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 Posted: Tue Aug 28, 2018 9:18 pm
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Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:28 pm
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The gunslinger wouldn't be in the city for long now that Bloodfest was coming to a close. He hoisted his bag of belongings on his shoulder and walked through the snow. There were only a few people hanging around at booths now, mostly to chat with the booth-runners who were getting more and more time for themselves as the festivities died down and they were able to have a chat while packing up their areas. Lowbloods met with highbloods, people of the same bloodtype crowded around each other by their scarf color to meet or greet one another. A group of tealbloods walked by, chatting about the avalanche challenge from the final events. Buffel squinted as he studied the group's faces.
Nope, not her.
The lowblood had been peering over the crowds ever since he saw Flydra at the shooting booth, searching for her. He felt he owed her an apology for P.R.O.M. He'd been improper, and to do that to Flydra was something he couldn't abide. He'd long been meaning to try and make amends with her, but never could seem to find the words well enough to pay a visit.
But with her here, he'd hoped he could be forgiven for spontaneous words in the confines of a happenstance encounter. That hope had almost died at this point as he saw no sign of her on the quickly emptying streets. He trudged back to his caravan, doubtful that he could locate her.
Yer just gonna hafta walk on up t' her lab and explain yerself, ain't no two ways about it.
He found himself at an intersection and paused til it was safe to cross to the other side.
Ya messed up with her jus' like ya messed up with Polair. Not payin' 'em enough attention, always in yer own head.
He pushed through the crowds, passing various trolls. Some twin redblood children, an older greenblood, a snooty looking purpleblood with horn-rimmed glasses, a pretty young tealblood with twin-tails, a portly blueblood man, an others.
I swear ya gotta stop over-thinkin' yer emotions and second guessin' er else yer gonna miss what's right in f-waitacon-sarnin'secondthatwasher.
The gunslinger wheeled around hurriedly.
”Fly? Hey Flydra, wait up a second, I wanna talk to ya!”
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:25 pm
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Her greeting was distant and calculated, and not in the way he'd come to be endeared to her over either. He bristled at the canned response and sidled up to her, slowing his pace.
”I was wondering if we could chat for a moment about the whole P.R.O.M. situation.”
Her cheeks looked like they weren't exactly weathering the cold well. He reckoned this conversation might best be held indoors. At her mention of Polair, the lowblood almost stopped his tracks right there, but fought his own surprise. This was about Flydra, not Polair.
”Er, not quite. We're civil however, and that's not what I was fixin' to talk to you about. Well, not all I was fixin' to talk about.”
He looked up at the street ahead. A small leaf brewery was open, it's lights highlighting a chalkboard sign out front that spoke of hot freshly steeped tea for any and all to enjoy.
”What I'd like to do is apologize if you'd be willing to bend yer ear to it.”
He pointed his mechanical finger at the building.
”What d'ya say to a quick drink in there? It won't take too long, my treat.”
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Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:42 pm
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Buffel smiled at her response and held the door open for her as they entered the brewery.
”Splendid, and I'm definitely buyi-”
He stopped as she had already walked into the establishment and began pulling beetles out as she placed her order. The room was dimly lit and seemed to foster an atmosphere of close, personal conversation in each of the booths. Just as inviting and comfortable as he could have hoped for. He scratched the back of his head as she placed an abundance of beetles o n the counter.
”Oh, uh, okay! Thank ya kindly I suppose!”
He walked up to the register and looked over the cashier's shoulder at their menu for something to warm himself up with.
”I'd have a spiced ginger plum tea, if ya could please!”
He took care to count out the number of beetles the highblood had put down and made a mental note to find a way to sneak them back to her at some point. He thanked the troll behind the counter and made his way over to the table Flydra had picked out for them. He settled himself in the seat, removing his glove and moving his various winter layers of coats about until he felt situated as he listened to her. How could she not find fault in what he'd done?
”What d'ya you don't think I did anything wrong? I was there with you and instead of payin' you the attention you deserved I had myself a good 'n' proper freak-out about stuff. Hell, I abandoned you there, that just wasn't right at all!”
He sighed, pacing himself. He couldn't over-think his emotions, that was true, but he'd had just as many issues with speaking too soon as well. He picked up his tea, blowing on it slightly before taking a small sip before setting his cup back down.
”You deserved the full attention of yer date, and that's somethin' I didn't give ya. I apologize for that.”
He brushed his finger back and forth on the rim of his cup as he continued.
”It uh, it didn't work out quite like I expected in my conversation with Polair. She's got some stuff to figure out with herself as well it seems, but we're gonna be friendly enough again. It was the right thing to confront her about our intentions with each other. But I ain't here because she jilted me.”
He was looking directly at Flydra now.
”I'm not askin' ya to take me back, I couldn't. You deserve someone who's puttin you first an' foremost and that's not what I did. But I am here to say I'm sorry for standin' you up there liek that and admit what I did was wrong. You deserved a better night than what I gave ya.”
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Posted: Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:35 am
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Ah, so that was the root of the problem. The tealblood waited for the boy to finish with his apology before responding.
"It’s alright, Buffel." Flydra sipped at her tea, feeling warmer from it already, "Really, I’m glad you focused on Polair. You needed to." Almost all of her previous talks with Buffel had shown signs of anxiety and abandonment issues. She was not expert on mental health, that was her friend Psykgi’s domain. But it had always been clear something was going on in his thinkpan and Polair was the root of it.
"You hurt me. That’s true. But I have been steeling myself for this outcome from the beginning." Flydra looked into the bottom of her cup, a sad sheepish smile on her lips. "You have been nothing but honest about your affection for Polair. I expected this result and well... I’m rarely wrong." It was logical.
She was too much of a duty driven robot for a wandering vagabond like Buffel. He would do better with someone organic, a creative type like a sultry club singer to charm and bewitch him. Not many were compatible with a blood obsessive doctor working endless hours to come home covered in the disgusting remains of whatever illness or injury she’d treated that night. Flydra considered herself lucky that she’d managed to find even one quadmate. One that meant the world to her.
"I suppose I ought to apologize to you as well for running off early that night. My date wanted to take me to eat. You couldn’t have found me again even if you’d tried to so don’t blame yourself." She smiled fondly at the bittersweet memory. Sure, it had stung to be ditched at PROM. But she’d had the best moirail in the world to make sure her night wasn’t wasted.
"So. I think we’re even." She leaned back in her seat. "I am curious to know what your intentions are however. Are you planning to win her affections back? I assume you’re still madly flushed for her." She looked at her nail art as if the answer mattered little to her, despite the rushed invisible pounding in her chest. Let him go. It was for the best. She did want to look out for Polair in one final way though. She and the seadweller had both been yanked around by Buffel enough.
“A girl deserves to know if your attempts at friendship are platonic or hiding other goals. Give her that much honesty.”
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Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:10 pm
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Buffel felt his heart drop as she stated so plainly that she always knew he wasn't going to pick her. He wasn't sure if he could exactly dispute it or not, but either way it hurt to hear her announce it with such finality.
He was also perturbed by her complete and total acceptance of his apology, like it hadn't hurt at all for this to have happened. He wondered if she even cared all that much about their blossoming relationship. He left the clouds of his mind as she explained why he'd been unable to find her that night after all the searching. It was a much better outcome than what he'd feared.
”Well I'm uh, happy t' see yer doin' uh, so good about it all. And uh, about P.R.O.M., don't worry about all that. I'm glad Scorpa looked after ya. She had some pretty sharp words fer me that night y'know, all of 'em true.”
Scorpa wasn't normally someone the lowblood would look to for advice or guidance, but it seemed she was a bit smarter with matters of the heart. Credit where it was due.
The gunslinger was shocked when Flydra bluntly asked of his intentions with Polair. He was surprised to find himself remembering that for the first time in a while he could answer quite plainly.
”Oh I made my intentions quite open, don't worry. I told her I still had feelin's for her, and that I weren't goin' anywhere this time. I'd broken her trust however, and she'd said it was prob'ly fer the best if we started again as just friends.”
He shrugged, looking into his tea as he sipped it.
”So that's where we're at now. Just friends.”
He'd come to accept that he'd messed up his shot with both of them, but it wasn't an acceptance that he came to happily.
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Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2018 7:43 pm
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Buffel was dumbstruck. He had no idea what Polair saying to Engrav. They weren't even that close to begin with from how Polair had phrased it. Close enough to kiss apparently though. He mulled it over as he sat in his chair, taking another long gulp from his tea. It was almost empty now. She continued, expressing doubt that things could start over like nothing happened.
”Like nothin' happened? Oh naw, we're just mendin' what was already there. We both had a lot o' stuff we didn't deal with correctly an' so it's better that we slowly rebuild our connection as we rebuild ourselves. 'Least that's how I see it.”
He turned to look out the window next to their table. The snow had picked up again, and it was sure to get worse as the night went on. Not a great night for travel. As he mulled this over, he drank the last of his tea as Flydra responded.
"In my opinion, that girl isn't strong enough for you. She isn't stable enough to take care of you."
He put down his cup, and began to formulate a response before she continued.
"I'll piece you back together from this heartbreak. Trust me,"
He was momentarily shocked by her assertion, and shocked further still when she kissed him. His face flushed as he stuttered in response.
”F-Fly, I...I don't know what t'say.”
He looked into his empty cup.
”Except t'say that I...I don't think I can give you what ya need. I like you, well and truly I do. But part o' me is always gonna belong to Polair, an' that ain't fair to you. You deserve someone whose focus is you and only you. I'm not someone who could give you that. Does that sound like a relationship you'd be comfortable havin'?”
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Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:28 pm
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Was this what it felt like to malfuction?
Logically, Flydra Dromen knew that equipment had no consciousness and had no feelings. But for a brief moment, she wondered if this was what mechanical glitching felt like. Despite all logic pointing to a successful outcome, reality came crashing down on the doctor barely seconds after their lips parted. Her mechanical hand stayed steady on her cup. The flesh one shook. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes but she didn't bother to dry them.
What did he see in Polair that she did not possess herself? If it was an inquiring scientific mind, she had a military provisioned laboratory. If it was a compassionate heart, she had a bustling clinic full of patient testimonials. If it was a musical affinity, she had a trophy shared with her moirail to celebrate their success as winners of the Civisect branch of that silly TV show due to their singing. All these accolades to highlight her talents and skills fell to darkness compared to whatever intimate memory kept Buffel's eyes looking backwards over his shoulder.
He was a hopeless case. He would never shake off his ties to the past unless something cut them clean.
"... you're pathetic." She whispered, partially to him and partially to herself. "You're an idiot, chasing after daydreams with minimal effort and thinking you could possibly compete with a troll as driven as Engrav." All she could do now to drive a knife between herself and Buffel to cut him free. Buffel would never let go of Polair and if Flydra did not remove herself from this situation, he would likely continue to drag her downwards into his spiral of indecision. The words she spat out were cruel, and would only get crueler, but it was necessary to smear her image in his memory. She didn't have to mean them, she just had to say them.
Now, they would both be free.
"You'll never get anywhere, Buffel, until you actually try. If this is your best, you'll never amount to anything more than a tumbleweed in your desert. You hurt people and don't even have the decency to stay away from them after you've ruined them!" Her tone was harsh and heated, unable to keep up a chilly robotic facade. She rose from her seat, embarrassed at the mascara slowly dripping down her cheeks and wishing her girls were here to surround her.
"Scorpa deserves better blood to put in her veins than yours. Never come to my clinic again!" Without looking back, she clutched her purse to her side and barreled out the door, eager to look at anything besides the rejection in Buffel's eyes.
tenaciousgadabout really sorry for the longass delay but finally i had some time to finish this up. sorry for the melodrama, just thought it seemed a good way to wrap up the arc!
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