|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:32 pm
Stung by the Love Bug
(Child --> Teen*)
Aww, young love.. Sweet isn't it. Especially when the stormy haired Krinn has fallen for someone - it seems as though he's suffering from a similar infatuation as Lan! Of course, child crushes aren't the same as the drama and sex filled roller-coaster relationships that adults have, kiddie crushes can be formed and dropped on a whim.. But all the same, Krinn seems to be taking this girl/boy very seriously. So seriously in fact that the Dust has decided to use his new found knowledge of kissing to express how special they are to him. How does this act of affection go? Do the shining rays of love pierce the clouds or does he end up with rejection and a drizzly rain cloud over his head?
*Please note, there's a minimum word requirement of 700 words for this quest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 1:58 pm
The dust fanned himself, a tinge of red staining his cheeks as he huffed a sigh to himself at the amount of humidity grazing the room. Across from him was Jeckal - the owners son and someone he'd known practically since he'd started living with Lan - who was looking down at his cards in thought. With nothing better to do, the two boys had resorted to playing games for the remainder of the day, having been stuck in Lans apartment while the chef, Shuuhei, the owner himself, and Noe went - went shopping. Or something of the like. It wasn't unusual for the two to hang out - as it was, Jeckal was probably one of his best friends aside from the dust children he'd met. The two got along, understood each other, and both couldn't stand Willow's overbearing chatter for more then a few minutes. Of course, in any other situation, Krinn wouldn't have minded being stuck with Jeckal on a hot humid day like so. Hanging out in the bedroom, the balcony doors pushed open to let the air in, while a fan buzzed in the background, keeping both of them cool with glasses of lemonade perched on the desk near the bed.
However. Oh yeah, the dreaded however. Lately, Krinn had found himself susceptible to spacing out, turning red, and stuttering a lot whenever he was around Jeckal. He did his best to hide it, but he didn't know exactly what was going on. It sounded suspiciously too much like that of what Noe had described to him earlier when they had snuck into the bar thanks to Shuuhei. But that couldn't be it... could it? After all, that was only for adults, yeah? Or thats what Krinn was hoping for. Then again, he was growing, no doubt. His appearance physically was changing subtly, as well as Jeckals - the boy was about his age physically anyways. Krinn had wished and crossed his fingers that he would be working at the shop that day but instead fate had intervened. Oh yeah, fate, that cruel witch. Two foals had been brought up to the ranch the night before, and Younka had asked the old man to help out that day for some ungodly reason or another. Apparently on top of the two new foals, there was also a green horse being brought up as well from the mainland, and Younkas staff was mostly on leave or just too busy with everything else. Thus the temporary close of the pet shop that day, and Krinns unfortunate collision with hanging out with Jeckal while their parents and guardians waltzed about, doing whatever it was they did when the children weren't around.
I cant be in... whatever it was Noe called it. Krinn thought in determination to himself. He couldn't be... could he? It was just so embarrassing, and Krinn turned a new shade of red as he thought about it. "Krinn?" He heard Jeckals voice and snapped to attention, looking at the other with a bit of a blink. "Ah, sorry, I spaced." He said quickly, putting up his hands to wave it off. Jeckal snorted and smiled a bit. "Yeah, I could tell. You alright? You look like you're going to become a cherry." The dust blinked and moaned a bit, placing his hands on his fore head and falling back onto the bed spread a bit. "I-Is it that obvious?" He asked, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he blinked, seeing Jeckals face in his line of view. "Well hello there." He managed through a stain of red, and pushed himself up, Jeckal swiveling away from him a bit and putting his cards down on the bed. "Its just the heat." He mumbled in response to Jeckal, losing his stubborn pride for a moment.
His "long-time" friend huffed indignantly and stared back at Krinn. "It is not." He said defiantly, and turned on his back, flopping down so that he was staring up at Krinn with a look in his face that said he was certainly determined. "I've been friends with you for long enough to know when you aren't telling me something." He cocked his head to the side, reaching up to flick Krinns forehead. "C'mon, tell me whats going on. Its not like I'm going to laugh or anything." You would. Krinn thought almost instantly, but averted his eyes, a blush still growing red hot on his face. "I-its really nothing." He stuttered, not sounding half as brave with his words as he was trying to be with his thoughts. He couldn't just tell the other it was possible that he liked him as more then... then a friend - for whatever that meant, since he still didn't get it. After all, Krinn was increasingly shy in situations that revolved around things concerning this strange occurrence called love, things like kissing and intimate gestures were still foreign to him, and even though he'd matured with matters concerning so many other things, he was still so unsure about anything that had to do with this strange butterfly effect on his gut and stomach.
"Lies."
The reply was simple, and he knew that Jeckal was not going to back down until he got an answer. It was hard - choosing between lying to avoid embarrassment or tell the truth. He felt completely serious about this matter - he wanted to figure out if this thing, this crush was real or not. And somewhere in the back of his head, Krinn knew that he couldn't lie to Jeckal. It wasn't like him, it never was. So when he turned his back to look at the other and found by accident that their faces were increasingly close, Krinn blushed madly, feeling warm breath on his cheek. Jeckal didn't seem to mind, and instead simply stared into the others dual colored eyes, his own hazel ones piercing and prideful. On instinct - and out of pure whim, the dust leaned down, and barely brushed his lips with the other in what seemed to be a kiss.
And it told Jeckal everything he needed to know.
When the contact seemed to end, Krinn blushed and looked away, rolling backwards and covering his face with his hands. "I'm so sorry - I didn't - that was - this is embarrassing...." He mumbled behind his hands, feeling a shift of sheets. Would Jeckal leave? Was their friendship ruined? It stung to know that Krinn might have messed something he treasured so much up. But then he felt warm fingers on his hands and brought them away from his face to look at Jeckal, the dark haired boy blinked down at him before smiling. "Oh, a crush." he said simply, and cocked his head to the side. "Why didn't you tell me?" Krinn blinked and looked down for what seemed to be thousandth time, as brightly red as he could be for a dust made out of rainclouds. "Its just - I just told you - Well not exactly but - And I'm sorry I really didn't mean to - its just - I..." Krinn sighed in defeat. "I'm really sorry Jeckal. I just didn't... know what to do. I-Its all... really confusing to me." Jeckal laughed in good nature and looked at Krinn, ruffling his hair a bit. It was something that everyone had found was a sort of subconscious soother for the boy.
"Dont worry about it. Here, I dont get it much either... But want to try that again?" Krinn looked up in shock, wide eyes meeting the other. "W-Wh-What?" He asked finally, stuttering a bit. Jeckal just laughed again. "See... The thing about love is you never really know whether its a crush or actually feelings until you try something yeah? Or at least thats how Noe told me once." Oh, so it was Noe again... The girl sure seemed to have a lot of advice - whether it be good or bad - up her sleeve. "So, if you feel like, an explosion of butterflies in your stomach, or something that feels like more then what you feel when you're around me, that means you might actually like me like that. Or something. If not, it just means its a crush yeah?" Jeckal laughed at Krinns slightly shocked face and leaned forward, boldly pressing his lips to the others mouth. After pulling away a few moments later, he cocked his head to the side. "Feel anything?" he asked, to which Krinn, who seemed to have regained some of his normal self, paused and hummed in thought. "Nah... not really. I - er - it was... embarrassing... but nothing huge like you explained." Krinn said thoughtfully, and looked over at Jeckal. The other smiled a bit. "Huh, okay, cool. Then, maybe we're good as friends yeah? Like we have been for the past only god knows how long."
For some reason, this made Krinn laugh and nod with a grin, his blush finally dying down to a bare tinge on his face. Leave it to Jeckal to somehow manage to fix his problems. "Yeah, friends sounds good. After all, I still need to beat you at Egyptian Ratscrew before everyone gets home." He said, to which Jeckal snorted and grinned. "You're on." The kissing problem resolved, the two simply grabbed the cards and reshuffled, the uncomfortable situation having died into a moment of content peace. Too bad Krinn couldn't yet say the same thing for Lans bumpy relationships. In the end, the crush hadn't ended in a drizzly raincloud of despair, nor had rays of love shown through the cloudy skies. Instead... it had just turned out peaceful.
A warm and sunny afternoon spent between two best friends.
word count: 1, 647
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 3:48 am
Lan inhaled a bit, golden black hair shimmering in the shards of sunlight as he hummed a low note of pleasure in the back of his throat. The sky blue eyes danced with momentary interest as he craned his head back, watching the rainbow colors filter through the sky - up and down, around and around again. It was a curious thing to see, and with a bit of renewed vigor, the former boy continued his playful antics. The sleek damp cobblestone of Amies was all around, and men and women traveled with umbrellas in their hands, simply ready for any sort of twist and turn of the weather. The breeze held chill within in, but the sunlight warded away most of the cold. The acrobat had simply a tank top on - his star tattoo glittering in the sun. Barely remembering his routine, the young adult closed his eyes and inhaled, the fresh scent of rain and spring breeze in his head, playing with his mind and making his heart beat with amusement. He was perched atop one of the vast water fountains in Amies square, cross legged and teetering a bit dangerously near the water. In his hands - at various times of course - were small bean bags splashed with colors ranging from reds to blues, yellows to vibrant oranges. Up and down they went, up and down, up and down. It was subconscious from years of sitting it out with the jugglers of the traveling caravan, and Lan pursed his lips into a hum as he recalled some of the past.
The past.
Lans eyes opened and he fumbled a bit with a bright blue ball before hurling it back into the air and passing even more into his lithe fingers, keeping them going as best he could. A discontented sigh left his throat. Lately it had come into his thoughts the memories buried from his past. The smiles, the laughs, the people, the constant changes. The way life used to be. The way he sometimes missed. Lan felt something ache in his chest and squeezed his eyes shut, keeping the bean bags going with the flick of the wrist. He tuned out the people whispering about the strange man who sometimes showed up, the people who watched in awe as they passed by, or the ones who simply gave him a curious glance before continuing on their way. The golden black haired man thrummed another low note in his mouth and flinched a bit when another memory was dug up and brought to surface in his mind. On stage performances, simple practice, new friends and old friends. They did everything together. And out of nowhere, Lan had up and left with the excuse that he didn't feel like he could travel anymore. He hadn't told them about how confined he had started to feel. How no matter where he went, there was never a place to put his head. The overwhelming responsibilities, the constant worrying, the dangers that came with the stunts. It had been Lans way of life. And it had been wearing on him.
So why did he miss it so much now?
Accidentally fumbling again, Lan paused and caught all of the brightly colored bean bags in his hands, outstretching his lanky fingers and frowning down at them. "Stop that." He ordered, as if it were their fault he wasn't paying enough attention to them to make them stay afloat for a mere moment in time. The cook glanced down and thought and started to simply juggle three instead of six. The rest were laid by his side, the water behind him splashing in a rhythmic motion which he used to help time the beanbags descent and ascent into the air above. A flicker of amusement - at his own expense no doubt - fell across Lans features. He was much easier off thinking with less things to juggle. The man closed his eyes and exhaled, trying to think about anything but the past. Unfortunately, the past was the only thing that invaded his mind. The first thoughts were on the house he had lived in for barely a few years. The long halls, the extensive rooms. The personal butler and his charming eyes. His mother, his father. The woman with a sense of dignity and pride, and the perfect amount of humor to set a fine balance. The man whos obsidian hair matched his eyes, and the soft elegance held in them. And then behind Lans closed eyes, the flashes of orange and deep red scattered and brought back the feeling of burning. The scent of smoke and the loud screeches of the house and its inhabitants.
A soundless gasp caught in Lans breath and he hitched his breath for just a second. Ever since then, he had been absolutely terrified of fire up until he had joined the circus. Though, the memories never ceased to distill his contentment, the almost-forgetting that he had a fear as bad as that at one moment in his life was enough to make him jittery. Lan huffed as he got over himself. Cliche. He thought to himself dryly, pressing his lips together into a tight line and continuing to juggle - sky blue, light green, and deep pink. Up and down, again and again. Soothing the mind, calming him down. After that, he had lived most of his younger childhood days with a close friend of the families. Lan glanced up at the sky. It had bothered him, the constant feeling of being in the way. The man had a family of his own, a wife and two children. Who was he to impose? A sigh escaped from the porcelain lips. And then there had been the caravan he had run away to join. The circus he would never forget. It was on a whim that he had decided to go with them - a whim that sent him away from the life he considered to be anything but what he wanted. Glancing up, Lan thrummed a bit in thought. Was it true that he really missed them that much? Was it true that he wanted to go back? Lan closed his eyes, and images shifted behind his lids. Krinn, Noe, Shuuhei.... The old man, the owner of the cafe - even the strangers downstairs. And that man, Milo. Snapping his eyes open, Lan pulled back his lips into a half snarl at the irritable things that kept distracting him. And then a hot red flushed across his cheeks. What was going on with him? Suddenly he was missing the circus - but he was already being held in his new home by people he'd met, and people who were attached to him. Suddenly he was falling head over heels like a lovesick girl for a man he hardly knew. Lovesick. Lan bit his lip and caught the balls in his hands. But I'm not in love. The circus acrobat thought to himself and began the rhythmic pattern again, calming himself down and loosening his now tense muscles.
I'd made a promise with myself not to, a long time ago. Lan thought to himself, narrowing his sky blue eyes a bit. I wonder when I started breaking it.
"Higher, higher." Lan said to distract himself, tilting his head back to watch the bright colors dazzle the air, the light blue sky. They fell back into rhythm with him over and over, like the way his life was going at that moment. Lan sighed, closing his eyes and listening to the thrum of the water. He wondered if he would be happy to return to the circus, if it would ease him, or simply burden him more. He wondered what would happen if he told Krinn. He wondered about everything. Opening his eyes, Lan skimmed the outline of the center, decorated by other men and women who were going about their normal lives, shopping, smiling, laughing, never worrying about where they would be the next day. Lan puffed out his cheeks. Did he want a life like that? Lan tilted his head back and stared at the sky. Was the life he wanted one that worked in rhythm, one that was predictable? Or one that was out there and wild? Never knowing what came next. Smiling to himself, Lan shook his head. "Well its not like I can make that choice on my own..." He murmured, remembering the stormy grey eyes that would look at him in irritation at being left out. He would never go anywhere without that kid. If living with him meant a routine life, then it was alright. It was alright, it was alright. Still...
Lan caught the balls and added a fourth one, this time lighting the sky with a flash of neon. "I should stop thinking." He thrummed, watching as two kids ran by, their faces alight with colors. It reminded him of his own charge - or at least when he had first been born. Lately the other was acting more off beat then usual. But maybe that was just because of his essence. Swiveling his gaze back to the floor air born juggling balls, Lan sighed in thought. Then he closed his eyes and decided to remember some of the things he had loved about his troupe. Not to make himself more sick for them, but to soothe his nerves. It was a home he could always return to - a place where they would never turn someone away. There had been a fire-eater who had been his first friend, a six foot man with sandy blond hair that was always slid back. They had always shared laughs and duties when it came to cleaning up. The man had also gotten him over his innate fear of fire. Then the girls of the circus, the tightrope walkers and the animal tamer with her stallions and bears. Lan smiled at the memory of their faces, and eased himself even more with the rhythmic juggle of neon colors. The ring leader and the clowns had also been good friends of his, and the stagehands as well. There had been a mute who constantly made hand signals, and Lan had the worst time trying to decipher his "words."
Staring out at the one of the antique buildings that surrounded the center, Lan softened his glance a little. It was his life, it had been his home. It was something he missed at times, and wanted dearly at others. It was a place he longed to return to, but knew was not the right decision to make. But why? That was the question. Why did he want to return to it when it had made him feel so confined? Why did he want to go back to the one place where he'd run away from in the first place? Lan stopped himself from thinking and shook his head. It wasn't something he wanted to linger on now, now that he had another life to live here in Amies. Or at least... Lan sighed. What did he want to run away from here now? What was it that was making him so fidgety? Milo appeared again in his mind, but Lan shoved the thought out almost instantly. He was not running away from something as stupid as that. Frowning, Lan caught the rainbow colors and raised his hands above his head, stretching a bit. "Enough reflecting for me." He mumbled, staring out at the center. "Too dangerous." Lan laughed as an after thought and leaned back, closing his eyes. There would be no more running away. Not from this town, not from these people. And anyways, there was no way he could. There was no way he could just up and go again now that he had come to Amies. And anyways....
"Hey." A familiar voice intervened. "Didn't I tell you not to mope so much?"
Lan glanced up, catching sight of familiar blue gray eyes and smiled a bit. And anyways... He had someone he had to keep track of here in Amies. "What makes you think I was moping?" He asked loftily, switching positions so he was facing Krinn. Tossing one of the colored orbs to the younger of the two, he grinned. "I was just thinking about you, actually." A flare of red, a heated look of irritation. Krinn was such a cute kid to tease. Of course... the boy had been starting to grow quite a bit, and Lan had to wonder it was just a growth spurt or what. Krinn wasn't that old, was he? The two began to juggle back and forth, even as Krinn replied hotly to the teasing comment. A laugh filled the air as more rainbow colored things were added to the mix. Krinn had caught on fast when Lan had taught him, but he'd rarely seen the other do it with him as a team. Looking up as Krinn caught all of the balls in his hands, their bright colors and cloth exteriors glimmering in the light, Lan cocked an eyebrow. "You're pretty good." He said, leaning forward, forgetting all of his worries for just a bit. Just a bit... Since when had a kid like Krinn become such an important role in his life?
The boy just flashed a smile and held up both of his hands, the rainbow aligned colors held in between his fingers.
"Thanks, I practiced."
Lan smiled, reaching forward to ruffle the others hair. His home was here now...
"Is that so? Well, practice makes perfect."
But that didn't mean he'd forget his old one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:33 pm
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 1:35 pm
Drip.... Drip...
The sound of water seemed far off, and the darkness was welcoming and pleasant - its ethereal arms enveloping its prisoner. Dual eyes fluttered open for a moment, lips parted softly to inhale and exhale. The scent of rain and storm was deafeningly clear in the dust's mind for a moment, before it fell away to reveal a sharp, piercing pain that shot out from the head to the neck, the shoulders to the arms, and the hips to the legs. A wince and a muted cry of pain tried to escape him, but it seemed like it had all been trapped inside by some exterior force. The vacant irises squeezed shut, breath labored for a moment before another sound entered his fuzzy mind - the sound of footsteps.
Who is that?
The dream that didn't feel like a dream wrapped around him suddenly, sending the feel of sharp needle like pain across the expanse of his legs and arms. Pressure eased into every side of him, like he was being licked at by angry waves. His eyes didn't open again - the pain of seeing light was all but comforting in his buzzing head. The footsteps got closer. The scent of rain became stronger, almost too strong. It felt like suffocation, but the dust decided that if it was by the very essence that created him then how could he complain? Suddenly, it disappeared as the footsteps ebbed into silence and the drip of distant water continued. It felt like all around him it was raining, but the dust couldn't feel the sensation of it on his skin - he could only hear the sound of droplets, the scent of the storm. He hadn't realized how tense and pained his body had been until relaxation washed over him like a cold wave from the sea.
"You've grown up since I've last seen you."
What?
A feminine voice shrouded his brain with questions, and Krinn made to open his eyes, to look for who was there, but what felt like a hand came over his face, trapping his vision to darkness. A strong blast of the smell of rainwater hit him square on, knocking the air from his chest for a moment. Something felt ethereal, like he was floating somewhere on the border of being conscious and being stuck in a dream. "You must be mistaken - I dont know you." His voice worked before his mind had even fully processed the words. He couldn't see the being above him, whether it human or not, reality or simply a manifestation of the dream.
"Shush, shush, darling, its just me." The voice paused, lost to a chuckle that sounded like it hid a much darker reason for being there. Krinn couldn't breathe - the words had stopped his mind temporarily. The girl... she had repeated the same exact words as Lan on somedays. Not to Krinn, no, but to others... and to himself. How did she know.... those words? "How could you forget so easily?" Lapsing into silence, Krinn felt the scent of fresh rain overwhelm him, washing out the confusion and simplifying it with the thought that this was just a dream. Darkness still surrounded him, even though his eyes were open. The palm of the ethereal girls hand still covered his eyes, soft yet firm. He was just waiting for it to end - he just needed to wake up. After all, he'd had dreams before, ones that he'd forgotten, ones that made him wake up in cold sweat. But never ones like this. Still, it couldn't be more then a trick of his mind, no matter how real it all felt. The girls voice continued, even though he hadn't answered her teasing question. "Its alright.... I'm sure you wouldn't remember me." She seemed to get closer to his face. "But its nice to see you growing up more and more." There was a pause - knowledge trapped in that silent sigh. "Though how long you'll be around to grow - well, thats uncertain."
Something cold washed through Krinn's entire body. As if the temperature had dropped dangerously, and the world around him was spinning. But he couldn't find out why. "What are you talking about?" He said, exhaling sharply as if through thick, sticky air. He twisted his head to the side, but the hand stayed in place for what it was worth. The mirky edge of reality slipped even further from his minds grasp - something about this dream felt too real for his own liking.
"You'll know, soon enough." The girls voice was teasing. It was as if she wanted to say 'I know something you dont know.' Krinn was too lost in her earlier words to discuss anything more with her. Even though this was a fragment of his imagination, a dream, the dust still felt the heavy weight of his eyelids tugging to close, the breath of fake sleep washing over him. Struggling, Krinn tried for another question.
"Who are you?"
"Who am I?" The ethereal being above him giggled, and removed her hand. Krinn stared up with the last of what seemed like his strength. A heart shaped face and ethereal storm cloud eyes stared back. Her hair was silky blue color, falling over her bare shoulders in an ever smooth motion. Her body seemed to be there but not there, trails of fog and smoke turning into what looked like human hands and legs. She seemed to be fading away into the very essence that she seemed to represent. Smiling, she stood up. "I am the rain, my dear one." She sashayed her hips and took a few steps back, giggling again. "It seems its time to bid adieu for now though." She turned on her heels, and Krinn wanted to ask her not to go. He still had too many questions and not enough answers. Her feet contrasted with the black oblivion, fading into nothing more then the essence of the clouds above. His eyes were becoming even heavier, and he could only catch glimpse of the blury figure of the retreating back.
The girl grinned back at him for a split second. "Beware the sun, dear one." She started to hum and skip away into nothing but faded trails of cloud and fog. Her words echoed down the long expanse of dark nothing.
"Beware the sun."
Krinn awoke in cold sweat.
Startled from the dream, the dust could do nothing but stare up at the clouded, stormy sky above him. He could hear the wind howl faintly, the chatter of Amies Marketplace carried on its breezy tendrils. Something stirred in his gut, and he flinched when something cold and wet hit his cheek. And then another, and another. Soon the downpour came in fat droplets, soaking the boy to the core. But he stayed rooted on his back, eyes dazed and trying to pick up the pieces of his conscious. His mind felt like it was still fogged over, and the girls whispers still felt like they were there. She was the rain. Its what the ethereal girl had told him. The rain, the rain.... Krinn's fingers twitched and felt the cold droplets. He moved his shoulder, but the stretch of cloth felt weird and tight. Some part of Krinns mind mumbled strange. He'd been wearing a rather large shirt that day too. Above him, a willow hung its long tendrils down, and the hill began to sigh with the abundance of wet droplets.
His mind put together that he'd been out here earlier, under the sun. It was his time off, in between working at the pet store... And Lan... He was supposed to have met up with Lan. Something registered in the back of his mind that he should have already been at the cafe, that his guardian was no doubt panicking over the absence of his young charge. But it felt nice to be soaked to the core. Unlike in the dream, it didn't feel like he was being suffocated by the bare essence of the rain, but it felt... relaxing. Turning his head to the side, Krinn flickered his eyes, and raised his hand to push back his soaked hair. But as his fingers came in contact with the silken strands, something started to pound in his chest.
What the -
The dust shot up, groaning at the splitting headache he received from the dumb action. But he didn't have time to complain to himself about the pain - he was far too busy staring in shock at the wet slick strands of hair cascading over his shoulder. It almost reached the end of his back, and in long, deep storm gray colors. His head pounded. What had happened? What had - Krinn glanced down at his shirt, which had been a loose, too big for him tank top before. Now it was struggling not to tear as it stretched across his toned stomach and chest, the wet fabric glimpsing the muscle beneath. His hands shook, his entire body shook, and Krinn jumped to his feet. Only to have his feet tangle and the ground seem too far away. He was taller too?! Krinn didn't have time to think before he was thrown to the ground on his back with the wind knocked out of him. His legs stuck up in the air, and the dust stared in shock, hair splayed around him. What body was this? It couldn't have been his! He was at least a foot taller, and his hair had spurted out from its short cut. A memory of the dream before swept through his head.
"You've grown up since I've last seen you."
It... had to be a trick of his imagination. Lan had said he'd been showing signs of growth, but this... this was... impossible. It didn't make sense - it didn't - Krinn pinched himself to make sure he wasn't still dreaming. When the cold rain made him sure that he was in the real world, and these weren't hallucinations, the dust unsteadily stood up, careful of his own legs. He couldn't do anything but believe that his body had made a leap from being a child to being a - what had his guardian called it - a teenager? A teenager... He was growing up. He didn't know how, and he didn't know why, but his head swelled with the feeling of confusion, of different emotions suddenly wracking his body. Of a state of mind that was molding over his childish own, crossing out the childish curiosity and the constant thrill of adventure. The world swirled around him, but he stayed still, trying to make sense of it all. First the dream, now this... transformation. His clothing felt too tight and too constricting around him, and the swell of a headache as his mind raced to catch up to his bodies physical maturity was almost too much. Keeping still for another few minutes, Krinn breathed rhythmically. What should have happened to a child in months - years even - had happened to him in a day. Maturity that should have come from time and experience came from the drench of the rain and the sudden growth. And it was scary.
A sore ache fell over his body, but Krinn was able to move his feet in the direction of home, the rain somehow giving him strength. It whispered calming words in his ears, and he traveled through Amies like a ghost, tripping over his feet once in awhile. He was still trying to make sense of the event that had taken place, of the strange, strange dream that felt like it was another, off kilter world tied to reality. The ethereal being that had called herself the rain and warned him of the sun. He entered the complex without much thought, wondering if Lan was home, or if he'd set up his own rescue party. A small part of his mind laughed at that. He started the stairs at a slow pace, but it became faster and faster until he was sprinting them, testing his legs, foreign and long. His heart raced as he reached the floor they lived on, and he kneeled over to suck in deep breaths. He'd almost tripped a few times, but he'd made it. The rest of his actions were controlled by instinct. He left a trail of soggy wet clothing and puddles as he carried himself towards the bathroom, kicking off the last sock as he opened the door. He would clean it all up later, but even as a rain dust, he shivered from the icy touch of the cold.
The warmth of water cascaded over his hair and skin, and Krinn tilted his head back, the warmth purring as it washed away the feeling of freezing. Leaning against the black marble, Krinn felt his eyes drift in and out of focus as confusion lapsed against him like a continuous wave. Lan had said that growing up was easy - that living was the hard part. Krinn wondered half heartedly if the other had just been pretending when he'd said that, or if living was actually worse then the headache eating away at his head. Sliding down to sit, Krinn let out a few groans, rubbing at the side of his now long hair and brushing through it, fingers playing with knots. He stayed there until the water ran cold, and sluggishly moved for the towels, drying his hair with more precision then usual, trying to examine every part of his new, grown up body. More muscle flexed underneath the soft skin, and he'd grown in height considerably. Carefully, he tied back his hair, not even using the fogged over mirror for reference until afterwards, when he rubbed his hand over it and brushed away some of the wet clinging liquid. His dual eyes stared back at him, but it felt like he was looking at someone else entirely. Wrapped in a white towel, Krinn slid out of the room.
Realization soon hit that he had nothing to wear. Pacing, he began to pick up the littered clothing and throw it into the bathtub, not wanting to soak the carpet anymore then he would have already. Just as he finished throwing away the last of the clothing in another short lived daze, the door jangled open with a stressed sigh. Looking up, Krinn caught sight of his guardian before his guardian caught sight of him. Guilt suddenly crept into his sore joints. He could see the obvious worry settling into the face of the two toned chef. And with everything going on in that mind of his, Krinn was sure he had more of a headache then he did.
"Lan..." He said, stepping towards the other. "I, uhm, sorry I didn't show up. I fell asleep, and... this..." Awkwardly, the dust began to gesture towards his body, staring anywhere but at his guardian. What was this? Why was he suddenly so self conscious? He felt embarrassed and exposed in the towel, his new hair swept back into a long ponytail.
"K-Krinn - thats - you're - " He could hear Lan stuttering, but by the time he heard footsteps, it was too late. He was swept into a bear hug before he could even dodge it. Lan had a sudden smile on his face, contrasting with the others look of absolute shock. "You've grown up." He said into Krinns ear, even though Krinn couldn't believe Lan was taking it all in stride. Placing Krinns feet back on the floor - the dust didn't even realize Lan had lifted him into the air - Lan tilted his head, leaning back a bit to examine the teenager. "Hell, you look like a girl." He said grinning.
Krinn was still too shocked by Lans blatant words to get mad at that statement. But anger bubbled in his gut at the notion of looking even more like a girl than ever. "Lan! I just became like this one day and you're - you're not even shocked? Or concerned?! This isn't normal - " Lan shot him a dry humored look.
"Krinn, you came out of a bottle that I picked out of the back streets of Amies." He paused, and Krinn suddenly sucked in the memory of their first meetings. His eyes flashed with a bit of understanding at where Lan was coming from. "I dont know how your race, or whatever it is, works, but sudden growth spurts aren't half as shocking as kids popping out of bottles." Lan ruffled his hair, playing with the ponytail idly.
Krinn fidgeted awkwardly, and stared at his feet - they seemed to be so far away. "Right, er.... So you dont think - I dont look strange?"
Chuckling, the guardian simply placed both of his hands on each of Krinns cheeks, bumping their foreheads together with a smile. "You look like Krinn, Krinn." He paused, eyes dancing. "You just look like fate decided to let you grow."
Krinn had his turn to laugh a bit. "I dont think it was fate." He mumbled, and suddenly his mind went to the girl in his dreams. A shudder ran the course of his spine, but then he noticed his position and Lan burst out laughing when the cheeks in the palms of his hands heated up to a scarlet red. Letting go, Lan stood back and sized the boy up.
"We'll definitely need to get you some new clothing. None of your old stuff will fit now..." he said, cocking a smile and turning from the other. "Come on, I'm sure I can dig out some temporary clothing for you before we go shopping." Krinn looked skeptical as he glanced over Lans current state of dress. In worn jeans, cowboy boots, two layered tank tops, and an armada of bangles and bracelets that Krinn thought would have made Lans arms fall off by now, the man looked more outlandish than ever, especially with his hair, and the bandana like scarf around his neck. Krinn wasn't so sure he'd look good in whatever Lan had in store for him. But he'd trusted the mans fashion sense enough up until this point... He'd just have to trust it for a bit longer.
Following the other into the bedroom, Krinn paused, daring to glance back at the window, a shiver running through his body. The rain had stopped awhile ago, and now, shards of sunlight were dripping through the window. For some reason, Krinn moved further away from the window, just far enough so that the reflections of gold wouldn't touch his revealed skin. Shaking his head, he turned, thinking it was silly that he was taking a dream seriously. Calling out to Lan for something to clear his head ache, Krinn tripped after the other, still not used to his own two legs. But even if he'd decided to rid himself of the idea that the dream was anything more then a figment of his imagination, he couldn't stop the words from repeating in his head.
Beware the sun.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 12:05 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:00 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:18 am
I've never been much of a fan of jokes. Sure, I've laughed once or twice to a bad one here and again - its called being polite. But I've never been the sort of guy who actually enjoys having a cruel twist of words played on him. Sure, perhaps its karma getting back at me for all those times I held his hand without permission. Perhaps its karma getting back at me for sleeping with someone I shouldn't have. But I truly didn't enjoy it when he walked in and said "I'm moving out." And I'll say it right now - I'm sorry to every god I've given up on believing in for all of the sins I've committed. So please make this horrible joke go away right now. Right now. Because I dont think I can deal with this. Groaning, I rolled away. I tangled my feet in my comforter and closed my eyes, denial rooting itself deep inside my head. I think if I'd been more awake, my heart would have cut a hole in my chest and fallen straight through the floor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:24 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2009 3:00 am
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
