<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Timestamp: 23, Tria 81382 Character: Saeri Jeines [Roleplayed much of this over e-mail... >>; ] Where in the hell was that goddamn red planet? All his plants were dying and it was all its goddamn fault! This was Tria, for pity’s sake! Behind his shop, Saeri was out watering his organic herbs and plants, obviously very frustrated about the lack of sunlight. Clad in his rubbery garden trousers and protective gloves, the lukuo was surely an unusual sight, at best. Reading glasses perched precariously across his muzzle, he squinted, feeling the leaves of one of the affected herbs. Many of the tiny plants were withering, though whether from lack of light or sickness, it wasn’t certain. Unusual for the season, clouds above clung together closely, strategically hiding Redveja from view. If he didn’t get this batch growing normally by the end of next week, he wouldn’t be able to make his newest line of products. Damn. What he really needed right now was a greenhouse. A very nice one. Throwing off his gloves, Saeri stomped through the back door of his shop and up the stairs, dragging the dirt from the garden with him. He made a mental note to clean once he found what he was looking for, and promptly stormed to the den. There he found the fertilizer, which he hoped would help liven the plants, even just a bit. Living in an apartment complex had its downsides – there was hardly any backyard, little closet space, and absolutely no privacy. This made the possession of a shed, as well as a greenhouse, absolutely impossible . It wasn’t like he could even entertain friends; well, not like he wanted to. There was nothing cool or young about a beat-up old apartment/shop. Hearing something from downstairs, the lukuo took a moment to discover where it was coming from. Glancing out his bedroom window, Saeri paused and blinked once, twice. Hello, what’s this? Several boxes were stacked in front of the old Thelini place, marking with the symbol for shipping clearly on the tops. A neighbor, moving in next door? The large apartment building had been open for at least a half a year now – it had seemed like no one would ever move in there. And who would want to? The entire place was a complete mess. Trash littered the outsides like the natural vegetation, varying from beer bottles to somebody’s leftover dinner. If someone had let him in that house, he would have that apartment spick and span before the end of the day – okay, so maybe not that fast, but damn did that place need some good cleaning. Saeri was excited, to say the least. It had been at least a year or more since he had had any friendly neighbors, and the prospect of it recurring again made him giddy. Neighbors also made very good business - they could never talk back about you or your shop, especially since they lived right next door. Yay neighbors!</span>
Character: Eirik Iuli This place was a damn mess. But at least he found a, er... decent place to live that was big enough to house his music playing and artistic needs. Running his fingers through his hair, he took a glance around the first floor, deciding he'd need to do some major cleaning up before unpacking anything. He turned his attention to the second floor, not expecting it to be any cleaner than the first floor. And it wasn't. Of course, this place hadn't been lived in for some time. He walked up the stairs and into a very short hall that led to a large empty room with a kitchen to the right, the bedroom to the far left with a bathroom and closet in it and the laundry room to the far right of the bigger room. Not a bad set up if he said so himself. With his exploration done, he headed back downstairs and out the front door to move in all those boxes himself. Frowning a little, he took off his sunglasses and flicked his hair to get it out of his face at least a little, but it fell back into place. Setting the shades on top of his head, he went over to his pile of boxes and picked one up, lugging it inside with a bit of effort. He wasn't a muscle man, after all. In and out and in again, he finally came back out and decided to take a small break, glancing towards the apartment next to him. A cosmetic shop. Interesting. A nice lady must work there. He really should've read more about the neighborhood before he actually decided to move here, what with it being in the blackmarket part of town and all. But whatever. He picked up a couple of his guitars, neatly put in their cases and pulled them inside, really wishing he had some help, but he didn't have a roommate or anything. Damn this was a lot of work, but thankfully the sun wasn't out, as odd as it was. He took another moment to breath before beginning to take in his drum set, piece by piece until the whole set was inside. By now he was fucking sick of dragging boxes and shit inside. Sighing, he turned and leaned on the wall next to the font door, brushing a hand through his hair and realizing he'd worked so hard he was all sweaty now. He couldn't wait to shower later. Once he got all the necessary soaps and whatnot to do it with. This was gonna be a long day.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Much to Saeri's surprise, a young dragon materialized from the door of the apartment and promptly dragged one of the boxes inside. Pushing up so he was more on his tiptoes and thus could see much better, he grinned. From what he could distinguish, it was a young male pendragon, possibly in his early twenties? Hey, he was kinda cute! Watching shamelessly, he noted that the arden carried much that resembled musical instruments - did he see a guitar, a drum set? Maybe he was a musician? Now that was sexy. He felt like a nosy little lady, spying on his neighbor and theorizing his possible occupations or hobbies. This was the worst way to meet a neighbor. He might as well go introduce himself; that was neighborlike, after all. The little devil on his shoulder only laughed at this thought, prodding the lukuo internally with his tail. You just think he's hot, don't you! I bet he's only 15 years old! Cradlerobber! it hissed, smirking maliciously. But it's the neighbor thing to do, urged the angel on the other shoulder, chiding the demon. Sides, why would a 15 year old have an apartment? "W-what...?" Saeri shook these strange thoughts from his mind, trying to focus on the matter at hand. What was he doing here, watching? He should be out there helping him. That was the neighborly thing to do, right? Stop with the neighbor stuff already. Just as he was about to leave, Saeri remembered his rubber trousers and quickly ripped them off. If he had forgotten those, ohoho... embarrassment alley! Slowing himself down with a breather, he stopped at the mirror in his shop, smoothing his crazy waves down and tightening the wrap to prevent their escape. A quick check of his youthful skin, and the appearance-obsessed lukuo emerged into the cloudy day once more. A normal gait was forced as he meandered over to the neighbor's apartment. Catching his attention, he waved simply, walking over to be close enough to chat without bursting his bubble. "Er, h-hi..." he managed to stutter out, looking rather embarrassedly towards his feet and back up towards the stranger. "I live just next door, and I couldn't help but notice you were moving in." Yeah, I bet ya did! You just want in his pants! cackled the devil. Shut the hell up! swore the angel, smacking the demon with its halo. "Need any help with those boxes?" he finally offered, expression reading only simple friendliness. Of course, Saeri didn't have much muscle to offer, but what he lacked in strength, he certainly made up for in determination.</span>
The quiet was a little eerie, besides the noise coming from a couple streets down. Whatever was going on there. There wasn't much going on here... him moving in was probably the biggest thing to happen in a while. He couldn't help but feel he was being watched, but that might just be because he was a little self conscious in these new surroundings. Considering he didn't know anyone nor move with a friend. Not... that he really had any to move with or anything. Okay, now he was just depressing himself. He shook his head just in time for the neighbor to come out of her shop. He only caught the figure coming out from the corner of his eye, only glancing over when she made her way over. Just a glance said that this person was female. I mean, what else could it be? When they finally came over, Eirik looked from the ground up, seeing no sign that this was a female. It wasn't. It was a dude. He took one more look over the stranger, a look that couldn't have been detected from behind black and blond bangs. He took a hand and brushed his bangs from one eye, looking straight at the other's lavender eyes before glancing down, tipping his large ears back sheepishly. The offer was thought over with the arden biting his lip lightly, staying oddly quiet for some reason. <span style='color:silver'>"Erm... I'd hate to bother you,"</span> was the shy reply, the young pendragon keeping his eyes averted towards the ground, occasionally glancing up to meet the other's eyes. His voice was light, quiet; definitely not the way he normally talked, but that probably wasn't too obvious. <span style='color:silver'>"My name's Eirik Iuli,"</span> the young arden added after a moment, offering the blond headed stranger his hand after pushing himself off the wall. This gesture was met with direct eye contact, probably until after the other fellow shook his hand.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>From where he was standing, Saeri could barely read the pendragon's expressions, let alone even see his eyes. What a shame, he'd really like to see his eyes, though the mystery of being hidden was also intriguing. However, the young dragon responded, revealing them with a sweep of his hand. Torn between delight and awkwardness, he met the other's eyes carefully. Oooh... blue. He seemed shy, which was already cute enough but the meeting and glancing down of his sight was just too much. "It's really no bother," reassured Saeri, flashing a smile of pearly white. His voice, though a little low, had a tenor British quality to it. "Eirik (may I call you that?), it's a pleasure to meet you," he laughed, his comfort opening up so that conversation was easier and more smooth for the duo. "Saeri Jeines," he stated, taking the extended digitgrade paw with enthusiasm. After a good shake, he let go and simply stood by him, gesturing towards the boxes. "Shall we?" Their conversation could continue over the muscle exercise as well - however slower it was because of both of their slim builds. Hopefully, their combined presence would make the move-in much easier.</span>
Eirik's large ears pricked at the sound of the other's voice; an odd tone and nice accent. He was getting more impressed by this fellow by the moment. It wasn't odd for this to happen, but you wouldn't think a fellow like him would be into guys. Really... feminine guys who owned cosmetic shops. That had gorgeous curly blond locks, lavender eyes and cute little green spots on his cheeks and ears. So he just admitted to himself that he thought this guy was cute; he was probably in his 20's or so, but he could ask later. He just gave another sheepish nod to the fellow, slightly looking to the side of the other's head or at the spots on his cheek. Anything but the eyes and he was okay. Offering a shy smile to Saeri, he nodded again, hair falling back into place, blocking his shining blue eyes. He walked over to the few remaining boxes, pulling one up into his arms and glancing to Saer before heading inside, putting the heavy box next to the others he put next to the left side wall. It looks so empty in there, not to mention a damn dusty mess. He bit his lip again, very lightly nibbling on one of the rather new snakebite piercings he adorned on his bottom lip. He felt so self concious now, wondering what the lukuo would think of this mess. Hopefully nothing bad... he did just move in after all.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Saeri, after grinning back at the other's shy smile, grabbed one of the larger boxes and began to head inside. Straining with the weight, he groaned quietly and staggered inside, hiding the visible exertion as he passed by Eirik. Letting it down with a soft thump by the other boxes, the lukuo rubbed his hands together to bring some life back into them. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to help, he considered, stopping nearby the door flexing his fingers. He took a look back, and his jaw almost literally dropped off. "Wow," he exhaled, grimacing at the incredible mess inside. Of course, he didn't blame the pendragon for the sight; after all, he was only moving in just today. It was just that this apartment had been a favorite dump spot; whether for trash, drugs, or girlfriends. Saeri had seen 'em all. "Man, this place really needs a good cleaning..." he stated matter-of-factly, hands propped on his hips. He had been willing to clean it before, and now that he had seen, the inside, well... the urgency level was rising. "No offense, of course. This apartment has been like this for ages..." he defended, unsure if the other would be offended by his remarks. Running one paw through the wavy curls that fell into his face, Saeri stopped and laughed sheepishly. "I just get an urge to clean whenever I get in a place like this.... I would have done it earlier, had the real estate let me." Geez, why was he talking so much? Give the guy some room to breathe, man! Saeri ended his speech just as abruptly, feeling quite awkward after his mini monologue. He didn't want to scare off the guy, that was for sure. Silence. He didn't like silence. "So why this apartment, and in Bhim, of all towns?" he inquired curiously, stepping outside to grab another box but keeping his ears flickered towards the pendragon, awaiting his voice. Picking up another package, he lifted with a strenuous movement. Heave ho!</span>
Eirik, of course, felt himself tense hearing the other's 'wow' at his amazing apartment and it's great condition. He felt like getting to work cleaning it up immediately, but refrained himself from doing so. Blue orbs turned back to the arden, ears still attentive to the sound of his voice. ... He sure was friendly, and here he was hardly saying anything at all. He absently messed with the clothbelt he adorned on his waist, fiddling with it as Saer spoke. He didn't mind, it was just... he didn't know what to say back. He would've said something had he known what. But his social skills really failed. Badly. The male followed the other back outside, taking a meek moment to think over his relatively quiet response. <span style='color:silver'>"Um... well... I could afford it,"</span> he replied, walking over to the blond and helping with the package. Of course his clumsy self put a hand on the others, almost causing him to let go of the box completely, but he simply moved his hand over, looking to the side, completely flustered. This guy was about his size, he didn't expect him to break his back helping; one package at a time was good enough. While in the front, he directed them into the door and into the room, to the boxes, coming up with a question of his own on the way. <span style='color:silver'>"H-how long have you lived here...?"</span> he asked tentatively.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Just as he began lifting up the box, Saeri was surprised and slightly pleased when Eirik rushed to help him. Their combined strength made the package much less heavy, much to the relief of the lukuo. He did not need sore muscles, especially at his age. Erk! No, that wasn't it... What he meant, was, of course, he was just that more sensitive to pain...and all that. I'm not old, I'm not old... he mentally chanted to himself, almost like a sutra. Just as quickly, Eirik's hand shifted, momentarily enclosing over Saeri's. If crimson could be seen underneath all his chocolate fur, Saeri's face would have been encased in such a color. Now, Saeri, this was no time to be getting all mushy and girly and stupid. Just cause Eirik was tall, and handsome, not to mention young. Slow down there, kiddo, getting too ahead of yourself! Ignoring the gesture as a polite way of recovering, Saeri maneuvered with the pendragon as they went back inside. "I've lived here for the past three years, actually," he admitted, helping set the box down by the others. "It's not a bad area, if you get used to it." Wiping his hands, he started towards the last few boxes, grinning. "By the way, I couldn't help but notice the instruments you brought in. Are you a musician?" He peered past the door, curiously viewing the outside elements. The clouds were darkening up above, and it almost looked like it was going to rain. They needed to get the rest of these inside before it did.</span>
Thank god Saeri didn't seem to notice his little slip up. He might've dropped the box if it was brought up. But it wasn't. He was still terribly flustered though. When he got like that he started shaking some times, and god damn it would suck if he started up now. Once the box was set down, he watched the other, grabbing ahold of that one sleeve on his right arm and wrinkling the blue part. Oh man, he was pathetic. He headed over to the door to see what the arden was looking at, and the sky was clouding up more and it was getting darker. He didn't hesitate before heading back out and grabbing another box rather carelessly, just wanting to get them inside before all his posessions got soaked. Screw his back; some of this stuff was priceless. He lifted up the box with some effort and headed in, kind of leaving Saer behind. And then he remembered the question he'd been asked, rubbing his head sheepishly and feeling like an idiot for forgetting so quickly. He nodded his head a little, <span style='color:silver'>"Y-yea. I play a little..."</span> he said modestly, swallowing her nervousness. He didn't need to be asked questions about his music playing; he'd just moved here after all.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>He too went out, grabbing the last box and shoving it higher in his arms; made it easier to carry that way. Following after the pendragon, he wondered if he had heard him, as he didn't seem to acknowledge his question. Hopefully he hadn't been too nosy in asking such a question. Once inside, he set the last box carefully on the dirty ground, ears flicking towards Eirik's answer. "Oh..." Saeri noted the other's comfort level drop at his question, and felt it better to drop the subject altogether. Maybe he'd ask another time... As if on cue, the skies outside opened up and it began to pour, cascading fat droplets at supersonic speed to the ground below. Just in time. Taking a moment to look about him, Saeri grimaced a little, hiding the frown just as quickly. He was done helping him, so now what? The idea of walking out in the rain without an umbrella or raincoat was unsettling for the appearance-conscious lukuo, and he was still quite interested in finding out more about his neighbor, er, Eirik. Saeri could always offer to help him unpack or clean or something, but he certainly didn't want to bother the arden with his old man tendencies. It was just that he didn't want to leave just yet.</span>
Man. He felt worse now that Saer didn't really make a reply, but whatever... the weather was more pressing. And now they were both stuck inside. Not that he really minded; he didn't want to send the other out into the rain even if he lived just next door. <span style='color:silver'>"Ah... you can s-stay, of course,"</span> he said politely, stopping himself from offering up a chair or something considering he didn't... have any. He tilted his ears back uncomfortably, looking around at his mess of a home. <span style='color:silver'>"D-do you think you could help me some more?"</span> Eirik finally asked, looking back to Saeri and pulling the sunglasses off his head to fold them up and stick them on the collar of his shirt. He didn't want them falling off his head or breaking while they, or he, worked. <span style='color:silver'>"If not you can... just wait until it stops raining to leave,"</span> he added, glancing away. Despite his still nervous appearance, he was getting more comfortable with the blond arden, considering he was saying more than half a sentence. Oddly enough, he was subconsciously glad it started raining, because it gave him a chance to settle down instead of having his neighbor run off in fear of freaking him out any more.
<span style='font-size:8pt;line-height:100%'>Through one of the windows, Saeri watched anxiously, following the current of the rain as it traveled towards the earth. The lukuo never did quite well during stormy weather; he definitely preferred to be safe and dry, rather than soaked to the bone and resembling an emaciated rat. He blinked, almost tempted to reach out and draw a little picture on the glass; maybe a flower, or even a heart. What a childish thought. Of course, he should have been proud of that. Young and beautiful was what he aspired to be, or at least, appear... Saeri dearly wished he had enjoyed his younger years more thoroughly than he actually did. Shivering slightly, he drew his coat more closely to him and padded around the room, looking. Radar swiveled towards the arden's voice as he circled, feeling more at home than he really expected for such a short acquaintance; probably just the floor plan, their apartments were the same, after all. He was grateful Eirik had vocalized his own thoughts, as there would have been no way Saeri could say something like that. Much too shy, or too proud, he wasn't sure. Saeri gave him credit for that, at least he was brave. That is, if bravery included stuttering. The lukuo fought a guilty snicker. Saeri couldn't help it - that stuttering was just too cute! Brows risingly curiously at his question, Saeri smiled and nodded in agreement. "Sure, I'd love to help," he replied, thrilled to be asked. Usually, he was the one begging someone to let him help them, whether it was fixing some horrible brand of makeup, choosing a new brand of organic milk, whatever came up. The lukuo winked, rolling his sleeves up until they reached his elbows. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving just yet." he reassured Eirik with his winning smile, and laughed. With that, he made sure his hairband was secured tightly, and perched his thick-framed glasses upon his head, his expression widening broadly at the prospect of tackling such an enormous project. Spring cleaning to Saeri was like summer vacation to a hardworking student - he couldn't wait to get to it, but the occasion never seemed to come around as often as he wished. "Where do you want me to start?" he inquired, planting hands upon his thin hips and surveying the room. Another grimace appeared, only to be quickly zipped back to a visage of casual politeness. Well, first things first, this apartment needed to be cleaned, scrubbed from top to bottom until it gleamed like a balding head. It didn't occur to Saeri that normal dragons unpacked first, and cleaned later - that would just be unnatural!</span>
