|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 8:17 pm
 "I..." he began gravely, as though about to admit he'd recently murdered her entire family, "...enjoy your company."
Ah, his family. Well, that was something he had learned about in bits and pieces, strictly through the conversations of others. Sadly, though, he didn't really know anyone in his family... just their names and appearances, really.
"I spend my time either out in the meadow or here. I don't... wander too often. My parents... nobody has seen around since before I was born." Which was true; he hardly doubted it was worth mentioning why that was, or exactly what they were up to before they disappeared. It's not as though leaving out details was the same as lying after all. "And as for my siblings... I believe you know one of them; Vara."
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 8:32 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 8:42 pm
He almost managed to conceal the smile at that, but alas, a small bit of it did escape him.
"She is. I doubt she knows who I am, though, as we've never really met. I have four siblings in all, but we grew up separately because of... our parents and all."
"The meadow is... peaceful. There's placidity, but not total silence... there's usually a slight breeze, and you don't feel quite so alone because of all the fireflies and stars... but at the same time, you don't feel as though you're intruding on them, either." Malory never realized that this was all said very much from his point of view, and only added proof to the fact that he had some serious issues with the way he saw the world. "It's where I met Furia."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 9:05 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon May 22, 2006 10:30 am
The reply was bemused at best, cryptic at worse, "Perhaps... and perhaps it's merely the darkness playing tricks on your eyes."
"It is. Not many Feli seem to know of its benefits, though; I've only ever encountered one other there." He paused, trying to find words that could form an accurate picture of Furia as she was, which was rather difficult. Still, as they began to come to him, and as he began to speak of her, the smile grew; the expression was clearly contagious.
"You wouldn't see her around the house, as she's quite, well, large. She's very peaceful company. Furia doesn't judge, doesn't question... she's just... perfectly content with everything as it is. You'd never, ever find Furia upset over anything petty, unlike most." As an afterthought, he sincerely noted, "I wish I could be like her."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 6:42 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 8:16 am
Of course, that was precisely his problem. Malory wasn't at peace with himself. He could relax, sure, but there was also a constant emptiness about his life that prevented him from ever truly labeling himself as 'happy'. Furia was a great friend, but being a Ninau, she could hardly be there for him in the same way a Feli friend would.
The problem was explaining this without painting himself as too utterly pathetic. "Well, similar, yes... but she's happy with her life as it is, whereas I'm..." Borderline chronically depressed? Friendless? Severely dysfunctional? "...not... quite... ...well, I'm not reluctant to see them change a bit." He looked a bit lost for words, "...does that make sense to you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 8:15 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:54 pm
When had the conversation turned around and come full-force at him? That wasn't very fair. Or even preferable. The only thing left to do was to change the subject. "Well, I'm... working on that." There was simply no more to be said about it!
Now to direct the attention back at her... "Do you have any favorite spots around here? Ones you enjoy frequenting...?" Figuring it wouldn't hurt to point out he was vaguely familiar with her -- in a totally normal, un-creepy way, of course -- he tentatively added on, "...rather, should I say, haunting?"
Great, that was stupid. Now she's certainly-- ...wait, wait, they'd just spent the last half hour (it seemed) discussing how he needed to stop doing that. He didn't know how she'd react, so all there was to do was wait and see... then he could panic, when she started to get angry--
...this wasn't so hard! See, he could learn.
He almost, almost smirked at the thought, but realizing such a random display of emotion would probably make him look deranged, he forced it away.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:19 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:53 pm
Malory seemed genuinely confused for a change; his question sounding sincere, rather than rhetorical like all those from before, "Was haunting truly your foundation? It seems to me that something like that... would never be more than a childish hobby? And in that case, it's no wonder you've suddenly grown out of it..."
Realizing that he'd probably worded that a bit too derogatory, almost mockingly, he practically stuttered over his words as he raced to add on, "...though I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in things, so I suppose haunting could have been very, very important to you. I wouldn't know at all or anything, of course, having only met you a few minutes ago and all... it's not like I've ever been into haunting, either, so I guess I shouldn't be talking like I know anything about it--"
Forcing himself to shut the freakin' hell up, Malory closed his eyes and, with a sigh, began to once again mentally scold himself for acting foolish. When he spoke next, his words were calm, almost emotionless; entirely unlike moments before, "...perhaps... perhaps a change in atmosphere would help you think more clearly? I could, uh, show you the meadow? ...sometime?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:12 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 10:28 pm
"I'm not too sure about that; I seriously doubt the meadow can compare with this high-class dusty darkness... which also, need I remind you, has always faithfully served us both in the past."
The sarcasm spilled from his mouth before he could really stop to consider it. Which, frankly, was probably a good thing; his habit of analyzing things to death was what caused him to sound like such a moron most of the time, after all.
Feeling awkward, despite a deep, internal feeling of... being quite pleased with himself... Malory's eyes flickered in Whisper's direction as he hefted himself up, "I suppose now is... fine. If you really do want to go. You're not obligated or anything, though, of course."
His mind kept itching to go back down the path of second-guessing everything-- how long had it been, anyway? It felt like an hour. How the hell was it possible she hadn't tried to get away yet?-- but... he placed all of his willpower on the task of avoiding such a thing. It was working, too.
For the time being, anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 11:05 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 27, 2006 8:24 pm
"If... you say so..."
Even as he began to lead her down the hall and toward the door, Malory looked back at the female nervously, his eyebrows furrowed and voice hesitant, "Just to warn you... it's not really that... you know, exciting. It's really not much at all, in fact..."
He was acting as though if Whisper expected too much from the meadow and came out disappointed... she'd displace her disappointment onto him, as he would have been the one to have gotten her hopes up and taken her there in the first place. And so, as if to avoid this, he was presently working on forcing her expectations to remain minimal.
Unfortunately, this was harder to do than he had originally figured it'd be. Throughout the entire trip he itched terribly to tell her about how, since it was getting late, the stars would probably be visible, of how he could name practically every constellation... or of how the fireflies might even be out, blending with the darkness to create small glowing auras of light. Or, of how when the breeze was just right, the lengthy grass would ripple and almost appear as though they were an ocean.
But, true to himself, he managed to remain entirely silent the entire time. At least, not until they made it to the meadow, for it seemed quite eager to impress the young ghost, as everything was perfect.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
