|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:25 pm
Liesel continued to smile even though Serge didn't have much of a reaction. He hadn't really expected much of one, not with Serge's temperament, though he had hoped that maybe Serge would actually look at him. It was a bit disheartening to be continuously rebuffed. What did he have to do to get the other boy to talk? He wasn't asking him to share all of his secrets with him. He simply wanted to get to know one another.
He leaned closer to try and get a better look at Serge's face again, letting his smile fall into a bit of a disappointed and sullen pout—which was mostly fake. He just wanted the attention.
"You're so quiet. Am I making you uncomfortable? Do you not like being here? We could always go inside. Or I could leave you alone if you'd rather be by yourself. I simply thought it would be nice if we were to talk. You and I will have to work together soon. We should be able to talk to one another. Am I being annoying? I'm sorry. My instructors all tell me I talk too much, but I've only ever had so many people to talk to. It gets so very boring."
He pulled away just in case his close proximity were bothersome at all, and he looked around so that his gaze was no longer boring directly into Serge. His first meeting with any one of the Jovian knights or senshi and he was already messing it up somehow. This wasn't good. The fact that Serge hardly reacted to anything made him very difficult to read, and Liesel always relied on his ability to read people in order to know how he should behave. Not having a clue made him feel very powerless and lost.
He looked around for something else to distract himself with before sighing and turning back to Serge, frowning this time and squinting his eyes as if something so simple and pointless as that would assist him in reading him better. It didn't, of course, and he soon allowed his eyes back to their normal size, looking from the knight to the water behind him.
And then he grinned. His mouth slowly slid into a wide, mischievous smile, and he thought that if Serge wasn't going to react to anything he said, perhaps he'd react to something he did.
Glancing around quickly to make sure no one else was coming, Liesel reached out to grab Serge by the shoulder and pushed him back with all his might, sending him splashing into the fountain.
"Oops!" he attempted an innocent gasp, but it was obvious that he was far from innocent. "So sorry! I don't know what came over me!"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:37 pm
Liesel was quite talkative, apparently. There wasn't anything wrong with it, and Valhalla didn't make any indication to make it seem as though there was a problem. At least Liesel wasn't making fun of him. Instead he was just... talking. It was kind of nice, although he realized that he should probably think of a way to respond. And more than just shrugging and nodding or shaking his head.
It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, just... Okay, yeah, he was quite uncomfortable, but only because he felt like he was being put on the spot. He didn't think Liesel was all that annoying, though. He had a nice voice and it was easy to listen to.
Serge bit at his lip when he realized that Liesel had stopped talking. Well, crap. He was probably waiting for him to say something, but what the heck did he say? He knew nothing of the culture on Ganymede, so he didn't know what he could compare things to. It didn't seem too different than what he was used to, but still...
He opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't get the chance to. Instead, pale olive eyes widened in shock and surprise as his shoulders were grabbed and he found himself falling backwards.
He— Liesel just pushed him into the fountain!!
Valhalla yelped, but it was easily drowned out by the splash. The fountain had been deeper than he was expecting, and he flailed as he pushed himself back up. He sputtered, his face flushed in anger and embarrassment. The water reached his chest, sitting, and he lifted his hands to wipe at his face, even though the cascade of water from above was splashing him. That little...
Without a second thought, Valhalla lunged up from the water reaching out over the edge of the fountain and grabbing hold of Liesel's arm so he could pull him in as well.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:48 pm
Liesel was laughing raucously, terribly amused by the sight of Serge sputtering and floundering in the water. He almost didn't notice the hand reaching out for him and wasn't sure if he'd have stopped it if he had, but the next second he was being dragged off the fountain ledge and pulled into the water with another mighty splash.
He shrieked, more in delight than alarm, and laughed some more, his clothes immediately seeping through as water soaked his shirt, breeches, stockings, and spilled into his shoes to make them slide, loose and slippery, along his feet.
He pushed himself up and coughed out some water he'd accidentally swallowed before he was laughing again, looking over at Serge with a wide grin and shining, gleeful eyes. He pushed a bit of his sopping hair out of his face, giggling uncontrollably, as if this were quite possibly the naughtiest thing he'd done in quite sometime—and considering how long he'd practically been locked away from the world, it probably was.
"That's a little better," he said to the expression on Serge's face. "Though it wouldn't hurt you to smile. Don't be such a sourpuss. Why don't you cool your head?"
He grabbed Serge by the shoulders again and put all of his weight on him, shoving him back down into the water with another boisterous round of laughter. He held him under for a few moments before letting him back up, grinning as Serge caught his breath over the course of a few moments, and then unceremoniously pushing him back under without any warning whatsoever.
"Do you feel like talking now?" he wondered once he allowed Serge to breach the surface of the water. "I could bruise your dignity a bit more, I suppose, if you'd rather keep quiet."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2012 6:56 pm
There! Take that, little brat.
Serge sputtered and coughed as he fell back into the water from pulling Liesel in, and he was sitting back up when he suddenly found himself being pushed under the water with a strength he hadn't been expecting from the other young man. Of course, it was easier since he was in the water, but he still hadn't expected to be pushed under.
He coughed and wiped at his eyes when he was allowed to get back up, wondering what the heck was so funny about pushing him under. Was this all just a game to Liesel? Apparently so, because soon he found himself being pushed under again! Yeah, well, he could play this game, too.
"I could bruise your dignity," Serge coughed, frowning at the other boy. They were already completely soaked, and he was sure the leather boots and braces on his forearms were going to be ruined, but that was the least of his worries at the moment.
Actually... he didn't have any worries at the moment. It was the first time he wasn't thinking about anything but the moment. Not about the past, not about what he would need to do, not about how different or similar things were. It was just... living in the moment. It surprised him, and even scared him for a few moments, but he got over it quickly and reached out to grab onto Liesel, using his weight to push him under the water in turn, letting him back up after he watched him flail for a bit, and found himself laughing the ridiculousness of it all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:02 pm
Liesel wasn't surprised to find himself being pushed under the water in retaliation. If anything, he'd been banking on it. His smile grew as Serge finally reacted, and he allowed himself to be pushed under without much of a fight. Unfortunately, he hadn't taken the time to grab a breath of air before going under, and flailed about when his lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen. He coughed when he was allowed back up, but was still smiling, wiping the water from his eyes and pushing his hair back again as he listened to Serge laughing.
"That's much better," he said, running his hand through the water to send it flying toward the knight. "When someone is trying to be friendly it's usually proper to at least say a word or two in response. And you could smile more," he told him, splashing him with water again.
The other boy had a nice smile, and his laugh was rich and warm. Liesel thought he would like to hear it more often, though he questioned his guest's sense of humor. Serge didn't seem all that amused by the other Jovian dignitaries, but he had never been under the impression that they were anything but friendly—perhaps a bit rambunctious sometimes, but that was hardly a crime. Still, it was nice to see a few cracks developing in his shell.
Happy now to at least have gotten somewhat of a reaction out of the other boy, Liesel reached for him again and they returned to tussling in the water, pushing one another under and laughing and shouting all the while. Liesel thought he was a bit more gentle about it himself. Serge was stronger and not always quick to release him, as if he were curious to see how long it would take for his composure to crack and for Liesel to start struggling, or if he truly didn't know his own strength or the length of time that passed in which he held Liesel under.
It was exhilarating. Neither kept the other under long enough to cause major problems, but after being treated so reverently for six years and handled so gently—at least physically, if not always verbally—by the teachers and officials who'd raised him in the place of his parents and encouraged him toward perfection, to be held down and forced under the water between shrieks of laughter and the occasional empty threat made him feel like just another normal boy. It had been years since he'd been able to tumble around and roughhouse with anyone, and Serge didn't seem to have any qualms about doing so now.
Unfortunately, it was not to last, and the Lord Chancellor returned with the other dignitaries at quite possibly the worst moment of their play, with Serge holding him beneath the water, seconds away from releasing him, and Liesel flailing about.
"Valhalla!"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:40 pm
"I'll smile when I want to," Valhalla said with a momentary frown before he'd pushed Liesel under the water again. It had been quite some time since he'd enjoyed himself. Uh... not that he enjoyed forcing people underwater, but just fooling around and not having to act like the leader of something he wasn't used to. It was just... being a kid again, really...
Of course, the fun was cut short by his name being shouted, and he looked up to see the guy Liesel had been with, before. What was his problem...? Valhalla glanced down to see the other boy still under the water and reached down to pull him back up, moving to stand, himself. Uh oh... this guy didn't seem too happy.
"Relax! They're just having fun!" his own caretaker said with a robust laugh, patting the Lord Chancellor's shoulder a bit harder than he'd probably intended and nearly knocking him over. The men of Jupiter seemed to be relatively more brawny than those of Ganymede. Or at least with this small gathering, that was true.
Valhalla wasn't really sure how to defend himself if this guy was actually angry. He didn't want to tattle on Liesel for pushing him in (talk about pathetic), so should he just say they both fell in...? Or maybe just see if it all blew over...?
He glanced down at Ganymede, taking hold of his upper arm to pull him to his feet. "You okay?" he asked, a little worried that he might have actually hurt him. It didn't seem like he did, but making sure was best, right...?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 3:49 pm
Coughing up the water he'd accidentally swallowed, Liesel stumbled to his feet with Serge's assistance, slipping and sliding in his wet shoes and stockings before he was able to regain a bit of balance and stand upright. His smile nearly faded as he noted the Lord Chancellor's arrival, and he barely had enough time to reassure Serge with a quiet "Yes, I'm fine," when a different set of hands grabbed onto him and he was pulled away by one of the other Ganymedean government officials.
Before he could so much as say anything to explain the situation, he was being wrapped up in someone's cloak while his hair was pushed out of his face and a hand trailed along his back in what he assumed the owner intended to be a soothing motion. The face of a middle-aged man peered into his, then his arms were being lifted one by one, and he was being spun around and examined from every angle, as if they were checking him for any physical damage—a bruise, cut, or bump that might attest to foul play.
The Jovian ambassadors seemed terribly amused by the whole affair, at least until they realized that the Lord Chancellor and other Ganymedeans that made up their party were far from entertained. The Lord Chancellor himself straightened after nearly being knocked over, smoothing out his clothing and adjusting his collar in a rough motion that clearly showed his displeasure. They were all looking at the men from Jupiter—and Serge most of all—as if they'd just done them some great offense.
"This is an outrage!" the Lord Chancellor all but screeched, red in the face with a rather notable vein throbbing away in his forehead. "How dare you? You... you... you barbarian! I'd have expected such brutality from a Martian, but from you?! From the Jovian system?! It is unthinkable! Unbearable! Never in my life have I been so offended! And after all we've done in the service of Jupiter!"
Liesel rolled his eyes and pushed through the other men who'd surrounded him in some sort of protective cocoon. "Will you stop it? He didn't even do anything!"
The Lord Chancellor rounded on him. Liesel didn't think he'd ever seen him look so angry. He was usually so stiff and formal. To see his eyes suddenly wild was almost amusing.
"This brute," he shouted, pointing toward Serge rather impolitely, "held you under water!"
"I pushed him in first!" Liesel argued. "Honestly, we were just having a bit of fun! Why do you always have to ruin everything? I can't do anything fun without you thinking it's a risk to my life! I can't go to parties, I can't go into town, I can't visit off world-"
"We've discussed this before, Ganymede. Once you've been officially presented to the public-"
"That isn't going to make any difference to you! If you happen to walk in at the wrong time, you're still going to act as if someone's offended you for daring to lay a hand on me! I'm not offended," Liesel insisted, plowing through the remainder of the group of ambassadors to stand by Serge again. "And if I am, it's only because you seem to think I can't take care of myself. I'm an adult!"
"Yet you insist upon acting like a child."
"Because you and everyone else took my childhood away from me!"
The foreign ambassadors were beginning to look a bit uncomfortable now, while the Ganymedean delegation whispered between one another and continued to look at Serge as if he'd done a great wrong. Liesel stood defiantly in front of all of them, and dared them to speak another word against the boy he wanted as his friend.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:39 pm
Serge's eyes widened in surprise. These people were actually mad at him? They were pulling Liesel away from him and out of the pool before he even knew what was happening. All he could do was stare as they stared back, muttering under their breath.
He'd gone from feeling the most freed he'd felt in months to the most trapped. Water was still dripping from his hair, his tunic soaked and the fur and leather probably ruined (actually, they probably weren't... they were probably treated to get wet, what with how much it rained on Jupiter).
'Barbarian'....? 'Brute'...?? Serge stared at the Lord Chancellor, feeling hurt and upset that he would jump to conclusions like that. He hadn't hurt Liesel, had he? They were just having... fun... Even his group who had come with him didn't seem to know what to say in response. At least for a few moments.
"Hey now!" his burly caretaker spoke up, his large chest puffed out on the defensive. Apparently calling one of them a 'barbarian' and 'brute' was like calling them all the same thing. "No one hurt anyone. Valhalla is new to all this," he said, making a motion with his hand to more or less contain all of Ganymede into 'this'.
Serge didn't really know how to take all of it. For one, he was feeling like he'd somehow done something wrong, but then he was also angry that the Lord Chancellor would start yelling at him like he was. As if he didn't outrank him in the system as it was. No, he didn't know much about what was going on, but he was pretty sure they wouldn't have him meet their precious Ganymede without a reason.
"I didn't hold him under for long!" he defended himself, stepping out of the fountain as Liesel made his way over to him. But even as he said it, he realized that it didn't sound very good and quickly tried thinking of something else to say. "I would never hurt him! I swear on my post as Valhalla!" he insisted, although he probably didn't look as convincing as he'd intended. His hands were balled into fists, and his eyes were narrowed in anger. Actually, it probably looked quite comical... like a cat that had just gotten out of a bath.
Either way, Serge's eyes relaxed a bit as he glanced over to Liesel with water dripping down his face from wet hair. He reached over to gently wipe the water from his face. It was innocent enough, but he was waiting for the people of Ganymede to freak out again. "I wouldn't hurt you," he said, softer to Liesel, wanting to reassure him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 4:48 pm
Liesel could practically see the Lord Chancellor's blood begin to boil as Serge brushed the water out of his face. It was a gentle enough motion, though his hands themselves were rough with callouses, no doubt from all the training the knight had done over the course of his life. He didn't mind it and smiled softly in response, shaking his head at him as he said, "I know you wouldn't. Don't mind them. They always act like that."
The Lord Chancellor was sputtering out a bunch of nonsense that didn't come across as anything more than enraged mutterings with words like "dishonor," "slight," "disgust," "fiend," "lout," and "boorish" thrown into a rant that was probably far more insulting to the Jovian dignitaries than Serge pushing him under water was to the Ganymedean people who didn't even know he existed yet. Then again, the Lord Chancellor did seem to enjoy blowing things out of proportion.
Liesel rolled his eyes and, unable to take it anymore, latched himself onto Serge, throwing his arms around his neck and pressing himself as close against him as he possibly could. "Oh, no! Look! Look! I'm touching him! I'm touching him! Oh, no, the nasty boy-knight has his hands all over me! What am I going to do! Oh, someone save me! Save me! I can't bear it! Why would you do this? My honor! My virtue! Ruined and in tatters! Oh, how could I ever face the world!"
His antics had the desired reaction all around. The ambassadors of House Jupiter laughed raucously, nearly falling over themselves in their amusement, slapping one another on the back and wiping tears of mirth from their eyes while Valhalla stood there and not only allowed him to grab at him and let him put on his show of theatrics, but even began to encourage it.
Meanwhile, the Lord Chancellor looked fit to burst.
"This... how... you... dare... get your hands off of him!" he bellowed, causing nearly all of the Ganymedean officials to jump in fright and the Jovian ambassadors to laugh all the harder.
"Oh, I have been shamed!" Liesel continued in an overly-dramatic and sarcastic tone of voice. "Val! Oh, Val, you brute! You animal! How could you? When I have shown you nothing but kindness! Oh, my trust! My faith! Broken!"
And he lifted his hand to his forehead and pretended to fall into a faint, fully expecting Serge to catch him.
If he didn't, well... that was going to hurt.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:05 pm
Serge was surprised when Liesel wrapped his arms around him, but when he saw how much it caused the Lord Chancellor to freak out, he wrapped his arms around him in return. Really...? Just touching him was causing this much of a reaction? He wasn't doing anything. He wasn't even holding on that tightly when Liesel leaned against him.
They were all really upset about it, weren't they? But those from Jupiter thought it was hilarious. It was really confusing. Should he continue doing as he wished, or was he really lowering his favor with these people? If the people of Ganymede didn't trust him, then would he ever be invited back?
Now, he hadn't been too sure about Liesel at first, but the blatant acts against what the others wanted... well... it was kind of inspiring. Valhalla thought that he might actually enjoy Liesel's company, after all.
He almost missed Liesel fake fainting, but he quickly grabbed onto him, pulling him back up. "Careful, I might actually drop you," he warned, and was pretty certain the Lord Chancellor's head would explode.
"Come, lad," his caretaker finally forced out between hearty laughs, and he removed a cloak from around his shoulders and made his way over to Valhalla. "Off with your wet things. We don't want you catching anything... besides the little senshi, of course!" He and the other ambassadors from Jupiter roared with laughter.
Serge made sure Liesel was standing on solid ground again before reaching down to unlatch his belt and pull the tunic he wore over his head, handing it off to one of the other men with him. He pulled his hair down as well, holding onto the twine in his mouth as he took the cloak to try and dry off a little. His dark hair hung to his shoulders now that it was down, and he ruffled it to try and get some of the excess water droplets off from his hair.
"You should probably change too, Ganymede," Serge said with a small nod to Liesel as he ignored the dignitaries from Ganymede.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 5:23 pm
If the Lord Chancellor was upset that Serge had been handling him without the care the Ganymedean government seemed to think he deserved, it was nothing compared to the look that crossed the older gentleman's face when Serge began to remove certain articles of his clothing right there in the courtyard. Where the Lord Chancellor's face had once been nearly purple with rage, it was now white with shock.
Liesel had only just returned to standing upright on the ground when a hand grabbed onto his upper arm and yanked him back. He stumbled in his surprise and glanced up to see the Lord Chancellor looking murderous.
"This is entirely inappropriate!" he bellowed, his dark eyes flashing while his complexion remained wan, as if he'd grown sick with disgust. "You have mishandled Ganymede quite enough, I think. I will not allow you to besmirch his honor with your vile behavior and impropriety! Come, Ganymede! Your lessons must continue."
Liesel found himself not being given a choice in the matter, which was such a frequent occurrence he decided not to fight against it this time. It wouldn't do either he or Serge any good. He'd tested the Lord Chancellor's patience enough for one day. It was best to do as he said and let him cool down a bit before trying anything else.
He smiled broadly regardless, allowing himself to be pulled, dripping wet, away from Serge and the fountain and the other Jovian dignitaries, glancing over his shoulder to glimpse the knight as he was unceremoniously pulled away.
"It was so lovely meeting you!" he called out to him. "I'll be sure to see you again soon! We can have tea!"
The Lord Chancellor released a derisive sniff, as if he didn't think Serge were suitable company during tea time. He paused long enough to inform the ambassadors of House Jupiter that they would continue their current business at a later time, before Liesel was being pulled back into the palace and out of sight.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
