A Walk to the Gardens ("Flirting" with Katelyn, part II)

[wildkate]

[OOC: Breaking off from the library thread, partly for scene change, multiple conversations, and the ever-decreasing size of the comment boxes for those of you with small, inferior monitors.] =PKatelyn walked slowly towards the St. Catherine's garden, Ralph's strong arm lying across her shoulders and Kalinka's more delicate one wrapped around her

Comments

[ralph_ashton]

"Eh?" Ralph glanced aside at Katelyn, then laughed. "That are a lot of questions, so let's start with the first one? I'll get down to the other two questions later."

She fell silent then, first rearranging her thoughts in such a way that a jungle girl like Katelyn could understand it as well. She probably knew about fighting - especially since she was a Slayer as well - but Ralph wasn't sure if she knew about war and armies and that kind of things as well.

"To start, yes, my back is... not well. You see, several years ago, after I finished my normal high school, I had decided to join the army and they sent me to a place far away to fight there. Everything went alright, but several months ago, one of the people we were fighting had placed a bomb near the window of a shop. When it exploded, we had to face a rain of small, sharp glass splinters. Many were killed, much more were badly mutilated. I was lucky enough that only my back was the main target. It left me unconscious for quite a few days, though, and I had to stay in the hospital for... I think it was two months. I'm not sure, since they usually drugged me senselessly. That way I wouldn't feel the pain and it let me sleep most of the time." Ralph laughed. "I don't like lying down, so I suppose I needed it more for the sleep than against the pain."

She looked around. "Do you guys think this is a good place for it? I don't sense anyone near and it looks nice here." She let her arm slid off Katelyn's shoulder and flopped down on the grass.

"Anyway," Ralph continued her story while she started to unbutton the white shirt, "after spending several months in the hospital, they let me go. They also kicked me out of the army, because they had discovered something they did not like. I don't really have a place to go, you see, but I still had some friends from before I left the orphanage. So I went to Kaze Dojo - Haruka's dojo. But everyone had left there. That's when I decided to follow them to St. Catherine's and Haruka was evil enough to force me into enrolling here as well."

Ralph pursed her lips slightly while she took off the white shirt. "But I like it here," she conceded. "It's nice and the people here are nicer than the girls of the orphanage. Besides, I've got my three best friends here as well. What else do I need?"

[girl_in_a_tree]

Kalinka calmly sat herself on the nearest stone bench, thinking of how she didn't particularly wish to help or view Ralph even partially undress herself. For the moment, Kalinka rested in stony silence, her covered arms crossed in her lap.

It wasn't hard for Kalinka to guess what the army wouldn't have liked about Ralph, especially considering Katelyn was meant to be treating the very same wound. Why bother not telling the truth in a modern army, though, aside from pride or self-delusion? Let me get this straight... You lied to become a trained killer, then almost got yourself killed for your trouble, simply for just so happening to be on the wrong sidewalk at the wrong time. That's the least impressive way to be dispelled short of illness, not that it isn't a horrible organization the first place. After that, you likely used sympathy and your pull with an old friend to get your lecherous self into a school full of young girls. It must keep getting better from here.

Finally leaning forward with her chin in her hands, Kalinka stared blankly towards the other two interacting, wondering about the closest thing she had to best friends. She didn't feel much like speaking, and wouldn't have said anything pleasant to begin with.

[wildkate]

Fearing that once again she was growing too chatty, Katelyn resisted the urge to ask him any further questions. However, it would not be polite to pump a classmate full of strange, unknown magical energies without explanation of the changes it would cause within one's body, so she did stop to describe those for the benefits of both her classmates.

"Please, stay seated here, yes?" Katelyn sat behind the young 'man', drawing one of her knives and cautioning him not to move. She took a look at his tightly bandaged chest and back, and slowly sliced the wrappings open with the very tip of her blade, being extraordinarily careful not to accidentally cut her new friend or cause the chill from her Moonblade to be too unbearably cold against his bare skin.

Though she was not the one in pain, her face showed deep concern over the many wounds on Ralph's back. The younger girl sheathed her dagger once again before gently placing her hands on his back, trying her best not to cause any additional harm. "I cannot, make them all go away at once," she explained. "It is not natural to cause such a drastic change, and is best for the body to heal at it's own pace. It is not our way to do otherwise." Her hands began glowing with a soft, green light as she continued to speak. "But! I can take away the many pains, and cause your body to react more strongly to the wounds. They shall begin to heal immediately, and will be gone in just a few day's time."

With this, she closed her eyes and began to chant in a language similar to Sylvan, but completely unknown to any but herself. The open wounds on Ralph's back closed, and some of the scarring had begun to fade already. The magic would continue to work, healing a day's worth of damage in an hour, and would remain with him until his back was completely restored to the peak of health.

[ralph_ashton]

"I understand," Ralph nodded to the explanation given. She did her best to sit still when Katelyn cut through the bandages, though she did flinch once or twice when she felt a startling coldness against her skin.

She listened to the Kate's chanting, even though she did not understand a single word from it. Ralph smiled softly, almost relieved, when the worst pains faded away.

"That language... It sound familiar, but I don't recognise it. It's not Sylvan, is it?"

[wildkate]

"It is...similar," Katelyn hesitantly said. "It is a secret tongue, not known by many people. But it is required for the incantation." The soft glow from her hands slowly faded, and she removed them from Ralph's back. Several scars and scabs remained, but overall there was already a significant change from the injuries that were there only minutes before. None of the wounds were open and bleeding, and the magic also numbed the pain.

[ralph_ashton]

The woman nodded. "I see." She sat still for another minute after the chanting had stopped. Then she tried to look over her shoulder at her back.

"Whoa, awesome," Ralph said impressed. "That's really... It doesn't even hurt anymore." She did her best to feel her back with one hand, but she wasn't agile enough to explore her whole back. "Most wounds have been closed now, right? No need for bandages anymore, right?"

She laughed softly, still amazed at the sudden miracle. On impulse, she turned around and wrapped her arms around Katelyn in a warm and grateful embrace. "Thank you," she said softly.

[wildkate]

Though unfamiliar with most social situations, Katelyn did understand enough about the natural world to know that males wanted to mate with females of their own kind. So when what she thought to be a young man suddenly turned to give her a warm embrace, it took the girl by surprise and caused a blush to fill her cheeks. The only thing more surprising was moments later, when she felt a small but noticeable pair of breasts pressed up against her own.

Bewildered, Katelyn stared blankly into space while blinking in confusion. The only words she was able to form were a simple question: "Ralph Ashton...is a...female?"

[ralph_ashton]

It was Ralph's turn to blush, though in her case with embarrassment. "Ah... uhm... Yeah," she answered Katelyn's question. "It... wasn't entirely my idea. You... didn't know? I thought everyone knew I was not a guy."

Ralph flashed a quick, apologizing smile at the girl. "I mean... I'm a Slayer, after all, and only women can be a Slayer. Or that's what I've always been told."

[girl_in_a_tree]

"Not entirely your idea?" The quiet one repeated as she finally spoke up, thoroughly amused by Ralph's wording. "There are always ways to remedy that problem, though I'm unaware of how that would alter your senses." Kalinka gave part of a dark laugh, then a brief, worn out sigh.

"Katelyn isn't the most observant person, for a 'Slayer,' at times. You'll have to be a little more straightforward and honest for her." Narrowing her eyes, she leaned onto her knees as if she were ready to stand up. Though she questioned very seriously, it was her own way of joking. "Tell me. Just how long do you intend on hanging off of each other, anyway?"

[ralph_ashton]

"Yeah... not entirely my idea," Ralph said softly while there was a flicker of pain in her eyes for a moment. But she quickly recovered and smiled at Katelyn.

"I'm sorry, but.. now you know, I guess. Not a guy. Sorry if I confused you or anything." She let the girl go, picked up her shirt and stood up. She brushed dry grass and sand away and put it back on. "Anyway, thanks again," Ralph said gratefully while she started to button up her shirt. "It'll be nice to be active again. If you ever need help or something like that, don't hesitate to ask me and I'll see what I can do. Alright?"

[wildkate]

Kate's eyes cut over at her sometimes-roommate when she spoke those words. "I am..." She began to argue back, but lowered her voice instead. She knew that her feral senses made her extremely observant in most regards, able to see and hear and smell things out of the range of most humans, but Kalinka was making fun of her naivety and lack of people skills instead. She cast her blue eyes downward, slightly upset that people had to make a special point of being 'straightforward' with her because she was too stupid to know any better...

"It is, okay," she quietly told Ralph. "There is nothing wrong, with being a female, not at all. Do not be ashamed." She still sat there, watching as he...she stood and began to button her male dress shirt, covering her female breasts. "It will, be good not to see a fellow Slayer in pain. Now you will not have to struggle with the exams." She began to smile when Ralph graciously offered to help her, responding with a simple "Thank you" before standing up to rejoin her two classmates.

[girl_in_a_tree]

"You are," Kalinka finished for Katelyn, as if to defend her from herself, "straightforward and honest. I'd prefer everyone to be that way. It's simply dangerous around those who aren't." At that, she gave Ralph a quick glance. "Ruining it for everyone else..." She sighed whilst still talking.

Standing and walking nearer to the person that often slept in her room, Kalinka folded her gloved hands behind her head. She soon continued the uncharacteristic habit of speaking she seemed to be picking up, though what she said wasn't the least bit directed to Ralph. "Why don't we see if there's something that wasn't an animal you wouldn't mind eating in the room?"

It wasn't so much that Kalinka particularly wanted Katelyn's company, but she didn't particularly mind having her around, either. As it was, no one else on campus ever stuck around, and she feared prolonged exposure to Ralph might lead to tolerating 'him.' Either way, Kalinka simply had a bad feeling about leaving the two together, and the notion wasn't entirely unfounded.

[ralph_ashton]

"Ah.." Ralph looked over her shoulder at the green girl. "No, thanks, I guess. I'm not that hungry." She grinned then, a delighted and boyish grin, making her appear to be years younger than she actually was. "Besides, I haven't been able to do a thing for months. I'd rather do some sparring and see how badly out of condition I am. And, of course, try to get in a better shape."

She placed her arms behind her head. "But I wish you two lots of fun with eating non-animal stuff. Unless Katelyn rather comes with me for some sparring?" Ralph gazed questioningly at her fellow Slayer.

[wildkate]

Not comfortable being put on the spot like this, forced to choose between the two girls, Katelyn exchanged glances between her and Kalinka and Ralph in turn as she paused to think. Kalinka's words seemed more like a suggestion, telling her what they should do without rudely making it sound like an order. Ralph seemed to be willing to go her own way, though politely offered Katelyn the chance to come along if she chose to.

"Well, Kalinka the Green, did ask first..." she started off by saying. Not wanting either girl to have hurt feelings, she began to laugh as she made a joke out of it. "I have just healed you, so it would not be kind of me to hurt you again so soon!" Smiling, Katelyn wished Ralph well as she prepared to leave with her roommate. "Please, do not hurt yourself again as you train. Be careful, and I am sure that, we shall spar in class." With a small wave, she walked over to Kalinka, nodding to her to show that she was ready to follow her to her room.

OOC

[ralph_ashton]

Either way, Kalinka simply had a bad feeling about leaving the two together, and the notion wasn't entirely unfounded.

Ralph is hurt. =P Though I must agree with Kalinka.