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 Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 4:32 pm
 Jiro nodded, "Yes, exactly, my lord... my life is understimulated..." he said flatly, looking out of the top of his eyes as though he were trying to push the point home. Jiro was very relieved that he had not yet been beaten for speaking his mind. Though he never felt the pain enough to bruise or even to cry out, he was often punished for being so blatent, but it hadn't cured him. If anything, it had given him the gumption (sp) he needed to prove himself all the more. He wasn't afraid anymore. No one could touch his free will.
"No, I should think that you don't... but looks may be deceiving. The cover of a book may not tell what story it tells, so a person may look fair and like one who wouldn't have mindless baffoons in his midst, but what does that tell us of the inner being? I'm glad that you're not one of those Hakas who only wants workers, not companions or - perhaps, rarely - lovers." He watched Arisu turn the lock of hair behind his ear and Jiro looked the Haka's face over again before continuing. "I'm glad I've asked you to reach outside of your boundaries then, Arisu. Judging yourself may bring you to know yourself better... and thank all that be, I shall sooner lose my life than my personality, thank you, My Lord. No one may take that from me but with a sword; Even then he will fall before he nears me with his stale blade and closed mind."
"Perhaps you are satisfactory..." he said with a smirk. "You are surely easy one the eyes, and not of dull intellect. You've very much surprised me this far, mighty one, but words are words only without action..." Jiro threw the bare core of the apple he had eaten to the ground and then turned and strolled around Arisu in a circle, his arms folded across his chest. Now it was his turn to scrutinize. Wasn't it only fair? He had been stared at and prodded with questions.
"I can't imagine what it must be like growing up a Haka... perhaps you could teach me something I don't know?" he asked quietly, his voice mystical and inquiring.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 5:47 pm
 Dark, hard eyes took in Jiro wordlessly, evaluating what he had said. Indeed, looks were deceiving. At first glance, the Gehaka seemed like a rebellious fool, only obsessed with his own appearance. But he had proved himself to be an clever, calculating creature, not one to be outwitted or driven off from whatever he wished to obtain. It was a quality that Arisu respected--and was pleased to find.
"Although I do not wish for workers, I do desire companionship. Someone who I can speak to and they have the intellect to pursue and engage a worthwhile conversation." As for a lover...Arisu did not plan on thinking about that just yet. Not when he had only come here to find a potential, worthy candidate for a husband.
Under the scrutinization, Arisu simply gazed almost boredly at the Gehaka, lifting one brow at the mention of action. What was he planning, hm? "Perhaps I could. It depends on what it is that you wish to know--and how willing you are to be patient." He knew many things, some taking time, others that seemed like basic knowledge. It really depended on what Jiro did and did not know.
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 8:37 pm
 Zurin blinked, completely taken aback by the gehaka's age. His eyesight was bad, but it wasn't that bad. Agnija looked closer to Zurin's own age of barely nineteen. He spent a moment doubting the truth of the statement, but then grudgingly admitted that no gehaka, no matter how old, would dare lie so blatantly to a haka's face.
Taking another long look at the gehaka, Zurin re-evaluated his first impression. The age certainly explained the quiet maturity of the gehaka, and the good manners. Then Zurin's own maturity failed him and he gracelessly asked the burning question that would follow any gehaka of that age.
"Yet you are unmarried?" Zurin realized what he'd asked and quickly tried to make it sound less rude, "It's just, you do not wear any bracers..."
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Posted: Thu May 18, 2006 9:02 pm
Ugh. Like rubbing salt into a festering wound. Agnija began to pull at his azure bangs, hoping to keep the focus away from his fidgetting and hesitation. Fixing his sleeves and every other mindless task, he explained.
"Yeah... When I was young... our farm began to decline so much of our workers had to be laid off... so I had to do the work of ten men which I guess you can imagine didn't leave me time to stoll the town. Plus I always landed in hot water when I passed a Haka, just never had any people skills I guess..." He shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, but his mother always tormented him about it and over the years he had become sensitive to his old age.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 1:00 am
A light blush stained Zurin's cheeks, livid in contrast to his pale skin. Years of etiquette lessons and still he blundered like a child. He hurried to make the appropriate apologies.
"I am sorry, I did not mean... I was simply surprised that one of such strength and beauty had not received any offers. Your social skills do not seem lacking at all to me, I have enjoyed your company greatly. I do not often get the chance to meet people, and you have made this day bearable."
Blushing even more deeply at this admission, Zurin turned his head away and increased his pace dangerously. At this rate he was likely to fall and hurt himself, but he simply couldn't stand the embarrassment of looking at the gehaka's reaction.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 6:24 am
Agnija had to keep a smile at bay, and it was really hard. He settled for pressing his lips tight together, creating a staight line as he kept pulling on his hair. Well at least Zurin was polite about it, the last Haka he met laughed in his face. "... Thank you."
Finding that he was being left behind, he picke dup his own pace after the almost sprinting man. Haka were strange creatures. With every quick step, he almost met the ground; the Gehaka was not one who rushed very often.
"Be careful..." He commented, though it was more for his graceless self than Zurin.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 6:42 am
Zurin ignored the quiet thanks, blushing harder at the acknowledgement of his unintended compliment. He had almost recovered when he heard the gehaka catch up behind him, telling him to be careful.
Zurin was immediately incensed, half in outrage that a gehaka would dare to tell him what to do and half to cover his earlier faux pas. He whipped his head around, full of fire and ready to berate the blue haired gehaka. Just as he opened his mouth to do so, his foot, still moving forward, caught on the edge of a jagged rock.
The fall was so inevitable it was almost comical. The slow motion stumble, the horrified look of realization, the widening of his red eyes as they watched the ground come up to meet his all too vulnerable frame. Zurin barely had time to let out a startled cry.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 8:50 am
"All desire companionship, Arisu... even I," Jiro admitted, both to himself and the Haka in front of him. He had never really considered it a need, but he was starting to realize that in all of his narcissism and pride, he was growing very empty-feeling indeed. He had practically shut out all of those dear to him in life because he thought them so wrong. His look was far away as he recalled so many times he had turned his mother, Shizuka, and his older brother away because he felt they were completely in the wrong.
"I wish to know what makes you Hakas tick... how you are treated from day to day to become the creatures you are... and I'm very willing to be patient," he said calmly, stopping again in front of Arisu. "I have my entire life to wait. I know that Hakas are socially higher than we and that they have an unwavering pride that, when hurt, leads them to violent behavior. They are the most favored of all children in most families and are the ones to inherit any possessions once their mothers die. We Gehaka get very little to nothing."
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 11:39 am
Unfortunately for Agnija, it was an all too quick predicament that left him nothing to do, but gawk. In a delayed reaction, the Gehaka dropped everything in his possession and, following Zurin's descension, he fell to his knees to catch what was left of him.
His hesitation had cost Zurin his legs that had hit the ground before his strong arms grabbed the scruff of his kimono and held him up before his face could meet the stone below. Aginja was completely frightened of this situation. If the Haka wanted to, he could blame this all on him or have him executed. He wanted to just run, but... that wouldn't help annything.
The Gehaka's speckled ears fell back against his skull and his eyes grew small and horrified as if he had just broken his mother's cookie jar.
"Are you alright? I'm sorry..." His voice was timid, hoping that his soft words would keep the Haka quiet and not... enraged. Technically it wasn't his fault, but... he'd apologize for anything if it meant keeping his head on his shoulders.
[I thought catching him all romantic-like was too cliche and cheesy XD So he broke half his fall >_>]
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 7:44 pm
The pain shooting through his knees left Zurin temporarily stunned. When the shock of impact cleared a bit, he realized that neither his hands nor face had met the cold stone. It took another long moment for him to figure out that he was suspended above the ground by a firm grip on his kimono.
He placed his hands carefully in front of him, feeling the hand on his kimono loosening as he put his weight on his hands. He hissed as this also put more pressure on his injured knees, knowing the damage there was more than he would like to think about right now.
Unsure whether he could stand without embarrassing himself, Zurin looked up at the concerned visage of the gehaka through mussed strands of colourless hair. He was angry. Angry with himself, angry with the rocky path, but mostly angry with the gehaka. Poor Agnija was simply the easiest target for Zurin's consuming rage.
Carefully masking the heat of his fury with icy tones, Zurin glared up at the gehaka. "What are you gawking at, gehaka?"((I thought so too, plus, BLOOD!!!1))
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 8:20 pm
His ears were so limp and low it looked like they were about to fall off. What had turned into a good day, had drastically crept into a nightmare. He didn't think he going to get out of this alive. At the Haka's cold comment, he turned away and cast his eyes to the ground frightened and ashamed. "I'm sorry..."
Agnija grabbed him politely and pulled him up to his feet, keeping his grey gaze down the whole time. The Gehaka then began to busy himself with picking up the fallen groceries and parasol, his hands shaking the whole time.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 8:37 pm
One slender brow was quirked at that statement; though he would have questioned the Gehaka if he had acted as though he needed no one, he did not expect Jiro to simply agree with him. Again though, while Jiro may be overly self-confident, he was hardly stupid. The almost rude statement made Arisu pause, gaze going a bit cooler as he continued to study the Gehaka. "What makes me 'tick'? If you expect me to suddenly raise you like a child as I was, then you may look elsewhere. I did not create our society, nor was did I have any say in becoming a Haka."
He was being defensive; that first statement had sounded eeriely like a threat. "I do not know how you expect me to teach you something such as that." Arisu finally spoke once more, allowing his temper to cool down a knotch or two. "It is true that Haka are treated with nothing but affection and kindness, but there are things that I," He tossed his head slightly, "Do not know myself. Unless you can explain how you expect to discover the answers to your questions...?"
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 10:57 pm
Zurin ground his teeth together as he was hauled abruptly to his feet, wincing as the movement disturbing his knees. As the gehaka insolently gathered up the spilled groceries, Zurin curled his hands into pale fists, focusing on his anger to distract himself from checking his knees.
He knew that to do so would admit his weakness, and his pride instinctively flinched away from the humiliation that would entail. Even as he felt blood trickling down his leg and staining the front of his lavender kimono, he didn't take his eyes off the grey skinned gehaka at his feet.
"I should have you whipped for this." He said conversationally, the casual brutality of his words echoing his inner outrage.
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Posted: Fri May 19, 2006 11:37 pm
The Gehaka flinched at Zurin's harsh words. It wasn't so much the whipping, hell that was nothing unusal, but he tried so hard to honor his family and only managed to push them farther into the mud.
Agnija had stopped picking up his items, he had actually stopped breathing. All he could do was shake and keep his gaze low. His nostrils flared at the bitter smell of copper. Could this get any worse? The Haka could tell anyone he chose that he had raped him or assaulted him. He was absolutely petrified. Completely terrified.
What should he do? Should he say something? No... the whole incident started because he opened his mouth and let his idiocy spill forth. He would just stay quiet and act stupid like he always did.
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2006 12:03 am
The tense silence stretched, Zurin taking in the gehaka's terrified shaking with pleasure. The heady thrill of having so much power over another being's life warmed Zurin slightly, distracting him from his pain and turning the river of fury in a sluggish stream.
This was perhaps more dangerous for the gehaka, given time to stew on an appropriate punishment would only make Zurin's revenge more inventive and long lasting. Bruises given in the heat of anger would fade in a few days, whereas carefully placed facial scarring could last a lifetime.
A cruel smile wandered on to Zurin's face as he watched the gehaka with glowing red eyes. "Pick up the parasol, leave the rest. You will escort me to Wakahisa House where we will decide a suitable punishment."
With that, Zurin turned on his heel and started up the path, the burn of his ripped flesh becoming the fuel for plans of revenge.
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