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[He simply hands the bag to Tex. It's quite the bag, from simple egg vibes, to colorful dongs, a harness, to even a length of soft red rope.]

I believe Cordelia might be a little impatient. [Dryly.] It's hard to tell.

[ She accepts the bag and it only takes one look before she lets out a long sigh. Of course Cordelia did. ]

Well. She gave us rope. We could string these up somewhere.

[There's a beat and then just laughter.]

They'd make for poor wind chimes though.

I suppose it's colorful enough for decorations.

[ The laughter is contagious and causes her to break into a bright smile of her own. ]

I don't know, these [ she picks up the bundle of vibrating eggs ] might make a good sound if knocked together.

I'll leave the acoustics to you. I still think the tree could use a bit of color, though.

These already have cords attached, so you can have the rope for your decorating.

[ She hands him the bag and slings the egg vibrators over her shoulder. She can already see the perfect branch to string them up on. ]

[In the mean time, Aral considers the tree from a couple of angles, smirks to himself and gets to work.

It's not... anywhere near perfect. No real materials and it's certainly not his medium, but by virtue of a fortuitously shaped tree branch, the o ring harness and being quite handy with knots, it's a deer head with colorful, silicone, multi-speed antlers. ]

[ Meanwhile, she's climbing up into a tree to find the best spot the damn vibrators to get caught in the wind. It takes her some time to secure the batch to a sturdy tree limb and she gives the bunch a smack to make sure they'll clank together properly.

If Cordelia had other plans for these, she really should have included instructions.

The sight that greets her after she climbs down is rather... majestic. She laughs as she walks around the makeshift deer head and reaches to touch one of its antlers. ]

Good work.

I think it adds a certain something.

[And just. Digs out his comm from his pocket and hands it over to Tex.]

[ She doesn't need any instructions, she takes the comm and snaps a few photos of their campsite. ]

You want a special message included with these to Cordelia?

[He considers that seriously for a moment.]

I lean towards no warning. You?

Yeah, I think so. [ She smirks at that and sends the pictures off, no context included. ]

Volley fired.

I do wonder if we'll actually get a reply.

[He starts to amble over to the firepit to inspect what had been gathered for the night. A stray breeze catches some speed and force as it whistles up along the small mountain, ... setting Tex's hard work to a loud display of thunks and clacks as plastic ricocheted off each other and tree bark.]

It... [There's an obvious struggle not to laugh.] ... is certainly functional.

[ She sets his comm down by their bags and glances up to admire the elegant movements that only those devices could make. ]

I'll take it down before we turn in for the night. They make good ambiance. [ For what, she doesn't know. ]

Something like that...

[He unholsters the plasma arc and puts it back on low, and barely squeezes the trigger, aiming just above the logs and branches. The hot trail of plasma sets the firepit ablaze instantly.]

[ Some might call that overkill. Tex, however, stands there watching with open appreciation and whistles. ]

Where have you been hiding that all this time?

I usually keep it with me. [And several... other weapons at all times.]

The last time I had to make a trek out into the wilderness it was without one. Deeply regretted it.

The time before that as well. I made a promise to myself, after that.

I'm not complaining. I brought a fire starter kit, but that's a helluva lot faster.

[ Not that she needs the fire though the light from it is nice. She settles in cross-legged by the fire, not caring to find something to sit on. ]

How long as it been since your last trek?

[It had been what? Four months since that blind night through the hills of Barrayar, some by groundcar, some by flyer, some by horse. And five here...]

Less than a year, standard.

[He flips the safety on and holsters the plasma arc again, and takes a seat besides Tex.]

This is notably more relaxing.

Good. [ She glances over at him as he sits down and shifts just enough so their knees are touching. ]

You want to start on dinner now or wait?

[The small contact gathers a smile, small but honest.]

The supplies are in the canvas bag beside you.

[ It's a little relieving that he's not pulling away at that. She drags the bag over in front of her and fishes out the simple food they brought to make with their portable cooking equipment. ]

It's too bad we couldn't hunt for dinner this trip.

[It's the little things that mark the change, like fingers brushing - without apology or start - in the simple act of setting up.]

Next time. Without the sudden increases in elevation.

It's a lot flatter in Texas. [ A trip she plans to make at some point. Hunting and moving out around outdoors would just be a bonus to the trip.

She takes up the brunt of the cooking, old, distant skills coming back into use like second nature. ] I'm glad you came out here with me.

[Which is good. His own skill over a fire is around the range of "burn the parasites out" rather than a whole lot of skill.

He spends most of it either passing anything she asks for or needs, the rest with his hands folded behind his head, watching her work as the sun went down.]

Same ... I wonder if you'd be adverse to something like this regularly...

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