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 Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 11:16 pm
Why Sparrow was having such a difficult time putting his feelings into proper words was beyond the reaper.
He liked Wren - that was as plain as day. He liked her a lot. He had kissed her. Asked her to be his ghoulfriend.
Except now what was he supposed to do.
This was not a usual occurrence. Sparrow had, in his time, dated plenty of ghouls beforehand, but none that were even like Wren in any way, shape, or form. There was just something so...innocent and gentle about this particular ghoul that he was having the hardest time attempting to discern how to treat her.
He needed a professional.
Which was why, on a gusty, drizzling Moonday morning, Sparrow found himself crossing the school grounds over to the demon dorms, a small scrap of paper clenched tightly in one gloved hand. He was a tad wet when he arrived at the door of the person he was visiting, his hair a bit frazzled, but for once Sparrow was not very concerned over that.
He hesitated for a moment, rocked back on his heels, then decidedly knocked on the door to Xiu's room.
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 12:08 am
Though it had taken her a little while, Xiu eventually realized that it would do her no good to hanging onto the regrets that had plagued her since the field trip. She needed to look forward to the future, not the past, and it was this thought that encouraged her work hard to become stronger and, at present, cheer up a little. Usually she would try to bake or cook to get her mind off of her troubles, but considering how she only had one arm she could presently use, chopping vegetables and mixing batter proved to be a difficult task.
But what else could she do?
Fortunately, her mood-lifter came in the form of a friend knocking at her door. While Xiu would have most definitely denied being a professional at relationships (after all, her own relationships were...), she was always happy to help the reaper out.
"I'm comin--oh, hello Sparrow!" She looked up at the boil in surprise, not having expected his visit. However, after a pause, she moved aside and made a small sweeping motion with her uninjured arm. "Um, please come in! What brings you here?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 1:54 pm
The slightly sheepish smile dropped almost instantly from Sparrow's face.
"What - what happened?" he gasped out, mouth agape as he took in the pale, wan face of the baku and the arm that was wrapped up in a bandage from her shoulder to her wrist. Hastily he stepped inside the room, closing the door behind her.
"Is it - that is to say...was it from the, er...trip?" asked Sparrow, biting his lower lip as he gazed at his friend, worry etched into his face. He had not been there, on the field trip - he had not seen what happened, had not been through what everyone else had, so he could not claim to know how it felt. But he had heard enough rumours and facts to have pieced together at least some semblance of the truth.
"Sorry," he added quickly, shaking his head. "I apologize; I did not mean to be intrusive."
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 3:33 pm
Xiu was a little surprised at his reaction at first and then she realized just what it was that had caught him offguard. "A-ah, yes, I..." Grinning sheepishly, she raised her good arm and scratched the back of her head, "I look terrible, don't I? I was, um, stabbed--kind of--and, um, burned--but just a little!--so that's why I'm wearing bandages."
In hindsight, she was very, very happy that Sparrow had not gone on the field trip. She would have been most upset if anything had happened to him as well, considering how many injuries some of her other friends had sustained. In the end though, they--the students--all got out of there alive.
"And really Sparrow, don't apologize! I mean, I'd rather you know what really happened on that trip rather than the cover-up that the boogeymen are using." She walked over towards her couch, seating herself down and patting the spot beside her to indicate that the reaper should do the same. "But I don't think that's why you're here, is it?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 9:22 pm
Sparrow's jaw was now down in a particularly unattractive expression, not that he really cared.
"He - you - what?!" he managed to get out, not really making much sense, nor complete sentences. Stepping towards her, Sparrow looked down at Xiu's arm with an expression of mixed horror and fear. His hand reached out, as if to touch her, but then he drew it back, biting his lip as he realized just how rude that might have been.
"I've...heard things," he replied, lifting the same hand to idly rub at the back of his neck. "Things...well, no," he amended, as he crossed the room to sit beside the baku, hands on his knees. "No, you're right, that's not why I'm here."
Except now that they were focused on him, Sparrow was not sure he could actually get the words out. His face flushed a bright red, and his fingers clenched a little, Sparrow struggling to put his thoughts into complete sentences.
"Well, you see...er..."
A long pause. Then -
"Well, I've asked this ghoul out and she's quite delightful but I'm not entirely certain what to do now, since I've never really felt this way about anyone before and well, I asked her to be my ghoulfriend but I'm not entirely sure she wants to and, well, I wondered if you would help me out."
This was all said in one long breath. After he finished, Sparrow turned and looked at Xiu with a sheepish expression.
"Well, er," he mumbled. "There you have it."
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Posted: Mon Nov 07, 2011 10:43 pm
Oh ho, what was this?
Despite her best attempts to resist, Xiu couldn't help but smile at the reaper, finding his dilemma to be...well, quite adorable, really! Sparrow always seemed so refined and confident--at least, that's how she had seen him--so to see him fret over asking a ghoul out?
Awww.
The romantic in Xiu giggled, while Xiu herself merely smiled, nodding to show that she understood. "I see! W-well, ummm...you asked her to be your ghoulfriend, right? What did she say?" Xiu definitely hoped that the answer wasn't "no"--she wouldn't know what to tell the reaper then. It would be a lot easier to brainstorm ideas if the answer was a "yes", and if it was a "maybe"...
...Well, yeah. She could work with a "maybe" too. Perhaps she could go crack open some of her fluffy romance novels to see if there would be any good advice?
(Oh Sparrow, why would you ask Xiu?)
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 3:36 pm
Sparrow's face was now scarlet, his gloved hands twisting together in his lap. He didn't quite know how to act at the moment; asking a ghoul for advice was such a new experience, after all - especially when that advice had something to do with another ghoul.
"Er," he said, and pushed a few stray hairs away from his face. "She...she said yes," he admitted, pleasure making the butterflies in his stomach flicker around happily. He could not remember a time he had been more thrilled than hearing that "yes" come from Wren's lips.
Other than the time she had actually, you know, kissed him and called him "hers," but that was beside the point.
"See, I...well, it was slightly awkward," Sparrow mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I...I kissed her...after I kindasorta accidentally fell on her, and I told her I liked her and wanted her to be my ghoulfriend, and she said yes, but..."
He looked at Xiu pleadingly. "What do I do now? I've never, er...actually had a ghoulfriend before. I don't know how this is supposed to work."
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Posted: Mon Nov 14, 2011 10:19 pm
If she could, Xiu would have clapped when she learned that the ghoul had said yes. So she and Sparrow were ghoulfriend and boilfriend now, then!
...Where are the problem?
Xiu tilted her head curiously as he told her what had happened. Despite how embarrassed the reaper clearly was, the baku honestly found this all to be quite sweet. He was so flustered! To her, that definitely spoke volumes about how much he really liked this ghoul.
She tried to hide the grin on her face as she reached out and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder. "Well, I mean...how about taking her out on a date? What kind of ghoul is she?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 8:14 am
Sparrow was not used to being this flustered. In fact, being flustered made him, if at all possible, even more flustered, since he was being flustered over a ghoul. Basically he was flustered over being flustered over a ghoul.
It was a rather inconvenient cycle.
He twisted his hands in his lap and felt utterly confused at the whole situation, frustrated with himself. He had asked Wren to be his ghoulfriend on a whim, but it was not as if he had not wanted to do it. After all, he should have known from the very beginning that there was something different about this particular ghoul, something special.
How was he so fortunate, anyway? Why had Wren said yes in the first place?
"Erm," said Sparrow awkwardly, face flushing. "She's - she's, I mean she's beautiful. Her name is Wren, and she's....well, a little shy."
A pause.
"Skittish. Kind of awkward sometimes - like a deer in spotlights. Very touchy feely, but an innocent sort of way. Quiet. She speaks some sort of different language when she gets all flustered - "
It seemed as if once he started talking about her, he couldn't quite keep it all in.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 3:11 am
Xiu was grinning as Sparrow gave her a description of this "Wren" ghoul. It wasn't a familiar name, but she sounded like a lovely ghoul--she would love to meet her sometime! The baku didn't bother interrupting him--in fact, she didn't speak at all. Without warning, she suddenly stood up and walked away, retreating into the kitchen. There was the sound of things clanking, of cupboards opening and closing, and after a minute or so, the baku walked back out, carrying a cup of tea on a saucer with her good hand. She set this down in front of Sparrow.
"Calm down," She laughed, her tail swishing behind her as she sat back down, "There's no reason to be so flustered right now! Your Wren sounds like a very sweet ghoul, though." Xiu smiled, humming thoughtfully. Well, if he came here for advice...
...She could try to give him some. "So, a date. What kinds of things does she like? I mean, picnics are fun if you can find a nice clearing. Or if you take her out for dinner at a restaurant..." Xiu trailed off with a little shake of her head. It really just depended on what both Wren and Sparrow enjoyed.
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Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:44 pm
Sparrow sort of rambled on a bit before he realized that Xiu had gotten up and made her way to the kitchen, returning after a moment or two with a cup of tea that she set in front of him.
"Er," he said, slightly embarrassed as he reached out, picking it up and inhaling the nice, spicy scent of the drink before taking a small sip of it. It tasted wonderful, soothing and warm in his throat. "Sorry...about that. I'm just..."
He gave her a weak smile. "Well. Not entirely sure of myself anymore, really."
Pushing his hair away from his face, Sparrow leaned back on the couch, holding the saucer carefully as he crossed one leg over the other and set about thinking of what she had just asked him.
"Well," he said slowly, brows drawing together. "She's...she's quiet. I mean, she's still new to the school, so she doesn't really know much about it yet. Since she's skittish, I think she'd feel awkward if I took her out to dinner, but maybe a picnic would be good..."
There was a slight pause.
"What does one do on a picnic, exactly?"
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2011 2:08 am
Laughing, the baku held up a hand. "Don't apologize. Just take a deep breath, relax, and drink your tea." Sparrow was lucky that the baku was the quiet type--if she had been more outgoing, she may have teased him for how flustered he was. As it was, Xiu was trying not to giggle, but she certainly wasn't going to make fun of Sparrow for his dilemma. It was clearly very serious to him.
She nodded slowly as he considered the idea of a picnic, but paused to stare at him when he asked what was done on a picnic. "Oh...Sparrow, have you never been on one?" She made note to set up a group picnic for her friends in the future. But until then...
"Well, you can pack a lunch, go out, and...enjoy nature? Eat outside, take in the scenery...maybe if you find a nice lake or something you can go for a swim. Just chatting is nice too, though!" The only picnics Xiu had been on were with her family and friends, but she figured that a date wouldn't be that different.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:34 pm
Mildly chastised, Sparrow sunk low in his seat, his face red as he lifted the cup of tea to his lips and took an obedient sip. It had been the right idea, certainly, coming to Xiu for advice, but it was taking a good deal of effort to remain calm.
".....no?" he answered blankly, staring at the baku. "I've...er, never been on a picnic before, I'm afraid. I've...er, only heard of them mentioned once or twice by a friend, but I never thought to ask what they were."
Sparrow listened carefully, pushing himself back up into a proper sitting position. His brows drew together in slight confusion.
"So....you eat outside? On the grass?"
Talk about living under a rock.
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Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:32 pm
Was it bad that Xiu was wanted to lean forward and pat Sparrow head? The look on his face was--in all honesty for the baku--hilariously adorable, and she had to bite down on her bottom lip to prevent herself from breaking into giggles. Sitting up a little straighter, she cleared her throat.
"Usually you bring like...a blanket to spread over the grass. That's what you sit on, and that's what you set everything on." Hmmm, did she have that picnic basket and picnic blanket sitting in her closet somewhere, she wondered? She had brought it with her from home just in case, but she had never had the chance to use it.
...Maybe this was the time?
"If you like this idea and you need help," Xiu started, her voice thoughtful as she tapped her chin, "I could help you prepare everything. The basket, the food, the drink...oh! Or maybe you could prepare something for the two of you while I supervise?" What could be nicer than a meal cooked with love by your date, right?
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