merry merry christmas, and I want you to know

[mansionstaff]

Who: YOU
What: KISSLETOES
When: December 14th - January 1st
Where: Everywhere
Warnings: Sloppy makeouts.

SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT WARNING...



The entire school has become covered in mistletoe overnight. It grows out of the walls! The ceilings! Everywhere you least expect it? HOW CAN THIS BE??

It's probably best not to think about it. Attempts to uproot the plants or burn them away only makes the plants grow back faster. For the time being, it seems the school must live with it.

[OOC INSTRUCTIONS:
+ Post dudes, get kisses!
+ Some (NOT ALL) plants are cursed. If you manage to step under a cursed plant, you will exchange a memory when or if you exchange a kiss. The memories will be first-person and very vivid, and characters will feel like they are experiencing the memory in real time, though in reality the transfer is instantaneous. Memories can be as short, long, happy, sad, or traumatic as you like.
+ If you'd like to participate, we highly suggest making a list of a few memories (with accompanying links/descriptions) that are up for grabs, and linking or posting the list in your top-level comment. Memory exchange is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. When in doubt, OOC communication!
+ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAG YOUR CHARACTERS
+ That's it, we love you.]

Comments

[whirlwind_wolfman]

Jon had known Sonic for a while. Not the version currently attending, but his previous incarnation. They had met during football games and had shared stories about their respective Lady-Loves during Sonic and Company's raid on CapHigh's grounds, trying to reclaim a mascot that CapHigh had never stolen in the first place.

So... yes. He knew Sonic. He'd never seen him in that light, though. Seeing the way Blaze looked at him, through her own eyes...

"Oh. Ah. Felicia is... well. If you'll recall, I have mentioned her to you before. That one evening we were locked into the Library. The girl who I left at Capcom High. I... ah... Yes."

He shrugged, looking awkward and a little ashamed.

[vela_nova]

It was such an awkward moment. She had no idea what he had to be thinking about her now, after seeing such a personal moment for her. And to see something so personal for him...

Her instinct was to get more information from him. To try and make sense of what she saw. "If you don't mind my asking... Why did you leave her? She seemed so nice..."

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"....it wasn't her." he replied. "As disgustingly cliché as this sounds, it was Me. It was.... My insecurity and personal bias that kept me from being what she needed. Or at least, what I believe she needed. She... She's a unique talent. She can sing and dance like you've never seen. She's a heart so large it has room for almost anyone she meets. I... I believe that she might one day realize her dream of helping to bridge her world - Our world - with that of Humans. To help Darkstalkers of all sorts finally find a place outside the shadows. And if not all of us, her own kind, certainly. Cat Girls are the most Human of all of us. Helping them carve a proper niche inside civilized society...."

He shrugged and looked away.

"She's no need of a fellow like me at her back. And I'm not saying that to be self pitying or to play out some strange martyrdom complex. She has a legitimate chance at making our world into a better, more accepting place. Once a month I need to be away from everyone just to prevent myself hurting folk. Potentially killing folk.... it's not a good look for a budding actress and ambassador."

[vela_nova]

At first, Jon's answer sounded reasonable. Perhaps even noble. But she felt his memory first-hand. She understood, perhaps better than anyone else. She looked the wolfman in the eye now, confronting him with the insight she had gleaned from his memory.

"You still love her, don't you?"

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"..."

He wanted to deny it. Mostly on principle. He was a man who was able to make his own decisions! Make a clean break when he had to and do so without regrets. Hell, he'd spent his adolescent years going from place to place simply because he couldn't afford to form attachments. He'd never been good at dealing with people and though he'd gotten better at this school....

But he couldn't lie to her. For starters, it would do no good because she'd seen what he'd felt in those moments. He might as well deny his fur was blue. Secondly... well. He cared for her too and she didn't deserve to be lied to. Thirdly, Felicia deserved more than to have her memory tossed aside. She'd meant so much more to him than that.

"I still.... Look. Yes. So far as I'm aware, when you really love someone, that feeling doesn't necessarily go away simply because things change. She was the first girl I ever loved. The first person who ever loved me unconditionally - I didn't even get that much from my adoptive parents. That's not something that can just be set aside."

[vela_nova]

"I'm not judging you," she told him in response to his admission. "I know about pushing away what you want."

Blaze turned away from him, arms crossed against the cold. Her own feelings were swimming, mixed up and jumbled. She didn't know what to think anymore. "Do you ever hear from her?" she asked, legitimately curious. She sounded like an important person to him. To just cut someone out of your life like that... it was a difficult thought.

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"Every so often." Jon replied. "I'm not particularly good at keeping up long distance correspondence - I never know what to write."

Because using a telephone would just be entirely too easy.

"I told her about meeting Riwane. Becoming a trainer. A few of our adventures abroad. That I've become a teacher, of all things. That I'm doing well and have... ah. That I have friends. That I've learned to be more sociable outside of Football and have something approaching normal relationships with people. That I'm... well. That I'm getting better, I suppose is an apt way to put it."

[vela_nova]

She nodded as she listened. It was good that he made the effort. But still...

"I have so few people in my life that I'd truly call friend," she admitted. "I've had to say goodbye to them so many times though..." He knew that well enough. He saw her memory of saying goodbye to Sonic. "It's a terrible feeling, to know you may never see them again..."

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"It is..."

He paused and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You know, I... ah... Should it ever be that we need to say Goodbye... It would be particularly difficult for me. Just so you're aware."

[vela_nova]

"Yes, well..." She looked back up at him. "The feeling is mutual. You've been a very good friend."

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"As have you."

Well, what else was there to say? He.... couldn't think of much of anything. Though, he had no great desire to part from her just yet. Such was the strain of being an awkward, generally unsociable canine.

[vela_nova]

Blaze was equally at a loss for something to say. But that didn't stop her from just enjoying his company there in silence. She was good at silence too.

[whirlwind_wolfman]

At least it was a moderately comfortable silence. It wasn't laden with tension. A little awkwardness, yes. But nothing that twisted the gut into knots.

Though, finally, he had to speak, giving voice to an earlier thought.

"...one day, I'd very much like it if we could kiss just because we wanted to. As opposed to it being due to cursed mistletoe or little cupid robots."

A little brash, maybe. But it was honest, at least.

[vela_nova]

She hadn't expected him to say that, and the surprise on her face said it all. She looked back up at him, face red as she thought about the implications of what he suggested. "Ah... That would... That would be nice, yes," she finally said.

[whirlwind_wolfman]

The look of shock on her face, at first, made his heart sink. He wasn't good with this stuff and never had been and probably never would be. Though, she followed it up by saying it would be nice. So. That was something.

"Not that I'd.... well. You know. If the idea isn't your cup of tea, I'd understand."

MY EMOTIONS orz

[vela_nova]

Blaze hated feeling so confused, so out of control of her own emotions. For someone for whom romantic attachment seemed like something only other people would experience, here she was, with a frankly gorgeous wolf man basically asking her to kiss him. And if she were being honest with herself... she wanted to. It was a hard thing for her to admit to herself, the idea that she was so attracted to him, man and beast both. He was stoic, but patient. He cared about her far more than she ever expected him to. But didn't he have that Charizard girl? And then there was Felicia, whose memory Blaze had just been privy to. If she did give in, was there any future when his heart was so divided?

Not to mention her own? Her thoughts drifted to Sonic. Her first friend. And truthfully, her first love. She had fallen for him. Although admitting it to anyone wouldn't happen any time soon. And of course she had no idea how he really felt about her, as his nature wouldn't have allowed him to show it. And now that he had come back into her life like this, he occupied her thoughts more and more. But was there any future there either...? Her duties were to her kingdom. Whatever dalliances she had in Final Destination City couldn't last when she returned home and had to leave them behind, and that was true for both Sonic and Jon.

She hated this. She hated feeling like whatever decision she made it would be like betraying at least one of them. And that would hurt her just as badly as them. And the thought gnawed at her.

"That's not it," she finally told him, getting over the initial shock of it. She struggled to find something, anything to say to him, but couldn't stop kicking herself over it.

FEEL YOUR FEELINGS IT'S OK

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"Alright." Jon replied, scratching at his chin with a handful of long claws. It really seemed as though something was on her mind. And he'd like to know what it was. Maybe help clear things up for her, if he was able.

He sat down, right there, assuming a lotus position. Hey, if they were going to be here for a bit, might as well be comfortable. And it didn't seem like either of them was in a hurry to leave.

"You know, you can talk to me, Blaze." he said quietly. "I am, if nothing else, a good listener."

[vela_nova]

"I know you are, and I appreciate it, I really do," Blaze told him, arms crossed and shaking her head. "It's fine, really. I don't need to talk about anything," she tried to convince him. How could she discuss something like this with him, when he was part of the problem in the first place? She had to sort things out...

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"...you say that." Jon replied. "But I can't help thinking it's not the whole story."

He sighed and shrugged, just slightly, careful to look her in the eye.

"I'm sorry if what I said upset you. I've never been particularly good with.... emotions and the like. Even with experience, I seem to fall flat more often than I shine. If I was too forward or made you feel uncomfortable, then please, you've my most sincere apologies."

He bowed in her direction. He really did mean it, of course - the last thing he wanted to do was make her feel bad.

[vela_nova]

"It's not that at all, I promise," she told him, immediately on the defensive. He did nothing wrong, and making him feel bad for what was her own problem was something she didn't intend on. This was getting her nowhere. And looking down at him... She finally resolved to say something. This had to be put out there.

She sat across from him. "If you really want to know, then fine. I'll tell you. But promise me you won't say anything until I'm finished, deal?"

Shortest tag. XD

[whirlwind_wolfman]

"Absolutely." Jon replied, drawing two claws around his muzzle to imitate zipping it shut.

[vela_nova]

She took a few deep breaths to work up the courage to say what she had to say. She and Jon had danced around the issue long enough. It was time to get it all into the open...

"I think it's fairly plain to say... you have feelings for me. And, well... I have feelings for you too. Though I suppose that's also fairly obvious... I think you're a wonderful man. You've been nothing but kind and patient, and I appreciate it so much."

"But... You're not the only person I have feelings for. That memory you saw... Sonic... He means so much to me. He's the first friend I've ever had. And... the first person I ever... loved." She looked him square in the eye. "I've never told that to anyone before. Anyone. Not even him. I have no idea if he even feels the same..."

She shook her head, forcing herself to continue even as her heart raced in nervousness. "It's not fair to you for me to keep that from you. I don't want to hurt you or anyone. But if I chose... I'm sure I'd hurt someone. And, well... I know you have feelings for other girls too. Felicia, Riwane... I don't know that it's fair to them either."

"I don't even know what I'm trying to say anymore... I just... don't want to give you any misconceptions about where my feelings lie."

Her silence afterwards gave him permission to speak again, even though her stomach was wound into tight knots at the thought of what might happen next.

[whirlwind_wolfman]

That was probably the most he'd ever heard her say in one conversation. And to be fair, it was a lot to take in. He'd seen Sonic through her eyes and knew her feelings for him at that time... and apparently they hadn't changed much. It was something he'd process on his own time.

He reached over and took up her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"I.. ah. I appreciate the honesty, Luv." he said once he was absolutely sure he could unzip his lips. And he did appreciate it. But how did he FEEL about what she'd said? That was a Gordian knot he was probably going to take a while to work through. He wasn't lying when he said he'd never been great at dealing with his own emotions. Even the discipline of the Martial Arts could only take him so far.

"You're right. I've feelings for you. Quite strong ones. I have for some time. You're.... You're a wonderful person and my life feels richer for having you in it, for what that's worth." he said, offering her a sheepish smile. Or as sheepish as his wolfish face would allow. "Neither one of us is really good with this sort of talk and so it's probably overdue, I'd wager."

He looked away for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He wasn't sure what to say. What to do. She'd explained her relationship to Sonic... he should probably do the same.

"Riwane is a free spirit. She's a couple of lads she's very close to and I don't question what goes on, there. I don't. I'm not jealous or possessive with her because that's not... It wouldn't be right in her regard. I'm her trainer and we have a very close bond, but it's also a very open thing. As for Felicia, that's a bridge I burned long ago. That's not to say I don't feel for them. So, I know what it is to have something of a divided heart."

He shifted a little uncomfortably. So... where did that exactly leave them?

[vela_nova]

Blaze squeezed his larger hand back when he finished, and nodded in understanding. "My heart doesn't know what it wants, or what it should have," she told him quietly. "This is something I need to think about myself. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer than that."

She reached up to cup his cheek, tilting his head down. Then, she sat up, pulling his face closer to give him a soft kiss on his lips. She held it there, closing her eyes. And when she finally let go, she said, "I care about you, Jon. And I'm sorry."

[whirlwind_wolfman]

He closed his eyes and let their lips linger on one another. Well. This was what he'd asked for, wasn't it? There were no cupid bots around. Months too early for those. And the mistletoe overhead had already been rendered null and void. And yet, here they were, kissing.

How could he feel so great about that and so dour at the same time? It was like his heart had taken wing, sung a single joyous note and then gone ahead and rammed itself headfirst into a window.

When she drew back, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

"I'm sorry too, Blaze. I very much am."

Though....

"...no matter what might be between us, we ought to at least promise to remain friends. Because matters of the heart aside, I meant what I said. My life is vastly better for your presence in it. I'd not want to lose that."