Once more with feeling/Logs/Small Group/Travelling to Denandsor/Dhiren and Nuwa (during the march)

[11:22] Anshu: hello
[11:22] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: hello
[11:22] Anshu: how're you?
[11:23] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: much better than yesterday, having got some sleep ;)
[11:23] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: And you?
[11:23] Anshu: much the same
[11:23] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: so, what's the plan? :)
[11:24] Anshu: I dunno
[11:25] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Do you have any scene in mind that would be set during the months of travelling and would benefit from being played out?
[11:26] Anshu: yeah, I think so. Gimme a second to wrap up a post
[11:30] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: And/or we could discuss the characters on a meta level, concentrating some of what they would learn about the other in the day-to-day conversations into more concrete form.
[11:38] Anshu: okay
[11:39] Anshu: *puts on character face*
[11:39] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (ooc talk in parentheses?)
[11:39] Anshu: (yes)
[11:39] Anshu: ( yes, dumb trillian)
[11:40] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (I'm familiar with its substitutions by now ;) )
[11:40] Anshu: (heh)
[11:41] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (btw, the theme song for Nuwa is Eye of the Storm by The Crüxshadows - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMS30HLopFs (just ignore the video). I should edit that into the wiki page one of these days)
[11:42] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (so, what scene did you have in mind?)
[11:50] Anshu: (Just exploring their relationship)
[11:54] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (my client has indicated a few times that you're typing, then it stops. So I'm not sure whether you're waiting for me to say something or if I should wait for you to finish ...)
[11:55] Anshu: (I am typing, just thinking how to word things.)

A few days after Salamander's death, after the column has made camp, Dhiren returns from hunting and approaches Nuwa.
[11:58] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Nuwa is erecting a small tent, a process that is still unfamiliar after only a few days of traveling with the large group of refugees and Solitary Talon's army. She isn't quite sure where the tent had come from either, but somehow someone has managed to provide the refugees with such necessities. [12:00] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Whisking an errant strain of hair away from her face she examines the half-finished structure with a frown that lightens up as Dhiren arrives. "Ah, hello! Since you're back early I assume the hunt was successful?"
[12:03] Anshu: Dhiren nods. "Yes, very. A whole deer, this time." He pauses. "I always wonder what the cooks think about me bringing the animals back without hearts."
[12:06] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "I imagine they are happy to have any meat at all. There are so many people who need something to eat." She cocks her head looking Dhiren curiously. "Does that mean you can turn into a deer now?"
[12:06] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (*at)
[12:07] Anshu: Dhiren nods and moves to help her with her tent. "That's how I got back here so quickly. Those things can really run."
[12:08] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: She nods, apparently still not entirely comfortable with the idea despite her efforts to get used to it. It seems like something out of children's stories, not something that happens for real, something normal people can do, she has explained once. But then neither of them are exactly normal people.
[12:09] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: She smiles. "Thanks. I could learn a sword technique in minutes, but this is a somewhat different sort of challenge."
[12:13] Anshu: He grins up at her. "It can be hard with only one person, but it's straightforward enough once you get the hang of it."
[12:13] Anshu: (How tall is Nuwa?)
[12:14] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (1.70m)
[12:16] Anshu: (*finds a website to convert to imperial units* I wish my country would go ahead and convert to metric already.)
[12:16] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (it's about 5'2", I think)
[12:17] Anshu: (nah, more 5'6"ish, according to the converter)
[12:18] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (apparently. Didn't quite remember the correct values ;) )
[12:19] Anshu: (I don't blame you for not remembering. Ours is a crazy system)
[12:20] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Holding the structure in place while Dhiren ties down the last fixing line Nuwa laughs. "Together we seem to manage."
[12:21] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "Before all of this began I was usually content to just find a tree that would protect me from rain and such. But with so many people I guess it would be difficult to find enough trees."
[12:23] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (how tall is Dhiren?)
[12:23] Anshu: (I hadn't decided, actually, beyond "tall for his age")
[12:25] Anshu: (But probably about the same height as Nuwa, looking at height charts)
[12:29] Anshu: Dhiren nods. "Tents are also goood for keeping supplies dry. Especially food." He sits back. "You grew up in a monastery, right? I know Anshu has things he can't or has to do - like not eating red meat and keeping his head shaved. Do you have anything like that?"
[12:31] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "The monastery of my adoptive father, Wisdom of the Eastwind, yes. But I haven't taken any formal oaths. I wanted to, but they wouldn't allow me." Nuwa smiles, remembering. " 'Not before you have seen the alternatives and are sure that this is what you want', they said."
[12:33] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "I still don't eat meat, though. Partly out of habit, partly because usually I can't afford it. And I don't want to cause an animal pain on my behalf, if I can survive without it."
[12:34] Anshu: "Does it bother you that I hunt and eat animals?"
[12:34] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "And you know that I like to have my daily meditations when possible. But that's not something I have to do, just something I think is good for me to do."
[12:39] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Nuwa considers that for a moment, then shakes her head. "No. I know that you're not doing it for entertainment like some people do. We all need to eat something." She looks at Dhiren thoughtfully. "And you may be a special case besides. I don't know what Luna teaches, but since she has given you this ability ... There are many paths to enlightenment, I think."
[12:41] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: She laughs quietly. "Also I try not to be obnoxious about my beliefs. If I was meant to preach, I would have been a Zenith."
[12:42] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "I won't pretend to the wisdom to know better than everyone else. Better than some perhaps, not not everyone, not by a long shot."
[12:43] Anshu: He laughs a little too, relieved. "Good." Then, impulsively, as she's continuing to talk, he gets to his feet, steps closer, and tries to kiss her.
[12:45] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (what sort of kiss?)
[12:47] Anshu: (On the mouth, with closed lips)
[12:47] Anshu: (a light one)
[12:56] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Caught by surprise Nuwa lets it happen, then blushes deeply. Taking an involuntary step backwards she looks at Dhiren both pleased and confused, her usual serene certainy replaced with a swirl of emotions she doesn't entirely understand, strong enough to permeate through the bond between them.
[12:59] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Happiness/affection/uncertainty/desire to return the kiss/fear of the unknown/...
[13:05] Anshu: "Was... was that okay?" Dhiren is blushing nerviously, feeling much the same things she is. "After what happened to Salamander... I thought we should take advantage of the time we have. I love you, and there's no telling what'll happen to us once we reach the Empty City, or after that... I don't want either of us to regret not having acted on it if something bad happens, like what happened to Anshu."
[13:22] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "It ..." Nuwa has difficulty finding words. "That was ... nice," she finally says with a sense of wonder to her tone. "I ..." Through the bond Dhiren can follow the sentence being constructed. Despite or perhaps because of their depth Nuwa does not know what name to give the feelings she has for Dhiren. "I really like you, too," she finally says, the words woefully inadequate but the best she can manage in these beautiful and terrifying moments.
[13:24] Anshu: (I thought you were in your game?)
[13:24] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (just really slow in deciding what to say)
[13:24] Anshu: (not that I'm complaining, mind)
[13:25] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (in half an hour)
[13:25] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (did I miscalculate the times?)
[13:26] Anshu: (yeah, must've)
[13:28] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "Together ..." She treads on firmer ground now, a smile transforming her previous uncertainty into something beatific. "We'll not let the Empty City get in the way of that."
[13:32] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "And there will be no cause for regret. Remember what I said to Anshu ..." Nuwa looks into Dhiren's eyes. "Every moment with those we love is a gift."
[13:36] Anshu: Dhiren nods slowly. "I guess they are. Although some gifts are better than others."
[13:37] Anshu: "So we should make the most of them, right?"
[13:46] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Nuwa grins impishly. "It's not very courteous to compare one gift to another." She waits a moment, then continues: "But yes, some gifts are better than others."
[13:47] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "I don't think I've ever been given a better one."
[13:51] Anshu: "Really?" Dhiren smiles uncertainly. "It was my first."
[13:57] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: Nuwa nods and blushes a bit. "For me as well."
[14:00] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: (trying to think of a good way to end the scene)
[14:00] Anshu: (yeah)
[14:01] Anshu: (... >.< darn you trillian)
[14:01] Anshu: "Want to try it again?" Dhiren asks, managing to sound hesitant and eager at the same time.
[14:08] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: "Maybe?"
[14:08] dakkareth_666@hotmail.com: This evening the campfire stays cold as Nuwa and Dhiren have better things to do, snuggled up to one another, talking, watching the stars and on occasion following Dhiren's earlier suggestion.