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Gracious Conversationalist
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 Posted: Fri Jun 19, 2009 2:37 am
Good boy, very good, there you go. Quite strange how someone's voice could sound strained when technically you didn't even use a vocal system proper. Oh, and the motion followed soon after. Yes, very good. Hah, sorry about all that...
Wait.
”Kill you?” Oh mother of all, now that he thought about it, how was Lauss even supposed to know what all of that had even been about? ”I wasn't trying to kill you... it only felt that way. What I showed you is how it feels if someone DID try to kill you. And not even out of spite, because hunters don't hate their prey... They just chase them and end their lives.” he told him calmly while keeping up that odd treatment of his.
”It's what they do, and that's what you claimed you wanted to do to others. That's what weapons do, Lauss. They're dangerous, for the prey, and for those foolish enough to attempt to use them without knowing exactly what they do. There are no second chances when you have an accident with them. You could end yourself, or those unlucky enough to be around you when you mess up with them.” no second chances Lauss, no second chances.
”I didn't want to kill you, I wanted to show you what it's like. You can't go back once you're over the edge. Neither you, nor a hunter, nor prey, nor anyone else. You can't fear what you don't know, and you, Lauss, have some serious, serious problems understanding what you're dealing with. I hope you have a better idea of it now.” When Lauss raised his head and voiced his objection, he shook his head and sighed, lightly adjusted his hold on him to support him better. Now now, don't be a chicken.
”Nice job you did there... Fear is a powerful emotion. Some hunted animals hurt themselves like this to escape certain death... Didn't really mean to go all vice-grip on you, really. I make my own mistakes with my weapons.” His soggy feathers lowered even more, looking quite honestly apologetic, but he never formally made his apology to Lauss.
”Nice job indeed, this'll last you a good while.” he carefully turned his hand, gave it an in-depth checkup. Hmm, had to find a balance there between taking over the pain and letting him feel what he was doing. Usually he'd go for the rough job and realign I no-nonsense, but now that he had the time he could try to ease it back into position while siphoning off the worst pain. ”This won't kill you, not by far... But you'll need to look after yourself so it can heal. Ask your owner to fix that properly, I can't do that here.”
Ah look, there we go, he's moving again! Nice.
”... my purpose? The capital-P one I don't have anymore, so I just do whatever I think I should do... Saw you nearly blow your own head off with the big cat, I'd nearly gone over and did it myself. Idiot.” he answered Lauss' question dully, with a bit of a sulky burr. Liar liar, pants on fire Vin. ”I have no reasons, but nothing can stop me from doing what I decide to do. And I decided to do this to you to try and beat some sense into that thick skull of yours.” He sighed, took a better hold on he proto again and got up.
”We should get going... Wonder if the miss even missed you.”
They weren't far from the Katan home now, and soon enough, Rugovin made it back through the garden, up the patio, and halted at the door he'd closed hours earlier.
What now... Would his owner know he'd been gone? Would she be mad with Lauss for sneaking off and getting urt, would they even care? Awhhhh heck, he wouldn't stand for this, nu-uh. How'd Lauss even get back to his room properly, he hadn't tested if he could float again yet. He'd never been the gliding type himself, he had no idea how it even worked. Nah, he might be of more use as backup for a while longer...
Still needed a minute to seriously consider chickening out though.
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:24 am
"That wasn't pleasant, though. Why would Mister Galvao and Uzi want to hunt if they knew such a thing?" Perhaps they didn't know. Perhaps Vin should pay them a visit, too, to show them. It was a learning experience for him, and he could very easily recognize that now. Lauss flicked his tail, happy to be able to move almost every body part of his.
"The purpose of weapons is to end life? Why would such things be created?" Seemed pretty awful. Perhaps, like Eli and Uzi, those that used them didn't know what their purpose was. "Mister Vin, I don't want to end myself." He shook his head. That wasn't why he was trying to learn to hunt, honest! Lauss just wanted to learn. But... Uzi would've told him the purpose if she knew, right?
Lauss nodded like a good boy. He knew now. Weapons were bad. He'd been taking internal notes throughout Vin's speech, notes he would have to relay to Uzi next time he paid her a visit. At Vin's "mistakes" comment, Lauss couldn't help but slip into teacher-mode. "Everyone makes mistakes. But that is how one learns. Miss Lee just continues guessing until she succeeds. It is effective." He nodded, hoping that he had given some useful advice to what seemed like his new doctor. Ouchies. Lauss didn't know what he was doing, but... it hurt. "I don't believe Miss Lee is a medical professional. Can she take me to the hospital, Mister Vin?" He knew he wasn't supposed to be out and about where people could see him, but... god, this hurt.
That was probably the most round-about answer anyone had ever given Lauss, but all he needed to get out of it was that Vin no longer had a purpose, which sounded slightly depressing when put into words, and that he did as he pleased. Lauss patted his own head at the "thick skull" comment. Well, he was a doctor, wasn't he? How could Lauss disagree with that statement when it was coming from someone who apparently knew what they were talking about? Lauss had a thick skull. Noted.
"Miss Lee and I were studying. I imagine she is a bit curious by now..." Poor Miss Lee. No one to study with. No one to keep an eye on her.
Lauss' predictions were a little more than off. Lauss and Vin hadn't been gone long enough for her to notice. But Rosco, who was not happy without his companion, was beginning to get more than a little restless. He pawed at the door, looking back at Lee to see if she was noticing, and continued his attempts at escaping. Lauss was out there, so that's where he wanted to be.
Lee sighed and set down her supplies, wiping her paint covered hands on her now quite colorful jeans. "Hold on..." She lifted the pup and unlocked the door, opening it and slinking into the hallway. Where was he? She searched his room, the bathrooms, the master bedroom; no one there. Okay, downstairs. She set Rosco down and let him wander around on his own, now that there was no danger of him falling down any steps. Let's find the proto together, ne?
Lauss was squirming in Vin's arms as they reached Katan property once more. "You remembered where my house was." Impressive. They stood by the door, and Lauss wasn't sure why they weren't going in. He wanted to get out of the rain, and was under the impression that Vin did, too. "You have to open the door, Mister Vin. Like you did before, only opposite." Perhaps he forgot. This was, after all, a different sort of door than the one they went through earlier. Perhaps Vin wasn't used to sliding ones. Lauss knew he'd had problems with them in the past, so it was understandable.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 4:57 am
” Their sort of hunter is after food and hides. They kill so others can live, just like how herbivores eat plants. Plants are living things, too... But they don't talk or feel or are even aware of where they are. People can eat animals because they believe it's not as bad as killing other people.” No doubt, hunters had their use.
”There are other hunters though... who have no goal but to take down their target. Lauss, our kind was once hunted like that, and still is. We aren't allowed to exist, and that is why we hide, why he keep a low profile. So the hunters don't catch us, so they don't know they have prey to chase again. I don't want to be chased again.” Rugovin was speaking calmly, stating nothing but facts. At least he wouldn't pretend it was justified, but you might as well wonder why the sky is blue and not red and why people make laughing noises when they're happy instead of chirping like birds. It's just the way things are.
”Sometimes, it is necessary to kill to defend oneself. To survive, to eat. Kill or be killed... People invented weapons to make that easier, so people who use them have an advantage. It's normal for people to learn, and to come up with ways to use that knowledge. Knowledge can be abused... if you know how to heal something, you also know how to harm it. Lean how to harness fire for warmth, and you can burn things. The same thing goes with magick, with the Source, everything in the world. It's generally easier to destroy than to create though... they're very good at hurting each other.” Man, if he hadn't been talking to this particular proto, he might've found it almost laughable how back-to-basics he went. Also, just look at his own powers. They were all the proof needed to support that claim of his. ”... and I know you don't want to. Only people who are very, very sad or confused want that. All things end someday, though.”
”Oh, I know... Nobody's perfect. Trial-and-error you say? Hoho, teacher-dude, you really do have a lot to learn. Guessing is easy-peasy, and in a lot of situations, there's no room for mistakes kid. You can't always keep trying until you get it right. I imagine with tests and exams they expect her to give the right answer right away. Guess for learning it works... but that must take long if she really doesn't know well enough. Don't you have a more efficient way to teach her? Something more... rewarding than random guessing? Heck, more fun.” Blast to the past, ye gawds, he'd almost forgotten how mind-shatteringly BORING studying could be. He'd never been very good at it, but the sheer amount of competition involved had kept his achievements more than satisfactory.
”You don't need to be a professional to do what's right... You might have a point there, though. Young females tend not to have a very extensive practical knowledge yet. It's all in experience, kid. ...There, now try to keep it still.” After finishing up his first and second examination of Lauss' wrist, making sure everything was arranged properly again, he gave him a brief ruffle on the head. Good boy, you're not as big a wuss as you appear.
”I'll see what I can do. After that I'm relying on her common sense to help you out, 'mkay?” Alright, so he'd probably end up raiding their supplies. He had a good chance of finding what he'd need, many people had medical stuff in store they hardly knew how to use -for emergency cases, of course.
”I didn't really mean that literally, moron. Well, I think you have a sturdy head, but I kind of meant you can be a bit... hard to get through to. Just like now.” Silly thing you... For a moment, Vin couldn't help smiling though. ”Not that there's much wrong with that, as long as it doesn't cause problems too much...”
Oh look, and here they were. ”I took you away from here, of course I'd know the way back.” Tsh, little fool you, how stupid would THAT he huh, getting lost this... Oh. Wait, right. Nah, he couldn't blame him for not knowing his way around at all, after all the young proto didn't get to roam around much, and probably hadn't really found a way to memorise routes yet. Came with age. ”Err.. You'll learn that too once you get out more.” I hope. The idea of a grown Lauss rampant on the streets was absurdly horrific, disconcerting enough for his damp feathers to rise under his hood.
Wheedle all you want, you're staying put for just a bit longer. Feeling better again aren'tcha? Good. Rugovin had already been gradually building down the amount of pain he was taking from the proto, and now cut the connection short completely, leaving him to bear it on his own now. From what he'd been holding back before he could tell there was already a nice amount of pressure-pain from the swelling in the soft tissues, and ruptured nerves firing whenever they got pinched. Not at all pleasant, decidedly uncomfortable that could be, enough to make your insides churn and have you wonder if it would ever stop and be very, very distracting. Oh well, if Lauss could manage to behave for a few days, the worst pain would fade eventually. At least the rain had been a welcome cooling up until now. Now to get inside, huh?
”And I know how to open a door!” A dull hiss, gah, what do you think I am, some sort of retard? ”Now shush for a sec'... I... hope nobody else is around.” For a moment, he listened, only caught Lee and Rosco's faint noises through the rain. If he recalled, there had been no signs of the parents being home either when he'd just come here.
”I'll take you back to your miss, but I'm not planning on staying, you hear me. Nobody needs to know I even exist, and if you say too much about me to the wrong people, I'll get in trouble. And not just me, all of you, I'd be a big, icky mess. I'd hate that, ya?” The Essentic sounded oddly agitated now, and while he kept hushed, there was no doubt he was holding back a threatening snarl. ”I don't like messes, and I hurt people who make them.” Keep that in mind, young one. I may be friendly now, but I'll do what is necessary to make sure nobody creates a stir. Once he'd given his warning, left a brief silence, Vin settled down again though. Let's not get all worked up, shall we.
”Time to get us out of this rain, screw all seven hells I'm cold now.” he cursed mellowly, opened the door effortlessly and entered. Okay, so he dripped on the floor a bit. Blame it on Lauss not being strong enough to close the door? Glancing around impassively and locating the door deeper inside the home, Rugovin headed through the study, and into the hall, treading with long but light strides to make a minimum of noise. Most of his attention was directed at keeping an eye and ear out for Lauss' owner, but he had other objectives beside finding her now, too.
”Mind telling me where you guys keep your medical stuff?” he asked the proto in his arms casually. ”Might as well get you patched up properly before I go.”
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:01 am
Vin sure could talk. And Lauss had paid careful attention to every word, taking mental notes as he went along. Seemed like he could tell him anything and everything he needed to know about life. Weapons, hurting, killing, teaching, sturdy heads, and more hurting. Okay, so now he sounded very violent, but still, Lauss found him a valuable teacher, even if Vin wasn't interested in being one. "This way." He directed his companion down the hall and to the staff room, where they would need to rummage through many cabinets to find what they needed. "What sort of 'stuff' were you looking for, Mister Vin?"
They weren't as quiet as they'd wanted to be. Rosco's ears perked at the low sound of a conversation a few rooms away, and Lee watched him to see what was wrong with him. The puppy stumbled along down the hall to find the source of this sound, and Lee trailed after him. He tripped over his own paws and smooshed his little face into the marble flooring, and Lee quickly scooped the small dog up and kissed his boo-boos. There we are, no more ouchies. But then... the door opened, even she could hear that. And there were foot steps. That was definitely not Lauss. Her eye's widened as she hurried herself behind a wall holding Rosco close to her chest. Why do people keep sneaking into my house?
Okay, the foot steps had passed, but the intruder certainly hadn't left. Rosco wiggled in her hands, but she wasn't about to let him go. Okay, Lee, calm down. It's probably just one of the help coming in late. She slipped down the hall in the direction of the footsteps, pressing her back against a wall before peeking into the staff room. Oh my god! Ohhhhh no. Giant man. Holding Lauss. Walking through her house.
Lauss had spotted a light brown bob of hair flick behind the wall outside the doorway, and knew instantly what it was. "Hello, Miss Lee. I'm home." He managed to wave his arm at her, though would have preferred to bow. She must be taking a break from studying... But why was she hiding?
An eye twitch, a sigh, a grumble. Dang it, Lauss, just keep your mouth shut... Please don't hurt me, giant man... Wait, home from where? She couldn't move from her hiding spot behind the door out of fear of being kidnapped or murdered, but she couldn't keep from wondering where that proto had been. Why did he leave? How did he manage not to get lost? Did he close the door before he left?
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 2:27 am
Ah, good. No fussing, just directions. At least he was that handy. Rugovin followed the proto's directions calmly, hey look, here they were already. Just a skip through the hall eh.
As he passed, he became vaguely aware of being noticed, a presence signal flicking over to him. Oh well, he knew what to do now, and he didn't think he needed to be worried about a young lady. Didn't want to startle her either.
”You just lay back, I'll look around.” he said to Lauss in a low mutter, not feeling like speaking very loud in here. You probably wouldn't know what I'm looking for even if I told you, so shush now. Doing as said, he looked around, gaze sweeping the room, narrowing down on places to search. When he eventually moved, he only needed to check on drawer and two cupboards to find what he'd been looking for.
”Your lady? Now now, how rude of her not to come say hi. I'd believed her sort to have manners.” Failing to mention the fact he was of 'her sort' as well, of course. He didn't sound impressed one bit, keeping a secure old of the essentic in his arms to make sure he didn't flop to the ground, as if he was holding a sack of potatoes that happened to be able to wave excitedly. He didn't even look around, but flicked through the contents of the storage and every now and then retrieved something he'd need, setting the items down on the counter below neatly.
”Good day, miss Lee.”
Still refusing to turn to look around, he addressed her with a pointedly raised voice. Next he suddenly picked Lauss out of his arms, laid him over his shoulder, and proceeded to wash his hands in the sink. He looked at ease enough to almost imagine him whistling some sort of working-tune.
”Been studying hard, miss? Practiced wheedling out of responsibilities a little? Maybe improved your skill in being oblivious to what's happening around you?”
Ho lordy mine, was he ever into snark now, sounding perfectly casual, and still not looking at her. Dried his hands off without a care in the world, picked Lauss back off that slightly precarious flopped-over-shoulder perch, glanced around, then walked over to the table and set the proto down on it.
”Now to fix you up, eh.” And after that, I'm out of here.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:12 am
Lauss did as he was told. But he felt a little useless, having Lee right there and not teaching her anything. Let's make this thing quick, shall we?
Lee's back still against the wall, her face turned from worried out of her mind to something along the lines of "Ummm, excuse me?!" Of course, that wasn't going to get her to talk to the man, no matter how nonthreatening he sounded. He was baiting her, right? Not going for it, sorry.
Lauss watched his new bud find the items he needed. Hm. He didn't even know they had half of this stuff, but here it was. One could really be a doctor with these things? Perhaps Lauss could learn on his own. He turned his attention to his master. "Miss Lee, this is Mister Vin. Or, perhaps Doctor Vin, I'm not sure which. But he has been taking care of me." She was probably a bit curious by now, right? He failed to mention all the adventures they'd had that day, about the pain, the wrist, the hunt. Not that she'd be interested in that part, anyway.
Crap. He knows my name... She was starting to appreciate being held hostage by an assasin to this. Why, why, why was he insulting her? What did he have against her? Even the teasing beat this. Okay, she took the bait. She stomped into the room, puppy in hand, and stood just inside the doorway. Rosco, at the sight of the stranger, starting "arfing" to the large figure, completely confident that the man was no match for his little jaws. Come get some, tough guy. Lee tried her best to speak over the pup's little tantrum. "W-what's that supposed to mean, huh?" She sounded as scared as she was. Not exactly normal for her to react to giant men who could snap her in two. But, dangit, this was her house. "I'm not the one who just... breaks in and steals stuff from other people. And, seriously Lauss, what are you doing, just letting him drag you around like that?" Not that she was about to go grab him. Not risking herself for that. "Let 'im go. What are you gonna do, steal a proto?" Seriously, guy. You like picking on people smaller than you? On little, helpless Lausses, too? Rosco's barks had dwindled by now, and his interest in the man had, as well. He wiggled to try to release Lee's grip on him, but failed and relaxed in her arms.
The proto thought back to his visit with Rhian, where she hadn't been so happy to here Lee was angry with her. Perhaps Vin was the same way. Lauss looked up at Vin, shaking his head a bit. "Miss Lee is often very angry. You don't need to worry about her." He was quickly flopped around, which of course he didn't mind, over Vin's shoulder and then onto a table. Give 'im a check up, doc, he can take it.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:53 am
Tsh, silly girl. A sufficient amount of self-control, but nowhere near an exceptional level. Not like it mattered, she had lost nothing by giving into the taunts. At least it proves she was somewhat involved...
”Miss Lee you say. How about the lass introduced herself? It's no conduct to make you do it.” Ignore, ignore. ”And I'm not a doctor by title, I just have experience. And I'm NOT taking care of you, I'm fixing a mistake.” Chide chide. Not a nice person, Vin is. At least, that's what he wants you to think, probably failing at that though due to not managing to sound harsh one bit.
When Rosco began 'barking' -hardly worth the word- and Lee gave into his jabs, he briefly turned his head around to her, glanced at her and took in her appearance with impassive pale yellow bird-eyes.
”What that is supposed to mean...? I think you're confusing a few things here. I didn't break in, I came in through an open door. I'm not stealing things, because I have no use for them. As for him 'letting me drag him around', I suppose even you can deduct there's not much he can do against me, now can he. So much for obliviousness... you couldn't tell he'd be unable to manage the door either.” My point stands, unless you're admitting right now that you lured him into that on purpose.
”If I let him go now he would fall. As for stealing him... I just brought him back, miss Lee. He'll be all yours again as soon as I finish tending to him.” He turned away from her again. Little angry lady with a cute puppy, sheesh. ”I may hope you'll take care of him well, or I might decide to come back and teach you a little lesson, too.”
Back to Lauss it was, with all those things he'd assembled. Back to ignoring Lee, as well.
”I'm not worried... I don't fight ladies, that's rude. Angry a lot? With you, or everyone, or just with people who are taller than her?” he talked to Lauss calmly after he'd set him down on the table, taking his hand into his own again, while with the other he fiddled with a little tube and managed to dexterously get the cap off. He took a bit of the ointment on his fingers, then carefully applied it on the proto's injured wrist, stroking along his skin with two fingers and keeping that up until it was absorbed completely. At least he knew what type of salve to use, essentics could be fickle when it came to medicines.
”This will help the healing a little and numb the pain for a while. I suggest you try the regular sort of painkillers in the future though, if it becomes too uncomfortable.” Vin spoke rather quietly as he worked, feeling the pain he caused but resisted taking any of it. Then he took a roll of soft bandages, and deftly wrapped Lauss' hand and wrist, leaving his fingers free but separating the thumb from the others. Not at all easy, for the same reasons he'd hated remote controls with little buttons in the past, but he knew what he was doing here.
After a brief test to see if he hadn't made the padding too tight, he took a little roll of nicely-coloured fibreglass -he doubted anyone here even knew how to use that stuff, but they had it anyway-, dampened it to set off its flexible-sticky properties, then swiftly wrapped it around the bandage to provide a better protection. Before it stiffened up he made a few finishing touches, like folding back the sharpish edges.
”... well there you go. You keep that on for as long as it takes to heal, you hear me. It'll help you avoid getting it hurt again.” he ruffled up Lauss' crest a little at that. Good boy.
He'd almost completely forgotten Lee was there, even more aware of Rosco than her.
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Posted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:43 pm
Lee's face soured at his jabs; what was this guy's problem? She shook her head with slight disbelief. It wasn't like she asked Lauss to introduce her, or like she wanted to be introduced to begin with. She sounded like the argumentative teenager she was, giving in all too easily to the man's taunting. "Why would I even bother to introduce myself to you, huh? You're an intruder, people dun introduce themselves to intruders."
Lauss wiggled his body in Vin's arms. He stood corrected. "Ah, Mister Vin was fixing a mistake, Miss Lee. I suppose..." It really seemed like he was taking care of him, though... Lee never took care of him this well, not even for the little burns he got when baking. "What do you mean, mistake?" Lee glared suspiciously at Vin, knowing that if Lauss hadn't bothered to tell her yet, he likely didn't know what the essentic was referring to.
"Fine, a 'tresspasser'. Doesn't matter what word." Stupid, stupid, stupid... She blushed when she knew her intentions for sending Lauss down were found out. Folding her arms and looking to the side, she could think of nothing to say. So, she was a bad owner. She knew that already. When comparing herself to the other owners, especially Ellandra, she could easily see she was the only one who had such a hard time managing her essentic.
So you're gonna try to tell me Lauss wandered off on his own? She tilted her head, quite incredulous. He wouldn't fall, stupid. "He can float, you know..." His comment on "teaching her a lesson" shut her up in a second. Okay, okay, got your message loud and clear... Way to put her in her place, Vin, really. Anyone with any sort of authority could easily keep her quiet.
Lauss took note that "fighting ladies was rude" and continued on, happy to know he was getting attention again. Wow, that was a good question... "I have yet to understand who angers her most. She is quite complicated. Though I do know that it is not only with those taller. Rhian and I both have been hated at some point, and we are significantly smaller." I think he got it, Lauss, really. Stop talking. The proto watched Vin apply the ointment, tilting his head and wondering to himself what it was the he was rubbing. His wrist was sore, and Vin touching it at all was painful, but held still and watched. This wasn't fun anymore...
Lee listened in, too nervous to open her mouth, but she tried her best to catch on to what Vin was saying. Painkillers... what were these for, again? Lauss wasn't addicted to anything, was he? Could essentics even become addicted to that sort of thing? Whatever, she needed painkillers for something, that was all she needed to remember. Lauss flexed his fingers and stretched them out again a few times, looking over his new wrappings. Neat.
Lee cocked her head at the site. A cast?! What sort of trouble had Lauss gotten himself into? What if that was why Vin had come over? Lauss, please don't tell me you got yourself beaten up... "H-he didn't... I mean, did Lauss..." How could she phrase this... "Did Lauss offend anyone or something?" She lowered her head and curled up a bit, almost hiding herself from the giant man in front of her, Rosco close enough to her face to give her a few licks.
Lauss held out his wrist and looked it over. This was even more neat. He listened to the man as he instructed Lauss on what the purpose of this neat wrist thing was. "Mister Vin, this color doesn't match. Could you make me a new one?" What was the point of a bracelet if it didn't help him look better? Seriously now, orange? Vin had no fashion sense...
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:08 am
Tsh, at least his words didn't fall on deaf ears here. The better he got to 'know' young miss Lee, the easier it was for him to understand her situation, but he hadn't come to fix everyone's boohoos, mother Iris standing on her holy head, no. What was he even doing, snark-talking to her as if he had nothing more constructive to do. No use denying her attitude regarding Lauss irked him, though. Let's just agree on Vin not being a saint and having no aspirations to even remotely be like one either, the lass is old enough to deal with criticism.
And in the gods' names, maybe not slur her words like that, it didn't do her justice at all. The only times Vin would be caught 'going slang' was when he was being unusually loose, or unusually tight in adapting to speech-patterns. I wasn't in his nature to slur often, and he'd only learned it in the presence of a pack of rowdy chaps who at first spoke so flatly he'd had trouble understanding them.
”He just about let me in. Consider me Lauss' buddy for just an hour or so, then I'm gone forever, I assure you.” I really, really have no intention on hanging around, least of all until your parents come around. For both our sakes it would undoubtedly be the best option for me to have vanished as if I never came, wouldn't you say. ”... buddy, bully, same difference.” Sigh. Someone had to do it... right?
”I know he floats, he doesn't now. I don't know when that will fix but it should stabilise out again sometime...” He was half-tempted to growl out something akin to 'I'd like to see you hover after your circuits got fried' but somehow the mental image of the lass puffing up in anger and actually hovering made that derail into an oddly blissful grin. Oh humour, how I missed thee. He had no idea he was so effectively shutting her up, had underestimated the threat-content of his warning there. Oh well, gave him the silence to give the proto all the attention he needed now hm. That they were talking behind her back in front of her didn't go over perfectly well with Vin, but at least it provided him with new insights. Clearly Lauss didn't know how to show some consideration inbetween that open bluntness yet, no wonder he ended up antagonising her at every turn.
”Ah, women eh. The female kind is as fickle as a rainshower, you can never tell if they're mercifully watering the plants or desperately attempting to drown everyone. Touchy pride, they have, you have to leave their self-worth undamaged. Not doing a very good job at that here I guess, there's nothing anyone could say or do that wouldn't offend her delicate sensibilities somewhere.” … well that was almost poetic. Had too many sunflower seeds or something, why the sudden yammer about this now. At least he meant it well, just dumping yet another changed point of view on the young servicer.
”There is no overestimating the impact of every little thing you do on them, and they're very good at avoiding the subject when it comes to what has them raise their fur. Not sure if that's modesty or people being needlessly complicated though.” I say I'm not sure, but for simplicity's sake let's assume it's the latter anyway. ”So easily scorned, hurt... Be it by feeling smaller than they truly are, or people talking lightly about them, misunderstanding their values and saying the wrong things...” Maybe, maybe Lee would read deep enough into this to recognise a quite elaborately hidden apology, a notion of the Essentic at least attempting to not heap all the blame on her. Lauss had many vices, the greater portion of those probably not easy to live with for someone in her position. WHY couldn't people just be honest with each other?
Oh well, at least time passed as he talked, hopefully having distracted the youngling a little from his discomfort. Upon finishing he couldn't help briefly ruffling up his crest, crawl his cheeks a little with a touch of reassuring affection. Yeah, you did well now. And then Lee seemed to finally get the general idea. Maybe he was being a woman himself now, how ironic, avoiding telling her what he'd done straight out. Well, he HAD been trying to not be dragged into 'the long story'... That one was up to Lauss to tell her, if he wanted to speak, and she wanted to hear.
”... don't distress yourself miss Lee, he will be fine. As for offending anyone, you probably know the answer to that one. Indeed he offended my sense of decency here.” for the first time he new actually looked at her, calm and without reproach, despite his message to her that she could have avoided this. ”A complete, utter lack of self-preservation instinct observed repeatedly, and no action undertaken to at least make him learn why it's not such a good idea to get excited about certain things that get people hurt, or worse, killed. That offends me. I remedied that, and I whole-heartedly hope he learned something today.”
“I think I went overboard a little though... and there isn't anything I can do to make up for my mistake but do what I can for the damage I did to heal. Know that he knows what fear is, now, and what it can do to people.” Like a trapped animal chewing off its own paw eh, right Lauss? You sure showed me you have more in you than you show, even if admittedly, a much more experienced man would probably also have done anything to get away in that delirium, that illusion of mortal peril. It hadn't felt like an illusion, what he'd felt was real, the pain had been real.
”Uh? Ah heck, just assume I'm colour blind or something.” Yeesh, in retrospect that's indeed ghastly, what WAS I thinking. ”Sorry about that, just let me... Ah, this could work.” A brief flicking through the other colours had yielded him a combination of white and a blue... or green? That seemed to match him well. On second thought, it might not be a bad idea to reinforce that protection a little, who knows what crazy things he'd run into here.
Time to go a little artistic here... About three minutes later, he'd come up with some sort of ringed design, a subtle strip of orange on the outer edges -it contrasts nicely, he'd explained- then the darker turquoise and a strip of white down the middle, that gained a bit of a luminous-blue touch from the intense colour beneath. By now it really could count as some sort of tribal bangle. Bit of a waste of material, but might as well have some fun, also it'd make a more than sturdy anti-motion application.
”I... I should take my leave now. There's nothing more I can do, and I've already crossed my own line twice today. Undoubtedly yours, too.” Entering the house, talking to Lee... No, I should go, the sooner the better. I'm indeed an intruder, trespasser.
His damp feathers rose with a touch of apprehension, an uncomfortable prickle in his chest making him go edgy. Hell, he didn't even know yet if Lee could be trusted to remain silent about this, and he wouldn't threaten her like he had warned Lauss before. Was she even aware of what he was?
By now he was efficiently cleaning up his working table, arranging everything he had used back where it belonged swiftly, almost too swift. You're dealing with a man under pressure again here, kids. I would let him go.
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Posted: Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:02 am
Lauss' buddy, huh? Lee, however, wasn't about to question him, especially when he semi-corrected himself as the "bully". But that didn't keep her from questioning to herself. Lauss wasn't floating. Lauss' wrist was damaged. Lauss had been taken from his home for who knows how long. Even with her limited intelligence, she could easily see that this Vin character had everything to do with the essentic's current condition. But somehow Lauss seemed completely normal, as if he'd simply been studying all day. Had she come down just minutes later to find Lauss curled up with a book in the study, she wouldn't have assumed anything was wrong. Well, at least until he was forced to roll around to get from place to place instead of his usual hover. How was this going to work out, she wondered.
The little proto didn't quite have it in him to worry over such matters. Vin's little metaphor was terribly difficult to decipher and took up most of Lauss' brain power, forcing him to wondered whether the other was incredibly deep or if perhaps he was simply speaking nonsense. "Delicate... sensibilities?" Were they still talking about Lee? Lifting his damaged hand to scratch his head, he immediately dropped it again, a rush of painful waves surging through his body once more. So difficult to remember to be safe. So bothersome.
Lee cocked her head at the whole scene, not sure what she was supposed to get out of it. It sounded a bit like Vin was bashing females, but she couldn't get the feeling that he was... sympathizing? Naw, that was just her imagination. But however terrible he made her sound, overall he seemed correct. If only Lauss could pick up on such things.
Lauss chirped happily at all the care he was given -- the ruffling, the crawling, the attention -- even with the pain of his wrist. Normally it was just the opposite; he was lowest on the totem pole of importance. When it came to attention, Mrs. Katan was at the top, followed by the man of the household, then Lee, then the servants, then Lauss. It was nothing to be upset over, it was just how things worked, but he couldn't help but enjoy this little moment while it lasted. "Mister Vin should visit often. Would you consider yourself a gourmet? You would be very pleased to join us for dinner. The chefs here are quite--" "Lauss!" Lee snapped, giving him a small "shut your mouth or I'll kill you" motion. Lauss slumped a bit and kept quiet as he was directed. He supposed, if Lee had any say in the matter, Vin would be a rare treat, at most.
So... she had been correct. And, worse yet, he'd offended someone like Vin. Lauss had done some damage somewhere along the line, but the man's story made little sense to her when she was in the dark about what had actually happened. Like hearing the ending of a story she'd never read, it would have been difficult to fully comprehend the importance of Vin's words had he not been so direct. Yes, she could see that something big had happened today, and even though that something was still a mystery, Lauss learning from his mistakes couldn't have been a bad thing, could it? She hadn't managed to teach him something as important as fearing for his own life, something as important as keeping himself and others from getting hurt. Should she thank him? Should she keep her mouth shut? She managed a combination of the two, nodding her head gratefully, though not entirely sure he was even interested in how she felt about the matter. She figured he was only telling her any of this to get her to be quiet. Besides, properly thanking the intruder...? Honestly, now.
Good. Lauss was happy to see Vin fix up his wrist with something a little more color coordinated. And teal, of all the colors. Vin was forgiven. "Much more pleasant." He gave a happy purr at the sight and even felt a bit more safe with an extra layer or two of fiberglass to keep his wrist from being further damaged. Looking at the end product, Lauss was satisfied, giving Vin a small nod of approval. Now Lee could never claim he was under dressed. Lauss' mind was quickly taken from admiring his "bracelet" to seeing his guest off. "Mister Vin is leaving? When are you coming back?"
Lee folded her arms and stepped out of his way, very ready to see him go. She knew -- from experience, unfortunately -- to keep her mouth shut about scary intruders. Honestly, though, who would she tell? Her parents? It wasn't as if they spoke often enough to where she'd remember Vin had even come over.
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