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Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2016 7:19 pm
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 2:54 pm
Success. When one pulls through, despite all obstacles. Technically, she succeeded at many things, a whole list of accomplishments, topped with saving Chittentown. And yet Civisect didn't make it. They had all the tools, and yet. And yet. She had seen the reports, she heard about the queen's speech.
Hemera wouldn't judge Regina's reaction to the tragedy; it wasn't her place. A queen's scope was the entire planet, not just two cities. But for Mera, the results still hurt.
She quietly stared out the window on the train, waiting for it to get going. The tealblood had managed to lug everything aboard despite her healing wounds, and soon would either pick up some light reading or rest. She had through to slap on some sopor patches in case she drifted off. Anything to avoid thinking about this mess.
Her cheek leaned closer and closer to the glass, eventually leaning on it. Hemera only realized her eyes had shut and her mind had blurred into a dark, dreamy haze when the train jolted as it started to move. Slightly flustered, she was awake, and after looking around, decided maybe the reading could wait...
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 3:56 pm
Unfrazzled, Leeroi boarded the train uncomfortably close to the departure time. Riding in a private booth allowed him the privilege to take his time boarding, as his bags were taken care of and sent up by drones, he assumed. Leisurely, he traveled towards his cabin further back in the train, when a particular tealblood stood out to him.
"Hemera Moachm," Leeroi addressed her with a laugh, leaning his elbow on the headrest of the chair. He gave the tealblood a confused once-over. "I didn't take you for a troll that rode coach," he said, trying not to be too over-pompous with his tone. Hemera struck him as the type who would want her personal space if she could get it, and Leeroi knew she was high-blooded enough. He shook his head. It wasn't worth over-thinking.
"Come on," He jerked his head back in the direction of his cabin. "You deserve better sleep after all that happened," he added, and without waiting for an answer he took a step back to peek into the overhead storage. "Which of these is yours, huh?" He asked, eyes peeled for a sign of teal or a label with a name.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:12 pm
"Furore, Leeroi." Mera sputtered in exhausted surprise. The way he barreled on in, she needed a moment to gauge if she was still awake or not. Was it normal for trolls to slide in so smoothly then? What? Did he intend to whisk her away somewhere?
"I...excuse me, what? Where are we going?" He was so hellbent on doing something, she felt left behind. "You want to sit together, I suppose? I'm...really not a good socializing partner at the moment." It was true. She was dying. "If you see me drool I might have to relocate and change my name."
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 4:48 pm
"Yeah, I've got one of those cushy private cabins," he explained, moving to the side to clear a path for the tealblood to get up. "You can have all the fancy pillows to yourself. Not to mention you can lay down." He smiled. He wasn't expecting Hemera to be good company. He was just doing the right thing. Chittentown's great savior deserved better, even if he was a bit jealous of that fact.
"Change your name? And after I've worked so hard to learn it?" He teased, leaning towards her with a smirk. "Or have you just been changing it every time you've embarrassed yourself around me?" He laughed, pulling away and gesturing for her to follow him further back into the train.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:49 pm
A blueblood with a private cabin. Of course. Even after working with Team Chittentown there were some stereotypes that wouldn't change over day. Affluence, what a concept. "I...see." Well, if he was offering and making a show out of it, she might as well accept. Hemera, for all her self-righteousness, couldn't help but fold under the pressure of her back, her fatigue, her everything.
"If you insist. Thank you." But it was awkward, getting up, being given this window into the upper class like this. Very out of the blue. She needed a minute to adjust.
No end to the banter, though. It made the shift a little easier. "Ah, yes, you had it right that time it was, hmm, Myrtle? But giving you anything less than a hard time might ruin my image." Halfway to a small smile, it soured after another shot to her back. Healing had been slow, jerky. Inconsistent.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 8:10 pm
Hemera's erratic steps didn't go unnoticed by Leeroi, but he did choose to ignore it for the sake of her keeping her own dignity. Besides, he was never one to coddle when another lacked strength. Trolls had to be tough for their own sake, if they wanted to be heroes, and surely Hemera had placed herself on such a pedestal. Leeroi could carry her bags, but that was more to assure that she would actually follow him and not just ignore him completely.
He hummed, keeping his attention on the path in front of him. He did smile back once at Hemera, glad to see the tealblood had enough fight in her for bantering. Leeroi wasn't surprised, but that didn't make him any less happy.
Arriving at their cart, Leeroi peeked in the row of compartments for the one with his luggage. Upon finding it, he slid the door open and left it as such for Hemera. With an eager step he plopped down on one of the long booths, kicking his feet up with an exaggerated stretch. "Make yourself comfortable," he said to Hemera, a bright smile spreading across his face.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 10:42 pm
She glanced around, impressed, before stepping in. "Spacious. Almost as big as a dorm room, isn't it?" Hemera asked while sitting down. Maybe not quite, but closer than a broom closet. Mera was still hesitant while sitting down, though. The space was tight, personal. Intimate? Hmm. She would rather not think of it in that sort of term. But definitely different, somehow, keeping her slightly more alert than she wanted to be.
She eased back enough to support her back, but that was as far as she was going for now. For the time being, she glanced at Leeroi for a second before training her eye on the scenery passing in the window. Chittentown in the distance, with nothing but desert otherwise.
"Where do they keep gerbils on trains? I assume it's different protocol than with lusii."
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 11:19 pm
Without moving much, Leeroi pointed to the bags in the storage compartment above his head. "They're with me," he explained, "They're always with me. Not sure if there's a different protocol for coach, but I'm not in coach." Leeroi shrugged, turning his head over to Hemera.
"They sleep pretty soundly during travel. I make sure of that. They get sleepy treats and warm milk and get wrapped up in their blankets like little burritos." He made a vague burrito shaped gesture for emphasis. "If they do cause a fuss I can hold them or let them run around and get their energy out." Hell, the gerbils used more space in the booth than he typically did. Leeroi just claimed a side and slept as much as he could, typically.
Reaching over for his side's fancy pillows, he threw them individually at Hemera, adding little "woop"s for humorous effect. "There you go, now you can get comfy," He laughed softly, resting his arms behind his head with nonchalance.
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 11:31 pm
"You're very attentive to your gerbils. It's a strange practice, having creatures with you that aren't lusii. There's certainly a dedication to it. I do wonder why you're so invested to the point that you have travel logistics worked out." Hemera started making a pile out of the pillows. "Just on the principle of it's an experience different from mine, so curiosity from that, I guess."
She slowly curled up on them, still unsure. "Another curiosity: your arm and how you lost it. Is what they say about phantom limbs true? Or, err, if I may ask about that?" The tealblood wanted to rest, but any silence spooked her. The air felt too heavy, left her vulnerable. She did know that she 'owed him' a talk, but wouldn't even know where to start about any of that.
Not without getting bombastic, maybe, and this wasn't the place for that.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:54 am
Leeroi felt heat rise to his face. Hemera wasn't really complimenting him per se, or was she, in her own weird way? "My team, my gerbil team... They're important to me," Leeroi admitted. They were fluffy little stars of gold in his eyes, but perhaps Hemera didn't need to hear that. He turned his blushing face away until Hemera asked another question. "What is this, a quiz show? I thought you said you weren't going to be social?" Leeroi let out a hearty laugh. He was in a good enough humor, plus he never really minded talking about himself at length. He sat up from his seat to face Hemera again. "Yes, I get phantom pains. Losing my arm wasn't exactly clean, if you could imagine." Leeroi admitted, instinctively feeling for the base of his prosthetic. "It's lessened with the prosthetic, which is why I'm wearing this garbage thing right now, anyways." He waved his claw generally, showing off the limited functionality. Smiling weakly, he opened his mouth to ask Hemera a question back. "Why do you ask? You want one for yourself?" He joked, leaning back in his seat.
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Posted: Wed Sep 07, 2016 11:27 am
"I'm not being social." She wiggled experimentally to make herself comfortable. "I am- getting some curiosities out of the way- so I won't have to feel bad later when I wake up to find I slept through the entire rest of the ride." Mera ended up on her stomach more often than not. It wasn't the most comfortable, but everywhere else was some kind of sore or another.
That said, she listened intently to everything about the arm. "I can't imagine it would be clean. It's not your style, is it? Probably some epic poem...but it was Ldnerg's arm..." She snapped back awake. "I'm sorry, what? What was I going on about? Actually, no, I don't want to know." she waved it off. "Do I want one? No- no, I'm fine as I am. Preinstalled waterproofing." A joke, despite her faltering. "I guess it's like when someone gets a new haircut. 'When did you get it?' 'Why?' Or I guess- 'how?' It's different, it's a shock. At our age anyway."
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 6:42 am
Curiosities. Sure. Why hadn't Hemera just asked before now? Leeroi wasn't one to keep his questions to himself. In fact, one had been bugging him for a long time now. But was it really a curiosity? It wasn't small talk like Hemera was initiating. Leeroi wasn't into small talk. He had a big question and stomaching it was starting to feel terrible. Hemera was clearly starting to fall asleep. Leeroi bit his lip with a frown. This wasn't the best time to drop a question bomb. Or was it? He knew this way he might just get an honest answer out of the tealblood. She'd keep dodging around it otherwise. But it didn't seem fair. In the end, Leeroi's impatience won out. "Hemera?" The blueblood spoke up, voice full of genuine concern. "Do you even like me?" He asked, face turned away in some part embarrassment and contemplation. His hands were fidgeting at a rapid pace, with the more metallic claw making a pained, rusted attempt at movement.
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 2:43 pm
Hemera rolled over, squinting at Leeroi as if he had opened curtains to let fresh moonlight surge in while she had barely stumbled out of her recuperacoon. But he wasn't looking at her. Or anything, really. Finally, something she could understand.
She turned aside again, not wanting to stare at him while he appeared- what was the word now- exposed? Stressed? Yes, stressed. Like it mattered. Hemera curled up further. "If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be here."
A long pause. A sigh. "That's too crass, isn't it?"
The tealblood was too tired to be careful with her words, but no matter how much she tried to summarize, she had to be honest. "You're an a** but that isn't just. That isn't all you are. You're very sweet sometimes. And intimidating. There's a lot more than I gave you credit for for the longest time. I barely know you outside of when we were kids but I like what I've seen since then."
Back to him still, she let out another exhale. "And what's your opinion of this troll who's always giving you such a hard time?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2016 4:29 pm
Leeroi's concerned expression softened. Swirling through a mixture of emotions, it was hard to tell what was on his mind. Disheartened by the original crassness, and confused by following string of compliments, Leeroi took a long time to think before responding. He was an a*****e. He was abrasive, not everybody liked him. He knew that. He knew that very well. Typically, he assumed the worst in his haters and didn't let it bother him. The idea of Hemera not liking him bothered him. Why? He didn't really know. Leeroi never considered himself to be sweet, but he supposed it wasn't a negative trait. His gerbils were sweet and they were perfect in every way. Being called intimidating, regardless of Hemera's intentions, felt good to him. Thinking about it brought a bit of blush to his face. That and the fact that she liked what she saw in him. Then the tables were turned. He had to admit he anticipated that she'd want to know his opinion, too. It wasn't so hard to feel something for Hemera, but it was difficult for the blueblood to put it into words. Words he'd take the time to think about, at least. "You're smart. You've got a lot of concern for others. I think you want what's best," Leeroi explained, attention pulled to the window of the train. His hands had since stopped fidgeting. "I think you think too much. And you're wasting your time trying to get me to think like you." Leeroi laughed, a soft whistle through his sharp teeth. "You worry too much about appearances," he explained, pausing for a good moment to phrase his words, "but I like you most when you let your guard down." He smiled, biting his lip for a moment. Quickly, his eyes flickered back to Hemera for a reaction.
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