Optional Obedience

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai had decided that he liked it at Hogwarts. There were far too many people, of course. Then again, he would have been just as uncomfortable in a school of ten as with the thousands of students who currently went to HNZ. There were always places for solidity and tranquility though but the best places were the uncomfortable ones, he had found. The Cliffs was one such destination where few ventured, simply because it was cold and wet on the best of days and quite, quite forbidden. Jai had been placed well in his house; bending the rules to achieve a goal was simply optional as opposed to unthinkable. Since he would be living on the castle grounds for an appallingly long time, he decided that he needed a substitute sanctuary. Jai began the search on day three and had yet to find out several months later. There were only two places left to look, both of which were "off limits", "out of bounds" and "strictly forbidden". Translated to Slytherin-speak, this meant "within the limits of your imagination", "nearing the bounds of indecent rule-breaking but still-not-quite-there-yet," and "forbidden but rarely enforced". In other words, it was perfect, so long as there was a site to be found by the cliff side. He couldn't afford to do much building without getting caught, so it had to be decently established already in terms of shelter. Tricky, thought Jai as he lay flat on his stomach, peering over the edge of the cliff with his fingers scraping the edge. there must be some kind of hollow on the side that he could climb down too...

The only other problem which eluded solving was how to keep other people away- most notably, Sureya Eidos. She was the only one who bothered to bother him, both consciously on her part and unconsciously. She would speak to him occasionally at breakfast, pass him a trowel in the greenhouses or smile at him in the hall; all of which made his stomach tremble and was therefore completely intolerable. Jai had never felt so irked by anyone in his entire life before, and mistakenly took his feelings for intense hatred. Oh yes, he hated that girl. He hated anyone that could illicit involuntary reactions from him. But most of all, Jai hated himself for not being able to control the urges and feelings. Perhaps return her chatter at the table, pass her a spade in return or even smile back. He never did, but he had come dangerously close on a number of occasions. In fact, he was irritated now because he was thinking about her- especially since he'd seen her not far from the area that very morning. If she were to arrive, Jai didn't know what he would do. He was about to find out.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Sureya Eidos was slowly coming to terms with what she was now, her adoptive parents had written back punctuating every sentence with exclamations marks and insisting that they hadn't known, suspected perhaps but had not known. They had then written her a letter every single day since then letting her know how much they loved her and how amazing they considered her to be whether she was part veela or not. Her mother also knitted a stripey rabbit and sent it on to Sureya who absolutely adored it. It was as Luis her white rabbit slept and she found her class schedule empty that she decided to go for a walk without any of the many friends she had made.

All along she had been positively terrified of how others would find her but the boys here weren't so bad and not all seemed to be overly effected by her strange magical blood. Wearing more bizarre clothing that might have looked weird on anyone else but positively enchanting on Sureya, she clutched her knitted rabbit to her stomach and walked along through the lawn with no particular direction in mind. She went through her head all the wonderful people she had met so far here at Hogwarts and on the train journey, she also thought about those she had met before the school had started at all and could not help the smile that brightened her features even more.

This was usually the case when her thoughts took her to Jai Dionysus and though others could probably see the change in her face from beautiful to breathtaking, Sureya remained oblivious to how the boy altered her so greatly. She had tried again and again to be polite and amiable to him but time and again he would behave like nothing more than a monosyllabic Neanderthal. He never smiled at her though she was sure somewhere deep inside that if he did, she would explode from pure joy. She had seen him smile once before and remembered it as one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen.

Her meanderings took her along the cliff face where she began to sing a little song she had known from childhood all about a giant, a boggart and a troll. It was a simple children's ditty that practically every child in the wizarding community knew, Sureya typically didn't care who heard her or anything until she rounded a blind corner and came face to face with Jai. Her singing stopped mid sentence;
"... And when the sky touches his head, the giant calls out for his bed.
The boggart shakes himself confused, unsure which goon that he should choose,
and the troll ...."

She moved the bunny so that she was now holding it by one hand at her side as her face transformed completely with a bright dazzling smile.
"Jai!" she beamed at him delighted to have discovered him all alone, surely he would speak with her now?

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai heard the faint sound of singing and he was instinctively irritated, despite not even being able to make out the song, gender or even the quality of the voice doing the singing. Music always annoyed him unless he listened to it closely. He dreaded to think of the Yule Ball at the end of the year, which would certainly split his head in two with frustration. He thanked all he thought was holy that attendance wasn't mandatory. Jai had to notice this voice though; it was an old folk rhyme, is was a female and it was beautiful ... it was also Sureya. Yet there Jai was, flat on his stomach with his nose over the cliff and looking like a right prat. The embarrassed boy scrambled to his feet, then almost took a fatal step back. Sureya never failed to leave him breathless at first sight. Today she was wearing her usual bizarre ensemble. He rather liked her green coat, since it complimented her eyes so pleasantly. As always, Jai's mouth fell open slightly, dazed, then it snapped back to its usual scowl when she approached. "Air head, don't startle me. I could have fallen right off!". That was his favourite name for her- air head. As much as it was an insult, her hair did sort of remind him of air. He'd felt it once as it blew across his cheek as she passed. It had felt like water sliding past, only lighter and much more pleasant since Jai didn't like getting wet. He didn't like anything much.

"What are you doing up here, anyway? Have you already finished the Herbology essay?" asked Jai, still too startled to sound as gruff as usual. She would have, too. Teacher's pet, thought Jai. In the back of his mind, he was starkly aware of the rope protruding over the edge of the cliff where he had pegged it earlier to reach the cave/hollow/sanctuary. As if fate decided to play football with his life at that moment, all the planning papers under his foot tore themselves free and scattered into the air and over Sureya. Jai rushed forward with a cry and grabbed wildly at the pieces of parchment, catching one just by her ear. It occurred to him that he was now standing too close. "Um ..." said Jai. Cr*p, said his willpower. She smells so pretty! said his hormones. Jai furrowed his brow and waved the papers slightly to distract her from the fact that he was blushing. "These are ... kind of important." There was an awkward pause. Should he ask, or should he not? "D'you reckon you could help me pick them up?" he asked as if he was asking the most embarrassing, excruciating favour that one could possibly ask.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She didn't understand why he always made her feel like she was bursting with fizzy soda pop but he did. Watching as he scrambled to his feet, Sureya could only bite her lip at his words, a look of sadness overcame her beautiful features.
"I wouldn't have let you fall over Jai" she said it so matter of factly, that even as soft as her voice was; even as gentle as she looked a person could almost believe that what she said was true. If he had fallen she would have stopped him somehow. Choosing to ignore the name he called her and not allowing it to upset her any, she nodded her head as she gazed out across the cliff top.

"My essay is all finished Jai, is yours?" she asked him but somehow knew it wouldn't be, "if you need help I can ... well, you know."
She didn't want to keep putting herself out there only to be rebuked by him. Sureya had recently discovered she was part-veela but this boy effected her almost like the way she seemed to effect every other boy. Of course she wasn't going to bend over backwards to do silly things to please him, she had a mind of her own after all but it gave her a glimpse of what the boys must feel around her and she pitied them greatly. It did seem though that Jai as a handful of others could control themselves or not be as overly effected by her as others were, which helped greatly.

"I just wanted to walk" she told him as he moved his foot only to have a bunch of papers scatter about the place and all blowing towards her. It all happened so fast that when his hand brushed past her to catch a sheet fluttering by her ear, she inhaled deeply. He was so close that she could see the flexes in his eyes, the way the hairs of his eyebrows curved in a perfect arch. The ribbon of his mouth as he opened it to speak... all alarmed her greatly and set her pulse rocketing. 'You're not old enough to have these kind of feelings' she warned herself before nodding her head once again.

"Of course I'll help you Jai" she told him just as another piece of paper fluttered by and she reached for it instinctively moving out of his personal space and catching it effortlessly. With a giant effort of willing herself not to think about the boy near her, Sureya gathered what papers she could giggling as some seemed to dance on the breeze that blew and then with a nice size bundle and no more for her to pick up she looked at them as she walked back to him.
"Jai... what are these?" she asked him politely.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

"Well maybe you wouldn't have had a choice," replied Jai irritably as he began sweeping up the dropped papers as she was doing. Of course he didn't believe her; why would anyone save someone who was always so rude to them? A pang of something hit him in the chest, then. It was almost guilt but laced with something else. Was it a touch of that suppressed knowledge trying to force its way to the surface? He knew, somewhere inside of himself, that he wasn't mean to her just because she annoyed him. Jai paid no attention to the hint and simply carried on till they met in the middle again, papers in each hand. "Yeah, my essay is finished." he said softly, answering her properly and without anger in a rare moment of civility. "That's why I've been working on this." Despite the fact that he brushed her off eighty percent of the time, there were moments that Jai chose to share with her, such as access to the Sanctuary at home and now the plans for his new one, here. Somehow, he didn't mind the thought of her knowing. The girl was annoying, but she was no blabber mouth. "Because I'll be here for so long, I wanted to find another place to build a Sanctuary in my spare time. There's heaps of trees but I want somewhere secluded ... and out of bounds. Here was a good place," he explained briefly, waving his hand out at the open ocean beyond the cliffs. It didn't seem like a good place at all, if one didn't notice the rope trailing down the edge of the cliff.

Jai allowed he (and Sureya) space to breathe when he stepped back again and turned around to look down the sharp rock face. "I guess you could come down," he mumbled, trying to make it sound like an unimportant favour. "If you wanted to ... for helping me with the papers," he turned and added defensively, as if he needed an excuse to invite someone to look at a new project. The only problem was, the rope was the same kind as the one in his old Sanctuary and she'd not be able to climb it. She'd have to hold onto him again. The last thing he wanted was to have to explain her falling off a cliff. His stomach leapt again, this time in shock of the thought. Jai wouldn't have that. She couldn't ... he wouldn't want her to ... he'd get in trouble, that was all. "I gotta teach you how to climb one of these," sighed Jai in exasperation. "You know ... if you wanted to. When you have the time. Anyway, coming down?"

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She was not always stubborn but where her friends were concerned or those she considered to be her friends, Sureya was unusually so. Shrugging her shoulders lightly and swinging the knitted bunny by it's hand at her side while she held the other sheets of paper ready to give back to him, she looked at Jai.
"Everyone has a choice, I'd have found a way" she told him again in such a sincere matter of fact tone that it seemed pointless to dispute her claim. She was glad he had finished his essay and beamed brightly at him. Delighted that he hadn't let it go until the last minute. As she listened to him speak about his new 'sanctuay' she became acutely aware of the sparse distance between them and once again became fascinated by the hundreds of tiny details she could see this close that were not otherwise visible even a few steps away. She liked how the sunlight seemed to have caught his hair at the front and lightened it more than the rest. How his chin dimpled to give him a haughty and proud look, yet to her it also made him appear vulnerable. She was amazed at how much she liked looking at him but then he stepped away mumbling something about going down.

Sureya looked in the direction he had pointed and saw the rope. She bit her lip knowing her upper arm strength would not carry her down that and it did look extremely dangerous.
"Would you?" she asked hastily when he offered to teach her how to climb, "I'd love to learn, I don't think I'm very strong though."

She considered his offer and looked at the frilly skirt she wore, why was she never dressed for climbing when she met him? It hadn't stopped her the last time though. Sureya leaned slightly over the edge to get a better look at how far down the rope hung and felt almost dizzy from her efforts. The vast distance to the spray crashing against the rocks lower down was terrifying and for a moment she felt herself sway but instinct made her reach back and spinning herself around at the same time; she found herself clutching Jai's arm and standing closer than before. Her breath caught in her throat as her ice blue eyes looked up at him. For reasons quite beyond her she spoke in a whisper.
"I... I found out something... about me" now was probably as good a time as any to tell him that she was part Veela.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Jai opened his mouth to argue with Sureya's assumption, but he recognised the look in her eyes and shook his head with a sigh. The Hufflepuff girl was absolutely unmovable at times, and not for the first time did he wonder why he allowed someone around him who was just as stubborn as he. Logically, if he had fallen back there wouldn't have been enough time for a novice at magic like Sureya (and indeed, himself) to stop him with a spell, and to reach out to catch him would have been a form of suicide. Jai argued inwardly that it wouldn't have been practical to save him. Sureya wasn't the most practical of people, he reasoned. Nevertheless, he had to shake off the feeling that he'd do exactly the same as she would have if it was Sureya who had fallen. "I would," Jai answered her. One of the reasons he spoke so much around her, in comparison to around other people, was that he found himself in need of constant distractions. Distractions from his own wandering mind, distractions from her proximity; yes, he had noticed that she had been looking at him. He'd been looking at her, too. She was beautiful in the cool Spring sunlight- more so, if that was possible, than just normally. Her hair seemed white as snow and her eyes like a deep, clear brook. His eyes were brown and uninteresting. Hers seemed to hold entire worlds in them with just the colour. But he was getting distracted again. Taking her arm like he was inspecting a vegetable as the market, Jai lifted it to him and commented "You could become strong enough." To his personal chagrin, he wasn't lying.

That arm he held became much more prominent in his interest when it came to clutch at him while they stood in the wind. Although Jai was uncomfortable with contact, he could only wrap his arms around her waist when she clung to him like that. He was a surly sort of person, but he wouldn't refuse to comfort a nervous girl. Jai turned his head to look at her in bemusement but said nothing before Sureya spoke. "Something about you?". By the look on her face, it seemed like something terrible. He did not realise that it was he who was illiciting such emotion, and misunderstood. "You are not in peril, are you?" Jai asked with more curiosity than kindness.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

She heard his words and felt strangely thrilled by them, Jai would willingly help her. Teach her how to climb and become stronger for it. A smile creased her beautiful face as images of Jai with his arm about her like he had at the treehouse popped into her head. Sureya felt foolish and very silly for even thinking such things, especially at her age. It just wasn't right and yet whenever she was around him, she felt herself leaning towards romantic thoughts and connotations regarding them again and again. It happened with no other boy and she wondered at this.

As her arm clung to him, it was as if he had seen into her very thoughts as his arm came about her tiny waist. Sureya couldn't even gasp, she became mesmerized by the deepness of his brown eyes. How infinite they seemed to be and how she wanted nothing more than to lose herself in them. She didn't notice herself moving closer to him as if entranced by what she saw there. Lost completely she heard his words and her own reply was a bare whisper escaping from her perfect mouth that seemed as if it were too close to his own.
"I ... no peril..." she stumbled over the words wondering if she were indeed in no peril, for her insides felt as if they were in grave danger; as if someone was igniting them with fiendfyre and she had no way of dousing the flames.
"I'm part veela" she told him as her other hand absently touched his other arm.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

He was so very aware of her movement towards him. He wanted to push her away, or at least let her go but feeling her by his side was strangely comforting. Jai was quite unused to feeling comfort except when he tolerated a rare hug from his mother. To feel both protective and protected ought never to happen while he was with anyone but whom he shared the closest bond with, so why did this seem alright? Maybe it was the look in her eyes. She trusted him, Jai realised. Only steps from the edge of a tall and seemingly infinite drop, she held onto his arm and looked only at him, as if he could stop the very elements if called upon. Sureya was quite bewitching in her own way. Not content with having the looks of an angel, she seemed to want to possess only him and to fool him into thinking the same. She gave him melancholy and romantic thoughts like the ones he was having when he held her and gazed into the tentative blue pools. He was far too young for this, far too young ... maybe that was what made their whole relationship quite irresistible to Jai. He had very few passions but there was nothing better he loved to indulge in than the pursuit of forbidden fruit. That was Sureya; completely off limits. People who got under his skin had to be kept far away, but this one didn't seem to want to stay away. Part Veela, was she? Jai listened and finally understood why it had been harder than usual to shrug Sureya off. Not content with looks, indeed; she had phantasmal powers over men. Finally he gathered the wit to speak, and when he did it was with careful restraint and poise.

"How very unpleasant for you," said Jai, feeling the warmth of her body next to his and the contrast between it and the cold air. "My condolences. It must be difficult to have people fawning over you at every turn." His tone was faintly sarcastic but his eyes were serious. He barely blinked when a lock of her hair dashed across his face. He smiled when it ran over his lips and they moved in a barely discernible kiss. "But it does explain alot." he said. It explained why it was so difficult for him to ignore her. Even a boy with an iron will like Jai would struggle to feign indifference. The knowledge of her blood had a curious affect on Jai. Because he now knew that his attraction was involuntary, he would redouble his efforts to avoid it. But now that he knew, Sureya was off limits to him. He had barred him from herself and had subsequently made her the most desirable friend and ... friend and interest to him, because of it. Jai loved breaking the rules, and now he wanted to break his own. How long would it last? He turned his body so that they were face to face and she was still in his arms. Now their faces were close ... their noses touched. This was a silly child's game he was playing, and yet ... "It does explain a lot, indeed." Jai closed the bare centimeter gap to touch her lips like a butterfly to hers - then he was gone. He flung himself back like an electrocuted fish and began to blink violently. "Yeah, I kind of figured you were part veela." said Jai, his stomach trembling slightly in shock. "It doesn't matter though, right? You can still climb, can't you?" he said with faint frustration. "Or is this just your way of saying you don't want to go down?".

[ OOC: Ignore epi-long post. You need only write as much as you want/need to, I just had to open Jai's mind up a bit and have a bit of insight into his brain at the moment. ]

 

[Sureya Eidos]

His voice seemed to change somehow, she noticed each fluctuation in decibel as if she had listened to his voice all her life and knew it pitch perfect. Sureya could not help but flinch from his words, Jai was never really polite to her but she had come to expect that from him but now the sarcastic tone he took was more than she could take. It felt as if he were laughing at who she was, as if he disliked her because of it. She was grateful that her eyes were like pools of ice, no one ever noticed at first when they began to fill with unwanted tears as they did now. A lump formed in her throat and she wanted so much to tell him to stop, not to speak like that to her but she felt it was also justified somehow.

She wanted to tell him that it was unpleasant, that she didn't want the attention that she was given but it was no use. He was in no mood to listen to her and instead began repeating how it seemed to explain something. Sureya glanced up into his deep brown eyes once again as his own face turned to regard her and before either knew what was happening his lips touched hers. It was so brief that it felt for a moment as if it did not happen yet the electrical charge, the unearthly unnatural tremor that shook her to the core told her it had. Jai had moved himself so swiftly away from her that she felt as if it must be her fault. Part of the veela blood that flowed through her, he had not been able to help himself. She closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. Anyone but him, she whispered to her heart, she could handle all the other boys fawning over her once Jai was unaffected. She could not bare it if he grew to hate her because of it.

And yet he threw her a life line, as if what had just happened had never occured. She wanted to throw her arms about him in that moment, to thank him for being so wonderful but she dared not. Instead the young girl whose heart had begun to open and flourish because of this strange boy nodded her head.
"I can climb, well with your help" she turned her head to look at the rope once again taking a deep breath before looking at him, "I can do this."

[never apologise for lengthy posts ]

 

[Jai Dionysus]

"Right. Right," said Jai, slightly breathless but more determined than ever to keep a grip on himself. Looking into her eyes after he just barely kissed her, Jai was suddenly sickened with himself. He was disgusted with his lack of strength and more distressingly, angry that he had taken advantage of her closeness in such an unseemly way. If Sureya was offended, which he mistakenly believed, she had a right to be. But Jai's number one rule was 'Never apologise'. That tiny non-kiss hadn't been so bad, anyway. Physically it wasn't violating or uncomfortable for either of them. It had been ... kind of nice. But there he was doing it again- getting caught up in the things that didn't matter. She'd taken the new bait of conversation willingly and he was as grateful as she was. Things learned today; Sureya was part-veela, she was exceedingly dangerous and Jai ought to keep his hands to himself. End of story. Now that the self-talk was over, Jai was all practicality and he was determined to figure out how to take her to his new Sanctuary. "I wouldn't let you hold onto me like last time," he mused out loud as he paced the cliff's edge, glad at having an excuse not to look at her. "If you were to fall, I wouldn't have a hand free." Inspiration struck and Jai swept the trailing rope into his hand and brandished it at Sureya. "Here! I have it. This way you can climb but I am still supporting you until I teach you how to do it alone." Circling around her, Jai began to demonstrate.

Hesitantly but with determination, Jai put an arm around her waist in a detached manor, gripping the rope in front of them both with his hands. He held it out and took her hand to place it on the rope just above his. "Do you see? As you climb down, I climb too with my arms around you here, so that if you lost your grip you need only turn and hold onto me." He was very nonchalant about the instructions and fairly flat-toned as per usual. His nerves seemed to settle as he managed to keep his cool. Jai was reassured that the previous incident must just have been a one-off thing. He wasted no time in shuffling them both to the cliff's edge so that the dizzying drop was only inches away. He leaned back slightly and suddenly they were leaning out over the edge, supported by his strong grip on the rope. Jai was compelled to ask before he plunged over, considering that what they were doing was quite dangerous if she didn't- "Do you trust me?". They were just school mates, barely friends. She had to trust him, otherwise he couldn't ... he wouldn't let her down the cliff.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

It felt as if both were taking tentative steps to keep the 'veela' thing at bay, so that it did not interfere with the fragile friendship they seemed to have. Her eyes widened in surprise when he announced he wouldn't be doing this the same way they had climbed upwards in the tree house, she nodded her head as he explained. It made sense after all considering they were going downwards now and not upwards.

Jai placed himself behind her holding the rope and guiding her hands to it as well. She was lucky that she was so nervous about going down the cliff ledge otherwise his close proximity would be driving her nuts altogether. Her skin seemed to tingle where ever he touched but as they moved out to the very edge she could not help but close her eyes tightly, her knuckles going white from gripping so hard. His words caused her to open her eyes suddenly. Did she trust him? The question shot through her like blood racing through her veins.
"Yes" completely and utterly her heart whispered and suddenly with that simple word her grip loosened and her eyes stayed open and alert. She did trust him and knew he would not let anything happen to her. Before they moved any further she had to know something, it was as if she simply could not help herself.

"Does it matter Jai? What I am ... does it matter to you?" her face turned slightly so she could just make out the outline of his face from her peripheral vision. It mattered very much to her that it would matter to him. She would want to be anyone or anything else if he didn't like what he had learned of her.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Pleased to hear that she'd rely on him to get her down safely, Jai was about to push off when he heard Sureya's soft voice ask about the thing that had been preying on his mind. Jai asked himself the same question; Did he mind? He didn't feel any more or less attracted to her (No, he thought fiercely, I am not attracted to her!) than he had been before, but it had helped him understand where the involuntary feelings were coming from. Part of him didn't like the thought that he might only feel this way because she was part-Veela, but only a small part. He dared not contradict the statement in case it meant that he would have liked her anyway, Veela blood or not. He did kind of like her personality apart from her beauty. She wasn't ignorant or loud and she liked to smile at him a lot. It was a long time before Jai answered her question, but when he finally did he was mild and slightly surprised. "No ... no I don't think I mind," he said, adding hastily "Just because it's you. I don't know how I'd feel if it was someone else with Veela blood, but because it's you ... I don't mind." Jai paused hesitantly. "I guess we can be friends." He'd never had a friend before. He rested his chin on her shoulder briefly before deciding they they'd been swinging in the wind long enough. He began to inch his way down slowly so as to not startle her, then began a steady pace down the cliff side.

Every time he felt that Sureya's grip might slide, Jai would move up slightly so that his arms were under hers, supporting her weight. It was this way that they came to no difficulties while scaling the cliff wall, till suddenly his feet touched the rock ledge. They were still some twenty to thirty feet from the ocean below, but the wind did not blow as hard when he grinned slightly at Sureya and crawled into the cavern after her. The entrance was extremely claustrophobic and he wouldn't be able to enter it by about sixth or seventh year, but soon it spread into an almost perfectly round room with a domed ceiling, with a ten pace diameter all the way around. Sheltered from the cold, it was quite cosy. In the center of cave was a little fire pit that was still smouldering from a few days before. There was good light from the cracks in the piled rocks of the entrance. All it all, it was less of a masterpiece than his tree house Sanctuary but still a very pleasant hideaway. Jai was looking quite proud of himself before remembering the little futon he'd stashed here and shoved it behind a rock non-discreetly. "Ah ... that's, um ... for ... relaxation." he explained, entirely unconvincing. Other small comfort items around the rooms, such as throws and pillow (with suspicious Hogwarts logos on them) suggested that he spent a good deal of time here. Too much, in fact, if the miniature camp stove had anything to say about it. Jai snuck away here most nights when he could, and often skipped classes to visit. He looked very guilty, indeed.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Sureya waited reassured by his presence behind her, his arms around her and his breath that fanned her cheek lightly. She couldn't help but smile at his reply. He didn't mind but not only that, he didn't mind because it was her! Her heart seemed to do a somersault within her and she felt as if she were positively glowing from sheer happiness. As he rested his chin on her shoulder telling her they could be friends, she smiled absently leaning her head back so the side of her own forehead pressed lightly against his for the briefest of moments.
"I'm glad we can be friends Jai, you were the first I had here. I'd hate to lose you" she told him sincerely as they began the descent downwards. Her hands occasionally lost their tight hold but she had no reason to fear too much, she did trust him completely and knew he would guide her down safely.

At last they crawled their way inside and looking about her, she realised he came here quite often. She worried then because the weather during the autumn and winter months would be extremely harsh and if he insisted on coming to this particular place for solace, he could easily get hurt on the descent or even the ascent. Sitting down on the futon she smiled at him, tucking her skirt about her and feeling rather at home in the small place.
"I really like it Jai. You know we could try to build a tree house at the edge of that forest, it might be saver. There's no place here for your beautiful wood carvings" Sureya smiled at him then, still thrilled that he wanted to be friends with her. She knew for Jai that was an awfully big step.

 

[Jai Dionysus]

What did she mean, that she would hate to lose him? Jai wasn't going anywhere. It was hard for the young boy to grasp the subtleties of those words, but what he did surmise that she wouldn't like him to be away from her. That was the problem with Sureya; she constantly irked him with sentences such as those, seeming to be fond of him when really he knew it was all lies since no one could be fond of someone who was rude to them. They were either incredibly stupid or soft-hearted. Sureya didn't seem stupid; why did she put up with him? Jai felt like he'd never understand her. He merely grunted in affirmation and began an attempt to light the small fire, whose smoke would drift through the crevices of the rock and not harm them. "The edge is no good," said Jai softly when she suggested making another Sanctuary elsewhere. What was wrong with his rock place? He agreed that it was a shame there was no place for wood carving, but he didn't carve for decoration, he carved as if it was a physical memory; his own pensieve. This he related to Sureya, adding that although he did prefer the treetops, the entire point of a Sanctuary was that it was hidden. "In fact, you weren't even supposed to see it last time, let alone come inside." said Jai, feigning disgruntlement at the memory but truly not minding at all.

"But I don't care about it being safe," he said, poking at the flickering twigs with his wand. "The whole point is that no one would dare climb down here except me," he said proudly. "And you," he added as an afterthought. Sureya was confusing, but Jai did know that she was brave, even if she clung to him so when he climbed up or down. Suddenly an idea struck him that he leapt upon immediately, feeding it to Sureya. "I know ... I could make something in the trees, but not a Sanctuary. It could be a ... a ..." Jai struggled with a name. "Like a jungle gym, but in the true sense of the word. A forest gym, then. I could take you up to help me build it, and when it is finished, there I'll teach you to climb and you will be as strong and as fast as anyone." he finished, looking quite pleased with his idea. He admitted that spending more time with Sureya may not be beneficial to his mental health, but he liked the idea of being able to teach someone to be agile. Sureya is quite defenseless, thought Jai.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Sureya's eyes cast down ward as Jai mentioned how she should not have known or seen the last sanctuary he had created. She felt as if he had slapped her with a cold wet cloth of reality and wondered why he showed moments of kindness to her and then laced it with moments of meanness. Listening to his words now Sureya wondered why she let him affect her so much. Was it so wrong to crave his friendship when he seemed to unwilling to give it? Again he lashed her on as an after thought to his purpose and she glowered at him now. How dare he! She felt as if she was to be offered only crumbs from him and was supposed to be grateful for the little he gave her.

She loved the idea of a jungle gym and moments ago she would have beamed brightly at him and would have offered to help create it with him somehow but now pride had taken hold of her. Sureya had never felt such overwhelming emotions before. Standing up slowly in the cavern she looked at Jai.
"Please take me back up" she asked him, she didn't want to be the same as anyone. She was happy with how she was or at least she was getting used to the idea of being part veela but he wanted to change her. He was not satisfied with her how she was... he wasn't happy for her to be his friend but had made even that sound as if it were something he had gotten lumbered with. Her pale blue eyes looked as if they were icicles melting.
"Jai please..."

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Baffled by the unexpected iciness in the room's temperature, Jai scowled in confusion (although the two expressions are not commonly used together). "What's gotten your trousers in a twist?" said Jai. Finding himself on the receding end of hostility was an unfamiliar situation to the boy and he felt compelled to up the standard of anger and dwarf hers. He had no idea what she was angry about, none whatsoever, and he hated being confused by her. Jai considered the fact that once a month, his mother would become noticeably more irritable, which he had come to realise was a fact of life for girls. Although no one had, wisely, told him what was the cause of this mood, so he may have been incorrect in assuming the same of Sureya. After all, he'd also learned that it wasn't smart to accuse them of being in that time every time they were angry. Jai couldn't see that he'd been insensitive. To him, he'd paid her a great compliment. Fortunately he didn't press the matter (yet) and simply took her hand irritably and pulled her behind him to crawl out the entrance way. After that, it was simply a matter of getting her to hold onto his shoulders as he slipped out and was able to scale the cliff side with her clinging to his back like a monkey.

When he finally slapped a hand on the grassy overhang above them, the silence beneath the rushing wing had become just about unbearable for the boy. Usually he didn't mind not talking, but not this sort of not talking. Jai sat her on the edge and followed till he was seated beside her. A moment of expectation passed when suddenly Jai burst out "Alright, what have I done now?". It wasn't like Sureya to get grumpy with him. Usually he was the one always peeved at her for one thing or another, even if it was just a misinterpreted look. He found this more annoying. "Five minutes ago, you though a new Sanctuary was the best idea ever and now you're like, trying to burn my face off with that look, or something." He gave her a magnificent scowl.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

Her eyes widened even more with indignation, how dare he even ask her about her trousers at a time like this! The boy was so stupid it wasn't funny any more. Couldn't he see what was staring him right in the face? Apparantly not! He took her by the hand and Sureya felt the heat pass between them, marveling that he couldn't feel anything. She wanted to stomp her foot and indicate the tingling feeling that his touch was causing her but kept her mouth firmly shut. If she was the only one experiencing any thing here then she seriously was not going to be the one to announce that fact. He already thought so little of her as it was.

She moved behind him and circled her arms about him like before, wanting to keep her body as taunt and away from his as much as possible but it was difficult to accomplish. Sureya felt as if she gravitated towards him naturally. Once outside and on safe ground, he helped her to sit down and then he came and sat with her. Desperately she tried to contain the mood that had cloaked her but Jai had to speak and cause her to turn and glower at him once again. Sureya stood up and moved from the edge, tempted for a minute to push him over but knowing she would regret such a hasty action.

"If you don't know what you've done Jai Dionysus then what's the point of me telling you. Clearly I would be wasting my time. It seems that way anyhow, you don't want me as your friend. You.. you want some one faster, stronger ... NOT a veela" now she did stamp her foot and felt the rippling race through her body as she had of late when her temper began to rise. She hated this feeling and knew it had somethign to do with her being part veela.
"Oh trust me Jai, if I could burn your face off with a look you'd be a charred little cinder by now".

 

[Jai Dionysus]

Offended, Jai swiftly replied "What, you think I'm too stupid to understand? If you get angry at me and don't bother telling me why, how am I to understand? Your the stupid one for expecting me to know what's going on in that air head brain of yours!". He adopted a very childish grumpy look and crossed his arms like a petulant child. He really did have a most fearsome scowl with his dark eyebrows and deep chocolate eyes. Jai didn't mean for his gaze to be penetrating, but it was when he was angry and it made one feel like a very small ant being zeroed in on by a magnifying glass. But when he looked at her furious, beautiful face, he felt his stomach quiver once again and the heat fill his cheeks under her gaze. It was easy to be angry at Sureya Eidos, but very hard to maintain. Struggling to hold onto his offense, he lost concentration and made the mistake of listening to what she had to say, which then made him guilty and confused. Hesitantly, Jai offered "I thought you wanted to be able to climb with me. That's why I thought I ..." was doing something nice for you, he finished in his head. But seeing what a bit of generosity is met by, I don't think I'll bother next time! thought Jai furiously.

Meeting her gaze now, Jai being to feel very small like he did when he knew he was (somehow) in the wrong. Unable to hold the anger, he descended into melancholy and his lips drooped at the corners. Jai didn't know it, but he was quite expressive around her. "Maybe I just suck at having friends," he said softly, looking up at her from beneath his eyelashes. He had to ... apologise, but that was impossible! Sureya made him feel and do a lot of things, but an apology was way out of his league still. When he was forced to say sorry to his mother, she would always say thank you in a grave voice and take his hand, not shaking but holding it. Reverting to base gestures, Jai reached out, held her hand beneath both of his own for a moment and promptly turned on his heel and walked away. "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t." he muttered, walking rigidly as one often did when you knew you were being watched.

 

[Sureya Eidos]

With every word he said to her her eyes filled with tears, so much that they had no where to go but to slide outwards and down her beautiful face. He was to her, her bestfriend and yet she was so obviously nothing to him. Not if he could be so rude to her at every turn and now to humiliate and insult her so outrageously. Sureya felt deeply wounded and deeply shocked by Jai. She had expected many things but not this. So he thought she was an air head on top of being too weak. What did he really want from her? She felt him take her hand and before she could say anything he walked away muttering expletives as he did so.

Her tears traced a path down her cheeks until they seemed to freeze at last and stilling her heart she braced herself as Sureya walked after him. She attempted to stomp but didn't quite pull it off. On she went until she caught up with him and stood before him barring his way. Looking about her she hastily knelt down and picking up some mud smeared it on her face and glared at him. Only her large beautiful eyes were recognisable.

"You would prefer me to be less than what I am for some things such as a veela! You do not like that I am this because it affects you and you don't like being affected by anything or anyone Jai Dionysus!" her voice quivered but she went on, "I might look beautiful but I never feel it. I see myself through other peoples eyes, I see fear of me and dislike when you look at me. I see envy and disgust when others look at me. All because they think I look beautiful. How can I believe myself to be that when I don't see it?"

Another tear threatened but she blinked it back in place.
"I want to learn how to climb for me, so that I can spend time with you but as me! Not as someone you would change me into being. Better, stronger, faster, less me and more of an ideal you want." she shrugged her shoulders, a drop of mud splotched from her chin to the ground between her feet.
"I'm the one who sucks at having friends ... because I'm the one who doesn't want to change who I am for everyone else." Sureya turned to walk away, stifling the sob in her throat as her feet picked up pace and she began to run. Not caring about the mud splattered still across her face.