running to, or away?(Iris)

[Kain]

As he realises iris heard what he said, his natural blush intesifies till it seems like he's beat red from head to toe. "uuh well, just such a lovely day. yea thats it" kain stammered, to embarressed to retain even a shred of his compsure. Grabbing the reigns of the pony he quickly scrambles up onto the sadle. ""well, uh, lets go shall we?"

with that kain kicked the sides of the pony, moving forward on the road out of zeltiva and around iris, simply trying to hide his embarresment from her. why did she have to hear me, he thought. iit turned a beautiful dream into a nightmare!

[Iris Dove]

"Uuh well, just such a lovely day. Yea that's it" Kain stammered, as his face turned bright red. Iris laughed as he grabbed the pony's reigns and quickly scrambled into the saddle, surely that wasn't it, she thought to herself. Wondering what on earth it could have been, but unwilling to press the matter.

"Well, uh, lets go shall we?" Kain said as he kicked the pony and it started to walk forward. Iris walked alongside it, the pony's hooves making a clickity-clack sound on the ground.

Iris looked up at the sky. It was a fairly clear day, perhaps a little windy, but otherwise, it was rather beautiful. Iris looked ahead of her, towards where they were headed. They would have to cut through the Mirahil Pass in order to leave the city, and it would be a long hard, and treacherous journey. Iris simply hoped to arrive in one piece, although, she wasn't too worried, having made the trek once before.

"So what were you doing in Zeltiva?" Iris asked as she walked alongside the pony.

[Kain]

At Iris's question kain looked down at his pony, gripping the reigns tight in his hand as tears started running down his face from the question. "I'm in zeltiva...because...my mother died." After that he bit his lip, why'ed he tell her that, why couldnt he lie and say he was born here. there was something about her that made him want to tell the truth, this was insane.

She was a stranger, and most strangers didnt want to listen to kain's sob stories. they all had there own. She'll be disgusted at my tears, he thought, she'll decide she's better off without me now. It doesnt matter, i'll be alone again, just like before. Maybe it's better off. unchecked, his tears still streamed down his face as he thought about his mom.

[Iris Dove]

"I'm in Zeltiva...because...my mother died," Kain replied. "Oh..." Iris was embarrassed, she must seem so rude, she thought as her face flushed a pale pink color, "sorry to hear that," she finished, as she put her right hand over her mouth, and listened to Kain's nearly inaudible sniffling.

He must be crying, Iris thought to herself, hypothetically banging her head against the wall for being so rude and making her traveling companion cry. He must absolutely hate her, she thought as she padded along, clicking up small clods of dirt, and kicking the same small jagged grey rock around.

The pony snorted, and Iris looked over at it, poor thing must be bored she thought, as the two of them walked along, without exchanging any words for a short time.

Iris' hands rested at her sides as she walked, with the sun beating down on her face. Must make her hair shine, she thought, realizing that she hadn't combed it or washed it in a while. Deciding she may as well be productive, she caught her bag in her hands, it had been hitting her hip with each step before, and brought it to her chest, she fished around inside for her comb. When she pulled it out, she started to run it through her long blonde hair.

Her hair was rather knotted, and she had to jerk and tug it through her hair to get the massive knots out. She gritted her teeth a bit during the process, it hurt her a bit to do so. But when she was done, and Iris was running her hands through her hair, she was grateful for the fact, that at least now, it wasn't all tangled, and was starting to feel as smooth as greasy hair could possibly feel.

Iris tucked her comb back into her bag before looking back up at Kain, she could just make out little red splotches around his eyes from the tears, but she pretended not to notice. She wished she had something she could give him so that Kain could wipe them away. Iris sighed. It was going to be a long journey, she thought, as she asked Kain, "so what do you like to do?" thinking it was an innocent enough conversation.

[Kain]

still crying silently, kain glances at Iris, to make sure she was still walking with him. Thats when he had to make himself look back down, he had almost had a heartattack watching her comb her hair. How much better can she look? this was going to be a long ride with a beautiful woman makeing him cry so much.

"so what do you like to do?" the question came so suddenly, kain almost missed it. He had to think for a little bit before answering, what could he safely say? well he had to say something, or risk seeming rude. so sniffling he answered quietly "I like jokes and pranks. and uh, i like games...and practicing my art" as he talks, his voice slowly gets quiter till it's barely a whisper.

[Iris Dove]

"I like jokes and pranks. and uh, I like games...and practicing my art," Kain replied, his voice getting quieter and quieter as he continued speaking. It became very hard to make out his words, but Iris thought that she had picked them all out ok.

"Not much for joking," Iris said, trying to ignore Kain's continued sniffling. "And I'm not much with a brush or quill," she continued, before looking up, and realizing that he had gotten a few feet ahead of her, Iris ran to catch up, "what sort of games do you like?" she asked, not truly knowing what a game was, never having participated in one before, at least, not to her knowledge. She hoped that his answer would tell her what a game was, but she wasn't counting on it. His answers seemed simple, precise, to the point, as though he didn't really want to talk to her. Maybe it was because of what she had asked him before.

Iris' brow furrowed, and her eyes glazed over, as though she were about to cry, she didn't like the idea that she might have upset him, especially so quickly after having met him, and even more so because they were traveling together.

[Kain]

"Not much for joking? well to each there own i suppose" kain said as iris replied. she believes i was talking about that type of art, thank you ionu...well i guess that's a good enough cover, as long as she doesnt ask me for any pictures. what sort of games do i like? well that was a simple question, "anything really that is simple to pick up and easy for everyone to play. like tag, hide and seek, and kick-the-ball" kain nodded, smiling as he thought back on his childhood games...well the games he played a couple weeks ago with his friends in zeltiva.

"there actually more fun then adults give them credit for. me and my friends play all the time, but enough about me, what do you like to do iris?" this might actually turn out to be a decent trip, kain thought, if we can keep to this neutral banter. kain sat up and looked back, marking the distance they already covered from zeltiva.

[Iris Dove]

"Not much for joking? Well to each there own I suppose," Iris nodded as she walked along beside Kain on his pony. The ground beneath them was starting to incline slightly, and small pebbles and stones lined the ground. Grass and plant life were growing more and more scarce. Grass simply grew in small clusters around various rocks, and were scattered about the area.

Iris walked over a small pebble and lost her balance, she stumbled a bit, muttering a low "wooohhh," as she caught herself in the nick of time, just before she fell flat on her face. That was a close one, she thought to herself, hoping her companion hadn't seen her lose her footing.

"Anything really that is simple to pick up and easy for everyone to play; like tag, hide and seek, and kick-the-ball," Kain replied to her question, as though he hadn't seen her spastic moment. Phew, Iris thought to herself as she nodded, not really knowing what he was talking about, but not wanting to let him discover this.

"They're actually more fun then adults give them credit for; me and my friends play all the time, but enough about me, what do you like to do Iris?" Kain asked, Iris looked up at him. Thinking about it for a moment. What did she like doing?

"Ummm..." she began as she placed a finger over her lips, as though in deep thought. "Learning about plants..." her voice trailed off, "flying..." she whispered into the wind, so low she doubt he had heard her.

[Kain]

kain looked at iris as she responded, plants? and what was that, why hadnt she said it load enough for him to hear? this is when i wish auristics was really mind reading, kain thought, would be so much easier to get information. but, short of divine intervention, kain doubted he'ed ever understand women so lets just focus on what she said, kain thought. "Plants, i never thought there was that much about plants to learn. they have colors, they have smells, and they grow with sunlight. what more is there to know?"

Kain said this off hand, not thinking of the consequences of those words, good or bad. I mean, kain thought, everyone knows all about plants already so why waste time learning more about them?

[Iris Dove]

"Plants, I never thought there was that much about plants to learn. They have colors, they have smells, and they grow with sunlight. What more is there to know?" Kain asked.

Iris looked up at him, her eyes narrowed, glaring, burning tiny little holes in his flesh. That was rude, she thought to herself, her face growing red, her teeth grit, as she said, "actually, there's a lot to learn about plants. Some of them are poisonous, and are therefore, dangerous, while others can be quite helpful. Some can be used in cooking," Iris was counting off the possibilities on her fingers, "or for dyes, some can be eaten straight, some can be used in perfumes or for medicines...." Iris' voice trailed off.

Iris' arms were crossed over her chest as she said this, "and it'd be best if you at LEAST had a basic knowledge of such things," Iris finished as she bit her bottom lip, not wanting to come off too strong.