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 Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 3:40 pm
Harper had plans to visit Shiganshina during her days of leave. Dressed in her military outfit, it felt a little otherworldly to be back on the streets. There really wasn't much of anything she had scheduled - perhaps a long, stretched-out visit to her favorite bookstore. She felt silly for even thinking about visiting that particular bookstore, but there was one reason she wanted to go - and it had nothing to do with books. No, nothing to do with books, but everything to do with one tall, broadly-built Axel. Harper didn't know his last name. She only knew his first name because she'd heard the owner of the bookstore say it while Harper had been surreptitiously watching him work during her last visit to the bookstore. And the time before that. And the time before that. And the time before that. Harper would never admit to her clandestine admiration for Axel's pretty face. He had the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, and the nicest smile, and the shiniest blonde hair. He was such a nice person, and a hard worker, too - and he'd never been anything but polite to her whenever they'd interacted. She'd always end up stuttering and blushing, but he'd just smile and politely move out of her way while balancing a large crate of books on one shoulder. Almost as if her thoughts had conjured him up before her, Axel came into Harper's line of sight from her side. She stumbled slightly as he passed, her voice catching in her throat as she let out a strangled, "Axel?"There was a heartbeat of silence, and then: "Axel?!"
Was that a military shirt he was wearing?!
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 3:59 pm
"Hmm?"The voice was vaguely familiar, but it didn't really ding any bells. Axel turned, looking at the pink-haired girl. The first thing he noticed was her military uniform. A trainee's uniform. The second thing was that she was pretty, sort of familiar, probably from the base. And oh, oh, dear walls, he didn't know her name. "Oh, hello." Axel smiled at the girl. It was a pleasant smile, a friendly smile. Inwardly he was panicking. Pink hair. Pink cheeks. Pretty smile. Okay, so she was pretty. There were lots of pretty girls in the world. Axel didn't keep a mental catalog of each and every one. He was absolutely positive that he had never been introduced to this particular pretty pink-haired girl before. She wasn't in his dorm. Was she in his classes? She seemed to know him. Dear walls above and sweet baby Titans, he could not for the life of him remember this girl's name. It would have been easier, and probably much less hawkward, for him to blow her off and disappear on some fictional errand. But, pathetic as it was, Axel felt kind of lonely. His friends were off doing other things, and the streets of Shiganshina weren't as familiar as they had been. The town where he grew up wasn't really his home any more, and he was conscious of the occasional disapproving glance in his direction when people recognized the military shirt. Not everyone was fond of trainees. "I'm sorry, I don't remember your name." Axel gave her an apologetic shrug. "I'm really bad with names." Aaargh, the hawkwardness, he hated it.
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:21 pm
Of course he didn't know her name. How could he know her name? And now she didn't know whether to spill the truth or lie about how she knew his name. Did she admit that she'd always liked the look of him? The pleasant way he acted, the proud way he carried himself as he did his work? Or did she lie and say that she'd seen him at training. It seemed plausible enough. The only problem was that Harper wasn't much good at lying. It made her feel kind of awful and a little gross with herself, even if it was a little white lie with the intent to make someone feel better - or herself, for that matter. "We've... never met, but I know you used to work at the bookstore and I heard someone say your name so you don't really know my name but I know your name but I guess you might not remember seeing me around, not that that's a bad thing and I don't blame you at all I mean you always seemed really busy and focused on your work which it's very important to have a good work ethic so nobody can blame you --" she stopped, took a breath, and offered him a shaky smile, "I'm Harper."She was absolutely certain that she was working up quite the froth, and Harper was also certain that her hands were sweating, too, but she couldn't help it. He was here and actually talking to her and walls he was so polite and she was stammering and blubbering like a dang fool. Haaaawwwwkkk-waaaaard. "What are you doing in Shiganshina, and you're in the military, that's really neat so am I but I just joined and it's not been all bad but the beds are a little uncomfortable."She pressed her hand to her hot cheeks and gave him a bright smile, letting out another shaky little laugh while she was at it. "I'm sorry. For the rambling. Am I interrupting you?"
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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2014 4:38 pm
Harper's rambling washed over him, words tumbling over words like a bunch of jolly word dolphins. Axel looked a little stunned at first, but he quickly marshaled his expression into one of polite interest. So she was chatty. That wasn't bad, it was just unexpected. Before Harper showed up Axel had been getting a really good sad little mope on. It was shaping up to be an excellent mope, a mope of mopes, with a heap of sad reflection on the mistakes he had made and a dash of self-pity to spice the thing. Now all that was washed away by a tide of twittering.
"Nice to meet you, Harper. And no, no, you're not interrupting me," Axel said, starting at her last sentence. Starting at the end and working his way back seemed like his best bet for making sense of it all. "I was just walking. I'm going to visit my family later, but I don't have anything to do now."
Because Alec was teaching Preacher how to swim, and Axel flat out refused to participate in any activity that involved Preacher in any way whatsoever. Harper didn't need to know that detail.
"I guess I never noticed the beds. I've been running a lot of laps, so I go to bed pretty tired." Axel laughed awkwardly.
Wow, I'm terrible at making conversation.
"So, you like books? I was kind of thinking about going to the bookstore. I didn't pack any books to bring with me."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 6:56 am
Did she like books? Well, Harper supposed she liked books well enough. Really, it had been an excuse to watch Axel at work, but it wasn't like she could admit to that. But.. he was going to the bookstore - probably even the bookstore he didn't work at any longer, which was where she'd been planning to go just so she could wistfully sneak peeks at him.
"Books are great, I like books a lot. Reading is a nice way to escape, and who doesn't need a little escape now and then, right?" She let out a little hah-hah-hah before delving right back into her nervous chatter.
"You look really great -- I mean, well, I mean, you look like you've been eating well. I mean, I'm not saying you're fat you're not fat, oh goodness, I'm sorry, what I meant to say was that you look like you're doing well, must be all that running," another nervous hah-hah, and her cheeks also felt like they were going to burst into flame at any moment.
"Since we're going to the same place, maybe, I mean, a bookstore, do you mind if I tag along?"
She tried to look as if his reply - positive or negative - wouldn't matter, but the truth of the matter was it mattered. It mattered a lot.
"I mean, until you go visit your family. If not, that's fine, I mean."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:43 am
Walls, this girl was chatty. That was okay, though. Axel didn't mind chatty girls, as long as he wasn't expected to contribute much to the conversation. It was actually kind of nice to have a conversation with someone where you were only expected to add the occasional "Oh?" or "How interesting!" when it was your turn to speak. It allowed you to turn your brain off and just kind of drift along. Axel wouldn't mind turning his brain off for a while. It kept throwing up depressing thoughts. Axel automatically looked down at himself when she mentioned him possibly being fat. He started to chuckle. The chuckle turned into a laugh. It was hard not to laugh when Harper kept tripping over her words. She reminded him of an anxious puppy, or perhaps a little sister. A cute little sister. His own little sister was rather sour. "Yeah, of course you can come. There's a bakery that sells pretty good sandwiches near the store. We can get lunch there after, if you're not busy." Axel laughed again. "If you don't think I'm too fat for sandwiches."It would be nice to have company, especially since it was going to be reaaaally awkward shopping in the store he'd once worked for. He could just chat to Harper while he shopped, or more accurately have Harper chat to him, and pretend he wasn't bothered by the awkwardness at all. Axel started walking, heading in the direction of the bookstore. "You must be in Tragen. I know everyone in Falke, and I'm pretty sure I know everyone in Luchse."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 8:28 am
Oh. Walls. This was going to be a date, wasn't it? Was this a date? Oh, oh. Ohohoh, this was going to be a date. Harper stumbled a little over her own feet, catching herself on Axel's arm before immediately releasing him as though his skin had seared her fingertips. He was so warm. She wasn't going to pass out. She felt like she was going to pass out, but no. No.
"Sorry," Harper gasped, letting out a little breathless laugh, "I'm so clumsy sometimes." Yeah, great job, way to go, Harper.
"I like sandwiches and I'm not busy, ha ha. Books and sandwiches, that sounds great. That sounds great, and you're not fat, I bet there's no fat on you anyway, I mean you look really... really great, like. Healthy. Fit. Really fit."
She realized she was staring at the abdominal muscles that lovingly filled out the front of his shirt, and her ears turned red.
"Tragen, Tragen, yeah. So you're in Falke huh that's pretty neat, what's it like there? I mean, of course it's a dorm so I imagine it's just like mine, and so that means there's like beds and stuff in it --" no no no no no don't mention beds wow don't think about beds she was going to pass out wasn't she, she felt like she was going to pass out, "-- and man do I hate horses." Was she speaking too loudly? It felt like she was.
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 11:21 am
Distracted though he was, Axel was becoming dimly aware that Harper was behaving oddly. She blushed and stammered and rambled like an embarrassed female Alec. She also seemed to be staring at his shirt. Had he offended her somehow? Was he perhaps covered in sausage gravy from breakfast? Axel looked down at himself again, worried. No, no stains. Weird. "Falke's okay," he said, struggling to process Harper's stream of conversation. Shy. Harper was cripplingly shy. That must be it. "It's a little too close to the stables." Her comment about hating horses made him laugh. "Really? I don't like them much either." Axel could write a very long, very thick book, with footnotes and a glossary, on hating horses. However, he had only just met Harper, and while she was a little weird she was also sweet. He didn't want to launch into a horse-hating tirade in front of a nice girl he hardly knew. "Those teeth are too big. And they're high up. I'd rather keep my feet on the ground." That was a spectacularly dumb statement for someone in the military. Axel shrugged and grinned at Harper. "I guess I'll get over it when we start using 3D gear."
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Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2014 3:08 pm
"Yeah. Falke's okay," Harper watched him carefully as they walked, trying to attain the same tone of voice that Axel took when they talked about her dorm. "Way too close to the stables, for certain."She'd never really considered the dorm too close to the stables, but if Axel said it was so, then it was obviously in her best interest to agree with him. He hated horses, too, and that little fact made Harper glow. "And they're stinky, and temperamental," she nodded, finally looking forward instead of right at Axel. For a moment she thought briefly about what Preacher had said in regards to her looks. If you got it, flaunt it, or something to that effect. Harper wasn't sure what the other girl had meant, but hopefully as their date (yes, it was a date) progressed, Harper would figure it out. "Oh yes, 3D gear. That's starting soon, isn't it?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:44 am
This was kind of a weird conversation, but Axel couldn't put his finger on what was weird. Maybe it was the way Harper rushed to agree with him. He glanced at the pink-haired trainee, curious. It must be Harper's shyness. Or maybe Preacher knew Harper, and had told her that he was an a*****e that might snap at any second. A depressing thought. Harper seemed a little more comfortable complaining about the horses, which was nice. Axel laughed. It was nice to find someone else who wasn't a fan. So many of his classmates seemed to fawn all over the horrible beasts. Alec for one, and Tala. As hard as it was to believe, there were even people who sought out horses when they didn't have to. It was madness. "I think it's starting soon." Of all the things they had to learn, whizzing around in the air was the one Axel dreaded the most. People like Alec, Preacher, Lenore -- small, light people -- would have no problem with it. Him? He would probably make a fool of himself. Ha. He would make a fool of himself if he was lucky. If he wasn't, he would get kicked out. Talking about 3D gear made Axel anxious. Happily, the bookstore was in sight. "There it is," Axel said, relieved. Perfect chance to change the subject. He would just go in, looking cool as could be with his cool new friend Harper, who hopefully wouldn't fall over again. "Do you know what you're looking for?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 10:17 am
Harper wasn't entirely sure how to flaunt something, but maybe thrusting her meager chest out a little would help things along. Her butt, too. Did she look like an idiot? She didn't feel like one, but maybe that was because Axel. She actually felt really pretty when she was around him, which might have been weird because he'd never really complimented her - considering that this was their first time really talking, Harper was certain that there'd be time for all of that. "Not really," Harper said in the throatiest most sexiest voice she could muster, which really made her sound like a dying frog than anything. She pursed her lips and batted her eyes at Axel. It didn't help that he was walking a half-step in front of her, and probably maybe didn't see her at all. Walking the way she was wasn't exactly comfortable, but Harper was pretty sure that she was flaunting it. "What about you?"He really was the most handsomest man she'd ever clapped eyes on, and he smelled nice too, and he was just so polite and nice and ugh.
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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:37 am
The half-strangled croak of Harper's voice caught Axel's attention. He slowed down to match her pace and looked at her, blinking. Not only did her voice sound strange, but she was walking a little oddly too. Stiffly. Maybe she had hurt something during training. Hm. Axel wouldn't ask about that. It would probably be rude.
"I'm not sure which book I want to get, but I was thinking about getting pencils too. If they have them. Nice pencils, you know." Drawing pencils. Sometimes the bookstore carried things like that, journals and pencils and such. It was worth a look.
That voice was bothering him, he couldn't just say nothing. What if Harper was sick? It would be a d**k move to drag her along to a shop. "Are you feeling okay? We can stop and get, you know, tea or something. If you've got a sore throat." He was no medic, but tea cured colds, right?
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:31 am
Harper faltered just the slightest when Axel asked if she was sick. No, she wasn't sick. She was trying to flaunt it, as Preacher had suggested. Maybe it wasn't working. Maybe she was doing it wrong. She'd never been good at that sort of thing.
Fighting the urge to clear her throat again, Harper stopped trying to entice Axel with swaying hips and a throaty voice. She'd have to practice more when she had some free time, probably. Maybe Preacher would help.
"Oh, no I'm .. I'm not sick. I'm just. There was a tickle in my throat." Yeah, a tickle. "Do you draw, Axel?"
He probably did. She gave a sidelong glance towards those nice-looking hands.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 9:51 am
It was good to know Harper wasn't sick. She was walking normally too. Axel was relieved. "No, I don't draw," Axel said. "I don't know how. I'm not very creative." While Axel loved reading, he had never thought of himself as a creative person. Writing, drawing, or doing anything else to create art was a bit beyond him. Artists of all kinds impressed him. He definitely was not one of them. While his awkward admission prevented some sort of romantic-comedy-esque disaster where Harper told everyone he was a great artist and he found himself ordered to paint murals on the dorm buildings, leading to his utter humiliation, admitting he didn't draw also raised the question of why he was buying pencils. The answer was kind of embarrassing, and it was Axel's turn to cough awkwardly. "I needed pencils for uh, letter writing."Walls, he was a horrible liar. Time to forge ahead. Maybe Harper was hungry or something, and that was why she was acting kind of strange. It was a good trip from the training camp to the city. Yeah, she was probably hungry. That was it! "D'you just want to get sandwiches first?"The sandwich shop was drawing into sight. It was a pleasant little brick-walled building with a glass storefront, the day's specials posted outside on a chalkboard. Actually, Axel wouldn't mind getting sandwiches first. He was into sandwiches. He picked up his pace a little bit.
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Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:15 am
When Axel picked up his pace, Harper picked up hers. As she walked, she briefly fantasized about holding his hand. Harper doubted it would be smooth and soft like hers. Probably it would be rough from moving boxes. It was a nice thought, but she didn't dare reach out to take his hand. Instead, she did the next best thing she could think of.
She threaded her arm through Axel's and grinned up at him. This was the happiest she'd been in a long time, and she'd never thought she'd actually be able to talk to him. Harper had never imagined that they'd be in the military, together, and it made her feel so happy that she couldn't even express it.
"Oh, letters! I like writing letters. Who do you write to? Your family? Mine is all gone, but I still like writing. I bet you have nice handwriting."
Harper couldn't tell if he was hurrying or if he was just really hungry.
"We can get sandwiches first!"
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