Hush, Big Scary Daeva [Nozomi x Exodus]

[Juliette06]

Nozomi was a good fox who, for the most part, stayed out of other foxes' way. It was a good plan that kept her out of trouble, but it also led to a rather isolated existence for the young vixen.

She found herself, alone, as usual, one slow, sunny afternoon, settled near a babbling river. There were a few creatures gathered around the watersource, but none that seemed interested in interacting with her. That was okay; Zomi was fine with settling on her rock and watching the world go by.

That is, until huge beast lumbered through the copse of trees and to the water. She knew by sight he was a Modidaeva, but she had never met one before, only heard stories. She knew they were supposed to be fierce, terrifying, mean creatures by nature, but she had never believed that a whole species could be defined only in terms like that. This modifox was still a modifox, and if he interacted with her, she would judge him on his own merits.

Not that Nozomi was a terribly judgmental fox. She had never felt supremely negative toward someone before, so she didn't quite know how she would handle it if he forced her into a bad situation. If she were thinking rationally, she would probably try to run away if he attacked her, unless the proper thing to do would be to treat this fox like a bear and just freeze where she was...

As much as she didn't want to draw attention to herself, Nozomi wanted to get a better view of his wings, so she sat up from her rock, wrapped her star-spangled tail around her paws and watched.  

[NymiiNym]

Juliette06

Exodus was not a good fox, who, for the most part, stayed out of other foxes' way. He was a competitive, manipulative 'Daeva without a care in the world, and he liked it.

The sunny afternoon had started with mild irritation when Xiu-Mei, his ex, had decided she would flutter down to his little cozy home and cause him hell. Roots had been ripped up as she casually stomped all over his domain, and fur had latched onto claws after a well-aimed retort became reason to be smacked on Exodus' side. The male wasn't one to fight woman, despite his already questionable nature, and so he had allowed the chaos until the leopard-print woman had grown bored and waltzed off. To say his afternoon wasn't the most pleasant was an understatement.

And so, like most creatures, the need for water drove him from his sanctuary (that now needed a cleaning thanks to Xiu-Mei) and towards the nearby river. He had noticed the other creatures, though one seemed invisible. He had yet to notice the female modifox. His eyes, instead, scanned the other creatures with a mild interest before he finally turned back to the task at hand.

That is, until he saw a pretty little figure watching from a rock. Oh? A modifox, that was new. He rarely saw other non-winged creatures who caught his eye, yet here she was, peering at him from a rock. Oh-ho~ Was she impressed by his lovely coat and well-kept figure? Of course she was, who wouldn't be? She was a fine lass herself, but he was a gent worth admiring.

Flapping his wings and expanding them as if they were glorious to behold (which to him they were), he took a pause to lap up some water. Thirst quenched, he turned right around to view the little modifox (who he realized was a lot cuter when he actually was viewing her completely), and tossed his head up to flick hair from his eyes.

"Well, hello there beautiful. What's a pretty lady like you doing on her own?" Yes, she had to feel good now. He was a charmer, wasn't he? He sure as hell thought so.

(( OCC:// If quoting is bad let me know~ I tend to quote when replying lately but can stop if it bothers you. :3 ))

 

[Juliette06]

Yushika

Quotes are fine, but you can tag me in the main thread, too. c:

Nozomi wanted to sink into the ground and slip away down the river in a puddle of Modifox-goo. He was--he was not only talking to her but she guessed--she guessed what he was doing was flirting with her.

He'd called her beautiful.

She could feel the heat on her cheeks, high and pink, and she couldn't find any words to say aloud at all. She ducked her head and her ears tipped back, and she tried to find her voice.

"Th..." she coughed once, then peered up at him. "Thank you," she responded quietly. "I'm just...enjoying the day," she responded quietly. He was so much bigger than she was. It made her feel smaller than she knew she was, and she wasn't entirely comfortable with that, so she forced herself to unclench and stretch a little bit.

"What about you? What have you been doing today?" she inquired politely, watching him carefully. Just because he had called her beautiful (the mere thought made her paws sweat) didn't mean that he wasn't going to attack her, and it didn't mean that he was safe. In fact, it would be a good trick to lure a victim into a false sense of security before attacking her, but she tried to push those thoughts from her mind.

Over-cautiousness aside, he had called her beautiful. Nobody had ever said that before, even if it didn't sound like he meant it in the way she'd heard other foxes be called beautiful. She wouldn't walk away from him--not yet, anyway.  

[NymiiNym]

Juliette06

He stared. An intense stare that began to slowly morph into this odd combination of shock and curiosity. The hell? Did the girl just blush? What... When was the last time he made a girl blush? Well, okay, maybe targeting the sleazy chicks didn't help, but he was horribly used to girls just giggling and batting their eyes back.

And then she just had to duck her head and pull her ears back. Her voice was quiet, and she seemed startled by the compliment. Had he truly met a vixen who actually, genuinely was innocent?

Hold on. Just because she blushed and acted cute didn't mean anything-- Xiu-Mei had done the same thing at one point. Still, it didn't help the girl was tiny compared to him, making her seem far daintier than some clawed 'Phim who had a tendency for trying to take your eyes out. He wasn't entirely convinced yet, but the girl seemed quite cute.

"You're very welcome, gorgeous." Okay, now he was doing it for his own amusement. It was kind of adorable how that blush had erupted, he was aiming for another. Maybe a squeak, though that was asking for too much.

"Me? Certainly not enjoying the day. That is, until you came 'round. I think my luck may have gotten better if a dame such as yourself is talking to a dull fella like me." He glanced about briefly, scanning for a mate who may come barreling down to whip his a**. None? Don't tell him this pretty lady was single, was she? Her? A little cutie like her? Well, maybe she wasn't as cute as he thought? No one just passed by the sweet ones, they were rarer than diamonds these days. At least from his experience...

"So, I saw you looking at me earlier. Was I bothering you?"

 

[Juliette06]

"What? Oh, no!" Nozomi's eyes widened and she shook her head emphatically; he hadn't been doing anything to bother her, per se. "I'm sorry for staring. I just...I wasn't sure if, you know, if. If I should leave, or not."

Nozomi's blush burned brighter in against her white fur, and her tail wrapped tighter around her feet.

"I'm--I'm sorry." She apologized again, just as his second compliment fully registered. He was--he was flirting with her! She didn't know what to do or what to say or what not to say or this had never happened to her, what on earth was she supposed to do in this situation? Maybe he did that to a lot of foxes--he certainly didn't treat this flirting business very carefully, if he was even flirting at all. How was she supposed to know? If he flirted with a lot of foxes, did that make the possibility of his flirtation with her more or less flattering? More or less insulting?

"I'm sure you're not dull, erm...what's your name?" she asked, still timid in spite of herself. He was so much, and she still felt like so little. "But, um, why haven't you been enjoying your day?"

She decided to ignore the fact that he called her--what was it, 'dame'? Or the fact that he said she was lucky. Or something. Her brain was getting kind of muddied, but she wouldn't let herself get caught up in it. If he was a flirt, she wouldn't let herself get swayed by his charm (such as it was).

All the same...there was the fact that he did have interesting markings; white and brown and yellow: not a combination that sounded attractive, but it kind of...worked?  

[NymiiNym]

Juliette06

Holy s**t, she was serious.

The blush got even worse! She was absolutely the real deal. A real, true, honest to deities sweet girl. Exodus would have tripped over himself had he not wisely chosen to sit down, his eyes sparkling in a merry amusement at her adorable response to his flirtation. She was, in fact, the cutest little modifox he had met in a long, long time.

Now, this practically meant he, too, was a puddle of goo right now. The playboy was too used to the women who would make your mother blush if you brought them home. He was too bored of them, too. He honestly did not know what to do with this pretty little starry-tailed lady, and while his mind screamed at him to continue teasing that blush he also wanted to comfort the girl with a wing around her shoulders and nuzzle.

Awh s**t, son. He was not the mushy type, dammit! He was not going to let some vixen ruin his game!

"Don't be sorry! Err... It's all good. Besides, any guy would be flattered by a lady such as yourself staring at them." He almost stumbled over his words when he first spoke, eager to please the other. With an annoyed mental sigh, he twitched his wings in amusement at her question towards his name. Immediately, as if on cue, the "tough" 'Daeva rose his head and twitched his wings.

"I'm Exodus. What should I call you? Unless you prefer the various nicknames I've been using; I don't mind sticking with that. He paused, noticing, FINALLY, that she seemed uncomfortable. Was it because of his size? He lowered his wings and, with a slight grunt, settled onto his stomach to match her height. There, no one could call him rude now.

"Urm. My day?" He frowned gently, though more from the memory than her. "Lets just say not all ladies are as pleasant as you. Especially one's who have claws and decide they're bored and pay a visit."

 

[Juliette06]

Nozomi felt herself relax in spite of herself as he lowered himself onto his belly; her shoulders loosened and she felt the tenseness leave her neck.

"My name is Nozomi," she answered, a little timidly still in spite of herself. "And I'd like it if you called me by my name...as nice as those others were. Thank you," she added belatedly, realizing she'd never really addressed the 'nicknames' aloud.

"You--a female attacked you?" Zomi frowned and tilted her head at him; she didn't know him, they weren't especial friends or anything, but she didn't think he deserved to be attacked. Unless he did--maybe it was a female who didn't appreciate his flirting all the time or something. In which case Zomi wasn't even sure she could blame the other female.

She didn't say that aloud, though, just shook her head. "I'm sorry. Are you hurt anywhere? I think I saw some herbs in the woods..." she looked vaguely over her shoulder, indicating direction, and then looked back at the male--Exodus, he'd said his name was.

Zomi was almost positive he wasn't going to attack her at this point, which meant that there was the possibility of friendship--which was surprising to her, but with a 'Daeva no less...all the same, if he was hurt, maybe they could stick together long enough to get his wounds patched up. By then, surely, she could figure out where his intentions lay.  

[NymiiNym]

As she relaxed he could only smile. Ah, good, even a large fella like him could make a tiny modifox like her feel at ease.

Nozomi. Well, Nozomi had decided she preferred her name-- how disappointing. He really did enjoy the game of making her blush with the various names he had decided to bestow upon her. Well, it simply meant he needed to find another way to get her to blush.

At the comment of the female (he hardly felt like Xiu-Mei was a female, anyways), he grimaced. Ugh, again why did they have to talk about that horrid 'Phim? "Female is such a nice term to use for someone such as herself." He mused, tail twitching. What? You try having a clawed woman mess up your fur first thing in the morning. It wasn't fun!

"Hurt?" He almost took this moment to roll about and demand the sweet girls gentle care. Instead, he fluffed his tail and examined his body. He had a few cuts on the side she couldn't directly see, and maybe a slash on his right paw, but other than that he decided to play tough. After all, the tough guys got the girls, right?

"Nahh. I'm totally fine. See, fit as a fiddle." He took this moment to get up, showing off with a toss of his head and slight leap. The male grunted and winced as his right paw hit against the grow, playing it off by swiftly flopping back onto his stomach and viewing Nozomi.

"Besides, I'm a 'Daeva. We're too tough to be harmed by a silly 'Phim.
 

[Juliette06]

Zomi was more observant than he seemed to think she was, because she didn't buy that for one second; she saw the glimmer of pain that crossed his face when he stood up, followed by how quickly he flopped back down.

"Maybe," Nozomi answered with a frown, carefully padding down from her rock and closer to him. Now she could see his paw, which looked to be still bleeding, and from the way he was hiding his flank from her, she guessed something was wrong over there, too.

"You can be tough and still be hurt," Nozomi informed him, peering up at him. Even when he was laying down and she was standing up, they were still almost at eye-level with each other. "It's okay. If you want to stay here, I think I know where some herbs is." She had almost completely made up her mind, but at the last moment she figured it might be better to actually ask him. After all, hunting for medicine would do her no good if her pseudo-patient had run away when she got back.

"If, um, that's okay with you?" she added, flashing another hesitant smile, accompanied by a blush--she didn't want to seem too forward, or like she was rewarding his overly flirtatious behaior. "Because, you know, what if some other fox decided to attack you, too? You could get hurt even worse," she explained, hoping that she could convince him to cave and let her help him.

Because really, Zomi liked helping people. She was soft and gentle and sweet, and if she had been in a Tribe--which she definitely thought about sometimes--she figured she would most likely be a Carer. She just didn't have the personality necessary for anything else.  

[NymiiNym]

Hm? She moved closer, and while it was simply to observe the wounds he was wishing to hide he took it as interest. Oh ho, so he had won the cutie over, fantastic~ Then, her next sentence came out and he inwardly flinched. Dammit, she was an observant little vixen, wasn't she?

Peering back at her, he almost grunted that he'd go patch himself up when, instead, when she suddenly spoke again. Hm? Her blush and mention of a fox attacking him caused a tilt of his head, golden eyes losing their flirtatious nature and instead curious. Was she worried? Why? He was a 'Daeva, didn't that mean anything? Why would she worry over his wounds, either?

Because she was a genuinely good fox.

She was a rare gem, indeed. At least to Exodus, who honestly surrounded himself with women who were not as honest as Nozomi. Perhaps he was a sucker, but he caved almost immediately. He couldn't resist that blush or hesitant smile, dammit! Geez, what kind of 'Daeva was he to let some small, gentle modifox turn him into this obedient little boy?

"If that doesn't bother you." He grumbled back, voice hinting at the embarrassment he felt for being caught. "Though, really, I'm fine. It's not a big deal, and I managed to get this far." As if trying to persuade her that he still was a "big and tough 'Daeva', he flapped his wings and raised his head proudly. See? Wasn't that all the proof she needed?

 

[Juliette06]

"Still," Nozomi insisted, a shy smile creeping onto her face again. "It's alright. Just...wait here, okay?" She stepped away from him again, offered another small smile, then turned tail and trotted into the forest, hoping that she could correctly identify the healing herbs the way she thought she could; just because she imagined them one way in her head didn't mean that was actually the way they grew.

All the same, a few minutes later, she was relatively confident in her selections, grasped carefully between her teeth as she emerged from the woods. She was glad to see he was still there, although looking rather lost in thought, and the intensity of the feeling kind of surprised the young girl. Zomi couldn't help but wonder if all of his flirting was getting to her--and she couldn't tell if it was a bad thing or not.

"Here," she said around the herbs, setting them down in front of them. "Would you--um, would you like me to put them on for you?" She knew how to crush up herbs properly, and she knew how to tie an elephant leaf around his paw, but she didn't know the other, unspoken side of this--what all of this flirting and bandaging and helping really meant, or what Exodus might think it meant.

Zomi wasn't entirely comfortable with not knowing, but she rested comfortably in the knowledge that, one way or another, she would find out exactly what it all meant.  

[NymiiNym]

The shy smile made his heart melt. Deities dammit, she needed to stop that, and now! He was so tempted to just let out a roar and send her running.... She was too cute for him. He could feel his badder side lessening as she kept up that act, and he was stuck between hating what she was doing and finding her too adorable for words. Hmpf, like he'd let some girl tame him.

"Aight." He watched her leave, sighing lowly as he flopped his head onto his paws. What was he to do? He was letting some girl tend to his wounds, something he'd never allow. He was a badass in his mind, his type didn't just allow some chick to tend to their wounds. Still, maybe it was nice to have someone worry about him.... and genuinely worry. Not some stupid, half-second worry that would later be thrown aside for flirtatious remarks and selfish purrs. He dealt with women who liked his company to make themselves feel good. Not women who cared for his wounds and gave such genuine, honest shy smiles.

Her footsteps snapped him out of his thoughts, head raising and tail flicking once in greeting. He viewed the herbs and poked them with a claw, eyebrow raising. No no, he could do this himself.... just... how?

"I can do it." He mused, poking the herbs and, with a sheepish smile, the male just patted the raw herbs onto a cut and nodded. Yes yes, good. That was how it was done, yeah?

 

[Juliette06]

Nozomi waited a beat for him to do something--anything--else to the herbs, but he seemed content to just have them...sit there. She smiled a little hesitantly, then cleared her throat gently.

"They're not going to heal very well like that," she pointed out gently, a slight blush peeking through her fur, almost embarrassed at correcting him; she certainly wasn't trying to seem like a know-it-all, but seriously, they weren't going to do any good just sitting on top of his wounds.

She eyed him thoughtfully for a moment, then took a different approach. "I'm sure a 'Daeva like you doesn't need any real help from a little vixen like me, not when you're so big and very strong, but maybe because my paws are littler and my claws are more delicate, I could help you chop these up and tie them. With, um, with this," she grabbed the elephant leaf between her teeth and offered a bright grin, ears pricking back up. After a minute, she set it back down and let her smile dim a little.

"Does that sound good to you?"  

[NymiiNym]

Now, he was sure he had it done right. He was Exodus, the mighty, handsome, and clever 'Daeva. Of course he got it right. Yeah. However, she didn't seem convinced. He was about to protest, but she said just the right things for him to tilt his head and smile.

"Oh, well." He was far too easy to flatter. The male looked at the herbs and blinked, deciding that if she wanted to he suppose he would let her. Besides, maybe, juuuuust maybe she knew what to do better than he did. Besides, she was a cutie. He was just.... weak against the cute ones. Especially if they flattered him.

"Okay. I guess. But if you need help I'm here." He whispered to remind her that he wasn't useless. Maybe he wasn't the best with herbs, but he was a strong man and a total badass.