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 Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:37 pm
Ren gave a sigh, nosing into Jove's wet hair. He knew his own mood swings were quite unpredictable, especially as of late when he was all sorts of overemotional from the field trip, but his heart could only take so much. It was like being on a roller coaster; one minute he was up, the next he was down; and there seemed to be no stabilizing of his emotions.
"My favorite little foxfire," Ren said, and lightly bit down on Jove's neck, as if to mark him; he had used to do the same thing with his sister, wrestling with her on the ground when they were kids until they were both breathless and red faced. Bickering, squabbling, they would poke and prod and bite and tug until one prevailed over the other, and then they would lie there together, laughing. The memories haunted Ren; it would never be like that again with Medieval.
But he had Jove, now; someone who was right here with him, in front of him, and who he believed might actually love him back like he loved him. Jove was precious to him; there was no changing that, and there never would be.
Ren pulled away, and then gently extracted himself out from behind the younger boil, standing up. His drenched shorts clung to his legs, and his wings felt as if they weighed two tons, but he reached across to grab a towel, stepping out of the tub and pressing the clean white cloth to his face before he turned back to Jove.
"Come on, Freckles," Ren said, and held out his arms. "Let's get dried off and warm."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:58 pm
Jove's good ear flattened back and he squeezed Ren's arm, the whole biting thing was new to him, and something that would take awhile to get used to. He could understand most of the gryphon's affectionate expressions, but biting? Not that it hurt or anything... And even if it did, the pup probably wouldn't have admitted it anyway.
After a minute Ren seemed to have met his internal snuggle quota and pulled away, but Jove was unwilling to follow his lead this time. Instead he adopted a questioning frown, and leaned out of the tub to grab his brother's tail. One would expect a student with a tail would realize that they weren't to be grabbed, but either the pup didn't think or didn't care as he tugged gently, frowning all the while.
It was clear he didn't believe the bath was finished.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:14 pm
Ren had started to walk away, letting Jove climb out of the bath by himself, but was stopped rather abruptly when he felt a hand close around his tail, tugging him to a halt. Ren blinked, automatically stiffening, and twisted around to look back at Jove.
"What?" he asked, slightly bemused. "You don't want to get out?"
Well this certainly was a problem. Ren had cleaned both himself and Jove quite thoroughly, but it was obvious that the puppy did not believe this himself. Ren backtracked a few steps and sat on the edge of the tub, laying a hand atop the puppy's head.
"Why don't you want to get out?" he asked, absently pushing his fingers through Jove's damp hair. "Don't you want to get all nice and warm in bed?"
He wasn't entirely certain why Jove did not want to get out; maybe the water was more soothing to him than Ren had originally thought. Either way they were at a slight standstill; Jove did not want to get out, but Ren was not about to just leave him by himself, even if he was only going onto the other room.
"Jooooooooove," Ren said softly, drawing out the boil's name. "Joooooveeeeeee...?"
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:38 pm
The pup let go of Ren's tail, and leaned his arms on the tub's edge while Ren ruffled his hair. No, he didn't want to get out. The water wasn't even cold yet. A warm bed sounded nice, but so did enjoying the rest of his bath, which he fully intended on doing.
As if to make his point, he pulled away from Ren and grabbed the soap. He leaned back against the end of the tub and stuck one pale leg out of the water, rubbing the soap against his foot with much the same care and thoroughness as he had washed his arms earlier. His ears flopped back stubbornly when Ren said his name.
The pup might not have paid much attention to his hair or clothes, but grooming was pleasant enough to be well worth the extra effort he put into it. And since this was his first relaxing bath he had taken since their trip to the island, he was reluctant to leave the tub. Ideally he would get Ren back into the water, and somehow imbue the gryphon with enough sense to just keep him from falling over while he washed himself.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 5:17 pm
Ren gave a small sigh, completely defeated by Jove's stubbornness. He couldn't really be mad at him; after all, there was really no point, and Jove was far too adorable to even try to be mad at. He swung a leg over the side of the tub, straddling it, and reached for the soap again, plucking it from the other boil's fingers once again.
"Nuh uh," Ren said, wagging a finger at Jove. "If I'm gonna get back in, then you have to let me wash you because you are sloowwwww."
He meant it with the sincerest amount of affection, rather than degradation, and pulled Jove towards him, moving the bar of soap across the back of his neck. Ren's right hand took Jove's wrist in his, pulling his arm up as he ran the soap up and down the boil's slender arm, sliding it soapily across Jove's palm. Once he was done, he linked his fingers playfully through Jove's, holding the soap out to him as he climbed back into the tub with a sigh.
"All right, all right," he said. "I'm in. Now it's your turn to wash my back, silly little boil."
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 7:57 pm
This was not what he had in mind, and he squirmed as Ren held his arm up. It was mostly for the sake of protesting, his good arm was hard to wash when he couldn't lift his bad arm that well, and it was an entirely different sensation being washed rather than washing oneself.
He gave a little huff once the soap was returned, and kneeled to give Ren's freckled and scarred back a very quick, cursory rub over with the soap before it was set aside in favour of running his fingers through Ren's feathers. He had no experience with birds or feathers, so it was a new experience for him. A slight, experimental tug assured him they came securely fixed to the wing, and then he splayed one out in his hand to examine the quill structure. It was fascinating.
The pup then traced his hands down the wing, feeling the muscle and bone and joint connections he lacked in his own wingless form. His fingers slid from feathers to skin, and traced the line of one scar that showed up particularly light against Ren's freckles. That was when he realized he could feel it. The pup frowned, his curious hands stilling themselves as he tried to figure this one out.
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Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 8:39 pm
It was obvious Jove wasn't pleased about Ren washing him like this, and less obvious that Ren was doing it because he knew Jove wouldn't like it, and he wanted to tease his little brother. But, after a while, he stopped, relinquishing the soap before he slid back into the water, in front of Jove this time. It made him feel odd, slightly more vulnerable as he drew his knees up to his chest, his arms wrapped around his legs, resting his head on them. For a few moments it seemed that Jove complied (although a bit stubbornly), but then Ren felt him stop, and small fingers moved to the wings on his back.
He closed his eyes, wings fluttering in Jove's hands. They moved through the feathers, dripping with water, down the long bones beneath the muscle until they reached his back. Little fingers splayed over the skin of his back, then moved across the raised scars Ren knew was there. He tensed automatically, wings trembling slightly, but after a moment he relaxed, reaching a hand around to take Jove's, pulling it away from his back.
"Nothing to worry about, Freckles," Ren said lightly, masking any real emotion he might have felt. The scars were old; very old, long in some places and short in others, cris-crossing over his entire upper back and part of his lower back.
"Nothing to worry about," Ren said again, his voice barely above a whisper.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:13 am
Ren's reaction just made things feel wrong to the pup, and a little growl rose in his throat. These marks were clearly not just marks, like his own bruises, they were something capable of invoking quite strong emotions. Ren might say there was nothing to worry about, but clearly he was troubled.
He tried to pull his hand away from Ren, growling gently and frowning with a great deal more ferocity, but once his hand was free he didn't press the issue. He just stood on his knees to give his friend a grumpy hug, even gingerly wrapping his bad arm over Ren's shoulders. He held on there for a couple minutes, his water-warmed body laying against Ren's back like a bony little cape.
Ear biting was out of the question for showing his affection, but he planted a little kiss on the corner of his friend's jaw to try and cheer him up. The bath was a good thing, and he needed to let Ren know that.
Hopefully Ren wouldn't move his wings much, this was not a good time for Jove to be reminded he was ticklish.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:12 pm
Exhaling slowly, Ren reached a hand up, brushing damp hair away from his forehead. Drops of water clung to his lashes, making his eyes feel heavy as he opened them, hearing Jove's low grow rumbling through the boil's chest where it was pressed against his back. The hug made him hesitate a moment; it was unexpected, especially from someone like Jove, who was mostly on the receiving end of affection, rather than the giving. Not that Ren had not had his fair share of affection from Jove; on the contrary, he happily welcomed any and all little gestures the puppy felt up to giving him, but they were rare. He supposed that just made them all the more special, however.
Especially when said affection was given in the form of a butterfly light kiss to the underside of his jaw. Ren had learned that this was Jove's favorite place to drop those little kisses of his, and it made him feel warm and tingly each time. Special and loved.
Ren lifted his hands, laying them over Jove's forearms where they were wrapped around his neck and shoulders. "Are you trying to comfort me, Freckles?" he asked him, almost lightly, but his cheeks were flushed with pleasure. Ren pulled Jove's arm up, lifting the boil's injured arm gently to his lips to press a feather light kiss to the back of Jove's hand before he dropped it. "Thank you, sweetheart."
Jove was right; the bath had been a good idea.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:39 pm
Jove gave a snort next to Ren's ear as if to say "Yeah right," and then withdrew. Mission accomplished. If he was lucky, "sweetheart" would soon be a long forgotten pet name, and Ren would never ever call him that in public.
He sank back into the water and scowled at his friend's back for a minute. Why was he so attached to this gryphon, who cuddled him and embarrassed him, and was so silly on occasion that Jove thought he had eaten some bad mushrooms? Part of him worried that the interaction was ruining his attempted independence. While he still didn't like that sort of thing out where others might see, the recent events had made him clingier than usual, and he was often putting himself in situations he would have run from back when he arrived at the school.
Like bathing with a friend, for example. Giving puppy kisses, in the bath, with a friend. Just thinking about his brazen attempts at affection made him blush. In an effort to hide it, he distracted himself by leaning back, grabbing the soap, and proceeding to wash his other leg.
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 8:58 pm
It was obvious Jove was embarrassed, especially if the scarlet that doused his cheeks was any indication. Ren shifted around in the bathtub, moving to lean against one side, water sloshing around them, and slipped his legs beneath Jove's, holding his bad hand against his stomach, beneath the water. His other arm rested on the side of the bathtub, his head cradled in his palm.
"Don't look so flustered, Freckles," he said lightly, and reached over, pushing his fingers into the puppy's hair, moving the dripping locks away from his face so that he could see the blush that crossed his cheeks. Then he moved his hand down, touching Jove's face - he could feel the heat against his fingertips. Ren leaned back, his wings pressed against the porcelain of the tub as he looked at the boil next to him.
"Jove," he said, dipping his fingers into the water, swirling around the rapidly dissipating soap bubbles. "One day I will take you flying. And then I can show you the sky and the stars and the clouds, and we'll be there, just the two of us, out under the blue and the black and the gold and the white and the yellow."
Ren tilted his head back against the tub, closing his eyes. "Just you and me, little brother," he said again, and his voice was barely above a whisper. "One day and night all to ourselves."
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:30 pm
Jove frowned, keeping his chin down as Ren brushed the hair from his face. Revealing his blush was just adding insult to injury as far as the pup was concerned. And if it had been anyone else, he might not have put up with it.
Instead of retaliating, he just sulked a bit and began washing the end of his fluffy tail. When Ren began talking seriously the pup pretended not to listen, not looking up from his work, thoroughly rubbing shampoo into the long, sodden fluff with as much focus as humanely possible. But his ear swivelling towards his brother was a telltale sign he was listening to ever word.
Was this a ploy to get him out of the bath tub, promising him a flying trip?
Before then it hadn't even occurred to Jove to wonder what flying was like, he was so tied down to the earth. He didn't even float like some other ghosts did. But the more Ren talked about it, the more curious he became, until he completely forgot he was pretending to ignore Ren and stared up with big eyes.
How would Ren take him flying anyway? He knew what his brother was, and that his brother had those wings and could fly, but they looked so small. Would Ren even be able to lift both of them? The pup wasn't very heavy, but he did have a bit of weight to him. And flying seemed like such a delicate process...
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Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2011 9:52 pm
Ren had the sneaking suspicion Jove was, in fact, trying to ignore him (he was being all serious again, after all, and that was kind of a downer), and peeking at him from under his lashes only confirmed that suspicion - Jove was, in fact, very studiously washing his tail, a look of stubborn concentration on his face. Ren would have believed him to be completely ignoring him, were it not for the fact that one ear was turned towards him, as if he were secretly listening. And by the time Ren was finished speaking, Jove had dropped the whole ignoring act and was looking at him with big, round eyes.
Ren smiled faintly, reaching out to absently stroke his fingers along the length of Jove's tail, soap clinging to his skin. The puppy's fur was wet and heavy laden, his tail looking rather like a half drenched animal of some sort.
"You wanna go?" he asked him quietly, tilting his head. "I don't mean now, of course. But sometime soon, when we're both free - or even when we're not - do you want to go?"
He wasn't entirely certain he would fly Jove in human or gryphon form just yet, but either way he would take the puppy flying. For people who had never flown before, it was an experience that could not really be put into words. Ren himself did not fly that often; usually only when he had a very specific purpose in mind - but when he chose to fly with someone else, it was usually a very special occurence; which was why he wanted to fly with Jove.
The faint smile was back. "I'll show you how to touch the sky."
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:50 am
Jove's tail wagged, the mass of soaked fur swaying back and forth. He did want to go, with that sort of excited trepidation that came from thinking on an activity that was desired and yet slightly frightening. Would flying be scary? He thought it might be, considering how high up the sky was.
The pup dunked his tail in the water and scrubbed at it with his hands to get the soap out. Part of the action was cleaning, but the other part was just nerves needing to be settled. If they were going to touch the sky, it was definitely going to be scary. Not that he needed Ren to know that.
With an almost abrupt shift in focus, he grabbed the soap once more and turned right around to wash his chest, presenting Ren with his slim little back. He didn't look over his shoulder at Ren, but the ear that kept swivelling backwards was indication enough he wasn't ignoring him completely, rather, opting for a little privacy while he washed his body and tried not to look nervous.
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Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:33 pm
Jove's tail was wagging, which meant that he was answering yes to Ren's question. The thought made Ren happy, and his tail lifted from the water, tapping against the puppy's shoulder. "I'm glad," he said, then curled it around Jove's tail. The puppy's back was towards him, moving the soap over his pale teal chest, but one of his ears was twisted back; an indication that he was at least listening to him.
Pushing wet hair away from his face, Ren leaned forward, shaking out the droplets. "Come on, little puppy," he said, patting the top of Jove's head. "Time to get out."
He stood up and stepped out, dripping water across the floor as he moved to grab a towel from the rack. He ruffled it through his hair, drying off some of the damp strands, and then slid it around his waist, tying it in a knot before he reached around, kicking off his shorts and tossing them haphazardly into the hamper.
"I'll make you some hot chocolate."
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