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 Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 6:58 pm
It was during a routine midday nap that Ren discovered something very disturbing.
Rhys - his mischievous, troublemaking Lepus - was, in fact, missing.
At first he didn't think it was that big of an issue. After all, Rhys had a habit of disappearing when he was bored, or when he was tired, usually finding a nice, quiet nook in the bottom of one of Ren's drawers, or maybe in the wooden toy chest to sleep in.
This time, however, Rhys was in neither of those places, nor was he in the room at all. Ren stood in the doorway, frowning slightly. Where had that Jackdamned creature gone?
He scratched his head, trying to remember where he had been last. Outside. Sleeping for a bit under his favorite tree. Then gardening for a bit, followed by a quick afternoon nap. Maybe the Lepus was outside - actually, come to think of it, he probably was outside.
Which was how Ren found himself scrounging around the school grounds fifteen minutes later, grumbling to himself.
Where did he go, the damned rabbit - ?!
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:17 pm
Alessa had work to do, she knew, but it was so terribly hard to stay inside when the weather was so lovely. She blamed her desire for the outdoors on her Nagual heritage, but it was also possible it was just one of the few places she truly felt comfortable. The outdoors and the kitchen were her home, of sorts. Besides, was she really going to get any work done with her lepuses up to their shenanigans? She liked to tell herself that was a good enough excuse to get her outside with a few books.
The studying hadn't lasted long. She found herself getting sleepy, as the subject wasn't very interesting, so instead the pulled out a novel. It was the kind she'd be embarrassed to have anyone know she read so she simply lay it in her open textbook. Her text book was already open, so it wasn't like she was making an active effort to be sneaky, right? Anyway, it woke her up a little, which was good. She was alert enough even to notice a familiar figure shuffling around the grounds.
"Ren?" she called out. He was still a little distance away, so she closed both books and slipped them into her bag before standing up and moving closer. He seemed to be acting a little odd. "Are you looking for something?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:35 am
That annoying, ridiculous, Jackdamned rabbit -
"Ren?"
The voice that called his name was familiar. Ren turned his head, glancing back over his shoulder to see a slender, reddish-haired girl heading towards him, tucking her books neatly into her bag.
"Ah," said Ren. "Alessa. Hello."
He remembered the Nagual from his last misadventures concerning his minipets - she had been the one that had owned all of the other lepuses, the ones that had had Rhys bouncing around and scrutinizing curiously. If he recalled correctly, she had been rather pleasant; not anything like the other people he had met so far, like the kelpie he had found the other day eating his garden (he was still very bitter over that).
"Yes," Ren answered, still crouched on the ground as he peered into a hedge of bushes. "I seem to have lost my lepus somewhere..."
He paused a moment, then added "Would you mind terribly helping me look for him? I mean, you're a rabbit, aren't you? Maybe that'll help somehow."
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Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:30 pm
"The one from the other day?" she asked, looking concerned. Ren had seemed rather nice when they met before, so she felt bad his lepus had gone missing, however troublesome he might have said he was. Hers disappeared often enough, but she knew if they were gone too long she would have worried. She assumed Ren had reached the point where his lepus's absence was noticed as worrisome.
She was, however, a little startled at his request. It wasn't because he asked for help, that wasn't terribly unusual, it was his reason for asking. Her being a rabbit, helpful? She wasn't sure it would be, but she had never really used her form for that purpose before. It actually made her a little flustered, because she wasn't sure what to make of it.
"Um, well sure," she agreed. She did want to help, after all. "But ah...you'll have to carry my books if you want me to be a rabbit. Sorry about that."
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Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2011 4:48 pm
"Ah, yes," Ren answered, sitting back on his legs as he wiped a dirt-streaked hand across his brow and most likely smearing some on his forehead in the process. Looking between the bushes was problematic, since that was where Rhys liked to hide, but it also meant crawling around like an imbecile.
Ren was not pleased.
I'm having rabbit stew tonight, I swear.
...well, I would, if I ate meat.
"His name is Rhys," Ren said with an exasperated sigh. "He just has this habit of driving me crazy by playing sporadic games of hide and seek. Although it's more like 'I'm going to hide without telling you that I'm hiding and drive you absolutely bonkers trying to find me.'"
He looked up, slightly confused, before he realized what she was insinuating. "Oh," he said with a laugh, waving his hand. "No, I didn't mean - sorry, I didn't mean you had to turn into a rabbit to help me! I figured since you are...rabbit-like? you could help."
Ren paused. Thought about it a second and then said "Wait. Was that offensive? My bad, I didn't mean to sound that way. I just meant that since you know what they're like, you could maybe help me. But I think it would be easier in your human form."
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:16 pm
"He might be doing it on purpose, thinking its fun to have you find him or...well he could just want some extra attention from you," she said sympathetically. She knew what crazy minipets were like, though her problems were usually at least contained to the one location of her room. Searching the campus would definitely have been more stressful, especially if he had to do it on a regular basis.
When he explained what he meant, she felt rather, well, stupid. It probably showed in her face, because she carried a brief expression of self-frustration along with a red tint to her cheeks. Of course he hadn't meant that, hadn't she realized that that would have been a stupid question? She should have known better. Well, embarrassment aside, it made things easier anyway and she could still help.
"N-no," she shook her head, not wanting him to feel bad about it, not when...well she'd been a little bit foolish. "Sorry, I didn't mean to misunderstand...I guess I'm just not used to people mentioning my being a rabbit nagaul as useful, so I thought-" She shook her head, as if the motion would clear away that portion of the conversation. She readjusted her bag on her shoulder, looking a little more alter. "Well, anyway, um...do you know if he was hungry or anything? There are some places on the edge of campus that have wild vegetables and things he might like."
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Posted: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:57 pm
"I wouldn't be surprised if he were doing it on purpose," Ren answered with a snort of laughter, shaking his head. "I swear, sometimes he lives to torment me."
He glanced suspiciously towards the bushes, as if half-expecting the lepus to jump out at any minute and surprise him, but there was nothing, of course. With a sigh, he turned back to Alessa, somewhat surprised to see a dash of pink cross her face, her expression flitting from curious to embarrassed and unhappy. Ren frowned and stood, taking a step towards her.
"I'm sorry," he said, brows drawing together in slight confusion. "Did I say something wrong? I didn't mean to offend you, really. I just thought that, you know, being a rabbit and all, it might help me a bit, but really, I didn't..."
Ren trailed off, letting her finish speaking before saying lightly "Ah, well, you're useful to me at least~" He flashed a her a playful wink and turned to look back at the hedgerow, hands on his hips, a determined expression on his face. "Hmm....hungry, eh? That might work. Where are these vegetable places, do you know?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 3:47 pm
"No no, I'm fine," Alessa insisted, feeling bad that she'd made him think she was upset. Embarrassed, yes, upset, not in the least, or at least not at him. She was often a bit hard on herself sometimes, but she'd rather that than be hard on others. Somehow she thought it'd keep her from making as many mistakes, too, even if...that didn't really work out most of the time. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...make it sound like I was." Or look like she was, but she never seemed very aware of just how expressive her face was, how easily read.
"Um...there are some near the bridge, so if we go this way it shouldn't be too far off," she explained, glad to move along to a better subject and something where she was actually useful. She didn't actually eat any of the wild vegetables she found, but that didn't mean she didn't find them on instinct sometimes. Things were always just a touch different when you were in your animal form, or at least she thought so.
His wink might have been a little much, though, because she got a touch pink again, though she tried to brush it off. "I'll show you." She began to head in the proper direction, hoping his lepus would be there...she wasn't really sure what other places would be good to look.
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Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2011 5:45 pm
Ren tilted his head, regarding her somewhat curiously. "Ah, well, I'm still sorry if I embarrassed you," he said, offering her an apologetic smile. "I tend to not really think before I speak, so if I ever say anything offensive, please, by all means - feel free to hit me."
Peering around her, he squinted, attempting to figure out - or rather, remember - where the bridge was. It had been a while since he had been there himself, not to mention that most of the time he was, in fact, much too lazy to go about exploring the campus and off of the campus.
"Lead the way," Ren said cheerfully, sticking his hands in his pockets as he fell easily into step beside her. The campus was quiet for the day, a few students milling about, some lying on the grass reading while others slept. A few more were goofing off up in the branches of the trees, while yet another seemed to be struggling with their pets on the vast lawn of the school. Ordinarily Ren would have probably been one of those asleep on the grass, like the ghoul they passed by that had a book over her face, but seeing as how Rhys had decided to disappear...well, that certainly put a damper on his plans.
They walked on in silence for a few moments before he said "So, Alessa. How have you been? What do you think of the school so far?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:16 pm
"I'm not...a big fan of violence," Alessa admitted, and at first it might have sounded like she had taken his comment seriously. But then she looked sideways at him. barely holding back a smile while saying, "Don't worry. If you do offend me, you'll know it. I doubt you'd hear the end of it. So I suppose you wouldn't go away...verbally unscathed." She meant it as a joke, but it was also rather true. When upset, she chattered and she didn't pull any punches either.
"Of school?" She tilted her head, looking thoughtful for a moment, but pleasantly so. "I like it. It's...different than I expected. Or than I'm used to, I guess. Much better than house hopping." Clasping her fingers around the strap of her bag she asked in return, "What about you?"
They were coming upon the bridge soon, but instead of going across it she went around, moving down the bank to a little patch along the river bank in the sunlight. It was just out of reach of the bridges shadow and little sprouts of green peeked up, suggesting vegetables that grew in the earth below.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 5:29 pm
Ren let out a small laugh, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sure I wouldn't," he agreed, slanting a look in Alessa's direction as he smiled. "You don't quite seem like the particularly violent type, but I can see you reaming me out for something stupid or idiotic I've done, so I'll have to make sure to stay on your good side."
They had almost reached the bridge now, the sounds of the school growing quieter, more muted the further away they went. Ren followed Alessa obediently, though his eyebrows drew together in slight confusion when she went to the side of the bridge, rather than across it.
"I have to say, school wasn't what I had expected either," he said, stumbling a bit on the damp grass of the river bank. "My parents paid me to attend, though, so I was only coming here to get out from under their thumb." He shrugged, a somewhat sheepish smile on his face. "I, er, don't get along with them very well."
The grass was higher just under the bridge, a few green patches indicating that at least something was growing here; carrots, if Ren recognized them well enough, and next to them was a familiar little hole where it looked as if one had been dug out and stolen.
"Aha," Ren murmured, casting a glance in Alessa's direction. "He's gotta be around here somewhere..."
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 12:47 pm
"It shouldn't be hard..I'm not prone to hard feelings, or at least I don't think I am," Alessa said with a smile and small shake of her head. She didn't feel like she typically got angry with people, but then frustration and anger weren't quite the same and it didn't stop her from being vocally opinionated either. Oh well. She wasn't too worried. She had only just met Ren the other day, but she found she liked him well enough. He seemed like a really good guy.
"I'm sorry," she said, looking a little sobered by his confession. She avoided his gaze briefly, "I understand. Families can be...difficult." Her stomach twisted a little and she didn't offer anything more, because she really didn't want to think about her family, mainly because things were so gray between them. Her family wasn't the kind you could hate, and yet she was painfully aware of how much harm they did her, at least emotionally.
She moved through the tall grass pretty easily, which might have been surprising considering the type of clothes she wore. She was used to this kind of terrain though. Her species alone made her a lover of the outdoors, so it wasn't uncommon for her to wander around places like this. She moved with a natural quietness, searching for the distinct white coloration of the swashbuckling lepus. "Rhys?" she even called out, though she wasn't sure if he was the type to respond. But if he bolted, she figured it at least tell them where he was.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:38 pm
Ren momentarily stopped in his search, sliding a glance upwards at Alessa. "You don't look like you'd be the type to have hard feelings, no," he said softly, smiling at her. "It's not a bad thing. You seem like a very strong minded - and hearted - girl who is perfectly capable of handling things well and the way you think they should be handled." He shrugged, pushing aside some of the shrubbery. "It's an admirable trait, I think, at least."
Nodding at her apology, he gave a half-shrug, letting his shoulders lift briefly and fall. "My family, unfortunately, defines the word 'difficult,'" he murmured, in a somewhat bitter amusement. He caught the tone of her voice, the way she looked away. Looks like I'm not the only one with family troubles.... he thought, slightly comforted by the fact, although disappointed at the same time because although he had only known her for a few days, Alessa did not seem like the type anyone could dislike.
She had stepped a few feet away now, moving quietly through the grass, her voice low and gentle as she called out. Ren moved beside her, ears twitching slightly as he listened.
Rustle.
"Ah..." Ren whispered, leaning closer. "I...spy...a...rabbit."
This last word was followed by Ren's hand diving down into the tall grass. There was a squawking noise, then a thump, and a small, white blur leapt out, landing precisely against Ren's shoulder. He staggered, feet slipping on the slick grass and unintentionally grabbed onto Alessa's arm, trying to keep his balance, but instead causing both of them to tumble down into the grass.
"S-sorry!" Ren gasped out, once he could actually speaking again, His eyes cut in front of him. "Rhys," he said, glowering at the lepus, who was now sitting on his chest. "You little troublemaker, where have you been?"
The lepus held out a carrot. Ren rolled his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 1:59 pm
Alessa flushed brightly and busied herself in searching the grass in an attempt to hide it. She didn't get compliments often, at least not about anything aside from her cooking, so she really didn't know how to deal with them. She felt like she was getting them more now that she was at school...perhaps she needed to get used to it. Just because her family was stinted against her didn't mean everyone else was, right? "Do you say that to all the ghouls who help you look for your lepus?" she joked to hide her bashfulness.
She was debating whether or not to ask him more about his family (or whether or not it'd be too nosey) when there was a flash of white and suddenly she found herself dragged to the ground. Once her head stopped spinning from the sudden turn of gravity she pushed herself up from the grass, letting out a breath and sitting back on her feet. She brushed her mussed hair from her face, peering over to see Ren accompanied by his formerly missing lepus. She had to smile.
"Looks like he really wanted some carrots," she said almost with a laugh. "And don't worry about it. I'm glad we found him."
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:10 pm
Rhys was looking very self-satisfied. He put the carrot to his mouth, nibbling on it, and flounced a bit, settling down on Ren's chest with a very pleased expression. Ren rolled his eyes.
"Oy vey," he said. "What am I going to do with you, eh?"
Shaking his head, he turned to look at Alessa. She was sitting up, a few strands of grass stuck in her hair as she pushed it back away from her face, but she was smiling, amusement clearly evident in her voice as she spoke.
"Yeah, no kidding," Ren answered with an exasperated sigh before he laughed, reaching up to rest a hand against his forehead. "Good Jack, Rhys, I swear. One day you'll be the death of me. Either that, or I'll come home to find a bunch of carrot tops on my bed from your sneaking them around."
Tilting his head back to Alessa, he said "Thank you. For helping me, I mean. Even though I kind of, er, pulled you down onto the ground by accident."
"And no," he added with a smile, turning to look at Rhys again. "I don't say that to everyone."
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