From: snakesskin	Date: 12/28/2007 10:31:00

The cold was the first thing he became aware of as he stirred, and did the cold sink right into his bones! Sleep receded in a sluggish wave, but if it had to be likened to a wave at all, then it was a wave with the consistency of half-congealed treacle. The Snake Prince found himself blinking at something translucent, something that crackled and shivered when his eyelashes brushed it. It looked sort of red and sort of brown in turns, and there the colours were cut into neat little diamonds, lined up one against another.

Who knew how long he had been doing just that.

He scrambled to his feet in an abrupt motion, wide awake now, though that last did nothing for the confusion boiling in his mind. Of course, moving that swiftly after the Lord only knew what had happened before made for rather imperfect balance, and his knees locked instantly even as his right foot slipped against something dry and waxy. The rough bark of a tree scraped at his bare back, providing him with an unnecessary confirmation that no, he wasn't dreaming. When the sentiments of a man could not help him, it was best to simply think in the most basic way possible.

Were there other predators around? The look in his eyes sharpened, becoming colder, as he went very still, surveying the forest that stretched out all around him. Without even thinking about it, his brain filtered out all the natural sounds of the woods itself, then the insects, then the birds. Nothing. Yet.

The familiar clopping of horses' hooves interrupted the other sounds. The sound of the hooves became louder, came closer. He let himself slid the rest of the way down until he was crouched close to the floor of the forest. Before the sounds came too close, he moved his feet off the impossibly large snakeskin he had been lying on just moments ago, bundling it up and laying it on the ground next to him until he could ascertain whether it was someone––or something,––he should approach directly or not.

Lamenting his lack of a weapon, the Snake Prince stepped out from behind the trees and bushes he had been, carrying the iridescent snakeskin with him. The way he held it covered most of the front of his naked body from the waist downwards. Before the horse could shy away, he stepped up close and reached out to wrap his free hand around the reigns. It was probably an altogether strange occurrence, having a naked man step out of the woods without a sound and coming up so close, but for all that, all he could say was, "Princess?" It didn't even sound like a question––it was almost a demand that she answered in the positive.

	From: prickmyfinger	Date: 12/31/2007 00:59:57

She heard something again and pulled on the reigns, only to find that something else was holding them as well and her eyes grew wide as she looked down and saw... a naked man standing beside her. Shocked would have been a kind word. How had she not heard him even approach was one thought in her head, but another was that whatever she'd heard earlier, he wasn't it.

Bri held fast and looked at him. Did she know him? She wasn't sure; so many people were in and around Camlann all the time and she couldn't be sure. Perhaps she should be afraid, but looking at him, she wasn't. "Yes... are you alright? Can I help you...?"

Focus on his face, yes, don't look anywhere else, she kept telling herself as she smiled down at him, an almost impossible task as her eyes were drawn to the large snakeskin he held in front of him.