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Post by Marguerite on Mar 7, 2008 23:44:36 GMT -5
Gavin was not very good at being irritated at someone because he'd had so little experience at it. Generally when something went wrong, he fell back on embarassment and abject humiliation. However, when your friends leave you in a burning building and you weren't trapped in there by your own incompetence, it was much easier to get angry.
Thus, Gavin went to the Opera and sat through a ballet only to be able to go backstage and pointedly ignore Samantha. Fortunately, he was good friends with one of the stage-hands, and talked to him until the cast memebers had changed and come swarming out of their dressing rooms.
"Gee, the ballet sure was great," Gavin said loudly, when he was sure he saw Samantha.
"Yeah, they worked really hard on it," the stage-hand agreed.
"Miss Cross was really great. I would give her these-" he shook a bouquet of lilies "-if I didn't know she would probably hate them."
"She likes lilies, I think," the stage-hand replied, oblivious.
Gavin shot him a cross look. "Yeah, well, point being, she abandoned me in a burning building. So! She obviously neither deserves these nor would actually appreciate them if I didn't find it beneath me to give them to her."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 0:03:23 GMT -5
Samantha was cooling down with two of her ballet "friends", both of them complimenting her on her stunning solo. She accepted the praise with gracious thanks. She was bent over one leg when she very distinctly heard Gavin's voice.
She turned, surprised, and also somewhat delighted (he'd come to a performance?). And he had lillies..... that, apparently, he had no intention of giving her. She glowered at his profile. Her cheeks, already rouged with make-up, reddened a little more.
With a slightly hurt sniff, she pointedly turned the other direction. Two could play at that game.
"I do hope no one else brings me flowers," she said loudly to the girl next to her, who couldn't understand the sudden increase in volume. "I've gotten so many already, so many admirers. It would be so droll to get more."
Ha. And how was that for self-centered bitch?
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 0:54:47 GMT -5
Gavin colored faintly, half in embarassment and half in irritation. "Totally would not appreciate the flowers, as she is a self-centered person without any sense of gratitude or loyalty, don't you think?"
"Dude, she's right behind-"
"And you know? I sure hope that stupider men give her flowers so I can revel in my own superiority of mind and spirit."
The stage-hand clearly thought Gavin had been hid on the head with a sword one too many times. "Are you not hearing me? Right. Behind you."
Gavin glared. Someone clearly wasn't getting this. "Yeah, sure wouldn't want to give her liles I'd grown with the honest sweat of my brow-"
"Dude, you're the laziest gardiner ever! You just make the sun come out and-"
"Slaved away raising them," Gavin insisted, still very loudly. "Spent ages! Planted the bulbs and everything, kept my horse from eating the shoots- wouldn't waste all that hard work on someone who clearly prefers flowers from other people."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 1:06:15 GMT -5
She huffed indignantly, clenching her jaw.
"And furthermore, I most certainly wouldn't want to get flowers from someone with such a poor opinion of myself. Why, I should wonder, if someone were to come to the opera with my favorite flowers, what they were even doing there since I'm such a terrible, undeserving person!"
"Um..." the other ballerina said uncertainly. "I get the feeling you're trying to hint at something, but I'll be honest, I'm totally lost."
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 1:18:17 GMT -5
"Oh, sometimes I just have to come to the Opera to make sure she hasn't died of spite and will come back as a ghost to ruin my life further, since she clearly failed in her indifferent attempt to burn me to a crisp."
"Right. Behind. You. Seriously." The stage-hand took Gavin by the shoulders and whirled him around.
Gavin pointedly looked around, ignoring Samantha entirely. "Oh, I'm sorry? Is she here? Funnily enough, the coldness of her bitchy indifference hasn't frozen everyone and crushed their souls."
"Did you get a lance to the head or something?" the stage-hand demanded. "Look in front of you!"
"Oh, all I see," Gavin exclaimed, warming to his subject, "is the barrier of my Amish Shunning, protecting me from the strident tones and painted face of a certain person who seems to prefer me dead!"
"You need help."
"Oh yes, I do! Unfortunately, I didn't get any, so I had to run out of the burning building with the League of Shadows!"
"No, I meant, like, psychiatric help. Did you get crushed by another dragon?"
Gavin glared. "Don't make me pull up the barrier of my Amish shunning against you too."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 1:34:47 GMT -5
"Ooooh!" she hissed, eyes flashing angrily. She even went so far to stamp her foot. "The blazes with your stupid barrier of Amish Shunning!"
She strode up to him, hands on her hips, trying to look down on him while looking up at him (due to their fairly evident height difference). "Do you want to know what I think of your Amish barrier?" She poked him hard in the chest. "You... you pretend to be noble and nice and different, but you're just as terrible as anyone! I... I..."
She'd meant to say 'I hate you', but she found she couldn't even force the words out. She took a deep breath, moving her arms to cross beneath her breasts. Be nice. She could be nice. To Gavin, she thought she could.
Face almost eerily stony, she said, "I'm very sorry we left you in there. I don't do very well in dangerous situations, and I was panicking." She swallowed and tilted her chin up a little more. "And, I wish you a very long, happy life with minimal burns." She wished that she looked a little more poised and respectable, but in her glittery costume and lack of high-heeled shoes, the effort more or less failed. Turning on her heel, she marched off to her room.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 1:52:01 GMT -5
Gavin stared after Samantha.
"Well," the stage-hand remarked. "It looks like your invisible barrier of Amish shunning is broken."
"Yeah, no kidding," Gavin said. "D'you think I pretend to be noble and honest and different and all that?"
"I think you're definitely too honest sometimes," the stage-hand replied. "And you also need some serious psychotherapy."
"Yeah, thanks." Gavin looked down as his bouquet of lilies. "Er, since I've messed up my life yet again, I think I'll go... babble out an apology."
"You do then. And then see if you can get medication for your psychosis."
"Gee, thanks." Gavin shame-facedly trotted down the hallway and knocked on Samantha's door. "Er, so, er... can I come in? 'Cause I have lilies for you."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 1:59:11 GMT -5
Samantha paced around her room, wondering why she still felt riled even after apologizing. She was somewhat surprised to hear a knock at her door.
She opened the door, not all the way, and blinked at him. She'd been the one that needed to apologize, and she was the one still slightly mad, not him? He was so....
She opened the door a little wider, still not saying anything, as indication that he could come in. She glanced down at the lillies. "Thank you," she said, after a moment.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 2:09:46 GMT -5
Gavin handed over the lilies and cleared his throat.
"Right, so. I might have, er... overreacted a bit by calling you a self-centered, cold-hearted bitch in front of all your co-workers and stuff, but sometimes I have a problem with being left to die in burning buildings." He awkwardly shifted from foot to foot and walked in, closing the door after him. "So, er... I'm... sorry. Though!" He held up a finger. "This doesn't mean I entirely forgive you for breaking my barrier of Amish Shunning by poking me in the chest, or leaving me to possibly die in a fire so you could run off with my best friend. If you like him better you ought to just have said something. I've been thrown over for Prince Charming loads of times before, though David's not exactly... charming, princely material. I mean, not since he left me to die in a fire, but aside from that, he's a good guy. Sometimes. Er."
He glanced around the dressing room, avoiding eye contact. "So, er. I mean... I don't pretend to be noble or anything. I told you I hide in bushes and basically get paid to lie to people to get them to agree with the government and all, right? I'm not... a good knight. In the slighest. Er. So. Er."
Good show, Gavin! Coherent thought, after all, was for the weak.
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 2:23:46 GMT -5
She clutched her lillies a little tighter.
"Oh, Gavin," she said softly. "I really am very sorry about leaving you in there to die. David, I don't think, would have left if he thought you were in any danger. And I was... not quite sensible. I think you're a very brave knight," she said with a small smile. "I certainly would have given you a much harder time if you'd left me in there. Although, I probably would have burned to death. "
She glanced down, blushing (of all things) at the idea of she and Gavin being involved enough that it would be wrong to run off with his best friend. It was laughable, really. The blushing, not the being with Gavin. "Yes, well, I quite like David. But I don't think it would ever be like... that, because, he is so very unattracted to me. And platonic relationships, well, they just never work. I would know."
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 2:36:15 GMT -5
Gavin snorted. "Yeah, brave. Go ahead and think that if it makes you happy. I fulfill my oath of chivalry and that's it. I'd give it up if I could, but an oath's an oath."
He shrugged. "So, er, glad you understand why I had to bring up a barrier of Amish Shunning and all. I like to think I'm a pretty forgiving guy, but the prospect of immenant death always makes me a little tetchy. And it's not that you're not attractive and all, but it's more the fact that David's got more problems than a math textbook. I honestly have no idea if he likes you or not. Mind if we sit? I'm sure you must be tired after all that leaping and spinning. I've always wondered how ballerinas manage to stay on their toes."
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 2:41:30 GMT -5
"Oh, I know," she said flippantly. "Or I think I do. He explained it to me. It isn't me." Which, admittedly, had been a relief. Beauty was her greatest burden, but without it, lets be honest, she'd be lost.
She grinned at him. "Much practice," she said, and tip-toed gracefully to her bed and sank down on it, patting the space next to her in an inviting fashion.
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 2:50:10 GMT -5
"That was impressive!" Gavin exclaimed, watching Samantha move. "Wow. I bet riding in armor's easier than that and the metal really chafes sometimes."
And... she was patting the bed. Did that mean- stop that.
But, it could mean- no, not going there.
And it very possibly- no, no, keep the blood flow going to the brain.
He was going to sit down because there... were no chairs. Yeah. Gavin sat down on the bed, next to Samantha and tried to keep hismelf from blushing.
It didn't really work, but at least he wasn't a tomato. "He explained it to you?"
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Post by Miss Jack on Mar 8, 2008 2:57:08 GMT -5
Oblivious, Samantha nodded. "I believe so. Our powers are similar, in the sense that we affect those around us without choice. What I gathered was that since he must play the part of friend to every girl, he can never be attracted to one. But I believe, and I told him this, that there is a girl that could break the mold. Perhaps a soulmates kind of thing... Not that I really believe in that."
She fingered the petals of her lillies fondly. "It's very strange. When I met you, I knew you were a knight, but I suppose it didn't cross my mind that you did 'knightly' things. I... ehm," she hesitated, skipping around the word self-centered, "I don't usually worry about other people, and I must tell you, it's not a very pleasant feeling to have to worry about you now. What with your falling under dragons and being trapped in burning buildings."
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Post by Marguerite on Mar 8, 2008 18:18:53 GMT -5
"Wait, a girl can break David's weird mental block thing if she's his soulmate and all?" Gavin frowned. "I stopped believing in courtly love and that stuff ages ago, but it always seems to work, so... I guess... it's possible? I'm not sure what girl'd be attracted to David as more than a friend, then-" Oh wait. Wasn't Samantha?
Hm. Time to change subjects.
"Well, yeah, more power to them if that ever happens."
Yeah. Good subject change. Onto the SAME SUBJECT.
Gavin grinned and pressed a hand to his heart. "Truly, milady, you flatter me! I am glad to hear that you're opposed to my death for more than the fact that it'd be personally inconvenient to you. Don't worry too much about me. I mean, I'm not dead yet."
He paused. "And, knowing my luck, something disastrous is going to happen soon, but! I've survived much worse. Granted, the getting smushed under a dragon thing was probably one of my worst feats of incompetence, but I didn't die, at least."
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