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 Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 9:28 am
Oh yes, making sure the horse would fit was Jade's first concern, and Fabio had fit in the carriage quite nicely! Which was unfortunate on a different front, as he had immediately returned to his love-affair with Kanda's head.
Which Jade was more amused by than anything, but he'd also brought along quite the little thing that it seemed his nose and attentions were going to be stuck in -- a notebook full of blank white paper. Ohhh no, he wasn't.... he.. was already getting started on jotting down notes... and from the looks of it, given the other five or six notebooks (FOR HIM ALONE, Hanna had been given a seperate stash), he'd be jotting down notes and penning things the entire trip.
Starting with observations on his company it seemed.
"Well, this is all so very exciting, now isn't it?"
Aster.. hadn't been so thrilled about the carriage and the 'LOL, HAVE A NICE FLIGHT, LAWL LAWL' that would be going on, having actually stashed herself amongst some of the bedding material to curl up into a fetal ball...
...
Prematurely.
Jade frowned, jotting down a note, then looking up to Aster. "You certainly seem to not be very excited for all of this." he noted, unaware of the.. ..travelling affliction.
"I hate flying, I hate travelling.. it makes me feel groooooosssss...."
Kanda, who had been more than happy to make seat-space next to him for Shae, found himself 'shoo'ing Fabio away from his head (fjdslkfa. ******** horse) with a frown as the stallion seemed to SULK about being whisked away from it's 'true love'.
asdf;. Why was his hair so..animal-attractive? He didn't see the reasoning behind it.
"She has motion-sickness." he explained, about Aster, before slumping in his seat. Nngh.
"How far south will we be traveling before we start on foot?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:17 pm
... Yossarian had to admit, just being present around Jade and Hanna at all gave him the distinct feeling of being studied, and he didn't like it. No, he didn't like it one bit and, even with all the distraction of a pudgy stallion chewing his rival's hair and Aster curling up in the bedding, he still couldn't tune the feeling out.
It was as if he were some lab rat in a cage: trapped and gawked at through the glass.
"... Aster, why don't you--"
"Here, Ma'am." Much to his surprise, however, it was the quiet little Shae who cut in before he could make any 'helpful' suggestions to assuage the woman's woe, offering up a small paper box of some sort-- one he'd definitely seen before, and recognized almost instantly as the candied ginger she toted around constantly. "A piece or two should help, if you can get it down..."
Always a wealth of unusual knowledge and remedies, that one.
But that comment aside, she lapsed back into silence and replanted herself in the same seat she'd been in since boarding, checking to make sure dearest Del hadn't budged from where she'd placed him by her collar. Short of prompting, she seemed in no mood for any conversation. Silence was just the easiest way to cope.
"I believe this craft will be traveling as far south as it can into the desert wastelands before we're dropped off," Hanna offered as a (cheery) answer to Kanda's question, "though unfortunately, I'm sure we'll still have a good stretch of foot travel ahead of us when we land..."
"Makes sense enough," Yossarian groused flatly. "Any militarily designated vessel is bound to be a prime target for assault..."
"Oh yes," the therapist agreed. "And with the graviga bomb incident still fresh in everyone's mind, just the sight of us could prompt hostility unless we're careful..."
Which of course meant that they'd have to be extra careful in keeping their (technical) military affiliations hidden, too.
... Maybe it'd be wise for Kanda to change out of his uptight monochrome before they disembarked.
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 4:57 pm
Hey, he liked his monochrome!
@00@ Asking Aster to focus on anything was a nightmare from where she was curled up and already getting her stomach tied up into a knot -- afshdfkljsadf. It sucked, and all she knew was that she was being offerred stuff and... well, at least they were still in the ground, because if she'd been jostled around by the joy of FLIIIGHT, she may have just vomitted instead of actually registering what she was being told.
Nnngh.
Though she did end up taking a piece of the offered ginger to suck on like one would a lifesaver.. so hopefully it would last long enough for her to not get sick on someone or end up curling up on Yossarian with wibbling.
She hated flying.
Hated it. So much. She never looked forward to it. Ever.
Jade seemed to be quite amused when Shae produced her 'box of remedy', as though it was a habit he could relate to (though his had more to do with dark chocolate), jotting down something ELSE in his notebook.
Yep. They were labrats.
Yeah, uh.. he didn't much fancy being the silly little... thingy..either. It was just all sorts of special levels of frustrating on several fronts it seemed.
He didn't like being there, but it was a job for the time being -- and maybe JUST MAYBE they'd have a segregated sleeping bit going on so that all parties could at least have their 'IHUGTFO' time to theirselves.
"Could we tie this horse away from me? I'd like to not have it digesting my hair..."
"'s just chasing some pretty tail..."
Woah, silly sicky-joke!
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:14 pm
Good thing Aster had gotten to sucking on the ginger so early, too, because not even three minutes thereafter the ship gave a great stiff lurch, engines all puttering up to speed to lift its bulky frame off the ground. Clearly, mufflers weren't on the military agenda for any sort of peaceful travel.
Yossarian's heart (and stomach) had lurched simultaneously with it, too, already well aware that this was probably just the beginning of a long suffering woe for everyone present.
Shae (wisely) chose to leave her little box with Aster in the meanwhile, figuring that she was definitely the one who needed it most.
As for herself? ... Well, travel was nothing new or foreign to her, and she had no physical gripes with it beyond a little inward pang of unnerving. She'd be fine on her own...
"'s just chasing some pretty tail..."
Wait, what was that now?
Even Yossarian quirked a brow at the sickly commentary right then, and Hanna just grinned and chuckled good-naturedly, flapping one hand dismissively.
"Now, now, Mister Yossarian, I'm sure Miss Aster believes your tail is pretty too," she mused.
"I-I MADE NO SUCH IMPLICATION!--" The reaction was instant, and oh-so-amusing.
"Your face is easy to read," the therapist informed him, "but yes, I think we can secure Fabio in good conscience now that we've taken off..."
Oh, talk about one slap-in-the-face of a subject change! The dark male was so blindsided by it (and it DID show plainly on his features) that he didn't seem to know how to respond, as Hanna, in turn, politely got up to take Fabio's reins and lead the horse over to tether near some luggage.
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:32 pm
Oh god, she'd been left with the whole box -- was the trip REALLY going to be that long? asdhfsafj. Nuuu! No really, that was a horrible horrible idea to Aster -- that meant she'd be curled up into a ball for quiiite some time -- and it wasn't much better when the ship lurched either, causing her to whimper and curl up further.
Yep, better she had the ginger in her system pre-takeoff.. because now she was just going to curl up and go 'fjls;afdhf' for the next forever.
Though Yossarian's sudden piping made Aster lift her head up to frown towards Hanna. "'M sure he already knows that too..." she mumbled, before snuggling back into her little 'maybe I'll stop being airsick soon, yarite' spot.
Didn't help that they would be trapped airborne with a horse for several hours.
...
...... dahf;dlskf. Yuck.
"I'm pretty sure she thinks more than his tail is pretty." Kanda added on flatly, mumbling a 'thank you' on the end once the goddamned pony had been pulled away from his hair.
THERE.
NOW IT WOULD LEAVE HIM ALONE. Though sadly it seemed their flight would be going on FOREVERZ now. With a sicky and a horse. Perfect. Just perfect.
"Well, since we'll all be stuck together for some time..." Uh oh, that wasn't a good start to a conversation, "Perhaps we should all have an open-session." Open..session.
WAIT, LIKE THERAPY?
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Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 10:05 pm
Poor Yossarian... he really was an easy victim when it came to romantic goading, and Kanda's comment was like a rusty nail in the coffin of his dignity (or at least, his composure), turning a flushed shade beneath his fur and choking down some woeful huff.
Somewhere behind him, maybe his tail was even prickling... but he'd be damned if he showed it. No way, no h-- wait a second did that mean therapy.
"Sounds like a wonderful idea!" Hanna chirped, finishing up with some fancy knot of Fabio's reins before plunking herself back in her seat. Sure, they weren't the plushest thing ever-- just long, continuous bleacher type arrangements running parallel with the side walls-- but at least there were two sides so the quartet and UTTERLY INSANE pair could remain separated... right?
It certainly made for a good LEERING vantage point in Yossarian's opinion, stiffening visibly at the mention and frowning suspiciously. "... What do you mean, 'open session?'"
Shae said nothing in response to all the fussing, as always, and simply kept whatever thoughts she might've been harboring to her lonesome.
The unfortunate fact of the matter, she'd long since resigned herself to accepting, was that therapy was simply an inevitability around Hanna and Jade... and trying to fight it just made the situation that much worse. Struggling would only make for more pain in the end-- like trying to thrash their way out of a steel trap.
It was a lesson she'd learned long ago, and didn't need repeating.
Besides, what harm was there in just... talking?
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:33 am
Yep, well.. once the ship was at least 'stable' enough, Aster hobbled up to her feet to go and sit next to her pretty boy ;D. Or at least wibble and resume using him as her comfort-pillow, like was default on practically every trip they'd ever taken together.
Hard to believe that over a year ago she'd actually been EXCITED about being on an airship. Yep, she'd not shut up about it for WEEKS while her man's belly had healed up (Okay, so they hadn't been an 'item' yet but there had been...er..a technical smooch).
"Nnnngh..."
Okay, that was code for ; 'I NO CAN HAS WANT THERAPY s**t, I JUST NEED TO CURL UP AND WIBBLE'.
Jade was actually amused by the sight of Aster immediately going over to wibble against Yossarian. Alas, young love -- it was EVERYWHERE.
"I mean it'd be a perfect time for us all to discuss our issues out-loud."
DUH.
Kanda had to frown in disapproval as well. HE didn't want to talk about any of these so called 'issues' he apparently had in the least, thus found himself frowning at the therapist-duo. Ohhhh hellz-no. Yeah.
No.
"If we're going to be spending what sounds like several weeks of time together, we'd be better off having some 'alone time' for now."
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:05 pm
Aaand there went Aster latching onto him at last... which, of course, Yossarian had more or less been expecting. He didn't particularly mind, either, just choking down whatever sigh was in his throat and draping an arm around her miserably shuddering shoulders-- ... only to belatedly realize that both Jade and Hanna were giving him irksomely smug looks.
... Really, why did they feel a compulsive need to observe every possible thing that ABSOLUTELY WAS NOT THEIR BUSINESS?
As for that groan? The sad part was that he understood and agreed with it completely, tempted to let off one of his own. Discussing their 'issues' with everyone else? Hell no he didn't want that! In fact, that was the last thing ever he would've desired! EVER!
"I second Kanda," he grunted flatly, not even seeming to notice how he hadn't referred to his rival as 'the swordsman' instead. "Such trivialities are completely unnecessary."
"... Now I think that's a little harsh," Hanna pouted at that, giving him this terrible beaten puppy look-- but only for a second before she sighed and seemed to forget it completely, back to nothing but smiles. "But you can sit out for now if you feel uncomfortable! The rest of us can just have our fun together, can't we?"
She'd turned on Kanda and Shae in particular right then, the latter female not even seeming to notice at first... but when she did, oddly enough, her response was... delayed.
"Whatever you all decide on," she answered simply, and said no more.
She'd participate, or she wouldn't. Neither option was any more or less painful to her, sadly.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 5:53 pm
Prrprrr....Prrprrprrr..... Prrrprrrrprrrrrrrr. Certainly Aster knew better than to turn into a complete and total 'snuggly monster' on Yossarian, but that didn't prevent him from becoming her comfort-blanket now that he'd given in to the inevitable of her clinging.
Like he always did. Alas, l-...that word... was always a silly thing. Though she did have to admit she wished she wasn't so... 'BLARRRGH' on flights.. then she could at least settle in to work on the book.
Nngh. She wasn't even sure how 'far' she'd come with that task either.
Just that she was getting somewhere or other with it. Alas.
"I have no interest in such things. Anything that needed to be shared with someone else, I have shared or taken care of other wise."
This got Ako chirping on his shoulder, as though the Golem knew something it wasn't sharing. The silly thing. Chirpchirp click whrrrr! It certainly was interesting to have a little companion for Del hanging around now.
Everybody was paired up in that sense.
"It would merely be better off to not frustrate ourselves with our problems while we're going into unknown territory."
Jade just chuckled. "Well, that certainly won't help someone with their feelings of inadequacy, now will it?"
WAS THAT A QUIP AT YOYO?
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:13 pm
"...feelings of inadequacy..."
...... Feelings of inadequacy.
FEELINGS OF INADEQUACY?!
"I have no such issue!" Poor Yossarian knew a second too late that he'd played right into Jade's hands with that remark, but alas, the damage had already been done, and his inner self was already squirming in abject horror of his own stupidity. Just... DAMN HIM.
AND DAMN THAT HEAT ON HIS FACE.
"Oh, no one said you did, Mister Yossarian," Hanna pointed oh-so-innocently, just drawing all the more attention to his blunder. "There's no need for hostility, hmm?..."
"... And no need for goading or antagonism either," Shae FINALLY contributed, her voice deadpan, and soft, and her features as composed as possible.
"Ah, so she is capable of speaking!" the therapist just chuckled, unfazed. "Are you feeling alright, Miss Shae? You still look a bit pale."
"I'm perfectly fine, Ma'am."
"Well that's good to hear!"
"... I... suppose so."
The awkward was hilariously tangible, and not even Del's clicking with 'his brother' could drown it out.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:44 pm
Aster actually jumped at Yossarian's sudden out burst, whining before she resettled herself back into her spot like a dog that had just been roused by the entry of 'mom' or 'dad' into their apartment before curling back up again.
Nnngh.
"He's perfect the way he is." she grumbled, waving a paw at Jade as though 'scolding' him in her half-awake stupor, before silencing herself again, her tail curling around her legs (VERY SIMILAR TO A PREVIOUSLY GUILTY MANNER IN THE KITCHEN, AH HA HA).
Prrprrrprrr. SHE WAS HAPPY WITH HOW THINGS WERE.
JUST BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T BUMP CROTCHES LIKE THE OTHER TWO HAD DIDN'T MEAN THEY WERE INADEQUATE.
Hell, Kanda probably wouldn't have been able to hack through the awkward with his sword, so perhaps it was all for the better at this point.
MAYBE IT WOULD APPEASE THE SILLY DOCTORS. Though that didn't mean he didn't sneak an arm around Shae's shoulders once she was seated. MWA HA HA HA.
Couple-bonding? Something like it?
Jade just chuckled at the suddenly defensive reaction, before again jotting something down in his book. MWA HA HA HA HA!! TAKE THAT PESKY SWORDSMAN. YOUR AWKWARD WAS NOW DOCUMENTED.
..... Oh wait, people would be reading that.
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 8:53 pm
For the record, Aster's commentary did absolutely NOTHING to make the situation any better; in fact, it just got Yossarian's internal woe to double up on itself and beg for mercy all the more. Somewhere in his mind, he was thanking every god he could think of for his dark fur. Without it, there would've been no chance to hide the red glow on his cheeks.
... She was purring all over him too, which really didn't make him feel any better either, because it just made the two of them seem like an insecure dude and a woman who felt the constant need to reassure him... except not, because they WEREN'T, and just... agh. AGH.
"..." So he said nothing, and simply settled for leering at whatever devious note Jade had scribbled, silently vowing to both find AND destroy that document later.
Truth be told, Shae hadn't actually been expecting Kanda to even bother with much in the way of contact while they were a public spectacle, but at the same time, the little halfbreed had no qualms with it either. This was a fine and neutral comfort, and surely, it couldn't bring them any more grief than they'd already suffered at the hands of the therapists... right?
And so, time passed.
No one was quite sure just how much, exactly, but there was definitely a good long while of mostly awkward silence, snarky quips back and forth, and even a bit of dozing as the hours went on for those who could stand it. Their ship, while not particularly luxurious, was certainly a powerful one of its breed-- and that meant an impressive amount of miles were put behind them in remarkable time.
The image of the ground below had shifted dramatically since takeoff, transforming from tropical and oceanic to semi-green mainland to... well, certainly nothing green was down there anymore; the whole field of vision was painted in sandy desert brown, flecked with decreasingly frequent patches of scrub that, at some point, just vanished altogether.
"Looks like we're getting close," noted Hanna, still by far in the best (or liveliest) spirits of any female present. "I bet we'll be landing soon..."
"'Soon' is far from a definite time frame," Yossarian shot back at her, still not having lost that prickle in his fur throughout the trip. Every time those two opened their mouths, it irked him. He didn't even know why half the time.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be within the hour," she chirped. "Ah, this will be some adventure, won't it?"
"..." 'Adventure' was hardly the word Shae would've chosen for such a thing, having risen from some state of vague slumber (she didn't actually rest much short of her eyes) to gaze bleakly out the window, too.
There was a kind of eerie nostalgia that came from just seeing it, and she couldn't help but wonder... just how close to that place WOULD they be skirting?
And could they make it by without trouble?...
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Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 9:48 pm
And she was only saying it because to her it was absolutely true! He was smart, affectionate, handsome, strong, and all sorts of other things that EVERY girl probably dreamed of in the man they wanted to marry some day (Oops, had she actually continued that thought line? GOOD THING HE WASN'T PRIVVY TO THIS THOUGHT), and she had it!
So yes, to her, he was absolutely perfect. Though the purring did stop at one point, as Aster's brain went "fjdlf;hsdfasdfjl" because of the flight and she proceeded to curl up on the bench and lay her head on Yossarian's lap (not an awkward closeness in the least!).
But not purring. That would have made her 'WIBBLINGANDAIRSICK'ness somehow...worse. Though more of the ginger came into play.
When the announcement they'd actually be landing 'soon' (ish) was made, Aster's ears flicked back. Nngh, Soon wasn't good enough. She needed NOW dammit!
fjsalkd. Needed off the ship. Could someone carry her plz?
Meh, it was more of a 'LET'S NOT BE ALL AWKWARD AND DISTANT FROM EACH OTHER NOW THAT WE'VE FIGURED OUT OUR ISSUE, AH HA HA' thing to him, to be honest.
But conversation with Shae, as well as fussing with that GODDAMNED STRING some more (probably much to Jade and Hanna's amusement), before again having to be walked through it.
String - 2384983209 Kanda - 2.
However, it seemed they were soon destined to actually make their 'touchdooooown!' of sorts, but.... "I think it was unwise to fly with a horse."
WHAT WITH BODILY FUNCTIONS AND SMELLS AND STUFF.
Jade just chuckled and waved a hand at the thought. "Ah, well, we won't be the ones worrying about that once we embark. We have far more important things to do."
LIKE TORTURE YOU >8D
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:21 pm
Really, how any of them (sane or otherwise) could've possibly thought the horse was worth taking along was far beyond Yossarian's comprehension, and when it started letting loose with all of the equine gas and even fouler solids... well, his nose (sadly) got used to it at some point, but STILL...
The creature called 'Fabio' was nothing but a nuisance in his book, pure and simple.
"It's proved to be little more than a foul-smelling burden thus far," he commented bluntly, giving said 'burden' quite the leer... if not a little a**-backwardly. "If it begins to drag us down, we should simply leave it behind."
"Oh, I'm sure Fabio will be plenty of help once we've landed!" countered Hanna. "I've been told he's quite the excellent pack horse--"
"From what source?"
"Well, the man I would assume to be a stablehand, naturally!"
"..." Somehow that inspired NO confidence whatsoever in the dark male, who was only MORE tempted to hurl Fabio out the nearest window (as if he'd fit) than ever. Grousing aside though, he quieted after that-- perhaps more for Aster's sake than anything else.
Shae really had to admit, she both admired Kanda's tenacity with that string and pitied his endless failure at it-- but hey, it had helped pass the time while she was awake, too, so why complain? Besides, it was an excuse to converse softly amongst themselves and undergo that quiet, ritualistic sort of bonding.
But she'd been lost and gazing off into the distance for some time by that point, eyes half lidded, ears sunken, and mind wandering far away into the sand-colored horizon.
Del chirruped quizzically on her shoulder, fluttering its little wings and even bumping its lens against her shoulder to earn a response... but there was none. Nope, Master was definitely off in her own little w-- ?!?!
The whole ship gave a rather curious lurch right then, decelerating sharply enough to nearly knock Yossarian over and, unfortunately, Shae's forehead met the metal walls with a THUMP and a wince.
It wasn't like the jerk before a deadly plummet, which could only mean that... huh, perhaps they were finally descending towards a landing?
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Posted: Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:49 am
The lurch warranted the strangest reaction from Aster, who had been happily in a state of half-dozing in Yossarian's lap until then, even purring weakly (her body sort of vibrated when she did), until the lurch caused her to jerk and her tail to puff out to almost three times it's normal size, BaaaaAAAAaaah!
fak;lsfh;adfaskd;faslkfhsdf;asdjfdalksfhfasdfjslkaf;hsdkfajsdlkfjsdf.
Hyperventilating FREAKOUTMOMENT!!!!!! She'd automatically flung herself out of Yossarian's lap to curl into a fetal heap on the floor, wibbling and being generally terrified.
"don'twannadiiiiiiiieeeee;AAAAAAA;"
Jade, on the other hand, was completely baffled at how anybody could be so totally against airships like Aster seemed to be, frowning, jotting something down in his notebook, then looking to Hanna. "It seems there's a little issue we could have worked on during the flight, mm?"
YES, WE'D HAVE TO GET THE KITTEN OUT OF HER FEAR OF PLUMMETING TO HER DEATH IN THIS AIRSHIP, AH HA HA HA!
Okay, so Aster's first flight had been bad. That didn't mean anybody expected her to puff up and start worrying herself into a fit!
YEESH.
As for Shae, Kanda paused and looked to Jade and Hanna (as to make sure they were more doting over Aster and her fussing) before leaning over to kiss the back of Shae's head... 'better'... he guessed. Seemed like what one would do for that.
Or than check and make sure she didn't need stitches.
"I can't wait to get off this damn ship and stretch my legs a bit."
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