Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 21, 2006 9:34:35 GMT -5
For a moment, there was just a shocked silence. He was teasing her again. He wasn't calling her a monster or a hideous freak. He wasn't running away. Why? How had he come to be so...kind, even to someone like her? No one had ever been so subte or gentle about it, and while she didn't really believe him abut liking her scaley-patched face and all, the fact that he didn't hate her for it made her eyes fill with tears.
She quickly replaced the hat hoping he wouldn't see them and struggled not to blink lest they fall. In the end she had to bury her face in her hands to compose herself. Why was he being so nice to her even still? She didn't understand...
...and blast it all her wing was still painfully cramped under the bandages she used to tape them down. She didn't dare try to adjust it lest he try to find out what she was hiding under her coat too.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 21, 2006 11:08:00 GMT -5
Was it really surprising that someone strange like Nairi would find her alien features attractive? That she went to such lengths to cover herself up only made her more appealing in his eyes - those who have beauty but don't know it are far less likely to abuse it. Kashan was pure. He respected that.
He wasn't really sure what to do when she hid her face in her hands, however... did she feel insulted? Sad? He sighed softly and lifted Nanai out of his lap, bringing it close so that he could whisper to her. "Go on... we can play later. I think she needs you more than I do right now." He set the cat down and hoped that the way it ran straight back to Kashan would improve her mood a bit. "I'm sorry if I've upset you. I can still leave if you want me to."
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 21, 2006 16:54:53 GMT -5
Nanai did adore Kashan after all, and so, when Nairi decided playtime was over, she scurried back over to the master she'd adopted and put her little kitty paws up on Kashan's knee, licking the back of her hands.
A shaky breath was released and the hands were removed as Kashan wiped her eyes and scratched the cat behind the ear. "...you don't have to leave," she said after an extended pause. "It's just...I..." she stumbled over the words, not sure exactly what she was feeling other than stunned.
"No one's ever been so nice about it before. I didn't know what to say," she settled on, hoping the answer was good enough. "It's not what I expected and I...all of a sudden I just started crying."
She felt pathetic and weak and as if all those things about girls being all weepy and whiny were true after all as much as she'd hate to admit to it, but she just didn't know how to react. Nairi kept knocking all her preconceptions about the world flat on their ass and leaving her dazed and not sure what she was supposed to say or do. She wanted to chock this all up to his being completely out of his mind...but damn if he wasn't observant in that 'crazy' kind of way.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 21, 2006 22:43:00 GMT -5
Nairi didn't do all that well with crying. Powerful emotions were about as unknown to him as kindness was to Kashan - since he spent so much time in that detached little bubble of a world inside his head, he viewed most things with a curious objectivity. He thought she'd be happy, and from the sound of it she was, but still... that she was crying twisted something inside of him and he winced. "I'm... sorry? Kashan..." Unsure of what to do, he considered his options - he could crawl over and lick her hands, as it seemed to work for Nanai. Something told him that wouldn't go over too well, though. A hug, maybe? He didn't feel too optimistic about that.
In the end, he just settled for somewhat of a compromise. Hoping Kashan's condition wouldn't worsen because of it, Nairi got to his feet and quietly padded over, sitting next to her. "If it would make you feel better, I could kill whoever's responsible for making you feel like this." It was the sort of thing you might expect someone like Nairi to say, but the soft, serious tone of his voice might imply that he actually meant it. His hand moved to her shoulder, hoping to find some acceptable physical contact to try to comfort her with.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 21, 2006 22:50:59 GMT -5
A mostly humorless chuckle escaped Kashan's lips, though she was mildly amused at the man who was obviously deranged with a certain lack of conscience. Oddly she thought she should mind more than she did. "You'd die before you finished. It isn't worth the bother."
Damn him. He was weaseling his way in, trying to gain her trust. She didn't like trusting people--she tended to get burned for it...or stoned...or a number of other unpleasantnesses. There had been a few people who'd been kind to her, but she always kept so distant she hardly noticed most of the time. "Anyway, some deus with a...ah...skin problem...isn't worth getting arrested over."
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 21, 2006 23:07:52 GMT -5
"If it would help, it'd be worth it. I don't serve much purpose in this world, anyway." He said this very matter-of-factly, without a single trace of angst or depression to be found in his voice. If anything, it was the truth - Nairi drifted like a wayward spirit, frightening most and sharing his interesting personality with those that would listen - those who did often wished they hadn't afterwards. There was no direction in his life... just the blade, and he didn't even know where that came from.
He light squeezed her shoulder before dropping her hand. "Friends deserve everything that you're capable of, even if you aren't capable of much..." His eyes glazed over the sheathed blade, the handle inlaid with strange decorations that seemed to make his mind swim. He could never look at them for long, and he turned away after a moment.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 21, 2006 23:15:38 GMT -5
"It wouldn't," Kashan answered after only a short pause. "You can fix a lot of things--old boots, the kitchen sink, even a broken sword if you've got the tools and the know-how, but you can't fix a life, not once the damage has already done. Time only moves forward, after all."
Nairi had some weird, disturbing way of making her feel like, maybe once in a while being a 'freak' was kind of okay. And as soon as she thought that she began to wonder if maybe insanity was contagious.
She certainly sounded braver with the 'time only moves forward' bit, as if she didn't dwell on things long since past when she knew full well she did.
She finally caved in and shifted her wing a bit, just a fraction, under the bandages and jacket. Ah, that felt a little better. She couldn't expect much more until she could find somewhere dark and quiet to stretch them out, anyway.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 21, 2006 23:39:01 GMT -5
He'd almost forgotten that Kashan mentioned being a mechanic - he supposed it provided enough distractions to keep her mind off of other things. Maybe he could try that. Swordplay didn't set his mind at ease but the exact opposite; he didn't know where the thing came from or why it felt so natural in his hands. Sometimes he felt nauseous by looking at it and sometimes it felt like it weight a thousand pounds on his back. Honestly, he hated the thing, but you could only hate yourself for so long.
Kashan did seem braver, though. This was similar to what happened before... he would usually exert some positive influence on those he met, and then he'd say something just a little too off-kilter or try to kill them or what have you. He sincerely hoped that didn't happen here, but sometimes you couldn't help it. "I suppose you're right. So... what else are you hiding?" His eyes lit up with the question, and he grinned. Not like Nairi had any proof that Kashan had anything of the sort, but she was a Dracon deus, and the coat was almost as ridiculous as the hat...
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 21, 2006 23:46:46 GMT -5
Kashan pouted at him again. "You're too curious for your own good," she complained. Which was basically an admittance that she WAS in fact hiding something else, but she wasn't sure she wanted him to start making more gambles on her other secret. "Some more scales," she muttered, because, well, she DID have more scales--on her shoulder and back and arm. She wondered if that would satisfy him, and highly doubted it.
...but she had the feelings if she told him she had wings his eyes would probably light up with curiosity and he'd beg to see them. As much as she might want to stretch them out a bit, those were NOT the circumstances she had in mind.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 21, 2006 23:57:13 GMT -5
He was almost insulted. Of course she had more scales - that kind of went without saying, didn't it? Nairi narrowed his eyes a bit. He'd seen dragons before (in his dreams) and he'd seen Dracon before (one or twice, he couldn't really remember) and that led to just one logical conclusion. "Can you fly?" Kashan practically could've seen the question in his gaze, like he'd waiting his entire life to ask it.
Of course, it wasn't the same as asking if someone had wings, and Dracon didn't technically "fly." Whether or not Kashan wanted to dismiss him with a half-truth or actually let out her other big secret was up to her.
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 22, 2006 0:17:06 GMT -5
"Of course not," she said. "No dracon can fly. Pomira fly. Dracon glide. They have to be high up with strong enough wind currents or they'll just crash like everyone else." Which wasn't exactly an outright denial, but it wasn't an affirmation either.
She sighed. If she didn't tell him, he'd only keep nudging at her until she finally cracked, and so Kashan decided it was better to just tell him and get it over with.
"As for gliding I don't know...I've never tried." Which was practically an admission in and of itself. Her eyes darted back and forth as if making sure it was still just the three of them--Nanai included and said in a low, still pouty tone, "...my wings are smaller than dracon wings...but I guess, being that I'm smaller too maybe I could. I'll probably never know. Maybe they're just there to be a nuisance."
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 22, 2006 0:23:06 GMT -5
Well, he learned something new today... a couple things, actually. For one, Dracon can only glide (he never would've guessed). Also, Kashan wasn't as willing to deceive him as she was before. Nairi was someone who understood the importance of asking the right questions, and he hadn't done that. The deus compensated for him.
"That's interesting. It'd be terribly forward of me to ask if I could see them, so..." Nairi blinked once or twice, as if something misfired in his head. For a moment, he looked lost and utterly confused, and then he just kind of... came together again. With the focus back in his eyes, he looked at her, smiling faintly. "Can I see them?"
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 22, 2006 0:28:01 GMT -5
Kashan thought for a moment maybe she was off the hook for now.
...no such luck. Her cheeks colored. There were a number of reasons she should say 'absolutely not'...the first being that the shirt under the jacket was flimsy at best...and she'd have to remove the bandages that held the wings down...which would be a pain to try and do with a shirt on--not to mention getting them back on afterwards and...
"...it's too public. Anyone could walk by," she said at last. It wasn't a 'no, never' it was more of a 'not a good time/place'. She had the feeling she was only delaying the inevitable.
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Nairi
Novice
Fey-Touched
Posts: 60
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Post by Nairi on Dec 22, 2006 0:46:53 GMT -5
"Some other time, then?" Nairi raised a brow, assuming that's what she meant by that since she didn't flat-out say no. The fact that she was being so honest with him now actually worried him... all that stuff about people getting scared away or him chasing them with his sword usually happened in the first fifteen minutes or so. At this point, he was in unknown territory, and he wasn't really sure what to do... so he took Kashan's hat.
He'd kind of wanted to for a while now, actually, if for nothing else just to see how it looked on him. She might think him mean or just playful - the look in his eyes, which were quickly draped in shadow but seemed to shine through brightly anyway, suggested the latter. "I hope you'll forgive me... I just wanted to see if there was something to this hat business. I think I like it... maybe I'll look into getting the whole outfit. Then we'd match."
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Kashan
Novice
You Can't Fix a Life.
Posts: 61
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Post by Kashan on Dec 22, 2006 0:53:15 GMT -5
Kashan wasn't comfortable answering that question because she had yet to determine if there would even be another time.
However, she was quickly distracted as her hat was stolen. "Ah, hey!" she protested, reaching a hand out to snatch it back before he had it just a moment too late. She pouted up at him, leaning forward a bit so that her hands held up the better part of her weight. "You'd look stupid in something like this, and anyway, you don't have anything to hide," she complained as if being put out...but she certainly had a certain cuteness about her when she was put out.
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