Catch Me If You Can (Renard/Open)

[rowancarr]

Flash. Gotcha. Feeling her stomach muscles protest, Rowan sat back up onto the branch she had her leg hooked around.

The picture would be fantastic if it turned out the way she hoped it would. She happened to glance down from where she perched in the tree to see a bird examining its wing. The way the light shined through the trees around the bird was visually striking to Rowan, and the camera should make the bird look like a shadow against streaming light.

The hard part had been in getting the picture. Leaves had blocked most of the image, and too much rustling around in them might have disturbed the bird. The branch that would have been a good spot to take the photo from was an inconvenient one to reach by any way that wouldn't create a big disturbance. So Rowan had had to grip the branch she was on between her calf and thigh and hang upside down to get the shot. It was definitely worth it though.

Rowan studied her camera. It was a great camera. Not necessarily one of the best, but also better than most. The only thing it didn't have that she wished for was the option to view the photos she took instantaneously. She would have to go to the school's darkroom and develop the photo before she'd know how any photo looked, and if she happened to mess up by that time it would be too late to take another. Not that she was complaining. She adored her camera.

Leaning back against the tree, she allowed the camera's strap do its job and keep the camera resting against her. It was a beautiful day. The sun - as previously noted while taking her picture - streamed through the leaves of the forest, and the weather was warm as usual. Rowan was perfectly comfortable and content here. She smiled and closed her eyes. One would think that it would be nice to enjoy such beauty, but as much as she liked it, the weather seemed perfect for napping in.

A slight breeze blew through the leaves, rustling her hair, causing it to fall into her face. She sighed and opened her eyes. She really ought to start wearing her hair up. Daring the wind to brush her hair into her face again, she brushed the strands out of her face and back behind her ear. Listening to see if another wind was coming her way and failing to detect one, she once more closed her eyes and settled back. What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

[renardrodolph]

x x

Renard breathed, catching his breath before restarting his daily jog through the woods. He inhaled deeply through his nose, enjoying the earthy smell of the forest around him. He exhaled, his lungs burning slightly from the entire run he had done up to this point. Renard wasn’t wearing his entire sports attire this day, his outfit lacking any kind of shirt, revealing his toned, skinny, and lightly tanned torso. His white t-shirt was wrapped around his waist, the shirt wet with his own sweat. The black pair of athletic shorts swung and swayed with each step he took, and what once was a nice, clean pair of white and red tennis shoes were now caked with dried mud and dirt from the night before.

Renard stopped at the base of one of the many trees that surrounded him, and leaned against it, taking another deep whiff of the air, but pausing, as he smelled something unfamiliar. He sniffed the air again, recognizing a faint, obviously human odor that he had trouble describing. He looked up into the tree, and faintly saw a girl roughly around his age resting calmly up on a high branch.

Not wanting to startle the mysterious young woman, Renard walked over to the tree across her and quickly climbed up it, as it wasn’t all that hard for him to do. After all, he had scaled much larger things than a tree. There were a numerous amount of branches for him to grab a hold of, and it only took him half a minute to get to the same level as the woman in the tree across him. Renard looped his legs around the branch, having a decent view of the woman despite all of the leaves and branches that tried to get in his way.

He immediately noticed the glint that shined off the teen’s camera lens, and quickly protected his eyes from the sunlight being reflected at him by the lens. Upon closer examination, it was quite hard to actually see the girl, her green and brown attire blending in well with the foliage on the branches and the dark brown bark. A tiny flare of light bounced off of her earrings, but barely affected Renard’s vision.

‘So, she’s just taking photos then? I wonder what she was taking a photo of…’ Renard thought to himself, chancing a glance down to the ground, only to immediately regret it, as his fear of falling quickly kicked in. He leaned against the trunk of the tree and let out quick, short breaths, closing his eyes and keeping his head up. He found that this little technique of his was very useful for calming him down, and within a minute or so, Renard sighed in relief as his fear drooped down to a more acceptable level.

He glanced at the girl lying in the tree across him, his mind racing as he tried to approach the situation. It would be incredibly rude if he were to interrupt her nap, but she probably wouldn’t like to wake up to him sitting across from her. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation, and it wasn’t like Renard was going to climb back down after seeing such a mysterious and intriguing woman. Renard eventually swallowed, exhaled deeply, and quietly called over to the girl.

“Uh…G-good afternoon,” Renard said, waving to the woman, his legs wrapped around the branch under him, securing him to it and ensuring that he wouldn’t slip and plummet to the ground below.

WC: 591

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[rowancarr]

Within moments Rowan was drifting off. She could still feel the sun warming her and the occasional breeze keeping her comfortable, but neither was she entirely conscience. Her breathing slowed to an even rhythm. This kind of sleep was always odd. She was awake enough to know where she was, but asleep enough to dream. Her dream was fairly mundane, consisting of watching students and teachers pass by from a tree nearer the school. So many people walk by without ever thinking to look up. Some of them talked of school, others of problems with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Nothing too interesting, especially considering the entire thing was a dream. Rowan tried to focus on letting herself fall farther into a real sleep.

Being so wrapped up in trying to sleep, Rowan did not notice the boy arrive. If she did hear his noise as he scrambled up a nearby tree, she must have subconsciously attributed the noise to something in her dream. Because it wasn't until the boy gasped that she became aware someone was near. Drawing herself out of sleep without opening her eyes, Rowan listened.

Just as she was about to dismiss the noise as a figment of her imagination, she heard a sigh. And the noise was definitely from tree level, not someone passing by on the ground. Now what was someone doing in the trees? It could be one of the other kids that just felt like enjoying the day from a tree. It was understandable. Rowan loved to do that all the time, after all, and could hardly blame someone for that. It did seem rather peculiar that the person would happen to pick a branch so near Rowan though. There was an entire forest just here, and a few trees closer to the school. For that reason, it seemed more likely the person had seen her. Though it seemed rather creepy that someone would climb up into a branch they saw someone on and then just sit there. Unless they had just seen her and decided they too thought it was a good place for a nap?

No matter the reason for this person's arrival, Rowan felt a slight anxiety beginning to bloom in her stomach. People did this to her. She was used to being on her own. Other people were...Other people. Foreign. Unknown.

But she still needed to address this person. Besides...She was curious as to who they were and what they were doing. It was actually slightly bothering her, not knowing. Just as she was about to open her eyes, the person - a boy - spoke.

"Uh...G-good afternoon," he said, sounding a bit timid to Rowan. She opened her eyes just soon enough to catch the end of a wave. The boy was around her age, and had obviously been jogging. He was in running clothes - black shorts, a white t-shirt around his waist, white shoes caked with mud. Not to mention the sweat that was still visible on his body. As for who he was...Well, the boy had dark brown hair that would probably fall into his eyes if he hadn't pushed it to the right of his forehead, and really dark blue eyes. She wasn't quite sure who he was, but she thought she had seen him around school. Didn't he normally wear really formal clothes? It kind of made him stand out a bit.

Looking closer, Rowan got the impression the boy wasn't entirely comfortable in trees. Where Rowan could just sit relaxing on the branch, the boy made sure that he had his legs hooked securely around the branch he was sitting on. Frankly, Rowan - as in shape as she was - would exhaust her legs if she tried sitting that for a long length of time. If the boy was nervous, why was he in the tree? She had to give him props for facing his fear though. Or for facing something that made him nervous, anyway.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something rude to make the boy go away so the sick feeling in her stomach would go away, Rowan reconsidered. This boy was ignoring the fact that he was obviously uncomfortable to sit in the tree. She could at least try to ignore her own nerves and be polite.

"Hello," she replied. "I'm Rowan."

[renardrodolph]

x x

“Y-Yeah, I remember you. You’re in my gymnastics class. I-I’m Renard,” He replied, his legs slowly parting as he started to become more comfortable. He had remembered seeing her numerous times, but Renard never really knew who she was, nor cared up till now. He was a very quiet person, not that he wanted to be. In fact, it was startling that he had even started what little conversation Rowan and he were sharing right now.

He paused, trying to think of what to say next, as he wasn’t very good at social interaction, especially with someone who he just met. Renard remembered the camera that Rowan had, the device resting in her lap, giving Renard something to talk about.

“S-so, uh, what were you taking pictures of? If you don’t mind me asking, of course,” Renard asked, quickly adding a little safety net, incase she would think that his question was rude, or if she didn’t want him to know. He could respect her decision if she didn’t want to talk to him; after all, he wasn’t the best company. Not that he was a bad kid, that wasn’t the fact at all! No, he was just very bad at speaking to others, and he certainly didn’t show any kind of contentment with this fact.

The cool breeze was refreshing to him, making him forget about the sweltering summer heat for a few moments. The shade of the tree’s leaves and branches added to this chill, and Renard couldn’t help but smile. The weather was simply wonderful now, but it was nothing like his old home. Back home, it still snowed, and Renard just felt more comfortable in the winter months, especially when snow covered the landscape. His animal side, his silver fox, was more “in tune” with the chilly season, and there was quite a bit to do outside, though most people tended to stay inside.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? E-everything is just so full of life, and yet it’s so peaceful, you know?” Renard pondered aloud, leaning back against the tree trunk, calm and comfortable now that he was unaware of his height above the ground. He would be fine, so long as he didn’t look down. Hell, he could climb a building and come right back down, so long as he didn’t need to look down to do so. It was this reason why he despised climbing down, as he would always have to look, just so that he could get a good grip on where he was going when he made his way back to the safe ground below.

WC: 493

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[rowancarr]

The boy was slowly relaxing in the tree. Rowan, so used to spending time in trees, couldn't even call it attention to detail that she could see his legs slowly releasing their grip on the branch. It was part of Rowan's survival, all important. She was attuned to it. If she shifted the wrong way, she could fall and break something. Break her head if she landed the wrong way. So the relaxation was something she noted as a matter of habit rather than close examination of the boy.

"Y-Yeah, I remember you. You’re in my gymnastics class. I-I’m Renard," the boy replied to her greeting. He was in her class? Her gaze raked him again, and a hint of recognition nagged at the back of her mind, recognition that belonged somewhere other than to the boy who dressed nicely. She did a mental scan of the people she remembered seeing in class. She didn't really pay much attention to the others in her classes, but that went double for classes she enjoyed like photography and gymnastics. She was too involved with what they were doing to pay attention to her peers. But now that she thought about it, she could match a face to a memory, and a name. He had already said his name was Renard, and she mentally supplied the last name: Rodolph. Like Rudolph. Poor kid. It was a good thing he didn't have a bunch of pimples, otherwise a bright red nose would leave him mocked mercilessly by other kids.

She shifted on the branch, moving away from the trunk, stretching out on her stomach, and resting her chin on the back of her hands facing Renard. Her legs crossed carelessly in the air behind her. This position would be impossible on a smaller branch, as it would be hard to balance. Also, frankly, it would be uncomfortable to have a smaller branch pressing into the length of her body. This branch, however, was just large enough for it.

After the short pause that spanned about the length of time it took for Rowan to shift, Renard continued. “S-so, uh, what were you taking pictures of? If you don’t mind me asking, of course." Rowan gave the question what was probably undue consideration. She was in the middle of an internal battle. A large part of her wanted to tell Renard that she was taking pictures of the world, as it was properly vague and uninformative. A smaller part of her was reminding her that she should be nice. A very small part of her. She decided on an answer that was somewhere in the middle.

"Oh...You know. The forest. What's in it." Then, the part of her ordering her to be polite not satisfied, she added, "Birds."

Renard was relaxing even more. A smile was even spreading across his face. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? E-everything is just so full of life, and yet it’s so peaceful, you know?” he mused. Rowan smiling, briefly warming with the happiness of sharing something totally beautiful with someone. He shifted, leaning back against the tree, becoming comfortable. Suddenly, the glow-y feeling turned to stone. What if he started coming around a lot? This was Rowan's place, her treetops. The smile fell from her face.

Just as Rowan opened her mouth to say something rude, the breezed picked up again briefly and blew hair into her face again.

Flicking her hair out of her face with some annoyance, Rowan closed her mouth again. Okay...So if that wasn't a sign to be nice to the kid, she didn't know what was. She reconsidered her words, and her thoughts. Letting the warm glow-y feeling of sharing beauty come back to her, she smiled slightly again.

"I know."

[renardrodolph]

x x

Renard smiled sheepishly, “Birds are cool, f-flying through the air without a care in the world. Sometimes, I wish I could just fly away, go someplace nice and cold. It would be a nice change of pace, compared to the constant heat we keep getting bombarded with, wouldn’t it?”

He noticed Rowan’s smile fade for a moment, and wondered if he had said something that the girl found to be rude. She then attempted to say something, but the breeze, blowing her hair over her face, cut her off. Thankfully, Rowan simply returned to smiling, and while the sudden mood shifts confused Renard, he was glad that she was still enjoying his company, even if it were only slightly.

Renard shuffled a little, readjusting his position on the branch so that he would be more comfortable. His right leg bent, half his right leg dangling from the branch and down to the forest floor below. Renard looked around, looking at all the other trees, each one the same species, but all of them unique, much like humans, only much less talkative.

“S-so, do you come out here often, or was this just a one time thing?” Renard asked, curious to the idea of missing the girl so many times. After all, Renard would always jog out here every afternoon. Well, that wasn’t entirely true…sometimes he’d hang out with either Shinya or Gabe, whenever they were available. Still, maybe it would be a good day today. After all, he hadn’t met a whole lot of women so far, and he didn’t really spend all that much time with any of the girls at his old school.

Renard sat silently for a few moments, lounging about on the branch, appreciating the tranquil silence that filled the forest air. Still, it would be rude if he were to let this awkward silence linger, so he took a moment to think of what the two should talk about next. He waited a few more moments, his eyes closed as he was deep in his thoughts, before reopening his eyes and asking, “Rowan…sorry to bother you further, but what do you like to do? A-aside from taking pictures and hanging out in trees, of course,”

‘Nice save, you moron, now she’s going to think you’re hitting on her…’ Renard mentally retorted, fully expecting Rowan to hit him with an insult, some well deserved sarcasm, anything other than what he was hoping for. But there wasn’t any harm in asking, was there? Renard just wanted to see if the two of them had any other hobbies.

WC: 434

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[rowancarr]

Renard seemed like a happy person. He was smiling again. But she supposed smiling was better than frowning. Smiling implied to Rowan that he actually enjoyed her company. That was new. Her mother would be proud, if Rowan mentioned it. She wouldn't mention it though. Her mother's pressure to socialize bothered Rowan.

“Birds are cool, f-flying through the air without a care in the world. Sometimes, I wish I could just fly away, go someplace nice and cold. It would be a nice change of pace, compared to the constant heat we keep getting bombarded with, wouldn’t it?” Renard commented on her picture-taking. Rowan wasn't sure that birds didn't have a care in the world. Pigeons, for example, would fly across the world to be with their mate, which was less than most people or other animals could say.
She understood what he meant though. Flying did seem like fun. It did more free and less restricted than those confined to the ground. To fly somewhere cold though? Rowan preferred the heat. She happened to think the weather on the island was perfect.

"I understand what you mean about the flying thing. I'm not sure I'd go somewhere cold though." She could explain that she liked warmth, but Renard could probably come to that conclusion on his own, and she didn't feel much like explaining herself. If he concluded that, great, if he didn't, great.

She watched Renard as he shifted again and looked around. She wondered if he was uncomfortable and so was aware of his shifts, or if he was just a person that preferred motion and so moved unconsciously. She was about to ask him when he spoke again.

“S-so, do you come out here often, or was this just a one time thing?” Rowan paused. Why did he keep asking questions? She didn't like talking about herself. Most people enjoy talking about themselves. Didn't he? Because he really should take the focus off her before her discomfort expanded to the point where she'd leave. She wouldn't enjoy it if she had to leave.

And she had another problem. She had to choose between lying and risking him coming around. She didn't particularly hold with lying, but she also didn't want to admit she could always be found here.

Then again, it was a bit narcissistic of her to assume that he would want to find her again. Especially considering that her behavior toward him had been what her mother would call "rude." Her mother, if she was here, would be pressing Rowan to speak politely - but not formally - to this boy, and - more importantly - to be conversational.

"I am in the trees almost all the time, though not necessarily this tree, or even this area. Do you spend much time in trees?" Recalling his initial discomfort, she kind of doubted it.

A silence settled between them and Renard leaned back again. Rowan studied him. He was small, but not in a scrawny way. He definitely had muscle to him. In fact, he actually had a better build than most kids his age, and not in that gross bulky way. He had, or at least he looked like he had, already recovered completely from his jog. She wondered if he jogged regularly.

Not allowing the silence to stretch out, Renard asked another question. “Rowan…sorry to bother you further, but what do you like to do? A-aside from taking pictures and hanging out in trees, of course." It occurred to Rowan that every time the boy spoke, he stuttered. Surely he wasn't nerves? She made a note to ask him.

For the second time, Rowan felt some respect grow towards the boy. He thought to mention that she might feel uncomfortable about the questions, which showed he thought about other people's feelings. He still asked the question, of course, but don't they say that it's the thought that counts? And besides, there was something about the comment "aside from taking pictures and hanging out in trees" that she found slightly humorous. She couldn't quite place a finger on what she thought was funny, but it still brought a smile to her face.

"Gymnastics. Thus taking the class." Rowan raised her eyebrows slightly, wondering how he'd take the answer. Technically he already knew the information she gave, but it was a valid answer. And she meant it more light-heartedly than she would have ten minutes ago, before he earned the respect he had.

Now it was Rowan's turn for the questions. He had been conversational about his, but Rowan was asking for curiosity's sake, and so the questions got lumped together. "Do you realize you move around a lot, changing your position and such? Do you jog regularly? Why do you stutter?" Rowan, who had the habit of looking at people and so hadn't really taken her eyes off him, briefly met his gaze, eager for the answers.