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 Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 12:43 am
She took a final sip before obediently handing his cocoa back, a small pout decorating her face.
“That was really good.” He knew, that was why he got it. “It mixed with mine well.”
But something seemed off. He had warned the twins to stay away, too? Wow, he must really have been adamant about neither of them coming into contact with each other ever again.
“So wait-- he said I was looking for a boyfriend, without mentioning I grew?” Well, that made enough sense, “Wouldn’t that just seem weird? I was little.”
Was. As in past tense! Now she was a whopping five foot, and they better not forget it.
“He told me to avoid you because…” Her face turned a bright red, “He didn’t want me to tell you two about the Game at all. He said that you’d never stop bugging him about it, and he’d never get any peace.”
Well, shoot. Peace was overrated anyway, Varu! Just hang in there!
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:07 am
Seamus scratched his head, shrugging with a grin.
"It was kinda weird. He just ran up to us in the first place, told us to go somewhere else for the next few years, and then has been avoiding us!" He sipped his cocoa, eyes crinkling in amusement. "Such a strange prince!"
"Why, we'd never!," Murphy finally piped in, giving one last shove to Seamus (and effectively spilling half the cocoa onto his brother). "Bug Valeriu until he goes insane? Never, never!"
He grinned. Seamus did as well. It was not a reassuring sight.
"You think he can do tricks, Murphy? Godly tricks?"
"I think he can!"
"Think we need to bust out the laser pointer again?"
"Maybe a sock this time, Seamus."
"Catnip?"
"Catnip!"
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:07 pm
She grinned as they discussed amongst themselves, taking short breaks to sip her coffee with glee. It seemed that all the little things that she had thought to do to Vale were channeled through these boys. And, what more, they actually had the courage and resolve to implement the horrible plans.
“Sometimes, when I wiggle my feet under the covers,” She leaned over her branch, getting almost comfortable on the metal, “I can tell he’s totally into it. His eyes just follow as quick as he can, watching every movement my feet make.”
She took another sip, smiling with teasing malice.
“He totally wants to chase them-- I can tell. But he holds back because he knows it’d be embarrassing.”
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:14 pm
These boys didn't giggle, but the cackles that left them spelled far worse for Valeriu than giggling. In fact, the boy had the strangest urge at that very moment to flee to the highest point of the City, to safety. Of course, he shrugged it off and continued on his way.
"Poor prince. It would be quite humiliating, wouldn't it? Probably would lock himself away in his tower and sulk all day!"
"Like...that time?" Seamus grinned, sharply.
"Exactly like that time!" Murphy smirked, peering up at Tepin. "Two words, princess: yarn ball."
"Played with that thing jus' like a lil' kitty!"
"Carried it around with him, even!"
"His bestest friend in the entire world besides Mr. Scratching Post," Seamus nodded.
They really were the devils.
"He was such a cute lil' thing when he was younger," Murphy sniffed.
"Remember the ears?"
"Too big for his head!"
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:25 pm
After a fit of giggling that nearly knocked the girl off her branch, she took several deep breaths and composed herself. Her face changed to a look of concentration, though the girl seemed to roll over more comfortably on the branch.
“We don’t have a scratching post,” She admitted, looking up through the scraps of fluttering fabric to the sky, “Mr. Slinky just uses the couch.”
But… The idea was still painfully adorable. She could picture it-- the tiny Varu that she had seen in the picture, with even larger ears than he had now? That was too adorable! It would have almost been better if she had met him then, rather than as late as she did.
“Hey--” The thought took her from her urge to giggle, she really didn’t know anything about him. “Tell me more about what he was like back then…”
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:31 pm
Deciding that it was now story-time, the two clambered back up to perch on the branch, swinging their legs enthusiastically (and trading kicks once in a while).
"Scrawny!" Murphy crowed with a chuckle, listing off his fingers. "Serious, naive, gullible-"
"-Oh so gullible, he actually fell for the ol' rope trick," Seamus added.
"-very serious! Very polite-"
"Called us 'misters' he did!"
"Carried Sydni around in his backpack before he could afford a babysitter. Cutest lil' sight, that one."
"And he was always, always frowning! Trying to act real mature and like a real adult."
"The day he got the job here, though? Biggest grin I ever did see on his face!"
"Loved building things, even back then."
"And climbed stuff like a lil' monkey."
They sighed.
Big Valeriu wasn't quite the same as little Valeriu.
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Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 11:44 pm
Whenever the twins talked, she found herself with two questions for everything they said.
What was the rope trick?
Was he cute?
Did he seem unhappy?
Why did he stop calling you ‘Mister’?
Her imagination could only do so much. The mental image was precious and mind-numbingly adorable… But it wasn’t enough! She felt like unless she knew everything about him, she could just never be happy.
“He sounds like a whole different person,” She confessed with a somewhat downtrodden voice. Tepin was jealous-- she wanted to see those moments, experience those times, too! It wasn’t fair that the twins got to see Varu like that, and she would never get to experience it. She was left out.
It didn’t make any sense! She’d get to see Valeriu everyday, even into the future! Why should she care that she could not spend the time with him in the past?
“I guess the Game does that to you.”
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:32 am
They exchanged looks, before each hooked an arm around her shoulders.
"I guess it does," Seamus mused, pulling at the long rope that was her hair. "He's definitely different now."
Much different.
"He's seen a lot more than he probably should have seen."
A lot of pain there.
"But then again," Seamus continued, grinning and ruffling her hair. "He's smiled a lot more than he ever did before."
"And joked!" Murphy added in amazement.
"A sense of humor, I know!" Seamus laughed. "And with you around? He's more of a man than we've ever seen him. That's a good thing, that is."
"Well-"
"No, not a good thing for you, Murphy. You're a dead man walking, brother o' mine."
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:18 pm
She was pulled back with a “Gah!” as her hair was tugged on-- she’d never get used to that long mess back there. With a bit of scrambling and grumbling, she pulled herself back into her comfortable position in time to smile at her hair ruffling and the praise that they were giving her.
She had helped with that, hadn’t she?
Even so, she’d never quite understand why it was just so bad for the two of them to have kissed. That was what adults did-- Varu knew she was trying to become an adult and find someone to love her. To love her correctly-- not just like a brother or sister love, which she seemed to have no troubles locating.
“Haha, yea,” She played along; it was better than admitting defeat to these two, “Especially when Varu controls darkness incarnate.”
As if that was just something to say in passing conversation…!!
“You better not go out at night.”
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 12:54 pm
Murphy laughed in the face of danger. Quite insanely. Whereas Seamus paled further at the thought of meeting a vengeful prince in a dark alley at night, Murphy grinned and waved the thought off.
"It's like facin' a vampire, Tepin," he reassured with a flap of his hands. "Just gotta carry protection on ya. In this case, instead of garlic and crosses, catnip and toy mice!"
"It was nice knowing you, Murphy," Seamus said solemnly, leaning back to hang off the branch with his knees for the time being. "Taking into consideration the fact that there'll be nothin' left of ya to bury, you want a closed casket?"
"Nah, leave it open," Murphy teased. "If I'm already dead anyway--"
He leaned in, planting a kiss on her cheek with an obnoxiously loud "Mwah!"
"Viva la vida!"
"Murphy, goddammit-!" Seamus swung back up, determined to knock his brother back off the branch. "Pushin' your luck!"
"A man only lives once, Seamus."
"So you go around kissing every girl you meet?"
"Better than investing all my kisses in one little lass, eh, mate?"
Murphy really was a dead man walking. If Valeriu didn't get to him first, Seamus would.
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 6:51 pm
Her face was the brightest of scarlet as he kissed her again! This was normal, she knew that but…!!
Ohmygod he had kissed her again! Twice! Did that mean that he liked her? …Probably not, judging by the way those boys were talking.
“You jerk.” She frowned, slightly dejected at being just one more in a series of many girls. So, bluntly, she let him have it. “Most girls won’t put out if you act like that.”
Wherever she had learned that phrase, it was probably either the twins or her mother. Regardless, now that she was an adult that meant it was okay to talk like that, right? She wouldn’t get in trouble for saying ’bint’, either, because she was mature enough to handle it.
“No wonder you’re single!” The statement was made offhand, an insult lying hidden in a passing comment. She wasn’t trying to be downright rude… But she would have to admit that she was only a little upset at not being seen as a serious candidate for dating.
But wait… if being promiscuous was Murphy’s reason for his single lifestyle… what was hers?
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:01 pm
Seamus burst out laughing, and Murphy's face fell.
He had been owned.
By a little girl.
He frowned at them both, stuck out a tongue childishly, before hoisting himself to a higher branch in order to retain some dignity.
"Truer words have never been spoken," Seamus said, not a bit too smugly, rewarding Tepin with another tug on her hair. "Don't let guys like Murphy play you. Either Vale or us would have to kill 'em," he added, sagely. "It's best to wait and find the one."
He was slightly despondent at that - after all, he'd thought he'd found his girl for life.
That bint.
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:08 pm
Red eyes followed as Murphy retreated-- she kinda felt bad for him, watching him sulk like that. Maybe she really had been too harsh… But it was for his own good! She had done nothing but give him wonderful insight into his life.
Yes, that was how she would think of it, so that she didn’t have to feel guilty.
“I can’t really find ‘the one’ if I don’t know what it is I’m looking for.” She frowned, it was entirely impossible! Without experiencing the feeling of unconditional love, she really couldn’t know when she found just who she was looking for. She was really just confused, wasn’t she?
After all, she had thought she had found the one… But that turned out horribly. If that was the way that love between siblings felt… Then love between two people… romance between a man and a woman… That must just feel amazing. It was something she wanted to experience right away.
“I thought I knew,” She confessed quietly, her face tinged with pink, “But I guess I was wrong.”
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:14 pm
Seamus looked on solemnly. He knew - it was pretty tough, to think you had it all, and find out it wasn't what you thought.
He leaned in, seriously.
He flicked her nose.
"It takes experience. When you know - you'll know. A lot of the time, it won't even be at first sight. Sometimes, it takes years; or so I hear," he shrugged, leaned back, giving his sulking brother a roll of the eyes.
"Don't stress it. It'll happen if you keep yourself open to it," he nodded.
"Hypocrite!" Murphy called down, chirping like a particularly annoying crow.
"Shut up! Do what I say, not what I do!" He may or may not have flipped his twin the bird. Honestly - here he was, trying to have a serious and insightful conversation with a young girl entering the prime time of her life, and Murphy had to go ruin it!
b*****d.
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Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 7:24 pm
She jumped at the nose flicking-- honestly… She thought he was going to jump her too!
But to be flicked? Tepin gripped her nose and pouted, her bottom lip jutting out in protest. She didn’t have long to be angry, however, before the man started to explain the great and complex workings of the world. Clearly, he had seen far more than she had thought.
And even that was ruined, what with Murphy deciding to lash out at Seamus over Tepin’s attack-- really now! For the moments of sheer insight that these two seemed to have, there sure was a lot of bickering going on.
“Well-p--” She jumped from the branch to the ground below, her legs shaking from the impact as her body nearly toppled over. “That being said and done, I think I should head back, if you don’t mind.”
A quick look to the sky confirmed it. The sun was starting to droop from it’s high spot in the sky. It was probably mid afternoon by now.
“I wanna get back before Varu, so he doesn’t figure out I was out with you two.”
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