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 Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 12:42 pm
So he'd arranged to meet with Kalanu that day. Not because he liked her or anything but because her company was...uh...better than none? Because he was sort of used to it now? Because he was sort of disappointed when a day went by and she didn't come to torment him?
Anyway, he had thought nothing of it and then his sister, Laka, had caught on and she had spent the whole of the morning teasing him about how he was going on a date with his pretty girlfriend and he had insisted - quite adamantly, too - that Kalanu was not his girlfriend and that it was not a date. But now he was annoyed because those words still chimed in his head as he waited for Kalanu to arrive. Would she think this was a date? And...would she not like it if she did? Maybe she wouldn't even turn up and he'd be left here all alone and then his sister would torment him some more about how his grump-face had scared her away.
Growling in irritation at his runaway thoughts, he stood up sharply and began to pace beneath the tree he had chosen as the meeting spot.
Girls, he decided, existed primarily to cause him distress.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:00 pm
Even in her own oblivious mind, Kalanu knew how their meeting might be viewed. It was, perhaps, because Sesere had been saying it for ages and Kalanu had long since accepted that she had feelings for Poa, whatever they were or might come to. It was lucky she didn't know how nervous Poa was about their meeting, it might have been the one unexpected thing that threw her off. He was always so calm and together, even when being coaxed (or tricked) into having fun.
She was practically skipping to meet up with Poa but when she saw him she stopped and stared for a second before continuing at a slightly more hesitant pace. He didn't look very happy, even for him.
"Hey, Poa!" she called long before she was in conversational distance.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:03 pm
He almost jumped out of his skin at her voice, whipping around to see her approaching. The sun gleamed against the contrasting yellow of her tattoos, making it impossible to mistake her for anyone else. Clearing his throat, he moved awkwardly towards her, trying his best to not look as nervous and jittery as he felt.
"Hey, Kalanu..." He mirrored her greeting, hoping his voice didn't sound off. "I, uh..." He paused, frantically trying to think of something to say. "You came." He ended lamely, flattening his ears back into his mane. "What I mean to say is...I'm glad you came." Yes that was better. Much better. "Uh, I guess...did we want to go on a patrol of the borders?"
Okay. Nope. He was back to being lame again.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:13 pm
She smiled at him when he turned around to greet her, seemingly reassured after walking up on him in such a tense, unhappy posture. It was less than ideal a way to start their day together but as long as it didn't seem to be about meeting up and spending the day with her, Kalanu was happy.
"Of course! Didn't think I'd forget, did you?" she asked brightly, laughing when he suggested going on a patrol, "That sounds like fun, lead the way!"
Kalanu wasn't much of a guard but she was happy to play along with Poa. She'd learned a lot more about the geography of the lands sneaking away to meet up with him than she had just following along as her clan moved. Wandering around the borders seemed perfectly appropriate.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:24 pm
She was smiling. Everything was okay then. That was good. He breathed out a great sigh and visibly seemed to relax. "Well...uh...I guess not." And then he started off, moving down towards the borders in which was his designated patrol route. At least she had sounded enthusiastic about the idea.
"You'll have to make sure you stay close, though. In case there is danger." Because he'd spotted sooooo much danger before now. Safety should not be taken for granted, of course, but sometimes Poa liked to act as if there were dangerous rogues on their doorstep every day. "But so long as you do, you don't need to worry. I'm confident I'd be able to defend us against any rogues that might come sneaking by." Despite the fact that he'd never really been in a proper fight before.
Right, so...next topic.
"My sister was...being a bigger pain than usual this morning." Wait, was this really the road he wanted to go down. "So, uh, that's why I was...worked up...before, you know, when I was waiting."
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:29 pm
Kalanu's smile widened as he said to stay close in case it was dangerous and expressed his confidence in his ability to keep them safe if something did happen. He was adorably protective and, despite the fact she wasn't expecting any trouble, she took an extra step closer to his side and she followed along beside him.
"Laka?" she asked, stifling a laugh at his explanation, "I should have guessed. What was she doing?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:36 pm
He couldn't help but feel his nervousness double as she stepped in closer and tried to keep his focus ahead instead of turning to look at her - as he wanted to do.
"Yeah, Laka." He affirmed, looking grim. "She was, uh, saying this stuff about..." Okay, so a part of him wanted to say this because he was curious about what she would say. Kalanu might be happy with the idea and that would be...good? Or she might not be happy and then that would be bad. Very bad, he thought.
"Well, uh...she was saying that..." He swallowed nervously, purposely avoiding eye contact. "That this was--a date." There he'd said it. Now he felt sort of sick.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:41 pm
For a moment, Kalanu wondered what she would have said if he named a different sister that was causing trouble for him. She didn't know nearly enough about his family, she'd only really met Laka and she couldn't remember any other names that had come up in passing.
Despite her wandering thoughts, she somehow was keeping track of what exactly Poa was saying and when he spit it out, she nearly stumbled. Luckily, she caught herself and as long as he kept moving, she could.
She didn't know what exactly to say about that, or the way he was saying it, except to ask:
"Is it?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:46 pm
Is it?
...how did he respond to that? He didn't know. What was different about a date and a normal get-together? He didn't have any experience with this sort of thing and he hadn't even thought to have asked his siblings if they had. After all that would have been embarrassing and then he'd have more than one sister teasing him.
"I...don't know." He answered, though he was unhappy at his response. "Well, maybe it is?" He could have kicked himself for not answering properly and tried again.
"What if I said 'yes'?"
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:53 pm
As Poa stumbled around trying to find the right response to her question, it finally felt too ridiculous to keep walking as they had this conversation. Kalanu was looking far more serious than usual now, demonstrating far more self-control than she ever had before. Was this it? She'd gotten ahead of herself before.
"Do you want it to be?" she asked carefully, still stubbornly demanding his opinion before giving her own.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 1:56 pm
Argh, women!
And yes, he was still walking, growing more nervous and uncomfortable by the moment. Okay, so he had found her irritating at first but now...now that irritation was mostly gone. Did he want it to be a date? Is that why Laka had wound him up so easily? Because he wanted it to be but knew that it never could?
Finally he came to a halt, expelling a loud breath. Only then did he dare to look up at her - a brief glance that had him turning away again a moment later. His answer only needed one word. One word. So why did it stick in his throat and why did his heart hammer against his chest? The sound and feel of it was putting him off and now he was struggling to think. Except somewhere his brain must have been working because a moment later and he answered, surprised at himself for doing so.
"...Yes."
He did.
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Posted: Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:32 pm
What was actually only a few seconds seemed to drag on into eternity as Poa finally came to a stop, sighed and finally looked at her as she stood there waiting for an answer. When he finally said yes, she might have exploded in joy but she didn't want to scare him off now. But.. if he said yes, that must have meant he wasn't that annoyed by her.
So her response was delayed but finally she was smiling more brightly than before and she bounced over to Poa, somehow managing not to knock him over in her enthusiasm and brushing against him affectionately instead.
"OK," she said, beaming, "I knew you liked having me around."
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 11:40 am
Okay? Okay?! He'd been panicking and all she had to say was 'okay'? He looked momentarily shocked - probably enhanced by the fact that she had brushed unexpectedly up against him. The sudden contact had his brain spinning and he struggled to collect his thoughts enough to respond.
"I don't...I mean...what...let's just..." He shook his head and turned to face her. After a long moment of quiet he spoke up again.
"So...what happens next?"
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Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2012 7:28 pm
Kalanu couldn't help but snicker at the stammering reaction Poa had to her simple response to what was, apparently, a very complicated situation. It wasn't so mysterious to her, but she had known forever that she liked Poa. It wasn't all that complicated in her mind, she had never gotten ahead of herself about it before.. and the more he hesitated, the easier it was to keep herself under control even now that everything seemed to be so perfect.
"Stop thinking so hard," she said, shaking her head back at him and smiling, "Let's go have fun."
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Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2012 6:37 am
Fun? What exactly was considered fun? Going on patrol? He rather liked doing that but he knew others considered that boring. But he didn't really have any other hobbies or interests. He woke up, went to work, returned to see if anyone had had a successful hunt, ate and then went to sleep. Every day was much the same - until Kalanu had appeared in his life.
He gave a nervous smile and gestured with a paw for her to take the lead. "Very well...I guess you'd better lead the way if it's fun you want. It's not exactly my speciality."
But he could learn.
/fin!
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