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 Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 8:29 pm
Ellandra's face abruptly flared to tomato-red again, and she bit her lip, tugging at the blankets Misha had tucked around her.
"I'm . . . . I'm much better this - this morning. . . .thank you," she said, not daring to meet her companion's eyes for a long moment. "Are - are you feeling better today, too?" She glanced up at him, just barely, concern still present in her eyes.
Her Papa had always told her that her eyes told everyone what she was thinking, he'd said her mother had been the same way. She'd never had any reason to disbelieve him, either.
Twisting the blankets around her hands, she looked around the hanger, taking in its appearance in the soft sunlight of mid-to-late morning.
Everything always seemed much less threatening in the sunshine, so unlike the terrifying atmosphere of a rainstorm.
Less threatening or not, however, she still had no idea where she was. And thus really no idea how to get home from here.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 4:04 am
Ah, there we have it. Little miss Sanders had withdrawn a little again, but this time, Misha had somehow started to get used to that. What a curious, sad young lady to turtle up like that, plagued by whatever unnecessary concerns and fears she had. ... the wariness about storms he could understand, though.
When she finallygathered up the nerve to look at him, he greeted her with a pleasant smile.
"Same for me, I really do feel much refreshed." he answered her question softly. "Nothing a nap wouldn't fix... A long one." the notion made him chuckle. Aww you, I'd told you not to worry, right?
The Essentic hopped of the stack of crates they were huddled on, walked around a few paces and stretched out completely. he loosened himself up, cricked his neck and fluffed his fur straight when he thought Ellandra wasn't paying much attention. Putting your hand to your behind to ploof your tail back into shape was a bit awkward, and he still wasn't sure if she knew about his origins or not anyway.
Once he was done with that, he already felt much more awake and clear-headed, ready to tackle the new day. Okay, recap. Already he was probably in quite some trouble, but he'd face the consequences head held high. What needed to be done now, was to get himself home, and more importantly, make sure he little lady would be okay. After that short round of pondering, the Alter turned back to Ellandra.
"Miss Ella, tell me, do you need my help getting home?" he asked her after making sure she was listening. "You... have a home, do you?"
That might not be bad to ask, his owner'd been trying to teach him not to assume everyone lived the way they did.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:05 am
Oh, he had a rabbit's tail, too - Ellandra hid a smile at the sight of the fluffy appendage. Telling a near-stranger that the tail they didn't want people to notice was adorable just wasn't polite.
She set the blankets aside, folding them neatly - leaving them a muddled mess wasn't the right way to leave them after they'd proven so useful the night before.
It was good that he was feeling better - there was nothing she could have done had he not been. Her worry for him finally died down, and she was almost - almost - in a relaxed state. This was so unusual in and of itself that it nearly frightened her again!
She squeaked a little when Misha asked if she had a home, but managed to gather herself enough to answer.
"Yes. . . I'm just not. . .. not quite sure how to get to it from -from here. . ." Which was true, considering she still wasn't sure where she was.
And, well, she still wasn't particularly eager to go home and face the wrath of her editor.
But she would have to eventually.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:31 am
Nod. Yes, he'd already thought so.
"If you tell me where you need to be, I can take you." he reassured her, with a happy smile. "You could say I know Vargash better than the cab drivers." grin.
"I guess we shouldn't linger much longer... I hope I didn't get you into too much trouble with this. Ah, just incase..." he reached into his messenger bag again, and retrieved a little note. "If you ever need any help or for any reason wish to find me, that's the place to go."
He gave her the little slip of paper with a playful-casual bow. Life Essentials, it said, and much more.
"Shall we head out?" He certainly looked more than ready to go.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:13 am
Ellandra tilted her head. Should she really give her address out to him? Regardless of how kind he'd been? . . . . Well, it was a risk, yes, but he'd been helpful thus far and she saw no reason for him to be different now.
Besides, it wasn't like she had a lot of choices in the matter.
"I ... I live in - in the Wisteria Acres a-apartment complex.... mine's a - a little set a-apart from the o-others...... it's - the a-apartments are - a long, l-long way from here. . ."
Well, maybe he'd know where it was from here. Or at least enough of a reference to help her get back to the area she could get home from.
She took the paper from him and looked it over for just a moment before placing it in her apron-pocket, clipping it to the side with her pen so she wouldn't lose it.
"I - ...... yes.... thank you......... Misha,"
There went her face again. why must everything make her blush???
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:21 am
"... I really hope that's just a blush, and not a really bad fever you have there. I don't mean to be awkward..." Misha chuckled softly, already going over the address in his internal database. Apartment complexes, Wisteria, upper district, yes, YES. That one.
"... aaah yes, there. I could take you right now, I know the shortest way." he lived up, his eyes gaining a gleeful spark. Hungry or not, he loved to navigate.
"Not to boast, but I'm... rather fast, would you mind a ride? I AM sort of in a hurry..." again he gave that mirthful chuckle, grinning eagerly. "I've never transported a human before, but I've seen people do it in movies, I wouldn't drop you."
Aaaaaw, how could anyone resist that joyous smile.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:32 am
Ellandra squeaked.
"You mean - you'd. .. . .c-carry me?!?"
While this offer didn't really terrify her, it did stun her a bit. Still, she could remember the afternoon before and how he had obviously held back his speed for her - while she ran as fast as she possibly could. Biting her lip, she tugged her hat down further over her face and nodded a little.
"A-all right. . .. M-misha...."
She didn't think he would drop her, she didn't think that. . . and why did she feel like she was trapped in one of her own stories all of a sudden? As the role of the damsel-in-distress who was being returned to home and safety after a night of adventure?
As nice as this bunny-person was, maybe she needed to get back to her nice, ordered, normal life. She needed to re-anchor herself to reality. At least at home her face didn't flare up into a blush every five minutes!
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 9:47 am
Unless her goldfish teased her, that would be strange yes.
And there's nothing wrong with living the dream a little. Misha wasn't quite a knight in shining armor, but he sure wouldn't mind being one, and he enjoyed daydreaming, playing make-believe with himself that his runs were more heroic than they were.
The Essentic nearly jumped up a bit with glee, getting pumped up with anticipation. "I'll take you then, no worries! you'll be safely at home before you know it."
Exactly sixty-four second later, he'd brought her to the door, snapped the lights out with a sharp click, and stood outside with her, locking the door carefully. Not awaiting her suggestions or second thoughts, he arranged his bag to the side, flexed his arms, legs, yes, he was ready.
And then, he heaved her up on his back. "Don't be afraid, okay?"
A firm hold, warm body, and then, speed. Accelleration, velocity, the ground flitting by underneath, and the hangar complex was already out of view, around the corner. Like an arrow he had sped up from zero to several miles per hour, and it didn't take long for him to find his flow. At first, he took care to get a feel for his new balance and weight, and to let Ellandra adjust to this odd method of transportation, but then, freedom called.
At a breathtaking helter-skelter pace, the Messenger sped along his path to deliver his most precious delivery ever. Litle back alleys, remote little hidden parks, wide-open industrial terrains that he somehow managed to wheedle into, over benches, metal containers, at some instances he nearly seemed to fly.
And then, the environment would become familiar again, and Misha slowed down a little. Two hundred yards, a hundred yards, do you know that bakery, dear? and then, there they were. With a flexible stride, he approached the complex, and at last, put the young woman down, steadying her gently.
"This is the place, I assume?" he smiled at her fondly, not letting her go just yet, first making sure she was steady on her feet.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:13 am
Ellandra laughed - a nervous, jittery laugh more fueled by the rush of adrenaline that had come from the helter-skelter dash through the streets than from any true enjoyment, and nodded.
"Y-yes, yes it is," she said, blushing only slightly this time and smiling genuinely. "My apartment is the one at the end of the row, nearest the laundry."
Now that she was home, and safe, Ellandra was rather reluctant to see her impromptu dare-she-say-it-friend leave without so much as a token of her thanks, so she nervously curled her hair around her fingers and then dashed to her apartment, calling out a hurried,
"W-wait just a moment b-before you go, please!" Then she was inside, looking for what she wanted and grabbing it from its resting place on a shelf, hurrying back outside and almost tripping over that ratty-looking calico stray as she exited.
"H-here, here," she said hurriedly, pressing an enormous bag of candy - from her favorite sweet shop, used to fuel her late-night attempts at writing and ironically of nearly the same variety as the kind he had given her the night before - into Misha's hands, knowing that he needed to be out of sight and away as quickly as possible, though she didn't quite understand why that should be - he was so very nice, after all.
"Take this - it's . . .. my thanks you to, Misha - you - you d-didn't have to help me and you did so please, please take it and - and thank you so very - very much." It was hurried, it was graceless, and her face was the color of a ripe tomato again, but truly, it was the least Ellandra could do to repay this so-kind rabbit-person for his actions.
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 2:30 pm
Of course Misha'd stay for a short while. He watched her get indoors before slowly turning, a little reluctant to leave still, and waited, just like she'd asked him to. What was it now? Already he was tensed for another dash, but he held back. When he heard her return and saw her nearly trip over the feline, he jumped a little, bounced towards her a a bit, then halted.
Screeech, mind-brakes grinding.
Oh wow.
All he did was stare, as if Ella'd just presented him with the Dead Sea Rolls to deliver or something.
Oh wow.
"I.. I-I.. I can have that?" he couldn't stop staring at the candy, at her, back at the candy. "... whoah...." The definition of wonder, all in that one breath. He took it from her slowly, handling it as if it was a fragile gem.
"Really it was no problem a all 'twas all my fault really I... THANK you I love these." Heehee, don't go emotional now, bun-buns. "If there's EVER anything I can do for you... You know where to find me." He smiled at her with such gratitude and honest care, he could've burst into rays of cotton-candy-coloured sunlight any moment now.
"Ah, I... I really have to go now... Take care, miss Ellandra, take care. Good luck with your notes. " He nodded eagerly, stepped back, skipped a pace, readying himself to go now. he pressed the bag of candy close to his chest, holding it like a beloved plushie. "I hope we'll meet again someday!" and off he was. Dash, flit, zoom, leaping over a fence to take a shortcut that'd save him 0.35 seconds in the long run, nearly flying with an exhilerated playful happiness.
Oh yes, he really did want to meet her again, if only yo hear how she was doing.
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Gracious Conversationalist
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Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 3:03 pm
Ellandra watched the rabbit-person speed off, and stared after him for several minutes before she turned and walked slowly back to her apartment.
She remained deep in thought for a long time, absently pouring some milk to the stray she'd dubbed "Trouble" and going around her house, just tidying up things here and there. She'd need to go buy some more candy later.
Idly, almost, she wondered what he was. He was . . .. something more than what she'd seen in her limited experience of the world, she could tell that much. But what, exactly, she had no idea.
"Good luck, Misha," she whispered softly, taking the paper he'd left her out of her apron-pocket and tucking it neatly into a desk-drawer.
Absently almost, her eyes flicked to the wall where a portrait of her long-dead mother hung - had one not known better, they would have thought it was of Ellandra herself, aside from the happy twinkle in the portrait-woman's eyes, and her less-conservative clothing.
Ellandra kept the painting out of sentiment for her Papa more than for her mother, although she was rather curious about who the woman had been - she didn't even know her name. ah, but why was she suddenly thinking about that?
She had work to do; the confrontation with her editor couldn't be kept waiting for much longer, and she needed to clean up and eat some breakfast.
Her gaze drifted out the window again, to the direction Misha had left in, and her eyes darted to the folded paper, itching to take it out and find this "Life Essentials" place - but no, she had things to do. Important, real-world things.
Nothing to do with strange bunny-people who ran faster than should be possible and acted like they were programmed with a map of the city in their minds.
Still . . .
"I hope you're right, Misha. I would like very much to meet you again someday."
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