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 Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 4:56 pm
It was with no small amount of decisiveness that Jove burst into Ren's room that evening after classes. Usually this sort of determination was reserved for when the pup had an indignity he needed addressed, like being teased about one of Ren's pet-names for him, or finding a "I love you Puppy, smile~" note in his lunchbag, but this time it was an entirely unprovoked determination.
And for once it had nothing to do with Ren's silly, embarrassing ways of showing affection.
It looked like he had come straight out of a bath, his hair was slightly damp and super fluffed from a hasty towel rubbing, and he wore his usual black pants and one of Ren's sweaters. The latter made him look less like he had come out of the bath, and more like he had just come out from a brief run through a clothes dryer. And shrunk in the process.
The pup walked right up to his brother with a pen, a blank sheet of paper, an envelope... and a photo album, and frowned intently until the gryphon gave him attention. It might not have stemmed from embarrassment, but Jove had something that was very important to him, and the more he thought about it, the less he could stand to wait for a better opportunity. Ren would just have to do whatever it was Jove wanted him to do, or the pup would never leave him alone.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 5:17 pm
In the process of slowly getting himself back to his normal person, Ren had learned some very important things:
A.) It really did no good to try and tell your friends that you were really fine when you really weren't because they had a tendency to look straight through you and then spend the entire day doting on you or being...well, overly friendly in order to get you cheerful again.
B.) It did even less good to try and convince your little brother that you were fine, because all you got was a scowl and then a refusal to snuggle.
and finally,
C.) What did did good was putting silly little notes in not only your little brother's lunchbox just to tease him, but also send little doodles along with your friends to make them smile.
Overall, Ren was pretty sure he was beginning to act like his old self again - at least, he hoped he was. He had been depressed for too long, although right now he wasn't exactly feeling great. The weather outside was gloomy again, and although normally this was not a big deal, Ren was in a sort of blah mode. Sitting on the foot of his bed, munching a bowl of chips, he was absently flicking through the channels on his skelevision set, though there was nothing good on.
He debated going to find someone, but a push of his door made him glance towards it. It was not unusual for people to just walk into Ren's room without knocking - in fact, he found it a tad strange if they did knock - but he wasn't really expecting to see his little brother standing there. It made him smile widely, however, his eyes flitting down to what Jove was wearing.
"Freckles!" he said cheerfully, and then added pointedly "Nice sweater."
It seemed as if Jove was in one of his moods today, because instead of hesitating at the door like he normally did, he had marched right up to the bed, looking up at Ren with a determined expression. Ren lifted a brow.
"Er," he said, tilting his head. "Yes, puppy? You needed something?"
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 5:51 pm
Jove's frown turned into a full-blown scowl as he stood in front of the TV, and then shoved the paper, pen, and envelope at Ren. He still offered no explanation. But it looked like he could only hold that scowl for a short time before his lips tightened, and he sat down next to Ren with a whine.
He gestured at the envelope, which had an address scrawled on the front in his familiar, child-like writing.
Viscount Aaric Whitelock
1333 Silver Copse Crescent
Bloodmoon County
H8E 4U6
Jove's little brows creased as he opened the photo album, to show Ren a photo of a late middle-aged gentleman in a fine english suit, sitting in a stately manner with a pale parti-coloured foxfire at his side. Then he whined again.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 6:39 pm
Jove standing in front of the TV prevented Ren from actually seeing it. Not that there was anything good on anyway, but it made him look down at his little brother, curious as to what he was trying to show him.
"What's that?" he asked, nodding towards what looked like an envelope in Jove's hand. Switching off the skelevision, Ren set the remote down and reached for the envelope. It was a nice sort of parchment, aged and elegant, though the handwriting on the front was a little haphazard and a tad wobbly - Jove's familiar scrawl.
"Viscount Aaric Whitelock," Ren read aloud, his eyebrows drawing together in slight confusion. "Who is..." He paused, trying to connect the pieces in his brain, glancing down at the book held in Jove's lap. It was a photo album, and the picture Jove had opened up to depicted an older man, one with crisp dark hair streaked with a few lines of silver, though it made him look stately and confident rather than elderly. The man held a foxfire in his arms, and at first Ren was still confused, but then it clicked.
"OH!" he said, snapping his fingers together. He gestured to the man in the photo, lifting a brow. "Your caretaker, right? The one who looks after you?"
Ren looked at the letter, then back at the photo. "You want to write to him, is that it?" he asked, holding up the empty envelope.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 7:50 pm
Jove nodded vigourously, his ears perking up when everything seemed to click in his brother's eyes.
That photo was Jove's first picture, and currently the only one he had of his caretaker. The older gentleman was held in very high regard by the pup, as the first person to care enough to let a bond form between them. And then he had shown such kindness with the collar and dog toys, and later the clothes and books, all of that for an unrelated little ghost... Jove never knew anyone could be so kind.
At least until he met Ren, and all his friends at the academy. And he wanted his caretaker to see that he was doing well, and had a new brother and lots of friends, because he knew it would make the old vampire proud. He so desperately wanted his caretaker to be proud of him... So it was of vital importance to the pup that his two surrogate family members approve of each other.
The pup whined and pushed the pen at his brother. Jove wrote to his caretaker all the time, but what he really wanted was for Ren to write a letter this time.
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Posted: Mon May 09, 2011 8:04 pm
Ren's eyebrows rose as Jove pushed the pen into his hands. "You want me to write to him?" he asked, surprised by the gesture, though there was a hint of pleasure to it as well. Somehow, being asked by Jove to write to the man his little brother thought the world of felt sort of special in a way.
Though he had no idea exactly what to write. Ren stared down at the blank sheet of paper he held in his hand, then pushed himself to his feet. He scooped Jove up in one arm, the paper and pen held in his bandaged hand and made his way over to the pillow pile a few feet away.
"I can think better over here," he said, and patted Jove's head. He handed his little brother the remote to the skelevision, as well as a bag of cookies that Alessa had dropped by earlier, and settled down into the fluffy, warm pillows, holding up the sheet of paper. "Hmm..."
What do I write, exactly> Ren wondered, his glance sliding sideways towards the pup. There were several things, he supposed, but none of them seemed quite...right. After a moment of scrutinizing Jove, Ren carefully uncapped the pen and began to write...
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:02 am
The little ghost nodded again and didn't protest as he was picked up and relocated with ease. He was really getting used to being manhandled by the gryphon, and could tolerate it while in the privacy of the dorm room. Heaven forbid Ren try carrying him around so casually outdoors...
He appeared less interested in the remote and cookies though, and more interested in what his brother was doing. He eyed the gryphon hesitating, like Ren would decide to skip out on the activity at any minute. When Ren looked up their eyes met, Jove wearing an expression reminiscent of "Hey, you're gonna write now, yeah?"
He appeared pacified when Ren's pen met the paper, and took a moment to wiggle himself into the pillows. If his brother was not as fluent a writer, this could take some time, and Jove wanted to be comfortable!
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:30 am
That was as far as he got before Ren stopped, looking down at the paper with a sort of stumped expression. He had no earthly idea what to write, though it wasn't for lack of trying. This letter was obviously important to Jove, and what was important to Jove was important to Ren. His little brother was one of those most precious things in the world to him, so if he wanted him to write a letter to his caretaker, then he would.
He tried again.
Ren stared at it a moment, then scribbled out his name. That wasn't right.
There, much better. He paused, then carefully wrote another line:
Ren hesitated again, sliding a glance towards Jove. "Well, er..." he said, absently tapping the end of the pen against his leg. "What do you want me to say to him?"
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:43 am
Jove seemed content enough that Ren was writing, even slowly. He had managed to dig himself a little hole in the pillows, and settled into it with his tail curled around his legs, hands mostly hidden in the long sleeves of his borrowed sweater. The skelevision was now playing something involving a skeleton dog and an elephant wearing a cape.
When Ren spoke he glanced over, and favoured his brother with a look that said "How am I supposed to know? It's your letter." It could have been a patronizing look coming from anyone else, but from the pup it was an expression that carried no ill will or mockery. He often reserved it for when Ren was being particularly weird.
After a second he went back to watching whatever show he had found on TV.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 9:02 am
The look Jove gave him clearly said something along the lines of You're a big boy, you can do it yourself. It was the look his little brother gave him when he thought he was being strange again, like that time that Ren had decided to throw a poofday party and go around wearing pillows strapped to his middle (it had been a good idea at the time). Reaching, out, Ren playfully ruffled Jove's hair.
"All right, all right, I got this," he said, and then went back to writing.
Ren could still remember the wide, surprised eyes back then, the way Jove had seemed concerned with his studies and his books. How Ren had taken those books and showed him how to play Scario Kart instead. It all seemed like so long ago...but it had only been a few months. He tilted his head to the side, scooting over to rest against Jove's shoulder.
That didn't sound quite right either, but he left there and continued.
A little better. Ren kept writing.
Ren's tail absently curled itself around Jove's and he frowned a little at the letter. That last sentence felt odd, but it was surprisingly true. His little brother was content with the simple things in life.
Like letter writing, for instance.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 9:35 am
Jove pulled himself briefly out of the skelevision show when Ren leaned against him to continue his writing, but only paid him any attention when Ren's tail curled around his own. Surprisingly the gryphon had written quite a bit, and the pup's expression relaxed in a pleased manner. He didn't lean over to read the letter though, whatever words Ren wrote were for his caretaker alone, and not meant for his eyes.
He went back to his TV show, ear perking slightly when the skeleton dog started to bark at something. Jove was relieved his brother was finally getting some words down on paper, in the past he had written to his caretaker about Ren and some of their adventures but it had been a struggle to write anything at all after the field trip.
The pup's last letter contained little more than "I'm back from the trip, and I'm okay. Please don't worry." Maybe now that he was really feeling more okay, he could write some more... Later, after he had mailed Ren's letter.
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Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 8:41 pm
While Jove was preoccupied, Ren was still writing.
Finished. He carefully folded the parchment neatly into thirds and tucked into the envelope, smoothing down the creases before leaning over to his little brother, dangling it in front of Jove's face.
"All done~" he said, resting his chin on on top of the boil's head.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 2:28 pm
Jove didn't let Ren lean on him long. He was up and heading towards the door the instant he snatched the envelope, ears perked forward, bare feet making no noise as he trotted off. He didn't even glance back over his shoulder, he was so intent on locating the nearest POSTmortem box and getting Ren's letter mailed as soon as possible. Perhaps he trusted his brother would follow naturally, and was so certain he didn't need to glance back to confirm it.
He trotted out of the monster dorms, and made a bee-line for the main building, where he would find the postbox next to the office. He shoved the letter into the slot, huffed in a satisfactory manner, and then stared at the box for a minute as though it would spit out a return letter almost immediately.
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Posted: Wed May 11, 2011 7:39 pm
As usual, Jove didn't say anything as he stood, promptly heading towards the door. And, as usual, Ren did not do much other than stand and follow him, sticking his hands casually in his pocket. He knew Jove trusted him to not wonder, and so he walked along behind him silently, tilting his head curiously. It was only after they reached the POSTmortem box that Ren gave a wordless ohhh! of comprehension.
"Er," he said, after the puppy had stuck the letter in the slot. Jove was just standing there, looking expectantly at the box as if waiting for it to give him a letter back. "It'll take a while, little puppy."
Reaching out, Ren gave a light laugh, ruffling Jove's hair affectionately. "Tell you what," he said, and squatted down so that he was on eye level with his little brother. "How about we go get some lunch and then we can take some pictures to send to your caretaker? That way he won't just read about how you're doing, he can see it as well."
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Posted: Sun May 15, 2011 10:12 am
Jove snorted. Of course it would take awhile. The letter had to get all the way home, and a reply needed to be written before it could travel all the way back to the school. He turned his head as Ren ruffled his hair, leaving it twisted in a crazy whorl for a second before a proper head-shake returned it to it's naturally straight and fluffy state.
The pup's little ears perked, how come he hadn't thought of taking pictures? That would be really good. Except...
The blush that crept across Jove's face was sneaky and subtle, it appeared the wisp was still a bit camera-shy. He tried to hide it by scowling, and then trotting off towards the cafeteria.
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