Speaking of Animals ( Nemoi x Armani )

1

Nemoi stumbled out on to the playground. The day before she had an extensive session with Kirket and was feeling quite drained from the emotional adventure. A lot had been unearth for Nemoi, and she suddenly felt like she was left facing an entirely darker, more malicious world than she ever could have imagined.

Sinking on to the damp grass, Nemoi leaned back against the bench and watched the other kids frolic and play. She longed for that ... to be as carefree and innocent as the other children. She longed to play just like them, but it didn't seem like she was even capable of that.

Hugging her knees to her chest, Nemoi curled her tail around her ankles and gave a soft sigh. She didn't have a fighter's spirit today ... if she was being honest with herself, a hug sounded really nice.

--

With a playful roar, Armani leaped out from the grass, lunging at what he thought was one of his sisters. Instead, a screaming goblin swung her tail at him, smucking him in the face and sending him tumbling backwards. The boy landed with a small 'oomph!' of sound, hitting his tail bone hard against the ground. ”I-I'm so sorry!” he cried out after the poor girl he had unintentionally assaulted, picking himself up off the ground as he scooped his tail in to his arms.

Or ... what he thought was his tail. This tail was much poofier and fluffier than his. Armani's eyes trailed over the length of the tail, and quickly the boy dropped it when he saw who it was attached to.

”Eer, sorry, hey? I didn't mean to grab a'hold of your tail. Thought it was mine, yunno?”

--

2

Nemoi watched a tiger striped child suddenly appear from the tall grass overhead, chartreuse eyes fixated on the girl who was about to be crushed by the less than graceful boy leaping at her. For the briefest of moment, Nemoi couldn't keep herself from letting out a small chortle as the goblin girl shrieked. There were fates far worse than being crushed by something so fluffy as a bakeneko. The girl quickly retreated, and Nemoi's attention waned. She was about to get back to her feet and wander off somewhere else when she felt a small tug on her tail.

Nemoi blinked, twitching at the contact. She wanted to snarl and snap at the tail-grabber, but she simply didn't have the energy to.

Nemoi had been about to open her mouth and tell the person off, but when she realized it was the bakeneko child, and when they offered a timid apology, Nemoi couldn't really be mad anymore.

”S'good, yah.” Nemoi nodded her head, scooping her tail back in to her lap. ”Just pay attention next time, mn?”

--

Armani nodded his head, giving his real tail a little bit of a flick. His ears twitched at the sounds of all the children around him playing, but for some reason his main focus was on this ratty looking child sitting infront of him. There was something lonely about them, a hint of sadness and defeat to their gaze. ”Are you alright?” Armani asked, squatting down to be level with her again. If she was upset, he didn't want to just leave her where she'd be alone. Armani wasn't exactly a super empathetic person, but the neko wasn't the type of person to be able to walk away from someone in need.

--

3

Nemoi's ears flicked. The boy was still there? Why. What did he want? Nemoi glanced as the boy bobbed as he squatted, curling her tail more tightly around herself as a security measure, her fur beginning to slowly puff up to try and make herself look larger. But the boy's eyes were soft ... meaningful. Kind? It was a look she had never seen before, and Nemoi was suddenly very intrigued by the neko.

”S'yer name, mnn?” Nemoi twisted her body slightly to face the white and black striped neko more fully. This was the most normal interaction Nemoi had ever had with another child her own age, heck, even the longest. What would come of it?

--

Gently resting his paws on his kneecaps, Armani took a few moments to watch the body language of the other child. They seemed ... afraid? Almost a touch feral. Putting two and two together, Armani guessed that this was a child who had come from the orphanage with some sort of awful past. From the tattered, sloppy clothes to the severely matted black tressels, Armani felt a small pang of guilt. Of course, the girl's state of being was due to no fault of his, but the boy had lead a rather blessed life. He had two amazing sisters and had plenty of friends. The child, thin and gangly, looked as though they hadn't seen so much as a genuine smile in their entire life.

”My name's Armani. What's yours?”

--

4

”Armani?” That was an odd name. Armani sounded kind of like ... arms ... of many. Actually, wait. No, that was a really cool name. Arms of Many ... yes ... that was going to be the nickname Nemoi gave them.

Nickname? Wasn't that something friends or loved ones gave one another? This person – this ... Armani ... was not Nemoi's friend. Were they? They had just met. They knew nothing about one another, their personalities, their family stories, or where they came from. Not even the little things like their favourite colour or snack to eat.

No, maybe the nickname would have to wait.

”Armani ... I'm Nemoi.”

--

Nemoi? ... Well, it was a name. Who was Armani to judge? Not everyone was as lucky as Armani was. Not everyone got to choose their own names. Maybe Nemoi's parents had given them that name ... or a person who worked at the cache? Armani wasn't exactly on the up-and-up on how cache children got their names, if Nemoi was infact a cache child. It wasn't exactly something you openly asked anyways. Some people were sensitive about their unknown ancestry.

”Nice to meet you, Nemoi.” Armani offered a genuine smile, exposing his fangs to her. ”Did you ... maybe wanna toss a ball around with me or something? Make the recess a little less boring? Maybe catch some bugs and plant them in peoples' desks?”

--

5

Nemoi's expression softened, her fur settling as a small glimmer flickered in her eyes. Had Armani just ... asked her to hang out? There was a warm, fuzzy feeling creeping inside Nemoi's stomach. Something she had never experience before that made her feel absolutely delightful.

An awkward grin spread across the child's face, lighting up her otherwise dark features beneath her mop she called hair. ”Y'want t'play wit me?” she asked hopefully. She prayed with all her might that the boy wasn't just yanking her chain.

”Yah ... l'right, we can toss it!”

--

Armani's whole face lit up as Nemoi's demeanour seemed to brighten. The boy felt like he had done something right just now. That sad, lonely child that Armani had captured a mere glimpse of seemed to flicker and fade as quickly as it had appeared. Perhaps Nemoi really was just lonely. With a smile that infectious, how could anyone ignore such a precious being? It didn't matter to Armani where this girl came from, or how she came to be. All Armani knew was that now he felt almost responsible for keeping the girl's spirits up, and he was quite happy to have a new companion.

”Alright, then!” Armani bounced back to his feet, putting his hands on his hips. ”Then let's play ball!”