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 Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 1:23 pm
After Medieval left, Ren sat in a somewhat stupefied position, attempting wrap his brain around her words. Could it actually be possible that his sister was becoming...well, normal? It was a strange thought, one that Ren had thought to be a hopeless matter, but...
Something beside him squeaked, and Ren turned just in time to see Jove dart underneath the bed, tail whooshing behind him and dislodging the dust that had accumulated over the years.
"What was that for?" he asked, tilting his head in confusion before rolling onto his stomach on the floor and inching towards the bed. He laid his hands down, resting his head on them, and squinted into the darkness at Jove's wide, luminous eyes.
"And what's that look for?" Ren murmured, tail flicking behind him. "You're not worried, are you? About..." he hesitated, wings pressing down against his back. "About me having a new little sibling?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 7:58 pm
The pup frowned, looking back at Ren as though saying "What do you mean, it was your fault!" His ears flattened sideways, and then he gave a little sneeze. He ad stirred up a ton of dust, hadn't he... How did Ren spend time under there with it being so dusty?
HIs brother's next words distracted him from the dust, at least momentarily. Of course he was worried, Ren had an evil cl- wait, worried about him having a new little brother or sister? Nah. Never.
Except he might be. Ren said he always wanted a brother, but if he got a real one, he might not need Jove anymore. Surely a real gryphon brother would be best. With not only freckles, but little wings and a tail that was only fluffy at the end, just like Ren. His face might have shown his uncertainty, although he tried not to show it. What if Ren decided he liked his new brother better?
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Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2011 8:37 pm
Ren's own sneeze followed Jove's relatively quickly; he hadn't been back to his house in several months, and even when he had lived in this place, he had not really used the space under the bed, leaving the dust to collect.
At first, Jove's expression was slightly bewildered, but then it shifted to one of uncertainty mixed with anxiety. It was one that Ren had seen many times before, but each one had been just a little bit different depending on the situation. This one was half hidden as Jove tried to seem nonchalant, and Ren's tail flicked behind him, his eyes fixed on Jove's, though he kept to where he was and didn't move.
"Hey," he said. "You know I love you, right? Even if I get a new little brother, that doesn't mean I'm just going to suddenly abandon you. You're pretty special to me, y'know?"
A wry, gentle smile touched his lips. "Besides," Ren added, his face softening. "You're kind of one in a million. I don't think there's any little brother out there as good as you - but that's just me."
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Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:21 am
Ren's words only settled some of the figurative butterflies floating around in Jove's insides. What if one in a million wasn't special enough? The ghostling was still learning to grasp the concept of really big numbers, but it was possible a new little brother would be even more special. After all, Ren would be able to grow up with him, and teach him how to be an even better little brother. Compared to one who was only adopted, it certainly had to be something special.
That was the other thing weighing on the pup's mind. The little sibling would be Ren's new family, but Jove surely wouldn't be allowed to share in that happy event. It wouldn't be his little brother as well. And if the rest of Ren's family was scary like this, what would happen if the gryphon went back to this real family?
The pup tried not to let his anxiety show. Ren had enough to worry about, and he could deal with whatever happened when it happened...
He wiggled half way out, in that timid way he had when he was clearly trying to hide something, and was caught up in another sneezing fit. And it was no wonder, dust was completely covering the front of his sweater, clinging to his ears, and turning his tail into the very image of a monster dust bunny.
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:16 pm
Ren was not entirely certain he had actually managed to get through to Jove, if the expression on his little brother's face was anything to go by. Jove was still frowning, his ears flopped back against his head of pale, fluffy hair, and he seemed to be lost in thought. Ren wondered what exactly it was that he was thinking of; did he really believe that once Ren's mother had her baby that Ren would desert him? It was a ludicrous thought, really; Ren had already grown too attached to the younger boil that the idea of not having him in his life was quite difficult to imagine, nearly impossible.
"Come on out," Ren said as Jove wriggled forward - he recognized that slow, hesitant way of moving, however. It was how Jove moved whenever he was uncertain of something, or maybe trying to conceal something. Whatever it was, he was clearly trying to make sure Ren didn't find out.
"Thaaat's it, out ya go - "
There was a series of sneezes. Ren seized Jove's upper arms and yanked him out in an explosion of dust and sputtering as both of them attempted to breathe normally.
"Good grief," Ren said, waving a hand in front of his face to try and dispel some of the grey mist. He had pulled Jove half across his lap and was now leaning on top of him, as if he didn't have a boil wriggling on his stomach over his legs. "Man it's dusty down there; surprised Mother hasn't come in with a torch to get rid of this room."
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:01 pm
Jove let out another couple sneezes, and curled up to bury his face in Ren's shirt. He could just not breathe until the air settled, but it was easier for him to not breathe when he had something covering his nose. Why did his brother not take care of under his bed? Lack of care had rendered that space just about unusable. Which was a shame, it was such a large bed, and had such a cosy under-the-bed space...
The little pup waited until the tickling sensation in his nose was gone before glancing back up at Ren. Was his mother really that scary, that she would torch his room just to get some of the dust out?
He sat up and stayed there in Ren's lap for a good minute or so, not admitting that Ren wasn't the only one who needed reassurance. After all the scary family thoughts the pup could use a little time too.
But speaking of scary family... Jove's curiosity got the better of his affections, and he scrambled half over Ren to look at the sandwiches that had been left by the evil clone. He didn't really trust them, and didn't have to eat them, but his brother was different. Living things needed food like sandwiches to keep on going.
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:11 pm
Ren absently ran his fingers through Jove's fluffy dust-dusted hair, frowning slightly to himself. He was still trying to figure out what Medieval was playing at; her actions were quite unlike anything she had done since they were little kids. And now to bring them sandwiches?
He caught Jove's look and a faint smile crossed his face. "She would do it, yes," he said with a small laugh, which was dry and not really filled with much humor. "She doesn't like me much, see, my mother. She's a very proud woman; takes our race a bit too seriously, if you ask me..."
Ren trailed off, still musing silently to himself. His hand fell from Jove's head as the boil scooted off of him and went to investigate the sandwiches, looking at them very suspiciously. It was only after he gave up on his inner thoughts that Ren noticed he was no longer patting the top of his little brother's head.
"Jove? Oh. You can eat those, don't worry. I wouldn't put it past Mother to do something to them, but Medieval's too much of a prude to resort to anything dirty like that. She's more the type to keep her nose stuck in the air and ignore you, not sink to a lower level. But you don't eat anyway, so I don't think it matters, right? I mean, I suppose you could eat, and I know you do sometimes, but it's not necessary, is it? You being a ghost and all."
He was babbling. Ren abruptly clamped his mouth shut, offering Jove a small smile as he sighed. "I think I need to get out of this house," he said grimly, giving the room a rather disgusted look. "What do you think? You ready to head back?"
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 7:45 pm
The little wisp frowned, and his ears perked up as though asking Ren to explain. He hadn't seen any racing yet. But if they wanted to race, Jove would have run his little feet right off to make them treat his brother nicer. He couldn't understand why his adopted family was so mean, and a part of him was afraid adding another sibling would make it worse. What if that one wasn't nice either?
His little ears flattened back as he glanced at the sandwiches again. Scooting closer, he picked one up and gave it a good sniff. Not tuna or chicken, like he would have preferred, but he had never seen his brother actually eat any meat, so inwardly he wasn't surprised. With the visual and olfactory inspection passed, he grabbed one and took a big bite, frowning and chewing for a good half minute before handing the bitten sandwich to Ren. His expression was very matter of fact, like "I tested it for you. It's good."
If Ren was going to head back he needed some sustenance, Jove decided all of a sudden. And secretly hoped he wouldn't have to go home in the bag...
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 9:02 pm
Ren said "The gryphons, I mean. She takes us too seriously. Thinks we're above everyone else, has this insatiable need to be all impressive and all-knowing, even though we're not." He gave a small shrug, shaking his head as if he couldn't think of any real reasoning behind it. "Load of bull if you ask me; I could care less what race I am. I mean, I love being a gryphon, but I'd still be me if I were anything else - like a foxfire," Ren added, with a small smile at his little brother. "What I look like on the outside doesn't change what I am on the inside, right?"
He reached over, fluffing up Jove's already fluffy hair and then tweaked one of his ears playfully. The boil was still looking at the sandwiches with a look of wary suspicion, before leaning over and picking one up, examining it closely. Taking a bite, he chewed slowly, then handed it to Ren, who took it with some amusement.
"Thanks, little bro," he said, and took a bite of his own. It was not filled with meat (which he had not thought to actually check beforehand, surprisingly), which was a good thing. Instead it was a lettuce, tomato, and pepper sandwich, and it tasted quite good. Ren eyed it somewhat cautiously, but seeing as how Jove was fine with it, he at it anyway. When he was finished, he sat back and looked over at Jove for a long moment.
"You're a good brother, you know that?" Ren said, and ruffled his hair again.
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