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 Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 7:07 am
Joshua glanced at Tianara as she voiced his own doubts. He hesitated a moment, thinking. A sudden gust of wind caught him off-guard, making him stumble. That decided it. He shook his head. "No, I'm not sure it's a good idea." He called back to Tianara, raising his voice to be heard. "This storm is only going to get worse. Let's get into shelter."
He ducked into the first shop that still had an open sign, not caring which one it was. Looking around the shop, he nearly left again, wanting to drag Tianara out. The last thing he needed was to be stuck with Adrian and let him work his charm on Tianara. A peal of thunder made him change his mind as it began raining.
Sighing, he turned and greeted Adrian with a small smile. "Mind if we hang here for awhile? We don't want to head back down to the cabin in this storm." He explained, running a hand through his messed up hair.
Adrian grinned, seeing who the 'customers' were. "Joshua! Tia! Don't worry about it. I could never refuse shelter to those who need it, especially to such a pretty girl." He said with a wink at Tianara.
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Posted: Wed Dec 08, 2010 4:05 pm
Tianara followed Joshua through the storm unhesitatingly. But when he swerved into the open shop, she paused for a second. Wasn't that...
Yes. Her memory was not failing her. This was Adrian's shop.
Surprised, and a little nervous for reasons she didn't care to explore, she followed Joshua into the store.
She pushed aside her wildly tumbled dark hair as they stepped in. At Adrian's greeting, however, she looked up through her lashes, a shy smile appearing. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice warming as she saw him. The wink didn't mean anything to her, but his kindness on the stormy night did. "We really..." she struggled for a word for a second, then finished, "appreciate it."
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Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 12:38 am
 The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua sighed and nodded. "Thanks Adrian. I wasn't expecting the storm to get bad quite that fast. Though you'd think I'd have learned by now, how fast these storms come." He could only hope it would leave quickly too, though it didn't look like it.
Adrian just grinned, coming around the counter to say hello properly. "Think nothing of it." He said, though he seemed to be talking more to Tianara than to Joshua. "I'm always glad to be of assistance. Speaking of which, while you're trapped here, anything you need? Blanket, pillow, cushion to sit on, warm drink, something to eat?" He offered, trying to please Tianara.  The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 3:27 am
Tianara, not understanding the hidden intent, smiled a little bit and glanced over at Joshua briefly. "I don't need anything," she said when it seemed clear that she was to answer the question herself. "I...we didn't get wet. Thank you."
She found that she was shy about meeting his eyes directly, and instead focused them somewhere roughly behind him.
There was a somewhat awkward silence as she waited for someone to say something. Anything.
She wasn't sure if she had made some sort of mistake, but she thought she had navigated it right.
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Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 12:15 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua looked away to hide his rolling eyes. Jeez. Adrian was just pouring out the charm. "Something to eat would be nice, if this storm goes on much longer." He said, diverting Adrian's attention to him.
Adrian seemed disappointed that he couldn't do anything for her. He glanced to Joshua as the boy spoke. "Alright then. You guys wanna hang here or you want to come upstairs." He turned his bright green eyes back to Tianara. "I live in the floor upstairs. It might be more comfortable than down here, if you'd like." The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:58 pm
Tianara looked even more shy, if that was possible. But she was impressed, too. He was so kind. She forced her eyes up to meet his. "If you don't have to stay down here," she replied softly, "that would be nice." She looked at Joshua, hoping she was going about this the right way.
Cheerfully oblivious to the fact that Adrian was only trying to charm her, she looked back out towards the storm to hide the little flush that came up in her face. "Will your...your family mind?"
She wasn't sure if she was up to spending hours with an entire family of strangers yet. Even with Joshua to help her.
Her eyes were fixed very decisively on the window, and she frowned. It seemed to be rattling a little. Make that a lot.
If something were to happen to it...
She moved towards the window, with some half-formed idea of finding the shutters and closing them. That window was beginning to rattle quite fiercely.
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Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2010 9:41 am
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Adrian smiled brightly. "Nope. The apartment upstairs is mine. Once my parents convinced me to take over the shop most days, they let me have the place. They have a small house on the other side of town." He explained with a small laugh. He watched her go towards the window, wondering what she was looking for. "Don't worry, love. The windows have stood through many storms." He said reassuringly. "Come on upstairs."
Joshua, as much as he didn't like Adrian's flirting, knew that being upstairs would be more comfortable than down in the little shop. He glanced at Tianara, then at the windows. He could guess what she was looking for, knowing she was familiar with his place. "There's no shutters Tianara." He told her quietly. The store front windows had been built to withstand storms, more than his little cabin had been. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:41 pm
Tianara smiled back at him - that grin was contagious. Then her brows drew together slightly. "You live alone?" she asked, feeling surprised, concerned, and sorry for him. That was not how things worked in the merfolk clans. Even Katalina had a proper clan of sorts, now that Nezik lived with her. She was not alone.
Joshua lived alone, sure, but...well, she lived with him now, and he had Katalina and her merfolk clan. He had a clan now, too. She looked back to the window, feeling shy. Adrian shouldn't be alone, either.
She turned her head again at Joshua's words and nodded. "Okay," she said at last. "Should we go, then?" She meant upstairs, and figured that the other two would grasp that.
Her eyes tracked the store, wondering how they got to this second floor. She hadn't seen any of the odd, magical metal creatures Joshua had called 'elevators', but maybe it was hiding.
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Posted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:56 pm
Adrian shrugged lightly. "Just me and my dog." He said easily. "My parents live near by if I ever get bored. And I have lots of friends in town. I'm not lonely." He looked pleased by her concern. "C'mon then." He gestured for them to follow and led the way into the back room. There he opened a door to reveal a set of stairs. He walked up and opened the door at the top, letting them into the apartment. It was immaculately clean, everything in it's place. The only thing that looked mildly out of place was the large black dog that bounded towards them. "Hey Shally. How're you?" Adrian cooed, kneeling down to pet the dog.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 1:19 am
Tianara still looked troubled, but she followed him up the stairs towards his apartment. She trod carefully - the even stairs were not as challenging as the rocky caverns and tunnels, but she was less used to them.
Her dark blue eyes scanned the apartment as she stepped inside, looking instinctively for danger. She couldn't have said why. Then her gaze fell on the dog and she smiled softly. An animal. She loved them. Her experience with dogs was pitifully little, but this one seemed sweet.
She shot a glance back at Joshua, wondering what he thought of dogs, and animals in general - that were not marine life. She already knew what he thought of that, she thought with a quick smile. Shyly, she moved forward to take a look at the animal. "Is she friendly then?" she asked curiously. While she wasn't sure the dog was a she, Shally sounded like a feminine name to her.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:17 am
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua smiled as he saw the dog. While he didn't approve of Adrian's reason for getting a dog - "Dogs are chick magnets." he'd said - He couldn't deny that Shally was well taken care off. He glanced at Tianara and told her reassuringly, "The most Shally will do is lick you to death." He said with a laugh.
Adrian rose to his feet, grasping Shally's collar though it was clear she wanted to jump up to inspect Tianara. "She's a sweet dog. You're free to pet her if you want. She likes to jump up, but I've got a hold of her. She's a Labrador Retriever, very energetic and playful dogs. I take her swimming a lot too." Shally was wiggling in excitement, yapping playfully. It was clear she wanted to say hello to Tianara. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 12:29 pm
Tianara wasn't entirely sure what Adrian meant by 'jump up', but the dog's ecstatic wriggling and yapping made her smile. Since Shally's body language couldn't be clearer, she came within reach of the dog - and since Adrian was still holding her collar, very close to the man as well.
Giving him a shy smile, she knelt so that the dog could get a good sniff of her. "You can let her go if you like," she said. "I'm not worried."
The dog might find Tianara very interesting indeed - like most animals, it was likely she would be able to smell the merfolk and the merfolk magic on the girl. Land animals tended to have mixed reactions to this, but Tianara was hoping that such a friendly dog would just be curious instead of afraid or angered by the strange scent.
She offered her hand for the animal to accustom itself before she got any closer.
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Posted: Tue Dec 28, 2010 1:52 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Adrian smiled and let go of the dog's collar. Shally paused, sniffing at Tianara's hand. That was a new scent to her. But not a bad one. As a water dog, the girl's strange sea scent was more exciting than anything. Shally licked the girl's hand then jumped up to wash her face in dog kisses, paws resting on Tianara's shoulders. "Shally! Down!" Adrian scolded her playfully, grabbing her collar and dragging her down again. "Sorry. She's easily excited. I've been trying but she just doesn't understand 'down'." He apologized with an easy smile. "She understands every other command so I think it's more that she just doesn't want to listen to the command 'down'."
Joshua chuckled, watching them. He knew what the dog was like. Energetic but sweet. She wouldn't harm a fly though she might chase one. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 9:53 pm
Tianara giggled, stroking the dog as it gave her doggy kisses. "Hello, sweetheart," she crooned softly. Then her voice softened still further as she continued speaking to the animal - in her own tongue now, the bubbly, fluting words of the merfolk. She didn't realize her slip until Adrian pulled the dog away from her and she stood again.
"Oh," she stammered, looking down, "i-it's okay, really. I mean, I like her." She looked up, offered a shy smile in return. "Thank you. I haven't met many dogs." Realizing how that must sound, she quickly added, "Like her, at any rate."
She glanced over at Joshua, wondering what they were going to do if she kept slipping like this. They had to figure something out, and fairly soon. Did this happen to all ocean children, she wondered miserably, or was it just her?
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2011 2:48 pm
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