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 Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 4:55 pm
Those eyes are going to be the death of me, Ren thought, face flushing slightly at the large, miserable and slightly baleful gaze Jove gave him. He was stupidly weak to things like that; LW had a habit of giving him what she deemed to be her "puppy eyes," which basically meant Ren had no choice but to give her what she wanted. Jove was really no better, though he did it subconsciously and was much more innocent about the whole thing. And really Jackdamned adorable.
"Don't worry, little one," Ren said easily, both of his hands rubbing Jove's tiny, fluffy ears playfully. "I promised I'd take care of you, and I'll keep that promise, so just be careful next time, okay?"
The puppy's expression morphed from a pitfully sad one to one of dubious exasperation, almost, his eyes moving to look at the injury to Ren's finger. He laughed sheepishly, waving it off. "It's fine, it's fine," he said lightly, shaking his head. "No, really, it's fine! I'll be okay."
Jove had wriggled his way out from the towel now, surprising Ren as he placed tiny paws on his chest to stay upright. "Oof," said Ren, as the puppy hopped off, and then raised his eyebrows as Jove attempted to burrow into his blankets. First he rubbed his nose into them, then his side, then the rest of him, rolling around until finally he flopped into a little, quite mussed fluffball next to Ren.
He laughed, putting a hand atop of the puppy's head affectionately as he settled down more comfortably in the bed. After a few moments of silence, Ren said "I'm spoiled you know? I have a beautiful ghoulfriend, and two fantastic best friends, and now a little brother. Well," he added, with a sheepish laugh as he glanced towards the fluffy Jove. "An honorary one, at least, if hopefully you'll let me be one."
Ren suddenly had the inclination that he was being overbearing on the boil, forcing unwanted affections on him. His face reddened slightly, and he turned his head away, twisting a strand of his hair.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 5:56 pm
"Urf..."
Jove sighed, not at all displeased with the pettings and whatnot. He just lay his head down on his front paws, his eyes closing as Ren settled with one hand on his head. This was nice, just lying there without thinking about anything, after having such a fright it was a good way to thoroughly unwind. He could hear the rain drumming on the windows, creating a soothing background noise to accompany his relaxation.
When Ren spoke up after a minute, one glowing eye cracked open. The pup wasn't sure having a ghoulfriend would make someone spoiled, but certainly her cookies... Then the little ghost's ears perked. Did the gryphon sound embarrassed? Hesitant?
With another fullblown puppy scowl, Jove stood and walked up to Ren's shoulder, and put one paw on his freckled face. Of course he had a little brother. Jove wasn't sure why Ren was waffling over it now, but he thought it was pretty clear.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 6:44 pm
As the puppy slowly dried, Ren noticed one very important detail about Jove - man, was that boil fluffy. His fur tufted out in slightly mussed clumps, and he was in badly need of a brushing, but overall the puppy was, in fact, the fluffiest thing Ren had ever seen. What exactly was he again? A foxfire, Ren thought, tapping his chin as he scrutinized the boil. He had never seen a foxfire before, at least not in this form. It was...well, ridiculously cute, yes, but there was something else about it that intrigued Ren, something he couldn't really identify.
There was that scowl again. Jove had shifted, moving to stand up, and Ren lifted his arm, slightly confused before he felt a paw press against his cheek.
He blinked. Once. Twice. A faint red tinged his face, but his expression shifted from confused to really confused, to calm, until finally an absurdly pleased smile appeared and he laughed aloud. Leaning forward, Ren pressed his nose against Jove's tiny puppy one, grinning as he took both of Jove's paws in his hands, holding them gently.
"I'm hoping that's a yes, I am your little brother," he said happily.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 7:05 pm
Jove sat back on his haunches as Ren picked up both his paws, trying not to lose his balance and fall over, squinting as Ren touched their noses together. He tugged one out of the gryphon's grasp and placed it back on the other boil's face with a loud snort. Of course that's what it all meant. He patted Ren's face another couple times for effect, his stubby little claws not scratching in the slightest.
He couldn't figure it out, these weird little fits Ren went through. One minute he'd be all cuddly, the next he'd want to play, or grin or laugh, and then he could go all pensive in the blink of an eye. Not only was Ren too tall, but he was WEIRD too. Maybe he should also find himself a sane brother. Just to balance things out.
With a huff, Jove slumped into a boneless pile of tousled and tangled fluff. He felt perfectly safe placing his well-being in the care of this particular crazy person.
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Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2011 10:24 pm
It was when Jove was patting his face with one tiny paw that Ren realized, quite quickly, that he was going to be one of those really, really annoying older brothers that doted outrageously on their younger siblings. Jove wasn't his younger brother, not really, not blood-related, at least, but what Ren felt for the younger boil could only be deemed as an ridiculous affection for a little brother.
He was really quite okay with this. More than okay, actually, since the only sibling Ren had was Medieval, and even then his twin sister did not bother to acknowledge them as related most of the time. So the fact that Jove was okay with him being an adoring older brother made Ren feel absurdly pleased inside (though it probably showed on the outside as well).
Jove had flopped down now, letting out a small hrrufff as his laid his head on his paws, curled up in a fluffy ball against Ren's side. He put his hand back on top of the puppy, stroking the soft fur, and grinned.
"I'm glad you tripped over me that day," Ren said cheerfully, and yawned a bit, scooching down a bit further on the bed as he nestled into his covers and piles of mismatched pillows. He cradled Jove in the crook of his arm, resting on his back, his other hand on his stomach. "You're quiet and not all that talkative, and you're kinda stubborn. I'm loud, obnoxious, and weird.
"I think we'll do just fine as siblings."
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 6:08 pm
Jove sighed in agreement, although he would never have said so in such plain terms he was also glad he had literally run into Ren. It was a new thing for the pup to have somewhere really warm to curl up, and someone breathing beside him, but something he was slowly starting to get used to. That and the near incessant chatting.
The little pup yawned in return, and lay quietly with drowsy-looking eyes. For all of two minutes, and then he stood up and walked across Ren's chest with no regard for where he put his little feet. Half way across he gave himself a really good shake.
He didn't feel like lying around anymore, he needed a brushing and Ren was the only one he trusted this delicate and slightly embarrassing job to. With a huff and a fierce little puppy scowl he leaned over the edge of the bed to paw at that magical cookie-holding drawer on Ren's night stand. Maybe there was a comb in there.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:11 pm
Ren lifted a brow as Jove stood back up. "What are you -oof do - oof - ing?"
Little paws - little pokey paws - stepped onto his chest as Jove trotted across him. When he was a good distance away, the puppy gave a shake, and Ren caught a mouthful of fur and drops of water. He sputtered a bit, wiping his mouth, but then laughed, shaking his head.
"What are you doing?" he asked again, curious, and then caught the puppy scowl. Ren blinked. "What?" he said, slightly bemused. "What is it that you want me to do, Freckles?"
Jove was prodding the nightstand drawer. Ren glanced at, then back at him. "More cookies?" he asked, but no, that wasn't it. His eyes traveled around to that little fluffball, the stubborn, slightly embarrassed look, and then the shaking out of his fur - oh.
"You want me to brush you, is that it?" Ren said, craning to reach into the drawer, one hand on Jove's back to keep the boil from falling off his chest as he leaned over the side of the bed. Rummaging around, he grasped first a glasses case, then a booklight, some pens, and then, finally, a hairbrush, which he pulled out and then settled back down. Picking up Jove, he promptly plopped the puppy back down so that he was facing him and then rubbed the brush over his head.
"You're quite tangled," Ren told him, concentrating on removing a particularly nasty snarl in the puppy's fluffy fur. "Let's see if I can get all of these out..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:26 pm
Oh good, Ren had figured it out. Although he wouldn't object to cookies, it wasn't what he had been aiming for this time as he stared at the drawer's contents. And there had been a brush in there after all! With a "yes, this is correct," sort of sigh, he let himself be handled, and then waited for the brushing.
All of a sudden Jove yipped, the sound escaping his little puppy lips at one attempt to remove the tangle forming behind one of his ears. This was definitely not going to work... The brush was too wide, and all those bristles just got caught in his long, thick fur. It tugged at multiple snagged strands all at once, and hurt him.
Jove stood up with a brand new scowl, and wiggled to the edge of the bed before leaning out to give the night stand a good pawing at once again. Maybe it had a comb in it, that could work out the tangles with a bit more finesse, to clear the way for the brush.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:10 pm
Hmmmmm... Ren thought to himself, eying the tangled knots in Jove's bedraggled fur. That's a little TOO snarly...I don't think I'll be able to get that one out without -
There was a yip. Ren jerked his hand away abruptly, eyes widening slightly.
- without hurting him. Oops. He cringed, casting a sheepish glance at the now scowling puppy. "My bad," Ren said, giving a slightly ashamed shrug, but he was smiling as he reached out, rubbing Jove's muzzle playfully. The puppy had moved over and was now batting at the bedside stand again, obviously looking for something other than the brush.
"I don't have a comb in there," Ren said apologetically. He tapped his chin thoughtfully, musing to himself. "Whereeee would a comb be, do you think.."
It was more of a hypothetical question rather than one that was actually meant to be answered. Ren sat up, and, holding Jove in one arm, slid off the side of the bed, heading towards the bathroom. "Maybe there's one in here," he said optimistically, and began rifling through the cabinets. When none of them produced said comb, Ren frowned a bit, moving back into the bedroom
"Comb, comb..." he said, absently petting the top of Jove's head as he walked around the room, looking for something he could use. Now, if I were a comb, where would I be hiding...
One of the ghouls had to have left something here overnight. Remembering the boil's aversion to his closet, Ren plopped Jove down onto the bed and stepped over to it. There were no mimics in his closet, no mimics in his room at all, but he still did not want to scare the poor boil. And, lo and behold, there was a comb, sitting neatly atop a stack of LW's freshly washed clothes that she had accidentally left a few days earlier.
"Here!" Ren said triumphantly, and went back over to his bed, flopping down and propping the puppy on his chest once more. "This will work much better," he told him, as he ran the comb through the tangled strands.
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Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2011 8:23 pm
The pup huffed, there goes his thought that the drawer held everything and anything important. He was remarkably calm about being picked up, just lying there looking about, letting his little paws dangle in mid-air as Ren carried him around the room. He didn't even seem to mind the distracted petting, showing his only signs of discomfort when he was sat back down, and the gryphon headed towards the closet.
His little ears folded back, and he hunkered down behind a mound of blankets eyeing the closet with wary distaste. At least until Ren produced the comb. Then his ears perked up and all that was visible over the heap of covers was his fluffy little head from the eyes up, and now his ears.
His tail gave a couple quick wags as he was picked up and once again set on top of Ren's chest. It felt much better, being combed through, there was less pulling and tugging on his thick fur. Not only did it pull less, but it allowed for the hair to wisp away at the ends, becoming ghostly and insubstantial as the strands were separated. It left him with an overly fluffy look as his fur dried completely.
With a huff the puppy got settled and rested his head on his paws to let Ren work on his head, ears, and scruff.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:57 pm
All Ren could see was a pair of glowing eyes and fluffy ears flopped back against a tiny body behind the stack of pillows and blankets. It was an amusing sight, though he stifled the smile that threatened to appear, instead crossing the room and settling back comfortably on the bed with the puppy on his chest.
Moving the comb carefully through the strands, Ren said "Much better" with a satisfied sort of smile, tugging at a particular knot. It came away much easier with the comb, rather than the brush, and soon Ren had a very poofy, very fluffy little puppy, head on his paws, looking up at him.
"You're a good little brother," Ren said. Vaguely he wondered what his parents would say if they could see him now: happy, content, with good friends and a boil who he deemed to be his little brother. He would choose Jove over Medieval and his parents any day. "Although remember - no running away next time, all right?"
Finished with the brushing, Ren floofed up Jove's fur with his fingers, rubbing the boil's muzzle playfully with his hands on either side of his head. He ducked down, nosing Jove's small, black nose with his own before grinning.
"You make a very poofy puppy," he said teasingly. "Think I could use you as a pillow?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:15 pm
Jove's ears perked up inquisitively. He was a good little brother? It seemed like so much more of a compliment than "good dog," and made him feel a little weird inside. He still hadn't quite figured out how to describe the warm, glowing emotion that struck him on occasion while he was with the gryphon, he just knew it was weird, and kind of pleasant, while at the same time it made him feel rather vulnerable. Nobody had ever talked to him about strong bonds of friendship before, or how it was natural to open up to someone you cared for, so all the pup could say was that the feeling was weird.
He fought against the weird feeling with a huff and a frown. Hadn't he already said it was hard not to run away? He opened his mouth and mock-threatened to chew on Ren's hands. It was a surprisingly playful action for the serious little pup.
Jove stuck his tongue out after Ren's nuzzling, and licked his nose in a very doggy fashion before standing up and batting at the other boy's face with a paw. No, he would not be used as a pillow! With a snort he put both his front paws on Ren's head, as if to say "you should be my pillow, not the other way around!" before bouncing backwards onto Ren's stomach. He seemed a little spunkier than normal... Perhaps it was the bath and brushing?
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:43 pm
Ren tugged on one of Jove's ears. They were just so fluffy and so...tugable. And cute. And fluffy. Had he mentioned fluffy? Jove's tiny mouth had opened and he was nipping at Ren's fingers, though not in an angry way. More of a if you don't quit teasing me I'm going to pretend to eat you kind of way. It was silly and fun, and surprisingly not like the scowly puppy, which made Ren feel absurdly special. He liked seeing the different sides to Jove, the ones that he didn't show all that often.
The puppy's tongue was warm and slightly rough, like sandpaper, as he licked his nose. Ren blinked, then grinned, feeling one soft paw patting at his cheek. "What?" he asked innocently. "I'm sure you would make a very good pillow! You're just the right size - oof!"
Jove was bouncing around now, prancing about on his stomach like...well, a puppy. Ren lifted a brow. "You seem to be in a good mood," he said, smiling, and then with a grin, he picked Jove up and held him up in the air, wriggling around. "I think I should just keep you," he said teasingly. "Hug you and squeeze you and call you Geooooorrrggeeeeeee~"
This last part was said without an ounce of seriousness and Ren set Jove back on the bed beside him, turning to lie on his stomach. "You have a lot of energy tonight," he said, and then added thoughtfully, "You know, one day I should teach you how to dance. You can impress all the ghouls," he added, waggling his eyebrows teasingly.
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Posted: Sun Mar 27, 2011 8:59 pm
The pup wiggled and flailed, mouth open and paws paddling in the air as he was lifted up. Of course Ren would want to subject him to such torture as hugging and squeezing, and likely all sorts of petting and cuddling and other affectionate gestures... Wait, what? He relaxed and hung limp with a confused expression. George?
Yeah, Ren had gone off the deep end at some point, Jove was now sure of it.
He pranced ever so slightly as he was set down, and then play-bowed in front of Ren before dropping his back half down to the bed as well. He wasn't sure what it was, but he felt good. Re-energized, or something.
He tilted his head as Ren changed topics. Dancing sounded like a lot of fun, he had never danced before. Back when he was still brand new at the school he had stumbled across the scarentines dance and sneakily watched for a bit, before scurrying off to study. The students looked like they were having a lot of fun dancing, and Jove wouldn't have minded learning... At least until Ren mentioned impressing ghouls.
Jove gave his friend aother head tilt and a confused look. Why would he want to impress ghouls?
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Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 1:48 pm
Ren had the sneaking suspicion that he was confusing the heck outta the poor boil (if that wide eyed look was any indication), but he was in too playful a mood to really be concerned about this. Jove had a way of making him feel revitalized somehow; like he really mattered and that he really had someone to look after - though Ren was quite sure Jove would deny he needed looking after.
The puppy was tilting his head at him, looking curious and a bit bemused. "What?" Ren said. "You don't want to impress ghouls? Well, that's okay; you don't need to impress anyone. But I still think it'd be fun to teach you how to dance! Even if you don't use it to get a ghoul's attention, we can still have a good time. It'd be a good thing to learn."
Ren had been taught to dance by the instructor his parents had sent him to, and while at first he had blatantly rejected the idea, after a while he had surprisingly decided that he liked it. Dancing was something that made him feel good, and he said this aloud to Jove.
"Dancing is a way of expressing yourself," Ren told him, fingers fluffing up the puppy's already floofy fur. "It's a way of being able to let go of the world and just lose yourself in the music."
He smiled. "Plus it's fun. And silly."
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