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 Posted: Fri Nov 15, 2013 9:41 pm
When Natalia would come back to her dorm, she would find a small not e taped to her door:Shia bean Hey - stopped by to say hi, but you weren't there. Just wanted to see how you were doing. - R
Across his lap was a little foxfire, nestled into Ren's lap, its fluffy head burrowed under one of his arms. It too seemed to be fast asleep, tiny yipping noises, partially muffled, could be heard emanating from it's minuscule body. Ren's tail was curled over his leg, and he seemed, for the most part, entirely content with where he was and what he was doing.
At least in sleep.
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Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 9:26 am
From across the hall the squeak of sneakers had come to a stop. The grin which had stretched from ear to ear lessened to no more than a tiny lopsided smirk, and even then it appeared more stunned then pleasantly surprised. The ghoul looked to her left, and then to her right, before slowly bringing her attention to the gryphon seated on the floor. Was this real life?
For a moment, she hoped it to be someone else entirely. That wasn't too farfetched a theory right, since the number of students had greatly increased since the last she occupied these halls… But no, she couldn't mistake that figure for anyone BUT the very boil who she hoped it might not be, and at the same time the very boil she so eagerly wanted to see. Those speckled feathers, the glimpses of freckled skin and curled hair…
What was he up to? Perhaps he had propped up against someone else's door. Perhaps. Still, it was difficult seeing him there, so close and yet still so very far away. Things weren't the same between them, just as things weren't the same on campus and with the school in general. At times, this change felt almost irreversible.
And then there were the instances when not a damn thing felt different. Like just then, as the ghoul closed the distance and hovered over top of him, watching as he and the sweetest of creatures in his lap slept. The note on the door caught her peripheral just as the squirm of the pom gave her a startling jolt. Taking the slip into her hand, the monster let her smile grow just enough to show a fang before she returned her gaze to Him. To Renaissance.
Jack, how she missed him.
Jutting her foot out to strike his side a bit roughly, the ghoul tilted her head, kicked her hip out and huffed.
"Are you going to sit there all day, or help me with my bags?"
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Posted: Sat Nov 16, 2013 2:00 pm
He had been, while maybe not peacefully, at least sleeping soundly, Ren's fingers half resting in the fur of the foxfire at his lap. He supposed he could have slept for a great deal longer, since the insomnia had leveled itself out somewhat, but a foot in his side drew him abruptly (and slightly painfully) out of his sleepy reverie. He gave a little oomph, a slight whine in protest, and then his eyes fluttered partially open, Ren giving a wide yawn, sharp canines clearly visible. He tilted his head upwards and caught sight of an all-too familiar ghoul, and he pressed his lips together, silently regarding her for a long moment before speaking again.
Ren pushed himself to his feet, absently brushing dust from his pinstriped slacks. Truth be told, he had missed Natalia more than he would ever admit; she was one of his first and oldest friends, after all, and he couldn't ever just turn his back on that. But then they'd messed up - both of them, and things had gotten hazy and messy and confused, and something had broken.
He hated leaving it broken.
"Well, hello to you too," said Ren lightly, and reached out, plucking one of the bags from her hands to sling it over his own shoulder, the other hand sliding into the pocket at his hip. He gave Natalia a quietly inquisitive look, and then tilted his head towards the closed door of her room.
"You gonna go in, or just stand here?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 9:44 am
Natalia felt a sudden rush of giddiness as soon as Renaissance spoke. It didn't quite reach the octaves of an overly thrilled and particularly friendly welcome… but it was familiar, and that seemed to be enough. The monster let a soft snort of laughter, and the rumblings of a purr-like sound resonate while her head tilted to the opposite side. His curious gaze was met with one of certain promiscuity, as her entirety slowly wedged itself in between boil and door, lips ever curling into the mischievous, cheshire grin for which she once so adored giving the gryphon. She lingered, momentarily, before the turn of her wrist and the weight of her shoulder and side opened to the room behind them.
There was an usual trail of green smoke dissipating as the ghoul entered, flipping the switch to brighten the space. The pathling responsible had long since taken shelter within her closet, but would be watching. Always watching.
Things had been arranged differently then the last Renaissance had seen it, but for the most part her room had remained the same. She walked toward the bed with its red satin sheets and set the remainder of her purchases down, before wandering over to the eyepod dock, which was set on her writing desk, and quietly fiddling with the settings. A few clicks later and the room would be filled with low playing instrumentals, to which the end of her tail and the pointing finger of a single hand began to bob and sway. She remained in place to unwind, back to the boil, while trying to find the right words to start with.
Perhaps from the top.
"So." She glanced over her shoulder briefly, before continuing. "How is LW?"kurotomato I'ma start the hunter one soon I promise #can'tquituRen
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Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:39 pm
He was trying very hard not to show how much he'd missed her, half because he was slightly annoyed that he had missed her in the first place, and half because he wanted to talk things over before getting into the whole sappy thing. Ren had attempted to keep things as casual as possible in his head, adopting a very blase and carefree attitude about the whole thing, but truth be told he'd never really gotten over losing Natalia's friendship and his subsequent fight with the ghoul.
The foxfire that had been in his lap gave a little yip, bounding around his ankles. Ren bent over and picked it up, absently stroking a hand across its soft, warm fur and contemplating the familiar sight of that smirk, the distance close to nothing between them. Once upon a time, before LW, he'd have taken advantage of that - and he had, once, back when everything had been so screwed up.
But then she had slipped into the room and Ren followed her in, studying Natalia's belongings before his gaze slipped to the ghoul again, across the room with her back to him. Oddly enough, he appreciated the music, which meant that silences were filled with something other than nothing.
"LW's fine," Ren replied, rocking back on his heels a little. "I've still gotta ask her, but I think we're gonna be moving in together pretty soon, seeing as how I've just graduated and have started moving out."
There was a slight pause. Then - "How are you doing?"
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Posted: Mon Nov 18, 2013 11:05 pm
"Good." She announced, although to which of his many statements was unclear. Something drew her attention to the desk again, and while the truth was laden in the expression she wore, Natalia busied herself with papers and pens and other meaningless goods.
Once upon a time she would have expected the gryphon to know just what had stopped her in her tracks. Now, she wasn't so sure.
Renaissance had graduated. He was done with the school. Done with classes, teachers… it wasn't all that difficult to accept, but seemed to be the very reason she bit her tongue and pressed her lips firmly together. Now, with him standing in the same room as she, Natalia couldn't shake the feeling of being small again. Alone, again. He was moving out. Moving on. So much change.
Suddenly the ghoul turned completely to face Renaissance in one sweeping motion, letting a look linger on him for more than a comfortable minute before widening her smile, her mask, gesturing with a single hand toward his guest and asking, "And who is this? A new friend of yours?"
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Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2013 10:30 pm
He'd slid the comment about graduating in as casually as possible, wanting to gauge her reaction to it without actually letting her know that he was doing so. The conversation was stilted, awkward; he hated the tense feeling between them, as thick as something tangible, and Ren's wings gave a little flutter before settling against his back.
Natalia's abrupt question caught him off guard. Ren blinked, opening his mouth and then shutting it again before he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, him?" he asked, holding out the foxfire. "Jove gave him to me. His name is Pokey, at least until I think of a better one."
The foxfire gave a little yip at his name, pushing his tiny wet nose into Ren's cheek before scuttling along to bury itself in his wings, disappearing from view. Ren's eyes slid back to Natalia, and he leaned back against the wall, arms folded across his chest as he leveled a quiet look at her.
"I missed you, by the way."
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Posted: Thu Dec 05, 2013 10:02 pm
She caught the movement, the unfurl of his wings, knowing it stemmed from the awkward moment this had turned out to be. She almost couldn't bear it another minute herself without something being said, without the wall of silence being broken. Renaissance's stall and stagger when she asked about Pokey almost forced her forward, the hesitant flinch of her torso suggesting she might have done so freely if the boil had remained silent.
But as it stood, the monster was once again thankful for a brief distraction, playing off the motion by running a hand through her hair.
Natalia watched as the gryphon gestured to his pup, tilted her head as he extended the ball of fur out, before releasing a deep breath. One might have mistaken it for adoration, a reasonable assumption. "He is absolutely adorable." Letting her arms cross loosely against her chest again, the ghoul formed a small smirk… that is until he went on to say it. The words. Her words.
I missed you, by the way.
It was Natalia's turn to look a bit uncertain. A bit shocked. Biting down on her lip was a blatant form of repression. She found herself holding in breaths, and releasing them staggeringly. Until then, it seemed Natalia was ready to move on without bringing up the past. Until then, Natalia felt as if all she wanted to do was forget their long since disbanded friendship, and to simply pick up where they had left off. When things were peachy between them. But now, confronted with the chance to do so, the werelemur found it difficult to reciprocate the affection. Despite the honest emotion that would have been behind her own reciting of the phrase …
The monster looked to her feet, hugged herself with those crossed arms, and cleared her throat. "Hmm."
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 2:26 pm
He wondered what she would say, if she would be annoyed at him, angry at him, hate him for the distance they'd both created between themselves. After all, he'd certainly played a part in that as well - they both had, whether either one admitted it or not.
She didn't yell; instead, she merely looked taken aback, surprised at the straightforwadness of what he'd just said. For a moment, Ren just stood there, watching the way she folded in on herself, crossed her arms over her chest, and looked down at the floor, made a noncommittal sound instead of a response. If it had been earlier, if he had paid not as much attention, he might have just left it at that and left.
But this was Natalia. And she was still one of his oldest and dearest friends, even with all of their ugly history.
Soundlessly, Ren crossed the room in a few easy strides, and when he reached Natalia, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her against his chest. He curled his wings around the both of them, buried his face against her hair, and exhaled a long breath.
"I missed you, Natalia," he said again, and he meant it.
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 3:53 pm
Her peripheral caught his forward stride immediately, and within the seconds it took to clear the gap a sideways glance would meet with Ren in visible distress. Vibrant eyes had already begun to well with tears near the brink of spilling over her lashes, the twinkle of orange and black fully exposed in a heavy-lidded, shaky stare. Her posture crumbled, the hold on stubborn grudges and misguided feels loosening the closer he got, until the weight of it all not only ceased to show, but ceased to be felt all together.
It wasn't rushed. It was a long time coming. It was natural. The act was over and the game was finished, and now all that was left for them to do was this.
As the gryphon loomed above her, she in turn replaced the hold on herself with a hold on him, tightly clutching the fabric which lined his back. The pressure of his head against her hair was met with a press into his chest, where Natalia rested her forehead and where a stream of tears began to flow. She didn't shudder from the sobs but remained entirely still, and mostly quiet… aside from the occasional sniffle.
He was warmer then she remembered. Taller then she remembered. But smelled of the sweet, fleeting times of ignorance that she so loved. And she basked in the moment for as long as it would last. Standing within his grasp felt a lot like the home Natalia never knew and the family she never had. In truth, he was all of that and more. Just as LW was, and those she had come to realize she simply could not live without here at Amityville.
A long moment passed before Natalia dared to break the perfect silence, an urgent need to speak her piece erupting out of a cleared throat. "I am so, incredibly sorry Renaissance. I am so sorry."
And she meant it.
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:02 pm
At first, when he came towards her, he had thought that she might have pushed him away, that she would yell at him. Natalia was, after all, nothing if not vibrant when it came to her personality, which went consistently from one intensity to the other with little room in between; and Ren was concerned that he'd be on the wrong side of that intensity.
But she didn't push him away.
Natalia's arms came up around him, her face against his chest, and Ren swayed a little back and forth. A hand lifted, resting against the back of her head, gently smoothing down her hair as a small, rumbling laugh reverberated out of his chest.
"I know," said Ren softly. "Me too."
He curled his arms tighter around her, squeezing Natalia affectionately, and then he pulled away enough to kiss her forehead, his fingers sliding down the side of her cheek. There was a small smile on his face.
"You look great, by the way."
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 6:45 pm
She would have laughed given the tiniest insight on what thoughts lingered within the gryphons mind. Laughed and perhaps cried just a bit harder, realizing that her struggle to remain strong and unaffected had been lost, and that she was just too damn tired to continue the fight against what it was she, and he, wanted. That peace of mind gave Natalia enough humility to succumb to defeat. To no longer push Renaissance away.
Natalia breathed a heavy sigh, soft hiccups breaking the fluidity of her voice as she chuckled and rubbed at her eyes once he released his hold of her. "Jack dammit, Renaissance." She joked, hiding her face within pale white hands before the caress of his lips against her forehead, and then of his own fingertips drew her attention out from within them. She pressed an entire palm against the back of his hand and leaned into the touch with a cheek ever so slightly. Another sigh loosened the remaining knots in her chest and did away with the bumble of nerves which had nearly overcome her. "Look what you have gone and done to a poor, defenseless ghoul. You really ought to be ashamed." The purr of her soft giggles made her shoulders quiver some, eyes closing briefly while the moment continued to settle for the ghoul.
Then, they snapped open again. "Look at you," Her exclamation was sudden, about as much as the look which appeared upon her face, reading completely of the Natalia he knew. Pulling away from the gryphon to admire the full extent of the boil before her, she would return a hand upon his chest once a hike of her brow and a widening grin filled her cheeks. Her face glistened ever so slightly from the remnants of tears and her eyes had yet to lose their glassy appearance, but light steps would take the monster around the boil in a complete once over despite all of this. For he was still Renaissance, and she was still the Natalia who favored a well crafted work of art.
Ducking out of the way of his feathered wings while the slide of her fingertips travelled down his torso, Natalia led them around Renaissance's waist and back up his spine, letting loose a playful, if not feral growl, while always mindful of the pressure she'd make with the long nails of her slender hand. "My, how you have grown." She spoke through a smile from close behind him, slipping around the front again with fingers dancing along his shoulder. Sliding a single nail in between his pectorals before gently pushing off of him completely, Natalia stuck out a hip and set each hand onto their appropriate side.
"I have… missed a lot. Obviously."
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Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 11:30 pm
Her eyes were still glimmering with tears, but at least she'd stopped crying now. Ren smiled down at Natalia, a laugh escaping his throat. "I made you cry," he said, and reached out a hand, brushing a thumb beneath one eye and then the other. "I apologize. I didn't mean to make you cry, but to be fair, you are totally going to make me cry if you didn't accept my hug."
He grinned as she circled around him, the traditional, familiar Natalia falling into place. When she was finished with her observations, he merely reached out and poked affectionately at her cheek and said, "I haven't grown that much. An inch or so, maybe, but not really. I did a bit of training here and there, got a little things done here and there, you know."
"And let's not forget you," Ren added, with a sweep of his gaze across Natalia, his grin widening. "You look like a million seeds and a half." He reached for her again and squashed her into a hug that would take her off her feet, Ren leaning back and spinning around in a lopsided circle.
"So," he said, once he'd planted her back down on her feet. "What's new with you?"
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