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 Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 2:55 pm
Troublesome Times I spoke to my mom last night and it looks like Sunil wasn't lying about one thing. Merrimack is missing! I took my mom to the location Sunil had sent me to the night before, but there weren't any obvious clues. It turns out Tosten lives near there, though so we paid him a visit.
It was nice to see Tosten, but the circumstances didn't make for a lengthy or happy visit.
My mom asked me to talk to Sunil, but when I got home she wasn't here. I hade Rishi stake out her room, but he hasn't seen her all night or all day today. Where the hell is she? And why did she choose now to disappear?~Kam
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Posted: Sun Aug 08, 2004 2:57 pm
Comic Relief Courtesy of Nekota:
Sunil returns to the house -
Ruya: Where have you been?
Sunil: ... fishing?
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Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2004 4:52 pm
Neighbors (** Partly moved from the guild. **) Silva Silva was lounging, lying on a mushroom, his hands propped on his stomach, one leg bent, the other dangling off the side. His chain laid at his side, close enough to grab if he needed it. There was a slight smirk on his face, his eyes almost closed as he enjoyed the shadows that still covered the backyard. His ferret had crashed as soon as he got home, running off to sleep for a good twenty hours or so, then raid the kitchen. He had thought about seeing if there were any cherries in the fridge, but figured he would do that when it got too bright to be outside. Right now was the time to relax. Ruya Ruya stepped out onto the back porch with Rishi and gazed beyond the fence to Silva's yard. She didn't immediately see anyone, but she and Rishi gradually made their way down the porch steps and across the yard to the fence itself. It was a simple act to step through one of the gaps between slats and once on the other side Ruya called out, "Silva? You around?" Silva Silva cracked an eye open, his ear twitching slightly in the direction of the voice. Not Sunil... The voice lacked the danger of the other. But she knew his name. Sunil must have told her. "Over here, darlin." He called lazily, smirking slightly. He would be best off appearing harmless if he wanted to attract the little one. Ruya Ruya turned her head in the direction of the voice and stood on her tiptoes to catch a glimpse of the other feien. She was pleased to see that Sunil had been correct about his name. "C'mon Rishi." Ruya made her way through the grass, not wanting to fly and risk losing Rishi on the rather large backyard. When she got to the mushroom, Ruya smiled and offered a friendly greeting. "It is a nice day to be out isn't it? I was out for a walk with my dog Rishi and I thought I would stop by here." Silva She had a dog... He shrugged it off, figuring he could handle it as long as the little b*****d didn't bark too much. He looked down, holding out a hand. "It's real nice, darlin. Seems it just got even nicer. C'mon up here and talk to me." "A guy gets lonely after a while, you know." Ruya Ruya took the offered hand and with a little scrambling and a little flight, she was up on the mushroom. Rishi remained below, sniffing around the base of the mushroom with interest. Ruya let go of Silva's hand and turned so she could look out over the lawn from their perch. "This is a pretty nice location. It would be fun to paint. I should bring out some paper and paints some time." Silva "Paint? Never thought much about painting. Guess I'm not the creative type." He watched her through his lashes, a slight smirk pulling on his lips. "Seems fitting that you are, darlin." He turned back to survey the scene that interested her so much. "You're welcome to come any time, darlin. But I should warn you about the raven." Ruya Ruya turned and raised an eyebrow. "Raven? Have you had a run in with a bird here then? I suppose I should start carrying my rapier more often." Silva "Not quite, darlin. You see, I'm not the only one that lives here." He pulled out his toothpick, examining it for a second. "My bondmate... has a daughter. The daughter has a pet raven." He looked over at her. "The raven has bloodlust in his eyes." He didn't mention that he knew what bloodlust looked like a little TOO well. He clamped his teeth around his toothpick again, lying on his back and staring at the sky. Ruya Ruya thought about that for a moment, before peering over the edge of the mushroom to check on Rishi. In the end, he was in much more trouble if a bird came hunting. After assuring herself Rishi was still in sight, Ruya sat on the edge of the mushroom, her legs dangling over the edge. "Surely your bondmate's daughter has control of her pet raven? I imagine your bondmate would be quite upset if you were to be harmed." Ruya kicked her legs a little, enjoying the sensation of being outside. Silva "Oh, he's in control... But Io hates me." He sighed, trying his best to sound pathetic, since he couldn't quite managed scared. "She wouldn't mind watching... It's too horrible to mention, darlin." He looked at her, staring deeply into her eyes. "But I would keep you safe, darlin. No matter what." Ruya It was probably the wrong thing to say if one was trying to get on Ruya's good side, but she smiled anyway, pushing a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "I can take care of myself," she said mildly, "but I appreciate your bravery. Speaking of which, do you study any particular style of self-defense Silva?" Silva He blinked, then shrugged. So she was tough. He liked tough. But self defense? He paused, wondering if killing things bigger than he was counted as a "style." He took the safe rout and shook his head. "Not yet. Ice knows a little karate, said she might teach it to me. But I haven't dealt with enough feien for it to be an issue." He lied through his teeth. It was almost true. Only Sunil had picked a fight with him, after all. Ruya "Karate sounds interesting. Living with Sunil has taught me that the ability to protect oneself can be very important. Although, I doubt anyone would want to pick a fight with you, the feien I've met have all been very nice people." Ruya put her hands behind her head and laid down to look up at the sky, bending her knees so her feet were back up on the mushroom. "Have you ever seen a firefly? Kam, my bondmate, told me she used to catch them when she was little, and put them in a jar for a night." Silva "Those glowing bugs?" He asked, grateful that the subject had been dropped. The sparring conversation he had had with Sunil was still in the back of his mind and something told him a "style" wouldn't be enough to deal with her pet. She fought dirty, then so wold the other feien. "Maybe they'll come out soon. I like to--" He bit back the word hunt, searching for a replacement. "I like to chase them." He finished, wondering why talking to this girl felt like he was missing half of the conversation. He shook it off, looking around for a firefly to point out to her. Ruya "Yes, the ones that light up. I was thinking it would be fun to catch one and put it in a jar. Kam made me a jar with airholes in the cover earlier, but I haven't had a chance to be out here in the evening. What do you say?" Ruya sat up and turned to face Silva, obviously excited about the prospect of hunting fireflies. Silva He blinked, liking the look of excitment on her face for some reason. He nodded. "Sure, Darlin. Let's catch you a firefly." He stood, offering her a hand and waiting for her to ignore it. Maybe she wasn't as easy as he had thought she would be... It might be worth finding out. Besides, he had nothing better to do. Ruya Ruya took Silva's hand, but didn't really lean on it to get up. She brushed herself off, and then gestured behind her to her porch. "The jar is on the porch. Its about 6 inches tall and 3 or four inches wide, so I think it would be too heavy to carry." She looked Silva up and down critically before nodding. "I think we would be best to contain the bug and bring it back to the jar. I wonder if they bite?" Silva Carrying the bug to the jar... He raised an eyebrow, wondering if other feien had to go through this kind of stuff to get snogged. And hell, who cared if they bit? They couldn't be nearly as dangerous as the snake he had ran into a few nights before. "Um... yeah. Guess we'll find out, huh?" He replied, feeling his relaxed mood slowly falling away. She was offering him a hunt. But he wouldn't be able to kill the thing he caught. He gritted his teeth and jumped off of the mushroom, turning and holding out his arms in case she wanted him to catch her. It wasn't that he was polite, it was that he liked to touch. "Jump. I'll catch you." He called, smirking slightly. He blinked, trying to see through the slowly darkening night, smirking as the world took on a slight glow. He still wasn't perfect, though, but it would work. Ruya "You'd better." Ruya jumped off the mushroom and threw her arms out to catch herself on Silva. Luckily the height wasn't really that great. "I hope you can see in the dark, " she joked, having no idea his element actually might allow him to. Silva He gave a slight "oof" for impact and let her fall a little farther than arm length so they were chest to chest. "I'm good in the dark, darlin. Very good." He told her, taking his sweet time about letting her go. Ruya Ruya laughed and stood back, slowly but firmly stepping away from him. Rishi growled lightly around her feet, not quite sure he liked her having such close contact with another feien. "Hush Rishi. Ok, Silva, let's find us a firefly." Ruya looked skyward, concentrating her search around a couple of the bigger trees in the backyard. Bugs liked trees right? Silva He was focused on the dog. It was black but he could see it, hear it growling at him. The thing was a nuisance... He walked on, catching sight of a twig in the path but not saying a word. He would wait till she tripped and catch her before she fell, he thought. "There's two groups of fireflies, darlin. There's the group in the air and the group on the ground. And since I have better nightvision I'm probably better off on the ground." He told her, easily stepping over the twig. Ruya Ruya stepped forward after Silva, trusting her ears more than her eyes in the dark. Rishi bounded right along side of her, happy to be on the move. When she got to the stick, Ruya stumbled and spread her wings, flapping them to try and keep herself from hitting the ground. "Maybe I'd be better off with something to see in the dark, like a torch or something." Silva He caught her, picking her up slightly before letting her down. "Once we get one of the fireflies you can use their a** as a torch." He said without thinking. "Those things are bright enough to see for miles around." He wasn't paying as much attention to her now, his eyes were scanning the ground around them, looking for the bug that would light up at any second. "There!" He announced, pointing just seconds before the firefly lit up and started to fly close to the ground. "Let's go!" Ruya Stable again, Ruya repositioned her wings behind her and reached down to pat Rishi reassuringly on the head. "Indeed, that is a good point." Ruya strained to see what exactly Silva was pointing at when the firefly lit up. Having noted its position, Ruya raced towards the firefly not wanting it to get out of sight before it lit up again. If she could be in the right area when it lit again, she could probably use a burst of speed to catch it in her arms. Silva He followed, scowling as he realized she was faster then he was. But he had an advantage in this setting. He was the one that could see. He smirked, catching sight of another firefly sitting in the grass and headed for that as she chased the other. Stealth would do what speed couldn't, he told himself, right before the firefly lit up. He jumped, missing the firefly and landing on his face. "..." He shoved himself back to his feet and started chasing it. He had a bit of a competitive streak, after all. Ruya As the firefly she was following lit up for the second time, Ruya used a large burst of speed to propel herself at it. She crashed into the firefly and tried to close her arms around it. She missed, letting it slip through her fingers and the firefly began to fall, stunned by the earlier impact with a fast moving feien. Ruya bent in the air and tried grabbing for it, but it was no longer lit up and she couldn't get a feel for its position. "Crap. Silva? I think I have one stunned, but its too dark to see where it went." Ruya landed back on the ground and started searching around for the bug on foot. Silva Silva looked at the firefly he had caught with his chain, poking it, then shoving it away with his foot. Yeah... that was dead. He almost whistled as he headed towards Ruya. He would have put his hands in his pockets, but he didn't have any. "Stunned, did you say?" He asked, feeling strangely guilty. "I'll find it, darlin." He looked around, catching sight of it and picking it up and handing it to her. "Good hunt, darlin. Should we take it to the jar now?" Ruya Ruya took the firefly happily and was relieved to see its wings still appeared to be quivering slightly. It hopefully would recover from its mid-air collision in time. "Thank you!" Ruya leaned over and hugged Silva lightly. "And yes, time to go put it in the jar. Rishi?" Rishi bounded his way back from searching among the grass to Ruya's side. Ruya then lifted herself up off the ground, and the firefly cradelled in her arms, she took off in the direction of Kam's porch lights. Silva Silva watched her go, chewing on his toothpick for a while, his wings flexing slightly. Was he interested enough to try to fly? He frowned, then shrugged. She wouldn't need his-- He stopped, remembering about the lid on the jar. She would need help getting the damn thing open. "Dammit." He started running, but she was too far gone already. With a reluctant jump he shoved himself into the air, flapping his wings wildly. He managed to get into the air, but he was hardly stable. "What I won't do for a pretty face." He cursed himself, trying to mentally "Force" himself to be lighter. Ruya Ruya paused partway across her own backyard and looked back. Had Silva stayed behind? "Silva?" Ruya stayed stationary in the air, lazily using her wings to do most of the work. Silva He cussed as he saw her paused, putting some of the brute strength he took for granted into the flight process. It sped things up, but he put a little TOO much force into it, and found himself heading straing for the fence with no way of stopping. "How do you stop these F******** things?!" He demanded as he passed her. Ruya Ruya laughed good naturedly at the question, but sped after Silva and grabbed one of his arms with a hand. She backpedaled using both wings and magic to slow his headlong flight. "You're not supposed to use your wings. You're supposed to use your magic to fly. Otherwise Sunil wouldn't be able to fly at all, since her wings are so small." Silva He blinked, his wings stopping and gravity starting to kick in as her words hit his brain. Without a thought he grabbed onto her, looking down at the ground. "Magic, huh? Like... hocus pocus now I can fly? I don't know about you, darlin, but I'm pretty sure that it won't work." He started flapping his wings a little more slowly to keep from falling. "Hell... I'm not even sure I HAVE magic." Ruya Ruya started to lower the two of them down, as the firefly struggled under her other arm. "I didn't think I had magic either for a long time, but every feien does. My mom told me that we have magic just by virtue of being feien, and because of that magic every feien can fly. Flight for me seems to be more instinct than anything intellectual." Silva "Well darlin, my instincts say there aren't many shadows in the air." He said once they got to the ground. He scowled, feeling like a coward. "But let's get that bug to the jar. Then you can explain this magic thing a little better." "I'll even open the jar for you." He said, heading resolutely on foot towards her porch. Ruya Ruya shrugged and took off on foot after Silva. "Sure." Silva The jar was two inches taller then him, he noted dryly, examining it carefully. There was no choice. He would have to climb it. He jumped, grabbing onto the side of the jar, his feet firmly planted against the glass as he wrenched the lid so hard that it went flying. "I'll uh... get that." He muttered. He jumped off the side of the jar and ran after the lid, hefting it up and over his head easily before coming back. Ruya Ruya took the easy route, lifting herself in the air magically. "This is gonna take some finesse, " she said, while perching on the lip of the jar. "The lid is gonna need to be mostly on before I can release the firefly or he'll just get away." Ruya stretched her arms out and held the firefly inside the lip of the jar, waiting for Silva to start sliding the lid on. Silva "Sure thing, darlin!" He replied, his arrogance coming back slightly. He wasn't that quick to lose hope. Though the word "friends" was looming in his mind evilly, laughing at him with a malicious little voice. He didn't need friends. He needed-- He jerked, remembering what he was doing and placing the lid over her arm, ready to drop it in place and screw it on as soon as she said go. "Ready." Ruya Ruya let go of the firefly and scrambled back off the edge of the jar, "Go!" This had been fun, she was glad Silva had been out and about. It would have been nearly impossible to do this alone. Silva He dropped the lid, screwing it in place with a quick motion before jumping off the jar and stretching, then cracking his neck. She was smiling... that was a good thing. But his wings felt like they were burning and his head was starting to hurt from all this talk. Or maybe it was from using his nightvision for such a long time. He needed to work on that more. "So..." He said, dropping down on the porch by the steps, one leg hanging over the side. "Now you have my weakness, darlin. What do you want from me to keep it quiet?" Ruya Ruya pressed her face against the side of the jar to peer at the bug inside. His flying around and flashing was pretty interesting. She wondered idly why lightning bugs even had the ability to light up, before turning her mind back to the present. "I think you have me confused with Sunil." Ruya stepped back around the jar and sat down next to Silva, letting both of her legs hang over the edge. "I don't trade in people's weaknesses." Ruya reached out a hand and placed it on Silva's shoulder with a smile. "I won't tell anyone you aren't very good at flying if you don't want." Silva He scowled, shrugging slightly, but not enough for her hand to be moved. He liked being touched as much as he liked touching. If the person was someone he was interested in, that was. "I meant--" He stopped, hating to mention the lack of magic thing. If he had magic then flying would have been easy... right? "I mean, thanks." He muttered. Ruya Biting her lip, Ruya moved a little closer to Silva and ran her hand farther up his shoulder until she had her arm around his shoulders. She was about to say something, when suddenly the view in front of her changed and she could see Sunil standing in front of her, her hands on her throat. As suddenly as the vision had come it left, and Ruya blinked several times before withdrawing her arm. "Sunil attacked you?" Silva s**t... s**t s**t s**t! He could have SWORN she was about to make a move! And then she stopped! He jerked, her words finally settling in his outraged mind. Sunil? What did Sunil have to do with-- Waaaait... how did SHE know? Did-- "Did Sunil tell you that?" He asked, forcing himself to sound lazy. "She must have been lying." Ruya "Sunil didn't tell me anything. My power is memory and I just saw her, from your point of view, attacking you. Why and when did Sunil attack you?" Ruya was simply puzzled. Why would Sunil attack Silva? It didn't make any sense. And why was Silva lying about it? Maybe his pride was hurt? "It isn't a big deal if she beat you. After all she is way bigger than you, shes just a bully." Ruya gingerly reached out to put her hand on his shoulder again. Silva Memory, huh? That wasn't good. If he DID get involved with her she would know every time he cheated on her. Dammit. "Oh... that. It was nothing. Hell, I was perfectly fine by the next day." He muttered, feeling the bile try to rise in his throat again at the memory. The worst part was... he was still fascinated with the blue feien... damn his lack of self-preservation. "So... tell me about this magic thing, darlin." He said, changing the subject. First she knew about the flying, now she knew about him getting his a** kicked... He scowled slightly, irritated with being so exposed. Ruya Ruya snatched her hand back and looked away. He obviously was not happy she knew about his fight with Sunil. He probably didn't want her to touch him now. After all, who would want someone in their head? "I can't control it, " she mumbled. "I've never had it happen before. I don't think it happens very often." She sighed and looked at her lap, laying her hands there, one inside the other. "I don't know alot about magic, since I don't really have very much. But my bondmate says there are posters about it in the shop. You just have to know your element." Silva He groaned, irritated with himself. Slowly he reached out, brushing his hand against her cheek and gently forcing her to look at him. "Look, I'm not the nicest guy out there, darlin. You'd probably be better off finding someone else to catch fireflies with... But I'm... I'm alright with your power." He smirked. "You might not be after you get to know me, but I am." Ruya Ruya smiled and looked into Silva's eyes, the late night making the whole situation seem a little more romantic than it probably should have been. "Thank you." On an impulse Ruya leaned forward to briefly brush her lips against Silva's. When she drew back she was a little red. "You're perfect for catching fireflies with. Who else can see in the dark?" Silva "I am, aren't I?" He stated, smirking slightly as he broke off another toothpick from her porch. He clamped it between his teeth, raising an eyebrow. "Wanna snog? It'll be a lot faster with the getting to know me process!" Ruya "Snog?" Ruya raised one eyebrow and gave Silva a look. "Is that slang? I don't believe I've come across it before." Silva His smirk widened to an evil grin as he took out the toothpick, leaning forward and returning the brief kiss she had given him earlier, his hand pushing through her hair and brushing against her ear. "This, darlin, is snogging." He leaned in, deepening the kiss a little too hard too quickly. Ruya Ruya was taken totally by surprise when he kissed her. She had to admit it felt pretty good, and she liked the way he ran his hand through her hair. When he tried to make it deeper though, she made a muffled noise, "Mmmph," lifted her hands up and pressed against his shoulders to get him to let up. Silva He didn't notice the hand for a second, focused on the fact that she tasted like strawberries. But finally it got through, making him pull back. "Sorry, darlin..." He almost panted. He wasn't feeling completely in control. And usually that wouldn't have mattered, but she was so... convenient. In the yard behind his, that was. He wouldn't even have to go into that damn shop! He took a step back, feeling his control slip a little more. She looked so... damn... tasty in the moonlight. "I should get going." He muttered, backing up and disappearing into the darkness. Ruya As Silva disappeared, Ruya reached out for him. She lowered her arm when she saw he was gone and got a puzzled look on her face. Why had he left so suddenly? Ruya shook her head a little and stood, turning to where Rishi was looking at her from his seat by the door. Apparently he had found his way back to the porch at some point during her discussion with Silva. "Don't look at me like that." Ruya walked over and picked Rishi up, steadying him in her arms before lifting both of them up and into an open kitchen window. A few minutes later, Kam peeked out and picked up the jar with the firefly to bring it inside with her.
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Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004 9:50 am
A Girl's Life AS far as I know Merrimack is still missing. No one from my family has contacted me to say otherwise, so I guess I have to assume there is no new news. Perhaps I will pay Tosten a visit. If Merrimack hasnt been found, it wouldn't really be a service for me to remind my mother of it. I actually painted Tosten a picture to thank him for teaching me to paint. It isn't very good, but I hope he will appreciate the sentiment behind it.
I finally got a glimmer of my power too last night. I was out talking to Silva (more about him in a minute) and I saw a glimps of something from his past. It must have lasted less than a second and was more like a single photo than anything else. No sound or movement. I wonder if that will change with time, or if it will always be like this. I am so excited to find I am not without power after all! With this incident to motivate me I am going to make a concerted effort to make it happen again. I really need to set up a little area for practice and use all sorts of objects to try and trigger this. Perhaps even Rishi can be roped into helping.
What I am trying not to worry about, however, is the moral implications of such a power. If I never learn to control it, will I have to spend my whole life afraid to touch people? I don't want to know people's history. I mean if they feel like talking about it that is fine, but being able to see it without their consent? I don't like it. I can only assume however that that will not be the case. After all mother's power is supposed to be similar to mine and she doesn't shy from physical contact.
So about Silva. Silva is a feien who lives in one of the houses adjacent to ours. He knows Sunil and I think she has attacked him (re: my power). I don't know why, but since when has Suni needed a reason to bully someone? Silva was really nice and helped me to catch a firefly last night. I'm not sure I would have been able to do it so quickly and easy without his help. Not only can he see in the dark, but he was essential in getting the firefly trapped in the jar. I found out he doesn't like to fly and he doesn't think he has any magic, just like I worried for a while. I assume his being able to see in the dark is some sort of power itself, but he didn't seem ready to accept my word for it.
Normally I wouldn't devote so much of my entry to describing one person, but Silva was my first kiss. I have to say it was a satisfying experience, but it got a little weird. I mean it was nice and he had his hand in my hair, and then it wasn't really nice so I tried to get him to let up and instead he just took off. I have to wonder what happened? He does live near me, so I imagine I'll get a chance to ask him.~ Kam
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:19 pm
Neruo Comes to Visit Neruo Neruo fluttered along contentedly, humming a recent rock tune that he heard on the radio. LF gave him permission to visit Ruya since she was busy cleaning house and taking care of the new baby. His mind started to drift until he all but slammed into an open window. He stopped and chuckled to himself before floating in. He stood on the windowsill, surveying the room. "Ruya...? Are you home?" he called. Ruya Neruo got lucky. Normally Ruya would have been upstairs in the attic bedroom, but right now she happened to be meditating on the couch. She had intended to do so upstairs, but Kam had recently moved Chandra in there and the baby kept waking up and fussing. So Ruya had made her way downstairs and picked the couch. Rishi lay beside her, napping in a spot of sunlight. At the sound of someone calling her, Ruya opened her eyes and looked for the source. When she spotted Neruo she unfolded to a standing postition and beckoned for him to come over to the couch. "Neruo! It is very nice to see you. How have you been?" Ruya smiled happily at him in greeting. Neruo Neruo smiled and floated in, carrying a bundle of small flwers he had picked on his way here. He lit on the couch next to Ruya, handing them to her. The flowers were all bright colors, ranging from white to purple. He leaned and waved to Rishi and sat down on the couch. He thought he had heard a baby's cry. "You have a new baby in the house? LF recently brought home a child, too. And I am very good, now that I get to see someone. How have you been, Ruya? Anything new happen with you?" Ruya Ruya accepted the flowers happily. They would make a wonderful addition to her space upstairs. "Thank you Neruo! You're so thoughtful." Ruya grimaced as she too heard Chandra fussing upstairs. "Yes, Kam has a new child in the house. It wasn't a big deal when she had her own room, but now she is in my room and it gets very difficult to concentrate. I thin I may be asking to move to my own space soon." Ruya set the flowers down beside her and sat back down before continuing, guesturing for Neruo to do the same. She would have to put the flowers into some water later, but for now she wanted to visit with Neruo. "I am alright. My brother Merrimack has been missing for quite some time, but I plan to visit Tosten later and get an update on the search." Ruya pondered exactly what else about her recent escapades was worth sharing. "I've started painting a little and I met a new feien who lives in the house beside ours. What have you been up to lately?" Neruo Neruo blushed slightly and sat down next to Ruya. He was glad that she liked his gift, as he was told that women liked flowers and such. He leaned back, looking at the ceiling. "LF brought home a baby, too, but Jung sleeps in her room so that she could keep an eye on him. I've never seen her fuss over something like this before. She fussed over me, too, but I told her that I could care for myself. Jung cannot speak, though, so maybe that's why she's worried. "I'm sorry to hear that your brother is missing. I do hope he's alright. I've never met him, but you don't seem sad, so maybe he's brave and will come home soon. I'm sure of it." He sighed and played with his hair. "I haven't been up to much lately, save for listening to music. LF told me that she ordered many items for me to play with, but they haven't arrived yet. I'd like to learn to sew. LF tried to show me, but she got too frustrated to continue. She doesn't seem to have much patience..." He watched Rishi and his mind began to wander. "Tosten? I haven't met him either. I hope to meet more Feien soon. I feel like a loser..." Ruya Ruya nodded for most of what Neruo said, thinking that it was too bad Chandra wasn't mute. She laughed when he mentioned his bond's patience. Kam certainly didn't have any either. When he mentioned her brother though, she grew thoughtful and spoke. "I am upset about my brother, and he isn't very brave, " Ruya's face fell, "but there isn't much I can do and I'm hoping he has been found and in the excitement no one has come to tell me." Ruya took a deep breath and pulled herself together, before leaning over and putting a friendly hand on Neruo's shoulder. "Why do you feel like a loser? How many feien you know doesn't mean anything. You're a good person Neruo." Ruya removed her hand and picked up the flowers. "I'm gonna go put these in a cup or something so they don't wilt." Ruya flew out the door to the adjoining kitchen and placed the flowers with a little water, in a baby sized juice glass. She decided to leave them there, as moving them herself might mean spilling water, and she flew back into the room to sit with Neruo. "The last time I saw you, you were learning about plants and healing. Have you still been doing that? Tell me about a plant and something you can do with it." Ruya loved knowledge. Even if she wasn't particularly interested in plants herself, the information would be nice to have. Neruo Neruo blushed when Ruya touched his shoulder. Why did he blush like that? He didn't do it when he met other feien...It was a strange situation, and he would have to think about it further sometime. He leaned back and watched the ceiling. "LF has several herbs in kitchen. I really only know them by what they look like. The book I'm reading about them uses their technical names, and I can't pronounce them to save my life...There's one bitter-tasting herb that, when mixed with some water and made into a pate, has disinfecting properties. I can only make small batches at a time, though, due to my size. If you want some herbs, I could give you some of the leftover seeds so that you could plant your own...and I could copy some of the book for you..." He got to thinking and became quiet for awhile... He then snapped out of it, embarrassed. How rude! He laughed nevously. Why was this so hard? "And thanks for not calling me a loser...Sometimes I just want to throw a huge party and invite all these Feien to meet...but then I suddenly don't feel like it. Laziness comes and goes in waves, I think..." He stood up suddenly, inspired. "Do you have a favorite song, Ruya? LF has been letting me rifle through her CD's lately...I could get one for you and play it..." Ruya Ruya noticed Neruo's blush and matched it with on of her own. How silly. She shouldn't be blushing, there was no reason to at all. She tried to fight it, but somehow that only made it worse. Resolutely she ignored it, perhaps that would work. "I would love some seeds. I've never tried growing anything before." Not only would it be an interesting endeavor, but it might also be an excuse to have Neruo over more. Ruya reached up and ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, somedays you just want to be alone and do as little as possible." She nodded and laughed a little. The thought of having all the feien she knew in the house made her a little nervous. "Oh! I don't know much about music. Something relaxing would be nice." Neruo Neruo nodded and made a mental note to bring soothing music and herb seeds on his next visit. He liked Ruya's company and wondered why so many feien were different from her. "Ruya, do you have any hobbies? Tell me about yourself. And your parents. Is it good to have parents?" Ruya Ruya settled back on the couch, propping herself up against the back with her hands behind her head. "I like to read everything I can get my hands on. I'm on a Shakespeare kick right now. He wrote great plays and used something called iambic pentameter. Its like a rythmn to the lines. I think I like it because its an unexpected cross between math and literature in my mind." Ruya laughed nervously and turned to look at Neruo for a moment before continuing. "I like math. At first I found it a good way to pass time, but rather boring. As I prgress however, I can see how math really pops up in all sorts of unexpected places." She sat up and leaned in his direction, really getting into explaining herself. "And recently I started painting. I'm not very good, but it makes such a good outlet. I think, after looking at some art books of Kam's, I'm going to experiment with splatter art. I like the illusion of chaos it presents." Ruya stopped, her throat having gone a little dry. "Sorry, I talk too much." She laughed at herself and then added. "And having parents is great. I don't see them that often, but I know they're there for me if I needed them." Neruo Neruo tilted his head in thought. Compared to Ruya, he felt so...boring. She was into such intellectual things like Shakespeare and mathematics. He remembered the day that LF took him to school and her comment about hating math. He really didn't have a preference, but his hobbies seemed so...mundane. "All I really do is socialize, play drums, practice medicine and listen to music. LF is trying to make paint bowls out of bottle caps for me until me real paint arrives. She's letting me use feathers and small pieces of cardboard as a canvas...No real paint yet, since she can't find any of her oil paint tubes..." He absently played with one of his many curls. Was he boring? He certainly hoped not. He hoped to impress her for some odd reason...But what could he do to impress such an intellectual Feien? He suddenly had an idea! He sprung into the air, gliding into the kitchen. He quickly found two toothpicks and floated back to Ruya, winking. "Watch. I can do this!" He quickly began to twirl the toothpicks until they became a woodn blur. Then, he threw them into the air and proceeded to toss them, still spinning, from hand to hand. He tripped up every once and a while, but overall the performance was good. He juggled them over his head and around his back, slightly thankful that toothpicks weren't too sharp. Ruya Ruya clapped, jumping to her feet as she laughed. What an interesting performance! "Oh wow Neruo, that is so cool! Where did you learn to do that?" Neruo Neruo blushed and suddenly lost concentration, losing control of one of the toothpicks. It planted itself firmly in his leg. O.o "Well, I certainly didn't mean to do THAT." He promptly pulled it from his leg. It was a tiny, slightly bloody hole, but the pain was worth the result of his performance. He shrugged and continued on. "I just was listening to rock music one day, and I tried to imitate the drumming. It was too fast, and I couldn't figure out how to do it properly. LF let me watch this 'music video', so I could SEE the drummer. I just kept practicing and practicing...and then I could twirl them quickly like the drummers in the videos do. I'm glad you liked it..." He looked about for a napkin to wipe the blood trickling from his thigh. He didn't want to bleed on Ruya's furniture... Ruya Ruya put her hands over mouth when the toothpick fell into Neruo's leg. Oh dear. "Hold on, let me go get you something for that!" Ruya took off up the stairs, and banged around the bathroom on the second floor before finding a tube of neosporin and a small bandaid. Then she flew back downstairs and deposited her items on the couch and sat. "Here, sit and give me your leg, " she said matter of factly. Ruya held out her hands, obviously expecteing his leg in her lap. Neruo Well THAT was certainly straightforward. Neruo thought as he gingerly sat down. He was a tad embarrassed by the fact that he slipped up, especially in front of HER, but..he was glad that she offered to treat him, even though his wound was minor. Heck, he could've been bleeding from gaping holes in his chest and he would've dismissed it as nothing. He blushed and let her adminster the bandaid. "Well...you don't have to do this, but...thank you. I'll have to repay you somehow for this..." Ruya Ruya took the leg and applied a drop of neosporin first before affixing the bandaid. You never knew where germs were hiding. Better safe than sorry. "No problem, " she said, smoothing the bandaid out with her hands. "I don't want you to be hurt and not want to come back and visit me." She kept her head looking down at his leg. She was pretty sure if she looked up, she would blush again. Stupid blushing. She was going to look into ways to stop the phenomenon as soon as possible. Neruo Neruo thanked her by bowing his head and stood up gratefully. LF had done similar things to help him, but this was different somehow...And he would repay her...He had some ideas. He smiled and offered his hand to help her up. The bandaid had actually helped the stinging. He would have to stock up on these things for later practices. He picked up the clean toothpick and floated into the kitchen to put it back. He then threw the other, bloody one away. He flew back to Ruya and bowed. "I do appologize for stabbing myself in front of you. It wasn't intentional, really..." Ruya "It's ok, " Ruya giggled, " I was pretty sure it wasn't part of the performance." She fidgeted a little bit, unsure what to say next. Neruo Neruo thanked her many times and stood up to leave. He floated to the window and took one last long look at her and smiled. He then unfurled his wings to the fullest and slowly fluttered outside. I WILL get her something special...Ruya Ruya jumped off the couch and flew to the window. "Neruo?" She hope he wasn't too far out to hear her. Neruo Neruo heard her voice drift from the window and he hurried back, poking his orange head inside. "Did I forget something?" he asked curiously. Ruya Ruya smiled and wrapped her arms around him for a quick hug. "No." Done, Ruya went back inside the house and disappeared up the stairs with a wave.
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:22 pm
Visiting Tosten Ruya Ruya hummed as she made her way up to Hurog Keep. She had a tiny rolled up piece of paper tucked under one arm as she flew. When she got close to the actual tower, she looked around and spotted an open window. She contemplated the front door, but then decided for the window. In her house that was how feien got around, why not here? Ruya glided her way up to the open window and perched on the sill. "Tosten?" Tosten It was nice to have home be normal for a while. Nekota was off puttering elsewhere but, feeling he had neglected his beloved feien recently with Calico's arrival, he had spoiled the adult upon his arrival home. There Tosten was upon Nekota's own bed with a variety of mess around him... half-eaten strawberries in a bowl, various books opened to his favorite pages, the television on with a movie he enjoyed (A Bug's Life, right now) and he was nibbling on the corner of yet another set of microwave prepared s'mores. When he heard his name he all but choked on the mouthful, coughing a few times before swallowing thickly and turning wide eyes toward the window to squeak in surprise. "R-ruya?!" Ruya Ruya smiled and waved from the windowsill. "May I come in? I brought you a gift." Ruya held up the still rolled piece of paper. Tosten Tosten set the s'more down and flit into the air, unintentionally sticking some feathers to the gooy marshmellow goodness smothering the saucer. He fluttered closer to her, seeming to unhear her reasoning at first. "Why're you here, Ruya? You can't keep coming here, it's very dangerous for you! I mean, uh, the birds! Have you ever met a Hurog owl? They'll very clever, and they'll wait until the right moment and lure you an-- pardon? Gift?" Ruya Ruya frowned, the area between her eyes creasing. "I can't come here? " she asked unhappily. "But I thought you'd like to see me. And yeah, I brought you a present." A much less enthusiastic Ruya held out the gift. Unfurled it had a painting of flowers and a message from Ruya.  Tosten Tosten was stunned a moment when she held out the paper, stilling long enough to accept it and stare at the painting wonderingly. His ears wilted a touch and he looked to Ruya with a smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that stuff. I'm very happy to see you and this a beautiful present. I'm gonna put it RIGHT by my bed, okay? Which is, well, right there!" He pointed beneath them to the desk right beside the open window. "I'm reaaally sorry its just, ah, you know... the owls..." Well it wasn't an entire lie, right? Right. "Ah here, help me find the best place to put it!" Ruya Ruya smiled, but didn't move. "Tosten, owls are nocturnal. I'm unlikely to get attacked by one if there is still daylight. Why don't you want me to visit? You seemed happy to meet me in the store that day." Tosten "Noc-wha?" Tosten paused in his attempts, blinking at her a moment. He took a breath and sighed with a smile. At first he just fluttered down to the desk, tucking the picture a bit under his bed cover so it wouldn't be blown away until he found somewhere to mount it later. Then he flit back to her and squinted right into her face. "Ruya... you have no idea how much you're like your Mother." He replied teasingly, expecting such lines of questioning to be coming from Ares if she were in the same situation. Ruya Ruya smiled at what she assumed Tosten meant as a compliment. She reached out and poked Tosten's nose. "And the word is nocturnal. It means they prefer to be out at night and sleep during the day. So why don't you want me to come here? Are you not supposed to have company?" After all he had met her and her mother outside when she had come here last. Maybe he wasn't supposed to have friends over. Tosten Tosten drew back with the poke, rubbing his nose lightly a few times as he mused over a reply. He didn't want to lie entirely and lose every hope of having guests over. "I can have company, its just better if .. I know first, you know? And Nekota, he's my bondmate, he's kind of, you know, jumpy of strangers so surprises aren't---" "Oh, my!" Interrupted said fox from the doorway, surprisedly noticing the unfamiliar feien perched upon their window sill. "We have a guest? Hello little one, would you like something to eat?" "--...welcome..." Tosten planted his face into his hand for a few moments wondering what in the world he did to deserve that timing. Ruya Ruya looked from Tosten to his bond and back with a puzzled look on her face. Tosten was obviously trying to hide something. She decided not to pursue it any further, he was going to lie himself into a corner. "Hello, " she piped up, "I don't know how long I'm staying so I have to decline the offer, but thank you for asking." She eyed the half eaten strawberries on the bed with a bit of wistfulness, but if Tosten wanted her not to visit she didn't want to impose. Tosten "Oh..." Nekota blinked curiously but with a nod turned to go after collecting the glass he had come to retrieve on the bedside table. Tosten seemed unsure a moment. Stress was making him act funny but he surely didn't want to be alone, he didn't like being alone. So he hooked onto Ruya's arm and dragged her forward with him some. "C'mon, c'mon, stay! You can watch a movie with me! I've been watching them like ALL day and it gets pretty boring to watch them alone and the stuffed animals, they don't talk, you know, so when something cool happens they won't talk about it and that suuuucks~~" Ruya Ruya was surprised at Tosten's change of demeanor, but she let him pull her forward towards his mess on the bed. I'd be happy to stay Tosten, but I don't want to cause any trouble. Maybe you should give me a hint as to the real reason you were worried to see me." Whoops. She had meant to drop it. Ruya realized this with a grimace and kept going. "Ah is this A Bug's Life? Kam has this. I like it even though its a totally innacurate representation of insect life." She nodded sagely. Tosten Tosten had stopped again, who knew which part of what she said had gotten him to do so but either way there was a blank expression on his face. "Totally inac.....re-pre... wha?" He stammered out finally then shook his head deciding that he didn't care. Either way it sounded too techno-babble for a cartoon. "But it's cute! And it's got... you know, a story about ... uh, coming together to be strong and living happily and stuff!" He tugged her again, flopping down onto the bed without releasing her so she couldn't escape her fate of watching rated G movies. Ruya Ruya giggled and settled on the bed with Tosten. "It is cute and it has a good moral. I dislike some of the disney movies because people wait for stuff to happen to them, but this one is nice because they go out and make stuff happen." Ruya gave the strawberry bowl a sidelong glance. "So Tosten, what are we watching next?" Sneakily, Ruya snuck out a hand to the strawberries, having her fingers walk along the bed towards the bowl. Tosten "Well, you're the guest, you can pick!" Tosten released her now so to bounce back into the air and flutter across the room span to where the television was mounted. Movies stacked the lower shelves and he hovered along the line, contemplating titles. "Umm, do you have a favorite? Cause there's like, umm... Finding Nemo and Spirit and, um, um, ah there's the Lion King - that always makes me sad though, Disney has too much sad stuff but I like the songs!" Ruya Ruya smiled and snatched a strawberry, taking a large bite while Tosten's back was turned. "Mhph.. I mean, I like Finding Nemo. I've always thought it might be fun to be a fish." Ruya wiped the strawberry juice off her face with her arm and looked around for any sort of napkin. Tosten "Okay!" For a brief moment Tosten seemed confident he could do this himself. He pushed stop, pushed down on the eject... then stared blankly at the size of the tape protruding from the mouth of teh VCR. "Ah, um- NEKOTA??" "Be right there!" Was the reply, muffled by distance. Tosten poked a little a the tape then flit back to the bed to wait, studying Ruya oddly as he settled down. "Your face... ah, you had a strawberry." He pieced together like he were some brilliant detective, which led into a little fit of giggles at her unfortunate messy state. Ruya Ruya giggled too, but inside she was starting to panic a little. She really didn't like to be dirty or sticky. Especially sticky. When you were sticky you attracted dust and all sorts of other germs from the air. "You don't have any towels or napkins do you?" Her voice had a small edge of panic as she asked and she didn't dare move her arm or risk getting sticky somewhere else. Tosten Such a fear never came to Tosten's mind, he who was the harbringer of mess. But he also tried to be a good host to guests so, though still giggling to himself, he nodded and flit away for the bedside table. A quick look over found a paper napkin stuffed between pages of a book, Nekota and his habit to use anything nearby as a bookmark. A few tugs brought it free and he soon returned with the offering. "There you go! - oh, Nekota!" He chirped to the fox who poked his head in blankly. "Tapetapetape, can you change it? To, uh - Finding Nemo, right? Yes! That one!" Ruya Ruya took the napkin with a sigh of relief and wiped off her arm and face with perhaps a little more vigor than was necessary. "Yeah - Finding Nemo. Which reminds me Tosten, " Ruya paused and frowned a little, "Do you have any more news on Merrimack?" Tosten Tosten plopped upon the bed once more as Nekota bustled over the tape changing in the background. A surprised look was upon the air feien's face at her question. "No one told you? I thought Ares would, I'm sorry - Merrimack's back home! Ah... well, honestly? I don't think he stayed, he didn't want to, he told me. But he's safe, I promise that!" With a click of some buttons the new movie was playing and Nekota scurried off to bustle his own business once more so to let the feien talk in peace. Ruya Ruya grinned from ear to ear and laid down on her stomach facing the TV, ready to watch the movie. "Thanks Tosten. No one told me, but I'm glad to hear it. I was really worried about him! I hope wherever he goes he is ok. I'd offer to have him over, but you know Sunil."
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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2004 4:23 pm
Excitement Today was a busy, busy day!
First things first, Merrimack is no longer missing. Tosten told me. I am so glad, although Tosten said something about him not staying at home? I hope he can find a safe place to stay.
Second, Neruo came to visit this morning. He brought me flowers and everything. I put them in water in a baby juice glass and got Kam to carry the whole thing upstairs and place it on the windowsill. They smell so nice, what a thoughtful thing to do.
It was nice to see him again. We talked about our interests and what we'd been doing lately. I think he is going to being over some herb seeds the next time he comes to visit so I can start a little garden. He also showed be a very cool looking trick with some toothpicks, but managed to stab himself in the leg at the end. I felt so bad! I put some neosporin on it as well as a bandaid. I hope he'll feel alright in a couple days, but the wound didn't look too deep, so I probably shouldn't be worried.
I hope he comes to visit again.
After that, I went to go visit Tosten at his house since I know where it is now and bring him the painting I made him. It was awkward at first because he didn't seem to think I should be there. Something about owls, but it wasn't dark yet. I tried to press him on it, but he only came up with more questionable excuses. I would have though he didn't want to see me for some reason, but he told me like a hundred times how happy he was I was there for a visit! So who knows what is going on, but it was a fun visit. Tosten and I ended up watching Finding Nemo together and munching on all sorts of snacks. I should visit again, Tosten makes everything seem like so much fun.
Oh and I shouldn't forget. Sunil still hasn't come home and its pretty odd because she didn't take Susu with her. I can't imagine she'd just forget about him.~ Ruya
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:05 pm
Scandalous Silva Silva sat on the porch, nursing a bottlecap full of vanilla milkshake. He had a twig of cherries beside him and the stereo on the table was blasting old time rock and roll. At the moment "A Simple Man" was playing, making him smirk slightly. My Momma told me... when I was young...
sit beside me, my only so-on...Ruya Ruya hummed as she skipped out of the kitchen window and floated down to the porch. It was once again time to walk the dog. She set Rishi down, and smiled as he bounded away. It was a nice day out, and there was plenty for a dog to explore. Ruya made her way to the fence, mostly on foot and peered out from behind it. Silva was apparently out as well, and she wavered a moment before yelling a friendly, "Hello!" Silva He jerked in the middle of taking a drink, accidentally sloshing milkshake onto his face. He put the cup down, wiping the shake off his face with an impatient move. He looked at the shake on his hand, raised an eyebrow, then licked it off. "Hello, darlin." He called back, pondering the differences between this female and the one he had met at the tavern. "Want to split a cherry with me?" He called, not planning on giving away a full one. Ruya Ruya flew up to the top of a fence post and sat there. Conversing would be easier without lots of grass in the way. "Maybe. When we're done are you gonna run away?" She'd had some time to think about their last run in and had decided in favor of being upfront. Things were better out in the open and resolved. Silva Silva paused, ignoring her for a second as he examined his cheery. "Now, darlin... This is a sweet looking cherry." He smirked, dipping it into the milkshake and looking at it with a smirk. "And it tastes, darlin... like heaven." He licked a little of the shake off of it, closing his eyes to enjoy the flavor before looking back at her. "Something like this shouldn't be eaten in gulps, darlin." Ruya Ruya grinned in spite of herself. He was so ... she didn't really have a word for it actually, but she kinda liked it. "Ah, but eventually you will finish that cherry and throw it away, no matter how much you enjoyed it. I'm not sure I like this metaphor, even if I am the one who started it." She spread her wings out a little in the sun, and leaned back to rest on her hands behind her. Silva Silva winced at her comment about finishing and throwing away. "That's what I was afraid of..." He muttered almost under his breath before licking the cherry again. "But you should enjoy the time you have, darlin. Make it last as long as possible. We only live once, after all." He took a bite then, taking the time to savor the flavor. Ruya "True. And cherries will forever be a flawed analogy for feien since they don't have any choice in who eats them." Satisfied, Ruya stood and made her way over to Silva's porch and sat down close, but not too close to Silva. "I'd be happy to share a cherry with you." Silva "But--" He stopped, feeling slightly hunted, but at the same time... "Sure, darlin. With shake or without?" Inwardly he was wondering if her being hungry was a good thing or not... "So, darlin... who would you choose to... eat?" Ruya Ruya ran a hand through her hair and thought about it. She wasn't sure about the unknown substance, but it seemed impolite to doubt Silva's food. "Either. I've never had shake before, so I don't have any idea if I would like it." She laughed at the next question and replied playfully, "Me? I thought I was the cherry in this analogy?" Silva He paused, then relaxed almost visibly. "Of course darlin. I was speaking hypothetically. And you might want to try drinking the shake before you dip the cherry in it. You might not like it." He went back to slowly eating his cherry, asking off the cuff, "So, darlin. Whatcha been up to these days?" That was good. Change the subject... he didn't really want to think about anybody eating anybody else at the moment, it really ruined the mood. Ruya "Oh so now I get my own cherry? Excellent." Ruya reached out and grabbed a cherry off the twig and took a bite. She chewed thoughtfully. What had she been up to lately? "I visited a friend and dropped off a gift I made him. We watched a movie together, it was pretty fun." She pondered exactly how to describe Neruo's visit, but in the end went for the bare truth. "And I had a friend come over to visit me as well. He brought me flowers," she blushed a tiny bit thinking about the visit. "He even showed me a really cool trick with some toothpicks." And managed to stab himself with one of them, she added mentally. "What have you been up to lately?" She took another bite of the cherry and tried to ignore the feeling that she really wanted a napkin. Silva TWO males? The girl was even more popular then he was! He took another bite of his cherry, hiding a scowl. "Flowers, huh? Sounds like he was out to impress you, darlin." He chewed for a few minutes, watching her with an inexplicible smirk playing on his lips. "He your boyfriend?" So what if she had a boyfriend? He'd just have to find another girl for his intended trio... He scowled, remembering the last girl he had met... Maybe this WAS a problem... Ruya "I think he was, " Ruya smiled, "and he did. But no, he isn't. I don't have a boyfriend." She took another bite of the cherry and tried to look surreptitiously for something to wipe her mouth with. "You dodged the question though, what have you been up to Silva?" Silva and Ice He was about to reply when the door to the house opened, a happy looking Ice coming out with big sheets of... something... in her hands. "I brought a baby wipe! That shake must be stic--" She stopped, blinking at the sight of the girl sitting with her feien. "Why didn't you tell me we had visitors? Would you like a baby wipe? Since... oh my... Silva is actually sharing?" She blinked, the hearts in her eyes making Silva groan inwardly. "Ice?" "Yes babe?" "Put the cloth down and walk away." "Oh... oh my, you probably want some alone time. I can't--" She stopped her rambling, putting the cloth down between the two and running back to find a convenient spot to spy on them. "Don't mind my bondmate... she's insane." Ruya Ruya set down the cherry, silently but quickly snatched up the cloth and wiped her face. Thank god. She was starting to wonder if she would just have to drown herself in the cherry to avoid that gross, dirty, sticky feeling. "Nice to be clean." Ruya rubbed her face a couple more times to be sure, before setting down the cloth and picking back up the cherry. "She seemed nice enough to me." Silva "Um... yeah." He replied, watching her for a few seconds before shrugging it off. "She has her uses." He smirked, thinking of one of his favorite gifts from Ice. "You ever ride a ferret, darlin?" Ruya "A ferret? Isn't that a type of rodent? No, I've never ridden one." Ruya thought about it for a second and then dipped her cherry in the shake. She eyed it dubiously and then took a bite. Oh dear that was messy, but it tasted pretty good. Silva "Yeah, he's a rodent. Kinda ugly, but hell, nobody's perfect." He took another bite. "Runs faster then hell, though. Goes straight up fences and everything." He looked over at her, smirking as she tried the shake on her cherry. "I'll have to take you for a ride sometime, darlin." He was already looking forward to the feel of her pressed up against his back, holding on for dear life. Ruya "Straight up fences?" Ruya wasn't sure she liked the sound of that. At least when she was flying she was the one in control. "Sounds... exciting." She took another bite of the cherry and a drop of shake fell on her leg. She sighed, holding the cherry in one hand while she reached out with the other to use the napkin to wipe off her leg. Shake was tasty, but possibly not worth the trouble it seemed to cause. Silva "Yeah... I've been thinking about using him for gliding, actually. Tie a string to his saddle then hang on for dear life from the sky..." He went on, not noticing her skepticism. "It sounds like a s**t load of fun." He turned, noticing her using the towel again. He shrugged it off as he finished the cherry, grabbing his own corner and wiping off thoroughly. "So, darlin... tell me about this flower boy of yours. What's his name? Who's his bondmate?" Where's he live? How tough is he? And why in the hell do you think I'll let him move in on my territory, he finished silently, none of his thoughts showing on his face. Ruya Ruya looked at the bowl of cherries, and wished men were that simple. You looked the cherries over, you picked a couple you liked and you ate them. The cherries didn't ask questions about eachother, they just sat there and looked yummy. It was unlikely they would ever meet however, so Ruya didn't bother to dodge the question. "His name is Neruo. And his bond is LF, I believe. Why the interest? You looking for a boyfriend?" Ruya smirked. Silva A boyfriend? He choked, then laughed out loud. "Sure am, darlin! I've seen the light. I'm going... what's the opposite of straight?" Ruya Ruya laughed along with Silva. "Gay, I believe, would be the common slang. And really? I'm that bad of a kisser huh?" She giggled some more, and took another bite of the cherry, almost done now. Silva "We'll have to find out, now won't we?" He scooted over, sliding his hand into her hair again, but pausing. "Did he kiss you? The flower boy?" His finger moved in her hair, playing with it and brushing over the base of her ears. "I wouldn't blame him if he did, darlin..." But I sure as hell would figure out a way to punish him. He finished inwardly. Ruya Ruya giggled, "Mmm.. Thats really between me and him, isn't it?" She liked it when he played with her hair. She played with her own hair all the time, but it never felt half as exciting as having him do it. Her eyes closed a little, she slid one of her hands around his waist, pulling him a little closer. Silva "Ahhh... but I don't poach in other men's territory, darlin. So if he kissed you I don't think I should." He whispered into her ear, still playing with her hair even as she pulled him closer. He leaned in so his lips were almost brushing hers. "So... did he?" Ruya Ruya sighed and pulled back a little. "Do you want to kiss me or do you want to talk about other boys who I may or may not have kissed?" She was a little annoyed. She wanted to kiss. She had the little butterfly feeling and everything. She did not feel like talking about Neruo and ruining the mood. Silva He groaned, giving in to the pouting and pulling her closer again, nibbling on her bottom lip. It went against his better judgement, if she was two timing him then he really should go-- He shoved the thoughts to the back of his mind, focusing on the kiss, drawing it out this time. If she HAD kissed the other male he would damn well make her forget all about it. And then he would find this... Neruo. Even if it meant going into the shop. Ice Ice watched from the window, shocked. "My baby boy... is a macdaddy." She muttered, staring in something akin to amazement. Ruya Ruya leaned into the kiss and slid the hand on his back up to play with the base of his wings. She shut out everything but the feel of his lips on hers. Unlike Silva, Neruo was the last thing on her mind. Silva After a little while he pulled back, gently pushing her hair over her ear. "Now, darlin, remember the cherry." He drawled, lazy eyelids covering his thoughts. "One bite at a time." He flicked on his nightvision as he realized that sometime during the kiss it had gotten dark, the stars and moon clouded over, the scent of an approaching storm in the air. "You should go home, darlin... before it rains." He thought about mentioning the other male again, then tossed it off. He would find out what he wanted one way or another. Speaking of wanting to know things... he had never found out who Sunil's lacky was... Ruya "Mmmm..." Ruya sighed a little, her eyes still closed. "Ok. Rishi is probably waiting for me anyway." She opened her eyes and stood, stretching towards the sky. Sitting in one position for a while could make one want to do that. "Night." Ruya smiled, waved, and took off for the porch where she could dollect Rishi and head inside for the night. Silva Silva watched where she had gone long after she had disappeared, a cruel look on his face now that no one could see him. His hand fisted as he stood, heading into the house. He felt the urge for a bath. "Ice! Dammit woman, I know you're around! Get me a bath, would you? I feel like cooling off." He finished in a mutter as she came out and scooped him up. "Soooo?" "So what?" "Who's your girlfriend?" "Somebody else's girl." He replied, ending the subject with those words. She nodded, feeling sad for him as they went into the house.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:15 pm
Meeting At the Tavern (** Compiled from Tavern in the Guild **) Sajhiri, Averno, and Maleficent Sajhiri strolled into the tavern, humming, and seemingly in a good mood. At her heels stalked a strange and demonic creature, a Cait Siobahn better known as "Maleficent" by those in Jhiri's menagerie. The Cait looked slightly put out as she glared up at the woman indignantly, but mostly focused her unkind stare at the tiny Feien perched on Sajhiri's shoulder. "Don't you think I have better things to do than pad about this tavern of yours, Sajhiri? Malevolence and I had plans to do some fishing." The Cait twitched her leathery wings and paused to inspect one of the Feien-sized tables.Sajhiri murmured, "Averno asked if we could bring you with us today, Mal. I don't know why, but you can at least be polite enough to visit my establishment. Besides, I have some double fudge brownies I thought you might like..." Maleficent's glowing eyes widened at the mention of brownies. "Why didn't you say so in the first place, silly creature!?" She trotted fully in now and leapt up onto one of the human-sized barstools, her tail flicking back and forth methodically.On Jhiri's shoulder, Averno sat rigidly, her eyes sweeping the common room as if for threats. The presence of the Cait seemed to be the only thing which convinced her to come; her estimation of her caretaker's protective abilities seemed minimal at best. "Seems like a slow day at least..." She murmured from her perch, one hand gripping a lock of Sajhiri's hair to make sure she wouldn't topple.Sunil Slow? The perfect time for Sunil to come into work, that way she didn't actually have to do anything. Sunil sauntered into the tavern like she owned the place, looking around to see who might be there. Hmmm... her boss and some damn cat. Sunil made her way up the bar anyway. "Hello Sajhiri. Doesn't look too busy around here today." Sunil frowned and kept the cat in her peripheral vision. Sajhiri, Averno, Maleficent Sajhiri smiled at the entering Fey as she organized glasses behind the bar. "Why hello there, Sunil. How are you today? I don't think you've met Averno yet, have you?" She gestured to the raven tressed Feien on her shoulder. At the sound of Sunil's name, Averno's head whipped about to take in the female. Yes, she looks like a warrior. She can protect me. She put on a smile she hoped looked both nervous and charming at once. "Hello, Sunil. Sajhiri tells me you help to protect the patrons of the bar. You must be a splendid fighter!"Maleficent yawned boredly and eyes Sajhiri until the woman obediently placed a plate of brownies on the counter before her. She set about devouring the chocolately goodness.Sunil Sunil frowned at the cat and muttered something about cats and pigs not being all that dissimilar. "I'm alright. And no I haven't." Sunil looked at Averno for a second before replying. Another useless juvenile. The world was overrun with them. "I do what I can." She crossed her arms over her chest, obviously bored with Averno. Sajhiri, Averno Sajhiri headed into the kitchen to work on the evening offerings for dinner. Averno launched from her shoulder to land on the bartop, and arched a brow at Sunil. "I see. Well it is truly a pity then, that you weren't here last night. There was a most disagreeable and violent cretin in here. He threatened my life...even grabbed me by the hair. And there was no one here to toss him out."Sunil Sunil raised an eyebrow at Averno. "Ah. I am sorry I wasn't here to put a stop to that. You have rather pretty hair." Sunil scowled while she said it. Hair like that would be nice, but it would make fighting impossible. Useless really. "I don't suppose you did anything to him to provoke this attack?" Sunil wondered idly if she knew the feien who had attacked Averno. She actually knew a couple different candidates. Averno Averno blushed slightly at the compliment to her hair. "Thank you, but I'd have gladly traded it for the ability to fight that lout off last night. He asked me if I knew anyone, and when he clarified Feien, I mentioned that I'd only been out of my bloom a few hours. He called me useless...only he used a much more vulgar term for it, and when I noted that if I was useless for not knowing any Feien so soon after my emergence, what did that make him if he required a new Feien's knowledge of others? He grabbed my hair then and made his threats, saying I should never test his temper. Apparently he expected complete acceptance of his insults." She frowned sharply. "So I introduced his lap to my steaming cup of tea." Sunil Temper? That did sound like someone she knew. But was not actually supposed to know. She played it cool. "It sounds like you did alright then. I don't suppose you could describe this... cretin to me? Then I can be on the look out for him in the future." Tea, not a bad idea. Improvising, Sunil liked. Averno Averno nods her head. "Yes, he had dark skin, very dark, and his markings, hair, and wings were yellow and red, quite bright in hue. His eyes were gold I think, and his wings were insectoid, not like yours or mine. He was a youth rather than an adult as well."
The girl toys with one of her curls absently, as she thinks back on the experience. For effect she puts on a bit of a shudder. "He spoke very crudely as well." Sunil Crap, it was Calico. Sunil hoped they actually were never here at the same time. It was possible he wouldn't know not to admit he knew her. "Doesn't ring a bell, but I don't know many of the juveniles." Sunil thought for a moment and eyed Averno. Hanging out at a tavern was a good way to keep a finger on the pulse of feien society. She might be useful. "I hope he isn't the only experience with a feien you've had so far. Most of them are very nice." She couldn't help grimacing as she spoke. Making friends was not really her strong suit. Averno Averno shook her head. "I'm afraid it was just him, and another Feien who seemed to think awful highly of himself. He left before the violence began though. This was the first time I came back since, and only because Sajhiri let me bring Maleficent along. I told that disagreeable fellow if he touched me without my permission again, I'd feed him to her as a snack."
She tucked a ringlet behind her ear and folded her arms over her chest. "I'm hoping that the others will be much more pleasant than those two. You are certainly a step towards restoring my faith in Feien-kind." SUnil Sunil couldn't help but snort. Restoring her faith. If only she had a clue what Sunil did with her spare time. So cute and innocent some of these feien were. "That actually is rather amusing to hear someone say. Most people who know me either dislike me or distrust me. I even have a few people who would probably like to kill me." Sunil shrugged and smiled at Averno. "It looks pretty empty in here, so I'm gonna head out. I'll be around later." Averno Averno affected a surprised look at Sunil's admission, then she nodded her head. "Take care..." she murmured pleasantly, before she flitted into the kitchens to seek out Sajhiri.
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Posted: Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:16 pm
Musings I kissed Silva again today. It was pretty nice, but the whole encounter really just emphasized the differences between him and Neruo for me. In fact, I feel a little guilty now that it is all done with. There is just something about Silva. I feel like I should steer clear, but I just can't help it. He feels so exciting!
For now I don't think there is any harm in continuing to see Neruo and Silva. But it looks like at some point I am going to have to make some sort of decision whether to go with one, the other, or neither. Silva already seems awfully interested in Neruo. I'm just lucky they'll probably never meet.~ Ruya
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 1:21 pm
A Gift! Neruo floated happily onto Kam's doorstep, humming a lively tune under his breath. When he was sure no one was home, he set down a small bag that glittered with magic. He whispered to the bundle and smiled, hoping she would adore it like he did. He took one last look at the house and fluttered off. Inside the bundle giggled a tiny fairy, born from magic just for Ruya.  Neruo dropped off a gift for me! It is a tiny fairy and so cute! I felt all bubbly inside when I first saw it, but now I just feel a little ill when I look at it.
I should be having fun, but I'm not. I'm gonna go meditate and work on my magic. Perhaps clearing my mind and then concentrating on something else will help me feel better.~ Ruya
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:39 pm
Serious Thought Ruya sighed, this wasn't going well. Clearing her mind was proving impossible. Fine. She could think of a solution, she was intelligent. First, the problem. She felt guilty kissing Silva. There were several solutions, but the most obvious was simply not to kiss him anymore. Ruya wrinkled her nose. She didn't want to stop kissing Silva, she just wanted to stop feeling guilty about it. Fine, second problem. She felt guilty getting gifts from Neruo. Why? The gift was supposed to make her happy, so why didn't it? Because Neruo sent it believing he was the man in her life. He didn't know there might be someone else. The best solution there, to tell Neruo she had someone else. That was going to be difficult, however because she wasn't really sure what to call the other man in her life. Boyfriend? No. Silva wasn't a boyfriend. Of the two Neruo was much more boyfriend material. Silva was just a pleasant escape, a friend with benefits. Ruya closed her eyes and sighed. Wonderful benefits. It was possible Neruo would have the same benefits at some point, but with him they would imply some sort of committment she wasn't ready for. Neruo didn't seem like he would kiss for fun. He would kiss for love and affection. Ruya sighed again and hopped off the couch, heading for the kitchen. When she got there though, she just stood on one of the counters and realized she didn't actually want anything. She went out on the back porch and stared pensively at the fence. Really both problems stemmed from the same place and could be solved three ways. She could stop kissing Silva, she could tell Neruo she had another man, or she could just avoid both of them. She took a deep breath. She was an honest person and she should have told Neruo before. If she told Neruo, he would still want to be friends and she could have everything she wanted. Someone to hang out with and someone to make out with. And in time, when she got tired of the situation, she could go back to Neruo and settle down. Assuming he was still free. Ruya scowled, narrowing her eyes. He had better still be free. It was the only flaw in the plan. Neruo could end up with someone else. Maybe boys were just more trouble than they were worth.
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:41 pm
Tosten Squeals Tosten "A bar!" Tosten agreed as he flit back through the keep corridors for the next chamber on their sight-seeing tour. Another open doorway led to yet another room more furnished then the prior. It was as he claimed it to be... a bar. A saloon type if anything with the long wooden counter and old stools, racks for bottles (but most were missing, those present heavy with dust), chairs and tables unused. At first the only light was that of the evening sun casting through three sets of windows, specifically the one most left whom was open just a touch and pourig in that amber lighting. But a good struggle with the lightswitch and the bar room was lit up fully after a momentary flicker of the old bulb. "Look, look - isn't this cool? Over here!" He was off again, for the wooden stage that tucked the corner. Small in terms for human, like where just a small skit could be performed or a lone singer sit... but in feien terms it might as well have been the broadway stage to him. Sunil Sunil scowled at the landcape on her way up to the Keep. She shouldn't even be making this trip, but Calico had to be spoken to. If he slipped up when he saw her in the tavern and let on they know eachother they would both be in serious trouble. As she got by the Keep, Sunil headed straight for the open window she knew led to the bedroom. On her way up though, she heard Tosten speaking to someone. It was probably nothing, but given his knowledge of Calico and Sunil's relationship, it bore listening to. Sunil pressed herself up against the wall outside the window she heard him from and prepared to wait. Ares Ares' gaze wandered around the bar for a moment, wondering why it seemed rather familiar. She'd seen something else like this before, and she couldn't quite place....ah! The tavern in the woods...the one that Neko used to run. This Sumuri2003: place reminded her of there...though, it was still different here. It seemed unused, or uncared for, as if forgotten years ago. Flitting after Tosten, she looked at the stage curiously, landing for a moment to rest. How...quaint. "This isn't so bad, Tosten," she commented quietly, her tail flicking a little bit as she turned around to look the bar over again. "I'd say that this was rather nice." Tosten Tosten landed upon the stage as well, and gave a nice overdramatic twirl. Talk about sucking up the spotlight, and he was well aware of it as he laughed right afterwards, tucking an arm behind his head sheepishly as if for once aware of how childish he was being... but did it stop him? Absolutely not. "I like this room cause this is a stage, that they do those plays on - do you see them on TV? They stand here and have a big, you know, dramatic light on them and they usually ... I dunno, talk, and sing!" He turned to face the empty room, cleared his throat dramatically and without an ounce of shame belted out a 'lah lah lah!' ... only to kind of squeak weirdly at the end, blush all at once and end it all in a fit of giggles. "Singing isn't my strong point - you try! Be the star of your play, go go!" He turned to Ares expectingly. Ares Ares blinked a few times, a very light blush crossing her cheeks. He wanted her to sing? Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked out at the bar, thinking for a moment. "Well...what would you like me to sing?" she asked, before a bit of a tune began to play in her head. Humming softly for a moment, she closed her eyes as she seemed to wait for a certain part of the song. Then, she began to sing quietly, her voice gentle, smooth, and rather calm. "I wish for this night-time to last for a lifetime. The darkness around me, Shores of a solar sea. Oh how I wish to go down with the sun, Sleeping...weeping, With you..."Tosten Tosten honestly didn't expect her to do it and was just fondly amused when she blushed, even so lightly, over his encouragement. But what a surprise that came over him when she began to hum instead of decline ... and when she began to actually sing? He was stunned. It wiped that foolish grin clear off his face and left an expression akin to a quiet wonder, like when a child first saw a firefly and wondered how in the world lights could dance. Was she going to continue? He wouldn't imagine so but she had surprised him once already so he made no effort to interrupt, clasping his hands behind his back as though afraid they'd do something silly. And he watched her, absolutely amazed she would do such a thing... singing, he had learned, was one of the most number one embarrassing things to do in front of anyone if you hadn't the confidence. Ares Upon hitting the last note, she blinked her eyes open, folding one arm over her chest to grasp her other arm lightly in her hand. "It's...no opera, but I don't sing much aloud," she admitted softly, giving a sidelong glance to Tosten. "Was that suitable?" Tosten Tosten blinked back at her then beamed a smile a moment later, freeing his hands for a light bit of applauses. "It was beautiful!" He declared. "I knew you had a singer's voice, a gut instinct, you know?" A few giggles which in turn faded into a thoughtful silence. He tilted his head a little, studying Ares wonderingly. "... Why'd you do it?" He couldn't help but ask as though this had deep meaning. And at least to him it really did. "Why'd you sing? Ah, I don't mean anything by that - it honestly was beautiful! I'm jealous, I wasn't blessed with a singers voice, woe, woe --heehee-ahem... I mean, well, why though?" Ares Ares looked over at him for a moment, her short ears twitching a little bit. Why? ...Perhaps that was a good question. Her tail swayed from left to right as she thought, turning her head upward to look at the old lights. Why did she do it? She stopped singing to Neko during that time she'd grown distant before she grew up, so why sing for Tosten. She blinked in wonder herself, her wings folding down over her shoulders as her arm dropped back to her side. "Well, you did kind of ask," she responded, pursing her red lips for a moment. "I suppose a part of me wanted to, as well. You're my friend after all...I can't deny you of requests unless I saw them to be unreasonable. Perhaps I just...didn't see a reason not to." Tosten Tosten let that answer sink in for perhaps an almost awkward silence before he made a little hiccupy noise and was latched, without much warning, onto one of her arms. He clung like it was his childhood safety blankie, resting his head against her shoulder for a few moments. "Mm, I love you Ares~" He mentioned in a sing-song tone then released her at once, like a sufferer of bipolar disorder his mood had swung almost drastically as he peered most seriously into her face. It wasn't so much a mood swing as it was the dropping of one mask for another. "But you're so confusing. I mean, well, you know. Why do you... do stuff like that when you know I'm... ah, well... keeping things from you?" He was reluctant to admit it but it was puzzling him terribly. Even Yeande put up a fight when aware of his secrets and it was hard enough to settle her down with his reasoning. But Ares just accepted it... why was it so much harder to deal with it when it was accepted then Yeande's arguing? Strange. Ares Ares watched him with calm red eyes for a moment as he spoke, taking into consideration what he said. At first, it had bothered her...especially when he wouldn't say anything while Merrimack was missing. However, after finding out that Shalafi had been missing, and seeing how Yeande was still calm about it...she'd realized something. During that time, she'd LET herself become bothered by the secrets. After giving it a lot of thought, she'd decided that it wasn't necessary to be angered, much less annoyed, and had just learned to accept the fact that things were being hidden from her. It wasn't that she didn't care...it was because from Tahki, she realized she just needed to give things a little more time. Gently placing a delicate hand on Tosten's dark cheek, Ares' red lips curved into a slight smile. "Because I don't let that bother me," she assured him. "At first, I was troubled by it, yes. But I realized that...well...some things are kept hidden for a reason. I trust you, Tosten...you're one of the very few feien that I DO trust, whole-heartedly. I know that one day, you may confide in me. But until then, I won't let that keep me from still being your friend...from being someone you can still turn to when you do need someone." Tosten Tosten tipped his head a little to the side, more into her touch as he loved to drink up affection whenever it was offered to him. "Ares... I wish I had a good and brave excuse to give you for keeping these secrets." He replied more softly, closing his eyes and giving that apologetic smile he found he was always giving her far too often. "Actually its just because I'm a coward... I guess, at least. I'll understand if you don't forgive me when its over - ah, well... I'll try to understand ... but I'm sorry for a lot of things I could have stopped but didn't." What a silly thing to ramble but he said it anyway and it felt good to say before finally getting to the point. He opened his eyes timidly and smiled once more. "I know its horrible of me to wait till you have to go to do this but... if you want, I'll, ah... tell you everything... not right now though. Can we.. meet again? In the morning, before you go?" He inquired softly. He needed time to prepare himself for this. What if she was angry? If she hated him? Definitely things he had to get the courage for before he confronted her. Ares Ares took a few steps closer to the other feien, closing her third eye and gently resting her forehead against his, being careful of his horn. "Tosten, there isn't a thing in this world that you could possibly do that wouldn't be forgiven," she explained quietly, placing her other hand on his cheek to hold his head carefully in her hands. "Yes...we can meet tomorrow morning. I'll be sure to tell Arturo not to leave until I get there...so come at any time. All right?" Tosten He tried to believe her but Tosten decided it was more of a 'moment' thing... he'll wait to hear her say that after he admits that he could have protected her son a long time ago and possibly prevented what he had become today... a distrustful, abused feien. He didn't want more to happen, and he firmly decided to go through with this. No second thoughts. "Okay. It, ah, it'll be early. I don't want to stop your trip or anything! I'll come to the window, at your house - that works, right?" Ares "Yes, yes that's fine...I'll ask Neko to leave it open tonight," she said, pulling herself back a little. "And, don't be afraid of waking me up or anything...I'll need to be up early anyway." Tosten Tosten stepped back himself and fanned his wings, grinning lightly as he resumed his own antics. Easier and safer to do, like a reassuring blanket. "Mm! Okay then! Ah, I think the tour is over for now, its going to be late soon and... well, I'll be seeing you in the morning." An innocent way of saying he wanted to be alone now to plan for what was ahead. He fluttered into the air once more. "I'll take you back upstairs, its the easiest way out." Ares Ares nodded in understanding, unfolding her wings and lifting herself into the air. "Thank you for the tour, by the way. It really is quite nice here," she told him, flitting next to him. "I'll have to see about coming here to visit more when I get back." Tosten Tosten led the way back through corridors, the entrance hall, upstairs, and ultimately back to the bedroom. During the flight he glanced back and grinned at her words, "You should! And there's like a hundred more rooms, if you like looking a boring stuff like this. But maybe we can make it fun... a game, like you said!" He replied back happily, heavily exaggerating the number of rooms in the keep but it was nonetheless a hefty sized establishment. Once back at the sill he touched down once more to bid her a final farewell. "Make sure you fly safe, okay? Cause Ruya says the owls are... noc... nocturnal, so that means they'd be waking up now - and they're awful things, those owls!" Ares Ares smiled a little bit, wrapping her arms around Tosten to give him a gentle hug. "I'll be careful," she assured him as she pulled away, slowly floating backwards out of the window. "I'll see you in the morning, Tosten. Have a good night." Turning around, the black and blue feien quickly glided toward the gate of the Hurog to leave. Sunil Pressed up against the outside wall of the keep, Sunil was glad for the falling darkness that had hidden her from Ares. She was so shocked by what she'd overheard that she hadn't even though to move. She was in shock and could not believe what she had just heard. Tosten was going to tell Ares everything? Now granted, that was probably more trouble for Calico than it was for her, but Sunil didn't need the kind of s**t this would bring down. She thought for a while, growing more and more agitated. She needed a plan, and she needed one quickly. Threats weren't going to work if they hadn't before. What needed to happen was Tosten needed to disappear between tonight and tomorrow morning. Sure people would be suspicious, but they could ask questions of someone they couldn't find. "Errrgh, " Sunil groaned in frustration. There was no other solution. She would have to kidnap Tosten and bring him somewhere she could keep him for a while. She sneered as she started up the wall, Tosten would never know what hit him.
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Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004 6:42 pm
Feienapping! Tosten Tosten stared out the window into the evening a moment, until Ares was nothing more then a shadow among the shadows of the forest. Could he really do this? It felt so easy to say the time but now... he could only heave a sigh and turn away from the outside world, staring across the room to the terrarium. Somewhere in there he knew Calico was lurking, trying to smother a bad mood with sleep. This was dangerous but it had to be done! He puffed a breath, giving himself this internal pep-talk. Sunil Sunil set down on the windowsill and studied Tosten's back. It couldn't be helped, she told herself. And then she snorted, disgusted. She shouldn't even be having this internal worry. Tosten was nothing. "Hello Tosten. I believe I warned you about spreading secrets." Sunil just smiled and crossed her arms. She wanted to see the look on his face when he realized he wouldn't be telling his precious Ares anything. Tosten And what a shock it was. A jolt right up his spine that floofed his wings and spun him around to greet her with a wide-eyed stare. W-what the... how? Tosten wasn't even sure how to react at first, the surprise itself was overwhelming that fear had hardly a place to squeeze in. Memory fixed that, though. She had warned him, after all. "Sunil..." He couldn't even think of what to say so all that came out was her name. Those wings mantled high, prepared for any starting flap he may need to bolt the scene... he had already decided this, he had made his decision to tell her with the fear of the results, he couldn't just back down now again. He promised Ares, after all. So maybe a running away was in order... Sunil Sunil scowled from her perch. "Don't fool yourself. You're not going anywhere, but where I take you." Sunil leaped off the windowsill and with a burst of speed hurtled towards Tosten, her arms ready to close around his body including wings. Tosten Tosten emitted a squeak of surprise and nothing more, in all his surprise of the moment he hardly even put up an attempt of a dodge... even now, after everything, it was still hard to ever accept Sunil's intentions. Even when they were so... there. So really he'd just crash backwards, wings struggling against her in an instinctive need to try to balance himself but only becoming an uncomfortable cushioning to the collision with the sills edge, half an inch from toppling onto the desk below. "A-ah, wait! Waitwaitwaitwait!" He blurt out hurriedly. Sunil Sunil slowly let go of Tosten, but keeping him within arms reach. "What?" She couldn't help herself. He said wait and she did. The effect wouldn't last for long though, so he had better talk fast. "Spit it out." Tosten It was a pity he didn't know what to say, nor had he honestly been expecting her to stop when he asked her to. Wide-eyes blinked back at her a few times, elbows propped against his own wings where they had landed. "Ah, well, you see...uh... I like my tongue." Was the odd thing he ended up whining and, hurriedly adding on, "And, you know, even if its gone I'll tell her anyway - I could write it or... you know, there are other ways, even if I didn't have fingers and then you'd just have to kill me and EVERYONE would realize THAT happened and that just wouldn't be any good for either of us." This could be deemed the oddest thing he's ever rambled yet. Sunil "I'm not ripping out your tongue. That would be far more trouble than it would be worth. I'm kidnap- er, you and I are going to go camping together." Sunil wondered how hard you had to hit someone in the head to make them pass out. She looked around quickly, there had to be something she could use to hit him. "Look at that!" Sunil pointed behind Tosten. It was worth a shot. As soon as he turned his head, she'd just hit him really hard at the base of his skull. Tosten It hurt to be naive sometimes - literally. Tosten of course looked right over in the other direction in surprise like a good cartoon character (though in his mind he was thinking Calico must have woken with the noise which wouldn't be in his favor) ... only to be struck. What pretty fireworks came before his vision, but fireworks were only when it was dark, so cue the blackness... and he keeled right over, out cold. Sunil Sunil looked surprised at how effective that had been for a moment and then she laughed. It was a cruel laugh and Tosten was better off not hearing it. It didn't bode well for their "camping trip". Sunil knelt down and hefted Tosten over her shoulder, staggering a little with the weight. He seemed to weigh an awful lot, and because he was out cold it was tough to stabilize him. But Sunil had nothing if not her strength and she managed to get both him and herself out the window and into the forest. Sunil Sunil deposited Tosten in the forest, not far from the keep. Flying with a burden that heavy was more than she could put up with for long. In fact she was starting to get pretty tired. She shook her head to keep awake and set about securing her prisoner. A couple vines pulled from a nearby tree trunk would do for tying him up. She secured his wrists, his ankles, and after a bit of though wrapped some around his torso to hold his wings down. In theory he could fly without them, but she doubted Tosten would pick up on that. When she was satisfied with his bonds, she dragged him over and propped him against a tree trunk as he was just taking a nap. The tree ought to shelter them from the worst of any rain, but Sunil got a few large leaves and dragged them over to their camp in case they needed something more concrete. She cleared an area about the size of a quarter of grass and debris and then got a couple small twigs and set about making a fire. Really friction and a bit of help ought to be enough to get one started. Tosten Reality edged in like a slow and painful crawl into Tosten's mind, restoring first the fact that there were wounds around him. The forest, he knew that immediately when the crickets seemed so loud and the call of night birds so clear. "Mmn...?" A low, tired sound came from him as his head dipped forward, eyes opening to mere slits as though even the night felt too bright for him. He couldn't move - were those vines blurred before him? Their green stood out against his deep skin and blue markings. That was... strange. At the moment the tethering seemed secondary as he closed his eyes again and tipped his head back to rest against the trunk he was propped by. "Uggh... my head hurts..." He complained to the open air in his daze. Sunil Sunil looked up from her fire making as she heard Tosten making noise. Good, she had started to worry he was dead and she'd overdone it. Hiding a body wouldn't have been that difficult, but keeping people from suspecting her would have been. "Rise and shine sleeping beauty." And with that she went back to her sticks. They were starting to get hot. She ought to be able to get a fire out of them any minute now. Tosten Sunil's voice - ah, that's right! She had hit him, hadn't she? That was a depressing thought to begin with. He opened his eyes slowly and stared above him into a dark, foreboding canopy of the woods. Shadows overwhelmed much of the surrounding area, as night often did. "We're outside..." He said with the observant of a brilliant detective. She hit him, took him outside and tied him up? Ah wait a minute, that was bad. He lifted his head and was met with the world rotating viciously on his side, forcing him to shut his eyes tightly at first. "Suni-nn... I'm gonna throw up~~" His protest died into a whine and he slouched back once more, daring slowly to open his eyes and watch her without so much movement. "Un...? What're you doing...?" Sunil Sunil looked up in alarm when Tosten said he was gonna throw up. Gross. She didn't want to tote around some puke covered feien. "Don't throw up if you can help it." She thought briefly for a good reason why. "Predators can smell it and they'll come eat you." Tosten would believe that. "And I'm making a fire so we won't be cold and it should keep larger predators at bay. I believe they dislike fire." Sunil bent her head over her work, blowing gently on sticks to feed the tiny sparks she could get going there. Eventually it just caught and she had a tiny flame. Sunil tossed some loose grass into the center of her cleared area and then set it on fire. Tosten "If I could help it I wouldn't throw up." Tosten replied matter-of-factly getting way off topic of the situation in his protesting. He watched her actions bewilderedly then gradually dared to open his eyes more as the fire grew and his vision accepted the light. "A-ah... we're going to be here... all night?" He asked apprehensively. What was she doing? At this rate he'd never get to go meet Ares! -- ... Oh, that would be it. Duh. He slouched down again, thoroughly depressed. This wasn't good at all! Sunil Sunil snorted and backed up from her fire, pretty damn proud of herself actually. This had all been on the fly after all. "Yes, we will be here all night. And if you broaden here to refer to the forest in general, we may be here for quite some time. Can't have you telling people that I kidnapped you now can I?" Sunil stood up and walked over to look down at Tosten where he sat. "You should have kept your mouth shut Tosten. Now you have to deal with me, and while I don't want to I will do what I need to protect myself and Calico including hurting you." Sunil cocked her head to one side and studied him. "But if you're a good prisoner, I think we can pass some time amicably.' Tosten Kidnapped? Is that what this was? Like on the TV shows? But usually it was a girl kidnapped, and she was tied to a chair or something... and then the bad guy called for a ransom, uh, anyway... Tosten slid back a little lower when Sunil approached as he was still deeming her unpredictable at the moment. It was like learning about a whole new person, all his original discoveries of her seemed to have little meaning anymore. "But, I can't..." Ah wait. It wasn't in his best interest to argue his inability to keep these secrets anymore. Even he could figure that much out and decided to avoid that for the moment, turning his head away slightly to stare off to the side, refusing to look at her face. "What's... am.. ami...-thingie?" Sunil "Amicably means friendly." Sunil squatted down to be at Tosten's eye level and put her face right in his line of sight. "It isn't going to do Ares any good to hear what you have to say and it would do me a lot of harm. Why can't you see that Tosten?" On the spur of the moment Sunil came up with a long shot, but what did she have to lose? Tosten was already her prisoner. "You used to care what happened to me Tosten." Tosten When she forced herself into his gaze he only downcast them, trying to restrain the urge of arguing his views by just not looking at her at all. However when she said that those bi-colored eyes shot up faster then he could control, setting a startled stare into her own eyes. "I do care...! I mean, I want to... ah, that isn't what I mean either." He bit his lower lip and dipped forward his head momentarily, thinking over the words. "What I mean is, I do care but... you need to try to stop even someone you care about if they're going to do something horrible." He glanced up reluctantly to watch her. "You're helping him, and encouraging him, it... really really needs to be stopped." Sunil Sunil sighed and sat down by Tosten. "So you're going to stop the violence he causes, by causing violence against him? You know that is what will happen Tosten. You'll tell them that he is a monster, that he needs to be stopped, and Arturo or someone will come to kill him. To stop the problem. How does that sit with you? You'll be responsible for his death." Sunil leaned back and looked up the tree. She was getting tired or she wouldn't even be bothering with this conversation. Tosten Tosten glanced to her sidelong as she settled down and was of course uneasily unsettled by her words. And at first there was just a silence after her last words as he mulled over them, setting his gaze before him to the dirt instead. "I guess... its kind of my fault either way now." He admitted softly. "If I don't tell and he does something really really bad it'll be my fault... and if I do tell and they do something really really bad to him it'll be my fault." He tipped his head back again and gave a part smile to her regardless of her gaze being elsewhere. "I think I'm ready for that already." Not to mention he wanted to stop her too, though he didn't add that aloud. She had plotted that situation against Ruya, he was sure of it. In his time with Calico he had already learned that juvenile wouldn't have sat down and thought up a way to lure her into danger. Even Tosten had to admit she was a danger needing as much stopping as Calico's more exposed danger. Sunil "Whatever lets you sleep at night Tosten. I'm just here to keep you out of the way as long as possible and give Calico some time to prepare himself for the eventuality of fighting for his life." Sunil's eyelids drooped, she was at her limit. She swung an arm around Tosten, so if he moved too far she would hopefully wake up, and then she dozed off with her head by his shoulder. Tosten Tosten glanced at her sidelong and eventually rested his head back again. As long as possible? He had been thinking this was just for tonight until Ares was gone - but longer? Oh dear. He squirmed a little in the vines to test the ties... aw, even his wings? He could fly with that magic, right? ... But she'd know if she moved, laying like that. So he just settled down, resigned. He couldn't sleep though. His eyes eventually closed and his thoughts wandered... he wasn't sure if minutes or hours passed but when he next opened his eyes it seemed a little lighter though he couldn't tell if it was the start of dawn or just the strength of the fire. His thoughts soon fled anyway when a nearby brush rustled eeriely and there was the cry of an animal in the distance. "S-s-s-ssuuuuuniiiiiiiil!!" He tipped right over and flomped against her suddenly, rudely crowding close with his drawled, noisy whine of distress. Sunil Sunil jumped to her feet and stared around wide eyed for a second before she remembered where she was. She looked at Tosten and narrowed her eyes. "What the hell was that for? Just go to sleep, stupid." Sunil settled back down, she didn't know what his problem was, she hadn't gotten enough sleep yet. Tosten Tosten wasn't so easily quieted though. He just blinked at her with wide, dramatic eyes... and worned closer the moment she settled. "Didn't you hear that? There's scary noises, Sunil - listen, listen!! Its like... a coyote or something! What if they're not scared of fire? Suuuunil!!" How could someone tied up still manage to cling? Sunil Sunil opened one eye to look at how scared Tosten was and sighed. "Fine. How about this? I'll stay awake and you go to sleep. That way I can protect you from bad animals. In fact, I'll even tell you a bedtime story to get you started. How about that?" Tosten Tosten peeked up reluctantly at her, tilting his head mildly to one side in questioning. "Story...?" He wasn't really tired as he just was frightened by the woods, active and creepy in the dark. But the fact that she offered a story was too surprising to pass up. Unless, of course, it had been sarcasm. Sunil Sunil sat up and realized that not only had she never told a bedtime story, she had never had one told to her. "Ok, I lied. I'm not gonna tell you a bedtime story. Instead lets play a game. I'll do one sentence of a story, then you do the next one, and we'll swap off. That way I don't have to do all the work." Tosten Curious enough. Tosten watched her a moment as though still trying to decide if she was honestly going to play with him. Then sure enough he beamed happily as though the entire situation he was in had been lost upon him. "Okay! You start, you start!" Sunil Sunil smiled in spite of herself at his enthusiasm. Good the less he whined, the easier this whole escapade would be on both of them. "Ok, ok. Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess, who lived in a large pink castle by the sea and her name was Barbie." Sunil grimaced. Bedtime stories were so ... blah. Tosten "... Thats pretty girly, Sunil." Tosten said innocently, and god knows where he thought he ever had the right to accuse anyone ELSE about being feminine. But he didn't mind so much as he was just teasingly pointing out. He squirmed about and still stubbornly huddled close just to make sure he felt safe. "Umm... ah! But Barbie, she had an evil twin sister who lived in the dungeon - you see, she liked to steal shiny things and sell them! She stole the King's crown once and without a crown how do you know he's the King? See, awful evil. And one day she escaped!" He loved story-telling, that was obvious enough. Sunil Sunil rolled her eyes. "I am a girl Tosten." She sighed and tried to come up with the next piece of the story. "The evil twin's name was Drusilla and when she escaped from the castle she was caught by an evil sorceror who turned her into a vampire. His plan was to send her back to kill the her beautiful twin sister and parents and take over the kingdom." Tosten "I know you're a girl - being a girl and girly are different." Tosten explained as though somehow this was common sense logic. He wrinkled his nose thoughtfully at her part in the story. A vampire? "Um... but you know what? Drusilla, she wasn't actually evil. It was just, um, a really bad habit! In fact, she was... actually in love with this boy! But she didn't know how to get his attention so she did bad stuff ... and this boy, you know, the one she liked ... he was declared to be the kingdom's knight - he was sent to defeat the evil monster attacking the family ..." Ah he was getting carried away now. "... so one daaaark night he went to fight, with a sword and everything, but then the moon came out - a bright one! And he saw it was Drusilla, and he had actually liked her... too..." In all his rambling he was finally starting to sound a little tired by the end. Sunil Sunil privately laughed. Of course in Tosten's mind she wasn't really evil. "But the knight knew he had to do his duty, so in a huge battle he slew Drusilla. Once he saw what he had done, he turned his sword on himself. Then they lived happily ever after in death." Tosten Tosten blinked once, then again. "Sunil!" He looked up at her protestingly. "That's not how its supposed to end, they don't both die! That's not happy at all!" Nor was it the kind of ending that constituted a good bedtime story, now he just felt bad for them! "It should end like, uh... like there was a big battle and, um, the knight badly hurts Drusilla. And as she's dying he's so sad that he gives her a kiss - a real kiss, like the love love type. And the evil sorcerer never thought someone would kiss the evil princess so his magic went all haywire! And instead of being evil magic it became good - it healed her and made her a good princess, like her sister! And then she married the knight and THAT'S how they live happily!" Hmph! Sunil Sunil rolled her eyes. "I liked it better where they died. Will you go to sleep now?" End of story. Tosten "My ending was better." Tosten countered but took a deep breath to exhale as a sigh. He didn't feel much more tired, not after that unhappy death ending in the story. "I guess so~..." He mumbled in a half-whine, settling down again to stare half-liddedly at the fire. He really wasn't going to make to Ares in time, was he? Oh dear. Hard to sleep thinking of that but he was at least willing to be quiet for now.
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Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2004 12:19 pm
Painting and Pets Kam picked up a bunch of new pixapets the other day, and once again it fell to me to take care of them all. I still haven't found homes for all of them, since Kam doesn't have enough empty drawers. I'm afraid to let them totally roam free though, because the larger denizens of the house might not notice them.
I actually saw this thing on TV that humans apparently have for gerbils. You can get big cages and all sorts of little connecting tubes, as well as smaller bedroom type cages. I think I'm gonna ask Kam to get one them for the pixapets. Then they could all be together, yet seperate, and I wouldn't have to worry about them getting stepped on (or eaten!).
Other than taking care of the pets, I've been spending a lot of time thinking and painting. Most of my paintings seem to end up in pieces on the floor, but I managed not to destroy a couple of them. One of them is a sort of splatter type piece and the other is a semi-abstract picture of a waterfall. Really what it comes down to is that I'm not very good, but it is a calming past time. The only problem really is that it is tough not to end up with paint all over me. I really should pick up some cloth and make myself a painter's smock.
And the subject I have thus far studiously avoided discussing here (writing things down makes them seem so final) is my confusion over what to do about Neruo and Silva. I've decided Neruo needs to know (It isn't fair to have told Silva, but not him.), but thats about it. Right now, I think the quickest solution is to simply to cool it with Silva, at least until I talk to Neruo.~ Ruya
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