[prp] shop talk (xiu/andrew) fin

[Kaiyumi]

"Oh."

Her response was a short one, though the creased brows and little frown on her face had yet to fade. Was that it? She found herself still feeling a little puzzled. Gaze absently focused on his plate, she spoke up in a quiet, thoughtful tone. "Well, some of us have had...bad experiences with flames in the past," the baku faltered and cringed slightly the memory of being burnt alive, "And I know that the undead and ice students at Amity are skittish around fire, but..."

Xiu eyes flickered back to him, "I hardly think that everyone should be afraid of you. You aren't the first, nor the last, fire demon Amity has had...and, with all due respect," she smiled wryly, folding her hands in her lap, "You hardly look like a dangerous person to me." Grumpy, yes, and with the potential of being dangerous, but not so much as he was normally.

phantompanther13.

 

[phantompanther13]

Andrew claimed and munched on a spookie. If he was going to have this awkward conversation he was going to at least take the payment for it.

But her words irritated him. With a screech that rivaled the scream cheese, he got up an started pacing. "You don't understand. SHE is afraid of me. And even those who aren't afraid of me tell me to go away for no good reason. Even the ones who have no reason to be afraid of me keep saying it over and over. Control it. I am in control! They just don't see it." his tail blazed and his spookie turned to ashes in his hand but he didn't care. She didn't know, she didn't understand. Bad experiences sure, he could understand that but practically everyone he met was either skittish or berated him for being on fire. Even if he did nothing but stand there. Well he wasn't going to put it out.

Mind you Andrew still wasn't aware that his attitude contributed to his problems. But he never was called on that. Just the fire. And even if he was, he probably wouldn't care. He didn't care what most of them thought... Really.

Kaiyumi

Hope there is nothing hanging low, tail is whipping around and dangerous.

 

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu startled a little when he suddenly got up, her eyes growing round at his yelling. Clearly she had agitated him, something that she felt terrible for, but she did manage to get her answer: "she". Was that what this was about? With the realization that someone he cared about may have been involved, suddenly all of this--the refusal to go to prom, the frustration that people feared him--made all the more sense.

Pushing herself out of her own seat, she walked to where the boil was reached out to seize his wrists, her grip firm but gentle. All she wanted was to try and stop his pacing, feeling that the action would only perpetuate his frustration rather than help diminish it.

"Calm down," she ordered with a frown, though both her expression and her voice softened as she continued, "I'm sorry that this is how people have been treating you--I really, really am. I don't think you're someone who should be feared, and you're by no means a bad person who deserves to be treated as such." She genuinely felt that Andrew wasn't being treated as he should have been, but at the same time, she could potentially sympathize with the other students as well. Xiu wouldn't deny some things, like his apparent temper, may have unknowingly led some students to fear him--there were always two sides, after all.

There was a hesitant pause, and then Xiu spoke very carefully. "Can I ask who 'she' is, or is that something you'd rather not talk about at all? I don't mean a name or anything, just..."

phantompanther13

JUST LEGS who needs those B)

 

[phantompanther13]

Xiu grabbed him and he tensed. Flames flicked through his fingers but he controlled it. This ghoul... no she was more adult now, this one he didn't want to hurt. He came to her shop. She was Danny's friend. He'd never hear the end of it.

But also... this was the first time anyone ever bothered to actually listen. Or at least bothered to say something like that. Even if she was being prying. He was pretty sure she wasn't faking.

His hands died out and he just... gave up and leaned into her, wings coiling about her. He hardly knew her, but she didn't feel too icky. He still wanted to be FEARed but he knew what she meant. Being feared and being FEARed were separate things and she seemed to know the difference.

"It's complicated." complicated was the understatement of the century. "I don't talk to her any more, can't get near her anyways. She's undead." A Wright to be exact. A frosty cold wright. He shuttered to think about his terrible life choices and sighed again, tail dimming and deflating. "It's not a big deal." he murmured. It was a big deal, but he wouldn't admit it. Even if he was exhausted. His parents had told him to just let it go ages ago. But no matter how much he tried, he just hurt.

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

Her heart hurt. Xiu's chest tightened as she watched the fury suddenly drain out of him, his posture taking on one of defeat. Fingers slowly loosening around his wrists, she freed them and gingerly brought one arm up to coil around him in a loose, one-armed hug. Not knowing how he'd react, she made certain that he's easily be able to break free from the contact should he want or need to.

"She" was undead. Of course--all the pieces of the puzzle really had come together now to reveal a rather difficult situation. Xiu felt a pain of sympathy for both of them, realizing that this whole situation couldn't be easy for either party. She gave him a gentle squeeze, and then shook her head. "You shouldn't dismiss yourself like that," she scolded gently, "When something is hurting you like this, then it is a big deal, Andrew. It's not weakness to be able to admit that, and you don't deserve to be hurt any more than anyone else does." She wondered just how long he had been dealing with this.

Xiu mulled over his words, pressing her lips into a thin line as she carefully considered her reply. "Truthfully, I've never thought for a moment that a student with an affinity for fire could not be friends, or more, with an undead student. I know, I know--I am neither, so I technically shouldn't have a say in this," she added the second part quickly, a faint, lopsided smile on her face, "But...I never said that it'd be easy. It would be difficult, very much so, since you'd both have your own hurdles to overcome."

A pause, and then, "...Did she tell you, then? That she was afraid of you? Or..." she trailed off, leaving the question open. Considering the delicate topic, she wouldn't fault him for cutting it off there and then, even if they had come this far.

phantompanther13.

 

[phantompanther13]

The freedom was enough to keep him there a few moments longer. His wings curled closer as he listened to her before he pulled away awkwardly, wondering what the hell came over him. He folded his wings back to where they belonged, away from other creeple. Away from this ghoul he barely knew. Even if she knew how to give a decent hug. He coughed awkwardly and turned away looking to see if anyone else saw that. Thankfully the Cafe was fairly empty today, that might have been part of why he chose it.

"I already tried. I tried a good long time. Sometimes it's best to give up. And sure she didn't say she was afraid... but it's pretty obvious. I've done everything I can on my end, I'm not going to suppress my fire anymore. If she's afraid, it's better to just leave her alone." Not because he disliked her, but because he still cared. He just figured leaving things alone was probably the less painful thing for both of them. Prom being everywhere just made him grumpy.

"I don't want to deal with people who are outright afraid of me, or dislike fire anymore. If they can't handle it, I don't want to be attached." Because this s**t was awful and it hurt him more than he cared to admit.

Kaiyumi

 

[Kaiyumi]

Xiu only offered a patient smile when he drew away, tactfully making no move to mention the hug right now. It didn't take a genius to see that the action had embarrassed him, and she certainly knew better than to call attention to this and potentially make him feel even more awkward than he already did.

However, the frown was back on her face as she listened to him speak, growing from a tiny one to one that was quite deeply troubled. Stepping back a little so that she could look up at him properly, the baku's tail absently swayed behind her. "You might want to interrupt me in the middle of this, but please hear me out," she started slowly. She took a deep breath, and then lift her gaze to meet his, "Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong after, but...aren't you the one who is distancing himself from people?"

She lightly rest a hand on her arm, the worry evident in her eyes, "I'm just curious if you've actually sat down and talked to her, or if this--choosing to stay away from her--is something you decided on your own. If this is something that you chose on her behalf, do you think that's necessarily fair? Not letting her have a say in your relationship?"

Xiu feared that she may have started to sound a little preachy, but she might as well go all the way with her thoughts. "You don't want to be attached because you're afraid of being hurt," she pointed out without a hint hesitation, "And I understand that it's only natural to want to protect yourself, but I feel like you've been talking about yourself as if all you are is just a burning inferno." Taking another step back, she swept an arm out and gestured towards him with a wry smile, "There's so much more to you than just being a fire demon. It's a big part of your identity to be sure, but it's not the only part. This ghoul may be scared of your power, but perhaps she was willing to push that aside and be your friend because she liked you as a person, fire and all."

There was a beat, and then she held her hands up in front of her with a little grin, "Or you can dismiss these as the ramblings of a baku ghoul. This is just what I think, and while I can't say that I really like fire because of past events, I can say that I like you."

phantompanther13

I am sorRY I KEEP WRITING MORE Xiu's muse can be pretty long-winded @ times like this /head in hands

 

[phantompanther13]

Sure it wasn't all of who he was, but it was the first hurdle he had to get through ever time he met anyone. Every Single time. Or at least it felt like it these days. Sure there were creeple like AJ who saw past it. And maybe Amphi and a few others... ok when he really thought about it, there were more than a few. But no one he actually hung out with. No Blondie wasn't that bothered by it either.

Ok maybe a lot of people he could hang out with. Maybe she was right, to some degree.

"Ok maybe not everyone." he said in defeat, plopping down and taking another cupcake. "But She only sort of was friends with me when I lowered and hid my fire. I just don't want to to that. It's not like I can turn it off." Some days he honestly wished he could. But just like breathing it came naturally, and he would pass out at best without it. "And she's just not brave enough to actually deal with it. I mean yeah, I might have hurt her a little by scaring her away, but it's better than the alternative."

He stared at Xui. she didn't like fire but wasn't even bothered by his tail earlier, wasn't bothered now by it. Wasn't bothered earlier when it was practically licking his fingers. "I think you are just made of sterner stuff than most." and honestly he liked the ghoul. He would probably visit the this Cafe again. Hopefully next time they could avoid this topic though. He liked being able to just... get it off his chest, even if she disagreed with him.

Kaiyumi

Write whatever length you want. XD I'm glad your muse is working for you.

 

[Kaiyumi]

The corners of her lips quirked upwards at his confession and she propped a hand up on her hip. "Managed to think up a couple of people, did you?" she teased lightly before letting out a thoughtful hum, "Have you at least tried talking to her about it? Maybe she wouldn't be able to handle the natural level of your flames off the bat, but it can be something gradual to work towards. Bravery's not something that's stiff and unchanging after all--you should give her a more little credit."

"Besides," she added, curling her hands into a loose fist and gently bopping him on the head, "If we're talking about better alternatives, I think at least attempting to protect the friendship that means so much to you is much better than having the both of you be unhappy." As they were now. She didn't know the ghoul Andrew was referring to, but she doubted that she was happy with the unexpected avoidance.

Picking up the chair that she had moved earlier, she went to replace it in its proper place before trotting back with a laugh--an action that felt quite nice after the serious cloud that had been hanging over the two of them before. "I used to be a stuttering mess who was scared of everyone. Trust me, I seem more confident now, but it took a lot of time and support from my friends."

And life-threatening situations. Pleeeenty of those.

phantompanther13

 

[phantompanther13]

"I can't get within 5 feet of her. All her friends yell at me and it's not gotten better, and I'm done. alright. I mean really can we please talk about something else." Thing was, Andrew had wanted more than just friendship with the ghoul, it just made it hard. "And I tried talking to her, ok. It did not end well."

He ruffled his hair trying to put it back to where it belonged and scratched at a horn. And then finished off his current cupcake.

Kaiyumi

And then I go short again.

 

[Kaiyumi]

Okay, even she had her limits. Since he had explicitly asked to steer the topic away from the present one, Xiu nodded and playfully mussed the hair that he had just tried to fix. "Okay, let's drop it. I think I've pried enough for a day, don't you?" Her voice took on a light tone as she said this, and she reached over to tie up his bag of spookies for him, wrapping the ribbon around once more in a neat bow. There, now he could bring them back with him.

"You're always welcome here," she said suddenly after a short silence, "And I don't mean that I want to harass you! Just that this place is always around if you want to relax alone or chat with some people."

"I'll make sure I'll have coffee things for you," Xiu added with a bright grin.

phantompanther13

( ouo)7 S'all good!!

 

[phantompanther13]

"Good I've been looking for a shop with good coffee cakes." And it was decidedly good. And even if the ghoul was annoying and prying, he would probably come back. It was rare that people actually liked him with any amount of like. And this one clearly wasn't dumb even if he disagreed with her.

"I will probably return. As long as you promise not to pry as much." he shook a finger at her, but he did look to be in a slightly better mood. Wither that was from the conversation or just being given extra spookies, it might have been hard to tell. They were swept up in his things along with the extra cupcakes as he stacked everything into his hands.

"Maybe next time I'll get something else too, who knows." Andrew slowly made for the door.

Kaiyumi

The next one between them might have to be after prom. hu hu hu. If all goes as planned.