forum For one thing to be born, another must die; that is how the stars are born, that light up our night sky. REBOOT // OxO // CLOSED

Started August 04, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

"My ass does not have horns." Kieran replied, dead pan. "Also, I don't believe fucking an ankle is anatomically possible." With the way he spoke, it was difficult to tell if he was being serious, or joking.

“Gross. To both of those.” Elara said, wrinkling her nose even as she choked on a laugh. “Figure o’ speech, gods.” She shook her head, closing her eyes briefly. “How am I supposed t’ know whether you’ve got horns on your ass or not?”

Kieran hesitated, then shrugged. "I don't know. You said you fought an ass with horns, so…" He shrugged again. They were almost there, he knew. Which was good, he wasn't sure how much longer in a confined space he could handle.

“You’re the ass. As in asshole.” Elara shot back, actually going so far as to stick out her tongue. She wasn’t sure what it was about Kieran, but he somehow managed to make her bounce between vulnerability and child-like need to be right or a pain in the ass.

Kieran shrugged. "And how am I an asshole? An asshole has only a certain few anatomical parts, none of which I am going to describe." He was being facetious. He knew exactly what she meant, but was arguing for the sake of arguing. Also to keep his mind off of the dark.

“Would ya prefer dick? Asswipe? Fuckwad, son of a barreyali, bastard, dickwad…” Elara continued listing creative insults, quickly getting more and more ridiculous. With a glowing arm and a mouth fit for a sailor, plus her small stature, she looked nothing like a princess. The only thing that even showed she was was the diadem on her forehead, glinting in her light.

Kieran raised his eyebrows. "If you are going to call me anything insulting, you may call me a Shiyathra." he said slowly. "As none of the others are true, and if you are going to use an insult rather than my name, I would prefer the insult to be true." he looked out the window again. The princess has the mouth of a sailor. I wasn't expecting that.

“Wa’n’t plannin’ on it.” Elara said with a snort, standing up suddenly in the moving carriage and kicking her leg up, grabbing her toes with one hand to stretch her leg with a surprising display of flexibility. “An’ I don’ call people things I don’ know the meaning of.” She said, glancing over at him for a moment.

He nodded. "If that is a hint to tell you its meaning…I'm not going to." he replied. She may punish me for that. If she does… he sighed softly. I don't know. I can handle it. I know I can. He kept looking out the window, waiting for her response. His horns gleamed in the faint light.

“Ya made me tell ya the meanin’ o’ ktherion.” She pointed out, dropping her leg to stretch the other one. There was the same balance she had while on the roofs, considering the movement of the carriage wasn’t all that slow. “Ya don’ wanna tell me, ‘s whatever.” She shrugged.

"Yes, but there is a difference between a name you are calling me and i do not know its meaning, and a name I am calling myself that you do not know the meaning of." He replied. He wasnt sure if that made sense. He knew what he meant, but he wasn't sure she would understand.

“Sorta, bu’ no’ quite t’ me.” Elara said, shaking her head slightly and rolling her shoulders as she dropped her leg. The sounds of the guards conversing with the guards of the city could be heard, and then they were moving again. They had passed through the city walls. She shifted on her feet, pulling her leg back and touching the back of her head with the toes of her boot, in a move that shouldn’t be natural, but that she somehow made look easy as breathing.

He shrugged. "Alright." He glanced at her, raising his eyebrows slightly at her flexibility. Interesting. Learning more about her every minute, I suppose. He thought, turning back to the window to watch the scenery go by. He sighed softly.

A few minutes later, the carriage pulled to a complete stop, and Elara dropped out of the ridiculously uncomfortable looking stretch she’d been in to grab her bag, the light of her arm fading but her freckles still glowing bright as she hurried out of the carriage before they had completely stopped. “Fuckin’ hazy skies how the fuck’m I s’posed t’ see the stars?” She muttered to herself, stretching her arms up as high as she could as she breathed in the cool night air, her shirt rising slightly with the stretching, something it hadn’t done in the carriage.

Kieran followed her out, taking a deep breath as he exited the cramped space, finally able to stretch to his full height. He glanced at her, figuring that her question was rhetorical and/or mostly to herself, and so there was no need for him to answer it. So he didn't. He let out a breath, and stretched, tugging down his sleeves to keep the scars hidden. He wasn't exactly ashamed of them, he just…didn't see the need to let everyone see them.

“They gotta make those things bigger. A carriage, bu’ twice the size. An’ with fuckin’ electricity.” Once again muttering to herself, but also sort of speaking to Kieran. They were outside an unassuming inn, guards bustling about getting the horses taken to the stables tonight and checking the safety of the area, not looking ver inconspicuous. Elara sighed, crossing her arms over her chest and pulling her hood up to try and hide her glowing freckles somewhat. “Well, while they’re doin’ all tha’, imma go down t’ the Wolf’s Maw. If yer tired ya can stay here.” With that, she turned on her heel, starting off down the dark and badly lit street.

Kieran sighed. "No, it's my job to follow you." he replied, and followed her down the street. Even if I'm tired and a little stressed because I haven't traveled much before, my job is still to travel with you and make sure you're safe. he sighed softly, and redid his bun yet again. He was beginning to think he might need to get a new tie for it, as this one was starting to wear out. That, or cut his hair.

“Sleep’s important too ya know.” Gods, she was such a hypocrite. Sleep is important, as though she actually planned on sleeping at all tonight. “Sure someone your size needs a lot o’ it.” She added with a smirk, cutting down a side-alley. She knew this city, obviously. Most of the guards thought she had been there once, briefly, to meet up with an old friend in the tavern, but she’d been here plenty. Jobs with her mother took them all over, though it was never too long before they were back home.

Kieran blinked. Please don't tell me that was an innuendo. Not again. Not… He shrugged. "I don't require too much sleep. A Thari of my size, sex, and age requires only about 4 and a half hours of sleep to function normally the following day." he replied. He only knew this because he had been forced to go with less before, and that was hell. It really was. But he could do it.

((Don’t worry child, she was literally just saying that you’re huge compared to her))

“Consecutive or added up?” Elara asked, tilting her head. Though the smirk was still there, she actually looked curious. Maybe because she couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept that much in one night. Not for lack of trying, just…so many nightmares made it better to avoid sleep. Besides, thieves thrived at night. And if there was anything she was, it was a thief.

(I know. He has…bad history with ppl because he couldn't exactly say no sometimes/most times)

He hesitated. "I'm…not sure." he replied with a shrug. "All I know is four and a half hours." he said, still following her. "Which if necessary, I can get on the carriage ride tomorrow." I just might be crabby until then. Though you probably won't notice, as I learned a long time ago to hide my temper. he sighed softly.

“Well fuck dude, I can’ ju’ let ya fuckin’ follow me round instead o’ gettin’ sleep.” Elara furrowed her brows, a crease appearing between them. “Look, this should be quick enough. I jus’ gotta say hey t’ someone ‘n’ check up on somethin’, all same place. Then you’re gonna sleep.” Her own habits be damned, she refused to let others not get the sleep they needed. Maybe because of her habits, actually.

Kieran shrugged again. "If you say so. I don't need to sleep tonight. I have been alright without sleep for up to 48 hours." And was beaten for backtalk and surliness eight times during those 48 hours, but… he rubbed a hand over his left horn again, still following her. His footsteps were nearly silent on the streets, only the occasional tap a reminder of his presence.

“That don’ mean it’s healthy or good for ya.” Elara said simply, turning down another badly lit street. Her eyes scanned the shadows of the street, almost like she was expecting someone or something to appear out of nowhere. And the footsteps following them a few minutes later, just out of view, reinforced that. Though Elara’s grin was odd.

"But I've done it." he replied. He heard the footsteps, and frowned. "Your highness, there's someone following us." he said, stepping close to her as one hand went to the sword strapped at his hip. He glanced around, trying to see if he could spot the stranger following them. Or maybe not a stranger, he wasn't sure. Either way, he was going to protect Elara.