06-18-2017, 05:04 PM
I don’t miss the little grimace at the word ‘diplomacy,’ and I can’t help but grin in sympathy. Me too, man. Me too. I like him already, and even more when he charms the hell out of my Kali. I sit back and let her go, smiling at her enthusiasm and letting her win Ruan over just the same. How could she not? So damn cute, all bright eyes and wriggling with delight.
She chatters on a bit, almost inviting herself in and managing to ask with a bit of colorful vocabulary she might’ve picked up from me, but hey. Could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, right? I just blink innocently at Ruan’s knowing glance, or at least for half a second. Can’t help the mischief that slips into my expression, twitching a corner of my lips, dancing in my eyes a bit.
Oh, and he plays for her too, narrowing his eyes all skeptical-like and letting the silence stretch on just long enough that she’s squirming a bit. “Well...I suppose you don’t look like wild ruffians.” There she goes, lighting up and beaming at him before he even finishes. “Come on in, then.” Aaand she’s off, bouncing toward him and snuggling up close just long enough to rub her face against his shoulder and plant a tiny little kiss there before she hops into his home, wiggly and giddy and adorable as fuck.
She hangs off his every word, and I follow behind with an eye on her and an eye on the lovely woods around me. Charming, cozy, homey. If we hadn’t ended up on Ischia, this would’ve been a good place to settle. Even if it doesn’t have nearly enough water. Ruan describes his family, and a few of the other residents, and Kali scampers along beside him and nods, alternately looking up at him with rapt attention and trying to look at every single thing we walked past.
Don’t worry, baby, I bet you’ll be able to come back.
“Ohhhh, they all sound wonderful! Maybe I can meet them sometime? That’s a lot to meet all at once, but um, maybe if one of the littler ones is around today, we could say hello? They sound real neat, and also if they’re like you, they must be awful nice, too! Oooh, pretty!”
And just like that, she’s wandering around the little creek, splashing on top of the water, pawing at the surface, hopping and scampering. Her eyes go wide and she grins and pounces, landing right over a fish and scaring it half to death. It swims off, and she bounds on back to shore to poke around the woods where we paused for a bit of a breather.
“She’s quite an enchanting little thing,” Ruan mentions, coming to stand closer to me while she has a bit of fun on her own.
The smile on my face goes a bit dopey as I watch her. “Isn’t she, though? She’s usually a bit more shy, but she seems rather taken with you. And with this place. Can’t say I blame her, it’s lovely here.” He asks about Ischia, and I nod idly. “Mm. Still Ischia, yeah. My ass of a father invaded, shook everything up, and then vanished. I got my family out so he couldn’t get near ‘em, and brought ‘em home after I was fairly sure he was gone. Must’ve lost interest or something, who ever knows with him? Ea’s still about, but I wound up in charge somehow, me and my buddy Reilly, who’s got a thing for my kids’ mom. I’ve got my fingers crossed for him, but you never know with love, do you? Not ‘til it happens, or it doesn’t, and even then.” I shrug. Who the hell am I to ponder the mysteries of the heart or whatever?
“What about Taiga? Probably I should know these things, but to be honest I’ve never given much of a shit about politics. Long as my family’s safe, the rest of the world can kind of go fuck itself, you know? Up side of an island, it’s a bit harder to reach. Doesn’t mean trouble won’t come, but at least it keeps your average wild ruffian at bay a bit.”
She chatters on a bit, almost inviting herself in and managing to ask with a bit of colorful vocabulary she might’ve picked up from me, but hey. Could’ve been a hell of a lot worse, right? I just blink innocently at Ruan’s knowing glance, or at least for half a second. Can’t help the mischief that slips into my expression, twitching a corner of my lips, dancing in my eyes a bit.
Oh, and he plays for her too, narrowing his eyes all skeptical-like and letting the silence stretch on just long enough that she’s squirming a bit. “Well...I suppose you don’t look like wild ruffians.” There she goes, lighting up and beaming at him before he even finishes. “Come on in, then.” Aaand she’s off, bouncing toward him and snuggling up close just long enough to rub her face against his shoulder and plant a tiny little kiss there before she hops into his home, wiggly and giddy and adorable as fuck.
She hangs off his every word, and I follow behind with an eye on her and an eye on the lovely woods around me. Charming, cozy, homey. If we hadn’t ended up on Ischia, this would’ve been a good place to settle. Even if it doesn’t have nearly enough water. Ruan describes his family, and a few of the other residents, and Kali scampers along beside him and nods, alternately looking up at him with rapt attention and trying to look at every single thing we walked past.
Don’t worry, baby, I bet you’ll be able to come back.
“Ohhhh, they all sound wonderful! Maybe I can meet them sometime? That’s a lot to meet all at once, but um, maybe if one of the littler ones is around today, we could say hello? They sound real neat, and also if they’re like you, they must be awful nice, too! Oooh, pretty!”
And just like that, she’s wandering around the little creek, splashing on top of the water, pawing at the surface, hopping and scampering. Her eyes go wide and she grins and pounces, landing right over a fish and scaring it half to death. It swims off, and she bounds on back to shore to poke around the woods where we paused for a bit of a breather.
“She’s quite an enchanting little thing,” Ruan mentions, coming to stand closer to me while she has a bit of fun on her own.
The smile on my face goes a bit dopey as I watch her. “Isn’t she, though? She’s usually a bit more shy, but she seems rather taken with you. And with this place. Can’t say I blame her, it’s lovely here.” He asks about Ischia, and I nod idly. “Mm. Still Ischia, yeah. My ass of a father invaded, shook everything up, and then vanished. I got my family out so he couldn’t get near ‘em, and brought ‘em home after I was fairly sure he was gone. Must’ve lost interest or something, who ever knows with him? Ea’s still about, but I wound up in charge somehow, me and my buddy Reilly, who’s got a thing for my kids’ mom. I’ve got my fingers crossed for him, but you never know with love, do you? Not ‘til it happens, or it doesn’t, and even then.” I shrug. Who the hell am I to ponder the mysteries of the heart or whatever?
“What about Taiga? Probably I should know these things, but to be honest I’ve never given much of a shit about politics. Long as my family’s safe, the rest of the world can kind of go fuck itself, you know? Up side of an island, it’s a bit harder to reach. Doesn’t mean trouble won’t come, but at least it keeps your average wild ruffian at bay a bit.”