Winter Endeavors (Dymphna)

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

33rd Winter, 510 A.V. Ignorance was supposed to be bliss, and perhaps it was. Sama'el sat in front of his campfire with a pair of leather pants in his hands, staring closely at the stitching as if he knew what he was looking for in order to spot quality craftsmanship. It was certainly more than he could manage, even after his first lessons with Utine, but she was teaching him to look for things and he was trying to do his homework. "Maybe I should've waited," he mumbled to himself. "Just made everything myself." He made some incomprehensible noises, and considered doing just that for the future. After all, if he could present Dymphna with a new yvas for Dara, she would appreciate it and she would also have something tangible to show her family, even if Daed was aware of intangible abilities, being one of Sama'el's teachers. So wrapped up in his observation, he wasn't likely to notice anyone sneaking up on him, or even walking up, unless they made some commotion. Aiken had gone away, and taken the cubs with him. The littlest pavilion seemed cold and lonely whenever Dymphna and Denen weren't about.

[Dymphna]

Sneaking about skills weren’t something Dymphna really had, and considering her philosophy in life she wasn’t one who typically wanted to surprise others. She was so far from the thought that she didn’t seem to really take much notice that Sam was hyper-absorbed. She just saw him, and he was handsome. And wonderful. And perfect. And… The list went on mentally, and it was fortunate that no one was reading her thoughts because they’d likely be sickened by it. So whether Sam discovered she was there, by way of web or simply hearing her, was his own business. She was plopping down on the ground behind him so she could wrap her arms about his waist and lean forward to put her chin to his shoulder. “What are you doing?” she asked quickly.

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

Sama'el was not afraid, but she did startle him. As such, a needle pricked his finger, the calluses of a swordsman, archer, and horseman not quite covering all the places a craftsman's would. Eventually, it would be easier. "Ow!" he bleated, then shoved his finger in his mouth, the other arm going around her shoulders to hold her close, his novice work laying against her knee. "Hello," he said around his finger, then showed her what might eventually be a little leather bag for holding herbs or something. "Making you a present. Um, whipstitch. Sort of. At least, it's supposed to be." He dared to kiss her on the brow, then grinned happily. "I had better be good at this, because all the equipment was kind of expensive..."

[Dymphna]

She jumped and winced when he poked his finger, having done a bit of it lately with sewing herself. It stung. It was probably worse with thicker needles, too. She gave him a sheepish, blinking look before moving to take his work in one hand and his injured finger in the other. For the first she looked it over, studying it carefully as if she knew what she was looking for. His fingertip she gave a kiss to before sticking it in her mouth… More of a distraction tactic than a healing one, of course, but she never claimed to be a good healer – Just a decent herbalist. After a moment she stopped, lifting a brow and allowing him to have his finger back. “Whipstitch? Well, it looks even to me… Can I tug on it to see if the stitches hold? My sister still does that to me sometimes when I’m practicing sewing, and then I cry because seams come undone… Which is why I ask first before doing it. Of course. I mean…” She’d sort of taken to babbling again, hadn’t she? But she smiled all the same, giving his shoulder a little kiss as she looked up at him with that stupidly adoring, big-eyed look she sometimes got around him. “You’ll get good. Money isn’t an issue… You can always barter them away. Buy yourself something pretty. Tight leather pants or something...”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

He stared at her for a moment, then glared comically at her with his finger in her mouth. "You know, I can't wait until we're married simply because then I can take my revenge and get patted on the back for it." But he quickly grinned, nodding along with her babbling as he settled back in for careful, methodical, if not exactly good whipstitches. "You mean these aren't tight enough for you?" he asked, patting the leather pants draped over his lap that he had been perusing before working on the present. "Anyway, tug away. I will probably start from the beginning a few times anyway. Before it's good enough to be a present for you."

[Dymphna]

“And what makes you think I won’t be even worse when married?” She asked with a grin. At some point she’d figured out that Sam was easily distracted by her teasing, and it amused her to no end. The poor guy was subjected to it regularly. “Being married will just give me a chance to figure you out more.” And with that, she tugged gently on the two pieces. “I don’t know. It’s hard to say when I don’t know the first thing about leatherworking…” She tugged harder, and as predicted the ends of his stitches gave and popped loose. Dymphna, despite testing for this, seemed a little sorry that she’d done it as she handed it back to him. “What shall I keep in it?”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

He just grinned at the games of chicken they would play once they were married, and so he didn't even mind that his whipstitches were proving untenable. Taking it back, he pulled out all the stitches so he could start over again. "This will probably just end up a practice piece," he admitted. "I'll make you a finer bag when I have a better idea of what I'm doing. You can keep herbs or fungi in it when you find it. Or I can take it with me on patrols and bring things back for you that way. So it will just be wrapping for many presents. How does that sound?"

[Dymphna]

She smiled at what he said, obviously pleased with the idea he was presenting her. It didn’t take much to keep her happy as of yet, but she did seem particularly picky at times with the things she chose for herself… Though that likely said something good about Sam. Whether the trait in her would get stronger as she was older was yet to be seen. Save, perhaps, the liking Sam part. That seemed to get stronger everyday. Her arms moved to wrap her arms about him again, putting her chin on his shoulder so she could watch what he was doing. She liked watching him work. “You’re so thoughtful… That would be wonderful.”

[Sama'el Sunsinger]

He grinned like a trainable and started from the beginning again, taking the doubled strand around the edges of the leather in a circular motion, pulling them closer together. It would be a practice piece, he decided, because it wasn't going to be anything to look at and by the time he got better, it would likely be a tatters, anyway. It took more concentration than usual to keep the stitches even and not to stab himself with the thick needle with a pretty girl all over him, but he struggled manfully to do so. "What are you doing?" he countered. "Other than keeping me warm." It made him smile to think that she would probably be sleeping in his tent next Winter, keeping him warm all the time.

[Dymphna]

Dymphna wasn’t making it easy on him, of course. She slipped into him closer, nuzzling her cheek against him. Through a grin, knowing exactly what she was doing to him, she kissed his neck a few times. Being close, at first, had been full of shaking, jumping, and general discomfort for her, but at least at the moment none of that seemed to be a problem. “Oh, I sneaked away after getting my work done to see you. I missed you, and I wanted to see to it that you were okay.”