[J] Star Haven RP Archive (Keep)

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Maple smiles again, then looks between the two boys once again. "Well, you two help yourselves first. I can always make more if you two are hungrier than I think."

Almond flicks his eyes up to his mom, then glances over to Rivas again. "You first. It's kind of an unspoken rule here that company gets to help themselves to what they want before we dig in." He knew that he himself could be quite the pig when it came to eating, and he didn't want to give his mom a reason to give him a disapproving look today.  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas nodded, graciously accepting the hospitality. "I'm sure it will be wonderful, Miss Maple," he said politely, taking a moderate amount of food and sitting down at the table. He waited for the other two to get food before he began to eat.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Almond waits until Rivas had helped himself before he grabbed his share, making sure to leave enough for his mother as well.

Maple smiles at Rivas again, finding herself liking this Wazzit more and more. "Please, you don't have to call me Miss or anything like that. Maple will be fine. I'm not use to any form of formality."  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas laughed. "I was raised to be polite," he said. "It's something of a reflex. But I will try, Maple." He was careful to be a bit less formal, even if he preferred to be polite to her.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Maple grins a bit at that, then gets her helping, sitting down and looking at Rivas again. "It's alright if it's a reflex, but it just isn't something I'm used to, so it confuses me. You must have made some sort of an impression on my son as well, Rivas, since I believe you're the first person he's ever brought home. Normally when he's out on his own, he comes back alone and with some injuries, but refuses to tell me what caused those injuries."

Almond focuses intently on his plate of food, not really wanting to answer his mom's unspoken question.  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas smiled. "I don't know that I should elaborate on his business." He said. He didn't want to tell Almond's mother that the two of them had almost gotten into very nasty fights twice. It didn't seem like the type of thing he ought to say.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Maple eyes Almond at Rivas' statement, then sighs. "Figured it would be something like that. Something he really wouldn't tell me himself. Well, I guess boys will be boys." Finishing up her plate, she stands up and starts gathering empty dishes to take to the sink to wash. "You can stick around if you want, or if you two had something else in mind, you can go do your own thing. I've got to clean up, so I won't be much company."

Almond had also finished his plate and had carried it over to the sink, setting it down before walking over to where Rivas was and waiting for the other. "You got anything in mind?"  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas coughed a little and simply finished his meal, not responding to Maple's statement about boys. He had to admit, if his father and brothers were any indication, it was true. He glanced over at Almond, standing up to take his dishes to the sink as well. "I don't, not really," he confessed, looking a little embarrassed as he placed the dishes into the sink. He turned to Almond. "You seem to know the forest pretty well, and I was kind of wandering aimlessly when I ran into you. Anywhere you think might be neat to see?"  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Maple hums softly to herself again as she starts filling the sink with water so she can wash the dishes. "It was nice to meet you, Rivas. Feel free to stop by anytime, ok?"

Almond thinks for a moment, then nods and attempts to grab one of Rivas' hands again, intent on leading him to a place he thought the other would like. "Sure, this way."  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas nodded. "I would love to come back," he said. A slight smile crossed his face as Almond took his hand. "Sure, lead the way," he said, excited to see what the Baddie was planning.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Almond led Rivas down a path that looked near over-grown with plant life, the canopy of leaves above them blocking out quite a bit of light. After walking for a ways, Almond stopped in front of what appeared to be a cave. "There's a little secret place through here I like to go to when I want to think. Hardly anyone goes there, so it's practically untouched." He leads the way, slowing down so that Rivas can see the slightly glowing crystals that lined the walls and ceiling, giving at least some light for them to see by as they continued on. Eventually, there was more light as they reached the end of the cave and emerged into another clearing, this one with a wall of rock and trees surrounding it. It was a largish clearing with what appeared to be a spring fed pond in the center and plants of various types scattered throughout. There were also some vines hanging down from the trees and rock walls around them. It looked to be a very healthy ecosystem, giving the feeling that you were a million miles away from any form of civilization.  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas followed Almond, his eyes taking in the forest as they walked. "Secret...well, I'm flattered that you would choose to show it to me." He gave Almond a smile. As they walked, he was stunned into silence at the beautiful sight of the crystals in the cave wall. When they came out in the new clearing, he couldn't speak for a few moments, so overwhelmed was he by the utter beauty of the place. "...Almond...it's...amazing..." He said finally, a breathless gasp.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

Almond smiles, actually smiles quite widely at Rivas' obvious joy at seeing the cave and clearing. "Well, I figured since you like nature and are more in tune with it than I am, you would like this that much more than I do. There's a set of hot springs as well, further up the cliff side there. So... You really like it?"  

[Noir Songbird]

Rivas glanced over, and determined that he very much liked Almond's smile. It definitely competed with the natural beauty aorund them for his attention. "I love it. This was the most wonderful thing you could have shown me." He said firmly, his whole face glowing with joy.  

[SpaceDadDisapproves]

He flushes at the compliment, his smile turning into a bit of a goofy, shy-boy grin as he places one hand back behind his head and gives a soft chuckle. "Heh... I'm glad you like it. I've got my own place here, too, and while most may not consider it home, it works for me when I need to get away from it all." He heads over to a cluster of bushes and carefully pulls them aside, revealing a hidden cave. "Not much in there, really, but it didn't require anything being chopped up, nailed up, tied up, or dug out. And there are some rather large fish in the pond. I figured you could come here too anytime you needed to do some thinking or wanted to get more in tune with nature. The animals that are here are used to me coming and going by now." He motions to some well worn game trails towards the far side of the cove. "The bigger animals usually come in through there and don't pay much attention to anything on this side."