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 Posted: Sun Sep 11, 2011 9:23 pm
“Yes, celebrate together.” Hel echoed. “That is what friends and comrades do when they have achieved victory!” She ignored the comment about not celebrating. That just wouldn’t do, not at all!
As Riyo continued to try and deny, deny, deny, Hel just simply grinned over at her. “I don’t think you’re going to be friends with me. I know you’re going to be friends with me.” Hel would have been offended usually to be told that she wasn’t wanted, but this circumstance was different. It possibly had to do with the fact she stumbled upon the ghoul while she was confessing some rather deep stuff, and that a lot of the words that came from Riyo’s mouth where harsh anyways so…a gut feeling told her to hang in there and take it in stride (as much as she could handle it, anyways. Persistence paid off, right?). “This…this is really that easy, Riyo.” Hel commented.
At the mention of the well and hard work, Hel’s grin just widened. “No, I don’t believe this well will do it for me…but hard work, yes!” She nodded her head. “I will work hard to be your friend.”
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 5:00 pm
Dumbfounded.
Riyo was absolutely dumbfounded at this ghoul's assertiveness. Nobody had ever taken that tone with the feline. Her mother hadn't needed to, and everyone else had been either too intimidated or too low on the corporate ladder to even matter. How was this ghoul able to stand as strong as a mountain when she was 5 inches shorter? "You..." Riyo started, trying to think of a good comeback. "You! You..." The look on her face was somewhere between anger and confusion, and managed to stay there until Hel finished her speech.
It seemed like something finally struck a chord in the demon's head, and it was enough to make her expression soften. Hel... Wanted to work hard to be Riyo's friend?
"I don't understand..." The feline started, keeping her eyes just above the dark shadows of the deep well. "I haven't said one nice thing to you since you showed up. Why would you want to work hard for my friendship? Did somebody make a bet with you or something?" So distrustful of everybody.. Obviously hard work was about the only way to get through her thick skull.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2011 7:21 am
Assertive, stubborn, demanding…sure, Hel was those things.
“Me ~?” Hel echoed. “Me, me!” Now she was just being a brat as she looked up at Riyo with a tilt of her head.
Her head tilted to the other side thoughtfully as Riyo started to speak up, and waved a hand dismissively. “Sticks and stones.” The reaper scoffed. Truthfully though, words could hurt…Hel cared what others said, and words could hurt if they were well placed. When the demon brought up the idea that someone must have made a bet, Hel looked insulted, and huffed. “Don’t insult my honor like that.” She replied haughtily, throwing her head up proudly. “I don’t befriend others because someone made a bet with me to do so. That is a terrible reason to form a bond.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:47 pm
Sticks and stones? "I hate that saying." Riyo mumbled under her breath, knowing full well that words were damning. She had experienced her fair share of verbal lashings, and they left bigger scars than any physical pain she had ever experienced. For the most part, the ghoul tried to ignore the mocking response Hel had towards her loss for words. There were more important things to think about.
As for Hel's reply, Riyo looked rather unimpressed. "I tell you what." Riyo started, reaching into her pocket for the large bag of pumpkin seeds she always carried with her. There was a solemn expression on her face as she removed a small handful from it to dump back in her pocket. The rest was carefully placed on the edge of the well.
Before she explained herself, the feline leaned on the ledge with one arm, examining Hel's face carefully. "There is a lot of money contained in that bag. Probably much more than whatever somebody bet you, IF they did indeed do so."
Her cat eyes focused in on her acquaintances two-tone orbs, an intensity radiating off of them. "You may take that bag and walk away. I won't say a word... But in exchange you must never speak to me again..." The feline let that sink in before providing an alternative.
"Or. You can simply knock it down the well. If you do this, then I won't question if anything you say is a lie again." It was a big wager. Riyo knew it. The first step in a staircase of trust, and she was a cripple. Though the feline may not have shown it on her face, she was scared. Terrified of both options. "Take your pick."
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 6:54 pm
Hel blinked when Riyo took the ‘I’ll tell you what’ tone, lowering her head now so that she was watching the demoness rather curiously. Her lips pulled down slightly as she watched the ghoul pull out a rather large bag of pumpkin seeds. Wait…she wasn’t trying to buy her off, was she? In a way…she kind of was! Hel just continued to watch Riyo quietly though, listening to her terms for this little ‘deal’ apparently.
It was a no brainer for the reaper. Hel didn’t have to think about this.
After Riyo finished, Hel continued to stare at her for a moment longer, until a wide smirk pulled at her lips now. She was being challenged to prove herself now to the cat demon, and this wasn’t a challenge she was going to lose. In fact, she was even going to do it with flair! The ghoul held her hand out and within moments her spear appeared. Hel twirled it before quickly thrusting the non-bladed end of the spear at the bag of seeds, listening with satisfaction at the tiny ping sounds they made as they rained down into the well. She spun the spear once more, and firmly planted it onto the ground before she dismissed it. She kept her gaze on Riyo the entire time, and was grinning now.
Was she showing off while making her point and choice? Yes.
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Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2011 8:29 pm
The silence before Hel's action had Riyo nervous. Even moreso when the reaper summoned her weapon without warning. What was she...?
Oh, that little show-off.
The feline didn't dare take her eyes away from the challenger as she decided the fate of the seeds, ears twitching at the jingle of silver hitting old stone. It was certainly an impressive first step on a long, jagged journey.
"Well." A smirk formed at the corner of Riyo's mouth as she finally removed her red orbs from the ghoul's face to glance down at what she imagined was a satisfied well. "I hope you made a wish or two." Or three, or four... or one hundred.
Not that she expected a gimmick to grant anything other than a headache. "I suppose you're now farther along than most people. I'll trust that you won't lie to me, just as I said." To the best of her ability. "When I make a deal, I see my end through no matter what." Which made her regret making such a decision, now that she thought about it. Hopefully Hel wouldn't abuse what she had been given.
Carefully, the ghoul moved away from the well, hands returning to the safety of her pockets. "So. You had to get obnoxiously arrogant somehow. What kind of life do you hail from?" Riyo asked nonchalantly as her feet slowly carried her away from the area. Only momentarily did she stop to see if the reaper was following her.
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:18 am
Hel’s grin reached from ear to ear now. “Nope. I didn’t.” She informed the demon ever so proudly. Wishing here, wishing for friendship, that was something the valkyrie didn’t believe happened by luck. If you wanted someone to be your friend, you’d work hard to develop the bond and nurture it.
The reaper just looked ever so proud of herself when Riyo stated she was further along than most, and gave a firm nod of her head. “I won’t.” She reaffirmed simply, “Not because this is a deal, but because it is a friendship.” The ghoul watched as Riyo stuffed her hands into her pockets and started to move away, blinking curiously as her grin disappeared. Oh hey, where was she going? Though when the taller ghoul paused momentarily, Hel knew what that meant! She was back to grinning again as her hands left her hips and she strode over to the demon, now falling into step with her.
“Dedicated, you ask, friend?” The reaper chimed, looking up at her. “Ah, yes, those roots do stem from somewhere. I come from a land about a day’s train ride from the academy. A home built of wood and stone on an expanse of land surrounded by hills and fields! There is home, with my mother, father, and eight older sisters.” Hel swung her arms back and forth as they walked. “How about you?”
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Posted: Sat Sep 17, 2011 8:52 pm
Well, there went most of Riyo's pocket change. Not even squandered on some dumb wishes.
As Hel explained that she wouldn't be betraying the feline's trust because of friendship, she scoffed, yet said nothing. This ghoul was serious about all the friendship business, wasn't she?
Riyo could hear as the Valkyrie started to follow, and she couldn't help but ask herself if this is what she'd wanted all along? Someone to discover her. Call her out on things... Hm.
Wait. Did she just say eight sisters? The demon's eyes widened as she started to process what had just been said, looking to Hel with a subtle shock. "... You have eight sisters?" Jack damn her mother must've loved pumpkins. "... How... How can you stand to be in a house with ten other people?" Riyo could barely stand being with herself sometimes!
When Hel asked about the feline's situation, her shock and awe'd look slowly started to fade. "My home is not far from here on the outskirts of the city. I live alone, and have for a long time." No mother, no father, and very rarely did she have people come in to clean and serve her. She didn't like it. She didn't like strangers coming into her house. They were never like the kind women who raised her up 'till she was five, and that fact lingered in her mind every time they knocked on her door. "It's been my home since I was born. I often think about selling it." A place where memories seep out of the woodwork like little termites, slowly crawling up into her brain and carrying pieces back to the colony. It was maddening.
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:56 am
Still, a lot of students seemed rather surprised when she told them she had eight sisters, and Riyo was no exception. The reaper just laughed. “Indeed I do!” At her question about how she could stand to be in a house with ten people though, Hel just shrugged. “…What do you mean, how can I stand it?” She shrugged her shoulders and laughed again. “It’s all I know, friend!” It was her norm.
Now, it was Hel’s turned to look shocked. “What? All by yourself? See, now I don’t understand how you can do that, friend!” Even though she was ‘alone’ here at school, she got to see a lot of her friends often, so while it wasn’t exactly like being at home, it wasn’t solitude either. That was a good thing! The reaper tilted her head when Riyo said she also considered selling it. “But…if you sell it, where will you go?”
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Posted: Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:21 pm
All she knew? What a nightmare. The mere thought of having to share a space with 10 other people made the feline's skin crawl. Not that the reaper didn't have a very good point...
"Well, it's like what you just said..." Riyo started, a smirk and confident tone hiding the sadness such a thought brought on.
"It's all that I know."
Perhaps the statement wasn't entirely true. Deep down in the part of her mind she had tucked into a little filing cabinet, there was the memory of a grungy looking man with a dopey smile who called her stupid things like 'kitten' and 'princess'. They were garbled memories... And the only reason why she could recall the man's face is because the locked box under her bed contained an image of him. A picture she stared at when painful nostalgia came knocking.
"As for where I would go..." Riyo's feet stopped moving as she stared out into the distance, the solitude of the area humbling her. "It doesn't particularly matter. It'll be the same situation no matter where I go." She would be alone, with only her cats to keep her company. As it had been, as she assumed it always would be.
"Don't you ever get tired of having so many people around you? Isn't it suffocating?" Her eyes turned to Hel with a mild curiosity. She had to wish for solitude sometime...
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:45 am
Hel looked a bit sheepish when her logic was turned against her, rubbing the back of her neck. Oops, that should have been an obvious answer! Oh well.
The ghoul stopped as well when Riyo did, dual tone eyes flicking over to the taller ghoul curiously as she stared off into the distance. Hel tilted her head, one hand going back to rest on her hip while the other tugged at a fair braid. Her brows furrowed in thought at the demon’s words, and a small frown tugged at her lips. That just didn’t make sense! “…How can it be the same no matter where you go?” She questioned. “…Being at home, and being here at the Academy…it’s not the same…and you know, take initiative, friend!” Hel encouraged, “Make it so that it isn’t the same.”
When the question was turned back on her, the reaper held a blank expression. She then shrugged. “It’s not suffocating. It’s not standing out that’s suffocating.” The reaper grinned, now, and started to move forward, back towards the dorms. “But silence all the time…that’s deafening, eh?”
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:34 pm
Of course Hel didn't understand. Waiting for the ghoul to say 'ohhh, that sucks' was a futile effort. Though, on the flip side, maybe Riyo was the one who didn't understand. She couldn't comprehend that she had control of her own life now. There were no parents to stop her, only... Some complications.
"I suppose the academy isn't the same, no. Hearing other demons through the walls might be worse than home." That as an over-exaggeration and she knew it.
The fact that the Valkyrie denied any thoughts that company was sometimes too much made Riyo shake her head. Not standing out? What did that mean? Like... Being a wallflower? Sometimes Riyo wished she could blend in with the woodwork...
"Silence." Riyo repeated, falling into step with Hel as the ghoul started moving. "Deafening? I suppose you could call it that sometimes, but... More often than not, the mind makes up for the silence. Voices from old conversations, vibrant thoughts..." She mused quietly, thinking back to all the quiet moments she had. "I tend to always have music playing because of that." Whether she was playing it herself or using the record player.
"I suppose neither of us can really understand fully where the other is coming from." Looking forward, she could begin to see the outlines of the dorms in the distance. Ah, almost there. Then this uncomfortable conversation could end.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 12:34 pm
The reaper just laughed when Riyo mentioned hearing the other demons within the dorm. “Just be louder than them!” She cheered with a bit of a tease, as she doubted that Riyo would heed such a suggestion. Still, it was amusing!
Hel looked back over at the taller demoness with a tilt of her head. Ah, reminiscing and reflecting…yeah, that was something she tended to do a lot of here. Without eight sisters to keep you on your tones, Hel found a lot more time to just sit down and think, just her and her thoughts. “I like sound as well, when I ponder.” She informed, before a small grin tugged at her lips. “Honestly, friend? I don’t care to completely understand where you, or most others come from. What I really care about is where we are all going.” It seemed in no time they were back near the dorms, and Hel paused at the split in that path that lead to the demon and reaper dorms. “If you keep your eyes locked on the past, you can’t keep an eye on the present, and especially not the future.”
Here she reached out and gave the demoness a hearty, friendly pat on the shoulder again. Where did Hel get such words of wisdom? Epic poems told by her mother, father, and sisters. Did she believe what she was saying? To an extent, yes.
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Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 6:38 pm
Hah, just be louder. Riyo rolled her eyes at such a suggestion, but sometimes she actually did try. When she started hearing the voices through the walls, the ghoul would grab her violin and practice as loud as she possibly could.
Riyo had to wonder just how many similarities there were between her and Hel's train of thought. The ghoul seemed so happy-go-lucky that there was no way their thoughts or ideals would coincide. Then again, you never know what someone could be hiding behind their skulls...
As they arrived at the fork in the road, Riyo's eyes turned to Hel as the ghoul explained where she stood. While it may have been somewhat profound, the idea she followed it up with made Riyo scoff. "Mm. You think the past can't come back to bite you anymore because it's 'in the past', don't you?" The reaper didn't need to answer the question, or at least that's what Riyo assumed.
Cringing at the pat on the shoulder, the cat ghoul stiffened before she continued. "I assure you, the past can easily come back and bite you on the a** if you don't keep your eye on it." And with her own piece of wisdom spoken, she took her first step towards the demon dorms. She knew Hel had a point about the present and future... But there was too much of the past she just couldn't let go of... Not just yet.
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Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 10:30 am
Hel rested her hands on her hips once more as she looked up at Riyo with a raised brow. What did Hel think about the past? It was there, it happened…but to keep on worrying about it just seemed pointless. But possibly trying to explain that to the demoness at the moment was pointless as well. So Hel just did what she did best. She just grinned at Riyo, her eyes dancing with amusement. This was going to be the start of a wonderful friendship, the reaper could just tell already.
The ghoul tilted her head as Riyo then took the first step away and started to head back in the direction of her dorm. “…And sometime, we’ll go get milkshakes, alright, friend?” Hel called out cheerfully, giving a wave to the ghoul’s retreating form before spinning on her heel and heading back to the reaper dorms.
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