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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 26, 2007 23:14:40 GMT -5
What was that dust anyway? Kazifel titled his head as he listened to Femi. She had quite a few good questions. He didn't have many answers though. He didn't really have answers at all. When had he or his family been "normal." Well, there was his mother, but he could barely remember what she did besides sing to him after Cassiel picked fights with him.
"I don't know what makes a person normal. My aunt always said that we were a broken family." He shrugged as he sat down on the bed besides Femi. "The only normal person I can really think of is my mom. Singing used to make her happy. I think, though, being with you is good enough for me."
He really was satisfied with just being by Femi. It made him happy. After the amount of emotions he had gone through in such a short time he felt like he had been hit in the face with a brick--and felt it full on. He closed his eyes briefly. He could honestly fall asleep right here and right now.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 26, 2007 23:27:57 GMT -5
Femi watched him curiously. He looked... tired. She'd never noticed him looking tired before, but with his mouth set like that and his eyes closed he just looked exhausted. Kind of like how she felt. The dust could all wait until tomorrow, couldn't it? Yes. It could.
"I'm not much of one for singing, but..." She moved to pull him down next to her, snuggling against him, and started humming quietly. It was the tune she'd hummed a few times before while she was working, the one she didn't remember the name or words to. It always made her feel happier, for some reason, to hear it. Usually it was because the quiet got a little too much for her to bear. Sometimes even her imagination failed when it was dark out, the crisp of a winter night, and the only sounds were the whispering of the wind through the trees and the crackling of creatures running through the snowy Wood. Sometimes if she didn't talk, or hum, she worried she would forget what people sounded like. Dolls were so quiet... another reason her Kazifel wasn't a doll.
One hand reached up to pet his face, safe and sealed from the dust that covered it. Her fingers lightly brushed against the smooth surface, combing through his hair when they moved to the edge, then returning. A little bit of rocking... oh yes, she could fall asleep right now if she really wanted to.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 26, 2007 23:37:05 GMT -5
He didn't bother protesting anything. He was far too tired. Was tired the proper word for what he felt? Maybe drained would be better. Her humming made him feel at home. With her he had a real family again. Mom said something about that once... he couldn't remember anymore it had been so long.
"Soft," he whispered, barely audible. He knew it felt soft. It simply had to. No other word could describe it. Happy. That could describe it. He tried to open his eyes, but he really couldn't as he moved slightly closer to her. She must have been warm and soft. One day he would be able to feel it more than just in his thoughts. One day he would be a whole person again, not a doll. He wasn't a doll like everyone said he was.
"I love you," he whispered. If only the words could mean more. That would describe all the feelings he had.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 26, 2007 23:58:05 GMT -5
Femi had slowly begun to drift in and out of consciousness, her humming quieter and less defined. She was awake enough to hear those words, however, and to hug him tighter when he moved closer into her embrace. Hugs were such wonderful things. No one had ever hugged her when she was little and whenever someone tried it always felt horribly awkward, like she just couldn't stand them touching her. Sometimes she would wrap her dolls' arms around her and pretend that they could hug her. She had an active imagination. Sometimes it actually worked, but not 'really'.
The first time he hugged her... it felt like a lifetime ago now, even though it was so very recent. It made her so happy. "Love you," she murmured in reply, the humming stopping with a small yawn as she finally felt too tired to continue. Now... it was just time for some sleep, evening slowly moving in to blanket them in a gloomy darkness.
- - - - -
She woke up early, with the sun, stretching and twitching her nose in distaste at the feeling of her fur rubbing wrong against the dirty sheets. Had she really slept in all of that dust and what now felt like grime, mixing with the oils of her fur? She shifted and stretched a bit further, yawning. Kazifel wouldn't feel her moving so long as she didn't make any noise so she was quiet as she crawled out of bed, grabbing a towel and heading out for the stream. Time to clean off.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 27, 2007 0:12:20 GMT -5
He had fallen asleep hadn't he? He opened his eyes halfway looking ahead of him. Kazifel watched as Femi slipped out of his hands. She was probably off to eat or take a shower or something. He wasn't really sure, but he heard her stir. He was curious, but he waited until she left to move completely.
He sat up, trying not to tangle himself the the bed covers. His eyes were wide open now as he blinked down at the sheets. That was quite a bit of dust wasn't it? She must have been off to take a bath then. By the time Kazifel had looked up she was out the door.
He slipped out of bed and brushed himself off. Curiously he went to the door and peaked out. She was quite fast when she had something in mind, wasn't she? He saw her in the distance, her white standing out. He would simply wait at the door. Then again.
The man walked back into the bed room and started taking the sheets of the bed. He could at least go outside and pat them out for her. That didn't really take that much talent. That and he wouldn't get anymore dust on the floor.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 28, 2007 14:48:44 GMT -5
Femi reached the chilly stream and set about scrubbing herself down from head to tail, working the entirely too stubborn dust out, along with more wood dust from sleeping in the grimy bed. It took longer than she wanted, maybe a full thirty minutes in and around the cold water with a bar of soap and a stiffly bristled brush, to restore her fur to its normal pristine whiteness. She shook herself and ruffled the towel all over, shivering. Long baths were so awful in the autumn.
The walk back, all she could do was wrap the wet towel around her and shiver more, practically running the last minute to the house. There was actually a breeze through the Wood today of all days, the rotten luck. She saw Kazifel outside with her sheets and the only thing she could do was squeal "Coooooold!" at him before ducking inside.
What had he been doing out there with her sheets? A puzzled expression crossed her features and she padded into the bedroom, still shaking. Covers, sheets, pillows, all outside. She took the opportunity to lay on the mattress instead and curl up in a little ball of damp, cold squirrel, trying to warm herself back up. At least now she wouldn't get dirty while doing so, and the bed was so much better than the floor.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 28, 2007 17:37:04 GMT -5
Thirty minutes or so of beating the sheets he was almost satisfied. The dust, however, had a horrible way of clinging that he hardly appreciated. Kazifel blinked a few times when Femi ran past him. Cold? She did look like she was still wet. What time of the year was it anyway? He had generally lost track after the whole... incident.
The man folded the sheets hastily and hurried back inside. He found Femi curled up on the bed, shivering. No, that wouldn't do at all. He couldn't have her cold. He slipped off his coat and put it over her. "Do you have any other sheets that I can put on the bed?" He asked as he looked to the pile he had came in with. The were still rather dirty... they needed to be washed. Shaking them out just wasn't good enough, there was still a bit of dust clinging to them. "Or is there anything else I can do to make you warmer?"
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 28, 2007 18:11:26 GMT -5
Femi blinked at the unexpected sensation of cloth sliding over her fur, uncurling from her sorry-looking wet tail to peek up at him over her huddle for warmth. Wasn't he adorable...! Giving her his coat. Oh, that was just the cutest thing ever. She would have uncurled to hug him again if she hadn't been so busy trying to conserve all that heat she'd lost on the walk.
"Behind the yarn and strings in the storage rooms there's another set with a blanket," she told him, shivering every now and then. His coat smelled a lot like the spicy dust, but at least most of that had come off. She watched him, unwilling to get up until he had sheets in his arms. If he'd been able to give off any kind of heat himself, she would have dragged him into a hug faster than a Jack ran after his Doe in the spring. Though for an entirely different reason. Her cheeks blushed a little at the thought.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Nov 28, 2007 18:27:25 GMT -5
Kazifel nodded. Storage closet. Right. He had seen that hadn't he? Quickly darted out of the room and searched for the closet. After a good fifteen minutes or so of confusion he managed to find it, and after an epic battle with yarn he managed to get the sheets out of the closet.
He hurried back with the sheets in hand. Poor Femi shivering like that. And his coat still wasn't all that clean. He hurried over to her side. "Are you going to be okay? You're still pretty wet." He said with a concerned look. He didn't want her to get sick or anything. That was his worst fear, sheerly because he couldn't do a damn thing to fix it. It would be like Cassiel all over again... but he did something then. He gave up everything he had for her. But things wouldn't turn out that way this time.
Femi said she was going to fix him. Make him a better person. It was everything he had ever hoped for.
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Post by The Jenn on Nov 28, 2007 20:26:14 GMT -5
Twenty minutes of ball-huddle-tactics had managed to warm her up to a decent degree, if not dry her off especially well. She still wouldn't mind crawling under the covers for a little while and just 'being'. It was one of those mornings, so early that the birds were still singing and the predators could find them by their song, until they figured it out and shut up again. She was glad she wasn't a bird sometimes. The larger predators couldn't always tell the difference.
She had begun to groom her tail into place by the time he returned with the new linens, white with small gray flowers sprinkled over them in a neat pattern. She perked up and uncurled, grimacing a little at her messily ruffled fur before hopping off the bed and running to nab one corner of the sheet and start spreading it. In no time, she had a neatly made bed, a red coat around her, and a do- a Kazifel available for hugging. Her Kazifel. There we go.
With a flick, she took his coat and hung it on one of the doors so that it wouldn't get dust residue on the clean sheets. Then she walked over and looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you, my darling. I think today is going to be... a lazy day. Mostly because the seamstress is closed. And then we can go and see about having her tailor you up some new clothes, if you'd like. Come lay with me on the bed while I dry?"
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