Hard Lessons Learned (self para)
It was only now that Kai really understood the true impact of what he’d done. Only now that it had been done to him in return.
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Namjoon suddenly had visions of excited cockatoos, but had dear hopes that this would be a budgie or something that wouldn’t scream at him. The other said little, so maybe it was all good. Also, were they talking about a genuine bird, or something a little less limited? This was a magical academy, so he wouldn’t put it past this bird. Letting himself be pulled along, he tried to keep pace with the others enthusiasm. “What does she look like?” He paused and laughed a little. “Some friend. Does she steal from you a lot?”
“Oh, that’s a good question! How can you help me find her if you don’t know what to look for?” Kai mused, giving himself a little smack on the forehead. “She’s about this big,” he said, making a little cup with the hand he wasn’t using to haul the other along with. “Just a little bird. And she’s brown, but she’s got these little white stripes above her eyes. Like cool eyeshadow!” Which was… A pretty standard design for lots of birds. But he knew how to tell her apart! “She doesn’t take things often, and when she does she always returns them eventually. It’s just when she thinks I’m not giving her enough attention! What a needy friend,” he giggled.
“By the way, what’s your name? I feel bad, dragging you along to help when I haven’t even introduced myself! I’m Kai.”
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feilong-ia-deactivated20170830
Kai had wandered through Vighulir often enough that he'd thought he knew the layout pretty damn well. But tonight was proving he did not know it near as well as he thought he did, especially in the dark... He'd taken a wrong turn somewhere and now he seriously had no idea where he was at! So he went straight up to the first person he saw, asking somewhat sheepishly, "Excuse me... You wouldn't happen to know the way back to the academy, would you?"
Luckily the Academy grounds weren’t short on solitary places, but here and there the silence, naturally, tended to be rudely broken. If he wanted complete peace, after all, Fei Long wouldn’t have chosen to move here. Neither is this a night when his offstandish ways would force him out of the other inhabitant’s paths, so he takes the long-announced presence easily. “I would,” he says. “I’m about to return, if you care to join.”
The relief was quite evident on the Phoenix’s face when the other man said that not only did he know the way, but he could join him on the walk back as well. So no chance of taking another wrong turn and getting lost again! “I would love to, thank you so much!” he said sincerely, heaving a happy sigh. “It’s better to go through the woods with someone anyways, I think! The path is pretty safe, but still… I’ve gotten into enough stick situations in them that I can’t help but to be pretty cautious near the woods now. Two people are good though, probably!”
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✠ - con’t from here II @phxkai-ia
yugyeom wasn’t sure the that ideology came from: being nice to people when you aren’t nice, or feigning happiness when you aren’t happy.
he thought most prided themselves on not being liars.
having only taken three steps before that shit decided to open his mouth again despite being told otherwise, yugyeom swallowed his initial rage; if he didn’t, he’d have turned around and struck the other down without a thought. turning on his heels, he approached the other, rolling his sleeve back up past his forearm so his tattoo was in plain sight.
‘here,’ he said, shoving his arm in the other’s face so he could get a real, good look at the ink that decorated his arm. his eyes were angled and aggressive, onyx orbs reflecting what was in front of him, as well as his distaste. ‘you want to see it? here,’ he said again. ‘cool, isn’t it?’
Kai ALMOST turned tail and ran when the other approached him, his heart squeezing with fear the way the other stalked closer. He was kind of expecting him to just beat the shit out of him, honestly. But he only backed away a couple steps before he made himself stop again, cringing a bit… But all the other man did was hold his arm up. He was obviously THINKING about punching him in the face, but he didn’t, so that was all that mattered in Kai’s mind! What a relief.
“Ah… Yeah-yes, it’s very cool! Just like I said,” Kai agreed, nodding firmly and then grinning again, as brightly as he could possibly manage when he looked up only to see his aggressive expression. But he was prepared for it this time, so his smile didn’t falter.
“I really like tattoos a lot, but I’m scared of needles and also making decisions, so I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get one. But I like them nonetheless! Especially cool ones like yours!”
ooc be very careful with strong zero sake, friends
#I'm sorry I didn't do my at least a reply a day reply yesterday#but I got home and accidentally got so drunk I couldn't stand so#and yes it really was an accident!!#BC APPARENTLY SAKE BASED ALCOHOLS WILL KNOCK YOU THE FUCK OUT A LOT FASTER THAN THE OTHER KINDS OF DRANK#seriously#have caution#but I'm doing replies now so I'm making up for it!!#ooc
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"Oh-your tattoo is really cool!" Kai said, pausing mid step in the hallway, blinking down at the arm of the man who'd just been going the other way. "Sorry to interrupt, I just wanted to tell you that!"
━━━ introductions II @phxkai-ia
the students at the school must have been bred with rudeness that ran through their veins in the same quantity as their blood, if not more.
‘seriously,’ he answered back callously, pausing his steps in order to properly face the kid who thought it was honestly okay, appropriate to stop and say such a foolish thing. the hallway was bustling with people walking here and there, stopping in the middle of it was not ideal, especially for such a petty reason.
adjusting his satchel, yugyeom rolled down the sleeves of the black button down he was wearing, concealing the ink that decorated his ghostly pale arm. ‘get out of my face,’ my hissed, shoving past the other in order to continue on his way.
Kai's friendly smile fell at that less than pleasant response, frowning. Well- "That was rather rude," he said as the man brushed by, following him with his gaze. Kai normally wasn't one to say such things so bluntly and when he realized he'd said it out loud it made his cheeks heat up in worry. But well... Too late to take it back now! "Just a helpful tip for what is apparently a bad day, I find saying kind things to people instead of being mean will make you happier, even if you don’t mean them!" he called after him. He knew that some of the creatures at this school had some... Violent tendencies and maybe that would get his head blown off or something, but well. He didn't really care, so that was that.
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"Excuse me-" Kai scurried up to the first student he saw in the hall, a frown creasing his brow. "You haven't happened to see a little bird flutter by, have you!"
“You’re excused,” Namjoon replied pleasantly, then raised his eyebrow. “Uh—no. I haven’t.” He felt like that would be something he would notice. “Do you need help finding it?”
Kai did a little frustrated jig on the spot when the other declared he hadn’t seen a bird recently, looking around himself and cursing quietly under his breath. Where had she GONE- But the offer for help grabbed his attention again and he quickly looked back, grinning. "Oh, that's a great idea! She always likes to come meet strangers with me when I meet them, so maybe if she sees I'm with someone new... Come on!" He grabbed the other by the wrist and kept on scurrying right down the hall, dragging his new unfortunate helper along with him. "She's my friend but she took something very important because she's also a naughty little bird, I have to get it back!"
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"Are you the new teacher?" Kai asked, peering at the man and then holding out a little baggie with a couple cookies tucked neatly away inside, a silent offering. "I wanted to say hello, and I hope that I can be in your music class one day! I'm only in the beginner's one now, but I'll work hard," he promised, smiling brightly.
“Yeah, I’m one of the few new teachers… I’m Professor Charles Stein..” Charlie smiled and gave a small nod before eyeing the cookies with a look that was sure never to say no to sweets. His hand gently took the bag and his gaze lifted, a look of gratitude sparkling in his chocolate brown hues.
“If you ever need any help with the beginner’s stuff, let me know! It may not be my class but we all start somewhere so I know a fair amount of beginner’s music teaching.” He chimed with a beaming smile. “What do you play?”
“It’s nice to meet you, Professor! I’m Kai,” he chirped, smiling happily when his offered treats were taken. “I’m learning the drums, and the guitar. I’m a lot better at the drums than I am at the guitar, though! I like to sing too sometimes… But that’s a lot scarier than just playing an instrument, so I don’t do it so much,” he laughed.
“Percussion.. Nice.” Charlie for a moment there looked really excited, but when he opened his mouth, it was like he intentionally calmed himself to sound mature. “It’s really rare to actually have drummers in music class. When I was studying we only had two in a big class.” He gave a bright smile when the other mentioned that he enjoyed singing.
“What genres of music do you find yourself listening to more than others? What do you prefer to sing?”
“Oh, really? That’s awfully sad, because drumming is the most fun! Though it’s true, there’s not many drummers here either... I’ll have to try and recruit some people,” he giggled. “I like rock the best, though! Especially hard rock, that’s what I like to play and sing the most too.”
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"Oh! I've not seen you before," Kai said, pausing to smile at the stranger after he'd entered his stealth and sneaking class and seen a new face. "Are you new to this class or new to the school? Either way it's nice to meet you, I'm Kai."
“New to the school. First time here,” he nodded, glancing him over once before he looked around the class. “Johnny,” he said his nickname out of habit as it wasn’t a formal introduction. It was quite easy to recognize him as the new one as he was standing further away from everyone else. “Honestly pretty stoked about the class.”
“Johnny! I’ll do my best to remember it,” Kai promised with a smile. “And you should be stoked, it’s an awesome class! Our professor is super awesome, I’m sure you’ll love him too.” He glanced up at the clock for a moment, making sure they still had time for some chatting before he asked, “So, what brought you to the academy? If that’s not too personal!”
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"Are you the new teacher?" Kai asked, peering at the man and then holding out a little baggie with a couple cookies tucked neatly away inside, a silent offering. "I wanted to say hello, and I hope that I can be in your music class one day! I'm only in the beginner's one now, but I'll work hard," he promised, smiling brightly.
“Yeah, I’m one of the few new teachers… I’m Professor Charles Stein..” Charlie smiled and gave a small nod before eyeing the cookies with a look that was sure never to say no to sweets. His hand gently took the bag and his gaze lifted, a look of gratitude sparkling in his chocolate brown hues.
“If you ever need any help with the beginner’s stuff, let me know! It may not be my class but we all start somewhere so I know a fair amount of beginner’s music teaching.” He chimed with a beaming smile. “What do you play?”
“It’s nice to meet you, Professor! I’m Kai,” he chirped, smiling happily when his offered treats were taken. “I’m learning the drums, and the guitar. I’m a lot better at the drums than I am at the guitar, though! I like to sing too sometimes... But that’s a lot scarier than just playing an instrument, so I don’t do it so much,” he laughed.
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Kai's gaze seemed to be locked on the girl as he tiptoed carefully up behind her, trying to not make a single sound. It seemed it was working so far, his target still hadn't moved, and so when he got close enough he reached out... And deftly knocked the hairy little spider off her shoulder, sending it to the floor and skittering safely away from them. "Sorry! You had a spider!"
Luna slapped a hand over her mouth as she sucked up half the oxygen in the room with her gasp. She hadn’t heard anyone coming up behind her and the sudden feeling of fingers brushing against her shoulder had almost caused her to jump out of her skin. “Sorry,” she laughed, scrunching her nose when she realized what she had said, giving her head a small shake as if to reset her thoughts. “I mean, thank you,” she tried again, her voice still a bit breathy. Her heart felt like it was trying to thump its way out of her ribcage.
“I think I’m starting up a collection,” she grinned pointing vaguely to her shoulder where the spider had been. “Every time I come back from the forest I have at least one stowaway.” They didn’t particularly bother her, but they did tend be somewhat off putting for everyone else. “I’m Luna,” she quickly added realizing she had still yet to introduce herself. “I don’t think we’ve met.”
Kai actually jumped a little as well at her startled reaction, clutching his own chest. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you, but I had to be sneaky so I didn’t scare it off into your hair or something!” He gave an apologetic little bow, grinning. “Forest critters do like to stow away, I’ve had the same issue. They’re cute though, so it’s okay.”
He straightened up after that, smiling and flicking some hair out of his face. “I don’t think we have either. I’m Kai, it’s very lovely to meet you Luna!”
Barn Beauties [Kai&Jo]
Kai quite often hung around the barn; a little more often than was necessary, probably. Usually when he did he was just helping with chores and the like, but today he was just stopping by to do some cuddling. It was a great stress relief, when tests and homework were starting to pile on. One horse in particular he was really starting to love; a big gray horse who towered over him, but he had come to realize she was quite a gentle giant. He didn’t know who owned her, but he loved her all the same.
“You are so cute!” He cooed, hands gently caressing her muzzle as he pressed little kisses to her soft nose. “I’m sorry I didn’t bring you many snacks today, but I’ll bring you loads more tomorrow, I promise~”
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After the Storm
“I…told you that I was going back to my village to visit my family.” Ren’s eyes stayed fixed on the book in his lap as he sat next to his friend. He had practiced saying this over and over in his head in a million different ways. But as soon as he said it, it was true. As soon as he said it, it was real.
“They’re…they’re all gone, Kai. I went back there…” It was all ash and dirty snow and pieces of debris. “It was all gone. Burned down.” It wasn’t fire like yours, it wasn’t warm and comforting, it was the kind that ruins and destroys. “Someone burned it down.” It’s not your fault, the fire wasn’t yours, I love you even still, but, “My family is gone.”
Before the phoenix had a chance to respond, delicate fingers pushed open the pages of the book. “This was my grandmother’s journal. It was the only thing I found. Fireproofed.” The only thing left. The pages were stuffed to bursting with pressed herbs and flowers, recipes, drawings, photos, and other things. Close to the back of the book was a small stack of photographs and drawings. Only one really held Ren’s interest at the moment. It was the one thing he had come to show the phoenix, so that he could start to put it all behind him and forget the pain that had lodged itself like a shard in his heart.
In the photograph was an old woman, obviously the owner of the journal. Next to her, in the middle, was a very young Elven boy. And on the other side of the boy, holding his tiny hand, was a man that looked exactly like Kai might look if he was a few decades older. “I found this. I thought you might like to see it. That’s my grandmother,” a pang in his heart, “and me. And…remember how I told you I remember meeting a phoenix when I was younger?” The elf pointed at the man in the image who so closely resembled his friend.
At least it was all out now. Ren leaned his head on the phoenix’s shoulder as he passed the photo over for his friend to look at if he wanted to, already exhausted again. He was beginning to wish he was back in his own bed, but being here with Kai…it was almost as good.
Kai sucked in a breath when Ren revealed what it was he’d found, a hand coming up to press against his lips. At first, he wasn’t sure he’d even heard right. But it was true…. Ren had lost his family. That seemed just awful.
Kai himself didn’t have any family; not that he knew of anyways, in this life’s memories or what he could remember of the ones before. So he could not even begin to imagine how that felt…. But he did know how it felt to lose people he loved, now. But to lose all of them at once, in such a violent way…. His poor Ren.
He wanted to try to comfort him somehow, but before he could Ren moved on and spoke again, opening his book. Of course that did pique his curiousity and he leaned over to have a look, curious despite the heartache he suddenly felt on his friend’s behalf. He also couldn’t help but to giggle at the sight of a tiny Ren, cooing, “You’re so cute…. I do love seeing this.”
He looked so much like his grandmother too. And then…. The Phoenix….. That made Kai’s mouth pop open, and the first thought in his head was ‘that’s me!’ But of course that couldn’t be right, right? What even were the chances of that, that somehow he’d met Ren as a child, then again now? So it couldn’t be him…. Even if everything was telling him it was.
When Ren leaned against him he wrapped his arm around his shoulder and gave him a little squeeze, cheek leaning against the top of his head. “….Do you remember much about meeting the Phoenix?” He really wanted to…. Well, talk about what had happened. Tell Ren how sorry he was, let him cry. But maybe at the moment it was better to try and distract him a bit, he could tell Ren had already been thinking and suffering a good while now. They could talk about more painful things later. He wanted to put his friend’s heart at ease.