[zapdragon555]

Clivius blinked at that, his eyes growing a little wide. Old books... so old they're falling apart? Oh, if that didn't pique Clivius' interest, nothing did. He shifted, his heart fluttering in his chest, and he smiled, nodding. "That's very good," he murmured, then blinked, flushing a bit. "I-I mean, that you have those books. To own something that old... they must be real treasures." Clivius trailed off for a moment, then smiled, his voice adopting a soft, friendly tone. "Would... ah, would you like to use my telescope?" he asked, then blinked, smiling sheepishly. "Well, it isn't really mine per say... I borrowed it, but..."

[Baconwizard]

Freylan listened to Clivius speak, a little fascintated by the timbre of his voice. It was soft, and it stayed in the upper ranges for the most part, but when he began to ramble on, his voice lowered slightly. Freylan's voice didn't do that. Neither did her grandmother's, or, from what Freylan could remember, did her mother's. It was the first time Freylan had really talked to a male being, she realized, blinking at the roots of a tree. It wasn't as horrible as Freylan thought it would be. It... was actually kind of nice. The strange, tickling feeling in Freylan's throat must be due to the fact that this strange, soft-spoken man likes the same books that Freylan did.

At Clivius's offer, Freylan stiffened, her eyes growing wide. She sat in silence for a moment, processing his words, and a war of conflicted desires waged in her chest. Freylan desperately wanted to see through a telescope, just like Copernicus and Newton... but Freylan also knew that it was a bad idea to get any closer to this strange human man. "Um..." Stuttering, Freylan shrunk against the tree. She swallowed, then tried again, trying to speak up but failing. "I-I... I want... to..."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius sat in silence as he waited for her answer, finding his heartbeat increasing with anxiety each passing second. Had he said something bad? Was such a thing too forward of him? He supposed it might be strange; he had no idea the age of this girl, or where she was from, and she didn't know him likewise. Oh, he should take that back, probably. Clivius opened his mouth to speak, drawing in a barely audible breath, before her voice interrupted him and he quickly closed it, his eyes going wide. Her words hung in the air for a moment, before a tiny smile broke out on his face, and he tilted his head to the side, as if addressing her in front of him, despite the empty space there. "You would?" he asked, brown eyes filling with relief. "I-I'm sure you'll like it. It's quite a nice model, too. I borrowed it from the local university... um..." He paused, thinking. "Should... sh-should we go see, then?"

[Baconwizard]

Freylan listened to Clivius chatter on, her heartbeat pounding painfully against her chest. It hurt... Freylan took a deep, steadying breath, inwardly telling herself that it was going to be alright. This human didn't seem like the others. Trying not to imagine her grandmother's face looking at her with disapproval, Freylan carefully pulled herself up to a standing position, her knees shaking a little. Her long skirts made a rustling noise against the leaves, and she stood still for a moment, forgetting that she didn't need to be quiet. Taking another breath--Freylan had to concentrate otherwise she'd forget and feel dizzy--Freylan carefully stepped out from behind the tree, keeping half of her body hidden behind the trunk, just in case. She blinked at Clivius with wide eyes, taking in his appearance again, noting all the details she had missed in her fear-induced flight. Dark hair, glasses... he was so very tall... Freylan almost shrank back again, her hands tightening on the tree trunk.

[zapdragon555]

Clivius waited until he was sure she'd gotten up, and he slowly stood up as well, fighting down the urge to turn around and face her. He still really didn't want to scare her, and at this point if she truly wanted to run away, she very well could. But, in those woods... Clivius' heart twisted to think of her running alone through the forest. What if she fell again and truly hurt herself, or was attacked by some animal, or if some strange person found her...?

Oh, it wasn't like him to get so worked up over something he had no place in. It was more like him to get worked up about anything and everything else, if he was honest, so he had to chalk whatever motives he had up to self interest. Perhaps he was a little lonely on that hill, and to meet someone who also liked the stars, well... To have someone he could talk to about that, just for the evening, made Clivius' heart flutter with excitement. "Ah, this... this way," he said in a soft voice, smiling and walking towards the telescope, inwardly smacking himself. Of course she knew the way. Don't be silly. This was her stargazing spot, after all, he had to remind himself.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan blinked as he moved towards the clearing, her heart twisting with relief that Clivius hadn't given her any scrutinizing looks. She was fairly sure that if it wasn't nighttime, he would be able to see her for what she really was. Vampires and humans did look... different. Not totally, but there were differences. Her skirts shifted against the leaves on the ground as she slowly followed Clivius to where he waited at the telescope, her cheeks beginning to grow pink with embarrassment. Freylan glanced up at him, then she came a few steps closer, drawn to the sleek metal of the telescope. Carefully, as if afraid of being burned, Freylan's fingertips hovered over it, then she snatched her hand away, back to her chest. Looking up at Clivius with wide eyes, she swallowed. "Is... is it okay if I look through it?"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius had turned to watch her as she approached, and his breath had nearly been stolen out his chest. She was so small, and... and pretty, but god, he couldn't just think something like that, could he? Trying to hide his reddening cheeks as she drew closer, Clivius cleared his throat, smiling as she approached, then blinked at her question. "Oh, yes, o-of course," Clivius murmured, nodding and taking a step away to give her more space, his dark eyes soft behind his glasses. "You can sit on that box if you like... ah, it might be a bit short for you, actually, o-one moment..." Clivius glanced at the books on the grass, and with a pause he bent down and picked them up to sit them on the wooden box, making it a few inches taller. "There... That might be alright."

[Baconwizard]

Freylan watched as Clivius moved about, her hands clutching at her chest. Why was he being so nice? Letting her use his telescope, and then preparing her a seat? It was so strange... Freylan glanced at Clivius, then down at the seat, her cheeks beginning to heat up unconsciously. "Th-thank you..." She murmured, keeping her eyes averted. After a slight pause, Freylan realized that she was acting rude, and the vampire girl quickly gathered her skirts around her and sat down on the bench. Holding herself erect, Freylan leaned forward and carefully peered through the telescope. She held her breath, squeezing one eye shut so that she could focus. There was a long pause, then Freylan leaned away to look at Clivius, a slightly disappointed look in her eyes. "It's all blurry..."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius blinked at her words, straightening up as she looked at him, and he felt himself squirm slightly under her gaze, despite her small voice. He never could quite handle anyone looking him in the eyes. "A-ah, oh, right, I'm terribly sorry. I need to focus it..." he murmured, reaching with an index finger and thumb to touch the dial, then blinked at Freylan. "Could you look into it again? Tell me when it becomes clear," he murmured, beginning to carefully turn the dial back and forth, making sure it still moved smoothly after so many years.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan blinked, then quickly looked through the telescope again. She watched as the sky grew dark and fuzzy, then suddenly, it came into clear focus. "U-um, this is... this is fine," she murmured, staring through one eye at the heavens. Glancing at Clivius out of the corner of her eye, Freylan felt her heart thud against her chest. Oh, she was so nervous. The telescope was so beautiful, and Clivius was being so kind as to let her use it... Forcibly pushing her fears to a far corner of her mind, Freylan continued to look through the telescope. "Is... that Betelgeuse? From Orion?"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius had stood back just a tiny bit once she'd confirmed the telescope was focused, and he blinked at her mention of the star system, his brows raising a bit. "Y-yes, that's correct..." he breathed, his cheeks a little pink despite everything. She truly was an astronomer in her own right, to simply pick out a star just like that. "Ah... do... do you happen to study the stars?" he asked, barely shifting closer again, the grass making soft noise around his shoes. "I-I knew you had an interest in them, but I wasn't aware you could identify one just out of seeing it once..." Clivius trailed off for a moment, before a small, excited smile sprang up on his face. "Could you identify another?" he asked, leaning down a little with a hopeful look in his eyes.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan's cheeks flushed a bright pink color, and she ducked her head, clearly embarrassed. "I-I've j-just looked at them for a long time," she murmured, shifting a little on the stool she was sitting on. "I-I'm not... a-an expert, o-or anything, I-I just looked at the, um, wh-where the telescope was pointed a-and..." Freylan trailed off, her hands twisting in her lap. It wasn't like her to be so talkative, especially with a stranger. But... Freylan glanced at Clivius, then nodded her head. "Um, I-I can, i-if you'd like..." Freylan paused, then took a huge breath, summoning her courage. "May... I look at some planets, too?"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius' eyes shone slightly with wonder at the small woman, and he blinked at her question, a tiny 'eh?' sound escaping him. "Oh, of course! A-absolutely, look at whatever you like," he breathed, his cheeks pink, and he mentally kicked himself for being what he was sure was terribly overbearing. He tensed, as if preparing to step away, but he felt rooted to the spot by her small voice; if he moved away, he wouldn't be able to hear her as well, and that was the last thing he wanted. "I didn't mean to assume anything, by the way, um... a-about you studying the stars. I-it's completely fine if it's only a hobby! That... that makes if even more impressive, i-if it's okay for me to say..."

[Baconwizard]

Freylan wasn't quite sure how to respond to Clivius's stammered words, and she shook her head, clearly embarrassed. "Th-thank... you," she replied, her shoulders hunching slightly. Being able to name the stars wasn't that impressive, was it? There was a ticklish feeling in Freylans chest; it felt like embarrassment, and a little bit of flattery all bunched up in a confused mess. She glanced at Clivius for a moment, studying him for a moment, trying to puzzle him out like one of the star maps in her house. He was a human, and a man, but he was... nice. Kind, even. Freylan was beginning to realize that she was even enjoying having his company. She had never stargazed with someone else before; it was a new experience for Freylan. Realizing that she had been staring for far too long, Freylan ducked her head, glancing back at the telescope. "U-um... How do I..." Freylan carefully took hold of her end of the telescope, trying to shift it so that she could look in the direction of Saturn.

[zapdragon555]

Clivius had stiffened slightly as she looked at him, noticing it out of the corner of his eye, and he barely glanced back at her just in time to see her look away, his cheeks growing a bit warm. It really wasn't like him to be so bashful like that... His job didn't exactly allow him to know any sort of ways with women, and most people in the town tended to refer to him as cold. Not like his father... Clivius shifted slightly, then blinked in surprised as she spoke to him, his dark eyes darting from the telescope to her and back to the telescope. "Oh! Sorry, I had it locked in place... one moment..." he murmured, his fingers darting to the small lock to click it into the right position, and he bent down a little lower to try to adjust the telescope, admittedly a little bit stiff on its hinges even without the lock. He didn't notice his head was ducked quite close to her, wincing as the cross necklace's cold, thin chain shifted on his neck and made him barely shiver.