StarfrostedFox

The Family Curse (Noxxis X AutumnFrost)

Looking a little thoughtful at the unexpected offer of cooking Mayumi suggested, Nami paused for a moment, a big bowl partially filled with rice. She glanced over towards the teenager consideringly before suddenly breaking into another huge smile. “ you know, I might just take you up on that offer. I can’t do much more than cook rice. And I burn that half the time. And Yuki is terrible in the kitchen. Don’t ever ask him to cook.” She admitted with a small shudder, As if recalling a terrible memory.

Filling up the rest of the bowl, Nami collected the stack of plates in her other hand and went into the next room to help set the table, Silently joyous at having so many places to set.

Outside, Moku was biting at her lower lip, a Little torn. On one hand, she could understand Kyo’s irritation, she wasn’t the happiest about being forced to live here either, but on the other hand, she didn’t have a problem with Yuki, so she didn’t understand his aversion to the other teenager. The stubborn polite part of her personality wanted to force him inside to eat the dinner that Nami had purchased, but the rash and soft hearted part of her personality wanted to give him space and time to cool off.

In the end, she had darted back inside the house, pausing before entering the kitchen to make sure that it was empty before hurrying over and collecting a bowl. As fast as she could, she scooped out a generous helping of rice, vegetables, and a little bit of the chicken into it before quietly hurrying up the stairs to her bedroom. Taking a moment to peek inside to make sure that no one else was there, she then padded over to The still open window, setting the bowl down and levering herself up onto the sill. Balancing with her toes curled over the edge, one hand braced against the side of the house, Moku scooped up the bowl and stretched out her arm to maneuver it up towards the roof. The bottom tapped against the shingles before she pushed it with a soft scrape onto the roof. Satisfied, she dropped back down into her room.

And froze as she looked up to see Yuki staring at her from the doorway.

•••

Some of his anger had finally simmered away as Yuki had stood in the middle of Mayumi’s room, eyes closed, taking several deep breath’s through his nose. His eyes finally opened again, still somewhat resentful, but he pushed back the emotions and collected himself, preparing to head back downstairs.

That was when he had heard the sound from The room next-door. Moku’s new room. Somewhat concerned, he hurried out into the hallway and to the next doorway, taking a step just inside and pausing as he noticed a pair of feet clad in white socks balanced on the windowsill. All at once, he felt himself stiffening in horror, instantly worried that the girl had snuck back up here and was preparing to jump from the window.

But before he could do much more then take another step into the room, Moku had turned and dropped back to the bedroom floor, silent as a cat, and had straightened up, meeting his gaze and instantly freezing, her eyes wide with surprise. They stared at each other for several seconds before he finally blinked.

“Moku, what are you doing up here?” Yuki asked gently, still worried about why she had been on the windowsill.

Moku shuffled her feet for a moment, debating quietly with her self, before she gave her head a small shake. “Nothing.” She murmured quietly. “ I thought about getting the house slippers I packed for myself when I noticed the window was still open. I don’t like bugs. And sometimes you have to chase them out if you want them to go away.” Turning back to the window, she carefully shut it, making her excuse more solid with the action.

Yuki wasn’t sure he believed her, But he wasn’t going to fight her on the matter. Shaking his head and suppressing a small sigh, he forced himself to smile politely. “ well, I’m glad you were able to get the bug out then. Shall we go down to dinner?” He said, waving his hand for her to go first.

Blinking her bright green eyes once, Moku then gave her head a quick nod before trailing out of the room, Yuki following after her. Together, they walked into the dining room.

“Smells good.” Yuki noted, Settling onto one of the cushions around the table.

Moku merely replied with a neutral hum before she continued on into the kitchen, finally collecting a pitcher and filling it with some ice and water, collecting a couple of cups on her way back to the table. After grabbing another couple of glasses, she then settled down on one of the other cushions, unconsciously putting some distance between her and Yuki. He noticed it, but chose not to comment.

“Shall we start? I don’t think that stupid cat is going to be coming. Not while I’m here.” He stated flatly. “ we wouldn’t want the food to get cold waiting for that impossibility.”

The Family Curse (Noxxis X AutumnFrost)

You’re welcome!

The Sickness (Polarize X AutumnFrost)

Of course! :)

And you’re welcome! Ha ha!

The Sickness (Polarize X AutumnFrost)

Steadily, Kaylia pulled the brush over her horse’s coat, pulling a few stray burrs from his tail as she went, until at last, she was satisfied. Patting Storm’s shoulder, she left the stallion to graze at some of the dry vegetation and returned the brush to her bags, waving a hand quickly in front of her face to discourage a hopeful night time insect before pulling out a small cooking pot and one of her water skins. Carefully, she used some sticks to balance the pot over her fire, pouring out some water to start the process of getting the liquid boiling for some soup. Luckily for her, she hadn’t used up the lunch she had packed for herself. The man she had sold the horses to had insisted she stay for lunch and when his wife started pleading with her as well, she found that she just couldn’t say no.

“Which is probably why you and I are in this mess now.” Kaylia sighed, glancing over at Storm with a wry smile. The horse, of course, didn’t respond.

Retrieving a small bundle of cloth that was tied around a dried soup mix that her adopted mother had taught her to make, Kaylia then paused with her hand brushing a couple of carrots that she had packed. She had intended to feed them to Storm, but... Well, She would give him one and add the rest to the soup. The idea appealed to her stomach. Separating out one of the orange root vegetables, she whistled to her stallion, getting his attention before tossing him the carrot. He happily lipped it into his mouth, crunching noisily for a moment before he began snuffling around for another.

“No! You only get one!” Kaylia laughed helplessly as Storm nuzzled her shoulder with his nose. Carrots, after all, were his favorite treat. He snorted in patiently, bumping her shoulder a little harder. “Fine! Fine! Take it, you greedy adorable beast!” She squeaked, laughing all the more as she surrendered another of the carrots. “But that’s it! These other two are for me.”

Storm eventually, though rather reluctantly, acquiesced when she started cutting up the remaining carrots and dropping them into the cooking pot along with the soup mix, shuffling away to nibble at the sparse grass once more. Kaylia shook her head, the laughter fading into a few residual bubbles of sound as she stirred her dinner, grateful, Not for the first time, that she had her horse for company.

The Family Curse (Noxxis X AutumnFrost)

Ah, I know how that goes. I’m glad you’re back! :)

The Family Curse (Noxxis X AutumnFrost)

Oh, no worries. I checked out your profile and you mentioned in your status that you were going to be turning your phone off. I Believe you mentioned before that you use your phone to role-play, so I figured you’d be gone for a few days. It’s no problem. Did you have to have your phone fixed or were you getting a new one?

Human disguise (ThatWeirdChick x AutumnFrost)

As Anna spoke, Cinead listened carefully, thoughtful, and was a little surprised when she leveled herself up to look at him, her smile reassuring. He looked back into her face for several seconds before one corner of his mouth finally turned up. “Well, since you have already gotten me used to the idea of kissing and eating pizza, and since you yourself are most certainly human, I concede defeat and admit that my charade hasn’t been the most convincing. I still don’t know how I am suppose to react to all of this either... But if you are willing to teach, I will listen.”

He sighed after a moment, touching the backs of his fingers against her cheek. “ and if you say you are all right, I will except it. Although being around me as a dragon might be... dangerous. I would never intentionally hurt you, but I have never spent time around humans as a dragon before. I might move too fast suddenly, or breathe fire when I did not intend to.” He was starting to babble a little, a very rare occurrence in his case, but the idea of spending more time with Anna in his natural form was a frightening unknown to him.

The Sickness (Polarize X AutumnFrost)

Welcome back! I’m gladd to hear that things are starting to get better. I’ve been there a time or two. And sometimes, we just need to take a break to deal with real life. I really am happy that you’re back and enjoying the opportunity to do some riding again.

Aw, thanks again. I really liked your character! And I loved your introduction! It was so much fun to read! I didn’t find anything wrong with it, aside from One small typo, but that’s really no biggie. ;)

Flight From Death (Stone Dragon X AutumnFrost)

At first, Aneira hadn’t been sure of what she was seeing in the dark, flickering on the edges of her vision. But as the horses drew closer, she blinked and the flickering resolved itself into a fire. She started to wonder if lightning had already begun to strike the land when she noticed a few shadows moving around the flames, figures gathered around them. She pulled up on the reins as soon as she realized this, her horse automatically beginning to slow. She heard Tannith give an impatient huff, but he too slowed his own mount.

One of the figures stood up, stepping forward slightly, silhouetted by the light of the fire. Guiding her mare to stop a few feet from the stranger, she had just opened her mouth to call out her own greeting when there came a crack of thunder and a brilliant flash of lightning and she found her voice trapped in her throat. For in that instant, she found herself looking not into the face of a man, but a beast. A dog with fur black as pitch with brilliant golden eyes. But then she saw the figure fold his arms across his chest and she blinked in further shock. Not a beast, not entirely. But some sort of man with the head of a beast.

And then the man, if that was what he was, spoke. His words were accented oddly, though clearly spoken in common. He welcomed them to he and his companions camp and offered a place of rest for the night. Aneira felt a momentary shudder shiver through her body and she quickly shared a look with Tannith. She subtly nodded her head to him, signaling him to take the lead.

Lifting his voice, the soldier called back over the storm. “ we thank you for the welcome. And we would gladly except a place to stay for the night. I wouldn’t want to get caught out in this storm. Thank you.”

The Family Curse (Noxxis X AutumnFrost)

Nami’s gaze flickered towards the back of the house, as if trying to catch a hint of sound that would clue her in on what Kyo was doing outside. She sighed. “Probably trying to find some way up on the roof again.” She said in a resigned sort of voice, unknowingly echoing Mayumi’s own conclusion. Before she could say much more on the matter, The girl had turned to Yuki, talking about how Kyo was probably upset by the idea of living under the same roof as him. The woman quite abruptly stiffened with a sense of dread, an expression of a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar mixing with a chagrined resignation on her face. Slowly, she looked at Yuki.

A look of pure horror crossed Yuki’s own face, mouth falling open slightly, just as Mayumi turned her attention back to Nami. As soon as it did, the look morphed into one of anger, a glare turned directly on Nami. She winced slightly, but otherwise tried not to show outwardly any other reaction, not with Mayumi looking at her. ’Not how I wanted to tell him... but the cat‘s out of the bag now. Literally. She thought, a little despairingly. Outloud, she said, “ i’m putting you in the room right next to Moku, If that’s all right. Second door in at the top of the stairs on the right.”

“ i’ll take your things to your room. You should go help Nami get dinner ready.” Yuki offered, his voice soft. Only those who knew him really well would be able to hear the dangerous under tone to his voice.

Nami sure could.

The gray haired teenager simply gave her a furious look over Mayumi’s head before stepping forward and picking up the suitcase, turning stiffly and heading back up the stairs, anger quivering in his stomach. How dare she. He fumed silently as he stalked down the hallway, throwing open the door to the second bedroom. “That stupid cat!” He hissed under his breath, setting the suitcase down on top of the small set of drawers against one wall. “He’s going to ruin everything for me.”

Back downstairs, Nami Felt as if she had just dodged a bullet. She sucked in a deep breath, held it for a second, and then let it out in a great rush. Nothing said that there weren’t more bullets for her later. But she wasn’t going to worry about that now. Shaking her head a little, she instead turned a smile on Mayumi, starting off in the direction of the kitchen. “It’s really not that much work. I got takeout for us.“ She admitted, instinctively glancing towards Moku as she brushed aside the fabric hanging in the top of the doorway to the kitchen and stepped in.

Moku glanced up from where she had been staring at the half filled cup in her hands, her expression a little wary. She blinked as she looked from Nami to Mayumi, But chose not to say anything.

“Mayumi was just going to help me set out dinner.” Nami said cheerfully, going over to the cupboard and pulling out some plates and bowls. ”I hope you guys are hungry. I kind of overdid it with how much I got.”

At last, Moku seemed to stir. It probably had something to do with the fact that her stomach was rumbling, but she couldn’t just stand idle while there was work to be done. “...What can I do to help?” She asked in a soft, tentative voice.

Nami beamed at her. “Well, why don’t you go and let Kyo know that we are having dinner and then you can fill a pitcher with some water. Kyo should be up on the roof and you’ll find some pitchers in the top cupboard over the sink.”

After a quick glance at the cupboard over her head, Moku gave an understanding nod of her head before she set her glass down on the counter and headed towards the back door. Her stomach twisted slightly. She couldn’t remember ever personally meeting the person cursed with the spirit of the cat before. But she had definitely heard about him enough. Nervously biting at the inside of her cheek, the girl stepped outside and glanced up towards the roof. She thought she spotted the edge of a knee...

“...Kyo? Dinners ready if your hungry.” She called, Wincing slightly at the sound of her own raised voice. It had been so long since she had spoken above a whisper it felt like.