Neverwinter Forest never thought i could miss you around here

@Simmik
edit: she gets his 100!

mathieu had been allowed some time to process everything. queenie's legacy didn't stop with just him and yves; he had a brother, two sisters, and however many nieces and nephews mal had managed to create. there was family out here, family uncorrupted by the consortium. 

but was that a good thing? mal had kids, and he was queenie's kid, so he probably carried the same questionable genes as everyone else. how long would it be until he showed his true colors? was mathieu on that timer, too?

he had a lot to think about. mathieu walked beside the border, brow folded tightly together as he stared blankly into the world.

congrats! <3

She hadn't exactly been avoiding Matty since the while confusing kiss thing, but she hadn't really been around much either. She pretended that it was because she wanted to explore as much of the glacier as possible; it did share their northwest border, so it was kind of about that. But it was mostly about avoiding an awkward run in with Matty.

She was just crossing back over the borders when she saw him. She froze for a few seconds, wondering if she might he able to turn around and leave before he saw her. But if he did see her, then he would know something was up. She hated playing these dumb games. So why was she considering running away? It was stupid. Deciding to get over herself, she trotted forward, slowing once she was close. Hey, Matty, she said quietly. He looked deep in thought, and she wondered what about. Questions would have to wait, though, because she had no idea how awkward this was going to be.

mathieu hadn't been expecting company, and he definitely wasn't expecting simmik. he stopped walking and searched his mind for something to say, eventually blurting, hey, sim. sim? kinda lame.

he smiled. maybe they could pretend like the whole mountain thing never happened! it wasn't necessarily what matty wanted, but he figured that it would make things much easier. he nodded for her to join him. 

up for a patrol? he asked. simmik was into that sort of thing, right?

She smiled a little at the shortening of her name. She liked the nickname better than snow, but probably only because it was Matty who gave it to her. 

Things were pretty awkward, at least on her end. Internally, she was wondering what the hell to say. Should she bring up the other day? Would that make things more uncomfortable? She hated the idea of pretending nothing had happened; it created a weird sinking feeling in her stomach that she didn't like very much. But no way was she going to bring it up. She had been the forward one last time, and look where it got them. Some awkward place where she felt like she couldn't be herself, which was a huge problem for her. She didn't like pretending. 

His words pulled her from the turmoil inside her head. She smiled again and nodded. Oh, um, sure, she answered, moving over to walk beside him. She had already done one today but she wouldn't turn down an invitation from him, even if things we weird between them. What's on your mind? she eventually asked, unable to keep from prying.

mathieu laughed: where to start? there was plenty of material for them to talk about, but he wasn't sure that any of it sounded good. he glanced at simmik and moved to bump shoulders, hoping to lighten the mood. would you have guessed that me and mal were related? he asked, 'cause, yeah. that's a thing now.

he allowed some silence to pass, should simmik have a response. and, uh, i asked him for some advice on how to apologize for running off before. mathieu looked away from her, not wanting to see whatever expression she might have put on. he said i should bring you a gift or something but you kinda caught me off-guard.

To her surprise, he opened up pretty easily, telling her that he and Mal were related. She slowed her steps and stared at him with an incredulous expression. Related? she asked, returning to her previous pace. How? His tone implied that it was news to him, and she couldn't get over how crazy it was that he even ended up here. What a huge thing to find out. And now that it was out there, they did kind of look alike. How had she missed that before? 

And he had asked Mal for advice. About them. Well, that was embarrassing. Now Mal probably knew all about what she did. God, she couldn't think about that right now. Thankfully, it was pretty easy to push all that away for another day once she realized that he had mentioned apologizing for leaving. And getting her a gift? What would she even want other than for things to be cleared up between them? She winced when he said she caught him off guard. Yeah, I'm sorry. I thought you maybe felt the same way, but obviously I was wrong. I have no idea how to do any of this... she drifted off, still unable to look at him.

explaining the whole situation would've opened up another unsavory conversation, so mathieu kept things short. brothers, apparently, he replied, we've got the same mom. stephanie hadn't left him with much, but she'd given him siblings. decent gift, all things considered.

matty's smile slowly faded as he listened to simmik speak. he frantically shook his head, shouting, no! and then, after recovering his tone: i mean, no! no, i'm glad that you feel that way 'cause i do, too. alright, not quite the confession that he'd planned. i mean, if you do still feel...that...way, it'd be really cool.

mathieu cleared his throat and turned his attention back onto the trail. he'd stiffened up, suddenly doubting himself again. i don't know how this stuff works, either, he confessed, which is why i keep making things weird.

Matty had this really annoying way of answering personal questions without actually offering any details. She wondered if it was his way of protecting himself. She totally understood that because there were a few subjects she wouldn't want to talk much about either. It didn't make his answer any less frustrating. Brothers? Really? she shook her head. That's big. If she found out someone she knew was actually her sibling, she'd be pretty shocked, as well as confused. How did you find out? Sorry, she needed more information than that.

His shouted no made her stop for a few seconds and stare at him with a raised eyebrow. Her confusion quickly dissolved though, leaving a fluttering feeling in her stomach as the rest of his words registered in her brain. He felt the same way? But he ran away? She was going to ask that very question, but then he explained that he also wasn't sure how to do any of this and that's why he had made things weird. 

She smiled and shook her head. What a ridiculous mess they had made. Well, of course I still feel the same way, she finally said. She had never felt this way before but with how intense and lingering the feelings were, she could tell there was no way they were going away any time soon. I have no idea what to do now, she said nervously after a few moments. I'm feeling like I'd like to know more about you. So maybe we can start there? Unless you have something else in mind? Maybe he didn't want to answer any more of her questions.

simmik's questions weren't annoying like mathieu had expected. he grinned and glanced with side-eye, chuckling at her curiousity. someone suggested it, actually, he admitted, but we do kinda look alike. mal's patterning had been one of the first things matty had noticed; how had it taken them so long?

really? matty asked. he hadn't completely ruined things yet, which was obviously cause for celebration. i'm not sure what you'd want to know — or what i'd want to share — but i guess you can ask?

he thought about it for a moment and tried to remember how these things worked at home. normally, couples would date unofficially before taking things to the next level, so maybe that's what came next. we can go on a date somewhere, if you want. there had to be something for them to do somewhere, right?

Yeah you kind of do, she said, chuckling with him. I'm not sure how I didn't see that before now, she added. Maybe she had been too preoccupied with trying to figure out why everything felt so different around Matty.

There are many things I want to know, she said, her smile growing. Like where you're from? That was a good place to start. And you're favorite way to pass time, she added just to have something easier for him to answer. She knew better than anyone that the past was not always easy to talk about.

She didn't think she'd ever heard the term date before. I'd love to spend more time with you, she said first. But then her tone softened some as she asked: But, um, what's a date? Would she have to do something differently?

mathieu laughed nervously and thought about how to respond. talking about the consortium wasn't something that he enjoyed, but with simmik's tendency to ask questions, he didn't see any way around it. still, he tried to keep his answer general, replying: small pack, just south of this region. small pack was a bit of an understatement but, y'know.

you're from around here, right? he remembered her mentioning it before, during a past conversation. she hadn't seemed keen on talking about it, though. dates are kinda like this, except you do them when no one else is around. and you go somewhere nice, like a pond or something. technically, they'd already had a few dates...if they could be called that.

Of the two questions she'd asked him, he'd only answered one. And the answer didn't elaborate very much on his past. Mal never had much good to say about his family, and she wondered if Matty had a similar childhood. She kind of wanted to ask but then decided against it. What if it hurt him to talk about it? She would feel really bad about asking. Oh, okay. Small like this pack? she asked. It wasn't prying too much. She knew that whatever she asked him, automatically opened herself up for the same question, and there were plenty of questions she didn't really want to answer right now. One of those questions being about where she was from. But she had asked him, so it was only fair for her to give some kind of answer when he asked the same of her. Uh, yeah, she answered hesitantly. My family lives with a pack in the mountains east of here. She hoped they still lived there anyway. She left out all the stuff about bailing on them after her dad died because that seemed like a conversation for another time...or possibly never. She tried really hard to suppress all that shit and talking about it would only bring up emotions she didn't want to feel anymore. 

A date sounded like something she'd be up for. The only nice place she knew, though, was the glacier and she was pretty sure she was the only one around that liked to spend time there. Sounds fun, she answered. When do you want to go?

mathieu shrugged his shoulders. bigger, he replied. simmik started talking about her own family, allowing the conversation to shift. he looked eastward and searched for any visible mountains. being unable to see any, he shrugged again and continued walking. 

what are you doing tonight? there were still a few hours of daylight. if the pair seperated now, mathieu assumed he'd have enough time to prepare. we can go on a walk, which didn't sound that exciting, but it was the best he could do.

Oh, okay. His answer was vague, and she wondered if it was because he didn't want to answer any more of her questions. If that was the case, then he picked the wrong girl to like, because she asked questions about everything. How else do you learn things you want to know? But maybe that was all she was getting for now. Her persistence would normally push her to keep asking anyway, but maybe she should tone it down some for now. She didn't ask anything else but also didn't offer anything else on her own family. If he wanted to know more, then he could ask and she would probably tell him if he asked enough, but if given the choice, she would keep all her painful family stuff to herself.

Simmik shrugged at his question. Probably a patrol or something.  She didn't have much else planned. A walk sounds nice, though, she answered, a smile curving one side of her mouth.

alright, mathieu laughed, then it's a date. he continued walking, but pushed himself closer to simmik's side. the pair continued with their patrol, making small talk when necessary, until eventually breaking off sometime later.