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 Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 11:31 pm
Here Xiu was, about to meet a random boil she had talked to over Groanspring who had volunteered for her dream-diving experiment. After her chat with Mot--the one that had involved meeting strangers alone--the Baku had decided to take her friend's advice and brought someone with her. This someone was her Storm Melonkit, Arashi.
...Well, in her defense, Arashi could totally be a very fierce minipet...if he wanted to be. Hopefully he would serve as suitable protection in the case that something happened.
Scooping Arashi up in her arms, she set out towards their designated meeting place. With Xiu living in the demon dorms, and Merope in the undead dorms, the most logical (or rather, easiest) place for the two to meet up at was between both dorms. Hopefully Merope wouldn't mind sleeping on the ground or on a bench, because by this point, the Baku knew better than to enter a stranger's room. Especially a boil's.
I wonder what this Merope boil is like? At the very least, he didn't seem particularly rude... That was always a major plus.
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2011 3:11 am
There was still time to back out of this Merope realized. He could easily turn around and not show up at all, and claim that he was busy. Sick. He forgot. Rathalos decided to set him on fire. There were plenty of excuses, and all he had to do was just pick one. And yet... And yet he would be letting himself down, and this ghoul. He had never met Xiu before, nor did he know who she was. All he knew was that she was looking for volunteers.
And, as usual, he had volunteered before finding out exactly why she needed volunteers. A bit of digging around revealed that she needed volunteers to fall asleep so she could do something with his dream. That... that might be a problem. As an undead, he didn’t require sleep. At most, his mind went into a sort of “stand-by” mode. He wasn’t even sure if he could dream.
There was only one way to find out if he did, come to think of it. Merope made his way towards the meeting place, nervous. What was he supposed to do? Fall asleep in front of her? And -- he stopped, staring at the demoness. Was that her? With a minipet? Was he supposed to bring a minipet? Should he stop and turn around and go get one?
Too late now. Did she see him? Most likely. Merope continued walking, slowing his pace until he was within speaking distance. “Excuse me, are you Xiu?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2011 9:31 pm
She instinctively flinched when she first saw Merope heading her way. There was nothing wrong about the boil in question, but Xiu had yet to fully get used to undead students. The patchworks were usually all fine and dandy, but when she saw someone who was partially rotted or missing bits and pieces...
Xiu suppressed a shudder. However, she didn't want to be rude, especially since Merope had so kindly agreed to her request. Taking a deep breath, she tried to ignore her slight discomfort and smiled, moving forward towards him when he slowed his pace. "Um...yes! I'm Xiu. A-and you must be Merope." Lowering Arashi to the ground, she held out one of her newly-freed hands for a shake.
Well, despite her initial concerns...this wasn't so bad, was it? Again, he seemed...polite enough (from what brief interaction she had with him) and Arashi wasn't jumping up and acting all defensive, as he typically did with people he didn't like. That was a good sign.
Clasping her hands together, she suddenly bowed her head, the smile on her face growing slightly. "I-I, uh...t-thank you for your help!" Most of those who had accepted her offer had been friends. It was really exciting that someone she didn't know would willingly volunteer!
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 3:27 am
Merope showed no indication whether or not he had noticed Xiu’s flinch. It wasn’t the first time that he had encountered someone who disliked the way he looked, nor would it be the last. Fortunately, he completely missed her reaction to him.
“Yep! That’s me,” Merope said cheerfully, his glow visibly brightening. “And who’s this?” The boil knelt down, offering his hand to Arashi for investigation.
Xiu’s next words brought Merope’s attenion back up, shaking his head. “It’s no problem, but...” He trailed off, looking unsure. “Now is probably a bad time to point out that this might not work. I... I’m not sure if I dream or not. Do you still want to do your... dream thing, whatever it is?”
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2011 9:25 pm
Surprisingly, Arashi seemed quite comfortable in the undead boil's presence. When the hand was outstretched towards him, the feline immediately began to purr, rubbing his head against Merope's hand in a friendly gesture. Smiling at this, Xiu's tense shoulders relaxed slightly, stooping down beside him. "This is Arashi. I um...I hope you don't mind me bringing him along. A friend told me that I should--ah--be...careful when meeting with strangers."
Perking up, she nodded in understanding. "Yes, I...I was originally wondering that as well. Though, um...it seemed that some of the undead students were able to dream." The only two that she could recall off the top of her head were Shehk and Moure, but...well, if two people of the undead race could dream, then why not others?
Eyes widening, she hastily held up her hands. "O-oh! But I...I don't mean to push this on you or anything! If you don't want to anymore, I won't be upset!"
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:47 am
Merope grinned at Arashi's reaction, wiggling his fingers against the minipet's fur. "While I personally prefer scaled pets over furred ones," Merope told her, "I don't mind him at all. Plus it's better to be safe than sorry, y'know?" He shrugged it off, rolling on the back of his heels until he was sitting on the ground looking up at Xiu.
"Some of the others were able to dream? Huh." Merope seemed to chew on this information (as well as his lip) as he thought about it. That was the first time he had heard anything about it, but then again it was something he didn't talk to others about.
At her suggestion, Merope shook his head. "I'd like to at least try, if... if that's okay? What should I do?" He looked around thoughtfully, adding, "Is there anything special I need to do or...?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:18 pm
Yes, Merope definitely wasn't a bad guy. With this conclusion in mind, the Baku took a deep breath and relaxed completely, offering the boil a smile as she stood back up. "Well, I...I'm glad! I mean, I didn't want to make you uncomfortable or anything." Then again, Arashi wasn't very threatening looking in the first place. As if to emphasis this point, the feline curled itself around the undead's legs, purring all the while.
Xiu visibly perked up when he told her that he was still willing to try. "Thank you! And...ah..." H-haha, this was probably going to be an awkward request on her part, but..."You, um. You need to sleep." That was the only way that she would be able to do this. Alas, she was not a creature that could invade daydreams.
"...So, um. If you're not sleepy now, we could...always try this later? Or if you want to try to doze off now..." Xiu began to twiddle her thumbs, looking a little embarrassed, "...Don't mind me."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 2:51 am
The Baku's minipet was purring. Merope looked startled at first, intently watching the minipet before reaching out to scratch its ears again. It didn't look like it was considering the possibility of taking a bite out of him, nor did it seem to be upset in any way. That was good!
He couldn't help but to stare openly at Xiu. "Sleep? Right now?" He looked around, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "Well... hm. How about..." The undead walked around the bench and sat down on the grass, shifting around until he was comfortable. Then he laid down and shuffled around some more until he settled on a position flat on his stomach. "I just need to sleep? That's it?" He asked again, looking a bit unsure. "It might take a few minutes, but I'll try."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2011 11:07 pm
Xiu knew that it was a very awkward request, and his reaction didn't surprise her in the slightest. If anything surprised her about Merope's reaction, it was that he was a lot more complacent that she had initially imagined. There was no protesting--just questions to clarify if this was really what he was supposed to do.
"Y-yes, all you need to do is sleep. As for me, I'll...um..." It didn't take a genius to guess that being a creeper and staring at someone as they slept wasn't the way to go. Moving around to the opposite side of the bench, she settled down in the grass, turning her back to Merope in case it would make him more comfortable. "Um, just...just take your time."
She closed her eyes, going through the usual process of reaching out around her and searching for the paths that would lead into an individual's dream world. As of right now, there didn't seem to be any in sight, but once Merope went to sleep...
Time to wait.
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 1:43 am
The grass was... odd. It prickled and poked him in ways that made him want to shift away, only to roll on top of another bunch of the leafy blades. He had lain on the grass before at night, risking the wrath of curfew and detention to see the stars. The sensation of grass was nice to keep him awake and focused. Now?
Merope was keenly aware of how uncomfortable the grass was. His usual bed was too far in his dorms: a tank filled with salt water and sand, sprinkled with pieces of treasure he still had yet to file away in a treasure chest for safe keeping. And even then he wasn’t aware of when he fell asleep, or even if he fell asleep at all. One moment he’s comfortable, next moment the alarm is chirping and it’s time to dry off and go to class.
He wiggled, kicking himself up and off his stomach to roll onto his side. Was this better? No, not really. He tried the otherside. Then his back. Side. Stomach. Side. Other side.
Finally with an exasperated sigh, Merope stood up and shook his head, fluffing his hair to get rid of any remaining bits of grass it accumulated. “I... Xiu?” He began, turning to face her. “I... I’m sorry, I don’t think I can fall asleep.” His fins drooped as he shook his head, disappointed in himself. “I’m sorry.”
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Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2011 2:39 pm
Disappointed? Well, a tiny bit, maybe, but the Baku was just appreciative that Merope had offered to come here and try to help her at all. Her gaze fluttered open when she heard her name, and the undead boil a reassuring smile. "Don't apologize! I...I know it's not something that can be done in an instant." Especially not when it wasn't even night yet! It was no surprise that poor Merope couldn't get to sleep.
Standing up, Xiu pat the grass off of her dress before holding out a hand to help him. "Maybe we can try again some other time when you're actually tired. Just let me know on Groanspring, okay?"
In the end, she hadn't been able to have another dream-diving attempt, but...hey, at least she got to meet someone new! That was definitely a silver lining!
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Posted: Sun Oct 02, 2011 4:54 am
Merope eyed the offered hand, considering. He accepted the help after a pause, standing up and offering her a shrug. "Ah... maybe? That's the thing though, I don't actually get tired. Slow, yes, but tired..." He trailed off, shaking his head.
"Either way, it was a pleasure to meet you, Xiu. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you." Merope shrugged again, placing his hands in his pockets. "I guess... I'll see you around sometime, maybe?"
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