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 Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:52 pm
Jove was blushing again, which meant he was. a) embarrassed about something. b.) upset about something, or c.) frustrated abut something. Or maybe all three combined. Whatever it was, it was clear the poor boil was struggling with something, the playful silliness from earlier fading away fast. For a few moments Ren just sat there, hands in his lap as he waited for Jove to show him some sort of facial expression that he could read to understand. Then -
"Not ready!"
Ren blinked, slightly taken aback. Jove never spoke above a whisper - or at least, not from what he had heard before, and though this wasn't anywhere near a shout or even a cry or a yelp, it was definitely much louder than a soft murmur. This also meant that the thick accent Ren had always suspected his little brother held was clearly prominent in his words. He suppressed a smile at that, however, understanding that right now Jove was not happy.
Ren lay back on the pillows beside his little brother, hands tucked beneath his head. For a few moments neither of them spoke, the only sounds that of Ren's breathing. Then after a little while, he said quietly "Yes, you are. You've grown up a lot, you know. I remember you when I first met you. Don't you remember, Jove? How scared you were of everything? But then slowly you got more confident, and now look at you."
Ren's tail flopped over Jove's comfortingly, the gryphon making no other movement. "You can do this. I know you can."
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:20 pm
Jove made an unhappy muttering noise, and then turned to lie on his back and look at Ren. It was as though he was pleading for it to be true. He did remember when he first met the gryphon, and how he had been ready to turn and run. Maybe he had grown, if Ren tried to trip him with all his books now Jove would conk him good. That had to be improvement...
A little whine slipped past his lips, and he rolled over to bury his face against Ren's chest. He might have been a little more confident, but he was still so small! And he couldn't have scared so much as a mouse. What if he couldn't handle it? What if he failed his classes, or got kicked out of the academy?
Jove whimpered and curled up in a ball half on Ren, half on the pillows. He was scared. He didn't want to have to leave the academy, not after he had met so many friends, and so much he still had to learn. How would he fix Ren's hand and learn to protect the people he cared about if he couldn't take classes anymore?
One hand reached out to clutch at Ren's shirt, much the way he had after the island, and his tail curled in a tight circle.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:06 pm
Ren's eyes slid sideways to rest on Jove, tilting his head to look at him better. "Come on, now," he said, his voice soft, though with a mild hint of teasing in it. "Don't make that face, Freckles."
He lifted his arm as Jove pushed closer, lowering it only when his little brother was snuggled against him, letting it rest comfortably across Jove's small, bony shoulders. One small, pale hand clenched at the front of Ren's shirt, fingers starkly white against the black of the fabric. From the way his tail was curled, it was clear that the boil was, in fact, quite a bit more anxious and frustrated than he would have ever let on in public. Ren gave a small sigh, turning his face to press his nose into Jove's fluffy hair.
"You are stronger than you look and braver than you feel," he said gently. "I know it doesn't seem that way, but I know you can do it. And I'm here with you, and so are the others. You have friends here to support you. You can do it, Jove."
Ren's bandaged hand tightened a little on Jove's upper arm. "I promise, okay? Trust me."
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 9:25 pm
Jove made a little murmuring noise. Ren was right, if he had a rough time, he had lots of people who would help him out. They would all make sure he stuck around, so he could get bigger and stronger too. And eventually he would be able to repay them for that kindness. Besides. If he had his head so crammed with knowledge in only half a semester, what would another two or three years do for him?
It was as though the pup deflated, all the tension leaving him at once as he realized it wasn't so much a beginning or end, just a continuation of what he had started. He was a work in progress. And maybe the end result would be worth all the trouble this little, fluffy body gave him. Maybe he would be strong enough to protect his friends, and they would be strong enough to watch his back too. And they could go back to that cursed island and beat up those creepy cloaked attackers until they all retreated into the sea and never came out again.
Jove snorted. With the stress of studying for exams over, and his worries about the upcoming year temporarily held back, he felt more exhausted than he had in ages.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:14 am
Ren wasn't entirely certain he'd managed to convince Jove. The boil still had a worried look on his face, but Ren could feel the tension in his little brother's shoulders disappear, Jove relaxing deeply into the pillows and against Ren. He seemed to be at least accepting what Ren was telling him, though that anxiousness was still there.
He absently rubbed Jove's back. "Hey, I promised you, and my promises are final," Ren said, and then slipped his arm from around Jove for a moment. "Okay, look."
Reaching over, Ren picked up one of Jove's hand, fingers easily encircling the small wrist. Then he held up his own hand, pressing it so that both of the palms were against each other, fingers splayed out.
"See?" he said, with a gentle smile. "When I first met you, your hands weren't even half the size of mine. Now they're bigger; your fingers reach the first knuckles of mine."
Ren squeezed Jove's hand briefly before dropping it, then wriggled a bit to lean his head against his little brother's. He really had been very lucky with stumbling across the boil (literally) and he felt very...content with how things had turned out. He'd always wanted a younger sibling, and he had one now. And they had both managed to pass their exams, and would be moving onto second year soon.
It was a rather pleasant thought. Ren tilted his head up to peck a brotherly kiss to Jove's forehead, grinning. "Cheer up, mister."
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:34 am
Jove turned his head to sleepily watch while Ren played with his hand, lifting it up in the air. Then his eyes widened. With suddenly perked ears he sat up, keeping his hand pressed against Ren's for another couple seconds. He had grown? His hand was bigger!
With a tail wag he let Ren cuddle him for a brief second, before scrambling to his hands and knees and leaning over his brother to press his hand against Ren's again. He had grown up! For the time being his excitement had returned, his tail wagging enough to shoo away any foxfires that had resettled on the pillows around him. Maybe by next year he would be as tall as Ren! And he wouldn't be called little or adorable anymore, or be snuggled, or picked on...
He flopped down heavily across his brother's chest and examined his hands. They didn't look bigger to him, but if Ren said it, it had to be true! With one last tail wag he rested his chin on the gryphon.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:46 am
At first it seemed like Ren had confused Jove; the puppy gave him a sleepy, bemused look as he pressed their hands together, but once he spoke and realized what Ren was saying, Jove had shot upright with his eyes wide. Against his head, Ren felt small paws from one of the many foxfires crowding in his room, and he reached up, absently petting whichever one it was affectionately. He let Jove grab his hand again, spreading his fingers, and he let out a laugh, shaking his head in amusement.
"See?" he said, grinning, and flopped his free arm across Jove's back, eyes flickering to the tail wagging. Ren knew very well that was a sign of happiness or pleasure in his little brother, so he felt absurdly pleased he had managed to get Jove out of his earlier funk. "What did I tell you, eh? We're big kids now; second years."
This was said with a fair amount of melodramatic gasps and wide eyes before Ren laughed again. "Just wait, Jove," he said, tweaking a strand o the boil's fluffy hair. "We'll all move onto second year - not just you and me, but LW and Gabrian and Alessa and all of the rest of your friends too, and we'll have a great time. It'll be harder, yes, but just think - we'll be second years."
The thought was a little scary, but at the same time Ren was ridiculously excited. He had worked hard for this, after all, and had been through enough to know it was time to move forward.
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Posted: Thu Jun 30, 2011 12:42 pm
Big kids now!
That made the little pup absurdly happy. Sure he couldn't see over a crowd, or last through a gym class to save his life, but he was bigger now! He could hear the excitement in Ren's voice, and it translated to a thorough bout of tail wagging on his part. If Ren was lookin forward to it, it definitely wouldn't be so bad.
The pup's ears flicked backwards as Ren played with his hair, and then he reached out to grab one of the little foxfire fluffs that was idly wandering past. He rolled over onto his back, sliding down so he could rest his head on Ren's stomach, and held the little thing up in the air, watching it's legs motor uselessly underneath it for a minute or two. The little fluffs had it easy, he thought, setting the creature back down on his own stomach and ruffling it's ears.
Then he briefly wondered if Ren's foxfires liked baths too.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:25 pm
Ren suppressed a smile. If there was anything that made him happy, it was knowing that the people he cared the most about were happy, and feeling Jove's tail whack against his leg was definitely a sign that the puppy was content. It had taken a bit of working and perhaps it would involve cookies later, but at least for now they could be pretty satisfied about where they were both going.
Jove had reached over and picked up one of Ren's many foxfires - namely Limey - holding him up in the air, settling onto his back with his head on Ren's stomach. Ren slipped his hands under his own head, linking them together and raised a brow.
"And exactly what are you doing with my poof, hmm?" he asked lazily. There was a pause. "So, when you're in poof form, and I hold you up like that, will you flail the same way?"
Another pause. Ren reached out, plucking Limey from Jove's fingers. "Or maybe I should just try this now - "
With a devilish grin, he scooped up his little brother, tossing him over his shoulder easily with his good hand and carting him around the room playfully.
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Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 6:36 pm
The pup frowned as the foxfire was taken from him, and he was about to sit up when he heard Ren's suspicious tone of voice... But by then it was too late for him to get away.
Jove yelped, and did indeed flail. Except his legs were longer, and pokey little elbows jabbed into Ren's shoulder, and bony little knees hit him in the chest. But only for a little bit, like the fluff had, before letting himself hang limp. No matter how he squirmed he rarely got away from his brother...
He made a soft muttering noise and his tail started wagging, just enough to get in Ren's face. And then suddenly he lunged forward over the gryphon's shoulder to grab the lion-tail that had been waving within reach of his curious hands. Never mind that he almost shifted the balance enough to get dumped on his head. The thought of consequences hadn't occurred to him at all.
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:32 pm
"Ow - "
Jove's flailing meant that Ren got a knee to the chest. He staggered a bit, but didn't drop him. "Sorry, kid, you ain't going anywhere~" he said in a teasing voice and all but pranced around the room, ignoring the elbows that jabbed into his back. "Come on, you gotta loosen up - auuggghh!"
Ren had not exactly expected little puppy hands to grab his tail and yank. Jove threw them both off balance, Ren swaying unsteadily from side to side and letting out a half strangled yelp as he got a mouthful of fluffy tail in the process. Unfortunately neither of them were able to really catch themselves and with a lot of flailing and tails and feathers both collapsed to the floor in a messy heap.
"Oof."
Ren pushed Jove's tail away from his face, laughing. "You really need to learn some self-control, mister. My tail is not for pulling, goof."
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Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2011 6:47 pm
When Ren fell over, Jove was dumped right on his head in the pillow pile. But he didn't let go of his brother's tail. Instead he just uncurled himself from where he had gotten tangled, and lay flopped on his back.
He stuck his tongue out at the gryphon as his tail was batted at. It was Ren's fault after all, he hadn't really pulled on the tail. Well, he had not intended on pulling on Ren's tail, but it was hard not to do when he was being hoisted over his brother's shoulder like a sack of flour. How was he supposed to keep his balance just hanging there like that?
He toyed with the long fur on the tuft of Ren's tail, twirling it around his fingers before beginning a nimble braid. He paused only briefly to cover a yawn with one hand.
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