14th Combo - [Dream]

[redcladidealist]

The dream starts off simply enough, with the figure of a glowering forevveraglub standing with arms crossed. The scenery around him is indistinct, perhaps a field or a forest. rainbowpalette, a girl, is standing in front of him. Neither one looks happy, but the girl is particularly upset. Eridan snaps something at Kanaya, who looks like she's almost in tears.

For a moment, the dream fuzzes and goes out of focus and...

You know what? This sort of dream is best represented with a series of horribly drawn MSPaint pics~




THREATEN THREATEN THREATEN



Lloyd leans forward, smiling at Kanaya as he holds her protectively. "Don't worry," he says. "I don't care what Eridan says about the future. I'll make sure it never happens."

"Thank you, Lloyd." Kanaya smiles back, arms around his neck. "You're a really good friend."

And watching them draw close, seeing how happy they are, the only thing Eridan can do is sob. If only he'd been nicer to his friend, that could have been him in her arms!

Comments

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd stoops to pick up another feather, a fluffy brown one he's not certain he'll use but that could easily be given to Kanaya if not, then jogs to catch up with her.]

I know I've seen a couple before, but I didn't realize they were that common. Back in the forest where I lived in my world, most of the birds were brown, and maybe a few blue or red ones. I didn't see green or yellow until I started traveling. I guess I thought it might be like that here.

[He's still looking for feathers... but his eyes drift back to her hand.

You know... Maybe there's a way to find out without having to ask...

Suddenly feeling extremely self conscious, he drops his arm to his side, matching his pace with hers and, cautiously, uncertainly, tries to take her hand.]

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

Really? Most of the birds in my world were very brightly colored, and...

[And her voice trails off as she realizes Lloyd has wrapped his hand around hers. It's an unexpected gesture, but... but it feels nice. She likes it. And so she's just going to blush quietly and not take her hand back and enjoy the sensation.]

[redcladidealist]

[She's not pulling away. Lloyd darts a glance at her, trying to gauge her reaction. She's not pulling away, and her face is a little green. Green is a blush for her, he remembers that.

That's an answer. Smiling, he lets a little part of himself relax that had been tense and anxious and man he'd had no idea if he was doing this right. He adjusts his grip subtly, to make it more comfortable. Her hand feels... really nice.]

I think I'd like to see that. Do you think maybe someday I could come see your world?

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[Oh. Oh, her world. Alternia...]

I'm sorry, Lloyd, but my world was destroyed. We can never go and visit it because it isn't there anymore.

[And that thought makes her kind of sad, so she tightens her grip a little around his hand.]

[redcladidealist]

Destroyed? [All thoughts of hands disappear from his mind, replaced with a horrified look. He stops in his tracks.] Your whole world? What happened?

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

It's a long story.

[One that she'd rather not get into right now, since they were having such a good time just a few moments ago.]

What about your world, though? What was your world like? Why didn't you learn about red until later in life?

[Because red is one of the best colors. True fact.]

[redcladidealist]

Oh.

[He gets the hint that she doesn't want to talk about it and simply squeezes her hand back. Now he has more than one reason to hold her hand, even while he lets himself be distracted.]

Huh? What do you mean? I've always liked red. It's my favorite color.

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[Thank you for understanding, Lloyd. And thank you for squeezing her hand; it feels really nice.]

Oh, really? I'm sorry, I guess I got confused by what you said about birds earlier.

[Mun reading comprehension fail, d'oh!]

[Shy smile.]

Red is my favorite color too.

[redcladidealist]

[Sweeps the comprehension fail under the rug and helps shift all the blame on Kanaya and Lloyd.]

Oh! [He grins and shakes his head.] No, I just meant there weren't very many red birds around. There's lots of other red things, like fruit and cloth and flowers.

[He becomes especially pleased when he hears that last remark.] I guess we have something in common!

But as for my world... Well, I grew up in a forest, so I'm used to lots of trees and plants. Not everywhere is like that, though. There's deserts and snow fields and cities and mountains, and some places in the ocean where you can't see land at all. It's like the whole world's turned blue, even the air.

I think I'll always like the forest best, though.

What about you?

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[Yes, this is much better.]

I grew up in the desert, so I like that best. Remember when it got so hot in Somarium, and everyone was complaining?

[Bright, tinkling laughter.]

I didn't mind at all! It reminded me of home.

[redcladidealist]

Yeah, I remember that, but it didn't bother me that much, either. Where I'm from, our houses don't stay cool all day like they do here. It's as warm inside as it is outside.

[No such thing as air conditioning.]

And even if it got hot, you're right. It wasn't as bad as a desert. At least people still had shade and water, right? [That's better than the desert by far!]

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

And it made all the flowers grow, and...

[Her voice trails off as she spots something out of the edges of her vision and turns towards it. Her eyes widen; it is the MOTHERLOAD of feathers! The birds must have had a wild rumpus dance party to lose that many feathers in one place!]

Lloyd, look!

[Hurrying towards the cache now, pulling him along by their still-clasped hands.]

[redcladidealist]

Holy cow! [Lloyd's eyes widen when he spots all the feathers lying around, then excitement starts bubbling up inside him. He doesn't mind at all that Kanaya's pulling him along. In fact, now he's trying to match her pace!]

Kanaya, this is amazing! Look at all these feathers! You could make hats for all your friends and still have feathers left over!

[But there's going to be a slight problem, and he can already tell what it is just by looking at their hands. However, it's a problem that can be fixed. Grinning, he reaches up with his free hand and pulls his hat off his head.]

Here. We can carry them all in my hat.

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

I know! We'll be able to make the best hat for you now!

[She stoops to start picking up the feathers, unconsciously reaching for them with both hands... until she tugs just a bit on Lloyd's arm and suddenly remembers they're still holding hands. She looks up at him, a little surprised, then smiles warmly and turns back to the feathers, only using one hand to reach for them this time.]

[redcladidealist]

[Something inside him flips nervously when she looks up and meets his eyes, maybe because she's smiling, smiling at him, maybe because he still doesn't know if he's doing this right. He gives her hand another light squeeze, smiling back. Then he sets his hat on the ground. There. That frees up his hand again so that they can both work together - and so that they can still hold hands.]

I think... I think it's going to be the best hat anyway, no matter what. Because you helped me make it.

[Auugh, that didn't sound too stupid, did it? Nervous all over again, he starts picking up feathers and putting them in the hat.]

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[Kanaya glances over at him again; he looks nervous, like he said something stupid.]

[Which he didn't. He said something very sweet.]

Thank you.

[Aaaaand now she's nervous and paying very close attention to the feathers.]

[redcladidealist]

[He smiles again and glances at her before dropping another feather into the hat. His face has turned just a little bit pink.]

You're welcome.

So, uh... Do you want to pick out the feathers for my hat here, and take my hat back home with you and you can finish it there? Because...

[Because he really doesn't want to run into Eridan again, so he doesn't think it'd be a good idea for him to go back home with her.]

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[She gets where he's going with this. No need to say more.]

Yes, let's do it that way. You can show me what you want and I'll take it home to put it together. That way...

[A pause, and some serious blushing.]

... that way we can see each other again when it's done.

[redcladidealist]

[A warm flush that isn't all blush fills him at her words. He smiles, practically grins, and squeezes her hand.]

That sounds like a perfect plan. You can come to my home when it's done!

[Finally, he lets go. They're going to need both their hands.]

Okay, so we want the red ones here and here...

[He picks two and holds them in position.]

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[She watches closely, approvingly. He's put the two red feathers almost exactly where a pair of horns would go.]

Okay, that looks good. Anything else?

[redcladidealist]

[Lloyd considers the red feathers for a moment, then the pile of feathers they've collected.]

Maybe a couple gold ones at the base, and...

[He lets go one of the red feathers so he can concentrate on one side. The gold ones go in position, then- Okay, not enough hands.]

Could you put that little green one there in the front?

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

Like this?

[She holds a pair of shiny green feathers at the front of the hat.]

[redcladidealist]

No, I meant in front of the rest of the feathers. What do you think? Would it look good there as an accent?

[rainbowpalette.livejournal.com]

[That's some pretty good taste you've got there, Lloyd.]

[Kanaya moves the feathers to where he indicated, putting their hands very close together again, almost touching.]

Like this? That would look lovely, I think. Red and green are very nice complementary colors.

[redcladidealist]

[Art is one of the few subjects Lloyd actually does well in. His friends might argue about his sense of taste (Zelos especially when it comes to clothes), but that's more a matter of perception. Fashion is something Lloyd will never really grasp, but in terms of an arts and crafts project? He's got this.]

Yeah! [And he is really, really pleased that Kanaya agrees with him! So pleased that he leans just a little so he can nudge shoulders with her. He's practically radiating excitement.] That's what I want. I want the feathers like that, and maybe some brown fluffy ones to help hide the ends where they connect. Can you do that?