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 Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2024 4:11 pm
Alex stared up at the ceiling with a scowl as though its impassive surface was the reason he had not gotten a single wink of sleep all night. He could see early morning light seeping into the room, mocking him with its presence. He never did sleep much, but this was ******** ridiculous! The day's classes were going to be pretty rough, at this rate. He should just get up now, stop the pretense, and grab a coffee. But first a shower. A brisk one ought to shock him into some semblance of wakefulness so he could pretend to have his s**t together for one more day.
Or if he really wanted a full body shock to the system he could go jump in the lake. He hadn't gone for a swim in ages and it was probably deserted given how early in the morning it was. Feeling a little invigorated at the thought of the frigid, early morning lake water, Alex pulled himself out of bed and lurched toward his dresser drawers.
A short time later, Alex was trundling over to the lake, decked in black swim trunks with a wide, venom green stripe on each side, gray flip flops, and an open black hoodie with the hood up. Under one arm he carried a large towel and a pair of sweats to change into just in case he was colder than expected when he climbed out of the lake.
Alex had just reached the lake and tossed down his towel and sweats when a bright... something flew at him and began flitting around his head. Alex swore under his breath and tried to shoo the thing away, but it was pretty damned persistent. Getting annoyed, Alex finally clapped his hands together, smashing the annoying thing between his hands in a burst of red glitter.
Making a disgusted face, Alex started to wipe his hands on his shorts but realized there was nothing there. The explosion of glitter was already fading. What the ********? Shrugging, the duke thought nothing more of it as he stripped off his hoodie and kicked off his flip flops. Whatever that thing was, it wasn't bugging him anymore so who cared?
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Posted: Wed Sep 25, 2024 8:36 pm
   LOCATION: Lakeside-- Cavern xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
It was getting too cold for swimming. Ophelia knew it and still couldn’t break the habit of waking up just before the sun to get ready. That was one thing the Duchess of Light loathed about coming to Utopia. Back home in her territory, the temperature rarely dropped to such unsavory levels unless it was nightfall. Tack that on as another reason Phi loathed those dreadful night hours.
Maybe Mother Sun would continue to bless her for a little longer? As the first blue rays of sunlight broke through her window, Ophelia was up, bolting through her balcony doors with outstretched arms to test the temperature and watch the sun finally illuminate her shadowed world. Thankfully, this morning, winter's icy cold threat receded for another blessed swim session.
Wasting no time, Ophelia grabbed what she needed for the day, tossed it into her favored cotton tote, and bolted to the lake with Orby hot on her heels—spending the first glorious hour of sunrise in blissful solitude, accompanied by no one but Orby and the lapping sound of water. Just where she liked to be.
Around the time Ophelia’s hands began to prune, she crawled from the warm comfort of the lake to start the second half of her morning activities. With her drenched white-lined swimming dress clinging to each swooping curve of her frame, she confidently wandered up the nearby hill barefoot, searching for any stones glimmering under the sun's attention. There had only been two so far that fit the scheme of suncatchers she had been making, and she was determined to find the third today.
“ All we need is one more.” She hummed, her ocean gaze flicking across the ground until the purple glint of a stone in the distance caught her limited peripheral vision. Set in motion before she could think twice, Ophelia darted for the glittering stone. She could tell by its lavender shine it would be the perfect color, but it needed to be in her hands to really tell if its shape would complement the other two clutched in her palm.
With eyes set on her target and determined steps, the frail girl hardly noticed how labored her breathing had become from the steep incline she fought against. This was until Orby’s shot directly in front of her, disrupting her vision with a blinding flash.
”ACK!” Unable to move until the ring of light left her eyes, Ophelia was forced to plant her feet.
Whining, she rubbed the rainbow spots from her vision as she turned to her bright culprit. ”What was that for!?” The orb wasted no time drawing Ophelia’s cleared attention to the ground, zooming forward a few feet to illuminate the hidden crevasse that cut through the hill directly in front of her, most likely formed from years of runoff rainwater traveling towards the lake from the far off mountains.
Weighing her steps carefully, she moved towards the edge and peered into the shadowed void stretching far beneath her. Well, she couldn't blame the culprit for its harsh actions now. Holding a heavy breath, her longing gaze flicked to the stone teetering on the edge of the open cavern just beyond. How wide was it? It didn’t look that far… A dog could easily make it with a running jump. So... why wouldn't she? Her father's harsh voice rang through her mind as though he was behind her, scolding her already for planned poor choices. But the memory seemed to have the opposite of its intended effect as it lit a defiant fire in her belly. “ Do you think I could make it?” The voice that slipped from her lips was hollow since she knew the Orb's answer before it could shift into the familiar, disappointing colors of frustrated orange and worried green. There was a third important pillar in her life.. who didn't think she could do it.
Slumping her shoulders in defeat, she huffed, turning her back on the glittering stone to slowly turn from the cavern. “Alright. I won't risk it.. I'm sure there will be other stones. But I do think it’s about time I change out of this soaking dress. Do you mind checking to see if the coast is clear?” With unwavering trust, the orb bolted away to scan the perimeter. The lie settled heavily on her shoulders but quickly turned to ash beneath her blazing determination.
She wouldn’t think about how easy it was to lie to her closest companion. Because Ophelia was, in fact, not going to change right now.
“ Three ” Mentally measuring the distance needed for a running start, the duchess stepped forward with each count.
“ Two ” The sound of her beating heart pulsed through her ears as she settled on doing something so reckless.
“ One! “ Turning on her heels, she bolted for the cavern before she could convince herself otherwise. Three long strides were all it took before she pushed as much power into her dominant leg, dug the ball of her foot into the earth, and kicked off. Flying through the air, pride swirled through her chest as her vision locked on her intended landing spot.
Then, there was a resounding clap that simultaneously stole her vision. " I'm not going to make it."
The pads of her toes barely caught the edge, then shattered through the crumbling earth as her full weight descended. A blood-curdling shriek ripped from her throat as she fell. Nails desperately digging to find purchase while her body shredded down the side of the cavern. By some luck, the fingers of her free hand caught into something ropelike. A thick root maybe? The sudden stop had her shoulder screaming as it struggled to hold her full weight. Ragged breaths tore from her lungs, not giving the root a chance to snap before she could find something to stand on. Frantically kicking her feet, she couldn't process the pain of her legs shredding against jagged stones, too busy fighting to find some foothold to release the screaming pressure in her shoulder. If someone popped Orby, they were nearby, right?
"Please! Help me! "
OOC: Sorry Alex.. I really did want her to make it
 
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Posted: Thu Sep 26, 2024 4:20 pm
At almost the exact moment that Alex’s second flip flop hit the ground he heard a shriek that had him whip around, hands clenched into fists as though he was ready for a fight. He couldn’t see anyone, but he could sure as ******** hear her as the same voice cried out again, pleading for help. What the hell?! Alex ran toward the sound of the girl’s voice, not sure what he even expected to find. He hadn’t thought anyone else was even going to be out here; was some guy pestering this girl because he thought the same thing?
Coming upon a crevasse, Alex at first slowed a bit in confusion and looked around. Was the voice coming from in there? Was this mystery chick really doing some early morning spelunking? It was more likely that she fell in, but how the hell did she not see it? Sure enough, as he came closer he could hear the sound of someone struggling. On the other side of the crevasse a girl with the most ridiculous amount of pink curly hair was clinging to a root for dear life. Her legs were flailing for all they were worth, but clearly finding no purchase on the rock wall. And Alex realized with utter disbelief that this crazy girl hadn't fallen into a hole she hadn't seen; she had fallen in because she tried to jump it and came up short.
”Hey! You’re going to have to grab onto me, Pinky. Put your arms around my neck; I’ll pull you up.” A terrible idea at the best of times, but Alex didn’t really see a choice in this situation. He could probably yank her up by her arms and lessen the contact, she looked light enough to toss around like a sack of flour, but her tiny wrists weren’t a lot to hold onto. If his ******** grip slipped…
Nope, he wasn’t thinking about that. The moment Pinky let go of the root, he’d lift her little self enough to get her arms around his neck, then pull her up by the waist. She’d just have to live with him getting a little fresh on the first date. ”Don’t be scared, I’ve got you.” Alex called down in what he hoped would be a calming tone. He wasn’t exactly good at calming people down, but he couldn’t exactly scream at this girl to trust him. ”Grab a hold of me; I’m not gonna let you fall.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2024 1:07 am
LOCATION: Lakeside-- Cravess and cavern behind it xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
It seemed Ophelia could only think about the disastrous results that could come from her poor choices, after she had already committed to them. For instance, now that she was IN this glorious situation, she realized that if the root snapped, she would be swallowed whole by the darkness, trapped in a place where no sunlight could reach her. There would be no way to heal. What if the wounds were so severe she couldn’t hold out until someone stumbled across her?
Thankfully, her internal preparation for demise was washed away. The distressed plea answered by- "Such colorful language." Who was she to judge? This was a high-stress situation, and normal pleasantries weren't exactly expected. What would that even sound like? " Hello, nice to meet you, oh I'm not up to much... just hanging around!"
Yes Ophelia. That would be stupid. Obscenities were very much allowed at a time like this.
”Hey! You’re going to have to grab onto me, Pinky. Put your arms around my neck; I’ll pull you up.”
The gruff voice filtering from above was just as panicked as she felt. Swinging the hand that gripped her stones haphazardly towards the sound. He made quick work of catching her wrists, ready to pull her up, but she couldn't seem to convince her fingers to uncurl from the root. Frozen in fear since her last boast of boldness hadn't worked out so well in her favor; now, she was supposed to release the only lifeline she'd managed to grasp? "Don’t be scared, I’ve got you. Grab a hold of me; I’m not gonna let you fall.” It was best to ignore the lack of confidence in his tone because she was sure her life was banking on this stranger's promise and strength.
Swallowing her worry and releasing her hold, a squeak tore from her throat at the sheer force in which she was yanked upward so her arms could be secured around the stranger's neck. The pain in her shoulder only found relief once a stabilizing arm curled tightly around her center to ease her the rest of the way up gently. But Ophelia wasn't exactly known for being patient; the moment her legs slipped past the edge, her feet scrambled to find their own purchase, fully determined to get as far away from the threat of the edge as possible. Meeting the ground with too much force, she unintentionally catapulted herself forward, taking their tangled bodies to the ground of the shadowed cavern with a thud. Thankfully, her hands managed to tangle into silky straight hair, her knuckles taking the brunt of the forceful fall over his skull. Though, with the stones still gripped in her palm, she wondered if that really helped anything.
Well, at least it seemed she would live another day... If her embarrassment would allow it. Ophelia’s arms finally untangled to press her scratched palms into the earth, her legs sliding to either side of the man. Hovering above him, she fixed her hollow gaze where she assumed his face would be. Staring confidently at the man's neck as though she were looking into his eyes, the bumbling duchess of light unleashed her word vomit of apologies. ” First, Thank you, thank you so much. Second, I'm Sorry! I'm so so sorry. Are you okay?” Sitting back, she dropped her stones so one hand could move to yank her dampened curls to one side of her head, keeping her hearing perked while the other fluttered over the man's chest, shoulder, and up the side of his face.
Wow, she was nowhere close to finding his eyes the first time. Cheeks flushing, in either embarrassment or frustration over her predicament, Ophelia's fingers had no regard for personal space as she searched for any injuries she might have caused the man.
Then, to the bright-eyed duchess’ horror, her thumb caught the edge of something protruding from the man's lip. Yanking her hand back, she gasped. ”Mother sun!” Had he landed on his face when he jumped across? ”Now d-dont freak out. I think something is stuck in your lip. Don't worry!” She was definitely worrying. Please, leave it to her to ruin someone's face while simultaneously forcing them to stick out their neck for her. ” I can fix that right up so it doesn't scar, just..” Balancing on her knees and stretching her figure from one side to the other, her frantic fingers sought out the familiar warmth of the sun to indicate where she could go. “... Got to find the sunlight.”
If she could manage to wrap one strand of light around her fingers, she could heal him and then deal with whatever injuries left her own body feeling like it was on fire. Was that normal? Now that the excitement had settled, Ophelia wasn't sure why her heart was still thrumming as though she hung over the edge. Nor could she entirely understand the sudden dryness overtaking her mouth.
OOC:
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Posted: Wed Oct 02, 2024 3:26 pm
Pinky was definitely scared and had a white knuckled grip on the root that she had managed to grab. Alex couldn’t really blame her; he couldn’t even see the bottom of the crevasse she was hanging over and wouldn’t want to fall in either. Still, she couldn’t just hold on and hang there forever and climbing up on her own didn’t really seem to be in her power to do. Fortunately he didn’t have to say that part out loud as she eventually convinced herself to uncurl her fingers and let him pull her up. He hoped he hadn’t hurt her too badly, but at least she would be out of the hole sooner rather than later.
Alex had just about pulled the girl out, having risen carefully to his feet in the process. All he had to do was step back from the edge and he could set her down on her own two feet. Hopefully she could stand on her own so he could let go and walk away. That was the plan, anyway, but his father would have told him that no plan survived first contact with the enemy.
Pinky’s legs started flailing, this girl deciding she was ready to run a marathon before her feet were even solidly on the ground. And once she did make contact, all that force propelled her right into him, knocking Alex off balance before he could plant his feet. He barely had time to comprehend the sensation of falling before he was a** over tea kettle again, landing hard with a grunt and his arms still around the pink haired girl.
Alex blinked a few times, the vision in his good eye swimming just a bit after that landing. ”Don’t worry about it, Pinky. I’ll be fine; just busted my a** a little. But you should-”
Woah, what was she doing? Alex tried to catch her wrists and pull her hands away from him, not that grabbing her would solve the problem. ”Hey, I’m good, I’m good. Stop. Can you stand up? You should…” She should what? How would he even say it? You should get away from me? I know I just manhandled you like a sack of potatoes, but don’t touch me? Alex quickly redirected. ”You should let me up. Alright?”
When Pinky reeled back quickly, Alex figured the jig was up. She must have felt the effects of his poison and realized she needed to stop touching him. Or, alternatively… she was freaked out over something stuck in his lip. Wait, she wasn’t ******** talking about… ? ”My lip ring? Yeah, um… that’s supposed to be there. So… rather you didn’t ‘fix it up’.” Wait, had she never seen a piercing before? What, did they not do piercings in Alore? Focus; he had to get some distance between them. And maybe find this girl some sun. He didn’t need any of his various holes closed up, but she was scratched up pretty good herself. And she probably wasn’t feeling too hot after such prolonged contact. If a little sunlight would let her fix herself up, then that was the new plan.
”Alright, we’re not going to find any sun in this cavern, so you’re going to have to get off now.” Alex immediately groaned and shook his head. ”Poor ******** choice of words. You know what I mean.” He was definitely awake now, but he was still going to need that cold swim. It wasn’t every day he got jumped by a pretty, half dressed girl completely literally. If that didn’t have an effect, it would probably mean he was already dead.
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Posted: Thu Oct 17, 2024 11:15 pm
LOCATION: Lakeside-- Cavern xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
Ahhhhhh, Ophelia had definitely hurt him. That was the only reason someone would let that many obscenities slip from their lips. Still, the sheltered dutchess flinched every time she heard one, a mumbled. " language." filtering under her breath after each curse. Sun's, what color was he? With that language, she assumed maybe surprised yellow, irritated orange, and whatever colors came from pain because he had to be lying. Even if he was dead set on telling her he was fine.
Let him up, yes, but fine?! How could he be FINE with a stick in his lip?.. NOPE, the duchess didn't believe that one bit, and she would sooner die than not heal him first. But her search for the sunlight was postponed when she was very politely informed it was, in fact, a lip ring. Confusion knitted through the duchess' brow, her head tilting to the side, trying to imagine what a lip ring looked like. It's not that she was completely unaware of body modification, but... She had never actually seen anything outside of earrings. The pain that erupted from her ears after her mother forced her to price her ears as a child sent a shudder through her. Why would someone want that on their lip? Self-inflicting pain like that on your own mouth to sport jewelry?? Wait- maybe it was a cultural thing. Wearing jewelry anywhere else might have been a strange concept to Ophelia, but there was no space to judge the fellow based on it. "Well.. I guess that would be pretty rude; I hear a lot of pain must be endured to acquire one of those." Her awkward words were followed by a timid laugh, hoping to hide her short gasps for breath by running a nervous hand over her neck.
Though with how many split lips she had healed during the war, the thought of someone getting a lip piercing ripped out had her stomach doing gymnastics. The gore flashing across her memory had her face dropping, panic pin needling over her spine as Phi quickly realized she needed to do precisely what he had been asking and get off of him. NOW.
There wasn't even a second to spare so she could question why he thought his word choice was so poor. The hand at her neck scrambled to cover her mouth as she yanked herself off of him. Kicking up stones on her desperate fumble for the crevasse edge. The little vision this new location provided drowned beneath watering eyes. She heaved, a cold tremble shuttering through her frame as her stomach worked too hard to empty something that wasn't there. It took nearly three dry heaves before her stomach finally got the picture and let up.
Swallowing a deep breath, Ophelia straightened and swiped the back of her hand across her mouth. Never, not once in her life, had her body ever had such a visceral reaction to a high-stress situation. Oh, Mother Sun, that was embarrassing. Her puffy gaze flicked nervously to the side, red filtering across her cheeks as she stared blankly into the open mouth of the cavern. " The stress of everything must not have been in agreement with my stomach." She admitted, unable to see the disgusted hues of dark green wherever he sat concealed in shadows, but she was sure they were there. Who wanted to see a girl trying to throw up?
Shame had Phi's attention flicking down, finally taking notice of the sunlight attempting to tangle its way over her figure. With delicate fingers, she skillfully got to work plucking and knotting threads of light over the wounds she managed to self-inflict during her not-so-graceful descent. The light's warmth fed color back into the pallid hue that filtered over her skin, washing away whatever chill came from- well, she wasn't sure exactly. That was the weirdest stress reaction she had ever had. "Ah, all is good now. Don't worry. The-" Her hand bumbled about again, sending the threads of sunlight still caught in her fingers glittering around. " -Sunlight heals. Usually, I have this orb of light floating around to pull from. It Helps me a lot, but..." Something happened to it. Hallow eyes narrowed suspiciously, hands falling to her hips as she shifted to stare into the void, ears perked in an attempt to pinpoint the man. "You didn't happen to see an aggressive little orb of light floating around, did you?" It wasn't like she was accusing him, but her little companion knew better than to slam into tree's or get taken out by falling rocks.
OOC:
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Posted: Sun Oct 20, 2024 8:33 pm
Language? Was she ******** serious? Alex almost didn’t even hear it the first time and had no idea what to say to that. Most people really didn’t give a s**t about his potty mouth. Was Pinky some high and mighty princess that everybody watched their mouth around? Maybe she was just ******** sheltered or something. Not like Alex really cared, but it definitely caught him off guard.
They were doing a pretty good job of surprising each other; Pinky looked confused as all hell when he informed her that his ‘injury’ was, in fact, a lip ring and very deliberately there. But at least she got what he was saying and agreed not to heal him. At the mention of the pain, Alex just shrugged. ”I guess you’re right. I don’t really think about it anymore; I’ve gotten a few piercings by now.” He’d been worried when he got the first one, but as it turned out body artists were pretty careful about the whole blood thing as a rule. He didn’t worry so much anymore about accidentally poisoning someone in the process.
The good news was that Pinky very quickly and very suddenly removed herself from her perch atop him. The bad news was that the way she covered her mouth made it pretty clear that it was already a bit too late to avoid side effects. Damn. Well, at least it seemed like her stomach was empty; the lighting was too dim for him to see what did or didn’t come out, but he’d been to enough ragers to know dry heaving when he heard it.
Alex picked himself up and dusted himself off, feeling a little like a d**k for not doing something for Pinky. s**t, if he were normal he could at least rub her back or something. She had a swimsuit on, it could have turned out fine, but there was too much exposed skin for him to take his chances. He couldn’t even tell her it was his fault which made him feel worse. Maybe he should give up this idea of keeping his powers secret; ******** the rules. It would be a lot easier to keep people away that way. But despite that thought, Alex didn’t fess up. Keeping people away would be easy, sure. Bringing any of them back would be ******** impossible.
”You feeling any better, at least?” He could hope at least for pretty mild symptoms, right? It happened sometimes.
He couldn’t blame Pinky for looking embarrassed. It wasn’t her fault at all, but she didn’t know that. And even if she did, who wanted to puke their guts up in front of a stranger? There wasn’t even any alcohol to pin it on or distract from it. Alex shifted his weight to one foot, trying to think of something encouraging to say, but he was distracted when Pinky started… sewing up her cuts? With sunlight? Well, s**t… That power was way cooler than his.
Alex groaned and ran his palm over his face when the girl mentioned her aggressive little orb of light. ”Fuuuuuck… I thought it was an annoying bug or something. Look, I didn’t know, alright?” Way to go, man. Smash her light orb… thing, then rub your poison on her for good measure. ”Can you get another one? Can I help somehow?” Not that he even really understood what the damn thing was. When he smashed it, it was just gone. Didn’t even leave a smear, like it really was nothing but light. But then why the hell would a literal ball of sunshine be flying at him like an angry hornet? Whatever, he just hoped it was something she could just conjure up again now that she had some light to work with. Or if it was someone else’s creation, he could at least offer to pay for the service since he smashed the thing.
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Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 12:29 am
LOCATION: Cavern xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
She could hear the pity in his tone, and while Ophelia didn't exactly favor the sound, at least he wasn't disgusted with her. She hummed softly in response to the care in his question. " Mhmm a lot better really." Her usual chipper tone found home in her voice again. It was strange how the sunlight seemed to cling to odd parts of her body. Running her fingers over the glowing threads clinging to her skin, she noticed they seemed to conjugate anywhere the man touched her, threads slipping beneath her skin to illuminate a trail through her bloodstream. But the duchess couldn't linger on the thought for long when the man explained that he was, in fact, the culprit behind the popping of her orb.
The stress in his voice filtered down from above her now, drawing Phi's gaze up. He must have stood up at some point, so she quickly worked to do the same. Showboating how okay she was while brushing off her legs in the process. "No, please don't apologize. It can act a bit like an angry bug at times." She teased, her hand physically shooing away the apology that still somehow managed to mix effortlessly with his crude language. Still, it was another thing the duchess decided not to dwell on. If his colorful language were directed at her in aggression, she would have a problem, but seeing as it seemed to be his preferred form of communication, she couldn't exactly scold him for it, especially when he was offering to get her another Orb of light.
There was no way for the dutchess to contain the giggle ringing out of her. " No way to get me a new one yet, sadly. It doesn't work that way." The laugh gave way to an exasperated sigh. The orb could take as little as ten minutes to two hours to reform. There was likely some science to it, but Ophelia had yet to locate it in the past year. " It'll come back at some point. In the meantime, I'll require a bit more assistance than I care to admit. " One of her hands fluttered up, tapping between her hollow eyes. " Orby helps me see. Without it, shadows are impossible to navigate- most things, really." The admission was sheepish at best. While Ophelia knew his offer to help was genuine, coming from a place of kindness. She didn't want to burden a man who had already done enough by yanking her out of the hole she had put herself in.
Chewing her lip, she cast her gaze back to the crevasse and scowled as though it were a beast from the storybooks she was destined to defeat. No she wouldn't be asking for help back across, that was something she wanted to do on her own. But there were other things. " Are you sure you're up for it?" She questioned, her scowl melting into determination as she turned back to the shadowed cavern that concealed her hidden helper. "Helping me, I mean. It's a lot of work. Most people wouldn't be up for it." Hands wrapping behind her back, she slowly began to pace the line of shadow drawn for her. " But if you are. There are two things I request."
Squaring her shoulders like she had seen the generals do on the battlefront when talking to their subordinates. Ophelia held up one finger. " Mission one. Complete my original task of locating the three purple stones hidden somewhere In this cavern you're concealed in." There was no doubt two of the stones were nearby him, it was the third bugger that was lost to her. The one that sent her over the crevasse in the first place had to be somewhere nearby. Lifting the second, she shot him a mischievous grin. " Part two will require you to meet me in the light. So we can properly introduce ourselves during this delicate hand off."
OOC:
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2024 5:56 pm
Alex had to give it to her, Pinky was a real trooper. Once the dry heaving stopped, she perked right up like it never even happened. Maybe being in the light just really made her feel that much better? Alex watched curiously as the pink haired girl seemed to almost sew up her wounds with strands of light guided by her fingers. He hadn’t seen anything like that before; the medicine he’d seen in Corthyr was mostly practical in comparison, though there were a few exceptions to that. Alex could swear there was light clinging to her skin wherever his fingerprints were and he held back a grimace. Well, at least he hoped that meant her little light trick could heal poison as well as cuts and scrapes.
Fortunately Pinky didn’t seem too put out that her light bug thing was crushed. It probably wasn’t the first time, but Alex still felt like an a**. Even if it was annoying him, he didn’t mean to go around breaking other people’s s**t.
And there was no way for her to get a new one yet. ”Damn.” Alex muttered under his breath. It would have been better if he could at least just replace the thing and be done. No harm, no foul. But it sounded like the orb was something that would regenerate over time. Until then, the least he could do was help out, sure. Alex nodded to agee then felt pretty stupid when Pinky tapped between her eyes and informed him that she used her Orby thing to help her see. Man, when he ruined a girl’s day he really went all in.
”Sure, I’m up for it. Least I can do.” Alex replied aloud this time. He just hoped he could help her without ******** poisoning her again. ”I’m not allergic to a little work.” What was the worst she could ask him for? To carry her out of the cavern? That would kind of blow since, again, ******** touching. Still wouldn’t be hard though; she was pretty light. At least he wouldn’t be yanking her by the arms again.
Watching Pinky pace along the edge of the crevasse, arms behind her back like she was dressing down some green recruits, Alex couldn’t help smirking a little. She was cute. A little odd, but cute. He decided to play along, giving her a lazy salute once he’d been given his missions. ”Ma’am, yes Ma’am!” Was that what sent her tumbling into the dark in the first place? ******** purple stones? Alex thought for sure he was going to crack up laughing but he managed to swallow it down as he looked to the ground for any hint of purple.
The first two were pretty easy to find and weren’t too far from where he had fallen back and knocked his head. Hey, mission one was already two thirds done. It took a little while longer to find the third one, but hey, he was determined. Couldn’t just let General Pinky down, could he? ”What are these for, anyway? You got a collection or something?” Alex queried once he’d finally located the third purple stone. At least… he was pretty sure he had. It wasn’t particularly bright in the cavern, but all three stones were purple as near as he could tell.
”Alright, Pinky, time to get you out in the sun. And, uh… make sure these things are actually purple.” Now for the really hard part; he had to help her out without undoing all her light healing efforts. He wasn’t even wearing his damned hoodie anymore; he had shucked it off before he heard the scream. And he couldn’t exactly go back for it and leave Pinky on her own in the dark.
”Listen… I can’t really explain, but I have to be real careful about touching people. I had to grab you to pull you out of that hole, but I don’t want to risk putting hands on you any more than I have to. But I’m still going to help you out of here, alright? Just make sure we don’t touch skin to skin.” Alex reached out to place his hand at Pinky’s side, where her swimsuit at least protected her skin. He could guide her out that way and hopefully she’d take his warning to heart. He’d probably told her too much, but he didn’t see where he really had a choice.
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Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2024 10:50 pm
LOCATION: Cavern-- Outside xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
A wide smile creased Ophelia's cheeks at the near-instant scuffling of a foot across dirt being quickly accompanied by a bellowing ”Ma’am, yes, Ma’am!” She hadn't expected her new partner to fall so quickly into character; maybe he was part of the military as well. Of course, someone who enjoyed pain in the form of piercings would surely be a mighty soldier on the battlefield. Maybe. It was entirely plausible.
It didn't take the seeing man long to ascertain what she hoped were the correct first two stones, but Phi was fully confident in the man's ability to place the highly sought-after third one. The one that got her into this pleasant mess in the first place. His following question had her bright smile faltering, slipping down into a reminiscent one that couldn’t quite meet her hollow eyes. Hands folded behind her back, she cautiously stepped towards his voice and hummed out her explanation. “ Kind of, I use them to make Suncatchers. They're like windchimes that also catch and cast light. It’s a humble tradition between my older brother and I.” She explained, keeping her voice chipper as though the gnawing worry over her brother's wearabouts wasn’t eating her alive each passing day. “A Lot of work goes into creating them, finding the right color schemes, wire texture, matching beads and crystals. Some definitely come out better than others but each one is a labor of love.” She was rambling now, but it was also pure determination to outshine her brother the next time she saw him that spurred her onto these little collecting missions.
When the job she’d placed on the man was finally completed with the discovery of the third stone, a laugh slipped past her lips at his comment about checking the color. ”Don’t tell me I accidentally employed a colorblind recruit?” The light hearted chastisement seemed to fall flat in the space between them, their shared silence stretching to the point where Phi could hear the man's measured breaths. Her ear’s perked, tuned to separate the steady pound of his heart from hers. That was one of the perks of losing a sense, the heightening of others, and she wondered what turning thoughts made the man's pick up in pace.
Her internal question was answered by a tediously measured explanation accompanying his offer to help lead her back into the sunlight. Ophelia could nearly feel the weight of his stressed importance not to touch him settling like a stone on her shoulders. It was good he set his boundaries so swiftly, seeing as her first course of action would have been to reach to grab him, arm or hand, whatever she found first. Okay, so there was no touching. Well. No skin touching. That wouldn't be too hard to accomplish, right? "Okay. No touching, you got it, comrade." Her response murmured as she worked to figure out what to do with her hands now. They hovered awkwardly for a moment before she finally intertwined her fingers and stiffly held them to her chest so as not to bump him while they walked accidentally. " It's Ophelia, by the way." She started, trying to cut through the strange tension his request had permitted. " Though, I am a big fan of pet names, and Pinky is quite the observant one. I don't mind if you would prefer to call me that." She offered, trying her best not to hyper-focus on the odd request and careful placement of his hand at her side.
There had been quite a bit of skin-to-skin contact in their first few exhilarating moments, and nothing had happened besides her horrifying stomach convulsions. Something clicked at the thought, sending her head tilting to the side as her eyes slid up in his general direction. Had it been him who did that through their contact? Was that why the sunlight clung to such odd places on her body? It was the only plausible explanation for him to be so against physical contact. Ophelia had found herself in high-stress situations on multiple occasions, and it was odd that her stomach would attempt to exit the building after one measly near-death experience. She wanted to question him, but the way his heart pounded when he laid out his boundrie only hinted at how stressed the thought made him. If she could see his aura, she bet it would have been brimming with volt green worry. All in fear of what he could unwillingly do to others. So, how could she tenderly go about this?
" My brother gave me a few pet names growing up, all tied to my healing ability, of course. Another observant fellow like yourself, you see. Sun mender, smiley saint. So on and so forth, " She teased out, rolling her fingers as she tried to circle the conversation into the proper details. " All because I can heal so many things with the sunlight. So there really is nothing to cause such stress. I've dealt with healing broken bones, stab wounds, bruises, headaches, poisoni-" Just as her pointed conversation reached its peak, the sudden arrival of sunlight rendered Ophelia's plans null and void. With the life in her eyes returning, they widened at the shocking beauty of her company. Her pointed attention was instantly drawn up, arching her neck to trail the Dark- but not entirely black- hair that framed features sharp enough to be seen through her spotty vision. The hoop she had offered to heal, crested over his bottom lip, catching the sunlight. Now it made sense why he didn't want her to heal it; the jewelry was pretty. Men could be pretty, right?
Realizing she'd lost her sentence, she shook her head, dropping her gaze in a failed attempt to reclaim her point, only to find two more piercings clinging to the man's chest, staring directly at her. Her brows lifted, the hands still clasped in front of her flattening against her own chest at the glittering greeting. Wow, those must have hurt; he was most definitely a warrior... she was sure of it. "A few more piercings may have been an understatement." She teased as she pulled her attention away in an attempt to hide the heat rising over her cheeks at how blatantly she'd been staring. "You should add more stones to your jewelry. I think.. Purple or green would compliment your complexion."
OOC: This one got away from me lol
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Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 7:18 pm
From the change in Pinky’s demeanor, Alex could only guess that he’d touched on a sore spot in asking what the stones were for. Had something happened to her brother? Did he really want to know if it had? Pinky’s brother could very easily have been another faceless casualty of the war and, knowing his luck, may well have been killed by a Corthyrian soldier. Somebody not so different from himself. Only the nature of probability made him somewhat confident that he wouldn’t find out he’d actually ******** done it himself.
Or her brother could be just fine and he was just creating more problems in his own imagination. Either way, he wasn’t asking. ”Sounds pretty cool. Maybe you could show me sometime.” Assuming she still wanted to talk to him at all after he had smashed her light bug and poisoned her in the bargain.
Alex smirked a little at the suggestion that he might be colorblind. He was a little too preoccupied with making sure that he didn’t accidentally poison her again to relax into laughter, but he was glad she was in good spirits. Alex was pretty ******** sure the stones he’d found were all purple, but one was a bit deeper in the shadows than the others. Whatever; if he was wrong, he’d just go looking again. It was the least he could do and it wasn’t like he was ******** busy. At least he was finally feeling somewhat awake.
Fortunately, Pinky didn’t question the instruction not to touch him and this time he let out a brief huff of amusement when she called him comrade. Man, he’d love to see her ordering around a bunch of hardened soldiers. Like a fierce pink kitten that had no idea how small she was; it really was ******** cute. And the pink kitten had a name… one he hadn’t learned yet because he had neither asked nor introduced himself.
”I ******** swear, it’s like I was raised in a damned gutter. It’s Alex; nice to officially meetcha, Pinky. Ophelia, huh? It’s a pretty name. Suits you.” It sounded dainty and feminine and all that good s**t. Definitely the perfect name for the little ball of pink sunshine that was determined to beam even in this dark cave after nearly falling into a crevasse.
Alex listened idly as Pinky mentioned her brother giving her pet names tied to her healing ability. Useful ability to have, that one. He was honestly a little jealous. But it sounded like that wasn’t exactly the point of the revelation. Alex grimaced slightly, but it wasn’t like he was really surprised that she had figured him out. What else could it mean that she’d felt ill right after touching him and he’d refused to touch her since? Still, even with the cat out of the bag it was a little difficult to just start talking about it.
Then Pinky hit him with his few more piercings being an understatement and Alex was surprised into laughter. Poor girl was literally eye to n** with him; even she couldn’t miss those piercings up close in the sunlight as they were. ”Stones, huh? What do you think? Would I make a good suncatcher?” Alex held up one of the stones to his chest, near one of the piercings, and let it catch the light. He grinned broadly then put the stone back with the rest before extending them toward Ophelia.
His expression sobered a bit as he thought of their predicament. ”I’m glad you can heal yourself, but you shouldn’t have had to. We’ve barely met and I squashed your light bug, manhandled you, and made you ill. And since I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out what I am, I’m pretty ******** surprised you’re still standing here. We’re not exactly popular. But hell, maybe it’s for the pretty rocks.” He waited for Pinky to offer her hand for him to drop the stones into.
”Don’t suppose I can ask you to keep that information to yourself? People are going to find out eventually anyway, but I’m hoping that takes a while. I don’t need the added ******** drama.”
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Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2025 8:34 pm
LOCATION: Outside xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
Ophelia was never against showing off her suncatchers. The near second, he asked about seeing them; her hair was dancing in a flurry of violent pink curls while she nodded enthusiastically. Always eager to get a second opinion on her designs, plus there was the chance she could get him to reveal his favorite colors. Gifting one for saving her hide seemed like a good idea. Yeah– No. That sounded like a great idea. She would be adding that to her to-do list.
As Alex led her out of the shadows, the groan that reverberated from him in response to her introduction drew a snort from her nose, trying to imagine what being raised in a gutter would be like and how such an odd turn of phrase could mesh with his lifestyle. Maybe it was a cold and dreary, mountainous terrain where he lived, resulting in so much foliage it often clogged the drains—like his mind, being too stopped with this morning's chaotic events to remember to introduce himself. She could hardly dock personality points for something like that.
“You like it? Thank you! I can’t take all the credit though, It was a gift for my birthday.” She teased, though it was well past her actual day of birth that she was bestowed her name. Back in her homeland, they waited to offer such titles until the mother’s blessing was bestowed. Resulting in her name- a helper. Through and through. “Alex. It’s nice to meet-cha~” A giggle lined the word as she purposefully mimicked how he’d said it. “-As well. I like yours too. One syllable, easy to remember, easy to yell.” she added innocently, not an inkling of realization behind those useless doe eyes. The sheer lack of genuine interactions with people outside her close relatives left the duchess with an innocent air, hardly ever realizing how specific phrases could be misinterpreted. Because she was more focused on the fact that it was always good to have a one-syllable friend in case she found herself in another sticky situation. Alex was a lot easier to call for than... Mirabella, for one. She grimaced at the thought of that specific four-syllable title, not understanding why that Alorean name crossed her thoughts. If Ophelia ever found herself in dire need, her quick demise would surely follow suit if she called for that name in particular. Not necessarily from their hand but quite possibly from their unwillingness to extend said hand.
It was Alex’s positive response to the glimmering distraction his piercings offered that had her cheeks puffing to catch her giggle. His bellowing amusement filled her stomach like a meal she’d been entirely starved of until this point. The twisting purple stones cast sparkles over his broad chest, complementing the curling hues of peachy humor that swirled around him. She shook her head, flabbergasted by this man's unwavering confidence. “You better be careful, keep talking like that and some Alorean might just string you up from the ceiling to watch you sparkle.” She made a drastic show of craning her neck to look him up and down, taking in his height. “Would be easy enough to get you up there.”
What teasing game they started was too short-lived for Opehlia's liking. Her eyes softened, watching the hues of grave indigo slowly swallow the peachy tone she preferred dancing around his serious expression. So, her train of thought had been spot on. It hollowed her heart a little. Realizing if this was something he dealt with his entire life, how much had he missed out on? Did he know how good it felt to have someone run their fingers through your hair? To melt into someone after a rough day, or simply hold hands with a friend?
Her lips pursed in thought, she wanted to do her best to clean his aura of those nasty colors.
"Well. It's not in my best interest to simply take off sprinting. As you've seen, I've got strong legs but noodle-like arms." She was not strong enough to pull herself up with the same ease he had. Wiggling her little arms to prove her point, she caught his movement and held out her hand to catch the stones being offered to her. Turning them in her palm to investigate the color, she continued. " I hardly think I'd get very far. Who knows how many holes these hills have? Plus. If we're going to list out the charges pressed against us. My light bug assaulted you, I pinned you down after you helped me, and then had the audacity to draft you into doing my rock-finding bidding." She chastised the response as light-heartedly as she could muster.
" you did great by the way, I’ll have to enlist you more often.” Plucking the third stone she’d entrusted him with finding. It was a tad darker than the rest of them, but in the sun, it would glitter the same. Turning her gaze back to him, she offered a soft, reassuring smile.
“ I promise. Your secret is safe with me. To prove my point, How about I offer my own secret to even the playing field? I can tell by the colors the sun casts around you that it hurts you more to hurt me... In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something you stress about all the time." Tilting her head, she inspected the different colors that wiggled around him, fighting the urge to step into his personal space for a clearer view. Considering the way he seemed to physically bristle any time physical contact was involved, she settled on leaning closer to him, staring just past his shoulder to locate the more detailed threads of emotion. To no one’s surprise, especially not Ophelia’s, bright green worry carefully knotted its way into nearly all his other emotions, pulling a frown to her lips. “ Yup, just as I suspected. Stress and worry are constant for you, aren’t they? You know that’s treacherous for your health. Here.” Collecting the stones in one hand, she held the other out to him, wrapping threads of light like a barrier over her palm.
“To the shadows with whatever people’s assumption of your kingdom is. You shouldn’t have to hide who or what you are. But If it’ll help you relax more, I don’t mind becoming one of the little healers you keep neatly tucked away in your back pocket.” Tone tapering off, she shot him a rye grin.
“Only if you amuse me, though,” Broaching the subject gently, as though she were trying to feed a stray cat who could bail at any moment. “I want to see if I can avoid another unfortunate outcome if I’m properly prepared for it.”
OOC:
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Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2025 10:14 pm
Even as he’d suggested that Pinky could show him her suncatchers sometime, Alex wasn’t expecting her to actually be interested. At best, he thought she might give him a polite smile and a noncommittal answer, but instead she nodded so enthusiastically that it set her cloud of pink curls to bouncing. She wasn’t faking it, either; this girl was hella excited to show him some suncatchers. Well, s**t, then he’d be hella excited to see them.
Jesus, this girl kept catching him off guard. Alex laughed in spite of himself as Ophelia joked that she’d received her name as a birthday gift. ”Well s**t, me too. Look at that; we have something in common.” Humor continued to linger in his eye as Pinky mimicked his manner of speech. It was ******** hilarious when she said it, seeing as how she seemed way too prim and proper to speak so lazily. He thought to tease her right back, but stopped in his tracks and blinked in surprise at what came out of Pinky’s mouth next. Easy to yell, huh? Well, ********. He definitely couldn’t say anything to that… not with her wide, innocent eyes looking like she’d never in her life screamed out a guy’s name while clawing his back. That s**t had him reeling so hard he forgot to even point out his name having two syllables.
But he couldn’t just stand there gawping at her like a fish all morning. At least her comment about stones gave him an easy segue to a moment of silliness. And then she was talking about tying him up. Alex grinned, knowing he was definitely taking that one way out of context, but he couldn’t help it after that whole yelling his name thing. He almost wanted to ask if she was volunteering to keep him tied up, but he had something a bit heavier to get off his chest.
Pinky gave his words some thought, her lips pursed. And then she said something ridiculous. He probably should have expected that by now, but she caught him off guard every time. As much as Alex wanted her to take what he’d said seriously, it was hard not to lighten up a little as Pinky wiggled her noodle arms to make a point. Then she started listing the supposed charges against her… Was she trying to make him feel better? Nothing on her list came close to being a real problem for him. Well, except that pinning him down was dangerous for her. ”C’mon, that’s not the same thing. Usually have to pay for a pretty girl to sit on me. And I didn’t mind helping out.”
Alex’s shoulders relaxed a little when Pinky agreed to keep his kingdom of origin secret. That was good enough for him, but she went a step further and offered up a secret of her own. Alex opened his mouth to tell her it was fine and his mouth remained open as she surprised him yet again. The colors…? What did she mean? Was that her ability? Could be either that or Ophelia was a pretty damned good judge of character. She had him pegged; he was constantly freaking out that he’d touch someone accidentally. If Pinky hadn’t been dangling over a crevasse, there was no way he would have put his hands on her. ”Not everybody can heal themselves. And I don’t always carry antidote around. Especially here; seems like it’d be a dead giveaway.”
Pinky leaned closer and Alex shifted his weight to one foot, fighting the urge to take a step back. It was fine; she wasn’t touching him. She was just looking over his shoulder… At the colors the sun cast around him? ”It is what it is… I can’t change what I am. So I have to take precautions.”
They were all hiding what they were, right? It wasn’t just him. He just had more reason to do so than some others might. Every kingdom had participated in the war, none had been neutral, all had blood on their hands and dead was dead no matter how it ******** happened, but Corthyr had the reputation of being particularly cruel and brutal. Even if discussing his homeland wasn’t against university rules, he wouldn’t have been particularly inclined to share.
Pinky was trying her damnedest to help him, but… was that really alright? Alex shifted his weight once more, lightly chewing at his lip ring as he thought about her offer. On the one hand, he didn’t want to risk hurting her even if she could heal herself. But on the other hand… he liked Pinky. He didn’t hate the idea of having a cute, bubbly, and optimistic friend that could potentially heal anyone he accidentally poisoned. It should be alright as long as he didn’t touch her for very long, right?
”Right… okay. But if it doesn’t work, don’t push it. I don’t wanna hurt you. Deal?” Alex offered out his hand hesitantly, against his better judgment. Could she really just prepare herself preemptively for his poison? That would be pretty ******** cool if she could pull it off. That would at least make one person he could relax around a little.
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Posted: Sat Feb 22, 2025 11:03 pm
LOCATION: Outside xxx COMPANY: Alex xxx CLOTHING: Swimming dress
Alex was hesitant. In every action, it seemed. She loathed the way each time she pulled those striking hues of humor to the surface, they were so quickly smothered beneath returning dread. So guarded, so careful, so aware. Was it exhausting? Having a weight of worry so tangible, it could sit on her chest? “ It must get tiring balancing all those double standards hmm?” She murmured softly with a sigh after being told her charges couldn’t balance his. So swift to brush his heroic actions under the rug. It wasn’t like he had much of an option, save the damsel and make her sick.. then paying— Wait, had he said he paid for women to sit on him?
It was the strangest bundle of words Ophelia had ever heard strung together. How sad to have to actually pay for a decent snuggle. Though he didn’t sound particularly defeated in admitting it, the duchess couldn’t help but feel like this poor man was so deprived of natural human needs! Or… might the needs be more associated with… Other activities. Heat grazed the tips of her ears at the scandalous idea, quickly shaking that train of thought clear from her head. The idea of helping him was the only thing that stayed, dug further into her head when Alex leaned away from her as though he carried some foreign disease. There he was, being overly cautious. As if breathing him in would infect her.
For once, Ophelia felt truly lucky for the hand life had dealt her. Sure, she lost a few things, but it was nothing compared to Alex. He said it himself, he didn’t choose this isolation, he acted like this to protect others. But there were things he could choose. He could choose to let her help him. God’s, she hoped he would let her help him. She held her breath while he contemplated. Listened to the sound of metal scraping his teeth, praying the metallic flavor would somehow coat his tongue in the words she wanted to hear. ”Right… okay. But if it doesn’t work, don’t push it. I don’t wanna hurt you. Deal?” ”Deal!”
Honestly, Ophelia wasn’t sure what Alex said after ‘Okay.’ She yelled her agreeance and beamed up at him, brighter than the sun, as she coated her hands in threads of sunlight and weaved her fingers between his before he could second guess his decision. Though, Ophelia couldn’t stop there as an overachiever. She needed to prove how capable she was at counteracting his poison by pressing into his side, cradling his arm against her, and wrapping her other hand around his forearm. She tried to be gentle, brushing his skin in soothing downward motions– one does not simply stroke a scared animal's fur against the grain– Each point of contact was barred by light, warm, and welcoming against her skin. Without a word, she tried to make this likely foreign experience as natural as it should have been for him. They simply started walking, as budding friends would do.
“ Well, Ah-Lex, you seem like a man fitted for swimming. What do you say -ah.. hmmm.” Her words were annunciated with each step until she paused, realization dawning that had heat creeping over her cheeks. ” Oh…We have a dilemma...That is, in fact, two syllables. Well, that makes things more complicated.” Brows knitting together, Ophelia peered up at him. ” Should I Nickname you Lex, so I am right?” A small laugh bubbled up out of her throat as she hypothesized the other options. ” I could call you Ahh. You seem to respond well to that name.” She could not make any other sound when he popped up and saved her. Such a nickname was fitting.
OOC:
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Posted: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:38 pm
Alex wanted to argue that it wasn’t really a double standard, but he decided against it. It wasn’t like Pinky didn’t understand what he was saying, she just wasn’t bothered by realizing he was poisonous. She knew he had been the one to make her ill, but she just forgave him as easily as he had forgiven her. He could argue until he was blue in the face that it wasn’t the same, that she hadn’t really hurt or poisoned him, but he didn’t think he was going to change her mind. If he was honest with himself, he didn’t even want to convince her that she should just run off and leave him behind, noodle arms and all. He’d rather she stay and tell him all about her suncatchers, her brother, how some Aloran lady might hang him from her ceiling, and whatever else she brewed up in that pretty little head of hers. But here he was, pushing her away the way he did with everyone.
”Yeah… it is pretty ******** tiring.” Alex admitted in a quiet voice that nonetheless conveyed the exhaustion he felt when he really thought about it all. Why the ******** was he cursed with a power like his, anyway? Some s**t that kept him from feeling like he could ever really connect with anyone. Who the ******** did he piss off in a past life or what to end up like this?
Was it really so bad that he wanted to just take Pinky up on her offer even if he did think it might not be a great idea? Well, he hoped it was alright since she really didn’t hesitate to take his hand just about the moment he agreed to let her try. He smiled a little; she was really ******** cute. She really was a fierce but tiny pink kitten, determined to bump her fuzzy little head against his arm until he gave up the tough guy act and let her in. She was succeeding; it was hard not to give a little when she was being the most ******** wholesome thing on the planet.
Ophelia did more than just take his hand and for a moment Alex tensed up when she leaned against him. But he slowly relaxed when he saw no immediate signs of ill effects. Was she… petting him? Alex felt the last of his tension drain from his shoulders as he watched this phenomenon. So the pink kitten found a big, hissy stray and wanted to keep him from bolting. Damn, she really did have a pretty good read on him, huh? Pinky started walking and Alex was docile at her side, enjoying the soft touches despite how much he had protested.
Ah-Lex? Puzzlement crossed his features as he looked down at his pink haired companion. She had been talking about swimming, but then she paused. They had a dilemma? Was she starting to feel ill effects after all?
Nope, she was realizing that his name was, indeed, two syllables long. Three if she had known its full form. Confusion melted into incredulity and Alex bit down on his bottom lip to stifle a chuckle. He’d almost ******** forgotten about that by then! He just about lost it when Pinky gave him a serious look and asked if she should nickname him Lex to back up her previous claim. He laughed and shook his head in disbelief. ”You’re a ******** riot, you know that?”
Alex knew in the depths of his soul that Ophelia was referring to him responding to her screams, not… well, any other reason he might hear her scream. Looking into her striking blue eyes that were innocent like a damn baby’s, he knew that was all she meant. She most certainly wasn’t talking about any sounds she might make in the bedroom, for instance. But he still grinned from ear to ear like the big, lecherous idiot that he was. ”You start calling me Ahh, I might get the wrong idea. Not that I wouldn’t like it. You call me whatever you want, Pinky.” He probably shouldn’t have said that, Pinky had one hell of an imagination, but what the hell. Did he really mind?
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