[Action] 04 - Setting aside that really weird dream... >_>

[souhi_no_arashi]

Kurogane stalked ahead of his traveling companions how the hell had he ended up with those anyway?! and wondered how much further that bird was going to continue leading them through a now somewhat thinning forest.

Actually, they hadn't traveled much more than a day and a half and had already seemed to reach nearly the other side of the central forest that supposedly split this land in half. He'd been expecting it to be bigger, honestly. Perhaps the bird had taken a path that passed through a narrower section of the woods. There wasn't really any way to know without a map or some exploration and Kurogane didn't care that badly to find out either way though. At the very least, they seemed to be reaching the end of the forest with little incident. Which both relieved him and pissed him off. He didn't particularly want to look out for that kid and would have had to if they'd come across any trouble, but at the same time, he was bored out of his mind and just itching for something to happen.

His dreams the previous night had only proved that too true. Shaking his head, bits and pieces of the dreams lingering still with him, he tried to clear them out. Fighting side by side with a "Princess of Dolls?" Tch. And that girl with the wings on her feet and that grinning idiot... standing around while he was chained down... He developed a twitch just thinking about it. He'd wanted to smash in that guy's face just to make him stop grinning and looking so damned smug and happy!

Kurogane was finally pulled out of his musings about the bizarre dreams when he realized he had lost sight of the damn bird again. He lifted his eyes to an increasingly cloudy sky, not thinking much of the fact that it had been sunny only minutes before, he wasn't going to complain. He spotted the creature circling in the sky before taking off toward what appeared to be a tower or castle not far ahead, peeking over clumps of tall trees. He paused and turned back to the others, eyes falling on Taiki, "That it, kid?"


(( OOC: So! Taiki, Mokona and Sakura if she uhhh tailed them (though they have been walking for about a day and half since the river meeting, so she'd have been gone from home that long too, but please feel free to have her following them!) - we are arriving at Fay's tower after following Windam! I figure the dream event happened the previous night when they made camp. ))

Comments

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

It was after a few minutes that Fay returned, a basket in his hand loaded down with a bottle. He tied the handle of the basket to the end of one of his braids and slung it over the hook near the window, slowly lowering it down.

"I'm not certain if this is to your taste, but it is some very fine liquor in my country," he said.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

When Kurogane noticed movement up at the window again, he leaned forward, peering up and squinting into the bright daylight. Not being able to see anything more than the basket he stood and stretched and walked over to the base of the tower again, watching as the basket descended on a rope of some kind. What more caught his attention was the fact that there was indeed a bottle sitting in it.

"Liquor, huh?" Alright, he was intrigued. If this guy was going to offer him alcohol, Kurogane had no problem accepting it.

It wasn't until the basket reached a more eye level that Kurogane looked back up the length of the 'rope'... "So this is how you get food," he mused, taking the bottle with one hand and closing the other around the rope. It looked a little like.... and then his eyes widened in realization...

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Ahaha, curious about it?" said Fay, leaning back out the window again, this time with his own bottle in hand.

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane stared up, eyes following up the 'rope' up to the man himself. He'd noticed of course that his hair appeared to be longer than it was in the dream, but he hadn't really thought much of it. So what?

Apparently it was much much longer though.

He pulled his hand back from the other man's hair and looked to the bottle instead. Considering it a moment, he decided to open it and threw back a deep drink from the bottle.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

Fay watched the enthusiastic drinking with amusement, pulling the cork out of his own bottle.

"Is it to your liking?" he called down.

[blackkirin.livejournal.com]

Taiki could hear the two men talking but it was as if they were a ways away from the dozing boy. After learning that he'd be going home soon and that he wasn't in trouble, Taiki had felt his exhaustion catch up with him all at once. While the two men had been bantering he'd curled up in a shady spot at the base of the tower. He hadn't intended on falling asleep but it had just happened that way.

[soel-ofthe-lamp.livejournal.com]

Taiki must have been tired! Mokona snuggled into his robes - in case he had any scary dreams - and perked her ears up extra. Kurogane and Fay were such an entertaining pair! It wouldn't do to miss out on Kurogane's silly expressions, either!

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

It certainly wasn't what he was used to, but it wasn't bad.

"It's drinkable," he called back up, taking another drink.

Now that he knew he'd be stuck here for a few days, he wasn't sure what he was going to do to pass the time. If the blonde had liquor that was all well and good, but that'd only go so far. And his thoughts kept returning him to wondering what the hell someone would be doing living like that.

"So this is how you get food and everything else? Just that basket and..." he made a face slightly, "using your hair?"

Seemed like an awfully inconvenient way to go about things. Would it kill them to give him a rope? Unless he wasn't allowed to leave, but in that case, he could always just climb down his own hair, couldn't he? It sure looked long enough given... It seemed less and less likely that the man was imprisoned as Kurogane considered it, but still... why then?

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

Fay poured his own glass and sipped at it, giving a fond look to the two sleeping children before the other man spoke again.

"That is about the long and short of it!" he said. "Food, drink, entertainment, all come up to me like this." He pointed upward vaguely, then took another drink.

"It occurs to me that I know the names of the children here," he said, "but I have not yet caught yours. I apologize for not carrying out proper introduction!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Children? Who the hell...? There was that kid, but that was only one... unless he meant the meat bun too...

Which would just be ridiculous and Kurogane dismissed the thought with a shake of his head before settling to sit on the ground. He took another long swig, straight out of the bottle (it hadn't occurred to him that the man may want it back or anything), and looked up at the blonde silently a long moment before answering.

"Kurogane no You no Ou. But you can just use Kurogane."

He'd remembered the annoying response his full name had gotten from the manjuu, so he just got it out of the way first that it could be shortened.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Hehe, your name is long like mine!" said Fay. "It's nice to meet you, Kurokuro! My full name is Fay de Fluorine, but you may certainly call me Fay."

He took a longer drink this time, the bite from the alcohol finally fading.

"It's not often I have someone to drink with!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

"K..."

"Kuro...."

"Kurokuro?!"

The man was up on his feet and glaring angrily up at the blonde in the tower within seconds. "What the hell is wrong with you, all that hair screw up your hearing?! My name is KU-RO-GA-NE."

There were many ways to piss the storm god off, but few worked faster than to mess up his name. There was no way he was going to tolerate being made light of. And he had a feeling in the back of his mind that this smiling fool of a man who already grated on his nerves was the type who was going to find each and every other way to top it off.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

Oho, that had been a fun response!

"Wow, Kuroro is a little scary, isn't he?" said Fay, chortling a little. "But, in his own way, he's a little cute too! That's why Kuroro works!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

And now it was Kuroro? And who the hell was he calling cute?!

"OI, DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME?!" Was he even listening?

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Ehg? Didn't you hear me?" said Fay, leaning further out the window and put his hand up to his ear in exaggeration. "I know I'm so very high up here after all. It's okay though, Kuro-cutie, I'll repeat anything you want!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

It was at this point when the bottle, still over half full, went sailing up at the window, or more accurately at Fay's face.

"SHUT UP, I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! MY NAME IS KUROGANE!" Kurokuro and Kuro-cutie even had the same number of syllables for crying out loud!

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

Fay's eyes widened in surprise and his hand shot out, catching the bottle right out of the air. He breathed a sigh of relief and waved the bottle at the man below.

"It's okay, Kukuro! I do not think even a drop spilled!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane's eyes in turn widened, watching as almost effortlessly the blonde snatched the bottle mid-flight and indeed, didn't seem to drop any of the liquid inside.

Certainly not what he'd expected from the looks of him.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Hey, Kuro-roo, do you want it back?" said Fay, bringing the basket back up on the windowsill. "You can keep it, really. I have dozens of bottles in here!"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

"Damnit, that isn't my name!" he grumbled but motioned for the bottle again. That little stunt had caught his attention. He definitely hadn't figured someone like that guy would have reflexes like that and it made him suspicious. He couldn't have always been locked up like that to have those kinds of skills. And it hadn't looked to be a fluke with how easy he'd made it look and the lack of surprise himself.

"How long have you been up there?" he asked, waiting for the liquor again he knew he'd need it if they were going to talk any further.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Whatever you say, Kuro-kins," said Fay, slowly lowering the bottle back down to him as he considered the question.

"Hmm, ever since I was a young boy," he said. "I hardly have any memories of not being in this tower."

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane's jaw clenched and it was quite possible that one could see him bristling even from the tower's window, however he let the name this time pass without erupting. Was it just him or were the names getting worse?

As soon as the basket was within reach, Kurogane snatched the bottle back and took another swig out of it. He didn't buy that answer in the slightest.

"You've been living up there alone since you were a kid? You've got to be kidding," he said, giving the blonde a clear look of disbelief. What kind of moron would live in a tower all their lives?

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

Fay poured himself another glass of liquor, swirling it a bit and then laughing, pointing at himself.

"Does this look like the face of a joker?"

[souhi-no-arashi.livejournal.com]

Kurogane gave the blonde a look that clearly enough answered that question with a resounding 'yes' without a word needing to be spoken.

"Why the hell would you do that?" he retorted, still skeptical, though he could think of no reason to lie about such a stupid thing to a complete stranger either.

[fluorite-flux.livejournal.com]

"Why not?" was Fay's answer as he took a sip. "Everyone must live somewhere!"