Here's the stuff we wrote, Rebecca.
You might be interested in reading this too, Caily, since it's Altair's first introduction. ^____^
Rhodia blustered- stumbled- and Taki rubbed her down the nose soothingly as he unloaded the pack from her back, murming uner his breath calmingly, until she stamped twice and then was quiet.
A slight, satisfied smile-smirk on his face, he uncovered the wicker basket, brushed things aside- Julidan's black coffee, Meredith's ammunition case, Marie's newly repaired wooden handpieces- and pulled out Rhapsody's order, one stoneware pot of strawberry jam for biscuits and one glass jar of honey, for the tea which the biscuits accompanied. Walking the the curtain drawn across the cave entrance, he cleared his throat once, his deep voice wordlessly, gruffly requesting entrance.
Shifting impatiently from side to side, he waited.
The curtain was finally swept aside, however the face peering back at him was not the calm, familiar face of Rhapsody but rather that of a person with whom Taki was not aquainted. It was a man- tall and strong looking, but his form was not filled. He wasn't thin, but looked as if he were lacking something. In fact, there was something empty and lacking about his entire demaneour; his eyes... *Altair looks like Altair. Jenn shuts up*
The man's eyes widened and his mouth formed a silent 'o'- there was something in his eyes that was caught between hostile and frightened. He stared at Taki for a long, uncomfortable moment and Taki got the feeling that this strange induviual was deciding whether to invite him in for tea or push him down the cliff side head first. Finally, the man's expression settled on 'frightened' and as quickly as he had appeared, he dissappeared behind the curtain again.
Taki frowned and resisted, with every ounce of strength in his being, the urge to reach up and scratch his head in confusion. This was *Ryuuguu*. If he couldn't get used to odd things happening, he was getting slow. With the imperious swagger of a quick desicion, he slipped the jam, a the honey, back into his bag and, in his finest Cock Of The Walk gait, invited himself in after the strange an somehow forboding figure. "Rhapsody!" he called, too loudly, figuring that, as usual, acting like a king was better than having a position decided.
There was no answer. The small abode was not disturbed- a sure sign that this man was certainly not out of place. As he surveyed the room slowly, he felt a sudden breeze behind his shoulders. He turned just in time to catch the stranger lunging at him with a knife.
"Marry mother of-" was all Taki had time to exclaim in a startled and *deeply* offended voice before he stumble-jumped back and, with an awkward grace, swooped down and grabbed his own blade out of his boot. Steel met steel and sparks illuminated the expression of twisted, defensive anger on Taki's face.
Clash of metal on metal- blades parrying, gasping in deep ragged breaths. Finally, with a snarl of anger, Taki shouldered the man, pushing him more with the strength of his frightened frustration than with his physical strength.
"What the BLOODIED hell do ye think ye're doing, man?!"
The man fell back, and lowered his knife slightly- confusing clouding his face. He furrowed his brow and looked at Taki- really looked at him and slowly dropped his fighting stance. It was as if he was realizing something important.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Snapping his jaw shut, the man began to gesture slowly with his free hand- he opened his mouth again, forcing out a weak, "You..." he stopped again, "Do... do you..."
Taki slowly stopped his knife in midair, leaving in posed above his shoulder, no strength behind the pose but not dropping it. In his eyes also rose confusion- confusion, and narrow-eyed suspicion. "*What?*" he barked. "Spit it out, man! What the bloody, bleeding baby-eyed blue do ye *want*, man?" All the while thinking in a subconscious undertone, _where the hell have I seen his eyes and where the HELL is Rhapsody?..._
The man's gesturing became even more wild- the knife hand was drawn into it, "You!" he said with some force, "Do you... me... I..."
Taki snatche out with his free hand, gripping the man's wrist in his best 'iron grip''. "Stop swinging that think a' me," he ordered in a growl. "'Do you me I? *Do* *you* *me* *I*? Why NO, I do NOT eye you! I've a lovely lady, for ye information, and also a little bit hanging off the side, and if ye'll kindly 'ave ye knife down ye won't 'ave to worry about my 'me you do I' any further!"
"No!" the stranger suddenly shouted, wrenching his hand from Taki's grip with a strength that really shouldn't have been that surprising. The man's gray eyes were narrowed again and he let forth a fustrated, animal growl. He thrust the knife towards Taki, but stopped it short of his throat, "Do. You..." he began icily, his voice thick with fierce determination, "You... You don't know me." the knife was pulled away again, "Do you?"
"I bloody well do not and for that matter I bloody well I-" Taki began angrily, then slowly trailed off, staring- mouth very slightly open- into the man's face, looking, for the second, utterly defenseless.
Oh, yes. He knew those eyes- black and fathomless and opiated with a diabolic manna both pleasure and pain.
And he knew from where.
He cleared his throat and slightly- very, very, very slightly- he lowered his knife a little, saying in a low, uncertain voice, "...Al...tair?..."
The man's eyes flashed and in a moment the knife was at Taki's throat. Altair's gaze was dead even and serious, he didn't seem to bother with sentences this time, "Soshi?" he hissed the name viciously, pressing the blade closer to Taki's throat as he hit the second syllable.
Taki pushed back the instinct to say something smarmy. Smarmy, at the moment, was far, far from being in his best interests.
Ow. Knife.
Slowly- as slowly as if he was dealing with an animal- a skittish horse, a wounded tiger- he raised one hand- his right, non-knife hand- and very, very gently lay it along Altair's blade, letting it rest for a second before pushing it far away enough from his Adam's apple to breath again. He gasped, a trickle of blood ran down his throat, and his right hand flexed convulsively as he looked Altair in the eye. Not a smile- that indicated weakness- but at best he could not agression, either. Just solemnity.
"No." he replied, emphatically. "I'm here to see *Rhapsoy*- RHAPSODY. My name is Taki. I'm not going to hurt you, allright- allright? Can I get around 'ere a little bit, please?"
Altair didn't seem convinced, "You..." he said slowly, "Were there." he shoved Taki firmly in the chest, "You can't.... you... are you?" here the struggle with words ensued again and Altair's defense faltered.
Taki rubbed his throat and stared at his fingers as red came off- shock that registered slightly, purposely or not, on his face. "Bloody hell, man, ye got me in the gullet. That's not a matter for laughing over tea. I..." he blinked, trailed off, returned to the subject. "I'm... NOT... here... for YOU. All right? All right? I came to see RHAPSODY." Trying to diffuse the tension, to change the subject. "Is... RHAPSODY... here?"
Altair's expression shifted slightly, but he still seemed annoyed, "You don't... have to..." words did not come easily to this man- er, ryu, "I. Understand your... words." multi-taking between speaking and knife weilding seemed to be too much for him to handle and the knife fell completely to his side, "You're not... from Soshi?"
Taki watched the knife drop with blessed relief. Not quite enough, though. With one hand he slowly- SLOWLY- and carefully pulle the pack off his side, offerining it to Altair peaceably, implacable sweatdrenched calm in his faith. "I don't have to? Eh? Eh?" His knife han rested on his hip, arm bent at the elbow. "I'm not trying to talk to ye as an imbecile, man. Ye pulled a bloody knife on me. Literally." Unconscious touch to his throat. Slight glare- a tic, not a conscious choice. "I don't have to? No? Then let's conuct ourselves as two peaceful men. Soshi didn't send me so ye don't 'ave to worry about that. I'm here to see Rhapsody." He offerered the cloth-wrapped package to Altair, hiding the knife with his other. "Greatly obliged to ye, Altair, if ye'll give this to her?"
Altair took the package gingerly in one hand. He eyed the parcel, eyed Taki and blinked slowly, "I still do not... why were you there?"
Taki did not have the time to answer the question, because a cold hand suddenly gripped his knife wrist and twisted it violently. He nearly lost the knife, spinning to find himself face to face with a very livid Rhapsody Hopestar, "Don't touch him!" she growled, glaring at him with dangerous, red eyes, "He isn't Soshi's puppet anymore!"
"Not me touching him ye 'ave to worry about, mum," Taki sai with a dark, dirty look as he reached up and felt the clotting scratch on his neck. "Keep your knives awfully tea-sharp aroun here don't we, Miss Rhapsody? Not good for playing with. I tell ye."
Altair's not dumb. He just... only thinks in images and feelings. When he talks, it's like he translating from a different language. Rhapsody is a defensive bitch when it comes to Altair...
You might be interested in reading this too, Caily, since it's Altair's first introduction. ^____^
Rhodia blustered- stumbled- and Taki rubbed her down the nose soothingly as he unloaded the pack from her back, murming uner his breath calmingly, until she stamped twice and then was quiet.
A slight, satisfied smile-smirk on his face, he uncovered the wicker basket, brushed things aside- Julidan's black coffee, Meredith's ammunition case, Marie's newly repaired wooden handpieces- and pulled out Rhapsody's order, one stoneware pot of strawberry jam for biscuits and one glass jar of honey, for the tea which the biscuits accompanied. Walking the the curtain drawn across the cave entrance, he cleared his throat once, his deep voice wordlessly, gruffly requesting entrance.
Shifting impatiently from side to side, he waited.
The curtain was finally swept aside, however the face peering back at him was not the calm, familiar face of Rhapsody but rather that of a person with whom Taki was not aquainted. It was a man- tall and strong looking, but his form was not filled. He wasn't thin, but looked as if he were lacking something. In fact, there was something empty and lacking about his entire demaneour; his eyes... *Altair looks like Altair. Jenn shuts up*
The man's eyes widened and his mouth formed a silent 'o'- there was something in his eyes that was caught between hostile and frightened. He stared at Taki for a long, uncomfortable moment and Taki got the feeling that this strange induviual was deciding whether to invite him in for tea or push him down the cliff side head first. Finally, the man's expression settled on 'frightened' and as quickly as he had appeared, he dissappeared behind the curtain again.
Taki frowned and resisted, with every ounce of strength in his being, the urge to reach up and scratch his head in confusion. This was *Ryuuguu*. If he couldn't get used to odd things happening, he was getting slow. With the imperious swagger of a quick desicion, he slipped the jam, a the honey, back into his bag and, in his finest Cock Of The Walk gait, invited himself in after the strange an somehow forboding figure. "Rhapsody!" he called, too loudly, figuring that, as usual, acting like a king was better than having a position decided.
There was no answer. The small abode was not disturbed- a sure sign that this man was certainly not out of place. As he surveyed the room slowly, he felt a sudden breeze behind his shoulders. He turned just in time to catch the stranger lunging at him with a knife.
"Marry mother of-" was all Taki had time to exclaim in a startled and *deeply* offended voice before he stumble-jumped back and, with an awkward grace, swooped down and grabbed his own blade out of his boot. Steel met steel and sparks illuminated the expression of twisted, defensive anger on Taki's face.
Clash of metal on metal- blades parrying, gasping in deep ragged breaths. Finally, with a snarl of anger, Taki shouldered the man, pushing him more with the strength of his frightened frustration than with his physical strength.
"What the BLOODIED hell do ye think ye're doing, man?!"
The man fell back, and lowered his knife slightly- confusing clouding his face. He furrowed his brow and looked at Taki- really looked at him and slowly dropped his fighting stance. It was as if he was realizing something important.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Snapping his jaw shut, the man began to gesture slowly with his free hand- he opened his mouth again, forcing out a weak, "You..." he stopped again, "Do... do you..."
Taki slowly stopped his knife in midair, leaving in posed above his shoulder, no strength behind the pose but not dropping it. In his eyes also rose confusion- confusion, and narrow-eyed suspicion. "*What?*" he barked. "Spit it out, man! What the bloody, bleeding baby-eyed blue do ye *want*, man?" All the while thinking in a subconscious undertone, _where the hell have I seen his eyes and where the HELL is Rhapsody?..._
The man's gesturing became even more wild- the knife hand was drawn into it, "You!" he said with some force, "Do you... me... I..."
Taki snatche out with his free hand, gripping the man's wrist in his best 'iron grip''. "Stop swinging that think a' me," he ordered in a growl. "'Do you me I? *Do* *you* *me* *I*? Why NO, I do NOT eye you! I've a lovely lady, for ye information, and also a little bit hanging off the side, and if ye'll kindly 'ave ye knife down ye won't 'ave to worry about my 'me you do I' any further!"
"No!" the stranger suddenly shouted, wrenching his hand from Taki's grip with a strength that really shouldn't have been that surprising. The man's gray eyes were narrowed again and he let forth a fustrated, animal growl. He thrust the knife towards Taki, but stopped it short of his throat, "Do. You..." he began icily, his voice thick with fierce determination, "You... You don't know me." the knife was pulled away again, "Do you?"
"I bloody well do not and for that matter I bloody well I-" Taki began angrily, then slowly trailed off, staring- mouth very slightly open- into the man's face, looking, for the second, utterly defenseless.
Oh, yes. He knew those eyes- black and fathomless and opiated with a diabolic manna both pleasure and pain.
And he knew from where.
He cleared his throat and slightly- very, very, very slightly- he lowered his knife a little, saying in a low, uncertain voice, "...Al...tair?..."
The man's eyes flashed and in a moment the knife was at Taki's throat. Altair's gaze was dead even and serious, he didn't seem to bother with sentences this time, "Soshi?" he hissed the name viciously, pressing the blade closer to Taki's throat as he hit the second syllable.
Taki pushed back the instinct to say something smarmy. Smarmy, at the moment, was far, far from being in his best interests.
Ow. Knife.
Slowly- as slowly as if he was dealing with an animal- a skittish horse, a wounded tiger- he raised one hand- his right, non-knife hand- and very, very gently lay it along Altair's blade, letting it rest for a second before pushing it far away enough from his Adam's apple to breath again. He gasped, a trickle of blood ran down his throat, and his right hand flexed convulsively as he looked Altair in the eye. Not a smile- that indicated weakness- but at best he could not agression, either. Just solemnity.
"No." he replied, emphatically. "I'm here to see *Rhapsoy*- RHAPSODY. My name is Taki. I'm not going to hurt you, allright- allright? Can I get around 'ere a little bit, please?"
Altair didn't seem convinced, "You..." he said slowly, "Were there." he shoved Taki firmly in the chest, "You can't.... you... are you?" here the struggle with words ensued again and Altair's defense faltered.
Taki rubbed his throat and stared at his fingers as red came off- shock that registered slightly, purposely or not, on his face. "Bloody hell, man, ye got me in the gullet. That's not a matter for laughing over tea. I..." he blinked, trailed off, returned to the subject. "I'm... NOT... here... for YOU. All right? All right? I came to see RHAPSODY." Trying to diffuse the tension, to change the subject. "Is... RHAPSODY... here?"
Altair's expression shifted slightly, but he still seemed annoyed, "You don't... have to..." words did not come easily to this man- er, ryu, "I. Understand your... words." multi-taking between speaking and knife weilding seemed to be too much for him to handle and the knife fell completely to his side, "You're not... from Soshi?"
Taki watched the knife drop with blessed relief. Not quite enough, though. With one hand he slowly- SLOWLY- and carefully pulle the pack off his side, offerining it to Altair peaceably, implacable sweatdrenched calm in his faith. "I don't have to? Eh? Eh?" His knife han rested on his hip, arm bent at the elbow. "I'm not trying to talk to ye as an imbecile, man. Ye pulled a bloody knife on me. Literally." Unconscious touch to his throat. Slight glare- a tic, not a conscious choice. "I don't have to? No? Then let's conuct ourselves as two peaceful men. Soshi didn't send me so ye don't 'ave to worry about that. I'm here to see Rhapsody." He offerered the cloth-wrapped package to Altair, hiding the knife with his other. "Greatly obliged to ye, Altair, if ye'll give this to her?"
Altair took the package gingerly in one hand. He eyed the parcel, eyed Taki and blinked slowly, "I still do not... why were you there?"
Taki did not have the time to answer the question, because a cold hand suddenly gripped his knife wrist and twisted it violently. He nearly lost the knife, spinning to find himself face to face with a very livid Rhapsody Hopestar, "Don't touch him!" she growled, glaring at him with dangerous, red eyes, "He isn't Soshi's puppet anymore!"
"Not me touching him ye 'ave to worry about, mum," Taki sai with a dark, dirty look as he reached up and felt the clotting scratch on his neck. "Keep your knives awfully tea-sharp aroun here don't we, Miss Rhapsody? Not good for playing with. I tell ye."
Altair's not dumb. He just... only thinks in images and feelings. When he talks, it's like he translating from a different language. Rhapsody is a defensive bitch when it comes to Altair...