Morning Sweet Prince (Locke)

[Kiri Honeywater]

Feeling a bit guilty for not being as enthusiastic as he was she smiled and listened quietly as he ranted on about the up sides of the trinket. She didn't know anything about seeing the world, and hadn't really had any desire to. Her life was the fairy mound for most of her life up until she left for the school when she was around sixteen. Then she lived at the school and barely left it expect the forest. Then it was back to the forest for months and back to the fairy. Traveling, exploring, going into cities never really worried her. But obviously it did him. She hadn't known he'd felt so trapped.

Eyes sad she tried to be as excited as he was for this new invention but all she saw was that he had to hide. That he'd lived an unhappy life, and that he'd been stuck in a prison. He didn't want the same for his sister and that is understandable, but she hated the fact that he'd had to live that way in the first place. She'd smiled when his ears returned but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Even his kind words about not needing to hide from her didn't lift her spirits.

"I guess I didn't know you felt so trapped. But at least now you can be as free as your heart wants." Her expression softened and it was as though she slid behind a mask. Her smile changed into a brighter one and her face seemed to light up. "Now, I demand syrup!"

Giggling loudly she kissed his cheek and ran off down the hallway. She jumped into the air her wings erupting from her back as she flew backwards. Her abilities with her animals wasn't the only thing she'd worked on while she'd been gone. "Come on! If you manage to beat me there I'll grant you a wish!"

Now she knew fairies couldn't grant wishes but he could find out what she meant when he caught up to her. If he caught up to her that is. She let out another stream of giggles as she spun into the air sending showers of fairy dust onto all the people below her. This was her mask one she'd perfected years ago. No one had to know she was unhappy, not if she didn't want them to know.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke was slightly worried about Kiri, but at her explosion of giggles, he relaxed a little bit. She was tougher then he'd remembered, that was for sure. As she flew down the hallway and issued the challenge, Locke blinked twice before the realization hit him. A race?

"Haha...Ok then, let's see if I'm faster then a Fairy!" He called after he, starting a brisk run down the hall, ducking and weaving through the crowd of people. Obviously she was faster because she could fly, but Locke already had a plan in his head for where he would make up time. If he knew Kiri, she'd purposely go slow just because she didn't want to lose sight of him.

Locke did have one advantage though, one Kiri probably didn't think of. He smiled as he called out to her. "Hey Kiri! Your gonna miss the turn!"

Of course she didn't know how to get to the dining hall like he did, and he hoped the momentary realization would distract her.

[Kiri Honeywater]

The fairy girl spun in the air, did a few loop de loops, and giggled happily as she awaited her boy friend. Or she figured they were still girl friend and boy friend, maybe she should check that status after the race. Trailing her fingers along the ceiling she flipped to find that Locke was gaining on her at a steady pace. Now did she want him to win just so she could have him 'wish' for something? Or should she try her best and see if he won anyway? As she was pondering this flying backwards she ran into a hanging light fixture and nearly toppled from the air. Good one, Kiri. Now lets look where we're going shall we?

Shaking her head she started flying correctly just as she heard Locke call out. She frowned and glanced around wondering what he was talking about. Corner? Turn? Where? Then she spotted a turn she'd just flown by and zipped back to it. Staring down the hallway she didn't remember the cafeteria being down it. But the school may have changed since moving, and besides it wasn't like she went here anymore. So off she went down the hallway without a second thought. No way would he catch her now. She giggled twirling in the air like a bullet through the hallway.

Maybe if she won he'd grant her a wish? Though what she'd wish for was kind of beyond her. All her wishes had basically come true. Oh, that was a wish she could ask for! Summer vacation had to be coming up soon right? He'd get to go home, and when he went home she wanted to go with him. It was a pretty big wish but he'd said that his family had wanted to meet him. And it wasn't like she had to stay the whole summer or anything, or even stay with his family. but at least go home with him to meet them. Then she could go back to the forest and visit him often. That sounded like an excellent wish. Now what wish would he make if he won?

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke started picking up the pace when he saw that Kiri was rapidly gaining ground. He wasn't even sure why he was racing her, he didn't really want anything, but it was a game of hers, so he was happy to oblige. She'd certainly become very agile in the year, as she bobbed and weaved around the halls. Locke wasn't half bad either, though he had to occasionally spin around some shocked student as the entered the halls.

Finally they came into the main hall, from the top of a large staircase. It was true that Kiri could have taken the path she was originally on, but Locke had his own reason for going this way. It was wide open, and Kiri being able to fly could go straight for the dining hall doors, but Locke would have to run down the stairs and around....or so she'd think.

Locke looked across the hall, and found his target, oh this was going to be crazy if it worked. He placed a foot on the railing and with a gulp took a leap off of the stairs. As he felt gravity kick in, and a good deal of shocked gasps and screams from the hall, he focused. There was a mostly metal frame on the door, a structural placement. And so he felt the power flow into his hands, making an effective electromagnet. His body, guided by his hands, shot across the room until he drew closer to the metal door frame. Now for the second part, also requiring perfect timing. He began to change the current, reversing the polarity on his hands, and as he expected, his body began to slow. As he expected, it worked perfectly. The only down side was...

Going from normal to fast and then to a stop so quickly finally caught up to him, and though he landed a few feet from the door safely, he instantly went to a knee as his body tried to catch up to him. He felt like he'd just been through a Spin Cycle.

"Ooof...shouldn't do that again without a little more experimentation." he said, shaking his head and standing after a moment. What he found when he looked up was Kiri standing in front of him, at the door to the hall. He wasn't sure how long she'd been there, he hadn't noticed her approach.

"Ah..hahah." He laughed, standing up and dusting off his knees. "I guess you won...so I don't get that wish, oh well..." He smiled at her. "Maybe I'll get it next time, though the race was fun enough as it was."

[Kiri Honeywater]

As she zoomed about she hoovered right in front of the door to the cafeteria wondering how far Locke was from her. Just as she was landing she hear gasps and screams from behind her causing her to turn quickly. Locke was...flying? Eyes wide she clamped her hands over her mouth nearly letting out a scream as she saw him fly through the air. Was it a new invention? Had he developed a new power she didn't know about? Was he flying or was he falling? What in heck was he doing? Her heart was racing as she watched the one person she ever loved fly/fall through the air.

Finally landing on her own feet she gasped as he landed near her some how unhurt. She rushed to his side completely ignoring the words that came out of his mouth if they did not involve I'm okay. Her hands flew to touch his chest her eyes scanning his body to see if he was hurt at all. "Are you okay? What were you thinking? Were you flying? Falling? Howdidyoudothat? Don't ever do that again! I was terrified! It's not like you have wings! Areyourlegsokay? Goodness gracious, ifIhadknownyouweregoingtopullastuntlike that I'd have never challenged you to a stupid race."

Kiri had slipped into mothering mode as she tittered at him starting to run the words together like she used to. She felt his arms and moved around him checking to see if he was hurt at all. Her heart was still racing and though she heard people giggling around them she didn't care. She wanted to know if he was alright. "Never going to challenge you to a race ever again."

She came to stand in front of him again her eyes filled with worry and some anger. Shaking her head she rubbed her face taking deep breaths to calm herself. After she'd calmed herself she brought her eyes back up to his and she laughed shaking her head again. "I can't believe you. I'll think of another way for you to get a wish."

Smiling she reached to take his hand and start in to the cafeteria. There wasn't that many people there at this early in the morning which was nice that meant the hottest freshest food was all theirs to grab. The smells flowing to her nose was devine and her stomach growled louder. She giggled and covered her hand over her stomach. "Guess I'm hungrier than I thought."

If they didn't have pancakes she might just cry. She was craving pancakes and syrup like no other, and would even go into the big city if it meant she got them. Pancakes, pancakes, pancakes, SYRUP! Spotting maple syrup she nearly ran to snatch up the bottle. If they had syrup surely they had pancakes, unless it was for french toast or heaven forbid waffles! Her stomach growled again and she grumbled softly. "Pancakes..."

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke stood on his own two feet, to see Kiri fretting over him and rambling a mile a minute. She got so shaken up by such little things. He pressed a finger to her lips.

"Calm down." He instructed, smirking at her. "I'm ok, don't get so worked up. Do you think I would have done something like that if I didn't have a plan?" He shot her a winning smile, but he also placed his hands on her sides, holding her there.

"I guess I've learned to be a little bit more reckless. But lectures on being safe from the girl who used to raise baby bobcats?" He tilted his head slightly with a smile. "I'm sorry I worried you. If you want to, I can explain how I can...well it's not flying but...well after breakfast maybe. It's complicated." How was he going to explain manipulation of magnetic fields to a girl like Kiri? At any event, he decided to change the subject a little bit.

"So anyway, that got me thinking. What would you wish from me? I mean, you did win so it's only fair right?" He heard her stomach growl and laughed a bit more. "I guess after breakfast then, let's go."

Once he saw her scoop up the bottle, he grinned a bit. "Pancakes eh? Yeah they have some here. And now that you have a death grip on that bottle of syrup let me go get some for you." He smiled and pulled a chair out for her first, then going up to the kitchen window to receive the requested food. He returned only a moment later with a fresh plate of pancakes, five high!

He laughed a little bit when he set the plate down in front of the girl. "Seems a bit much for you, but I don't know how hungry you are. So eat and enjoy." He smiled, pulling out the chair next to her and sitting down with a plate of his own. A pair of sunnyside eggs on an english muffin, and of course a glass of juice to go with it. A simple meal, but he was a simple kind.

He looked over to the girl to his side before he ate, something nagging on his mind. "You aren't angry with me about that stunt out there, are you?"

[Kiri Honeywater]

With his finger on her lips she had no choice but to fall silent though she did smile and blush a little in response. At his words however she gave him a look that plainly said that teenage boys did stupid things all the time, without plans. Sure he wasn’t a normal teenage boy but it didn’t mean he didn’t have the same hormones flowing through his veins. She lifted to place her hands on his upper arms as he put his on her sides.

“For one baby bobcats are adorable and would never hurt a fly. Secondly, I wasn’t really lecturing just fretting.” Grinning at him she dropped her hands to his and took a step forward her face suddenly turning serious. But his words interrupted what she was about to say and she backed off nodding all the while. “Yeah, yeah I’m sure I’ll understand maybe three words of it. I trust you. Just warn me next time?”

Kiri started into the cafeteria when she heard his question and paused turning back to him. Once gain he stopped her answer but she didn’t mind instead she merely smiled at him her hand over her stomach. She entered the cafeteria and after the deal with the maple syrup bottle sat down as Locke pulled the chair out for her. As he walked off to get food she was half tempted to just start drinking the syrup. Normally she didn’t want something so sugary so badly, but just staring at the dark amber liquid made her mouth water. Guess a life of berries, nuts, and wild vegetables wasn’t exactly all that healthy. He was taking far too long with the pancakes and she pulled the bottle closer to her. I have never wanted a type of food this bad in my life!

The second those pancakes hit the table she slapped butter on top and started pouring on the syrup until the plate was nearly overflowing with it. She smiled up at him before diving into the plate of food almost fainting at how good they tasted. “I have not had hot food in probably a month.”

Sinking into her chair she closed her eyes enjoying the thick, sweet syrup, the texture of the hot pancakes, and the smoothness of the butter. She was lost in the tastes and smells when he brought her out of it with his latest question. Kiri opened her eyes and glanced at him before taking another big bite of pancakes. She wasn’t exactly mad she’d been scared and highly worried that he’d get hurt, but she didn’t know if she was mad. Twirling her fork she thought on it for a minute before swallowing and glancing at him again. “I don’t think I am. I know I didn’t like the feeling of seeing you fly through the air like that not knowing if you were going to be okay, but I don’t think I’m mad.”

She hooked her ankles together tucking them under the chair as she leaned forward poking at her pancakes. If she couldn’t figure out if she were mad or not then she must not be so there was no real need to dwell on it. Shaking her head she dove back into devouring her breakfast with a smile. In between bites she stopped and looked at him almost expecting to wake up from a dream, and find herself at home with her mother. “Locke, what was your wish gonna be?”

((ooc. sorry if it's a tad long...))

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke had to struggle to not laugh with how Kiri dived into her food...he lost that battle as the corners of his smile were being strained watching her attack the food like a wolf moving in for the kill.

"No hot food for a month? Wow, that must have been rough. Maybe I'll take you out on the town, see if we can't find a little cafe out there for lunch after a day walking about?" He proposed. He picked up one half of the little egg sandwich and chewed on it quietly, listening to her. He was glad she wasn't angry with him, but he needed to remember that for the future. Kiri didn't understand what he could do with science, that meant that of course she was going to be worried by what she didn't understand. That was just the way things were going to be.

Silence reigned once more for a moment until she asked the question, what would he have wished from her? He hadn't really given it any thought, she already gave him everything he could have wanted.

"Well..." Locke said, smirking to himself having thought up a good answer. "If it was yesterday I'd have wished for my angel to be back, but I already got that so I'm not too sure." He smiled to her, not going to get between a starving Fae and her food.

"Oh yeah, what about you then? What would your wish have been?" he asked her earlier, but had moved past it and almost forgotten.

[Kiri Honeywater]

She smiled and nodded at his suggestion to find a nice little cage in the city. Though she was afraid of the big city she was not going to tell him that. Little towns were more her cup of tea, but big cities with towering buildings, cars zooming everywhere, and hardly a tree to be found? Not at all her cup of tea. It was so far from her cup that it was on a different continent. She hoped that she could keep her composure while in the city and not have a panic attack. That would just make their little outing so very enjoyable.

As they sat there enjoying their individual breakfasts she smiled often thinking that she was with Locke again. Hot food, a fun race, and her beloved by her side this morning could not get any better. It was like her cloudy life had split open into a spring sunshine filled morning. She almost started humming in the silence but was cut off decided to ask the question about the wish. The answer made her blush, giggle, and smile in that order though giggling was hard when she had food in her mouth.

"Well, I'm glad that your wish came true. Maybe we'll come up with another challenge that you can win later." The words came out teasingly with a hint of challenge tossed in with them. What had made her so competitive? It was somewhat fun to race or challenge people to things to see who was better. She did it often with the animals to try and best them. It didn't happen very often, but whenever it did boy did she celebrate. "Oh, and I'm not an angel. I'm a fairy."

Giggling she winked at him before stuffing her mouth with more syrup soaked pancake. Amazingly enough she had almost finished off the plate when he again asked her what she wanted. Her cheeks tinged red and she bowed her head now afraid to ask for her wish. Before she had been eager to ask it but now that she'd actually won she was afraid to. Poking at her food she mumbled it quickly to get it out and over with.

"I want to go home with you over the summer." Kiri bit her lip still poking at her food not daring to look at him now that bomb had been dumped on the table. Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke laughed to himself at her coy comment about not being an angel. He could have made another pass on her through it, but he decided to cool the flirting for a little bit. At least that was the plan until the nervous girl revealed her wish. Locke turned to look at her, his head cocked a little sideways for a moment with an odd grin on his face.

"Well...I'm no Djinn myself, but I think that is a wish I can easily grant." He looked over to her. "Hey Kiri, would you like to come home to meet my family over the summer?" He said, attempting to maintain a straight face. "Gotta warn you though, my Dad's sense of humor is bad." He added, now smiling. He ignored his own food, wondering what the small, worried girl's reaction would be.

Well in any event, it would certainly be an interesting summer, that was for sure.

OOC: Sorry about the short post, nothing I can do about it right now. Computer crashes every 15 minutes or so.

[Kiri Honeywater]

He said yes! Well, not literally but by asking her he was effectively saying yes to her wish. Still chewing her pancakes she did a happy little dance waving her fork in the air, and tossing her head from side to side. Nothing wrong with being happy about spending time with your boy friend, especially when you'd been separated so long. Once she was done with her happy little dance, and chewing, she smiled at him brightly. This day just kept getting better and better. If one more wonderful thing happened she might just explode.

"Yay! I'm so happy! Thank you, thank you, thank you! And I'm sure your father is wonderful!" Kiri flung an arm around him keeping her sticky fork away while she basically hopped in her seat with excitement. She was going to meet his family and spend quality time with them. And she was going to be able to spend a lot of time with him as well. Both of these things were very good, or at least they were good in her mind.

Things like where she might sleep, if his parents were alright with this arrangement, or if they'd like her didn't enter the girl's mind. She was far too happy to worry about such things, and wouldn't probably worry too much about them later either. With sleeping she could sleep anywhere, and if his parents weren't okay with her staying with them then, well, she could stay anywhere. Though the whole his parents liking her would eventually hit her, but not now. Not when things were just so amazing.

"I can't wait until you get out of school, and meet your parents, and you baby sister, and spend time with you of course." The words came out about a hundred miles per hour as she was practically glowing with per happiness. He just kept giving her gift after gift, and she had nothing to give him. She'd have to find something utterly amazing because so far in the gift department she was getting rather behind.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke arched his eyebrow in amusement as she did a little dance, waving her fork around. She got more then her fair share of odd looks from around the room, and Locke couldn't help but shoot another smile at her. When she threw her arm around him and shot her beautiful smile right back at him, his heart almost skipped a beat. To see her so happy over something so small, it was proof of just how simple this girl was.

But that wasn't a bad thing. She had no real wants or desires, just to be happy and for those she cared for to be happy. In some ways, the most honest one that you could ever find. At her comment, he had to ask though.

"Why are you so excited to meet my family anyway? I mean we're just pretty average...well you know what I meant."

And then Locke remembered. Kiri hadn't really had a family life. It must have been very lonely for her, but now she had a chance to meet a normal family. To meet and care for one who was basically a younger sibling, and to experience what most people took for granted.

Locke smiled and shook his head. "Nevermind, I think I understand. And I'm sure they will love to meet you. After all, I have to wonder if my Dad's been using his animals to spy on me. They might already know."

Locke laughed a bit. "Ever try keeping a secret from someone who could talk to the squirrels living in the trees, or the mice in the walls? If he wanted to know something, he already knows it. And boy is he nosy."

Locke smiled thinking about his family, he really had taken them for granted lately. Taking a bite of his breakfast he thought over how his life had been.

Not bad.

[Kiri Honeywater]

She was happy that he was happy, happy that she could meet his family, and happy well to be happy. It was good to be this happy again it had been awhile since she'd felt this good inside. Not only was she happy but she had warm food in her tummy, and boy did that feel good. After her happy dance she just kept smiling even while chewing her pancakes.

When Locke asked his question she stared at him for a moment not really wanting to go down that road. For to go down that road usually ended up depressing her. But maybe he should know a bit more about her family past. All he really knew was that she had to leave home for a few years, and that she lived with her mother. But he skipped the question after all and she turned back to her plate.

"I hope they like me, but if they don't. Um, if they don't like me does that mean you can't love me anymore?" She poked at her food as the words slipped from her lips. Then she shook her head and smiled up at him before giggling. "But who couldn't love me? I mean I'm far too adorable to hate."

That wasn't exactly true it would probably be easy to hate her for some reason or another. She just hoped that his parents wouldn't. Even if they did it would be okay, and if it meant Locke couldn't be with her then....well that would be okay too. She didn't want to rip him apart from his family. Never, she would never separate him from his family. When a person never really has a family they see people loving their families and would do anything to have it. She just wanted him to keep his and be happy with them. If she wasn't a part of it then at least he can stay happy without her.

When he started talking again she realized that she'd been staring out into space and jerked her eyes up to his. His words made her smile as she thought back to her mother. "Yes, I know that feeling. My mother has the same gift I do. I actually have her raven as my guardian while I'm away from home, though I'm suspicious of him."

Maybe she shouldn't have told him that...well too late now.

[Locke F. Herald]

When Kiri went into her self depression again, Locke was bothered initially. But of course she was just insecure, thinking that something this good was only fleeting. It would take time, but he was sure that eventually she would come to find herself worthy of his love.

That idea seemed backwards to him. She was the immortal, ethereally beautiful one. Why was she the one being worried and insecure of her own worth? Locke turned to her and said, with a half smile to her.

"Tell me Kiri. Do you remember what day you woke up and realized that you loved me? I couldn't tell you when I starting loving you, because it wasn't my choice. Love is but a word, a word used to describe the connection from two people. It's always been there, even before we were aware of it." He stopped, rather surprised with himself for such an out of character dialogue. But he finished none the less. "What I am trying to say is, I couldn't stop loving you. It's never been my choice to love you, I just do. I never decided that I was going to love you, and that's because it was always there, just waiting for me to realize it."

Locke cupped the depressed girls chin, pulling her gaze back to his. "Besides, who could ever hate you? Do you know how many friends I had before I met you? Don't you remember how I used to be? I'd still be locked away in my own mind now if it wasn't for you, and of course they realize that. I think they'd want to thank you over anything else."

When she started talking about the raven, Locke recalled seeing one by his window this morning. He hadn't been paying attention to it, due to the other winged being by his window, but he recalled it now. "Well, it's only natural for a parent to be worried about their child right? Maybe she just wants to keep an eye on you the best she can. After all, I am sure she treasures you even more then I do."

[Kiri Honeywater]

His words did comfort her but she wasn't as stupid as she sometimes felt or let other believe. Nor was she as naive as she used to be. She knew that people fell out of love with each other, or thought that they were in love but weren't really. It wasn't that she doubted Locke's love for her it was just that she wasn't going to let herself believe that one day it would all be over. Not over because of death, but over because they chose someone else. There might be a day that he didn't like seeing her never age. A day where he wanted to live in the city and she couldn't stand it. She'd live in the city if it meant to be with him but she also knew a part of her would slowly, and painfully die. And a person can only let themselves die so much before they can't take it anymore.

Kiri had drifted into her own little world for a while not really looking sad but not looking happy either. Her eyes were distant and her hands no longer moved to scoop pancakes into her mouth. The food was forgotten and the world had faded away. Even when she was talking about Mikail it wasn't like she was really there talking. Her mind was someplace else far into the future. Of a someday that might never come but she feared that it would. His words made her heart sing but a part of her couldn't just smile her life away, at least not anymore.

"Yes, parents are supposed to worry. I understand that. It's just he doesn't feel like a normal animal is all." She placed her fork down and slowly shoved the plate to the side. Turning she gave him a small smile not lifting her eyes to meet his. "Someday someone would have come and done the same thing I had. They would've seen you and you would've come out of your shell. I was just there right time, right place."

Her smile grew a little and she lifted her big blue eyes to his. "Boy were those pancakes good, but I think I ate a little too fast and a little too much. My tummy is killing me!" She giggled a little putting her hands over her stomach. Their conversation had gone far too serious and far too depressing. They needed to get away from such topics, and she needed to stop thinking so negatively. If one only thought about the bad they could never dream of the good. It was better to dream of an amazing could be then have nightmares of what ifs.