gadgets are waiting for them at the end of the line. And maybe another set of Chinese handcuffs for lizard girl back there.
no subject
Maybe she can catch up for once.
Except, you know, Fran doesn't have the compass at all, so that edge doesn't last too long.
"My pace is fine. You're the one skipping through the woods."
no subject
And because Fran is clearly so eager to move on, Leona holds back, fighting off a smirk because yeah - she does have the GPS. But the other girl is clearly fine without her help, so, you know. It's no big if she lets Fran lead, right?
no subject
Fran is not incapable of getting along with Leona, even if the other girl gets under her skin and dances over her nerves.
"I want to find what we're looking for. I just don't think tripping over ourselves to get there without keeping an eye out is a good idea," she explains herself, ignoring the princess comment.
no subject
Of course, that's just the moment that she trips over a tree root. Shit. Did Fran see that? Fran totally didn't see that. It never happened.
"And don't worry," she adds with a grin, "if anything jumps out at us, I'll let you play the hero. You can be my very own knight in shining armor. You can even turn into your own noble steed!"
no subject
A smile flashes over her face before she presses her lips together in an attempt to keep from laughing. "I can't say I have a ballerina's grace. Maybe you could teach me."
Okay, now that definitely gets a laugh, even as she rolls her eyes. "Be careful, Leo. Maybe this noble steed won't let you have a quick getaway if we need it."
no subject
Completely recovered from that little mishap, Leona trudges on after Fran. "You do that, and I'll just have to set the woods on fire, and then we'll have come here for nothing. And nobody wants that, do they?"
Say you do, Fran, and she's going to leave behind. Without the compass.
no subject
"That's completely dumb. Why would you set a forest on fire? Where animals live?" Leona, please think. That's all Fran wants out of you. To think. Forget the mission at that point.
no subject
"Exactly! There's, like, bears and things out here! Why would you leave a poor, innocent damsel in distress in the middle of the woods, all alone with no way out? What kind of a knight are you?!"
no subject
Her brow twitches, and she can't figure out if she's amused or irritated. Both. Definitely, probably both. "Are you trying to call yourself a damsel and me your knight?"
no subject
"And no, that is totally not what I'm saying! I'd have a way cooler knight than you."
no subject
And then she shoots Leona a look. "You might think so, but I'm sure you just called me your knight."
no subject
"Look, Fran, if I were in your shoes, I'd totally want to be my knight, too," Leona says reasonably, keeping her eyes on the woods ahead. "And no offense, but I could do so much better."
no subject
Fran glowers at the other girl. She doesn't want to admit it, but it kind of hurts. Really hurts. She's not like Percy or Jason. Not as tough or strong or great, but she doesn't think she's terrible. "Nobody's stopping you from it then."
no subject
no subject
She takes a deep breath and ignores the voice and ignores Leona. "I don't want to - what does that even mean?"
no subject
Seriously, who could believe this girl? Exactly how sheltered was she?
no subject
"We're wasting time."
no subject
Continuing onward, she asks, "And who said talking while you walk is wasting time? You would rather walk in complete, utter silence?" How boring. Leona should've brought some headphones; then she could at least turn on some good tunes while they do this stupid fetch quest.
no subject
"We're not talking. You're being irritating. There's a difference."
no subject
"Words are coming out of my mouth. Last I checked, that is the definition of talking. Or do I have to get you a regular dictionary, too?"
no subject
Maybe she was just dropped on her head as a baby.
no subject
"No, just you, Franny. You're special."
Some days, Leona wonders if Fran is actually serious or if she's making jokes in a really weird, roundabout way that isn't actually funny. Other days, like today, it's pretty clear she's just not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Or belt, as it were.