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Brand New Breeze (or for short, BNB) is a roleplay forum based on the anime "La Corda d'Oro". We don't have a serious plot yet, which means that you may all chill out and enjoy your school life at Seiso to the fullest! But how long will those peaceful days last? Stay tuned to learn about the challenges Seiso Academy has yet to face...!
Feel free to join us, we're always happy to see new roleplayers! Latest Plot Development: "The price of the land in which Seisou is located has risen and Kira decides to move the school to somewhere else. But since he can't find a large place big enough for both departments, he wants to seperate the two departments. Both music ed. and gen-ed. students decide to work hand in hand and to rescue their school." THE ROLEPLAYING SECTION IS APPARENTLY ON TEMPORARY HIATUS Completed Reviews: 0/2 Tsuchiura Ryotarou (Kay) Honda Arina (Akahana) |
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| Le Carnaval des Animaux; Women and elephants never forget. | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 14 2009, 04:13 AM (473 Views) | |
| Miss Avarice | Apr 14 2009, 04:13 AM Post #1 |
 
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Le Carnaval des Animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) Skirt the parlor, and shun the zoo Women and elephants never forget. Dorothy Parker ¿Quién? Fuyuumi and Kaji. ¿Dónde está? The zoo. ~*~ "Introduction et marche royale du Lion." She read Saint-Saën's works aloud as she walked, a bit to herself, but turning heads all the same. Her pianist cousin called her on the phone and told her about an audition for an orchestra that was playing the entire zoological program, and suggested she visit the zoo to understand what it was all about. Fuyuumi likes animals, if they're not too loud. She likes dogs if they don't jump and she likes cats if they don't claw -- and seeing as most dogs jump and most cats claw, and most animals are fairly loud -- she doesn't like them at all. She placed herself on a bench not in front of the lion pen -- too large with gaping mouths to eat her, but next to a rather curious-looking peacock that opened its beak wide to squawk at her. She shrieked and almost dumped her sheet music onto the crowded walkway, but caught herself just in time, to sit in silence as the bird ruffles its feathers and waddles on its way. She wondered if anyone else was around (that's probably incorrect) -- her assumptions were usually correct, though. It's a weekend and people like to go to the zoo on weekends, don't they? Turned her head and saw couples holding hands as they pass by the beautiful aviary and the macaws and the monarchs mingle there, while she only drew herself further in and seems even smaller than she already is. Can't look can't watch can't see. Such noise congestion. Everything is a blur. She could, if she wanted to (enough enough!) and she could stand and scream to the world (but she wouldn't). She could be more outgoing and chides herself. But there is nothing to do when sounds are crashing down against your ears like surf and waves and the ocean. Hypersensitivity -- ah, that's the word. Too long. The psychologist told her it once. Hyper-sense-it-ivity. The air is thick and the sounds are clearing a bit like hacking away at the jungle with a machete. But that is all. Well, perhaps someone is coming. She dropped her hands to her sides where they stop shaking and looked around, wide-eyed. Perhaps. Edited by Miss Avarice, Apr 14 2009, 09:39 PM.
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| peculuiarities | Apr 15 2009, 05:35 AM Post #2 |
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le carnaval des animaux., Kaji Aoi wasn't big on animals. He could summon up some interest on them, sure; he had read books on their proper care, heard lectures that lamented their loss of habitat, watched documentaries that illustrated, in somber, apocalyptic tones, their dwindling numbers. When called upon, he could discuss the merits of supporting conservation efforts in Micronesia with esteemed professors, become a sounding board as his father's party guests described, with almost gleeful fanaticism, their perfumed sojourns into the African savannas. He could, when asked, name his favorite animal with just the right amount of eagerness (dogs, for their energy and no-strings-attached devotion, but horses, tall and proud and strong, came in a close second), or describe a fond childhood memory that he'd had with a four-legged friend (afternoon games at the polo club), and even, if he was really pressed, answer which came first (the chicken). He gave off the air of someone at a middle ground-- concerned, just so, with abuse and misuse and all those tricky little technicalities, but with none of the off-putting mania of the zealots. That said, however, he still couldn't summon up much of the enthusiasm of the animal-lovers he knew. Animals were interesting, yes-- it disturbed him to hear of their abuse, and every other month he dutifully set aside a portion of his savings for the shelter of his choice, but there were still other things to think of. His priorities shifted quite often (although, as of late, one topic had stuck to the top with almost frightening resilience), and since 'animals' very rarely ranked high on that list, he left most of the work to those who really cared. Still, though, he could sometimes be called upon to rally to the cause, which was why, on this particular weekend, he found himself wandering the walkways of the local zoo. There was an exhibit on various ecosystems that were in critical condition, and his father was inviting another environmentally-minded politician to their next golf trip. In the manner of dutiful sons, he had then set aside his next free day for research, in order to participate in the impending discussions with just the right amount of interest. It wasn't a task he was particularly fond of, but he threw himself into it with that (almost) single-mindedness with which he attacked everything else. He perused the brochure in his hand as he walked, whistling a section of Bach's Gavotte en Rondeau, a piece he was currently taking up. With resignation, he realized that once again, despite his perfect hearing, there was no way he would be able to play it without hours upon hours of practice; the natural ease with which most musicians translated score sheets to sounds was alien to him. Oh well, he told himself, shrugging, I'll just have to try harder, is all. Around him were the typical noises of a public zoo at 10.30 in the morning-- children squealed, monkeys yammered, birds trilled, and every so often one of the big cats would growl. The exhibit wasn't going to open until eleven, so he decided to pass the time by circling cages. (Despite his professed indifference, he still couldn't help wandering around; it was inbuilt. Boys will be boys, after all, and boys do like the zoo.) As he walked, he mentally ticked off the cages that he passed. 'Orangutans, chimpanzees, howler monkeys' soon segued into 'brown kiwis, emus, one-wattled cassowaries, peacocks--' Huh. Kaji paused, surprised to find a familiar head of cyan-green hair not far from the peacock cage. He recognized her vaguely; she was a first year music student, one of the pair that usually gravitated towards Hino during the mornings and afternoons at school (the other was a blond, sleepy-eyed boy who almost towered over the redheaded violinist). She was soft-spoken, he knew, and if the expression on her face was any indication, was also probably a) lost, or b) frightened by something. If it was the former, common courtesy called upon him to offer her the map that had come along with the brochure (it was, by now, a little bit crumpled after spending most of the morning in his back pocket, but he was sure she wouldn't mind), and if it was the latter, well, a familiar face (he hoped he was familiar; he'd hardly said two words to her in his life) was sure to be of some help, wasn't it? In any case, the situation called for some upperclassman-intervention, and he approached her with a polite smile. "Hello there," he said, once he was within hearing distance, "Fuyuumi Shouko-san, right? I'm Kaji Aoi, Hino Kahoko's classmate. Are you all right?" ooc;; It's long and boring I'm sorry, Ava!;A;" |
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| Miss Avarice | Apr 15 2009, 05:43 PM Post #3 |
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"Ah! Aoi-sempai!" she stuttered, shrinking back towards the cage of elegant but so-very-awfully-noisy peacocks. One perturbed male fanned his feathers out in an awe-inspiring display of emeralds and ruby patterns. "H-hello!" She jumped off the bench and bowed, before putting her sheet music back into her bag. "I-I was just..." trailed off uncertainly, and she looked up. Well, the upperclassman was indeed handsome, slightly. Fuyuumi does not notice beauty inasmuch as she sees lines and charcoal-smudged chagrin (but those are only slights and sounds for the face). She notices chiseling and sometimes tell-tale crow's feet or wrinkles, but never real beauty. All she could think of was the sun. A bright, garish star amidst the crowd. That would be Kaji Aoi -- secretly, she had heard a bit from tittering girls in her classes (he's so cute so handsome and so so so very smart and athletic!) and a little from Kahoko-chan too. She said he was a little upfront. That could be determined by the stance and way he walked. Confident and bold -- almost like a lion. He knew his place in the world and was assured of it. Where Yunoki was a snake, slithering and wily, and Len a giraffe (proud, beautiful, but so very awkward!), Kaji Aoi would be a lion. She fingered the sheet music and said, "It's nice to meet you," but a little hesitantly. She didn't want to sound like a ridiculous fangirl. And so Ryotaro is a rhinoceros, Kahoko a glorious, elegant swan, Shimizu a sloth, Kazuki a bright, gregarious and ebullient zebra -- she is a mouse. That's a pity. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you." Her stammer had retreated slightly, but all the same she was still shaking at the knees. She felt a bit weak, admittedly. But the people had milled on by and the noise had given way to melodies, all the way from the aviary to the bellowing of the elephants on the other end of the zoo. The hyenas were cackling at her -- she could tell. "Would you like to go for a walk?" She asked the question brazenly, spitting it out of her mouth before she could stuff the words back in. Realized too late. Oh. "That is, if you're not busy." How stupid can you get?! You're just making matters worse. Just a little too late there, Fuyuumi-chan. The die has been cast. Alea iacta est. ooc; It's fine, mine's probably even longer and more boring. XD. |
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| peculuiarities | Apr 16 2009, 08:25 AM Post #4 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "I'm perfectly fine, thank you." "Oh, that's good to hear," Kaji said, grinning at her, relieved that some of her color had returned, and that she had remembered who he was (the definition being, Hino's classmate, general education student, and above all, harmless). After all, he didn't want to come across as a creepy stalker or anything. Really. "For a minute there, I thought I was going to have to call for help; you looked as white as a sheet." He paused for a short moment, relieved in that awkward, shifty way men were when uncomfortable situations (re: fainting spells, or anything that was even vaguely reminiscent of, er, feminine troubles) narrowly missed them. Not that he dreaded having to come to the aid of Fuyuumi Shouko-- she was a tiny thing, really, and was probably light as a feather, should the need for assistance arise-- but if everything was (apparently) fine, then so much the better. He tried to think of a number of feasible explanations for why she was at the zoo, when the mere idea of it seemed to cause her such discomfort. A flash of white peeking out from behind the zipper of her bag caught his eye-- paper?-- and he pieced it together with what little he knew of her. Perhaps she had a paper to do? Or, rather, a score to read; she was a music student, after all. But why do it at the zoo? "Would you like to go for a walk? That is, if you're not busy." "Ah," he said, caught off-guard for a moment. He blinked once, twice; she didn't seem the animal type (then again, neither did he), but he could be wrong. Maybe she was trying to make it seem like she was fine? While that plan of action seemed a little rash-- she was still rather unhealthily pale-- it fitted in nicely with what he'd originally been doing, so he decided to let the comment he was about to make on her current state of health slide. "Sure," he told her, nodding; there were several benches on every walkway, so she could always rest if she was feeling at all tired. "I was doing just that, anyway, and you look like you need to get away from that peacock cage." He grinned, to show that he was joking, and, ever the gentleman, held out a hand for her bag. "Can I carry your things for you? You still don't look well." He winked playfully. "Don't worry, I won't take it and run. Scout's honor." ooc;; She said he was a little upfront. <-- I...I LOL'd.XD Oh, btw, Ava, I'm doing surname-first name format, so Fuyuumi should call him Kaji-sempai. |
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| Miss Avarice | Apr 16 2009, 09:59 PM Post #5 |
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She stared at him as he winked at her, thinking that he looked more ridiculous than ever. She could possibly understand while multitudes of teenaged girls fell at his feet now... slightly. Wordlessly, she handed him her bag and they trooped along, down the cobbled pathways where the couples where all staring in awe at the chimpanzees, and past the aviary and the little stands that sold hot-dogs speared on iron sticks. She could smell the dusty burning charcoal and only continued along silently, a bit amused (think a little of Kaho-chan, at the moment). Introspective as she tended to be, Fuyuumi couldn't help but think that Kaji Aoi would enjoy the zebras most -- if he liked animals at all. This conclusion had only been come to after she reassessed his personality and decided that he, if he were such a lion, would enjoy zebras for mere observation (humans don't like horseflesh, after all). They came to the pen where the animals were milling about, looking a tad confused and a tad ready to leap the high fence and go galloping off into the horizon. Some workers had been trimming the desolate Saharan shrubbery that popped up, along with the occasional baobab and tuft of yellowing grass. A thin acacia stood in the center of the pen like an anorexic plant would, leaning slightly over while a zebra sniffed it and proceeded to, well, do its business at the base of the tree. On the other side were the yelping hyenas, but they all looked more inclined to sleep. Flies were collecting on the meat left out for them, and she wrinkled her nose at the scent. Someone riding a tram came by as Fuyuumi quickly stepped off the path, and barely looked to the side as it bounced on its way down the road. A sign pointed to the aquarium/herpetarium/insect-arium/animal-arium/sea exhibits. "Do you think they'd have dolphins?" she asked, face lighting up a little bit. She always loved dolphins. "My mother used to tell me stories about how she had met my father at an aquarium--" but she had forgotten to stammer. She looked down almost immediately, flushing a bit. "I-it's not this one, but I'd like to see it." ooc: Oh. Well, I didn't really know, XD. Oh well, I'll assume Fuyuumi, uh, wanted to be friendly? LOL. V_V -shot-. Sorry, I'll call him Kaji-sempai from now on. And that was such a long and boring post of mine, lol. XD. Fuyuumi's just so introverted she doesn't want to do anything interesting! ^-^ |
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| peculuiarities | May 12 2009, 07:17 AM Post #6 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "Do you think they'd have dolphins? My mother used to tell me stories about how she had met my father at an aquarium-- I-it's not this one, but I'd like to see it." "Hmm?" Kaji looked up from where he was observing the herd, squinting a little in the bright sunlight. Within the pen, the zebras were grazing silently, tails flicking and pelts rippling as they moved by inches. Their patterns blazed in the daylight, black and white and black and white succeeding each other like a gritty, mud-stained symphony of pedestrian lanes, or (by a stretch of the imagination) piano keys. "Dolphins, you say?" He pushed away from the metal fence a little and patted his pockets for the zoo map. It was fished out with minimal difficulty, and he unfolded it as neatly as he could, pursing his lips a little as he scanned through the various attractions that it offered. The Oceanarium, according to the abused slip of glossy paper, was a large, scallop-shaped building some distance away from them; a couple of seconds' examination of a small flyout attached to the diagram announced that it had, and quote, 'An impressive collection of marine life: dugongs, porpoises, dolphins, penguins, twelve kinds of sharks, squid, octopi, over 600 varieties of tropical and subtropical fish, and our very own Keiko-chan, a killer whale. Porpoise and dolphin show at 12nn. Bring your family!' "They have a dolphin show at 12 that we can go see," he said, checking his watch as he spoke; the thin, needle-like hands announced that they had about an hour left. "We can spend the rest of the hour looking through the Oceanarium before we go to the SeaDome, where they're holding it, if you like. I'm sure we can grab some lunch along the way-- unless you're hungry now of course." He grinned at her, and they began walking towards the aforementioned building, weaving through the couples and families that populated the zoo's walkways. "But that's pretty cute, nee," he said conversationally, gently steering her out of the way as a five-year-old whooping like a monkey barreled past them, "Fuyuumi-san's wanting to see the dolphins, I mean. Meeting your spouse at an aquarium, and then having your daughter want to go to one because of it! It's sweet, like a scene in a manga." Kaji's own parents had met at school-- Seiso, no less-- which was a slightly less interesting than an aquarium. There had been no opposition on both sides of the family, and they had married not long after Kaji's father had finished his course in Political Science, and Kaji's mother had finished hers in Business Management.* In retrospect, he really did have a comfortable life; as first son, there were no shoes to fill-- unless you counted the Hospital Director position that his grandfather was still prodding him towards-- and perhaps the only truly exciting thing he had ever done was to transfer to Seiso on whim. "So," he said, after a short silence; as he had concluded before, Fuyuumi Shouko was not a girl of many words, "You like dolphins? So do I; they're really friendly, and a whole lot of fun. I like killer whales too, though, since they have such weird markings. Like panda bears, I guess, only...thinner, with no fur." He chuckled, the sound of it half-drowned by the tinny, cheerful music that blared out from the zoo speakers and announced the hour of eleven. ooc;; *I'm totally making their courses up.XDD;; Sorry it's so late, Ava!!DD: I will reply faster in the future.*^* Your post isn't boring! I aww'd at the end.XDD Fuyuumi-chan is so cute. |
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| Miss Avarice | May 12 2009, 12:57 PM Post #7 |
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"Yeah... dolphins," she mumbled, shielding her eyes from the sun, "Um. I guess we can go to the dolphin show in an hour and get lunch too." She really wasn't sure of how she got here with him (not that she was apt to ponder her surroundings in such a way). She followed him into the building, eyes flicking back and forth as she looked at all the people and wondered why it wasn't this time that she was taking the chance to hyperventilate. Her expression remained a little uneasy, but she followed Kaji Aoi all the same into the aquarium/oceanarium (well, whatever it was) -- and took the chance to ogle. From both sides of where the walls should have been there were stretching, sweeping glass panels that dominate the structure, where all manners of fish are swimming. She saw a clownfish, a manta ray, and even a lazy sea slug making its way down the long corridor.* (She didn't know what to say.) "I-I like the dolphins," she said after a moment. "They're quite intelligent. "It's not that i-interesting of a story -- my parents', that is." It came out like a string of bad typewriting, a stammering sort of speech. "My mother was looking for the sea otters and my father, in his rush to find the sharks -- because all little boys were enamored of sharks -- managed to crash into her on his way to them. Unfortunately, they ended up in a heap with their parents looking on, and after they reunited in college I guess it was... love?" She'd never pondered the meaning of love, either. Her smile was faint, quivering, quick like mercury and quick like quicksilver that slid from her face just as easily as it had come. "Where would you like to go?" *Also made up. I dunno what are really in those aquariums. Haven't gone since I was like, eleven. XD. Edited by Miss Avarice, May 13 2009, 01:58 AM.
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| peculuiarities | May 13 2009, 04:39 AM Post #8 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "It's not that i-interesting of a story -- my parents', that is. My mother was looking for the sea otters and my father, in his rush to find the sharks -- because all little boys were enamored of sharks -- managed to crash into her on his way to them. Unfortunately, they ended up in a heap with their parents looking on, and after they reunited in college I guess it was... love?" "I disagree," Kaji said cheerfully, turning away from his examination of a hammerhead shark to grin at her. The shark glided away slowly, its tail undulating in long, lethargic strokes. "I think that's really sweet! Meeting like that as kids, and then encountering each other again at college-- just like in the movies. It's kind of like the perfect love story, in a way, ne?" He laughed at how silly he sounded. "Sorry," he said, shaking his head in amusement, "I must sound really weird. It's just that I love these kinds of stories-- they're so cheerful, and they make it seem like happy endings do exist." The light filtering through the water above them-- which was thankfully held back by inch-thick glass-- turned everything a muted, unearthly blue. "I'm a kid in that respect, I guess." For a couple of minutes they both went back to observing the denizens of the glass tunnel silently. Fish flitted past them in colorful, seemingly formless schools, darting in and out of the rocks and seaweed placed there for their comfort. The predators-- sovereigns of the 200-meter long walkway they called home-- moved more slowly, fins stationary as they glided past the glass walls with an almost palpable sense of might. The tunnel was divided into several sections, each of them named for the bodies of water from which their specimens had come from. Currently, they were walking past the waters of Australia, which accounted for the lively displays of color in the water. A blue-ringed octopus propelled itself past them, skimming the sides of a coral formation before disappearing almost as quickly into the various crevices that peppered the surface. Some feet away, a group of middle-schoolers squealed in delight as a lionfish, its exquisite bands of color flashing against the dark, deep gray of the rock behind it, flashed its fins. The walkways were quite empty for a Sunday morning, Kaji observed in surprise. Probably the families were at the dome, watching the sea lion show or some such. In half an hour the underwater tunnel would be packed, filled with bemused parents and crowing children. "Where would you like to go?" "Hmm... how about the open-air pools?" he suggested, blinking at a particularly vicious-looking moray eel. "Those are quite near the dome, where the dolphin show will be, so we can get there early and find ourselves good seats. What do you say?" ooc; I am so proud of my ability to talk lots about absolutely nothing  /shot Sorry for short post also.D8 And the smiley is kind of disturbing in a disturbing smiley kind of way XD
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| Miss Avarice | May 13 2009, 05:14 AM Post #9 |
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"Our family is blessed: or you might say cursed, in that regard, to perfect love stories." (Her smile was endearing and cheerful and never-faltering but sometimes she has to say that it's cracking all the while.) "It runs in the female side of the family. My maternal grandmother was not so lucky -- she had to search long and hard for her 'happy ending', whereas her mother was married at twenty-one to the love of her life. My mother's sister, however, met her husband in Marriage & Family class* and that was that." The hammerhead shark that passed by Kaji slowly made its way towards Fuyuumi, who only blinked in surprise, watching its dark eyes without much comment. Her own sea-glass ones stared back as she nodded and, as if in response, the hammerhead shark went on its way. (So now I can talk to fish. Great. Wonderful.) She always wondered why she felt more comfortable around animals than people. It wasn't as if the people were any... different, really. It was more of the fact that the fish seemed to understand her silence, her incapability of speaking. It was the same with insects and birds. To her, years of anthropomorphization had turned dogs and cats into little human beings with four legs, ears, and a tail instead. But fish and insects -- well, their cold and inhuman beauty lay elsewhere. Take the single movement of a praying mantis. She had often stared at the glass jar while the green thing, unmoving, had peered at her in surprise with a pointed face and delightfully waving antennae. (Her mother had whisked it away from her just as quickly and let the poor thing go. Little girls shouldn't spend their days playing with monstrous little creatures instead of dolls, after all.) Her head snapped sideways as the little children crowded the tunnel, hands shoved into her pockets as she shot her upperclassman a rather awkward, somewhat fish-out-of-water (oh, the irony) and she heard him suggest the open-air pools. "All right," she replied, not really knowing where to go. Almost instinctively, she grabbed the back of his jacket and followed him as he lead his way down the tunnel (she felt a little rude but she hoped he wouldn't mind). "Let's go." ooc; *This is how my parents met. Nah, it's fine. :D I like our RP. I'm gonna stay up late with you. As late as I can, at least. :D Edited by Miss Avarice, May 13 2009, 05:18 AM.
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| peculuiarities | May 13 2009, 06:05 AM Post #10 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "Our family is blessed: or you might say cursed, in that regard, to perfect love stories. It runs in the female side of the family. My maternal grandmother was not so lucky -- she had to search long and hard for her 'happy ending', whereas her mother was married at twenty-one to the love of her life. My mother's sister, however, met her husband in Marriage & Family class and that was that." "Wow, that's pretty neat." Kaji tried to remember as far back into his own family history as he could, and found that he could barely name his paternal grandparents' wedding date. He wasn't surprised; his family life had been almost perfect, yes, but only in the way that bolts of white silk were. Smooth and lovely and soft as anything, but without any defining features. It was like being wrapped in cotton-- you were comfortable, but everything was always a little muffled afterward. He winced a little as, with a pneumatic hiss of opening doors, the walkway was suddenly filled with a group of children sans parental guidance. They swarmed around, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the various displays, prodding at glass walls and calling for their companions with high, reedy cries. Not having any firsthand experience with small children other than entertaining those of his grandfather's business associates-- and they were quiet and well-behaved in front of guests, so it really didn't compare-- he was more than a little bemused. Spotting Fuyuumi's look of discomfort, Kaji gave her a half-smile, half-grimace of his own. The middle-schoolers who had, besides the pair of them, been the only other occupants of the tunnel had somehow disappeared, leaving the two Seiso students alone with a crowd of children. He sighed, and tried to avoid kneeing one of them in the stomach or something. "All right. Let's go." He blinked a little as Fuyuumi grabbed the back of his jacket, the sensation of small fingers gripping fabric a new one. If it had been any other person (Hino-chan, his mind supplied snidely), he would have felt more than a little awkward, but with the cyan-haired first year it was different. It wasn't that she was shy or anything-- which was, admittedly, very true-- it was that this was obviously an action that was anything but orchestrated*. If he was right about her being as uncomfortable in social situations as he thought she was, then by all accounts she would be flushing and stammering in embarrassment as soon as they escaped the swarming mass of children. As it was, however, he had to get them both out before he could find out whether or not he was correct. "Come on," he said, laughing, and began to gingerly pick his way through the melee. Within three minutes, they managed to get out of the crush without any serious injury (save for one occasion wherein a little boy's arm collided soundly with Kaji's abdomen-- what was with little boys and their potential for causing injury, anyway? he thought, rubbing the affected area sourly-- and another slight mishap that involved Fuyuumi's sandal and its almost-loss) and through the exit. As soon as they were safely out, he leaned against the wall with an exaggerated sigh. "Whew," he said, patting his stomach (if he were a vindictive soul he would have been plotting to get back at that eight-year-old, but thankfully he was not) jokingly. "Now that was hard. How are you doing, Fuyuumi-san?" ooc; *LOL I LOVE MAKING MUSIC PUNS IN CORDA ROLEPLAYS /shot What's Marriage & Family class?8D /noob |
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| Miss Avarice | May 13 2009, 06:12 AM Post #11 |
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She jumped and her sandal flopped on her foot, as she began to blush a deep, almost rose-red and put it back on quickly. (S-she had rudely grabbed his arm...) And so the thought somewhat, somewhat registered and she stammered "A-ah! Gomenasai, Kaji-sempai, I did that without thinking!" and then stood up, with a markedly less-flushed look on her face, fading now to a slight pink and then back to the normal, a little pallid expression she usually wore. Small children weren't her thing, she noted, looking down at her slightly chipped toenail as they walked towards the open-area pools and she clutched her zoo map in shaking hands. "Look at the seahorses! Mommy!" shouted a small child from far away as he peered into the pool. Fuyuumi, however, only looked around to see all manners of creatures swimming around. A little ways away there was the large stadium which obviously housed the dolphins and orcas and sea lions that would perform at noon. (11:45, she notes by her watch.) She fought the urge to suddenly say something about getting lunch. It'd be rude. Instead, she merely looked down at the pool, hands in the pockets of her jacket while Kaji stood next to her, his eyes roaming over the fish. The seahorse below her was a brilliant shade of orange with black-tipped spikes running up and down its body, and what a sight it was! "It's very pretty," she babbled a little bit. "And do you think we should get lunch now?" After that unusually long outburst, she merely shut her mouth and stared at the ground again. (Well, at least that's progress.) |
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| peculuiarities | May 13 2009, 06:41 AM Post #12 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "A-ah! Gomenasai, Kaji-sempai, I did that without thinking!" "It's all right," he said, laughing; so he had been right about her. "I would've done the same thing, what with the sea of kids and all. Man, eight-year-olds can pack a punch..." He trailed off and turned to look at her. "You're okay though, which is good. I mean, for a minute there I got kind of worried, since your shoe almost came off and all, but it's still on, so you don't have to play Cinderella or anything. Even if you did, though, I'd gladly execute a 'Prince Charming'-esque rescue."* He bowed fluidly, before winking at her playfully again. They traveled the short distance to one of the open pools, accompanied on either side by families who (thankfully) did not have overly enthusiastic children with them. (The closest thing to it was a tiny girl in a pram who was wailing like anything, much to the embarrassment of her mother, who apologized profusely before wheeling her baby away.) This gave the pair enough opportunity to look at the pools without any problems at all. As a child, Kaji had always been fascinated by tide pools, be they were hemmed in by steel-and-concrete walls or the real thing. There was just something so interesting about them; they were ecosystems on their own, tiny oceans filled with flotsam and small creatures. They were both eternal and briefly-lived, in a way; every high tide they would be renewed, given a new set of lives, and yet at the same time they were still the same. "It's very pretty. And do you think we should get lunch now?" "Oh, gee," he said, pulled from his examination of an orange-and-black seahorse that was floating around in front of Fuyuumi, its tail anchored to a strand of seagrass almost as an afterthough. He looked at his watch and winced in embarrassment. "You're right, we should get a bite to eat about now or we won't be able to get good seats." He thought briefly of the exhibit that he was supposed to see; it was definitely open by now, and if he was a responsible, obedient son, he would head off to look at it at that moment. Well, he'd always liked being the rebel. "Let's get something easy to eat, like finger food," he said conversationally, walking with Fuyuumi away from the open pools and towards the concessionaires that lined the area. Brightly-colored signs advertising various foodstuffs clamored for his attention, and he thought vaguely about meat pies and bubble teas. "Anything you might want, Fuyuumi-san? I'm paying, don't worry." ooc; *HAHA OH GOD IT'S TAMAKI AGAIN./shot |
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| Miss Avarice | May 13 2009, 06:48 AM Post #13 |
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"A-all right," she said. "Maybe we should get a hot dog or something." A man was wheeling his vending cart right up to where they had almost decided to stand: a rather pudgy man with a crumpled-up face that looked as if it had been made of squished cardboard and then pulled outwards again -- and lo and behold he came with hot dogs. She felt rude. Again. (He was paying?) Doesn't he know that chivalry is dead? Well, maybe not to Kaji Aoi, Mr. Upfront-And-Let's-Flirt-With-Kahoko (well, where did she hear that after all? From some tittering Gen Eds who didn't know any different?). She wondered if she was dreaming. She wouldn't doubt it, really. Dreaming happened often. Perhaps if she pinched herself hard enough she'd wake up in her bed and start laughing. Her parents were out. She could laugh hard and long and strikingly loud for a little girl (those are the lungs you get from playing the clarinet, one supposes.) She heaved a sigh and then said, "Thank you. I'll pay you back next time I see you in school, I suppose." They went and paid for their food, her hands taking the hot dog and its warmth with almost a half-childish smile creeping across her face as they plodded down to the stadium where the dolphins were bound to be. Obviously, she was more than happy to sit in the middle rows, somewhat near the back: getting a faceful of water when you're trying to eat isn't the most pleasing experience. "Is the show going to start soon?" she mumbled, nibbling on her hotdog without extravagance nor lackadaisical airs so typical of Fuyuumi. "I hear they have orcas." |
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| peculuiarities | May 13 2009, 07:11 AM Post #14 |
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le carnaval des animaux., "Thank you. I'll pay you back next time I see you in school, I suppose." "Eh?" The expression on Kaji's face seemed to state that such a thought-- really, getting paid back?-- had never, in his entire seventeen-year life, occurred to him. "No, no! It's my treat, Fuyuumi-san, really! You don't need to pay me back at all; it was my pleasure. I mean, of course I'm not insinuating that you can't pay me back-- of course you can-- oh wait. Er." He paused-- but not before shoving a wad of (carefully folded) bills at the hot dog vendor-- and collected his thoughts, to the amusement of most of the other customers. He shot them all a friendly grimace (two particularly impressible girls tittered, much to his mortification) and followed his companion away from the stall. Fuyuumi-san, he thought, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, was really quite cute when she smiled. "What I meant was, you don't need to pay me back," he said, backtracking. They had chosen a row of seats near the back, a little ways above the currently empty water stage; only the most adventurous families stayed near the front. "Really. I mean, think of it as a way to return the favor; you gave me an excuse to not go through a potentially boring exhibit-- thank you for that-- so now I'm returning the favor! Think of it as a deal between friends, ne?" With that compromise reached-- and with a very self-satisfied grin on his face-- Kaji turned his attention back to his hot dog and his people-watching. The rows were slowly filling up as showtime neared; vendors began their rounds on the stairs, calling out the names of their wares as potential customers filed in. It was a sunny day, and the water glinted like diamonds under the sunlight; all in all, the effect was enough to make him feel more cheerful about shunning a (rather unimportant) duty. "Is the show going to start soon? I hear they have orcas." "About to, I think," he said, pulling off a small piece of bread and fingering it into a ball; it was a habit his mother was trying to make him break. "Orcas, you say? They did mention that in the map, I think... That's great," he enthused, beaming. "I haven't seen a whale show in ages, although I'm not sure if this counts since it's with dolphins... Oh well, either way, I'm sure it'll be fun to watch!" ooc; I am getting faster at replies!!;DD I think. |
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| Miss Avarice | May 14 2009, 01:51 AM Post #15 |
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She smiled as he stuttered momentarily. Even princes must have their moments, she noted. The girls in the back with too-pretty purses and too-coiffed hair were talking about him, much to his mortification and Fuyuumi's amusement. (Her eyes darted back and forth but she followed him to sit in the stands, only nodding as he suggested it was a 'deal between friends'.) Friends. (She liked the word, even now.) Friends. What does that mean? She supposed that she might have a few friends. Such as Kahoko-chan, but she was more of an upperclasswoman who had taken pity on a lone little girl being bullied by some know-nothing twits from the Music Class. Or maybe she had swept in like a knight in shining armor, only that armor had cracks and imperfections. Even so, her sweeping gaze had silenced all doubts and her violin -- well, her violin was another matter entirely. She wondered if Kaji Aoi felt the same way. (She remembered that she had a friend once. Perhaps her name had been Riku-chan, and perhaps it hadn't. She was a little girl from across the street, and she had beautiful, beautiful long blond hair that swept across her face like a dream a sigh a waspish sort of missing tale. Riku-chan left just like everyone else left her and that memory was dust and flies in an empty cabinet.) Her flip-flops clicked against the cold, hard metal bench that they sat on and she looked down into the pool of water. A trainer was signaling for a black-and-white spotted orca whale to come and leap through hoops and 'hovering' over the water. She joined the clapping, albeit a little more reserved and refined (she wasn't the type to go wild over orca whales, honestly). Some seals tittered excitedly as they bounced balls and even Fuyuumi could feel the seaspray as the gigantic orca bounced into the water, splashing the first fourteen rows and spraying farther up. (Her eyes never wavered, however. Sometimes they strayed to the trainers and their bright yellow whistles and their waving arms, but they were usually trained on some form of sea life or other.) She looked over at a beaming Kaji and nudged him. "I'm surprised you haven't seen an orca show in ages," she babbled -- almost as if there was a timer, ticking down the seconds she could speak before lapsing into silence again -- "They're quite popular in America. My mother said that there was a show with an orca named Shamu and they're quite easily trained, after all. That's what I--" Click went the timer. "--read." Her mouth clamped shut, and she flushed a little and turned back to the animals, wordlessly placing another piece of hotdog into her mouth. |
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12:18 PM Nov 8
