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Re: Food for Thought (attn: Jenn)
Posted: August 27th, 2016, 2:50 pm
by Chris
Nate couldn't really tell what was going on from the time his head his the floor. Sure, Affie was up there somewhere but for the most part the Soldier was content to lie there against the cool ground and let her leave him be. The part of him that knew he ought to do something about his current predicament was quite outweighed by lethargy and a contentment wrought by a bop to the skull. Oh, she wanted to drag him along the corridor? Sure, why not? It wasn't as if Nate had to do anything to help, he could lie around and let Affie entertain herself. Hopefully she would take care of the food...
Why did she keep saying his name? He knew his name well enough, she knew it, there was no need to go shouting it. Though he did the sound of it on her tongue, so Nate simply let her get on with it even if really his full name was Nathaniel. It might sound better if she called his full name but then, did she even know that? Did she knew the real him? Did anyone? Oh Light, he'd spent so long masked behind this charade of silliness that Nathaniel was lost to Nate. It is time to change! the man vowed himself as he was dragged along, gently oblivious to all. Gone is Nate. From now on I will be Nathaniel, and I will do better to show people the real me. Instead of wooing with my natural charm and great looks, I will let them learn all about... about my heart!...
"Ouch!" Then Nate bumped his head on the way into another storage room, and forgot entirely what he was thinking about.
He let himself be rolled over and made more comfortable, finding that the fuzziness of his adventure was gently receding. Not enough for him to wake up just yet, though he was more aware of Affie slapping his cheeks and saying his name loudly again. He did try to tell her to keep quiet and eat a banana, but it came out as a grunt. But then, the shock of smelling a delicious pastry flared along his senses and tingled in his mind, making him open his mouth and lean forwards to try and nibble at it.
The end result was not nomming pastry, but instead nomming on... wait Affie was still there? What did she do with that pastry? Oh well, he kind of liking kissing girls and Affie was a girl, so this was all working out in his favour, but in his current lethargic state he must have lost focus or thought about pastry too much because then there was this whole altercation between their teeth, and then they were butting heads and Nate had to lie back again, groaning as one hand flopped heavily to rest on his forehead.
"Ouch!" he growled, squinting his eyes at the pain. He did level Affie with a look, "what did you kiss me for? Where did the pastry go?" He fumbled for the right words, finding that they were a little slurred at the minute. "I was gonna eat the pastry... it smelled so good..." he muttered in this way for a minute, but then he had to catch his breath and assess what he was doing here.
His head hurt, and so did his chest for some reason. The scraping down the corridor was why it was a little sore. Nate put a hand to his head, finding that the bleeding had stopped for now, but it was still throbbing. He remembered enough of his Drin training to know he ought to see someone about it. "Affie, er, I think I need to see a Yellow," he said apologetically. "You and the pastry will have to kiss me some other time. Sorry, I kind of ruined your food stealing didn't I?" He tilted his head a little, "or was I stealing food? Is it stealing if you're doing it for someone else? I miss that banana..." Nate sighed heavily. "Bananas are yellow, and so are Yellows. Does that mean Yellows are bananas? I need a banana to Heal me."
Re: Food for Thought (attn: Jenn)
Posted: September 1st, 2016, 1:35 am
by Jenn
Affie
“What?” Dark eyes peered up at Nate suspiciously. “The pastry fell because your face knocked it out of my hand. And it did smell good. I didn’t kiss you though. You kissed me. And then you hit me with your teeth. Then your giant forehead knocked into mine. It hurt,” Affie grumbled quietly, wiping away sticky glaze from her cheek. To be fair, Nate’s head wasn’t really all that large, and it was proportional to his body, but she wasn’t feeling very gracious or kind at the moment... Her mournful look went to look at the squashed pastry that lay dejectedly on the floor between them. Not terrible, but not good either.
Well, luckily there were more. At least she thought there were more. Her mouth set stubbornly. She was going to roll him around again if there weren’t any pastries left. She sat down next to Nate on the floor, rummaging around the makeshift apron sack as he began speaking, her brows lowering quizzically as he rambled on about the food and stealing and was it her stealing or him stealing and then Yellows and bananas and banana Healing -- the small Drin shook her head and crammed a pastry unceremoniously into his mouth.
“I found one,” she informed him, before biting into her own sugary sweet flakey confection. Worth it. This made it all worth it. Her grumpiness faded and she smiled a little at the Soldier. Really, he should be able to eat one pastry before they went to the Infirmary. And how was she to know how Aes Sedai Healed? If they used bananas... well then they used bananas. Maybe it was for the robust flavour. And why didn’t Nate know? He was the Soldier.
“If we need that banana for them to Heal you, we’d better go back and get it while Derren is still unconscious. Do you think I’ll need to hit him again to keep him asleep?” she ask around a mouthful of food.
Why wasn’t he answering her? He had said a lot just moments before and - oh. He was enjoying the pastry. That was good. Affie followed Nate’s example and they ate together in companionable silence. That was good too. She peered at him from time to time, the frizzy mop of hair on her head bouncing. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of clubbing the Dedicated across the face again, but... well, she supposed Nate had been kind enough - they were sharing food and that was good - and if he needed her to make sure Derren didn’t get up for a while then she could do that.
The slight Altaran helped Nate to his feet in another comical bout of shuffling feet and staggering clumsiness, trying to steady him. Her startled gasp sounded as he leaned heavily against her for a moment, the additional weight sending her - and him by extension - careening into some desks and chairs.
“Ow!” She frowned up at him and teetered dangerously to the side as she leaned over and grabbed at the black coat. “Hold this against your neck. Don’t want you to bleed on the food,” she fussed, transferring the apron sack to his shoulders. “Or me,” she added as an afterthought. “Lean on me if you need to.” Affie frowned and patted at the profusion of Nate’s matted chest hair, unable to do anything about the tangled mess. Some places were conspicuously bald...
She stuck her head out from the classroom they were hiding in and looked both ways hastily. No one. She guided Nate out, though it was more shuffling than actual guidance given the differences in their heights, but she was trying. He seemed content enough to press in against her and she didn’t have much time to wonder at the silly smile on his face. Then again, she would’ve also been happy with the bread and cheese still inside the apron sling.
Affie couldn’t remember exactly where they had come from. Not good. But, if she wandered around enough, someone was bound to run across them and then she could get Nate to the Infirmary. As they turned the corner, her eyes went round and she drew back against her companion with a squeak of sound.
The door to the storeroom was open.
And a very very unhappy looking Dedicated was storming towards them.
She glanced up at Nate. He didn’t look very good. She looked back at Derren. He looked... angry. Her hands patted at the Soldier’s body as she thought frantically. Affie’s mouth set stubbornly. Gaidin didn’t flinch.
She pushed Nate against the wall, propping him up. She stepped out in front of him and directly into the Dedicated’s path, putting a finger to her lips and gesturing for him to come in closer. He didn’t exactly do what she wanted but it was close enough. Affie glanced back over her shoulder at Nate again, then resolutely faced forward, staring the larger Derren in the eye. She tensed, tilting her head back, and then slammed her forehead against the bridge of his nose.
“Ow!!” The word abruptly went blurry and she felt dizzy. “Ooohhh...” Her legs gave out and she found herself sitting down on the floor. So maybe that wasn’t so good.
“BLOOD AND BLOODY ASHES!!!”
Unfocused dark eyes peered up at the flailing Dedicated. He was bloody alright! Affie looked for Nate, wanting to share that particular burst of inspired hilarity with him. Why did he look runny? And... like a shapeless blob? That was odd. A wide grin split her face. “You’re both going to need banana Healing now.”
Re: Food for Thought (attn: Jenn)
Posted: September 12th, 2016, 10:00 pm
by Chris
Of all the things to shove into his mouth, Nate was okay with pastry. He made a startled noise of surprise but then he was happily chewing away, because what else was a guy to do with a sticky pastry? He put a hand up to take it out and chomp on what was in his mouth, and there was a blissful moment where the two of them simply sat there and ate. This was what they were there for, so Nate wanted to at least take advantage of the tasties that they had acquired. And get some banana healing.
"The banana might be damaged, but the Yellows should have one," he mused. "We can always go and hit Derren to keep him down anyway. Just in case. It's good practice for Drin, right? Hitting things. We can do that. Hit Derran, grab the banana, go and get Healed. I can't see any problems with this whatsoever."
And he didn't, even though he was a little too heavy for Falafel to carry, and if he leaned as much as he wanted to then he sent her careening into a wall. Oh well. He appreciated the leaning that he was allowed, as it was warm and he liked to press up to the side of the young woman next to him. But who wouldn't? He was just a guy, and guys liked cuddles and bananas. He let Affie give him his coat to press against his injury, and he carried the remaining food as well, taking it without complaint like a good packhorse should. Nate was pretty hardy, he could carry food for the lady! He had no real say in where they walked, not noticing or caring which way they went. Life was an adventure! This corridor was an adventure! Everything was grand.
Apart from the bit where they reached the storage room and Derren was awake and angry. Nate knew this wasn't a good thing, but any thoughts on what he was supposed to do about it were promptly, merrily set aside as Affie put him against the wall. He trusted her to take care of him - Nate was in no real position to do anything else. So there he stood, hand pressing the coat to his neck still, as she stomped forwards and... headbutted him. Oh Light, that looked painful. Nate winced with sympathy as Derren stumbled backwards, bleeding from his nose quite heavily. He was cursing like a mad thing and Nate figured he ought to do something about it, but all he could think of was to go and sit with Affie on the ground. He stumbled her way and sank down next to her, taking out the bread and cheese that was left in the sack. "That was amazing!" he said, mindless of the cursing Derren, "here, have some cheese."
"I'm going to get you both strapped so hard you can't sit down for a month!" Derren yowled, but it was difficult to decipher behind the mouth he held up to his nose. Nate gave him a sleepy look and a wave.
"Be off with you, you great cretin. And bring your sister back when you're done complaining like a big baby."
Derren let out a string of courses that made even Nate's ears a little red, but he was stomping away at least. That was good. It meant they were alone, and Nate was glad for the privacy (as much as could be afforded to two people sitting in a corridor together).
Not sure what else to do, Nate gently prodded the piece of cheese into Affie's mouth.
Re: Food for Thought (attn: Jenn)
Posted: September 22nd, 2016, 8:50 pm
by Jenn
Affie
Something a little yielding and a bit crumbly pushed past her lips and it took her a moment to realize that it was cheese. Oh that was nice of Nate. Affie blinked rapidly, toes curling again from the sharp kick that hit the back of her throat. It was that cheese.
“Glad he’s gone,” she said as she tipped over against the taller Soldier, confiding in him with a wobbly nod. “Was grumpy and noisy and it’s not my fault he’s all bloody. Should’ve stayed in the storage room and not come out after us. But you helped me so I helped you and didn’t run cause Gaidin don’t flinch,” she finished rambling with another nod.
Nate answered with a noise that might have been acknowledgement or delight at the bread, she couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter anyway. It was good bread. It went well with the pungent cheese. They ate in companionable silence, the small Drin leaning against Nate as he leaned back against her. Every so often she drooped forward, her head feeling heavier and heavier until she stopped bothering to hold it up and let it slump sideways against his shoulder.
Dark eyes stared blearily up at the Soldier’s jawline. “Couldn’t find you an apple,” she said bemusedly, “and I lost the banana... but you stuck with me when you didn’t have to, so here. A deal’s a deal.” She shifted over and pressed her lips against Nate’s cheek. Before she could pull back, he... moved, his nose bumping into hers and his mouth... was on hers again... and... that... wasn’t so bad. It wasn’t bad at all. It was actually pretty good. He tasted like bread and cheese and kind of like pastry, but that was okay. She probably did too. The kiss lasted seconds...? Minutes? Hours? Didn’t matter.
“I’m sleepy,” she murmured and soon they were laid out in the middle of the floor, her head pillowed in the crook of Nate’s arm. “I’m sorry about your chest hair. And your coat.” She didn’t hear his response, the world rushing up far too close to her face for comfort as her surroundings distorted and dove for a moment.
It wasn’t long after that they were happened across and hauled away to the Infirmary, Affie dragged along after Nate as scolding words bounced off her and flew away over her head. She waved enthusiastically at him before they were separated. From here, he really did kind of look like a giant fuzzy bunny.