Whispered Dreams (Open Thread)

[Adish]

"Aki Kinome?" Adish smiled. "That's a really pretty name! I like it." A strand of hair fell in his eyes, so he glared at it before blowing air at it. The hair floated for a moment, then fell back onto his face. He brushed it behind his ear and grinned goofily. "What do you want me to call you? Aki? or Kinome? I know some people that like to be called by their last name instead of their first. But, mostly, their in some gang or something so I dunno about that....," he rambled.

[kinome]

Kinome shrugged, rather apathetic, eyes watching Adish’s wayward hair in curiosity. “I don’t really care though here it is customary to call one another by your surname. Only close friends and family use the first name.” It was true… Kinome didn’t really care either way. The stranger was bound to leave some time thus making it rather irrelevant which name he used. That, and it had been a long time since anyone except his teachers and boss had actually used his name. There he was Aki-san.

Kinome lay his head down in his arms which were resting on the kitchen table. He was tired, tired, ill and bitter as well as rather depressed. It was always like this. Whenever his body was weak and ill, his emotional state just seemed to follow it downhill. Sometimes he wished that it had been him and not his mother that had died that day. Just sometimes.

[Adish]

Adish tilted his head to the side. "Are you tired still? You should go back to bed if you're not going to eat, I think. I don't have much experience with being sick. I hardlly ever get sick, and when Eade gets sick Momma doesn't let me near house... But that's what Eade always makes me do when I'm sick: eat soup and sleep."

[kinome]

Kinome lifted his head to give Adish a wane smile. “I guess… I do have to go to school tomorrow anyway.” Kinome got up, using the table to support himself as his muscles protested the movement.

“My mom also used to make me soup, when I was sick. But that… was a long time ago.” Kinome whispered sadly before leaving the kitchen and returning to his bedroom.

[Adish]

Adish smiled sadly and quietly followed Kinome to the boy's room. He was glad he finally had a name for the boy instead of "silver-haired beauty" or "boy". He stood just inside the door and watched as Kinome moved around the room slowly. "I hope you start feeling better. I'll put the soup you didn't eat in the fridge incase you get hungry later, then you can just heat it up, alright?..... Eh.... Kinome? If I leave tonight... Could I see you again tomorrow?" He didn't really know why he was asking. No matter what Kinome said, Adish would be there for him tomorrow and for many days after that. He felt attracted to the boy... like a magnet on a fridge, or something to that affect.

[kinome]

Kinome looked surprised at the request, sending Adish a glance before shrugging. “I can’t stop you from seeing me somewhere but I don’t really have the time to hang out or anything… I don’t have any time at all. Today was different. My boss ordered me home but usually I go to school. After school I am either at work, at class or here making food and preparing a bath for my father. Thereafter, homework and bed. It’s why I don’t have friends. I have neither the time nor the amiable disposition for them. I appreciate the offer and the soup though.” Kinome bowed low in gratitude. “Thank you very much.”

It hurt Kinome to say this. He missed having friends. He missed very many things from his life when his mother was still alive and something… he didn’t know, what seemed to be drawing him towards this stranger… telling him he could trust him… rely on him which considering Kinome’s past was strange. When his mother died Kinome had become distrustful of everyone, even his own father and yet here he trusted this complete stranger and had told this stranger more than anyone else. He couldn’t understand why but knew he would miss Adish when he left.

[Adish]

Adish pouted. "That's no way to live. You shouldn't put so much pressure on yourself. I see now, that's why you're sick: you work too much. You shouldn't spend all you're time doing things.... you have to relax sometimes." He frowned and bit his lip. "You're not living 'cause you should be happy when you're living.... You're just.... there. You, of all people, deserve to be happy. I'll make you happy. I promise I will," he said with finality before walking away from the boy's room and leaving the house, making sure to close the door tightly behing him before heading back to his ship to sleep.

[kinome]

Kinome blinked in surprise at Adish’s words. Why would Adish care about the pressure he put on himself? It’s not like anyone else did. It was what was expected of him after all. His father had become incapable of looking after Kinome and himself and so Kinome had taken on the role himself. He loved his father more anything in this world and was willing to do this.

True, often it got too much to handle and he didn’t have enough money to buy things that he needed… like his prescription, but that was unimportant. Over the years, his father’s well being had become top priority to him. Adish didn’t understand that. Sometimes life wasn’t about happiness… sometimes it was about survival, going everything you could to make it from day to day, especially when caring for someone ill. That was when life really became hard. It was extremely difficult to watch everything his father did, try to read the days his father was having before hand and cater for them but it was what needed to be done. Wasn’t always smooth, sometimes he lost the battle and came off bruised but if he wasn’t going to do it, who would?

Kinome sighed, slipping back into bed and drifting off to semi sleep, his mind unable to rest due to the turmoil Adish seemed to have thrown it into. He growled in frustration. He really didn’t know what to do about Adish. Finally deciding Adish would either not pitch again or of he did get bored soon, Kinome finally fell asleep, shivering slightly.

The next morning was chaos. Kinome had overslept again. It seemed his father had gone to work with no lunch box… not a good idea. Having little time to worry about that Kinome rushed through getting dressed in order to go to school. As it was he was going to be late. He got dressed in a hurry, buttoning all his buttons in the wrong holes, grabbed his bag and ran out, sliver hair flying back with the force of his hurried movement. He shivered when his still heated skin met the cool air of the morning, making a frustrated noise when he had to slam the door shut three times before it remained shut. Why was it that nothing went right when one was in a hurry? Finally getting the door shut, tears of frustration in the corner of his eyes, Kinome turned and dashed off to school.

[Adish]

Adish woke and laid in bed, his half-lidded eyes staring boredly at the ceiling. He was still more than half asleep as he turned on his side, curling up and pulling the blankets up further around his body.

The bed he was on was comfortable, but not nearly as nice as his one at home. His bed had a thick blanket that always kept him warm and the sunlight always shone into his room through the curtain, but never where his head lay, so he could easily just roll over and ignore it as he pleased. Best of all, he knew that Eade was just across the wall, and always safe. However comfortable the matress was, he still wished that he was home. The blankets were thinner, because of the constantly working furnance that kept the room at a comfortable temperature, and did little to hide the lights that shone brightly above him, thanks to that stupid comm.

Adish grunted and buried his face into the powder-white pillow, pulling the powder-white blanket over his red head and trying with all his might to go back to sleep. After a few moments of lying in vain, the dragonis growled and threw the blankets off of him where they billowed softly to the floor. He sat up and glared at anything he saw, mainly Zelat, who was grinning cheekily.

"Morning Sunshine."

"Piss off," Adish spat before yawning.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Or just the wrong bed. I really wish I could go home... This place just..." Zelat looked sadly at his companion.

"... not home?" Adish nodded, then laughed humorlessly and stood.

"But, hey, at least someone's willing to talk to me here... sort of." Zelat grinned playfully.

"Just take them home with you and you'd be perfectly happy then, eh?" Adish frowned and shook his head.

"I don't think Kinome would like that very-" the dragonis was interrupted by his own stomach growling loudly. ".... Man, I'm starving. I'm gonna go get some food," he announced before pulling on some clothes and heading out.

[kinome]

Just as Kinome had thought. He was late for school and getting another lecture from the principle and the school councilor about responsibilities. What did they know about responsibilities? Neither knew about Kinome’s life and the things he had to deal with and here they were lecturing him on how he should be more ‘responsible’. Once the lecture was finally over, Kinome headed off to class, ignoring the disapproving look he was getting from the teacher and the smirks he was getting from the students. At least the students never did anything more than smirk or taunt. They were afraid to. A few of them had seen the insanity in his eyes in the early days just after his mothers death and the rest had been warned, thus… they were afraid of him… Yet another reason he didn’t really have any friends, antisocial behavior aside.

Kinome buried himself in his work, growling in frustration when he realized his concentration was shot to pieces. He kept seeing the stranger in his mind. This behavior earned him ‘another’ visit to the councilor’s office where he was questioned about whether things were still alright at home. He lied of course… if it could be considered lying when one said that things at home had not changed. Things hadn’t been alright since his mothers death but that was a long time ago and Kinome was not about to get into that with some stranger. It was none of their business. After his ‘third’ visit to the councilor in a single day, his teachers let him be and let him doodle absently, mind returning to the stranger that seemed to be slowly turning his world upside down. That is until half way through. Suddenly, out of the blue one of his teachers picked up on his fever and sent him to the nurse’s office. This was where he spent the rest of his day, sleeping after having pills forced down his throat.

Kinome was relieved when school finally let him go, running to work as fast as he could. He still hadn’t fixed his school uniform and his hair was a sorry mess now, half of it having come out of the pony he restrained it too, sometime while he had slept. Skidding to a halt in the store, he tossed his bag into a corner and pulled on an apron before heading into the store to check and restock shelves.

[Adish]

Adish had bought some breakfast, thought it didn't compare to the food at his home, it was still okay. He'd spent the rest of the day just wandering around, glaring at people that gave him odd looks because of his clothes or physical features. Needless to say, he felt a bit out of place.

At one point, he'd passed by a rather large building that had a sign on the front. "Somethin' or other School," he read aloud, of course, that wasn't the real name, he just didn't feel like taking the time to read it thoroughly, "Hmm... I wonder if that's where Kinome is...." He smiled lightly and continued walking.

After a few hours of aimless wandering, Adish got bored. So, he started walking into random shops, looking around at things, then leaving. It really wasn't all that much more exciting, but it a step above mind-blowing boredom. When he'd walked around a certain store for awhile, he came to the candy section. His eyes widened with delight because... well, who didn't love candy? Scanning lustfully through the aisles of pure sugar-y happiness, he came across a boy of about three or four years standing next to some woman who was scanning the products on the shelf.

Adish smiled at the kid and motioned for him to be quiet, glancing at the woman. The child grinned and nodded. Carefully, the dragonis grabbed a box of candy and opened it quietly... what? He'd pay for it later.... probably. The child grinned and approached him as he offered the kid some candy before eating some himself. After sharing a bit with the kid and grabbing one last hand-ful himself, he ever so carefully placed the mostly empty box in the ladies basket and snuck off, waving at the kid. He contentedly wandered around the store a bit more, every once in a while popping some candy in his mouth.

[kinome]

Kinome sighed, wearily running a hand through his hair. His silver eyes were despondently eyeing the shelf he was required to restock. Why did his boss always give him the highest shelves to restock? It’s not like he was very tall for his age or something. In fact, he was rather small. Oh well, he would have to use the damn unstable ladder again. Fortunately for Kinome, his dancing had given him good balance.

Dashing into the storeroom, Kinome returned with an old cracked rickety ladder and a bag in which he placed the goods that needed to be placed at the top. Dumping the goods into the bag, he gracefully leapt onto the ladder, shifting his body in order to keep the ladder steady. It was almost like walking on stilts. One just needed to get the correct center of balance. Kinome began to arrange the goods on the shelf. Who bought these goods anyway? I mean, if he struggled to reach in order to stock them, wouldn’t it be logical that customers would struggle to reach in order to purchase them? Kinome guessed it was not his place to ask.

Half way through lining up the boxes, Kinome lay his arms down on the shelf, resting his forehead in his arms. He may not feel as bed as the previous day but he still felt terrible. He could still feel the heat radiating off of his forehead and he still had dance class later. Groaning softly, Kinome raised his head, the guilt at slaking off not allowing him to rest for very long, and resume stocking the boxes of cereal. Kinome hated cereal.

[Adish]

Adish started humming softly to himself as he wandered through the store; candy always made him happy. He walked past an aisle full of cereal, or so the sign hanging from the ceiling said. He quickly glanced down the aisle at the employee who was balancing on a crappy looking ladder and putting boxes up on high shelves then walked past. After a few steps, he realized that he recognized that silver hair. He took a few steps backwards, rewinding his steps, and headed past the strangely designed boxes of "cereal". He stopped in front of Kinome and smiled. "Hi! I didn't know this is where you worked. That's neat!" he exclaimed after the boy had finished placing a box on the shelf. "Are you feeling better today?"

[kinome]

Kinome jerked in surprise at the voice suddenly speaking to him. This was a first. Usually no one even bothered to greet him, let alone actually attempt a conversation. Losing his balance momentarily, Kinome wobbled around on the ladder and by some feat of rather extraordinary acrobatics, regained his balance and grabbed onto the shelf before peering down at Adish. Lucky for him, even though still hot, he was not really dizzy… Okay, scratch that, he was a little dizzy with sudden movement but doing better than yesterday.

It seemed the stranger from yesterday had managed to track him down. Oh well, it’s like he had said; he couldn’t exactly prevent the stranger from ‘seeing’ him. “Yes, thank you.” Kinome responded softly, nodding his head before returning to stacking the boxes, shifting slightly under Adish’s gaze. He needed to finish soon. He still had to clean the floors.

[Adish]

Adish stood silently, waiting for Kinome to say more... Only he didn't. Adish popped the last piece of candy in his mouth and stood quietly to the side as he watched Kinome work. "Can I help you? The sooner you finish, the sooner you can leave, right? Or do you just have to stay until a certain time? I was hoping you could maybe show me around here or something. I'm gonna be staying for awhile 'til Momma cools down so...." Wow, he really got off track....