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 Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:09 am
It was hard to believe that after everything she had gone through, she had finally graduated. As Xiu eyed her empty room, she felt herself get a little misty eyed, a small lump forming in her throat. Jack, She scolded herself with a faint smile, You told yourself you wouldn't cry, didn't you? It's not like you're leaving forever, after all. Her new house was really quite conveniently close to the school, as was the building that she had secured for her future cafe with Gene. Plus, she still had very dear friends here--she'd definitely be back often.
With all of her furniture and her minipets having already been loaded into the moving truck, all that was left were the boxes that carried a variety of miscellaneous items. Cooking tools, books, gifts and trinkets from her friends--all in all, they filled up a good four boxes.
Despite the fact it probably would have been easier to take two trips, the baku ghoul stacked all four boxes and hefted them up in her arms. For such a small and delicate looking thing, she was definitely a lot stronger than she appeared...but her lack of height made it particularly difficult to navigate and avoid obstacles since her vision was completely obscured. She somehow managed to make it down the stairs from the second floor to the first--mostly by pressing her back to the wall and carefully stepping down each step--but she found herself at a dilemma when it came to the stairs that were directly outside of the dorm.
Gingerly, she tried to take a step down, only to balk when she very nearly lost her footing right then and there.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:28 am
"Sorry for what I'm going to do next but--."
An arm suddenly wrapped around Xiu's waist, for the briefest moment, to help her regain her balance. Suddenly, Xiu's line of vision would clear, as several boxes were abruptly taken from the top of her pile. A slightly deep, easy, male voice appeared from in front of Xiu. He took the boxes easily down the steps, waiting at the bottom.
"Where do you need these to go?"
Jiten had been passing by, catching sight of the scene outside as he walked past the dorm. He couldn't see the ghoul but he could see her massive boxes. His snake tail hissed, in caution, warning him of the likely scenario.. When he saw her nearly miss a step, he reacted before he thought. Probably due to all of Jalala's incidents, he learned to act fast.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 9:12 am
The only indication that Xiu was surprised by the sudden arm around her waist was the fact that the end of her tail had puffed out. Before she could say anything, however, she was promptly distracted by the fact that she could see again...and that some kind soul was heading down the stairs carrying three of her boxes for her. Left with just one, the burden on her arms had been reduced significantly.
Bounding down the flight of stairs with ease now that she was no longer maneuvering blindly, the baku spent a moment to blink owlishly at the unfamiliar boil pink, eyes round as she stared up at him from behind the box she was carrying. Then she smiled, a small laugh escaping her as her tail began to wave cheerfully behind her.
"Just this way, if you please. There's a moving van that I'm trying to get all of my stuff to, and this is the last of it." Hefting the box again to make sure that she had a good grip on it, she turned her friendly gaze back to the boil, her smile becoming faintly apologetic.
"So sorry to make you help like this--I'm sure a new student would be more interested in exploring the campus than carrying things." At least, she assumed that he was new--she was sure that she would have remembered seeing him around otherwise.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 11:35 am
"I'm also interested in using my time to getting to know boxes--which leads to new meetings with new ghouls, does that count?" His tail shot forward to balance the upper box, an aloof frown on his expression. But a nervous air also floated around him, like that of a new student. He tried an awkward smile but the awkwardness of it was too much, one hand quickly covering it up. Whatever his hand didn't do, his snake tail filled in adeptly.
"Moving? So you've graduated?" A spark of surprise lit in his tone as he glanced ahead at the moving van.
"That's impressively amazing considering.."
Everybody knew what.. hardships Amityville went through.
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:10 pm
Xiu found her gaze shifting to focus on his tail, impressed by the way it moved to support the boxes when he removed one of his hands. He wasn't the first person she had seen with such an adept tail, but he was certainly the first person she had met who had a snake tail. Pretty neat, she had to admit--she was actually pretty jealous.
She ducked her head behind her box to hide a smile at his surprise, although said smile faltered slightly as he trailed off. Was he talking about the school’s reputation? She couldn’t deny that a lot of horrible things had happened during her time here—probably nearly enough to balance out the number of good memories that she had, to be honest—but she truly did love this school. Honestly, the danger that she had faced was probably the biggest reason she had chosen to find a place close to the academy. She wanted to be near in case something went wrong and the students needed help.
That being said, while she liked to that this boil was at least vaguely aware of the school’s hardships, she didn’t want him to fret over it too much either. Blinking up at the boil, the baku let out a little laugh. ”It’s impressive that I’ve graduated considering that…I’m so small?” She puffed out her cheeks in mock offense before swatting him gently with her tail, ”Because I’ll have you know I’m more capable than I look.”
As they arrived at the truck, her uncle—who had volunteered to drop by and help her grab all of her stuff—came forward to take the boxes from both of them, but not without giving his niece an affectionate hair ruffle first. Turning back to the boil then, Xiu clasped her hands behind her back and beamed up at him. ”Thank you for your help! I’m Xiuying, but my friends just call me Xiu. Who might you be?”
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 1:20 pm
"I'm sure you are-- Owow, I've got it." He winced in mock pain, the effect combined with laughter, her little laughter contagious and extending to Jiten. He didn't know what she was thinking so he couldn't express to her, his desire to come to this school despite the danger. Jiten, being the meticulous personality he was, didn't choose randomly. He surrendered the boxes to the older man-- he vaguely resembled her, so Jiten could safely assume he was a relative. He inaccurately guessed brother, noting the affectionate pat.
"I'm new, as you've accurately deduced. I'm Jiten." His hand rubbed his shoulder nervously, trailing down to his red lotus tattoo. If she was telling him to call her Xiu .. "I'm not sure we're - uh - close enough for me to call you Xiu.."
He didn't mean it in a rude way. Considering they had only met for five minutes, he didn't want to intrude on her space. But as a habit of nervousness, with genuine intent mixed in, he inserted his next line smoothly, in a friendly manner to correct the rudeness of his sentence.
"I'm also not sure if I want to be friendzoned that fast either. Gotta keep my chances open, you know?"
... Too fast. He realized it when the words came out.
"That uh, came out, too fast. I'm not very.. nonchalant with.. this." He gestured to the general situation. Everything. He had been wrapped up with Jalala too long, she usually did the introductions. As shitty as they were, sicne she often led others to misinterpret him. "I should be more careful. Your brother's here." he tipped his head, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck awkwardly.
Kaiyumi EVERY BOIL HITS ON GHOULS OK...
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 4:30 pm
...Well, that introduction escalated quickly. Both Xiu and her uncle Hayate stared wide-eyed at Jiten, obviously trying to take in the whole friendzone and "keep chances open" comment. The man was the first to react, his lips spreading into a wide grin as he turned his back to the pair in an attempt to hide his laughter (but ultimately failing, since his shoulders were quivering violently). Xiu, on the other hand--after shooting an exasperated look at her uncle--looked decidedly more flustered as she held a hand up to reassure her new acquaintance.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." She told him with a sheepish smile, and a nervous flick of her tail, "And let's put it this way, then: I typically ask friends and people who I hope to become friends with to just call me Xiu, so please. Just Xiu will do, if that doesn't make you feel too awkward."
She then cleared her throat, her smile growing in amusement as she gestured towards Hayate. "And this is my uncle. As you can see, there's no need for you to have to 'be more careful' in front of him."
Right on cue, the older baku let out another laugh, arms wrapped around his stomach. This was the first time he had seen his niece converse with a boil besides that brother-figure of hers, and he obviously found Jiten to be wonderfully (and hilariously?) forward. Xiu, on the other hand, found that her cheeks were growing distinctively warmer at her uncle's embarrassing antics.
"Let me thank you somehow for helping me, Jiten," She piped up suddenly, possibly in part to distract both of them from the cackling hyena that was Hayate, "Are you familiar with the campus yet? Or is there anything you need to go out and buy?"Random Artist .............OH YOU ADFGSJDHK
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Posted: Fri Jan 17, 2014 10:08 pm
Their wide-eyed stare threw off Jiten for a moment, his mouth about to set in a grimace of sheepish emotion.. until he recognized the boil's actions as laughter. His laughter was contagious, Jiten's hand covering up a few chuckles of his own. It had been a fast move but it looked like there was little harm done, apparently.
"Well, I do hope to have an affable relationship with you Xiu."
When Xiu told him this was her uncle, Jiten was surprised. He looked younger-- Not the type of association Jiten would have thought an uncle was.
He looked upwards, towards the quivering figure, another mild flicker of surprise. His tail flicked up slightly, his red eyes meeting her uncle's ones, lit with laughter. "Uncle is in the direct relation sort of category-- I'll find a middle ground for caution, considering that the last thing you need is your only driver down from laughter." He approached the boil, with his hand held forward in a handshake. He tried to distract the flushing Xiu with an answer as he approached, his gaze suspiciously restrained of all humorous [removed](not succeeding.)
"I didn't do much. Besides, you look like you have work to do." He indicated towards the boxes loaded in the vehicle. "Are you sure you don't need more help? You trade me a cancelable campus tour, entirely your choice, for my free services."
...... If she wasn't comfortable with that because of..
"Unless you're uncomfortable with the possibilities of my stalker tendencies.." At this point, he looked at the uncle, an assessing gesture from top to bottom, ".. to which your uncle can promptly take me out for, in an impressively undefined amount of time, I'm sure, if it comes to that." He gestured to himself, pointing to his abdomen. Presumably his weak spot, easier to take out a boil there. He made a circle in the air, a gesture to that specific spot. He mouthed:
You've got this.
kaiyumi I told u itd be super weird...
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 12:44 am
Xiu seemed satisfied upon hearing the boil--her new friend, she liked to think of him as (one that, she mentally added with dry amusement, "has not been friend-zoned yet so he still has a chance")--call her by her preferred nickname. Hayate, meanwhile, seemed quite amused by both Jiten's countenance and way of speaking, reaching out to clasp the offered hand with a grin.
In either case, he had set a pretty good impression on two members of the baku demon family...which was pretty much as good as he was going to get, considering Xiu's parents disliked most everyone.
"I'm actually not in any particular rush to set everything up today," The ghoul confessed as she cast a sheepish glance back at the truck, "I was going to get the basics of my room up tonight--just my bed and hopefully my desk--but I am free for the rest of the afternoon if you want that tour now. And as for that stalker bit..."
She trailed off with a smile, whereupon Hayate took over with a laugh. "Oh, no," He grinned, holding his hands up in front of himself, "I'm more of a traditional, demonic dream-eating baku. If you want the type of baku who's capable of physically punching you out in one strike, you want my niece."
Upon gesturing to said niece, Xiu cleared her throat in embarrassment, scuffing the ground with her shoe as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I'm not that strong, thank you, uncle. You make me sound like some kind of barbarian."
Her uncle grinned at her with a look that clearly said "I don't believe you", puffing his chest out in pride. "You kicked the graduation guardian so hard that his head went flying."
..."I got lucky." And this was not the kind of conversation she wanted to have in front of a new friend, if the color blooming over her cheeks was of any indication.
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Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2014 2:19 am
"That's some luck there." Jiten hummed to the side, nonchalantly, poised to dodge a kick from Xiu. "So assuming I have your uncle's permission -- he certainly didn't knock me out with a dream yet -- I'd be the luckiest boil if you did accompany me."
He assumed Xiu's uncle was pretty set if Xiu said she had the afternoon to spare. He shifted one foot to the other, glancing up towards the dorms for the briefest of seconds. Jalala wasn't here so she wouldn't be foiling any attempts at friendship--
--especially the ghoulish kind, platonic or not, Jala seemed determined to give everyone the wrong impression. Thankfully, these two had a good one of him. Returning to the conversation, he focused his attention back on Xiu and Hayate.
"I guess I'm safe then if Xiu can kick everybody's heads off.. or take them down in one hit." He looked to the side innocently, with a grin.
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 12:24 am
Hayate laughed, giving the boil a thumbs up before glancing over towards his niece. "You have my permission. Take good care of her, and don't worry--if you run into any troublemakers during your campus tour. just let Xiu take care of it. I haven't seen her in action, but I'm sure she has enough strength in that tiny fist of hers to shatter someone's spine...if she wanted."
The shade that spread across Xiu's cheeks deepened the more Jiten talked, but it wasn't until her uncle spoke that she buried her faces in her hands and let out a groan. Jack, these two were going to be the death of her--she needed to stop them now if she wanted to retain her sanity (and what dignity she had left after their teasing). Promptly straightening up, she reached up and gently grasped Jiten's shoulders with gloved hands, spinning him around.
"Okay you two, enough of that," She informed them both, puffing out her cheeks in a disapproving manner, "Jiten, I'm going to show you around, and Uncle, you'll...?"
"I'll get this stuff to your new place first," He answered, jerking his thumb in the direction of the truck, "Take your time, but don't be out too long, Yingying." He told her affectionately, using her childhood petname. The older baku pressed a brotherly kiss to her temple, smiling when he earned a little tailwag from the baku ghoul in response. To Jiten, he offered a grin.
"Take care! It was good to meet you." He offered his hand to shake, and then turned and head towards the truck. Xiu watched him leave for a few seconds before turning her pink eyes back to the boil.
"So! Anything you'd like to see in particular, or do you want a general tour? If there's anything you need to pick up--school supplies, cheap furniture for your dorm, and so on--I can show you some of the best stores around town or in the maul if you'd like." From the way she was beaming up at him and staring at him with an smile and expectant look, it was clear that she was eager to help.
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Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:58 pm
Jiten was enjoying good banter with the uncle, disappointed when Xiu turned him around to cut their conversation off. He stayed good, making sure not to aggravate the baku any further. Her affectionate relationship reminded him of his sister's one, briefly smiling. He was still in the middle of that smile when the uncle turned towards him to shake his hand.
Returning the shake, Jiten responded, "Good to meet you too!" Following the farewells with a wave, his shoulders lowered in a relaxed posture.
"My dorm issss"--- He corrected himself sheepishly,"--is completely empty at the moment.. So, free reign, I guess?" The way he occasionally pronounced his "S" sounds were slightly elongated, reminiscent of the snake tail he had. "I moved in yesterday-- Looks like there's a lot to catch up on, if I'll be living here, right?"
"Also, excuse my accent-- I've been trying to fix that up.. but habits are hard."
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 2:34 pm
Completely empty. Completely empty? The baku gazed at the boil with a look of surprise, her lips parted and her pink eyes round at his confession.
H…how could it be completely empty?!
”You just mean that you haven’t unpacked yet,” Xiu asked slowly, her tail swishing anxiously behind her, “And not that you didn’t bring anything…right?” Because if it was the latter, then they had a whole lot more work than the ghoul had initially anticipated. He would need a bed, and a desk, and chairs, and--
--the small ghoul’s head seemed to be spinning as she frantically came up with a mental list of all the things that he would need, only to perk up when the boil mentioned his accent, Although she had unconsciously noticed it, it wasn’t until he mentioned it did she really realize that he did have a vocal tic. Holding her hands up in front of herself, she shook her head furiously, trying to reassure him. ”No no, it’s fine! Honestly, I think accents are quite neat—we have such a large variety of students here, after all. You shouldn’t have to try ‘fixing’ it—not unless it genuinely bothers you.”
Considering the vast variety of species and races that attended Amity, she was pretty sure that no one would be particularly bothered about it. And that being said…
Ducking her head in embarrassment, Xiu shuffled her feet. ”If I may, um…what…what are you?”
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:15 am
"I brought things.. but everything pretty much got burned in my sister's last prank-- she didn't want to come here and things got a little out of hand.. I suppose things get a lot more charred if you breath fire.." Jiten grimaced at the memory. Things got more than a little out of hand, when you were with Jala. Xiu's next lines were comforting, to know that Jiten's accent wasn't completely inappropriate. He was redirected back somewhat, to the conversation of their species.. and how it burned up their room.
"I'm a chimaera. Just one of the clans, I guess. We vary depending upon what we're mixed up with--My ancestors just happened to get this set." He gestured to himself, his tail arching out as part of the demonstration. "I suppose we're not that easy to come by, mixing these all up doesn't seem to be the easiest gene set."
He crossed his arms in thought.
"I'm sure we can choose a bed and they can deliver it-- I'd rather not sleep on the ground for more than a week. How about we do that and then the small stuff? I probably won't need the other things... In case it gets burned down again.."
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Posted: Sat Feb 08, 2014 12:54 am
Ah--sister? The ghoul immediately lit up at this, and probably would have inquired further had Jiten not answered her previous question as to what he was. She always found it a little awkward to ask someone that, but...well, better to know than to be woefully ignorant, right? And it was better to clear something like that earlier than later--she didn't even want to imagine how awkward it'd be if they had become good friends and she were to suddenly reveal that she didn't know what he was.
"You're the first chimaera that I've met then!" She chirped, looking a little more excited than she had really meant to, "And...goodness, your tail."
Although she had noticed his tail earlier, she had done so unconsciously, her gaze simply sweeping over it absently and acknowledging that he had a tail at all. Looking at it a little closer now though...was that a snake? Despite herself, Xiu found herself moving around so that she could glance at it from close up, crouching down and propping an elbow up on her knee, chin placed in the palm of her hand. "That's pretty neat, if you don't mind me saying! Is this...really like a living snake? Or is it just a tail in the shape of one?"
There was a pause that was then followed a quiet, "...Can I touch it?"
She had already lifted one of her hands hopefully, but kept it to herself in case Jiten was the type of person who didn't like to be touched so much. That, and there were more important matters to attend to too. "Yes, of course! We'll get you a bed, and with any luck, we'll manage to find you a desk while we're at it too!"
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