ArchivedLogs:The Birds and the Bees
| The Birds and the Bees | |
|---|---|
A fated meeting 4 months in the making. | |
| Dramatis Personae | |
| In Absentia
|
2013-08-11 No really. There were birds. And there were bees. And there was Kai. But Birds and Bees and Dragon doesn't have the same ring to it. |
| Location
<XS> Gardens | |
From indoor gardens to outdoor, though without the protective greenhouse glass the back gardens do not last all year round. Still, the gardens out here are well-tended and well-worth spending time in, as well. The paths wending through the beds of flowers and herbs and vegetables spread out through the school's back grounds, tended by students as a credit class. Benches offer seating and a small pond is home to koi and turtles, as well as a few frogs. At the far back edges of the garden, a droning buzzing marks a few stacked white boxes as beehives. The gardens have been different, this morning. One of the students escaped his bed and dorm room before the sun had even come up yet, to sneak into the dark gardens of the school and And there Ivan sits, still, dressed in faded jeans, a green shirt with two yellow stripes and an upside-down black star across the chest and blue converse sneakers. It's been several hours now but he seems to have little intention of moving from his spot in the grass in the back of the garden, cross-legged with a small book in his lap, and a notebook with scrawled notes in it next to that. He's holding a pencil and occasionally taking notes, expression one of focus as his eyes scan over his reading material. This isn't that odd on its own, perhaps, if not for the fact that the boy's torso and legs and part of his reading material is absolutely /covered in bees/, presumably from the nearby hives. They've flocked to him and cover parts of him like a thick blanket, shifting constantly. More still hover nearby, though none of them seem particularly aggravated, in content little buzzy clouds moving here and there, though never straying far. Yep. Totally normal. It is a lovely day. Breakfast has been had - a pleasant combination of blueberry pancakes and scrambled eggs and toast with jam - and now it is time for adventure! Or at the very least, a walk around the school grounds to enjoy the sunny mid summer day. This is Ducky's plan for the day - anything beyond that is just a bonus. As such, the girl is making her way across the school grounds, bee-lining as it were, for the gardens. She's dressed for a day outside - a pair of worn, grass stained jeans, a bright green t-shirt, and then a hooded vest in a light blue jersey cotton over top of it. A dappled gray and white pigeon is nestled into the hood of the vest, idly smoothing Ducky's mop of hair into a more orderly fashion. As she approaches the garden, she pauses momentarily at the sound of the buzzing, head tilted curiously as she proceeds more slowly. At the edge of the gardens, a tiny ruby-throated hummingbird zips out from one of the bushes and nestles into her hair with a slight trill, turning around and poking its head out to face forward. "Bees're swarming?" Ducky asks quietly to no one in particular, though her eyes look up to the tiny hummingbird, looking confused, "Bees are on a kid? What?" She picks up her pace, face creased into a look of worry as she reaches the clearing with the hives, pausing once again as she looks at Ivan and his bees. "Oh. Well, that's new," she says quietly, looking less worried than before. BUZZ. Compared to the trill of the hummingbird, the hum of the bees is just /noise/. Especially when more of them lift up and off of his form to join the mess of insects flying around him, almost as if in response to Ducky coming into view. It precedes Ivan ceasing a brief bout of scribbling something down onto a page of the notebook, before finally looking up at the other student. His expression-- sort of vacant, the tip of his pencil still touching down onto paper. The bees stir a little more impatiently now, their flight paths tightening around him as he manages the most timid of smiles in Ducky's direction, and a slightly awkward twitch of an eyebrow in what looks to be curiosity. Talkative, this one. Ducky takes a cautious step back as the bees begin to swarm, a bit of a nervous look passing over her features as she looks between the mass of flying insects and the young man sitting in the midst of them. The chattering of the birds in the trees in the nearby forest begins to grow a bit louder at Ducky's distress, and a few sparrows and starlings begin to pop out of trees and swoop near the swarm before flitting overhead near the newly arrived girl. "No, no, stop that. I... I don't think the bees are harmfully swarming. It's, um, no, don't eat them," she mutters quietly, glancing up at the starling and sparrow swooping overhead and chattering loudly, although it is largely lost in the buzz of the bees and the bugs. The smile from the other student, however, gets a slightly nervous one in return, and a slightly anxious hand wave, "Um. Hi. You... you must be, um, Ivan?" Ducky tilts her head slightly in curiosity, watching the movement of the bees around Ivan, "Um, unless you're not Ivan. I know that there's an Ivan who goes here who takes care of the hives? But, um, Kai was taking care of them, and I know you're not Kai." She tilts her head the other way, a motion mimicked by the dappled gray and white pigeon on her shoulder, "Um, hi. I'm Ducky, either way." Apparently /this/ one more than makes up for Ivan's silence. If the birds and their potential appetites are bothering Ivan, he's not showing it. He peers up as the noise of birds increases in volume, but though it makes the smile disappear from his face, he just looks plain /intrigued/, wide eyed in wonder! Hello birds. And just like that, the bees still swarming up on his clothes suddenly just /drop/, into the grass. They take to the air and scatter among the rest of the flying insects, casually, back toward the hives or into seemingly random directions - a few of them heading towards Ducky herself, though harmlessly moving past! - as though an invisible bubble had just been popped. When Ivan looks to Ducky again, his smile returns. A bit less meek this time, and he nods a few times as his gaze flits between student and pigeon. His pencil drops and rolls between two pages. Sort of hoarsely and with a Russian accent thick enough to carve a slice from, he finally answers, "Hello." A beat later, he adds, "I think Kai is inside." There is the slightest flinch as the bees zip past her, but for the most part Ducky seems unphased by the insects - the sparrow that was zipping around her, however, seems intent on making a snack of one of the recently released bees, and wings off after it, chattering and chirping merrily. There's a little bit of a grimace at the bird's chirping, and she glances guiltily over her shoulder at the bird as it swoops onto the bee. "Uh, sorry. Bout the bird. And the bee, and, um, oops?" she apologizes, ruffling a hand through the short mop of mousey hair, the tiny hummingbird hopping over her hand deftly and settling back in amid the fluffed up hair. "I haven't seen Kai yet today, though he's usually around. 'skinda like me, not really anywhere else to go, I guess?" she says with a head tilt towards Ivan, "Sorry if I disturbed you. Was just kinda wandering into the woods for the day, since it's kinda nice and all." There's a pause and a slightly confused sound from the pigeon on her shoulder, "So, um, are you Ivan?" Either Ivan simply does not care about the snack'd bee, or he's awfully good at pretending he doesn't. The apology earns Ducky nothing but a headtilt from Ivan in return, and he listens patiently as she continues to talk, his attention continuously switching between person and birds and person and back to birds. Until he's been asked the last question. Upon which he closes his book, pencil still in the middle, and lays it flat upon the notebook. Its title probably looks like nonsense to Ducky, being in the cyrillic alphabet. He nods, once, firmly, before continuing from his little spot in the grass, "Rasa has mentioned you. In e-mails. You talk to the birds?" His smile twitches slightly wider. There is the sound of running, then. Someone is coming through the garden at a break-neck speed, grass squishing loudly under bare feet. “IVAN!” is much louder than Kai is known for, and he skids around a bush to slide to a stop near the edge of the apiary area. “Ivan! You are home! And not asleep!” He seems very pleased by this, and he hop-skips a step forward, his face bright and split with a wide grin. “And you have met Ducky!” he notes, offering the older girl a wave. “She is like a princess,” he says with a solemn nod. “She can talk to birds, like they do.” He wavers, there, looking over Ivan carefully. Maybe he’s CHANGED somehow. One bare foot comes up to rub thoughtfully along the back of one bare calf, and then Kai is /flinging/ himself at the other boy. For HUGS. All the hugs. “I am glad you are home! I have missed you!” Ducky is initially about to say something, tilting her head the opposite way in response to Ivan’s head tilt, possibly mirroring the boy’s actions unconsciously. “Oh, yeah. I didn’t know Rasa’d mentioned me. But, um, yeah, I talk to bi...” her voice trails off and she jumps slightly at the sound of running coming through the garden. Turning around to see who is coming, she grins lopsidedly at Kai’s approach, carefully stepping back out of the way so as to not be bowled over for standing between him and his friend. At his approach, however, the starling that had been circling overhead startled and flies off in the direction of the forest, leaving Ducky with just the pigeon and the hummingbird on her person. “Hey, Kai,” Ducky offers in greeting as he runs past, tilting her head slightly to watch. The mention of her being like a princess gets a faint blush, although she doesn’t actually object to the statement. Though his explanation does at least answer the question as to if this was in fact the mythical Ivan - a useful thing. The mythical Ivan has changed a little, since Kai last saw him. Only a tiny bit: no more cuurls, for he has had the cheapest of haircuts - that is to say, somewhere in the past month, almost all of it's simply been taken off. Also he's astoundingly unimpressive for being mythical! Despite having heard Kai coming from quite a while away, he doesn't seem quite PREPARED for the /flinging/. He's just had the time to put his stuff to the side before-- apparently ending up toppling back into the grass! Oh god hug aaa. Though it may be hard to spot for those not paying attention, there's a wave of movement among the insects (and hidden arachnids!) in the general area upon, though it's brief and passes a few seconds later. Upon which a quiet chuckle escapes Ivan, before he reaches an arm around Kai's shoulder to hug back, briefly but tightly. "Hello Kai. Thank you for keeping the bees happy." Kai seems unwilling to release Ivan; as if doing so will somehow cause him to simply evaporate or vanish or something. So he clings as he examines Ivan’s new haircut up close, wrinkling his nose thoughtfully. “Your hair is shorter,” he notes. Just in case Ivan wasn’t aware of that fact. “Do you like it like that?” When Ivan squeezes his shoulders, he finally releases his hold to ease back -- but not too far. Ducky gets a wide grin. “Ducky, this is Ivan, who I told you about.” Because obvious things need stating. “He is my very best friend in the world, and the first one I ever had.” Which is a big statement. You can tell by the complete seriousness with which the Korean boy offers it. Ivan’s thanks gets a small coloring, and Kai lifts his shoulders. “I was glad to help you,” he says with a smile. “But I think they will be happier, now that you are back. They were very anxious, right before you returned.” He extends his arm to show some small red marks. “I am sorry, but some stung me, and died.” Ducky watches curiously for a long moment at the exchange between Kai and Ivan, keeping her distance to allow the two students time to catch up with each other - a bemused grin crosses her lips as Kai tackles Ivan. A bit of a sheepish wave is offered when Kai introduces her, “Hallo, Ivan. It’s nice to finally get to meet you. I’ve kinda heard about you, um, from Kai, and from Rasa.” She fidgets slightly, shifting from one foot to the other, not entirely certain what else to add - although, at this point, the sparrow and starling who were startled off come back. The two small birds cling to the front of her garment, chirping happily and ruffling their feathers up at each other. Still-- trapped under a Kai, Ivan's smile turns a bit wry. Pinned! NOWHERE TO ESCAPE. "It- is okay." He answers, unhelpfully, the question about his hair. "Hair will grow back. Is your arm okay now?" He frowns, either because of the mention of stings or-- may something that Ducky said, because the next thing he does is turn his head to peer at her. "You are still talking to me." He states, then, matter-of-factly, before, "That means they were... good things?" Less sure of himself, now, as though maybe there are potential BAD THINGS to be considered, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “It is fine,” Kai says of his arm, flashing Ivan a grin as he finally pushes up and away from him, sitting back on his heels. “Mister Aloke used his credit card to make them better, and Ducky and Faelan put salve on them. But I am not allergic,” he adds, lifting his eyebrows at this unconsidered reason for asking. He nods when Ducky confirms how she came by her knowledge, and Ivan’s question gets a giggle. “Did you hear who she said was talking about you?” he asks, his tone slightly teasing. “Do you think Rasa and I would say /bad/ things about you?” He waves a hand in the air. “I do not think there is anyone who would say a bad thing about you.” He pauses, wrinkling his nose. “Well, maybe Shelby. If you showed her a bug.” “Why wouldn’t I be talking to you?” Ducky asks with a head tilt, the pigeon on her back mirroring her motion, “Everyone who has mentioned you has only, y’know, said nice things?” She ruffles her hair again, looking sheepish, “I knew you were good with bugs and stuff, but that’s kinda the only description I got. But everyone said good things.” She nods and grins lopsidedly, a little bit of confusion returning to her expression, “Do, um, do people usually just not talk to you ‘cause of what other people say?” Just like that, the area goes a bit quieter. The faint background noise of buzzing bees going about their own business fades away entirely. Because they're sitting perfectly still now, wherever they've managed to land. Despite that making them perfect little birdsnacks, should they be noticed. Ivan rights himself again, getting to his feet, albeit slowly and a little... tense. "No. I do not think so." Voice still calm, he straightens and brushes off his shirt. "I think people do not usually talk to me because I do not talk to them." He looks to Kai here, as though he's not quite sure of this, before his eyes land back on Ducky, unblinking and his brow furrowing. "But some people do not like the bees. I had an accident with them, inside the school. I do not take them inside anymore." As though keen to /move on/, or perhaps just curious, he adds quickly, "Do you have problems with birds, and people?" Kai looks just as flummoxed as Ivan, and he lifts his shoulders helplessly. “I did not know people didn’t talk to Ivan,” he admits slowly. “It is usually he who is the quiet one.” Which affirms Ivan’s assessment, probably. “I do not remember anyone saying anything bad about him, any way. Although, that might be because the people who would do that also do not talk to me.” He smiles at Ivan with a small bit of triumph. BRO-HELP AT LAST. Ivan’s question for Ducky gets a sympathetic look for the older girl, but Kai remains quiet. With his attention on her, he also gets to his feet, brushing at his knees lightly. Despite the insects falling still around them, Ducky’s birds do nothing to take advantage of the veritable buffet. There are, however, an increasing number of birds starting to move into the area around the gardens, bouncing into the hedges and attempting to move closer to Ducky, as sneakily as birds can - a few of them happen on a bug of some variety and enjoy a quick snack. She looks a bit guilty at the approaching varied flock, especially as she notes a few of them nibbling at the bugs in the area. “I... sometimes, yes. People don’t really like pigeons, and for the most part they aren’t fond of having them around. But the school lets me have mine because he’s kinda sorta a focus point that keeps me kinda generally not so flighty?” she offers, ruffling her hair a bit, “Thankfully most of my roommates seem kinda ok with the birds, which is nice, because it would be awkward, otherwise.” There’s a bit of a sigh and a grimace, “Unless you count the fact I’m crap at talking to people sometimes because I apparently spent a year doing nothing but hanging out with pigeons? Then yes I have issues with peoples and birds.” She nods, as though that makes perfect sense, finishing her babbling with sort of a shrug. Ivan's eyebrows lower a smidge, as he peers into Ducky's direction, though his expression remains largely neutral. It's almost like he's making a point of doing the exact opposite of her, every movement calculated and calm. Not so much as a blink or a glance at the insects in the general area being nom'd, as though he doesn't even notice it at all. Kai's smile has him returning one, but though it's genuine, it's fleeting. "I have gifts for you. I will give them to you later." He notes, before immediately turning to Ducky again and saying flatly, "I think you are fine at talking to people /now/." Speaking of bugs, though, the ones that had previously gone a bit catatonic appear to slowly be coming back to life. And then, Ivan's on the move! In a straight line directly toward Ducky, staring at her birdy friends more so than /her/. "What do the birds say?" This, presumably, is a question for Ducky, despite the fact that he fails to look at her as he speaks.
When Ivan offers his observation, Kai offers a flash of a shy smile. “I think that Ducky thinks she is more awkward than she is,” he notes softly. “You have never had trouble speaking to /me/,” he reminds the girl. “Or Rasa. Or Faelan.” He lifts his shoulders. “This is just a thing I have noticed,” he says apologetically. “It is not a bad thing.” Ducky looks uncertain for a moment, as both boys point out that she’s talking just fine, blushing slightly, “I’ve... I’ve been doing better with it since getting here, I think? Being around people more makes it easier, but I still ask questions that make people uncomfortable, and then chatter on for long than I should without much of a filter on what I say, sometimes.” Ivan’s question gets a slight head tilt and a curious look, “It, um, kinda depends on the bird. They’re very talkative, in some cases - my pigeon is really curious, and usually wants to know what is going on. A lot of times they just go on about food, or things they’ve seen.” She ruffles her hair again, which prompts the dappled pigeon on her shoulder to start neatening the stray hairs back into place, “Spring brings a whole new round of conversations and things from the birds that I /really/ wish I could tune out.” Ducky wrinkles her nose up at this statement, carefully petting one of the sparrows clinging to her tunic, “Um, what do the bugs say to you?” Ivan stops a few steps away from Ducky, his eyes locked on one of the clinging sparrows, now. "They do not say things." He answers, managing a smile again, even if it doesn't quite reach his eyes. Maybe more attempted manners than actual emotion. "Most of it is information. Not words, but... feelings. But I can turn it off when I want to, if there are not too many." Without warning, or perhaps thought, he takes another two steps forward, and then one to the side to circle Ducky. And to peer at the pigeon this time, quite intently at that, for it being- well, a pigeon. Kai, for his part, does not have much to add to this conversation, and allows himself to be distracted by the collecting of bugs, adorning his t-shirt quietly while the older teens talk. Occasionally, his gaze comes up and locks on Ivan. As if he might disappear at any moment. “Lucky,” Ducky says, although she stays perfectly still as Ivan approaches close to her, a nervous look crossing her features momentarily, “I can’t block any of them. If they’re within conversational range, I hear them.” She taps her temple, as though to indicate how it comes across, “I get translations. Occasionally flashes of images and information, but mostly it is not unlike a horde of toddlers attempting to explain their day to you at once. Very insistently, and with more cursing.” As Ivan circles around behind her closely, the mousy haired girl freezes, the two smaller birds who had been clinging to her tunic take off and head for the nearest hedge, chattering loudly. The dappled pigeon on her shoulder, however, stays put, head swiveling to watch Ivan’s movement, dark eyes narrowed at the young man. The pigeon, the longer it is stared at, will start to ruffle up its feathers at Ivan. “He says that he’s not going to do any tricks, no matter how long you stare at him,” Ducky passes on a message, smirking slightly. Ducky tilts her head curiously, as she notices Kai’s stares towards Ivan, grinning slightly, and glancing up at the hummingbird that is still nestled in her hair. A moment later, the bright green little bird is zipping over towards Kai and hovering in front of his face for a moment, before settling onto his shoulder, if allowed. Ivan's eyes flit from the pigeon to Ducky's face, but... then just slide back to the pigeon again. As though he's not quite sure. Maybe he's not staring WELL enough. As it ruffles, he-- well, doesn't. He can't. But he does straighten and puff out his unimpressive, unfeathery chest a little -- just slightly. Possibly without realising he's doing it. Pigeon ain't the boss of him. But what is, apparently, is his attention span. As soon as the hummingbird starts moving toward Kai, Ivan's eyebrows pop up and his attention is on it, instead. He turns to watch it fly over, and then - without so much as a goodbye! - starts to walk off, back toward the school. "Kai, I am going to find you your thank you gifts." So much for the myth. | |
