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 Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:51 am
  This is a private roleplay between Van [Kurama no Koishi] and Kiran [Kazu-chan].
Setting:After school at the academy, Kiran has some words to tell a certain female Lunarian.
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:21 am
The hour was late, and school had long since ended. Most of the other students had left the academy at first chance when the dismissal was given, but a few remained, lingering on the school grounds. Kiran happened to be one of those students. To any Lunarian who had only brief contact with him, he might come off as someone who didn't care much about getting good grades, but Kiran was quite serious about his grades. After getting a lower mark than expected, he liked to hang out at the academy and brush up on the areas in which he didn't do well. His original intent behind this was, of course, for the attention his parents gave him upon presenting them with his good grades. But now that he was growing up and soon to move out, keeping up good grades was more for himself than any praising his parents would give him. His mother still wasn't talking to him after their last argument, though his father was trying to calm her stubborn rage.
Kiran wandered through the quiet halls, passing only a few students here and there as he walked. It was almost eerie to be at the academy when it wasn't bustling with activity. He smiled and nodded at the students he passed when they did the same to him, though he didn't recognize any of them. He sighed and wondered if someone - anyone - that he knew had remained after hours as well. It would help to alleviate some of the boredom that came with studying if he had someone to talk to as he reviewed past topics discussed in class. But so far, it seemed he was out of luck there. Currently, he was making a lap all around the campus as a break from sitting too long while poring over a books and notes, hoping to get the information to stick in his brain.
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:21 pm
Though Van was also on campus at this late hour, it was for reasons different from Kiran. In the past few months, she’d realized how far behind she’d fallen in her classwork, and had taken the steps necessary to catch up with her peers. She had begun to spend hours every single day in the library and let herself be tutored by various other students. It was obsessive, humbling, and often even embarrassing, but the time had paid off and the young woman was about to graduate, just like everyone else. The Legionnaire often compared herself to others to judge herself, and she’d barely made it through this time. It wouldn’t happen again.
New confidence flowed through each of Van’s steps as she strutted down the nearly empty halls. At the end of the year, there always tended to be a few stragglers around. Whether they were slackers trying to catch up, or simply trying to enjoy their last few days in the sheltered environment of the Academy, she didn’t know... but it didn’t matter, for up just ahead appeared a familiar head of ash blue hair.
Van stopped in her tracks, a small frown appearing across her face as she remembered how she knew this boy, and thoughts of their last meeting ran across her mind. He had given her every reason not to like him—well, just one, but attempting to steal fine jewelry from a woman right after she’d bought it was an extremely despicable thing to do, especially to Van. The scrapes and bruises from that afternoon had long since healed, but this Legionnaire wasn’t about to forget what had happened.
She wasn’t about to get into another fight on the neutral ground of the Academy, not that she wanted to, but the way her lips were tightened into a fine line indicated that she was very ill at ease.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:52 am
Kiran's gaze lingered, staring out the window that faced out over the back of the academy as he passed it. Sometimes it felt like he had been attending the academy for forever. But he still found it difficult to believe that it would all be over soon, and he would be graduating and moving on from the academy. It felt like just yesterday he was arriving for the first time to attend classes.
He turned his gaze away from the window, pushing back past memories of his days at the academy as he continued walking down the hallway. Movement down the hallway caught his attention, and he swung his gaze around to give the fellow student a greeting. But the friendly smile didn't quite make it to his face when he saw the familiar Legionnaire. From the way her lips were pursed, Kiran doubted she had forgotten their previous encounter.
But maybe with graduating and moving out of his parents house, he was starting to feel a new sense of maturity. It was the only explanation that he could come up with to explain the sudden need to confront the Legionnaire. Kiran walked toward her, his keen eyes watching her in case she decided to flee. If she did, though, he wouldn't chase her. They were at the academy still after all. He had no plans to start a fight on neutral grounds. Kiran held his hands up, keeping them in clear view for her to show that he wasn't about to try some slight of hand.
"Can we talk?" he asked as he came closer. He kept his tone calm and soothing without hint of deceit, though he couldn't blame her if she thought he was up to something. He didn't make a good impression on their first meeting.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 12:48 pm
Van had learned many things in her time at the Academy, one of them being the power of apology and forgiveness. This wasn’t to say that the young woman was planning to do either, though, as the Noble surprise-greeted her, seemingly before he recognized her. The incident was still too recent to brush over so easily, and sure enough, his smile seemed half-assed, insincere. The Legionnaire neither moved forward nor backward as she watched him approach with his hands in view, and she couldn’t help but wonder what he was trying to do now. He couldn’t actually be trying to get under her guard for round two?
It was now that Van made a mental check of all valuable things she was currently wearing, and was somewhat relieved to find that it was not much save for her embroidered silk dress and a small sapphire ring on her right ring finger. It was doubtful that he would try to rip these off of her, for this was difficult to do while Van’s attention was focused on his hands.
The Legionnaire shifted the two textbooks in her arms slightly, surreptitiously weighing their heft in case they got into another fight. The Academy was strict about students handling unauthorized weapons—unarmed contentions broke out all the time—and so Van rarely brought her butterfly swords to school. The only things she had were her fists and her barely proficient weapon projection skills.
She let a mild look of surprise come across her face as the Noble boy asked to talk instead of jumping into some rehearsed, cheesy flirtation, which had been their last conversation-starter. Van was wary, but couldn’t help but once again be intrigued. She had wondered briefly before of his humanity, and perhaps this was her opportunity to find out about it. Nodding once in acknowledgment, Van turned to walk in pace with the young man back down the halls.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 2:33 pm
Kiran was glad to see that she didn't back away from his approach or even turn to flee his presence. It wouldn't have been a surprise to him if she had, knowing he deserved a cold shoulder response. The slight movement that she made forced Kiran's gaze to dip down, lingering on the textbooks. He glimpsed the ring set with a sapphire on her finger, but his attention was caught more on the books at this time. If she decided to use the textbooks as a weapon, Kiran could guess how much damage they would do. The textbooks look like they had quite a bit weight to them, and with her strength, one swing at his head might knock him out, or at least stun him.
Relief washed over him when she nodded and joined him in walking down the hall. He took a moment to gather up his thoughts, planning out what he needed to say. "I know you must think poorly of me," he said as he kept his hands in clear view. Indeed, a while ago, he probably wouldn't have snorted at the Legionnaire and considered her nothing but a snob looking down on him. He had that poor view of Legionnaires ingrained in his brain, but some of them were proving his perception incorrect. He couldn't judge them all the same way just because a few of them treated him like dirt for being a Noble.
Kiran's gaze darted toward her, looking at her face rather than dropping to eye the sapphire ring. He squashed down his sticky finger nature which was what got him in trouble in the first place. "I wanted to apologize," he confessed honestly, his fingers making quick fluid motions that only his sister would recognize and understand. "It was wrong for me to deceive you like that and try to steal your necklace." He chewed on his lip as his eyes glanced at her again. He had apologized several times in the past to people that he had stolen from, but all of those were a result of his mother badgering him to do it. This was his first time making a real apologize by his own decision.
Perhaps he was maturing more than he realized if he actually felt the need to apologize to her, and actually mean it. Whether she accepted the apology or not, he couldn't be certain, though he wouldn't blame her if she decided to smack him upside the head with those textbooks instead of accepting it.
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:34 pm
The silence that followed was not particularly comfortable, Van noted, as she waited for the Noble walking next to her to gather his thoughts. She wasn’t watching his face, but instead had her gaze slightly lowered toward his hands. The position wasn’t obvious, but she still appeared inclined to listen to whatever he had to say. When she heard his first words, Van had to grit her teeth to keep from agreeing vehemently with him, and perhaps from adding a few curses of her own. She refrained successfully, though and maintained her calm.
The Legionnaire was startled to notice his head turn toward hers, and she looked up to meet his eyes. Perhaps more startling was that she couldn’t detect a single ounce of deceit or dishonesty in his face as he apologized for trying to steal her necklace that one afternoon. As she studied his face more carefully, it looked as though he was even nervous.
Looking straight ahead now, Van said nothing at first, and there was silence once more as she deliberated on her next words. She believed him, this was for sure, and bruises aside, nothing bad had come of that day save for an acrid taste in her mouth whenever she thought of that incident. This wasn’t to say that she forgave him, for she wasn’t accustomed to doing things like that, but this time it seemed fair to let it pass. She wouldn’t push the resentment farther.
Realizing now that the young man was still waiting for her to say or do something, she opened her mouth to reply. What was she to say? ‘It’s okay’? Clearly, it hadn’t been. Instead, Van exhaled, a funny look appearing on her face as she realized she was once again making a bigger deal out of things than she needed to. She nodded again. “It is not the finest of habits to possess,” she sniffed, still trying to hold onto her aloof air. But her temperament changed as she decided to pose a more sincere question. “I trust your jaw is alright, then?”
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Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 6:47 pm
The silence was like a weight pressing down him, and he felt anxious and twitchy while waiting for a response. His gaze darted toward her then away, looking ahead of them down the empty hall. Kiran was still wary of the textbooks that she held. But if she really felt the need to hit him with them, he wouldn't make a move to dodge it and would accept the blow no matter how powerful it was.
"I suppose it isn't," he agreed as he reached up to scratch his cheek with one finger. "But we all have our flaws." Even knowing about his bad habits, it didn't make it easy to break those habits. He doubted he would be able to resist his nature of lifting valuables from people, even if he made the effort to stop it. There were people that he would never steal from, of course. His friends, Jianyu, and now this woman. It wasn't a long list, but it was growing as he met and interacted with various Lunarians.
"Huh?" Kiran blinked, shaking out of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah." He rubbed at his jaw. "Much better now. And you?" His eyes traveled up and down her body. No scars showed, but that didn't mean there weren't any hidden by her clothing. That would add another layer of guilt to him if there was a lasting mark to remember their first encounter. "I take it your injuries have healed since then?"
He winced. Physical injuries, of course, would heal and fade, but damage to one's pride didn't just vanish. He knew that from tasting bitter defeat as well. He didn't even expect her to forgive him, but they, at least, were managing a civil conversation.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:35 pm
Van would permit him the flaw of ‘sticky fingers,’ an unfortunate one, but as long as it was the only significant one, she would deal with it. After all, the Noble knew now what happened when he tried to mess with Van, and if he wanted to incur her wrath by stealing from her again, then so be it. Hopefully, this wouldn’t be the case, for the physical aftereffects were unpleasant to deal with.
The woman looked first at the back of her hands, and then her palms as the other Lunarian inquired as to the state of her injuries. She had come out of the fight with some deep bruises and a few scrapes, but nothing else of consequence. Some of the cuts had been across her knuckles, and though she bandaged them regularly, they were already scarred. “I’m fine now, thanks for asking.”
She hadn’t been fine, physically or in spirit the day after the fight. The Legionnaire was never fine after losing, but this particular battle had been a unique case. She’d lost the fight, but had managed to keep her necklace, and so the loss was not as crushing as it could have been. Van still had something to hold onto.
Another silence fell upon Van as they approached the exit to the Academy. Suddenly, Van stopped and turned to the Noble, and even she was surprised to find her own hand outstretched, offering to shake his in a display of diplomacy. “My name is Van. And you are?” was the simple offering. In the past, the woman had never been the first to extend a hand, literally or figuratively. Perhaps she had grown up after all.
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Posted: Mon Aug 22, 2011 10:20 pm
Kiran nodded. "That's good. I'm glad." His smile stretched wide as relief melted off his shoulders knowing he hadn't caused any permanent damage to her. And a weight lifted having made his apologies. But then came the awkward silence. He picked absently at the dirt under his nails. They didn't really know much about each other. He didn't even know her name! So he was left floundering for something to talk about now that he had made his apologies.
Kiran guessed that they could just part ways, leaving each other on better terms than their first encounter. But it felt weird to just split off now, even if he couldn't think of anything to say to continue the conversation. His gaze passed over the familiar hall, lingering here and there as he tried to think of something to alleviate the awkwardness eating at him. He halted, passing her by a few steps after her unexpected stop. Turning back to her, his eyebrow arched up in a quizzical expression until she spoke.
He stared at the outstretched hand for a moment then took it with his hand. "Name's Kiran." His smile was warm, and his grip firm but loose enough for her to pull her hand free whenever she chose. And though her sapphire ring was a lovely piece of work, he resisted that natural urge to pocket it. It would be a stupid move on his part to apologize then make another attempt to lift an item off that same person. Resisting his sticky finger nature wasn't always the easiest thing in the world, but he found he could manage it when he really wanted to, like at the present moment.
He glanced at the textbooks that she held. "Were you on your way home?" But then he recalled that she had been heading in the opposite direction before joining him in his walk. "Or somewhere else?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:25 am
The young woman watched the Noble’s reaction carefully, frankly fascinated at how easily he could smile at a Legionnaire as he was doing now, especially since they were fighting the last time they’d run into each other. Then again, he had walked away the victor last time, and he hadn’t been the one wronged in their last encounter. Even so, most Nobles Van ran into tended to treat her with cold condescension, as if they were better than her (they weren’t). Mayu had been the first to offer her friendship, and perhaps now she could be on better terms with Kiran.
After one firm handshake, Van pulled her hand free, only barely noticing that her sapphire ring had not moved from her finger. She rubbed her hand absently, thinking to what she’d always thought about Nobles—that they were all assholes. In the end, Legionnaires and Nobles would always clash, wouldn’t they? Either faction could be friends, but Van thought that one’s allegiance was what defined them in the end. She had yet to meet someone aside from herself who believed otherwise.
Still, the woman let a small, uncharacteristic smile widen across her face in response to Kiran’s, raising her eyebrows a bit as he continued the conversation. “Yeah, I’m heading home,” she confirmed, nodding once, “I’ve already put in a long day in the libraries today.”
She started for the door then, turning once to wave somewhat amicably at the other Lunarian. “I suppose I’ll see you around, Kiran.” She was fairly sure she meant this; at least, she no longer completely disliked the young man. Perhaps upon their next meeting, they could become friends—this seemed to be the trend with the two of them thus far.
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Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:56 am
The hand slid out of his hold, and Kiran pulled his hand back to his side. She wasn't like some of the other Legionnaires that he made attempts to lift an item from. Most of those Legionnaires wouldn't come down off their high horses long enough to even accept an apology, even a forced one. In those cases, of course, Kiran hadn't actually meant it when he said he was sorry. But in the case of Van, he was actually genuine in his apology, and he was glad to see that she didn't just throw it back in his face, like so many others.
Maybe if he had approached like this from the very start, they wouldn't have gotten off to such a rocky start. But, as per usual it seemed, Kiran had let that greedy side of him overcome his common sense and mucked things up from the start. At least he was mature enough, or getting there, now to know when to make amends for his past bad actions.
He nodded to her response. "I'll probably be heading home soon too," he admitted. He had spent quite enough time studying for one day, but he still needed to go back to the library and gather up his things before he left the academy for the day. He lifted a hand and waved back to her. "Catch you later, Van." He turned back, folding his hands behind his head as he made his way back toward the library. Kiran was glad that he could meet some Legionnaires, even if it was just a small handful at the moment, that proved his initial opinion of the group as a whole wrong.
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