Firefly Glen (m) Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

Running was fun; she was learning that being chased was fun too, and that's all this was - fun. A no-strings-attached romp in the woods made in to some kind of romantic moment because of the dim lighting and roaming little bugs. It encapsulated all the fairy-tale idealism that Ibis once adhered to, before her world went tits up and her family disintegrated and all of that. She didn't want to get caught so soon. It was like she was back in Elysium with everything perfect again, and she did not want to let go of that last vestige of her childhood. But his voice careened through the trees to her, and she nearly bit the dust while trying to make sense of what he was saying; a slight misstep and a little scramble, utterly lacking finesse.

She looked around quickly, hoping he hadn't noticed. She heard the crash of his steps through the ferns and pivoted, launching in to a fresh run just as he caught up to her - and then he was beside her again, overtaking her position and racing in tandem. He looked messy, as windswept as she likely appeared, and somehow more handsome because of it. All at once that blazing need swept through her skin, making Ibis so very aware of his presence that she couldn't quite keep up; she was out of breath, panting openly and zigging, zagging between the trees to where a mess of ferns and fresh green shoots lined the earthen floor.

He was hot on her trail, of course. Whatever game they had been playing had swiftly devolved as her body's need overtook her sense of reason. The game would end when he caught her this final time, but she wasn't putting up a fight anymore; he'd proven himself in some unidentifiable way and the innocence of the game would soon be terminated. She urged him to follow with a sweeping play-bow and welcomed him swiftly after that, rounding back to where Mal emerged and lightly nipping his cheek, ducking her head beneath his chin - as she had with the giant days before - all the while being overwhelmed by the thundering in her chest.