From The Inside

15

When Beorn had uprooted a small amount of trees and created a small clearing around the house, he nodded content with his work; even in the form of a bear, he could evidently appreciate the small clearing which had fresh growing grass sprouting out of what remained of the snow. With a little sun and some good weather, soon this grass would grow into a fine small meadow. Looking thoughtfully around, he couldn't help but let his mind partially drift to what would grow within this small plot. Sure, the fence would take up a small amount of space. But for the most part there'd be plenty of room to grow things.

With a shake of his head, he continued to busy around. Where they'd get plants from to grow, he did not know. Perhaps that was a hurdle which could be crossed when it appeared? Snapping his head up, his ears twitched backwards when he heard fast running footsteps. "Beorn! Beorn?!" Ylva came hurtling around the corner only to end up bumping into him and landing on the ground in a flurry of snow flakes, withered leaves and a quiet: "Oof." Wincing slightly she opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him. "Hello!" She beamed and flicked her arms up into the air and out of the melting snow.

Beorn gave a low snort not appreciating the mixture of snow, slush and mud to be aimed up at him. She received a narrow eyed look for this which she just shrugged off. Sitting up, she put her hands on either side of his face. "I have a surprise for you. Do you like surprises?" She asked while her fingers smoothed down dark locks of fur. Only this slowly disappeared and she was soon cupping his face.

He looked at her guardedly, he couldn't really get anything from her expression, mainly because she looked so ecstatic. "That depends." He said lowly while she just tilted her head to the side. "What is it?"

"That defies the point of a surprise, Beorn. I can't tell you, can I? That's not how surprises work." Ylva said while rolling her eyes skyward. He just let out a short sigh, she looked back at him and smiled again. "It is not more house guests. Do not worry yourself."

"That doesn't wholly reassure me, Ylva." He said while putting his hands slowly over hers and pulling them away gently.

"Come on," she leaped up and held a hand out to him. "Come on!" She repeated with a laugh when he just stayed kneeling and looking up at her with a questionable expression. "Trust me, you will like this surprise, honest you will." Ylva nodded enthusiastically as if to get her point further across.

She never totally realised how sceptical Beorn could be, this was a learning curve for her.

With a sigh and a nod, Beorn reached up and placed his hand in her smaller one. Ylva made a point of trying to pull him up to stand, but failed due to the fact that he was stronger than her, and he was not budging no matter how much she pulled. "May I ask, have you thought what will happen if I do not like this surprise?" Beorn asked from his still kneeling position. He looked to the ground before looking up at her.

A thoughtful expression flitted onto her face then, she hummed and shrugged and even shuffled her feet around as if that'd help her think up an answer. "There's no such thing as if I do not like, because you will! Now come on! Move it!" Ylva said, her tone turning impatient from the hesitance she was receiving from Beorn.

"Fine," he stood and looked down at her when she turned thoughtful again. "What is it now?"

Ylva smiled and wriggled her hand free of his. He just looked at her strangely when she reached up and placed her hands over his eyes. "You cannot see. That is also the thing about surprises. It'd ruin it if you saw it." She said with a childish lilt to her voice.

Beorn frowned. "You seem to know an awful lot about surprises."

"One tends to when one always received them from relatives." Ylva whispered while moving backwards. "Do not fear, I shan't lead you into anything." She said in a reassuring tone while he stepped forwards. He didn't put up much resistance to being led, though his whole behaviour before so was as resistant as it could get. "Keep your eyes shut until I say, got it?" Ylva removed her hands when he slowly nodded. "I mean it!" Her voice seemed a little more distant now, Beorn just nodded again and crossed his arms. "Go! Open your eyes!"