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 Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:43 am
 T’kani sat at her desk in the dorm, poring over some homework that was due next week. She had gone through the rest of the day more or less as normal, but now classes were over and she had time to think over the events that had occurred, and then over think them while she was at it. The studying and homework helped keep her mind off of things a little, but her roommate had also gone out for one of their clubs, leaving the Imp alone to her thoughts. None of this helped much as the evening dragged on.
When she was caught up in her little adventure with the Grimm she thought she was doing all the right things, and it was really funny to see him react throughout everything, but perhaps she had been too mean? Did she inadvertently wreck any relationship, friends or otherwise, that she might have had with him? Was this something she would have known if she had been raised by her own kind and not had grown up as an orphan? He seemed to go along with it, talking to her and staying with her for lunch, but was that only at his stomach’s urging? Furthermore, was giving him her room number the wrong move? As the hours passed it seemed less and less likely that he would show, but was that her fault or did he already have plans?
She sighed and turned on some music, keeping the volume low enough so she could still hear her roommate approaching whenever they returned. A nice set of orchestra music would do the trick, no lyrics to distract her from her work. She had already showered for the night, and had changed out of her uniform into more comfortable lounging wear; some soft and warm pajamas and a loose shirt. Nothing she’d want to be seen in outside of the dorm, if only because she would get in trouble, but either way she had no intention of leaving the room until morning at this point. Stretching for a moment before she dove back into the books, she decided to keep to her usual routine and hang out in ‘her’ tree the next day, and try not to worry about whether Nolan would show up again or not.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 10:54 am
 Why wouldn’t this day just end already? It felt like weeks just to get through his classes. By the end of his last one he was holding onto his cool by the tips of his claws. Raging for some space in the worst way possible, he pushed through the normal mad-dash hallway rush and made his way to the library. The difference was instant the moment he opened the door and walked through. Sighing with relief, he strode past the desk and debated just finding a quiet corner to collapse in for a while, but he somehow doubted he’d move from a chair for a good chunk of time once he planted his a**, so he shrugged off the urge and prowled into the rows of books. It was always a little more ‘crowded’ at the end of day, people getting resources for homework or even just chilling at the tables rather than go to their dorms and perhaps sucky roommates, but there was also a hush here that gave him some mental space. Still, Noe was slightly aggrieved to have to wait for people to move away from the section he thought he’d need, being as impatiently tolerant as possible with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.
Once they moved on he circled in, glancing at the spines and following the path down until he came across sign language. s**t, there was more than one ‘language’? Ok, maybe he was ignorant but if you already have trouble communicating with the vast majority of people wouldn’t you at least streamline it so it wasn’t harder to ‘talk’ than it already was? Grunting, he rubbed his face as he crouched by the books, realizing he was mostly just frustrated. Of course there would be more than one language. Different continents. Different societies. Same reason for spoken languages. But damn if it wasn’t still frustrating. How was he supposed to know which one T’kani used? Giving up the goose with a much-put-upon huff, he went to the front desk and asked for assistance. Miming the gesture she made at him earlier and asking for a book on the language where that meant ‘silly boy’. By some Herculean effort, the librarians didn’t laugh at him, though he was pretty sure the lady that came out from behind the wide, round desk was doing her best to keep her lips from twitching. His glower darkened as he stalked off behind her, thanking her gruffly as she handed him what he needed. Apparently there was one ‘common’ sign language found in most urbanized regions, and was somewhat the standard. Isolated and rural areas notwithstanding, obviously. So that was something at least.
Hightailing it to one of his favorite spots, the overstuffed chair obviously having seen years of abuse, Noelan slid into it with the grace of long practice, his bag being deposited in the same fluid gesture. Legs dangling over the arm of the chair, he cradled the book in his large hands curiously, flipping it through it. The alphabet, common indications such as ‘you’, ‘me’, ‘over there’. Some of it was stuff he recognized instantly, like ‘crazy’. Gestures people used already while talking, just to add emphasis or in silent communication. That clicked for him, and made this all feel much more doable. At least when he spoke she understood him. He kept flipping, trying to find swears. No luck, damn.
After about an hour he was overloaded and bored with it, but at least understood a bit better. Looking up and tilting his body awkwardly so he could glance at the clock, he sighed and melted into the chair again, digging out the note with his hand. Rereading it, he leaned his head back and sighed. Now what? Go and possibly be humiliated? Don’t go and… just not go? It felt wrong to just blow her off, especially if the offer was genuine. Not that he really understood what she was offering. Rocking his head back and forth in debate, huffing, he got up and at least made the decision to check out the book. Tucking the note away again, he gathered his bag and went to the desk, stamping it out under his student ID. He’d have to go back to his dorm in any case to drop off his s**t, no matter what he did with the rest of his evening, so back out into the Academy at large.
Sometime later found him slouched at his own desk in his room, his bag slung over the chair and the book, with the note on top of it, in front of him. He was pretty sure he’d come to a compromise in his head. He’d write a note and go tape it to her door, but then go. It wouldn’t be brushing her off, but it also wouldn’t be subjecting himself to whatever her plot was. It just struck the right balance in his head, though a small part of him kept voicing that it seemed rather cowardly. He quashed that voice yet again and pulled out paper to write his note.
T’kani.
Thanks again for the food. Stopped by to drop off the note. I’ll see you around campus, especially if you come back to the same area of the quad.
- Noelan
Brief, but what was there really to say? His dormmate waved him off as he left, they didn’t tend to talk much, giving each other space, and he locked the door behind him. It didn’t take too awful long to find her room, but now that he was her door it felt so terribly awkward. Grimacing as he took a breath, he held his bell still to make sure it wouldn’t ring, now that it was after hours and the enchantment to keep it quiet during class would be ‘off’ for the day, and leaned down to start slipping the folded note under her door. There wasn’t a hell of a lot of clearance, so he had to wiggle it a few time before it started to go. Probably best to shove the whole thing under, though now he wondered if her roommate would find the note first. Eh, it’s not like he wrote anything incriminating. Hopefully. Maybe.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:04 am
T’kani’s ears perked up at the sound of footsteps in the hallway, dismissing it as her roommate and continuing with her work. She glanced at the clock for a moment, it was sort of early for them to be back already. Whatever though, the Imp wasn’t in charge of her roommate’s schedule or anything, so it didn’t really matter to her. The footsteps stopped though, longer than usual, and there was no jingling of keys to open the door… It bothered her enough that she glanced over, frowning slightly as she waited for the door to unlock and open, but nothing happened. Sighing lightly to herself she turned back to her work, trying to figure out where she had left off, when there was a noise at the door that she...wasn’t expecting. Her eyes darted back to the door, spotting the paper slowly being shoved underneath the door. The hell?
She set her pen down, slowly turning in her chair, tensing up slightly. Who would be shoving notes under her door at this hour, and without knocking first even? Her eyes went wide for a moment as she had a suspicion. No, he wouldn’t just...leave a note like that, unless it was a ‘Stay away from me’ note? But then why bother with the note at all? She really needed to catch this person, because nothing was making sense.
Her muscles coiled up for a moment, and then she leapt for the door, chair tipping over with a muted thud. She landed softly on all fours, smacking the paper with one hand and snatching it from beneath the door, shifting to open the door to see just who the mystery person was that decided shoving paper around was a good idea. No. That...why? She blinked, this had to be a joke, a cardboard cutout to tease her. The familiar Grimm that she had been worried about not long ago, crouched there by her door. Why. Why? What the hell? And yet he was here? Her heart raced, and her cheeks tinted a deep red. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tackle him and demand an answer or just…
By now he was standing, and she was running out of time to react. But...she still didn’t know why he was even doing this! There was no time to read the note either way, nor did she have time to bunch up for a tackle. She settled for as best a tackle she could manage, which ended up as just an enthusiastic hug, hopefully she was light enough that the inertia wouldn’t topple him. The Imp’s furry arms wrapped around his torso as she tried to duck her head under his. Knocking him out accidentally would only make this worse, so best to avoid that if she could.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 11:24 am
 His ears perked at something, some noise, but before he even could think about what it might be the note was torn from him by someone on the other side of the door. OH s**t. The door swung open fully, and his eyes went wide as he fought to stand up quickly, darting a glance down the hallway as if debating making a dash for it. Shitshitshit, she was staring at him.
“Uh.”
And then she was throwing herself at him, her clawed hands reaching to snatch and lock behind him. Tilting his head up quickly to avoid the horns, thank the Nine for reflexive thought, he stood with his arms wide as she clung to him, having staggered back at her overzealous hug while his bell rung aloud. His tail whipped furiously as he blinked at the ceiling, beyond uncomfortable at being touched so… bodily, without being asked or at the very least more warning.
“What the hell?”
Noe stood there helplessly for a moment, unsure what to do with his burden of female and fluff. Raising his hands to press against her shoulders, he pushed her back gently, trying to dislodge her enough to at least lower his head so he wasn’t craning his neck. With at least a little space between them now, he could look down at her and stare. What was her deal? Did the caretakers not hug her enough as a kid or something? Or her parent..s…? Pinching the bridge of his nose as he took in a slow breath to calm himself, he opened his eyes again to look at her, raising his hand to indicate her and then using the same hand to twirl his fingers by his head while staring at her face.
“You’re crazy.”
This, at least, he could sign. It was what he would’ve used behind someone’s back if he were that kind of person to say they’re cuckoo, so it was an easy one to remember. Ugh, so much for him just dropping off the note and getting out of here.
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Posted: Fri Apr 15, 2016 12:29 pm
T’kani resisted briefly as he tried to push her off, but quickly relented and let her arms stretch out, hands still resting on his back as he gave himself space. She blushed a bit at first as he simply looked at her, but her eyes went wide when he actually signed something, forgetting even that the bell around his neck had actually made a sound. After everything she had been worrying about, he had taken the time to learn sign language. She had no idea how much, but unless he had been playing dumb before it couldn’t be too much yet. He had learned sign language! Was it for her, or merely for himself?
She slid her arms from behind his back, shifting a bit to give him space so she could respond in kind, looking up at him and trying not to blush as her heart raced. Her mind was too much a jumble to really piece together a response to him that he might understand, without going overboard, or sounding even crazier as he put it. She settled for what she had called him before, something he would hopefully pick up. Pointing to him, she went just a little slower than normal as she mouthed the words, making the letters ‘R’ and ‘A’, and then thumbed her nose and pointed out an invisible cap she was wearing.
“You’re a silly boy.”
The Imp looked up at him, smiling shyly and not really sure what to do now, but definitely feeling out of place standing in the hallway in her sleepwear. At least there was nothing showing, her ruff covered up any skin that the loose t-shirt might not have done, and the pants were certainly not a skirt. Did she invite him in? What would her roommate think when they came back? Would he be expecting something if she let him in? No, he seemed hesitant to even hug her back, certainly he wouldn’t go from a hug to...something that much further along. She glanced at the hand still holding his note, having forgotten about it in the surprise visit. Tucking it into her pocket, she decided against reading it in front of him...for the moment. Well, might as well offer and see what he does. She signed and mouthed the words a tad slow for his benefit, though she paused as she worked up the courage to invite the boy in, a shy smile still pulling at her face.
“Would you...like to come in?”
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 8:22 pm
Glaring at her in exasperation as she kept her claws on his back, he felt her shift away from him, freeing him enough at last to take a step back and with it a deep, cleansing breath. Instantly feeling better now that his personal space wasn’t being invaded, he tilted his head and ears at her curiously as she looked at him, starting to sign something. And what was she wearing? Were those her pjs? Maybe she didn’t mean anything untoward with her note after all. Maybe she was just really bad at making friends? Or… well better than him probably no matter her methods. He had no idea what the first two signs were, or her mouth words, but recognized the sign ‘silly boy’ again. And she had pointed to him, so…
“Yea, maybe. But you’re still crazy.”
Ok, so maybe the note under the door was a bad idea. But he wasn’t expecting her to just be staring at the door and waiting for him to show. That seemed the only thing that made sense with how quickly she pounced on the note. That kinda seemed… desperate? And she was in her night clothes, which weren’t the flashy sort, so it didn’t seem likely that she invited him here to mock him in front of a crowd or anything. Especially since they were sans crowd. And who drops leaves on someone as a greeting anyway? Now he was just feeling like an a**, and bad for her.
“Why me?”
The question covered so much, honestly. Why did she flash him, why did she go out of her way to harass, tease, and then feed him. Invite him to her room. Hug him. He could get that she was lonely, but that didn’t explain why she was talking to him. He was just that short, quiet Grimm kid. Basically an omega by his race’s standards. She was signing again, but not anything he understood, obviously. Hairswipe, him, chestflick, finger p***k, her collar bone… what. What.
Noe’s eyes went huge as he put up his hands in a placating gesture, not sure in the least how to respond to that. That was why she harassed him in the courtyard? He was flattered and all, but… what? I mean, what else could that hand thingy mean. She stuck her fingers in a hole made by her other hand. That looked pretty self explanatory. So what, she liked his hair and now wanted him to … chestflick her collarbone and do that? What did the other gestures mean? Was he completely reading her wrong? But… she had flashed him. Twice. And had been rather suggestive when she dropped that note on his tray. Was eating the food she bought him like, some Imp sign for ‘yes let’s get it on’? Nine maybe he should’ve gotten a book on Imp culture from the library while he was at it.
“Uuuuuuuuuh ok either I have no idea what you said or I know exactly what you said. And if you said what I think you said then I’m… flattered and all but… I mean… and if someone caught us… and I just met you… and not that you’re not cute and everything but… what?!”
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:33 pm
T’kani tilted her head a bit at the question, why him what? Why buy him lunch after she was partly responsible for him losing his, despite it being a favor so he wouldn’t get sick? Why invite him to her room after he had been so good throughout their encounter and was kinda cute anyway? Were all boys like this or was he just dense?
Her ears perked up as he responded to her invitation, quickly feeling her cheeks heat up as he fumbled his way around for words. He thought she was inviting him to sleep with her? What the? He did say that he wasn’t certain he understood though, and maybe she was being too confident of how much he had learned. After all, it had only been a day, and if he knew nothing when they met, then he probably didn’t know much hours later.
He thought she was cute though? Was that why he was being so indecisive, waiting for her to help him decide whether or not to bed her? If he wanted to do that, they’d need to have some sort of relationship first, but it wasn’t as if she could explain the intricacies of Imp relationships if he could barely understand sign language. She would have to tell him through writing, but she was also somewhat confident that if she left him out in the hallway he’d probably take that the wrong way too, and might even take the opportunity to leave. Which meant she would need to lure him into her room somehow so she could explain. Well, she could certainly play along with that…
She glanced up at him, eyes half-lidded with a faint smirk painted across her lips, trying her best to put on a seductive face...or...what she thought a girl’s expression might be if she were trying to seduce someone. While in pajamas. Sashaying her hips as she very slowly closed the distance between them, she kept her eyes locked on his the entire time. If she had realized he might think there was more to the invitation than she intended, she might have kept her school outfit on; these clothes did nothing to enhance her appeal.
Once she got close enough, she reached out and touched his wrists, sliding her hands behind them and into his. Giving his big hands a squeeze, she slid hers out from under, lightly drawing her claws along his palms before turning and walking back to her room. Her tail slowly waved behind her hips, which were also wiggling just enough to go along with the ruse. When she reached her door, she pressed her body up against the doorframe, tail arcing up behind her for better access. She looked back at him longingly, as if she were going to mount the door instead if he didn’t get a move on. She completed her little act by gesturing for him to come closer with her finger, before slipping back into her room and out of sight, her tail brushing along her door before disappearing as well.
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 10:55 pm
Her expression seemed to go from puzzled to coy and he had this sinking in the pit of his stomach that this wasn’t about to end well for him. He looked down at her advancing wiggles, swallowing hard as his ears flattened. What the heck was she up to? Noe let her grasp his hands, feeling something run up his spine at the trailing contact that made him go rigid. Then she just… walked away. But damn did she walk away, and that look she tossed over her shoulder as she paused at the door before… doing that made his cheeks burn fiercely. Oh sweet merciful Eleusinia. Nine. What had he gotten himself into.
Taking a shambling step back until he felt his back make contact with the wall, he stared at the doorway she’d slunk into, apparently still open in invitation to him. His mouth parted in a light pant as he slowly slid down the wall of the hallway, landing with a soft plop on the hard floor, pinning his tail uncomfortably. What. Was that. What the hell was he supposed to do about that?
“I’m.. I’m not that…”
That kind of guy. ******** did he want to be though. His hands rose up to rub his face as he bit back the urge to howl in frustration. This was by far the weirdest day of his life to date. Hands down. He couldn’t do this, he didn’t even know her. Not to mention the health risks or probable humiliation. Maybe this wasn’t her first… offer? What if he was just some line on a checklist or something? Hell, did it matter for a one-night thing? Would he even want that? There was the curiosity of course, and the primal drive for it which he could feel pulsing along to his heartbeat, but somehow that just wasn’t enough to make him get up and follow after her. Gods, what a day. Maybe he should just go before this got worse. Somehow.
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2016 11:04 pm
T’kani didn’t wait to see if he was following, heading straight for her desk and setting her chair upright so that it didn’t look like a tornado went through the place. Fishing around for a notebook she could use, she grabbed it along with a pen, stuffing it into her pocket. Which was where his note was. Curious, she pulled it out and read it, smiling to herself. So he was cute and shy, but still grateful. She tucked the note into her notebook and turned to leave; she could work with cute and shy.
He hadn’t followed her in, which was probably for the best, she wasn’t quite sure what to do if he did try to...take her up on the supposed offer. Peeking out of her room, she smirked as she found him flopped against the wall on the floor; he definitely got extra points for not following her. She slipped out into the hallway, closing the door softly behind her as if not to wake the Grimm, then crossed the short distance and sat down next to him. Shifting slightly, she made herself comfortable, tail curling up on her other side as she pulled out her pen. She wasn’t quite pressed up against his side, but she wasn’t really giving him much space either, sort of lightly touching for now. The Imp didn’t expect anything to happen, so she didn’t see anything wrong with being this close to him. It wasn’t like she was going to bite.
Opening the notebook, she flipped to a blank page and started writing, not really bothering to look at him just yet. He was probably still dazed from her little show, which would be fine for now, she had things that needed explaining before he made a poor choice.
“Don’t worry, you’re not allowed in my bed tonight. I wouldn’t allow you that sort of privilege unless we were very close, and I don’t even know if we’re friends yet…
I may let you sit on the bed though, if you’re a good boy.
You are cute though, and I enjoyed being with you today.
Would you like to be friends?”
She stopped there, not sure if she should keep going, or if there was even anything else she could say. At the very least it was a start, and they could work from there. Glancing up at him, she turned the notepad so that he could read it easier, keeping her fluffy arms from obscuring her handwriting.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:28 pm
 Ears perking up at some indefinite sound, he spread his fingers enough to peek between them and watched as she approached after apparently closing her dorm door. His ears folded back immediately when she sat beside him, doing his damnedest not to touch her, though he could feel the heat of her body along his side like a ghostly impression of contact. There was a slight brush as she moved, and he huffed in response at the touch. He was in absolutely no mood to deal with more of her shenanigans and only held back from growling out of social restraint.
Lowering his hands slowly to bare his face, he glanced to the side to see her writing something down. Thank the Nine, maybe he’d get some answers now. Why didn’t she just write stuff in the first place? It wasn’t as fast as that… hand jive language, but at least it was clear. While she did that he worked on breathing deeply, letting the air out slowly in an effort to calm himself. Another shift from her drew his attention which led his eyes down to the notebook, now turned for his benefit. Snorting as he read what was written, he rubbed his face again while collecting his thoughts. This was just ridiculous. The whole day had been.
“So you’re messing with me, basically.”
Glaring at her now, he had the urge to shake her.
“What if I didn’t stop myself? What if I entered your dorm room and locked the door behind me and…”
And did all those things her body had promised, whether she’d been joking or not. Wanted it or not. What if it was someone else she’d teased that didn’t have self control? He snapped his teeth at her to illustrate his point. ‘Runt’ or not, if he shifted shape and decided to… Not that he would. But he could’ve. Wouldn’t. But if some a*****e was in his position? Was angry enough at being teased to just… demand? It was a dangerous game she was playing.
“Not that I would.”
No, but he definitely didn’t appreciate being jerked around. Her ‘good boy’ comment felt condescending to him, and now that he thought about it maybe the ‘silly boy’ thing was too. Some pet name she’d given to her new plaything. The freak runt Grimm she’d picked up, starving and abandoned, and now after feeding expected to trail behind her heels. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes or show a little fur.. Skin.. .stripes, whatever. Nine. And here he was, showing up at her dorm room like he was performing a trick. Ugh. Dammit. Why? Because she was cute? Because she was, for lack of a better word, different? Strange? Interesting? Noe sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back against the wall, letting his head fall back with a slight thump against the hard surface. She’d enjoyed his company. Or enjoyed his reactions to her flirtations maybe. Something. Was any part of her not just a show or punching for reactions? Who was she really? How could he even know if he wanted to be friends when he didn’t even know who she was besides a whirlwind that left him utterly confused?
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 7:33 pm
T’kani smiled up at him as he read her note, though that was harder to keep up when he glared back at her. He seemed...very upset with her; had she done something wrong, or gone too far with this? She was about to reach up and try to silently comfort him when he went on the offensive, blushing heavily and turning to stare at the notepad as he berated her. What if he had followed her in, and gone through with it? She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts as she wrote him a response.
“I don’t think I would know what to do if you followed me in like that, I’ve never gone all the way with someone. I wanted you to come in so we could chat in my room, instead of out here.”
She paused for a moment, perhaps that had been a mistake? This was nothing out of the ordinary to her, she’d invited plenty of people up to her room, and been invited over to others in kind. Those were for study groups or just meeting up to go get food, but it couldn’t be that different for friends, why was he taking this so hard? Was this a Grimm thing that she didn’t understand, or an Imp thing he didn’t understand?
“But I overestimated how much sign you had learned, so I decided the best way to get you to follow me was to flirt with you again, since it worked before. That didn’t quite work out as I had hoped, but it gave me enough time to grab something to write on.”
Was that the problem, he didn’t see her actions as flirting? That couldn’t be it, he himself had worried about holding himself back from bedding her. She rubbed her face for a moment, shifting uncomfortably next to him, wanting nothing more than to scoot into his lap and cuddle the worries away. With how he reacted to her hugging him, that seemed like a possibility that was growing more distant with each passing moment.
“I trusted you enough to give you my room number, I wouldn’t have done so if I wasn’t sure you could behave yourself.
I’m sorry for teasing you.”
She turned the notepad again so he could read it, burying her face in her hands, ears pulled back while she waited for the verdict. Was this it? Did she mess up her attempt at making a friend?
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 10:48 pm
 With each passing moment her expression fell more and more until he felt like such an a*****e for saying anything at all. She was writing out a response, haltingly, probably as she gathered her own thoughts. Then she rubbed her face after a long bit of writing, wiggling about, and he leaned to try and read what she’d written so far. Just snatches of words, since most of it was blocked from his view, but then she uncurled and went back to scribbling more. A final thought? Seemed like it, since she turned it his way and went back to covering her face looking every bit like a ball of misery. His mouth twisted in a frown and raised a hand as if to pat her, but it hung uselessly in the air, not feeling like he had the right to just reach out and touch. s**t, he hadn’t meant to hurt her, or snap for that matter. He just felt so frustrated at being tossed and turned about emotionally that the easiest thing to do was just to tell her off and go back to his own room, but he couldn’t just walk off when she seemed so dejected. Maybe she really was just that bad at making friends? Well, there was answers written down for him maybe, and he tore his gaze away from her to look down and tilt his head to read.
So this wasn’t some regular thing for her. Yea, he guessed that as soon as her face crumpled at his berating. Someone that didn’t have an emotional investment would’ve just shrugged him off and sent him on his way, or if they were stubborn would’ve tried to touch him and lead him into the bedroom again rather than sit down next to him. So she’d used the flirting as bait pretty much. Maybe this was a language barrier issue? What if he could understand her hand flapping?
“What did you say to me earlier, when your hands went like this?”
He mimed the slipping of his fingers into a hole created by the other hand, still not looking at her as he thought and read. She’d overestimated how much he had learned? What, in the scant hour he spent flipping through it? Not that she knew that. But even if he’d gone immediately to the library to get the book after meeting her, he’d what… know the alphabet by now? Snorting at her written admission that this hadn’t gone according to plan, he rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before putting a hand on the notebook to prevent her from taking it.
“Hang on, I haven’t finished reading.”
He should’ve saved all questions for once the ride had come to a full and complete stop, but he wanted to ask before he forgot to. Raising his hand again to read the last few lines, his fingers clenched slowly in a fist before withdrawing to be placed on his leg. She had decided to trust him with nothing to go on besides some chance encounter, which had been equally odd as this one, and an apology. Letting out a breath in a loud whoosh, he leaned back again to think. He wasn’t wrong in what he’d said earlier. She’d been inviting trouble. But if was admitting it to himself the aggression had been at feeling toyed with. Which she apologized for. And she still looked so gods damned sad. And maybe she wasn’t the only one that was awful at making friends. Crossing his arms over his chest, he kicked out his right leg and sighed, head bowed forward as he tried to just say it. Maybe if he hadn’t been so dense she wouldn’t have been so spastic in an effort to explain herself. It wasn’t her fault she was mute, and she was trying to adapt to ‘speaking’ with him and he was being obstinate.
“Hey, I’m sorry too. For being an a**.”
Was that so hard? He glanced at her behind the curtain of his bangs and leaned his head back again. Ugh, yes, yes it was.
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Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2016 10:52 pm
T’kani sat there and waited, trying to quiet her thoughts as a million bad endings ran through her brain. This was it, he’d tell her to ******** off and never talk to him again, and she would have to find a different spot to spend her free hours from now on. Gods forbid that they see each other in the hallways somewhere, and who knew what sort of rumors would come of this. Why had she been so stupid? Who cares if he’s cute if it’s going to ruin her last year at the Academy?
Her ears perked slightly when he spoke, lowering her hands a bit and turning to look at him when it became apparent that his words weren’t another attack. She looked up at him over the tips of her claws, eyes shifting to watch as he made the sign for ‘In’. Eyes glancing down, she wondered if that’s what made him think she was offering her bed to him; she didn’t often think of how the sign looked to someone who didn’t understand the meaning. Shifting slightly, she rubbed at her face with the fur covering her arms, worried he’d laugh at her if he thought she had been crying. Not that she had been, but she wasn’t used to being scolded for something that was so small in her eyes either.
She paused when he spoke again, apparently not done reading. It wasn’t as if she wrote him a novel, so perhaps he was taking time to digest everything before telling her off? She tried to chase those fears away, why would he ask about what she had signed if he was only going to be mean again? There had to be something else, it didn’t make sense otherwise.
The Imp glanced up at his apology, blushing slightly through the uncertain expression on her face. She stared at him for a few moments, barely able to see his eyes through his hair, then averting her gaze once more. Quietly sighing, she picked up the pen again and took back her notebook.
“Thank you.
I said ‘Would you like to come in?’ The sign you made is the ‘In’ part. There’s a more specific sign for sex.
I don’t know what I would have done if you had accepted the invitation anyway, even if you weren’t expecting to bed me.”
She paused for a moment, not certain if she should expand on that, or show him what a more blunt invitation would look like. He’d have to read it first before she could show him though, so that might be better for a later time...if there was such a thing.
“I’m sorry that this got so messy.
Can we start over?”
Turning the notebook back to him, she stared at the opposite wall as she waited for a reply. He didn’t seem angry with her anymore, but she was still unsure of where they would go from here. She shifted uncomfortably, not used to being in such close proximity while having an invisible boundary up. Maybe sitting next to him was a bad idea, this sucked.
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 12:35 am
He avoided meeting her eyes even from behind the fringe of hair, though she seemed to be staring at him, maybe trying to read his expression. The arms crossed over his chest tightened slightly, protectively, as he shrugged slightly. He didn’t really feel like elaborating, and after an awkward pause she turned the notebook her way and started on another message. Ears swiveling as he listened to the rasping drag of the pen tip against paper, Noe rocked the leg that wasn’t bent in front of him, looking the long way down to his exposed paw idly. Trying to keep his mind blank and just wait for her reply rather than letting his thoughts run, not that it worked perfectly. She seemed genuinely upset, which made him feel pretty confident that she wasn’t just putting him on to humiliate him on purpose. At least not in front of a crowd. She could just like the thrill of leading someone on, but he didn’t think it was that either. It was this weird mix of confident and awkward, and he was just so utterly confused. And ashamed for snapping. And still mad for being… whatever this was with. There was a silent pause and he held still, tilting his chin up a little to eye her quickly, but she wasn’t looking his way. Still focusing on the pad of paper, the pen poised as if she was debating what to write next. Letting out his breath, he went back to rocking his paw back and forth, looking forward at the opposite wall again. Another moment and then the pen went back to work and he tried to wait patiently for answers.
If she hadn’t been trying to aggravate him, and this really wasn’t something she did on a regular basis, then… what. She was genuinely flirting with him in her way? Why? He’d had his share of crushes sure, and maybe a fleeting thing or two, but nothing steady before, and it all had that air of ‘until something better comes along’. Or at least so in his mind. So he’d never bothered getting attached to anyone, didn’t make sense to. This was his first experience with being openly flirted with by a stranger, if that was what had happened. Which just brought him back to the circling question of why him. As far as Grimm went he was unimpressive and honestly didn’t have a ‘winning personality’ and knew it. So… why?
His question was a silent one, and muffled scritch scratch of the pen was his only reply. Grimacing, he wrinkled his nose at the cyclical thoughts, not noticing right away when the sound of her writing had stopped. Once the realization registered he glanced her way again to see she was looking up across the hall in an unfocused way, kinda like what he’d been doing he supposed. The notebook had been turned for his benefit and he started picking apart the message left for him.
‘Would you like to come in’ was still somewhat suggestive, but maybe he wouldn’t think that if she hadn’t been so… seductive with her behavior earlier. Wait. Did she feel like she had to act that way to get his attention? She did say that her flirting had worked once before to get him to follow her so… Sighing, he unfolded his arms so he could rub his face with one hand, unsure if he was insulted by the thought and not really interested in digging into the emotion to find out for sure. Continuing to read, it didn’t really give him much more insight. He looked her way as he thought, trying to piece together the written words and her actions from earlier into something that made sense. His mouth was still covered with one hand as he continued to rock his leg, thinking. It would be easier to just walk away from it and just wave this off as some very bizarre day, but she seemed just so down. Something about that bothered him, and though he still wasn’t sold on whatever she was offering he sighed and leaned forward, stilling his leg from it’s rhythmic movement.
“It’s fine. And yea, sure. So… what. Hi my name is Noelan?”
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Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 1:15 am
T’kani’s ears perked up as his leg stopped moving, eyes shifting while trying not to move, hesitant to look at him again and face the bad news. Nothing he said came across as harsh or mean though, perhaps a little impatient but she could understand that. She couldn’t help but smile at the snarky question though, and it seemed like a good place to start. The Imp leaned back slightly, tearing the sheet of paper she had been writing on and crumpling it up, tossing it by her door. With the past symbolically discarded, she took a deep breath and stretched her arms, putting her pen back to the paper to try and fix this mess.
“My name is T’kani, or TK if you sign it.
Nobody seems to use that bench, which is why I enjoy sitting in the tree behind it, or maybe I’m the reason why nobody uses that bench. Either way, I thought it was curious that you picked there of all places to sit. You also seemed to be in your own world, so I wanted to see how long it would take before you noticed me, which is where the leaves came in.
I didn’t expect you to react the way you did, nor did I think you’d lose your lunch. You didn’t seem to realize that I wouldn’t respond to you, and you didn’t recognize the sign I made when I did, so when I decided to make up for the lost food I had to get you to follow me somehow. Everything past that was what I thought was acceptable behavior for the circumstances, although perhaps I did move a bit quick. I’ve given out my room number fairly often for study sessions, but never before as I did with you.”
She paused for a moment, frowning slightly as she looked over what she had written. It sounded like she was pouring her heart out into this, and maybe that was a bit much, but what else was she going to do? Beating around the bush would only make things worse at this point.
“Most of my friends started as study partners, and while they are good friends to me now, I don’t have much experience making friends by other means. I thought you were cute, and I liked how you reacted around me, though I didn’t think I was upsetting you at the time. I was nervous and excited about starting a friendship with you, and given the note you wrote me it seems like you felt the same way, but now I’m worried that I’ve messed that up.
I’m sorry for leading you on, I didn’t think about your feelings or how you might interpret my actions.”
Setting down her pen, she turned the notepad back towards him, looking up at him with a nervous expression. He didn’t seem so angry at her anymore, but he could easily walk away and want nothing to do with her. All she could do now is hope that things would work out at least somewhat well.
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