[PRP] This Way or That? (Damaris & Vaudrey)

[LiquidMangos]

Damaris should have really taken a map with her.

She had made the mistake in that she didn't think this place was going to be terribly huge. She was INCREDIBLY wrong.

With so many dorms for the various students that attended this school, she really should have known better. And she had only really seen the ones for just the monster students.

And this had all started with her just wanting to find where the library was. She just wanted to grab a few books to bring to her dorm and read. But here she was, stuck in a crossroad in her own dorm, not really knowing where to go. Her teeth bit her bottom lip as she turned her head from side to side, occasionally bapping the puffy ball-ends of her hat out of the way.

"Was it this way...?"

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

In hindsight, Vaudrey probably should have taken a map with him as well, considering that he himself had gotten lost approximately three times so far since coming to the school. But he figured the place was not really that big, right? Certainly he'd be able to find where he was going...right?

Right?

He'd been wandering around for maybe five minutes before he saw the ghoul just ahead of him. She was standing looking incredibly lost (well, more lost than himself, at least), hat around her face, and Vaudrey peered curiously at her for a few seconds before he decided that the Right Thing To Do was go up and help her.

She was clearly a damsel in distress, obviously!

"My good lady!" Vaudrey declared, sweeping over and beaming at her, making sure to ruffle his feathers accordingly. He bent over in a little bow, almost tripped, and hastily straightened, smoothing down a few feathers. "Er, yes, hello! You look quite like you need assistance, are you all right?"

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

With her fingers starting to ruffle and twist up the ends of her shirt, she nearly threw up shirt up from suddenly being spoken to from the opposite direction she had been looking in. Damaris quickly recovered with flattening her shirt out with a fierce blush at her own reaction.

Pale chocolate eyes peered at the other with a series of blinks. The boil seemed polite... And nice. He even bowed. She did notice the slight balance accident but smiled in loo of mentioning it. Her hands came to hover over her middle as he addressed her. "O-oh, yes... I'm a little new to this place and I was hoping to try and get to the library but..."

Her eyes left the boil to glance around at them. "Again, I'm new so I don't know where it is."

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

Vaudrey fortunately didn't notice the ghoul's flustered reaction, because he was too busy attempting to be impressive and calm and in excellent condition for assisting a damsel in distress. He lifted a hand and smoothed down his flyaway hair, smiling broadly at her.

"Ah!" said Vaudrey, beaming brighter still. "I would very much like to assist you in your endeavor! I am only a new student myself - just arrived here a day or so ago - but I fear I would like very much to help you! After all, it does not do to leave a pretty ghoul by herself, right?"

He bounced up and down on the heels of his boots and then realized, a little belatedly, that he was off a little. Hastily Vaudrey straightened, talons moving across the front of his shirt to smooth it down, and he cleared his throat a little, dipping into a low bow.

"My name is Vaudrey Scarlett!" he said brightly. "I will help you get to the library! What's your name?"

Maybe if he just winged it he'd make it there just fine.

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

Upon hearing that he was also a new student she was a little relieved. Maybe they could find the library together. And he did seem awfully nice and eager to help her if his constant fidgeting was telling her anything. His eagerness was almost infectious as she was happy to run into someone willing to help her. She just hoped she wouldn't cause them to go in the wrong direction if ever she was given lead.

"A-ah, thank you. O-oh..." Had he just called her 'pretty?' Her cheeks tinted a light red at the compliment and her eyes darted down to the floor. "T-thank you but I doubt I am..."

Her mind blipped to a small memory of her three sisters all dressing up and commenting about one another while Damaris kept to herself, her nose stuck nearly to the binding's crease of her book. She shook her head a bit to clear her head.

"D-Damaris! My name is Damaris. It's nice to meet you, Vaudrey." She planted her hands onto her thighs before returning the bow. It was only polite, right? Hers wasn't as graceful as the boils had been but it was something. "I can't say how great it is to meet someone that wouldn't mind helping me... This place is so huge compared to the village."

The deer ghoul couldn't help with looking around them. Even the hallways were vast in height and the windows were enormous! She hoped that this 'getting lost' wasn't going to become a regular incident for her.

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

Vaudrey was attempting to look and sound as though he knew exactly what he was doing - even if this wasn't the case at all. He lifted his chin and regarded the ghoul with a bright-eyed look, Vaudrey eager to be of some assistance to her, because damsels in distress always needed a good boil to be helpful, right? And that was what his cousin Ren had always taught him about being a true prince.

A gasp of surprise escaped him. "You are - " he started to say, then realized he didn't actually know what she was trying to deny, coughed, cleared his throat, and tried again.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Damaris," said Vaudrey, straightening his his shoulders and his cloak so that it fell properly around him. Her little bow in return made him a tiny bit flustered because why was she bowing to him, weren't ghouls supposed to curtsy or something but wait what if she preferred bowing what if -

"Ah, yes, the village!" said Vaudrey hastily, latching onto the topic change at once, with great relief. "Yes, the village, it was, ah, quite the place, and while I'm still, er, new, I would be delighted to at least try and assist you while I can, milady!"

He gestured forward, bouncing on his heels again.

"You said you were trying to get to the library?" Vaudrey asked curiously. "What sorts of books were hoping to get? If you don't mind me asking!" he added quickly. Rule Number 3 about being a proper gentleman: always be respectful.

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

Even with the strange things that had happened in the village, she couldn't deny the place being her home. And she did feel bad that it's occupants hadn't exactly been very hospitable. And what a place it was!

"It is, indeed. The creeple there are... Alright. They keep to themselves a lot but once you get to know them, they sort of warm up to you, you know?" Damaris had had first-hand experience in that. A little deer scareling wandering about, quickly apologizing for as much as she could to try and not gain the wrath of any of the villagers. It was hard.

Damaris followed in the direction Vaudrey had gesutered towards, making sure to keep pace along side of the boil. "Not at all. Back home there aren't too many books to read so I was hoping to try and find some history books, as well as books about the foliage here."

"And... Maybe a story book or two..." Damaris didn't often let others or even her own parents know that she enjoyed novels of fanciful tales from old or present day. It was nice to, once in a while, delve into such a genre of book.

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

Vaudrey was not from the village, so he couldn't have said that it was home, exactly; but it was the first place he'd wound up after attempting to come to Amityville, so oddly enough, he felt a sort of peculiar kinship for the place nonetheless.

"It was, er...well, it was interesting!" he said brightly. "I was a little, erm, caught up in things at some point, and there was a bit about some eggs and some dragons, but - " Vaudrey added hastily, just in case he offended her about her hometown. " - but it was rather nice as well!"

Damaris sadly had picked the wrong boil to guide her - or rather, the boil had picked the wrong boil to guide her. But he wasn't about to tell her that, ambling alongside her with a beaming smile on his face, cloak ruffling out behind him.

"Oh!" said Vaudrey excitedly, clapping his talons together. "Story books! Yes, I love story books! There are quite lovely tales of adventure and true love and the prince saving the princess, and dragons and princes and there is just - "

He stopped abruptly, Vaudrey realizing, belatedly, just how ridiculous he sounded. He cleared his throat, coughed, and said, "Well, erm, I mean, that is to say, I kind of like them. Maybe a little."

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

"Yes... The villagers there weren't exactly understanding of the situation... What with a bus dropping in on their land but still... I would think they would have been a little more accommodating." Damaris had wanted to go out and help but her parents, much like the villagers, knew nothing of them and feared that they would bring more harm than good.

"Aside from those though, it's forests are nice and quiet. I was always told to keep from napping out in the wilderness. But it was often hard not to. Just had to pick a nice tree to nap in that was close enough to the village." She, after all, could have ended up as someone's meal at any point in time.

"Oh! I love stories!" She laces her fingers together with a smile. "The mystery of what is going to happen next in a tale is a wonderful thing to see unfold!" So he enjoyed books too. And nearly the same genre. Damaris couldn't help the smile at the others enthusiasm before they coughed.

"I loved reading them when I could back home. I own one that was kind of like the ones you described. It got passed down through my sisters." She was used to getting hand-me-downs but she never resented it. Her hat had been one and it was quite comfy. "But I left it at home... Might go and grab it once I'm not used to this place."

Damaris suddenly realized their surroundings and... Wasn't this by the creepeteria? Well... If she had remembered anything of the map she had looked at when she first arrived... The library wasn't too far... Right?

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

"Yes," said Vaudrey quickly, trying to make it sound like he hadn't been complaining about the village - because, after all, it was obviously where this ghoul was from, and he couldn't possibly insult her, that would be completely and utterly shameful of a regal sphinx such as himself. "Yes, I agree, it must have been quite frustrating to have a bus of students appear from nowhere and students come visiting all of a sudden! And did you like napping in trees? I saw a forest on the grounds here, perhaps you should visit it sometime!"

His feathers ruffled a little, the wind breezing through his cloak and causing it to fan out over his tail as they walked. It was a rather nice day, after all; that was something positive, even if Vaudrey was still not entirely certain where they even were. He was still a little embarrassed that he'd gone off about the story thing, but Damaris didn't seem to find it all that unwelcome, which was reassuring.

"Yes, exactly!" he said brightly, beaming at the ghoul. "I love learning about what sorts of things occur in these books, they are positively magical and they bring you to a new world, with all of these characters and these places, and it's simply wonderful!"

Vaudrey glanced sideways at his companion. "You have sisters?" he asked curiously. "How many sisters, if you don't mind me asking?"

Rule number 4 of being a gentleman: always be interested in what she's saying.

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

"Oh! The trees are not too bad of a place to sleep but, being who I am, it was probably a bad idea if I managed to stick around in the tree for a little longer than I should have given what commonly lives in the forests." Beast and the like that would have seen her as an easy meal. And that was not something she had wanted to become.

The grounds here were different than the village. Especially with the mist having come in to cover a large majority of the small town. Less humidity and more creeple than the village could ever hope to keep. But it was... Nice. Maybe she would be able to think better of her parent's choice of shoving her out of the door.

Her sandy-doe eyes perked up and she smiled at the mention of her sisters. "Oh, no problem at all! I have a totally of three. All my sisters are older than I am. They are... " Loud, chatty... "Nice... A lot of my things came as hand me downs from them." She lightly tugged on a braid of her smoky-grey hat.

Damaris would never speak ill of her siblings but... She certainly did not inherit their way of interacting with on another, that was for sure.

"But I don't mind it at all. I suppose if there was something I might have liked that they had, eventually it'd be passed down to me so there is that." Always a silver lining was much of the deer ghoul's thinking.

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

His tail flicked out behind him as they walked, curling briefly against his ankle before it let go, fluttering against the grass. Vaudrey had tucked his hands behind his back, talons curling together loosely together. "Oh, yes," he said adamantly, nodding his head. "You must absolutely make sure to keep yourself safe! Lovely young ghouls such as yourself should always make sure to watch out for yourself!"

+1 for complimenting properly, Vaudrey.

He still didn't quite know where he was going, but at least he was playing it off well enough (at least, he thought so), Vaudrey sneaking a sidelong glance at Damaris as he walked. He gave a little nod as she spoke of her sisters, beaming brightly at her.

"I wish I had siblings," he said, a little wistfully. "I was raised on my own, sadly, though I would have loved to have a brother or sister to be with! I spent a lot of time with my cousins, though it's not quite the same. And there isn't anything wrong with hand-me-downs!" he added quickly, making sure to reassure her, because that was also somewhere in the Rules to Being a Proper Gentleman. Make sure to always make her feel good about herself.

Vaudrey's wings gave a little flutter.

"I think you look just nice how you are now already, anyway!" he declared, giving a decisive nod. "Do you get along well with your family?"

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

"Oh! Believe me! I'm not frowning on getting hand-me-downs but... It would just be nice to get something that I have picked out myself, you know?" It was a small thing and one that she had never expressed to her parents. She didn't think they would take it much into account...

"I-I do?" Stormy orbs blinked up at Vaudrey for a moment, previous thoughts leaving her at the shock of being complimented so much.

Damaris knew that her sisters were prettier than her and it didn't bother her much. She was into 'dolling' herself up or anything. Being comfy was fine by her. But... She did get the urge here and there to just want to look 'nice.'

"Thank you," She twisted a lock of her bangs between her fingers. "It's not bad... It's a little concerning when my parents base how I'm to become by my sister's examples." She couldn't help the sigh that escaped her.

"And it's not that I don't get along with them... I suppose it's more over-whelming than anything." Yeah, that about nailed it on the head.

kuropeco

 

[kuropeco]

He gave a vigorous nod of understanding. "Ah, yes, that is very true!" said Vaudrey, glancing sideways at the ghoul. "It would be very nice to have something that is truly your own and not just something that was handed to you from someone else, right?"

Damaris was given an encouraging smile. "Perhaps you should try it one day! Going out and getting something that is only yours!"

Vaudrey's feathers ruffled against his back as he walked a few more steps forward, falling easily into place beside the ghoul. He had tucked his wings against his back, his cloak falling around him in little feathery waves, tail flipping side to side.

"You're welcome!" he said brightly, pleased that she had taken the compliment. He was doing so well on the "gentleman aspect," after all, and was now feeling quite proud of himself. Ren would have been delighted to know how just how good his cousin was doing.

Vaudrey lost a bit of his smile, however, as it slipped into an expression of concern. "Your parents should not judge you on what your sisters do, they should focus on what you do," he said earnestly, but there was a strange note of seriousness to his voice, a familiar ache in his chest.

He pushed it away. "You are your own person, right? You should be your own person!"

kaineferu

 

[LiquidMangos]

To actually venture out into the world and be able to get her own clothes? That idea did sound incredibly tempting and it wasn't like she really had anyone but herself to stop her... Well, that and lack of currency but she was sure she could find something in the future. Her cousin might have some connections with the more prestigious side of the family...

"That... Does sounds like a good idea," Regardless of the blush that she knew burning in her cheeks, she couldn't help the smile that sprung up at the thought of going to make decisions for herself. Even if it were with clothes. "All I seem to be doing is thanking you but... Thank you again, Vaudrey."

But her smile didn't keep it's same brightness as her companion's seemed to fade as well. Damaris angled her head a bit in intrigue at his words. And with the amount of truth they carried.

She was, technically, her own ghoul. And she had been sent out of the home to be here and learn more about the world and about how to 'better herself', in her parents' eyes.

"Yes... Yes, I am." The thought seemed foreign the more she thought about it... But it made sense. "I am!" She A little tuck of her arms at her sides as a sort of 'pump' with both of her fists with a firm nod.

"A-ah! S-sorry... Just I-... Never really thought about that... I have my siblings that I've sort of been... Well, you know..." She quickly retracted her arms to hug close to herself with her eyes glued at the ground but her smile seemed to have returned.

kuropeco