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Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2010 12:12 pm
It was one of those rare days when he did not spend most of his free time at Teasvatta. One reason was simply the fact that Miss Tatiana Konstantin was not working this day. She was an absolutely wonderful person to talk to and easily made time slip away. This was not to say that the other employees at Teasvatta were incompetent when it came to the art of conversation. However, when he did not have as much of a personal tie with the employee, he found that it was better off if he only stayed for 10 minutes. Perhaps 2 of those minutes were spent ordering, and another 2-4 of those minutes were dedicated to the preparation of his tea. After the allotted amount of time, he had said his farewells and left the facility, his cup of tea still completely full due to how warm it was.
He spent about a half an hour wandering the mall, doing some simple window shopping, occasionally pausing at a store to take a more careful glance across the merchandise. Since prom season was steadily drawing closer, he couldn't help but notice the increase in fancy dresses and handsome suits on display in certain clothing stores. It made him ponder for at least a minute during this day over who he should ask to the prom. He knew at least a handful of girls by now. However, he shook the idea out of his head, deciding that the mall was not the appropriate place to make such an important decision.
Having no further business in the mall, the effeminate lad began walking towards the nearest exit. He momentarily had to slide a sleeve up from his casual suit to take note of the time.
Ah good, still plenty of time to investigate he thought to himself. As he pushed open the door, he recalled his brief encounter with Miss Virgo. She had been a Sailor Scout, and to be quite honest, she was quite different from what the news had made them out to be. Had he been the lucky one who encountered the most sociable of Sailor Scouts? Or were all Sailor Scouts like this?
Howl had decided that the only way to figure this out was to wander around the town and hope he came across one before curfew was up.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 3:44 pm
Sailor Vanadis was lurking near the mall, because, as she steadfastly told herself, youma were more likely to show up where there were lots of civilians to attack.
It totally had nothing to do with all the prom dresses on display, okay? Anyway, she was still developing her strategy for all this senshi-business (run and run really fast probably didn't count for much as strategies) and trial-and-error was important for this sort of thing.
It really didn't have anything to do with the gorgeous pale blue goddess-gown she'd seen in one of the windows.
It was too bad that trying on dresses at the mall in her senshi form probably didn't count as a good strategy for defeating evil, either.
She sighed, too caught up in her thoughts to notice that she wasn't alone on the little side-street any longer.
Well, at least it wasn't another monster.
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Posted: Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:31 pm
In all honesty, the teal-haired lad might not have noticed the wine red-haired girl if it hadn't been for her sigh. He had heard that sort of sigh many times before. It was a sigh of disappointment, of longing, and of desire. It was enough to get him to ignore his own plans and thoughts. It was enough to get him to give this girl the attention her sigh seemed to ask for.
Though he was frequently mistaken for a girl based upon his looks, his voice was enough to clarify any mistakes about his true gender. As he approached, he addressed the girl so that he hopefully didn't startle her from whatever she had been tending to.
"Miss? Excuse me, Miss?" He glanced towards what she had been staring so intently at could not help but smile. Apparently he was not the only one doing window shopping today. It was a high quality dress, and glancing over the girl quickly, he could not help offering in observation "I believe it would look stunning on you, Miss."
Since he only had one whole encounter with a Sailor Senshi before, he had no clue that the girl was also a Sailor Senshi.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:32 am
"Um." Vanadis blinked - had someone just.. had someone just offered her advice on the dress? (She mentally tried very, very hard not to refer to it as her dress. Even in her own head.)
She turned around to stare at the newcomer, and her stare was no less intense than the one she'd been giving the dress, though less desiring. No, this was a perusing stare, the sort you gave someone before you either attacked them or ran for it.
In Vanadis' case, running for it was the most likely course of action.
"Oh, um, t-thanks. I t-think. Um." She was at a bit of a loss, though, because he didn't immediately seem to be of the evil persuasion. Or even resemble a monster, just looked a bit effeminate if not handsome.
So why exactly was he approaching a senshi with dress advice?
"Do you, um, b-by any chance.. know who I am?" Her voice was all sorts of hesitant and she still looked slightly incredulous. High-tailing out of here was a no-no, if only because Vanadis wasn't sure she could stop staring long enough to co-ordinate her feet properly.
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Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2010 2:22 pm
He paused in his step as the girl's gray-blue eyes fell upon him intensely. She looked as if he had frightened her, which made some sense to him, since it was a rather sudden interjection on his own part. Not approaching the young lady until further notice, he continued on with his observation.
"I think that such a dress would bring out the subtle hints of blue in your eyes, my dear." He smiled kindly before casually glancing over to the dress again. The teal-haired boy had always been one to appreciate fine beauty in clothing, and the design for this dress was elegant.
From his previous experiences, most girls, when they wanted a dress, would go into the shop and try it on. Only the ones who were unable to purchase the clothing would remain outside, mooning over the dresses from afar. With such in mind, he had to ask, "I do not want to come across as rude, but are you short the money to purchase this dress?" He was about to comment about the hype of the prom season, but instead found a question lingering in the air for him instead.
It was a rather strange question to ask before being introduced. However, it pointed out to Howl how rude he had been, without formally introducing himself. Aiming to rectify his mistake, he bent his upper body into bowing slightly (it was nothing Asian, but more formal like the bow at the end of a performance). His teal eyes flickered across her gray-blue eyes as he announced for her "My name is Howl Wickham, Miss. I apologize for being so rude earlier. I have to confess though, I have no idea who you are, since this is our first time meeting." His smile shifted slightly, merging from kind to charming. After his bow, he straightened up his body and looked to the girl expectantly, prompting her with a simple "What might your name be, Miss?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 6:58 pm
Vanadis stared. And then she stared some more. Logically, she knew that the boy was speaking, but most of it was flowing right through one ear and out the other. She had never.. she hadn't ever met anyone who didn't know that she was a senshi (or was pretending not to, which was also a possible explanation).
"Uh, t-that's okay." Mainly because she couldn't remember when exactly he'd been rude. Vanadis snapped back to attention, deciding to put aside the conundrum of his behaviour for now. "I'm, uh, Sailor Vanadis. Of Wards. It's, um, nice to meet you."
She still couldn't wipe off the incredulous expression, though. This Howl guy, was he an enemy sent in disguise to befuddle her and then attack? If so, he was doing a pretty good job.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:11 pm
Did Howl feel embarrassed now?
Yes.
Did he let it show on his face?
Not so much. His eyes did widen a bit at the girl's introduction, however they quickly returned to their relaxed state. His eyes drifted for a moment over her uniform.
"Oh, I did not realize you were a Sailor Scout," he offered apologetically. "I must confess, your uniform is strikingly different from the uniform I saw on Miss Virgo." In all honesty, it looked nothing like a school uniform to him, which is what he had been told many times by Franz that these girls wore. His eyes loomed back towards the girl's face, the smile still ever steady upon his lips.
"It is a pleasure to meet you then, Miss Vanadis of the Wards." Bravely, he approached the girl, coming a bit closer before extending a hand to her, still in greeting. He hoped she was as well mannered as many of the girls he had been meeting lately and would place her hand within his.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:21 pm
"Virgo?" She looked no less puzzled as he explained his actions, "I.. don't t-think I know her? But, um, it's o-okay. You don't need to apologize."
Now she was a bit embarrassed - a good thing she hadn't been in her regular form or she'd have keeled over in humiliation by now! Regularly, this would have pre-empted any form of friendship, but this Howl guy still seemed pretty determined to be kind.
Which was nice, she guessed, but still slightly suspicious. All the same, habit led her to take his hand and give it a weak shake when he held it out: "T-the same to you, um, H-Howl."
"Y-you know another senshi?" Her face was a mix of emotions, as Vanadis had never really learned the art of concealing her feelings very well. But curiousity was a driving force as she recalled his earlier words. How interesting! Perhaps he'd be able to point her in the direction of someone who knew what they were supposed to be doing? (Because really, Vanadis would appreciate some more precise orders than 'kill evil'.)
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:35 pm
Once her hand was in his, though she initially offered a shake, he gently dipped his head forward and gave her a kiss to her pointer knuckle. Nothing remotely romantic (in his point of view), but 100% polite.
This girl seemed much less composed than Miss Virgo had been, the redhead's voice stuttering over the simplest of words. In all honesty, it was utterly adorable, though he'd never mention something like that in front of his mother. She was insistent over him speaking proper English at all times. Stuttering or god awful "Yank" accents were unacceptable in her mind.
At the return mention of the other senshi he had met, he let go of the girl's hand and stood himself back up to his proper height. He had lovely posture, which could be a rarity within his own gender. In a calm tone which only seemed to speak the truth, he began his explanation.
"I have been rescued by another Senshi from one of those horrendous Youma-creatures. I cannot say I personally know Miss Virgo, but she was very kind. She had been kind enough to escort me to my desired destination." When that desired destination was Hillworth, you did not want to mention the destination by name. At least, that was how Howl's mind seemed to work.
He probably could have gone on to talk about how Miss Virgo had spoiled him with a lovely conversation, but instead, he decided to glance back to the dress again. "Is there a reason why you are not in the shop admiring the dress? Does the shop owner have a bias against Sailor Scouts?" He had only just met this girl, but his voice sounded genuinely concerned about the issue.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:52 pm
Vanadis squeaked and coloured rapidly as the pretty boy bent down to give her hand a kiss. Oh gosh, was he coming onto her?! If possible, she looked even more bewildered, though now there was a slight edge of 'kicked puppy' to her look. How was she supposed to deal with that? He didn't look like the sort to resort to sexual harrassment if she turned him down (and how did you turn someone down nicely, anyway?) but you never knew (or so the school pamphlets they'd gotten in middle school had told her).
"She sounds n-nice." And able to defeat a youma by herself, to boot! "I didn't know we were supposed to escort people a-after saving them." If she even could save them, mind. How embarrassing.
"I don't think so?" She blinked and if possible, coloured even more. By this point, her red face was even starting to clash with her hair. "I, um, I-I'm not sure that, um, senshi can t-take off their clothes. Or, um, should."
That had been a lot of um'ing, and an awful confession to make. But how was she supposed to react?! She was under pressure, here!
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:06 pm
Despite how adorable this girl was, the effeminate lad couldn't help but wish for a dictionary at the moment. He listened very carefully, as he always did, since it was only polite, but even then found it slightly difficult to understand her. She, most definitely, was not a Miss Virgo.
She was a Miss Vanadis. Completely different, but had her own quirky little charms.
"I do not know if that is protocol or anything. She mentioned she wanted to make certain no other Youma came after me. I suspect she was only doing such to be polite."
Despite how calm he was, even his own cheeks could not help but flush mildly at the mention of the inability to take off her clothes. His eyes, which had been steady upon hers, lowered themselves slightly so he was looking at her cheeks instead. He did not want the direct eye contact at the moment, but it did not mean that he was going to abandon his manners and look elsewhere.
Speaking of manners, his silence felt so blatantly rude (in his mind). "Oh, I apologize, Miss Vanadis. I was unaware." There was a small pause before he added "I know not what it takes to be a senshi, I apologize if I offended you."
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:26 pm
She suspected that it didn't take much of anything to be a senshi (sans a cranky cat and weird pen), but held her mouth.
"It's o-okay. I didn't, um, expect you to know. I mean, it wasn't like I did or anything, so." She shrugged with a sheepish smile and felt her suspicion towards him waning slightly. He certainly didn't act like a sexual predator or even someone trying to flirt with her (but then again, she really wasn't very experienced in that particular area, so maybe he was).
"She sounds nice, though, this Virgo. W-where did you meet her?" Maybe she could go there and meet the other senshi! And ask if they were really expected to escort people home, because despite Howl's assurances that it might not be so, it sounded like the sort of thing a senshi would be doing. In Vanadis' mind, at least.
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Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:50 pm
When he was certain his own cheeks had cooled, his turquoise eyes glanced up vaguely so they were on the girl's again. He casually noted that her cheeks were starting to calm down as well, which seemed to cause his smile to curl upwards ever so gently.
"Miss Virgo was enchanting company to keep." At the question of where he had met the Zodiac Scout, he walked away from the shop's display window, turning slightly towards the street. He glanced towards the Eastern side of the city and pointed down the street.
"It was several streets down," he called back to her in a loud, but not overly loud tone. "It was by a local cafe, close to the public restroom in that area." Dare he say it? "Towards where Hillworth is located." Mentioning it was near Hillworth was not the same thing as saying he went to Hillworth. At least, the teal-haired lad was hoping his assumption was correct.
In all honesty, he was not satisfied with his response, and turning back to Miss Vanadis, he added in his own defense "I apologize for the lack of street names, but I am still quite new to this city myself."
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Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:32 pm
"I-it's alright." She smiled slightly, mentally taking a note of his directions. She'd look it up on her map later and scope out the area for other senshi. "Landmarks and nearby stuff is n-nearly as good as street names when you're looking for stuff, s-so you did really good."
Hopefully that'd placate him a bit; he clearly didn't think he'd done well enough with his directions, but Vanadis was confident she'd be able to find the place with all the clues he'd given.
"Do you, um, n-need another escort? Only, there's been a lot of youma around and I'd feel kind of bad f-for leaving you." And Virgo had done so, so she probably should too! "I won't be much use in a fight, but I could always act as a d-distraction while you run away."
Just in case he had been given any false confidence in her fighting skills.
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Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2010 5:51 pm
"You are quite kind," he replied at her attempted reassurances. Howl was not truly convinced that his directions had been of any assistance, but he tried to not let it show. However, he was not fully able to hide his surprise when Miss Vanadis asked about a possible escort. His eyes popped open a bit wider than he usually allow and his mouth gaped open slightly in the shape of a small "O."
"Miss Vanadis, I would be honored to have such a lovely young lady as yourself accompanying me to my next destination." He smiled and in a gentlemanly fashion, he extended the crook of his left arm towards her. She might technically be the one doing the escorting, but the slender young man was still particular about making it look as if he was the one doing such a job.
Of course, now this actually meant he needed to select a destination and a logical reason for why he'd be there. His plans had been to wander around to find a Sailor Scout, but he had managed to find one so quickly that now he was mentally scrambling to find a place. Rather than let a frantic expression touch his face, he instead offered a slight chuckle to her warning of her fighting skills.
"Then I shall be glad that my P.E. coach makes our class run laps day in and day out, should the case be that I need to run." Perhaps that was the only thing which Howl could be grateful for when it came to Mr. Killingworth.
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