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 Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:11 pm
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Not the next day, no, but the day after that Amarus was meeting Xiu at their agreed spot. She hadn't found it terribly easily, venturing off campus, but it could have been worse; she had a lot of time, she skipped class a lot, you know. The usual.
"I hope this is.. possible," Amarus said, quietly. "If anyone can manage, surely it is Xiu." She had the flower preserved in its sand-like crystals in a canister beside her. A long-stemmed rose.
She had something that functioned as a stand, too, but she had to pierce the base of the stem with a long, thin needle; it was delicate. Not something she would do today, because she was sure if she could manage it the once she would not want to manage it again.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:03 pm
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It just so happened that Hayate--Xiu's uncle--had been out planting things in the front yard when Amarus showed up. Having been alerted of the fact that his niece's friend was going to visit today, the male immediately perked up upon noticing a figure heading down the path that led to their house. Pushing himself up to his feet, he cleared his throat before offering Amarus a warm smile that bore a striking resemblance to a certain baku ghoul's.
"You're Amarus, right?" His tail, tipped with black instead of Xiu's white, swished lazily behind him as he tucked his hands into his oversized yukata sleeves, "Xiu's just inside. I think she was prepping tea and spookies for your arrival, so she should just be in the living room."
This statement was confirmed by the fact that, upon turning to glance at the window behind him, Hayate immediately caught sight of his niece scrambling back and forth to get everything laid out on the coffee table. If there was one thing that their family prided themselves on, it was being good hosts, and Xiu was no exception.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:28 pm
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Amarus was actually very surprised to be addressed by someone, since she wasn't entirely sure she was in the right place in the first place. She bowed deeply, her mirror-silver eyes flashing with nerves for a moment before her calm exterior and the empty coolness returned to her face. "Ah, yes, I am-- forgive me, but I do not know you," she said. The smile was so close to Xiu's-- relative, then?
Amarus felt a twinge of pain, one she still hadn't managed to bury. She had no family.
"That is so kind of her-- thank you for greeting me. Is it acceptable to enter? Or shall I wait outside until she is ready?" Amarus asked, tilting her head, her bells ringing. She smiled softly, which eased her features and made her appear altogether less doll-like.
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:33 pm
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"Oh--sorry!" The man laughed brightly, "I must have startled you, suddenly calling out to you like that. I'm Hayate, Xiu's uncle. It's nice to meet you." He offered a friendly grin, and then emitted another laugh at the inquiry.
"Don't worry, you can go in now! In fact, let me call Xiu for you." Leaning back, he closed his hand into a fist and rapped on the window. He could see Xiu's ears perk up as she came up to the glass, peering out at him quizzically. It wasn't until she followed the direction of her uncle's pointing finger did she realize that Amarus had arrived.
Expression brightening, the baku ghoul disappeared as she whisked herself away from the window, reappearing seconds later at the now open front door. "Amarus, welcome!"
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Posted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 10:06 pm
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As Hayate rapped in the window, Amarus saw Xiu's ears come up as she peered out the window, and Amarus covered her mouth with one pale hand to hide her giggle. Xiu was so cute.
Her calm expression returned seconds later, in time to be greeted, though she was smiling again. "Thank you, Xiu; I certainly feel welcome. Your uncle is very friendly," she said, nodding. She bowed again to Hayate. "I am grateful for your direction, Hayate, and it is a pleasure to have met you today," Amarus said. She straightened, smiled at him, and headed towards Xiu, canister in hand.
"Hello, Xiu. Your home is lovely," amarus said, with a wistful smile.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 12:25 am
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"I'm glad!" Xiu chirped brightly, pausing to look at her uncle as her friend addressed him once more.
"Likewise, and not at all. It's always nice meeting a friend of Xiu's." The man offered Amarus a smile before glancing over at Xiu, noting that the ghoul was waving her hand at him in an effort to catch his attention. When he lift his brows questioningly at her, Xiu pointed into the house. "If you want some tea and spookies, I've left you some on the kitchen counter! Don't overwork yourself out here, uncle!"
With that, she popped her head back, motioning for the other ghoul to follow. "Come in! And thank you--some of the rooms are still works in progresses, but at least the living room and kitchen are complete." Leading her towards the former, Xiu gestured for Amarus to take a seat on one of the couches. "Please, make yourself at home! And...I'm guessing that that is the object in question that we were discussing in your hands?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:54 am
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Amarus did, in fact, stop bothering Xiu's uncle and follow her into their home. "You are building this house?" she asked, in no small amount of wonder. And again, the knowledge that she didn't have conventional family to live with like this.
After amityville, unless she wanted to bug the jack out of Freya and Kettil she didn't really have many places to go. It was going to punctuate her already kind of solo existence. Good thing she didn't actually mind being alone; she always had her birds and plants.
Still, what good was a Lotus Eater with no one to intoxicate?
Amarus was actually fairly uncomfortable with the idea of couches, and as she sat down she sort of adjusted weirdly and looked down at her butt every so often like the couch was going to eat her. Add a new quality: mistrustful of couches.
"It is, yes-- it is, ah... I will show you."
Gently, Amarus unscrewed the top of the canister, and set the lid down. She poured some of the crystals into the top of the container, and removed a red rose. It looked, more or less, like it had when she had gotten it. The petals, however, were stiff.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014 10:45 pm
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"Renovations," Xiu chirped in reply, folding her hands together in her lap as she she settled down on one of the couches, "Our priority had been the kitchen down here, but we're still working on my uncle's sewing room. There's still a lot of unpacking to be done too." Making a face at the thought, the baku then busied herself with pouring out the tea she had brewed, setting one cup and saucer in front of her guest and the other in front of herself.
Putting the teapot back down with a very gentle clank, she turned her full attention to the canister in Amarus' hands, eyes growing wide as the rose was revealed. How beautiful! "So this is one of the flowers that you've managed to preserve then? It's amazing, Amarus...truly, it almost looks like it was freshly cut!"
Tentatively, she reached her hand out towards it, only to freeze just as her finger was about to brush against the bloom. "May I? I will promise to be most gentle."
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 3:45 pm
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"Ahh, I understand... I, doo, would prioritize the kitchen, if I was being honest, as it would be the most precious room to me," she admitted, with a smile. "If I can ever be of assistance unpacking, or with the renovations, please let me know," she volunteered, immediately.
Amarus thanked Xiu for the tea, and took a sip. Well, this was nicer than the time Frost had given her some.
"Yes, I have not done it very often, as I am not sure of the restrictions... it is relatively unastonishing, however, if one was to have been there for its creation," Amarus admitted. "Feel free, though touching it... breaks the illusion of its beauty, I feel. Living plants are so much more responsive to the touch; in preserving these flowers, they become far less silky, so that they may look beautiful forever, I imagine."
Amarus offered the flower to Xiu with both hands, taking another sip of tea afterwards.
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Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:54 pm
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Smile warming at Amarus' words, the ghoul gave a quick nod of her head. "Thank you, Amarus! It's very kind of you to offer, and I am always happy to return the favour should you ever need it."
Setting her teacup down, she reached out to take the offered flower with both hands, treating it in a more ginger manner. As Amarus had said, though the flower retained its physical beauty, it certainly didn't quite feel the same as a live one would. The petals, typical soft from moisture, seemed to lack that quality now.
Still, there was no denying that it was very pretty. Carefully turning it over in her hands, she curiously examined every last detail, from how the petals were arranged, to its texture, to whether or not it possessed a smell anymore. Finally, she glanced back up at the other ghoul.
"I can most certainly plant a reflection of this flower in someone's dream--I just need to know whose dream I'll be targeting."
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Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 9:43 am
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Even when Amarus had to move out, she likely wouldn't need help. Even after all her time at Amityville, she owned almost no material possessions, and never had. No new sheets, new pillows; only two new outfits in her whole time, three including her prom dress of last year; no new trinkets of any sort, really.
It was a shame that she had no way of making it retail its supple softness, but she supposed that could have been achieved with a cloth rose. She, however, had opted instead for this beautiful but brittle rose.
Amarus looked up, and felt her throat catch. She didn't need to breathe, but nevertheless felt some instinctual throbbing as if her once-heart had sped up and tightness in her chest as though air was limited. "It is, ah..." Amarus shut her eyes, and pictured his face. "Mot."
Whose name she had finally said aloud, for probably the first time in almost a year. Her memories of him had been damaged, before; she had chosen her one conflict to be love, and as a result anything that was coloured by any form of it in her past had been snipped clean. Recently, given the opportunity to remember, she had. Things were different, now. She was stronger. She could handle the weight of those memories, and their loss.
In fact, she was almost grateful to discover that they were back, because how could she have forgotten the dance with Mot, and the table at prom? And their walk, and... too few memories, really, to explain why she wanted to do this now. "I am not sure... if he would care for my meddling, however. I had planned on asking him, but I did not want to ask, if it was not possible-- now that you have said it is, though, I suppose it is about time I sought a reunion."
Amarus looked up at Xiu, with a lot more expression than she even thought her own face was capable of displaying. "Xiu, I think... that I am nervous," Amarus admitted softly. She laughed. "Imagine. Me, nervous, and admitting as much," Amarus added, and wrinkled her nose.
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 4:27 pm
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Ah. Trying to be considerate to Amarus, Xiu made an effort not to appear too surprised by the ghoul's confession, the slightest widening of her eyes serving as the only indication that she was at all startled. She let an easy, warm smile curve on her lips, and she instead simply said, "Well then, that would make it a little easier for me to find the thread that leads to his dreams. I'm a little more intuitive with picking out which thread leads to people I am acquainted or friends with."
Carefully lowering her hands so that the backs of them were set on her lap, Xiu glanced down at the rose before letting her gaze flicker back up to Amarus. "A reunion would be nice, I think. Especially so if you haven't seen him in such a long time." Now that she thought about it, she herself hadn't seen the cowboil in a while. Lips curving into a frown, her brows creased with concern, "Perhaps it would be nice if someone checked up on him. I don't think that I or the others have heard from Mot in some time. Perhaps that's a good incentive for you to ask him about this."
She didn't like to step into a dream--particularly one of a friend--without explicit permission, but for such a small favour... Inserting the image of a rose into a dream was, in Xiu's opinion, a rather innocent thing. Ultimately, she would let Amarus decide on what was to be done.
"There is nothing wrong with being nervous," The baku laughed, holding the rose back out with one hand with reaching out with her other to squeeze Amarus' shoulder comfortingly, "Overcoming that nervousness may prove to be a challenge, but I have the utmost confidence in you."
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Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014 5:11 pm
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It was, in fact, pretty difficult to say his name aloud. "I am glad knowing him makes it easier," she said, quietly, "I am afraid that it makes it more difficult for me." Amarus shook her head, smiling.
"I understand," was Amarus' only reply, when she said that perhaps it was a good incentive to see him and find out how he was doing, as well as ask about the rose. "I had planned on presenting the rose to him, and asking if he would... mind the dream, in fact," Amarus said. She also had no desire to ask Xiu to put something into a mutual friend's dream without his permission. It seemed very personal.
"Thank you, Xiu. I have a lot to think about, now, and I must gather myself. I fear I may not be very good company," Amarus said, leaning back and folding her hands into a kuji-kiri. Amarus took a deep, unnecessary breath.
"What is it like to touch someone's dreams, Xiu?"
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