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 Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:08 pm
Lucretia really did not mind keeping an eye on Bhel. The Fa'e was not talkative, which got a little irksome because the Raevan wanted at least a little conversation, but after all that had been happening in his world lately, she did not want to press him too hard to talk if he did not want to. He did spend plenty of time out and about, though, now that he was on leave from school, and so, in keeping with her father's wish to protect the boy when Kumoru himself could not, Lucretia was also getting out more again to follow him.
And today, the Ice Rose was seeking her reward for sitting Bhel at one of her favorite smoothie places. The frozen treats were hardly as nourishing as plain straight-up ice cubes (Lucretia believed they were called "empty calories", but could not understand the term, since the cup was not empty until the smoothie was gone) but she was gradually getting more attuned to the subtleties of flavors that were not magical. Besides, by the time she got home, her tray full of kitty-shaped ice cubes would be frozen and she could eat those for a real meal.
She basked cheerfully in the sun on her way to the shop as Bhel followed, tail flicking behind him, and floated in and up to the counter. Ignoring the stares at the glowing rune that replaced her internal organs below the point of her body that had finished forming - Lucretia had not felt like wearing her sheet today - she ordered a smoothie for herself and one for Bhel, paid with the money that her father had given her, and then headed out to the cluster of seats outside on the sidewalk. It was too chilly out for most humans to feel like eating outside, but Lucretia did not mind it at all. Cheerfully, she peeled the lid off of her cup and set it on the small metal table, and started sublimating the ice out of her smoothie.
Bhel climbed into a chair beside his sister and temporary guardian with his smoothie as well, finally putting his cell phone away in his pocket. He wore a blanket around his shoulders like a cape to help keep warm, in addition to his usual skirt, but still shivered a bit at the first sip of the cold drink.
After a few minutes of boredly contemplating the surface of his smoothie through the clear plastic lid, he looked over at Lucretia and asked her, "Hey, can you help me make a message to someone?" It sucked not being able to read very well, the young bull was beginning to realize. Hopefully Lucretia would be able to help but ... well, Bhel was not totally sure he could count on her. It was still worth asking, since he did not really have anything else to talk about.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:28 pm
The outside was pleasantly cool despite the sun shining brightly in the sky. Chloe had told Roux that he was free to wander outside if he wanted to, the only condition was that he stayed close by. He took full advantage of this, making sure to keep the hotel within viewing distance as he roamed the streets. He caught quite a few stares but he didn't pay them much mind.
The Ice Raeven hadn't gone far or crossed many streets before he gave a sudden stop. He'd just crossed the street when he realized that sitting directly in front of him was a fellow Raeven. A vaguely familiar one, at that. He'd met her once, very shortly, and he'd been given her name... what was it...
"Lucretia."
Roux glided a little closer, eyes flickering over towards the other figure that accompanied her with cold indifference before turning back to the Frei. He looked at her, his own expression mostly blank although a light of curiosity had begun to glimmer in his cold eyes. This was the one that was like him. With the Sigal's approach so came a chilling of the air directly around him.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:35 pm
Bhel looked up as he caught a glow out of the corner of his eye, and his brow furrowed as he glanced at the approaching Raevan, then at Lucretia, then at the stranger again.
"Is he your friend?" he asked his sister as he managed to stop himself from tapping on her shoulder to get her attention.
Lucretia's dark eyes fixed on Roux when the bull Fa'e pointed him out to her, and returned the cell phone Bhel had just given her. She nodded when he spoke her name, tilting her head slightly to the side but keeping her expression blank. Then she opened her mouth and tried to reciprocate his cool greeting...
and realized she did not have a name to put to the familiar face.
"Aaaahhhh.... Yes, good to see you after so long," Lucretia said politely. She glanced around a little, as if able to somehow see the aura of cold he gave off, but kept her attention focused on him. "How have you been? It's been a while, no?"
As goosebumps covered his arms, Bhel rubbed them and frowned a little, then shrugged and sighed and went back to his smoothie.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 3:41 pm
Frowned as she diverted her attention from him to the small contraption in her hands. Was that a phone? He reached up to brush long silvery-white strands of hair from his face, wings giving an impatient flap until she returned her focus to him alone. A small smile slid across his features, pleased that she was speaking with him again.
"Am good."
He looked back down at the strange little creature, nose wrinkling at the way it was imposing it's presence. He glided closer still towards the other Raeven, settling beside her. He glanced over her, still a Frei. Still young. Still inexperienced. He reached out to lightly brush his cool fingertips over her hair, feeling the texture. "You are well?" He was able to communicate more easily these days, but he still preferred to keep his words brief.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 10:52 pm
"Yes," Lucretia replied, watching the Sigel but not moving as he moved closer to touch her hair. She could feel coldness from him stronger than her own; it was intriguing, as, while she of course preferred chilly weather, she was not used to actually feeling cold.
"Just been keeping an eye on Bhel for Daddy." She gestured towards the Fa'e with her cup briefly. "Things have been trying to attack us at home lately, but no one has gotten hurt so far." It was troubling to think about, but Lucretia just tried to avoid it. If the Chaos came back, she would just be ready, and that was all that she needed to concern herself with for now.
Bhel spared a disinterested glance at the other Raevan, and stuffed his cell phone away for the moment into the pocket in his skirt.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:11 pm
Blahblah... Roux didn't have any concern for what she was talking about as she motioned towards the little child-thing that she seemed to be watching over. He knew what it meant to be babysat... it meant the 'parent' wanted to spend some time away from the hassle of someone to look after so they shoved the responsibility onto someone else.
"Ah. Baby watching." He gave a light shrug, noticing the smoothie cup held in her hand. He pointed towards it, then held out his hand, palm up, in a silent gesture for her to give it to him. "What is it?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:52 pm
"I'm not a baby," Bhel mumbled sullenly around his straw.
As the other Raevan's attention turned to her drink, Lucretia quirked a brow and, after a moment, offered the cup to Roux. She had mostly just been drinking the ice from it so far, leaving behind half-melted ice cream and bits of fruit. Of course, the Ice Rose would get to those parts, too, but she wanted to take care of at least some of the ice first. ... And, though she was not about to say anything, Lucretia hoped Roux would not end up drinking all of it.
"Just a strawberry-banana smoothie," she told him. "It's almost winter so there aren't as many fruits around, I think, but that's a flavor they have all year 'round. Not my favorite kind ever, but still pretty good."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 11:58 pm
Roux looked down into the cup, frowning as he realized that instead of eating it she'd actually took the pains of absorbing the ice within the smoothie first. No wonder she didn't think it was a very good flavor... not that it actually sounded THAT delicious to Roux himself. He gave a shake of his head and a short 'tsk'. Reaching over he plucked the spoon out of Bhel's cup, poking it into Lucretia's and pulling up a spoonful of the half-melted flavored smoothie.
"Eating it wrong... like this." He popped it into his mouth, savoring the taste. It was okay. He'd never had anything banana flavored before because Chloe didn't like the taste but this wasn't so bad. He took another spoonful and held it out to the Ice Rose, holding it in front of her lips expectantly. "No good if...you can't taste."
If Lucretia knew anything of Roux she would find herself surprised that he was talking so much. In fact... for Roux he was being downright chatty. He held the spoon there, waiting for Lucretia to take it. "It's cold. It's good in the mouth."
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 1:01 am
With an angry huff, Bhel frowned at Roux and went back to using his straw... though it was not exactly the ideal tool for chunky ice cream. It was cool enough out that it was melting too slowly. The boy jabbed at his treat with the straw, wondering how long it would take to turn to straw-able goop.
"You're gonna get cooties, using my straw," the Fa'e threatened after a moment.
"Wrong?" Lucretia repeated, frowning. "I just like the ice part best, and it's easiest if the flavor is in... the... ice." She trailed off as Roux held the spoon to her lips.
This was a little awkward, and she was going to get the other Raevan's cooties from the spoon now as well as Bhel's (if Bhel's cooties were still on the spoon?). But then, well, she was going to eat the smoothie anyway because it was hers. Lucretia opened her mouth and slurped the spoonful of ice cream and banana mush as carefully as she could, not wanting to drip any on herself or the other icy Raeven.
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Posted: Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:28 am
The concept of 'cooties' was completely lost on him. Chloe had never taught him about it and he didn't really like the talking TV box that his guardian sometimes had turned on to watch. He preferred to spend his time looking at himself in the mirror or playing with Snowdrop. He completely ignored the kid behind him, already marking him as too weak to do him any harm in his mind.
When Lucretia took the bite he nodded, giving a small smile. With a little jolt he realized that eating something with a good flavor made him happy. Yes, that was it. That's why he thought she was doing it wrong by just soaking in the ice that was far more beneficial and even 'nutritional' for Raevens like them.
This new realization startled him a little bit and he set Lucretia's cup down, letting go of the spoon so she now held it in her own mouth. He looked down at her, cocking his head to the side with the same mildly surprised, slightly lost expression. "Flavor makes... happy. It's good. On the tongue." He tried to express himself as best he could, sharing this new realization with her.
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 1:23 pm
Bhel obligingly ignored Roux in response, and watched the passing cars as he worked more on his smoothie after settling on attempting to use the straw like a spoon. ... He would be needing some napkins soon.
As Roux let go of the spoon, Lucretia took it in her own hands, and went in for another scoop on her own as the other Raeven looked momentarily distracted. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth; she had not seen someone look that surprised or enchanted since the little Porcelain Xiao Huo discovered ceiling fans. The Ice Rose still thought the smoothie could have used something more, but if it made her old new friend happy, well, that was alright, too.
... She would have offered to buy him one, too, or let him have the rest of this one, but she didn't have enough money for a third. And Lucretia was sort of hoping he would not decide to just take the rest of hers....
So she went in for a third scoop. "I guess if you wanna get another spoon, you can help me finish it?" the jealous girl offered, hoping sending him on the errand would afford her enough time for a head start. At the same time, Lucretia could not completely deny him his newfound (and vaguely amusing) happiness, but this seemed like a decent compromise.
"You've really had nothing else that tastes this good?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 2:10 pm
The smile slipped away, his shoulder stiffening a little bit. She'd misunderstood him...
The air of almost cheer that he'd had before was completely gone and he regarded the young Frei with a more calculating look. She was still young but... the fact that the days of being misunderstood still hadn't gone away completely. He clenched his fist at his side, feeling that familiar, dark frustration welling up inside.
"Never mind." His words were curt and cool. He stayed there a moment before giving a small nod of his head towards the Frei as a means of farewell even as he floated backwards and away.
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Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2009 7:12 pm
Lucretia opened her mouth in surprise as Roux backed away, looking up at him. Then her brows drew down into a scowl and she scolded him, "Hey, I'm trying to share with you here! I don't do that very often!"
Really, she had been. Sure, the Ice Rose wanted most of the smoothie because it was supposed to be her treat and hers alone. But did the other Raevan not notice that she had hardly been offering Bhel tastes of her strawberry-banana smoothie?
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Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2009 8:04 am
Roux paused a moment, his expression unphased towards the fact that she was sharing with him. For a moment he felt a swell of anger and the strong urge to take the smoothie from her completely. Maybe throw it into the street so no one could have it and she'd be sorry for yelling at him. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as he considered it for a moment before he cooly floated away, ignoring her completely.
He'd remember this slight...
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