Re: Salutations! [Sheloe + Kevin]

**Sheloe** Sun Oct 13, 2013 3:11 pm

Sheloe had walked a few paces ahead before realizing he had stopped. Then, stifling a sigh, she sat down to wait. Poor Kevin. What a life he was leading, constantly plagued by his... fixation. People truly were too obsessed with appearances.

Once he was done, she glanced up to him then continued walking, casually, as if there was nothing unusual about taking breaks to shave every other minute at all. She didn't want it to feel awkward.

"I may not be... best teacher..." she started, but then trailed off in confusion. Looking up to his face again did not bring any clarity either, so she stared at him with her brow furrowed. "Aren't... monkey-monkey? What is that? I mean, I am not being monkey-monkey like... full monkey does not talking, right? That true."

**Kevin Cocytus** Wed Oct 16, 2013 10:57 am

She didn't mention it, and that was all Kevin wanted. He smiled before continuing conversation.

"I don't mean YOU have to teach me, just that the wanting for that knowledge is already there. Basically, you've sparked a new interest. Which is good," he clarified before his words could be taken the wrong way. "Interest in things is what keeps the world running . . . or something," he finished lamely. Kevin frowned slightly at his own words; he really needed to chose them better.

"A monkey-monkey is something one-hundred percent monkey, yeah." He was starting to feel bad for putting it that way; Sheloe didn't understand his meaning immediately, and it was rather rude. He pressed forward, though. "Monkey-monkies don't talk, but that's not necessarily a good or bad thing, is it? You're just different." And now, he was pointing something out unnecessarily . . . "W-which is okay, but . . ." He sighed, throwing his hands up into the air.

"I mean, I'm not human-human. It's not a bad thing, just something to note, I guess." He was disappointed in his lack of "the right words," but at least she understood a little bit? Maybe?

**Sheloe** Fri Oct 18, 2013 5:32 pm

The more Kevin said, fumbling with his explanation, the more sorry she felt for having thrown him for such a loop. She needed to make up for it... somehow. Or at least, not make it worse. She started with nodding fervently to his every word.

After he was done, she watched him curiously for a moment, as if to try and guess how was he not 'human-human', then bowed her head with a soft smile. "I am honored to be spark interest. Yes, you're right in all things. We're all different... in different ways." Her wings shifted self-consciously, a sigh escaping her as she looked up to the leaves above. "And we're all equal, I believe, all living things. Both monkey-monkeys and monkey-nots. It is sad, world has not been made to agree. There is wisdom to be found in that too, to be sure, but..." But what? Sheloe shook her head quickly. "But I ramble. I'm sorry. Would you be telling me about you? Or, ask about me, if your wish is such?" She gave him an apologetic look. It was hard to avoid letting her beliefs spill out, but she needed to remember people didn't want to be preached at by a baboon.

**Kevin Cocytus** Sat Oct 19, 2013 12:00 am

He felt a bit uncomfortable by himself, and Sheloe being slightly uncomfortable just made him more uncomfortable, but he let the topic drop, managing a grin all the while. "Monkey-nots." That was perfect wording, right there.

He was confused by her description of her talk. Rambling? "You weren't-- rambling, I mean. You weren't rambling; I love hearing people speak logic. Or anyone, really." Thiiiiiiis was awkward. He stumbled into Sheloe's next questions.

"A-about ME? There's not anything to tell." No offense to Sheloe, but Windor and the Resistance were top-secret. Still, he felt bad not giving her something . . . Something vague, then. "I come from a small town. Like, REALLY small." He outstretched his arms. "They could all live on this island, probably. Though, not comfortably." He retracted his stretch; that was enough about Windor. "I myself . . . Well, I'm really weird." He attempted a laugh. "Yeah. Weird's the perfect word." He didn't want to scare her away.

**Sheloe** Mon Oct 21, 2013 12:58 pm

Sheloe let out a noise of vague disagreement, but since it was very polite of Kevin to protest, that was all she did. As he floundered slightly, she could not help but cringe. How horrible it was that awkwardness was such a self-wounding spiral. She needed to not add to it... and the only way to do that was just ignoring it.

"Oh, I see!" she exclaimed, with maybe a bit too much forced energy. "Small towns are such nice places, no? Not as dangerous as cities, and much pretty..." She trailed off, then a chuckle escaped her. "You want to speak of weird to talking animal...?" she asked incredulously, amused. "You can trust, I do not have position to judge."

**Kevin Cocytus** Sat Oct 26, 2013 12:00 pm

He sensed the mental cringe, which only made things slightly worse. Slightly, because he had handled worse emotions than a cringe in his direction. Still, it hurt. And, an awkward laugh came out at the city-town comparison before he could stop it.

"S-sorry, but . . . No." He shook his head slowly. "No, my town's MUCH more dangerous than any city. . . ." He knew he shouldn't continue talking about Windor, about anything remotely connected to the town, him included, but Sheloe comforted him too much not to. She was being really nice, and he . . . He wanted to repay that, somehow. A small smile came onto his face.

"I . . . I can read people's thoughts. Emotions," he corrected immediately. "Just emotions here. I-I can read people's thoughts if I pry, but it can be really difficult if they're defensive, and I don't want to intrude. Really." This already felt like a bad idea. What if she got the wrong idea? What if she didn't understand? "Don't hate me," was the quiet request he found spilling out of his mouth.

**Sheloe** Sun Oct 27, 2013 2:48 pm

Intrigued, she looked up to him with a raised brow. "Oh?" A town more dangerous than a city had to be pretty bad... though, she supposed he had a different concept of 'danger' than a travelling winged monkey would.

The second subject, though, overrode any musings about urban difficulties and lifted her furry brow a little higher yet. "An empath!" she exclaimed, before his last words even registered. When they did, her heart panged. Did he really think her the kind of person to...?

"As my lord, I do not hate," she said solemnly, putting her hand to her chest. That was as long as her excitement would be restrained, though, and she bounced a little as she looked up to him eagerly. "So, empath, yes? Would you call that? That is fascinating! You must tell me all about! Are ideas much hard to discern, or--" She caught herself and took a deep breath, shaking her head. "Well, you tell me, if you want, only, I mean..."

**Kevin Cocytus** Thu Oct 31, 2013 1:27 pm

Ahh! She knew! He shuddered at the term, began to hunch his back over in self-protection . . . but, she was comforting him again. She was just curious-- she was religious. No one like that existed anymore in Windor. Science was their god. The scientists were their priests.

"I-I wanna tell," he said with a smile coming back to his face. "Most already know about me in Windor, so to have someone ASK to be told is . . . I would call myself an empath, yeah." It was a much better term than "shedu," "serum-user," or the like. "Empath" implied that this was normal-ish, that others before him had been able to read minds. A community of understanding. "Ideas are kinda vague and moan-y; it needs to be more concrete to hear anything for-sure. If thoughts aren't clear, then I can't do much. Usually, though, people have much clearer thoughts than they want to admit-- 'I hate this guy,' 'That person's cute,' and so on."

His smile grew.
"What else do you wanna know?"

**Sheloe** Tue Nov 05, 2013 9:03 pm

She watched him tentatively, and as she saw the tension drain from him, she smiled with relief. It seemed like some right words had been said for once. Listening with interest, she walked almost skipping. This 'Windor' he spoke of must have been that dangerous town of his, she assumed. It was shaping up to be a peculiar sort of place.

"Are you... seeing images, or words, or do you... feel the thoughts?" she asked curiously. "I'm having many askings, as I see this similar to prophecies, yes. Prophecies about the present, in a way, of somebody's state, maybe?" Sheloe scratched her chin in thought. "Interesting idea, at least, I think."

**Kevin Cocytus** Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:17 pm

His mouth rounded into an O-shape as he listened to Sheloe's talk of prophecies. He couldn't help himself-- even in Windor, they didn't have fortune tellers or the like. He let his mouth hang open a little bit before answering the best that he could.

"I-- I don't see, things, no-- though that'd be kinda cool," he admitted with a nervous grin. He often grew tired of his ears, but the same would probably prove true of his eyes if he could see thoughts. Still, a change of pace or even a choice between the crippling extremes would be nice. It would be so very nice. "Things can seem a bit darker if the thoughts are too many, but I think that's me, not them. It's more . . ." He wiggled his fingers in the air for lack of a better example. "It's more that I hear them. They can be muffled, like yours and most others on this island--" He could hear a lot of them already despite being still so far from the castle. "--but, if the person has a weak mind or no resistors-- which most people just have naturally-- then I can hear words. Right now, though, I can tell you that there's a man who's crying, his tones all hushed and echo-y, and a woman who's laughing in happiness." It was strange to hear new voices. His face formed a frown towards the end of his talk, suddenly wary of such things. He didn't have a problem with it in Windor, but those were people he knew. These? These were strangers.

**Sheloe** Sat Nov 09, 2013 10:35 pm

Sheloe's own mouth twitched with restrained amusement at his expression. She'd happened to blow his mind, it seemed.

She walked in silence, listening attentively. After a moment, her neck hurt from looking up, so she turned her head to look ahead again, glancing at Kevin from time to time to reassure him she was still listening. It was not much like her prophecies, then. Shame.

Wonder who was crying.

When he was done, Sheloe stopped and sat up to clasp her hands together, bowing her head in gratitude. "Terrific. Very interesting. Thank you very much for share." With a bounce, she started forward again. After musing over what she'd heard for a second, there was another question. "Do you have to... reach out to them? Try to read? Much hard, is it?"

**Kevin Cocytus** Sun Nov 10, 2013 10:23 pm

The applause was simply too much! Kevin's face blushed, and he laughed in a mix of embarrassment and joy. "I-it's my pleasure! Really!" He had never gotten such a reaction before! Usually when he explained his powers, there was an awkward pause, then some sympathy, a hug or a pat on the back or some "encouraging" words like "It's okay" and "I'm hear for you." But then, Kevin heard Sheloe's next question and realized the misunderstanding. His face fell a little, though he tried to keep the smile.

"I-- I don't have to 'reach out.' They just . . . come." With some hesitation, he added, "Always."

His hands automatically went for the razor; since he had stopped walking when Sheloe had, he began to shave, his fingers pressing against the hairs with disdain. The work was slow this time and methodical.

**Sheloe** Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:38 pm

Sheloe was happy. It seemed as if Kevin was not used to his amazing talent being enthusiastically appreciated -- and he should have been, she thought. It was nice to provide at least that much for him.

"I understand," she said quietly. It must have been pretty busy in his head. She could sympathize. Even now, she felt the thrum of living things all around them, each of them giving off a different feeling, each of them dying at their own pace, cell by cell. It was hard to read and so ever-present she was hardly aware of it most of the time. She had to focus to try and detangle meanings from it... and sometimes, it did not work. Other times a part of it hit her like a freight train. Such was life.

She looked up to him, and seeing him shave, stopped walking again and winced slightly. While she did not begrudge him his... obsession, well, the way to the Castle was going to take all way with all the stops. She sat down and scratched her head awkwardly. The company was lovely, but...

"Is... I'm beginning to worry about the... infirmary," she said unsurely. "I am hate to leave you, but... I've had people stumble in bleeding, and is not thing I want happen when I'm not there."

**Kevin Cocytus** Fri Nov 22, 2013 12:28 am

It really was busy, but being in close proximity to someone, like he was now, helped to declutter slightly. Her emotions rang in his head clearly, parting through most of the other gunk with no extremes, and-- uh-oh. Sheloe's thoughts sounded hesitant, unassured, pacing . . . so, her next words came as no shock to Kevin. He managed to put on a smile as he finished shaving and put the razor away.

"Yeah-- no, I understand." He was a burden. It was cool, he was used to it, and he really did understand. Sheloe had work needing to be done. So did everyone else in his life. He even pulled off a laugh. "People stumbling in their own blood is no good. You should go!" He even took a step back and gave an encouraging nod, expecting his new friend to take off towards the castle with her beautiful wings.

**Sheloe** Mon Nov 25, 2013 12:29 pm

Her smile couldn't be more apologetic as she wrung out her hands. "I am ever so sorry. I said I would accompany, then turns out I lied. I certainly hope we talk later, too." She never quite knew how to react to people being nice and understanding. Dislike and mistrust were easier to deal with. Predictable. Not preferable, but easier.

She shook her head. "Anyway. Yes. I see you later... though not in infirmary, hopefully. I mean, it would be okay, but not if you were the bleeding... yes?" She chuckled awkwardly, taking the bag from in-between her wings into her hands. "Yes... Will you be okay?" She looked around, suddenly worried. "Is straight road, should be okay... After you get to castle, you find your friend, yes? Yes." Sheloe spread her wings and flapped them once to stretch them. He would be okay, right? She looked to Kevin again, still hesitant to part. "...Was really nice meeting you."

**Kevin Cocytus** Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:41 am

The chuckle was not needed to show her awkwardness; Kevin kept the smile on his face best that he could. That was all he could really do-- and, give her consoling words.

"Don't worry-- I won't bleed!" He gave a reassuring thump on his chest to prove that he was healthy-- or, something to that effect. He had seen people do it before, even read about it. He didn't know the exact reason why the chest thump was supposed to be reassuring, but he was sure that was its meaning. It just had to. "Or get lost. Neither of those," he confirmed hastily.

He still was that step back. Still with the smile. He tried not to look down at his forming beard or the nearby razor, just Sheloe. He wanted to see her fly, if anything else-- the single wing flap itself was remarkable, its gust of wind making the smile on his face broader. After this . . . Well. Being left behind was just the usual progression of things; he would just have to keep walking.

**Sheloe** Mon Dec 09, 2013 2:03 pm

'I won't bleed'. Sheloe noted that duly as the least reassuring reassurance she'd ever heard. The decidedly monkey-like display of heartiness was of little comfort, too. She tried to keep a grimace off her face as she gave a nod. "Of course." There really was nothing to worry about, though, right? It was just a straight forest path, with no dogs, wolves or bears. Just razors.

She beat her wings again, then lifted a hand to waggle a finger at him. "No walking-shave. I will know." With a last smile to take the edge off, Sheloe raised her wings up as she crouched down, then brought the leathery appendages down strongly as she leaped into the air. Momentum carried her a few meters up, but when it started wearing off, instead of beginning to fall her upward movement just slowed. She flapped one wing to turn around to face him again in a slow vertical spin. It looked more like she was underwater than in mid-air. "Goodbye, Kevin Cocytus." With that, she beat her wings strongly once more to rise above the trees and head for the Castle. The sun shone strongly, warming her skin. It was a good day.

**Kevin Cocytus** Tue Dec 10, 2013 8:48 pm

He didn't question how Sheloe would know; no one really questioned things in Windor, so why should it here? She probably had her ways. Kevin couldn't bring himself to do that anymore, either, what with how kind she was to him. What a wonderful welcome she was.

The way she flew was entrancing. It wasn't the way that followed common sense, but for her, it seemed to work. He waved as she gave her good-byes.

He stared out toward the sky until Sheloe could no longer be seen, then contenting himself to sigh. Again, he was left alone. Still, he could get to the castle in almost a day's time-- and then, he could see Denskith! He could hear his mental voice, even here: the distinct words heard were comforting--

where's the song where's the song where's the song WHERE IS MUSIC

Something jolted up in his chest. Kevin forgot about the beard, forgot about how long the walk would actual take-- he had to run. And so, he did his best, running faster than most humans but still not going to read the castle until the next morning. He was coming, Denskith! Hang in there!

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