Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr.
Keme
Academy Freshman: Were-Korean
No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.
Posts: 229
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Post by Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr. on Jun 7, 2010 18:14:24 GMT -5
It had been almost a week since Nina had punched his lights out in Hoshi's classroom. Since then, he had spotted Nina several times, always looking a little off, and when she made eye contact with him he would wince. She would walk away then, looking crestfallen.
She obviously wanted to talk with him. But Kemekin didn't want to know if he wanted to talk with her-- he didn't know what he was feeling towards her anymore. He supposed it was closest to fear. He was afraid of being attacked again, and equally afraid of hearing her reason for attacking him in the first place. He honestly had no clue what he had done, and that bothered him most-- the fact that Nina could react so violently to something that he'd had no knowledge of...
Kemekin picked at his lasagna and rested his chin on one fist. He had asked Jaebi to talk to Nina for him, but Jaebi hadn't been able to get much out of her. Haneul seemed a lot less hostile towards him, though, and had sought him out the other day to make sure he was okay. Kemekin had been veritably shocked by this, and it made him all the more wary of Nina.
If her actions had Haneul worried...
Jesus.
Kemekin pushed his food around his tray, finding little designs in the sauce. He wanted to hear what Nina had to say, but there was no way he was going to risk having his face bashed in again. That had given him the scare of his life.
The dull roar of the full mess hall faded in and out of his threshold. Sometimes he heard what others were saying, sometimes he didn't. He yawned, ran a hand through his hair, and glanced around at the other people seated at the table.
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Post by Meriel "Dubhiarr" MacNamara on Jun 7, 2010 18:33:20 GMT -5
Dubhiarr looked at Kemekin in concern, her head tilted to one side. She had heard about what Nina had done to him, of course, but Nina had been stubbornly quiet abut the reasons behind that incident. Du had heard plenty, though, from other students. Poor Keme... and poor Nina. And Haneul, for that matter.
"Are you okay, Kem?" Dubhiarr asked the boy quietly.
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Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr.
Keme
Academy Freshman: Were-Korean
No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.
Posts: 229
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Post by Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr. on Jun 7, 2010 18:37:33 GMT -5
Kemekin arched an eyebrow. "I'm fine," he said. "I'm just... really confused, is all." He took a sip of his soda and frowned. "Did she mention anything to you? I mean... I know she's got a temper, but I can't think of any reason for her to just up and bash someone's face."
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Post by Meriel "Dubhiarr" MacNamara on Jun 7, 2010 18:40:20 GMT -5
Dubhiarr bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, she told me all about it, and the reason why she did it. We can talk about it later if you want... it's not really good table conversation." She wasn't sure how many people should know all the details of it, anyway. But Kemekin definitely deserved to know everything he could.
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 18:52:29 GMT -5
Nina hadn't been eating much lately. She would force down a bowl of rice twice a day and then leave. She knew she was going to get sick if she kept this up, but she didn't have any appetite lately.
She stepped into the mess hall and ignored the stares she got from other students. She couldn't go anywhere anymore without feeling eyes on her.
Nina spotted Dubhiarr and half smiled. Then she noticed Kemekin. Her expression tweaked a bit, seemed forced now, but she continued towards them.
"Hey Du," she greeted, her voice more hoarse than usual. It hadn't gotten much better over the past few days. "Keme."
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Post by Meriel "Dubhiarr" MacNamara on Jun 7, 2010 18:57:07 GMT -5
Dubhiarr looked up at the sound of Nina's voice, noticing with concern that it was more raspy than usual. Nina hadn't been eating much these days; it was understandable, given the situation between her and Kemekin, but Du didn't want to se her roommate make herself sick.
"Hi, Nina," she greeted the tiny girl, seeing her rather forced half-smile. "There's a free seat here if you want t join us..." She nodded to the chair two seats away from her, on Stephen's other side.
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 7, 2010 19:36:01 GMT -5
Nina nodded. She walked around and took the proffered seat, tucking her hair behind her ears and keeping her gaze on the table. She glanced at Kemekin once, and was relieved to see that he was looking elsewhere. Every time their eyes met, he flinched.
"How're you feeling, Kemekin?" she asked, tentatively.
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Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr.
Keme
Academy Freshman: Were-Korean
No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.
Posts: 229
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Post by Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr. on Jun 7, 2010 20:12:42 GMT -5
Kemekin stabbed his fork into the mess that had once been his half-eaten lasagna, so that when he let go the fork stayed upright, lilting slightly to one side.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a second, considering whether to answer her or not.
"I don't know," he said honestly. His voice was perhaps a little edgier than he had meant it to be.
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Nina Paem
Keme
Academy Junior: Mage
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.
Posts: 427
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Post by Nina Paem on Jun 12, 2010 0:23:53 GMT -5
Nina bit her lip and dropped her gaze to stare at her hands in her lap. He sounded afraid.
Nina felt tears well up in her eyes and blinked them away. She stood and walked around the table, stopping in front of Kemekin. Holding her arms stiff at her sides, she dipped at the waist, bowing as deeply as she could . Her hair fell to cover her face and she locked her stare to the floor.
"I'm sorry," she said, softly, at a volume neighboring tables couldn't hear. Not because she didn't want them to-- no, her voice was too hoarse at the moment to reach that volume at all.
"I'm so sorry."
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Post by Meriel "Dubhiarr" MacNamara on Jun 12, 2010 21:44:24 GMT -5
Dubhiarr watched quietly as Nina got up from her chair and stepped over to Kemekin, looking like she was struggling not to cry. Then she ducked down and vanished from sight, blocked from view by the table.
Concerned, Dubhiarr stood up and leaned over, seeing that Nina was bowed down to the floor in a kowtow in front of Kemekin, the very picture of shame and humility. Her voice, when she spoke, barely carried to the others at the table. Dubhiarr wanted to go over and hug her roommate close and let her know everything was going to be fine, but she knew she shouldn't interrupt such an imprtant moment, at least not until Kemekin reacted -- hopefully to reassure her that things would be fine.
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Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr.
Keme
Academy Freshman: Were-Korean
No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.
Posts: 229
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Post by Kemekin Evans-Barros, Jr. on Jun 13, 2010 23:25:46 GMT -5
Kemekin flinched as Nina approached him-- then, seeing her bow, his eyebrows shot up. His jaw went slightly slack. She was saying something, but he could barely hear. Leaning forward, he could make out her "I'm so sorry."
Kemekin bit his lip. Nina wasn't egotistical, but she was proud. Seeing her humble herself with a bow-- to the floor, no less-- made his sharpness fade a little. He didn't want to forgive her. Not yet, anyway. He still had no clue what he'd done, and until he could be certain of his ability to avoid it happening again, he had planned to steer clear of Nina Paem.
But here she was, at his feet. In the middle of the Mess Hall. With everyone watching.
He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking. Nina had always kept her temper in check. She was calm. A certain kind of serene. Like Haneul. But even Haneul could lose his cool-- he had learned about what had happened to Stephen the semester before. When they had been talking about Conall, and what had happened to--
Kemekin gave himself a mental slap to the face. When Stephen had mentioned what had happened to Nina and Seele.
God fucking dammit, Kemekin, he chided himself. You are an idiot.
Kemekin lightly touched Nina's shoulder, then pulled back. "Stand up, Nina."
He didn't know how to handle this. As soon as Nina was on her feet, Kemekin stood and left, walking briskly out of the Mess Hall.
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Stephen Shorne
Ireth
University Junior: Vampire
Dancing through life...
Posts: 168
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Post by Stephen Shorne on Jun 14, 2010 12:21:19 GMT -5
Stephen tilted his head to the side as he watched the spectacle out of his good eye. He didn't say a word until after Kemekin got up and left.
"What was that all about?" he asked in confusion, looking from Nina to Dubhiarr and back again.
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