Wake up call | Hailey

[Theo Dean]

Hailey didn't want him to weasel his way out of this one too easily and he could respect that. Still, she was seriously underestimating what he was willing to pull out to prove his point. They did have a pretty intimate relationship after all and Theo knew a few things that she couldn't deny liking. That kind of talk would probably embarrass her to death however and he didn't want to do that just yet. He needed to save a few of his big guns for later after all.

The giggles were exactly what he was wanting and Theo took pleasure in them. That tongue though, she was lucky he didn’t nip at it. He’d have to pay her back for that later. For now though he had a better way of getting his point across. “Well let’s have a little test.” He said thoughtfully. “About how many times a day do my antics make you smile and laugh?” He knew the answer was a lot. She didn’t even have to say it. Still, he kept his hand dangerously close to that tickle spot on her side just in case she needed a little extra motivation to answer honestly.

[Hailey Nichols]

How many of his antics made her smile and laugh on a daily basis. Too many of them, but Hailey wasn't going to admit that, yet. Why would she want to grow his ego further? She pressed her lips together as she tried to stay serious, but she could tell his hands were still in attacking position.

So she was in a dangerous position. Would she lie and risk the tickles or would she tell the truth and have his ego grow even more? It was dangerous ground, but she might've found a compromise. “I fail to see how it deals with your ego,” she said with a bit of a satisfied smirk on her face.

[Theo Dean]

She was a slippery one wasn't she? Theo grinned. She was trying to turn the tables on him and get out of answering his question but he had been around the block a time or two. It would take a lot more than that for her to slip away from him. Still he supposed he could play along for now. "Well my dear it has to do with my ego because it proves the point that my thoughts are completely valid." He smiled to himself and let his fingers trail lightly along her ribs just to get another reaction out of her. "That is the purpose of a test isn’t it? To prove something?”

"You know," He said thoughtfully. "Some would say hesitation to answer my question would be a clue that you knew I was right. There are of course other ways of making you talk." He didn't need to tickle her again to remind her just how close his fingers were but he had other tactics at his disposal too. Softer, gentler tactics. "Are you saying that I don't make you smile or laugh? That would be a shame because then I would have to find another girl to change out of jackalope form and that might be a little difficult."

[Hailey Nichols]

"A test doesn't necessarily mean that it validates anything," she said as she tried to hold her ground. "It only tests it, but you have to do multiple tests to get a validation and you're doing one right now." She nodded her head as she agreed to herself. There was no way she was going to have Theo's ego grow even further, even if he did have the upper hand in that situation with his hand on her ticklish spot. Hailey squirmed as Theo's fingered moved along her ribs as she tried to stifle a laugh. She wouldn't give in. Not one bit.

But there was other ways of making her talk and her hesitation was because he was right? Hailey rolled her eyes. "Good luck finding another jackalope," she said with a bit of a smirk. "Because most likely if you do find a jackalope, it'll be a huntress and not all are like me. Some of them can be quite rude or even not like boys at all, so you'd be SOL most lightly."

[Theo Dean]

She was going to call him on it. She just couldn't be agreeable and was going to see how far she could push things. That was fine but he thought she was going to be surprised with how brazen he could be. Still, he had to admit that this little game of cat and mouse they were playing was fun and it was nice to find a girl who didn't make things easy on him every once in a while. "Hailey, Hailey, Hailey." He said as he gave her a few more tickles. "You're still not answering my question. I'm afraid it might be a more serious case of denial than I thought."

He chuckled but he already had a pretty good plan for getting her to talk to him. "I don't know. I've had pretty good luck so far. It's still pretty sad the bunny girl just won't admit how happy she is." Theo glanced around to make sure the coast was clear but when he was sure no one was looking he finally saw his chance. He quickly stepped into a shadowy space between two cabins and pulled Hailey against him. "I suppose I could give her a good reminder but won't you admit that I make you just a little happy before I do?"

[Hailey Nichols]

Hailey tried to keep the giggles back when he tickled her again, but few slipped through as she squirmed in his arms. He was not letting up on the subject and she was not going to allow his ego to grow any further. If anything, they were close to a stalemate and none of them seemed to be budging anytime soon. "A very serious case on your end," she said with a smirk. He wasn't going to give up from what she could tell, but neither was she.

"That luck can run out soon, you know," she said as her smirk grew a little bit wider. She knew she was trying her own luck with him and she knew he would probably start using those measures to get her to talk. And she was right as he pulled her to a shaded spot beside the cabins as he pulled her up against him. She put her hands on his upper arms as she raised her eyebrows at him and tilted her head to the side. "I already told you, I'm not making that ego grow," she said before she stuck her tongue at him again.

[Theo Dean]

Well that was the final straw. He had all he could stands and he couldn't stands no more. If she was going to be difficult he was going to have to take things to the next level. Luckily Hailey was providing him with the perfect opportunity to loosen her tongue starting with that cute little tongue sticking out at him. Theo wasted no time leaning in and nipping at it playfully before following it into a kiss and adding a little tongue of his own. He wasn't letting her get out of it either, at least not until they had both had enough.

The kiss lasted a few minutes and it was probably a good thing he had pulled them out of sight or they were sure to be getting some cat calls right about now. Maybe he was still being a little nice to her since he was saving her the embarrassment of the crowd but he wasn't quite that nice. As he pulled away he gave her a playful smirk before he made the obvious play off her last statement. "Well you certainly make something grow if you know what I mean." It was corny and bad and Hailey would probably have fits but he couldn't resist when she set him up like that. Instead he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively only adding to the insinuation.

[Hailey Nichols]

Hailey giggled as Theo leaned in to nip at her tongue before he pulled her into a kiss. She could tell this was one of the ways he was going to use to admit that he made her happy and she was more than willing to play along for now, especially since he added his tongue into the mix. She played his slightly as she kissed him. And she could tell that he wasn't letting her pull away anytime soon, which was something that she was definitely not going to complain about.

When he finally pulled away, she took deep breaths as she tried to catch her breath. However, she didn't have time to catch her breath for long before Theo said something that was definitely embarrassing. Her face heated up a bright red as she tried to shrink down a bit. "Theo..." she whined as she pressed her lips together. "Really? Seriously?"

[Theo Dean]

Theo chuckled at the girl’s reaction. Not only could he make her happy but he could embarrass her to death and get to watch her cute reactions pretty much whenever he tried. He didn’t do it all the time anymore but it was still fun every once in a while. She deserved it this time though. How was he supposed to respond when she wouldn’t even give him a small amount of satisfaction? “Just speaking the truth Hailey though I could be a lot sweeter…”

He left that up to her. All he wanted was to know she was happy with him. That wasn’t so bad was it? Well maybe there was a little ego involved but he did have mostly good intentions. His kiss should have told her that more than anything. “Sure you don’t want me to play nice? I can be very nice when I want to be. You know that.” He was being nice now holding her, not even tickling her. Wouldn’t that be enough or did she need a little more persuasion? Of course persuasion was something he didn't mind giving.

[Hailey Nichols]

Of course, as her face that redder, her nose twitched once more, which only added to her embarrassment. They were both at a stalemate, but he had the upper hand. And she did realize that she was wrapped up in his arms, which only put him in prime position for tickling. But would she relent and give into what he wanted and make his ego grow... along with the other things he had mentioned? Or did she stand her ground and risk more tickles along with other things?

She looked up at him as she tilted her head to the side as she looked at him. "You can be quite sweet and nice," she said as a slight smirk crept onto her face. "Fine... you make me happy and I smile and laugh a lot on a daily basis. Happy now?"

[Theo Dean]

When she tilted her head to the side he knew he had won. At least for now. He didn't even have to hear her words but they were nice too. Sweet and nice were alright but when she finally relented and admitted that she liked his mischievous side that was the real victory in his book. "A little." He said with a grin. "Funny how that works and it wasn't too hard was it?" He thought about making another crude joke here but he decided to let that one go for now. "Maybe having a big ego isn't such a bad thing when I make you happy?"

He took advantage of the moment to reach up and stroke her cheek. "For what it’s worth I'm glad you're smiling and happy. I don’t know a bunny girl who deserves it more and you’re definitely the cutest.” He chuckled and leaned back against the cabin wall with her their walk temporarily forgotten. At the moment he had a Hailey in his arms and he didn’t want to let her go just yet. “Besides, this new happy Hailey is pretty fun to be around. She even makes me work for my compliments from time to time.”

[Hailey Nichols]

She had lost their little battle for now, but it wasn't anything to get upset about. She was wrapped up in Theo's arms and she was pretty content for the moment. "Your big ego is good for one thing," she chuckled as she leaned up against him. She smiled up at him as he reached up and stroked her cheek. It was nice just being the two of them in the shade of one of the cabins. It was almost like their own little word. Almost.

"Maybe you'd get your compliments easier if you used a fishing rod," Hailey teased him back. She knew shew as so going to get it once they had a true moment to themselves. But for right now, she seemed to be safe, especially from the tickle fingers. "But what kind of girl wouldn't make you work for your compliments? That sort of thing makes egos grow even further."

[Theo Dean]

“Just one?” He said with a smirk. He would take it. Personally Theo didn’t think he ego was that big but he supposed that was always the way these things went. Hailey did like it though, deep down, and that was the important thing even if she did think it was bigger than it needed to be. He thought he could bring her around on that idea eventually though. He just might have to work a little more on her. Luckily he hadn’t had a problem with that so far.

“A fishing rod huh? And what would I catch I wonder? Maybe a Hailey fish? I’ve already got a bunny girl but I don’t know if Artemis deals with sea creatures much though.” His chances of catching another cute transformed girl might be as slim as finding another jackalope but that was alright. Getting one cute girl out of the mix was pretty lucky. “You might want to reconsider that stance eventually though. I have been known to respond favorably to compliments.”

[Hailey Nichols]

A Hailey fish? She had to laugh and roll her eyes. "I don't really recall anybody getting turned into a fish, like, ever," she said with a bit of a shrug. "From what I can tell, they prefer mammals, like cows, wolves, jackalopes. Those sorts of things. So I don't think you'll catch a Hailey fish or any type of fish honestly." She smirked as she looked up at him. She had to give him a little bit of a hard time, especially to get back with all that teasing he usually did to her.

"Favorably to compliments?" Hailey said she moved one of her arms so she could rest her hand on his chest. "Even when you're fishing for them?" She smirked a little bit before she tapped her pointed her on his chest. "Well... I think you're handsome if that accounts for anything."

[Theo Dean]

Hailey was probably right. The gods didn't seem overly found of sea creatures for some reason but you never knew. Still, he thought he could be content with just one Hailey for now. One was keeping him on his toes enough as is but at least it seemed like she had come around on his compliment idea.

"Hmm...handsome huh? That's a good one." He said with a grin. He let his hands drift down to the small of her back. "I think that counts for a lot and you know what? I'm feeling a pretty favorable response coming on right now." He chuckled giving her a little tug from behind into another kiss. When they broke away he stayed close enough so that he could whisper to her. "Very favorable. Bet you didn't know it was that easy to get a few kisses. For what is worth I think you're beautiful girl and if we weren't here right now I would probably be finding other favorable things for us to do."