For too long you have gathered flowers,
And leaned against the bamboos,
Your green sleeves growing cold,
In your deserted valley:
I can visualize you all alone,
A girl harboring her cryptic thoughts.
- Wu Tsao
"I still can't believe that you almost killed me in Darkhaven."
Spartina frowns. Blackberry really just won't let her forget that blunder, will she? Blackberry seems content to bring it up again despite the deadpan look she receives. She playfully bats Spartina with her paws and laughs.
"Oh, come on. Humour me."
Blackberry knows that Spartina's fuse is short on a good day, but she stills prods her with the same playful banter that she always uses.
"I should have let Granite kill you earlier," Spartina grumbles. Blackberry laughs once more.
"Come on," She tries again. "You hurt my feelings, saying stuff like that."
"Good," Spartina shoots back, but there's the beginnings of a smile forming on her face. "That was my intention."
Blackberry gasps loudly for good measure and stumbles backwards. "How your words wound me."
But Spartina is back on track, no longer ready to play along with Blackberry's words, her paws digging rapidly at the new run they were supposed to be making. Blackberry couldn't help but note that her digging skills were poor for a doe. She probably wasn't used to digging. Snaking in beside her, Blackberry drops the teasing and becomes as serious (well, not quite as serious) as Spartina.
"Here, you're digging from the bottom up and that why it isn't as neat as the other runs," Blackberry moves Spartina's paws from the dirt and places her own in place of them. "See? If you dig from the top it's a lot neater."
When she turns back to Spartina, she can see that her face is scrunched up in a scowl. Blackberry was very good at reading others, and Spartina, for all her bitter anger that she spits everywhere, is pretty easy to read.
"Don't worry," She soothes. "You just need practice. It's fine, really."
Spartina takes in a breath, holds it, and then nosily lets it out. Spartina broods a lot, and she might not be good at digging, but she's good at that.
"Practice is for fighting," She mutters angrily to herself, but loud enough that Blackberry picks it up. "Not for digging."
Blackberry doesn't respond, but they start to dig in silence once again. "But I am serious Spartina. You don't have to be good at everything."
"It would feel a lot nicer if I were," She argues under her breath once again. Blackberry pauses and grins.
"If it's any consolation, you're great at being my mate!"
Spartina digs faster in response, and Blackberry smiles. She had finally gotten to her. And really, sometimes Spartina could be so cute it was unbelievable.