Post by TempoPrestissimo on Jul 13, 2010 17:01:54 GMT -5
On quiet days, which there were a few now and then, Velle would do her best to clean the house. From sweeping and dusting to refilling her medical supplies (and gardening, of course, there was always gardening) she always seemed to have a fairly steady stream of things to do. At the very least, she certainly didn’t have any chance to get bored!
Kirin had a pattern he followed. In the early mornings he disappeared for a while (Velle did not know where exactly, and she did not ask. A vague idea was good enough for her, and if Kirin wanted her to know more, he’d say so), only to wander past the house and onward in to town later on in the day. If Velle was outside working, he’d always do something to get her attention as he passed. If she was inside doing something, he’d just shrug and continue on, confidant that the house would still be there once the rest of the day was done.
There were always exceptions, of course. Sometimes Velle, probably dirt-spotted to her knees and mostly oblivious to it, would go in to town with him to get something. Other days it might have been raining too hard for the walk to be worth the effort.
No one really liked those days. The lamps in the house were all on, but it was still dark, and the white-noise sound of the constant rain could make someone go stir-crazy twice as fast as any normal day.
So far, neither of them were fairing too badly. Kirin was playing cards in the living room (Solitaire, and doing okay so far, though he thought he might be in trouble pretty soon…) and he knew Velle and her duster were lurking around somewhere. The storm had rolled in pretty quick, and Kirin was hoping that once it was done soaking everything thoroughly (as it had already done a pretty good job) it would roll out just as fast. That was, of course, only a hope.
He was so absorbed in his game that he almost didn’t feel his top hat being lifted off the top of his head very slowly. He had run in from the rain and never bothered to take it off when he saw his cards.
“What-…?!” He supposed he would have formulated some sort of question had he been able to finish the sentence, but suddenly there were feathers everywhere, everywhere¸ blurring in to his vision, righteously messing up his hair (not something he was particularly offended over) and…covering him in dust…?!
There was a decidedly feminine burst of laughter, and the feathers vanished just as quickly as they had appeared, followed by the faint sound of feet scurrying down the hall. Kirin would have jumped to his feet to give chase, but the table was a little too close, and he would have knocked his cards everywhere. So, he nudged the table a little out of the way and followed the disappearing sounds of Velle’s steps past the partition wall and into the hallway.
Nothing. She’d up and vanished on him. No, no, she was hiding. But where? The kitchen, the room next down the hall, didn’t have any really good spots…He looked in it as he walked by, just to be sure, and didn’t see her amongst the simple furniture. A crack of lightening and thunder made him jump, he hadn’t been expecting it. From somewhere nearby he heard a thump! sound, and repressed a laugh at the idea that she probably hadn’t been expecting it either. But where was she hiding?
The next few rooms were all patient rooms, nearly identical beds in various states of well-loved disrepair, shiny mental instruments that never seemed threatening so much as they seemed weird, and he honestly had no idea what most of them were for. He took a brief look in to each one that he passed (and would not admit under threat of another feather duster attack that he was still on his guard for another crash of thunder) and still saw no sign of her. He thought he had seen something, once, a flash of green and black in one of those patient rooms, but it turned out to have been nothing more than his imagination.
“For someone who claims you didn’t have a childhood, you’re awfully good at this.” He muttered to no one in particular. He passed by the bathroom (seriously, who would hide in a bathroom?) to look in the only rooms left, his and Velle’s.
“Hehe, merci, cher.” A giggle and what could only be her voice, but from where?! He was definitely grinning now, and he ran a hand through his dark hair as he peeked in to her room. A painfully neat bed, an old mirror (looking in it he saw his head was absolutely covered in dust, his hair a mess and sticking out in odd places, also coated with the stuff) and not a whole lot else… he was pretty sure she wasn’t here, but he knelt down to look under her bed anyways. Nope. Not there. He checked the little closet she had as well, but she wasn’t there, either.
That only left his room, and that was where he headed next. It wasn’t nearly as tidy as Velle’s, probably because he used it more often than she did her own. His bed was made, albeit hastily, and there were trinkets around, and more cards. He didn’t really go out of his way to get any of these things….they just sort of followed him home.
He checked in his closet and under his own bed too (finding a game of cards he had long forgotten he started under there in the meantime. The desire to lie down and play was very strong, but he ignored it for now. He’d come back and play later).
But still, no Velle. That was all the rooms, wasn’t it?
No, not quite.
He snapped his fingers (the one he had run through his hair only moments before, so the snap resulted in a puff of dust being released, which he ignored) before scrambling out the door to his room and in to the one right next to it, the bathroom.
Sink, mirror (his face and hair still covered with dust), bathtub with the curtain pulled around it…and a smidgen of black seeming to float amongst the curtain’s top edge.
He hadn’t entered the room very sneakily and regretted it in retrospect, but now he sneaked across the floor as quietly could until he could reach the curtain. In one quick motion he grabbed the curtain’s closest edge and flung it backwards. Velle was shocked into a shriek of laughter, and while the action had the repercussions of Kirin knocking himself over (or was that the shriek’s fault?) Velle also collapsed to the floor of the tub, his top hat on her head, laughing too much to breathe. Kirin, taking one look at his friend still carrying her feather duster, in his hat, sitting haphazardly in the bathtub sent him into gales of laughter as well.
“Took you long enough, cher…” Velle folded her arms on the side of thee tub and rested her head on them. She was out of breath and her eyes looked a little red-rimmed from watering. Kirin suspected his probably did, too.
“I was worried you’d send something out to eat me. It’s no wonder I don’t let you put plants in my room!” He grinned and swiped his hat off of her head. He was about to set it back on his own when he remembered his hair, and decided better of it.
“I am sorry about your ‘air, Kirin.” Velle said, wiping her eyes, careful not to hit herself with the duster.
“Don’t worry about it. I think I might even like it better this way.” He added nonchalantly, giving a bit of a cross-eyes look up to his messy (and now dirty) locks. His gaze was drawn away when he saw Velle covering her eyes.
“Velle…?” His tone immediately turned in to one of concern, and he was reassured when she removed her hands to smile at him.
“What were you doing…?” He asked, more than a little puzzled.
“Hien, your turn now, yes, cher?” She grinned, covering her eyes again just as she saw realization dawning on his face. Kirin started to hurry out of the room, but stopped after only a few steps. Grinning, he turned back to grab his hat, and took off to hide.
Kirin had a pattern he followed. In the early mornings he disappeared for a while (Velle did not know where exactly, and she did not ask. A vague idea was good enough for her, and if Kirin wanted her to know more, he’d say so), only to wander past the house and onward in to town later on in the day. If Velle was outside working, he’d always do something to get her attention as he passed. If she was inside doing something, he’d just shrug and continue on, confidant that the house would still be there once the rest of the day was done.
There were always exceptions, of course. Sometimes Velle, probably dirt-spotted to her knees and mostly oblivious to it, would go in to town with him to get something. Other days it might have been raining too hard for the walk to be worth the effort.
No one really liked those days. The lamps in the house were all on, but it was still dark, and the white-noise sound of the constant rain could make someone go stir-crazy twice as fast as any normal day.
So far, neither of them were fairing too badly. Kirin was playing cards in the living room (Solitaire, and doing okay so far, though he thought he might be in trouble pretty soon…) and he knew Velle and her duster were lurking around somewhere. The storm had rolled in pretty quick, and Kirin was hoping that once it was done soaking everything thoroughly (as it had already done a pretty good job) it would roll out just as fast. That was, of course, only a hope.
He was so absorbed in his game that he almost didn’t feel his top hat being lifted off the top of his head very slowly. He had run in from the rain and never bothered to take it off when he saw his cards.
“What-…?!” He supposed he would have formulated some sort of question had he been able to finish the sentence, but suddenly there were feathers everywhere, everywhere¸ blurring in to his vision, righteously messing up his hair (not something he was particularly offended over) and…covering him in dust…?!
There was a decidedly feminine burst of laughter, and the feathers vanished just as quickly as they had appeared, followed by the faint sound of feet scurrying down the hall. Kirin would have jumped to his feet to give chase, but the table was a little too close, and he would have knocked his cards everywhere. So, he nudged the table a little out of the way and followed the disappearing sounds of Velle’s steps past the partition wall and into the hallway.
Nothing. She’d up and vanished on him. No, no, she was hiding. But where? The kitchen, the room next down the hall, didn’t have any really good spots…He looked in it as he walked by, just to be sure, and didn’t see her amongst the simple furniture. A crack of lightening and thunder made him jump, he hadn’t been expecting it. From somewhere nearby he heard a thump! sound, and repressed a laugh at the idea that she probably hadn’t been expecting it either. But where was she hiding?
The next few rooms were all patient rooms, nearly identical beds in various states of well-loved disrepair, shiny mental instruments that never seemed threatening so much as they seemed weird, and he honestly had no idea what most of them were for. He took a brief look in to each one that he passed (and would not admit under threat of another feather duster attack that he was still on his guard for another crash of thunder) and still saw no sign of her. He thought he had seen something, once, a flash of green and black in one of those patient rooms, but it turned out to have been nothing more than his imagination.
“For someone who claims you didn’t have a childhood, you’re awfully good at this.” He muttered to no one in particular. He passed by the bathroom (seriously, who would hide in a bathroom?) to look in the only rooms left, his and Velle’s.
“Hehe, merci, cher.” A giggle and what could only be her voice, but from where?! He was definitely grinning now, and he ran a hand through his dark hair as he peeked in to her room. A painfully neat bed, an old mirror (looking in it he saw his head was absolutely covered in dust, his hair a mess and sticking out in odd places, also coated with the stuff) and not a whole lot else… he was pretty sure she wasn’t here, but he knelt down to look under her bed anyways. Nope. Not there. He checked the little closet she had as well, but she wasn’t there, either.
That only left his room, and that was where he headed next. It wasn’t nearly as tidy as Velle’s, probably because he used it more often than she did her own. His bed was made, albeit hastily, and there were trinkets around, and more cards. He didn’t really go out of his way to get any of these things….they just sort of followed him home.
He checked in his closet and under his own bed too (finding a game of cards he had long forgotten he started under there in the meantime. The desire to lie down and play was very strong, but he ignored it for now. He’d come back and play later).
But still, no Velle. That was all the rooms, wasn’t it?
No, not quite.
He snapped his fingers (the one he had run through his hair only moments before, so the snap resulted in a puff of dust being released, which he ignored) before scrambling out the door to his room and in to the one right next to it, the bathroom.
Sink, mirror (his face and hair still covered with dust), bathtub with the curtain pulled around it…and a smidgen of black seeming to float amongst the curtain’s top edge.
He hadn’t entered the room very sneakily and regretted it in retrospect, but now he sneaked across the floor as quietly could until he could reach the curtain. In one quick motion he grabbed the curtain’s closest edge and flung it backwards. Velle was shocked into a shriek of laughter, and while the action had the repercussions of Kirin knocking himself over (or was that the shriek’s fault?) Velle also collapsed to the floor of the tub, his top hat on her head, laughing too much to breathe. Kirin, taking one look at his friend still carrying her feather duster, in his hat, sitting haphazardly in the bathtub sent him into gales of laughter as well.
“Took you long enough, cher…” Velle folded her arms on the side of thee tub and rested her head on them. She was out of breath and her eyes looked a little red-rimmed from watering. Kirin suspected his probably did, too.
“I was worried you’d send something out to eat me. It’s no wonder I don’t let you put plants in my room!” He grinned and swiped his hat off of her head. He was about to set it back on his own when he remembered his hair, and decided better of it.
“I am sorry about your ‘air, Kirin.” Velle said, wiping her eyes, careful not to hit herself with the duster.
“Don’t worry about it. I think I might even like it better this way.” He added nonchalantly, giving a bit of a cross-eyes look up to his messy (and now dirty) locks. His gaze was drawn away when he saw Velle covering her eyes.
“Velle…?” His tone immediately turned in to one of concern, and he was reassured when she removed her hands to smile at him.
“What were you doing…?” He asked, more than a little puzzled.
“Hien, your turn now, yes, cher?” She grinned, covering her eyes again just as she saw realization dawning on his face. Kirin started to hurry out of the room, but stopped after only a few steps. Grinning, he turned back to grab his hat, and took off to hide.
