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Post by alexandre on Jun 12, 2011 15:59:08 GMT -5
No, Alexandre did not heard her mumbled statement and even if he had, there likely wouldn't have been much of a reaction to it. Alex was very confused about a lot of things in Elaine's thought process and some of the things that she said didn't make sense to him, but that was okay. Friends weren't supposed to necessarily be able to read one another like books--perhaps there was some understanding and all, but there always had to be a limit. If you knew someone's ups and downs like the back of your hand then it was more than just trust, it was an invasion of privacy. Alexandre always felt uncomfortable when his own mother could pick up on things that he thought he was hiding, but he understood that it was just part of the bond. But another person with whom he was not connected by blood? He wouldn't like that. There should always be an opportunity to hold things back if you didn't quite want to put them on the table just yet.
He wasn't really sure what to expect as Elaine traced her hands down to his collarbone, the feel of her touch against his skin colouring his cheeks a little. It felt strange as he'd never experienced this before, but Alex nevertheless stayed completely still and allowed her to take as much time as she needed. He watched her smile growing and it caused an almost fluttering feeling in his stomach--smiles meant good things, yes? He was almost childishly afraid that Elaine wasn't going to like what she 'saw', but surely that would cause her to scowl or pull her hands away prematurely, right? He felt ill at ease considering he had no idea how this process was supposed to work. At last she finally did pull her hands back to her sides, and Alex stayed quiet as he waited for her to say something.
The flush that had faded from his cheeks at last was right back in place as she called him handsome, not having expected such a word. Handsome was usually used to describe movie stars or models, or at least the boyfriend or significant other of the person speaking. He was none of those things, yet he was still highly flattered by the fact that she thought of him as such. Would she have come to the same conclusion if she'd been able to literally see him? Colours, images, shades as opposed to facial structure and the like? But no, that didn't matter. Such things would never come between her opinion of him because it would never happen. "Thanks," he said, and he almost felt shy. He did indeed think that Elaine was pretty, but he didn't want to tell her at this moment because he didn't know if she'd believe him or just assume that he was 'returning the compliment', or something.
"Of course," Alexandre said when she thanked him. He paused for a moment. "What should we do now?" he asked her, seeing as she was no longer collapsed and crying against a tree but they were still enjoying one another's company. And he truly would call it that, 'enjoying'. Because he did like being with Elaine.
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Post by marci on Jun 13, 2011 10:59:28 GMT -5
Well, he didn't return the compliment. Elaine had mixed feelings about that, but it really wasn't important. Just like any other girl, she obviously liked compliments, but she knew that there would have to be some awkward silences and maybe more heat in her face and probably another long time trying to find something to talk about or do. So she was able to just stand there with composure, completely unaware of the blush that touched Alex's face when she told him he was handsome. She smiled in recognition when he thanked her, but didn't really know what to day after that.
He asked what they should do now, and she immediately got a ridiculous idea followed by a mischievous grin. No doubt that would throw Alex off, the fact that she'd turned a one-eighty without so much as a by-your-leave, but inwardly she was just groping for some sort of distraction. She needed to reconstruct all the walls that had before been between her and all those little...issues. What better distraction then doing something crazy and possibly a little stupid out in the woods in the freezing cold? Elaine didn't know.
”You think there are bears out here?” She asked him, still looking quietly delighted, the way she usually did when she was up to something troublesome. No more angst. Time to be reckless, teasing, playful....whatever you wanted to call it. She wanted to do something fun, after all the crying. Though her lungs still hurt a little, she could ignore it well enough. Not like she hadn't felt pain before—hell, she'd stepped on knives, gotten concussions on walls. It was a miracle she didn't have marks to show for it. Or maybe she did, and her aunt had been lying to her.
”Hibernating, I mean?” She clarified, as she hadn't heard him respond yet, ”Do you think we could find one?” Probably not. Even if he did say yes, they could probably tromp the woods over without finding a bears den. If there were bears. Elaine wasn't quite sure about that. And no, she didn't want to prod the sleeping bear. She was really only marginally inclined to go on the hunt. Most of this was a convincing tease that would hopefully get her a hilarious reaction out of Alex. Although she was a little curious as to what it would sound like, listening to a bear while it was sleeping.
Finding his shoulder with a hand, she smiled, ”And regardless of all that, I challenge you to a snowball fight tomorrow after our classes.” She'd have challenged him today, but she was too tired to use her wind sight that much. After a good night's sleep, she'd be right as rain.
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Post by alexandre on Jun 13, 2011 18:02:34 GMT -5
"Bears?" Alexandre repeated, sounding surprised but not critical of the idea. His mother Leanne had been a Water elemental, getting himself into trouble with friends was all part of his nature. So he grinned and chuckled a little, bluish coloured eyes sparkling with what could only be described as delight. A lot of his friends wouldn't condone trampling around in the woods and bear-hunting, but hell, Alex was a wild card. He loved doing silly things like that. "Maybe!" he said, when she clarified that she meant bears of the hibernating sort. There were definitely bears in these woods, that was why the younger students were cautioned to stay away from them. But would they be able to find any? The wilderness was a huge place. The Academy was so remote that there was a lot of wildlife around. But what was fun without a little mystery?
"There's only one way to find out!" he said, grinning again. His energy was renewed as if Elaine's idea had plugged him into an outlet full of electric charge. "It could be an adventure, at any rate, whether we find any bears or not!" At least this wasn't a season where they had cubs or anything, because that would be asking for more trouble than it was worth. Alex knew from watching documentaries that bears were very protective of their cubs just like any mother would be. Not that he blamed them. And besides, they weren't going to hurt the bears anyway. He ate meat and all that but he didn't like to pointlessly hurt animals just because he could. "There are definitely bears in the woods somewhere, though," he assured Elaine. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we actually found something?" Man, this idea was so silly, but he loved it.
Her hand rested itself on his shoulder just moments before she challenged him to a snowball fight in the morrow. It might have seemed strange to anyone else, but Alexandre knew that Elaine would rely on her wind sight to see what she was doing and likely had a good chance of kicking his ass. He was alright at snowballs fights and all, but he usually ended up losing them. The cold was alien to someone who had natural body warmth and so he freaked out more easily than most when the snow went down his shirt and eliminated this fiery heat of protection. But that wasn't going to make him back down or anything. Hell no! Elaine had challenged him and he would rise to meet that challenge! "You're on!" he said with a broad grin. "I don't have any plans tomorrow, either, so I've got the time and everything. Be prepared!"
He then turned his attention to the gaps between the trees that led deeper into the forest. During the summertime it was full of dusky shadows thanks to the canopy which blocked out a great deal of the light, but in the winter it was much easier to make out paths and where you were going. "Should we conduct our bear hunting expedition, then?" he chuckled.
[Yes, he thinks she's serious xD Yes, he would ACTUALLY do it xD]
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Post by marci on Jun 13, 2011 22:26:04 GMT -5
Elaine wasn't sure what to think of his tone when he repeated the keyword of her question. He didn't seem as extremely surprised of incredulous as she'd expected, which was also a mixed blessing. For one, she had really been looking forward to being able to laugh at him for being stunned. But for another, he was actually considering the idea of trying to track down hibernating bears. How cool was that? And then he said maybe, and Elaine couldn't contain it. She blew up into a cacophony of giggles and laughter, barely able to bring herself out of it by the time he spoke again.
And then she started giggling again. She had to lean completely against the tree to keep herself from losing her breath. Even the slight pain of the air ripping in and out of her lungs was not enough to quell the delight she felt at this turn of events. She was going to go bear hunting with the fire leader. Elaine blind girl was going to go bear hunting with the fire leader. ”Of course!” She answered, casting a large grin somewhere in his direction, ”It's been far too long since I've had any sort of an adventure. And I'm sure I could find no better company.” Her hand moved to seek out his again as she said this. Hopefully he would understand that, because of the earlier exhaustion, she would not wish to use her wind sight too much. Thus, the holding of hands.
When her hand found his, she nodded, the grin now a fixed setting in her expression. ”Of course! Maybe there's a big bear king with a hoard of treasure around here.” She was being completely ridiculous now, and she knew it. But something about Alex was making her giddy. Maybe it was the excessive relief from giving up the misery of earlier. Maybe she just hadn't had a good romp about the woods since....ever. This was going to be completely new to her. Hell, other than feeling the shape of a bear statue at a museum, Elaine didn't even know what one looked like.
She gained a daring expression on her face when Alex told her to be prepared, and she pulled herself up to her full, not-so-considerable height. Staring straight ahead of her, she was looking right at his chest. Tendrils of black hair fell into her face, but she still managed to look mysteriously formidable when she said, ”You've don't know what you're in for.” Because flying objects she could do. And, when she had her wind sight, there was no angle by which a person could sneak up on her. Then a smile formed on her face and she tilted and her a bit, ”Good luck.”
Her shoulders rolled a bit, and she stretched her neck a few times before nodded eagerly. ”Hell yes. Which way, O Fearless Leader?”
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Post by alexandre on Jun 14, 2011 20:25:39 GMT -5
Alexandre was a little surprised when Elaine burst into laughter, not having expected her to do as much. He jumped a little and waited for her to calm down, though her relentless giggling made him smile and soon he was laughing along with her even though he didn't quite understand what was so funny. Her amusement was infectious--perhaps he was just so relieved to see her smiling and laughing again considering the rather sorry state in which he'd found her. Alex always felt better when he could cheer his friends up. He may not have been the brightest bulb in the box but he was cheery and helpful and that was all that mattered, right?
"Are you okay?" he asked with mild concern when she leaned against the tree, wondering if she felt like she was going to collapse or anything. Alexandre knew from experience that you could lose your breath if you laughed too hard and the light-headed dizziness could knock you off your feet. Elaine seemed to recover, however, and he sighed a bit in relief.
An easy grin found his lips when she agreed to the adventure rather enthusiastically. She had suggested it jokingly but Alexandre still hadn't caught onto this despite her rather obvious amusement with his decisions. He noticed that she was extending her hand and this time Alexandre understood that she wanted him to be her guide. It sure would be a pain to use her wind sight all of the time, he guessed, especially when she'd already had a rather stressful day and knocked a lot of her energy down to size. He reached out and took her hand with a soft chuckle. "I haven't done anything like this in a long time either," he admitted. "It'll be a lot of fun!"
Elaine seemed rather confident in her ability to kick his ass in a snowball fight, and Alexandre certainly wasn't about to go and deny her that chance. Hell, he was capable of losing gracefully! He was normally a very sore loser and became bitter when defeated but it was a little different with something like a simple game with a good friend. "And to you as well!" he returned. She had the advantage of her sight, and he had fire. He could easily melt some of the snowballs before they hit him, although this took concentration and he wouldn't do it often lest it drain his energy and cause him to fall unconscious.
Then things were all serious and dramatic as she told him to direct the way and he chose a rather random path through the trees that could accommodate them both even if they walked side by side, considering she was still holding onto his hand. "So much snow," he complained with a chuckle. "I don't blame these bears for going into hibernation!" Once they were a good enough distance in, Alexandre got an idea. "Do bears snore?" he wondered, then couldn't help but chuckle a bit at how silly he sounded. This entire idea was ridiculous but that was okay, they were having fun. "I'll look for things like caves and stuff and you can tell me if you hear anything, 'kay?" His hearing was awful in comparison to hers, and Elaine's sight was non-existent when placed beside his. So if they both focused on something they were good at they might actually find something. Maybe.
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Post by marci on Jun 14, 2011 21:29:13 GMT -5
This was all new in so many ways. Elaine really hadn't ever had a friend who would do this sort of thing with her. Sure, Celia had been willing to play along with many of Elaine's little games, but she hadn't had the time to do things like romp about the woods making sure her beloved blind niece didn't kill herself. The little blind girl had missed the whole experience of playing with friends and finding adventure during her childhood. Her hand involuntarily squeezed Alex's when she decided to make up for all that today. She raised her chin a little as she determined that this was going to be a big change. Alex had inadvertently broken down a barrier.
She walked with him, beside him and just a little bit behind because he was guiding her. He asked if bears snored, and she shrugged with a quiet giggle. ”I have no idea. Though I guess I'd be able to head them if they did.” After all, she had hearing good enough track people's breathing when there wasn't too much ambient noise. The bigger the person, the louder the breaths, usually. So if a humongous bear was breathing deeply in an echoey cave nearby, she was pretty certain she'd be able to hear it. After all, there were very few other sounds out in the woods that would be of a similar octave.
”Ok.” She said, agreeing with his plan. She threw him a grin and tilted her head a little. ”You and me, a real team of trackers.” Said the girl who couldn't see to the boy who didn't stop talking. But she didn't care. Even if they scared everything away with their stumbling and their talking, she'd still have fun. These two, they were a perfect match, and she found herself internally praising the little puddle in the mess hall that had caused her to sit next to him.
She was silent for awhile, then popped up with a random question. ”What's you favorite flavor of ice cream?” There was a method to her madness; Elaine wanted to get to know him better, but personal questions were often taboo. So she would ask the sort of questions that got an answer and amused him enough to tempt them to ask her a question back. She hadn't had many chances to use this tactic, but so far it had worked well.
All at once a thought struck her and she frowned. ”Alex.” She said, her voice suddenly guarded, ”Do you have a girlfriend? 'Cause if you do I don't want to become any sort of trouble.” She'd witnessed the scorn of jealous girlfriends before, though thankfully not as the victim. Her friendship with Alex was going so well, she didn't want to get carried away and get into something as dramatic as that. No; she wouldn't give up a close friendship with him to avoid being hunted down by an angry fire girl. But she would give up this outing alone in the woods with him.
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Post by alexandre on Jun 15, 2011 17:36:39 GMT -5
Alexandre grinned broadly when she smiled at him. He liked her company a whole lot, it was easy to smile around her and it didn't even matter to him that she couldn't see him smiling. The giddy cheerfulness saturated his voice as well and you'd need to be mad not to realise that. "At least if he--or she?--snores loudly there's no chance of the bear hearing us coming," Alexandre chuckled. Alex didn't know the meaning of 'quiet and softly'--he was a chipper person and easily excitable so he usually threw himself headlong into a situation rather than taking it slow and cautious. Not that it mattered. If he were being honest with himself he was taking this trip as more of a chance to hang out with Elaine than anything else.
The sheer randomosity of the question caught Alexandre off guard for a moment and his brow furrowed as he wondered why she cared about something like that, but then he was grinning again. "I like Neapolitan," he said brightly. "Why have one flavour when you can have three?" Alex had a hard time focusing on a single piece of homework because it was hard for him to stick to a single thing and see it through, and this also shone in other points of his life. He'd switch between the three flavours when he was eating it and occasionally take some of each. It was like the specific brand of ice cream was made for him or something. "I also really like peanut butter ice cream," he added, "but I like the triple flavoured one best." Here they were, bear hunting and discussing ice cream.
What a friendship.
"What about you Elaine?" he asked, tilting his head a little. "What kind do you like?" And then he was excited again as he got an idea. "There's a really nice ice cream parlour in the town near the Academy," he told her. "It's a bit expensive but it's so worth it, their ice cream is so good! You should come with me some time, we could get some!" He would pay, of course. His parents kept telling him that they were cutting off his allowance the moment he turned eighteen and he'd have to provide his own entertainment then, but that wasn't until August. "I mean it's winter, but that's okay right? Might be a little cold, but ice cream is always good!"
The question regarding his relationship status seemed to come completely out of left field in Alex's opinion. "Nope," he admitted, shrugging a little. "Never really have." He was blushing, and even though Elaine might not be able to tell, the shy embarrassment had saturated his voice as well. "We're safe, don't worry," he chuckled. "The girls in the Fire element are a bit too... fiery for me," he admitted, and he grinned at the sheepishness of the pun. "I prefer girls like you--you're pretty and you're nice and we get along well without having to fake anything." He said it so matter-of-fact.
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Post by marci on Jun 15, 2011 19:30:27 GMT -5
Neapolitan? That was the one with three flavors in one, right? Elaine was about to open her mouth and ask bashfully when he continued to talk and gave her the answer. She laughed, considering the way it fit him perfectly. He did jump from one thing to another very fast, be it conversation topics or activities. It kept Elaine on her toes, and that was always interesting. A soft smile slipped onto her face, and a little scientific part of her brain gave her a 'what if' scenario, outlining what would happen if she moved closer to Alex and leaned into him a little. Her smile grew a little wider at the thought of his warmth and his stabilizing form, but she'd never really do it.
He flipped the question around on her, just like she'd wanted. She beamed in his direction, saying without an ounce of hesitation, ”Chocolate chip cookie dough. I like the texture, and I adore the chewy cookies.” It was bar none her dessert in the world. Well, ok. There was one other that she would jump for first, but it was very hard for her to get it, considering not many people would take her to a grocery store for an outing. She tilted her head a little, giving a bit of a resigned sigh as she admitted, ”Well, cookie dough is my absolute favorite food in the world, so it makes sense. But my dad would never get any for me, telling me I'd get salmonella from the raw eggs.” She stuck out her tongue, showing her general opinion of this verdict.
He invited her to come with him to an ice cream parlor, and Elaine had to tell herself that it was not a date invitation. This stayed the blush that was threatening to bloom on her face, and she thought for a second. Then she nodded, ”I've never been to an ice cream parlor.” She said honestly, ”I'd like to go.” Celia had always brought ice cream home from the grocery store for her, because she'd never had the time on top of everything else to take Elaine out for food. Elaine normally hadn't minded, either, more at home at her own dining room table, eating without worrying about other people seeing when she slipped or spilled. Which was more often than she would like.
An unusual amount of relief flowed through her when Alex said he didn't have a girlfriend. She felt her cheeks go the slightest bit pink as she tried to figure out why this piece of news made her feel giddy. She was just sorting through what the heck she was feeling when Alex continued. He didn't much like fire girls, and....
Elaine's face changed from faintly pink to completely scarlet, and shock registered on her face. She was so bowled over by what he'd said that she stopped walking and let go of his hand. An emotion rose in her, making her feel all warm and wiggly inside, and she suddenly felt shy enough to run off right then. She blinked a few times, opening and closing her mouth in a complete loss. What did she say to that? What did he mean by that? And the more she thought about what he said, the redder she got. Elaine had no idea how to respond, and really, really hoped that Alex would just start talking about something completely different.
”Th-thanks.” She finally managed to get out. The blind girl looked rather small and pathetic right there, head down, standing completely still in order to keep herself from running into anything or falling over. She opened her mouth to say something, but after awhile she just closed it and left it like that. She really had no idea what to do.
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Post by alexandre on Jun 15, 2011 20:11:14 GMT -5
Alexandre nodded with obvious enthusiasm when she mentioned chocolate chip cookie dough. "I like that one, too!" he said with a grin. Then he ducked his head and chuckled a little sheepishly. "But I tend to eat too much and make myself sick--it's never safe to leave me with an entire tub of ice cream." He tended to get distracted and just eat for the sake of the movement whilst doing something else and before he knew it two thirds of the tub was in his stomach and said stomach was aching something terrible. His mother usually made him scoop it onto a cone or into a bowl if there was a tub in the freezer so that he didn't do this, but he was a teenager and teenagers would rebel to anything, really.
She spoke of how her father wouldn't let her eat it and Alexandre made a face. "That's no fun," he sympathised. "It's my Dad's favourite so I never get any argument from him, but I don't think Mom likes us eating it much. She always buys standards like chocolate or vanilla--sometimes strawberry 'cause it's my sisters favourite. They'll eat the entire tub before I get any!" His light tone suggested that he didn't really mind. The twins were a pain, but he loved them all the same. "Lucas likes orange, of all things. Orange. I mean it's not bad it's just he's the only one with that favourite so he usually gets an entire tub to himself." Alexandre shook his head in irritation. He didn't get along with his younger brother like they used to when they were growing up. Then Luke had become a Water student and the rift between them had further deepened.
Elaine agreed to go to the ice cream parlour with him, and even though right now the status was 'just friends', it didn't matter to him. It made him feel a bit light inside and it brought an easy grin to his lips. "Great!" he said cheerfully. He really didn't give a damn that it was still winter. He was a Fire student, if it got really bad he could just heat the air so that it felt like summer and they had no qualms about eating their ice cream. "The owners are really nice, too. They live above the parlour and sometimes they'll have sales on holidays and stuff. They're good friends with my parents, too. The lady who owns it's a fan of my Dad's band, I think." He also loved Shane's band. It was thanks to his father that Alexandre was so into music and wanted a band of his own some day. His mother had offered to produce anything he made with a band so that they didn't need to cover the costs themselves. She wanted to see her son successful, it was nice.
Elaine blushed scarlet and Alexandre was distracted from his train of thought for a moment. It was a really nice colour in her cheeks, and the new thoughts made Alex blush. She seemed flustered and took a moment to answer him. He worried that he might have went too far or said the wrong thing, but then she was thanking him and he exhaled in mild relief. That meant that it was okay, right? "Uh... um..." He cleared his throat awkwardly. Well, smooth moves Mr. Blackthorn. He felt like he'd ruined a perfectly cheerful mood, but he wanted to make sure it didn't stay as such for long. "Hear anything yet?" he asked, aiming to pretend that he hadn't just made them both go red as cherries. "I can't see any tracks..."
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Post by marci on Jun 16, 2011 10:34:42 GMT -5
”No, like actually cookie dough.” She said, ”Not in ice cream, that's may favorite. I mean, cookie dough ice cream is my favorite ice cream, but not my favorite dessert.” She said, feeling just a little bit shy as she said this. Was it just her, or did she sound kind of lame? Oh well. Maybe it was just her, because she'd never really gotten a good grasp on what was lame or not, except that to most people, she was lame and they were not. Oh well. It no longer hurt like it used to, and it wasn't the sort of thing she wanted to think about while talking to Alex. He continued to talk about his family and their ice cream habits, and she had to smile at the fact that he could talk this much about ice cream flavors. It was cu—uh, funny.
But the awkwardness came, and all thoughts of ice cream were gone as she just stood there in a wasteland of black, vaguely aware that he was standing two feet away and probably staring at her as she tried to find something to say. He tried to speak, and she briefly wondered if he was just as confused as she was. Had he not really realized what he'd said until just then? If that was the case, Elaine wanted to beat herself up for drawing so much attention to it. All of the jubilation of the day was lost in a hell of a lot of awkward, and she actually shifted from foot to foot for a second, wishing she knew which was the academy was.
And then he did exactly what she'd hoped he would do; he changed the topic. She could hear just as much embarrassment in his voice as she felt, and that came close to bringing a smile to her again. But no, she was far too uncomfortable for that. A half hearted laugh escaped then, and she internally answered him, You mean like my heart that's pounding like a drum. Sure, I hear it. Don't you? But that was never going to make it past her lips, so she pulled her thoughts together and said, ”No, no snoring or anything.”
The next thing he said gave her something to distract her, so she jumped for it. ”Of course you don't. The bears are hibernating for the winter, remember? They won't be wandering about.” This was said with the nicest tone of voice she could muster, as she didn't want to make him feel any more dumb or stupid than he might already feel. Elaine opened her mouth to say that they should keep looking, then her heart did a flip when she realized that meant holding his hand again. Her head tilted to the side, and she gave an unsure smile to nothing in particular. Funny. Two minutes ago she hadn't thought anything of holding his hand.
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Post by alexandre on Jun 20, 2011 3:22:38 GMT -5
The brightness of understanding flashed in his bluish eyes as she clarified for him. "Oh," he said, then chuckled a little bit. "Sorry, I got distracted again before you could correct me, huh?" That was simply the norm with Alexandre. Once he started talking, shutting him up was about as easy as quieting a child. It was his mothers blood in him, through and through. "I've never tried it raw," he admitted with a quiet laugh. "I wanted to once but my mother wouldn't let me. Probably because of the same reason." Leanne was a good mother and she always tried to encourage her kids healthy eating habits and the like. Shane was the more relaxed, laid-back parent. He'd sneak the kids snacks when they were younger and sometimes when Alex was grounded Shane would help him locate his instruments. Leanne had a habit of hiding them when she was angry with her son--a very effective form of punishment until his father stepped in.
It made sense that he wouldn't be able to see any tracks. He'd originally only meant to keep an eye out for dens or something like that. But he'd just gotten so caught up in the awkwardness that he'd jumped at the first chance he'd gotten to divert the attention from the fact that they were both blushing and feeling a little off. Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut? All the same, it wasn't like he could turn around and take back what he'd said. That would make it seem like he didn't think she was nice and interesting and all that. If he tried to modify that to 'but we're just friends', it would make it even worse. So he opted for coughing awkwardly. "Oh, um, yeah, of course... silly me..." He was red from chin to forehead. He felt like an idiot and she probably thought of him as one, as well.
"I guess I'll, uh, look for its den, then?" He realised with even more blush that they were no longer holding hands and that he didn't just want to reach out and grab her hand after he'd made things considerably more intense between the two of them. He really sucked at this whole thing, didn't he? "Or we could, erm..." They could what, exactly? He couldn't think of anything else they could do except for continue this adventure. Alexandre had never been shy around anyone before and thus this was a completely new and confusing experience for him. "I guess we should... keep going then?" Almost lamely, he added, "Unless you'd rather go back up to school?" But wait... wouldn't that require it, as well? Damn it!
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Post by marci on Jun 20, 2011 13:24:56 GMT -5
”Never tried cookie dough raw?” Elaine was actually a little aghast at this, and if she could have she would have stared him down with suspicious eyes. The taste of cookie dough was one of those things that she took to be something everyone show know about. Even if they didn't like it so much, they needed to at least try it. She gained a determined look. ”You and I are going to go get some soon, ok? You really need to try it, and I sort of want some, too.” Any chance she had, she'd find a way to get some. Which wasn't very often, so she was ready to coax, cajole, and tease Alex into taking her to the store for some. Low, yes. But this was cookie dough.
Something tipped Elaine off to how very embarrassed Alex was. He wasn't speaking, he was fidgety, he was....well, he wasn't speaking. That was rather of enough. She'd already known he was uncomfortable about the way the conversation had just halted, but this might just be a little different. A bit of pity caused her expression to soften a little, a wall going down as she decided to give him a break. She knew what it was like to be lost and unable to figure out the right direction to take. Unable to read the situation, the little blind girl had been in agony many times, not knowing what she had done or said wrong or how she could fix it. Elaine didn't want Alex to feel like that, so she stepped hesitantly close to him.
He started trying to say something, completely at a loss for words. While Elaine was very glad he wasn't the type to get defensive when he was uncomfortable, she stuck out her tongue in disapproval. Why was she so uptight? All he said was that she was pretty....and that she was nice....and that she was the type of person he'd like as a girlfriend. Thinking of that again gave her slight blush, but she shoved the thoughts aside. Ok, so it was a big deal. But she could give him some slack, anyway. Go a little out of her comfort zone, go through a little discomfort to in order to get him back on track. She had no idea why she was doing this, but she was resolved when she reached out her hands to locate his torso.
They met his chest, and she just waited like that while he continued to murmur about looking for the bear. He was speaking in constant questions, obviously looking for her to give him a purpose. But she was quiet as he asked them, frowning ever so slightly when he asked if she wanted to go back to the academy. She placed herself in front of him, then ran her hands up his chest until she'd found his face again. Her gentle hands rested on his cheeks for a second, then moved out of the way for she could stand on her tiptoes, lean toward him, and kiss him. On the cheek. She was not going to throw away her first kiss just to reassure a guy.
”Calm down.” She said as she leaned back. It was rather ironic—as she said this, she was keenly aware of her heart pounding in her chest and her cheeks flushing with scarlet heat. But she was composed, using all of her self control to remain dignified after the rather unexpected gesture of thanks. After a couple of seconds of letting it sink in, she gave him a playful slap on the back of the head, able to find it without using her wind sight because of her impeccable spatial memory. She grinned at him with mischief, ”Come on, you promised me a bear, fearless leader!”
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Post by alexandre on Jun 21, 2011 6:08:51 GMT -5
Elaine sounded rather shocked and he expected the whole, 'You don't know what you're missing!' lecture. Instead, she merely insisted that they were going to try some at some point in time, and considering this idea didn't sound bad to him at all, Alexandre smiled a bit. "That sounds good to me," he replied with a small nod. "Do you make it from scratch or can you buy it at the grocery store?" He felt stupid for having to ask, but seeing as his mother made most of their cookies from scratch and never storebought, he didn't really know if you could just go shopping and buy a block of it. Elaine seemed to know more than enough about the art of cookie dough, however, so as of right now he was relying on her as his source of information. "If we have to buy it I'd totally be in for it. I can probably convince my Dad to give me some money and let me borrow the car." He was rather irresponsible considering he should be getting a job and doing these things for himself by now but Alex was stubborn and a tad hesitant to 'grow up'. He didn't want to get into the boring bits of life yet. Plus, as much as Leanne complained, Shane didn't seem to mind.
He faltered a little when he felt her hands on his chest--he'd seen her step forward but hadn't expected her to touch him--but just kept speaking so that it didn't further offset the conversation. She said nothing, only frowned when he questioned whether or not he wanted to go back up to the school? Did that mean she did, then? He'd be a little disappointed to end their adventure so soon but he'd respect if that was her wish. Her hands moved up his chest, however, and if she'd been able to see how red his cheeks were she might have giggled at him in response. As it was, his face grew even more flushed as soon as she moved her hands up to his face. "What are you...?" He never quite finished the question, trailing off a little. Then Elaine pecked him on the cheek and his mind simply went blank. It wasn't as if she'd crushed her lips against his or anything but the entire action was so unexpected that it was almost as if his brain had suffered a short circuit. He blinked and recovered a little, lifting a hand to touch his face as she pulled away.
Then even Alexandre couldn't resist a bit of a chuckle as she smacked the back of his head playfully. He ducked his head a bit and rubbed the spot where she'd hit him, despite the fact that it had been quite light. "As you wish," he said almost playfully, his expression breaking out into a grin. Maybe this wasn't so bad. He was still blushing like mad from when she'd kissed him--could he even consider that as a kiss? It was more of a friendly gesture to stop him from stumbling over his words, right? That was how Alex had taken it, anyway. He didn't quite realise the fact that there was much more between them than either party was letting on. Instead, he simply took her hand and started off in the direction where they'd been headed before they'd stopped. "They might be able to hide, but they sure aren't running away when they're in such deep sleeps," he said with a chuckle. "We're bound to find at least a den eventually, and even if there isn't a bear in it--"
He broke off abruptly and absolutely froze in his tracks as his bluish gaze settled on what appeared to be a sort of a dirt cave type thing. It was located in a sort of trench that had once probably been a river but had long since dried out, and the massive hole in the side of the earth looked promising. "Elaine, can you--can you hear anything?" His voice was half of a whisper, not wanting to be too loud in case there really was a bear slumbering within the place. He was pretty sure the two of them couldn't take on an angry bear woken from sleep. "There's a cave down there," he told her, sounding a little excited. "D'you think maybe we might have found something?"
[Sorry my Alex posts are so few--his muse is slowly coming back to me I think. This post went well, at least xD]
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Post by marci on Jun 23, 2011 17:09:16 GMT -5
Elaine really hadn't been ready for how much that simple act ahd affected her. It was lucky she couldn't see the expression on her friend's face, or else she would probably flee. As it was, she was silent for a second herself, her head hung a little in a reflexive gesture she'd learned as a little girl. It hadn't taken long for her to figure out that if her aunt couldn't see her face, she'd be less able to call her out when she was sad or hurt. So she'd started ducking her head and letting her hair fall in her face, hiding it from any eyes who wished so see farther in than she would let them. It this case, is was only mild. She didn't lower her face enough to hide it in sheets of black hair. At least, she was trying not to.
But Alex caught on to her playfulness eventually, and his boyish single-mindedness took up the lighthearted train easily. She let a small smile slide back on her face as she tried to get swept up in the sensation again, the carefree feeling that he'd so easily imparted to her after she'd been crying. But a part of her had clammed up after she'd allowed herself to be vulnerable. Even though he'd taken the kiss well and wasn't pushing anything, she still felt more withdrawn than usual, as if her defenses were overcompensating for the insecurity.
He took her hand, and her mind was a muddle of focusing on the touch and trying to listen to his words. But she finally managed to forget the awkwardness, able to be fully attentive to the last bit of what he said. Which was lucky, because she heard the abrupt cut-off in his words. She gasped as she came very close to tripping, not having expected her guide to simply stop moving. Her feet got tangled up in each other, and it was only by holding fast to Alex that she managed not to fall on her face, or into a tree or something.
”What was that?” She said, only barely managing to hide the instinctive frustration she was feeling. She was frowning a little, but she purposefully angled her face away from him to hide it. Then he asked her if she could hear anything, and her expression cleared up. Still rather stupid of him to just stop without giving the blind girl a word in warning, but it seemed he'd come upon something. She took a deep breath and held it, letting go of his hand in order to pull her hair away from her ears. After a few seconds, she nodded to him. ”Yes, I hear something breathing.”
He spoke excitedly, and she hide a small smile. With a subtle move of her hand, she sent a searching wind ahead of them, moving it about methodically and slowly along the ground until she found the cave he was talking about. Then she gained an interested look, stepping forward without him along the path she had found for herself, stepping over branches and bushes as if she could see them. Noiseless as she moved, the reckless blind girl only stopped when she was five or six feet away from the cave. There she stood for a long time, looking with sightless eyes at the den before her. She really didn't know how deeply bears hibernated. But if they could be awoken by any wind coming into their den, then it wouldn't be a very affective hibernation.
So she nodded her head a little, sending her wind inside the den to see what was inside. It was a big mass of fur, too big to be anything but a bear. She searched around with it, coming across what felt like a muzzle. A smile broke out on her face. It was cute. A big cute animal that could kill them if they made the wrong move and woke it up. Elaine knew she was too tired to use her wind sight and run away from a mad creature at the same time, but she still stayed there, turning to face Alex and nodding. An excited smile was on her features, telling him that yes;they had found a bear's den.
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