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 Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 7:12 am
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:02 am
follows this
The geist hurried back in the direction of his room, trusting that the grimm was keeping up. Although he had been full of bravado five minutes ago at the Solstice celebrations, the closer Bo got to the dorms the more of his confidence slipped away, especially when he noticed that the salamander didn't appear to be breathing. If he couldn't get back in time... if the creature didn't make it... well, he was going to be very upset, to put it mildly.
Quickening his pace once the first recognizable building emerged from the darkness, Bo plowed through the front doors with little care for the sleeping habits of anyone within earshot. He bolted up the stairs, fumbled with his key in the lock, and almost fell inside, catching himself before he landed on his new pet and murdered it for certain.
[141]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:11 am
While Ayuu was still of a mind that they should find an adult to help them, ze followed along anyway, eager to lend zir new friend any support he needed. Ze kept a safe distance from Bo's occasionally reckless flailing, surprised to see that their rooms weren't all that far apart. As soon as ze took note of the geist's location, Ayuu backtracked to the small communal kitchen they'd passed and heated up a paper cup full of water, carrying it in careful claws back to Bo's room. Surely this would be enough to get the familiar feeling more comfortable. Ayuu didn't let zemself think about what would happen if it didn't. Ze slipped inside Bo's room, closing the door behind zem.
[122]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:01 am
During the time that Ayuu had been in the other room—which Bo hadn't noticed, to be honest—the geist had torn the blanket from his bed and bundled the salamander in a cocoon on his desk. He hunched over it, as if staring might revive the creature.
"I can see it breathing again," he said as he felt the grimm move close. Bo knew that the familiar wouldn't make much in the way of heat by itself, but his hands were still cold from their snowball fight. He could only make things worse. Bo reached over and wrapped his fingers around Ayuu's furry paw.
"Here, you're warm. Put your hand on him."
[111]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:12 am
Ayuu let Bo guide zir hand toward the familiar, bringing zir other paw—the one holding the cup of water—up into view.
"This'll probably help more than my hand," ze said, resting the cup along the ridge of the salamander's spine. Almost immediately, the little creature perked, opening crimson eyes and flexing its stubby arms as it tried to turn. It completed its roll, curling around the outside of the warm cup and closing its eyes.
By the time Bo faced zem again, Ayuu was beaming. To think ze'd gone from being too apprehensive to leave zir dorm to saving another creature from the brink of death all in one day. Ze had a feeling Bo was going to thank zem for what ze saw as common sense, but Ayuu wanted none of it. It was ze who was the grateful one.
[141]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:25 am
"Ayuu, you're... awesome!" Bo said, dropping the grimm's hand and clapping zem on the back. "Lookit how happy he is!" The geist leaned forward again, captivated by the familiar's speedy recovery.
Following several minutes of chirping and cooing over his sleeping pet, Bo faced Ayuu again, abruptly bored by the animal. The excitement that had brought them here was over, but that didn't mean there couldn't be more to come.
"So. What house're you in? Arkham's okay sometimes, but I'd rather be adventuring than painting, like, ninety-eight percent of the time. You seem like... an Enoch kid. Smart and full of good ideas and stuff."
[105]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:52 am
Ayuu let out a single soft bark of laughter. An Enoch student? Zem?
"I'm Arkham too," ze said. "My room's over in the building next door. I'm here for music, but it's hard with the claws." Ayuu smiled. "I'm really glad I met you today. I... um... I've kept to myself a lot ever since I got here and if you hadn't been so friendly, I might have never spoken to anybody at all."
Ze couldn't even fathom the possibility of continuing on like that now. Bo was fun. Bo included zem without even thinking about it. Bo was zir friend.
[101]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 8:57 am
"Really? You sing and play and stuff?" Although Bo could hide in the shadows for hours when he had a mind to, and duck out of the way of thrown punches and angry shopkeepers, he lacked the patience for theory and practice. The geist was naturally good at sketching, so that was what he did. If the impulse to do so happened to coincide with an art class, Bo did well. If it didn't, he did not.
"I draw," he declared, grabbing a pencil and a slightly rumpled sheet of paper. "Here." He pointed at the bed. "Sit down and I'll show you."
[103]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 9:14 am
Ayuu's mouth dropped open slightly at the geist's suggestion. There was nothing malicious or mocking about his request, at least Ayuu didn't think so, but it was still unexpected. Eventually ze relented, sliding over to Bo's bed and taking a seat.
The grimm nodded as ze got settled. "I guess so. If you want." The urge to ask him why was still strong, but it faded a bit once Bo got going. He was somehow even more intent on his art than he was on his newest familiar. Ayuu found zemself staring at the boy as he worked. Every move was deliberate, from wide arcs to tiny details, and ze wondered if ze looked as focused when ze played. It was certainly a change from the reckless, flailing boy ze'd met at the festival.
[134]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 11:38 am
He lost himself in his work, carving out efficient planes and angles on his wrinkled sketch until he was satisfied. Not pleased, simply satisfied. Bo was rarely pleased by the things he drew, but he knew others were so he made sure to slap on his usual smile when he showed his art around. Nevermind that doing so left him at his most vulnerable, a state he rather disliked. He hoped that it would be all right for him to reveal a little bit of that to Ayuu.
Bo raised his head, handing over the sketch with a shallow grin. "There ya go. One Ayuu. To thank you for helping me out."
[112]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:00 pm
The grimm reached out and carefully took the offered sketch, teal eyes widening as ze got a good look at it. Ze could recognize that it was zem, but... Ayuu squinted. Bo must have done something to the paper, given it a shine or imbued it with some magical power. Ze looked... beautiful.
"I, um, this is..."
Ze saw Bo's face start to fall. It was nearly imperceptible, but Ayuu noticed.
"No, no, I love it!" ze amended. "I didn't mean to make it sound like I don't appreciate it, 'cause I do! It's just... It's wonderful."
Ze ran a claw down the side of the picture-Ayuu's cheek. "The light here. And my fur." Zir hand lifted to zir ears as ze chuckled. "How did you do this?"
[128]
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:04 pm
Bo shrugged, his discomfort fading. "I don't know. I just do." He smiled a crooked smile. "I'm glad you like it so much."
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 12:08 pm
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