~A Canary and a Silent Dog~ (Finished; prisoners!)

Relief glossed the lips, perking them to a simper. Mental notes were jotted down, simplistic statements for future notice, perhaps going to be forgotten or remembered. Lily made them just in-case. There, a gesture to follow suit, a blind rat to the Piper. The blond did a futile attempt to hide a grin with a finger, more of a habit than out of actual embarrassment. She stepped out with Devroux, imagining a nonexistent bread crumb path trailing after them, her trying to remember the way home.

Dense atmosphere pursued the girl of the duo. She paid no heed, however, merely keeping spirits up with the bubbling excitement - coupled alongside insecure anxiety. Upon setting foot on the spot where the first meeting took place, it had got Lily to wondering about one or two things, then putting them aside with the notion that it was not long ago that friendship manifested between such awkward souls. Keeping a silent giggle to herself, the short one waddled behind the boy to the District fence, the border between forest and District 5 habitation, a barrier stuck in the middle of nature and urbanization.

Something stirred in the heart, and Lily pounded quietly a fist at the area as Devroux widened the hole. This undetectable feeling, she did not like it; and, she scratched gently till whatever it was had settled to an emotional lull. The little lady ducked her head, cautious to receive minor scratch or hair strands caught on the metal links, then thanked the tanned being for the assistance before following in the back once more.

Nature always had this calming effect - within reason, of course. With their healthy and tough bodies, the trees were the guardians of the forest, totaling to tens upon hundreds and hard to conquer - their mortal enemy the dastardly woodpeckers or the nitty-gritty saws. They inhibited the sun some and only let sunlight speckles dot the ground, much like a old-time Christmas light show. As sandals and shoes crunched the little debris of dead leaves, Lily had made certain to watch step and not let nervousness make her go to haste. Devroux taking time to notice her position lessened the nervousness.

Arriving to the location, teal orbs blinked. A structure of some sorts against a tree, the tiny pile of wood and stones, fabric of fuzzy material wrapping unknown things, and the river - when purified, most likely - great for drinking encompassed the campsite. The mademoiselle rolled her eyes left and right, inspecting the place with the utmost curiosity, and watched as Devroux gesturing a warm invitation. Lily giggled. "Wow!" She tried to contain the maximum level of excitement and lower the voice. "You did all of this? This is amazing!"

She took a venture to the river and smiled at the blurred reflection. "I haven't been out in the forest in a while. It hasn't changed so much." Lily looked back at Devroux. "You do this every time you settle?"

Silence befell between the two. Lily curiously quickly closed and opened those lids, watching as the space expanded as Devroux walked away. Next, he scaled a tree - after stripping off certain articles of clothing and forcing a surge of embarrassment, despite earlier actions in the course of the day, to inhabit the cheeks - to a sturdy limb. Fear replaced the flush, and the young adult placed one hand over the other, clenching, brows knit. She had stolen a step forward then gaped as the tanned male leaped and took a dive to the river below. In a matter of seconds, a humongous rupture of clear, sparkling liquid exploded to the sky, trying to reach the sun, then only to fall wherever the droplets desired to be with the assistance of gravity. The seventeen-year old widened eyes and rushed to the edge. Her heart beat faster in such unhealthy rapidness.

A head poked out, and her senses were allowed to be at ease. Lily edged closer. "Devroux! You gave me such a scare! I-- Ah!" Her footing slipped with the low incline; she struggled to keep balance intact, swinging arms violently and erratically, only to land in. Her body crashed in the water, the coldness enveloping her tiny frame, and Lily furiously waved arms in attempt to swim - something she had tried to imitate from watching the Hunger Games this year - then stuck a hand out to grab a tuft of durable grass from the land to pull herself out. Gasping for life itself, the blond gripped tightly, huffing. She was shaking, little bumps forming on the arms.

Lily kept her head low, dripping and inspecting the sundress that floated to around her knees. Swallowing to ensure that her body was intact, the girl could not touch the bottom, and fingers laced around the green blades harder. The way the blond was wading was very unusual. Her eyes shook as they rolled to Devroux, brows curved up, a frown plastered on. She was a wet cat.

"This is a bit scary... um... I don't know how to swim." The sundress was getting heavily soaked, thus adding poundage to the girl to an uncomfortable weight. At times, she had to readjust her position to make certain she would keep afloat. Shifting with the grass in her hands, Lily sighed greatly. "I can't believe I'm this clumsy."

The water was naturally chilling, not at its potential freezing temperature from the glowing sun. Untainted by gritty particles or sludge, sparkles bounced off the blue surface, and the same liquid made the girl choke slightly. Lily, from crashing in, snorted some and coughed at the abrupt dryness of the throat, sniffling. The river was not that bad to take a dip in; just the sudden splash was a horrible exposure of her clumsy character. Gripping the tough bushel of grass gave her reassurance, and the blond tried to calm her ever-beating heart to a bearable slow-tempo drumming. Experiencing the first and most potent taste of Siberian aqua, it made the shivers crawl up the arms and legs.

All the while looking down at the serene liquid, she rocked back and forth a tad, going along with the flow. Ears perked to splashing as eyes spotted fading ripples slithering across the bank. Lily returned her head to normal height, then warmth grabbed a hold on her wading body, pulled out and letting droplets drip from clothes and parts. Softness of Nature's blade were welcomed to brush against the skin. The blond was embraced and looked up to a whimpering Devroux.

Laugh. "I'm okay, Devroux. Don't worry! It was just a startle, was all!" She tried to smile cheerily and instilled of relieved joy. "It was good that I grabbed onto some grass." Her head tilted downwards at the dripping sandals. "I haven't seen any pools or anything of the sort in District 5. Don't remember if I have seen all of the town and its wonders."

Lily hugged Devroux back. "Thank you for taking me out of the water." Shiver. "Everything is soaking wet... Ohhh. It might be a while until they're dry again." She snuggled to fix her sitting position. "And if we try to go back to District 5, they might wonder where I was. That wouldn't be good."

With no physical witness to make account of the event, only the two beings sitting together in the lofty grass, gifting one another with warmth, the affection between bodies touching each other. Drenched to the point the sundress was sticking to her skin, Lily felt a bit hot in the face as their chests rubbed. They were dripping wet, but the embrace was nice, nowhere near warming enough to dry themselves off. It was a security blanket coating cheer for her. Feeling Devroux's back with the tips of her fingers, the girl felt the texture of rough welcoming, and smiled. Even tracing a bit along the small of his back was pleasurable.

She was sitting there, wrapped in the heat, almost about to share words from her head; she stopped, however, when Devroux lowered his head. A little spot of intensity centered between the neck and collarbone, and Lily blinked. The seventeen-year old had her chin on his head, batting eyes rapidly. Knowing not the intention and seeing not his eyes, she slightly blushed to a tinged crimson, in the cheeks. The blond could only hope his head and heart were pure, laughing nervously mentally to herself, a simper creased by her lips. The heart was beating a bit slower, but she could not detect that slow tempo drumming within, finding this position a tad funny in her honest opinion.

After saying about if anything would happen if they tried to return to District 5 like the two had not broken one of many laws - perhaps two with her getting pretty close to a muted ex-rebel of the rules - Lily watched as the tanned boy's head rose to go eye-to-eye with her. She tilted her head to the right a small degree, frowning, trying to figure out his expression. It seemed askew, a mixture between confusion and maybe even terror. Time passed, however, and he relaxed the face, forcing her to blink more in utter puzzlement. "What's the matter, Devroux?

The sun rays prickled against the skin, raising hairs to normalcy. If they stayed longer in Nature's radiance, the droplets would shrink away to the weightless oblivion known as 'air'. The clothing would take much more minutes and hours - especially since they could not strip off the articles to dry faster - but the duo would have to make do, supposedly. Making the observation, Lily said, "Would it be best to try drying just laying together in the sun? I wouldn't want you to start a fire and have wasted the effort if we could let Nature do its thing." She said her comments with a positive smile, lacing words with truth. "So what will we do? What activities shall we do?"

Lily lost sense of peripheral vision, shutting the world little by little to makeshift darkness, curving the smile still. Eyebrows raised, relaxed fingers, the blond was in her own universe of self-made peace. She thought more on the two subjects; though still painful and full of doubt, she sensed the presence of relief. A new foundation, the girl tried to expound upon this, figure out the source, and found naught. The glint of hope in the chaos of emotions seemingly disappeared, and she blinked away apparent confusion and sadness. One possible truth slipped out of her grasp, and she would have to try again some other time. If only things were as simple as the grass...

Starting to drift to sleep, she was startled by the sudden familiar warmth glossing her lips. Orbs widened, brows knit, violation, uncertain pleasure. A hand went to attempt to gently push the boy, to break off the connection between their mouths, yet it stopped as his own softly traced down her arm and brushed up. With this touch, it expelled the heart's malaise - for the most part. She was still puzzled with what her emotions dictated, any great desires or repulsions she might have mustered as Devroux intruded on personal space. By the time he rounded the scapula and headed south rubbing the abdomen, the French descendant finally gathered she was stuck between hard places; no time, no decision.

In these actions, Lily figured out her problem. Figuratively, the world had turned slowly as she allowed whatever happened happen. Her heart had gone numb; it could not distinguish if the experience was painful or enjoyable. All eye focus had concentrated into one location and a single procedure; yet, the mind had departed elsewhere. Recollection of a past dream came back to her in a burst.

---

Bleating. Something was 'baaa'ing during the course of the rainstorm. It was a silent beast, providing a downpour not particularly heavy but still drenching the globe into a water park. A lot of the town's population headed inside in their abodes, cuddling each other in the comfort of blankets and sheets. Darkness, grayness, everywhere the environment had gone multiple shades of black and supposed depression. Once a cheery playground in the sunlight was now a representation of a shut-down carnival: all joy dissipated and left the heart empty. The whole city was covered in saddened clouds, which spread to even the city limits. The coldness was invited; and, even in the midst of figurative melancholy was the instillation of hope in each clear drop.

A blond girl of seventeen years of age slipped out of a mansion and opened up a see-through, brown umbrella, the single radiance of cheer for the town manifested in her smile. As while most did not enjoy the blessings of Nature's tears, she ravished it, loving to walk around as the rain splashed on the ground and hailed against the protection she carried around. With a grin plastered on, the pre-adult walked, in true happiness.

She made a mental map for the town playground. Many people missing off the streets, the young lady was relieved, softly giggling. Puddles formed, trees shook away the liquid sadness, and everything else was left to endure the watery onslaught. Some children played around, jumping in the small pools with two booted feet; a few actually shared the blond's pleasure by standing around in the rain, laughing, exposing toothy smiles. The girl continued to venture forth to the playground without much care, eyes set and determination full.

The trip successful, the blond immediately noticed an animal on the bench, tilting her head. Woolly, horned, short legs in comparison to its puffed body, she identified it correctly as a sheep. A black sheep, bleating and crying. With no reason, she went to approach the creature, and it had jumped away - as though sensing her with unknown eyes - and scurried off into a nearby forest. She was Alice and the White Rabbit: after taking in a dead fox laying in front of the bench the sheep previously occupied, the girl darted off after the black wool.

Rain slithered down the umbrella as she rushed, calling out for the animal. Heavy guilt entered her heart as teal eyes laid upon the blackened woods, charred, color eaten. The mademoiselle slowed her pace then espied a fox. Its eyes glared at her, and the animal itself was snarling, baring teeth and positioned as though to fight. Confusion slid off her face as the girl saw a sheep disguise to the side, an open zipper giving it away. The blond only turned in time to see teeth aim for her neck; the last thing her ears could pick up: a bark of rage.

---

Grass shifted with weight lightened. Lily sat up and looked around, proceeding to steal a glance to the skies. Judging by the same colors, not much time had passed; true darkness had yet to come. The blond placed hands on her lap, replacing previous happiness with prominent void of emotion. The levels of negativity and positivity were balanced; and, surely, she agreed she felt just fine. Beginning to ponder over past actions, the girl sat there and took solace in staring at the ground.

Fingers ran up to Lily's stomach and pressed gently down. Now thinking further about the situation, a little bit of panic came on. She could only be a bit nervously excited, however, given the past situation. Allowing Devroux to do any action he desired, the blond constantly reminded herself. Knowledge of having to deal with consequences was well-kept, and the girl bitterly smiled to the notion. There was no belief that the Avox had done such procedures as abuse or to torture her in some way, per say; after all, she had high hope that they were and would remain friends.

Despite what would happen.

Concentrating too deeply into the earth blocked out sounds being picked up; however, Lily still took a glance at Devroux, pressing the stomach a bit more. Noting that he was looking away from her, she averted gaze to the ground once more. Hands went back to the lap, one on top of the other. Her heart drummed slower and quieter, almost to a deathly stop. Heat drained from the face, and awkwardness forced the girl to fidget slightly. Mouth a neutral position and brows normal, she was, more or less, contemplating the experience.

Thinking back on something, Lily tried to smile even a small, grim one, then turned face to Devroux once again. The time had been long, but she finally figured out the reason for pain. Biting the bottom lip with softness, the blond sometimes dropped glances and returned looks to the boy. The cheer disappeared, replaced only with anxiety. Some conscious told her to go on, to say what needed to be said, yet she was the small, shaky child on a performance stage, turning orbs away and wanting to be out of the situation currently in.

After the mouth opened and closed many a time, the blond said, "Devroux... I know why now I was... in pain." Shrinking by dipping the head lower, she continued, "If I try anything, I don't want to lose you as a friend. I... If we become more than friends, I'm afraid of... you leaving me. I... didn't want you to... um... I-I mean, I still don't know if I like you in that way; and, now, we... I allowed..." Deep breath. A pause of few seconds. "I allowed you to do that, yet I still don't know if I have feelings."

Gulp. "Afraid to reject and maybe lose you, I believe. As friends, even. And now that that's over... we might have done a big mistake." Another gulp. "I'm very sorry, Devroux. We-- I might have allowed something to force us together or apart. All because I don't know what I'm feeling. It's terrible."

A feeble grin came on. Then a simper formed. "Um... this..." A hand patted the abdomen tenderly. "I realize that if it happens... it'll be just the same as me. Isn't that... um... ironic? Hehe." Lily tried to laugh past the awkwardness with true happiness.