1X1 with arvanien

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Basil

Basil smiled up at him, lost in his gaze. The way the cozy lamp light of The Teakeeper made Arion’s eyes even more beautiful to her somehow. Basil gave a light giggle at Arion’s offer, “Aw, thank you, Arion! That’s so sweet of you” She beamed happily. Basil thought that it was a very sweet gesture. In fact, Arion had been one of the nicest people she had ever met before. There was no way she could even begin to repay him for all he had done for her already. And it wasn’t just the coffee and pastry, Basil had never enjoyed spending time with anyone like she did with Arion. In her opinion, that was worth a lot more than a cup of coffee on the house.

After finished off her coffee and pain au chocolate, she daintily dabbed at her lips with a napkin without smearing her lipstick. She hadn't realized how long they had been sitting together, chatting.

Juniper

“Yeah! Just look at us,” Juniper agreed cheerfully, giving a warm laugh, “I guess if we can get along so well, there’s hope for our two races.” Though he did truly hope that Quell and Howlers would learn to understand each other better, his tone was lighthearted. Juniper looked up as the lamps flickered on, “Oh, I wonder what time it is?” he wondered out loud, wishing he had his watch on. He had gotten so carried away with talking to Celeste that they had lost complete track of time. Still, Juniper didn’t mind; he loved spending time with her.

[arvanien]

Arion

"No problem," Arion said cheerfully. He couldn't help noticing how much he loved her smile. It made him feel inexplicably warm inside. Although they had just met, Arion loved every minute he spent with Basil. Everything outside their cozy, private booth seemed to fade away into an indistinct blur.

"You know, it's funny that we've never met before, even though I knew Hawthorne when I was just twelve. Do you spend a lot of time with him?" He asked. Arion was just curious - because what were the odds of Basil and him never meeting until now?

Celeste

"That's true! But," she continued, "you are really one of a kind, Juniper. To be honest, the Howlers at training don't carry a conversation quite as well as you do." Celeste smiled playfully, yet sincerely. "I think it's half and hour, at most, until sunset. If you don't mind, is it alright if we head straight to your village? Or do you have something other things to do first?" Celeste had absolutely nothing against walking with Juniper to Solodin's entrance.

[rubyrocketboots13]

Basil

Basil had never felt like this around anyone before. Being around Arion somehow made her feel warm and cozy, yet her heart raced whenever she met his golden-hazel gaze. Nothing else seemed to matter when she was was with him. She happily would have spent hours just sitting and talking with Arion. Basil loved the way his eyes sparkled when he was happy and how adorable it was when he was just a little flustered and a million other little things she had noticed in the short time they had been together.

" Really?" Basil said, a bit surprised. She had known Hawthorne and Arion had known each other for a long time, but it hadn't occured to her when they first met.
The green haired Quell nodded in agreement," It is rather strange, isn't it?" She smiled up at him brightly," But I'm glad we met now though." Basil lightly tugged at her bangs, thinking over his question. " Hawthorne and I have always been really close. We used to do everything together" Basil said, giving a bubbly laugh," When we were kinds I used to follow him everywhere, hiding behind his cape." She smiled fondly at the memory, continuing," Now that we're older, my brother and I've focused on different things; Hawthorne has to protect the city and train new members of the guard and I'm... well.. still trying to figure out my place" She smiled up at Arion, her eyes sparkling amusedly still," But we're still very close even we don't spend as much time together as we used too. " Basil asked politely," What about you and Celeste? Are you two very close?" She knew that they weren't blood related, but they were siblings nonetheless.

Juniper

Juniper smiled and blushed faintly at her compliment. " You're really too kind!" He insisted," But thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did!". Juniper loved sitting here and talking to Celeste. Like most Howlers, he had been under the impression that Quell weren't very interesting creatures. But, Juniper was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't true. Celeste was one of the most amazing people he had ever met. She was very intelligent and quite witty with just a touch of rebellion in her. Juniper admired all of that about her.

He gave a cheerful nod, standing up. " We can go right now if you like. I just came to check out out a few of these books anyway." Juniper didn't have any plans, he was more than happy to take her to his little village.

[arvanien]

Arion

Normally, Arion would have been brain-dead exhausted by now, after not having slept at all the night before. But now he found himself wide awake in a calm and collected way, not dazed like he'd drank several coffees. Being with Basil made him so blissfully happy, his tiredness dissipated. He couldn't believe how lucky he was to meet someone as wonderful as Basil who also had this effect on him. He couldn't help but notice fine details about her, like her cute, bubbly giggle, her gorgeous gemstone eyes, and how she had to look up so much just to meet his gaze while they were standing up. Arion was over a foot taller than Basil, but he didn't care at all. He adored her smallness, thinking it was just so precious.

"You'll find your purpose," Arion said seriously. "Basil, you're a very unique young lady. I know you're capable of a great many things." He told her sincerely. Arion wasn't trying to flatter her at all; he was absolutely sure about it. He smiled back at her as she mentioned Celeste, "Yes, we're closer than two bricks in a wall. She's the most amazing sister I ever could ask for, though I admit I'm rather protective of her." Arion was just as protective of Celeste as Hawthorne was of Basil, though he in no way obstructed her freedom and will. "We were actually very good friends, up to the point that we were mistaken to be in a relationship. To solve that, we adopted each other," Arion smiled at the memory. It was half of the story; the other half was too painful to tell, containing elements of his dark, twisted childhood and teenhood. Arion wanted to be completely sincere to Basil, but she didn't need to know the nasty details of his life yet. When they got to know each other better, he resolved to reveal more about himself, since she deserved his complete honesty.

Celeste

"Really, it's true," Celeste nodded, smiling as she met his eyes. "Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed it too! It was the best conversation I've had in a while. You're...really an amazing guy, Juniper." She said sincerely, blushing lightly. Not only did Celeste mean it, she thought Juniper was the biggest-hearted, most interesting guy in Solodin. She couldn't help but love him already.

Celeste grinned excitedly, standing up with him. "That would be great! Thank you very much." She walked with him to the desk, holding Red Rebellion under her arm.

[rubyrocketboots13]

Basil

Basil felt her cheeks grow warm as Arion spoke. She could tell he was sincere, though she did doubt whether or not he was right about believing in her. Still, it was very sweet that he had so much confidence that she would find her purpose. Basil was touched that he seemed to honestly care about her even though they had just met. Arion was one of the most kind, considerate and the most genuine people she had ever met. No one had ever treated her quite like he did; then again, she had never met anyone quite like Arion ever before.

Shyly, Basil tucked her forest green bangs behind her ear, revealing her eyes fully for the first time. They glittered happily as she smiled up at Arion “Thanks, and I hope you’re right about that. I guess there’s still plenty of time to figure out my purpose anyway” Basil said, giving a slight shrug. Basil actually did have real passions, but in her opinion, they were a bit... trivial. Especially compared to her brother’s achievements. Her real passions were painting and roller derby, and she was very talented in both. But, they were a bit hard to explain; first of all, she didn’t see any real value in her talents not to mention, roller derby was a human sport. The last thing Basil needed was that little secret getting out- not even Hawthorne didn’t know she played the game. Still, she cared deeply for both of her hobbies. Maybe someday Basil would be able use her talents for a “real job”, until then Arion was right. Basil would eventually find her purpose.

Forgetting her manners, Basil lightly rested her elbows on the table as she closely listened to Arion. She thought that it was adorable how happy he seemed as he talked about Celeste. “Really?” Basil said, beaming up at him “Aww, that’s so sweet! You two are so lucky to have each other like that”. Basil knew how great and sometimes not so great it was to have a sibling. Though siblings often fought, they were always there to support and take care of each other. If Basil didn't have Hawthorne, she didn't know what she would do.

Juniper

Juniper gave a warm laugh at her compliment. “Amazing? Nah, I’m average at best” He said lightheartedly. Though, is was easy to see by his crooked grin and the slightly mischievous sparkle in his eyes that he wasn’t really trying to put himself down. The Howler grabbed his leather satchel and scooped up the small stack of books he wanted to check out before heading over to join Celeste. “You know, you’re pretty amazing yourself” He said sincerely, “I’ve never met anyone like you before, Celeste. You really are one-in-a-million” Juniper smiled at her happily, a faint blush crossing his cheeks. He noticed her blush as well and felt his heart sped up just a bit. How is she so cute? She Juniper blushed just a bit harder at the thought, but he dismissed it. Celeste wouldn’t like a Howler like him… right? Pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind, Juniper cheerfully followed her to the desk.

“You’re more than welcome” Juniper said honestly. He was glad to take Celeste to his home. Even though most Quell probably wouldn’t be impressed by the humble looking village, he felt that she would enjoy seeing it. As he put his books on the desk, Juniper’s thoughts wandered to what his packmates were going to think about a stranger being allowed into camp. He hoped they would be welcoming to Celeste, after all he did want to show her the better side of the Howlers.

[arvanien]

Arion

Arion smiled, glancing briefly down at the table top before looking up again. "I know you have it in you. Whatever you do, Basil, you'll always have my support." He promised, meeting her eyes. Arion's pulse sped up as his brain tossed all coherent thought out the window to focus on her striking emerald eyes. "Speaking of that, what kinds of things do you like to do, besides painting?" His tone was light and friendly, not prying or nosy.

He laughed, resting his hands on the table. It seemed like Arion wasn't feeling too self-conscious of his bandaged knuckles anymore; he was getting more comfortable around Basil. "You're right! Celeste is the best sister I could ever ask for. She's strong, reliable and quite dangerous for someone so small. All my friends are low-key scared of her, and I don't blame them." He grinned. "Hawthorne's a very disciplined guy. He's one of the most hardworking people I know. You must be very close to him." It was an interesting choice of words; most people would say "proud" instead of "close". But Arion hadn't.

Celeste

"Please, Juniper." Celeste shook her head goodnaturedly, though she couldn't resist smiling. "I'm not flattering you, I'm just stating the truth." Her eyes sparkled; it was easy to see that she thoroughly enjoyed being with him. She blushed harder, not expecting him to say that at all. "You really think so? Thank you," Celeste shyly tucked a wayward strand behind her ear. Her waist-length hair almost looked like cotton candy, being white streaked with light pink and blue.

As they made their way to the desk together, Celeste found herself thinking how fortunate she had been to have met someone as cute as Juniper who matched her personality so well. On top of it, he was selfless, charming, and funny. She had been very lucky indeed. Celeste didn't care that he was a Howler anymore; he was probably just as adorable in his Howler form. She wouldn't be surprised if he turned out to be a Shiba Inu or a Pomeranian. The thought struck her as inexplicably funny and she had to bite her lip to keep from giggling.

[rubyrocketboots13]

Basil

Meeting Arion’s gaze, Basil was positive her cheeks were approximately the color of over ripe strawberries. She could help but blush every time she met his gold flecked hazel gaze. Shyly, she beamed at Arion as she fiddled with her bangs. His support and kind words meant more to her than he knew. Though, Basil was sure he wouldn’t support her love of a human game; though she trusted him completely, she wasn’t going to tell Arion about her roller derby. Instead, she settled on talking about something else she loved; music.

“Well, I really love to play the piano and listening to pretty much all kinds of music. Dubstep, alternative, classical, it doesn’t really matter to me.” Basil said, lightly tugging on her bangs as she though about his question. It was a little hard to talk about what her hobbies were because she was just a little afraid of seeming immature or weird. But, as she looked back up at Arion, somehow it was easier to relax and talk about the things she liked. “I also really like finding old, broken human things in the Aboveground. It’s a little stupid, but I like making things out of them.” She explained, but not bragging. Blushing faintly, she unclipped the necklace she was wearing off to show him. Basil held out the necklace to reveal the small blue butterfly wing charm made up of tiny gears and things on a tiny delicate chain, “I made this out of some scraps metal and gears I found at the human’s junkyard. I just used my power to shape them” Basil said cheerfully, sipping her necklace back on.

Somehow, she felt comfortable enough around him to share her little hobby. Arion had a way of making Basil feel more at-ease. Even though they had just met, it felt as if she had known him all of her life. And it seemed that Arion was also feeling a bit more relaxed around her. Basil noticed that he wasn’t quite as stiff and self-conscious of the bandages on his knuckles. Basil gave a bubbly laugh as he talked about Celeste. “Ha! I bet they are a little scared of her! I’ve seen Celeste at the training center take out opponents twice as big as she is. She really is a small, but deadly sort of fighter" She giggled.

At Arion's question, Basil picked up on Arion's choice of words. Close? She was used to Quell falling over themselves to praise her brother's achievements, after all he was one of the most powerful men in Solodin. Hawthorne was the youngest captain of the Guard ever and a distinguished war hero. Basil was very proud of her brother and was used to saying so. But, not many people asked if she was close to him. It made her pause a second to think over the question. " I would say we were close." Basil nodded, though wondered if it was the truth. They had once been very close, but they weren't quite as close anymore. " I suppose after these years we've grown apart a bit though." She added thoughtfully, though it was almost more of a question.

Juniper

Juniper smiled as she insisted that she was telling the truth, “Well okay, if you say so” He said, pretending to be defeated. Truthfully, he was touched that Celeste thought that he was amazing. Juniper beamed at her happily, returning to his usual cheerful attitude. “Honestly though, thank you for that. Even if you weren’t trying to flatter me, it was awful nice of you” He said, sincerely. Noticing her blush, Juniper’s crooked grin widened a bit. “Of course, I really thing so!” He insisted, “You’ve got something special in you”.

Juniper loved her beautiful hair; though he couldn’t help noticing how it looked like cotton candy. Being a Howler, his own hair was a chocolate brown, almost black color. Most Howlers’ hair was often a muted, dark color so the Quell’s vibrantly colored hair always fascinated him. Maybe it bit childish, but part of him wanted to just touch her hair to make sure that it was hair just like his. After all, if Quell hair was magic, did that make it different from normal hair? Suddenly Juniper found himself zoning out and day dreaming about cotton candy and if Celeste’s hair smelled like candy. Though, he snapped out of it as he noticed her trying not to giggle. Cracking his usual crooked grin, Juniper asked cheerrfully "What's so funny? "

[arvanien]

Arion

Arion clasped his hands, thinking Basil's blush was so precious. He had lost all track of time just by being with her. Many of the customers had already left; the remaining ones were mostly couples. "Really? That's amazing! You should play for the orchestra. Our pianist left because his wife had twins, so he wanted to spend more time at home like any husband ought to. He was a good player too, but I'm willing to bet you're just as good, if not better."

Arion raised his eyebrows slightly as she mentioned dubstep. Now this was interesting. Basil enjoyed the same type of music he did? He'd thought that things could have not gotten any better, yet they had. "You like dubstep too? I've never met anyone who shares my taste in music!" He laughed a little, "Who are some of your favorite artists?"

"That's not stupid at all! It's very creative," he complimented cheerfully. "You're quite good at art-related things." He continued, "I have a friend who's obsessed wth messing with human tech, only he takes it to a whole new level. You haven't heard of Radian Alverstoke, have you?" He asked casually.

Arion hadn't felt this at ease in quite a while. Even the dull pain throbbing in his hands seemed to disappear as the world faded away, leaving just the little booth with the two of them inside. He liked hearing about Basil's hobbies; they were all interesting to hear about. He grinned at hearing her adorable laugh he knew he'd would never tire of. "I can't agree more with you. Small people really are the best." Arion looked at Basil somewhat fondly, thinking how well it applied to her.

He couldn't help but notice her pause after his question. "I see." Arion didn't have anything else to say about about it. He thought it was slightly unfortunate, though. Maybe it was why he hadn't met her even after all this time? He couldn't resist thinking about himself and Celeste. Nothing could get in between the two of them, as was proved time and time again.

Celeste

"You're welcome," Celeste smiled cheerily. Juniper's crooked grin was so impishly adorable, she couldn't help comparing him to an overgrown puppy. Yes, that's what he definitely is! An overgrown puppy who happens to also be smarter than just about every guy I've met. He really is amazing.

"You really think so? Thank you," Celeste smiled softly. Though, she couldn't be help wondering what he saw was so special in her. After checking out their books, she slipped hers into her bag. Celeste had made sure that none of the librarians treated Juniper any differently than they did with her. As they walked to the library entrance, she noticed him looking at her hair, but didn't mind it at all. Celeste giggled at his question, "Oh, I was just wondering what type of animal you transform into! I don't know why I thought of a Pomeranian out of all things," she giggled again, this time a little harder. Why is this so funny? part of her wondered. Imagine him as a Pomeranian, the other part of her replied. They were still in the library so she tried to hold back her laughter, growing pink with suppressed giggles.

[rubyrocketboots13]

Basil

Basil had lost all track of time as she sat with Arion. Though, she didn’t mind in the least that they had been talking for so long. She was enjoying his company too much to notice anything outside of their cozy booth. Truthfully, Basil didn’t want to go home; there was no where she would have rather be than here chatting with Arion.

At his suggestion, she blushed a deep red, “Well… I dunno. I’m not really good enough to be in the orchestra. And, I’ve never really played in front of anyone besides Hawthorne” She said, biting her lip. Truthfully, she would have loved to play with the orchestra. Basil was simply afraid of playing in front of a large crowd of Quell. Though she was a skilled pianist, she doubted that she was good enough to play for the orchestra. Surprised, Basil stopped toying with her bangs as he mentioned that he liked dupstep as well. “You do?” She asked, her eyes lighting up happily. Basil hadn’t met anyone with similar tastes of music as she had “Yeah, I love dubstep! I have a lot of favorite artists to be honest. “ She said, giving a bubbly laugh,” Skillrex , Lindsey Sterling and Zomboy are all really great, but my favorite artist has got to be Knife Party.” Her emerald eyes sparkled madly as she talked about her favorite artists. It was easy to see that she cared a great deal about music. “What about you? What are some of your favorite artists?” She asked, looking up at Arion.

Basil smiled at Arion’s compliment, a faint blush returning to her cheeks. “You really think so? Thank you!” She said happily, but she didn’t mean to sound prideful. Absentmindedly, she traced her finger lightly over the decorative wooden inlays in the dark wood table. “Hmm… the name sounds familiar” Basil nodded. As she realized where she remembered the name from, a funny look crossed her face. “He wouldn’t happen to have a criminal record, would he? If I’m not mistaken, there was something to do with some mysterious explosions?” She asked, with a hint of amusement. Basil often did errands for Hawthorne, like taking care of important paper work and things. She had access to information on nearly every Quell who lived in Solodin.

Basil felt just a stab of regret for how she talked about her relationship with Hawthorne. She knew her brother cared deeply for her and she loved him just as much. They could always rely on each other no matter what. Though, she had been telling the truth about them drifting apart. Hawthorne didn’t have as much time to spend with her anymore and Basil had begun keeping secrets from him. The more she thought about it, her heart sank just a tiny bit more. Maybe the siblings weren't as close as she had believed? Though, Basil shoved the thought to the back of her mind. She didn't want to question that at the moment.

Juniper

“You’re very welcome” Juniper nodded, smiling back at her warmly. His purple eyes shone with a happy glow as he looked at her. Celeste was really the prettiest Quell that he had ever seen; her blue eyes were stunning, her smile made his heart melt every time he saw it and her hair was just so pretty he wanted to reach over and touch it. Though, that wasn’t the only things that made Juniper unable to take his eyes from her. Her bright, warm personality and quick wit attracted him much more than her beauty did. In his eyes, Celeste was one of the most amazing people he had ever met. He knew he didn’t really have a chance with her, but he still hoped that they could be together someday.

Juniper tucked his books into his satchel after they had been checked out. He was thankful that the librarians treated him fairly when Celeste was with him. He hated that the Quell librarians usually seemed to be afraid of him or worse just seemed to dislike him for no reason other than that he was a Howler. After all, Juniper didn’t even appear threatening in the least with his cheerful attitude and crooked grin.

Turing his attention back to Celeste, he realized that she had noticed him staring at her hair. Juniper blushed faintly, scrambling to find an excuse for staring. “You have very beautiful hair, Celeste” He said, blushing madly. Though his words were sincere, he almost looked like a nervous scoolboy confessing to his crush.

He was glad as she asked what animal he transformed into. Juniper grinned crookedly, loving her adorable giggle. “A Pomeranian?” he laughed warmly, “I suppose you’re not too far off. I’m a hyena Howler. Though, I’m a very cute little hyena!” He said, his eyes sparkling madly. Juniper couldn’t help but smile as he noticed her trying to suppress her giggles. He thought it was just too adorable how she blushed as she tried to stifle her giggles.

[arvanien]

Arion

"I just thought it would be a fun opportunity for you. But you clearly don't have to if you don't want to, though." Arion was not making Basil to do anything, and he made it clear. "Besides, if you do decide to join, the entire orchestra will be up there with you; we're all playing together like one big family. Sometimes, the first chair plays short songs with the pianist, but they're all very quick and simple." Arion explained, leaving out that he was the first chair. Saying so, he deemed, would be prideful.

He couldn't help grinning as her eyes lit up. Arion loved it when Basil perked up like that. He couldn't believe the fact that she shared his taste in music. "Your favorite band is Knife Party? That's awesome!" He said happily. He was just as excited as she was on finding common ground. "What are your favorite songs by them?" He asked, his eyes sparkling wildly. "I really like Chime, Sullivan King, and The Godhand, but my favorite would be Omar Varela. They're all humans, and they'll be the only humans I like."

"He does, but Radian doesn't care. Human prisons are easy to get out of. Many grey Quell look up to him because he works so efficiently. I've seen him in action before." Arion nodded. Although a notorious criminal in the human world, Radian was relatively well-known in Solodin, mostly because of that. He was a member of the guard, but wasn't as active in it as Arion was because he liked to do his own business. The only reason Radian and Arion were friends because they understood each other's mental problems. Radian was bipolar whereas Arion suffered from PTSD.

Celeste

As they walked out of the library, Celeste felt blissfully happy. She beamed back at Juniper, mesmerized by his lovely purple eyes. She loved the way they shone when he was happy. Although Celeste was used to seeing bright, colorful hair, Juniper's tousled brown hair was somehow very attractive. It was probably because she was unused to seeing brown hair; it wasn't a Quell hair color. But what she liked best about Juniper was his childlike cheerfulness and easygoing personality. The only time she'd ever touched him was to shake his hand, but he gave her the impression that he was a very cuddly guy.

Celeste laughed sunnily, thinking his awkwardness and his blush was just too precious. How was he so adorable? She blushed as he complimented her hair, completely not expecting that coming from him. "Thank you," she said shyly, too overcome to say anything else. "I like your hair too. It looks just like chocolate; I've never seen brown hair like yours!" She giggled softly, wanting so badly to reach out and pet him.

"I bet you're a very cute hyena! Is it considered rude if I asked a Howler to transform?" Celeste asked, grinning. She didn't know Howler manners, much less if they even had specific etiquette. She had no idea whether asking one of them to transform was perfectly acceptable or quite rude. Celeste sure hoped it wasn't. Maybe he would do it when they entered the forest where they weren't surrounded by Quell. Though, they were approaching the entrance of Solodin, so there weren't as many people around.