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Post by CautionCat on Dec 18, 2022 22:17:26 GMT -5
Konane gave Alastair some space- she didn't want to crowd the boy all the time, despite her fluttery feelings and such. She respected him to want to meander on his own. So, she found herself in the halls of the many rooms the Refuge offered to... well, whoever. Twitching her nose, she determined where Jaeger may had been staying, and hoped he hadn't got to sleep just yet. It wasn't too late in the evening, but everyone was quite exhausted.
So, with her keen senses, she was able to figure out what room he went into, and would give it a knock. "It is just me, Jaeger, are you still awake?"
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 19, 2022 20:44:47 GMT -5
On the other side of the door came the faint sound of scraping that stopped once she announced herself. "I'm still awake, and the door's unlocked."
When she entered, she'd find Jaeger sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, a couple of his weapons laid out. In addition, his musical instruments were on display with a couple small bottles and a jarred candles in waiting. Rudebuster, the axe Alistair made for him, was before him with a damp blade, the stone that was scraping it just being placed down beside it. Jaeger leaned forward slightly, showing full interest in his visitor.
"How is it that I may help you, friend," he asked with his ever-present smile greeting her.
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 19, 2022 20:56:16 GMT -5
Konane smiled, glad she wasn't disrupting Jaeger from sleeping. She entered, and closed the door behind herself, and came around to sit on the floor across from him. She spoke as she moved.
"Well, for one, I am thankful that your memories are back. That was very worrisome. But I am happy you find my fluffy form attractive enough to think I was your girlfriend." She jested, sticking her tongue out and squinting her eyes. Her tail swayed, and she looked down to the blade being sharpened.
"Alastair really is a master worker of weapons..."
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 19, 2022 21:45:17 GMT -5
Jaeger chuckled nervously and scratched his head. "You are quite attractive, that isn't a secret. I know you said it was no matter, but I apologize again if I put you in any awkward situation for my comment."
He didn't linger on that at all because indeed, Konane said she was more worried about him than anything and honestly, that felt good to hear. At comment on the weapon, he nodded and lifted it slightly, letting the few droplets on the blade move around a few inches. "He is. A master worker of weapons and shields, and tinkerer. Between these weapons, Emmett, and Hermes, and not to mention all of the work he sneaks away with Sae to do on her secrets, I'm convinced there's little he can't make if he puts his mind to it."
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 19, 2022 22:23:23 GMT -5
Konane nodded, smiling. "Yes, he is a very talented young man. I am sure you now remember how I said I was... having a problem with my attraction to him."
She sighed some, and brought her knees up, getting cozy and laying her head in her arms, looking to Jaeger with her yellow eyes.
"I... told him."
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 19, 2022 22:34:41 GMT -5
"Oh, you did!" Jaeger's brows lifted and he leaned in even more, beaming. "And? How did it go~?"
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 19, 2022 22:43:09 GMT -5
Konane furrowed her brows some, and sighed. "Well, he needs to think about it. He... doesn't have the same feelings for me, he doesn't think. So I told him to take all the time he needed, and... if he didn't like me in that way, I would still like to be his friend."
She frowned, and lifted her head. "But what if I am not okay with it? What if it just... eats me up inside and makes me miserable?"
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 19, 2022 23:38:02 GMT -5
"Ah..." Jaeger smacked his teeth while cocking his head. "I'm sorry you didn't get the answer you wanted. But perhaps it was the answer you expected, and that's something you can take comfort in-- that you know Alistair well enough to anticipate his reaction, and work around that. 'At least he didn't say no' may be of little comfort, but it's what I will also point out.
He took a second to think, before his head to himself. "It's okay to not be okay with it, but this is the part where you find the silver lining, the one ray of light in the storm, and nod to it. An alternative is to force him to make a decision immediately, something he may come to resent you for."
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 19, 2022 23:41:10 GMT -5
"Oh, I would never force an answer from him. What with you saying before to... Let him figure it out. He needs time to think about it."
She nodded, and tilted her head side to side slowly, thinking.
"I know I would still want to be his friend, but I don't know if I will ever stop feeling this way for him..."
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 20, 2022 0:03:06 GMT -5
"It's not bad to be in love with him, and to want to be with him, Konane. And I don't believe he'd ever tell you that you should discard your feelings, his own... ways of dealing with matters of the heart aside," Jaeger responded before leaning back slightly, releasing a long, slow breath. When he spoke again, it began soft and reflective.
"I don't believe it was that much a secret that I was starting to feel something for Jennar. I approached them on a night of rest, and received a response almost similar to what you got, if a little more concrete. Even as they told me they weren't seeking anything serious at all in the foreseeable or barely-unforeseeable future, they appreciated my feelings. And so, I could do little else but accept that."
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 20, 2022 0:07:45 GMT -5
She nodded, frowning slightly, but it was comforting that Jaeger was in a similar situation. "I am sorry to hear that, Jaeger..."
"I will wait, and see what he has to say. I don't mind waiting. He has been... More fidgety since I've told him. Nervous. Maybe he does like me, and doesn't realize what it is he feels? Or maybe he's just taken by surprise that someone like me would be interested in someone like him..."
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 20, 2022 19:50:54 GMT -5
Jaeger lifted one of his hands a couple inches, the barest attempt at a dismissive wave. "It's not the first time I've been rejected, and I would be silly to think it would be the last."
Once she started speculating, he nodded. "I'm glad to hear that, Konane, that you'll wait. A small part of me worried that you would decide that you couldn't wait on him to decide, and you'd try to force him into something he wasn't mentally or emotionally ready for. I've seen that happen before, and it always ends poorly. A lot of the times, resentment and regret build in equal measure."
He gave a more definitive dismissive wave this time. "But no worries, you're smart. And Alistair is too, and it's the way of smart people to think, and sometimes overthink. If it's taken you a month for you to build up the courage to tell him how you felt, it may take just as long for him to figure out what he'd like to do about you. For the traveling we did, he's never told me about anyone else that confessed to him. I'd like to believe that he likes you, and likes you more than he does, say, Klinkle or Sae, but I'd just as well believe he likes you three equally, for different reasons."
Jaeger looked up in remembrance. "I can recall one other person who was something like Alistair. A woman engrossed in her work, but not a recluse. She was conventionally attractive, intelligent, could curl a calf with the best of them. Had some friends she would always move around with, and once in a while I'd hear that someone tried to flirt with her, and she'd take it in stride while missing the 'point'. But there was definitely someone who stayed in her friend circle, someone I knew really wanted to have a relationship with her."
He shrugged, giving a wan smile. "Unfortunately, I left before I could see where that went. I suppose the point of that was to tell you you're not the first person to fall in love with someone who wouldn't know what to even do with that information."
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 20, 2022 20:15:58 GMT -5
Another nod, and she smiled. "Oh, I am sure I am not the first, or the last, to be in a situation like this. A whole month... a lot of it I was in denial. I don't... like people like that. I have laid with the boys at home, and a few on our travels, but none of them make me feel like Alastair makes me feel. Maybe it's because he is okay with me being... me. Maybe it's because I don't need to hide who I am around him."
She shrugged, and sighed, shaking her head. "I just know I enjoy his company, and he makes me... feel so shy."
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Post by uberwulfx on Dec 20, 2022 20:23:59 GMT -5
Jaeger's smile grew vibrant. "That's the rub, isn't it? You enjoy Alistair as he is, and he enjoys you as you are. No matter what happens, that's the thing to remember, the thing that should never change. You like him perhaps 'despite,' perhaps 'because,' of the way he sees the world and that four-lettered word that is 'Love.'"
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Post by CautionCat on Dec 20, 2022 20:48:49 GMT -5
Konane's ears folded back, and if she wasn't covered in fur, would have been blushing. She glanced away, and rubbed her cheek with her hand.
"Well, you can love friends."
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