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Post by Bee on Jun 19, 2010 1:01:56 GMT -5
"It's. Um. It's."
His brain stopped working, without warning. He couldn't think of where the hill was or how he was going to get there or how he was going to clean up the mess when his face exploded because it felt like it was reaching some sort of critical mass on heat. All he was conscious of was how warm her hands were and the sound of her purring. He squeezed her hands with a gentle sort of experimentation. She had such cute little paws, with the streak of yellow and the indigo on the tips. Everything seemed to vibrate faintly.
"Um..."
Plane. A hill. Launch the plane off the hill. Where was the hill? (His gaze tread slowly up from her hands up her arms to her face. Even her mask was adorable. He had the suddenly irresistible compulsion to--)
His brain kick-started itself back to life as abruptly as it had shut down.
"Oh! Um. Sorry for being weird. We go right when get it...out of here. It's just maybe a 20 minute walk. The plane moves easily."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 21, 2010 15:14:31 GMT -5
Confusion momentarily flickered over Virtute's face as Zeki stumbled over his words. A part of the kitten simply didn't understand, and her paranoia flickered into life once more. Could it be that he was having a stroke? Her heart pounded harder in her chest. No, no, that couldn't be it, there would have been more signs. Still, she worried.
At least, she worried until his hands squeezed her paws, sending a little lightning-bolt along her spine. Her body moved forward slightly, something in her subconscious wanting ever so badly to further close the distance between them. She was dimly aware that he was looking at her face, now, rather than her paws, and that he was... At that point, the King's own brain started to malfunction, her eyes locked on Zeki's mouth. The little patch of green there, almost like a smudge, was adorable. And was it just her, or were his lips parted slightly? Should she...?
His words woke her from her own little stupor, and she shook herself. "Ah, that's... Uh, that's alright, I didn't really notice." Except for thinking that he'd had a stroke. Nice, Virtute. Very nice. "Alright, let's get to it then!" The plane did move easily, especially when they were both pushing. As soon as the kitten had figured out the best way to hold onto it, she turned her attention back to her newfound companion.
"Have you lived here your whole life, Zeki? Your workshop is very nice,"
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Post by Bee on Jun 22, 2010 12:48:25 GMT -5
Zeki smiled proudly. He'd worked hard on getting his workshop up to par, especially since he and Dad didn't often have a lot of spare money. Dad could cook a little better now, but sometimes it was just easier and less expensive to have peanut butter and banana sandwiches again. Besides, it was nutty protein, fruit, and carbohydrates; that was like half his food groups right there, so it wasn't as though he lacked for nutrition.
"Thanks," he said, and then: "Nah. Until just a few years ago, I lived in the Court Clubs." With Mama. His mood took a temporary dive. Dad had assured him often that his mama loved him and that it wasn't abandonment, just relocation, but he hadn't seen her since then, and persistent doubt gnawed at his brain. One day, when his planes were good enough, he was going to fly back there and see her.
But for a moment he needed to not be a downer. He was very resolute about this, and through sheer force of will and a major assist by glancing over at Virtute, his good cheer returned. "I like it in Corvistowne, though. It's a lot easier to get the things I need, for one. What about you? I remember you said you go to the capitol a lot."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 23, 2010 3:06:01 GMT -5
The Club Court? Virtute's ears perked forward with that little tidbit, her body shifting (though she kept her focus on making sure she still had a good hold on the plane, she would hate to do anything to damage it now...) more towards the boy. "Really? I've never been to the Club Court..." Which probably seemed more weird than it actually was. After all, she was a Heart born to a family of Hearts in a part of a long line of Hearts. She just found it odd that she could spend her whole life in one Court and no so little about the others.
There she was again, going off on another brain-tangent and probably making herself look like a complete retard to anyone reading this reply. Zeki was having a very strange effect on her overall, but she was finding that she rather liked the feeling.
As distracted as she was, she didn't really notice the slight change in Zeki's mood, just that he went quiet for a moment. She wondered briefly if she'd actually said something stupid, and that now he was wondering if he was making a mistake by offering to bring her up in his plane, when he broke the silence once more. "Well..." She swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous. "We live in the Hearts Court. My mommy is the Queen, so she's really busy. My dad..." There was a whole set of mixed feelings, there, but the cat knew she wasn't really supposed to talk about Rhiannon. "Anyway, they're both really busy, so most of the time I just get to stay there. Whenever I do leave, it's with Sorcha. She keeps talking about moving out of the Court and into the Capital, so I guess I'll just have to be bored, then."
Then, she fell quiet. She'd said a lot, and none of it probably meant anything. She stared at the plane, then at her paws. "Unless you wanted to come visit, sometime?"
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Post by Bee on Jun 23, 2010 14:01:17 GMT -5
The Queen of Hearts? He hadn't been aware of much of what was going on in the Courts aside from his own even when he was in it. He supposed it was his own fault for not paying attention. And very few rumors reached his part of Corvistowne; this was aided by the fact that most of the people, even the Hearts, tended not to care about Court gossip. Too busy huffing paint and trying to make half-mouse, half-teacup crosses, or whatever the equivalent was in each area of expertise. Ah, Corvistowne.
The question caught him off guard, but his confusion was quickly overrun by delight. "That'd be great! If it's not too much trouble?" Courts could be awfully busy; he could remember getting reprimanded more than a few times for being underfoot. "And, you know, if you got too bored, you can always come back here. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind a visitor." But he was probably getting ahead of himself, wasn't he?
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 25, 2010 14:08:52 GMT -5
A little thrill of delight went through Virtute. How daring she was being, inviting a stranger into the Court! The thought that he was a Club never even occurred to her. He was going to be her guest, after all, and something like that should have made up for Suit-related issues completely. Her expression perked up at his positive response, and she gave him an eager little nod. "Nope, it wouldn't be trouble at all. It would be nice, really."
Then he extended an offer of his own, and Virtute almost stopped pushing the plane. Come back? It was so simple a proposal, of course, but for some reason it had never occurred to the kitten. She'd thought that if she wanted to see Zeki again, it would have to be because he came to the court. With Sorcha moved out, how would she make it back to Corvistowne? Such a simple answer: she could travel on her own. If only her paranoia would allow it. There were so many things that could happen to a young woman on the road, unattended...
But how different was it from one young women to two? She was higher ranked than Sorcha, even, and she wondered if perhaps her aunt traveled with Virtute for the protection she would get from the young King.
She could go wherever she wanted, when she wanted. "You know, that would be really nice. Then you don't have to worry about my brothers." She grinned to herself, digging her feet in slightly to help push now that they were at the base of the hill. Luckily, it was a light plane, though she supposed it would have to be. "They're nice, just kinda overprotective."
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Post by Bee on Jun 25, 2010 22:33:21 GMT -5
The journey up the hill was much easier with two people handling the plane--the issue had always been not so much the weight but steering the thing. There was nothing more depressing than getting halfway up, having the wheels turn on you, and rolling right back down. There was a myth about something like that. It was one of Zeki's nightmares.
He was, however, stupidly pleased that she found the idea of visiting amenable. "Oh, I dunno," he said, cheerfully, giving the final push to get the plane to the top of the hill. "It might be nice. I don't have any siblings. Ah ha! Here we go. All right, so..." He dug around in the back of the little cockpit, pulling out a couple of caps and a small step stool. "You might want these," he offered, proffering the aviator cap. He nudged his own on with his free hand. "Otherwise the bugs try to have a party on your face. Then, you can just hop in!" He was glad for his 'taur; it meant he had a tendency to build quite a bit of spare room into his planes. Quite enough for two.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 26, 2010 1:49:03 GMT -5
As they reached the top of the hill, Virtute could feel her heart all a pitter-pat in her chest, partly from the exercise, but mostly from the thrill of it. She was really going to fly. For a wingless Card with a flying parent, it was a dream come true. It was something she'd often discussed with her siblings - superpowers they wished they could have. The kitten had always wished for flight - which Mercutio had said was stupid, after all, any Diamond with half a brain to rank up could fly - but his harsh words had done nothing to quell her feelings on the subject.
Virtute wanted to fly, and Zeki was going to make it happen.
In all the excitement, she completely forgot about their earlier discussion, turning to face her companion with wide eyes and a slightly puffed-up tail. Her paws fumbled with the cap, but she managed to secure it and place it firmly on her head, pulling the goggles over her eyes. This must have been what it was like for other Bog-dwellers, ones that needed more of a mask than her own. Her mouth opened as if she was about to speak, but no sound emerged.
Carefully, she climbed into the plane, settling into the back so that the pilot could assume his position. When he did, she wrapped her arms around the place where one torso met the other, burying her face in the back of his neck and mane. She couldn't help the tremors that raced through her body. She couldn't remember a time when she'd ever felt this scared - or excited - in her life. "T-thank you, Zeki,"
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Post by Bee on Jun 26, 2010 2:03:57 GMT -5
"It's my pleasure, trust me," he said, turning and flashing a brief smile before getting the plane starting forward. The hill was his favorite because it was rather uniquely suited to his purposes--the slope down the other side was a long, steady, sharp enough incline that allowed him to get great speed and take off.
In minutes, they were up in the air, and shortly after that, they were at a safe altitude. Having her pressed up against his back was proving a surprising, pleasant, and terrifying distraction to keeping his attention focused on staying airborne, until he managed to recalibrate his brain to enjoy both the cool air whipping against the uncovered parts of his face and the warm body close behind him. He had honestly thought it was impossible to improve on the pure joy of flying--he was happy to be proven wrong.
"Ah ha!" he exclaimed. Below them, wedged in with the other buildings of Corvistowne's rather ramshackle skyline, was a familiar sight. "Look down! That's my dad's friend Loreta's inn! I'll have to take you there sometime. She has good recipes. A bit cranky sometimes though."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jun 26, 2010 2:23:32 GMT -5
The rush down the hill took all the breath out of Virtute, and she squeezed her eyes shut even after burying her entire face against the soft black of Zeki's shoulder. There was an instant where the excitement was gone, replaced by the much more regular paranoia. This was it. She'd made a choice, and she was about to pay for it, in a crumpled heap of fire and pain at the bottom of the hill. At least she'd had fun before she died.
There was no crash, though. There was just an odd tugging at the pit of her stomach, and then calm. Air whipped around her face, tousling the longer fur of her tail, and slowly she pulled away.
They were in the sky. Her mouth gaped, ignorant of how ridiculous she must have looked in that moment. She was flying. Flying. Below her was Corvistowne, looking even more ramshackle from the sky than it did from the ground. "I would love that!" She could see the tiny, colorful dots of people, and in the middle of it all one that was oddly white and oddly... luminescent. She laughed out loud. "And there's Sorcha! If she knew..." Her laughter dissolved into a giddy little giggle, and she snuggled in against the reassuring body again.
They made a few more circles around before it was time to land. There was a little field nearby, a perfect place to bring the plane down. Virtute felt a pang of that same terror from before gripping at her, but this time, she managed to push it to the back of her mind. Zeki had gotten them into the air. He would bring them down again, too. The wheels touched down smoothly - a little bumpy, but very smooth overall. As the plane rolled to a gradual halt, the kitten let out a deep breath, reaching up to take off her helmet. She could still feel her heart hammering at her ribs, and she was afraid that it might burst right out of her chest.
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