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 Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:09 pm
It was a lovely morning. Faint sounds of birdsong trilled in the treetops, the air had a fresh and invigorating scent to it. The stone beneath her and the gently slumbering body beside her were both warm and inviting, as Ashelinn lay gently half-entangled with another P'an-lun in the shelter of a forest temple.
An unfamiliar P'an-lun. An unfamiliar forest temple.
What the hell was going on?!
Ashelinn sat abruptly bolt upright, disentangling herself in an awful hurry as she retreated. Damn, she couldn't remember anything -- she recalled leaving Curio under the watchful eye of Jack, her trusty familiar, while she went out to do her best to forget the meaning of the date. Yesterday, that is -- a day of celebration of love. It was something of a yearly tradition for her to scorn it in the most emphatic way possible. She was young, independent, successfully raising her adopted daughter on her own with Jack's help... A male would only get in the way, and she resented the holiday's attempts to make her feel inadequate.
Except there was a male right over there. One who, very clearly, she had just spent the night with. Ashelinn hissed in frustrated disbelief, hoping that this was just a very strange dream, and retreated even further until her back hit a wall. This could not be happening.
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 7:37 pm
The birdsong was familiar...
The scent of sandalwood embedded in the soft silks was also familiar...
And the hardness of the stone tablet that had served as his bed seemed no different.
The hiss and the shove was different, causing him to jolt awake and away from the unknown heat source to the side; yelping in shock, he fell half-way off the bed and landed with a crash in a pile of bound books left carelessly there. "Ow.....my back....." He grumbled and winced, a powerful hangover-like headache reared it's ugly head. "Stupid alcohol....stupid holidays...."
Slithering off the bed to curl up on the floor and nurse his aching body, a blur of blue/silver against the wall forced the male to come back to life. A shake of his head and a few moments of blinking brought what it was into focus...
And Toshihiro cried out in horror. He backed up against the wall of bookcases in a feeble attempt of fleeing from the female Pan'lun. How....how had she gotten in?! Dammit! Stupid headache! Clogging his memories and making them a blur from last night-
Wait? Last Night? Bed? Female?
Did they? No....they didn't! They can't have! But but....HOW?!
"W-WHO ARE YOU?!" He turned his head and glanced fearfully at the female against the other wall. "H-How did you get into my home?!"
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:40 pm
Ashelinn felt bad for a moment when she realized that in her frantic motion she'd practically thrown the other male off the bed. After all, unless he was more of a creep than she expected (and she didn't think she had bad enough taste to go home with a creep) he was probably as confused and hung over as she was.
Then he started yelling, which accomplished two things. One, it confirmed her theory that he was in the same position as she was. Two, it erased that tiny shred of sympathy. Her own headache choosing that moment to make itself known, she snapped back, "Keep it down, would you? No need to shout, I can hear you fine."
Rubbing her temple with a claw, she said in a quiet, tight voice, "My name is Ashelinn. I am in your home, most likely, because you invited me here." You prat, she added mentally. Struggling to keep her expression from revealing the turmoil of feelings within her, she nonetheless couldn't keep the stiffness out of her body language. Who was this male? What, precisely, had they done? Where was her daughter, was her daughter safe? Was she worried that Ashe had practically disappeared?
Shaking her head slightly to clear it, she added, "I take it you can't remember last night, either?"
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Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2009 9:56 pm
"I-I'm sorry....." Taking in a few deep breathes to ease his frantic nerves, Toshihiro slowly eased himself away from the battered bookcases and eased himself into a coil on the ground. The warm stone further eased his paniced body, but did nothing to ease the hangover headache that pierced his thoughts with every throb.
Watching the female as she introduced herself, he nodded and pushed away a lock of mane that was clinging to the scales around his eyes. "Ashelinn....." He spoke softly but with the same tightness that had woven itself into the other's words. "I am Toshihiro and...yes, this is my home." A long moment hung between them before he continued. "Unfortunately...I don't remember very much about inviting you, though I must have considering many don't come here and you...are...here..."
Taking a deep breath, he listened for the familiar sounds of his two companions but heard nothing...maybe they were in another room? The walls were thick in his temple....
Coughing to clear his throat, Toshi confirmed her question with a slow nod. "No, and i'm sorry." He stood and made way towards the door, pausing to glance back at Ashe. "Um...I-if you would like...I-I have some herbs that work well at clearing headaches...if you have one. If not...they make a good tea..." He ducked his head and unlocked the heavy double doors leading into the main hallway. "If you're not interested in some...I can understand that as well..." He was willing to try and ease the tension in the air, despite how pathetic he must have sounded.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:02 am
Gods, he seemed even more upset than she felt. What was eating at him? He wasn't even the one who needed to worry about the possibility of... well, certain repercussions. Certain repercussions of spending a night alone with another Painter that she was not going to think about yet, thank you, because what were the chances, and she didn't feel like inviting more worry than she needed to. If that was a possibility, it would make itself known soon enough.
Still, the fact that he was concerned... There were some males, Ashe knew, who would simply shrug it off with a "nice to meet you, bye" or similar. And he had manners, and it wasn't as if he wasn't handsome enough. If she had to pick a Painter to have a bizarre one-night tryst with, she figured she could have picked much worse. All in all, best to accept the situation and make the best of it than to sit here and panic over what can't be undone.
So she managed a small smile at his offer. "Tea sounds like a good plan... especially the kind that's good for headaches. Thank you, Toshihiro." Making sure to repeat the name, to cement it in her memory... Presumably he'd told her his name sometime last night and it had been lost in the blur; it would be incredibly embarassing to forget it again.
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Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 2:28 pm
"You're welcome...I-it's the least I can do." Behind his nervous smile, his mind was panicking over the possible...repercussions...of last night. ANd if that happened, Toshihiro wouldn't know what to do!
Well...maybe it wouldn't happen? They wouldn't know for a few days...so that was a good thing. And...as much as his fears scolded this, she was a really pretty Pan'lun. Blushing a bit at the though, he was about to move towards the kitchen area when a familiar scent drifting through the open window brought back a small reminder. The peach trees were ripe....
"Ah....Um....Ashelinn?" He turned back towards the other from his spot in the archway. "I-if it's alright with you, I need to fetch something from out front real quick." He smiled again. "Theodore will lead you to the sitting room if you follow him. I'll join you shortly." WIth that, he slipped away towards the blooming fruit trees. The various scents of orange, apple, and peach blossoms were drifting through the halls on the breeze.
A few seconds after Toshihiro left, a noble dressed Coocoon Fairy flew in and landed infront of the female painter with a courtious bow. "Good Morrow, Mistress." His eyes sparkled as he replaced the feathered hat on his head. "I am Theodore von Rose. Master Toshihiro has asked me to guide you, yes?" Taking to the air again, he fluttered just above eye level of the Painter. "If you would kindly follow me. This sitting room is just down the hallway here."
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 1:13 am
Ashelinn wasn't sure whether that persistent stutter was bemusing or endearing, in an odd way. She accepted it as just an odd mannerism -- maybe he was one of those scholar-types, who didn't really get many visitors. How she'd managed to get him out of his shell last night, she couldn't even begin to fathom. Still, better awkward than one of those painfully smarmy "smooth operator" types who thought they were so suave... If Toshihiro had turned out to be one of those, she would have probably had to kick him in the teeth.
She had just closed her eyes briefly to enjoy the scent wafting into the room when he spoke, and abruptly left. She barely had enough time to call back an "All right, see you soon," before he was gone, and she was facing a rather unusual familiar.
How marvelous -- a little... butler? Something of that nature, certainly. She dipped her head politely to the Fairy, "A pleasure to meet you, Sir von Rose." She wasn't sure how to best address him, but it seemed wisest to go with the formal unless invited to do otherwise. Following him willingly towards the sitting room, Ashe couldn't help but notice how much bigger and more impressive Toshi's home was than her own. Ashe was not a Painter of many creature comforts, desiring only a few things beyond the necessities for her little family... But she wondered what it must be like, living in a temple all the time.
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Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2009 11:46 am
"As you, Mistress. Now then, if you would follow me down this way...?"
Theodore started to lead the dragoness through stone hallways, lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelfs stuffed with scrolls, leather bound and paper bound books, and even a few stone tablets. The arched windows covered with a see-through reed-like paper that prevented the sun from ruining the pages, let let the tinted rays light the halls and kept unwanted bugs from coming through as they saw fit. As he walked, the Coocoon Fairy pondered something before glancing back towards the female. "If you would like, you can ask me anything. I'll be gald to answer it to the best of my ability, Miss."
Outside, Toshi was keeping himself busy with the picking of ripe fruit with the assistance of his other familiar. Claws sheathed with leather "scabbards" to keep from bruising or damaging the food, he worked while pondering a good way to converse with his guest while Valin moved about with his chores.
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:02 pm
Ashelinn followed the little familiar, internally grateful that he didn't move tremendously fast. For her gaze, rather than on the path ahead of her, was moving constantly over the scenery around her -- the windows, the stonework, the books! Enough to keep an eager-minded Painter busy with reading material for ages! She thought of her own home -- a moderately sized cavern in the mountains, modest and practical for a single girl. With a familiar and a growing daughter, it was getting a little more cramped, mind, but it was home. The closest she'd ever come to living in a place like this was frequent visits to the abandoned observatory on its lonely peak about a mile from her cavern. Once, the place had been magnificent, but time and weather had worn it away. Ashe had scavenged the books, scrolls and records that she could from it and preserved them, and she visited the ruined structure often, but that was all. The idea of living in such a place had never occurred to her.
...of course, thinking of home made her think of Curio and Jack, waiting for her. What would they think, when she came back to them with the news? Ashe was abruptly grateful for Theodore's offer, as it interrupted that train of thought before it could really get rolling.
"Mm, I'm afraid I'm a little overwhelmed," she chuckled lightly, trying to play off her awe at the impressive collection as no big deal. "Are such accomodations common around here?"
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Posted: Thu Mar 19, 2009 8:17 pm
Theodore chuckled and motioned for Ashe to follow him through a pair of carved doors that led into the sitting room itself. "Master Toshihiro enjoys reading all kinda of tales, theories, and what else is hidden within the covers of these books. Unfortunately, I don't know just how much of what his collection contains. I have not been here that long myself."
Inside the sitting room was yet even more books, more than what the shelves could contain. They laid scattered in neat piles while a few laid open, like they had been left that way fairly recently. Pushed against the open archway leading out to a small pond with lily pads floating on the surface was a small table (carved in the same manner as the doors) and a pile of silk pillows on either side. On the table was a small tray with the teapot and tea cups. Chattering at them, the little monkey bobbed his head at the two before scampering out through the archways.
"Miss, allow me to pour you a cup of tea. In the mean time, please feel free to look around. Master Toshihiro should be returning momentarily." With that, the fairy lifted the light pottery and poured the steaming liquid into the cups. Afterwards, he again bowed and flew out of the room to leave Ashe in peace.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:17 pm
Ashelinn dipped her head in response to Theodore's bow, and watched the fairy leave before turning her attention back to the room's contents. Taking a deep breath of the aromatic steam rising from the cups of tea, she admired the comfortable setup for a moment before leaving the tea to cool for a little while.
Her attention turned inexorably back to the books, and she walked a slow circuit of the room, studying spines, covers, and titles. Tailtip twitching slightly with suppressed eagerness, she resisted the urge to pick up one of the many volumes and simply start reading. It would be the height of rudeness to help herself so brashly to Toshihiro's books without even asking permission, especially after he'd been trying very hard to be courteous in an awkward situation... But oh, there were so many! Much more than her meager collection, and on a wider range of subjects. How wondrous it was that knowledge could be stored safely and in such quantities for future generations' benefit.
Prying herself away from the shelves, the grey P'an-lun settled herself gingerly onto the silk pillows and picked up her cup, sipping the still-hot liquid carefully as she awaited Toshihiro's return.
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Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:43 pm
Ashelinn did not have to wait long; a few moments after she had began to relax herself by the table is when Toshihiro carefully slipped into the room with a plate and a small bag in hand. With a small, hesitated smile forming Toshi settled down on the silk pillows opposite of the female and placed the decorated plate between the tea set.
"I...I figured you might enjoy some fresh fruit to go with your drink, Ashelinn..." He swallowed nervously as he picked up the second cup and mixed in some sugar and mint in the liquid. "I I mean, o-of course you don't have to eat them, I just assumed...well...." Toshihiro ducked his head as a flush of embarassment turned his face a bright red.
Great spirits, he sounded like a complete idiot now. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume everything so much..."
Outside the door and hidden from the two painters, Valin and Theodore looked at each other before shaking their heads. Their master needed to calm down. If his nerves blew this out of proportion...
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Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 6:39 pm
Ashelinn permitted a small smile, reaching out to take a piece of fruit from the plate. "That was thoughtful of you -- thank you." Tilting her head slightly at his apparent consternation, she fell silent, trying to figure out what had happened.
Perhaps her initial reaction of dismay had given him the wrong impression...? She had no grudge against the male, her annoyance had been at the situation and her own behavior. Certainly, he didn't need to apologize for a situation that was equally both of their faults, if anything. (Not that she could remember much... but even if Toshihiro seemed the type to take advantage of a female in a vulnerable position, which he didn't, he wouldn't have stuck around afterwards in that situation...) She set down both fruit and tea, looking him in the eye before speaking.
"You don't need to be so nervous, Toshihiro. I'm not going to suddenly snap and try to claw your face off or anything," she added with a small chuckle, trying futilely to inject a little humor into the awkward situation. "What's done is done. All we can change is the future."
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