Sweat Like You Mean It

[Oren]

Kendryek noticed that Le Cyll was quite confused by his demand. This was really going to take a long time. Fixing this very messed up man was going to take years. Too bad they both weren't immortal. If they were, he might not worry about this creatures well being so much. It sometimes bothered him how much he cared for others, but then he reminded himself that it was a good thing and carried on with helping whoever he was helping at that point in time. With every action, a seed is planted. Whether a good seed or bad seed was up to the person sowing, and if enough good seeds were planted just right, a good crop would be produced in the end.

A small voice in the back of his mind whispered something. It was a tempting thought, a thought saying to lightly knock Le Cyll in the head. It was more violent than he usually was, but anyone would laugh at his calling this though violent. He would have actually carried this though out, making it an action, but an alarm went off in his head. That would be a bad seed. Violence, unlike what was typically said, was indeed an answer, but rarely was it the right one. Words could hurt more than any physical wound ever could.

It was actually kind of funny how words worked. They ate away at your insides and placed you in situations you would never have been in otherwise. They tore holes through your heart and damaged your very soul. They had the ability to bite, scratch, and gnaw at you until there was nothing but a pathetic lump of human, nothing but skin covered in rags.

On the flip side, words could lift you up, repair torn holes, and heal minute scratches. They could mend broken hearts, reform calloused minds, and bring someone back to their feet. They were funny things, words were. They carried so much power and many people didn't even realize it.

Even Kendryek forgot how much power they held.

But it also depended on who the person saying it was and who was receiving it. Le Cyll's comment about him being a 'grouchy old man', for instance, didn't carry much weight. It did cause him to think about how he was reacting, which was a good thing, but it wasn't taken personal. Because the comment was from Le Cyll, that was also a good thing.

Sighing, Kendryek smiled apologetically at Aori. She had posed a carefully placed question about the legends of the local Youkai. It was obvious to him, and evidently to Le Cyll as well, that she was trying to see if they were creatures or regular humans. Le Cyll's words were even more rude than his actions. It was starting to surprise him no longer. This wolf was simply rude. He knew that it would mean a lot to Aori, but she was going to have to get used to the world outside of Japan sooner or later. With the types of people at this school, he figured sooner would be better than later.

"As Le Cyll just stated, ever so bluntly, we are not Man. Nor are we phoenix. You did well to ask a... how to say it... discreet question. Most at this school are not Human, but there are those that are, so careful is the best way to go."

He could only hope that his politeness softened the blow of Le Cyll's rudeness. Getting used to the new atmosphere was a good thing, culture shock was not.

[Ari Phoenix]

She was surprised at both of the reactions, but the first reaction made her feel both distraught and anger, causing her at first almost unnoticeable breaks in her human appearance to become noticeably larger. She was having a hard time dealing with the change and shock, and her eyes showed it. She wasn't dealing well at all.
She didn't know what races they were, but she did know that one was nice and kind, the other was rude. She had done nothing to either of them, she hadn't even heard what they had said before she had been called over. She didn't like how this guy treated others.

She then heard the kinder words of the other one, and started to settle a bit. She still felt the hidden side showing a little. She would have to calm down a bit to fix this, it was probably frowned upon to show your true self here, unless in specific situations, which she thought this wasn't one of them. She bowed, and tried to keep herself calm as she spoke again. "I know not to out right ask, as doing so could be troublesome, so I spoke with reference, I think that is the word, so as to confuse those that do not know. As I spoke before, my english is not that good." She kept bowed for the moment, knowing that this was the best way to avoid seeing the eyes of the one who made her angry.

She waited, in hopes that things would get better after a moment, if only so that she wouldn't have to keep trying keep calm, and also trying not to lose her mind on her inability to keep herself completely in check. She realized now why her parents sent her here, she needed it more so than anyone she had known.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Seeing the way both Kendryek and the new one reacted was... interesting. They were of different species, of different walks of life, of different sensibilities, and of different calibers, yet both seemed to be equally annoyed with him. It seemed a cultural thing, almost.

Now, far be it of him to know about culture. He had literally been raised by wolves - as if this was a bad thing. At first sight of these strange people in this strange place, he had been slightly nervous. Taking things very gently and handling them with the utmost care, he came to understand the methods of the state of Washington.

It wasn't like the woodlands, but they all had their little bestialities, didn't they? For some odd reason, everyone here thought it appropriate to lie profusely to everyone else. That had been a shock, considering his race could interact on the mental level as well as the physical one, and subsequently were extremely "open" as they would call it here.

Dear old daddy knew what would happen if Le Cyll even came back to steal the throne. He'd cut the old dog up and feed him to his followers...

But, it seemed these Eastern cultures were different too. In any other case, someone like the lovably usable Elle would think nothing of his blunt assurance of race. These creatures though... they were different. Yet another culture to assimilate for the sake of knowledge.

He noticed, for instance, that they played with their words like he would play with his food. Nothing was to the point, and it was all a game of tradition and false-politeness. Not one of his favorite roles to play, but he would be nice for the sake of the massive dragon that for some reason had taken a liking to him.

It is not intelligent to **** off those with more power than you. Not until you can find a way to swipe it out from under their feet, at least.

"I see." The Kludde's eyes narrowed apologetically. "And I understand. Excuse me, I know you by your scent, and merely assumed you did the same. I meant no offense."

Le Cyll noticed the way the girl avoided his gaze, and that tickled him a little. In his culture, avoidance was a sign of weakness, and one that was readily exploited. He, however, would not be so hasty. He would be "nice" and not do the right thing.
[/size]

[Oren]

Kendryek suppressed the urge to narrow his eyes. He highly doubted that Le Cyll understood. The accidental offense story, though, was believable, but only because he wasn't from Japan. The politeness was a cultural thing, so even though one might know of the customs it didn't mean that they would go out of their way to practice it or that they understood it.

Either way, it was good that he had 'recognized' his mistake and was being more polite, as far as 'more polite' went for some one like him. It was just another face that he put on for people.

Kendryek almost wished that he'd just show his true self, but not in front of Aori. She would take it too personally; it would be a sign of disrespect to her. She wouldn't realize that Le Cyll was simply a very misguided person who's views were terribly messed up. Also, he was raised much different than they had been.

Le Cyll was a product of his environment, a woefully bad environment.

So was Aori, but from a slightly better background. Kendryek wasn't one to judge childhoods and categorize them as 'good' or 'bad', but anyone that ended up like Le Cyll must have fallen to the circumstances and stopped caring a long time ago. It was a pitty

It was also why it wouldn't be good for her to see his true side just yet. In all honesty, he wanted to know how the wolf worked before anyone here was exposed to his personality, but he knew that it was out of his control. Le Cyll couldn't be controlled to the extent needed for that to become reality.

Keeping a small smile, he nodded ever so slightly at the wolf and looked at Aori. "He really doesn't mean any harm..." Typically, he added to himself, and only when it comes to words. "Both of us can smell other creatures, so it was only natural for him to expect others to be able to do the same."

As a side note, he added, "And your English is quite good, actually." It was true, too. Many, many people that had spoken English for years as a second language still left out 'a' and 'the' and other little important words. She was a phoenix, so her decent grammar was understandable.

After a few more seconds, Kendryek decided that it would have been better for these two to have not met so soon. Next time he would be wary of who he invited over to converse with, no matter how much Le Cyll was being bothered by their stares.

[Ari Phoenix]

She finally looked back up, trying to keep her face calm, wishing she could hum to herself or something, but being that would be inappropriate, she just nodded. "My English is only as it is, because I practiced as much as I was able to." she covered modestly, blushing a little. She also understood that those who had something others didn't, usually assumed that other people had it too. She had learned that a long time ago about herself, which taught her not to do that anymore. She looked at both of them, and the one being silent, wondering what exactly was going on here.

She felt the side of her face, and realized that she had split the skin in that area. "Pardon me, but I guess I have split a bit of my face, do either of you have a way of patching it up?" she asked, trying to keep in English, and realized how hard it was to do so. She didn't really know how she would manage to get used to this place. She wished she could sense what others were, with out having to find out by questioning. She also realized, that both knew what she was, but she didn't know what they were.

She kept quiet a moment, wondering if she should ask, or try to stay there, and away from the subject. She was curious, but cautious.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Immediately, and without the slightest hint of hesitation, the wolf recognized the smell of blood and nodded to the girl.

"Yes, I have a few butterfly bandages in my gym bag that would work wonders for that kind of wound."

It was almost instinct for him to recognize this, and what a stroke of luck it was too. This girl and Kendryek were so quick to label him a savage in the ways of speaking - as possibly and truly he may be - but in the forms of medicine, he was unmatched.

For some odd reason, he was good with healing the sick and injured. Most people mistook this for empathy, or some sickly form of compassion that he should be so unlucky as to be plagued with. They thought it saintly of him to be so attentive, so diligent as he was with his patients, and often times it was just this mistake that led them to think of him as being more "misunderstood" than the true monster that he really was.

This worked out well for him. He did not care about this girl. He would not cringe if she died in some horrible way or even feel bad if he had sliced her up and eaten her himself. What he did care about though, was that cut on her face. He did not like it - it bothered him that she should be broken in that way, and he needed to fix it. He needed it to be better, and he would do whatever it took to make it that way.

He may be rude, but he would never be careless.

The Kludde ran quickly over to his gym bag at the far end of the court, coming back with it within seconds and rummaging around for what he wanted. His class had just been let out before he came to the gym, and he often brought his supplies with him anyways, so he would have been prepared - God forbid - even if she had broken her leg. Finding a whole box of the small, butterfly-shaped bandages for which they were named, he picked one out and once again took a careful look at the wound.

It would not need to be sterilized. It just needed a little band aid and time.

"Here you are, Aori." He held out the little object, wondering if the wound would bleed too much and she'd need two instead of one. "Would you like me to apply it?"
[/size]

[Oren]

Kendryek watched Le Cyll jog over to his bag and quickly rummage through it. So he was quick to hurt but also quick to heal? That was contradicting, now wasn't it? It then hit Kendryek. He knew why he couldn't quite place the wolf's personality. He was one of those characters that was so simple that they were too complex to figure out with one look. There were, of course, complex characters that were easy to figure out, and simple characters that were also easy to figure out, but only every once in a while was there a creature with such simplicity that it was complex. There was so much to Le Cyll that it was hard to place him, but everything was connected in a very close way that it was simple once you knew.

The problem was, Kendryek didn't know what that tie was, and that left him blind to other aspects of Le Cyll as well.

He would just have to figure it out the hard way. It typically bothered him when he had to learn by his own experiences. Learning from others mistakes and successes was just as effective if you actually learned anything. This time, though, he felt it was a challenge that he wouldn't mind pursuing. Learning the 'in's and 'out's of someone tended to be very interesting, not to mention intriguing.

Le Cyll returned with the butterfly bandage he had promised and offered to help Ari put it on. Indeed, his time at the academy, namely, getting to know this strange wolf, would be a time he would remember for the rest of his life.

[Ari Phoenix]

She looked at Le'cyll and blushed at the offer, before nodding slowly. "Yes please, I am not the best at figuring out where the different splits in my skin are." she admitted embarrassingly. She looked at Kendryek and Le'cyll, they seemed like they had known each other for a long time, and wondered if she would meet anyone that she would know for a long time, and have such fun with. She hoped so. She looked at the ground for a second, feeling more shy than she was before. She looked clammed up for the moment.

[ωΘĿƒ]

Smiling slightly at the admitted ineptitude of the girl, Le Cyll peeled the protective plastic strips off the butterfly bandage. She seemed so lost and alone, it really was hilarious to watch her fret like this. Why so worried? Why so distraught? Was being alone really that bad? He had never really felt this anxiety - in fact, he couldn't stand most people. They bored him, and then they annoyed him. Later on if he did not leave to quickly, they would often times even disgust him.

Such terrible creatures, these that were here. But he calmly took the burden of their presence.

Actually, he had rather liked it when he was new and no one recognized him. Now people were beginning to know him, either as a friend, a colleague, or an enemy. It was becoming quite bothersome. Just look at him now, performing his niceties for the dragon Kendryek. If Kendryek was not here, Le Cyll would have most likely patched the girl up and left. Now though, he needed to stay and socialize.

Kendryek was already starting to make him a better person.

"Hold still now." The wolf said kindly, patiently, taking one last look at the cut before spanning the little butterfly wings over the opened slice of skin. There. The wound was closed, and in a few days it would be gone. He felt better already.

"It shouldn't last long. The cut was shallow." Le Cyll gave the girl the smaller footnotes of all that he had observed. He found that people liked it when they were given the conclusion, straight out. There was no need to coddle the girl and ask if she was alright. She was alive, so she was doing just fine. She had gotten proper medical attention, which is more than can be said for most people, so she was excellent.

She was alive and well. Most people should only be so lucky.

Le Cyll tossed the wrapper for the bandage into a zippered pouch in his gym bag, then remembering that he had brought water with him. Straight from the school's freshwater lake - how could he have forgotten? He took the bottle out, taking a sip before replacing it exactly where it had been.

He may be socializing against his will, but at least he was hydrated. Now if only these two would go for something more than that...

"As exciting as this encounter has been, I haven't eaten since twelve. It is five now." He hesitated before he said anything else, wondering if he really needed to put himself through the strain. In the end, it was either offer or go mad with starvation. He'd pick the first option, in that case. "Would you like to join me in heading to the dining hall?"

He knew Kendryek would not let him go that easily, and perhaps Le Cyll did not want to escape from the dragon as much as he felt he should. Kendryek was an enemy, and what was it said about keeping enemies closer than your friends? Maybe he would learn something of the dragon that could be beneficial later.

At the very least, he would have something to settle his stomach. If he didn't eat enough, he tended to go after larger and more alive food items.

"Well?"
[/size]

[Oren]

Kendryek looked at Le Cyll. It was quite obvious that the wolf didn't really want them to eat with him. He was most likely just hungry and didn't want to risk being too extremely rude around Kendryek. After the display in the woods, he was pretty sure the wolf wouldn't do anything excessively rash. A part of him wished that that hadn't happened, but what could he have done differently? Either way, Le Cyll simply wanted to eat and that was fact. Taking this as a chance to get to know the kludde better, he decided he would go. He wasn't too hungry so he'd probably grab something small, but if he was to get to know Le Cyll, he'd have to hang around him. It was definitely a good chance.

He vaguely wondered how annoyed Le Cyll would be at him for accepting the not-so-inviting invitation. He didn't really care, but he figured it would be minimal compared to his other annoyances. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong.

Another thing was how Aori would feel about eating with them. Was she up to dining with Le Cyll? He knew that she wouldn't mind being around him as they were both Japanese, but the stupid wolf had really offended her. Thankfully he was presently being much more polite. Still, was it a smart idea, or even an okay idea, to keep them together much longer?

He supposed they would find out.

Smiling, he looked between Aori and Le Cyll. "I'm up for it. Food is always nourishing. What do you think, Aori? Would you like to join us?"

[Ari Phoenix]

She looked up at both of them, after being bandaged. "I have been told it is impolite to decline an offer, I would be honored to accept, if I am not to be a burden." she spoke, as she bowed slightly to them both. She wouldn't know how to decline it either. She watched both of them, before speaking again. "I do not know this place very well, so I need to learn." she spoke, being truthful about it all. She felt ruffled, as she did so.
She then looked around, wondering in which direction they would be going. She waited on them to lead the way.

[ωΘĿƒ]

"Perfect," the wolf smiled, already slinging his gym bag over his shoulder. It wasn't the kind of thing that made him leap for joy or any such other odd emotion, but food had always made Le Cyll exceptionally happy.

There was nothing better than a well prepared and well caught meal ready and waiting to be eaten. Well, perhaps flying was more enjoyable, and hunting for the meal was to him just as fun, but for all intensive purposes, at this very moment there was nothing more he'd like to do than have a bite.

"The cafeteria is in this direction, dear." He said, not having to fake any sense of pleasure as he usually did. "And, I can guarantee there is no amount of burden too inconvenient for the relief that a big meal can give."

So saying, the wolf led them out of the gym and into the hallways leading to the cafeteria.

[Oren]

Looking at Aori, Kendryek shrugged and, picking up his bag, he followed Le Cyll.

"And off we go to take bread with a lunatic, not that he isn't being joined by someone just as messed up as he..." He chuckled to himself. He wasn't sure if Aori had heard him since he had spoken so softly, but that was of no consequence. The comment was simply for his own enjoyment, his way of making fun of himself. "I hope we don't corrupt this poor thing," he added as an afterthought, referring to Aori. There was really no way he could know how pure she was, but she seemed innocent enough...

[Ari Phoenix]

She started in the direction of the cafeteria, with the wolf and dragon, wondering just how this year would be, since these two seemed to certainly be a pair. She didn't catch the question about corrupting, nor about the gist of if she was pure or not. Why should she? She did know that food was going to be soon. She didn't know what kind of food it would be, but was curious none the less. She wondered how things would go in there, would it be crowded, would it be loud? Would there be mean people? Would their be kind? She didn't know, all she knew, was that the people that she was with currently, turned out to be pretty interesting.

She had her books, she knew that, and subconsciously hid her transcript, for she didn't want them to know she wasn't female, well, technically, wasn't male either, but her transcripts said otherwise. She didn't really like that she could be considered a he at times, only because she would probably be made fun of for such things. She really wasn't so enjoying of such an idea, as they walked from where they were on the field, towards the main buildings, she noticed the different turfs, going from grass, to cement, seeing from metal, to brick, the entire area made her feel interesting by studying it.