Tumble and Fall

[Persephone Marston]

It was a beautiful day in the early Spring; the weather was beautifully warm, the sun was shining, and the leaves of the old willow tree were bright and fresh. Everything was bursting with life and energy--including Persephone Marston. Desperate to be out in the fresh air, she'd gotten her chores done as quickly as possible, then took her book and vanished out onto the farm before anyone could ask her to do anything else. 

Of course, she'd be easy to find if anyone really needed her: she was exactly where she always went when she needed a good place to read. Or at least, almost exactly... She'd been sitting at the base of the tree, for a little while, but the sun looked so beautiful as it shone through the leaves like a stained glass window, she'd decided she needed to get a better look. She tucked her book under her chin as she pulled herself up onto the first branch, the one they'd used since they were kids, then had to move it to one hand, then the other, as she climbed a little higher. This seemed more difficult than she remembered. Maybe it was because she was only using one hand? Or perhaps she was out of practice. 

She'd almost made it to her old favorite spot when a bird flew out of a hollow in the trunk and startled her. She stepped backward and managed to catch herself against a branch, but she dropped her book. Without thinking she tried to grab it--and wound up tumbling forward as the branch she'd been holding onto snapped. She screamed. 

Thankfully, she didn't make it far--her stomach hit a wide branch that was sturdy enough to catch her, although it also knocked the wind out of her with a whoosh. She might have slid off it and kept falling, too--but her ankle was wedged in the Y of another branch, a little higher up. She tried to wiggle it free, to no avail. She was stuck. 

"Oh mother puss buckets," she complained, looking balefully down at her book where it had fallen open on the ground. "All I wanted to do was read in the tree..." 

(for August Keller)

[August Keller]

It was a beautiful day indeed, and August had been up early to get his own chores around the farm done. With the Winter finally letting up, there was going to be plenty to do around here in the upcoming season and he always looked forward to it. Keeping busy kept his mind busy. It kept it from wandering where it shouldn't. Being out on the farm also reminded him that he wasn't entirely alone...even if that small house was a constant reminder at the end of the day.

Funny how these thoughts plagued him when he was so often quiet and reserved. He told himself that he liked the quiet and didn't mind being alone.

Speaking of peace and quiet...as August was pushing the wheelbarrow across the yard, that scream immediately broke the early afternoon silence, startling him into losing his grip. What on earth was that?! Slight panic began to set in, and he knew it came from somewhere nearby. Was it Octavia? Persephone? Were they in trouble?

August rushed off in a hurry, trying to pinpoint where it had come from before he was approaching that particular tree. He immediately noticed the discarded book, looking around for its owner before those bright eyes happened to lift up towards the branches to find the girl there.

"Oh..." Was he seeing things? Did she mean to be up in the tree like that for some very strange reason? No, of course not, you idiot. "Oh my, um...are you alright?"

[Persephone Marston]

She couldn't decide if she was glad to hear someone coming or horrified. Maybe both. She was going to need help getting down, obviously, but she wasn't eager to be seen like this. Hopefully it was Lassie. He'd laugh, probably, but she knew he'd help her down right away. And really, she'd laugh if it were Tavi caught up a tree. So she couldn't hold it against him.

No such luck. It was August. Persephone winced when she saw her brother's very best friend for as long as she could remember coming into view. She stayed quiet while he picked up her book, silently willing him to shrug and walk away. It wasn't that she didn't like August or thought he would be mean--actually, he was probably the one person who wouldn't laugh at her for what had happened. It was just that he wasn't one of her siblings, and he was sweet, and he had a really good smile, and she would very much like for anyone who met all those criteria to not see her dangling from a tree branch like laundry hung out to dry. But somehow the universe had conspired to make the one person always on the farm who wasn't a flaxen-haired Marston, the person to find her.

Her cheeks were red from more than just the blood rushing to her head, but she did her best to smile like everything was just peachy.

"Oh, hullo, August! I'm fine! Totally fine! It's just that I was trying to sit up here in the tree, to read my book, you know? And a bird flew at my face, so I dropped my book, and then I tried to catch my book, and my handhold snapped, and now I'm stuck." She listed off the problem in a sing-song tone gesturing with her hands as she spoke. "See my ankle? It's caught. I can't get it loose. So if you could be a dear and get Atlas or something, I'd very much appreciate it. I don't want to stop you from doing whatever you were doing or anything."

She was rambling and she knew it, but somehow that still seemed better than just asking him to climb up the tree and help her out. She wasn't his problem, so to speak, since he wasn't one of her brothers.

[August Keller]

"Oh." Didn't he know other words? "I see..." No, he was still trying to figure out how she managed to get into this predicament. Something about a bird and he had this incredible urge to laugh. Not necessarily at her, but more for the fact that her explanation sounded like it came straight off a page of one of her storybooks. If he didn't actually see her there, stuck as she was, August might not have believed her!

Blue eyes blinked as they continued to watch her, listening to her further ramble before his attention lowered to look around them. In all honesty, he didn't know where Atlas was or how long it would take to find him or someone else. Surely he could help her? "I'm sorry, but...that doesn't look very comfortable-" he began to explain, looking back up to her. "And I can't very well leave you hanging there while I fetch someone else." It was rude, he was certain, and he was quite capable of helping. Hopefully. He couldn't remember the last time he actually climbed a tree.

Gently tossing her book aside, he drew in a deep breath before seeking out the lowest branch to pull himself up onto. August suddenly recalled not liking heights very much, but this shouldn't be too terrible. She wasn't that high up, right? Climbing up onto another branch, then another, he paused to look down. "It's...not too high..." he mumbled to himself reassuringly as he traveled his way closer to her, gripping tightly to the trunk of the tree with one arm.

"So...I don't like heights, apparently," he admitted sheepishly. A shy smile fell across his face and his nails dug into the bark. Some hero he was. If he didn't budge, they would both need someone to rescue them. "Are you hanging on? I'm...I'm going to try and pry you loose..." And not fall to my doom in the process. Nearly rolling his eyes at himself, August reached over to carefully try and free her ankle from the branch.

[Persephone Marston]

Persephone's eyes widened in dismay when he said that he couldn't just leave her hanging there. Oh, why couldn't he? This was embarrassing enough already. She almost wished she'd fallen all the way out of the tree--at least then she'd be safely on the ground, and even if she'd broken her arm or something, she could have gotten back to the house on her own. But... she watched nervously as August hoisted himself into the tree.

"So...I don't like heights, apparently," he confessed, and she nearly forgot to be embarrassed. He was afraid of heights? Then what on earth was he doing up in a tree trying to help her hopeless self get down? She wasn't sure if that was very brave, or absolutely stupid. Maybe both. But overall, it was extremely sweet of him.

"August!" she exclaimed, craning her head to look at him since she couldn't fully turn. "Are you sure you're alright? You don't have to..." but she could already feel his hand on her ankle, so she clammed up and turned her attention back to the branch she was hanging from, making sure she was ready for the rest of her weight to drop.

"Ok, I'm ready..." August had to lift her ankle upward to get it past a knot, then push it to the wider part of the Y, which she hadn't thought to do--she'd been pulling and twisting it, which had only succeeded in scraping up the skin there. But, he did get it free, and her legs quickly swung down and nearly yanked her loose from the branch.

"Oop!" she squeaked, managing to catch herself. She glanced down at the ground and took a deep breath before she let go, dropping to the ground. She remembered not to lock her knees, but she still wound up falling on her butt in a heap. She wasn't hurt, though, just surprised, and she wound up laughing breathlessly before she looked up at August again.

"Alright! Your turn to hop down, now," she called encouragingly, heedless of how goofy she must look with her hair flung all over and her legs folded out on either side of her in a W. She'd completely forgotten to be upset, now, because she was far more worried about August and his fear of heights than her own silliness. "Do you need a hand?"

[August Keller]

He was afraid of heights. How was that something someone forgot? Well, for one, August certainly didn't climb trees very often. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he ever had- he must have been very young. Even still, he wasn't going to leave her stuck up there in that very strange way, and this was the least he could do.

It wasn't that high up...just high enough to make him almost lost his balance when he looked down. Almost.

When she was prepared, he managed to get her ankle unstuck from the branches before he was watching in near horror as he thought she was going to literally fall the rest of the way. Persephone dropped, collapsing to the ground and he gasped lightly. "Are you alright?" He'd never forgive himself if he was further cause for her hurting herself. However, her laughter seemed to make it clear that she was quite fine. Well, that was a relief at least!

'Alright! Your turn to hop down, now.' "Right...this isn't too bad...I can do this..." he was muttering to himself like an idiot as he tried to slowly navigate down from the branches. When she asked if he needed help, he made the mistake of looking down at her lovely face while he tried to lower himself to a branch below...and completely missed it.

Slipping, August couldn't grab hold of the branch in front of him as he began to fall, so he went crashing to the ground where the wind knocked out of his lungs. It hadn't been terribly high, fortunately, but his landing was still very uncomfortable, leaving him slightly wheezing. As if his confession to being afraid of heights wasn't embarrassing enough. Now there was this. Persephone needn't worry, August already forgot her crazy predicament from just moments ago.

[Persephone Marston]

At first, she thought he was talking to her, but it became evident he was encouraging himself. Cute… She couldn’t help a soft laugh as she watched him cautiously make his way down from the tree. It wasn’t that she was laughing at him in an unkind way…more that kind of laugh reserved for cute babies and animals. He was just so sweet, she couldn’t help it.

Persephone’s grin vanished, however, as she watched August’s foot slip. She tried to scramble to her feet to catch him (that wasn’t her smartest plan, most likely she wouldn't have done much but break his fall–it was a kind thought, at least) but she got tangled in her skirt and only made it about a foot before she was slamming back down on her hands and knees. At about the same time, August hit the ground with a thud and a small cloud of dust. Persephone winced.

Unconcerned about the state of her clothes, she crawled over to his side and peered down at him. He appeared to be in one piece, although he’d probably had the wind knocked right out of him. Persephone leaned over him, and on her hands and knees, she was so close that the ends of her hair brushed against his forehead. Her cheeks were flushed bright red in her guilt, and concern was written all over her face. Leave it to her to start a chain of events that ended with her brother’s best friend on the ground bruised and possibly bleeding. She desperately hoped he was alright. She didn’t think he’d be angry with her, but oh, perhaps he ought to be!

“I’m so sorry, this is all my fault. Are you hurt, August?”

[August Keller]

Well, he was probably going to have a bruise later- he could feel the small rock embedded into the left side of his back. Oh, this was so very embarrassing, and a part of him wondered that if he just laid there in silence, he could wish it all away. August gazed up towards the bright blue sky between the branches of the tree and willed this unfortunate accident to magically just vanish while heaving heavy breaths and drawing air back into his lungs.

Suddenly, the sun disappeared. Persephone's looming shadow was cast over him as she looked down to him in concern. Those bright eyes of his were no longer squinting, finding his breath again within a few seconds. He was still afraid to move, though; strangely for a few obvious reasons now. He was able to move his limbs, so he could certainly move, but the gentle brushing of that blonde hair against his skin brought him pause.

The worry on her face was what made him finally respond as a hand rose up to idly brush those flaxen locks away, feeling the softness between his fingers. "Just my pride," he said to her question, voice raspy and quiet while he chuckled lowly. This was definitely going to hurt in the morning. "It's not your fault, miss. Just...do me a favor?" Taking a second, August tried to sit up onto his elbows. "Don't tell your brother?"

[Persephone Marston]

Persephone's heart twinged strangely in her chest as August chuckled and brushed her hair out of his face. Something in the back of her mind urged her to lean closer, making a confused look drift across her face for a moment. Sure she'd always thought that August had beautiful eyes and a good smil--since they were little, even--but she'd never felt anything like that about him before. Maybe she'd been reading too many romance novels.

He started to sit up, and she quickly sat back onto her heels to give him space, even as a rosy blush cropped up on her cheeks. Goodness, she hoped he didn't have any inkling where her mind had run off to. It was positively silly for her to be getting carried away with fancies like that. His 'favor' soon distracted her, though, and had her laughing again, one hand up to cover her mouth politely.

"Gosh, I thought you were going to ask something harder than that, August! I won't tell him about this part if you don't tell him I was stuck in the first place. I'd never live it down!" Her smile turned sly for a moment, and she crossed her arms over her chest. "And I'm sure we've talked about this before. You don't have to call me Miss. Call me Perci! We've only known each other forever, you've certainly earned the right by now if you didn't have it in the first place."

She was no lady, after all, just a farm girl! Just because this was her parents' land didn't make her any better than anyone else around here.

[August Keller]

It was more than silly, that inkling. And truth be told, it had been a flicker in his own mind a moment ago which was now completely confused. For now, he could at least blame it on the fall, which had certainly jostled his brain a bit. It wasn't that he never thought any Marston woman was beautiful, but it was always done innocently and silently. It never lingered or made him question his sanity.

Even as he managed to sit up on his elbows, he groaned in discomfort before reaching a hand behind him to find the small stone he had seemed to land on. He grimaced as he looked at it before tossing it aside. Embarrassing, indeed. Maybe it was enough for him to not notice the heat in her cheeks, or he was purposely ignoring it. Somehow.

Her laugh garnered his attention, and he forced himself to sit upright; hand filtering up to try and pluck leaves from his dark hair. "It's a deal then, Miss," he promised her in soft amusement. Atlas really didn't need to know about any of this because neither of them would live it down. And although her brother was possibly his best friend in the entire world, he could keep this one, little secret from him.

Then, Persephone was softly berating him for his lack of using her name. She had, in fact, told him on numerous occasions to not call her "Miss", and it was probably silly of him to continue to do so. He'd been around the Marstons for almost as long as he could remember- he was no stranger to them, nor were they strangers to him. He loved them all dearly.

Yet, for some reason, calling her by a nickname seemed strangely more intimate. Maybe he knocked his head harder than he thought.

"You're right. I'm sorry...Persephone." Well, hey, that was a start at least, right? Absently, he reached over for her discarded book with mild curiosity, wondering what she had been reading and why she saw it fit to be up in that tree to do so.

[Persephone Marston]

Persephone made a face at being called by her full name instead of her nickname. That was definitely cheating. But she'd get him eventually. "Good enough…for now."

When he reached for her book, her smile vanished. All of a sudden she felt like she wanted to hide it. It was no secret that she loved romance novels--she'd gleefully proclaimed to most of her family that she'd read any love story she could get her hands on--but when it was August… Well, she found herself embarrassed by something that normally wasn't a problem. He had to have noticed that she was always toting around some book or another, but seeing as no one ever really asked her about them, she hadn't gone around telling them all the lurid details.

Worse, this one was a little more adult than the ones she usually went for, which meant if he flipped to the wrong page, it could end with him reading something pretty steamy. She barely kept herself from snatching it out of his hand and forced herself to just hold out her hand for him to pass it, instead.

"O-oh, um, you probably won't find that very interesting. It's only a silly romance novel. I know maybe I ought to be reading something more educational but… Well, I'm a bleeding heart, I suppose. I've got a weakness for that kind of thing." She was rambling again, saying far more than she needed to. She could easily have just asked him to pass it to her, and he never would have known better. But it was too late--the whirlwind of words had been unleashed, and now she'd have to deal with the consequences.

[August Keller]

Maybe using her full first name was cheating, but not to him. Just calling her by that was a challenge for him- which was strange, considering he called Atlas by his without issue. But he grew up with him in a different sense, he was August's best friend. As much as he knew Persephone...he also didn't.

And he was about to realize just how much he didn't.

He knew of her fondness for books. In truth, it was strange to see Persephone without a storybook of some sort, and he had realized awhile back that she loved the romantic tales. Normally, he didn't read such things but he wasn't against those stories either...so, right now, his curiosity got the best of him. He didn't think she'd mind, and if anything, August expected her to start explaining what the book was about. Not try to deter him from glancing through it.

Maybe it was because he hung around Atlas too much, but that made him want to know what it was about even more. That was wrong, wasn't it? Yet, he couldn't hide the curiosity, and she was thus far rather amusing and pleasant company. Maybe it was an excuse to sit there for even a minute longer.

Those bright eyes glanced to her outstretched hand as his brow rose in question. 'I've got a weakness for that kind of thing.' "Nothing wrong with that," he told her lightly, but no, he wasn't handing the book back over. August was opening it to her bookmarked page to quickly flicker eyes across the printed words...and a part of him wish he hadn't.

"...oh." The single word slipped from his tongue before he could stop it, and he felt his own cheeks flush. Romantic novel, indeed...just a bit more than what he was expecting. A lot more. "Oh, I'm-" Okay, August, you can speak words, right? His lips pressed into a firm line, a look of confusion crossing his features before he couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from his chest. "I'm sorry, I...didn't mean to..." He just stopped talking before closing the book to hand it over to her, unable to meet her eyes. "Here, this is yours."

Wow.

[Persephone Marston]

"No, really I--" Persephone reached further for the novel. But it was too late.

She could actually see his good opinion of her being shattered. In her imagination, she could even hear the delicate thing breaking. Gosh, he probably thought of her as the sweet little sister, pure as freshly fallen snow, and if he'd opened to what she was pretty sure she'd stopped at...well. He'd definitely never see her that way ever again. Her face burned bright red as she accepted it back from him, and she looked down at the traitorous book rather than at his face. She couldn't decide if laughing was better or worse than telling her she needed to get her mind out of the gutter. Maybe better? At least it didn't seem like he thought she was gross, or something.

"I tried to warn you," she reminded him petulantly, although it wasn't as if being pouty about it was going to solve any of her problems. "I don't usually get this kind of thing, but…" she fell silent, realizing there really wasn't an excuse that was going to make it any less mortifying.

A-anyway,"she began, clambering awkwardly to her feet and dusting off her skirts. "Thank you for getting me loose. I'd have been up there for hours and hours if you hadn't found me." She smiled softly down at him, although she still hadn't fully recovered from her blush. "Sorry if I've scarred you for life, August!"

She gave a quick wave, then turned on her heel and ran with her skirts and hair billowing out behind her as she fled the scene.

Ooh, forget being stuck in a tree, she'd never live this down!

[August Keller]

August wasn't really sure what to think about this whole situation. He should have just handed that book back as she reached for it instead of letting his curiosity get the best of him. This was embarrassing, and clearly far more embarrassing for Persephone. For once, he didn't know what to say to ease the strange new tension in the air between them.

He thought she was this sweet, innocent, young thing...and wasn't she still? But, the words he had read, the way her cheeks burned, he was struggling to figure out if his original thoughts still applied. It wasn't wrong, persay, it was just all out of left field and took him off guard. It was awkward now, and neither of them could ignore that fact.

Sitting there, the farmhand's lips pressed together tightly because he wasn't sure if he should laugh or not. He was completely confused now! Even while she stammered on trying to explain, trying to speak when she really didn't have to. August was a little slow to realize that she was climbing to her feet, finally turning his gaze back to her as she was rushing away in a hurry, apologizing for scarring him for life. That was when he finally laughed, shaking his head in slight disbelief.

"You're welcome...Perci," he said to himself, considering she was already far gone.

[ end scene ]