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 Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 11:45 am
- Day Five -
Morning came and the storm subsided by the time Lani-Ai opened her eyes. Blearily, she rubbed them, confusion written across her face. Why was she here? Where was she? She wasn't on her cliff anymore! Had she fallen off? No, she'd be dead then. Besides, she didn't really roll around on the cliff. And what was warm beside her? Her eyes flicked to the side, a silent gasp escaping her. Apries!
Now she remembered. She had left the cliff last night. Left it to be with Apries in shelter. She hadn't wanted to be on the cliff then, hadn't wanted to be without him during that scary, violent storm. And now? She.....Even if shocked that he was there she was happy he was. She wasn't on the cliff, and with him. Maybe it wasn't so bad, maybe she didn't mind not being on there. What was the appeal? Waiting forever for a person whose face she didn't remember? Waiting for someone she didn't even really know anymore?
How had she gotten beside Apries? Perhaps he had rolled closer, or her. Either way she didn't want to move. He was warm and soft and... Apries. She wanted more mornings like this. More mornings where she woke and he was there. More mornings where they could snuggle together. Together.
What did Apries want? Her eyes lowered, ears pulling back slightly. She didn't know, she realized. Why was that frightening? To not know how he felt? Because. Because it meant he could reject this new feeling she had developed. Either way, Lani-Ai was scared. Scared of this new life she was wanting. What was it like.... being with the person you cared for? How sad was it that she didn't even know what it was like?
Very.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:47 pm
Apries woke slowly, bit by bit. Not his usual habit. Generally he was up with the dawn and woke quickly, but these last few days had had an odd effect on his sleeping pattern. It took him a second to remember everything from last night. Vaguely he recalled there was a storm, and he figured the reason he must be so warm and dry was because he'd found shelter. And Lani-Ai, something about Lani-Ai...
A shifting sound brough him quickly up to speed though. Ah, she was right here next to him. He took a moment to savor that, then the realization that she was here and not on the cliff struck him. Wow. And for some reason, one that he quite couldn't put words too, it made him feel incrediably happy.
He took just a moment more to savor the feeling, then decided it was time to "wake up". He groaned a little as if he was just coming out of sleep, then raised his head and blinked sleepily at Lani-Ai. "Morning," he said, at least not having to fake the husky tone of waking up; that much was real.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 6:56 pm
Lani-Ai smiled when Apries stirred, tail wagging softly. She was a morning person, and it showed by her cheerful smile. Or was her cheerful smile because she had woken beside him? Either way, she was smiling. "Good morning!" She chirped, her normal happy self, as usual. She reached to touch where she usually put her shell, which was either under her paw or in her tail, and stopped. Oh.. It was lost.
It didn't matter. She was remembering how she lost it now. The storm had swept it away while she was making her choice. Though, did such a shell even matter anymore? She had him right beside her. The shell was only a reminder of him. Only a memory of him. She didn't need it now that he was there.
"How did you sleep?" This was a pleasant way to wake, and perhaps... could be a routine. She could see herself waking up everyday first, wishing him a good morning and asking how he slept. She could see herself smiling for him when he let out a husky 'morning'. Him. Apries.
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Posted: Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:05 pm
Apries chuckle. "Won't lie, took awhile to properly fall to sleep," he said, taking note of limbs that desperately wanted to stretch now that he was away but holding on a bit longer to being curled up next to Lani-Ai. "My sleeping schedule has been a bit erratic lately, and storms don't exactly serenade one." He chuckled a little then, regretfully, stood up and stretched.
He led them out of the shelter, stretching again and properly this time with more room. Amazing. The way the sun shone down and the birds sang, with that pleasant breeze. You'd have never guessed there was a storm so violent the night before.
Apries looked back at Lani-Ai, feeling a bit awkward now. Was she going to go back to the cliff? "I-I promised I'd go down to the beach to look for that shell," he said, hesitant with his words, scared that Lani-Ai would chose to return to the cliff. "Storm like that, I bet I can find a lot of fish washed up on shore without having to try to catch them."
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 4:24 pm
She followed Apries out of the shelter, immediately starting her morning routine of lapping up dew. Since it had rained there was more water to drink, tail flicking side to side as she filled herself enough to not have a dry throat, and glanced up at Apries.
He was returning to the beach? What was she going to do? Stay on her cliff? Or, would she follow him? She hesitated, realizing both could change their friendship forever. If she returned, he'd know she was no hope. She was not ever leaving. If she followed him... she was allowing herself to detach from the cliff, to embrace something else.
So she decided.
"I'll come with you, I know what it looks like the best." She offered gently, looking hopefully over at the male. "Can I?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:32 am
For a moment Apries could only stare at Lani-Ai. Then his heart swelled with the most wonderful feeling, so must so that he was suprised the organ in question didn't burst. "That would be just fine," he said, smiling softly at the female.
He waited until Lani-Ai had gotten her own muscles unkinked from the night in close quarters, then led the way down to the beach. He had to focus on not constantly checking to be sure she was still next to him, just in case it hurt her feelings. Still, the situation felt almost surreal...
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Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:35 pm
She followed after him quietly, feeling not only awkward but as always, nervous. Was he bothered? Was he just being polite? However, just by reading his body language he seemed....happy. Lani-Ai smiled as he walked off towards the beach, struggling to keep up. She didn't realize walking would be a strain since she had stayed on a cliff for so long. However, she managed to keep up, determined.
She was happy, happy that Apries was helping her find her shell, and even happier that he seemed to want her around. It caused her to have a little bounce in her step as she followed, tail wagging softly.
"Do you think it'll still be there?"
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 12:12 am
Apries hummed thoughtfully. "I'll be honest, it's not altogether likely," he confessed. "That was one heck of a storm. But there's always a possibility, and it would be such a shame if it had survived and we missed it just cause we didn't want to look."
Stone had given way to sand by this point, as the two made it down to the beach. Apries looked around, trying to pick out the spot the shell would most likely have fallen from from Lani's cliff. Unfortunately it was a pretty wide stretch of ground...
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 4:43 pm
Lani-Ai looked down, nodding softly with a tiny frown. She wasn't to happy with his comment about the shell being possibly gone, however maybe it wasn't to bad... She was spending some time with Apries. Though, what if he left for good one day? She wanted to be able to hold onto something to remember the man that had taken her off the cliff, that had visited her so loyally. The shell was the color of his red, and.....
She didn't want to forget him, or him to forget her. No, she.... she really did enjoy his company. She was even not on the cliff just to spend more time with him.
Should she... she.... Leave the cliff forever to be beside him, even if just as a friend? He was warm, real, sweet, and kind. She wanted to stay beside him, but the only thing keeping her was a promise. She couldn't just break it... could she?
She'd be alone for so long... To long. Maybe he wasn't coming back... and even if he was Lani-Ai.... Wouldn't want him anymore. She wouldn't. This much was true. So why stay anymore?
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:01 pm
The pair searched up and down the beach all day for the shell. There were fish that had gotten washed up on the shore, like Apries had though, and while salt water was in abundance there were also pools of fresh rain water that had yet to evaporate, scattered about in the rocky craigs. Lani-Ai and Apries were able to eat and drink without having to leave the beach.
The sun was now a bloody crimson, and was sitting just on top of the ocean, about to vanish. Apries turned to Lani-Ai. "Looks like we're about to run out of light," he said softly. She hadn't said anything about it, but Apries knew that shell really meant something special to her. Of the two of them, she'd been searching with the most determination.
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:11 pm
As they searched her mind drifted from subject to subject. Staying or leaving, finding the shell, those two topics stuck in her mind. It caused her to be slightly distant as they moved about, though she tried her best. When he spoke directly to her she managed to snap away with her thoughts, listening with a nod. Was it true....? Would they not find the shell?
Disappointed, she glanced at the sun, nodding. "Yes, I guess we should stop now? Oh.... t-thank you, Apries, for taking care of me last night and helping me today." She looked over at him, smiling slightly. She was still unhappy, wanting to find the token that would remind her of Apries once he went to...wherever he was going.
With this, she began to dig up sand to make herself a bed, and even Apries if he wanted to join her, which she hoped he did.
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Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2011 5:45 pm
Apries sat for a moment and watched Lani. He really wish he'd been able to find that shell. He was sure it would have brought a smile to Lani's face, and nothing would please him more than to be able to do so. But he knew that no matter how much he wanted to find that shell for her, the odds of it still being around combined with the fact that the sun was going down and they were both probably tired made it horribly unlikely that he'd succeed.
Apries sighed softly, and moved to six down next to Lani-Ai. "Sorry we couldn't find it," he said, lightly nudging the female with his nose. "Maybe we can look again tomorrow, just to be sure we didn't miss it."
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 7:45 pm
When Apries nudged her she lightly nudged his nose back with her own, a soft response. Her tail curled around her as she stared up at her cliff, then looked towards Apries. "I'll sleep here tonight." She whispered softly, nervously curling her tail outwards, letting it wag in sand. With a soft sigh, she rubbed her ear, letting out sand that had collected, and rested her head on her paws.
"If you want to look for it again I'd....I'd like that." She mewed, looking up at him with a small smile that encouraged him. Encouraged what? She didn't know, she just knew that she didn't want him to leave. Didn't want him to not be there in the morning. Suddenly, her heart hammered. Wait, she had said she'd sleep there tonight.... would he, too? Would this be their first night sleeping side to side?
Nervously, she attempted to hide her blushing face by burrowing it into her paws, pretending to be trying to sleep to avoid having to answer any questions and end up stuttering in response. Oh! Oh oh oh!
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:22 pm
Apries smiled softly at Lani-Ai, curled up in her made bed in the sand. He paused, hesitating for just a moment, then slowly stepped up and lowered himself down, curling up just next to her with barely a hair's space between them. He lay tense for a minute, waiting to see if she'd react badly to his presence, then began to relax.
With the sound of the ocean and Lani's steady breathing, Apries peacefully dropped off to sleep.
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Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:45 pm
As Apries drifted off to sleep she glanced over at him, having not slept. The moon came, the sky darkened, and she restlessly glanced at the ocean. It sounded so different being so close to it, on ground level. Why? Why had she locked herself on a cliff for three years? Why had she done that to herself? Though.... It had caused her to meet Apries.
Apries.
She blushed softly, wondering if he would smile if she asked whether she could follow him for awhile or not, or if he'd frown. She didn't let this worry her to much, she had a few more hours before she'd risk such a question. Now she could look at the ocean.
Then she stopped, eyes focused on something shiny reflecting in the moonlight. She carefully stood, blushing when she realized how close Apries had been to her, and padded to the object. Her heart pounded as she lifted the object, gasping in soft joy.
Her shell.
When she returned to Apries, the shell was firmly under her paw, tail slightly nearby Apries's. She had the shell that reminded her of him... and she had him for the night. She had everything she wanted.
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