Limb with a View (OPEN)

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare sat for a minute, just watching, lips curved into his habitual half-smile. She looked like she was having fun, though, so eventually he kicked off his shoes, leaving them tumbled against his notebook, then slowly pushed to his feet. He didn't at all intend to go swimming, but he could get his feet wet. Dare headed for the lake, stopping in the shallows, letting the hems of his jeans soak up the water, letting his feet cool, if nothing else, and watched Lucretia from behind his fringe.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia was just treading water now, her jet black hair falling messily around her face, with one hand she pushed it back, her lips suppressing a grin as she faked a scowl.

"Come on, is our little artist afraid to get wet?" she was teasing him, swimming closer now.

Lucretia came up so the water was up to her knees, her hands on her hips one brow raised. Her scowl was slowly melting away into a grin.

"Don't tell me you can't swim?!?" now she was able to put on a look of horror. Her eyes were wide, lips twitching at the corners, fighting back the smile that would eventually win out.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's brows rose at Lucretia's taunting, though the humor didn't quite leave his face. He could see how close to smiling she was, knew it was just playful teasing. His lips curved into the faintest shadow of a self-deprecating smirk. "I can swim," he said. "I grew up in California. It's like, a law you have to be able to swim there. Seriously, they'll deport you to the Midwest or something if you can't." He could keep afloat anyway, could propel himself, if not gracefully. But he wasn't about to tell her all that.

Besides, his lack of any actual skill wasn't the entire reason he wasn't swimming. "Wet jeans are hell," he said. "I'll be fine out here." He wondered if she realized how plastered to her skin her own clothes were. It was all he could do to keep his gaze from roaming. But no matter how his intentions might lean toward the artistic side of such visual appreciation, he knew better.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia scowled, moving closer to him so that the water was up to her knees. She pointed to her jeans, now clinging to her body, showing him that jeans weren't that bad.

"Come on Dare darling, don't ruin the fun!" she was pouting now, maybe she would have to result into force if she was to get him to join her. She could feel a smirk pulling at the corners of her lips.

"I'm sure you'll live, besides, with a little bit of magic, those jeans will be dried off." she kept up her pout, hoping that he was the type who fell for it, if not, she would use force.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

There was such duplicity in Lucretia's expression that it was impossible for him to miss, and strangely, it set him on guard. He barely knew her, and she'd been nothing but nice, and still...he was unnerved. The pout was obvious, and obviously a game by the twitch of her lips, but beneath that smirk, he sensed more, sensed something else that he knew he ought to be wary of. The artist in him was intrigued by the combination, wanted to see if he could manage to capture it all and figure it out.

The rest of him, however, refused to play along. "I don't feel like swimming," he said simply. In a normal situation, it would be enough, but somehow, he doubted it. Storm had something in mind, and Dare didn't think any verbal argument would spare him.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

She scowled, if he didn't want to come in she would have to accept it. With a sigh she returned to the depths of the water, diving far below before returning back up a good distance away.

"Fine, be like that!" she called out to him, it would probably sound faint from where he stood but it would still be heard.

Lucretia was now floating on her back, eyes shut. She wasn't sure where Dare was, but if he wasn't going to come in then that was his choice, she wasn't going to force it on him anymore, the thought didn't appeal to her as much as it had before, but she could still feel the faint scowl on her face.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare watched Lucretia, his artistic senses tingling, his fingertips tingling with the desire to draw. He stood and watched her, floating on the water, hair spread out like some incensed Ophelia. At least he thought it was Ophelia; literature was more his brother's thing than his. Either way, it was the juxtaposition, the strange combination of things he saw that made him want to draw.

Even so, Dare recalled what Michael had told him about the likelihood of getting hexed for drawing without express permission, so he contented himself with watching. He could draw her later if he wanted, at least to get it out of his system.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia sighed, her face contorting in confusion for a bit before finally feeling it was time to get out.

Diving under once more, she disappeared for a long time, emerging a few steps in front of him. She brushed some of her hair from her face, thje rest stuck to her cheeks.

"You missed out poor Dare, its really cool too. It's alright though, maybe next time." she grinned placing both hands on her hips. She could already feel the cool air on her wet skin, making her shiver slightly.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"I told you, I'm fine," Dare said. He'd gotten more out of watching her than he probably would have gotten from swimming. He looked at Lucretia a moment, trying to catch the details he'd need later without blatantly staring.

"Was it any fun without me?" he teased, his eyes meeting hers.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia grinned and put on a small pout on her features, teasing in a way... inviting.

"It could have been so much better." it sounded like a whine, but she was just teasing. There was no rule against playing around a bit and she needed some fun.

Lucretias hand came to rest at her abdomen, she could almost feel the puckered scar right below her shirt, but the shiver that trembled through her body made her wrap her arms around her frame, it was June and yet there was still an odd cool breeze.

"Was it any fun just standing over here?" she asked curiously, there must be a reason other than him in jeans as to why he didn't join her.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's lips quirked into just the hint of a smile. "Wherever I go, the fun follows," he asserted. "Over here by the shore, there was a party going on." His moss-green eyes laughed. "It was a quiet party," he said, lips curving into a crooked half smile.

So maybe there hadn't been a party, but he'd had fun all the same. He was an observer at heart, and he'd observed, he'd had fun, if not in the traditional sense. He hadn't really felt like swimming, and he didn't feel like he'd missed out.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

Lucretia’s brow rose, her rose lips pouting and yet still there was a hint of a playful smile at the corners of her lips. Running a hand through her dark hair she tapped her chin, the pout in her face slowly dying away into a façade of sheer amazement.

“Wow, I never thought there could ever be an amazing party without me.” Lucretia was obviously playing around, she was the last person to sound conceited, but it was still fun every once in a while to let loose.

“Maybe there is a way. You have to teach me your amazing ways! I think I might be missing out on some fun.” A small giggle escaped her lips; she tried to hide it away with a frown, or some other serious façade.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare's eyes laughed, and his lips curved into a crooked half-smile. "And which amazing ways do you want to learn, oh eager pupil?" he teased. "I've got many." His eyes trailed over her face, trying to see all the different layers to her expression at once, and wondering if it was even possible. He was sure he could watch her for an hour and not get it all.

[Lucretia 'Storm' Seyrrou]

She wasn't sure why she had an odd sensation that she was being... studied, but she wouldn't let it bother her. She was used to the feeling by now.

"I wouldn't know where to start sensei and I don't think we could finish everything today, so how about you show me how to party lets say at the Bloody Mary?" she grinned, it was getting to late, and her mother would probably start hounding her with questions, not something she was going to look forward to.

"Or do you have somewhere else in mind?" to her it didn't matter, she just wanted to have fun, and recently she wasn't getting much of that anymore.

Now her life had completely revolved around trying to find some sort of deeper meaning in her life.

Lucretia's features darkened for a fraction of a second, she may seem bipolar, but something about her mind kept surfacing onto her features.

Shaking her head she cleared her thoughts before mustering a weak smile. She didn't want to scare anymore people away, she wasn't mentally stable, but she wasn't going to go mental on anyone anymore.

She was sure he probably noticed, something about the way he was looking at her made her feel as if he wouldn't miss the waver in her expression, she didn't feel uncomfortable about it, but it was best to stay alert.

"It's June and I'm freezing, there is something seriously wrong with the weather here." she was deflecting his attention away from her expression, somehow she knew he wouldn't be fazed much even then.

Not waiting for a reply she walked around him heading for the shore and making her way to her abandoned shoes.

Lucretia rolled up her jeans revealing that wand that was strapped to her right ankle. Pulling it out of it's 'sheath' she pointed it to herself and dried her clothes, making sure not to show the awful scar on her abdomen.

Finishing off, she returned her wand to her right ankle, however her left hand caressed her left ankle, sure the same old blade rested there, it served as a reminder to her.

Turning to look at him, she gave him a coy smile, might as well keep up the playful mood.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare caught up with Lucretia on the bank and sat down to tie his shoes back on. He looked up as she smiled, and his lips quirked. She wasn't easy to read, he'd give her that much. He kept seeing flashes of things in her eyes, hints that whatever she was showing him was a facade, but without knowing her, all he could do was wonder.

"The Bloody Mary sounds like a decent enough venue in which to demonstrate my party prowess," he said at last, letting the conversation slip ahead to the potential of the future. "Do you dance, or will I be starting my lessons at square one?" It was a light tease; of course she could dance, or she wouldn't have suggested a club.