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 Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 11:20 am
The teenaged girly part of Amarus squealed internally when FooFoo jumped up onto Mot's lap. Bounding over, it was just about the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. Thankfully, her face did not betray her. Inside, she was cooing at him and just... basically beside herself. After all, Ashbel certainly never came when she called him, and Jin... well, she was lucky if Jin wasn't trying to ruin her life. Or lack thereof. "I guess I'm lucky my Ashbel is lazy and cuddly, then," she said. It would suck if he tried to run away every time she wanted to cuddle.
"Sometimes I find cheerfulness to be too much, but perhaps it is because of my nature," she admitted. "Lizzy was kind to me regardless. I am glad she can cheer you up." Someone had to! And Amarus certainly wasn't good at it. She was glad Mot would never have to rely on her own ineptitude.
"Sounds good. Maybe you'll already be feeling better," she suggested, smiling.
Mot sounded surprised, certainly, but Amarus smiled when he reached up enough to hold back. It could be worse. It could definitely be worse. Amarus was a bit like a small animal at this: she'd approach slowly, and if she was comfortable, turned out that she wasn't as cold as she seemed. It was just hard to show it, sometimes. "Time is something you have," she mumbled. And she smiled ,because she was happy to hear that he would be okay. She did not know, after all, how deeply these things scarred.
"Don't forget, I'm going to follow you around until I manage to overpower you and make you sleep," she added, her own voice kind of sleepy.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:46 pm
Sometimes Mot felt maybe he relied on cheerful people too often. Easy ways to perk up his ego and what not. If he wanted cold hard reality, he turned to people like Riyo. He wasn't sure if his torn pride would survive her though.
"Make me sleep? You think it is so simple?" Mot smiled, almost amused. "Well, if you do manage it, try and be sure I am near a bed. I don't wish to nap out in the open."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 12:51 pm
Amarus glanced up towards his face, but did not bother moving from where she was. "Not sure, especially not if you fight it," she told him. "But I am patient, and I am determined, and you could use the rest. If you are particularly beligerent, I will just read you instructions from my books on baking... they sound like gibberish to me. Boring gibberish."
Amarus nudged the books under the bench with her foot, idly. She preferred it when she could see Mot's face, for some reason, as if that helped her communicate better. But right now she'd rather just sit close to him. When she had been upset in Conquest, after all, Faustus and Olivia had hugged her... and somehow, that made it better. So maybe Mot would benefit from it, even if she was a little unsure.
"If you go without a fight I'll tuck you in," she promised, "Otherwise, I am going to knock you out with a rock behind the Ghost dorms and we'll see who finds you first." Amarus smiled up at Mot.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:04 pm
She was learning to bake? "I have a few friends who bake too. Like Xiu and Junko. Are you trying to learn?" He wasn't sure why she was keeping so close so long. For Mot it was rather strange. Then again, close proximity to ghouls for long periods of time always made him nervous.
Maybe this was training. Difficult training.
"Please don't." He said with a small laugh. "I'll go to bed willingly, just no rocks."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:26 pm
It would probably be a relief to Mot, then, when Amarus straightened up and pushed away to get the books out from under the bench. Jin had curled up inside the cloth holding them together, however, so when she grabbed at it Jin let out a disgruntled sound which was essentially a wyvling version of a cat hissing. It sounded kind of like a squeaktoy hiss.
"Yes... I have a theory. I think that ... well, my essence can be useful. And now it seems like I can extract it, or imbue it, so... Baking seems like a good idea. But I have never been particularly interested in baking. Or cooking. So I am having a difficult time. I met Junko... she was very kind." Back on the isles, there had been an intense session of braiding from which Amarus had walked away given it became an entire horde of eager braiding students.
Amarus leaned her back against the arm of the bench furthest from Mot and regarded him again, her knees tucked against her chest, Jin curled up around her neck, as she flipped open the book on top. "I do not even know what a bundt cake is," she admitted, somewhat bitterly.
"Fine, no rocks, but only because you laughed at it," she agreed, half-smiling before returning to her neutral expression.
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 1:41 pm
"You just have to keep at it. I think if you get someone to teach you hands on, it will make more sense than reading from a book of gibberish." He explained in hopes of helping. Now that he had his own space again, he turned enough to lean his back against the corner where the arm rest met the back of the bench. Nice and cozy, and easy to talk face to face.
Well at least he wouldn't be waking up behind the ghost dorms with a head ache. "Sleep never came easy to me, and with all that keeps happening it's getting harder and harder. No matter how tired I feel I just can't seem to rest."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:00 pm
"I suppose that would make sense. I have never been ... one with the books, anyway. Not really my specialty. Do you read often?" Amarus wondered, tilting her head. If he wasn't combat-oriented, and he had such a weak constitution, did he perhaps read often?
They were sitting in a similar way, it was pretty comfy indeed. As comfy as a bench gets, anyway. "I helped Night sleep after.. Red died. Do you think your situation is worse than that?" she asked, arching a brow. Perhaps he was really determined not to sleep. "Or maybe, though you are tired, there is a reason why you can not bring yourself to... let it overtake you?"
"Maybe you should stop playing hard to get with sleep, Mot-- just let it come to you. Accept Sleep into your life and you will be so much better off for it. Maybe. That is what I would like to think. Well-rested Mot is just lying in wait, waiting for the day he may break free of miserable, exhausted Mot."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:11 pm
"I do. It's one of my favorite passtimes besides wood carrvng." Which he had been doing more and more of. Nothing as elaborate as the Ocarina he'd made for Hel, but still.
"It's not really a matter of me letting myself sleep. At least.. I don't think it is? I don't know. Maybe it's subconscious." It was likely. Still, it didn't mean he could sleep with just knowing that might be the case.
"Maybe I think too much when I try and sleep."
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Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 9:21 pm
Amarus tried to contain the wince. One of his favourites? Then that had been an easy guess. Wood carving was slightly less alien to Amarus, though she never did any herself. At least it was something tactile. The closest to being tactile with books she'd ever really been was when she was hurling them off the shelves at Zar's head. "What kind of books? What do you carve?"
Amarus' head was beginning to hurt at how impossible the notion he might actually be incapable of sleeping seemed. After all, to someone whose essence was a kind of narcolepsy-inducing trick of the senses, it was hard to imagine a state in which sleep was not possible. Wholly possible. "By the sounds of it, you think too much all the time, Mot. Ever try doing less of that, and more of... I don't know, more of pretty much anything else." Amarus gestured vaguely, and leaned back on the bench arm again.
"For twenty seconds, Mot, look me in the eyes and think absolutely nothing. I bet you... hmm... I bet you one favour that you can't do that. One favour." As in a debt.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:38 am
"Biographies and works of fiction. As for carving, usually wood frames or small instruments." He smiled, "Just a small hobby."
Mot laughed a bit, rubbing his neck and shying his gaze away. "Maybe you're right." He probably did think way too much too often. No wonder he never knew what he truly needed or wanted, when all he did was over analyze.
"Favour?" Mot blinked. Now this was a little nerve-wracking. "Twenty seconds? I.. I can do it!" He said indignantly, leaning forward with his hand between them on the bench.
He stared. And stared. 5 seconds went by.
And then..
"Damnit!" He sighed and sunk his head down. "I started worrying about what you were thinking only a few seconds in.."
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:10 pm
"Biographies...? That sounds very dry, Mot. Instruments, though, that's kind of cool," she observed. Amarus wasn't one to judge; at least he had small hobbies.
Amarus had probably not heard anyone say she might be right in a very long time; she wasn't exactly on the same thought train as most, and often her logic was a little strange. Not really the kind that could be discerned as logic by anyone but Amarus, really.
"Yes, a ghostly favour-- you could do worse than to have one of those to call on," she said. She sincerely doubted he could succeed, and it was the only good thing she had to offer, anyway. Twenty seconds wasn't that long, but it was long enough that most probably couldn't. As far as she knew.
Amarus stared blankly back, trying not to fall asleep. And smiled at him when he admitted he hadn't managed it.
"I wasn't thinking anything at all," she told him. "And now I am thinking that you are very honest, and that is a noble quality-- are you always honest?" Amarus was usually kind of blunt, which caused her a lot of problems. "Don't worry with me, we promised no small problems would get in the way, and I don't really have big problems to share, so... you know. I'm sure it'll be hard to train yourself not to worry, but I'll keep reminding you." Amarus grinned at Mot and reached over to pat his head.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 2:33 pm
"Usually." Mot replied with a soft laugh. At least she saw it as a noble quality. That was nice. "I don't lie, but I don't always say what I'm feeling either." So fairly honest, to a degree.
"Thank you. I'll try and be good." He said with a nod. "Let me know when you want that favour." Or Ghostly Favour as she put it.
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 3:25 pm
Amarus was confused, at first. "Oh, that was my wager, Mot-- you do not owe me any favours. That would be cruel of me; I have a distinct advantage in that I knew I would likely win." Basically, she had offered him a favour should he win, but hadn't thought to ask for a prize if she won.
"You were right about not saying what you feel, I remember that. ... in all fairness, I do not like to talk about that either, so I cannot really fault you," she added. "Perhaps we can start a trade-- wait, Mot, is ... communicating feelings typically something that others prize?" After all, she was new to this whole having-things-to-really-feel thing. "If it is something we should both learn, perhaps I can offer you one thing I am feeling that I do not want to say, and you can consider offering me one thing in return."
She held up a finger, and tilted her head. "I will begin by owing you one in exchange for the first thing you told me, today; even if mine is not as important as yours..." Amarus paused, and thought. It had to be something she didn't want to tell anyone. Amarus grimaced. This was not going to be pleasant. Finally, she just said whatever she thought of first that had been causing her pain: "I once saw Neil often, and I think that I miss it. But these things are gone."
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 7:00 pm
"I think that's fair. I'll help you and you help me." Mot said with a soft smile. "It isn't a typical thing to offer as a favour, but I don't consider it a bad idea." Not everything was material, after all. Instead of carrying book bags they would simply share feelings and advice.
Mot readied himself for a tidbit from Amarus, tilting his head at what she said. "Neil?" He didn't know who that was but it was besides the point. "So you miss seeing him? Is he not around, or..?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 03, 2012 9:44 pm
Amarus smiled at Mot, her bells tinkling as she moved. "I do appreciate balance, Mot. I think perhaps we are so different in order to find a kind of balance, too," she said, pointing idly between herself and Mot as she looked off at the park. Amarus hated sharing feelings. It was a bit like petting a cat against the fur: uncomfortable and vaguely painful. It was also a tinge confusing, still.
She didn't have a whole lot of feelings to express, yet. And she wasn't quite prepared for the more serious ones, so that was the only one she could think of that she didn't mind talking about. "Just a friend I had once. I guess I miss hanging out. I didn't feel much then, though, so it's hard to tell if I liked it because it was a time when I was pretty close to happy without needing to worry about happiness, or sadness," she tried to explain, shrugging. Amarus gestured vaguely at the campus.
"Probably somewhere out there, don't know. I only got a skellyphone recently," she admitted; Mac had helped, or she never would have gotten one. She had no clue what had transpired between all of the students she'd just met, far too recently to be buried and safe to bring up. "So until ... well, basically until prom, no one could find me and I couldn't find anyone unless I wandered into them."
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