Stupid horrid, vile weeds. OPEN

[Dr. Chase Redwicke]

His lips curled and his teeth were able to catch the light of the dim sun above when he smiled. Something about Cerridwen's comment ('I'm so glad I could be of use!') amused him, in a way that made his laugh lines expose themselves. Then the lovely faery accepted his friend request break offer and he felt like he'd borrowed her wings. His heart felt lighter and he couldn't think of any other place in the world he'd like to be. Okay, that was a lie. He would love to be in the fae queendom, but he'd be lying if he said it wasn't also appealing because of the company he'd keep in that particular location. So long as Cerridwen was there, he was certain he'd have a wonderful time.

And with that logic, Cerridwen being here, Chase was having a fantastic time.

"This is New York. Anywhere you'd like to go," He was a doctor, after all. Ergo, loaded. "Are you hungry? We could get Chinese... Japanese, Italian... Indian...." Chase was going through a list of restaurants in his head, naming off their backgrounds, "...a good old fashioned American hot dog..."

He tried to imagine Cerridwen sitting across a casual diner table with him eating a hot dog, and just couldn't picture it. She was a classy lady, though she was fairly laid back... maybe she was more casual than he gave her credit for. Though she looked fantastic in her pony-tail and apron, he could easily see her in a Chanel dress with her long dark hair flowing in elegant waves... when he blinked, his fantasy was replaced with the reality, but that only sprung more imaginative ideas. His eyes slowly undressed her so the apron was the only item of clothing she was wearing, and he was grateful she wasn't one of those people who could read minds.

His eyes flicked away, and his cheeks darkened as though he'd been caught. Perhaps not by Cerridwen, but his conscious had caught up with him to make him feel ashamed for picturing such things about a woman he'd just met. It wasn't like he was a horny teenager, deprived of sex. He knew these sorts of thoughts were natural, healthy even, he just felt guilty for how inappropriate they were. Chase was a nice guy, but he was, after all, a guy.

He was probably just creating it with his desires, but he thought he felt some sexual tension between them. Cerridwen seemed elated at the idea of spending more time with him, both now and later in the fae world. That must mean she liked him, his brilliant logic reasoned.

Genius, this one.

[©erridwen Corrigan]

Cerridwen thought about where she wanted to go. To central park. That would be lovely but he was talking food? What was a hotdog? Cerridwen crinkled her brows at this and looked to him in confusion. "I...don't..." Cerridwen's cheeks turned a bright shade of pink as she asked what a hotdog was. In reality she had heard of them...but never in her life would she eat one. Was it an actual dog? How could one eat a dog? Cerridwen's mind was boggled at this.

She crinkled her nose a little bit at the thought of eating a dog.

"Can we possibly skip...the hotdog?" Cerridwen asked shuddering at the thought. "Dog...doesn't seem to appealing" Cerridwen murmured, though she did brighten at the mention of Italian food. Mmm. "Italian sounds wonderful" Cerridwen added as they began to walk slowly towards the edge of the grounds, out towards New York City. "Though I don't know the city well.." she added cautiously. Well hopefully he did. She spent most of her time either at the academy or the village that knew of the fae folk. Even sometimes in the fae realm.

Cerridwen walked beside him at a leisurely pace, just enjoying the sweet summer breeze, and the smell of freshly cut grass. Cerridwen had another question on her mind. Something a bit bigger than just taking him to the fae realm. Maybe...maybe he'd like to meet the fae? His mother would probably be there, she and Minerva were essentially required to go, the Summer solstice was one of the biggest events known to fae kind. Aside from the Winter Solstice of course. How could she ask him though? Would that be, being a little to straight forward? His mother would surely be there, would he want to deal with that?

Cerridwen's mind wandered as a soft breeze pushed back some stray wisps back from her face. The sun gleamed down making her skin glow in the soft light.

Turning to him Cerridwen tried to find it in her courage to ask him but the words weren't coming out. Summer. Solstice. The biggest fae event known to...well everyone. Sure the mundanes didn't celebrate but whatever. Chase would love it though. It was a giant...essentially a giant party. Sure with some fancy toasts and traditions, but once those were over with most fae drank themselves to oblivion.

It was also the one time Cerridwen ever saw Minerva be nice to anyone. Mainly the Fae queen of....summer? Of the eastern hemisphere? Cerridwen wasn't exactly sure WHAT she was...or what her aspect was. It didn't matter. She and her crew had summer covered, Minerva had winter, and all the other fae had the things that mattered in between, covered. That's all that mattered. That everyone was doing their jobs. They came to the gates that led out of the Academy. Cerridwen kept thinking about the Summer Solstice. It was the perfect time for him to see the fae, where they lived, and got to experience some partying fae style, which was naturally better than any other way. The only problem was she couldn't bring herself to ask him.

His mother would be there for one. That might not make him happy, nor her, and Cerridwen certainly didn't want to put him in that situation, and maybe he just had no desire to go. Maybe he would be uncomfortable. Cerridwen was after all part of the fae court. Sort of. By default she would have to partake in the traditions and toasts, and if she took him, well he would as well be expected, and he wasn't exactly fae. Well he was. If he had wings, all he had to do was expose them and he was in, and no one would be suspicious but still. So many things could go wrong. Cerridwen had almost a worried expression on her face as all the possibilities for things to go wrong occurred to her.

Cerridwen did want to take him but not put him in an uncomfortable position. Though she did have a dress made and it made her hips look fabulous, and it wouldn't have been a totally BAD thing if he happen to...see her in said dress...and want to take said dress off afterwards. Crazier things have happened at the Summer Solstice after all.

[Dr. Chase Redwicke]

He didn't think anything of her request to not eat hotdogs, not until she murmured something about eating actual dogs under her breath. Maybe she was a vegetarian? He was going to ask, thinking how tragic that would be (he could barbecue a mean steak), when she suddenly approved of Italian.

His mind worked sort of like a computer. He could open the restaurant finder application, dissect New York and divide it into areas based on food. New York had so many Italian restaurants, ranging from the extremely pricey gourmet that catered to the rich and famous, to the hole-in-the-wall cafe with the most fattening, most delicious spaghetti and meatballs. He figured the first would be too pretentious, and the latter would be insulting. So he filtered through his list of Italian cuisine and found a suitable place that fell in between the two styles.

"There's a fantastic place just by Central Park," Chase told her, interrupting her thoughts on the Summer Solstice. He turned to look at her, just as the sun caught her perfect skin and she positively glowed. The way she walked, with such unobtrusive elegance, unknowing of how beautiful she was... she may as well have been wearing that dress he dreamed up in his imagination just moments ago. He would follow her anywhere, despite being the one who knew the location of the restaurant. He was like a lovestruck puppy.

He thought momentarily about discarding his lab coat; after all, it wasn't very appropriate for a lunch date. However, Cerridwen was wearing her apron, which was just as uniform as his long white jacket, so he figured he had no reason to complain. Plus, he couldn't technically call this a 'date', seeing as how he was exclusively seeing someone else. No, this was a meeting. So much that he could theoretically write-off the bill as a business expense. Not that he would, because that would be cheap and classless. Neither of which would describe him.

So, he cleverly tricked himself into believing this was not a date, and just a 'getting to know a co-worker' meal, and continued to follow Cerridwen as she lead him through the Academy grounds. They could take his car, which was in the garage. They weren't very far, and he could have another chance to impress her. Or he could be more casual and hail a cab from the main street just a couple blocks away from the school. He wondered if he should ask Cerridwen for her preference, but decided that would make him look indecisive and unmanly.

So of course he would over-think it, and work himself into a dithering mess. While Cerridwen over-analyzed his reaction to a question she hadn't asked, Chase did the same. They walked on aimlessly in silence, debating and fighting and thinking too much for their own good.

[©erridwen Corrigan]

Cerridwen was brought back from her thoughts for a moment to hear him mention Central Park.. Food? What? Oh yeah. Food. Cerridwen looked out to the street and noticed cars passing by, but no cabs. "I...normally would fly...but...I suppose we will walk?" Cerridwen offered. By walking, that meant she got to spend more time with him, and Central park wasn't that far away, just a longer walk than it was to drive. Again, which was not a terrible thing.

"Hey..." She said suddenly. Get it out, get it out, get it out. Cerridwen winced as a babble of words came out. So much for asking him. "Do you live on campus?"

What a lame question. Why the hell had she asked that? Did it matter? Not really. Eh it was small talk. Which was good. Cerridwen really didn't care if he lived on campus or not, it wasn't like she was going to make midnight excursions to his apartment or nook, or whatever he lived in. Well not anytime soon anyways.

Just ask him. The worse he can say is no, right? Plus if he really loved the fae kingdom as much as he claims then he wouldn't say no. If anything he could just use her, though that wouldn't be very good would it? Cerridwen didn't want to be used, it would be nice if he actually DID like her.

Cerridwen shrugged and just gave up. "Would you possibly want to go to the Summer Solstice with me?" Cerridwen asked simply expecting a no, or that he was busy, or worse he had something more important. "I mean do you...you know what it is?" she asked unsure if he even knew what it was. "I mean if you wanted to realllyyy experience fae life, well that would be the way." she offered not getting her hopes up. She thought about her outfit and couldn't help but feel a little bit better. She loved it, and she didn't look half bad either. That was certainly a plus.

[Dr. Chase Redwicke]

Her first question, as innocent as it was, made him blush from the thoughts it put in his head. "Uhm... during week days I have a place on campus. For the weekends I have an apartment a couple miles from here." And he loved that apartment. It was the perfect bachelor pad, modern and sexy and comfortable. Talking about it made him envision Cerridwen at his apartment, and of course all the incredible things they could do together once they were there.

Again he felt guilty for his deviating thoughts, and while they walked, he attempted to pull his mind out of the gutter. Then Cerridwen fired her second question.

"The... the Summer Solstice?"

His face went momentarily blank, and while Cerridwen babbled on his head swam. He was quiet for a very long time.

It was the Summer Solstice when Chase had been conceived. His mother had partied intensely with her faery friends and went out for a night on the town. She seduced his father and soon enough Chase was brought into the world. He was basically deposited on his father's doorstep, but as time went on his mother became more and more a part of his life. And then less and less as he grew into his own person. She stuck around just long enough to leave an impression, and leave him wanting more. When he was young, she would tell him about that night, saving some of the more graphic details for her own personal enjoyment. The music and the food and the people! The weather and the beauty... the Summer Solstice was even more a fantasy than the fae realm, and Chase had such an impressive mental picture of it from his mother's description. What if he was let down? What if it wasn't as fantastic as he imagined?

"What..." His brows puckered together as he looked at Cerridwen. He'd temporarily stopped walking after her question, and hadn't even noticed. He started their pace up again, "What would I wear?"

And just like that he lifted his own mood, with much help from the gorgeous creature walking next to him.

[©erridwen Corrigan]

Cerridwen was in such deep thought about the summer solstice that the first few drops had felt like nothing. Then as she turned her attention to Dr. Chase she felt another one land on her soft cheek, and slowly roll down. Cerridwen wouldn't have thought anything of this of course except she had left the shed open. Bother. Stopping, Cerridwen quickly turned to Dr. Chase. "well...you wear what you want I suppose..." Cerridwen informed though wasn't exactly sure how to describe it. "Maybe your mother could help you out. Or your father. Someone" she said though her mind was now elsewhere. It had been sunny not just five minutes ago? Where had the sun gone all of a sudden?

Clearly Cerridwen was in a state of confusion and worry. She had left the shed open, but it had been sunny. Sun didn't just go away like this. Not that quickly. Glancing curiously at the sky, Cerridwen wondered if the fae had anything to do with this. Surely not though? They wouldn't do something so...noticeable, so drastic?

Another drop landed on Cerridwen--her forehead this time, and caused her to quickly brush it away. She needed to get back, to close the shed, and to pen a letter to Minerva. This was not right. But...was it? It wasn't like Cerridwen had been in the mundane world all that long. Maybe it was a normal occurrence. But surely not?

"Dr. Chase, I apologize. Deeply." Cerridwen bowed just slightly before turning to head back to the school. "I really must go. I again apologize. I will send you more information at a later date about the solstice. I do hope you can come. It would be quite thrilling" She offered over her shoulder as she started back towards the school. Another drop came down and landed on her delicate skin, and then another, and another. "I'm sorry!" She said one last time before breaking into a sprint back to the school. Something felt amiss, but couldn't exactly put her finger on it.

[Dr. Chase Redwicke]

He frowned at her suggestion. Ask his mother? He wasn't going to tell his mother of his plans with Cerridwen and the summer solstice. She'd probably find a way for him to be barred entrance if he mentioned anything ahead of time. Perhaps if he found her drunk over her head, she wouldn't call him out as half-fae. That was a best case scenario. Ideally he wouldn't run into the woman at all.

Then as the clouds tumbled forth and started to unload their fruit, he noticed Cerridwen grow increasingly uncomfortable. Was it her wings? He could have sworn she didn't have any make-up to worry about (he loved women who were beautiful naturally, and Cerridwen being a faerie certainly guaranteed that). So Cerridwen would depart with a puzzled expression and a slightly distressed, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll see one another again."

And he was left watching her vanish as the rain came. He eventually removed himself from the weather, but there was a heavy feeling in his chest. Cerridwen was a fantastic beauty Fate had sent him, and he worried that he'd done something to take her away. Would he ever see her again? She had the qualities of a fairytale, no pun intended. She was more a dream than a reality. Would Chase wake up any moment to learn this gorgeous woman was nothing more than a figment of his imagination?

He shook the rain off his lab coat and took the long route back to his practice. He tried to look on the bright side. At least Cerridwen's sudden departure spared him the long hours he'd torture himself over possibly betraying Georgia... But he couldn't help but think that his short time with Cerridwen would've been worth the trouble. Already he was wondering how he could devise a plan to run into her again.