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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:38 pm
Quote:
Setting her small bag inside the room, Prana took a look around. It was sunny, with a large window and sheer curtains. And if it was next to Karan's, at least she wouldn't be alone. But if that was the case, why did she feel alone?
It was impossible not to notice the bear-child's discomfort. Fidgeting, Karan stumbed for words, something that would help. "She's always busy too," he offered, jabbing a thumb down the hallway.
Prana nodded absently. She was a big girl, after all. Her guardian couldn't always be around, and that was something that she just had to accept. She did not have to like it.
"Will you... stay for a few minutes?"
Karan could hardly say no. What surprised him was that he didn't want to. His unvoiced answer was clear when he walked into the room.
She really wasn't alone. Even if it felt that she was for now, it would fade. She hoped.
Comforting people really wasn't Karan's thing. He'd hardly had any experience with it, after all. What was one supposed to say when another person was hurt? Hugs only went so far, and he hardly felt it was appropriate to randomly hug a girl he hadn't seen in months, cousin or no.
So he simply waited. After all, she only asked him to stay, not to do anything specific.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:43 pm
Prana sat akwardly, feeling strange and small in the sparse room. She placed her bag on her lap, running her fingers over the material and hoping to find something, somewhere within her, to say to the Legend who stood in front of her. She didn't need to share her pain, but another voice besides her own would be nice.
She looked up at him.
He looked different. Older now, obviously, and more aloof than he had been as a baby.
"How are your eyes?" She blurted out. It was all the ammunition she had, a past memory. All she seemed to have were memories.
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:52 pm
"They're better now. At least, they don't hurt anymore." Karan smiled weakly. That was something. It was a shame that he couldn't stop them from showing him things that hurt, but it was a give-and-take. In more ways than one.
He wanted to talk. He wanted to ask questions. But he was afraid. Of rejection, of deception, of the answers themselves...
"How do you trust people?" The question came unbidden, and he nearly clapped his hands over his mouth in embarrasment. Still, it was out, and she would have to answer somehow.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 9:59 pm
Prana looked at Karan, her brows furrowing slightly as she contemplated his question.
"Trust people?' She repeated softly. "Trust."
For a while, her mouth seemed to open, then close again without omitting any sound. Somewhere a voice chided her. What do yuo know about reust. Look at you, you couldn't even trust Lafe at first. What gives you the right to speak of trust? She shook these thoughts away, and decided on the most honest answer.
"I don't know, Karan. I open my heart to everyone I meet, and I try to give them a fair chance. It's hard, and it hurst so much sometimes. But trust is like faith. You have to believe in people, no matter how much they hurt you." Hot tears rose unbidden to her eyes, and she scrubbed them away angrilly with the back of her sleeve, sniffling softly. "I'm sorry. You can go if you want. I don't want to keep you here." She turned away from Karan, embarassed to cry in front of him.
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:08 pm
Oh, fantastic job. He was supposed to make her feel better, and instead he went and asked a stupid question that made her feel worse. She was even crying, for crying out loud!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Karan said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I was just... wondering, is all. And what you said helped a little. I've wanted to ask someone."
He'd already come to that conclusion, but knowing someone else had as well meant that he was less likely to be wrong. That alone was reassuring. The talk of believing in people even when they hurt you was less so, and he wasn't as inclined to believe that, but part of a whole wasn't a bad match.
"I can stop talking if you like," he added as an afterthought. His priority was keeping the guest happy. Questions could come later.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:11 pm
Prana turned to face him again, looking at his distress, and cracked a weak smile.
"Look, now I've upset you." She sighed, collecting herself and moving over to make space. She tapped the vacant end of the bed. "You can sit if you'd like." She offered. "Please don't stop talking though. I've never heard you talk before. It's nice."
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:17 pm
"I'm not upset," Karan started automatically, then sighed. Again with the changes. He still wasn't used to it. Nothing felt bad, or unnatural, just different. In a different sort of way. He was never really sure how to react, and that was what bothered him most.
He did take her up on the invitation to sit, bouncing lightly on the bedsprings. If he could ask his questions without upsetting her further, he would. The chance might not come again. But what to ask? Especially since the questions might be sent back at him, and there were some things he didn't want to answer. It didn't occur to him that the same might hold true for Prana.
"So... then, do you trust some people more than others?" He did, but this was his question. Unless she asked, he would simply listen to her reply.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:23 pm
"Of course." Prana replied, smiling further as the bed bounced a little. " I trust my Guardian more than anyone. I know she'll come back for me once she gets better. I believe in her. And I trust Guinny, even though she's just a baby." She thought for a moment, and pondered it further. "Even people I haven't seen since iIwas a baby, like Chandra and Dare, Chesai...Waya." I trusted them all as an infant, why should I be any different now?" Looking up, she didn't know if she had puzzled the other Legend. "Did you trust me when you let me try and soothe your eyes? Or was I only frightening you?"
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:32 pm
It sounded so easy when she said it! And there were so many people she trusted, she cared for... not that he didn't have people he cared for. He trusted them too, of course... didn't he?
"I wasn't scared," Karan retorted. "Not really. I was..." It was difficult to recall emotions from so long ago. "I was just confused, I think. Nothing makes sense now."
Except that what she said did make sense. His mind flicked back to the list of people. He had his own list, didn't he? Demare, of course. And Guin as well, and perhaps that planet boy and the boy with the wings. He couldn't remember their names, nor did he recognize any of the names Prana had spouted off. Except one.
"I think I met someone named Waya." Closing his eyes helped him remember a furry cloak, and magic done with bites of brownies. "He was soft, and fluffy... sort of like you," he finished with a grin.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:38 pm
"No, Nothing does make sense now." She agreed rather darkly, an uncharacteristic trait for her. But at mention of Waya, she perked up signifigantly.
Prana gave her first genuine smile since she arrived at her Aunt's house as Karan describes the wolf Legend to her. "I think that's whay I liked him. Back when I was littly, being soft was all it took to get my attention." She chuckled. "Waya and I were good friends. I miss him a lot." Her eyes darkened for a moment, recalling that he too had drifted away along with his Guardians. " Is he doing well?"
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:44 pm
Trying to remember further, Karan finally shrugged. "I think so. I haven't seen him in a while. His mom's a friend of hers, I think," he said with another jab at the door, indicating DS. "She probably knows."
He smiled, remembering the softness again. It was probably a trait common to babies to like soft things, but he was especially attracted to them. Something about the physical comfort made him feel completely safe, emotionally as well.
"I had a present for him." The memory came suddenly. "I had one for you too. Would you like it?"
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:47 pm
"Present?" Prana looked quizically, wondering why on eatrh Karan would wish to give her something, but she nodded in acceptance. "I'd like that."
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:52 pm
"She took me shopping." Karan stood and hurried out of the room, his voice getting fainter but still audible. "I don't remember, but there were lots of things. I picked some, and she said I should give them out."
There were several bundles in his dresser drawer. He picked out the topmost one, studied it for a moment, then pocketed it. The one underneath remained in his hands as he backtracked to the guest room.
"I hope you like it. It's, uh, soft."
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 10:59 pm
Prana's breath caught in her throat and she turned the necklace this way and that, letting the softness of the feather run through her fingertips.
"Karan, it's beautiful. Thank you." She slipped the necklace over her head, being careful not to disrupt her braids. Her hand grazed the brown feather that hung from her temple, and she smiled, looking at Karan. "It matches." To her, this was entertaining, and her eyes sparkled with happiness. "Thanks for cheering me up.' She added quietly. Normally, she probably would have hugged tho toher Legend, but he looked comfortable in his space, and she left him be, sitting on the bed and admiring her new necklace.
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DivineSaturn Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 11:05 pm
What a relief! He'd managed to get her to smile after all. And once she mentioned it, he saw that it really did match. It was an odd coincidence, as the necklace had been bought months before, but it worked out beautifully. "It looks nice on you," he decided.
Fingering the small item in his pocket, Karan finally pulled it out, revealing a similar chain with a silvery wolf charm. "This one's for Waya. I guess I should get this to him soon too." He traced the small crescent moon on the charm, enjoying the feel of the cool metal against his skin. "I think I've got one somewhere. And more, for more people, but I'm not sure."
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