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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 20, 2008 0:27:20 GMT -5
With her hair flying out behind her like some kind of French banner, it was hard to see much of anything, let alone the branch. He jerked in surprise, and on instinct, the branch turned to char, and his head hit nothing more than soft, black wood, but he'd thrown his hands up anyway to protect himself and consequently lost his balance and tumbled off the motorcycle.
They had gained pretty decent speed, and he hit the ground hard, rolling like a rag doll for several yards before stopping. On his back, he groaned, and half-heartedly twitched his leg and arm muscles to make sure they still worked. He pressed his lips together, seething, an a vague wave of steam seemed to emit off his body.
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Post by Jules on Oct 20, 2008 16:26:16 GMT -5
If the warmth of Alexander had gone unnoticed, the lack of it did not. She turned the bike on a dime, again coming so close to tipping over she was sure her leg grazed the ground. Letting it come to an abrupt halt a safe distance away, Marie fumbled with the kickstand. In her hurry and frustration it took her longer then it would've if she'd just calmed down. He was never going to teach her now! Or forgive her! ......and he might be seriously injured too!
She ran over to his side, completely at a loss for what to do. Slipping out of her smooth leather jacket, she propped it under his head as a pillow and watched his face anxiously.
"Je m'excuse! J'ai na pas voire l'arbre, euhhh, sa vous dire que je la vue mais pas en temps de te dire."
Once she realized she'd slipped into french she fluttered her hands around uselessly and began border on hyperventilation.
"Sacre bleu."
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 20, 2008 21:45:15 GMT -5
He glared at her, grimacing with one eye squeezed shut, rubbing his head with his fingers. "What are you rambling about?" he grumbled, certain the bump on his head was growing larger with her panicked french.
With a carefully positioned elbow, he managed to hoist himself semi-upright. "Aahh..." Several things cracked. "Ow." He glanced at her again from the corner of his eye. "Nice driving, by the way."
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Post by Jules on Oct 20, 2008 21:56:59 GMT -5
His anger did nothing to calm her and she continue spilling French. "C'etais pas ma faute!" She was still shaking her hands about nervously, making them look like helicopter blades about to take off. When he hoisted himself up, well, that really hadn't sounded healthy and she looked even more pained. If this was how her apologies turned out, she'd save people from them in future.
"Okay, c'etais ma faute, mais je ne voulais pas que tu le rendrais mal." She finally slowed her turbine-hands and touched them to his face as if to make sure it wasn't going to shatter. "Est-que quel'que chose est brisee?"
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 20, 2008 22:11:33 GMT -5
He squinted at her, trying to understand even one word, but unlike Armand and Genn, his name wasn't French, and unlike them, he barely knew how to say 'Bonjour, thank you for the kissing style'.
Well, whatever she was saying, she was clearly distressed. The fingers on his cheeks trembled.
"Marie," he said slowly, pointedly. "I have no idea what you're saying to me."
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Post by Jules on Oct 20, 2008 22:17:22 GMT -5
Marie stared at him for a moment, confused and then remembered; not everyone spoke the language. She took a deep breath, or as much of one as she could manage and tried to tell if anything was bent in ways it shouldn't be. Her hands began fluttering like nervous hummingbirds again.
"Excuse! I forget zat you cannot understand...Est'ce---are you okay? Anyzing brise-broken?"
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 20, 2008 22:24:00 GMT -5
He sighed, rolling a shoulder and wincing at the jab of pain that shot up his arm. Ignoring the throbbing, he flexed and extended his elbow, and rotated his wrist. Nothing broken then, but he would definitely be sore.
"Nah," he said. "I'll be fine." He smirked. "Though I'm beginning to wonder if you're worth the effort."
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Post by Jules on Oct 21, 2008 2:34:37 GMT -5
The wince of pain had her hands descending on his face, hair and shoulders again, fluttering there uselessly. Marie actually had no idea how to be useful in a situation like this, so she was a little bit panicked. Besides, he was probably majorly pissed. Her face crumpled a little.
"Non! I am---si vous plait, c'etait une-----sorry----please, it waz an accident. Won't 'appen again."
Waaaitaminute. What had gotten into her? Was she actually being genuinely concerned about his well being? What was that all about? Marie stared at him for a moment before offering him some of the champagne she'd brought along.
"Nozing funny about it, I promise." She added....meekly? Odd.
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 21, 2008 23:12:07 GMT -5
He raised an eyebrow, more mystified by her behavior than she was. He grabbed both of her flailing hands, and brought them down. "Relax," he said, almost laughing.
For better or worse, her panic and obvious concern for his well being had more or less quieted his anger. When he popped the top off the champagne bottle, he offered it to her first, figuring she needed it more.
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Post by Jules on Oct 22, 2008 7:02:13 GMT -5
Marie didn't really want the champagne, but after everything she figured if she didn't drink it, he wouldn't either and so she took a ready sip that left her coughing and trying really hard to reign it in. Coughing often had the adverse affect of knocking off her head. She handed the bottle back to him quickly, not checking if he had a good hold on it before putting both hands around her neck.
"You can drive us back, if you want." She figured the lesson was pretty much over, which meant she was going to have to learn on her own, which meant she was probably going to loose her head a few times. Marie looked forlornly back at her bike, maybe she should just return it.
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 22, 2008 14:53:04 GMT -5
He took a considerably larger swallow than she did and replaced the cork. He eased himself onto his feet, carefully enough, the pain really wasn't as bad as he expected.
"Oh no you don't," he said, twisting his torso experimentally. "Fall off and ride the horse again, or whatever. You're driving. And we're not going home yet."
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Post by Jules on Oct 22, 2008 15:09:37 GMT -5
Marie stood and shrugged her shoulders, it was what she wanted so she wasn't going to argue, but it was his own fault if he got hurt again. "Your funeral." She muttered as she turned back to the bike, her hair shortening to a cute little bob to prevent the same thing from happening.
Which didn't mean something else couldn't happen. She slid back onto the motorcycle gingerly, like she was the one who'd been thrown off of it and waited for him before starting the engine.
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 22, 2008 15:40:26 GMT -5
"Don't be so morbid." He patted her head and slid on behind her, securing his hands on her waist again. "Let's see if you learned anything."
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Post by Jules on Oct 22, 2008 16:39:48 GMT -5
Marie sighed and turned key, kicked up the stand and pulled back on the accelerator, directing them back onto the rural road. Once she realized she'd done all that without kicking him, shooting forward and almost falling off OR tilting the bike over violently, she turned and smiled broadly at him. For a moment forgetting the most important rule ("eyes on the road"), she said "HEY! I am not keeling anyone!"
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Post by Miss Jack on Oct 22, 2008 17:38:55 GMT -5
He reached up and squeezed her shoulder in approval; she was a quick learner.
He shot a quick look over her shoulder to make sure they weren't about to collide with anything. "Not yet," he snapped, grabbing her face and turning it back in the direction of the road. "Watch the road."
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