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 Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 5:28 pm
Kapuki sighed softly as she strolled along beach, her paws picking their way carefully over the sand as she went along. The storm had reaked havoc upon the ocean front, tossed ashore many sea creatures, some that had died, some that still writhed in their attempts to get back into the water. Some were small, some were not, though she tried to help those that she could - and those that would let her. She felt guilty, as if it were her fault the storm had come, that the ocean and the other muses had been so angry.
She picked up a starfish gingerly in her maw, carrying it down to the shoreline, and let it slip from her mouth into the water. She sighed to herself and sat, hanging her head slightly, tail flickering behind her. She had certainly learned her lesson.
With a bit of a frown on her mug, she pushed herself back up onto her feet, and began to make her way down the shore once more. She was concentrating upon what she was doing intently, and surprisingly enough, showed little fear as the ocean waves licked at her ankles. It might have battered her, but her love still burned unwavering for the mighty sea before her.
A figure watched her from the trees above the shoreline, standing silent in the damp morning jungle. He and Kapuki had come to a sort of agreement--an understanding, but now that the storm had passed there was some... shyness there, somehow.
He no longer new her, this... Nerida. Her name had come sometime in the night, the new one that he'd never been told. It fit her, he thought, better than Kapuki had and yet it made him aware that things had changed more than anything else. She was no longer Kapuki, he was no longer Tau.
Despite their words, there was still a gap between them.
He made his way down the shore after a time, ears bent and tail low in humility. Seeing what she was doing, he too helped a few of the still living creatures to the water, all the while watching her from the corner of his eyes. Between the two of them, the beach was soon filled iwth nothing but the dead. Now the crabs came, scuddling about to take the harvest the ocean had provided. Panu cleared his throat.
She had seen him as he came down, her eyes shifting up towards him momentarily, though it was only for a fleeting moment. She was busy concentrating upon what she was doing, and once she noticed that he simply began to do what she was, she smiled and went back to her work. She was aware of his presence, no matter if she was looking at him or had her back to him.
The stormy night had cleared up many things for the both of them, but it left an awkward hole between them as well. She knew it was nothing like before, but there were still things to be said, to be done. She was as lost as always, but she had put that strong exterior back into place. She was herself again, or at least, as close to her old self as she would ever be.
She was nudging the last starfish she had found into the water when he cleared his throat, and she lifted her head and turned around slowly to look upon him. The crabs that came scuddling by bothered her not in the slightest, knowing that it was better to let them have at what the ocean had left than let it go to waste.
She wasn't sure what to say, as 'thank you' was not really for her to say. He had helped them like she had, end of story. 'Good morning,' also seemed far too cheesey, and not at all like her. Why were things so awkward now? "The ocean is calmer today," she said finally, glancing out at the water even as she moved to stand closer to him.
"Eh-heh.. yeah.." He gave an awkward, airy chuckle and nod at that. It was easier to let his eyes roam out across the ocean than say anything else. He'd intended to say something, but the words hadn't come and.... oh well. He laughed again, somehow full of bubbles now that it felt as if the bad air between them had evaporated.
The boy, for he was still young, glanced at her and gave a shy half-smile. Finally he took a step in, "So ah.. you... hungry?" He tried with a hopeful look that was almost pathetic.
She let a small smile linger on her mug at the laughter, a light chuckle falling from her own maw, though she quickly looked down at her paws and scuffed slightly at the sand beneath them. It was strange, whatever they were now, though it was necessarily bad. It was just awkward, in a way that made her unsure of herself, in a sense that she never really had been before.
"Yes, I'm very hungry actually, been busy all morning getting those little critters back where they belonged," she piped up, happy that he had said something she could reply to. She shifted, turning her face up towards the sun, and then let her gaze fall back upon him.
"Well... I think we'd have a fight if we tried to eat here," He observed, looking about at the various muses feasting around the beach. As if to confirm his words, a few crabs raised their claws to him and snapped. He chuckled faintly, and shook his head, and then jerked it back towards the jungle.
"Follow me? We'll find some dinner." Panu gave a smirk, a small touch of his old self showing through the haughtiness of that gesture. He headed back into the jungle at a lope.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:23 pm
Kapuki looked at the crabs, especially the ones that raised and snapped their claws. Her nose wrinkled slightly, her tail flickering behind her, although if it was at the crab's reaction or the thought of eating the animals she had tried so desperately to save was anyone's guess. "They can have it," she said finally, calmly enough, pale eyes shifting to him instead.
The smirk on his maw made her quirk a brow, her own small smirk mirroring his. She simply nodded and sauntered after him, her steps a touch slower from her still-recovering body. She caught up, though, remembering his advice about staying close when they walked through the jungle. At least she remembered.
"Thank you," she said, suddenly, bluntly, and seemingly out of nowhere, completely interupting the silence that had fallen over them. "For helping me, last night," she added after a moment, as she realized that a simple 'thank you' out of the blue with no explination might seem a little odd.
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