The floor of the treehouse is nestled, carefully placed in the break in between a twin-tree trunk about ten feet off the ground. The panel in the center of the wood paneled floor opens to allow a rope to drop down, to give access to those welcome.
The house itself is sturdily built, mainly of pine panels. One wall is left mostly open, covered in a metal wire mosquito-screen. This makeshift window faces the lake, westward.
By itself, the place is scarcely furnished. A bedroll in the corner carries a work pillow, though a rolled-up sleeping bag is available for others. A clay pot in the opposite corner, by the window, smells of woodsmoke and coal, so it's obviously a firepot. A small frying pan leans against it, the bottom blackened by multiple uses.
Did someone call for 'tall, dark, and handsome'? Well, dark's fairly well covered, at least. Jet-black hair's pulled into a long, loose tail at the nape of his neck, a few stray strands about the face occasionally drifting into his almost equally dark eyes, the irises of which are a brown deep enough that one needs to look closely to find the pupil. Nut-brown skin that sets off the white of his teeth and eyes -- it could just barely be mistaken for a very deep tan, if one really tried. Tall is a miss; he's still several inches off six feet, and he probably won't ever get there. Handsome... well, not a classic beauty, to be sure, but well-proportioned, with a stunning, frequent grin and deeply expressive features. Slim, but in perfectly good shape.
He's clad in... well, black leather pants. Somewhat faded, well broken in, but nicely cut and really =quite= nicely fitted. A simple cream shirt hangs untucked above them, long sleeved and fastened with a row of small, black stone buttons. Over that, he wears a decidedly well-worn old black trenchcoat, almost too big for him -- the cuffs hang down half-over his hands, when he lets them, and the hem hangs perilously close to his heels. Scuffed black leather boots with worn soles adorn his feet; there's a seemingly random collection of bracelets, all on one wrist, and several piercings along the upper section of each ear -- little silver hoops.
She's a young thing, looking to be in her late teens or early twenties. Not terribly imposing, she stands at about an average height for a woman with a build that's a few meals shy of healthy. Golden-toned skin hints at Latina heritage, a notion reinforced by her sleek, straight black hair, which has been bound into twin braids, each tied off with a length of powder blue ribbon fashioned into a bow. Several strands have fallen free to frame a pretty face with delicate bone structure and soft features. Dark eyes glitter behind the errant locks of her hair, bright and intelligent.
The dress she wears is a little loose on her, but she fills it out well enough to give her a distinctly feminine figure. Like the ribbons in her hair, the dress is powder blue, printed with tiny flowers in white and green. The cut is simple, a scooped neck with short poofy sleeves and a voluminous calf-length skirt. To keep warm, she wears a long coat over the dress, woolen and brown, with broad fleecy cuffs and more fleece lining along the lapel. Over a pair of somewhat faded white stockings, she wears somewhat battered leather boots embroidered on the sides with colorful flowers.
Around her neck, on a leather thong, is a pendant made from what looks to be a piece of glass taken from a chandelier, a faceted teardrop that catches ambient light and reflects it back in prismatic sparkles. She also wears a silver charm bracelet on one wrist and a mismatched pair of silvery clip-on earrings.
It's midafternoon when the treehouse shifts with the weight of someone on the rope, the usual warning before the trapdoor's pushed open. Then it is, and the usual head and arms come through, followed by the rest of the usual body. Serendipity closes the hatch behind him, and then stops short, catching sight of Aurelia and just looking at her for a few moments. After a second or so, he breaks into a wide, appreciative grin. "Well, lookit you. You 've any idea how beautiful you are?" he asks by way of greeting.
Aurelia has the burner going, and a pot of tea nearby, with a chipped mug of the stuff within reach. She's got her sewing kit out, and somewhere she's managed to find, trade, or buy a bag of rags, which she's got spread out all over her bedroll. In the midst of it, she's working on sewing two pieces of patterned cotton together. The lifting of the hatch causes her to pause, and as Ren regards her, she regards him in turn for a moment. Slowly, her brows lift curiously. A vague smile plays upon her lips, and she says with all due comfort and warmth, "Yer lettin' in the cold air."
Serendipity fastens the trapdoor properly, and even drapes one of the blankets across it to deal with any remaining drafts. "Nah, I mean it," he says, sounding sincere, as he does so, "you made a cute boy, but you're a beautiful girl." He drops down cross-legged by the girl, and peers over at her endeavor. "Tea smells good. Whatcha makin'?"
Aurelia sets the sewing aside, continuing to regard Ren dubiously, though she can't quite conceal the pleasure in her expression entirely. "A quilt," she replies. "Figure if we don't use 'em, we can trade 'em in the spring, and these rags was cheap." Once her hands are free, she takes up another chipped mug to pour tea into. Offering it over to Ren, she adds, "I also got us some stuff for dinner, but it'll keep til tomorrow if you wanna go to the diner."
Serendipity takes the mug, and sips it, looking thoughtful. "I was thinkin'..." He trails off, and then nods, flashing her another quick grin. "Good idea, with the quilt. Can't have too many blankets here anyway, right? And as for dinner -- leave it up t' you. What'd you get?"
Aurelia takes up her own mug for a sip, then sets it aside and gathers up the quilting, prying the needle carefully from the cloth where she's stuck it. Holding the pieces close to her face, she studies the stitching carefully as she proceeds. They're neat stitches, the work of a skilled hand. "Bread," she replies. "Fresh bread, and I got a half a cheese and some cold wild turkey. Figured maybe I could heat it up on the the burner and have warm sandwiches. What were ya thinkin?"
Serendipity sips his tea again, glancing at her sidelong, and smiles secretively. "Nothin'," he replies lightly, teasing a little, and then a touch more seriously, "...nothin' important, anyway. Somethin' I oughta do later for ya. It'll be nice, don't worry," he assures her, as if certain she's about to assume something untoward. Suddenly, he brightens, and almost as quickly looks a little self-conscious, "...which reminds me, I got something for ya."
Aurelia indeed looks like she's about to offer some protest, but the assurance causes her to grudgingly hold her tongue. "Hmm," she grunts noncommittally, sparing Ren a brief look before turning her attention back to her handiwork. The lure of presents always catches her attention, though. "Oh yeah? What'd you get?"
Serendipity sets the mug down and slips a hand into his pocket, coming out with a something small wrapped in a scrap of soft leather. He offers it over wordlessly, seeming for some reason actually a little nervous. Not too common, that.
Aurelia hesitates, eyeing the scrap of leather, then Ren, the latter a touch more critically. She slips the needle into the cloth she's working on, then sets it aside carefully. "You've been awfully sweet," she comments as she reaches for the offering. "You're gonna lose yer reputation for bein' a rogue if yer not careful."
Serendipity grins crookedly. "I'll hafta make a pointa carousing later or somethin', I guess," he replies wryly. Within the leather is a small bit of obsidian, somewhat roughly carved into the form of a raven, wings spread. The roughness likely comes from makeshift tools and mediocre talent; the amount of at least attempted detail speaks to a certain amount of care put in.
Aurelia smiles warmly as she sees the carving, lifting it off the leather carefully. "Oh sweetie, this is pretty," she coos. "Where'd you find this?" A beat after she asks the question, a thought seems to occur to her, and she looks at Ren wide-eyed. "Didja make it?"
Serendipity draws his fingers through his ponytail at the base of his neck, and grins a little, pleased. "...yeah," he admits, "Rain, I dunno if I mentioned him to you yet, he useta do a lotta stuff with his hands, mending pots and carving and other stuff, and 's onea the things he kinda taught me before I hit the road. So I only did it once or twice in the last five or six years, so I'm not great at it, but. Yeah." He picks his tea back up, holding the mug in both hands. "...'m glad you like."
Aurelia studies the carving carefully, watching the play of light off its lines. "You're so thoughtful," she says quietly. Then the carving is wrapped up in its leather again before getting stashed (with care) in the napsack where Aurelia keeps her treasures. The observant might notice she's got a system, and that this particular pouch in the sack is where shiny things of great value are stored. Once her hands are free, she leans over to drape her arms around Ren's neck and plant a kiss on his cheek. "Makes me wonder what you're up to," she chides warmly.
Serendipity smiles almost shyly for a second as he returns the hug, careful not to spill his remaining tea on her. "'f I answered that you'd laugh at me," he accuses gently.
Aurelia promises, "I won't laugh." She draws away to gather her own mug, after topping it off with some tea from the pot. Curling her hands around it, she studies Ren over the top of it and even looks serious about her claim. "Unless it's really funny, and then I won't be laughing at you so much as in your general vicinity."
That assurance gets a grin, which Ren half-hides with the mug and another sip. "...a'ight. I just like seein' the way you smile and your eyes light up like that," he admits.
Aurelia's eyes light up as if on cue, and the smile is broad and touched with a hint of shyness as she ducks her head, sipping at her tea. No laughing, not even in Ren's mere vicinity. "That's sweet of you to say," she says awkwardly.
"Well. 's true," Ren replies. "...anyway, you deserve nice things. Got all that boy-time t'make up for and everything," he adds. For all that he means it, it kind of sounds like a rationalization. He leans over and, belatedly, returns the kiss, a gently affectionate peck on the cheek.
Aurelia tilts her head to receive the kiss, and the grin that gets causes dimples, albeit briefly, and then she's sipping at her tea again. "Yeah, I'm still trying to remember how to be a girl," she muses. "I wake up sometimes thinkin' oh shit, I better get dressed before someone sees."
Serendipity grins, and leans sideways to bump the side of his arm against the side of Aurelia's. "No one in danger of seeing but me, now," he points out, and hesitates -- the silence holds the promise of further comment for a second or two before the faint release of a breath changes the quality of it to finished. If he had something else to say, apparently he changed his mind.
Aurelia quirks a brow curiously, leaning against Ren as she says, "You're actin' awfully funny. You didn't eat any suspicious lookin' mushrooms, did you?"
Serendipity laughs, and glances down and away. "Nah, haven't even been drinkin'. No excuse, 'fraid. ...I was thinkin', just then, it's nice wakin' up with you. Maybe I oughta leer atcha when I say that an' make us both more comfortable," he jokes, glancing at her sideways again.
Aurelia chews at her lower lip, regarding Ren sidelong in turn. "Except then I'd cuff ya," she says quietly, her tone losing an edge of its usual chiding. In an attempt to recapture it, she adds knowingly, "You just like having someone to put yer cold feet on."
"You do squeak nice," Ren agrees, grinning again, "...and yeah. You would. Sometimes I think y'=like= hittin' me." He sips what remains of his tea, head tilted enough that the strands free of his ponytail drape to half-veil his face.
Aurelia says primly, "Well, I wouldn't smack you around so much if I didn't enjoy it." She sets her tea aside, then reaches over to tuck back the stray strands of hair. "I reckon if you minded so much, you'd stop askin' for it."
Serendipity smiles faintly at the hair-moving, and quite gently catches Aurelia's hand as it finishes the tuck, keeping light hold of it there as he looks back up and meets her eyes, as if searching them. "Yeah," he agrees thoughtfully, "'spose maybe I might."
Aurelia blinks a bit in surprise, but she doesn't try to reclaim her hand. She's got a steady gaze, looking Ren in the eye, but a soft expression that warms up all the more as she says, "So I guess that means it's a pretty good arrangement we got here."
Serendipity grins a little, boyishly. "Yeah," he agrees again, turning her hand to kiss her palm and close her fingers over it, "guess it does." He turns the hand again, still closed, and touches a feather-light kiss to the back of it, letting his lips graze along the skin to the knuckles as he lifts his head from it. Catching her eyes again, he releases his grip, but doesn't move his hand away from hers.
Aurelia watches him with utter fascination. Abrasive wit seems to have taken an impromptu holiday, and in that unguarded moment, when his gaze catches hers, she looks so young, a shadow of the girl she tucked away for a rainy day some seven years ago. Her fingers lace around his as he relaxes his hold on her hand, a relatively bolder counterpart to her looking away and saying with a nervous laugh, "Why you bein' all sweet on me?"
Serendipity gives the hand a gentle squeeze, and lets it lower to his leg, fingers still entwined. "'cause I want to," he replies, light and simple, and smiles at her, then glances down at their hands. "Got a question," he remarks, conversationally.
Aurelia does the same, watching her fingers curled around his with an awkward expression, pleased but nervous, a little guarded. "Yeah?" she asks, trying to sound as casual as can be, and if one didn't catch the slight tremor in her voice, she might even pull it off.
"Yeah," Ren confirms, and then looks back to her face, with a somewhat sheepish little grin. "Never exactly done this so sorry if I get it wrong, but. D'you mind if I court you some?"
Aurelia goes wide-eyed without looking at anything in particular, then blinks a few times and lifts her head to look at Ren, lips parted to speak. The words don't come immediately. She looks surprised first and foremost, and then thoughtful. Her attention strays briefly toward the rucksack of treasures, which has gotten a bit fatter since having come here. "Well, I..." The poor bird seems rendered speechless, poised on a moment of decision. She looks back at him, bright-eyed and flushed as she says, "Alright. I reckon. I mean, you know, some."
Serendipity breaks into a bigger, somewhat relieved grin, and squeezes the clasped hand again, leaning in to steal a quick kiss -- on the cheek. See, he can be a good boy. "Some," he agrees. "I mean, I still gotta do things that make you wanna hit me, or you'll think I got abducted by aliens."
Aurelia grins at the kiss, a small thing at first, but gradually broader until she's self-consciously ducking her head in an attempt to hide it. "Yeah, well. I reckon just you bein' you will give me all the reason I need to smack you down once in awhile."
Serendipity grins back and leans to bump shoulders in a little nudge. "Yeah, I reckon it will," he agrees cheerfully, imitating her accent fondly. "So. You wanna have that dinner? I'm starved. Plus, we gotta talk 'bout some kumi stuff... or I could throw you in the lake again." Grin.
Aurelia darts a glance at Ren, giving him a Look that implies the latter option isn't going to win him any points. "Why don't I see about putting together that dinner?" she asks sweetly. Then the urge to grin overcomes her, making her look nigh giddy as she leans over to kiss his cheek. "You just relax and I'll take care of everything." Then she draws away to make good on her word and put dinner together. Nothing like bringing a girl presents and laying on the sweet talk for getting a guy pampered.
Serendipity lets Aurelia reclaim her hand, and gets comfortable in the blankets, looking rather cheerful, especially with the kiss. "A'ight, no lake," he replies, "...for now." Dun dun dun! He grins at her impishly, and lets her work unmolested.