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 Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 10:54 pm
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A crowd of weathered relief workers collected like dust around the train station. There was a tired murmur in the air, but the normal rancor of Alternian life was hushed. Many of the workers were from out of town—the hard labor and their fruitless efforts did nothing for their spirits or their bodies. A loud announcement that the last train back to Four Fronds for the night was met with a grateful, collective sigh. The dirty crowd shuffled towards the platform, leaving a particularly satisfied looking greenblood sitting happily on a bench out of the way of the crowd.
Aandes sat crosslegged, with a pillowcase of toys in front of him. After his endeavors and upon following the exquisite blueblood, he’d managed to scrape up some great parts – a few yo-yos to improve his own (his axles were getting a little worn), a couple of stuffed dangerous fauna to hock, and quite the number of spare parts for his projects. He’d managed to skip the “sticker” line on his way back to the station; with the rampant looting, didn’t that seem a little disgraceful? Condescending, perhaps? In any case, he was content – but also exhausted. He couldn’t wait to get home and change – he was completely grimy, save for his pompadour. What a day.
--
seekingCylem Rasali didn't even have the strength to cling to her lusus's back. The disaster relief had ended up being a disaster of its own, and the shame of defeat hung on Rasali as heavily as her work boots. She leaned limply against Kappadad's belly as he sat upright amongst the crowd of similarly weary Four Fronds residents. Old as he was, Kappadad was used to being tired and kept a vigilant eye out for the train. The station intercom sputtered out an announcement for the oncoming train arrival. Rasali hardly spared the sound an acknowledgement. She was far too preoccupied contemplating her hatred of close-toed shoes and crinkling the edges of her "You Tried" sticker. Wow. At the time, receiving a token for the work done at the relief station seemed like it would provide the tiniest bit of consolation. However, the specific prize ended up having the opposite effect. Rasali wasn't sure if the backhanded congratulations was intentional, but it sure explained the boiling sensation looking at the sticker caused in her bile sack. Rasali was in the process of deciding which surface in her hive she was going to spitefully adhere her sticker to when the train was heard clattering up the tracks. The crowd started to shift closer to the edge of the platform. Kappadad deterred the throng from shuffling too close to Rasali as she stiffly pulled herself up from the floor. Her muscles were competing with her ego for "most bruised" that night. Once upright and hanging on to the paw of her lusus, Rasali took a moment to watch as the crowd near the back of the station thinned. She noticed, sitting on a bench not too far off, was a boy about her age and color. He had a bag of stuff, which was weird, since Rasali herself had come to the city with materials, which she had then left because, well, that was where the earthquake was. Stranger still was that, while he appeared every bit as tired and dirty as Rasali, he seemed to be in much better spirits than the rest of the commuters on the platform. Rasali didn't feel comfortable jumping to such a negative conclusion about a complete stranger, but... She was pretty obviously sending a scrutinizing glare in that kid's direction.
--
"Oh, hey! The train's here. C'mon, Pops," bubbled Aandes. He tapped his sleeping lusus' head to no avail, and finally shook him by his jowls. "Let's goooo!"
The kid took a nervous look up. He didn't want to get stuck in this dump longer than he had to. The train was coming into the station now -- as the mass of trolls shifted towards it, he noticed a troll lingering and his attention went right to her. She was a little round thing. What was that dirty look she was giving him? He puckered his lips in immediate distaste before glossing over her in his scan of the station. It's not like he was going to see her again; he paid her no mind and returned to rousing his lusus.
"Pops, if we miss the train... If we miss the train I'm gonna cry!" warned Aandes, becoming visibly upset. An intimidation technique, yes, but a more genuine one. He bit his lip. His lusus popped an eye open, looked at him from his sleeping spot on the ground, and yawned, making his way to his feet. He stretched out his coiled tail, growing in length impressively.
"THANK you!" Aandes groaned. "C'mon, let's go. Looks like there's room on that section." The two were on the move. Aandes couldn't pick the girl out of the crowd again -- she must have gone in already. Not that it mattered, of course.
--
seekingCylem Oh, that was embarrassing. Rasali totally got caught glaring. For a moment she was flustered, but half a second later, the cracks in her composure were filled with indignance and her complete and utter DONE-ness at the whole night. He looked like a jerk. He had a jerk reaction to her, what with that obnoxious, jerky, little lip pucker. She wasn't going to see this punk again and, on a subconscious level, Rasali wanted a scapegoat for her terrible evening, midnight and dawn. Suspicious kid with a smug face being cheerful relative to the miserable throngs around him? Obviously bad news. Obviously. She giggled vindictively as she noticed the boy having problems rousing his lusus. Kappadad noticed his ward's schadenfreude and lightly swung the paw she was latching on to. It was enough to thrust Rasali forward towards the train. With a squeak, Rasali scampered into one of the cars. Kappadad, in turn, sank onto all fours and submerged himself into the crowd to follow Rasali onto the train. Oh, Elder Gods of the Outer Ring, the train was CROWDED this morning. Rasali had never stayed out in the city this late before, much less under the current circumstances. She had expected commuting to be an issue, but this was ridiculous. Not to mention, with her walking in front of her lusus, she was the one being forced to shove her way through the crowds towards a slightly less packed train car. Kappadad, meanwhile, had minimal problems bulldozing his way across the train, but was hardly tolerant of the tight fit of himself into a train on a LIGHT travel day, much less this mess. Kappadad groaned lowly, which was enough to startle the last few obstacles out of the way for Rasali and her lusus to push their way into one of the end cars. There were even a couple seats left in this one! Rasali quickly made a break for one of them, while Kappadad was content to take up space on the floor.
--
The two made their way onto the train, through the cloud of dust and raw-smelling smoke that was coming out of the machine. Aandes curled his lip at the offending odors of the area and stepped up to get on the car. He found the general amount of people unpleasant of course, but what was one to do? At least the train ride would only be a couple of hours. Then he would be back in his hive... Clean, safe, and without all of the rabble.
Ah, speaking of which. Aandes couldn't help but pop his eyes open at the sight of the little greenblooded now taking up space in the car. Ugh! Her again. What were the chances? He skimmed the full cabin and realized with dread that the only seat available was directly across from her, near the emergency exit. He sighed lightly and rolled his eyes over to his lusus, who was already making his way up one of the many support poles in the space to nap in the mesh overhang. Aandes searched fruitlessly for an open space, but a large troll pushed him forward and he took a few steps closer. He clutched his pillowcase tightly.
There was no use -- better swallow his pride and put on a neutral expression for this one. Maybe he'd pretend he hadn't seen her. Yeah. Or maybe...
"Hello there," he exclaimed, standing above her. He smiled sweetly, idly wiping some well-placed dirt-smudge from his cheek. "May I sit here?"
--
seekingCylem Rasali swung her feet in her seat, leaned back and let out a deep sigh. This had been the first time she'd sat in a proper seat since the train ride to New Hemisect that evening. Tragically, the only decent chair she'd even seen that night been lost to one of the many skirmishes that had occured over the course of the event. Aw, Rasali just couldn't shake the dark cloud that hung over her head. Her bad mood was stuck to her like the dumb sticker she still had clenched in her hand. Furiously, Rasali whipped her head away from the seatback and shoved the sticker deep into her pants pocket. Then, jerking away from her pocket, tossed herself back into her seat and crossed her arms across her chest, huffing at the window to her right. Losing didn't sit well with Rasali on the best of days. The failure of the ROYAL relief effort hit Rasali at her core. The Empire itself lost that night! The Empire wasn't something that LOST. Someone was talking to Rasali, who was startled out of her seething. "Huh--What? Yeah, sure--..." Rasali turned back from the window, looking her usual wide-eyed self. She froze immediately upon realizing who she'd just spoken to. Welp. Rasali played it as cool as she was able. She smiled "pleasantly" and folded her hands in her lap demurely. Rasali appeared to have the posture of a perfect lady, but upon further inspection, it was caused by an incredible tenseness in her shoulders. "Busy night, hm?" Rasali countered. She wasn't about to be the one to make this commute awkward. She'd already lost one too many times tonight.
--
Aandes floated into the seat, never releasing eye contact. He pushed his bag underneath him. “Mmhm, yeah,” he began. He looked around, wide-eyed at the travelers around him who looked near to collapsing on the spot. While a part inside of him couldn’t wait to slip into his comfy and accommodating recouperacoon, a greater force renewed him. The girl was a challenge of charm; a challenge that he would overcome, of course.
He crossed his feet over one another and adjusted, moving into a similar position as his adversary. She looked so pristine, but maybe a little stiff. If he kept the conversation going he may be able to read her – in the meantime he gave her a saccharine smile. An idea popped into his head as he thought of the pillowcase underneath him; a detail that he realized earlier would need explanation. With a glance at the greenblood he casually popped his hand in the bag and luckily found one of the broken toys – two splintered halves of a yo-yo. He smiled and looked down at it fondly.
“Busy today, too! I found some real broken up stuff to fix up and re-donate…” he purred. He rubbed his thumb on the dirty face of one of the hemispheres and blew off some of the dust idly. “Did you get very far with your recovery efforts today?” He leaned back and palmed the toy, locking eyes with the girl once again. She looked awful. And with nothing to show for it? What a waste. One-up for Aandes. Maybe two-up, he thought, feeling the toy between his palm and fingers.
--
seekingCylem Rasali's gaze flickered to keep track with the boy's own stare--more from surprise and confusion that he was making such an effort to maintain eye contact than any real desire to do so herself. Rasali felt her competitive spirit bubble, lifting some of the weight of that night's previous failures. She watched with thinly veiled intrigue at the stranger's oddly calculated nonchalance. There was a game being played here and Rasali was going to figure out what it was--and win it. Rasali ended up tilting her head to the side, diguising her analytical stare as mere personable curiosity. She was met with the presentation of a broken yo-yo. Rasali let her vision drift down to the prop as her new friend idly fidgeted it. Fixing broken stuff to redonate was actually a pretty solid idea. Damn, Rasali wished she'd thought of that. Ah, he was asking her about the night's work. Rasali did her best to keep her smile from looking too sour. "About as far as any of the rest of us kids did," Rasali enunciated carefully to keep from muttering, thinking back to the depressing clot of children that was the wait-line for the stickers. "What with all those fights breaking out 'round the city. Did you get caught up in any of those? I got close to one while hauling supplies before my lusus pulled me back." Rasali gave a slight tip back of her head to gesture to Kappadad, who sat ever-vigilant near the back of her seat in the aisle.
--
“Mm. That’s too bad,” began Aandes. He shook the yo-yo emphatically in his hand and decided its use was up. He slid it back into the bag and looked back up at her, putting his hands on either side of his seat.
“No, I was in a pretty quiet part of town,” he lied. His smile flickered briefly into a smirk. He remembered it fondly; the way the lithe blueblood punched out her adversary. It was a close battle, for sure – a real blood pusher. He couldn’t help but feel the heat run through his body. He only wished he could have followed her back; she probably would have made better company than this little… Little… Aandes’ nostrils flared.
“Good thing your lusus was there to protect you.” Aandes blinked and looked at her large lusus, feeling a slight twinge as green as his blood color. He was big. Looked like a good guardian, too. Well, he supposed he had to be. She was very small. He narrowed his eyes.
A loud shriek emitted from the front of the train, and soon jerked forward. Aandes bobbed as gracefully as possible with the sudden movement, shooting a look towards the front through the throng. Finally, onwards to Four Fronds! He didn’t have much time to seal the deal here, though, but now that he was engaged he was in to win.
“Ah! Here we go,” he sighed, laughing abruptly. He relaxed against the back of the seat, shifting gears now. He crossed his dusty sneakers, looking at the girl’s across from his. Wow. Clunky. Her entire ensemble was – well, at least it would be suited for digging around in the dirt. Who was this girl? He smiled.
“I’m Aandes, by the way. Aandes LaMode.”
--
seekingCylem This kid reminded Rasali of an actor. Everything he'd done so far seemed to be working towards a goal. Rasali felt like it was a trait she should have admired. Instead, she felt rather put-off. He wasn't being up-front with her in the least... and she hadn't even given him reason to be on-guard in the first place. Well, she had kind of glared at him from across a crowded train platform, but that could have had any number of benign explainations, really. Rasali was used to being generally well-liked by people. At the very least, if she wasn't, it was because she was rambunctious or annoying. She wasn't used to not being trusted. It filled her with indignation, tinged with the tiniest bit of pride. She decided to follow the feeling and see where it lead. Rasali was about to respond when the train suddenly jerked to life. Her hair swung forward and landed on the front of her dusty jacket. Rasali grimaced at the reminder of how dirty and beat-up she felt--and probably looked for that matter. The boy across from her had definitely seen cleaner days as well, but he appeared to have been trying harder to keep out of the debris than Rasali had. Rasali repressed the urge to huff, but still chalked up her grit to having come from having been a harder worker than her companion. Rasali casually smoothed out a lock of hair and pushed it back over her shoulder. Just to show she cared. At the boy's--Aandes' introduction, Rasali smiled genially. She felt like she was making some sort of progress. "Rasali Panaka," she returned. "I haven't seen you around Four Fronds before, though I take it that's where you live. How close to the lake are you?" Was she fishing for something? Rasali just didn't be the one to let the conversation drop.
--
“Rasali Panaka.” Aandes tested out the name on his palate quietly, creating a click when he reached the hard palate of her last name. It had a smooth start with a sharp finish. What did it remind him of? He could nearly envision the taste in the forefront of his mind. “I’ll try to remember that!”
He cocked his head slightly, listening intently to what she was saying. He should have known she lived in Four Fronds – at least he hadn’t seen her around. Aandes imagined that they probably lived a ways away; it wouldn’t hurt to fill her in. Not that it would hurt if they were close… Or would it?
“I’m surprised you haven’t seen me! I circle the lake a lot… Anyway, I live really close to the lake on the far south end,” he mused, looking up in thought. “How about you?”
--
seekingCylem Rasali blinked slowly. Aandes was making a production out of learning her name. She stifled her vexation enough to smile pleasantly in response. Aandes LaMode. The name suited him. "Oh, that explains it," Rasali replied plainly, "West side--towards the mountains. There are some hotsprings out that way? I live near them." She spoke slowly in case Aandes was already aware of the area she was referring to. She didn't have many neighbors, which was par for the course with a midblood in Four Fronds. Rasali was curious what kind of fellow greenblood was capable of maintaining a hive close by to the lake. However, she knew inquiring would imply that she thought something of his neighborhood. That wouldn't do. Rasali realized pressing any particular train of questioning would denote interest. As such, she was tempted to come up with more random small talk, just to see how many delicately choreographed responses she could pull out of this guy. And yet, there was one particular detail Rasali was interested in pursuing. "So you said you were going to fix some stuff for the relief effort? Do you do repair work often?" Rasali wondered if a lean forward would be a bit much. She settled for pushing her folded hands up to her knees.
--
So she wanted to know what he did, huh? She seemed to drop his living space pretty quickly after mentioning him. That was probably typical of any child their age – unless of course she was just trying to pass the time, or look as though she was passing the time. Rasali’s nonchalance was a change from her rather worn appearance earlier. If Aandes picked up anything from her behavior, it was that she had changed strategies. He kept with the flow.
He’d have to ride by her hotsprings. That actually sounded like a great business venture to the troll – hot bath, cold dessert? He flashed a particularly genuine smile of interest, his feline snaggletooth bared charmingly. It was a shame she dropped the subject so quickly, but he absolutely was interested in the fact that she was interested in him. The child in him (which was, to be fair, most of his being) was really quite pleased that he was the center of attention. He leaned back some more. Aandes maintained his cool but was fired up; he couldn’t help but indulge in some ego stroking, after all.
“Oh, yeah! I did. I do a lot of things like that,” he announced, his hand floating to his hair and curling a minty green lock. “I have a business thing – like I said, I ride around the lake – and I try out new things all the time. Usually it requires fixin’ my assets, so I do some repairs.”
He emphasized assets, punctuating it with a bounce of his round eyebrows. He’d learned that word recently – a great business word, truly. He had momentum now.
“My routine’s been stable and scalable for the past quarter, but as my stock has, mmm, become a dead stick with the earthquake happening. You know,”
It didn’t really matter if Aandes knew what he was saying, as long as Rasali didn’t either – and bought it. Aandes flashed a million-beetle smile.
--
seekingCylem Rasali resisted the urge to quirk an eyebrow of confusion at Aandes' sudden change in demeanor. He seemed a lot more... genuine? Interested? His cockiness, as Rasali decided to call it, seemed to come a lot more naturally to him than the fairly prim small talk they'd been engaging in thus far. Realizing that Aandes had relaxed considerably upon pulling the conversation onto himself, Rasali allowed herself to slip into slightly more comfortable posture. As far as pomposity went, this guy was a lot more tolerable when he was up-front about it. If anything, it suited him. If Rasali hadn't been engaged in an incredibly vague battle of social wits at the moment, she probably would have found it almost endearing. Not that that occurred to Rasali in the least. She was far too busy looking for an opening... or something. She wasn't entirely sure what Aandes was talking about? "...Ssssoooo you fix stuff up and then, either sell it or use it for something else? Yeah, I get that." He was goal-oriented, Rasali deduced based on what little she got out of what Aandes was telling her. If Rasali knew the world "entrepreneurial", she would have used it. "I could totally see that," Rasali continued, "You seem like the kind of person who'd be into that sort of thing." She gave Aandes a fangy smile of her own, as if to further emphasize her statement.
--
“Yes, I do – and I suppose I am,” he mused, filling in the blanks of her commentary with his own inner praise.
“I’ve been into helping out, you know. Do my part and all of that – it’s tough work, but you know that of course,” he looked her up and down again as punctuation, but his eyes had lost their focus. He’d gone into himself, his gaze glassy and his smirk softened. He continued on like this for a while, and the train rolled on.
Aandes was on a roll. He began talking about his experience at the site of the Earthquake – the rough and tumble battles that ignited around the city and his experience “caught in the middle” of an explosive battle himself. His tall tale wasn’t particularly creative, but contained enough embellishments to at least appear realistic if not presenting him in the best light possible. Flicks of his hands and glances about the cabin of the vehicle illustrated his points, and now he let an occasional laugh break through his stories.
“You know, I’ve done some, mm, personal work for the high blooded estates around the lake…”
--
seekingCylem Wow. Rasali had expected Aandes to enjoy talking about himself, but wow. She was definitely feeling less guilty about jumping to conclusions about him back at the train station. If anything, she'd underestimated what a windbag this kid was. He'd jumped on the opportunity to talk about himself like a starved cholerbear on a woven outdoor meal receptacle. She probably would've cut him a break if he was a little more modest, though. Rasali liked to talk herself, and she wasn't often described as "shy", but this was just silly. Rasali was also a little bit grumpy that she didn't get to witness a battle of her own back in the city. There was no story-topping happening today, questionable realness-attribute or no. Rasali half-heartedly disguised her deepening deadpan as intense focus. "Personal work?" Rasali questioned for no other reason than it was probably what she was supposed to do. Anything to move away from the topic at hand. Jeeze. The unlikely potential of local highblooded gossip was at least slightly more interesting than whatever Aandes had been trying to get at earlier. That he was great? Was that it? Rasali hadn't noticed. "I don't know how I feel about highbloods right now, 'cos of, like, how many of them were looting the city tonight. It's like... they run the place with an iron fist every OTHER night of the sweep, but the second they think they can get away with it, they're out tearing the place up! What kind of jerk does that, y'know?" Suddenly Rasali was engaged in the conversation again, though she was no longer looking at Aandes, and was instead, pouting out the window, fist pressed against her face.
--
Crud.
The conversation took a sharp turn away from Aandes, pulling the curtain of his ego back and giving him a moment of jarring clarity. The troll had let his guard down – the girl could see right through him at that instant. She wasn’t impressed. He gulped.
Aandes was fortunate that Rasali’s attention had gone to whatever was out the window – his face flushed so green he looked nearly sick. He caught himself nearly choking on a knot in his throat and snapped his attention to the floor. Fortunately, his automatic response didn’t fail him, even though his tone wavered.
“O-oh. Aahh—,” He cleared his throat, feeling a burst of heat flare up in the pits of his cheeks. “Well, everyone seemed to be looting tonight – the full hemospectrum. It just goes to show that a few bad eggs can usurp the good – like us, yes?”
Bring her into the spotlight a little. Yeah.
Aandes hoped that his appearance was still at least partially in tact, but he doubted it. He was shattered. This little green blood wouldn’t be won over now, of course, with humility – he’d already broken the façade of that with his careless talking. He needed a new strategy… But it didn’t seem worth the trouble. Aandes mulled for a while before nearly succumbing to his exhaustion. Whether or not he had assisted or detracted from the relief efforts, he had put in a tiresome amount of work. But none of it seemed to drain him like even sitting with this girl did. With a growing sense of doubt pulling at his core, Aandes stayed silent for an achingly long time.
The young troll clawed inwardly, feeling a pinch at his vocal cords that rendered him unwilling to speak. He was afraid of engaging again. The train could stop at any moment, and he would have lost. He didn’t even know what he would lose, but Aandes LaMode wouldn’t let it happen. His gaze shifted to the girl. He mustered up some energy, regained his posture and suddenly a thought came to him that sent wicked shivers up his spine – a new feeling. The boy reached underneath him and felt for the perfect toy in his arsenal: it was a large, soft plush hoofbeast. Other than a few rips and a stain on one hoof, it was in excellent condition—with gaudy crystalline eyes and details. It was Aandes’ prized kill from the hunt. He held it out to Rasali, tone dripping with sweetness.
“You look tired, Rasali. Here… I insist that you take this. It’s probably a good thinkpan snugglerest, after all. I know you deserve it, after what you did for New Hemisect today.”
--
seekingCylem The sudden lull in the conversation was jarring. Rasali actually started to feel a slight build of dread in her bile sac, as though she'd said something wrong without realizing. Her face fell from its previously sour expression and she hazarded a timid side-eye back at Aandes. Oh, well that was a surprise. A really nice one. Aandes seemed nervous himself! Rasali blinked before realizing she'd unintentionally gained the upper-hand and swept her earlier insecurity away with the barest hint of a smile. She hadn't noticed aaaanything. Nope. Not a thing. Aandes seemed more than eager to play along of his own accord, without Rasali's refusal to pounce on a shaken target. She didn't allow her eyebrows to raise, but it was clear from the atmosphere surrounding her that Rasali was interested to see where this was headed. It appeared to be headed to Aandes' face. His blood, as it was. Rasali's lips puckered the slightest amount. Aandes' fluster was cute. Rasali took this blowhard and made him cute. A warm feeling settled at the corners of Rasali's mouth. The warm feeling almost instantly vanished as Rasali was presented with an adorable plush hoofbeast. Ooohh... Aandes must have known that Rasali suspected the toys to have been looted since the beginning. She couldn't very well refuse the offer, lest she make her suspicions known without having any sort of proof to back it up. That would be rude! (And a small, vehemently ignored portion of Rasali conceded that the hoofbeast was, indeed, very, very cute.) Simultaneously, if the goods WERE stolen and Rasali was right and Aandes KNEW that she knew and she accepted, then Aandes would be given the opportunity to have a good ole secret laugh at Rasali's expense for having knowingly accepted a stolen gift after speaking of her part aiding the relief effort. Rasali could have screamed. But she didn't. This was a low blow, but it was clever. It required some thought. Some... decorum. Aandes wanted to amp up the courtesy quotient? Rasali could deliver. Rasali's face must have been going through a series of embarrassingly blatant emotions, but she managed to pull back to "shock at having been presented with such a thoughtful gift." Her bewilderment was purely out of gratitude. Definitely no horror here. Nope. Never. Rasali gave herself a very short moment to collect a proper response. "I-I really--!" Rasali took the plush and allowed herself to stroke its neck with surprisingly genuine fondness. (Dumb cute things! It was really, really soft!!) "I... Shouldn't this be going to the needy of New Hemisect? I didn't lose my hive, and this used to belong to someone." That someone was really lucky. Before the earthquake, of course. "...But thank you! It's really nice." Rasali's gaze flicked up from the toy to Aandes with the sharpness of a switchblade. "I can't let a gift go unreturned. You should definitely come over for tea! I can help you fix up the other toys for when you return them to New Hemisect!" Putting up with Aandes again was a small price to pay to be able to graciously accept a present, show off her hostessing skills, and make sure Aandes didn't pawn off the goods three steps from the train station. Keeping the plush horse was merely... collateral. Her offer to help fix the other toys had cemented her perceived belief of Aandes' good intentions! She couldn't regift something in front of the original gifter, right? Rasali gave the brightest smile she could muster without looking like a creep. Maybe hanging out with Aandes again would be fun.
--
Aandes watched the rapidly shifting countenance of his adversary with anticipated smugness, but also an undeniable sense of interest. That raw emotion was something he saw from most children his age – the inability to control themselves. He felt it those few minutes ago when he lost his cool, of course… But seeing it on her face was absolutely intriguing. Aandes felt a strange, competitive heat rise into his temples as she adjusted her expression into something perfectly calculated to respond to the gift. He smiled. He’d definitely landed a blow with that one.
Aandes’ superior glow faded just slightly when he realized that – while her accepting the toy was really a delightful kick in the pants – he didn’t have a particular justification for giving it to a less needy troll.
Ah, yes, there it was. The corner of his mouth twitched as she stroked the neck of the fat stuffed creature. He started with a clear of his throat and transitioned into a meeker tone of voice, looking at his feet and giving playful kick that made his sneakers squeak across the smooth floor.
“I know… And maybe it’s bad of me. But, I think the relief deserves a better reward than a sticker,” he murmured. He emphasized the hard ‘t’ in ‘sticker’ with a hard staccato, gazing lingering upon Rasali’s pants pocket before returning to her with a soft expression. He was armored up – nothing she could say could make him falter now.
Then, her attention flicked up him. He could feel the sharp slash of cold wind zip in from of his eyes, and he couldn’t help but try to down the sudden lump in his through as it passed. Keep your cool, Aandes. Keep your cool.
T-tea? Oh, she was good. He couldn’t get past her, could he? He’d have to follow up with his little white lies. Note to self: Invest in toy repairing materials. He’d stash half of the goods in his room and repair the other half with his pesky little… friend… The word caught in his mind and nearly made him gag. Why was she such a nuisance?! She seemed like such a non-issue. And clearly she was no match of wit to him, and yet—here she was. Pushing. His. Buttons.
He smiled brightly at her – based upon any outside observations, their interaction may have looked like two large-mawed creatures observing their partner’s respective dental health. Aandes had yet to see the upside to this interaction. Honestly, what was she trying to do to him?
“Yes… That would be lovely.” He quipped politely. He nodded briefly and yawned. “O-oh…I’m exhausted.” Aandes’ focus faltered visibly, and he rubbed the corners of his eyes with worn little hands. He settled into his chair and twisted around to rest against a firm corner, and pulled his hood up to just behind his coif.
“If you don’t mind, I might try to get some rest before the walk home,” he announced. He was far too tired from their battle of words to continue much further – if anything, he was disappointed in himself. He only hoped she was as fatigued as he was… The last of his competitive fire flickered. The troll shifted his legs and subconsciously pulled them onto his seat. He folded his arms into his pocket, and let his head tip to the side to rest.
The child’s thoughts swam. This greenblood… Not a usual sight in the blueblood haven that was Four Fronds. It was like she had come from the dregs just to get under his skin. He wondered hazily if he would have to put up with her after their promised tea and toy repair adventure. He imagined so. He couldn’t tell if their conversation was as draining as he thought, or if it was just the product of the looting adventure that they day held… But nonetheless, he wondered with a flutter of anxiety what he’d gotten himself into. He began to doze off… Rasali Panaka was a frustrating little grub. Perhaps when he wasn’t openly justifying illegal acts, he’d be able to make her squirm more.
Yes. He liked that idea. Maybe he’d enjoy seeing her again after all. Aandes LaMode fell asleep with a soft smile on his young face.
--
seekingCylem Rasali wasn't sure what level of enthused she was "supposed" to be with the toy. (She was really enthused.) Aandes seemed rather smug that the gift went over well, (not that she would have let it show if it hadn't; rudeness was the enemy, after all) which was rather irritating, but that was sort? of? the point?? Rasali didn't know what they were doing anymore, with "anymore" being used extremely loosely. She had apparently won a prize, though. Rasali's already weakening guard dropped slightly when Aandes had replied so quietly to her inquiry regarding the thought behind the gift. It left her wide open for the sticker comment. Ouch. The reminder felt like the snap of a rubber band. Rasali felt her pants pocket burning. She'd been wracking her think pan for a justification for the beautiful plush toy and Aandes had up and presented it to her on a silver platter. It made Rasali want to scream, but it had also rendered the pony a symbol of justice, which Rasali could hardly deny. She tried to keep her attitude humble and her expression cool, but she couldn't help but adjust her arms around the toy protectively while Aandes considered her offer of tea. It was a solid maneuver on her part--she couldn't afford to weaken it with a tirade against the night's events. Why would he want her to go off against the relief effort when they were on the same..? Oooooohhhh... Rasali allowed herself to believe she'd simply misread something along the way. Certainly she was letting her irritation get the best of her sensibilities. Aandes wasn't that diabolical. Rasali blinked in surprise when Aandes finally responded. He replied in the affirmative, but something about the immediate segue made the answer seem less than genuine. Rasali could more than sympathize in this instance. Especially about that exhaustion part. Rasali was suddenly reminded of her numerous bruises from scrambling up and down the piles of rubble that night--which was nothing to say for the muscle pains of pure exertion. As much as she wanted to fight it, Rasali ended up yawning herself. She was tired before meeting Aandes, but she didn't remember feeling quite as drained as she did at that moment. As Aandes tucked himself into his little corner of the train, Rasali allowed her attention to drift vacantly to the aisle where her lusus sat. She would later awaken to being carried back home by her lusus, hoping desperately that she hadn't been ferociously clinging to the plush horse in her sleep like that the /entire/ ride back.
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