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Post by glamourie on Mar 24, 2009 11:10:30 GMT -5
K'lir blinked and opened his mouth to oppose her so-incorrect statement. He'd been using his body heat to keep her warm! Wasn't that good enough? What more did she want from him? It wasn't like he had extra blubber! His nose twisted into an unpleasant look that made his discontent clear. Not that he really minded. No, truth was, K'lir knew Lennae was joking... but he wouldn't have been K'lir if he didn't give her some static for it, or at the very least behaved a moderate level of ornery. He was incapable of being "well-behaved." That was for people who had no lives and existed solely to placate others -- not him. He was quite clever, thank you. And obviously, he was very gifted at getting under people's skins, if Lennae's response to his teasing was anything to judge by. The expression on his face cemented in quite a content smirk and the greenrider folded his arms behind his head, looking very much like the feline who got at the cream. Was she really going to get personal with the duck? Aww, poor duck -- but his sympathy was only minimal. Somehow he doubted the hatchling would mind all that much.
"Blanket it is," K'lir declared triumphantly as he stalked after Lennae. There was a slight bounce in his step that highly emphasized his amusement, as if he couldn't keep the delight out of his posture, and he made no effort to hide the smile he bore. "His mommy can buy the blanket, though, since she likes to say I'm not keeping him warm. How's that for logic? Hmm?"
If it came down to it, K'lir was positive he could easily afford a blanket. That wasn't the point of his teasing. He was simply eager to see how Lennae would react to the word 'mommy' since she'd used 'daddy' in reference to him. He never thought of himself as a parental figure to pets. He just didn't. Actually, he had trouble remembering he was Kahrelir's parent, too. Not in the sense that he neglected the boy, but simply that he didn't really recognize the phrase 'daddy' in terms of him. (Calistoth was very insistent that it was inaccurate anyway and though he'd explained tons of times, the green could not wrap her mind around how her bonded sired a child and hadn't clutched it. Her logic was that she was a green, so he must have been a queen or something -- he'd stopped listening when the dragon tried to explain it because her idea of logic usually resulted in an odd pain starting behind the center of his eyes and spreading backwards in a painful swirling motion.)
K'lir half-skipped as he walked, his arms folding behind his back. The posture was undeniably playful, as was the slight cock of his head to the side. That one movement made a strand of long, dark red hair cascade over his face. It was true red, not orange-hued or ginger in any way, and dark enough to have black undertones if examined properly. K'lir squinted and tugged on the strands in agitation, before brushing them back out of his face. He wore his hair too long, he decided, though he was loathe to cut it: long enough was it that he at times got mistaken for a female, and that always ended in comical displays of embarrassment and stammering. He only wished he was as shameless as his healer friend and thus willing to don dresses. Alas, he had some pride. Some.
"Should I cut my hair?" Maybe she'd have useful input on that; he didn't really know. Yes, he recognized he was changing the topic, but no one ever claimed K'lir was consistent. In fact, he was quite far from that most of the time. Random and bizarre acts were very standard for the greenrider, especially when he wasn't busy with something actively. "It keeps falling in my face, I can't decide if I like it long or not. What do you think? I promise, it's not a trick question or anything..."
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Post by weaving on Mar 24, 2009 19:51:36 GMT -5
She was tempted to wipe that smirk off of his face (in a friendly way of course) but merely rolled her eyes at him instead. They’d see who would be smirking after she was proven correct about Snowball’s (she still refused to refer to the duck as Fuzz) gender. She doubted that K’lir knew anything about telling female ducks apart from male ones, which meant that she could simply lie and say that the duckling was a girl. No one would find out for a turn or so anyway, or however long it took for ducks to mature. By then it would be too late, though she doubted that K’lir would forget who had wrongly informed him that his pet was a female. With fifty/fifty odds, she’d just have to hope that luck was on her side.
“I’d be more than happy to buy her a blanket. It just goes to show who loves her more.” The idea of being mommy to a duckling wasn’t nearly as horrifying as being a mother to an actual child, so K’lir’s usage of the word hardly bothered her. The idea of her and K’lir being parents together was odd however. It was probably best not to think of it. “How about a pink blanket?” She suggested, though she wasn’t serious. Yuck. Pink. Yellow would be a nice color, or maybe green. Focusing too much on it now would only drive her mad. Besides, she was sure that Lir would simply suggest a completely opposite color simply to be contrary. The color of the blanket didn’t even really matter, but she and K’lir were now apparently proud parents and didn’t parents worry about that sort of thing? She just hoped that she’d never really discover the answer to that question. Parenthood was terrifying.
K’lir’s question caught her off gaurd. She’d been walking alongside him, lost in her own thoughts while absentmindedly stroking Snowball/Fuzz. She’d been watching K’lir every now and then as well, finding amusement in the way he skipped along next to her. Should he cut his hair? Her first reaction was to laugh. He was asking her for hair advice? Did he not notice the unkempt state of her hair? The ends were all damaged from a lack of a recent trim and she had hardly bothered to brush it this morning, letting it instead fall about her face in tangled waves. Still, after the initial chuckle, she regarded his question with as much seriousness as could be mustered.
“Well, if you like it long you could just let it grow out enough to tie it back when it gets irritating. You wouldn’t look bad with shorter hair though. I’m assuming we aren’t talking about going bald.” If he was seriously considering getting rid of it all, she’d have to seriously discourage that. She liked K’lir’s hair, not so much for the length, but for the color. If he got rid of that then he just wouldn’t be K’lir. “Personally, I like it long.” She didn’t know how much her own opinion mattered, but he had asked. Speaking of hair was just making her realize more and more how she really ought to cut hers at some point. It was simply getting to be awful, even for her standards, which were fairly low when it came to her appearance. As long as she had clothes on, who cared, right?
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Post by glamourie on Mar 30, 2009 22:18:00 GMT -5
“Oh please. Buying the duck’s affection. That’s just sad.” He was teasing, of course. While he would razz Lennae constantly, K’lir did not really believe she was trying to buy Fuzz’s affection. Fuzz was a duckling, after all, and it wasn’t as though she was old enough to love anyone more than anyone else… and, since Lennae had no pets, he was actually willing to give her Fuzz if she liked the duck well enough. It wasn’t as though he had a lack of creatures keeping his attention (see: Showoff and Calistoth for more details), and he thought the duckling was sweet. Well, she -- HE!! -- was sweet so far; just out of the egg, it was hard to tell what kind of personality the creature would have permanently. At worst, though, he supposed a duck couldn’t do much harm. Lay eggs if female, but it needed a male to do that, didn’t it? His mind raced with all the possible ways a duck could be evil, and he found himself lacking in explanations. Hmm. Ducks were very placid creatures. Not like salamandyrs, which in his opinion were complete and utter evil incarnate. He blamed Showoff. Dael wasn’t half as bad as his bronze. Showoff was a bad influence on all salamandyrs. Bad, bad, bad.
K’lir shook his head to clear his mind. Fuzz did need a blanket. Babies got cold quickly and the last thing he wanted was for his - hers - their new duckling to get sick. The very idea made him shiver subconsciously. It was really cute, a little white ball of feathers. Odds were, those markings wouldn’t remain into adulthood (especially if it was female), but it was cute, and he had to admit he wasn’t too angry with R’wign for forcing the creature on him. It could’ve been worse. The egg could have hatched a lizard hawk. They tended to eat salamandyrs and baby fire lizards. The last thing he wanted was one of those. The greenrider snorted, turning a glance at his companion. She seemed as fond of the baby as he was…
Though, her laughter at his question made him bristle subconsciously. He didn’t think it was so outlandish, what was so funny? He wanted her opinion; hers mattered more because she was Lennae. Didn’t she realize that yet? After how silly he looked when she’d first come up to him, she had to be aware of his blatant fondness for her. But -- but maybe not. Maybe he wasn’t as transparent as he thought he was. K’lir frowned, running one hand through the long locks again, in an attempt to push them away from his face. Not that it did any good for they all fell right back into place as though to spitefully inform him that his opinion was nothing. How kind, even his hair didn’t care what he thought. Any other time, he probably would’ve been annoyed, but the thought made him laugh at himself… which in turn made him realize how silly he must have looked, and the snickering was hard to contain. Awkward.
“I can’t really decide how I like it. Longer is worse because Relir yanks on it. He doesn’t mean to but he’s like ‘Reeeed’ and grabs. I think he’s jealous; his hair’s jet-black.” His head cocked to the side and he rubbed his nose slightly. “I could borrow R’wign’s hair ties, though. His, before he hacked it all off, was almost to his elbows. Don’t know if you saw it before he decided to chop though.” The healer had cut his hair shortly before Impression; it went from elbows to chin length. In the months that passed, it was back to his shoulders, but surprisingly straight. More than once he’d bemoaned it to K’lir, who personally liked straight hair. His own was wavy. Lennae’s last statement clinched it for him though - long it was. “You should buy me hair ties, too. I’m just going to convince you to spend all your marks on me and the duck, so then you can’t afford to buy yourself a better friend. It’s my plot, you see.”
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Post by weaving on Apr 3, 2009 21:28:53 GMT -5
“And what are you doing for her, hmm? You even let Showoff try to eat her,” she shot back, her voice just as light and teasing. In a spontaneous act, she reached over to ruffle his hair a bit, a large grin spreading across her features. Almost as if rethinking her gesture, she pulled her hand back just a tad too quickly. Physical contact wasn’t something that she was very used to. Since being back, she’d been alone for the most part, except for Amith, and while she was up at High Reaches, many of her actions had been the result of all the drugs she had consumed. That brief thought had her shuddering mentally with a light shiver down her spine to accompany it. Better not to let her thoughts wander too far in that direction. It would only lead to questions that would probably never get answered.
They were nearing the cloth trader. If he didn’t have any suitable blankets, she was sure that they could simply buy some fabric and sew something up quickly. Despite her general aversion to feminine duties such as cooking and cleaning, she was decent at stitching. It saved her marks on new clothing. Why buy something new when you could simply mend it? Besides, they all needed to know how to sew in order to make and mend riding straps.
“See anything you like?” She asked K’lir as she herself perused the selections. Something thick and soft would be good, but also durable. Animals weren’t generally too gentle on materials and the longer it lasted, the better. Although, when the blanket became unusable, which it most certainly would, it would be up to K’lir to find Fuzz – Snowball, she corrected herself mentally – a new one to replace it. Of course, by then she’d probably be old enough that a blanket would be unnecessary. She fingered several of the fabrics absentmindedly, but ultimately, the decision was his. Even it was her money, he would be the one living with it, and as much fun as it might be to pick an obnoxious color that would drive the other greenrider mad, she simply didn’t have it in her to be that mean.
“If you get it long enough to tie back, then he can’t yank on it,” she pointed out pragmatically. While the impression of Kahrelir had her smiling slightly, the description of him tugging on hair only reaffirmed her wish to never have children. Annoying little buggers, intent on making life difficult for everyone involved. As he mentioned R’wign’s hair being long, she frowned slightly, trying to remember. Had she been around for that? She didn’t think so. At least, it didn’t sound familiar. He’d obviously been growing it out since then, unless he’d decided to cut it again since the last time that she’d seen him. Long hair did tend to make dragonriding a pain, though many at Selenitas didn’t seem to mind too much. She certainly didn’t. Short hair tended to make her look like she walked around with a giant fuzzball for hair and as much as she didn’t care about her appearance, she did have limits.
“Even with money, I couldn’t think of a better friend than you.” Even though the tone was light and joking, Lennae was completely serious. Aside from R’wign, K’lir was one of the only people she’d really talked to since returning. And before, he’d been the only real friend that she’d had. Avoiding people didn’t generally help one to get friends, and he’d been the first to approach her. So yes, K’lir was probably her best friend, even if he couldn’t necessarily say the same of her. She had left for a turn with absolutely no warning or really any good reason. Good friends didn’t generally do that.
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Post by glamourie on Apr 5, 2009 4:48:55 GMT -5
“I did not!” K’lir protested, though he was sure that Lennae was teasing. Truth was, he was on the defensive side: he didn’t let Showoff do anything. That applied to more than just the situation at hand. Showoff was a very defiant creature and he could and would do whatever he wanted. K’lir could not control any of his pets, even if he wanted to - and at times, he very much did wish he could. Less so with Showoff than Calistoth (his beloved green, no matter how much he tried, was bound and determined to have her way with everything and threw tantrums; if K’lir had any say she would relax quite a bit but no dice), but still. Fact was, his bonded creatures both were impossible. He was lucky in most senses, because he could detach so much, but… He still got testy over people holding him responsible for Showoff. He tried, he did, but most of the time, his bronze salamandyr did whatever he wanted. Rules were made to be broken, and Showoff did so love breaking them. Especially if it got him attention. “You try controlling something almost as intelligent as you are, with an attitude problem, sharp pointy teeth and a flare for dramatics. He deliberately is obnoxious. I tell you, he knows he’s being obnoxious. He can be the sweetest creature ever. He just - doesn’t try.”
It was true. Showoff actively knew what he was saying was insults most of the time. When he got upset, he became confused, but under normal circumstances, the salamandyr was aware of how offensive he behaved, and honestly couldn’t have cared less, since it got him attention. The name fit him well. But when K’lir’s fire lizard died, he showed a completely different side, being exceedingly affectionate, even adoring with the green rider. It was very uncharacteristically sweet of Showoff, especially since all Calistoth could say of the matter was that she was mad at losing her slave, followed by resentment that K’lir mourned and did not focus all of his attention on her. As much as he adored his green, she was often very obtuse, particularly when it came to matters of anything sharing his attention. She hated to share. He was surprised she hadn’t demanded a queen’s weyr yet.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, K’lir glanced at the fabrics at the stall. Then he looked over at Lennae, in response to her question, and let his eyes sweep over her; she seemed distracted by the fabric. “Most definitely,” he replied, not referring to the fabric at all… though he did like one of the selections in front of him. There was a small swatch of fabric, like a baby blanket, in pastel blue that he was particularly fond of. Most of his blankets for Kahrelir were green so it would not be mistaken. Though, in retrospect, he could always filch one of Relir’s blankets. Somehow he doubted the baby would much care, since all he did was suck on them. Beka probably would mind though. So easy it was to forget that Kahrelir had a mother. The boy lived with him, after all, and though Beka was anything but absent, at times K’lir felt as if he was the only one who spent a lot of time with him. Relir fussed when he left. Cried horribly. It was depressing. K’lir pushed those thoughts from his mind and indicated the powdery blue fabric. “That fabric is nice. Would look good against her white feathers…”
Whatever else he was going to say was cut off as he lifted one hand to his hair. His nose crinkled slightly. “It’ll take awhile to grow it out that long. I’ve never had it longer than this - to my chin.” He usually wore it in his face. Bad habit, true, but one he hadn’t really considered breaking until that moment. Thoughtfully toying with the strands, K’lir slipped around one of the racks and then froze. That one statement, that proclamation, no matter whether it was in response to his joking or not, actually made him blush. To hide it, he looked down and pretended to be distracted by the fabric. Lennae was someone special to him. In many ways, she was the first friend he had. He was close to his brother, but no one really was a friend to him. It wasn’t until later that he and R’wign started talking. Lennae was the first person to like him just for him, because he was himself. It felt odd, but that made her perhaps the single most important person (after Kahrelir) in his life and he was very, very flattered. His fingers ran over the blanket. “Sap. Sentimental sap. Tree dripping sap. Now I gotta think of something all sappy to say back and I’m bad at it, so I’m just going to say something corny to ruin the mood or what have you…”
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Post by weaving on Apr 5, 2009 19:34:52 GMT -5
“And that is precisely why I have no pets.” And never would, she added silently. Despite Amith’s and now K’lir’s attempts at convincing her to get a pet, she was determined to avoid them at all costs. That meant no animal stalls and no hatchings. Despite what he might think, she would rather be dragged through the weyr naked before she went to one of the salamandyr hatchings. A firelizard might be slightly better, simply because they couldn’t talk and seemed less prone to causing mischief, but she didn’t want one of those either. She was perfectly content with only Amith, who took little effort at all in keeping happy. She’d been lucky with that, something that she was constantly reminded of whenever she saw one of the other dragons pulling pranks on their rider. And to think, she could have Impressed a dragon like Calistoth. The thought of that made her shudder slightly. How K’lir dealt with that, she couldn’t fathom.
Completely oblivious to the rather obvious look over that K’lir gave her, she continued perusing the fabrics, only looking over once he pointed out the blue swatch of fabric in front of him. Moving closer to better see it, she found herself brushing shoulders against him, a fact that had her blushing slightly. While not a stranger to physical contact, Lennae wasn’t used to doing anything in a proper state of mind either. While she’d had a few partners, they’d all been while influenced by drugs or flightlust. The idea of being this close to anyone while sober was something new and different. It made her nervous, though why, she couldn’t say. After all, she reminded herself, she and K’lir were friends. There was nothing about him that should make her nervous. Except for his threat to get her a pet.
Oh, a distraction. She caught the way that he referred to Fuzz (she’d given up on naming her Snowball. She was K’lir’s duck after all) as a she, jumping on the opportunity to tease him some more. While some might have taken the victory in smug silence, Lennae definitely wasn’t that sort. “So you admit that the duckling is a she now?” Her eyes crinkled into a lively smile, unable to contain her satisfaction. Score one for Lennae. Of course, now that she’d pointed it out, he’d probably go right back to calling Fuzz a he and the whole process would just repeat itself. At least until she checked for herself to prove that the duckling was indeed a she. Hopefully it would be easy enough to tell.
As she continued to examine the blue cloth, he skipped out of sight to look at another rack, making it impossible to see his reaction to her words. Even without being able so see his face, she could hear the silence, making her wonder if she’d said something wrong. She followed him just as he spoke again, and while the words were meant to brush off the complement that she’d given, the conversation felt different, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
“I wasn’t aware that there was a mood to be ruined,” she spoke as she came up from behind to stand next to him, examining the blanket he was fingering. She reached out to touch it as well, eyeing it as though it were the only thing that interested her, though all attention was actually focused on him. He'd gone odd on her, and while she was curious, the idea of pushing K'lir to reveal anything seemed like a less than pleasant, or rewarding, experience.
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Post by glamourie on Apr 8, 2009 4:14:22 GMT -5
Yet.
K’lir did not voice that thought. Instead he shot Lennae an innocent smile that pretty much screamed “I’m up to something” in blinking neon letters. He knew she’d be able to deduce he was plotting from that look and frankly, he didn’t care. The goal was to make sure she knew he was up to something. No one ever said K’lir was a fair individual. However, Lennae wasn’t either. If she thought that Showoff was only a nuisance, she was simply wrong. He complained about him often, yes, but at heart he loved his little salamandyr. That creature, beyond all else, loved him. So did Calistoth, of course, but Calistoth always thought of herself first and him merely as an extension of her. At times it was nerve-wracking, for those his beloved green did not mean it, she often over-rode his feelings and needs with her own. Showoff was… usually not quite so demanding. As long as he got a suitable amount of attention, the bronze was easily satisfied. He just needed to have attention. K’lir could oblige that. Especially for a creature particularly gifted in tormenting those that he disliked. When he was feeling particularly vindictive, yes, K’lir did set Showoff loose on people. And he wasn’t remotely apologetic of that fact.
The closer she came, the more his heartbeat sped up and K’lir fidgeted with the fabric in front of him to distract himself. It was silly, being so embarrassed. Just like his unbelievable embarrassment upon running into a tent in front of her was silly. Lennae was no stranger to him being made a fool of. She was there when he Impressed Calistoth! Surely she remembered how ridiculous he’d been then. In some ways, he grew up considerably over two Turns; at least, he was rational in his obnoxious behavior. However, that didn’t change that he felt a need to impress Lennae… or at least make himself seem better around her. He was trying very hard to be himself, without being totally irritating. He had a tendency to do that without trying at all.
Wait. What?
“I mean him,” K’lir grumbled with a glare toward Lennae that was half-hearted. It did sort of look girly. Maybe it was a girl duck. But most pretty avians were male. The females were boring, to help them blend in with their surroundings. Right? That was what he remembered being taught. Not like he was some kind of avian expert though. The only thing he considered himself an expert on was salamandyrs and only because he’d been bonded to Showoff for so long. “He’s obviously male, I don’t care what you say. Just because you feel the need to have a daughter doesn’t mean I do. Right Fuzz?” He squinted at the duck in Lennae’s arms and sniffed. “I’m going to teach him -” Emphasis again, “- to quack out ‘mommy’ whenever you’re around. Somehow. I don’t care if ducks don’t quack out sounds. I’ll think of something, and you’ll turn funny colors. You’ll see…”
Yes, he was trying to draw attention away from his slight… over-reaction? Her words? He couldn’t describe it, but K’lir was embarrassed. Bashful. Ridiculous! That feeling from the same greenrider who liked to flounce around naked in front of everyone and flirt with straight men for deliberate reactions. He wasn’t aware he was capable of being embarrassed. Miracles never ceased. K’lir glanced over at Lennae, almost shyly, then back to the blanket again before replying, “Well, it’s either make outlandish comments, or admit that I’m flattered you think I’m such a valuable friend. I think I prefer outlandish comments. And I definitely prefer this blanket…”
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Post by weaving on Apr 9, 2009 20:39:20 GMT -5
She recognized the look that K’lir was giving her and responded with a “No,” and a shake of her finger as though she were scolding a canine. She doubted it would do one lick of good, but she could try. Inwardly, she’d resigned herself to attending the next salamandyr hatching just to appease him. If she didn’t bring meat and hid in the back, the chances of impression were slim and that way she could honestly say that she’d tried. Then she wouldn’t be obligated to go to another one, ever. After all, even a salamandyr wouldn’t impress a person who clearly didn’t want one. She’d think negative thoughts at them, just to be sure in case the little creatures still considered her. Anything that wanted her even after realizing how unwanted it was would have to be one masochistic hatchling and she’d probably grudgingly like it just a bit more for that.
His threat to make the hatchling quack out ‘mommy’ had her rolling her eyes at him and snorting in disbelief. “I bet you can’t,” she replied childishly, daring him to prove her wrong. If he did manage to do that, somehow, then he was right, she’d definitely find herself turning crazy shades of red and being generally embarrassed. However, she highly doubted that even K’lir was capable of doing something like that. “If you can teach her to do that, then I’d be willing to be your personal drudge for the day.” On the off-chance that K’lir did accomplish that, the feat shouldn’t go unrewarded. Even she was willing to admit that, though it would already be humiliating enough to have a duck quacking ‘mommy’ at her every time she saw it.
“This blanket it is then,” she declared, reaching for her marks purse, not even bothering to check the price before paying. She had plenty to spare and she certainly wasn’t going to spend any of it on herself. At least this way, someone would be getting some use out of them. The discussion of outlandish comments and friendship was promptly dropped. Anything else that she could have said on the matter would have come out ridiculously cheesy and she’d probably end up giving away more than she felt like sharing at the moment. Conversations like that made her rather uncomfortable and she figured it was the same for most everyone else. If K’lir felt the need to continue it, then she’d play along, but she was perfectly content letting that particular topic end where it had.
“Anything else you want?” She asked before paying. She really did need to get rid of some of what she had and while the idea of buying herself something nice had crossed her mind, she’d quickly dismissed that idea. It would simply sit in her trunk and gather dust, never to see the light of day. “A blanket for Kahrelir? Some shirts? How about a scarf? This one would go particularly well with your hair.” She tugged at a lime green one that happened to be hanging near by, entirely teasing. Besides, why would anyone ever need a scarf here? Even in the winter it wasn’t nearly cold enough to warrant serious bundling up. A light jacket would see you through the coldest days just fine. Then again, she’d grown up in the north so her perception of cold was rather skewed. Most of the southerners seemed to think it got fairly chilly during the winter months. Maybe she was just odd.
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