Satisfaction that she had been able to taunt Théadan and get away before he could get ahold of her ran deep. Navia often teased and played, but Théadan was usually able to figure out a way to either outsmart her or overpower her. There, amongst the boxes and skinny aisles where she could maneuver better, he seemed unable to do either for the time being. It was not only exciting, but encouraging. How many times could she touch and badger him until he gave in? Or would his own streak of stubbornness compel him to continue wandering the crates to try to catch her? navia knew he had tried to follow after her, could hear him shuffling between boxes and trying to trace the erratic way she traveled around the crates to keep him at bay. At one point, she had leaned against one of the taller stacks and had become somewhat hidden in its shadow, enough so that Théadan walked down an aisle a couple rows over and right past.<br/><br/>He mocked her for calling herself proper and she wanted to laugh. He asked what kind of Duchess would slap the rear of her lover and she couldn’t keep from laughing before calling out in a knowing voice, “The kind of you like!” Then she hurried to move away from where her voice projected, not wanting to give away her location. While Théadan did accept she was graceful, even if he worded it as only being amongst the crates, he would not give her proper. She was tempted to ask him where that left them with poise, but she knew if she spoke too much, he would be able to begin tracking how her voice was moving through the crates and could potentially guess where she might end up next. So Navia let it slide and instead started backtracking again to try to take a swipe at him again. It was just too amusing not to do, too funny that she could. The masterful, seasoned Mes’Mo’Tanian warrior was bested by a casually trained Duchess when boxes came into play. She wondered if it bothered him.<br/><br/>Feeling a little like she needed to gloat, pleased with her success, Navia squeezed her way through one of the thinner aisles and tried to decide in which direction Théadan had gone. She’d been fluctuating in the directions she went to try to keep him from pinpointing where she had gone, but had lost her own perception of his location in the process. At one point she ended back up toward the front of the crates and she peeked out to see Wyndagar watching their antics with a curious expression that told her he didn’t quite understand why they were calling stuff out to each other amongst the crates. Navia sent the horse a quick grin, then called out to Théadan, “I can recall the last time you chased me like this, you liked your Duchess so much that we ended up a panting heap on the forest floor. Then she hurried out of the crates to reenter along one of the walls so she could keep her back to it and inch along in search of her lover with a memory fresh in her mind of how demanding Théadan had been amongst a tree in Mes’Mo’Tan.<br/><br/>She found him with his back to her, standing and probably listening to try to figure out where she would appear next. As Navia approached in silence, her near-black eyes scanned the crates to make sure she had an escape route in mind. Théadan was likely on higher alert than he was before, he was probably much more motivated to find her than he had been previously, so she had to make sure she thought of everything. She could see there were two escapes from where he stood and as she crept closer, it was obvious one led to a very narrow aisle she could potentially get stuck in. Another looked promising however. It seemed as though the boxes had created a bit of a wider aisle and it looked as though there was a turn at the end of it. If she really needed to, she could always turn back and go the way she came. Satisfied with the plan she would be able to escape down the aisle with the turn and continue mocking Théadan from afar, Navia closed the rest of the distance between them quickly.<br/><br/>“And from grabbing it!” She announced evilly, her hand closing around the firm flesh of his rear for a quick squeeze before she swiftly spun to retreat. Grace and poise abandoned her and a squeak of alarm escaped her as she tripped, causing her to lose a bit of her speed. Knowing she needed a faster escape than backtracking would allow after her blunder, Navia instead turned and took the route that had the crates with a turn at the end. Only she quickly realized she had misjudged the space and it actually a dead end. Knowing she was caught, unwilling to give in, Navia spun around and slowed to walk backwards with her chin held high, ready to confront her lover. Her breath came in small pants from the exhilaration of hiding from him and seeking him out, a grin curving her full lips, and her eyes full of pride from what she had done but also challenging. Navia was cornered after all, but she was not yet caught. There was still a chance she could slip past Théadan and escape once more.