Heart within the beast

[Ixidor92]

"I had a couple . . ."


He smiled a little at the thought


"One of them was more than a little outspoken. If she had something on her mind you would know about it."


He looked up at the ceiling.


"Didn't help she was gifted with the form of a falcon. She would constantly show off that she could fly, and use it to her advantage."

 

[Ricia]

"May I know more? I want to know more about you..." She asked quietly

 

[Ixidor92]

"Her name is Faora. She was simultaneously my closest friend and biggest rival."


He folded his hands in front of himself as he continued.


"Every time I would surpass her in things I excelled at, she had to challenge me. A lot of my younger years were spent acquiescing to her challenges. Generally races or the hunt. Still, she was the only one who absolutely refused to give up under any circumstance . . . she still does . . ."

 

[Ricia]

"What... won't she give up now?" Rhea asked quietly, not sure if she should ask, but she was interested...

 

[Ixidor92]

"I made a decision she doesn't understand or care for. She still thinks she can make me change my mind."


Kurogan shook his head


"Not that I really expected anything different."

 

[Ricia]

"Oh. I guess you really won't explain further then that?" Rhea asked, gently pushing the plate of food away from her.

 

[Ixidor92]

Kurogan shook his head


"It's . . . related to what I mentioned earlier. Sorry."


He looked over at her plate


"Are you done?"

 

[Ricia]

"Oh yes... thank you for the meal." Rhea told Kurogan. "Umm did you need anything?"

 

[Ixidor92]

"Hmm? Like what?"


Kurogan pulled the dish away and brought it to the sink. She had already said they could go out tomorrow . . . so what did she mean besides that?

 

[Ricia]

"Like a blankets or pillow or umm... soap... Reading?" Rhea asked, naming off a few things Kurogan could ask her fore, "Thank you." She said when he took the plate from her. "I can do dishes! Since you cooked already." She offered, not wanting him to do all the work.

 

[Ixidor92]

"All right--"


Kurogan moved away from the sink and back to the table


". . . I can say soap would probably be a good thing. But apart from that . . . a lot of blank paper."

 

[Ricia]

"Like... printer paper?" Rhea asked, moving to go to the dishes

 

[Ixidor92]

"Printer?"


Kurogan scratched his head a little


"I don't . . . Basically paper that doesn't have anything on it. Most of what I've seen you bring in has those blue lines on it."

 

[Ricia]

"Oh... well, printer paper is completely white paper without lines... but if you want lined paper I can get that too. What do you want it for?" Rhea asked quietly.

 

[Ixidor92]

"Just a hobby I haven't done in some time . . . if it's a problem to get it you don't need to worry about it."

 

[Ricia]

Rhea frowned, Kuragon's nonstriaght-forwordness and secrets were starting to ware a bit thin, she felt like she hardly get to know him at all because of all the boundaries he had seem to set. Sure she set some of her own, but his seemed far more lengthy, she felt like she was never going to know him... "Yeah we can get them tomorrow. I am going to take a shower." She said, finishing up the dishes and setting them to die, "Then we can try and start teaching you to read."

 

[Ixidor92]

"Sure . . ."


Kurogan watched as she went into her room. He let out a deep sigh when she left. She was legitimately curious about him, and she obviously wasn't happy that he kept so many things hidden from her. Would it be better to tell her after all? He shook his head, chasing away the thought. There was a chance she might become involved if he told her. Involve with people who weren't so . . . willing to talk as he was.

 

[Ricia]

When Rhea was done, she came out and then walked over to her shelf and scanned it for a book. When she did not find the book she went back into her room where she had more book. But when she walked back out of the room she was holding the picture from with a rather sad expression "Oh.. I've not been in my room since last night's attack... I forgot I used the picture frame... the picture is crumbled and the frame is broken." Gently she put it down on the counted and started to pull the picture out, it had a bit of blood on it.

 

[Ixidor92]

Kurogan took another look at the photo as she pulled it out. Part of him desperately wanted to know more about the man within it. What had he been like while he was alive? Why had he been the only one to take her in? . . . How did he die? But he knew he had no business asking such personal questions when he had already refused to give up answers of his own past. He brought his hands in around hers, painfully aware of how close he was


"Careful. You don't want to cut yourself on the glass . . ."

 

[Ricia]

Rhea blushed a bit when he took his hands into his. His hands where really big compared to her own... they were rough, most likely from him living in the wild... "I... I won't. Don't worry." She told him quietly, though she was slightly frozen in place with him holding on to her hands.

 

[Ixidor92]

"All right, please."


He could feel her stop moving beneath his grasp. Her hands were much different from his own. He could feel the calluses and rough skin he had accumulated running over them, like fine sandpaper against something completely smooth. Yet . . . there was something beneath them. Her hands were definitely not as tough and worn as his own, but she had worked hard during her life. He pulled his own grip away, going to grab a small bag that she could sweep the glass fragments into.

 

[Ricia]

Rhea chanced a small glance behind her at the wolf man before turning back to the frame, trying to pull the picture out of the glass. Very carefully she did so, and without cutting herself as promise. She wished she can go get a new frame.. but she had a feeling tomorrow she was going to spend a lot of money on a few clothing for Korugan, enough food for the both of them and the extra paper. She was glad that over the month she had manage to save up some money, though after this she might sink back down to scraping by barely.


"I got it out." Rhea said happily, "And not cuts."

 

[Ixidor92]

"That's good."


Kurogan brought the bag over and looked at the frame. It seemed like it had been worn even before the incident last night. He thought about it for a minute before deciding on a small action that could help repay Rhea for what she had done for him. He really hoped she wasn't lying to him about having the money to spare, she'd already been struggling when having to worry about supporting him as a dog. And now that she realized his true form . . . he simply hoped she wasn't making it up to not worry him.


"I'm sorry."


It slipped out before he even realized that he had been thinking about it

 

[Ricia]

Rhea blinked and then gave him a sad smile, "Don't be sorry about this. The fame is replaceable and the picture is still good. My well being is not replaceable In a way I kind of think my brother helped you protect me. I know he actually didn't .. but the glass breaking over the guy's head seem to put him in a moment of shock." She told him. She thought he was apologizing for the broken frame, "Its not your fault so you don't have to apologize. ok?"

 

[Ixidor92]

"That's . . . all right. If you say so."


He honestly wasn't 100% sure what he was apologizing for himself. That he could have been more diligent? That he was imposing on her when she had enough to worry about? For lying to her for the past month? Maybe it was just a collective apology for all of them . . . Kurogan swept the broken glass and such into the bag, trying to put his mind on something physical.