 Posted: Sat Jun 07, 2008 9:31 pm
Dragon Phage Kurama sighed as he reached the top of the stairs that led to his new mate's apartment. It had taken him a day or two longer to get ready for the trip than he had planned, with all the trouble down at the train station. Not that he was complaining - it wasn't anyone's fault that something had gone wrong with the train they were supposed to take. Besides, the important bit was that they were going at all! Reaching up, he paused to run a hand through his red hair - he was so glad to have his color back - and then to double check the extra pair of headphones around his neck. Satisfied, he moved forward to knock on Marcia's door and briefly wondered who would answer. While he waited, he glanced around the hallway and smoothed his shirt. Reeshie Hack The door opened and for a moment it looked like no one was there. "Down here, lover-boy," a cheerful voice said, the speaker being a short gray bat-anthro, no taller than a normal-sized 10- or 12-year-old and with dark blue hair and eyes. She was dressed in a simple dress and grinning up at him. "Giselle," she added and looked over her shoulder. "Jeanie! Your beau is here!"Marcia's head poked out of the kitchen, ears up, and a smile on her face. "Ah! Time to go already? I just need to get my bags out of my room and then we'll be off, okay?" she asked, giggling. Giselle snorted and walked towards the hall. "You chat with him, I'll get your bags, dear," the "bat" said and padded off down the short hallway, entering one of the open doors. Marcia walked up to Kurama, wearing a loose, knee-length dress, white with elbow-length sleeves and subtle silver designs. The other pair of headphones were also around her neck. "Hey," she said, smiling broadly. "Would you like to come in for a moment?"Dragon Phage Kurama looked down in surprise, then smiled wryly at the term 'lover-boy.' Bowing slightly, he forewent an introduction. Giselle didn't give him much time, and she seemed to know who he was anyway. Not much thought was given to the situation, though, as he straightened and saw his mate. His features softened slightly, turning from polite to genuinely pleased as he took a step forward. "I'd say that I'm afraid so, but that seems much too unpleasant," he replied lightly as the "bat" disappeared. His emerald silk shirt shimmered as he reached forward to take her hand in his when she approached. His shirt and soft, cream-colored jeans were unpatterned. "I would love to come in," he spoke softly, stepping through the doorway. Ever the gentleman, he wouldn't have come in without being asked. "There's a cab waiting outside."Reeshie Hack Marcia continued smiling as she closed the door when he entered. "Well, we don't want to make the driver wait too long," she said, touching the headphones around his neck before lightly kissing his cheek. "Here you go, Jeanie. You two have a safe trip, and don't you worry about a thing. We've got everything covered here," Giselle said as she walked back in, pulling a rolling suitcase behind her. Marcia looked up and nodded to her, walking over to the older islander and taking the suitcase. "Thanks Giselle," she said and turned back to Kurama. "Shall we go, then?"Dragon Phage There was little response to the light kiss on his cheek, though he was very obviously pleased by the gesture. After a moment, he returned it, with a soft stroke of his hand over Marcia's back, between her wings. Kurama bowed slightly to Giselle as she returned, grateful. "Thank you very much." "I think we shall, yes," Kurama responded lightly, having followed Marcia over, then gestured to the suitcase. "Would you like me to take that?"Reeshie Hack Marcia sighed when he stroked her back and looked at him when he offered to carry the bag. "If you want to," she replied, picking up the darkish brown purse that was on the couch and slipping it over one shoulder. It didn't go very well with her dress, but she was willing to sacrifice style for practicality. Dragon Phage Kurama smiled and took her bag in one hand, waiting while she fetched her purse. After a moment, he stepped back and held the door open for her, then followed her out the door. "There's a shrine I want to visit tonight, after we get settled in, while the moon is out. Is that all right?" Curious green eyes turned towards her as Kurama took her hand in his as they walked down the hall. Reeshie Hack Marcia walked down the hall and then down the stairs and out the front door. A taxi was parked on the curb, its driver looking impatient and a little nervous over the neighborhood. She looked over her shoulder at the male with her and smiled.
"Of course. It sounds magical, actually. I can't wait," she replied cheerily, her eyes closing with the smile. She reached the cab and hesitated, wondering if he needed any help with putting the bag in the trunk or if the driver would do it or what... Dragon Phage "I'm glad that you think so," he said softly, delighted that Marcia was pleased with his plans. "Would you like to stay at the hotel tomorrow and lounge, or would you like to go out?" If Kurama was going to keep his date out at night, he could at least let her choose the day's activities.
He was glad she hesitated, and politely told her to stay where she was as he quickly hefted her bag into the trunk alongside his. (The cab driver hadn't seemed enthused when he'd told him where to go - Kurama had assured him that he wouldn't have to get out to help.) He walked around to the door and opened it for Marcia, bowing slightly, his eyes sparkling playfully. "Your chariot, m'lady." Reeshie Hack Marcia giggled when he opened the door for her and bowed. She nodded her head in return and somehow managed to gracefully slip into the back, sliding over to the far side. She folded her wings carefully against her back and sat primly, waiting for him to join her so she could scooch closer.
"I think a nice day in the hotel wouldn't be so bad, especially if we'll be out all night," she replied, smiling up at him. Dragon Phage Kurama kept his grin to himself as he slid in after her, naturally graceful himself. (Well, years of practice hadn't hurt, either.) "To the train station, please," he told the driver politely, but shortly, then turned his attention back to his partner as the car moved away from the curb. "Well, they have a pool and a small courtyard... Did you pack something to swim in, or do you prefer to do the way most do everything - as they are?" He asked curiously, sliding an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into him. Reeshie Hack "Charlie and I found that it's quite nice to swim in just one's fur. We take our headphones off, of course. Don't know if they're waterproof or not," Marcia replied, folding her hands in her lap and leaning into him. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"It sounds like a lovely place you picked out," she added and looked up at him. "I'm so happy to be able to do this with you," she finished and lightly kissed his cheek.
It was funny. They were already the parents of two, of a sort, and she had only ever kissed him on the cheek, and that had mostly been recently. Funny indeed. Dragon Phage "Well, I don't think I really want to test that, myself." What would happen if he couldn't use his headphones? It wasn't something any Audio should want to find out, he supposed. But hadn't others gone swimming with them?
"So long as you're happy," he said simply. Granted, he was happy she was going along as well. They needed the time together, if they were going to have a real relationship. There had to be more than just a physical attraction if they were to stay together, so Kurama was quite content to move slowly now. Raising their children apart hadn't been an option he'd even considered. Reeshie Hack "Me neither," Marcia replied, giggling a bit. Sure, she had THOUGHT about it, but she rather liked her coat color. Perhaps she would ask around. She sighed contentedly and moved a little closer.
"Why are males so much warmer than we females are?" she asked, reveling in the steady warmth radiating from him. She'd fallen asleep on Charlie's shoulder before, when some of the adults would stay up and watch non-children movies. She always ended up between Charlie and Shunsui and they were always so WARM! But in an almost stifling way. Kurama... he was comforting in his warmth, steady and soothing. Every day she found one more thing to draw her to him. Dragon Phage Kurama let his fingers run up and down Marcia's arm, stroking as he enjoyed her slight weight against his side. "I don't know. Maybe we're not actually warmer, but it's just our natural charm affecting you?" His tone was playful - he didn't think he'd relaxed near so much around anybody in quite some time. It was rather nice, he had to admit, as he half-watched the buildings go by outside the cab window.
They were about halfway to the station now. It was a trip they could have made on foot, but Kurama hadn't felt the need to carry the bags all the way there. Reeshie Hack Marcia chuckled a bit at his reply and glanced up at him.
"Perhaps. But I feel I should warn you. You might just charm yourself into having a sleeping female lying on you. Especially if you keep... stroking my arm... like that," she said, getting side-tracked as her mind focused on his hand instead of what she was saying. She tried to make her face pout at him to no avail. All she managed to do was give him a disapproving smile.
"How much longer do you think it will be to the station? I've never been," she asked, considered a moment, and then added, "Ree doesn't like to most modern transportations." Dragon Phage Kurama only chuckled lightly at her, his hand unceasing in its stroking. "We won't be here long enough for that, I'm afraid. Perhaps on the train?" If he were honest, and he rather was currently, he didn't mind the thought of Marcia sleeping on him. He found the idea to be... cute. Along with that attempted pout. He lightly kissed Marcia's forehead in a sort of reward.
"Only a few minutes, love," he informed her. "It's not very far at all, though amazingly difficult to find if you're not searching on foot. It seems most have exchanged locomotives for planes and cruise lines," he sighed. Reeshie Hack Marcia stuck her tongue out at him and decided to retaliate by moving her paw to rest on his thigh and idly trace slow circles.
"Mmmm, what kind of train is this? Like... do they still have compartments like the ones I read about, or has modern technology shied away from that?" she asked, this time glancing up through her long eyelashes, her golden eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief, covered mostly by a contented glaze bordering on a sleepy one. Dragon Phage Kurama's ear twitched and he shifted under her hand, but didn't say anything about it. But he thought it a bit unfair, and it was extremely... distracting. Kurama pushed it from his mind and focused.
"Compartments. I hardly consider the more modern trains to be trains. They're barely more than subways built above ground." His voice held a slight hint of distaste. Kurama had lived quite a long life, in one body and another (he would have to tell Marcia at some point...), and found that he didn't quite appreciate modern times. He preferred the wilds and forests of past times. Reeshie Hack Marcia's fingers closed around his hand and smiled a bit.
"That sounds nice," she said and considered what he said about trains.
"If you like not so modern things, you'd probably like the Isle. Ree has her own bits of technology and we have electricity for lights and TV and internet for Ree's business, but other than that we run pretty much on less-than-modern terms. No cars, all of our plants are grown on the Isle, several of the others fish and catch crustaceans, and Ree pays a few mainlanders to raise any meats we need besides the poultry we keep. And the estate itself, nestled on the edge of the tropical forest that covers most of the Isle, is to die for. I think that's why the Barton apartment is in such a cheap neighborhood," she explained softly. Some day, she'd like to take him there, very much. The Isle was rather large, but they had horses if he wanted to see it all. Dragon Phage Kurama relaxed again and gave Marcia a warm smile, a bit relieved. His fingers stilled as he listened, a reaction to her own hand stilling, and brightened a bit at her descriptions. "Well, I like modern technology, at times," he replied. "But all of the rest..." The rest, he felt, didn't do anything so much as it smothered everything else. Of course, that bit was left out. It wouldn't do to seem fanatical, which he wasn't. He just disapproved.
"Like moths drawn to a flame," he half-quoted, almost inaudibly, before straightening and announcing, more loudly, "We're here." Reeshie Hack Marcia looked up and blinked as the cab pulled to a stop.
"Already? Well, let's go then, hmm? Sooner we go, the sooner we can be tucked into our compartment," she said, sitting up and unlacing her hand from his. She wondered if he was going to do something gentlemanly again, so she waited, watching him with curious eyes. He never ceased to amaze her, Kurama. And that made her smile. Dragon Phage Kurama simply couldn't miss a chance to act the gentleman. That was simply the way he'd acted and trained himself. It seemed that Marcia had, at least, begun to expect that of him. He didn't mind, he was glad she'd noticed, and wouldn't disappoint.
"Of course! And the sooner we'll be away from the eyes of others," he mentioned as he opened his door and slid out, closing it behind him. His steps were quick as he went around to her side and opened the door for her, smiling. Meanwhile, the driver had gotten out and was already removing their luggage from the trunk. Reeshie Hack Marcia returned his smile and stepped out of the cab and picked up her bag. They found their compartment fairly easily, storing their bags in storage spaces beneath the seats. Marcia had kept her hand in Kurama's as long as was possible, she liked holding his hand. The compartment was lovely, done mostly in a faded red. But the fade didn't take away from the small room, in fact, it made it look a little more cozy. The curtains were pulled back from the window and tied, but could be easily put into place to cove it.
"Oh, Kurama. It's lovely," she said and smiled at him after she had looked around after putting her bag away. Dragon Phage Kurama barely managed to pay the cabbie before he was quickly following Marcia through the station. It was a little disappointing that she'd grabbed her bag before he could, but he simply resolved not to let that happen again. Though he did help her store their bags, her back against him and his hands over hers. He liked touching Marcia - she was soft, and pleasantly warm, though he doubted he'd get the chance to ever tell her.
"It is," he replied softly, leading her to sit down, then wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Do you still have those photos of your family with you? I'd like to look at them now, if you don't mind." He was referring to the small album she'd offered to show him when they'd first met. But he'd gotten distracted eating and talking to her to actually look through it. Now it seemed the perfect thing to pass the time during the train ride. Reeshie Hack "Sure I do," Marcia replied and went through her purse. She removed the small book and sat down on one of the two longish seats. She curled her legs beneath her and smiled up at him, patting the seat. She was glad he was interested in seeing her family. Even better, she could snuggle up next to him while he looked. She liked being near him, holding hands, leaning on him. Maybe later, she could curl up next to him and fall asleep to the sound of his rhythmic breathing. Dragon Phage Kurama smiled back down at her and took the offered seat as he accepted the small book. Shifting, he took a small wallet-sized book out of his back pocket. "There's only one small picture per page, but I brought something of my 'family' as well," he spoke softly, almost shyly, as he offered it to her in return. They could look at it later, if Marcia wanted, but for now he settled himself and gently pulled her to his side, holding her book so they could both see.
Opening it, he asked, "So, you will tell me a bit about each as we look through them?" Reeshie Hack Marcia smiled and nodded. She placed his album on the seat next to her and snuggled into his side.
"Okay. Well, this first one is all of us, minus Ms. Christine our house-keeper and the little dragons. They wouldn't sit still long enough. It was taken a while back, so some of the new-comers aren't present. We'll be taking a new one in the fall," she explained. It was a thick book, but they worked through it. Most of the family had been caught doing things they liked most, like Charlie and Orchid singing or Hector and Giselle fixing up their boat or even Merlin and Nimue curled up beneath a tree together. There was so many of them, but Marcia had no trouble talking about them. They were family, after all. Dragon Phage Kurama sat quietly for the most part, only speaking up to ask the occassional question about something going on in the photos. Once in a while he would ask for confirmation on a name he'd heard before. He laughed at a few, and paused on the pictures of Charlie and Orchid, and Merlin and Nimue. They were nice pictures, touching, and he reacted to them inwardly.
"Will I get to meet more of them soon?" He mused aloud, looking back at Marcia with softer eyes. More than he'd have expected, long ago, he enjoyed talking about family. Reeshie Hack Marcia smiled when he asked her if he would meet them. She leaned up a bit more and softly kissed his cheek.
"Of course, if you want to," she replied and nuzzled him a little bit. She really thought he would like it there, if he chose to come. She looked away and put her hand on his album.
"Do you want to look through yours... now?" she asked, turning to look at him, but finding herself lost in his face. He looked so handsome. And right now, with that soft look he had gained from seeing the pictures and hearing her talk about her family... well, it made him very eye-catching and distracting.
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