08-23-06

Characters involved: Darklett & Keita

Salamandastron: Underground Spring

Whew. Gotta straighten out a bit, now. Darklett's gone to be alone for a second or two. Blinking into the spring water, the buck's sorta camping out on the edge of the pool, sighing and just thinking for a while... On everything. Wants... To be alone. All by himself. Definitely... Doesn't want to be bothered. By anyone.

More's the pity, because Keita doesn't want to be bothered by anyone, either. When she appears in the entrance to the underground spring, it is with a light pack slung over her water and a walking stick in paw. As she starts forward she's in the process of unslinging a canteen from her shoulder. The strap slides down and is caught in her paw, just in time for her to come to a surprised halt upon catching sight of Darklett. She looks oooone way, and then the other. Uhhh.

Shame for Keita, 'cause it's hard not to notice when she's walking around. Clack clack, and all that. The major turns his head once the walking stops and sees the doe. Hm. "...Hey, Kei." This might be the least happy Dark's been to see her in the last few weeks. "Go ahead and fill up, I won't get in your way."

His words seem to release her from her briefly static state, and she starts forward again, slowly kneeling at the pool's edge, beside Dark. She focuses her attention on filling the canteen, not looking at him as she does this. "'Ey," is her neutral greeting.

"So. Selene, eh? Kinda a surprise." Darklett makes small talk, looking down at the bubbles rising to the surface as the water fills the canteen. "Turns out I had secrets even I didn't know, heh..."

"Aye. Looks like. Selene," and here she sends a fleeting glance Darklett's way, "she's a real nice girl, ya know?" She shakes her head ever so slightly and her lips twitch in the teensiest of frowns as she looks back down to her task, capping the canteen once it's filled. She starts drying off the outside with a small cloth from her pocket.

"Yeah, somewhere between the screaming, the slap and the frantic crying, she showed her real 'nice' side..." Darklett smirks, laughing quietly through his nose, shaking his head. "But yeah..." His voice fades off, and he looks toward the... frowning Keita. "Somethin' wrong?"

"So how old's the kid, then? Didn't stick 'round long 'nough t' here all the 'glorious details'." Ha. Haha. Yeeeeah. Having finished drying the canteen, she slings it once more over her shoulder but does not stand away, yet. Instead she turns, eyeing Darklett with an expression that could only really be described as disapproving. There's the light squinting about the eyes, the furrowing of the brow, and the pursing of the lips. Classic disapproval.

"...I'd say about 6 or so seasons." The major only keeps eye contact with Keita for a few seconds before he looks back towards the spring. Shame, perhaps, causes this. "I know. You don't have to tell me what a complete... /idiot/ I am. I... I know." The buck lets his paws slump into his lap, his head shaking. "I had to go, though."

You room-page, "Oh well. She doesn't know the kid that well. That's fine. Ignore me."

Keita's head dips in a nod at his answer to her question. 'Least he knows that much. "She's had a hard time o' it, y'know, raisin' that kid all by 'erself." Another shake of her head as she presses a paw to her thigh, levering herself up. She straightens into a stand, cutting her eyes away from the buck and toward the door. "So what're you going t' do /now/?"

Darklett sighs a little bit, turning his head towards the doe again. "I can guess how hard it's been. I... I didn't /want/ any of that for her. I had to leave her behind. It's not like I wanted to knock her up and /leave./ I was in love with her." His look goes remorseful towards Keita for a second. "That's why I plan on patching things up with her and my son the best I can. That's what I'm gonna do."

Finally, /finally/ Keita seems satisfied. She gives a firm nod, though the squinting about her eyes remains. "... Good. You do tha', 'n' you do it /righ'/. Righ' or not at all. Do ya hear me? You'll do 'em both more harm bein' around than not if they're just a... a regret o' yours." Another twitching frown as she glances back to him. A meaningful narrowing of her eyes, as if to ascertain his understanding. "Got it?"

Darklett backs off from Keita, a little. She's vicious... He actually scowls, though not physically directed towards her. "Yeah. I know. What, what do you think I am, Kei?" Now it /is/ directed towards her, the offense being returned. "You think... You think I'm that kinda beast? Do you really think I'd do that if I could help it? Hell, Keita, you're talking to me like I'm some sort of..." Hm. He grits his teeth and looks back to the spring.

"I don't know /what/ sort o' beast ya are, Darklett. I nevah have. I don't know if /you/ know." But then, she waves these words away with a shake of her head and an eye turned toward the ceiling. "What I'm /trying/ t' tell ya is that... if ya /can/ be, ya need t' be honest with yerself. You need t' look into yer heart 'n' decide if you /really/ think you c'n do this, for the rest of yer life, no slip-ups." Pause. "/No/ slip-ups." A final shake of her head, and she turns to head for the door. "If you can't, then... just... don't."

Darklett stares at Keita, anger draining from his eyes, and he goes back to shame, looking briefly down at the floor, before back up at her. He can't really think of how to answer to that, so he just watches her go, turning back to the spring once she's gone. This is just too much.

Created by Oklina