pontmercyfriend | Before the world dies at my door, I'll break the sky.

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courfeyrac

Before the world dies at my door, I'll break the sky.

Somehow, Marius gets it in his head that he wants to venture out horseback riding. If he's honest with himself, he doesn't know where this urge comes from, but having a rare Friday off, he finds himself indulging said urge. And as it has proven a criminal amount of time since he's last had an adventure with his best friend, Marius invites Courfeyrac along without a second thought.

He waits for his friend at the stables, watching the instructor, a lovely young woman that will, no doubt, appeal to Courfeyrac's tendency to flirt with every attractive woman he happens upon, as she grooms one of the seemingly younger mares in one of the rings. She'd already assured Marius that she looked forward to taking them out to the best trails in the countryside; he smiles, breathing in the country air and delighting in this reprieve from the city, for the moment.

Running a hand through his usual, tousled hair, as he leans against the fence, Marius catches sight of himself in the mirror of a puddle by his feet. Against the increase in his freckles thanks to the season, the love marks on his neck stand out more prominently; he flushes, but he smiles at the sight. Though he knows such alterations to his appearance will draw even more teasing remarks from Courfeyrac than usual, Marius finds himself welcoming such commentary.

He glances up again when he thinks he hears footsteps approaching. Pulling himself off from the fence, he waves and heads towards where he thinks he spies his best friend.

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Marius doesn't miss the eyeroll Violet sneaks in after she helps Courfeyrac mount his horse. Clearly, Courfeyrac's usual flattery will not win this woman over so easily. And he can't help but feel just a bit of envy for the way Courfeyrac's horse remains so still, even as Courfeyrac nearly makes a fool of himself on it.

Marius doesn't even bother hiding his eye rolling in response to Courfeyrac's winking.

"Thank you, mademoiselle," he tells Violet as she moves to assist him in climbing up and settling upon Pikachu, who snorts again and stamps one hoof in response. He gulps; he can feel his stomach rolling about.

"Well then, monsieurs," Violet addresses them with a teasing arch of her eyebrow before gracefully mounting her own ride. "Are we ready to ride then?"

Courfeyrac’s eyes twinkle in reply, inclined, as always, to assume that chere Violet is laughing with them, not at them. He tugs on the reigns, pleased when his horse responds - and never mind that the beast is likely trained to follow its leader, not its rider. “We are indeed.” He grins at his companion. “Do not look so distressed, Marius. I do not think Pikachu will defeat you today."

Marius doesn't need to see himself to know that he's blushing; he can feel the warmth of it on his cheeks. Already, he's preparing for whatever embarrassments seem inevitable to follow on this ride. "I'll let Pikachu decide that," he says, grateful that he at least manages to sound dignified in response.

"Follow me," Violet calls over her shoulder, beginning to lead them out of the barn.

Marius gently presses his heels into Pikachu's sides and holds on the reins.

So, naturally, Pikachu sets off at a gallop.

To Courfeyrac’s credit, he stares in genuine horror after his friend for a good five seconds before he bursts into laughter. “Ah, mon Dieu- Alors, nique ta mere-“ he swears in two or three other languages, cheerfully flabbergasted, and then looks to his guide with wide eyes. “Was that meant to happen?” And then, “Will he be all right? By God, leave it to Marius…” He chuckles again. “Oh dear."

His own placid horse takes advantage of the halt to nibble on some grass.

"Pikachu is a, er. Rather more sensitive horse than most," Violet explains with a shrug. "That's kind of why I thought he'd be a fit for your friend there."

Marius is petrified. The first thought he manages, as he clings to dear life to his horse, is a prayer for his own life, tethered as it currently is to the whims of an excited horse. "Help?" He calls out, in between cursing in three different languages. He doesn't have to look back to know that Courfeyrac is laughing at him, which, as indignant as it makes Marius feel, is also oddly comforting.

"Hold on, freckles, I've got you!" Violet shouts, instantly galloping up to his side. "Pikachu, whoa!"

Pikachu snorts, and shakes his head, but eventually slows down and halts. Marius, white as a sheet, refuses to stop clinging to the back of the horse's neck.

"Thank you, mademoiselle," he tells her reverently, as though she's just saved his life.

He turns back to look at Courfeyrac. "And thank you for your concern back there!"

“Bah, I knew you could handle yourself!” Much to Courfeyrac’s chagrin, his own horse follows its leader with a careful plod, but he is grinning as he joins Violet and Marius. “And here you are! What did I have to worry about?”

He winks at Violet. Freckles. He’ll have to remember that one.

"Thank you for that vote of confidence," Marius grumbles, finding himself a tad grumpy after nearly falling off his horse. The sort of petulant grumpiness he tries not to indulge in when he can help it, but that always flares up after certain sorts of disappointments. "Oh, I don't know. Possibly me losing a limb or two."

Blessedly, he finds himself calming down as their horses begin a gentle pace towards what looks like some sort of trail in the woods. The fresh air, and airing of his grievances, does Marius good.

He doesn't miss that wink, either.

"I suppose that's what you'll be calling me now, is it?" He asks, his tone much less mullish than before.

Well acquainted with Marius’ moods, Courfeyrac waits out his friend’s grumbling without ribbing or complaint. As they set out down the path, he begins to whistle quietly under his breath, tipping his head up slightly to enjoy the blue sky and bright sun. He might be a city boy at heart, but the unpredictable wildness of the countryside has an appeal to him, certainly. At least in small doses.

He raises his brows innocently at his companion. “Well, Monsieur le Abbe no longer suits you. I was in the market for a new nom de guerre.”

Much to Courfeyrac’s growing dismay, his horse appears to be much more poorly named. Where Pikachu is all nerves, Paladin plods sensibly along, head drooping slightly. “Le bon Dieu,” Courfeyac sighs, half laughing, “have you given me an old soldier, Violette? Our brave knight seems to have lost some of its vigor.”

As though aware he has been insulted, Paladin stops abruptly. Laughing again, Courfeyrac gives the horse a swift kick in the sides.

“Don’t-“ He barely hears Violet’s protest, for the horse bucks in response, sending Courfeyrac tumbling to the ground.

Marius gradually relaxes as they begin to head out into the countryside in earnest. Courfeyrac's whistling lends a sense of whimsy to the blue sky above and the clear air around them. Marius feels his shoulders sink as the tension and fear of a few moments earlier finally begin to leave him. He even manages to pet Pikachu without offending the creature; indeed, the horse snorts and tosses his head back in what Marius assumes is a gesture of thanks.

Marius blushes at Courfeyrac's remark, but the pink on his cheeks is decidedly less vibrant than it was before, and he manages to meet Courfeyrac's gaze head on. "I don't suppose I get any say in this new nom de guerre, do I?"

Marius is in the midst of rolling his eyes at his friend's antics when Paladin suddenly bucks and Courfeyrac is tumbling to the ground.

"Mon dieu, Courfeyrac!" Marius pales, moving in a hurry to get out of his saddle to check on his friend.

Naturally, he trips over his own ankle and winds up face first on the ground himself.

"Jesus," Violet says, shaking her head as she comes to both of their aid. "I did warn you."

It is, perhaps, a strange sort of luck that Courfeyrac gripped his horse’s reigns only lazily, and so only slides from the saddle at the first shake, instead of being thrown head over heels. Still, falling off a horse isn’t pleasant, and the young man groans and swears as he pushes himself to his hands and knees. His head rings, and the side of his body that took the impact aches, and his new clothes are a disaster. When Marius comes to his aide, he clutches at his friend’s hand and lets him pull him to wobbly feet. “Ill-behaved mule,” he quips with a grin, wheezing a chuckle.

“Well, well. That was…unexpected."

Marius is covered in dirt by now himself, and he can feel his lip bleeding from where it hit the ground. At the sight of Courfeyrac, however, and his entirely ruined new outfit, he can't help but laugh, even as he helps his friend up. "I think your horse disapproves of your fashion choices," he says. Not that he has any room to talk, with how utterly country he must look himself.

"I told you," Violet says, shaking her head as she checks them both to make sure they're all right. "Are you boys ready to get back in the saddle then?"

"Yes," Marius says, a tad ruefully. He manages to clamber on to Pikachu to a much more successful result, this time.

“Oh, now who’s finding merriment in his friend’s troubles,” Coufeyrac complains, though he continues to beam quite cheerfully for a man who has just been thrown from a horse. Laughing, he brushes himself off, and then brushes dust and mud from Marius shoulders, before turning his grin on Violet. He offers a cheerful salute. “Ready to proceed, cherie!"

"I take my amusement where I can find it, thank you very much," Marius informs Courfeyrac, grinning in spite of his bleeding lip. He almost protests Courfeyrac brushing dirt from his shoulders, before resigning himself and letting his shoulders sag beneath his friend's attentions. He tries to imagine the warm bath that awaits him once this adventure finishes.

"Well, if you boys are done rolling around in the mud now, I can finally lead you on the trail," Violet says, rolling her eyes, but in a way that clearly displays weary affection. Marius interprets this as a good sign.

Inclined to treat everything as a good sign, whether or not he should, Courfeyrac salutes again and returns to his horse. The creature blinks innocently at him, but Rene will no longer be so easily led astray. “I will be watching you, Paladin,” he informs the old stallion solemnly, though Paladin seems not at all impressed. “Marius, give me a hand, my dear fellow. Violet has requested no more rolling in the mud, and I would not want to disappoint her.”

From time to time, Courfeyrac does learn from his mistakes.

"I really don't think your horse is as moved by your powers of speech as the crowds in Paris were," Marius wryly observes, unable to help himself. God, but even in spite of the entire absurdity of this situation, he's just happy to be with Courfeyrac, outside on a nice day and without the finality of death looming between them. Such gratitude makes him much more patient than usual with Courfeyrac's antics, and less prone to his own babbling.

"Of course," he says, walking over to help Courfeyrac back on his horse. "Shame about your new clothes, though."

Courfeyrac takes his friend’s hand, using it as leverage and balance to return to the saddle. Now that he knows what it means to fall, the ground does seem rather far away, and the horse’s back surprisingly unstable, but Courfeyrac cheerfully rises above his misgivings. When has he ever been frightened off of anything?

“Ah. Yes.” He makes a face as he looks down at his once-crisp-and-white shirt, now streaked with dust and mud. To be fair, Courfeyrac has rarely treated his good clothes as precious thing - he did dress his best for a botched revolution, after all - but he does mourn the loss of a good shirt and excellent trousers. “Perhaps the washing machine with improve them. It is an excellent device."

Marius watches Courfeyrac resume his seated position on the horse with all of the good-nature he's come to expect from his best friend. Indeed, if Marius allows himself a moment of literary indulgence, Courfeyrac cheerfully getting right back on the horse he's just fallen off of seems like the perfect metaphor for his life. Marius, among many things, does envy him that.

"I don't know how we ever lived without them, before," Marius muses, while Violet, nearby, looks on with something akin to horror on her face.

"I think we are both of us ready to proceed, mademoiselle," Marius nods in Violet's direction.

“With the help of pretty, young laundresses,” Courfeyrac answers with a wink. “If only the profession did not so swiftly turn them pinched and old.” He raises his brows innocently as Violet stares at them and nods in agreement with Marius’ assessment. “Quite ready indeed, ma chere. Please, do not be so horrified by the thought of our laundry that you forget the way."

"Oh but of course," Marius shakes his head, amusement clear in his eyes. "How could I ever forget about those laundresses?" He remains mute on Courfeyrac's remark regarding their aging; he quickly catches the sour look on Violet's face.

"I'm not worried about my own forgetfulness," Violet dryly speaks before turning to lead them on to the actual path they are meant to be on.

"Careful of the thorns and the underbrush. We wouldn't want you to turn 'pinched and old,' as you say," she says.

Courfeyrac can be terribly charming. For someone with such a grand ego, he can even be remarkably kind. But he can also be quite dense from time to time - and frankly, he is still in the process of learning the intricacies of the modern fairer sex. And so while he certainly detects their guide’s suddenly sour expression, he cannot imagine the reason behind it. Exchanging a slightly wide-eyed look with Marius, he replies, “We follow your lead, mademoiselle. I swear it."

Marius adores Courfeyrac with every fiber of his being. His best friend is outgoing, charming, and friendly in all the ways Marius aspires to be. But like everyone, Courfeyrac does have his moments in which his charms fail to impress, whether from their own lackluster nature or the lack of amusement from other parties. Marius shares his friend's wide-eyed look, but he can also understand where Violet is coming from. "Yes, indeed mademoiselle. Pardon my friend here; he might have hit the ground harder than he expected. He means no offense."

He offers Violet a smile that is only slightly apologetic, while silently willing his best friend to make use of the opportunity presented.

Thankfully for all, Courfeyrac is well-attuned to making apologies without understanding what he has done to cause offense, and he catches on quickly enough. “I fear Marius is right,” he says with all the self-deprecating charm he can muster. “I have a rather soft skull, as you may have surmised, and I fear my little adventure has me addled. Mademoiselle, I do hope you can forgive the offense I have caused while in such a state.” If not so precariously perched atop a horse, Courfeyrac would bow, but he can only offer an apologetic nod instead. At least he manages to make that gesture look both charming and contrite.

Marius lets out a silent prayer of thanks in his thoughts as soon as Courfeyrac catches on. And with even more of his usual grace, too. Violet, he notices, while rolling her eyes, still manages a small smile, and Marius has to wonder, again, at his friend's ability to literally charm himself out of every situation, even the ones he isn't aware he's gotten himself into. It's such an essential part of who Courfeyrac is, Marius thinks.

"You're both lucky you're cute," is Violet's charitable reply, and Marius ducks his head, flushing at the unexpected compliment.

He would guess Courfeyrac appreciates the compliment even more so.

Courfeyrac beams as thought he has single-handedly found the key to world peace and an end to all social and economic strife. The compliment he certainly appreciates; what he likes even better is the concession in Violet’s little smile. He has won, and without even knowing the rules.

He offers Marius a sly smile and a wink. “Alors, mademoiselle, on what adventure will you take us next?"

Marius catches a glimpse of that bright smile and the self-assured confidence beneath it; he can't help but roll his eyes in response, even just a little. Courfeyrac would return to preening like a cat mere moments after his own tumble into the dirt.

"Possibly the trail I intended to take us on the first time round," she says with a sly smile of her own, gesturing for them to follow.

"Sounds lovely to me," Marius says with a nod.

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