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Post by .K.aci on Nov 16, 2008 22:13:09 GMT -5
But he had to show off. Without showing off, he wouldn't be who he was, agreed? It seemed they were exact opposites for so many things... But they balanced each other.
He was indeed happy that he could please her. If she would have turned it down, he would have shrugged and slipped the necklace into his pocket, laughing it off like a big joke... But later he would have lay stretched out on his cot, a large hand dangling the small finely crafted piece in front of him so that the moon's ray's would have flashed off it. Gazing at the ethereal piece, he would have mused at the meaning behind her turning down the gift. It didn't really matter to him the money - it was the price of a gift. It was the enjoyment of watching her smile at him, the happy feeling he felt as the sadness that seemed to be apart of her disappeared for just a few minutes. Why wouldn't she take it? It would bother him for sometime and he would go back and forth over her words and his own, trying to find the real reason. He would exhaust himself for it, carrying it in his pocket for ages after as a reminder. His face would have been missing that third degree smile in the night, and his midnight blue eyes would have lost the sparkle of mischief and amusement that you would have believed he would always have...
As the jubilant young man came dancing over, as proud as if he had just became a parent, he offered her the small item as though it was a million dollars. And perhaps, to him, it was. Still, sharp eyes watched as a dance flipped across her face, some too fast to keep up with. What would he do if she turned it down? Why would she not accept a gift between two friends? Did she know she was his first real friend, and this was just a simple thank you? Should he tell her that? But all doubts were wiped from his mind as she ended in a simple enjoyment. Pleasure filled the smile that he craved, and pride filled his own dangerous half-grin.
'Thank you, Kal. I will keep it always.'
Like a young child that had done something right, he offered it in childish persistence... But she had gathered her hair over her shoulder, offering him the cream colored skin that was hidden by her hair. No longer a young child, he was a haughty male teenager, and with a cocky, flirtatious grin he swept an elegant bow."An honor, My Lady." Gently he took the fine chain and fastened it deftly on, careful to not touch her anymore than he had to. Although perhaps a finger rested on the back of her neck a second to long, perhaps fingers dragged up the side of her collarbone when they didn't have to... Stepping away from her at last, an expression danced in his eyes that hadn't before - contentment. He was enjoying himself, and with a surprisingly shy grin he took a few steps forward.
"We have so much more to see, Cilnah!" He told her, offering a hand out as though to take it was to take a ride on a magic carpet to far away lands... THUNK. Kal suddenly found himself face-first in the muddy boot churned grass. A young man a few turns younger than him had raced by with a few friends, and Kal had been swept up - and spit right back out. With a shocked, slightly embarrassed look on his face, he shot back up, dusting off long limbs and shaking himself much like a disgruntled dog, beet-red in the face and looking anywhere but at her. Well, that was a folly.
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Post by Cilnah on Jan 10, 2009 17:45:05 GMT -5
Yes, she may have had a streak of naivety in her, but she was not unobservant. She had seen his isolation from the other Candidates in the days that followed their meeting in the Kitchens, just as she had seen the looks of disgust, confusion, and frank dislike that had passed over some of her fellow’s expressions when the boy had expressed his thoughts on anything and everything, as he was want to do. Perhaps that was some of the reason that she was so determined not to cut the thread of acquaintance she had with him, despite the hurt feelings she had harbored from the moment his hand had been pulled away. And now she was happy she had stuck through, because once again this haughty, self-serving boy was showing his true colors as he offered her the pendant.
It wasn’t so much the offering itself that showed her the reality of the person beside her. It was the almost concerned look in his usually shrewd eyes, and the odd sense that he truly would have been let down, even hurt, if she had declined, that had her turning and offering her neck and shoulders to the boy in agreement. Of course, that slight bond that had been created between them crumpled in an instant as fingers touched flesh for but a heartbeat longer than was needed as he fastened the chain around her. And why was she fighting a shudder from the contact, anyway? Cilnah dismissed it as she turned to look at him, missing the contented smile of his as she was lost in her own thoughts. It was simply her body reacting, that was all!
And then her attention was shifted as a hand reached for her and she was reminded of just how much there was still to see of this Gather. The girl nodded her agreement, and was just reaching for Kal’s hand when he disappeared from her view. Emerald eyes followed him blankly as her hand pulled back, and then as she heard the laughter of the boys as they rushed by. “Hey, watch where you’re going!” she snapped after them. “You’re going to hurt someone if you don’t pay attention!”
She stopped, an astonished look on her face. When had she started sounding like her mother? And besides that, when had her mother’s ranting started to make sense to her? She remembered rolling her eyes and shaking her head every time the older woman had said something like that. It was surprising to find that she now understood that point of view. But that was a mulling for another time. Turning her attention back to her companion, she studied him, reaching out to brush away a few blades of grass that had attached themselves to his hair.
It was only then, as she reached out with the same hand that had been meant to take his not a moment before, that she realized that she had used it instead to clasp the pendant that now rested at the base of her throat, protecting it from the splattering of mud that now covered her clothing. Cilnah ignored it for now, but in the back of her mind fluttered the question, why had she been so protective of it? It was but a trinket that could have been washed. Why did it matter if a few drops of mud dirtied it.
“Are you alright Kal? You didn’t get hurt?” Without thinking, she reached out and picked up his bandaged hand, flipping it over to make sure the bandaging had been enough to keep the wound clean.
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Post by .K.aci on Jan 23, 2009 13:21:40 GMT -5
Bluntness, a flippancy toward other's that he didn't find useful, his own mind and a slight enjoyment in using vindictiveness to coax deliberate cruelty made him not a popular fellow toward others. His own frustration at being a candidate and not allowed to take his place as a Healer made him moody, often taking out the pent up frustrations he felt out on the rest of the candidates. His cocky and powerful personality made him harder to forgive, and his quickly known ability to brush people aside after using them made him unpopular. He didn't care. After begging, he had been able to spend most of his time in the Healer's Cavern anyway, and he knew that no dragon would pick him.
He didn't want one, which meant they wouldn't pick him.
But had he known that part of the reason she refused to not not be his friend, refused to rise to the bait was actually because she felt sorry for him? Well, that honor and pride he cared so much about would never let him live it down. And had he known that he had proved her right? Well, he would have just turned around to prove her wrong. Kal had that iffy thing where he hated people thinking they knew him.
And then the ground was brought up very quickly to his face, and with a snarl he shoved himself back up. Her words went unheeded, and although she might have worried that her mother was now speaking out of her mouth, Kal wasn't worried about that. All he was fighting was the urge not to stretch out long legs and grab a kid, perhaps wring his neck. He almost did to, until the girl reached over and brushed a hand over too long black hair. He blinked, drawn up short. Confused at first, suddenly the lopsided grin was back on his face, and he shook like a canine, throwing out anything that might have gotten stuck in his mop.
This was a pivotal moment in the relationship. Even as her hand reached out to grab his own loosely bandaged hand, he could have pulled back like he had once before, when the piece of pottery had reached out to rip open his hand. When she had asked him if he was okay and the young man had coolly pulled it back, the small movement singlehandedly almost wrecking apart their friendship and killing his chance at a friend in the Weyr. He almost pulled back, tensing as the warm hand encircled his own gently... And he didn't. The quick witted mind stretched out, knowing that if he even tried he would ruin what little chance he still had with this girl. So he relaxed in her hand, freezing the rest of him as he waiting out with a Healer's patience her worry.
"I am fine, Cilnah. Not bleeding or anything."
A small smile, the first degree of a burn that lit up his face and made him human, and he covered her hand with the unbandaged one. But he didn't pick it up and pull it away, nor did he try to move the hand. Instead he patted it gently, murmuring,
"Thank you though."
And then, just to prove that he wasn't always as nice as she might start thinking him as, he reached out and tweaked her nose, wrinkling his own blade thin one.
"You're dirty."
The crooked grin back in place, he twisted his bandaged hand so that he was holding her hand, and tugged gently.
"Come on then!"
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Post by Cilnah on Mar 19, 2009 17:34:46 GMT -5
Oh, it wasn’t that she felt sorry for him. Not in the least. He was his own person, and the person he was made him solitary. It was more the fact that his seclusion drew her to him. She had always seemed to be not quite normal in her tastes, and this was no exception. Not many people liked him, which almost automatically meant that she did. And of course, it didn’t hurt that there were those flashes of his real person thrown at her now and again, and those she really was fond of. Cilnah felt rather privileged every time she saw one of the brilliant smiles that rarely graced his features. She had been watching, and hadn’t seen a single one since their excursion in the kitchens, but here was another one, for her enjoyment alone. Yes, she felt very privileged.
Her musing turned to other things as she reached out to brush the grass from his hair. As she did so, she twisted one lock around her finger, studying the color and texture curiously. It was just as dark a black as her own, and yet it didn’t have the quality to it that made it seem to change colors in the light. Her eyes flickered over to his face just in time to catch that grin of his, the warning that something was about to happen, and she quickly released the strands of hair, just in time to keep from pulling on them as he shook himself.
The girl’s eyes went wide for a moment, and then she couldn’t help but laugh as she reached out for his hand. She felt him tense up for an instant, and then force himself to relax. That single motion solidified their friendship. He was trying, and that was what mattered. He slid firmly into the ‘friend’ category in her mind, adding significantly to the rather small list of people she considered true friends. It didn’t really matter what he did now, they were friends and that was all there was to it. She would stand by him, defend him, tease him if he needed it… Whatever it took to keep that blinding flash of a smile of his the ability to reappear.
She ignored him as he insisted he was fine, pulling at the hem of her shirt to brush away the mud that covered the bandaging. “I just don’t want to take the chance of the mud working through the bandage and getting into the wound,” she said absently. After a moment, she gave up on cleaning the bandage, and released her shirt, letting it fall back over her toned stomach. With her free hand, she reached out and quickly unwrapped the bandage, letting it drop to the ground. It was useless anyway. A quick once-over to make sure that there was no mud or dirt already in the cut, and then she reached up and tugged at the cloth the kept her hair pulled back over her shoulders. In an instant, her hair was free and already working its way into her face, but she deftly tossed her head, which flipped it back over her shoulder, and wrapped the clean cloth around his hand. It wasn’t as fully covered as the bandage had done, but it was clean and would keep anything that might aggravate the wound out. And it also showed off her prowess at taking care of injuries, for the bandaging job looked as if it had been done within the Healer’s cavern.
“There,” Cilnah said with a grin, lifting up her head. “Now it won’t get infected again.” And that was when he tweaked her nose, sending the girl into another fit of giggles and making her forget that she still held his hand in her own. “If I’m dirty, what does that make you?” she demanded, waving at his mud splattered self with her free hand.
It was then that she felt his hand close around hers, and the girl’s eyes widened a fraction at the action. Was it intentional? Had he actually wanted to hold her hand? Or had he done it without thinking? She nodded as he insisted for her to follow him, and headed the tug, falling into step easily beside him. “Right! Where to?”
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