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 Posted: Sun Jun 21, 2009 9:51 pm
"Well, I donnae mind a good walk usually, but you're makin' it seem a wee far out. Might be best to borrow a ride from someone here at the carnival and see you home that way," Faolan said, walking back through the small abode with the girl.
He nodded to Zia. "Oi, hinny, stay here and let Elle know, yeah?"
"Of course," Zia answered, then looked at Lauss. "You may keep them. I have several more and it would do no good for you to practice without cards to practice with. I hope to see you again soon."
Faolan smiled at the two Essentics and headed outside to wait for Lee.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:29 am
Ah, good. Lee found it a bit surprising that some one here would have a car, but hey, don't insult him with that sort of question. As long as she wouldn't have to walk too far there was nothing to complain about, right?
She trailed close behind Faolan, and tugged on Lauss to follow her. The proto quickly scooped up the cards and bowed to Ziazan. "I am very appriciative. I'll visit again. Perhaps you'll get to see me when I'm grown." A few more bows and he was once more at his master's side. Lee waved quickly at Ziazan before stepping out of the vardo and next to Faolan. Okay, after kissing the man, it was hard to get embarrassed just being close to him. "Mister Faolan, Ziazan told me you are a fortune teller. I am as well, though I am only a novice." Lauss was clearly excited. He had no business calling himself a fortune teller -- novice or not -- if he hadn't even practiced once yet, but he didn't care, if he knew how to do something, it didn't matter if he'd actually done it.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 1:35 am
Faolan chuckled at the Essentic. "Are you now? Perhaps someday you'll give me a readin', yeah?" He patted Lauss on the head, then looked at Lee. "Come on, love." He led her across the grounds to the stables. After a quick chat with a stable hand, he returned to where he'd left Lee waiting outside riding a solid black stallion bareback. He held a hand down to her. "The truck's bein' repaired so we'll have to improvise."
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 2:16 am
Lauss nodded; he would take Faolan up on that offer if he was given the chance. As the two followed Faolan, Lauss explained to Lee everything he had learned that day. He held up one of his tarot cards from the deck in his hand. "This is a 'tarot card', Miss Lee. It tells fortunes. It's it nice looking?" Lee glanced over and nodded before looking forward at Faolan again. "Cool." Really, Lauss, you and your little cards were competing against Faolan. Who did you think was going to win her attention? Lauss didn't seem to notice her lack of enthusiasm, and continued on, recounting the day as it had gone.
Lee's jaw dropped open at the sight. You've gotta be kidding me... Don't panic, Lee. She had ridden plenty of times -- though she couldn't honestly say any of those times were bareback -- but... with someone like Faolan? She couldn't, could she? These sorts of things were supposed to be romantic. And if her mother saw her show up on this... But really, did she have a choice? Her legs didn't want to walk the whole way, and her heart didn't want to miss this chance. She took his hand reluctantly and climbed onto the horse's back, directly in front of Faolan. Stay calm... Lauss watched them, but decided staying near the ground would be for the best. Besides, how was he going to inspect the strange creature from up there?
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 12:32 pm
As soon as Lee climbed on the horse, the stallion feinted left a bit, Faolan reining it back under control. Clearly the horses of the didikai were not exactly the most tame creatures. The young man settled an arm around Lee, holding her close to his body, her back pressed against his chest, and tapped his heels against the stallion. The horse reared up and tried to go at a full gallop, Faolan quickly pulling it back to a quick trot through the grounds so Lauss could keep up.
"Once we're out of here, lass, you'll have t'be given me directions on how to find your home," Faolan purred in Lee's ear.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 10:54 pm
Lee nearly fell of the horse's back and made a strange "Guuhh" sound when trying to keep her balance. Great. Not even her riding experience would come in handy today. Her heart raced at the feel of Faolan's arm and chest, and nearly exploded when the horse decided to go a little wild. "V-very eager horse..." She tried to make her tone semi-playful, but she was cursing the animal in her head.
As they headed out, Lee gave the best directions she could. A small fear of the two getting lost crept into her mind, as she wasn't the one who'd driven here. In fact, it had been quite a long time since she'd been this far from the upper districts. She paused and looked down to Lauss. "Do you remember how we got here, Lauss?" He looked up from her from examining the horse's hooves, and nodded to her. "Make a left when we get to the next crossing," he noted and resumed his studies. The proto was quite handy, at least at the moment.
Lee tried not to think about how awkward a position they were in, and how awkward their movements were as the horse trotted along.
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Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2009 11:12 pm
Faolan followed the directions the Essentic gave, keeping a firm hold on the girl riding with him. He knew too well how wild a didikai horse could be and didn't want her falling if the stallion suddenly got it in his head to bolt or buck.
The soon arrived at a stately home in a rather upscale neighborhood. "I suddenly feel a little out of place," Faolan muttered, looking around a bit. "You really live here, love?" He turned the horse and had it canter up the drive, figuring the girl might like to go faster--it was a well-known fact that all girls apparently loved horses--but not wanting to go too fast for Lauss to keep up with.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:12 am
Lee couldn't help but giggle at Faolan's expense. "You don't really have to worry about it..." She put her hand to her mouth, feeling a little bad for dragging Faolan to a place he obviously wasn't comfortable in. She nodded to his question and looked around her. Was it really that impressive?
Mrs. Katan had asked some of the help to keep an eye out for her daughter. It was quite late, and she still hadn't requested a car come pick her up yet. How unusual for a girl that hardly ever bothers to leave the house.
A young woman spotted a girl, unmistakeably Lee, riding... was that a horse?! She rushed over to Mrs. Katan and tapped her on the shoulder, directing her to the window. The woman had to blink a few times before she was absolutely certain that she was seeing things clearly. Lee. On a horse. With a grown man behind her. She couldn't just stand and watch, and she hurried herself into the front of the house and stomped down the stairs until she was standing in the drive. "Lee, what exactly do you think you're doing, waltzing up with some strange man on that filthy animal?!" How humiliating. If any of the neighbors had seen she'd never hear the end of it. Her voice was booming, and Lee could hear her quite clearly. She was thankful Faolan decided to get the horse moving a little faster so she could shoo him away sooner. Let's get this over with... This was certainly a mood killer. "You're lucky your father isn't home to see this. Get off of that thing. Get inside." Lee didn't have it in her to look back at Faolan; he was probably laughing his head off right now. But she couldn't get off the horse without Faolan's assistance. Or at least that's what she wanted to believe.
Perhaps it wasn't too late to just turn the horse around and head back to the carnival?
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:28 am
The horse reared up, whinnying as Fao reined it to a stop. Dancing around in place, the stallion nickered and reared again. "Easy tha', lad," Fao said to the horse, soothing it. He looked down at Lee. "Guess it's true that animals can sense evil. Is that your dam?" He waved cheerfully to the woman now that the stallion was calmed down. "Howway tha, Mrs. Katan. I thought I'd see your daughter home after her visit to Farstep." He looked back down at Lee. "Need some help gettin' down?"
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 1:21 am
Mrs. Katan shook her head as she watched the horse go wild. This was humiliating. Allowing her daughter to go to a carnival of all places was surely her first mistake. Then coming home with some... some pikey. Manners weren't needed here, not with his status.
Lee covered her face, equally as ashamed as her mother, but not by the horse or the man. By the woman. Indeed, she had a tendency to be evil. She nodded to him, still not having it in her to look at his face. Another nod to his offer to help her down. "Yes, please..."
Mrs.Katan moved in to the two so she wouldn't have to speak so loudly. She ignored Faolan's greeting, thinking him lower than dirt at this point. "Honestly... You look like a harlot, running around with some... man. What on earth are you thinking?" She had to refrain from calling him a more colorful, more insulting word.
"That's not... He's not just 'some man'. I mean, I know him." It was odd for Lee to talk back, as pathetic as her retort was, but this was too embarrassing as it was, let alone just letting her mother bad mouth someone when they were standing right there. You have no idea how sorry I am, Faolan...
Meanwhile, Lauss was still around, he hadn't disappeared, although no one was giving him the time of day. He was content just examining the horse, his mane, his tail, his legs...
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 1:31 am
Faolan swung down easily, rather ignoring Mrs. Katan at the moment. She was going to be rude? Fine. He didn't have to talk with her. He was there for Lee, anyway. He put his hands on the girl's hips, letting her steady herself with a hand on his shoulder as he helped her down.
"There you are, lass. Safely home as promised," Faolan said once she was on her own feet again. He glanced over at Lauss and put a hand down on the Essentic's shoulder, pulling him back some. "Careful not to get too close to his legs, lad. Ol' Stormrunner's likely to kick you back to the carnival if you spook him."
He finally looked at Mrs. Katan again, towering over her slightly. "Hey, now. No need to go insulting your daughter like that, ma'am. I was just bringing her home."
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:32 am
Lee blushed, more of a happy blush than embarrassed, when Faolan helped her down. Great guy, strong, chivalrous, handsome. Okay, okay, bigger matters to attend to right now. Although, how could she be upset that she'd basically been called a slut by her mom just now when she was held by Faolan for those few seconds. "Thank you, Faolan." She smiled up at him, brushing her hair back behind her ear.
And what business of his was it? He was... rather tall. And handsome. But hey, Mrs. Katan was never a "swooner", nor would she ever feel below someone that was much closer to being a bum than being at her status, even if they towered over her literally. The mother rolled her eyes, looking at him only briefly before turning back to her daughter. "Why would you think it's okay to come home with someone like him?" She tilted her head and looked down at her daughter, patting at her now quite messed up hair, trying to make the girl look semi-presentable. Lee was too infatuated with the man next to her to be intimidated by her, though. "He's not a bad person, mother. I may even marry him some day." She shrugged a shoulder, hoping that Faolan would just assume it was some sort of joke. What are you gonna do now, huh? There are witnesses...
Mrs. Katan glared at her for a moment, looking her over to make sure that it was, in fact, her daughter saying these things before turning to Faolan. "Did you give her alcohol? What, you got my daughter intoxicated and took advantage of her?" Lee would never speak to her that way. She had to be drunk...
And it was true, Lee was a little drunk, though less on alcohol than on her crush.
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 12:43 am
"On my word, I ne'er gave th' girl a drop o' alcohol," Faolan said, actually a bit surprised to be accused like that. The woman was positively hostile. Well, he'd been treated worse by outsiders before. Her attitude toward him made him want to mess with her, though. He settled an arm around Lee's waist, fingertips lightly rubbing the girl's hip.
"Mayhaps I will be marryin' you, lass," he purred, looking down at Lee with a wry grin.
[[Doing away with text colors.]]
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:17 am
Lee wasn't joking, though. And it was a little hard to accept that Faolan was only messing around. She blushed, but still smiled to help the man string her mother along. Faolan just got better and better.
No. This was... this was indecent. Mrs. Katan's face couldn't be called anything other than horrified. So her daughter wasn't drunk. She was serious. That blush, that smile, that confidence. It was disgusting. The woman grabbed her daughter's arm, yanking her away from the man's side. "Don't... don't touch my daughter." She shook her head furiously, and Lee's blush deepened. Not giving the man a second thought, she turned to the house, pulling her daughter along and cursing under her breath. Lee couldn't help but giggle a bit as she was hurried away from Faolan, covering her mouth and looking back at the man. He'd managed to fluster her mother. This was truly an occasion worth celebrating. She wasn't intimidated by her mother, not at that second at least, and simply waved a small hand and smiled to Faolan before behind dragged behind the front door and hidden from him. Sent up stairs by a mother turned satan, she still couldn't wipe that grin off her face.
Mrs. Katan's fury wouldn't die down for quite some time. Something must be done about this...
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Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 1:41 am
Faolan laughed a bit at Mrs. Katan's reaction, then went and climbed back on Stormrunner. He let the horse be as spirited as it wanted then, holding tightly as the stallion reared up and snorted, danced about and whinnied, and generally tried to remove its rider. He looked up at the house and shouted, unable to resist messing with the girl's mother more, "Lee! I'll come back for you, girl! You've promised yourself to wed me and the didikai always holds one to promises!" He let the stallion rear up again, Stormrunner making a high whinny almost like a scream, then turned and let the horse go full gallop back to the carnival.
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