|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 6:40 pm
 
This is a PRP between Van (Kurama no Koishi) and Kiran (Kazu-chan).
Setting:
Taking a break from the hustle and bustle of daily life, two Lunarians find themselves relaxing on the beach.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:06 pm
Life had been busy lately with training and working and going on secret missions for Captain Yuan. Kiran stretched out his arms, feeling a small pop as the joints cracked. After finishing up work at the shipyard for the day, he wandered out to the beach to relax for a moment, soak in the salty sea breeze and let the crashing of the sea wash over him like calming waves. A break was what he needed. Nothing like a day off or anything as long as that. He only needed a for moments to himself to clear his mind.
Toeing off his shoes, Kiran dug his toes into the sand, relishing in the feeling. He had forgotten how nice it was to simply sit on the beach and do absolutely nothing. On most occasions, he would have his fishing gear with him, and while he could let his mind wonder during that activity, he still had to keep part of his mind on the line in case any fish decided to bite. There weren't many times nowadays when he didn't have something that he was supposed to do. He hadn't heard word from Captain Yuan about their next mission, and their next training session wasn't for a few days.
Kiran leaned back until he flopped over to stare up at the sky and the puffy white clouds lazily rolling across the bright blue sky. He felt as sluggish as one of those clouds at that very moment. His wounds had healed up since his last big battle. Thinking back on that fight, he remembered the conversation with his sister that followed it. Kiran rubbed at his eyes with the heels of his palms. What was he even supposed to do with that? He could admit that he still saw his sister as the defenseless little girl from when they were children. It had been a difficult pill to swallow to learn that she had a special someone in her life. Even more difficult to discover that the man who had captured her attention fought for the other side.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 9:45 pm
The beach was not far from the ger that Van presently lived in, the very one that Kiran himself had helped her find. And because it was so close to the Noble neighborhood, it was easy for the fighter to remain anonymous. The Nobles on the beach couldn’t know her as anyone other than one of their neighbors, and the chances of running into a Legionnaire, let alone someone she knew well, were very slim.
The fighter was on a rare break between missions—she’d gotten home early the night before, and she wasn’t to show up for her next assignment until the next day. This being the case, it was the perfect opportunity to have a relaxing day on the beach. Van was entirely ready to get some sun and curl up with a good book with the sound of the waves as a calming backdrop. Smiling to herself as she scanned the sandy horizon for an empty space, the woman had high hopes for it to be a good day.
Shifting the colorful bag on her shoulders filled with beach supplies, food, and a good book, Van made her way down the beach in search of a place to settle down. Her cover-up flowed around her legs easily as she continued at a brisk pace toward a spot she’d had her eye on, and she was largely unaware of the Lunarians around her. She was supposed to have the day all to herself, by herself, after all. She didn’t even realize that she knew the man she’d seated herself next to, until she had spread her blanket on the packed sand and had pulled her book out.
She would run into someone she knew on a day she was trying to keep to herself. Blinking a few times in surprise, Van smiled anyway. “Kiran! I didn’t even see you, there!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2012 10:50 pm
So lost in his thoughts and internal turmoil, Kiran didn't pay much attention to the Lunarians about him on the beach. For the time, he was stuck in his own little world, trying to figure out what he could do to make up with his sister after the argument that they had when he learned of her boyfriend. He cringed at the mere thought of that term. He really shouldn't be having that much trouble with the concept. It was silly to think that his sister would remain a single maiden for the rest of her life.
The voice at his side jolted Kiran out of his thoughts, reminding him that there were other Lunarians around him. Berating himself for letting his guard down like that, Kiran removed his hands from covering his eyes and looked over to the side. If he had been on a mission, that moment of ignoring his surroundings could have gotten him killed. He couldn't make foolish mistakes like that if he hoped to survive in battle.
"Van!" He was surprised to see her, but it was a pleasant surprise. Things had left off on a good note between them after their last meeting. He had forgotten how close the beach was to the home that he found for her and hadn't thought about running into her when he chose to stop their for a moment of peaceful relaxation. As he sat up, he gave her an easy grin. "Ah, my training in camouflage has paid off then!" he said jokingly.
Kiran brushed the sand off his hands on his pants then drew up his knees and folded his arms over them. "I didn't expect to see you here." He hadn't anticipated running into anyone that he knew while spending a bit of time on the beach. He thought it would be a nice quite moment away from the normal hubbub of other places that he frequently, like the main street. "How is the new place? Settled in nicely there?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 1:20 am
The fighter laughed good-naturedly as Kiran answered her in kind. She placed her book down, forgetting about her intentions of reading it for the moment. Perhaps she wouldn’t oppose some company after all, though it was all too amusing to the woman that neither of them had seen each other until they were seated right by each other. Given their cyclic history of fights and making up, one would think that they would have come to know each other better by this point. “It’s hardly camouflage if you’re covering your eyes too, you know,” she teased, shaking her head slightly at the comment.
For a moment, she turned away from the other fighter, once again scanning the beach appreciatively. With as busy a schedule as she had, every minute of down time or relaxation was precious. Cerulean waves crashed against the white sand, and all around Lunarians—Nobles, for the most part—were swimming, tanning, and otherwise enjoying themselves. Van could have believed for a second that there was no war, until she remembered that she was probably the only Legionnaire in the place.
“I don’t usually come here,” Van admitted, returning her violet gaze to the blue-haired Noble as she heard him speak. “It’s hard to find time to just sit and relax these days, you know? I’m guessing that’s what you’re here for too—time away from work?” Though the two hadn’t spoken for a while, she was sure that Kiran was just as busy as she was, if his fighting skills were any indication. They always had been neck to neck.
Van stretched her legs out on her blanket, leaning back onto her hands in a more relaxed manner. “The ger is perfect,” she answered candidly, acknowledging him with a slight nod of the head, “I can’t thank you enough for helping me there. What about your tonfas? I hope you haven’t chipped them already!”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:00 pm
His other worries slipped out of mind as he focused on the conversation with Van. With the way their relationship went, it was hard to tell if things would go smoothly between them or if one little misinterpreted word or action would set things off again, resulting in another fight. Kiran scanned the beach. Many other Lunarians of all ages were enjoying a day at the beach, and he couldn't blame them with the sunny weather that they were having. But this was hardly the place to start picking fights, so he tried to be on his best behavior and not give Van reason to knock him over the head.
He chuckled at her teasing response. Well, sometimes it works," he said, still in that lighthearted joking manner. It was good to share a laugh after so much conflict. He ran a hand through his blue locks and he could feel some sand clinging to the strands. That was the problem with beaches: sand seemed to get just about everywhere. In a week's time, he would probably still be finding sand somewhere on his person. But that was then and this was now. He planned to enjoy his time at the beach.
Kiran nodded. "I haven't come here in quite a while," he told her, placing his hands behind him and leaning back on them as he gazed out at the sea. "But I finished up some work and had a bit of free time, and the beach looked so inviting, so I decided to pop over and just relax for a while." But when he was in the thick of everything that kept him busy, he hardly noticed how little free time had. Until days like this one where he found himself with that unexpected free time to be lazy for a while.
"That's great!" he exclaimed cheerily, happy to have helped her find the perfect living place. Not wanting to go on the hunt for a new living place anytime soon, Kiran was all the more content with his current apartment. Even if it was small, he at least didn't have to go through the struggle of looking at place after place to find something within his budget anymore. As an added bonus, in his mind, the apartment happened to be near enough to the sea that he could smell the saltiness of the sea on the air when a breeze went through the place. "No chip in them yet," he said, grinning. "I'm doing my best not to get another blade dug into the wood again."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2012 9:00 pm
Van’s smile remained fixed on her face as they joked. The conversation was going better than usual; she only hoped it didn’t escalate into a fight like what happened about half the time. There were a few reasons for this, due to logistics or otherwise. Even as a lady, she couldn’t be sure anyone at this Noble-dominated beach would come to her assistance if things got out of hand. And secondly, it would be embarrassing to ask him about the condition of the weapons she’d helped him procure, and in the next breath wind up taking a chip out of them again.
No, there would be no fight today, she decided as she turned and reached into her bag, fishing for the snacks she’d brought along for the day. After a few moments, she pulled a sealed box of fruit kabobs from the pack. Removing the lid, she offered one to the fighter next to her. “Have some,” she said, taking one for herself and biting the first piece of apple off the end. “They’re not poisoned or anything, I promise,” the woman added after she had finished chewing, in case he had any qualms. The wide grin on her face indicated that she was joking about the entire matter, but she was sure that given their history, he wouldn’t have put it past her. She knew too many Nobles who were quick to assume the worst about Legionnaires to think otherwise.
“Looks like you’ve been lucky so far then,” she answered, sounding agreeable despite the gentle jibe. Lucky enough not to have angered her to the point where she’d whip out her swords and fight him, that was for sure. The notion of luck went both ways, though—it was better for the both of them if they managed to maintain a friendly relationship. “Or you might even be getting better, but I don’t know about that...” she finished, reaching over to poke the Noble playfully in the shoulder.
The fighter took another breath of the salty air, before exhaling quietly, the perpetual smile remaining on her face. There was just something about being on a break at the beach that always elevated her mood.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 1:35 pm
Kiran distracted himself for a moment by digging his toes in the sand again, simply to enjoy the grainy feeling between each digit on his feet. So far, they had managed to keep from saying anything to offend the other and provoke a fight, for which he was thankful. This time was meant to be his repose from work and training, a brief window in which he could forget that a war was happening. It was hard to put the war completely out of mind, however.
When he caught movement beside him, Kiran glanced over at Van, curious to know what she was digging out of her bag. The thought that she might attack him didn't come immediately to mind, or even in the top ten ideas of what she might be looking for in her bag. If she was anything like him, her easiest to reach weapon wouldn't be buried in a bag that lost her valuable time to hunt through to get at them. He lifted a brow at the box of fruit kabobs offered to him. Food hadn't been the first thing to come to mind, but now that it was right under his nose, he realized how hungry he was.
As his fingers closed around one of the skewers, he paused to look up at Van at her comment. He chuckled as he picked up the kabob then bit off the first slice of fruit on its end. "The thought never crossed my mind," he admitted, savoring the sweetness mingled with tartness of the apple chunk. It made a nice treat on a warm, sunny day.
It would have been easy to argue with the little jibes and remind her that he had twice beaten her. But he managed to control any urge to do so. After all, it was only a little light teasing, and he liked to think he had matured beyond snapping at others and responding with some sneering comment that might provoke anger in the other. "Luck isn't all that matters in battle," he said as he pulled off the next piece of fruit and popped it into his mouth. "I happen to be a very skilled fighter." He thought as he munched on the fruit. "But I am still training hard to get even better." When some got over confident with their skill, they sometimes got cocky and let their skills get rusty. Kiran hoped to never be like those fighters. There were still some Lunarians that he planned on never letting them get the better of him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2012 4:51 am
Van offered the other fighter a gentle, albeit close-lipped smile as she watched him eat. It was not the action of Kiran actually eating that made her happy, but more that for a moment, she just might have been able to forget about the war effort and consider him a friend. For now, they weren’t necessarily Legionnaire and Noble, but just two Lunarians enjoying the beautiful day. It wouldn’t last forever, of course, because tomorrow both of them would go back to working for their respective factions. For the idealists, though, it was nice to think that peace could exist between them, no matter how fickle it was.
The woman was halfway through her kabob before she deigned to answer again. “Good,” she said, tossing a quick glance in Kiran’s direction, “I’d rather believe that neither of us would stoop so low.” Underhanded tactics such as poison never were akin to stabbing someone from behind, in Van’s mind, and besides, the relationship that she and Kiran shared had always been especially straightforward.
Some days, they were tolerant of each other, and other days they were out attempting to kill each other. Van could never tell what it was going to be, every time she ran into the blue-haired Noble, but their encounters left little room for deep interpretation. And that was good, in any relationship between factions—they knew where they stood with each other.
As much as Van tried to distract herself when she had free time, her attention always returned to fighting and war at the end of the day. “I’d like to judge that for myself, one day,” she said, the corners of her lips jerking up for a moment. It had been months since they’d last fought, after all—who knew how their skills stacked up now? “We can be diplomatic about it. Perhaps. I’ll try not to damage your tonfas again, at least,” she continued, her tone light. The Legionnaire was mostly joking again, but since her mind had returned to work, she seemed a little more serious this time. “Are you here long?” All this talk of training was compelling her to get back to her own.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 3:50 pm
Kiran enjoyed the last few slices of fruit on his kabob then began twirling the skewer between his fingers. It would be nice if there could be more days like this one: two Lunarians of differing sides relaxing on the beach and sharing a snack on a calm, sunny day with the soft crashing of waves against the shore. But he, of course, knew better than to delude himself into thinking that this might become the norm. Once they met on the battlefield, all thoughts of friendships would be set aside, and they would have to battle again.
"I'll tell you right now that poison is not my thing," he confessed. Though he crept around in shadows and spied on people often, he never once thought of doing something such as slipping a bit of poison into someone's drink or food to be rid of them. That seemed like a cowardly way to deal with an enemy. He would rather face his opponent directly and risk a loss in battle, or even his life, than to resort to poisoning. "I would have failed that lesson if I studied poisons at the Academy. Thankfully, I didn't inherit my mother's wonderful cooking skills. It's a wonder she hasn't killed anyone yet with one of her meals." He shuddered in memory of those dreaded family dinners. If food was the way to a man's heart, he seriously had to wonder how his father fell in lover with her.
Kiran chuckled as he leaned back on his elbows again; the skewer threaded between his fingers. "That could be arranged," he said, grinning at Van. Considering their history, he doubted it would be long before they had reason to test their skills against one another. "That would be much appreciated." He hoped his tonfas wouldn't get damaged again for a good long time. But he knew, like all weapons, after being in use for quite some time, they would get worn and damaged and need to be replaced again. He just didn't want that to be the case so soon after buying a new pair.
Reaching up with his free hand, he tapped his chin in thought. "Not too long," he answered. "My work for the day is done, but I should probably get some training in before the day is out. Maybe see if I can think up a way to patch things over with my sister." He searched his mind for anything he might have forgotten about needing to do. Then he turned his gaze back on Van. "What about you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 12:37 pm
Van wisely decided to hold her tongue when Kiran continued talking about poisons. It may not have been her preferred method of fighting, as underhanded and dirty as she believed it to be, but given the nature of some of the assassination missions the fighter was sent on, she often had no choice. The Legionnaire was rarely called upon to fight directly, as she often did with Kiran, instead striking when it was least expected. A poisoned blade was always a better assist than a normal one, but she avoided poisoning food and drink if she could help it. There was simply too much room for error.
There was no use in enlightening the other fighter to the ways of the Legion, not when it would probably break the fragile peace that existed between them now by reminding them of their opposing sides. So when the subject changed for the lighter, Van was quick to catch on. She chuckled a little, remembering her Academy days, when she burned or overcooked just about everything. “Either way, sounds like it might be useful, eh?” she said, not bothering to hide the smile on her face, “It’s not easy, but... I like to think I’ve gotten a little better. Stick with the simple things, you know?” Van nodded at the fruit skewers. There was virtually no skill required to make them, just proficiency with knives and pointy objects, which as a fighter, she was more than adept in.
The Noble’s next words reminded her of her own need to be training before night fell. There was always too much to be done to justify an entire day spent lazing around—it was just that some days were less busy than others. Today was one of them, naturally, but she would eventually have to head back to the training grounds. “Myself as well,” she admitted, sounding a bit reluctant to acknowledge the work ahead, “There’s always something to be done.” She would probably stick around for only a few more minutes before the pressure of work moved her to leave.
She turned her violet gaze over to the blue-haired man curiously, upon the mention of his sister. They’d never talked about their families before, and Van’s eyes clouded over briefly with anger as she thought of what had become of her brother. “Best of luck with that, then,” she heard herself saying, even though she couldn’t know what was going on between the siblings, “Let me know if you need to hear anything from a woman’s perspective, mm?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2012 5:39 pm
"Well, I've yet to make myself sick with anything I've cooked," Kiran said, a bit of pride in his voice. It wasn't much of an accomplishment, really, when everything he tried to cook was often very bland and sometimes came out a little burnt or a little under cooked. But at least the taste was far better than anything that his mother prepared in all the years that he lived under his parents' roof. "I still have a long way to go before I'm any good at it though." He practiced as much as he could, but he had only had a few lessons with people. A lot of the cooking he did was mostly trial and error to see what went with what.
"Simple," Kiran mumbled as he glanced down at the skewer still threaded between the fingers of one hand. "I'll have to remember that." There were a few times that he tried throwing in a bunch of different spices, not knowing what any of them tasted like, and the results were rather foul. That had been when he first started living on his own.
Kiran nodded, turning to look back out over the sea. "Yes, there is," he agreed, recalling how busy he usually was. "But it's good to relax a bit whenever the chance comes around. It wouldn't be good to overwork ourselves, would it?"
A smile tried to twitch upon his lips. He believed he would that luck if he was going to smooth things over with his sister. Kiran turned to Van as an eyebrow lifted the merest of a fraction upward. Woman's perspective? It was true that Van was likely to have a better understanding of what his sister was feeling, as another woman. Kiran didn't often speak to others about his sister, and the only person that he had really ever mentioned anything about his sister to was Yue. Did he really want to walk down that path of revealing family information to Van? He ran the pointed end of the skewer lightly over the underside of his chin in thought.
"Well, the thing is," he said as his brow knitted in concentration, "I recently discovered that my sister has a boyfriend."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2012 2:43 am
“You and me both,” Van admitted with a chuckle when Kiran mentioned the journey that was learning how to cook. Her mother had, after all, tried to teach her how to cook since her elementary years, only to realize that the culinary arts were something that Van had no natural talent in. It was only because of the fighter’s persevering nature and years of trial and error that her cooking now wasn’t absolutely inedible. She was probably never going to be a master chef, with all of the other fighter responsibilities in her life, but being able to cook was useful, even if she still messed up sometimes.
Another pang of guilt went through the fighter when work was mentioned again, and she could only smile and nod. War was not forgiving—overwork or no, there were always things that needed to be done at any cost. Thankfully, the thought was quickly chased out of her mind when Kiran mentioned his sister, and a boyfriend. Propping herself up on one elbow, Van tilted her body toward the other fighter, surprise a fleeting expression on her face. They’d never talked about things before. Their past meetings had always been about fighting or owing the other or otherwise one-upping each other. This was an interesting change of pace, and Van wasn’t sure if it was welcome, yet.
Finally, a knowing smile appeared on the woman’s lips, broadening as she lowered her eyes and thought of her own experiences as far as boyfriends and siblings. Van had been on both sides of the coin—her brother had never liked any of her Academy boyfriends while he was still around. Sometimes they deteriorated her relationship with Thanh Long to the point where they wouldn’t speak, and eventually Van had stopped confiding anything at all in her brother. The present drama aside, hiding boyfriends had been one of the darker periods of their relationship.
On the other hand, finding out about how Sara viewed Bataar had been a bitter, bitter pill to swallow. The thought of her adopted little sister with her worst enemy was too much to stomach—Van had since evacuated the details from her mind with alcohol, not knowing that she’d already alienated the soul conduit with her drunken rambling. And it was with this perspective that Van spoke with a slightly pained smile on her face. “If anything, just listen to her. You don’t have to agree with her; just make sure you don’t alienate her and cause her to stop talking to you. How can you protect her if that happens? That’s the worst.” Van skirted a lot of her personal stories, but the point was clear.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2012 7:21 pm
Kiran grinned in response to her chuckle. It made him happy to know that he wasn't the only one dealing with learning to cook for oneself. It was a useful skill for someone who lived alone, though it certainly wasn't an easy thing to learn. While he had no intention to pursue any type of career in the culinary arts, Kiran was pleased to have some skills at cooking. I'd offer to treat you to some of my cooking sometime, but you'd probably be in for a pretty bland meal," he said jokingly.
Kirn liked having moments where he could forget about the war, just a time to relax. But inevitably, the war was quickly brought right back to the forefront of his mind, and he would be off to push himself, training to get stronger and improve his fighting techniques. The thoughts of war were driven from his mind though when he caught Van propping herself up and turning to face him. It seemed the comment about his sister had caught her attention. Kiran almost grinned again at that.
It was awkward venturing to such a personal topic with Van, or anyone for that matter. Was it really a good idea to be opening up about this to a known enemy? It was too late now to take back the comment if he decided it wasn't a good decision. Kiran nodded as he listened to what Van had to say. He opened his mouth, and for a brief moment, he wanted to shout that her boyfriend was a Legionnaire and how could he ever except that. But he caught himself and bit his tongue, remembering the company he kept at that moment.
"I suppose that is the most sensible solution," he said, frowning a little. Part of him feared that he had already started to alienate his sister after the angry yelling about not wanting her to see some boy that supported the Legion side of the war. But Van's question stabbed at his heart with too much accuracy. He did want to protect his sister, and a large part of him wanted to protect her from the Legions. He chewed on his cheek. "I can't believe she didn't tell me from the beginning though. I thought she could come to me with anything, but she even told our parents about her boyfriend before me."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2012 6:58 pm
Van could feel the corners of her lips twitching at his offer to make her something. For a moment, she seriously would have believed that she and the Noble were friends. And perhaps they were getting there, in some sort of twisted way, though sooner or later the whole faction thing would come back into play and they’d get into another fight. Until then, the Legionnaire was more than happy with the period of peace they seemed to be having now. “Better bland than deadly,” she replied, her face finally breaking into a wry smile.
She continued to watch the blue-haired man intently, after she’d finished giving him her opinion about his sister’s boyfriend ‘problem.’ She couldn’t know that said boyfriend was a Legionnaire, on her side. If she had, her sentiment would have been much different—she would’ve agreed with Kiran, as odd as it was for a Legionnaire and a Noble to agree. A year ago, Van had experienced firsthand the heartbreak that an inter-faction relationship would most certainly cause. Love wasn’t to blame—it never was. What had eventually come between the Noble captain and her were their factions. Van had been tasked with stealing information from him, with betraying him. It wouldn’t have been a problem, normally, except that her heart had gotten involved.
And mention all of this, she actually might have, if she’d known how similar their situations were. Even though Kiran was a Noble, it was better to speak up to prevent that kind of relationship in any case, for it benefitted no one. Instead, Van merely smiled again, her eyes understanding as she reached over to pat the Noble on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay, I think. First loves never last, anyway,” she said, the words sounding strangely reassuring despite the bitter truth. She was certain that Kiran was a good brother to this girl—even enemies were capable of protecting the ones they loved, see.
Peering upwards, the woman noticed that the sun had begun its slow descent in the sky. It was time to get back to work. Van began putting her things back into her bag. “I’ve got to go,” she said, sounding apologetic as she continued packing up. “I’ll see you soon enough. And good luck!” It was clear that she was intending to hold him to a friendly spar at some point, though it was quite likely that ‘friendly’ was a bit optimistic. Either way, she’d run into him again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
