RP: Caught in the Rain

[tt_cecilia]

Date: 22. April 2002
Characters: Cecilia Proudfoot, open to Sirius Black
Setting: A cave by the coast in Australia
Content: PG
Status: Open: Private, Complete


When drunk, the water seemed warm, though now when it was running down her body, Cecilia could have sworn it was melted water from some unseen glacier. It wasn’t though; it was simply rain water that was streaming down the rocks above the cave Sirius had found for them to take shelter from the thunderstorm that had halted their progress for the day. It was a frustrating break to make, although they most likely had at least a week before they would reach the settlement, and yet, it wasn’t entirely without benefits.

Like the makeshift shower the protruding rock was turning the heavy rain into; a nice change from her daily washes in the ocean. Aside from the chill of the water, getting the salt from the sea water and her sweat rinsed off made her feel more clean than she had since the morning she had left to meet Sirius.

Picking up her discarded clothes, Cecilia washed her underwear and socks, scrubbing them against the rocks as best she could, before she rinsed off her shirt and shorts. Though dirty her shirt and shorts were only damp when she put them on, foregoing her underwear and returned to the cave. It was better than being dusty and soaked in sweat, she figured as checked their makeshift system of leaves and branches that gathered the rain and re-filled their water bottles, bringing the filled one back into the cave.

With a small smile, she sat down next Sirius and handed him the bottle before she placed her knickers, bra, socks and boots close to the fire Sirius had started, hoping they would dry sooner rather than later. Once they were dry, she could switch, wearing her underwear while her clothes dried by the fire. “How long do you think it’ll last?” she asked him, inching her feet a bit closer to the heat. Just like every other time she had gone exploring, she had brought a change of clothes, and just like all those other times, she had shrunk it to keep it from taking up precious space in her backpack… a decision she had been sorely regretting for the past week. “The rain, I mean.”

They could be a lot worse off, she knew that, and she knew that they had been living relatively well off the food they had found on their journey. But the one true comfort she had, was knowing that Jamie was taken care of, though she still missed dearly, and had felt even further away from him when she had found her battery to be completely dead this morning.

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[tt_sirius]

He nudged one of the logs deeper into the fire with the toe of his boot, causing the flames to flare and lick desperately at the sky above. There was a pile of wood just to the side, within reach, for later on, but for now, the coals were burning brightly and would radiate heat for some time into the night. For now, his pistol was tucked into his boot, but after she fell asleep, he'd put it under the backpack they were using as a pillow. So far, he'd only needed it once, to scare off a predator - a raptor type taller then himself - who had gotten curious when they'd stayed just a little too long at the last stop.

"I will," Sirius assured her, though he had no intention of waking her until he absolutely needed to. The Dementors had taken so much from him, but they couldn't take his chivalry. Of course, his level of civility was still below his great grandfathers - strange as that was to say or think about. So far, the bloke seemed all right, though he still held too much of Sirius' parents personality to make Sirius comfortable around him.

Cecilia kissed him and all thoughts of his great grandfather evaporated, though it was a brief and almost chaste kiss. Just enough to wake him up. Not that he needed the help, given how tense he was with her soft body against his. "Yes," he stammered. "warmth. Right." Sirius shifted to lie down, guiding her down beside him, though he let her move to get comfortable before curling his arm around her waist. She fit against him well, though he knew that from their time on the beach. Again, those lingering doubts of that other man rose to the surface. Did she miss him? Was she settling for Sirius now?

[tt_cecilia]

Following easily as Sirius lay down, Cecilia made herself comfortable against him. She snuck one foot under his knee to keep it warm while her boots dried out, and draped her other leg over his thigh while she snuggled against his chest. For a while, she just lay quietly, listening to his heart beat against her cheek and feeling the slow rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

Idly, her fingers caressed along his ribs as she gazed towards the opening of the cave. It felt odd laying here like this. Not wrong or bad, but odd. Odd to be this close to him and still miss him like she did. Sure, they spent all their time together, but they were still skating around whatever was keeping them apart, and all of their energy was spent on staying alive while making it back to the small slice of civilization that was being carved out at the new Settlement here on the continent.

Sighing deeply rather than yawning, Cecilia finally gave in to her drooping eyes when she let them close, and moments after she drifted off to sleep. Sirius would wake her, she knew that, though she also knew that unless it was an emergency he would wake her later than she would want him to. Someday, she hoped, she would be able to do the same thing for him.