Thread: The Scarlet Crossing (DeliciousLust & darjeeling)

The subject of a nickname had Aurelias mind tipping over to uncharted territories that bordered pet names. Shortening of a name usually worked well enough. Mari, Riko, Mako her strange thoughts continued to pull apart the bakemonos name only to mash various letters back together to create different words. Most of them sounded incredibly silly to her and the ones that didnt sounded too personal. In fact, the entire idea of calling Mariko anything but was too personal. She barely knew the woman beyond the surface of skin and flesh. It didnt even occur to her to ponder further on the matter, with Marikos acceptance of Aurelias decision, she was more than happy to leave it at that. Not everybody needed a nickname and there was nothing worse than forcing one to light. Riko my ass , Aurelia scolded internally, unintentionally dredging up a rather feral looking scowl which instantly dissipated and replaced by a blank stare at Marikos throaty purring. A reptile she might be in aesthetic, the woman acted much more like a seductive feline waiting to pounce. Or maybe it was just to Aurelia, who read far too many comics as it was. She decided it would be better to keep that thought quiet and reverted to her usual state of ignorant . I usually dont like my coffee with much... I don't really like coffee at all, she said, somewhat amused that someone like Mariko would prefer sweet over bitter. Not that Aurelia actively tried to assume things about the woman whom, despite answering many of her questions already, she really knew nothing about. More so when Mariko also surprised her by stating her enjoyment of some games, and Aurelia was quite curious, almost asking if these games the bakemono liked involved clothing or a lack thereof, though found the inquiry to be somewhat obnoxious even in her own mind. She swallowed the question quickly. Video games were more her style along with the occasional card game though the latter usually required the physical presence of more than a single person and Aurelia was somewhat lacking in that department. If she could split herself in half well, it was likely the two halves would dislike each other in an instant and vanish into separate rooms. Well go to the mall then, Aurelia said, reaching a decision at last as she lowered her hand to her side. If Mariko had not heard the unattractive sound prior to any physical contact, the bakemono surely would have heard the intensely sharp inhale Aurelia had to perform in order to remain perfectly still. She held her breath for a good five seconds as if adjusting to the sudden touch and pull on her clothed arm, the warmth made immediately apparent to the human who was suddenly very, very, very aware of the distance between them and of how little there seemed to be of it. Of course, she could not pull or tug away, nor did she feel like doing as much. Her first attempt at speaking ended only in a short squeak, the second attempt faring much better as she cleared her throat before trying again. Peacock, Aurelia said, quite relieved that she had not stammered nor bitten her own tongue off. A feat worthy of congratulations, she reasoned. In fact, she should have stopped there, but for some reason that followed the same logic of her ostensible attraction towards Mariko, she felt the urge to continue. Getting something that vulgar on tattooed on your body wouldnt suit you. You might think some people would say it did, but the ones you have now are too tasteful to be accompanied by that . Aurelia looked to the side, wondering if she might try to accidentally slip, fall and knock herself out. I dont know of any good parlors, she muttered then, butIwouldbehappytoaccompanyyou. The words flowed not with the grace of a crystal-clear river, but smashed and rocked against every object imaginable, stumbling and fumbling until Aurelia could take no more. She tugged, rather forcibly, at the bakemonos arm and seemed to all but drag her companion towards the general direction of the shopping centre. Aurelia remembered that there was a caf there too, a place that offered only above average coffee and below average tea. Thankfully the place was close enough that her legs only ached once per minute before they were striding through the parking lot and towards the glass sliding doors. The redhead considered removing her arm but feared that it might leave Mariko with the wrong impression the thought almost made her snort. If Mariko hadnt been dissuaded by her prior lack of overt interest then the monster girl surely wasnt about to read too deeply into Aurelia moving away. Yet even with that in mind, said redhead was still unable to do as much and simply decided to leave the physical contact business to Mariko who was most definitely the more experienced between the two. It didnt stop Aurelia from gesturing at the food-court which looked to be half full. At least now we have a variety of options. At last she smiled it had been a while since she had visited this place, probably within the last eight months she had only come to the mall a grand total of once but she found she could still remember the layout as if it had been only yesterday. Coffee, tea, juice, maybe food if youre hungry.