A Midafternoon Stroll

[Claire Heart]

"Good idea." She nodded and laid her head gently over on his shoulder. "But I did it! I fell...but I climbed it..." No pain, no gain, right? Prissy girl! Prissy girls don't climb trees for a reason, because they don't cope well with the possible pain that comes from it.

"You know you're pretty fast. You'd almost caught up with me when I fell." She laughed, then winced. Ok, so it hurt to laugh, but one day she'd look back and laugh really hard about falling down three branches of a quoxwood tree in a big pink dress and no shoes. She tried to visualize it in her head and starting laughing again, then grabbed her side, still laughing a little, and muttered a pitiful, "ow..."

[Taye Keats]

"Aww!" Taye said, despite himself, and kissed the top of her blonde head. He couldn't stand the sight of people he cared about in pain. He chuckled a little bit over her comment about his speed.

"Well, I'm a man," he said, flexing his free arm jokingly. "It's my job to be fast and strong, and to save damsels in distress. In this case the damsel happens to be a witch, but I'll overlook that nontraditional detail."

[Claire Heart]

"Yeah, i'm the one who got us down Mr. Big and Strong!" She giggled. He was so adorable! "Plus, you're a baby, so it's my job to take care of you." She'd never really mentioned their age difference before. Taye was only nineteen, and she was twenty-two. Wasn't the man supposed to be older in relationships? Well, Taye didn't act like a teenager. He acted like more of an adult than she did sometimes. It was hard for Claire to believe she was twenty two. Nineteen seemed like only yesterday...

[Taye Keats]

Taye smirked. "I can't help it if I can't do magic. And I'm not a baby. Who was it that decided to go jump in the flowers? Or to climb up the tree?" He thumped her lightly on the head, then kissed her immediately afterwards. This was so nice... he felt like he could sit her talking forever. Claire was amazing. He hated that she had to leave soon to go to Quadling Country... but he would visit as often as he could. They'd figure something out... maybe he could get his hands on a flying mop or something.

[Claire Heart]

"No, you're my big, strong man. You said it yourself." She kissed his lips lovingly. "And I don't care if you can't do magic. Though I told you, if you change your mind, it's not so hard." She giggled a little, "unless you're Polly..."

[Taye Keats]

Taye chuckled. "Poor Polly. At least she gets to attend Mombi's sorcery seminars. I wouldn't even know where to begin if I wanted to do magic." He began to stare very hard at a bush before them, willing it to catch on fire or vanish or turn into a Rabbit or something. Sadly, to no avail...

[Claire Heart]

"See, you have to pick something specific you want to do, and what you want to do it to." She noticed him staring at the bush. "Say that bush...you want it to...I don't know, Jump. You just concentrate on it, and I mean, some spells require some words or special thoughts but simple things like that you just concentrate..." Claire narrowed her eyes, and suddenly the bush hopped off the ground, then fell back into its place. "See? You try!"

[Taye Keats]

"I already tried that," Taye said in slight frustration, but he tried again anyway. He stared very hard at the bush, trying to get it to jump. He put every fiber of concentration into it. Jump... Jump... for the love of Oz, come on, Jump...

Suddenly, about four leaves and a twig came off of the bush, going about three feet in the air before slowly fluttering down, or in the case of the twig, falling quickly. Taye stared, surprised. Sure, it was only a very small part of the bush, but... that was better than he had done before! He had done magic! He turned back to Claire with a grin. "I did it, kind of!"

[Claire Heart]

"You did! With some practice, you could get the whole thing!" She kissed his cheek. "Congratulations. See, you can do anything you put your mind to." She hugged him tight and kissed his cheek again. She knew he could do it! All he needed was a little faith in himself, and a good cheerleader!

"And you still did more than Polly has figured out how to!" She smirked. She probably shouldn't pick on Polly so much. The girl had a good heart, she just had clouds for brains and little to no sorcery talent.

Claire picked up the hand closest to Taye and ran a fingertip up his arm to his soft hair, wrapping a tendril around her fingertip. He had such gorgeous hair! Most boys didn't take the time to do anything with themselves, but she was thankful Taye did. His hair was so soft to the touch and fun to play with. It curled right around her finger, then slid off with ease. It was easier to play with than her own hair. Her hair had a bit of a natural curl and tended to pouf and tangle if she touched it too much. It liked to be washed, styled, then left alone.

She ran her fingers up into his hair, gently massaging his scalp with her fingertips. "My mom used to do that when I was a little girl. It put me to sleep.." She liked the cool, silky feel of his hair between her fingers. He did have nice hair for a boy!

[Taye Keats]

Taye smiled at his accomplishment. It felt good to do something he didn't think he could do, but it felt even better to do it in front of Claire. It was somewhat silly; he felt accomplished, even though it had been a tiny show of magic, and Claire could do far more. Maybe he had the makings of a sorceror yet; if not for his love of politics, he might have considered it.

"Mmm," Taye said quietly, slumping sideways to rest his head on Claire's shoulders as she stroked his arm and began to play with his hair. It felt really good; not only that, but it had an odd calming effect on him. "I can't say I blame you. Now I feel like falling asleep..."

[Claire Heart]

The sun was just beginning to set. Claire sighed. She knew she was supposed to be in Quadling country by nightfall. "I have to go.." she said sadly. She didn't want to go, but she figured her 'staff' would be waiting. "Glinda said I'm supposed to be in Quadling Country by sundown...and there's the sunset. I've never been so sad to see one.." She smoothed out his hair that she had tussled slightly and kissed the top of his head. She didn't want to leave at all, but when duty calls you have to answer! right?

[Taye Keats]

Taye smiled at her. In the light of the setting sun, her hair appeared even more golden than usual. She really was beautiful. He pulled her close, kissing her gently on the lips.

"Don't be sad. We'll see each other. Besides... you're going to make an amazing Good Witch." He smiled, squeezing her close to him in an attempt to cheer her up. "This is a good thing... don't act like the world is about to end. I'll still be here, no matter what."

[Claire Heart]

She kissed him longingly, not knowing when the next time they'd be able to spend a day like this again. "Eh. I know I'll be fine. Thank you for the lovely day, Mr. Keats. We will have to do it again soon." She held him close for another moment, then stood. "I'll see you soon." And with that she was gone.

[Taye Keats]

Taye stared after her for a moment, smiling. After a while he stood up from the bench and stretched.

What a day.

He slipped his hands into his pockets, and began to walk back to the Emerald Tower. The smile never left his face.

Claire Heart and me, huh? Who'd have thought...