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 Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:47 pm
Fao glanced at the baboon as it wandered past. "That better not be my most favorite 'World's Greatest Grandpa' mug." The ape held up a mug that was decidedly not Fao's and the young man nodded in approval. "Carry on, my good man." He went back to eating as if the most normal thing in the world had just happened.
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Posted: Fri May 08, 2009 11:53 pm
Ellandra giggled. Really, this place was almost like a warped and twisted alternate reality where the unusual was the ordinary, with the reverse being true as well. "I - I wonder if he'd like the coffee at the coffeeshop near my apartment . . . I'd a-almost like to bring him there and see if any of the regulars there react. . ." A thoughtful look appeared on her face as she thought about the different ways that could happen, and what the patrons of that particular coffeeshop were likely to do.
The writer did have a mischevious streak - she just kept it to her imagination and her stories. Perhaps she should write a children's book about a baboon who lived in a carnival . . . though coffee wasn't good for children at all, so maybe he'd like something like raspberry soda or - hmmm......... her fingers twitched as ideas flowed into her mind for the first time in ages, albeit for a silly little story rather than a lengthy novel.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:01 am
Faolan laughed, almost choking on his sandwich. "I'd love to see you take Rosco to the coffeehouse near your home, though I have to warn you, he can get agitated easily when they don't have enough scones. Monkey loves his pastries."
He noticed the look come over here and smiled softly, knowing he'd been right to bring her here to help her with getting ideas. Getting up he took his plate to the trash, tossing it in since it was paper, and came back to the table. "There's a notebook back at my vardo. You can sit outside and write notes while I change clothes, if you'd like. The other alternative is getting to watch me change clothes and, much as I'd like that, I don't want you to miss the performance from being unconscious."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:10 am
Ellandra nodded distantly, her thoughts still a bit on the distracted side as she pieced together different ideas, beginning the long process of chaining them together into coherency. "I -I'd like that," she said, then blushed, catching herself a bit. "Th-the notebook, I mean - I don't really want to faint again, either. . . I just wish I - I knew how to stop it from happening. . ." She trailed off after a moment, closing her eyes and thinking. Why was it that she fainted whenever something became too overwhelming for her? That wasn't exactly the most normal of reactions - well, for anyone but her. She was physically fine, so this was a psychological problem, she supposed.
But how did she get past something like that?
And what could have caused it in the first place?
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 12:26 am
"It's alright, darlin'. We'll just take it one step at a time. You already seem to be used to me being shirtless, so it's a start, right?" he asked softly, reaching down to stroke her hair. "Come on, though. Time for me to go get ready."
After tossing her empty plate in the trash, he led her back through Farstep to his vardo and opened the door for her to go in, then followed afterwards. The interior still looked like a tornado had been renting the small wagon out, Fao's belongings scattered everywhere--some from simple carelessness on the young man's part, and the rest from where the belongings had been flung into the wagon after being brought back from the tent. Fao nimbly made his way to the bed, not at all bothered by the state of his home, and set about to unpacking the bag his dad had given him. He laid out the costume and sighed, knowing it was going to be a long night.
"You should have a good view of goings-on around the carnival from my stoop," Faolan said, pulling off his shirt and tossing it on a chair. He moved away from Ellandra to retrieve a notebook from the dresser, then came back and handed it to her. "Here. I'll be out in a moment."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 8:38 am
Ellandra bit her lip, blushing furiously - both from Faolan being shirtless again and from the costume she could see laid out. There was no way she could possibly stay conscious during whatever his dance was. It was inevitable. Still, the notes on that children's story wouldn't write themselves, so she'd better get to work before her (probably momentary) breakthrough of her writers' block went away. "Thank you," she said quietly, smiling at the fortune-teller.
Then she went outside and started furiously scribling things in her notebook. She wanted to get the ideas written down quickly so that she had less chance of losing them. As she wrote, she kept and eye out around her in case someone passed by who appeared eager to throw things. She even waved a hello to Rosco the baboon when he dropped by again - was it just her or was the absurdly strange less frightening to her than what might be considered "normal" things to be frightened of?
"Normal" being a subjective term, of course, as she was afraid of nearly everything - well, she had been, but it seemed as if many of her fears were dropping away likes flies. Though she doubted she'd ever get over her fear of thunderstorms. The noise they made just . . . terrified her beyond reason.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 2:46 pm
Rosco saluted her with his coffee mug at the wave, passing by as most of the other inhabitants of Farstep were. Everywhere the carnival was bustling, coming alive with the night's upcoming performances. Most of the performers didn't give a second thought to the girl occupying the steps of the vardo belonging to the owner's son, but a few gave her a curious glance or two as they hurried past.
After a few moments, the door opened accompanied by the soft jingling of tiny bells. Faolan stepped out, wearing loose-fit pants of deep crimson. At his waist was a leather belt hung with row after row of small copper bells. His feet were bare, wrapped in soft leather straps that wound up around the legs of his pants to keep them snug about his ankles. A dark brown leather fingerless glove sheathed his right arm up to the bicep. He leaned in the doorway and looked down at her, not at all bothered by the way he was dressed.
"Still wanting to help me get the jewelery on?" he asked, holding out some gold-toned metal cuffs and bangles.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 2:53 pm
Ellandra squeaked, her eyes widening as she tried to keep from falling over. She bit her lip, a blush spreading across her face and, for the moment at least, completely incapable of speech as she took in Faolan's appearance. She'd known the costume would be - well, erm... what it was, but it was still.......
Umm...........
A little much? Yes, yes, that was a good way to describe it - she wasn't quite able to handle this just yet. . . not very well, at least, oh my....
Not trusting herself to speak, she rose very unsteadily to her feet - she nearly fell backwards once! - and nodded a little. She would help him a bit. . . if she managed to keep from fainting while doing so.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 2:56 pm
Faolan caught hold of her hand to steady her. "Yeah, I know. We go a bit overboard on costumes sometimes." He held out his arms to her. "I need a hand sliding the cuffs all the way up. Can never get them on all the way on my own."
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 3:06 pm
Ellandra squeaked again as she tried to help Faolan with shaky hands and a tomato-red face. It was very, very hard since she almost dropped the jewelry several times due to her slightly-overwhelmed state. Still, she managed it a little at a time, trying to keep from fainting all the while.
This was just... s-so . . . .
Faolan was so . . ..
Ah, she couldn't think straight!
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 8:53 pm
Faolan watched her with heavy-lidded eyes, somewhere between bemusement at Ellandra's nervousness and desire for the young woman. He let his arms drop to his side, the bells at his waist jingling softly, when he was satisfied the cuffs were fitted snug around his upper arms. Reaching out, he stroked her cheek, then playfully caught a lock of her hair, tugging on it affectionately.
"La, girl, you sure you're going to be able to watch the performance?" Faolan asked, giving a reassuring smile.
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:14 pm
Ellandra bit her lip, still unsteady on her feet. Then she nodded, forcing herself to try and be a little steadier, a little less nervous. "Y-yes," she said, trying to keep her nervous-overwhelmed-what-was-this-feeling-ness out of her voice. "O-or at least. . . I'll be able to watch part of it before f-fainting. . ." Her face remained swallowed up by her blush, but she had regained her ability to speak.
That was a start at handling things better, wasn't it?
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:46 pm
"It's still a moment before I have to go. Come here for a bit," Faolan said, pulling her to him in a hug, letting her rest against his bare chest. "Let you get a moment to get used to this before we go, okay?"
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:52 pm
Ellandra squeaked again, her eyes widening. "I - I - I...." Giving up on forming a coherent sentence, she closed her eyes and tried to relax, going a bit limp in Faolan's grasp as she focused on calming down and not fainting. Finally, she did manage to relax a bit, though she kept her eyes closed.
Actually. . .
Perhaps this was less overwhelming and . . .
And more. . .
More. . . comfortable?
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Posted: Sat May 09, 2009 9:55 pm
Faolan rubbed her back gently, looking down at her. "That's my girl," he purred, smiling. He knew with practice Ellandra would be able to handle situations that usually left her flustered, he just had to show her it was possible, first. "Feel better now?"
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