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Floral Stripes [DragonSong]

Started by Juno, September 01, 2016, 01:43:20 PM

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Juno

Irah pursed his lips slightly, his brow furrowing pointedly. He could see how Akio was dancing around his question, but he just shrugged and decided pressing him probably wouldn't get them anywhere.

"Why's that? We're having a drink together, aren't we?" Irah shrugged, smiling primly and sipping more at the drink once he got comfortable with the taste of it. "Seems pretty normal among friends."

DragonSong

The tiger glowered at him, but didn't bother to argue. He had a feeling it wouldn't haves from any difference anyway.

"Drink your booze," he muttered, flagging down the server with a gesture for another cup of sake.

Gods he needed the drink with this guy around.

Juno

The mage watched with interest as Akio ordered more. Was it normal to move onto the next so quickly? His instincts told him it was a drink to be savored with such small and delicate cups. So savor he did, sipping lightly and watching the shifter curiously over the rim of his own cup.

"Well what do you do with your friends, then? Drinking's pretty common where I'm from." Irah set his cup down gently, lightly tappping his fingers against the edge of the table with mild anxiety. It bothered him that Akio seemed upset about something when they'd only just arrived.

DragonSong

Akio grunted at him and downed his second cup. Damn, sake was not meant to be drunk like that, but he really couldn't have cared less.

"I don't have friends," he replied blandly. "I have associates. People who buy the game I hunt."

Juno

His answer gave him pause for a moment, eyes widening slightly in disbelief before they softened with a smile. He'd thought Akio's oddly "all business" demeanor was simply impatience to have the boar dealt with before. It was more obvious to him by his answer now that the tiger-man truly preferred to keep people at a distance. Perhaps he was just uncomfortable to be questioned so, but that didn't leave him any less curious.

"Well you've got one now!" Irah crowed, chuckling to himself and picking up his cup to sip at his drink again. "Do you not...live in town, then?"

DragonSong

"Well, aren't you observant," the shifter muttered sourly. "No. I don't." He tried to catch the attention of the server, who was studiously ignoring their table.

Wonderful.

"Look." He huffed and moved to stand. "I have work to do. You shouldn't head out into the jungles on your own anymore, you're going to get yourself killed."

Juno

Irah studied him for a moment, wide-eyed in surprise, but his expression quickly shifted to one of patient understanding. Setting his cup down at the table he hurried to stand as well, determined to keep close to this man he'd already made up in his mind to be his guard and guide during his stay.

"Noted. No going alone," he agreed with a firm nod, a small twinkle of hope in his eyes as he looked up at the shifter. "So when can we go back? Later today? Tomorrow morning?"

DragonSong

Akio stared at him, deadpan. Then he sighed and rubbed at his temples with an irritated groan. "You're really not going to let this go, are you?"

You know what, fuck it then. He'd at least get paid for the nuisance.

"We're leaving at first light," he said sharply, tossing a few coins onto the table to pay for the drinks. "Find a place to stay the night and meet me at the edge of town at dawn." He leveled his eyes at the foreigner, a low growl in his chest. "I don't work, cheap, mainlander. But I'll at least make sure you don't die."

Juno

He didn't see the problem with his persistence or how it might bother the shifter. It was working, right? That's what really mattered.

Irah nodded eagerly in agreement, choosing to ignore the obvious signs of irritation coming off him in waves. He was excited for the prospect of having someone to share his work with even if Akio was only around for his protection. "Wonderful! I'll certainly make it worth your time!" he chirped, swaying slightly as he stepped towards the door. He knew where his inn was at least, and he could stay well enough out of trouble there.

Still, the mage slept restlessly that night. Once again his proximity to the forests was making it difficult stay away and leave his curiosities unsatisfied.

Well before dawn he rose to ready himself for the day. Shuffling around in the darkness to gather his papers and journals into a small pack along with several empty jars he fully intended on filling with all manner of plant trimmings for his own studies. He filled a water skin from a barrel of rainwater on his way out to fumble around in the darkness, picking his way through to the thicker brush he'd met Akio among the previous day.

Without sunlight to peek through the trees he was blind as anything, fumbling around in a short patrol of the town's perimeter with only his hands to guide him and keep him from crashing into tree after tree. It didn't even cross his mind that he was putting himself through undo hassle and a tiger with superior night vision might have found him quite easily if he'd just sat still in one spot.

DragonSong

He was going to kill him.

That was it, that was just...it. He was going to kill this stupid mainlander and never look back. Gods above, what was he doing.

Man-eating tigers were typically just a folklore, but damn this boy was toeing the line.

Growling to himself, the feline shifter stalked silently through the underbrush until he was just behind Irah. A little vindictively, he settled himself in the shadows of the jungle, then let out a terrifying roar just behind his hopeless employer.

Juno

The mage was completely oblivious to the way he was being stalked, too focused on not tripping on anything ahead of him to focus on what might have been lurking behind him. The ear-piercing roar startled him, an undignified yelp escaping him as he jumped and turned quickly to face the sound and the tiger lurking in the shadows.

"Gods, was that really necessary?!" Irah demanded, voice shaky for the adrenaline rushing through him and a hand clutching at his chest for the wild hammering of his heart.

DragonSong

Well. At least he might get a little fun out of this.

Akio didn't bother responding- as much as he could in this form. He just huffed and stalked passed Irah, jerking his head to indicate the young man should follow him into the jungle. His tail flicked back and forth absently as he padded through the underbrush.

Juno

Irah jumped again once he caught sight of the tiger's movement through the brush, his eyes straining even to match motion to the sound. Blessedly the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon and cast a faint glow through the trees.

He followed after him as closely as he dared, not wanting such a large cat to turn on him if he tred on any toes or tail. He was uncertain where Akio was leading him but was thrilled that they were going anywhere at all. Even if he was leading him in circles he probably wouldn't have noticed, though.

DragonSong

Akio continued through the jungle, weaving down paths he'd been treading since he was a cub. He kept glancing back at Irah as he walked, a little worried that the klutzy mainlander might wind up on his face.

Where did this kid even want to go? Would he notice if he just dragged him all around the island without ever getting into any of the more dangerous terrain.

Juno

Once his nerves were settled Irah gradually began to fall behind from Akio as his eyes wandered more and more, eventually stopping altogether to crouch down and study a particularly fascinating blue flower with all manner of reddish-orange dots along its petals. He dug through his bag to retrieve a notebook, quickly sketching it before he plucked it from its stem to tuck between the pages so he could experiment with it later.

He repeated this process with each new flowering plant he came across, fully engrossed every time his eye caught on something he hadn't seen before and giving no thought to any of them being particularly dangerous for him to handle.

DragonSong

The shifter had to pause what felt like every few minutes for Irah to take his notes. He sighed, rolling his eyes the tenth time this happened. "Would you come on?" he growled. "We're burning daylight."

Juno

Irah froze at the sound of his voice, eyes flickering to the shifter as he crouched low to the ground clutching his notebook and another flower. “Well...isn’t that the point? There’s so much here I’ve never seen before, what’s the rush?”

DragonSong

[Whoops, sorry!! I meant to write that he changed back in my last post >.<]




"The rush is that you don't wanna be out here without a proper camp once night falls," Akio growled, flicking his tail in irritation. "Just move. You can look at the plants and shit in the morning."

Juno

He pursed his lips in thought, squinting at the shifter skeptically. He wanted to trust his guidance, but also wanted to be petulant. Establishing camp was not in his plans, but he supposed it was also necessary to do what he wanted eventually.

Irah sighed, finishing his log on the stem he was holding before tucking everything away back into his pack and jogging to catch up to Akio. "If we needed to make camp first we shouldn't have started so early," he complained, knowing full well it was probably a pointless argument. He tilted his head, eyeing everything he wanted to stop and look at forlornly as he forced himself to just keep walking and pass them by.

DragonSong

The shifted just huffed, rolled his eyes, and dropped forward onto four paws again. Tail twitching in irritation, he stalked away further down the familiar jungle paths, heading toward a grove he thought would be reasonably safe to set up some sort of base camp.

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