Need More Practice

"[THREAD TITLE]" is a [SEASON NUMBER] thread written on [IRL DATE].
==Summary==
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==Full Text==
The arrow flew from Liam’s bow and shot past the tree he was aiming at, which had a rough target scraped into the bark. He cursed as it sank into the brush with a hiss and lowered his bow, scowling. He’d never gotten the hang of archery like Kendra had, and he was getting easily frustrated by it. He nocked another arrow to the string and let out a slow exhale, eyeing his target.
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi chuckles softly. “You’re holding your elbow too high,” she tells him. She walks over and gently rests her hand on his arm, pushing slightly. “And you need to relax.”
tree-the-cat
“Ahh–!”
Liam let the arrow go prematurely upon feeling her hand rest on his elbow, and it landed loosely at the base of the tree in a puff of pine needles. Blushing, he fumbled for another arrow, muttering, “Sorry, I’ll…I’ll try that again.” He kept thinking of their conversation with the Warden, for some reason, which was strange. He thought the raid would be on his mind. But it wasn’t.
aroleplayingcephalopod
“It’s alright,” she says. “It took me a while to learn, too.” 
Verdandi watches as Liam readies another arrow, a small smile on her face. Seeing him here, where he’s more open–if a bit frustrated, currently–makes the knot of nerves that’s been building in her chest loosen. It’s… nice.
tree-the-cat
He drew the string and held it by his jaw, puffing his cheeks out with a long breath. “Okay, more like this?” he said, trying to follow her earlier instructions.
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Your form is better,” Verdandi tells him, “but… you’re too tense, it’ll ruin your aim.” She takes a step further back. “Archery is easier when you can focus on your target, and not on what’s in your head.”
tree-the-cat
The arrowhead wiggled as he adjusted his grip and his aim. “I don’t know if…um…if it’s what’s…in my head that’s…distracting me.” His words trailed into mumbles again, and he stared hard at the target, absolutely not seeing it clearly.
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi frowns, walking over so she can see his face. “Liam,” she says softly. “What’s the matter?”
tree-the-cat
His arms began to ache and he lowered the bow, sighing and looking down at his feet. “Naw, it’s…it’s nothing,” he tried. “Don’t worry about it.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“It doesn’t seem like nothing,” she says bluntly. “Talk to me? Please?” She looks over at him with wide, pleading eyes.
tree-the-cat
Ah gods-dammit, stop that.
His shoulders curled inward slightly and he looked harder at the ground in front of him, his fingers fidgeting on the bow grip. His heart was rapping against his chest like a panicked rabbit. “Um…” He rubbed a paw against his cheek and over to the back of his neck. He didn’t have a clue how to ask for what he wanted to know. “I kinda just…wanted to…maybe…ask…” He let out his breath in a rush. “Hey, okay, please don’t laugh at me for this, alright?” he said desperately, finally looking up at her.
aroleplayingcephalopod
“I won’t,” she promises. For emphasis, she traces an ‘X’ over her heart. 
tree-the-cat
“Okay, I…” He sighed and committed. “I just…wanted to make sure, because I wasn’t really sure, so I wanted to make sure you didn’t…I mean if you did, it’s…not that you can’t…um…but it’d be really stupid if I was wrong…” He spat all the words out and, struggling for more, used a finger to gesture between himself and Verdandi. “Are you like…do you…cause…you did…that…when we were talking to Nala, so…I didn’t know if…”
aroleplayingcephalopod
True to her word, Verdandi doesn’t laugh at him. However, she does get a bit of a silly smile on her face. “If what?” she says, her voice barely above a whisper as she moves closer.
tree-the-cat
“Gahhh.” Liam let the bow fall at his feet as he ran both his paws through his hair and left them there, shutting his eyes tightly. “No, you are laughing at me! It was fuckin’ stupid, never mind, I thought you liked me or some shit, I’m sorry.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Liam, I…” she murmurs, before her own words fail her. Throwing caution to the wind, she stands up on her toes and rests her hands on his shoulders. Verdandi takes a deep breath, then presses her lips to Liam’s.
tree-the-cat
All of the air left Liam’s lungs and he numbly lowered his paws from his head, his eyes wide. He waited a few seconds…enjoyed a few seconds…before pulling back barely an inch, feeling like he’d lost all feeling in his mouth. His hands were hovering over her shoulders but he was scared of putting himself further into their sudden intimate moment.
“Um,” he whispered, “s-so you do like me, or…?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
Verdandi lets out a breathless giggle. “Yes,” she whispers.
tree-the-cat
“Oh. O-okay. Uh. Fuck.” Liam took a deep breath, hesitantly putting his paws on her upper arms. “I…I think I can work with that. Shit, I didn’t think you were actually going to say yes…” He tipped his head, flustered, the ends of his hair hiding his eyes for the moment. His heart was racing, and he felt a little light-headed. “N-now what?”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Well,” Verdandi starts, a pleased blush spreading across her face, “I could kiss you again,” she offers.
tree-the-cat
He seemed to panic again, he flushed hard and pinned his ears back, fidgeting his fingers around her arms. “I-I mean–if you wanted to–but–uh–I’m–I’m not gonna lie, I don’t really know why you want to.”
aroleplayingcephalopod
She shrugs a shoulder. “I like you,” she says simply. I might be in love with you, she doesn’t say. Verdandi trails one of her hands up from Liam’s shoulder to play with his hair. “There’s… a lot I could say, but I don’t think it’d make much sense. But, uh… thank you, for everything.”
tree-the-cat
“Y-you’re welcome,” he mumbled, hesitantly dropping his hands from her arms to her hips. “There’s…still probably some better picks out there for ya, you know…”
aroleplayingcephalopod
“You’re better than you give yourself credit for,” Verdandi says quietly. “I don’t care what other people have to say about it, I want you, Liam. If you’ll have me.”
He was sweating and he hoped it didn't show. His heart hadn't calmed down yet. "Listen, not that...not that I don't like you. I don't...I don't know yet." He hoped he wouldnt sound like an idiot. "This is...kinda the first time this has...happened to me. Where I kinda...had my eye on someone and they liked me back...I don't...really know how to go steady."
aroleplayingcephalopod
“We can figure it out together,” she says. “I’m not... not really an expert at this, either,” she adds. “I just... I want to be with you.”
tree-the-cat
He looked down into her eyes and his heart skipped a beat about how much sincerity and warmth he saw. Nobody had ever looked at him like that.
"Okay..." He took a breath and held her just a little closer, putting a paw on her lower back. "I can try that, I think."
aroleplayingcephalopod
Relief floods through Verdandi, and she smiles up at Liam. “I’m glad,” she whispers. She pauses, then leans up to kiss the corner of his mouth. “I’ve wanted to do this for a while now,” she admits.
tree-the-cat
He barked a short laugh. "Since when? Since I got smashed by a Changewing, or fell in the lake? I'm sure those were both charming."
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Since you rushed in to protect me from... what turned out to be my own head,” she says quietly.
tree-the-cat
He shrugged and dragged his toes through the grass and dirt. "You seemed fucked up. I wanted to make it better, if I could."
aroleplayingcephalopod
She snorts softly. “You did,” she assures him. Verdandi glances away, shifting her weight back and forth. “So, um, would you mind if I kissed you again?”
tree-the-cat
He thought he might laugh at the question, but instead he felt a warm feeling swell in his chest, and his paw drifted up to gently press his thumb and finger to Verdandi’s chin, tilting it up. He was nervous as Hel, but their feelings being out in the open gave him a newfound confidence. 
“I was...thinking I’d do that instead,” he said in a low voice, and before she could answer, he bent his head down and kissed her, just firm enough to lean her back slightly.
aroleplayingcephalopod
Warmth floods through Verdandi, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. For the first time in--gods, far too long, she is completely, incandescently happy. There’s a world full of problems just waiting for them, but right now, it’s just her and Liam. The world can fuck off.
She smiles into the kiss, threading her fingers into Liam’s hair.
tree-the-cat
Liam broke the long kiss with a soft exhale, keeping his eyes closed, a little worried that if he'd open them, everything would be gone. "We're gonna figure this out together," he said in a low voice.
aroleplayingcephalopod
“Yeah,” she whispers, “we are.”
Category:BOTGD 2
Category:Act I
Category:Events
Category:Verdandi Østergård
Category:Liam Arnason