[PRP] Good Evening, Noodle (Lily/Kaleb)

[AMItotic]

Quote:

kidna
but closwer to campus though
I just comwe to the park to chill

Lily reveled in the scratches for a moment longer, then rolled up to standing on her paws, yawning while she stretched. She jogged around Kaleb once and then slowly walked back towards the park, vaguely in the direction towards campus. She paused to turn around and look at him with an expectant gaze, her tail wagging lowly.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

Perhaps it should have occurred to Kaleb that this was an easy way to lure him into a trap, but the youth was altogether too honest to even consider the possibility. The friendly company of a magical creature such as Lily was preferable to going on his way in the growing shadows from the evening. He could watch out for a portal as they walked.

"I like the parks too," he replied, collecting his phone and getting to his feet so he could follow. "The ones over here are a bit more overgrown than the ones I'm familiar with, but they are still pretty quiet. It's good for reading, at least."

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily made a squeak, seemingly in agreement, then she bounded for one of the trees, scrambling up to a better vantage point. She never left Kaleb's eyesight, but she darted between branches and bows with serpentine grace, softly chirping every time she looked back to make sure he was still there. She traveled from tree to tree through the rest of the park, chirping back conversationally, and at the edge of the treeline she skittered back down, waiting patiently at Kaleb's feet.

She made a chittering sound and inclined her head towards the buildings near campus, pointing in reference.

Grey Dragon

we can have them tumble out to regular AD in a few posts?

 

[Grey Dragon]

It was a bit rougher going on the ground, foliage dense enough for the fisher to weave through above meant a closer brush through the leaves below. Still, the park hadn't completely returned to nature, and Kaleb was able to spot gaps and paths all the way from one side to the other. It was actually a pretty nice shortcut he might not have had the courage to discover for himself.

"Oh, near the college! Or... at least it's a college somewhere." He looked around, surveying the area and feeling for any nearby magic. All he could sense was what surrounded Lily, anything else was still too far away to pick up on.

AMItotic

Sounds good! If you want, Lily could follow Kaleb through a portal and give him a heart attack. =D

 

[AMItotic]

Lily chirped in approval, nodding her head. She squinted as she observed the space between the park's gates, where reality looked a little blurred and perhaps a bit more colorful than the surrounding area. The fisher sniffed at the air, then trotted forward towards the strange disturbance in the air. After a moment's pause, she walked through the gates themselves, the dark silhouette of her body blinking out of existence.

Grey Dragon

portal to AD goooo

 

[Grey Dragon]

Kaleb paused as the fisher disappeared from view, but he didn't feel alarmed exactly. The gates had a familiar feel to them, his magic-sensitive senses picking up on a void of nothingness right where Lily had vanished. It was a feeling he had gotten used to looking for as his way back home, an emptiness that was like expecting something, and instead encountering nothing at all.

Belatedly it occurred to him that Lily might have led him to danger, but it felt the same regular portals, and he had seen othercreatures on his side before anyway. So he took a deep breath and stepped through.

Glancing around he realized it looked like home, but there was no fisher there, only... a... girl? Wait, had she seen him just appear out of nowhere? And did she see the fisher? Certainly that sort of animal would be a little unusual in the town proper, even if it didn't also have horns.

Kaleb stood there frozen like a deer in the headlights.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily blinked as she stared blankly at the campus, watching idly as cars passed by on a nearby road. She then looked down at herself and her gangly human body, scuffing her boots against the pavement as confirmation that they really were back in the mundane world. When she felt satisfied, she rolled her shoulders and stretched her arms above her head, arching her back gently. She glanced back at Kaleb with an impassive stare, then lowered her arms, rolling her wrists.

"So that's what it does," she remarked to Kaleb, tousling her bangs so they fit neatly between the pair of straight horns that jutted up from her hairline. "You okay, dude?"

Grey Dragon

I love Kaleb

 

[Grey Dragon]

"P-pardon?" Kaleb stammered, still staring in shock. She... The horns... If Lily really was a human, not a creature that lived on the other side, he was thoroughly unprepared for this sort of knowledge. His fragile sense of self was not prepared.

His cheeks slowly turned bright red as he realized he had been talking to her as easily as he would any critter, and had even rubbed her belly... He had rubbed a girl's belly. Even if she was a soft and delightful little animal at the time, she was a girl now, a human girl...

AMItotic

Yaaaay he's broken. =D

 

[AMItotic]

"I said, 'you okay, dude?'," Lily repeated, this time with clearer enunciation. She turned and took a few steps towards him, eyeing the way his face was changing colors.

"It's okay, we're back in the spook-free zone," she nodded sagely. "The doorways just kind of...happen, but we found one out and not in so we're safe, except for all the normal s**t people die to."

Maybe he had allergies? He looked like the sort of kid that might have allergies. Lily wasn't going to comment one way or the other.

Grey Dragon

oh nooooo poor kid

 

[Grey Dragon]

Lily seemed to think nothing was amiss, so after a couple seconds of gears still trying to tick in his brain, Kaleb did his best to play along.

"Y-yes, I'm okay," he stammered, "I just didn't expect... Yes." Kaleb nudged his glasses up on his nose, knowing that no amount of willpower would fix the embarrassed heat in his cheeks. He just had to power through it.

"Thank you, for showing me a way back, I wouldn't have gone through that park on my own and who knows where the next closest doorway would have been," he rambled, having a very hard time looking at anything but his own nervous hands.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

Lily watched him for a moment, tilting her head, and then her eyes widened. "Ooooooooh, yeah, the noodle thing is just for the otherworld." She brushed her dark hair behind her, then scratched behind one of her ears. "Sorry, forgot that not everyone's hip to the whole moonwalker shtick."

"It's no big deal," she shrugged, her mouth scrunching as she watched him writhe in his own discomfort. Was she really that scary? "...you...sure you're okay, man?"

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

This was bad, apparently Kaleb was not fooling anyone.

"Sorry, yes, I'm okay," he insisted rather timidly. He felt as uncomfortable with his own reaction as the sudden realization that Lily was a human person and not an othercreature of some kind. An honest explanation was probably warranted, even if the words came out all jumbled.

"I'm not... that great at talking to people, it's not the noodle thing or anything, that's okay. It's... pretty cool." The freckled teen dared a glimpse up from his nervous hands.

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Oh." Lily frowned and she glanced away, scratching at the back of her head. "I mean, talking to people is just talking to big furless animals with opinions about things, it's fine." She glanced down at her shoes, then reached for her pocket.

"Here, this might help." She held up her phone to cover her face, the display showing an open-mouthed selfie of the fisher with horns. "Ryaaaaaaaaa," Lily yowled softly, doing her best to mimic fisher noises. "See? Totally the same. I mean, myaaaaow."

This was getting ridiculous.

Grey Dragon

 

[Grey Dragon]

When Kaleb did glance up, he let out a tiny laugh. Not so much because Lily was hiding her face behind her phone making animal noises, but because she was willing to go so far to make him feel more comfortable.

"It's okay, being able to communicate easier is nice, and I like your face- I mean, I can't go my whole life only ever talking to animals," Kaleb blurted out quickly, somehow managing turn even a little more pink in the cheeks. But it was easier now, knowing how kindly Lily had responded to his poor social skills, and didn't beat himself up over it.

"Thank you, for being patient with me and all," he said shyly. "Even though it's a bit... awkward."

AMItotic

 

[AMItotic]

"Aww thanks," Lily responded, tilting her head. "You look totally different from this angle, but it's neat. I like it." Her hands slid into her pockets and she yawned, looking at something in the distance.

"If it makes you feel better, we're all just animals," she shrugged, rocking back and forth on her heels. "Some of us just have shitty voice boxes in exchange for toe beans, which if you ask me is totally worth it."

Grey Dragon