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 Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:19 pm
The goal was normality, or at least the best they could achieve. Tepin had given herself a goal; she would do her best to help Valeriu forget that night, and more importantly, forget Quinn. Their world just had to shrink to accommodate that change.
And what better way to reach normality than to pretend that nothing had happened? She had convinced him that the best thing would be to spend a family day together. Just her, Valeriu, and Sydni; all day together. They could go to the park, go out to eat, and end the night with board games and maybe making dessert together.
The park was nice, it seemed like few kids were there today, unlike the last time Tepin had visited. It would be peaceful and calm, hopefully today, at least, they could play together as if the game had never happened.
She watched them, making her way back from the bathrooms. The sandbox, Sydni, Varu; if that couldn’t cheer him up, Tepin didn’t know what would.
She had to work hard, no matter what.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:47 pm
Izzy rounded the corner of the bathroom's building a little to fast.- his feet skidded on the grass and the next thing he knew the ground was flying at his face.
Breathing into the grass and dirt he laid still, contemplating the events of the day... and going through his daily checklist.
He'd woken up with no food in his stomach and managed to scrounge up a couple herbs. So food, check.
He'd received a bag of seeds and a location to plant them right after his meal... so errand: check.
He'd managed to make it to the park, but as soon as he got here somehow managed to get lost and harassed by some very unsavory looking characters. So life threatened, check.
And now he was face first in the dirt and grass and exhausted. The pain from the new scrapes on his knee and cheek were starting to throb too... so injured, check.
Izzy sighed in frustration and fought back the tears as he pushed himself up, noticing a blurry figure in his tear filled eyes. With a jolt he pushed himself backwards, thinking it was one of the looneys from earlier.
'Oh Gods now I'm going to die! I hate this Game!'
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:16 pm
She frowned at him, blinking a few times to make sure that, yes, a boy did just face-fault right in front of her.
She looked back at Valeriu. He was grinning like an idiot, clearly enjoying the bonding time with his sister.
She looked back at the mess of brown hair against the grass. It moved.
She couldn’t help it. She laughed.
“Oh man. Look at you!” She wiped a tear from her eyes. He really biffed, “You’re supposed to learn to walk before you go outside! You okay?”
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:27 pm
The sound of the voice wasn't scary when it laughed. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he realized he was looking at a girl... not a large bald man with lumpy eyebrows. He laughter stung a bit, and her comment didn't help that much either.
"I-I-I can walk j-j-j-just fine!" 'Oh no...' He groaned softly. The crying was making his stutter worse! "A-and I'm f-fine!" He said, trying to push himself up and stumbling a bit.
Making a fool of himself in front of someone... check. His eyes welled up again and he bit his lip wiping his eyes.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:08 pm
“Yea, looks like it!” She teased him, always happy to be mean to boys-- they were stupid anyway.
She wanted to keep laughing… But after hazarding another quick glance towards Valeriu, she thought better of it. If Varu thought she was a bully… Then she’d feel horrible!
“But seriously, you okay?” She frowned, watching him pull himself up, he certainly didn’t look okay, crying like that. Men didn’t cry unless the unfathomable had happened! So what was up with this kid?
“You don’t look so good, there.”
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:02 pm
The teasing made him almost break out sobbing and start running again, but instead he just bent his head down a bit and balled his hands up, concentrating on keeping the tears from spilling down his face. Which he was failing at, miserably. Her sudden change of temperament shocked him a bit.
He nodded his head, afraid to open his mouth. By this time he was sure that if he tried to say anything he would just end up sobbing uncontrollably. Wiping his eyes again he adjusted his near empty bag and took a few deep breaths. The way she was talking now had calmed him a little.
Hadn't he joined the game to get tough? He certainly didn't feel any stronger, but he had to start somewhere. And crying in front of girls in parks was not the right way to do that. With this mentality the tears slowed a bit, but still pricked his eyes, blurring the world.
"I-I'm okay... th-thank you." Izzy said softly, hiccuping a bit as he wiped his cheek. Looking at his hand, he noticed only a little bit of blood mixed with the dirt. "Just a b-bad day so far..."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:21 pm
She cocked a brow-- just what was with this boy? He was like a little kid! How did he get by?
But her expression changed when the blood caught her eye-- he had taken a bigger spill than she had thought. Maybe he wasn’t such a wimp after all. Then again, Tepin could have handled that and not cried. She was tough. Not like the other kids here. She wasn’t a bint child; she played The Game.
“Man up.” She commanded, her tone sympathetic despite the forcefulness, “You’re a boy, aren’t you? Don’t cry!”
And with that, she mock punched him in the arm, grinning from ear to ear. She could cheer someone up! If Valeriu saw her doing that… Well, he’d be so proud!
“You just gotta be all, ‘Hey! Day! Bugger off!’ ” A phrase she had learned from those twins, “ ‘I’m not takin’ your crap anymore!’ And then don’t.” Simple enough-- her explanation seemed so flawless! With a simple mind like Tepin’s, it was hard not to find resolve a solution for everything.
She nodded, proud at herself for her kind and sage advice.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:37 pm
His head tilted a bit at her comment. The punch to the arm almost threw him off balance but he just grabbed the spot (it ached a little. The pain reminded him that he needed to get stronger again) and forced a weak smile. This girl was so happy about something. The proud smile she was wearing... he envied it a bit. But the smile got a little more genuine and he even gave a small laugh.
"'B-bugger off'?" He repeated. He didn't know what it meant, but he liked to say it.
"Bugger off!" He said a bit more loudly, punching the air. He felt much better now, but the pain in his knees and the envy of this little girl tinted his new found good mood.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:05 pm
“Yup! Bugger off! Twin’s taught me that one! Like.. ‘Shoo! Go away!’ “
The fact that she could spread her knowledge and seem intelligent only made her triumph all the better! But his enthusiasm! He was a good student, that was for sure!
“See? Better! All you gotta do is stay a-a..” The word was on the tip of her tongue. “Aggressive? No.. It’s an A word…”
Biting her lip and tapping her foot seemed to do little to help her brain try to come up with the mystery word.
Rubbing her chin, however, seemed to work.
“AH! Assertive! That’s it! Just teach ‘em who’s boss!”
She was honestly smiling now, it actually-maybe-a-little-bit felt kinda good to help people. Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone!
“And don’t cry!!” She added as an afterthought, frowning at him scoldingly, “Men don’t cry!”
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:25 pm
This was the best he had felt since he had left home. This girl had made him happy with her words and her overall cheerfulness. Her idea of being assertive pleased him- he felt like she almost knew that he had left home and joined that game to become strong. Her whole mentality radiated devotion and hope.
"Assertive, ch-check!" He said, nodding. Committing it to memory. "T-t-teach them whose b-boss. Check!"
And rubbing his eyes, wiping away the last of the dried tears he nodded fervidly. "Don't cry. Ch-check."
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:33 pm
“There you go!” She grinned at him, beaming with pride! See? With no effort she had turned a cry baby into a man! A pat on the back was in order.
Though she did it carefully-- Even Tepin noticed that the boy might not be as strong as she was.
It was weird. This kid was so different from Valeriu. He was tiny, and he cried easily.. She just wanted to… Well… protect him! Maybe that was the same feeling that Valeriu got when he saw little girls; maybe that was the feeling that caused him to take Tepin in in the first place.
“My name is Tepin.” She waved, her other hand placed casually on her hip, “What’s yours?”
This kid was just like the girls at the park. Tepin wanted to protect him, even if it meant throwing sand and rocks at all the mean boys who tried to tease them. Maybe he was another ‘special case’ when it came to boys; maybe they weren’t all stupid after all.
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Posted: Mon Apr 27, 2009 11:46 pm
He laughed openly (even though it was still quiet compared to the other sounds on the park). Izzy beamed at the girl, especially when she patted him on the back. His heart nearly burst from his chest. Had he found a friend?
'Tepin. That's such a cool name.' He thought to himself, holding his hand out like his mom at taught him.
"My n-name is Izzy. It's a p-pleasure to meet you T-Tepin." He said, smiling. This girl, Tepin, had single handedly turned around a horrible, terrible most awful day. She hadn't been mean or stared at him like all the other children he'd been running into lately. The new red streaks above his eyes no doubt having been the cause for the odd looks. But this girl had taken him in without question, told him what he needed to hear. He was... happy. And relieved.
"I'm so glad I m-met you t-today Tepin." He said. Yet as the words echoed in his head he realized something. Again that tinge of envy bubbled up in him. This girl must have a kind mother and father as well. No doubt she would leave the park soon, and he would be alone again. Wandering through the park, being tormented until he went back to his small hole-in-the-wall (literally). Even with the smile on his face, he couldn't stop his brow from wrinkling a bit in worry at the coming goodbye. He hated goodbyes.
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Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:01 am
Through the Game, Tepin found herself finding much stranger things than red stripes. In fact… She hadn’t even noticed them. Just as her black band might be inconsequential to her, so too were his marks. Something hardly worth noticing.
“Heehee, right back atcha!”
His hand felt big, warm, and rough compared to hers. Were all boys like that? Varu was the same way. When she took her hand away, she looked at it quizzically for a moment. Girls hands never felt like that… It had to be something exclusive to the opposite gender.
Still, no matter how opposite they might be in terms of personality… something seemed to click. Something, she didn’t know what, just seemed to bind them. As if some unseen link connected her to him.
“Are you by yourself? You wanna play together?”
Valeriu could wait-- besides…. Could she really tear him away from his gleeful building of what she assumed was maybe a tower if you squinted really hard? No-- he could wait. This was his well-earned time with Sydders. ......And ee needed to practice his sand-buildings anyway.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:32 am
Her hand felt small and rather soft in his dirt covered hands. Izzy smiled, it felt a bit like his mom before she got overworked at the restaurant. He was sad when she took her hand away. It felt... right, nestled into his own hand like that. Sort of like he wanted to take a hold of it and never, ever let go.
"Y-yeah... I'm h-here alone... I'd l-love to play with y-you!" His other errands could wait. It would not take him long to stop by the east gate on his way out of the park and bury the seeds he was told to.
But he never wanted to leave the park. Or, rather, he never wanted to not be near Tepin.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 10:55 am
Her face sunk a bit-- he was alone? How could a kid like this get by on his own? He was so… small. Even if he was bigger than Tepin, he gave off far less presence then the boisterous nine-year-old girl.
She just wanted to protect him-- even if he was a boy, he was the type of boy that just… needed someone there.
“So…” Her hands tugged at the bottom of her dress awkwardly, hazarding a quick glance around the playground. There really wasn’t much-- the typical play-sets and Geodomes, as far as “older” kids like them went, the only real choice would be some kind of field sport or the swings… it wasn’t like they were babies or anything.
“What do you wanna do, anyway?”
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