c l o s e d.

[jumpingbird]

Characters: Altair ibn La-Ahad and Kamui ( Monou Fuuma ).
Location: Pool.
Rating: PG. Warning for thoughts of anger and amusement.
Time: Evening.
Description: Water allergies and kind-hearted charity-workers. You'd never think they'd mix. Mostly because neither of those things actually exist in these characters.

Comments

[popupshadow]

After a long run, Kamui has concluded that the noise was coming from inside the hot springs. This made him pause a little.

One, if he entered it, and made the wrong kind of entrance -- no matter how well his intentions looked at the moment -- he would look really really bad if he ended up trying to save someone who was not in a position to be saved. And he will not be looking forward to the subsequent announcements in the PDAs.

Two, if he entered it, and someone was inside, drowning -- perhaps a heat stroke or so -- he will most definitely need to hurry. This also entails that he might have to rescue someone naked, which he doesn't really look forward to doing so. Especially if they turned out to be a guy.

(But if they do wish to be saved, then he has no choice but to grant it, out of old habits. It's tough to let go of the strength and prowess that he's built his reputation of being Kamui, after all.)

So Kamui stood there for a few seconds, wondering what to do. Finally, deciding that what heard amidst the frantic splashing was, in fact, a cry for help and not something else -- and really, having spent destroying lives for most of his teenaged life, he really should be familiar with those cries, Kamui hesitates for a bit, then jumps over the fence, and sets the groceries on the ground. He takes a deep breath, watching the person sink slowly, and then dove into the water, trying to ignore the near-scalding heat to drag out the other into safety.

[jumpingbird]

This wasn't at all how he'd imagined himself 'leaving the world.' A rush, maybe; something quick and unseen. Not something so horridly slow. It gave far too much time for thoughts to sink in, and with the lack of air, those thoughts didn't tend to extend to the most complicated of ideas.

Such as pride. Pride was (nearly) completely forgotten, when something suddenly appeared at his right and started pulling at him; Altair didn't exactly have the arm-strength to latch on, but he did try to fumble for a hold, recognizing a lifeline when it came, though not so much what sort of lifeline it was. Opening his eyes was a mistake, but not one more important than when they breached the surface, finally.

He hadn't realized just how hot the water was until the cool air sunk itself into his skin and clothes, but he didn't have much time to appreciate the lack of scalding; his eyes got their wish of being closed tight, reflexively coughing and choking even more (though this time, there was air, so there wasn't a reason to be quite so panicked), and his pride returned with a huff over how he must have looked. Still, until they were out of the water completely, the faceless figure Altair had a hold on wouldn't be shaking the assassin off. Even once they hit the shallows, he was stumbling; lack of oxygen tended to make one's legs bear a striking resemblance to jelly, with all of its wobbly properties.

Just great.

[popupshadow]

Kamui staggered once out of the pool, gasping huge breaths of air as he dragged the man to land, and onto safety. That was probably the fastest swim he'd ever done ever since his stint in highschool as Fuuma. At least he wasn't fended off as some kind of an assailant or something, and the whole scenario wasn't as horrid as he'd imagined it to be.

He ran a hand through his hair in a desperate attempt to comb it out of his eyes -- absently, Kamui thought he needed a hair cut or something, his bangs were definitely poking his eyes -- and had a look at him.

"... I think I've seen you before, but I'm not sure," Kamui said, pausing in between to take breaths. "May I suggest learning how to swim first, before taking a dive? I know the springs are irresistible, but that won't do if you're dying underneath."

[jumpingbird]

The collapse was inevitable, but Altair still tried to fend it off; even though the other let him go, and his fuzzy-recovering-brain realized that, he made an empty push, staggered two-three-five steps away and managed to snag the edge of a decorative rock to keep from falling, alternatively gulping in air and spitting out water. He should have been checking on who in the world was pulling strangers out of pools, but it took a multitude of blinks and a forced measured of not-gasping-for-breath before he could look over.

'Look over' wasn't exactly right. He turned his head in the vague direction of the other, wet hood falling even lower over his face. For a while, silence could fill the air - he let those words fall flat on themselves, clung to a single phrase once he was sure he wouldn't start coughing when he spoke.

"... I don't know who you are." And therefore, his tone implied (in between being ragged), there was no way this random stranger could know him. He might have continued- opened his mouth a bit to- but then he stopped; hesitated, waited with trepidation. Being seen like this was humiliating, but even he could grudgingly admit the man had probably saved his life.

[popupshadow]

"Same," Kamui replied, leaning against the wall, and wringing his clothes dry. "I'm sure I've seen you around the network; however, that was a while ago."

He tries to comb his hair in a more decent, neater look, then sighed and gave up when it kept falling over his head in a haphazard way. "We can stop by my place, if you want. I'm not sure if my clothes would fit you, but hey, I can probably find something dry and warm." Kamui gave a laugh as he picked up the groceries he'd left on the ground. "And I can make food. All that swimming made me hungry."

[jumpingbird]

No remark on that first noting - the other's voice was vaguely familiar, if he thought of it too much, but that wasn't something to be happy over. As his chest ceased hurting, his soaked clothes made their chill acutely known; this time, the shudder that crawled up his spine wasn't because he was about to fall over.

He turned further to look properly at his 'rescuer,' frowning at the laughter. What was funny about this? And why the sudden acts of charity? He wasn't helpless-- even if he couldn't swim.

But why should he have known to swim? This was a desert! Altair bristled, straightened up, even if his teeth were starting to chatter when he didn't hold them still. "You should keep your things to yourself. Do you always offer help so freely?"

[popupshadow]

Kamui shrugged. "I don't see anything wrong with it. And if I opted to 'keep things to myself', as you advised, you would be dead by now," he replied, still keeping his tone light. "You can refuse, of course, but I'd imagine it'll be a little hard to walk in this desert while soaking wet."

He gave him a smile. "Desert's pretty cold at night, too."

[jumpingbird]

"I know that." It wasn't said with much reluctance - more as a miffed bird that had its feathers ruffled wrong - but his thoughts were turning over like that. If this had been a month ago, before this place, he would have scoffed, maybe handed the man some coins and left; as it was...

Altair pushed off the wall he was leaning on, stood straight with only slightly quivering knees. "You'll suffer the same problem, until you reach your... room." It wasn't acceptance. It really wasn't. But the room he'd emptied out to stay in did have a bad draft, and if it was- this man's request.

Well, he shuffled forward a few steps. Stepped forward a few steps, with half of his old confident stride. Drowned bird with its feathers horribly ruffled, indeed.

[popupshadow]

Kamui gave an amused laugh. "True, but my clothes won't drag me, at least." He smiles, amused, as the man takes a few steps forward hesitantly. Well, at least, they were making some sort of progress. "I'll lead you there. Someone else shares it with me, but I'm pretty sure they'll leave you alone."

And he was half-convinced he and Nataku can communicate on some telepathic level, anyway, in which case it's good! Kazuki can make other friends. Other friends who happen to be more agile than they look, despite nearly drowning. Very interesting. And possibly useful, somewhere in the future.

He climbs the fence and jumps over, and then waits on the other side patiently.

[jumpingbird]

There must have been something done to everyone who arrived here, Altair decided, even as he started toward that wall. Something damaging. There wasn't a single reason otherwise why they would offer to lead their way to their homes to a complete stranger that they had rescued (taking a glance back at the springs, the place really did look like a royal spa, the water nonthreatening; still, he knew better). Or why they would turn and walk away with such confidence that he'd follow.

Slight curiousity of whether the man was truly walking on and on drove Altair to the fence, frowning beneath his hood, scaling it with near as much grace and just as much speed as he'd scaled anything before his dip in the pool (top class, if he could say so himself).

Dropping down a few paces away, he hesitated- caught himself hesitating- and jerked his chin the way of the open streets. "My clothes will dry just fine," was the late half-hearted rebuff, more out of a need to get the last word than anything. But still, it did mean that, yes, the man could lead on.

[popupshadow]

"That's good. They look cumbersome to move in while wet, though I wouldn't really know."

All that movement was not lost on Kamui. He was more than agile -- he was also lithe, and, more importantly, quiet, even though he just took a dive in the springs and nearly drowned. It occured to him that making acquaintances of this kind won't be that bad, anyway. It's not like he's expecting to get in trouble anytime in the future, but it's better to surround himself with a good enough network so that if ever the other Kamui comes, he won't be scrwed badly with his tirades of him being Fuuma and some talk of destroying worlds. The clothes were interesting, however. Perhaps the man came from another world? He's not sure, but that's not too important.

(Kamui is also aware that he hadn't asked for a name. Oh well. They can have that talk later.)

He walks off, heading towards the communals with his newfound guest. Perhaps he ought to have informed Nataku or something; though he doubt Nataku'd be too hostile anyway, if he knew that the man was allowed to walk home and stay without a hole in the chest. Kamui drags out the small box of donuts inside his groceries, slightly crushed, and puts in a damp hand to take out one to munch on while they walk. "Want some? I've got lots, and I can't really finish them all by myself."

[jumpingbird]

There were some remarks to be made about that - centering mostly on the fact that at least he wasn't wholly unprotected and essentially stripped, like the other man's clothing was - but, once again, for a number of firsts, Altair held his tongue. It wasn't as if the statement was completely untrue; it was admittedly a bit more difficult to walk, but only in an uncomfortable, clinging sort of sense. The unusual weight of the water more than made up for any of his previous assortment of weapons.

And on that line of thought, his hand ghosted across the side of his sash, re-checking the solitary knife there. It was dull and pathetic, as far as blades went, but it would at least do something more than hands could.

He could almost hear a rafiq grinding him over being so obvious with what he could do-- it almost set a smile on his face- but that seemed like a faraway concern. Very, very faraway. More concerning was the sudden ruffling of paper and that strange, thinner, more flexible paper; it caught his attention faster than a rabbit to a dog, and... Oh. Something else he didn't recognize. Being offered to him.

For that fact more than anything else, sullen, still-soaked silence would meet the man's offer - yet after a few seconds, it dropped away for hesitation, forced disinterest and maybe the slightest bit of curiousity. "... What is it?"

[popupshadow]

Kamui watched his hooded face, watching him, watching everything he did. (While finishing his donut quietly.) He'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested, but all the questions will be asked in time; in the right time. In the meantime, Kamui moved closer to him and opened up the donut box more so he can see in it. "They're donuts," he explained. "They're sweet, and sometimes they have some other flavour inside, too. I like the chocolate ones -- " he points to the brown ones -- "but all of them are nice on their own. Try them out!"

[jumpingbird]

The smell was reminiscent of the pastry store he'd glimpsed upon, but that didn't mean it enamored him especially. The steps closer were given more thought than the actual box.

A response was practically expected, but it wasn't a grab for a donut. "Are these what you always eat?"

[popupshadow]

Kamui laughed. He reminded him of Nataku, sometimes, though he's not sure if that's good or bad. Maybe both. "It's a dessert, really, but I'm kind of impatient and opted to eat it ahead of time. I make a decent soba, though, so don't worry."

[jumpingbird]

That was assuming he was going to be staying longer than a visit for clothes. Back to the frown. "Don't presume. Soba?" And curiousity, for better or worse.