Keeping time (closed)

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Dunehelden did not actually have an outdoor track-- instead, there were several winding paths on the castle grounds, some of them dipping underground, one or two extended with vines and rope bridges up into the canopy of the surrounding treetops. Jaebi was running on the trail that passed through the courtyard proper and circled back around the bulk of the castle. He had been going for a few hours now, ran right through his last class of the day and was still going even as it neared supper time. He was keeping time with his own breathing, matching the pattern of his heartbeat to the sounds of his own feet hitting the ground.

[Mollie Geist]

Mollie smiled as she opened the door to the courtyard. She actually giggled as her eyes fell upon the aura of the grass, and the trees. She could finally see!

She glanced around, quickly making sure that she did not see any auras of people, before she made a fool of herself. No one in the immediate area; good. She laughed and spun around, holding her hands out by her sides. She began to run, actually run! She could see the aura of the grass so she knew there would be nothing in her way.

Suddenly her foot caught on a dead branch that had fallen from a nearby tree and she tripped, falling right on her face. She made a soft whimper and sat up. It was only a small tumble, so nothing broken. It just hurt a bit. She groped around in the grass until she found the treacherous dead tree branch and threw it in a small bit of anger. How dare it ruin her fun.

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi came around the corner just in time to see a girl fall. He veered off course and dropped to one knee beside her, holding one hand out and meowing in an are you okay? gesture.

He blinked when he got a good look at her. The milky color in her eyes caught his attention immediately and he couldn't help but lean in a bit to study her face. She was very much like a doll.

Jaebi furrowed his brow and looked her over, checking to see if she had any scratches from her fall.

[Mollie Geist]

He made a short squeak of surprize at the sound and the aura of someone else being so close to ther. "Ah! oh, I'm sorry. Am I in your way?"

She tipped her head a bit, her bangs falling in her face. The aura was in the shape of a human but. . . didn't she hear a cat just now? She stared at his aura which seemed to manafest in his chest and face (which was normal) but also in his neck (which was unusual). Without thinking she started to reach out towards his neck but stopped herself about 3/4s of the way there. "Oh . . .I'm-I'm sorry," she said quietly.

His colors were interesting. Some of them she hadn't seen except in fleeting moments. None of them were bad. . . some were confusing but none dangerous.

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi brushed her hair out of her face to look for any bruising, and sighed when he saw no injuries. He sat back and gave her a wave of greeting, and looked around for the branch she had tripped on. It must have stormed during the night to drag that onto the trail.

He looked back to the girl and let out a questioning grumble.

[Mollie Geist]

She smiled softly as he brushed her bangs out of her face and her brows furrowed a bit when he grumbled. "C-can you not talk?" She bit her lower lip a bit and stared at the aura in his neck. That was so peculiar.

She sat up a bit and moved closer to him so they were as close as possible without touching. "I'm sorry for staring. . .your colors are just . . ." She made a hand gesture to his neck and wiggled her fingers. She placed her hands on both sides of her face. "I've never seen that before."

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi tipped his head curiously and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, before realizing that he had no way to do that. He huffed and settled for trying to convey "huh?" in a facial expression.

[Mollie Geist]

She noticed the aura shift, with him tilting his head but she could not see his face. Her expression did not change, unsure as what to do. She slowly reached her hands up to his shoulders, this required her to sit up on her knees. She smiled shyly. "I'm sorry if this sounds odd but. . .Is it okay if I touch your face? Just nod or shake your head. My situation is a bit difficult. I can only see the 'auras' of living things. . . everything else is well, nothing."

Her face flushed a bit. She didn't like being a nusance to people but she wanted to communicate with this person. They seemed nice and hopefully they would know that she meant no harm.

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi nodded and slouched down a bit so that she could reach him easier. He gave a mewl of concession and couldn't keep his eyebrow from raising in a curious arch.

He wondered how he would communicate with her. He was learning sign language, thanks to Diana's teachings, but if she couldn't see his hands...

He smiled, struck with a sudden idea. He took her hand carefully and wrote on her forearm with his fingertip: My name is Jaebi.

[Mollie Geist]

She smiled shyly and went to touch his face with both hands. She was startled when he took her right hand and began to write on her forearm. She smiled wider, thinking that his fingertips felt nice and then she realized that he was writing by the time he got to -me is Jaebi.

Her lips formed into an "o" of realization before makeing a toothy smile. She giggled, "Hi, Jaebi. My name is Mollie." Her left hand ventured up from his shoulder to his neck. Her fingers came in touch with his scars and her brow furrowed. "What is. . .?" Her words trailed off as she focused on brushing her fingers gently over the scars on his neck. Was it a language she didn't know?

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi made a grumbly noise that sounded like he was trying to pronounce her name in catspeak. He came pretty close.

He flinched when her fingers brushed over the scars and he carefully moved her hands to his jaw instead. He'd rather not have to explain those right off the bat.

[Mollie Geist]

Mollie smiled at him trying to sound her name. "Mollie. Yes. That sounded very close." Her brow furrowed for a moment when he moved her hand. She quickly smiled again and traced the high points of his face with her finger tips. "Oh, so you look like a man, especially with that jaw and sound like a kitten." She giggled and blinked a few times.

"I'm not keeping you from anything am I?"

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi purred. That was... the most accurate of descriptions. He shook his head. He took one of her wrists to write on her arm again.

Just running. Not important.

[Mollie Geist]

She squinted when he wrote on her arm, trying to focus on the words. "Ah, okay."

She smiled a soft flush coming to her cheeks. "Thank you for coming to check to see if I was alright. I fall often... More than often almost all the time." She giggled softly, "the whole not seeing walls thing is kind of rough. I'm still getting used to the school since this is my first year here. What grade are you?"

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Do you get hurt?

He grinned at the sound of her laugh, and pulled her carefully to her feet. He brushed bits of grass off of her and gave her one last look-over to be absolutely certain that she was unharmed. He meowed when he was satisfied with her lack of injury.

He took her arm again. Academy Junior. What classes do you have? He wrote slowly, giving her time to recognize each word as it was formed.

[Mollie Geist]

"Oh, not often. The last time I got hurt I didn't see a staircase." She laughed nervously. She eagerly accepted his help up and wrinkled her nose in a short smile at his meow.

Her mouth silently formed the words as he wrote them on her arm, intently focusing. "I'm just taking the basics. English, History... Professor Vincent has kindly offered to help me learn piano!" She bounced a bit on the balls of her feet. "I've never been able to learn to play anything musical before."

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi's eyes crinkled with a new smile. You'll really like Vincent. He's a good man.

He thought that it might be fun to play the piano with someone. He couldn't read sheet music, but he could get most things by ear. In fact, there were a number of instruments he learned to play in lieu of being able to sing.

We should play sometime.

[Mollie Geist]

She nodded in agreement. "He is nice. He's able to explain things very well. It's interesting learning music mostly by hearing."

She smiled wider and bounced slightly when he mentioned playing together. "That would be wonderful. I would have to get better but I would love to! I've never been able to create anything before so it's a lot of fun." Her finger tips trace the details of his face, still trying to 'see' of much of his face as possible. She felt along his brow, cheeks and lips.

"I'm sorry, is this too strange for you? It's easiest for me to see your face this way. " she giggled shyly and moved her hands back to cup his jaw.

[Jaebi Lyckander]

Jaebi held still, fighting the urge to move away from her hands. He wasn't used to having his face touched. He shrugged and made an eh noise. If this was the easiest way for her to see, then he would endure until he was used to it.

[Mollie Geist]

She bit her lower lip, feeling his muscles tense under her touch. She lowered her hands to his shoulders, smiling shyly. "I'm sorry. I know it's strange for other people."

Her gaze shifted to the grass around them. "I don't like thinking like I have a disability but the older I get I realize exactly how different I am. I'm not made to operate in this world; though I hoped coming here might be a bit better." She smiled, a hint of sadness on her lips. "I just can't think that all of the beautiful things I can see are any better than what you can."

She shook her head and folded her hands in front of herself. "I'm sorry. You probably didn't want to hear all that... You're very easy to talk to and your colors are comforting."

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