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 Posted: Fri May 27, 2016 3:07 am
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2016 4:42 pm
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Occasionally Aprife took walks in the swamp. With Muerte, it was for relaxation, a chance to get away and forget about work for a while. Alone, he was probably on duty. Tonight was the latter.
There were a lot of things about their new environment they needed to learn. Traps had been set all along the perimeter and out further still, but it would do them just as much good to know what they had to work with. In a small bag tied at his waist, Aprife had been gathering fungi. While most of them were foreign to him in appearance, he planned on researching what he found. Some would be edible, surely, and others... well, wouldn't it be nice to know which he could grind into someone's teacup if they bothered him enough.
It was on the way back he spotted Forera, saw her throw her work in anger, watched her huff back against the tree. He gave her a moment to gather herself before he joined her, making no effort to hide his footsteps. "Having trouble?" he asked, tone largely devoid of any particular emotion.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2016 4:52 pm
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The sound of footsteps caught the immediate attention of the tealblood, back tensing, muscles ready to attack in case of an ambush as her gaze snapped to the troll in question-- Ah, it was... Reefy. Forera's body relaxed slightly, but it was obvious she didn't feel too comfortable around the other. He had been the one to reprimand her, and after all, she wasn't too keen on being told what to do. Her eyes looked at his general area before huffing, a small burst of laughter falling from her lips. "None that requires your help." She said, smiling brightly at him, expression obviously strained to seem friendly.
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Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2016 8:56 am
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"Much thanks for the heads up." Forera responded, rolling her eyes before they fell upon the messed up knot. She clenched her teeth, realizing in that second that she'd once again, ******** any chance at interaction up due to her short temper and automatic response to anyone that came her way. What happened to her old eagerness at talking to anyone and everyone? Must've left with my desire to please, thought Forera dryly, her chin falling into the palm of her hand, annoyed. She exhaled, staring at the knot for a bit longer as the steps moved further and further away. She glanced back before a final look at the knot sealed the deal, swallowing hard.
"Hey. Wait." Forera huffed crossing her arms and shifting her position to look at Aprife. "I'm sorry. I haven't been feelin' myself, lately." She said a little loudly, hoping he'd respond. "If y'know how to do this the right way, I could really use your help." She said, a little louder now, swallowing her pride to ask for help. This was an important knot to learn, something useful for traps, but she wouldn't mention that. He seemed knowlagable enough, and in being head of inteligence, his brain might've been worth a look-see.
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Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2016 9:33 pm
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If Aprife had known Forera personally before she dropped the whole gotta-please-everyone-buddy-buddy persona, he might've put stock in her excuse. As it were, he stopped out of professional interest alone, because she'd asked him for help and it was technically his job to assist members of the rebellion. If she was looking to increase her skill to better their cause, well, he supposed it was worth his time to see what was up.
Honestly, even if she was tying knots for the sole purpose of tying knots—he had no real idea what her motives were, after all, at least not yet—Aprife gave her some credit for being big enough to change her mind. Not much, but some.
"Alright," he was walking back as he spoke, arms crossed, "You've got my attention, for now." He pointed at her knotted up practice rope and didn't hesitate to get straight to the point. The way he spoke made it obvious he wouldn't have patience for much hemming and hawing until she proved she was serious. "Go ahead and untangle it, then show me what you were trying to do."
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Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 5:47 am
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Forera's mind was already spiraling into self-doubt until the moment she heard his okay. Her shoulders relaxed some, pushing some of her hair out of her face and feeling a little better about herself, somehow. Looking up toward Aprife, her fingers worked on their own, easily disassembling it (though she supposed, that wasthe problem). When it became a normal rope, she slowly began to remember the instructions of the closed book, sliding one end into the other and looping it around easily. As she pulled it tight, the real problem with it showed, becoming a bunch of knots that weren't what was planned in the first place. Forera snarled in anger. "Why innit....!" She clenched her fist, long nails digging into her skin, enduring the anger she felt from the knot by the pain of her hand. She played with her piercings some, trying to calm her rage. "See! It'ssa <********> nightmare 'n I can't <********> take it!" She growled, crossing her arms and dropping the knot in anger. She tried, 'cause he asked. Now he needed to help her. Right? Or maybe he'd just say she was dumb and laugh away, because she was a higher blood. She cursed under her breath, looking up at him nervously from her spot on the ground.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 12:57 am
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Expression bland, he reserved judgement until the incorrect mess of a knot had Forera's anger flaring in that sudden, sharp, and totally unnecessary way. Aprife wouldn't pull his punches. It didn't matter that for the shortest of moments he understood her plight. Though his own anger had gotten the better of him more than once, it had never been over something he perceived as so very, very minor.
"The problem here isn't the ******** up knot, it's your reaction to the ******** up knot." Grunting faintly, he joined her where she sat, long legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. "If you're gonna react that poorly to tying a knot, I'd hate to see how you handle, well, anything really."
This time he picked up the rope, calmly untying it. "You've got a book, use it," he instructed, "Open it back up, find your knot, and don't close it until you're actually ready to."
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 6:16 am
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"Oh ********' hell." She muttered under her breath, feeling her anger rise from his words, cheeks going real as she stood up with fire in her veins. "Are you <********' kidding me?!" She snarled at him— He'd told her to keep doing the exact thing she'd been attempting for hours on end! He just stood there and repeated what she'd been telling herself over and over! "I've been usin' my book. Y'don't think I have?! I asked you for HELP, not to tell me to do what I already ********' did! I thought you'd know SOMETHIN', but HA HA, guess the hell what, it seems YER help is isn't as good as ya think." Her pointed nose flared from anger, instantly defensive over her pride, hands balled into tight fists as realization dawned on her as to what his first words were. They hadn't computed after he mentioned she needed to do it again.
She was cursing a lot. She was cursing and insulting him for helping her and this was wrong. He had offered, had stayed, had listened. Even if it was s**t advice, she should've tried it first and then blown up, maybe. Her breathing picked up, sitting back down as her eyes widened slightly. There it was, she'd ******** up again and in the future she'd only ******** up more. Why was she even there? She should've died in the hunt. She'd been protected, but she didn't deserve it. She didn't deserve such niceness, if she was going to be so angry all the time. "I'm c-crazy, s**t," She whispered to herself, bringing her hands to her head and covering her sound nodes in an effort to block out all sounds and calm herself. She'd never realized it before. She'd thought all of her anger was justified. Was this why people disliked her? Was this why she wasn't liked at all? She used to be so friendly. Now anything she was told felt like a personal attack to her person, even though it 'd been far from it.
Forera looked up at Aprife, opening her mouth, closing it, and looking down. She still felt too much pride to apologize. "I didn't mean that. I..." Her insides clenched. This would be the second time she bowed her head for him. "Sorry. Yer just tryin' ta help." Forera exhaled, rubbing her eyes and looking at the knot on the floor. She'd deflated some, thankfully. Reaching for it, her hands clasped around the knot. She flipped through the pages quickly. She set to work. "Howzzat.*" She asked after a few minutes, the knot looking a little neater but still just as messed up.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 7:52 am
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Case in point. As she stood, he remained seated, everything about him as casual as ever. The strangely uncharacteristic look he'd been wearing stretched away into a not-so-genuine, toothy grin. It was the reaction he expected and it almost made him laugh, but Aprife managed to hold that back in favor of getting absolutely anywhere tonight. It would've only made things worse and he didn't feel like wasting his time.
"Listen a little longer before you explode next time," he advised. Social cues hinted her pride took a big kick in the gut to manage that apology, but he made no mention of it. One might assume he didn't accept it, but truthfully he just didn't need it. What he needed was for her to focus.
"I had planned on demonstrating once you got the book open. Here," he held a hand out, giving her the option to fork it over or not, "It looks better, but what you really need to learn is staying calm when s**t doesn't go your way. If you wanna be proficient at tying knots to the point of being useful, you need to be as flexible as the rope you're working with. Believe me, you're gonna ******** up, use the wrong knot, tie it wrong, whatever, and you're gonna do it way more than once. Get used to it."
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 1:00 pm
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His calmness only ticked her off more, but Forera held herself back, nodding emptily at his words and staring at the knot, struggling to keep her anger in check. She listened, hands balling into tightened fists at his last few words. She hated what he was saying, but it was true. It was true and real and Forera wished she had the ability to do everything right on her first try. "I... Want to be useful." Forera stated firmly, looking up from the ground and staring at him square in the eye. She didn't have a home, and those close to her had left or betrayed her. Serpentmom was slowly going crazier and crazier and the more time she spent listening to her whispers, trying to convince her to go back and give herself up, the more she felt trapped and unhelpful. Unhealthy. She wanted to do something, and she wanted to do it well. She didn't want to end up with another lost hand. "I don't care how many times I fall. I don't want to be a burden anymore." The air around them felt tense, and there was no sound around them but the distant sound of trolls in the outpost. She handed him the book and the rope sitting down and watching attentively. She was definitely going to listen now.
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Posted: Sun Dec 25, 2016 10:04 pm
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When she went for the eye contact, Aprife held it with ease, his expression jovial as it was moments ago even if the grin had backed off some. At least she appeared to be taking his advice to heart. The anger didn't detonate this time, only leaked out into the atmosphere and made the air dense with something other than swamp fumes instead.
Well, if nothing else, he silently commended her for holding it in. Next would come the ability to count to three and not get angry in the first place.
"Learning how to do s**t like this is a good start," he told her, dropping his gaze to look at the book. "You sound like you wanna get serious, so let's get serious." After that he went quiet, examining it, moving the rope loosely between his hands as he did. It didn't take long before he looked confident.
"Like this," he tried to hold it where she could see it, "Loop this around, slide this through..." When he tugged it tight, it drew into a knot like the picture. Holding it back out to her, he said, "Here, undo it. Might help with understanding how to tie it."
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Posted: Mon Dec 26, 2016 8:16 am
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Forera nodded. She was ready to get serious. Watching him play around with the rope and moving it loosely between his fingers, Forera realized this wasn't some sort of thing she could hit until it worked. It was almost like an art, hands crafting the knot expertly, only practiced hands able to handle and know where to stop and where to continue. She looked at his finished product, watching him do it carefully as her eyes lightened up. It looked like the picture. When she was offered it, Forera's hand clasped over it carefully, almost as if it would break. She inspected it and unknotted it, watching it carefully before it was unraveled into a single rope. She eyed the rope, seeming hesitant, even reluctant to try once more. Her hands touched the rope carefully. Would she be able to do it this time? Or would she fail, like always?
But, why was it so bad to fail? Failing meant trying. Getting up again meant surviving. And she'd done plenty of that.
Forera's hands began to move, drawing the rope into a careful knot as she wrapped it around and kept moving, refining how it looked. One last pull created the beginnings of the knot in the picture. Sure, it was messy. Sure, it was unrefined. But it worked, it finally worked and Forera's expression lit up like she'd seen a tower of food. "I-I--" She seemed at a loss for words. She tugged it a little more, making it look nicer, wider. She felt her shoulders fall, all the stress she'd felt from the dumb knot releasing her frustration. She smiled at the knot, feeling more like she used to as a child than at that moment. Forera exhaled, eyes closed. "...Thanks." She murmured, looking a lot less angry. "That was... Really helpful." Her thankfulness seemed sincere.
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Posted: Wed May 24, 2017 10:30 am
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The relief in the air was palpable and Aprife found himself taking a deep breath of it. One's own success was the sweetest, but as long as the winner wasn't an enemy, he didn't mind enjoying someone else's achievement. "Looks pretty good," he told her, uncrossing his legs like he meant to get up soon. That was only her first, too, each one would look better than the last.
"That's about all I can do for you when it comes to s**t like this. It's pretty cut and dry. The rest is up to you." With a satisfied grunt, he stretched his arms high above his head.
"Oh, one more thing, I guess. Don't stop using the book until you can actually finish the knot quickly. Doing it without at that point will be cake."
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