[PRP] Unfamiliarity (Ruth and Andrew)

[Huni Pi]

Ruth returned to school after a few days, though she doubted anyone even noticed her departure. It had been an interesting visit back home, though coming back to Amityville was a bittersweet thing. She was glad to be away from her Superiors' scrutiny, although she was sure they had their ways of keeping tabs on her. Which meant she was going to have to give it her all in selling this new "persona" her Superiors had decided for her.

She didn't like how she would have to present herself now, but she had no choice. It was a direct order and she couldn't refuse. Not after withholding information about Wonderland and its aftermath. Adjusting her blazer and the pleats of her skirt, the blonde reaper walked down the path with a shy and nervous gait.

Ruth hoped against hope that no one would notice her, not that they did before but even more so now.

phantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

Andrew was still a bit grumpy. He had been up in the mountains fighting bears, big scary bears and cold. The tips of this wings were black and there was no hiding the scratch marks. They would heal though. Just as the scratch on his arm would, he hoped, eventually.

He was minding his own business enjoying the down time between classes and the finally almost tolerably warm air (almost) when he spotted a ghoul that seemed familur.

Blonde hair, reaper a shyish gate, no that didn't seem right. His memory was telling him something else...

Maybe he knew her from a dream. He shook his head. Reality was warming in his mind. It was best not to start relationships based on dream ones, look how the last one turned out.

Still he walks up to her a small smile crossing his face as she looked about nervously obviously avoiding everyone. She would make a good victim to take some frustration out on. coming from behind as silently and noticeably as something on fire could (read not very much) he whispered in her ear. "Boo."

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth had sensed the boil before she noticed him from the corner of her eye. It was hard not to what with the air behind her heating up with his approach. She feigned ignorance, while one hand clutched at her blazer, fingers smoothing over the buttons as a sort of nervous tick. She fought back the urge to laugh at the "boo" in the shell of her ear, her entire body growing taut instead as she decided what her proper course of action would be.

She blurred, half from her natural ability and half from the fact she sharply pivoted on her heel, bringing her suitcase into an upward arc. Ruth figured a jittery, nervous wallflower was akin to a cornered animal and would lash out at provocation. She had debated whether to summon her weapon but that seemed too conscious an action as opposed to simply allowing the momentum of her about face to swing whatever it was she held in her hand.

Her eyes were screwed shut and her mouth was open in a silent scream (some things were non-negotiable.)

phantompanther13

Up to you if she misses or hits him :3

 

[phantompanther13]

Thump. Andrew backed up holding his face. "Owe." rude. He rubbed at it. At least the suitcase was only hard, not wet. Even so fire appeared in his hand as he rubbed, an instinctual tool to help relief pain even if it did nothing. He didn't feel blood... he was ok it just stung, and might add another bruise to his inventory.

His tail swung forward quickly acting as a barrier between the two. "You didn't need to hit. Jack."

Huni Pi

Always pain. always most terrible thing.

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth sorely wished she was allowed to laugh at the boil now, what with him rubbing where her suitcase thumped him, even when the fire appeared. Laughter was bubbling up in the back of her throat, that or acid reflux, but either way the reaper held it back. Instead she clutched at her suitcase, holding it protectively against her chest while one hand covered her mouth in shock.

And then she opened her luggage, rummaging through her contents to bring out a white handkerchief, with the initials B R monogrammed neatly in one corner. She held it out to the boil while at the same time trying to maintain as much distance as possible.

phantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

"...." he stared at her. "No I'm fine." He wasn't bleeding, there was no reason for the handkerchief.

Was she laughing? He stared at her. Her body said another thing entirely, she was clearly afraid. It must be a different sound. And offering him... that would just burn up. Unless it was fireproof, which he doubted.

Andrew stared at her a moment longer deciding what his approach would be. He had only startled her, which was all his intent was minus being hit. Still that edge of familiarity crept on him. He didn't often forget a face. He slid his other hand in his pocket and dropped the tail back behind him. The ghoul wasn't a threat. "I'm Andrew." he finally said clearly expecting her to give her name.

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth tilted her head questioningly, almost pleading actually, at him for a few moments until she finally drew back the hand that held the handkerchief. When she neatly returned it back into her suitcase, she practically hugged her luggage to her chest, still visibly worried that the boil would retaliate in some way, even if what she'd done could be construed as an accident. All the while studying the boil critically (thank Jack her bangs and the bill of her new cap still obscured her eyes.)

She knew him, didn't she? Admittedly there wasn't a shortage of elementals or element-related creeple in Halloween, but this one particular fire boil was pinging her radar. And annoyingly she can't figure out why at the moment. Did they already meet? The only fire-tailed boil she ever knew was from that Wonderland game...

Her thoughts were cut short when he introduced himself. Jack damn it, why now? She wasn't allowed to flash him her shorts, not with this persona at least. Instead she gestured to her throat, pantomiming was still going to be a staple in her conversations.

xphantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

Andrew would not be surprised if half of Amity knew him. At least by sight. Being on fire made him stand out even back home. And really saying The one with fire on their tail would narrow it down to about two in amity. He knew because looked for most of the other fire related beings in almost ever class. Most were dogs.

Was her voice broken? Was that what she was trying to say? "Alright fine, don't say your name. I'll just call you blonde." he assigned her a name in short order. It would bug him otherwise.

In a way he preferred quiet. "So blonde, are you a first year?" she was so shy. Clearly a first year.

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

She nodded hastily at the name he gave her, as if anxious to get on his good side. As Andrew spoke, recognition finally dawned on Ruth. She was talking to the boil who broke her nose in Wonderland. The realization came so suddenly she nearly failed to restrain her smile. Oh she still smile, but it was not the ear-to-ear grin that came so naturally to her, it was a small, shy one. Ruth may have been going for demure, though she suspected she came across as a wilting blossilia instead.

With her head tipped forward in deference, she shrugged, as if saying she would be what he said she was. Part of it was out of the persona's lack of confidence, while the other part was simply because she believed this would be more fun if he thought she was a Snot instead of a Knob.

phantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

She smiled at him. Even after he had... what a weird ghoul. There was something genuine and even... mischievous? Something in his instincts told him that smile was a hidden one, he had seen it before. He knew it somewhere but... he could not place where. Or what.

And he was still so confused because of that tingling that he knew her.

Maybe he was just dreaming now. He was starting to wonder where reality began and the dreams ended.

But she was quiet and seemed unassuming. Something in that made him relax, drop his guard a bit more than if he knew who she really was. For a moment he was going to ask her where she was going, but decided against it. There would be no answer. Instead he would just hijack her, he walked forward a wing moving around her. "I'm hungry, let's get something to eat." He had forgotten about the scratches on his wings, they didn't hurt anymore unless someone punched them. He guided her with the intent of going to the creepateria.

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth had expected him to leave, walk away in disinterest once she established her lack of communication. That was how she'd read the boil in Wonderland. She neither expected nor anticipated him to suddenly take charge. She rather liked it. Shame she couldn't let him know that. She didn't think this sort of behavior was something "Blonde" would approve of.

She took a step back and tensed at his wing's embrace. Her luggage was in front of her again, clutched tight like a security blanket. She made no resistance as he led her towards the creepateria, instead offering him a small smile. Only to notice the injuries on his wings. Surely it was in both Blonde and Ruth's nature to want to know how he got them.

With a tilt of her head and an almost nervous hand, she pointed at his battle scars, the line of her mouth quirked into a concerned frown.

xphantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

He's startled her again but she didn't run. Blonde didn't pull away. That was honestly enough for him. Wither it was from lack of will or her actually wanting to come along didn't matter to him. The deep set loneliness lowered his standers for companionship.

And he really was sick of video games for a while, his usual drown out for the world. Something about playing them made him feel weird lately.

Body language was something he could read. For someone silent she sure asked a lot of questions. He shrugged at her. "I was fighting bears up the mountain." he decide not to divulge the fact that they had kicked his a**. Repeatedly. "It was Jacken cold up there." that might explain the blackened wing tips. He really hadn't noticed, he had other concerns like core body temperature while up there.

He walked right into the creepateria as if he owned it, nudging her along. Molan would disprove but he was not here today. And when did Molan ever approve of anything he did. Jerk.

He pass over the jello, evil stuff, and grabbed cereal, dry along with some the meat and dried fruit. Anything not dry enough to would probably take a hit from fire in the short future.

"As long as you don't pick anything too expensive, I'll buy for you today, seeing as I dragged you along."

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ah, so he had gotten those scratches from an open class rather than a schoolyard scuffle. He seemed to have better restraint here in Amityville than he did in Wonderland. That made him more interesting to the ghoul and gave her reason to prolong revealing who she was to him.

Ruth would have noted the blatant segue from bears to food and used this very reason to prod further. Blonde, on the other hand, would have taken the hint and gone with it. Her grip on her suitcase tightening ever so slightly was the only indication of her inner debate. Naturally, Blonde won. At least she got free food as a consolation.

Biting down on her lower lip, she fidgeted in place, unsure whether she should take him up on his offer. Once Andrew had made his choice, she ended up selecting the Creepateria Surprise, a concoction that seemed unable to decide if it was liquid or solid and colored in an unappetizing gray. There were numerous endorsements on its nutritional value, all in the same handwriting as the rest of the menu. Which suited Ruth just fine because she may be one of the few students who genuinely liked bland. That it was also the cheapest item listed was a bonus.

phantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

Andrew would have been annoyed by such prodding. However it never came. Instead she quietly fallowed his lead though her choice was... questionable to say the least. "I didn't say that cheap." he wasn't trying to murder her taste buds after all.

Still he paid as he said he would. Even for... that horror.

A wing moved once again guiding her to their next destination. This time a table by one of the windows. He set his try down and did a ritualistic sweep of his seat with a little fire and then sat. One never knew who had sat before you and fire cleaned most icky substances. (Never mind that he had scorched a seat or two with the habit during year one.) Clearly he intended for the ghoul to sit with him.

He did not however wait. With his left hand he grabbed the cereal and allowed fire to dance across the fingers of his right. His poster was relaxed casual except with a little tenseness as he watched her, the whole room, but mostly her, searching for her reaction to this small display of fire. It frustrated him that he could not see here eyes due to that cap and her bangs, but a part of him needed to know where the limit was. Wither her earlier reaction was just general jitters or the fire.

Huni Pi

 

[Huni Pi]

Ruth gave Andrew a sheepish smile and a brief shake of her head, as if trying to assure him she chose the dish because she liked it and not just because it was the cheapest thing available. Although in the back of her mind, Ruth questioned just how small this persona's sense of self-worth was.

Balancing her tray in one hand and holding her suitcase by her side, Ruth followed after Andrew obediently, the picture perfect example of a first year acquiescing to the more experienced student. She took a startled step back when he set the seats alight but the flames died down rather quickly and she leaned forward in curiosity.

A hand gave the empty, cleansed seat a tentative pat, noting it was still warm but not uncomfortably so. She gave him an admiring smile, one with no teeth and perhaps the lightest hint of a blush that he would be so considerate of her. She followed suit, setting her tray down and taking a seat. With her hands free, she pressed on palm to her chest, where her heart was and followed with a quiet clap of her hands.

Blonde was thoroughly impressed and flattered, while Ruth was internally laughing at herself. Oh Jack, this might prove fun after all.

phantompanther13