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 Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 11:18 am
The cake sat on the cobblestones, flipped upside down. Pink frosting was smeared across the stones and spattered on Kevin's shoes. A sugared violet was stuck to his knee.
Kevin was pissed.
He could count on one hand the times he'd gotten well and truly pissed before joining the military, but recent events had frayed his temper. The quiet orderly routine of his days had become a whirlwind of classes. Confusing, dangerous classes. Henrik was still moping around, and Kevin was too frazzled and dazed by his new horde of classmates and teachers to do much socializing. He felt lonely and tired and now, now he felt pissed.
"You'd better pay for it," Kevin said, taking a menacing step towards the nobleman. He'd never threatened a nobleman in his life, but he was pretty much at the end of his rope at this point. Also, he didn't have enough money to buy a second cake, and he was bound and determined to bring Henrik something nice. Something nicer than that gross pink beet thing that had somehow turned up at breakfast.
--
Kasimir's eyes were narrowed to slits. He too was spattered and speckled with frosting. Somehow a glob of frosting had even wound up in his artfully touseled bangs. Slowly, insolently, Kasimir reached up and wiped the frosting from his hair.
He poked the soldier hard in the chest, depositing the pink frosting squarely in the middle of the much taller man's fine white shirt.
"I will not," Kasimir said.
He warmed to his theme.
"I will not."
It wasn't his fault this dummy was walking around carrying a cake and not watching where he was going. Was Kasimir supposed to make way for jerks with cakes just because they were taller? Everyone knew soldiers were basically servants anyways.
"Now push off and go arrest some thugs."
When the soldier didn't back off, Kasimir took an aggressive step forward himself, his boot grinding into the remains of the cake.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 11:26 am
Whenever she could, Harper left the compound. It was nice to get away now and again, even though she didn't have much money or anywhere to go, really. Just getting away was more than enough for Harper. After her brief interlude with Preacher, she was confused about everything. Everything. Kissing Preacher had been just as nice as kissing Axel, and that alone made her wonder if she had ever really liked Axel, or if she liked Preacher, too.
These thoughts were only ever entertained when her duties for the day were finished and she was either alone in bed, or during times like this when she was away from the compound. Harper was certain she'd drive herself mad otherwise.
Just ahead of her, there were two men fighting over what appeared to be an overturned pink cake. Harper hated confrontation and had always done whatever was needed to escape it. The problem was that the men were fighting right in the center of the small cobbled path, and there was only a narrow margin where she could slip through.
Wringing her hands, Harper aimed for that small free spot - and promptly tripped on her own two feet. Frosting smeared across her cheek where she hit the ground, and the girl let out a small cry of pain mixed with dismay - and just a splash of embarrassment, to top it all off.
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 11:35 am
Kevin took a step back, startled by the sudden appearance of a girl falling onto the ground next to him. For one disorienting second he thought she was headless. Then he realized her hair was the same shocking pink as the cake she had fallen next to.
He knelt on the cake, reaching out to her, his anger over the cake smashing thing temporarily defused.
"Are you okay?"
There didn't seem to be any blood, just frosting, but Kevin was still concerned.
--
Kasimir jumped back when the girl went tumbling to the ground. Falling cakes and falling girls! This was why it was never wise to leave Wall Sina. Too much trouble in the streets. And the military wasn't doing anything to stop it, were they? No, they were instigating it. Both of these ne'er-do-wells were dressed in uniforms.
Still, he wasn't about to let this cake carrying clod one-up him in front of a lady. Even if she was a clumsy lady.
Going to his knee on the cake in an elegant motion, Kasimir reached out his own hand to the pink-haired girl. He elbowed Kevin's outstretched arm hard, trying to knock it aside. "Do you need assistance?"
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 11:52 am
Her head was throbbing, and she was certain that she'd rid herself of at least a fair amount of skin. Harper reached up to touch her cheek and felt nothing but frosting and a quickly forming knot that would undoubtedly bruise. More than that, though, was the choking embarrassment that threatened to knot her throat closed.
"I'm fine," she gasped, wheeling back so that she could struggle to her feet. The world around her swam briefly, and it was Kevin's arm that she grasped so that she could regain her bearings.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Harper continued, dazedly glancing between the four men.
Wait. Two men.
Or were there eight?
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 12:08 pm
It was a good thing the girl took his arm, because otherwise Kevin would have been tempted to punch the pompous lordling. He stood, pulling the girl up with him. She looked dazed and unsteady. Kevin was no medic, but she didn't look well. At the least she shouldn't be standing in cake. Kevin stepped away from the mess, drawing her with him. If she stood in it she might slip.
--
Kasimir followed, seizing the girl's other arm to steady her.
"You should sit," he said. "Come with me, I'll get you some ice."
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Posted: Thu Sep 04, 2014 12:19 pm
It struck Harper, then, that this situation was growing more and more bizarre. It was not so long ago that she had been rejected by the man she'd been really quite fond of - and now, here she was, being pampered and babied by not one, but two rather handsome individuals.
Individuals who were also strangers.
"I'm fine. Really, I'm so sorry to have interrupted your conversation."
Harper's hand tightened on the taller man's arm, and she gave the shorter man a weak smile when he grabbed hers.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:32 am
Kevin was exasperated. He had only wanted to help the girl up, not start some weird tug-of-war with her in the middle. The idiot nobleman was yanking on her like a wishbone. He dug in his pocket for a handkerchief, shook a few leaves out of it, and handed it to the girl to wipe the frosting away. It wasn't a fancy handkerchief, but Kevin was in the habit of carrying it in case he spotted interesting seeds or flowers and wanted to sneak a cutting. "Your name's Harper, right?" He remembered it ... vaguely. "Maybe we should go back to the base," Kevin said, shooting a pointed look at the stupid nobleman. -- "Nonsense," said Kasimir in his most pompous, overly confident voice. "You've had an injury. You need to sit and rest before any travel. And put ice on that." Kasimir shot a filthy look at the taller man and returned his attention to the girl. Harper. "You don't want a bruise on your face, do you?"
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 7:31 am
Harper had never wanted to get involved in whatever was going on with these two. She thankfully glanced at the taller of the two men, tugged her arm free from the other so that she could take the handkerchief, and immediately began wiping at her face. It hurt. It would bruise, but it didn't matter to her. She'd suffered worse in training. "Yes," she mumbled softly, glancing up at the taller man. She didn't know his name, and that made her feel kind of bad. He looked to be a friendly kind of fellow. And then there was the nobleman. She was sure that he was trying to be friendly, but really all he was doing - the both of them - were fraying her already shot nerves. And so, Harper did what Harper did best in times of stress. She promptly burst into tears.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 9:57 am
Startled, Kevin exchanged a look with the obnoxious nobleman around Harper's frosting-smeared head. Only minutes ago he'd been having a wonderful day. It was nice getting off base to stretch his legs, and he'd bought a cake to cheer up his brother. When the idiot nobleman bumped into him and sent the cake smashing to the ground Kevin was angry, and now there was a sobbing girl in the mix. It was all too much. Kevin patted Harper gingerly on the back, unsure of what to say. -- Kasimir was just as stumped as the soldier. He really hadn't expected the girl to burst into tears. The nobleman took a step away, not wanting to crowd her, and busied himself brushing frosting from the knee of his pants while he thought. And thought. Kasimir was having a trying day himself. The cake argument was a welcome distraction, as was the competition over helping the girl to her feet, but he was too wrapped up in feeling sorry for himself to deal with this sudden outburst of emotion from a stranger. "Look," Kasimir said, dropping his pompous tone and putting his hands on his hips. "Sorry. Sorry both of you. Sorry about your cake. Sorry about you tripping. But I," Kasimir said, tossing his hair, "Am having a truly rotten day. And I don't have any money for your cake," he nodded to Kevin, "But I have a little for ice if you want it." This to Harper, with another nod. -- Some of Kevin's festering irritation with the nobleman faded with the apology and he gave Kasimir a grudging nod. "Ice isn't a bad idea," he said.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:18 am
The pats to her back did little more than earn the men more heartfelt sobbing. It was awful, and they were being so nice - and not just so nice, but So Very Nice - and one of them even knew her name despite the fact that she didn't know his name, and that made her feel more awful.
So Very Awful.
And her cheek was throbbing.
And her emotions were roiling over the two innocent kisses she'd had.
And she was embarrassed over crying in public.
And there was frosting in her hair.
"I'm so sorry," Harper sobbed, holding her face in her hands. At least it sounded like 'I'm so sorry' - only a lot snottier. "I'm so sorry, I am so very sorry, and I don't know your name even though you know my name, and there's frosting everywhere and now you're spending the money you have on ice for my cheek and you really shouldn't have to, I am just so clumsy, really, please, you don't have to get ice for my cheek, I'm going to be fine, it's not the first time I've hurt myself on accident and it surely won't be the last, please."
It hadn't even struck her that the other man was a nobleman, which was probably a very good thing.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 10:39 am
"I'm Kevin," Kevin said quickly. "Kevin Kaspar." Crap, he hadn't introduced himself. No wonder she was crying. He was a rude clod.
--
"Kasimir Vonnegut," Kasimir said, omitting the fourth-son-of-the-viscount-Leopold-Vonnegut that usually followed his introduction. He looked rather crestfallen all of a sudden.
"I don't mind spending it on ice," Kasimir added. "I might as well. What else am I going to buy with a few silver marks?"
He was so, so poor. He was destitute.
--
"The frosting was my fault. Mine and Kasimir's," Kevin said. While he was speaking to Harper, he was squinting at Kasimir. He couldn't tell if the nobleman was joking or not. A few silver marks would buy a great deal of ice and cake. "You can hardly even notice the frosting in your hair. It's just about the same color."
So comforting.
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Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2014 12:13 pm
"I'm Harper Weiss," she rambled off, even though they both knew her name by that point. She was certain that they were just trying to help, but she was almost feeling worse. There was frosting in her hair, too?
This day was just getting better and better. The kerchief that Kevin had given her was now covered in a mixture of snot, tears, and frosting.
Excellent.
"No, I swear. I'm fine. Kevin and Kasimir, thank you. You should save your marks. Look, it's fine, see?"
Her pale skin was rapidly purpling. She tried to smile through the tears. She kind of looked half-ghastly.
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