Logs:Speak Neater

Speak Neater
Dramatis Personae Hive, Kieow
In Absentia	2020-09-29 "Do not worry about me though. I will be handsome so you do not mind."
Location <XAV> Forest - Xs Grounds
Quiet and shady, the trees rise all around here high and thick. In stillness, woodland creatures make appearances, though sudden noises scare them back into the cover. Dappled sunlight filters down between the thick foliage, and the ground underfoot is heavily overgrown, though here and there paths have been worn, by deer or years of students wandering familiar trails. It's grey, humid, a heaviness in the warm air that promises a storm incoming soon, the wind stirring the canopy above uneasily. Soon, but not yet, and just right now Hive is perched some feet off the ground, tucked on a sturdy branch of a large oak tree, one leg crooked up by his chest and the other hanging down. He's in jeans, sneakers, a dark red tee with the Greek letters theta and tau on the chest in gold. His fingers tap lightly against a thermos he's holding before he passes it off to Kieow. "{-- but I think this woman's, serious-serious. Not like the others. I mean, he's great so that makes sense but --}" His cheeks puff out, his breath sharp. "{Complicated.}" Kieow is sitting next to Hive on a slightly higher branch, back braced against the trunk, the bark starting to creep up her neck. Her eyes are half closed as she tilts her head toward her brother and listens to his story. She takes the thermos and cradles it against her pink long sleeved shirt, setting it down on the branch as she starts to work off the cap. "{Very complicated! He just went and did all of that stuff with Hottie Hot pants that made him so conflicted and now... what? He could have been happy with a girl?}" the plant girl dries on a hand on her jeans when she sloshes the contents. "{Why do people have to be so... difficult. I mean this as a people. I don't like that things are... complicated for Fon. I don't want that. I want him to be happy without the worry.}" "{I'm pretty sure he was bisexual before Steve. It's not that simple.}" Hive tips his head back against the trunk, watching the leaves sway above them. "{Just didn't want to lie to anyone, you know? But yeah. Be nice if everyone could just -- be happy.}" There's a slight mental nudge that accompanies this. "{How's that working out for you? Things okay here?}" "{Well, I mean... something... else. You know. I mean, it just seemed like so much work to come to grips with it, which strained church and ... sorry, you're going to have to say what you mean by lie. I am confused.}" She takes a sip from the thermos and tightens the cap, wrapping her arms around it lazily. "{Me? Being happy? I had some oatmeal today. That was nice. I could only eat a little, but there was butter and cream and mmmm. But also, I'm meeting people. I've met several blue people. They are quite pretty. And a couple snake siblings. It's really nice to meet people that look different... like me. Kind of wish there was someone else who was all planty, but it's also nice just... to maybe have friends that want to be around me. Some of the teachers have been really nice. I met one who has a giant fluffy dog.}" "{Back when he was trying real fucking hard to pretend to be straight. Wasn't really fair to him or anyone he was dating. Breathes easier on dates, now, but -- now people are falling in love with the bastard.}" Hive closes his eyes, fingers tightening slightly against his knee. "{I met another plant woman once. Years ago.}" This is a little softer. Kind of distracted. He swallows, opens his eyes again. "Shit, snersons. Got all kinds here. {Alright so friends. Oatmeal. A decent start. Classes... not too miserable?}" "{Aahh. Well. I don't know what to say about that. Of course, everyone is going to love him.}" Kieow shifts so she can lean her temple against his shoulder, her eyes closing, her thoughts twining closer. She might have stayed quiet and enjoying his company for a while, but once he mentions classes, her eyes widen and her heart is filled with nervous energy. "{Classes? uhhh.}" She straightens up so she can lock her wild eyes on him. "{I'm going to fail SO HARD this term. I'm going to puke. Don't tell mom.}" "{She's gonna ask how you're doing. You planning on lying to her? I won't tell her, but I can just tell her to ask you.}" Hive tilts his head back down. "{It's a lot all at first, I don't know. New country and new language and you're sick on top of it. I was struggling when I moved, too, and she didn't expect me to handle it all perfectly right away.}" "{I'm not asking you to lie. I just... don't want it brought up if possible. You know. I'm not going to lie. She's going to ask and I'm going to tell her... just not yet. I don't want to think about the actual tests and stuff. It's hard to know what language to write in... let alone think. My English is slow and my letters look stupid.}" Kieow sighs grumpily and takes a moment to breathe deeply, the teenage panic really not helping the condition of her lungs. "{I know she's going to be nice about it if I don't lie... but.. I also don't want her to worry about it yet.}" "Hrngh." Hive scrubs a hand over his face, heel grinding for a moment against one eye. Again there's another faint nudging pressure at Kieow's mind, there and then gone again. "{I could help with the English,}" he offers -- very uncertainly, "{but then you'd probably curse too much and sound like me. Failing out of school might be better.}" Kieow accepts Hive's mental presence readily, even if she bursts out with a chuckle, "{I've seen your hand writing. It's not that much better.}" She takes another drink from the thermos before handing it back to Hive. "{can you imagine if it made me actually sound like you? All masculine and grouch?} Hello. I am Kieow. Please ignore my voice. This is just the way I sound now." When she switches to English, she does her very best impression of Hive in tone as well and timber. Hive drops his hand to take the thermos back. His snort is amused. "Nah, no, it'd be more like, "Sup, I'm Kieow, the fuck you staring at, this is how I fucking sound, you gotta problem?" His head shakes as he opens the lid, sipping again at the sweet tea inside. "{... Fon writes neater. Speaks neater, too.}" Kieow grins brightly. "Hello, I am Kieow-fon. I am very pleased to meet you and will worry about you from now on. Do not worry about me though. I will be handsome so you do not mind." She raises her brows at Hive and shakes her head. "{I do not know if I could be handsome enough to pull off his voice. Plus, i do not want to make your forehead crease more with thoughts of me having a love life.}" "{You have watched too many shitty dramas, I don't know why I would be all,}" Hive frowns exaggeratedly, "{at the thought of you dating, I'm not that brand of asshole. Anyway I'm already very occupied being --}" He points to the frown. "{at the thought you're going to puke over failing your classes.}" He takes another sip of tea and offers it back. "{They have tutoring here if you're determined to make things all -- slow and hard and tedious for yourself.}" "{What else was I going to do with my time back home? Shitty dramas make the time pass so fast -- and Oh, I am so behind on my favorite shows! I haven't been able to watch any of them because I am so busy,}" Kieow's tone rings with desperation that her heart doesn't feel. She's been busy sleeping in the sun and studying languages and investigating all of the flora native to the area. She hasn't had a spare thought to devote to her old amusements. "{Bua Emoji, are you actually saying something or just making faces? Were you actually offering to matrix me?}" "{This weekend we can catch up on so much trash,}" Hive promises. "{And how do you think Fon got so good at speaking? It definitely wasn't the missionary classes he had to take.}" "{You think far too highly of younger me to think I considered any of this. Fon just knew Thai. That was it.}" Kieow clucks her tongue at Hive gently then smiles. "{Oh please! Help my English? It is making things so hard to do the translating and then the writing and the understanding and learning all at the same time.}" "{We did some preparing. I knew how difficult culture shock was already without --}" Hive shrugs, looking back up at the darkening sky. The next press of his mind is heavier. Longer. This time when it closes in around Kieow, it lasts. << No worries. We got you. >>