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Pity welled up inside Chione, as if she were in tune with the hurt that the lady was living through. She was not a moronic adolescent; she managed to get the gist of the situation, just fine. Upset that she had played a role in commencing the woman’s current suffering, she reached out a tentative hand towards Pez, her thin fingers shaking as they attempted to brush against the bare skin of her face. She could change this... But then she remembered Marie’s confusion earlier. Guilt flooded through her.

Chione swallowed hard and quickly withdrew her hand, pretending to fix her dress while really just tugging on the hem. Once a day. Once a week. The implications of her ability, she knew all to well and just as she was learning to be part of this world, she was learning the extend of her boundaries. And she didn’t like that.

“Naw,” she replied. “I don’t want to see nothing- I mean anything. I don’t want to see anything.” Chione was content to let Pez lead this conversation, just nodding without commenting. In truth, she didn’t mind the teasing insult of the woman- or the comfortable weight of her hand on her hair; it was one of the few times that a person had said as much to her. Even more truthfully, she zoned out a little, watching a pretty, female skater in a sparkling, blue dress spin in the center of the ring. The woman slipped and fell. Chione looked back at Pez.

“Me? Marie called me Chione.”

Little lines in her forehead formed and then ebbed as she observed the lady touch her eyepatch. Her heart stirred; her pity for Pez remained strong and kept her curiosity, to ask what was under the patch, at bay. She had said “It’s gone,” but the lack of a body part- an eye- was more than Chione’s comprehension could stretch. Oh yes, the few times Marie allowed her out of the apartment, whether to take a short jaunt down the waterfront or maybe up to the gallery space where her guardian was once again putting something together, she had seen mangled humans. Yet they were people with broken bones and bruises, and always they were in a complete piece.

But the woman didn’t seem to want to linger on the peculiar choice in clothing. The girl could let it go too, for the time being.

“You like it?,” she said with a grin. Her mouth muscles felt sore as they worked and the adolescent realized that she must have been clenching her jaws. “I’m glad.”

Her heart raced with excitement at Pez’s next comment; “Yes,” she cried, “I’m standing just fine- see!” To demonstrate she released her grin on the wall and while her ankles wobbled, she remained balancing on the two blades. “Is it good enough, do you think?”

Once at the edge, she held on the side of the gap leading on to the ice. Her eyes widened, seeing the large expanse up close. Taking care to keep a hand on the wall, she slowly squatted and brushed the ice with a tentative finger on her free hand. “It’s cold!,” she exclaimed, her eyes widening in surprise, though she had already known that fact. It was just the physical feeling drove the idea home.

Chione nodded vigorously in answer to Pez’s request, wiping off her finger on the hem of her brown dress while rising to a standing position. Gratefully she clung to the woman’s hand, taking two cautious steps onto the glassy surface. Her blades slid apart a little. She tried balancing as she had done on the nice, friction-inducing, rubber mats. It helped some.

“I’m going to fall?,” she asked in response to the sure note in Pez’s voice. Chione’s lower lip puckered; falling wasn’t something one would like to expect. “Will it hurt?”

Clumsy at this new activity, Chione floundered about despite her best efforts. She walked on the skates, as newcomers will do, the blades choppily meeting the ice and rising again with each step. Her pale brown eyes were fixated on Pez’s feet and while she attempted to conform to the graceful motion of the other, she felt too uncomfortable to truly skate.

Her eyes, always expressive and alert, held an amazed look as she watched Pez skate backwards; to think that someone could have mastery over such a difficult, or so she believed task. Yet she was smiling and laughing even as she panted due to the combined physical and mental effort.

Now and then, after a good stroke or two, her blades glittering in the artificial lighting of the rink, a patch of rough ice would catch the toe of her rental skates and precariously the adolescent would launch forward, her long braids brushing the ice as her head followed slouching shoulders, her fingers sliding up Pez’s hands and squeezing tightly to avoid falling. Once she regained her footing and posture, she would loosen her grasp until once again, only their fingers touched.

“I’m... not... going... to... fall,” she grunted, her chest heaving, after a fifth such bout. Seconds later, she ate her words as she stumbled, accidentally releasing Pez’s hands, before she had completely recovered from its predecessor, and Chione was officially introduced to the ice. It was cold. It hurt. Her cold flesh felt like it could have shattered upon impact and the wet, hard surface did nothing to numb the shoots of pain going up her hip. She whimpered softly and remained sitting on the ice.

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Warmth thundering like a storm
Beloved holding taste like a apple core.
Ripped up.
Eaten down until all the sweetness was removed.
Planting bitter seeds to sweet soils.
Blades moving still against the flame.
Pumping as it moves.
Feeling smooth.
Fluttering bird wings caged to serrate.
Stones crumbling when you tumble.
Sprouting from soul deep.
Softly and so warmly.
Eat away to the end.
Loving cannibal intertwine within the landscape.
Melting ice far away.
Making steam rise at ramped echoes.
Beautiful dancing.
Never landing through.
Landing covered in kisses.
Wrapped in the embrace.
What would I do without that warming face?
Cold world so thick and round.
Whispers like a bitter seed.
Growing is all I need to see.
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That’s what Shin had written so far. It wasn’t finished and it wasn’t much but it was a start and he hadn’t been in much of a rush. There where of course others inside but all was showing was the page open to eyes. When he first realized he was being watched with a yelp he pulled the small notebook to his chest. He was like a surprised dear that had been caught in the headlights. He thought she was busy with Chione, that she had forgotten all about him. There she was though, curious and interested.
“Ano..” He shook his head lightly. “Sorry, I mean I was writing. Sorry, you just looked so busy with Chione.. I didn’t want to bother you. So I was about to go skate but.. An idea was in and I didn’t think anyone was looking.” He squirmed a bit more, still holding the notebook closely to his chest. His gloved feminine hands shook a bit. His eyes tried to look to hers but somewhere along then he started looking at Maries nose and the eyes kept trailing down. He felt like he was caught for a dirty crime.
“I was writing a poem, I’ve written a lot but, but.. I don‘t show anyone. I‘m not brave enough to let anyone see them. Not even my boyfriend.”
So when the first met that was what he meant? When he was talking about how words didn’t matter at all unless they were herd? Well he wasn’t the only one that hid things was he? No, he couldn’t be the only one that got lost in beautiful words. In places none could see, touch or feel you.

Joshua watched with his honey brown eyes as the two talked. He was starting to regret making such a horrible fuss before… But how was he to know he really had friends now? He wouldn’t apologize for it. Inside his mind he had already justified it because Shin had a horrible habit of never telling him when someone hurt him. Also, if this friend was false and made his beauty cry then it would mean today he would have him longer and he would be more submissive. When the child came up and started talking to Shin though the super model couldn’t hold back. He couldn’t smile be it Shin keeps or looses his friends for he would win ether way.. But a boy no matter what age was a threat. Even a child because Shin didn’t look his age at all. Hell, Shin was older then him but he could pull off looking 14! He was 27, that was a lot older then 14, more then by ten years. He was too beautiful for his own good. It made him want to keep him in a cage all to himself. Not to share with some little boy who thought they had a chance with such a divine creature! The well dressed man stood up then started walking over, a frown apparent on his fine pale lips.

Shin nodded. “I’m not alone but if its alright with Marie you could join us.” That was nice to say. It felt very good to say. He wasn’t alone. He could accept looking interesting. He did look interesting, a boy in a beautiful dress looking like a refined women, speaking with a feminine voice for how soft and quiet it was. It had to be hard to hear if you were not listening all the way because of the amount of people around. He looked so much like a girl it would have been very VERY hard to figure out he was, more so then most of his outfits. A dress like this could even make a boy look like he had a small chest. The long puffy dress that hung so low covered his curves mostly up. The only real hint was that he had boys hips. No matter how feminine a boy could look there would always be a defined difference in the hips, no matter how hard it was to see. “My friend is Marie, I’m Shin.” Extra company could be nice but he just wanted them to not ignore his friend ether. He didn’t like being ignored so he didn’t want others to do that to his own friends. But, as long as he didn’t do it on purpose, and he looked friendly enough… Still, the Japanese raised boy was much like a deer or tiny wild rabbit.

”Child, you better not be trying to hit on my boyfriend.”
Joshua said in a firm voice and a frown on his lips. Now this was an understandable action. If you have a beautiful boyfriend if you see some other guy creeping up like that of course you would get sumptuous of the person. His beloved was so innocent to, he wouldn’t notice if it was a wolf in sheep’s clothing or just a sheep. Of course to someone who didn’t know shins age he must have looked like a molester.

Shins eyes widened. His boyfriend came over! But.. He felt confused. Why wasn’t he angry with him? Didn’t he get him upset? Why didn’t he come sooner if he was watching over him? Was he actually not going to interfere? Why? Why? “Joshua..”

Joshua looked over to Shin, the frown turning to a small huff. “I just wanted to watch you with your new friends.“ It was like saying he wanted to see him smile, learn, grow a bit but the other didn’t really understand how to read the models body gestures. “I didn’t want to come over and scare you again. You always assume you did something wrong when I watch you and you find out. Why? I just want to protect you and see you smile.”

Why? Shin.. Didn’t know why. Why did he? Maybe it was an old fear that had nothing to do with him. Maybe in the end everything wrong with their relationship where things that had to do with misunderstandings and his own weird fears creating them and how stubborn he could be. Still, one thing bugged him a bit, “I don’t know.. But why would you want to see it when I smile at home?”

“You.. Never smile outside of it.” So he wanted to see if the friend would make shin smile, or if she was fake. He was a bit sumptuous of her but not nearly as much as the blond boy.

Pez gave a snort as the kid wavered between her purposful goad and her desire to sit and pout. She gave a small nod as Chione finally stood up, ramming her skates into the ice. "Alrigh', good."

She paused... thought. Pez reached up with a small figit, agonizing internally. The kid seemed cold and... but... then people could see and she... it'd be harder. With the baggy clothing people could just assume and she prefered it that way.. if they could tell she was a woman.. then they'd tsk at her and tell her how unlady like she was.

And she didn't give a damn.

So why was she agonizing over it so? With a final gruff 'hfaw' she reached up and tugged her dark scarf off from around her neck, reaching out and plopping it around Chione's shoulders and wrapping her face up in it. It probably smelt old.. and used... a bit like sweat, and a bit like something else. Pez's scent, down to earth and not at all flowery.

She glared at Chione, feeling virtually naked now that the lower half of her face was visible. She turned her lips down in a scowl for a moment before looking away... she didn't need to have Chione thinking that it was her fault that Pez looked so feirce. "Right... so. Try again. It's like a step-glide sorta movemen'..push off with th' other foot. Ya ever slide across the floor in ya socks? It's like that."

Pez began to skate backwards once more, briefly glancing up and noticing a woman standing on the edge of the rink, looking directly at her. She shrugged it off as just another person observing. "Oh an' look at my eyes."

...She said it out of habit, in fact she didn't even catch that she'd accidently spoken as she had both dark brown orbs still. Now that the scarf was off tiny scars about the edges of the eyepatch were a bit more visible.

“You haven’t caused any trouble. You can stay if you want, its just.. I wanted this to just be a time between me and my.. Friends.”
Shin said, frowning at the situation. He wasn’t sure what to do. But he did blush intensely at those words. His poem, he saw it? Oh god! Oh my my oh my! He even liked it? He felt like he could faint. He just wanted some time with his friends but it almost felt like a crowd stuck like glue.
“My poem? You.. You read it..”

“Shin is 27, I am 24. The one with the big age gap is you. How old are you?”
Joshua said, glaring down at the boy. Did he still want to try to get his pretty lover? He wouldn’t allow it, he couldn’t allow it. But.. His lover wanted them gone and it looked like his friend wanted the time to himself. Besides.. No male was allowed to make him blush that much! He wouldn’t allow it. He grabbed Meyhe then dragged him away from Shin and Marie, walking away himself. He didn’t stop until they were both a good long distance away. This was a special day he wanted to see, not see it get trashed. That was that.
“Look, let them have their time. Don’t bother my lover or read his private things without even asking if it is or isn’t private. That’s very nosey. Those are very private to him. It would be the equivalent of a complete stranger walking in to your room, grabbing your underwear and sniffing them. He is just to gentle to say anything.”

Shin watched Joshua drag the other boy off, and started feeling guilty about how grateful he felt. What if he hurts some poor innocent little boy? Well, it looked like his boyfriend really did just want to watch. He let out a sigh of relief, as if a big disaster had just gone away. “I’m sorry. I thought he wasn’t going away but he just wanted to take that other boy away. Is it bad to be grateful that they’re both gone?”
Joshua had been right though. Shins poems where very private and he still did feel violated a bit. Well quite a bit. With the other persons peeping having made him feel so uncomfortable he closed the notebook then put it away. He might have shown it to Marie if he didn’t feel so embarrassed.
“Thank you. Next time I will come right over. I guess I was just being silly..”
He said though still blushed so brightly. He really did feel violated.
“Maybe one day I’ll share my poems but.. Not now. I didn’t like how that felt just now.. I don’t really want to try to share it right now. Maybe though some time you show me your paintings and I‘ll show you my poems? Until then.. You look worried about Chione and sound it.. Would you like to go on the ice rink now?”