Sprouting ((Piper))

[Gippal Hacker]

Gippal was never one for sweet, Hallmark-like things. In fact, he was never really one for anything potentially romantic. But here he was, crouched before the wide variety of sinister and beautiful plants alike.

A single jade orb roved around the garden slowly, carefully deciding only the prettiest (and least lethal) flowers to be plucked. Truth be told, despite his avoidance of most things amorous, Gippal found himself in something quite similar to a cliche.

There was a girl, a real special girl he'd seen. Now the blonde really didn't know anything about her, but.. he definitely knew she was beautiful! And from what he could tell, kind hearted and sweet and gentle and..A lot of other things he couldn't even name but got him really happy just thinking about.

Which brought him back to the present situation: picking flowers in order to pluck up the courage to actually talk to her.

Gippal rose to his feet and lifted an arm, rubbing the back of his neck. "This sure is harder than I expected," he said with a slight twist of his lips, "Never had to..get a present for anyone before."

The blonde lowered his hand and placed both of them on his hips before raising a leg and balancing on one foot in a pose not unlike a flamingo.

"Welp~" he began, "Guess all I can do is wing it." And with that, Gippal plopped onto the ground and crossed his legs, leaning the upper part of his weight on his hands resting on his thighs.

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[Piper Wren]

Piper had left Kristopher sound asleep in her room while she went out into the Garden for some air...after asking around she knew quite a few of which plants needed to avoid, just like learning not to open the bound books in the library unless you wanted some exercise...The dark haired young woman wandered into the main part of the Garden with a book from the library (one of the non lethal ones) clasped to her chest, it was nice to be out even though the weather was slightly chilly she didn't mind it too much. As Piper approached a tree which she carefully touched incase this was one of the active ones before sitting down and leaning her back against the bark.

She hadn't noticed anyone else was around as she leaned the book on her knees and started to read the first page, for irony's sake she was reading Alice in Wonderland...although Lewis Carroll's depiction of it rather differed to the place Piper had been in for nearly two months now.

'No Chesire cats or White rabbits in this Wonderland, I wonder what Caroll might have thought about that...'

Piper tucked a stray lock of black hair away from her eyes and continued to read and occasionally smiling to herself at the absurdity of it all.

[Gippal Hacker]

Gippal's eyebrow twitched. A fingerless gloved hand was raised, ready to strike. A flower that vaguely resembled a chrysanthemum was embedded in the soil, and those didn't look all that frightening..right?

The tips of his fingers wiggled nervously, a tongue peeking out to lick at dry lips. It wasn't that bad, definitely not. Just..reach on out there and take it.

"I mean, it's not like there's any flowers that are gonna eat me, right?" he laughed weakly and swallowed the lump forming in his throat, "I bet those ol' boogies were just trying to scare us. Whoever heard of..man eating crops, huh?"

Clearing his throat, Gippal slowly leaned his body forward. In the next moment, his hand snapped forward and yanked at the stem of the flower, successfully extracting it from the ground.

A single eye blinked in astonishment for several moments, unable to comprehend his luck. Gradually, a wide grin blossomed over the boy's mouth and his green eye immediately brightened.

"Yeah!" the blonde cried, jumping to his feet and punching a fist determinedly into the air, "I just knew it! No way were these things dangerous. Haha, can't believe I even believed that."

With a newly developed sense of confidence, Gippal leaned over the flower bed, a tongue crooked over his top lip slightly. His gaze searched for another flower worthy of a bouquet and, upon spotting a rose, eagerly reached forward without a second thought.

Incidentally, this was a mistake.

With a shout, the teen fell backwards, wounded hand held tight against his chest. Wincing slightly at the fall, Gippal's eye traced over the injury.

"Sheesh," he said, sucking a finger into his mouth, "Damn flower..." A sigh escaped the boy's nose as he nursed the digit. "No one told me the suckers bite.."

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[Piper Wren]

The silence of the Garden had helped Piper relax and concentrate on her book...until she heard a loud yell from not too far away which almost made her leap out of her skin, Oh God! What if someone had decided to piss off one of the man eating plants? She remembered what it was like to be stuck on top of a bookshelf for an hour while being kept there by an angry book with teeth and if she hadn't been rescued by Elric she could have been up there a lot longer. Quickly she picked her book up and raced towards where she heard the sound...

That was when she noticed Gippal nursing a sore finger next to a rose bush, maybe not such an emergency after all. The rose didn't look particularly murderous, just that someone had forgotten that they have thorns and grabbing them like that wasn't a smart idea. Piper let out a sigh of relief, panic over, she held her book to her chest and approached Gippal from behind.

"Are you alright?"

She questioned, Piper didn't think she had seen this young man before but then again she had only been in Wonderland for short amount of time in comparison to it's other residents so being the newbie of the bunch was sometimes hard...

[Gippal Hacker]

"Are you alright?"

Gippal didn't bother to turn around to the source of the voice, and instead remained with his back to it, eyes scrutinizing the rose not a few feet away.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, giving a wave of his hand, "Just these flowers..I swear that rose bit me! Ow.." His eye closed as another sharp pain assaulted the digit and he promptly put it back in his mouth.

Seriously, man-eating flowers..The fact that it was just as likely the thorns had pierced his skin went unacknowledged to the boy. Using his free hand to lift his body from the ground, Gippal brought himself to his feet. After rubbing his lower back gingerly, he exhaled heavily through his nose.

"Well..guess that is what I get," he shrugged, a soft chuckle escaping his lips, "Never was the uhh.."romantic" type." Giving a shake of his head, the blonde turned his body to face the voice behind him.

He froze however, as his jade eye caught sight of none other than his current love interest. Quickly closing his mouth he wasn't aware had opened, Gippal cleared his throat.

"Uhh--Piper!" yeah, just yell, that's not gonna scare her "What..what's up?" He inwardly winced. This was embarrassing...

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[Piper Wren]

"Just these flowers..I swear that rose bit me! Ow.."

Obviously Gippal wasn't aware that it was common for roses to have thorns and when not handled carefully it lead to sore fingers...She couldn't help but find it a little funny and held her hand to her lips to muffle a slight chuckle, Piper didn't want to make him feel stupid over it. When she calmed down again she tucked a lock of hair behind her right ear and waited for Gippal to turn around...was it just her imagination or hadn't he realised who she was yet?

"Uhh--Piper! What..what's up?"

That sudden and rather...loud exclaimation made Piper jump slightly, she hadn't expected such an enthusiastic method of saying hello. What did he look so flustered about anyway? Was Gippal embaressed at being caught doing something vaguely feminine? Not that she would ask that of course! Slightly uncertainly, the dark haired young woman smiled at Gippal, a slight quirk of the lips.

"I just thought I heard someone being eaten by one of the plants..."

Turns out it was only Gippal and a mainly harmless Rose...

"But nevermind, erm...why were you picking flowers?"

[Gippal Hacker]

"Ehh.." Gippal's eye looked to the left briefly before closing as a sheepish smile spread over his features.

"I was picking flowers for someone," he answered honestly, a hand raising to rub at his neck nervously, "Guess I only got the one.." He gestured weakly to the now wilting chrysanthemum on the ground.

Clearing his throat, the blonde's foot rose to rest against the lower thigh of the other leg, balancing perfectly upright. Tilting his head to one side, Gippal offered an awkward smile at the girl.

He felt a pang of anger at himself for acting so flustered. That wasn't to say he was normally articulate, but he was usually so much more confident than this. But with the presence of such a..gorgeous girl before him, asking about his well-being no less, had him a little caught off guard.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked, attempting a kind smile, "It's not exactly safe out here.."

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[Piper Wren]

"I was picking flowers for someone...Guess I only got the one.."

That was a kind gesture and oddly sentimental for someone like Gippal, sweet none the less though. Piper bent down and picked up the slightly wilted chrysanthemum and gently touched the soft petals, admiring the vibrant colours. These had grown in the garden at her parents house, how odd that she remembered that now...

"Maybe next time go for something that won't prick your fingers but this was a good start."

Piper noted the strange way that Gippal stood, like some exotic bird but he looked rather awkward even though his smile seemed geniune...not that she could know what was on his mind but did not see it her business to ask him. She barely knew him after all...the eye patch was rather interesting though and privately she wondered if it was just for show or like Tristan it was actually covering something.

What are you doing out here? It's not exactly safe out here.."

She gestured to the book in her arms and handed the flower back to Gippal before speaking.

"I just came outside to read...being shut inside too much makes me feel...well...unsettled."

And that was putting it lightly considering Iugo's last visit to her...

[Gippal Hacker]

A jade orb watched as Piper bent downwards to retrieve the fallen flower. It widened before glittering happily, an excited grin twitching at his lips.

"Maybe next time go for something that won't prick your fingers, but this was a good start."

A genuine laugh erupted from Gippal's mouth, eye closing in amusement. "Yeah, I uhh..I guess I shoulda paid more attention, huh?" With a shake of his head, the teen continued, "Like I said, romance..isn't really my thing."

The blonde felt his cheeks redden, if only slightly, and he rubbed his neck once more. As she made to hand the flower back however, his expression dropped.

"Oh, no please," he shook his head, holding his hands up in polite refusal, "Keep it." A nervous smile pulled at his lips, "A pretty girl should always get pretty flowers, right?" This time he knew his face must have been the colour of a tomato, but he willed the heat away.

"Oh, I know the feeling," he grimaced slightly, sending a distasteful look towards the castle, "The place is a freakin' nightmare.."

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[Piper Wren]

"Yeah, I uhh..I guess I shoulda paid more attention, huh? Like I said, romance..isn't really my thing."

It wasn't really Piper's thing either at the moment...she appreciated it in other people's relationships but in her own was an entirely different matter all together. Not that she had really been in a real relationship and she didn't count what had happened to her as one...she was only just beginning to grow used to ordinary physical touch again and making eye contact...the idea of being treated like she mattered and not like someone's whore was completely alien to her. When she looked up again she noticed that Gippal was flushing...not that she knew why.

"Oh, no please. Keep it. A pretty girl should always get pretty flowers, right?"

At that statement, Piper briefly bit her lip and glanced downwards...those words made her nervous because they seemed to lead to different things. When Robbie had said she was pretty it had made her want to cover herself as much as possible, when Iugo said it she had ended up in the Widows Trap...when Augusta had said it he meant it to try and rebuild her shattered confidence.

"I er...I guess opinions differ...but thank you for the flower, Gippal."

Piper smiled warmly then she felt a drop against her hand, when she glanced up at the sky she realised it was the first drop of rain and it seemed the heavens were just about to open.

"Change of subject...we're going to get drenched."

[Gippal Hacker]

"I er...I guess opinions differ...but thank you for the flower, Gippal."

Even the sound of his name on her lips didn't take away from the fact that, despite his best intentions, Gippal had inadvertently screwed up.

He inwardly groaned. Not that he knew what he did, but obviously the uncertain tone of voice and even the subtle disagreement..Oh God, and the pity thank you? He must have royally ruined it..

"Change of subject...we're going to get drenched."

Perking up, Gippal's green eye blinked at Piper. Letting a grin slide onto his lips, the blonde nodded his head. Glancing upwards, he stuck his tongue out, not unlike a child trying to catch snowflakes. Upon feeling the moisture connect with his muscle, he laughed softly.

"You're right," Gippal agreed, winking at Piper, "Let's head in."

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OOC:
short crappy post is short and crappy.

[Piper Wren]

It seemed Wonderland weather had a penchant for the unpredictable...

"Good idea! Come on!"

Piper gestured for Gippal to follow her and her prediction came true, the heavens open and rain began lashing down from the sky. Her brisk walk turned into a run but that didn't stop her getting promptly drenched, the denim of her jeans growing heavy as they became steadily waterlogged...The dark haired young woman spotted one of the trees had a rather large dry patch beneath it and she gestured to Gippal to head there. Once she made it beneath the tree and removed her jacket, tipping it upside down. Abruptly quite a lot of water fell from the pockets which made her laugh...a real genuine laugh which lit up her face.

"I think the half drowned look is completely achieved."

Whoa...she actually made a wisecrack, she tried to wring out her dripping hair and plucked at her clinging, sopping clothing. Piper glanced over at Gippal to see how he had faired during their dash for cover.

[Gippal Hacker]

"Good idea! Come on!"

The blonde was momentarily taken aback by her abrupt change in attitude. From somewhat embarrassed and put off to excited, did that mean he hadn't screwed up..?

Gippal wasn't given the chance to dwell on this however, as the moment he opened his mouth to reply, Piper turned and began running in search for shelter. Giving a blink of surprise, the teen's mind kicked into gear and he forced his legs forward, racing after the brunette.

"You sure know how to run!" he shouted, a laugh escaping his mouth. Thousands of drops fell from the sky and weighed down his artificial spikes, forcing the blonde hair down and into a more natural, albeit wet, style.

Soon enough, a large tree with a protective canopy came into view. Combat boots slowed to a stop and Gippal bent over, his hands on his thighs, inhaling deeply. Ordinarily, a run like that wouldn't have him winded, but with the lack of traction on the moist grass, not to mention the desire to catch up with Piper had him a little tuckered out.

"Heheh," Gippal chuckled, standing up straight and moving back against the tree until his back hit it. He slid downward, legs spread out before him.

"Funny," he continued, flashing a grin at the girl, "Man, hope we don't get sick." He pursed his lips as a hand rose to his head, pinching a lock of soaked hair distastefully.

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[Piper Wren]

"Funny, Man, hope we don't get sick."

Piper noticed Gippal was grinning at her again…she probably looked pretty daft at the moment considering how drenched they both were, Piper pushed her soaking hair off her face where it was sticking to her skin. He didn’t look too impressed about being soaking wet and seemed to be fussing over his hair which was drooping a little due to the amount of water it had been pounded with. The young woman realised she had been a tad open with her emotions, not many people saw her laugh or smile, she coughed and made a point of glancing up into the thick boughs of the tree while she spoke.

“Didn’t you ever go out into the rain as a kid? I mean…it just reminded me of that, you don’t care if you look half drowned.”

She remembered what that was like…in a way she didn’t really care now but none the less she pulled at her shirt which was clinging to her form and tried to wring it out, excess water trickling onto the ground as she did so.

‘If I do get ill I’ll be going to Kristopher as my Doctor…not…’

[Gippal Hacker]

“Didn’t you ever go out into the rain as a kid? I mean…

Gippal blinked. Thinking on it, yeah, he had gone out in the rain as a kid. Of course, that didn't mean he necessarily liked it anymore than he did as an adult, but that was beside the point. Giving a nod of his head, the blonde made to cut in, but promptly closed his mouth once more.

"It just reminded me of that, you don’t care if you look half drowned.”

A genuine laugh escaped Gippal's throat, face forming into a ridiculous grin. "Haha..Hahaa..." he took a moment to compose himself, eye closed in amusement, "Yeah, yeah..I know whacha mean." Nodding his head, the male continued, "O' course, never was my own choice. Usually got stuck out there."

A sudden pang hit Gippal and his face dropped. The mention of being locked outside..yeah, smooth move, bro. Shutting up his thoughts, the blonde inwardly shook his head. It wasn't going to do any good to dwell on the past.

Forcing another smile, the blonde glanced at the brunette. He had to pause a moment however, as he had to collect what his subconscious mind had picked him from her last comment. Curse his wandering thoughts..

"Kris?" he blinked and shook his head, letting out a laugh, "Sorry, dunno the guy. He a friend?"

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