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 Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2016 9:34 pm
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"This isn't far enough?" Byakko cocked her head and threw Zeffer a puzzled look, but shrugged and lightly kicked off the tree she was leaning against to follow him. They were still within earshot of some of the others, she supposed, turning to give Tevini a long, thoughtful stare. It seemed the redblood was absorbed in her own deep contemplation; it was reassuring, to say the least, that perhaps some of her words had been taken to heart. A warm pang played in her chest.
"Uhhm. Sure." Returning her attention to the troll beside her, Akko took the pencil from Zeffer and stared down at it as if she had never laid her lookstubs on one before. She still didn't know what to write, and it still seemed like a fatuous waste of time. She wanted to think he wouldn't pester her about what she'd write but... this was Zeffer. Swatting and ducking under a cloud of gnats, Akko bobbed back up and stared at the back of his mane as he led them deeper through the swamp, away from the twinkling lights and hum of the crowd. The lanterns thinned, and a slight mist began to collect around their ankles, swirling and playing as each of their steps disrupted the fog.
Zeffer had already scrawled something down earlier, hadn't he? She'd just have to beat him to the punch. "So, what did you write?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 09, 2016 4:41 pm
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"Almost." Zeffer glanced at her before looking away again, blushing faintly as he handed over the pencil. Unlike Akko, his focus was placed squarely on the task at hand, and he didn't bother to take notice of any of the rebels they were temporarily leaving behind. He was still vaguely worried that someone would try to follow them, but it seemed as if they would finally be left alone, for a little while at least. He kept his hand clenched around his wish, buried in one jacket pocket, and held the paper lantern delicately in his free hand.
"If you tell someone a wish, Akko, it might not come true." He smirked teasingly as he came to a stop, looking back in the direction of the gathering, to gauge how far they'd drifted. Satisfied that they were far enough away, Zeffer located a place for them to sit, a flat spot on a large rock near the stream. He stooped to lean against it, carefully retrieving his wish to that he could tuck it up into the lantern. Though it was a childish notion, the blueblood still reveled in such things. It was a gesture of hope, something to hold onto. Behind every wish was the determination to make it come true, somehow.
"But if you really want to know. I wished for rain."
His fangs flashed as he snickered, and he relaxed back against the rock, obviously fibbing.
"What about you? What're you gonna wish for?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:59 pm
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"That doesn't make any sort of sense." Akko responded shortly about his comment on wishes coming true, slowing to a stop as Zeffer did. Clambering beside him up onto the rock, she swung her legs over the edge and silently watched him fiddle with his lantern. Continuing to roll her own absent mindedly between her own two hands, she shifted atop her perch to find a more comfortable position, shoulder pressing against Zeffer's own.
"Rain." She echoed him flatly, not entirely sure if either a) Zeff was being that simple minded or b) he was lying. Probably the latter. She was a keen observer, and the soft light the lanterns cast hadn't been kind to Zeffer- the blue lightly staining his cheeks hadn't gone unnoticed. "What, you don't think it's wet enough here as it is?" With one arm she gestured openly around at the gratuitous amount of murky water surrounding them. Some parts of the Outpost had dry land- but even then it wasn't 'dry' as much as it was... well, mud. Byakko pointedly stared down at Zeffer's lantern, unconvinced.
"I don't know." She shrugged at her confession. Something like victory or hemoequality was the obvious answer, right? Wish for Maneki's survival, perhaps? Either way, Akko knew she'd just be going through the motions. She did believe the whole thing served to be cathartic, just... not for her. "Maybe for it not to rain."
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 4:40 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 11:28 pm
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Zeffer could only laugh at her reaction, leaning against her as she moved to sit next to him. His s**t eating grin hadn't faded a bit as she criticized his choices, and he gave her a light, playful elbow to the side to show how he felt about her contradictory wish.
"Water doesn't mean anything to me unless it's falling from the sky." He snickered, knowing she could see right through his fibs. His real wish was much more embarrassing, and he didn't really feel like explaining it. In a way, she knew it already; it was something he still worried about from time to time, something he'd spoken to her about long ago. He was still in the process of accomplishing it. There was no need to get into details, when there were other things on his mind.
"Better not waste it, though. These things are going to come true for sure, I can feel it." He shifted a little, and stared down at the water, admiring the way the light from their lanterns danced and shimmered in its reflection. They would probably start to see others, soon, once the rebels upstream began to release theirs. As he gazed down, he swallowed at the realization that he was stalling, and glanced back at Akko for a moment, wondering how to open up the next part of the conversation. It felt dumb to hesitate, but...well, it could wait until they made their wishes, right?
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 4:27 pm
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Akko threw Zeffer a coy half-smile when his elbow jabbed into her side, only not responding with one of her own because, well, she couldn't blame him. Maybe he was starting to rub off on her. Sinking against his side for support, she gazed out to the murky waters and let out a low hum.
"You think so, huh..." Well, Akko was the kind of troll to force all of her energy into whatever she was doing. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right- even if her bloodpusher wasn't fully into it. Yet the more Akko reflected on it, the more it dawned upon her how difficult it was to prioritise her goals. There was the obvious 'equality', for the Initiative's morals to be made a reality. But was that too broad? Maybe for the Mother Grub and her brood to flourish, their numbers to return to what they once were, or for the Outpost to remain a safehaven... To mark Regina's face the way she had hers. To find a new Queen to replace her. Byakko absent mindedly brushed a hand over her cheek, pensively staring at the rippling waters. Then there was Maneki's survival, and the need for him to become self-sufficient. So many options, and many seemingly unobtainable, as far out of reach right now as the stars glittering above them through the treetops.
But that was the point of wishes though, right?
They let you dream the impossible, no matter how wild or irrational. Twirling the pencil between her fingers, Byakko finally made up her mind. It was a selfish wish; an impossible wish, foolish and childlike, and she knew full well. Twisting away to hide her slip of paper from Zeffer, she crudely wrote the following words:
to see him again
Quickly folding up the paper as soon as the pencil's tip left the page, Byakko tossed it into her lantern and straightened up. "There. Should we put them in now?" Waiting for his response meant risking Zeffer snatching up her note, so before he could speak, Akko slipped off the rock and moved to crouch over beside the bank of the swampstream. Batting aside some tall grass, she dipped her fingertips lightly into the stream, swirling them around to test the current. Pulling out a swatch of matches from inside her robes, she struck one against a dry rock and lit the small candle inside her lantern.
Byakko fell still, curled inwards over herself as she stared down at the glowing orb between her hands. She still felt nothing, save a slight embarrassment for how asinine her wish really was. Unceremoniously, she dropped her lantern into the stream with a slight plop. Watching the lone glowing paper ball and it's untouchable reflection dance on the water's surface, she couldn't help but muse on how much the display seemed to metaphorically mimic what her relationship with Trolldad had become.
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 1:43 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 18, 2016 12:24 pm
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Stryke looked at him seriously suddenly as the other joked. "a...growth spurt? ha. very funny. why don't you wish for a better sense of humor." The yellowblood's eyebrows rose as he replied back. Groaning in frustration he laughed off the others teasing with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"i should say to maintain what i've got, but yesss I meant what I said." Stryke agreed reluctantly, indicating there was some things in his life that brought him joy, he’d meant to protect the sanctity of it. Stryke simply wanted to hold onto what he could, his possessive nature demanded it. He'd lost and gained a great deal over the sweeps, perhaps his lantern was selfish afterall.
"that isss rude; but thank you anyway for your concern over my height." He crossed his arms over his vested chest in a tight defensive way, as he rolled his eyes. This kid just kept driving the nail home, was he really that short? He fidgeted at the idea of not being adequate in some way.
Before he could think or do anything else further, there was pressure on his cheek. "maybe not---w--what hey?!" Squawking in protest, Stryke looked surprised as he stared at the other boy. really...?
"....thanksss..i think. uh here." He added awkwardly, quickly leaning in to work on a drawing of a spaceship. He gave it a fair amount of attention to detail. Finally Stryke added Cerpin's cartoon figure holding a pen on top of the ship pointing skyward. He passed the other back his lantern as he capped his pen...motioning as if to excuse himself. Stryke tried scrubbing at the spot the other marked but noticed no black ink transferred. Great he was stuck with a smilie face..drawn on him.
While this little exchange had been “fun”, he wanted to go set his lantern off on its journey and perhaps sit by the riverside for a bit.
Yamashii sass and everything nice all in one smol package.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 9:03 pm
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Zeffer waited as Akko thought over what she would write, his own gaze lifting to stare off into the misty swamp. His mind wandered to what he had put down - cooperation - a wish that reflected what he wanted amongst the officers and the new rebel recruits. He'd ******** up plenty in the past, and he still had a lot of work to do as far as fixing his mistakes went, and adding a hopeful wish into the mix wouldn't hurt. After a few minutes had passed, he started to feel a bit surprised, knowing that she didn't think much of the activity, and he smirked when she finally sat up again.
"Yeah, let's do it." He moved off the rock and shifted to the edge of the water, careful not to bump into her as they got ready. Leaning down, he didn't even bother to make sure if the current was strong enough or not, before setting his on the surface and pressing it away. It was quickly joined by Akko's, and he grinned as he watched them drift, admiring the way they glowed in amidst the darkness of the swamp.
"They're as good as granted now." Zeffer snickered quietly, and pressed himself back up onto the rock, appreciating it as a relatively dry place to sit. "I wanted to talk to you about something else, though...about us. Our relationship, I mean." He finally spat it out, and looked away again, his grin having faded just the slightest bit. It felt awkward to refer to it that way, but he wasn't interested in beating around the bush anymore. He looked back to her, faltering for a moment to gauge her reaction, wanting to make sure they were on the same page.
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Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:40 am
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A wish.
Why was she so stuck on this? It wasn't hard, all she had to do was write 'space' on the paper and stick it in a lantern. Why couldn't she make herself just do it?
'Because you don't believe.'
There it was again, the negative nagging part of her brain that represented reason. This exercise was cute and she appreciated the rebels' attempt to celebrate their survival but as time passed, the doubts and shadows in her mind grew.
Then why not write the alternative? Something she wanted to let go of. That list had plenty of items. She wanted to lose her paranoia, the fears that she couldn't even say out loud. Or perhaps her disapproval of the hemospectrum, if she could convince herself to follow it and believe in it then she would live a miserable but undisturbed life. It would be hard but there were many trolls already doing it, trolls who shouldn't and trolls that should...
Her eyes flicked to the boy talking to a short yellowblood. What was he going to write?
'To replace you.'
She'd noticed how he'd sat with highbloods earlier. While the logical part of her brain pointed out that he couldn't replace her until he had a different engineer to rig something up and that her low blood made her a great servant to him (according to the hemospectrum), it was hard to shake the thought. She knew that she was being difficult but what was she supposed to do in this situation? Stress frayed at the edges of her mind.
'I just want to be free.'
Here it came again, she couldn't fight back the tears. Rubbing at her face, she tried to hide it but couldn't stop the nearby trolls from hearing her sniffle. The leader and a blueblood had slipped by her earlier but hopefully they were too distracted with their own conversation to notice her. Scribbling the word 'freedom' on her slip of paper, she set it in her lantern let it begin to float downstream. With her participation in the festivities over, the girl slipped off to find a quiet place to wait until she could go home.
Quote: With that, Tevini is finished with the festival! It was fun! Thanks for hosting it! I hope there will be another community ORP for the rebels soon!
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Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:00 am
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Forera could only rub her own shoulder at Etsali's words with a slight, uncomfortable nod at the subject. "I guess. I'mma... Have to think it over." She murmured, throwing a cautious glance toward the leader before digging a sharp nail in her arm, trying to change her thoughts through pain. Normally, it worked. Right now, it didn't. Maybe she was becoming too used to the pain. s**t... Leading the way downstairs while listening to her friend speak felt a little strange. "Yeah. Maan, those were a thrill." She said sarcastically, dimly remembering the pain she'd felt as she was burned alive and left for dead. Thankfully Etsali and her... Friend or whatever, saved her life by helping her to the exit. As Etsali continued to talk about how she was moving out of her hive, the tealblood's eyebrows creased, remembering when she had to do the same-- It was a quick process, only taking things she very much needed and some piercings she'd managed to lug. Forera was a simple girl, she really didn't need much to live and while she ate like a moobeast it was mostly because she could. She also had to pick up Serpentmom and Dragondad, as before she'd left she'd warned them that the two of them would probably be doing something, well, stupid.
Serpentmom got the hint, regarding last time.
Hearing the yellow dressed leader continue and finish with some more words from their leader, Forera rubbed her hands thoughtfully, half thinking, half listening. Maybe, it would be better to be away. Maybe, they really didn't need her anyway. She would probably have been a nuisance, and even her own friends weren't there for her anymore. Well, she thought with a glance toward Etsali-- Almost. She had no idea where Vulpin was, and even though her pump biscuit churned at the thought that he might be injured, she felt slight sadness at the fact that he hadn't even bothered to come. The words Luxara said hurt her, even now, even if she didn't want to admit it.
Being shaken out of her thoughts from Etsali suddenly moving her mouth while looking at her, the tealblood blinked, shocked. "Oh, uh, like, yeah." She said quickly, letting herself be brought to the lanterns and accepting the pen and paper before suddenly pausing. For someone who normally had so much to say, she was speechless. She squinted at the paper before taking a glance toward Etsali, then pursed her lips, eyes falling upon her paper. She removed her teeth from her bottom lip, having just realized she was chewing it before pursing her lips and sighing.
xxxxxxi stopped being an idiot
I wish they didn't hate me
xxxxxxhe was here
xxxxxxi wasn't so violent
No. She couldn't. She flipped it over. She calmed herself down.
I wish not to ******** up.
She folded her paper and tossed it in her lantern as fast as she could.
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:31 am
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Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 6:38 pm
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Good as granted, huh? Akko let out a soft click in her throat to herself, glancing back over to the blueblood with skepticism clearly painted across her face. Doubtful.
She started to rise and follow him; however, the next time he opened his mouth, Byakko recoiled and threw him a look of pure, unbridled shock.
"O-our..." Freezing up, the words hitched in her throat. Akko crossed her arms over her chest defensively. Swiveling at the hips to turn away, she silently stared down the murky river at Zeffer's lantern catching up to her own. 'Relationship' seemed like such a bizarre word to use, but it felt moot to toe around the obvious any longer. Byakko bit down hard on her lower lip, trying to fight down the buzzing starting to warm her cheeks. It wasn't that long ago that she would spit back that they shared no such bond; she wasn't interested in quadrants, there was no time for such trivial matters within the Initiative, that it was pointless- when exactly had her opinion shifted? There were a thousand excuses she used to be able to pull out of thin air, but it grew harder to make them the more his presence grew in her life. It was hard to exactly pinpoint when things had... changed, and equally difficult to deny the role he played in her life. They lived together, for gog's sake. Even then, she fibbed to herself and stood firm that it was only for Zeffer to fulfil his duties as her bodyguard.
They had never talked about what was happening between them, or gave it a name- but it was tangibly there, and it had been tangibly twisted. Was it their fault for never communicating? Her fault? That just left her even more confused and conflicted. There had even been times she'd wished they had talked about their blackrom, just for clarification's sake. Byakko didn't quite grasp the subtleties within quadromance- where did a supportive blackrom end and a feisty redrom begin? She dreaded this conversation and those answers. Deeply.
Snapping out of her dizzied embarrassment, Byakko cleared her throat. "Uuh. Right now?" Yes, right now. She was stalling. Akko silently cursed him for catching her so completely off guard, fidgeting with the baggy sleeves of her robe.
"I mean- okay." She choked out a simple answer as level-toned as possible, but her response lacked the confidence that usually permeated her speech. "So... what... what about it?" She questioned, almost sheepishly, scratching at the back of her neck. Byakko's eyes continued to trail Zeffer's lantern catching up to hers, refusing to look back at him. The orbs of light spun together lazily, making vague circles around one another as they danced together on the gentle current.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2016 8:18 pm
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Zeffer almost barked a laugh at the look that came across her face, tickled that it could still get such a rise out of her. He was still blue in the face himself, and sat back on the rock they'd been previously perched on, eyes glued on her as he scooted back and got comfortable again. Propping his elbows on his knees, he waited out her awkward pause, eyes narrowing in amusement at how visibly embarrassed she was acting.
"I wanted to apologize, first off. A lot of s**t's gone down and I should have been more open about it from the start. I guess I just assumed you knew more than I thought you did." He cleared his throat, trying to maintain his trademark smirk, trying not to get awkward himself. His minor dig at her lack of knowledge was a bit of a low blow, and really, how much experience did he have himself? Not much. It was alright though - always easier if he made it into one big game. The undeniable truth was that they had been tangled up in one another's quadrants for ages, but neither of them had bothered to put the idea to words. Time for a change.
"Akko, I always thought that what I felt for you, were black feels. Kismesis feels. Cause, y'know, we always have that sweet tension between the two of us." His grin darkened a little as he thought back on everything, all the times they'd fought and bickered and quarreled, and worse. He fidgeted quietly as his mind raced, looking for the best way to continue, rubbing his hands together as he thought, fingers drifting over the burn scar on his wrist. He did still harbor something that resembled black feelings...but they weren't proper ones. It was more just the way he usually operated, the usual old chaos and mischief. The lines had become muddied, somewhere between finding her in the woods and Maneki's arrival, something had shifted. With their respective positions in the rebellion, a true kismesisship was all but impossible, but it didn't really matter to Zeffer.
"After all the s**t that's happened, though...It feels like it's the opposite now. Sort of." He sucked in a breath, knowing she wouldn't really understand that last part. Jamming his hands into his jacket pockets, he stretched his legs out to balance himself, still unable to keep himself still. "What I mean is, I'm in red with you, Akko." Nailed it.
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Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2016 8:32 pm
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