Local angry slut is secretly a softie what else is new?

[cyclopticsadist]

Who: Niles and Azura
When: mid-Feburary
Where: Aefenglom
What: First date 3 1/2 months after bonding.
Warnings: None as of yet. May change if I end up adding more prompts to this later.



[Feburary is not usually picnic season, but Niles picks a bright crisp day, and he makes sure Azura has a good coat. The slush presents another problem, but that's easily dealt by picking a fairly unorthodox spot. He's got the blanket and spread of foods spread out on the wall itself. They've got fantastic views to either side, one of the bustle and detail of the roofs and streets of the city, the other of the stretched open country side. Other than food and drink, the blanket is also dotted with a few books. Niles has one open now, and Niles speaks in a voice imitating the way Leo always dictates to him. Clear enunciation, slower, slightly deeper, and richer than his conversation tone. He treats each word with the kind of gravity that someone writing a tense diplomatic trade agreement would. When Leo composed letters he did so knowing that each word, any misinterpretation, any foible of translation could have very real consequences. Although this skill is one learned and developed in a very different context, it works well for poetry.]

And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to blossom.

[He lets out a contented sigh. He looks up from the page to Azura's face, his tail curling and uncurling in long, slow, contented waves.]

I like that one.

[He'd picked the passage at random, it's not one he'd read before, but it was so unexpectedly fitting. So simple, but so...true.]

((OOC: Poem is Risk by Anais Nin.))

Comments

[prayerwheel]

I can see why.

[ raising her eyebrows ]

You sound like you're reading a legal document off to a group of stiff magistrates, though. Is that intentional?

[ Asked very gently. She knows he's doing his best with regards to reading, so if it's not intentional, she doesn't want to come off as mean. ]

[cyclopticsadist]

[He frowns at that, but much more in focus than hurt. He was using his Fancy Court Voice on purpose, but it wasn't that bad was it? Although...now that she says it that way, he can definitely hear it. He snorts then passes the book to Azura, putting it face down on her lap to mark his place. He stretches and lies back, resting flat on the blanket now, arms cushioning his head.]

No. Although it makes sense I mean, that's not too far off from the stuff Leo taught me to read and write for. I don't really know what this is supposed to sound like.

How about you read one, show me how it's done?

[prayerwheel]

I didn't say that it was bad. I just found it a trifle amusing.

[ shaking her head. Tsk tsk. ]

I'm not a poet either, you know. I'll end up making a song out of half of these.

[cyclopticsadist]

Go ahead. I'd like that.

[He flicks his tail over and it thmps against her leg softly. He shrugs.]

Poems are just lyrics waiting to be sung, aren't they?

[prayerwheel]

Alright. But you'll have to pick one for me. Find one you'd like to hear me vocalize.

[ A thin smile. It's fine. She can be a mild bother as much as he is. They can mildly bother each other. ]

[cyclopticsadist]

[He hmmms softly, flicking through a few pages of the book he's holding. Many of these were all wrong for singing, short clipped lines. That heavy kind of poetry where the author had taken a knife to the words and whittled down until only the most crucial remained. Powerful stuff, but not enough rhythm in it and far too short to make a good song.

He puts that book aside and sits up, rummaging in the basket for a different one. When he's got what he wants he flips it open to a page that's already marked with a feather.]

Here. Do this one.

[prayerwheel]

[ Azura takes a look at the poem for a good few minutes, mumbling a few of the lines under her breath, one a couple of times. That's as much time as she can really give herself to practice, because she can just feel him watching her expectantly and while she's never had stage fright it's a little different when it's Niles who's wanting something from her.

It's probably not as soft as he wanted, she makes it more of a cheerful ditty, something that sounds like a lot like this, with sentences that bleed on to the next lyric and leave her a little breathless.

When she finishes, she looks up. Well? Is he satisfied? ]

[cyclopticsadist]

[A little counter intuitively he's initially a little tense when she stops, but the reason becomes obvious when he starts purring. He was holding it in because he didn't want to interrupt her, but now all bets are off.]

Beautiful.

[Their bond is humming with affection Niles would deeply struggle verbalizing. Even as obvious as his approval was that way, he still felt the urge to demonstrate it somehow. So he falls back on old habits. He leans in and kisses her. On the mouth but closed, maybe a little interlocking of lips. It's a statement of a kiss, not a request.]

[prayerwheel]

[ Oh, hello. She's about to comment on the unusually sweet feeling she's getting from him, but she's silenced. Azura lets it linger for a few moments before pulling back and framing his face with her hands, brushing his hair off of his forehead. ]

Perhaps I should serenade you more often if this is the response I get.