runnin' on empty

“It’s not a bad thing at all, it means I think you’re nice. Not everyone is like that. I agree, it’s a lot easier than I thought it might be, though still different than expected. A good different. Oh, no, I don’t mind. I am, actually, so you were right. I think it would have been a bit more overwhelming though, otherwise. I haven’t even seen half of the palace yet.”

“Ha, good. I guess I just feel like it’s better to be nice than anything otherwise. But you’re nice as well, so you probably get it. I really only have where the kitchens and dining hall are under my belt. Everything else is practically a mystery. What’s the half of the palace you have seen?”

Annalise couldn’t help but giggle as the snowball hit Darcy in the chest. Covering her mouth as to muffle the sound, she peaked further around the tree. Shrieking, she ducked back behind it as he sent another snowball her way, thought it brushed her shoulder. “Darcy! That one was colder than the first!” She bent down, quickly compacting another snowball before daring to rush out behind the tree. A bit ambitious in her throw, it missed him, unfortunately. Quickly she attempted to recover, gathering more snow. 

Annalise practically stopped dead in her tracks, not having expected that response. “Really?” Her eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Maybe we’ll have to make some travel arrangements soon, then,” she teased, though she was also serious about going. Before Annalise could ask him to clarify what he meant by game, he had thrown a ball of snow at her, which burst upon impact. “Hey! What kind of game is that?” She shouted, running behind a tree to take cover. “I didn’t find that very fun…” Quickly, she mimicked Darcy’s action and threw a ball of snow back at him. “Now that… that was pretty fun.”

“I would love to see it sometime, it sounds wonderful.” Annalise was fairly confident that they would get to go to Germany together one day, and she was very excited to take Darcy to Italy as well. “Oh, it’s beautiful! Is this the only reason you brought me out here?” she teased, chuckling. “It’s a very good reason though, I must say.”

“Okay!” Annalise beamed up at him. She was more than willing to try anything at least once. Plus, if Darcy was going to teach her, she was bound to learn a bit. “Not much, no. By the mountains you can find a lot of snow in the winter, but normally there is not a lot.”

“Ice skating? I’m not sure that I do… I know how to ride a skateboard but that’s about it.” Annalise shook her head, chuckling. “I’m assuming you know how, then, yes?” It sounded fun, though seeing as how Annalise could be very clumsy, she was a bit skeptical.

“How kind of you,” Annalise laughed, pulling her coat on and sticking the gloves in her pockets. “That definitely sounds like fun.” Smiling softly, she tiptoed up to kiss Darcy quickly before putting her gloves on and wrapping her arm around his. “All right, I’m ready.”

“Is it? Oh-! It is! All right, I will grab them. Whatever plan you have up your sleeve, Darcy, you cannot keep it to yourself for long.”

Annalise bent down to pet their overexcited dog and smiled, letting him lick her hand. “That will certainly suffice, yes. Maybe I’ll bring a ball, as well, in case he wants to play.” She went to the box where they kept his toys and pulled out a ball, sticking it her pocket.

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing! He’s getting awfully rambunctious, I think it would be good for all of us!”

An alluring facade was certainly something the young witch could understand, and even so she couldn’t see the appeal. Younger generations—the so called modern era—she was sure bought into it. With brief amusement she supposed it was trans-generational considering how excited the man became upon its discovery. It was only with the mention of hunting more than a frozen treat that broke the witch’s silence.

“Well now, if you’re feeling adventurous we could hunt down a plate of fries,” Ivy said. She looked around and stepped closer, as though she were about to impart an important secret. “You know,” she whispered, “We could even hunt a hamburger. Might be awful risky.”

Here, there was little true hunting, and certainly no room for the most dangerous game. Not that the woman was a particularly adamant hunter, though she often found a rather fickle spell or blood ritual required something bigger than a rabbit or sparrow. She pulled back again and turned an expectant gaze towards him. “Or both,” she added. “I’m not particularly picky.”

Darcy chuckled awkwardly, nodding at the idea of getting fries and a burger. He had no idea who this girl was, but he didn’t hate the idea of making a new friend. “Sure, fries and a hamburger. I think that sounds like a good idea. We can go into town, if you want. I don’t know if you’ve looked around there, but it’s pretty nice.”

He wasn’t normally one to make new friends. Around new people, Darcy noticed that he wasn’t as confident as he was around Annalise or Berlioz or the rest of his family. It was just different, he supposed.

“That color… is not natural,” Ivy spoke with a selective sort of skepticism. Even so, she reached out and grasped the cup to inspect inside the lid. “It looks like something died and its soul began to ooze ectoplasm,” she concluded. The witch returned the slushee cup and gave a simple shrug of her shoulders, which masked the sudden surge of annoyance upon realizing how sticky her fingers were.

“The next time you decide to go for a frozen treat, try a malted milkshake,” Ivy suggested. “Around this time of the year I bet you could even manage a malted pumpkin spice.” Her lips quirked up about the edges and a mischievous flicker briefly lighted dark hazel eyes. “Let’s go on a hunt, shall we?”

Darcy didn’t mind her taking the cup from him, especially since he had been holding it out to her anyway. He watched as she inspected it, shrugging off her comments. “I mean, it is a crazy color. I think that’s part of the appeal, though.” At least, he liked the colors that the slushees came in, all bright and unnatural. He took the cup back from her, chuckling when she seemed a bit annoyed at the state of her fingers.

“A pumpkin milkshake? That’s something I’ve never even heard of before. I mean, I’ve had a milkshake since being here, but not a pumpkin one.” When he noticed her expression shift, he smiled nervously. “A hunt? For a pumpkin milkshake or for something else?”

“No, I don’t think I have… Germany should have them if they’re that good, though of course, I’ll have to take your word for it I guess.”

“Here, try it for yourself. You’re from Germany as well? It’s nice to meet a fellow German. I’m Darcy.”