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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on May 27, 2009 9:38:01 GMT -5
Kayla's eyes shifted, following his hands while he skinned the hare. The light from the fire flickered in her eyes, making them shine like gold. She let her knees fall to the ground, crossing them like a pretzel before shifting her gaze to Aras. A flicker of a thought crossed her mind, but she pushed it back. She didn't want to know what he was. Which side he was on and whatnot. She watched him from the peripherals, afraid to make eye contact now. Her stomach tightened when he gave a chuckle. He had a nice laugh and it made her want to smile, but she didn't. She could feel the butterflies in her stomach, bursting to get out, to make a move. oh great. She thought. Leave it to me to get a crush on someone while im stranded with them in a cave.
Mostly the same reason. Clears my head, makes me feel free and not caged. And also my talisman likes to hunt and explore. You know, the normal stuff. She gave her own small chuckle, but it soon faded into the dark. The wind outside gave a new burst, new found energy. The wind sent a chill down her spine and she suddenly wanted to be back over next to him, head on his chest, fingers wrapped in his shirt. Her body ached for him, craved him. She bit her lip, not sure what to do. She was one to easily get a crush on someone, but she was also one to be charming and make a move, unafraid. Why does she hesitate now? Could this be more than a crush to her? She didn't know. She licked her lips and flicked her eyes to him for only a moment, afraid of being caught.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on May 30, 2009 23:52:15 GMT -5
Preparing the hare was messy work and, as always, it was surprising just how much blood a tiny body could house. Aras' hands were already covered with it - at least he'd thought to roll up his sleeves before he began - but, well, in couldn't be said that they lacked water in which he could wash his hands.
The skin came off with relative ease, though he had to cut through some of the tissue connecting it to the muscles. He was reminded, oddly, of biology class--except this was decidedly messier, the hare didn't reek of formaldehyde, and they were actually going to eat it later. So maybe it wasn't that similar to high school dissections.
As tumultuous as life was in Noatak, the town was surrounded by a surprising number of tranquil locations. The Shaman Ruins, the lake, the mountains (when it wasn't thundering as if Zeus himself had some dispute with its slopes, at any rate). If there weren't a quiet place or two around, the general population might have a bit of trouble maintaining a grip on its sanity. Sanity being a relative term, of course.
After gutting the hare - he was careful not to puncture the intestines, because that would be enough to make anyone lose their appetite - he cut the meat into manageable strips. It would have been nice, but maybe too much to ask for, if they had a pot or pan of some sort, but they would just have to roast their dinner on the end of a stick.
Kayla hadn't spoke for a while. Aras looked up to check if she had fallen asleep. She hadn't; she was simply staring into the fire, not uttering a word. "Hey," he said to get her attention, a teasing smile on his lips, "want to help me make dinner?"
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 1, 2009 9:28:21 GMT -5
Kayla's eyes danced as the light and flames from the fire seemed to set them alive, as if they had a mind of their own. She began to feel the beginnings of being drowsy, but then Aras said her name and she snapped her head up to look at him. She gave a very soft, almost shy smile and stood up, walking the few feet to him before sitting down next to him.
I've never cooked something that I killed before. Chicken at home in the kitchen is not the same. Neither is eating something in leopard form. How do I.... She stopped, figuring that she could just watch and learn. She looked at him, putting the meat on a stick that he found. She copied him, twitching a little at the feel of the warm, bloody flesh. She hesitated before letting the stick fall to the fire, sizzling filled the cave. She held it there, not sure how long it needed to cook for.
She starred into the fire again, letting herself drift into thoughts and dreams, and of course, wondering over Aras. She decided, not matter who nervous she was, or why she was nervous, she would be herself. Opinionated and not afraid to do, or say anything. She scooted closer to him and leaned her head down so it was resting on his right shoulder. This would be fun if we had a tent and other supplies. Hey...you wanna do this the real way some time?
Her eyes brightened at the thought. She looked at him hoping he would say yes. But she strangled the thought of a no away. We can have a tent, cooking supplies, tons of food, marshmellow and stuff for s'mores. Go hiking and exploring during the day. And maybe sing campfire songs at night. She laughed joking around. She let the confidence of her leopard fill her, and keep her going. If you wanted to that is. I would love to. When she added the last part, her voice went soft and quiet, meant only for him, if there were other people around. Her expression changed when she looked at him now, calm, confident, as if she were getting ready to lean in for a kiss.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 3, 2009 18:07:30 GMT -5
At her unfinished question, Aras gave Kayla a sheepish grin. "To be honest, I have no idea what I'm doing," he admitted. He'd roasted marshmallows over a fire during family camping trips when he was little--that was the extent of it. It hadn't even real camping; it had been more rent-a-cabin-with-a-stove-and-occasionally-build-a-fire-outside. And even that had been a long time ago. "As long as it's not charred beyond recognition, right?"
He nearly twitched away again at the unexpected contact. With Kayla's head resting on his shoulder, Aras somehow doubted that her primary motive this time was physical warmth. "This would be fun if we had a tent and other supplies. Hey...you wanna do this the real way some time?"
If he wasn't mistaken - a shake of his Talisman's head confirmed that no, he was quite correct - he had just been asked out. In a cave in the mountains, cooking hare over an impromptu fire, during a flash thunderstorm. Kayla wasn't one to wait for less unusual circumstances, that was for sure. And the way she was looking at him... He would be lying if he said he didn't like her, but the fact remained that the had only known each other for only a few hours. If not for the coincidental squall, they would have parted ways by now. Besides, how much did he really know about her? Next to nothing.
"I think I'll have had enough of camping by the time this is over," he said with a small chuckle. Hopefully, she wouldn't be offended at his refusal.
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 4, 2009 9:11:30 GMT -5
Kayla let out a small sigh, hopefully he wouldn't notice. She let her head linger on his shoulder for only a moment before lifting it and starring back into the fire. I guess he was right, in a way. She was too forward, moved too fast and that was a clear no. She went silent and starred at the animal on her stick, it was cooking rather nicely to her disbelief. Her leopard twitched her tail back and forth, upset at the refusal. It was not used to no's and being dismissed. Her hand instinctively raised to her mouth and she started to nibble on her finger nails. A habit she resorted to when she felt uncomfortable, or well, declined.
A clap of thunder erupted outside the cave. It was so loud the cave walls seemed to shake and crumble under its wrath. Kayla jumped and it felt as if her stomach leapt into her throat. She immediately put on a show of, 'that didn't scare me...'. She twisted the stick in her hand, making sure all of the hare was getting cooked. After a moment and pulled it to her and examined it. I think its ok. She poked it to make sure it was cooked and took her first hesitant bite. She tore the meet off and chewed, slowly. Could use some flavoring. But to live, its ok. sooo, tell me about yourself. Something, anything. She looked at him, still chewing the meet and occasionally taking small bites. She wanted to know more about him, she was curious for he had that air of mystery and secrets.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 5, 2009 0:19:36 GMT -5
Aras flinched slightly at the sudden flash of lightening and the deafening crack of thunder that followed. In spite of the inclement weather, he felt a sense of relief; Kayla had taken his answer well. She appeared to have maintained realistic expectations and did not seem terribly offended at the refusal. There was no need to add another complication to their situation, and she understood that.
Inspecting the meat he was cooking, Aras decided it was somewhat more singed than was desirable, but still serviceable enough. He waited for it to cool down before taking a bite. It was, as expected, a bit sinewy and bland, but it would do--not that they had a multifarious menu from which they could pick and choose.
"Tell me about yourself. Something, anything."
Maybe the leopard-shifter was not quite ready to give up yet, but at least this was a step back from asking him out. So where would he begin? "Well... I know archery, though I'm badly out of practice. The last book I finished was 1984. I'm addicted to coffee." He simply recited the first few vaguely interesting facts that came to mind, as entertainingly disjointed as they sounded.
"What about you? You've barely told me anything about yourself."
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 5, 2009 10:06:02 GMT -5
Me? Well, ok. I grew up in Montana. My family owned a horse ranch type thing. So I was almost always in a saddle. I took gymnastics since I was 4, but stopped a year or two ago. Love being outdoors. Hate coffee. And I haven't been home for like...two years. She laughed when she said she hated coffee, total opposite of Aras. She took another bite of the hare and chewed slowly. Her appetite had decreased, so she put it down next to the fire. Was enough to make it til morning. Archery huh? I always wanted to learn. I have some martial arts under my belt, but never seemed to get out to archery.
Her gaze shifted to outside again. For a moment it seemed calm, but the trees branches swayed and creaked under the wrath of the wind. She jumped to her feet and wandered over to the entrance of the cave. She could feel the wind ripping at her clothes, trying to pull her out. The rain was still coming down, but not as fiercely as before. She stuck her hand out to feel the rain on her hands. She turned back to the fire and sat back down next to Aras.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 9, 2009 1:25:47 GMT -5
By the way she spoke, Kayla seemed to be very comfortable around equines, and they with her. The horses on her family's ranch must have grown used to her scent; however, the moment an unfamiliar horse caught a whiff the predatory aura of Kayla's Talisman, wouldn't it panic? Normal animals could allegedly 'see' a person's spirit, then react accordingly. "What about horses that aren't used to you? Don't they get nervous when they sense the leopard?"
Her nostalgic musings brought on a surge of homesickness, and Aras tried not to think about how long it had been since he had gone home. Far too long. He assumed Kayla kept in contact with her family - however regular or infrequent - but he wasn't even permitted that luxury. Saying nothing, he redirected his mind toward less melancholy things--namely, their light chatter.
"Archery isn't too hard. It just takes focus and practice." He realized how trite the statement sounded. The same could have been said of almost anything, from driving to painting to figure skating. But what was there to say? He couldn't exactly offer to teach her without risking misinterpretation of the gesture, especially since he had declined her proposal just a few moments earlier.
"Not getting any better, is it?" he asked, referring to the tempest that seemed bent on reducing the mountain to a pile of pebbles and mud. Neither he nor Kayla could predict how much longer the storm would last, though it sounded as if it were lightening up somewhat. "Why don't you get some rest?" Aras suggested, adding a dry branch to the fire. The bark quickly blackened and shriveled in the heat, and it wasn't long before the flames began to eagerly consume their new fare.
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 10, 2009 15:20:15 GMT -5
Kayla smiled when he asked if new horses got spooked by her. They do when it is just the scent they catch. But when I let them sniff my hand, they realize its just me, although some horses take much longer to get familiar with me. I do make a point of not phasing in front of them, I don't want them getting use to predators, since we had wolves and mountain lions out where I lived. She watched the flames when Aras placed a new stick in the fire, momentarily mesmerized.
Watching the flames brought her mind back to her home and her ranch, and of course, her horses. She let her mind wander, reliving it, picturing herself back there walking among the fields and climbing the mountains. She could almost feel the soft breeze and smell the wild flowers and the creak. A loud pop from the fire startled her back to the real world and the cave.
She silently nodded her head at the comment about archery. A vague comment, saying something yet nothing at the same time. Her head moved to the entrance of the cave when he said it wasnt getting any better. And no, it wasnt. She could really only see outside when a flash of lightening lit it up. No, it doesn't look like it. Gosh, I wander how long we will be stuck in here. Do you think we should just try to make a break for it, stick it out and try to get into town? Or at least find a road? In her head she realized that she had said gosh, wow, made her sound like a mother, but she ignored it. She knew it may not be a good idea to try to go out in the storm, but she figured he might rather risk that then staying in this cave with her.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 12, 2009 1:21:59 GMT -5
"But they all get used to you eventually?" Aras queried. He knew a mountain lion Talisman who could not get within ten meters of any herding animal without creating some sort of panicked stampede. Said shifter lived on a farm, yet her presence, however frequent, never failed to alarm the cows and sheep. The one time she had gone to a llama farm, with rather unattractive results. However, Kayla spoke as if she were able to gain the trust - or at least the tolerance - of all the horses she had come across. Curious; instinct was a difficult thing to repress.
"Do you think we should just try to make a break for it, stick it out and try to get into town? Or at least find a road?"
Given that they had just had a rather unpleasant experience that involved being drenched while caught in the late-fall chill, Aras concluded that his companion had resorted to babbling to fill up the silence. "I don't think either of us wants another brush with hypothermia. You'll have to bear with my company for a while longer," he said, poking fun at her apparent eagerness to leave.
If they had luck on their side, the rain would stop in a few hours. Their firewood would not last much longer than that, and the idea of freezing their arses off in a dank, dark cave was an unappealing one, to say the least.
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 12, 2009 10:34:05 GMT -5
Kayla nodded her head. Yeah, they do get used to it, because they know, oh thats a human type thing. Some still don't like it, but they tolerate me. She shifted her weight to get off her right foot, which had been falling asleep. She smiled and tilted her head to the side. Horses are easy. Its the other ones that just panic. See, horses panic, but think about it, they can reason. Sheep, goats and cows, just bolt. The rare one will see its a human and calm down a bit, although will remain a bit edgy because of the scent.
She as spoke she felt a pressure building in her gut. Great, now what do I do? She shifted her weight again and changed position, stretching her legs out away from her stomach. She had to pee so bad. It had been a few hours since she had went, well, more for she peed before she left and that was this morning. Now the sun had set and the rain wasn't stopping. She let out an very uncomfortable laugh, thinking of having to tell him to, what, not look while she squatted in the back of the cave?
Um...this is kind of awkward, but I um....I have to pee. She hesitated and she could feel the redness rise to her cheeks. Hopefully he couldn't tell for it was a bit dark, except for the fire. You mind, like not turning around? She stood before he could answer and slowly started to side step behind him and into the back of the cave, she eyed him, making sure he didn't turn.
She began to unbuckle her jeans and slide them down, only get a little stuck from being a bit wet. She bent her knees, trying not to fall over and hoped that he couldn't hear. Wow, what a night.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 15, 2009 2:58:21 GMT -5
((OOC: Ookay, I take this as a sign that we probably should wrap this up soon, neh? :P ))
There was a line between uncomfortable and just plan awkward. Kayla had just erased that line. "Um. Yes. Sure," he mumbled, suddenly finding the firewood very interesting indeed. He did his best to ignore the vulture, who was bobbing its head up and down in an avian approximation of a cackle, rife with amusement.
His thoughts echoed Kayla's. What a night. He'd definitely gotten far more than he had bargained for when he had come to the mountains for some peace and quiet.
Even though no-one could see for more than a meter into the darkness encircling the cave, the diminishing tattoo of the raindrops and the weakened howling of the wind signified a lull in the storm. With any luck, the rainclouds would move on, leaving behind a damp earth and felled branches as evidence of its passing. The idea of central heating and a steaming mug of coffee (even tea would do) were very appealing, so Aras crossed a couple of figurative fingers in the hope that they would be able to get back to town quite soon.
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jun 15, 2009 17:41:38 GMT -5
((sure, if you would like to. I just did it to mix things up a bit, funny/awkward-ness lol, we should also start thinking about changing the weather in our posts.))
Kayla zipped her jeans up around her hips and moved back into the light around the fire. She crossed her legs and let her body slip down to the ground. She stayed there in silence, hoping they could get over the awkwardness, she could but wondered if he would always remember her for taking a pee behind him, in the dark of a cave...in a storm. She let out a sigh and watched the flames dance about, reds, oranges, yellows and some blue and white. The wood popped while it burned and she noticed the wood was dwindling.
I hope this storm stops soon, for I think that is the last of our wood. You doing ok? She looked up at him, the fire flickering in her eyes. She eyed him, his dark hair and his darker eyes, he seemed to almost melt into the darkness. Her leopard gave a small growl of irritation, as if it had been trying to tell her something and she wasn't listening, which was normal for her. But now she listened to it. It was agitated, worried, and on her toes, warning Kayla of something. Her eyes drifted to the entrance of the cave, wondering if there was something out there she should be worried about. Maybe it sensed the storm was going to get worse. It flicked its tail annoyed. Light bulb. She looked at Aras.
So...what do you do for a living? Hunt. She said in her head. Too bad, for he was a cute and, it seemed, a nice fellow. Minus the job description.
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Post by Aras|Ofelia on Jun 28, 2009 15:57:16 GMT -5
He nodded, both in agreement with her hope that the end of the thunderstorm was near and in response to her question. “I should be asking you.” In spite of the crackling fire, Kayla’s hair and clothes were still damp from her recent hunting trip. Aras dubiously eyed the meager pile of remaining firewood. “You sure you’ll be fine?”
The vulture’s pantomimed laughter had thankfully ceased, to be replaced by an odd alertness. Head lifted and eyes bright, it appeared to be watching—or waiting—for something. What, Aras didn’t know.
”So...what do you do for a living?”
It wasn’t an unusual question. His answer was just as mundane. “I write for the paper.” Which paper didn’t need to be said; Noatak only had one. “Not very exciting, I know,” he said with a slight grin. Noatak didn’t exactly have a lot of news—at least, not the typical kind.
It was an extraordinarily convenient job. No-one ever paid attention to the writers’ names. Even if certain writers were for some reason unable to finish an assigned article, it still somehow appeared in the paper the next morning, with the proper name attached to the bottom. The few who did notice something a bit off never asked any questions, either.
An unexpected quiet filled the air, and Aras instinctively glanced outside. To his relief, the rain and wind appeared to have greatly diminished. The previous downpour had become a steady shower, which looked as if it were to weaken to a drizzle. Still, they would not be venturing outside until the rain had stopped entirely, unless they were eager for another bout with hypothermia.
“What about you?” he asked, both as a genuine question and a way to pass the time.
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Post by Jocelyn[Spirit] on Jul 1, 2009 19:26:32 GMT -5
Kayla rolled her eyes to herself, a vague answer, which she should have expected. She sat down next to him, but kept her legs fold in a position that, if she needed to, could jump up and bolt. Her talisman shifted inside her, waiting, alert, and sending out warnings. Why had she not heard them before? Me? Kinda between jobs at the moment. She didn;t want to go into detail, but she did want to know about him. She starred into the diminishing fire and tried to think of a way to ask it...or to get it out. Sounds interesting. Was all she could come up with at the moment. She dug her fingers into the dirt, drawing out patterns, still searching her mind. Anything else? Like a side job...or a hobby? She shifted her gaze to meet his, quickly flicking them back to the fire. She tried to hush the leopard, it was messing up her focus. She could feel its emotions, the need to run out the cave and off into the dark. She yelled at it, telling it to keep calm so she could focus. It hissed and quieted. Kayla shifted her posture, trying to get comfortable while still retaining the advantage of a quick escape. Ive heard some weird rumors around here. Have you? Some war between two groups..? She kept her eyes on the flickering flames.
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