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 Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 12:50 pm
It was hard enough being a teenager without having to worry about covering up battle wounds. This was the newest complaint added to the growing list that Audrey was formulating in her head. It had been a few days since her disastrous encounter at the school with Pegasus and the golden boy senshi, and the lieutenant was aching. Thankfully, he hadn't more than nicked her jaw. Easily explained away, especially by her ear! Earring gone wrong, no big.
But the cuts all up her sides and arms were harder to hide without questions, and she'd taken to wearing long-sleeved grey shirts under her uniform. It made things somewhat warm, and she got a few strange looks, but for the most part she was passing it off. Her parents were becoming moderately concerned, but thankfully they weren't too interested in her doings.
Slowly, she lowered herself down on the front steps of the school. The day had ended, and most of the kids had gone for the day. Mostly, it was just her, staring off into the distance, hugging her knees gently. It was nice, having a quiet moment after the rubbing and pulling of her backpack all day.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:07 pm
Still on his seemingly endless quest for friends, Pasha walked merrily along the outside perimeter of the school, hugging his books to his chest. He appeared so happy that it should have made anyone who looked directly at him physically ill, which might have explained the serious lack of...everyone. The deserted school grounds were disheartening, but he wasn't going to let it get him down. Not today!
Perhaps unfortunately for her, he spotted a blue-haired girl sitting on the steps. She sure looked lonely. And maybe a little sad. He liked to think that he was fairly good at cheering people up, so he made his way over to her, plopping down into her bubble of personal space without asking if it was okay.
"Hello! Are you waiting for someone? Your friends, maybe?" The last inquiry came out a little too eager...but if she had friends, maybe they could all be friends with him!
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:19 pm
Squeaking, Audrey's chin jerked up off her knees and she winced as her arms tightened out of reflex and pulled on her cuts. She'd really have to put more Neo on it when she got home or something, it was really killing her. Blinking, she looked over at the kid that was so very sunny and sitting almost on her. Fairly cool multicolored hair, little star clip. Wait, was that a boy's uniform? The big blue eyes would really throw you, he must be pretty young.
"You scared me! Gosh. No, I'm just kinda. Sitting. Looking at clouds." Friends? What friends. The closest thing she had to a real friend was Nealite, and that was pretty damn pathetic. You worked too much when your archnemesis was your best friend. Man he was cheerful.
"I don't remember seeing you around. I'm Audrey." She held a hand out lightly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:29 pm
Hooray, a real conversation! Kind of. Better than nothing, that was for sure. Pasha set his books down to prepare for ultimate friendmaking and took her hand, gently shaking it. He couldn't have a strong grip and handshake even if he tried, which was probably for the best, considering her situation.
"They're pretty clouds! I like looking at the stars better, though. I try to stargaze every night, if it's not too rainy, so maybe you could come watch them with me too? Or you could look at night clouds! They're really different than day clouds, if you-" Woah, slow down there. He caught himself, realizing he was getting way ahead of things. She'd just wanted to introduce herself, and he'd flown off on crazy plans without even telling her his name.
"Sorry, Audrey. I'm Pavel, but you can call me Pasha if you wanna. Lots of people do." His smile faded just slightly as he worried over whether or not he had completely ruined his budding new companionship.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 1:46 pm
Wow this kid was hyper! Must be younger, almost all of the upperclassmen were the laid-back, lazy sort. You just couldn't find anything to get excited about after three or four years of high school! Smiling just a bit, she nodded. "I like looking at the city at night. You go find a high place, like a roof, and you can see a lot. All the lights are really pretty, don't you think?" It was a bit of a soft spot. Almost every night that she could, Linarite went back to the place where she'd met Obsidian and watched the city go by.
That was, until she got hurt. The climbing and jumping was a little hard when it hurt to lift your arms above your head. "Nice to meet you Pascha. That's a cute name." Immediately, Audrey bit her lip. Now he'd probably storm off. But he WAS awful cute! Like a little kid. And happy! She'd had so little happy around her lately, it was a nice change.
Oh well. He'd probably realize she was weird soon enough.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:03 pm
More hooray, she liked the city at night too! He could count the times his mother had worried over his nighttime excursions on precisely one billion fingers, so having company when he was out would probably make her feel better. And it'd make him feel better too. He sure did miss his best friend...
Pushing that aside, he smiled at her. "It is! That's what everyone says, at least. I think there are cuter names out there that are tons easier to pronounce." Firm nod. "I like looking out at all of the city lights, too. That way, you kind of get two sets of stars. Except you can actually kind of reach one of them....if you wanted to get your fingertips all burned from the lightbulbs."
Again neglecting to remember that personal space generally was somewhat important to people, he hooked arms with her, as if they'd been friends for an eternity.
"You looked a little sad and all alone. Were you sad and all alone?" Then again, everyone looked sad compared to him.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:10 pm
He was really adorable! The girly and somewhat repressed side of Audrey was leaking out now, and she giggled a bit at his idea of singed fingertips. "You can't touch the stars, then you move them! And if you move stars bad things happen." Bad things also happened when you removed stars. But that was a thought for another time.
"Did you ever hear the saying that there's a star in everyone's heart?" He'd like this story, she was sure of it. It was nice, to use some of her Negaverse teachings to be interesting. Her smile was bright and cheerful, until he grabbed her arm. The pressure pulled and leaned on her cuts, making her hiss in pain and cry out softly.
Damn those senshi!
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:20 pm
Oh, he hadn't thought of that! If someone moved the stars, all of the constellations would get totally screwed up. He couldn't bear thinking what would happen if someone ruined Pyxis - it was his favorite constellation, being one of the smallest in the sky. Though it was only a short line of fairly dim stars, he felt connected to it. He knew what it was like to be tiny and unimportant.
He gasped a little. "I don't think I want to touch the stars anymore...it might make a lot of people feel really terrible." His stomach did a little flip-flop at that thought. He didn't want to make anyone feel terrible, especially by ruining something that they really loved.
"Stars? In hearts?" His head tilted curiously. "But wouldn't that interrupt the blood flow and kill you? That's what my science teacher said, at least, about stuff that goes in your hearts. I asked." It was nice to think that he did have a star somewhere inside him that made him shine really pretty.
He made the connection that the sudden pressure had hurt her somehow, and loosened his hold on her arm. Maybe that'd make it a little better.
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:30 pm
It was bearable, but just barely. However, she didn't seem to really want to discourage this nice kid from being her companion, so she allowed it. Besides, he was even cuter up close! Smiling again, she nodded.
"Nope. These are special magic stars in your heart. Everyone has them, and they're what make you who you are. That way we're all special and different." Her star was absolutely brilliant, she was sure. With the power she'd gained from Charonite, there was no way she'd have anything other than a pure glowing seed.
Remembering his earlier question, Audrey shook her head, blue hair flying around a bit. That was something else she liked. He had blue in his hair! Absolutely smashing. "I wasn't really sad. I don't think so at least. But I am kinda alone. I don't really have many friends here. I'm a bit weird." And she liked it that way, dangit! "Don't you have lots of friends? Seems like you should."
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 2:42 pm
Pasha's eyes didn't look like they could get much wider, but they did. Like an adorable rainbow owl, he stared at her with awe. Magic stars? That was just about the coolest thing ever, he thought. Even cooler than Fruit Rollups with tongue tattoos.
"I like that story. I never thought that being special and different was because of magic stars! Do we just get them one day, or do we have then when we're born?" He hoped everyone was born with them. It was a sad thought that maybe some people never earned special magic stars...because they'd never be different.
"You aren't alone," he said with a laugh. "I'm sitting right next to you, silly. And we're friends, aren't we?" He continued babbling on without waiting for an answer. "I don't have lots of friends here at all. I think I kind of don't fit in, so I might be a bit weird like you are." He meant no insult, just a sympathetic statement. "I have a good friend back home - his name is Phineas, and we've been friends forever - but he's not here, so I don't think that counts. I want friends here, too."
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:04 pm
Smiling at his obvious awe and minor panic, she patted his head lightly with her free hand. He really was too much. "Everyone has one! Some are different than others, but everyone has one." At least, she'd never seen someone without a seed so far! But she couldn't possible tell Pascha that. He wouldn't even start to understand her secret life.
When he announced so easily that they were friends, she stopped almost dead, and slowly smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are here. So I do have ONE friend." And that was that. Suddenly, Audrey had a friend, and her outlook was a bit brighter. Someone who wasn't tied to the endless struggle between the senshi and the Negaverse. Someone who would help her hold onto Audrey.
Linarite was becoming much more of a driving force in her mind, and she wanted to keep the two firmly separate.
Snapping back, she caught the words 'back home'. "So you are new here? Where are you from? Pascha seems kinda...Russian maybe? Are you Russian?" That would be new!
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:29 pm
Different stars made sense. That way, they could influence just how different a person was. He decided he was going to have to stick to this magic star theory - it was a pretty happy one, as far as he could tell.
"I bet our stars are really super bright. And that's why we're friends!" And that's why they were awesome, but he didn't want to sound narcissistic. It wasn't like that.
"Only a little bit." He showed just how little by putting his index finger and thumb a half-inch apart. "Well, Russian. I am a lot new here. We're only from a few hours away - I can't remember anyone in my family who is really Russian. I think I maybe have some relatives there, but they've never said hi to me." It was hard enough for him to learn the correct pronunciation of his name when he was a kid, let alone figuring out how to speak Cyrillic. "I guess maybe my dad is a little traditional, though, which is how I got this name." He shrugged nonchalantly. "What about you?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:40 pm
Whoever said that optimism was catchy had obviously had Pavel in mind. He was a small sun that radiated cheerfulness and happy friend vibes, and generally made you feel better. For a girl on the brink of depression, he was the perfect remedy. Audrey almost immediately adored him for it. She was still wary, but very hopeful.
"The brightest ones!" It really was a pity that he was so cheerful. If he'd been a bit more practical, she probably could've taken him to Charonite. Imagining him, working for the Negaverse, Audrey almost shook with laughter.
When the subject of family came up, she rolled her eyes, and put on an exaggerated country bumpkin drawl. "Well y'see I done come from this here teensy tawn in Kansais." The blue waves shook with exasperation. "I was born there at least. Mom and Dad said that nobody lived there, it really was the backwoods of Nowhereville. Glad to be here!" Most of the time.
Standing up and dusting off her skirt, she picked up her back and grinned at Pascha. "So, wanna go get ice cream or something? Much more fun that sitting here, and I'm starved. My treat."
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Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 9:48 am
A very non-masculine giggle bubbled up as Audrey drawled out the explanation of her hometown. "That's silly! You don't have that accent left, so it's hard to tell. I wouldn't have guessed. Probably ever."
He kicked his feet a bit, considering what else to say in the silence, when she stood up and offered him ice cream. Wow, she must really like him! A super great friend already? He had to be doing something right.
"I love ice cream! I don't know where any ice cream places here are; you'll have so show me." He took her arm again, forgetting he wasn't at home with his best friend. She certainly came in close second.
"Thanks for being my friend, Audrey," he chimed, smiling brightly up at her.
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