forum Private RP w/ Dances_with_Shadows

Started January 25, 2020 by @Rainy_day_artist_classic group

tune

She glanced between the stairs and elevator, taking in a deep breath as she made her way over to the elevator instead. "Don't beat yourself up." She muttered, coming up to the elevator, and pressing her finger against the button. Lighting up, she pulled her finger away and turning to face him. "I'm just struggling here, I have no clue what to do." She muttered, rubbing her tired eyes in distress.

This wasn't normal, her consulting in Kasiya, but she was going to anyways. "What would you suggest? I have no clue what to offer her, the only thing I have is money, and I don't have much to give." She whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose. She really didn't know what to give up, as she felt she had nothing. "Unless I can give up something I hate, everything in my life is pretty essential."

His eyes briefly flickered over to the stairs, confusion washing over him as he frowned over at her, but he said nothing as he came up to her. He listened to her patiently, then tipped his head to the side as he ran his fingers through his hair, teeth lightly pressing into his bottom lip. "Well…" He didn't know either, but he did delve into his memories of past meetings with his cousin. He sunk into the memory of when he first told her that he had no money to offer her.

~~

"Arina, I really need your help, but I don't have the money to spare for an extra-large coffee, let alone pay for your rediculous fees," Kasiya pleaded with the younger girl. "Redore found me again. I need to get away and erase my existence before he physically finds me."

She didn't even bother with turning to face him as she clicked away at her laptop, all curled up on the computer chair. Her fingers flew over the keys, moving so fast he could barely make out the movements. "Then give me something else. I asked for payment, not money. Not my fault you're as dense as everyone else." He scowled at her and prowled over, shutting the laptop closed quickly; Arina barely had the time to pull her fingers out of harm's way.

"I'm tired of your games."

Slowly, so slowly, those arrogantly clever eyes lifted to meet his gaze, a glint in them that hinted at an intelligence that wasn't meant for the sound mind. "Tell me, Kasiya, why do you run from your twin so much?"

The question caught him off guard. He expected a biting remark, an insistence that he keep playing her games until he ultimately lost—not a shovel into his past. But then it clicked into his mind. Payment, not money. This was her cost. Arina dealt in information, so anything she could use against someone was payment enough.

"He tried to kill me."

~~

Blinking the memory away, he let his eyes land on Joanna's face. "She'll do the digging for you," he decided. "If you really don't know what to give her, she'll dig. She knows what she wants, I don't."

His words were echoing through her mind, as if it were hollow. "You mean she's going to go through my open book of a life to get the answers she already knows?" Joanna asked dully, stepping into the small box she avoided whenever she could. "Or is she going to try to get to me? Because if so, is she one of those truth detector kind of people?"

She was thinking things through slowly, trying to come up with the best solution. She had her weaknesses, and the more she thought, the more they came up to the surface. Though if she wasn't a truth detector, maybe she could lie her way out of the situation. Very rarely did she lie, but she did it when absolutely necessary.

Kasiya sighed and rubbed his temples, eyes closed. "Joanna, just calm down and listen to me," he said, voice clipped just a little bit due to frustration. His eyes opened once more to lock onto hers. "She digs. It's what she does. Doesn't matter how open you think you are, she'll find something. Your best bet is to give her something that makes her curious and look into more, because then she ends up helping you with something else through her own curiosity. It's how she knows about Redore and sometimes lends a hand."

He was starting to get frustrated with Joanna, he wasn't going to lie. If she was such an open book, then spilling something about herself shouldn't be an issue. "If you're really that adamant about not telling her something about yourself, then offer something about someone else. Doesn't matter who," he finally offered, his last-ditch idea on how to get her to drop this whole thing.

Falling quiet, she leaned against the wall of the elevator. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bother you with my troubles." Her voice was sharp, as she could tell he was annoyed with her. Of course, she was surprised it took this long, she always got to him, on whatever she did. Everything bothered him, nothing satisfied him, no matter what it was.

Once he was in, she pressed the button for her floor, and watched the numbers go up. It was shaky, and fast moving, causing her to grip at the metal bar behind her. Clearly she was unsteady in the metal 'death trap'. Her green eyes scanned over the numerous buttons, can't imagining going any higher in the box than she had to. It seemed like a nightmare inside of a horror movie. She could hear the clicking and the soft buzz coming from the machine. She really, really hated those sounds.

No matter how much she frustrated him just then, no matter how upset she might be with him, he couldn't stand by and watch her as she obviously fought against the uneasiness of being in the elevator. Without a word, Kas slid behind Joanna, hands gently detaching hers from the bar and lacing their fingers together, and pulled her against his chest. His arms wrapped around her stomach in a protective manner, as if he could fight away whatever was going through her head.

"I'm sorry, shortcake," he murmured against her hair, letting out a long and steadying breath. "I shouldn't have snapped like that. She's my cousin, I'll take the hit for you." He buried his face in the crook of her neck, fingers running over her knuckles, "Just please don't be mad at me," he whispered quietly.

The knot in her chest loosened, and she relaxed into his chest. Her grip faded, as she listened to his heart beat. It was so odd, how quickly he could calm her down. Controlling her breathing, to a steady pace, she looked up to him. She pulled his hand to her lips, and pressed a gentle kiss to it. "You shouldn't have to Kas, it's only fair for the both of us. I just look from the bad perspective." She whispered against his strong and steady hand. The elevator came closer to her floor, and she slowly pulled away from him.

"I promise you I'm not mad, I was just stressed in the moment." Being honest with him, she faced him with a soft smile. "Besides, I can't stay mad at you." She smiled, sliding her arms around his neck. "You know how to keep me relaxed, I feel safe around you." She continued to whisper, bringing her face closer to his. "I just hope you aren't mad at me."

He pulled his head back from her neck when she turned around, his dark eyes searching hers as she talked as if searching for something she wasn't saying. However, he stopped searching and just sighed with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "I'm glad," he murmured, then cupped her face in his hands and pressed a butterfly kiss to her forehead, speaking against her skin. "No, I'm not. Never was." He pulled back some to look her in the eye. "Frustrated? Maybe. But not mad."

At least he wouldn't have to worry about attempting to navigate a mad Joanna for an extended period of time. Before now, he could poke and prod the bear and leave before suffering the consequences. Now, he couldn't exactly just slip away and leave her to stew on her own.

Pressing a hand to his cheek, she gave him the best smile she could muster up. Whatever she was feeling, she couldn't give a name, the best bet she could give was love. But what kind? The caring kind, or romantic? Or something different entirely? She wouldn't know, having not really known any difference between the loves.

"This is bugging me." She whispered, not even thinking. Pecking his lips, she slid down to rest her head on his chest. "I still don't know what we are, and where we stand. It's tearing me apart." She muttered, burying her face, now into his chest more. Holding onto the fabric of his shirt, she sighed with a groan.

Kas suppressed the chuckle that was threatening to bubble out, not wanting to upset her again so quickly. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her against him while tipping his head back against the wall behind him. "Well…" he started slowly, trying to articulate his vague thoughts, "what do you want us to be?"

He couldn't make promises to her. There were simply lines that he wouldn't cross, no matter who asked him to. But if she gave him an idea of what she wanted, then he could go from there and see how he felt about it. Tying himself down to just one person was still a completely foreign concept to him, but not one that he was violently opposed to. He could learn, and he was willing to try for Joanna.

Pulling her face back, she looked up to him with a sigh. "That's the problem," Starting, it was clearly frustrating her. "I don't know!" The whole thing was a mess. She clearly had feelings for him, but whether they were romantic intentions or just selfish needs, possibly even something completely off the scale, she didn't know. Maybe she had romantic intentions, but she hadn't ended well with some of the other people she dated, so of course she was hesitant.

Her head was pounding, and she wasn't thinking straight. "How many more floors?" She asked in slight whine to herself. Though as she did, the elevator dinged, and they were on the right floor. "Why didn't I ask that ten floors ago?" She muttered, pulling back from Kassiya with a slight laugh. "Come on, let's hurry before we get trapped in this metal death box."

((Sorry, I just had a hard time for some reason coming up with a response))

Kasiya opened his mouth to try and calm her down but was interrupted by them arriving at their desired floor. He just let out a soft sigh and grabbed Joanna's hand, lacing their fingers together, and gently tugged her out of the elevator. "How about we talk about this tonight?" he offered softly, glancing down at her, black eyes tender. "Once we deal with my cousin and everything, we can have some downtime to ourselves to sort through this." He flicked the fingers of his free hand back and forth between the two of them.

He continued to pull them towards Joanna's room, not letting her dwell on her discomfort for the elevator for long. His grip on her hand was gentle but firm. He, himself, didn't know how to describe their relationship, but some time devoted to that subject would surely help them both sort through his thoughts and feelings.

((It's alright! I totally understand.))

For an odd reason, her breath caught in the back of her throat at the feeling of his hand in her own. "Y-yeah… that sounds like a plan…" It was something in the way he was holding onto her, that made her heart skip a beat. All of this was incredibly strange, and foreign to her. Affection, and feelings, and all of it was with Kasiya of all people. Kasiya… if you had told Joanna three months ago that she would be walking down the hall hand in hand with someone that seemed to actually care, she might not question it. If you had replaced that someone with Kasiya, she would say you were out of your mind.

Though clearly that wasn't true. He really did seem to care, and he was walking hand and hand with her. How much more proof did she need? Snapping back from her thoughts, she looked up at the door in front of her. 'That's your door… so you need to open it.' Joanna directed herself, beginning to fully function once more by opening the door and walking through.

Kasiya wouldn't blame her for doubting his capability to care about her—or anyone, for that matter—if she had voiced her thoughts. He wasn't a very caring person, at least on the outside, because of everything that's happened to him. But Joanna was someone that had stood by him for as long as she's known him, even if that meant a standing hatred for him. But that still meant something to him.

When they stepped into her apartment, he let go of her and hovered near the door, giving her the space to grab her things so they could go. "Remember," he reminded gently, still a little wary of her mood, "we're spending the night, so grab some overnight stuff. He leaned against a wall and loosely crossed his arms over his chest as he gazed down at her.

Running a hand through her hair, she gave him a soft smile. Walking up to him, she stood on her toes to press a gentle kiss to his cheek. "I remember, don't worry about it." Joanna reassure him before running off to go gather her things. "You can sit on the couch, you don't have to stand there the whole time." She called out over her shoulder before fully disappearing into her bedroom.

"Alright, Jo, you need the regular things." She hummed to herself, grabbing a pair of comfortable clothes to wear over night. Normally she would bring her pajamas, but there was a decent chance the two would be sleeping in the same room. Considering most of her night clothes were a little… suggestive, she decided it was best to play it safe. With clothes packed, she carried the small backpack down the stairs to head into the bathroom. "Five more minutes, I promise I'll be ready then."

His lips pulled up into a soft smile at that gentle kiss, then his eyes followed her to her bedroom as she darted away. He leaned against the nearest wall, as he didn't mind standing for a few minutes, and mentally ran a few situations through his head regarding his cousin. It's been a while since he's seen her last, and her timing was impeccable—though he had a feeling that she knew when the perfect time to pop up was.

Joanna's voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he chuckled at her reassurance. "No more than five minutes," he called to her, a ghost of a smile settling over his lips. It's not like he had much of a say of how long she had, seeing how she was the one driving. While he waited, instead of sinking back into his head, he distracted himself by looking around the apartment, eyes darting from here to there with erratic randomness to keep himself from lingering on any one thing one his mind at a time.

A slight laugh echoed from the bathroom, as she filed through the medicine cabinet for a small travel bag. With the typical, face wash, toothpaste and brush, extra makeup, and a comb. Once found, she tossed it into the draw string bag, and tossed the bag over her shoulders. Checking her hair and makeup real quick, she nodded with satisfaction before turning out the door.

"You need anything before we go? Food or something? Get what you need now, I don't want to add any attractions to this drive." Joanna directed Kasiya, walking up to him with a sweet smile. "I'm driving in the dark, as little as possible. Unless I need gas I'm not going to stop." She further explained, taking his hand in her own and loosely laced their fingers.

He didn't pull away from her as she approached him, just held her hand and shook his head, then jerked his chin towards the apartment door. "Nah, everything I need is in my bag, as per usual. Food can and will be stolen from Arina." He tilted his head and eyed the bags she had packed with her stuff, an amused smirk pulling at his lips. "Seems I pack lighter than you do."

In all honesty, he was eager to get going and was glad that Joanna had no plans on stopping unnecessarily along the drive. The sooner they got to Arina, the sooner he could get her little bargain over with, figure out what she had on his brother, get some sleep, and have an idea of how to approach the destruction of his brother. He wasn't even sorry anymore. They might be twins, but they were nothing alike. Redore had tormented Kasiya for the majority of his life—it was time to repay the favor.

"Oh shut up," Joanna huffed, rolling her eyes. "I packed as little as I could. I didn't bring anything unnecessary." Joanna argued, poking the tip of his nose with her free hand. "Hey… where's Inigo? Is he still in my car?" She hummed, noticing the lack of the kitten. Come to think of it, she hadn't seen the little guy in a little while. Not in the elevator at least.

Pushing that to the back of her mind for just a second, she glanced back to him with a warm smile. "We should probably leave him here, I don't think bringing him on the road is the best idea. We don't need an accident to clean up." Whatever he was thinking, she was sure that she must have disrupted his thoughts with her constant chatter. In light of trying not to annoy him, she fell quiet to just study him and the rest of the room. It felt off having him here, yet at the same time not wrong.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Kas curled his nose up when she poked it, though there was amusement sparkling in his eyes, showing that he wasn't annoyed by that small action. "I left him in the car," he said, tilting his head slightly as he considered her suggestion. "Either way, there's going to be something to clean up," he pointed out, shrugging and returning the favor by lightly and briefly pinching Joanna's nose with a tiny smirk on his lips. "On the road or not. And he needs food, meaning someone to feed him." So he may or may not be slightly attached to the little kitten.

It was probably a good idea that Joanna had interrupted his thoughts by her chatter. He'd rather listen to her than sink into the black hole that was his thoughts about his twin—or his thoughts in general. They typically sank into a twisted path, a path that he never wanted to go down even if it always happened.

Joanna winced, pulling back when he pinched her nose. "Ow~" She whined, giving him a slight pout as she processed his previous sentence. "Wait- hold up. You left the kitten in the car!?" She asked him, not seeming as amused as he was. "Nuh-uh, that's not good. There's so many bad things he could do!" Joanna groaned, pinching her temple.

"I would honestly rather have him ruin my apartment. That I can put back together again. I'm trying to sell my car, I don't need him digging on the seats. Or worse." So maybe she was being a little ridiculous, there was no denying that. There was also no excuses to why she was being so picky about this, yet she was. "You owe me big, if something happens to that car. I already have a ticket held to it, I don't need a cat ruining it." Once her rant was over, she let out a soft huff. "Now, we should head out."