Quiet splashing sounds comes from the water's edge; Safi stands hip-deep in the water, her clothes laid on the rocks close by. After her washing, she wades deeper, gasping from the biting cold.

Quiet footsteps up the path, equally quiet humming -- which stops, at the sound of the water splashing. Ren approaches quietly, breaking into a grin once he sees who it is, and sits silently on a rock near the shoreline, watching for a few moments.

She flips and dives, swimming across the bottom of the pond and finally surfacing some distance away, shaking her head a bit. Treading water, she turns to look toward him; a bright smile dawns, and she sets out swimming back toward him, leaving the water's surface furrowed behind her.

Serendipity is back to normal today -- no dress, no mink, just his usual outfit and coat. "Evenin', beautiful," he calls quietly, once it's clear she's seen him there. "...how's the water t'day?"

"Cold," she answers, finding her footing on the rocks under the surface. She walks slow and graceful up toward the shore and him, accompanied by the sound of the moving water. "Very cold," she amends, wrapping both arms around herself and grinning at him. "You are not wear-ing your pretty dress...."

Serendipity grins back, rummaging in his coat and coming out with a big rectangle of terrycloth, which he shakes out, then swoops around her warmly and tugs in a bit as she gets close enough. "Nah, the last chime rang and it turned back into my usual rags," he replies, and leans in to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Hi."

The grin evaporates into a strange, uncertain shyness, as she wraps up in the towel. "Hi. Cinderella is only a story."

Serendipity slips out of his coat, then, and swoops it about her shoulders, too. It's nice and warm. Presumably he isn't, now. "Most stories got a grain of truth in 'em somewhere," he replies, and shrugs, "...but anyway, this morning it'd turned back inta my stuff. Complain t' Robin if that's too fairytale for your tastes." He tilts his head at the sudden shyness, and touches a fingertip to the bottom of her chin, giving it just a ghost of pressure upward. "You a'ight, lovely?"

Safi swallows, meeting his gaze. The look in her eyes is familiar: longing, wistful. "You," she says haltingly, "...I am sorry, zat I leave, last night."

Serendipity half-smiles. "Sorry 'bout it for me, or for you?" he asks, moving his hand to tuck a wet strand of her hair back behind her ear. "'cause if you mean for me -- honest, beautiful, I un'erstood. Last thing I wanna do's mess up your life here, y'know?"

Another swallow, and she tips her head, leaning forward to kiss him--gentle, perhaps even chaste, but definitely on the mouth.

Serendipity returns the kiss -- no particular move to make it any less gentle, on his end, but on the other hand, he wraps an arm around to rest his palm on the small of her back, and he doesn't pull away.

Soft and careful, she parts her lips against his--cold!--and tastes him with the barest flicker of her tongue. Her hands let go of the towel, to find his shoulders and touch his hair; slowly, the lean, chilled body presses closer.

Serendipity lets her lead, meeting her advances; he parts his lips for her tongue, coaxing it in, but doesn't push. His arm tightens around her waist as she presses closer, the other hand sliding beneath her hair to cradle and stroke the back of her neck.

The towel falls low along her hips, at the back--held between them only by the pressure of the embrace. Cold, wet hands frame his face, fingertips beginning to push back into his hair where they can. The kiss deepens in a sudden surge of hunger, her mouth turning hard against his own, a low sound coming from her throat. Bare, freezing skin touches his wrist, where his arm encircles her.

Serendipity shivers at the coldness of her skin, but if it's uncomfortable it's certainly not enough to make him let go. Some of his restraint slips in response to hers; he presses his body more firmly in against her, the arm at her waist suddenly possessive, his hand sliding lower, the kiss fiercer.

Safi breaks away from it, turning her face from him slightly. Her lips are parted, as her quick breathing mists the air. She makes a tiny, tormented sound, a whimper deep in her throat.

Serendipity's hold lightens, just a little, and an echo of her whimper escapes his own throat. "Beautiful, you're gonna kill me, y'keep doin' this," he complains, half-frustrated, half wryly-amused, as he tries to calm his breath back down. "'s only so much a guy can take." He loosens his grip a bit more, and brushes his lips against her forehead.

Safi shivers, and throws her arms around his neck to hold him tightly, her face buried in the side of his neck. Tears feel paradoxically warm, compared to chilled skin. "I am sorry," she whispers. "I want, so much... because you are so beautiful, and good, and I-- do not want to hurt him, only--"

Serendipity melts, and wraps both arms tight around Safi, comfortingly, now. "Hey, shh... shhh, baby, it's not so bad. And hey, I'm not =all= good." He grins a little, crookedly, and strokes her hair. "I'll tell you th' truth, I don't care so much whether or not he's happy. But you I wanna be happy, 'kay? You should be happy a long, long time, long after Coyote lets me know it's time t' move on." He gives her another light, chaste kiss, just by the ear. "Makes me sad, seein' how it upsets you."

"It is not upset," she says quietly. "Only not having. It is... hard, to push away, when-- when the animal part is wanting so much to--" A tiny shake of her head, and she shivers. "I can not do it."

Serendipity reaches over and catches one of the tears on a finger. "'s upset, from where I'm standing. Anyway, which can't y'do -- give in to the animal part, y'mean?"

She ducks her head against his shoulder. "Not when it will hurt him," she says softly. "So I am wanting you, and loving Justin, and loving Jack, and always I do not want to hurt anybody."

Serendipity nods. "'s like I told you, lovely -- I un'erstand. And hey, I'm tough, I've lived through literally =hundreds= of people not bein' willing to sleep with me!" he teases, grinning and bestowing a kiss on her nose. "I'll survive, beautiful. Long's you don't tease me =too= bad."

She flushes slightly, the color enhanced by wind and cold. Drawing away a bit, she catches the towel and tips her head, drying her hair with it and watching him soberly. "I never tease you, Ren. You are my friend. I try to be nice to my friends."

Serendipity leans down to catch his coat, and settles back to sit on his rock, watching. Understanding or not, the desire is clearly still there. "I dunno 'bout that; get a guy all worked up and then back off, most people call that teasing."

Safi's brow furrows. "I did not know," she says, lowering her eyes and draping the towel over one shoulder. She paces across to the pile of furs and blankets and oddments of clothing, and puts on the long-sleeved tunic--finally covering up the distracting play of muscled beneath brown skin.

Serendipity grins, still watching, and slips the coat back on. "You're lucky I'm your friend and won't hold it against you," he teases, and then sighs, rubbing his temples.

Safi studies him a moment, squeezing the towel around the mass of her wet and tangled hair. "Do you want... I can make the-- the wanting, less," she says doubtfully. "So it does not... hurt you, there."

Serendipity laughs, once. "So can I, but I'm not sure you wanna watch that," he replies dryly. "You mean, like, by magic?" He considers this a moment. It's interesting. "I was thinkin' maybe I'd try t' learn that kinda stuff."

Safi blinks at him. "Learn?"

Serendipity nods, glancing at her a little surprised. "Yeah. Justin said people can learn. 'course, he also said it's really hard and most people don't get it, but hey."

Safi swallows, and looks down at the ground. "I... do not know how to teach," she says apologetically. "I only... see, and do. Maybe I remembair, some of things my teacher said..."

Serendipity grins, and shrugs a little. "Hey, if you do, great, I figure I can use all the help I can get. If not -- well, won't put me any =worse= off, right?" He glances across the pond, looking lost in thought for a few moments.

Safi comes to hinm, to hand over the damp towel. "Maybe we try, sometime," she says awkwardly. "But I think Justin is better."

Serendipity slips the towel back into his coat, and mms noncommittally. "...maybe. I dunno. I mean, the way it seems to me, it seems like it's a pretty personal thing, yeah? And I'm more like you than I'm like him, I s'pect." He pats down the coat, and asks rather suddenly, "So, what's being in love like?"

She looks over to him, dark eyes sober and thoughtful, and a little sad. Then she turns away, walking back to her clothes, but looking out to the water. "It is... like holding a moth, in your hand," she says softly. "Like seeing a sunrise, and feeling a part of the sun. There is... sometimes, there is no one else in the world." She drops, then, to sit on the rock, and begins tugging on the leggings and boots, strapping them into place.

Serendipity doesn't say anything, for a while, still looking out over the icy water. Safi's just about done with the boots and leggings before he replies quietly, "...sounds kinda nice, I guess."

"It is wonderful, and terrible," she says. "Like the mountain, or winter, or Gaia." Her voice is soft, touched with awe. She draws her knees up to her chest, and looks out pensively over the lake.

"What's the terrible part?"

Safi lowers her eyes, turns her face away slightly. "When somesing is wrong. When... you say things, and hurt each ozzer, and it is hard."

"Well, people do that anyway, yeah?" Ren asks, glancing over at her briefly. "I mean, don't hafta be in love with someone for that."

Safi swallows. "I do not know," she says softly.

Serendipity tilts his head. "What, you never had a fight with anyone you weren't in love with?"

Safi lifts one shoulder awkwardly. "Only Miklos," she says quietly. "I do not... I have not known people, for long."

Serendipity nods a little. "'s right, I forgot you 'n' he... you guys gettin' along okay, now?"

Safi nods minutely. "I think," she says quietly.

Serendipity nods once in response. "Good," he remarks. After a moment he adds, with an oddly glum kind of amusement, "...Think he just =hates= Tristan."

"Some people will hate Tristan," she says softly. "Because he is... what he is."

"Well, it's stupid," Ren replies immediately, with a momentary uncharacteristic spark of annoyance. "People hatin' people for what they are. Not like he can =help= it, or doesn't work on what he can." He makes a face, and shrugs a little. "Dunno, guess I just wanna be able t'thinka Miki as better'n that."

Safi glances over to him worriedly, and then looks out to the water. "Did you make love, wis' Tristan?" she asks curiously.

Serendipity hesitates a second, glancing sidelong at Safi. "What, y'mean last night?" Another slight pause, considering, and, "...yeah, pretty much. Depends how people wanna define it I guess. Why?"

She smiles a little, soft and wistful. "I am glad, for you. And for Tristan. He is very lonely."

"'s prolly your fault," Ren remarks, not sounding like it's a bad thing, "...seein' as he's always claiming t'be asexual. ...makes it hard t'flirt with him."

Safi glances over to him, uncertainly. "My fault?"

"Yeah," Ren confirms, and looks as though he's trying to pick his words carefully. "'parently, your blood had kinda an interesting effect. Sorta... wakin' the dead, if you know what I mean."

Safi frowns slightly. "He did not act like that, before," she muses.

Serendipity grins a touch wickedly. "You sure?" he teases, then relents, "...nah, judging from how surprised he was, that never happened b'fore. Mighta had t'do with the situation, I dunno. But, yeah; blamin' you." He gives her a little wink, and stretches, sighing.

Safi wets her lips, and looks away, reddening slightly. She watches the water, ruffled by a slight wind. "I do not know."

Serendipity glances over to the boulder he'd been sitting on the night before, and his expression goes hard to read. "...well. Prolly won't happen again," he says quietly, and stands, stretching fully, toes to fingers, eyes closed.

Safi seems content to remain silent, looking out over the water as the wind gives it a sharper texture.

Serendipity reopens his eyes and gives the pond a faint smile, then turns, and offers his open arms to Safi. "C'mere, then. Gimme a hug, I oughta be headin' back down toward town."

Glancing over to him in surprise, Safi rolls to her feet. She approaches him with a seriousness in her eyes, and her embrace is swift, chaste.

Serendipity laughs a little, and catches her as she tries to pull away. "Oh, c'mon. Make it a proper hug, I promise not to get too worked up," he assures, and envelopes her in a tight, close hug.

Safi leans her head against his shoulder--and as always, she reaches up to touch his hair. "I am sorry," she whispers, "for teasing you."

Serendipity grins, and tugs the end of his ponytail around to briefly tickle her nose with it. "...it's a'ight, beautiful. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't worth it," he murmurs back, and kisses her forehead again. "And maybe someday things'll be different, yeah?"

Taking a step back, she gives him a wistful smile. "Maybe. I go to the mountain, now." Without anything further, she turns and sets out, heading for the heights of Katahdin.