|
Post by kiku on May 28, 2009 20:48:00 GMT -5
When Kiku’s eyes finally opened, at first they could not focus. Something was unusual; it was too bright, she realized, almost blinding – an afternoon rather than a hazy, morning sun. Naturally, she squeezed her eyes shut at the painful awakening and buried her head underneath the thickness of her soft quilt. An anguished groan slipped between her pale lips as the pounding of her head intensified.
What time was it? Suddenly, Kiku felt additional warmth brush her cheeks. How late had she slept in? Much later than usual, certainly. Oh, no – who was making breakfast? Was Kiran still sleeping? Was he starving? Was he annoyed with her for sleeping in so late?
Kiku arose slowly then, moving to her dresser with a fair amount of sluggishness. Her limbs felt numb and, when she glanced into her mirror a moment later, she realized her face was quite grim as well. The skin under her eyes was a bit puffy and nearly purple, while her lips were set into a lazy frown. Her hair was also limp and messy – or, well, who knew, maybe she looked very attractive; her eyes were so foggy still it was hard to tell.
Several minutes later, however, Kiku deemed herself presentable and strolled downstairs with smooth, auburn hair and clean, soft clothes that complimented her shape appropriately. A tint of tiredness was still evident in her demeanor, however; her cheeks remained pale, her doe brown eyes softer than usual.
Kiku searched carefully for Kiran, though she had a decent idea of where he would be – the kitchen. Slowly, she peeked into it, and, seeing him near the dining room table, moved toward him with a slow, lazy grace.
“Good morning, Kiran,” she said with a soft, almost smoky voice, placing one, small hand on his broad shoulder. She was much too tired still to sense anything amiss.
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jun 1, 2009 13:52:37 GMT -5
Kiran was almost startled by Kiku’s entrance into the kitchen. He was thinking to himself – thinking about what he should do, how to calm himself – so he had not heard her come in.
He looked over at her with a weak smile, taking in her sleepy appearance. She obviously hadn’t noticed anything strange about him yet, so he took it as an advantage. Maybe he shouldn’t say anything about what happened to him that morning. Perhaps he would tell her later when he was more relaxed. So, he took in a small breath and sighed, looking over at her as his hands clumsily fumbled around with the market bags sitting on the counter.
“You ah…you slept in pretty late. Feeling alright?”
He gave another smile at her, as weak as it was. His eyebrows were pulled forward and raised slightly, as if his gaze was worried. If he knew, he would try to relax a little more. But as of now, he wondered if he looked convincing, and if not, he hoped that maybe Kiku would take it as worry for her sleeping in so late.
He looked to the bags filled with food and remembered why he had gone out in the first place.
“I bought some breakfast this morning since you weren’t up yet. Hungry?”
His fumbling hands opened up one of the market bags and he placed the loaf of bread on the table along with some pastries and eggs.
“It’s not much, but I…didn’t have much money with me.”
It was a strange lie, a partly-lie, but a lie all the same. He was just in such a hurry to get away from the hateful glares that he didn’t bother staying in that town much longer than needed to be.
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jun 5, 2009 19:48:51 GMT -5
“You didn’t have to buy anything,” Kiku murmured almost automatically; however, contrary to her words, Kiku was less concerned with Kiran’s lack of money and more concerned with his behavior. Was it only her slight sleep deprivation or did Kiran appear to be acting strange this morning? He was not his smiling, charming self, which Kiku thought would only be intensified this morning due to his thoughtful deed. No, instead of triumphant and amused, his expression was worried and distracted, like he had some sorrowful thought weighing him down.
“And I’m fine,” Kiku said gently, answering his previous question. In addition to this however, she took another step forward and shifted her gentle grip to his upper arm, squeezing it. “Are you feeling okay?” she murmured then, her fair brow furrowed, soft, brown eyes concerned. “You seem a bit… off today.”
Was it only the recent stress that was causing him to fumble? Somehow, Kiku didn’t think so. This was not disorientation caused by medicine or injury; there was too much focus and depth to his worried stare. She tilted her head at him, eyebrows pulling closer together, pale lips set into a concerned frown.
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jun 12, 2009 15:37:07 GMT -5
Kiran knew he couldn’t keep a secret from Kiku for very long. He knew that if he was going to tell her, she would be even more worried about him, yet…she should know. This involved the both of them anyway.
He turned to her, finally removing his fidgeting hands from the market bag and sighed. He paused for a moment and spoke softly as if he was afraid someone would overhear for some reason.
“Daichi’s told everyone. About us, but more about me specifically.” He clentched his jaw for a moment, then relaxed again. “This morning when I went into town to buy food…” he shook his head and looked over her shoulder, “…they were all staring at me. Everyone looked like they wanted to kill me, Kiku. When I wanted to buy something, the vendor nearly refused to sell anything to me.”
He looked back to her, that worried look creeping back onto his face, the creases on his forehead appearing when his brows pulled together.
“It makes me nervous, Kiku. I felt like a koala-sheep in the middle of a pack of tiger-wolves.”
At that moment, Nayeli gave a loud “baah!”, as if she had been listening. She stood at Kiran’s feet, looking up at him with big eyes. She was probably hungry.
He sighed and looked back to Kiku with an expression that merely said he wasn’t sure what was going to happen next.
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jun 19, 2009 22:55:46 GMT -5
At Kiran’s first words, Kiku’s doe brown eyes widened in shock, her hand soon tightening on his strong upper arm. As Kiran continued to speak, however, Kiku’s brow grew more and more furrowed, lips pursing into a well-defined frown, a heaviness building up within her chest. When he described his trip into town, scenarios suddenly flared up within her, many ending in bodily injury, or worse, on Kiran’s part. Then, as she sympathetically meet Kiran’s gaze and stroked his arm in comfort, Kiku could felt guilt and dread weighing her down, nearly suffocating her. How could she put Kiran in such danger?
Because of her intense daze, Nayeli’s loud bah made Kiku jerk in surprise. After her heart rate finished its climax, however, Kiku sighed, looking to Nayeli, though her eyes were still distant. However, when she looked back to Kiran, her gaze was sharp, taking in every detail of his expression. He looked helpless, worried… if his words had not said this already. His expressions, however, always seemed to speak to her strongly, and after being exposed to them, Kiku felt his helplessness and worry consume her as well. There was nothing more she wanted than to have him safe… But she didn’t know what to say to soothe him that wouldn’t sound like a blatant lie.
“Kiran…” she began her voice soft, but, instead of speaking, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a firm embrace, burying her face into his chest.
“… I’m sorry. You don’t deserve this.”
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Jul 2, 2009 20:05:16 GMT -5
It was expected of Kiku to blame herself. She always did whenever it came to his well-being. She was upset now and he was the one causing it, but…
No, this was neither of their faults. He did nothing wrong; she did nothing wrong. However, it always seemed that Kiku was apologizing for the things the people of her nation did to him: apologizing for her father’s behavior, Daichi’s behavior, and now the whole town. No. That wasn’t right. She shouldn’t have to look so worried and speak so softly in sympathies for things she had no control over.
Kiran wrapped his arms around Kiku’s small frame. Whenever he held her like this, he felt like he was the one supposed to be protecting her. And he would. She just felt so small.
“That’s just the way things are, Kiku.” He voice was calmer and softer. “You can’t keep apologizing for things you have no control over. I know what happened this morning wasn’t a good sign, but…maybe the people just need time to cool down after what happened the other night. It’ll be alright.”
When the last words rolled off his lips, they sounded firm, persuasive, and comforting. But in his mind and heart, things felt much different. Kiran had heard many things while being in the military and one of them was that Earth Kingdom citizens were very strong; if they didn’t like something, they didn’t put up with it for very long.
All Kiran could do was hold Kiku closer to him, kissing her temple gently in the hopes that he was wrong.
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Jul 10, 2009 21:41:13 GMT -5
Kiku knew his words were fair, but what was perhaps more reassuring was his touch. His voice was confident and soft, but his arms around her were firm, warm, and simply so … there. They were strong and protective, making it easy for Kiku to fall for the idea that, with Kiran, nothing, no one, could touch her, let alone harm her. But, she wasn’t so sure of Kiran’s wellbeing. Especially with this new development among the townsfolk, Kiku felt increasingly wary about how Kiran would make it through. He had been hurt so much already, and, while her brethren might forgive her, she was still not certain that they would accept Kiran.
Closing her eyes, Kiku murmured her concerns softly once she felt the pressure of his lips against her temple.
“I don’t know Kiran,” she sighed. “If… if Daichi said that… Well. Our town really respects him. Being so young, strong, and so dutiful and everything.” She paused, before speaking more softly. “But. I don’t know. I can’t believe Daichi would turn on you so quickly. It sounded like he was going to give you a chance.”
She kept her arms around him, her eyes closing again, as if she could pretend these complications were simply a dream.
|
|
|
Post by coldflame on Aug 6, 2009 20:00:22 GMT -5
Kiran knew that Kiku didn’t want to accept the fact that Daichi ratted on him. But Kiran knew; he knew that it had to be no one other than Daichi. There were not many others who knew of his secret. And he was positive that someone during the raid wouldn’t have taken the time to notice his face and bother to remember it. There was too much chaos happening at the time.
And Daichi has a motive to hate him in the first place: Kiku. Just because he was with Kiku, Kiran was sure the earthbender would be willing to spread things around to make things more difficult for him and Kiku. Kiran knows that Daichi has the hopes of him leaving – leaving for good.
Kiran lingered on this thought a little longer and he seemed to find a resolve on blaming Daichi. Besides…for all Kiran knew, Daichi might have spilt the secret on accident. Though, he somehow doubted it. And for some reason, he felt better doubting Daichi in the first place.
“Kiku, he’s hated me from the moment he knew where I was from,” he said, stepping away from her to see her face. “All it would take was a little slip-up or maybe even a hint to get people angry. You know he doesn’t want me around you.”
He paused and glanced away for a moment before looking back at her.
“Maybe your father even said something.”
|
|
|
Post by kiku on Aug 17, 2009 20:43:11 GMT -5
“I doubt it,” Kiku replied almost automatically, but the confidence of her words was compromised by her cringe. Her eyes met his then, and, knowing she was caught, she crossed her arms and glanced toward the floor, furthering her self-conscious appearance. “I mean, I just don’t know why he would. He probably wouldn’t be proud about… harboring you. And Daichi…” She started, her voice growing more firm and assured, “is my friend. He wants to protect me, and letting people gossip about and get angry with me would be counterproductive, don’t you think?”
She felt confident enough to meet Kiran’s eyes at that point, so she did, rare defiance shining in her dark brown eyes.
“And if he did slip up, then I don’t see that as another reason to hate him, Kiran. Accidents happen. And with Daichi, going off on some tangent isn’t exactly unheard of. Besides,” she began, her voice growing more thoughtful and, with her next words, melting into a whisper, “it’s not as if we wouldn’t have to cross this bridge eventually.”
|
|