Morning Sweet Prince (Locke)

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke was concerned about Kiri...maybe the trials she'd been though had been too much for her? Or maybe she thought she had to change? Locke was about to speak out, but then something stopped him.

It's her life....he had no right to tell her what was right and what was wrong, she had to choose for herself. So he didn't respond to her depression at all, he let her talk, and then predictably she went back into her mask. The twinge of pain in his heart that she felt that she needed to hide herself from him gnawed at him, but he pushed it aside.

Perhaps one day, she would trust him as much as he trusted her...

"Ate a bit too fast?" Locke echoed with a smile. "Well then, we should take it easy this morning. Perhaps just a walk around the grounds. It's not as spacious at it was back west, but it's not bad considering how deep we are in a metropolis." He seemed to think of something, and he looked to her.

"Oh yeah, I heard that Ms. Corrigan, the Queen's sister, holds a class here on Fae Aspects. You might want to look into that if you're going to be hanging around. Something to do, and she's very experienced so I'm sure she'd be a good teacher for you." Locke had thought the class would be one Kiri might enjoy, and interacting with more of her own kind would do her some good.

[Kiri Honeywater]

"A walk sounds simply lovely!" She gave him her token smile but didn't stand just yet. For at least a little bit longer she just wanted to sit with him plus she didn't trust herself to move just yet. Just the thought of movement made her stomach curl, so it was best to sit for a little bit. It was better than losing her very delicious breakfast though she felt silly for eating so much so fast.

Perking up a bit at his mention of another fairy she quirked an odd look on her face at the aspect of taking a class. Guess no time like the present to tell him. "Um, Locke, sweetie. I, uh, don't want to go back to school. I'm here for you, not school." Her smile faltered a bit, but then she shrugged and turned to stare at her discarded food.

"School just isn't for me. I don't think it ever was. I wouldn't mind spending time with her, and maybe talking with her. But teaching? I don't know." The name sounded familiar too as though she should know it, but she just couldn't place it. Probably a woman that she hadn't spent a lot of time with. But that name sounded like she should really know what it was. Never the best with names she decided to worry about it later. Then the other half of the sentence finally clicked. The Queen's sister. Eyes wide she stared at him for a moment. "The Queen?! I can't talk to the Queen's sister! I'm nothing but a lowly fae nobody. I'm not even fit to talk to the Queen's shoe maker!"

Maybe she was exaggerating but though she didn't have her mother's paranoia that the Queen was out to get her. She did have a slight fear of the Queen, royalty in general actually. Kiri stood and shook her head tugging at her faded, dirty, dress that had more than a few holes in it. "I...I can't talk to a Princess. I belong in the forest with my animals, and..and you. That's all."

Rather frazzled she tugged on her dress again before snapping her hands together to clasp them before her. Stay calm. Stay calm. Breathe.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke was slightly disappointed that Kiri wouldn't return to school, and it worried him a bit as well. Truth be told, her frayed and dirty dress was one of the main reasons he did want to see her return here...

And then she nearly hyper ventilated at the mention of the Royal Family. Locke should have expected enough, and quietly arose with her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and slowly guiding her from the feast hall. She seemed unawares that they were in fact moving, until they'd moved into the main hall, heading towards the gardens.

"Well, first thing is first." Locke said, keeping his voice low and calm so as not to excite the poor girl again. "I wanted you here because well...I'm worried about you. I don't want to have to be worried about where you are living and sleeping and when your next healthy meal will be. I want you to be safe, so I don't have to worry every day if you are taking care of yourself. I mean..." He smiled, kind of humored to use her own words.

"Didn't you tell me a long time ago that I wasn't an animal, no matter what I looked like? Neither are you, even though you can speak with them. You may not be human, but you shouldn't isolate yourself so, it's not healthy. I'm touched you came out here to see me, I really am, but you need to meet other people. Other Fae, human friends, anything like that. This is a great place for that, and to be honest..." He glanced out the window at the fleeting greenery they had. "This is a city, it's dangerous out there. If you lived out there...I'd never be able to stop worrying about you."

"And about Ms. Corrigan, did you know she's the groundskeeper? I usually see her covered in dirt as she replants some flowers or some other project. Doesn't seem very 'regal' to me." He said with a little grin. "Besides, we don't have any Fae Knights or Royalty here. If she's teaching a class on Aspects, it's certainly populated by 'commoners'." Locke shrugged, smiling warmly at her.

"Though I'm not sure how 'common' I'd call a girl like you." The problem Locke had was simple. He didn't have the ability to take care of this girl right now, he couldn't support her needs and living, he was too young and there was no way for him to simply do it. If she wasn't in the Academy, then she'd have nothing. All she'd have to do is take one class, and the Academy would offer her everything as a normal student, that would do worlds to put his mind at ease. She'd have everything she needed. A place to sleep, food, clothes, and even a community of people, maybe some friends.

Wait, when did he start caring about friends?

[Kiri Honeywater]

As he lead he away from the small groups of early risers she calmed down once more. She hadn't realized how deeply rooted the paranoia of the Fae royalty had been implanted into her, but now she knew. Sighing she bowed her head as she listened to Locke speak of safety and health, and she couldn't help but smile. It warmed her heart to know that he worried about her but he didn't need to. The animals helped her get all the real nutrients that she needed it just wasn't very often that she got warm food. She shouldn't have mentioned the not eating hot food thing to him beforehand. If she hadn't he wouldn't have this unnecessary worry for her.

But he did have a point when dealing with not knowing where she was going to sleep. Most nights even she didn't know where she was sleeping. It usually ended up in a tree, but when she got to the big city she had to admit she had gotten a bit lost. There weren't nearly as many animals within the city though a good number of animals had followed her at per her request so she wouldn't have to do the journey alone. But they only followed her so far and the rest would leave now that she had settled at the school. At the school she was safe to sleep in the small amount of trees that surrounded it. And if need be she could always shrink down to her fairy size and sleep in the garden. She couldn't even really remember the last time that she slept in a bed but she wasn't about to tell him that.

"Locke, you worry too much. The animals help me get my food and I have no problem finding places to sleep." She turned to grasp his hands in hers, and to give him a reassuring smile. "It might be a bit harder to find food inside the city but I can always go outside the city and ask the animals there."

That didn't sound nearly as comforting as she had wanted it to sound. "And I know I'm not an animal, but I identify with them the most. They've been there for me just as I've been there for them." Kiri lifted one of her hands and waved it at him with a soft laugh.

"Oh, love, please don't worry so much! I'm fine the way I am. If I get lonely you know how friendly I am I'll just make a friend." It sounded reasonable to her but then he had to go and mention the fact that they were indeed in the big city. She gave a discontented sigh and turned her blue eyes upward. "Locke, I'm pretty sure if I can survive an attack of a grizzly bear I can survive New York city."

The rest about the Fae princess she just gave him a look but nodded slightly. If he insisted on her meeting royalty then she would do it for him. But if the Princess tried to kill her then she was going to fly very fast very far.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke realized something odd as Kiri defended herself, and her views. Namely that she was defending herself and her views. She never used to do that, she was always so timid and passive. Now she was standing up for herself, and even disagreeing with him. She'd never done that before, and as unexpected as it was, Locke found this new strength she displayed quite attractive for the fae girl. He smiled before he looked her over once again. Physically identical, but mentally, she was no longer the same girl. She had learned to draw on her strength and perseverance, and it showed in her new attitude.

She was no longer the weak little damsel in distress who left, she had started to find the real strength in herself. Did it really start on that day? Was it the reason for this evolution. Locke seemed lost in thought as he had to wrap his head around the fact that maybe some good had come of that day.

"You really have grown..." He said, still looking over her. "All right, I leave it all to you. After all, you can take care of yourself now, can't you? Hah, you grew up while I wasn't looking." He decided to turn his conversation to other things.

"So what do you plan to do here then? I mean, you can't be with me all the time, as tempting as that would be, so have you given that any thought?"

[Kiri Honeywater]

She didn't know if she really 'grew up' she just matured a little, but maybe that was the same thing? It didn't really matter she had changed a bit and that's what he was taking notice of. He'd smiled but was he happy that she had changed? Or did he not want her to change? As this thought tried to process he'd moved the conversation right on along. To be honest she had never really thought about it. Staring at him she realized that she hadn't thought as much as this through as she thought she had.

"Well, I could play with the animals." She mumbled her gaze dropping down to show that she clearly hadn't thought of what to do. "Um, I could try and find a job?"

Oh yeah like she was qualified to do anything at all. It wasn't like there were a lot of jobs that required blond girls to talk to animals for them. Sighing she shrugged and started moving once more not really paying attention as to where she was walking to. Not liking all this conversation focusing on her she decided to turn it around to talk about him for a change.

"Got any big plans for the summer? Gonna invent something else spectacular?" Kiri smiled warmly at him when she finally realized where they were going. It didn't take long to figure it out once they were outside because flowers were getting closer. Staring at those flowers she remembered one of her many dreams for the future and smiled. "Locke, do you have any dreams? Like a goal or hope for the future? For something to happen?"

Her eyes drifted upward catching sight of a familiar set of wings soaring overhead. Always there for her no matter what, such an odd bird. After blinking a bit she shook her head slightly to turn her attention back to him awaiting his answer.

[Locke F. Herald]

At her hesitance to answer, Locke was about to start on the offensive again when he recalled something. Something from just a few weeks ago...

Ally had been walking around, toppling over now and then as children do, but she'd been walking about the house. Locke had seen, from the edge of his vision, her going to place her finger into an electrical socket and went to stop her. He would have, had his mother's hand not grabbed hims arm.

'Just watch.' She had instructed him, and he did so as his little sister poked the outlet, jumped and then began crying. Immediately his mother placed down the plant she had been tending to and swooped over to her daughter, picking her up and consoling her. Her words came back to his mind now.

'Nobody can grow if you make the decisions for them.'

Locke chose to ignore her lack of an answer, and then fielded her questions. "This summer? Well I just found out I have a guest to attend to." He said, shooting her an affectionate smile. "But I dunno if I'm gonna invent anything. I might, but I always keep myself so busy. When I'm home I like to pay attention to my sister, she's very impressionable at this age, so I should take care to set a good example."

When she asked about his future plans, Locke had to think. What were his future plans? Well, he had an idea but...

"In the future? I think I'd like to...I dunno just learn forever." He smiled, as dumb as it sounded. "I want to find something, something nobody has ever found before." Of course he had other dreams.

"I mean, I already found a one of a kind before." He said, placing a kiss on her cheek as if to punctuate the sentence.

[Kiri Honeywater]

Smiling back at him with love in her eyes she was just so happy to be by his side again. A part of her worried that he would get sick of her over the summer, and if he did she could just disappear again. It didn't take much for a fairy to fade into the background. It wouldn't be like last time though she'd only be gone for a few weeks to give him some time to spend with his family. She didn't want to be in the way or anything. He was blessed to have a family especially a sibling to take care of. That above all else she did not want to get in the way of he needed to spend time with his sister. And she knew he probably didn't want her to put too much influence on the girl. She could see it now:

"Oh, yes I live in the woods and eat berries." Then the girl tries to go eat a random berry it ends up being poisonous and she'd die. Yep, sounded perfect. So she knew to be very careful at what she told the child, and maybe even the parents. Speaking of parents...

"Locke...what all have you told your parents about me?" What she was basically asking was would they be okay with how she lived? Were they ok with her being a fairy? Had they ever met a fairy before?

His answer for the dreams made her smile and wonder what kind of wonder he'd find. But the mentioning of finding a one of a kind already made her tilt her head in confusion. Even with the kiss on the cheek it didn't quite click. "You've found something that unique? What was it? Was it a book? A plant? A rock?"

So she still wasn't the brightest bulb in the box but she never claimed to be a smart one. They were practically to the garden now and the floral scent flushed her senses making her close her eyes in bliss. Thank the stars for nature.

((ooc. sorry so short...))

[Locke F. Herald]

"What have I told them about you? Let's see. Well, nothing really they didn't already know...I kind of leave them in the dark. Star blabbed a lot, so when I went home for Christmas last year, my dad started asking questions about you. They've been pretty good about it lately though since..."

Kiri had always been a sore subject since she'd vanished. He hadn't liked talking about her, it'd been painful. At her later question, Locke almost burst into laughter. But instead her placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning in so his lips were but inches from hers.

"Of course, it's you." And he pressed a soft kiss to her. Not strong and urgent as they had been before, this was the lightest of touches, as he stayed there with the tenuous connection of their lips. So soft, so wonderful.

[Kiri Honeywater]

His answer didn't tell her much because how did she know what Star told his parents? Maybe the next time the gorgeous bird was around she would have a nice conversation with him. When his sentence trailed off her stomach clinched and she lowered her gaze knowing where that was going. It was often she caught on to things but when one lived with a lot of guilt they tended to connect certain things better. Her hand lifted to a flower but didn't feel anything like she felt when she was with animals. The velvety petals still had some dew on them and the cool water transferred to her hand.

"Um, right..yeah." Obviously lost for words she stopped walking as she stared at a rose trying to feel what kinds of animals might be in the area. It always resulted to that her calling out to the one thing that had never failed her. Not that Locke had ever failed her but her animals never made her feel like this. Not that he probably meant to it was her fault for leaving in the first place. She deserved to feel like this, but she couldn't help but reach out to them when she felt a bit lost.

At the feeling of his hands on her shoulders she turned toward him to find him extremely close. Eyes going a bit wide she was honestly shocked at his words not finding herself to be all that unique. It just didn't click in her mind though she was sure that he was trying to be romantic with those words. That he'd found some special gem or something, was that what he meant? Still a tad confused what exactly he meant she was about to voice that confusion when his lips met hers.

Her eyes once again widened but soon drifted close as peace slowly spread over her mind. It didn't really matter that much did it? And as per norm her body seemed to turn to jelly whenever he kissed her. Her hands lifted to grip his arms but this time she was the first to pull away. Smiling at him she dropped her hands to his waist and stared at him for a moment. To be able to do that again to just take him in was a gift to her. One that before she had taken for granted, and hopefully would never do so again.

"Do..do you believe in forever?" She whispered it her eyes lowering a bit but drifted back up tentatively back to his. Still so close to him not wanting to fully break away. It could be just another question he answered nonchalantly or answered but didn't really give her anything. Or he could astound her. But Locke was just so well, Locke. He was logic, books, inventions, and thinking things through. How could a guy like that believe in a forever, especially the kind of forever she was thinking about.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke saw the uncertainty in her melt away at the kiss. Her guilt, her self loathing, all of it just seemed to vanish in their moment of bliss. But as it must be for paradise, it was surprisingly fleeting, as their lips parted. They remained close, and she asked such a complicated question. Forever....

Forever, as in the continuation of time without end? No no, thinking too much. Forever as in her living forever? No way, too morbid and still thinking too much. Then what possibly definition of forever could she be thinking about? And then Locke had a revelation, and instantly knew what she was asking.

"Only if forever has you in it." He whispered in her ear. He'd still been keeping up on his 'studies' of romanticism. He'd like to believe he was being ok at it. He looked down at the girl in his arms, and it wasn't even the same smile he showed her, this one was different. The dreamy look in his eyes as he started into her cerulean pools. Every inch of her was beautiful, he loved it all.

Locke never would have imagined that conveying that would have been so hard.

[Kiri Honeywater]

At first she figured he was going to give her some definition from a book or something, but he looked as though he were really thinking about it. A part of her had hoped that he'd just spit out an answer because to her it wasn't that hard of a question. But when he finally gave her an answer her face lit up and her heart fluttered as though on wings. As he pulled away from her ear to gaze down at her she almost felt like crying she was so happy. Never could she have hoped that he'd know just what to say. It was like a movie, a song, or a romance novel, or a dream.

"That has to be one of the most romantic things I have ever heard in my life." She gave him a tight hug before stepping back a bit not wanting to overwhelm him. A forever with him in it sounded perfect. Love, hugs, kisses, romantic walks like this; yes, that was perfection. A part of her wanted to jump and giggle in a happy little dance. Just like every other time something awesomely amazing happened to her. But she restrained herself though it most likely showed through her eyes brightly.

She didn't want to move she didn't want to lose this moment. In the chance that some dark conversation might get brought up, or she think some horribly negative thought. No this moment right here was beautiful and she didn't want to lose it though she knew it wouldn't last. Nothing good ever seemed to last no matter how much one wanted them to. No matter how hard they fought to keep it that way.

"Well, as my official day back what is something you want to do? We've covered food, and a lovely walk. Is there anything else you want to do?" Since she was already flying to the moon with his romantic, loving words, and looks she didn't care what they did. But maybe he wanted to show her something. Or maybe talk about something, or do something that he'd been wanting to do. Like go shopping, go to a park, or sight seeing. Whatever it was she'd do it to make up for lost time, and to show him that she loved him just as much as he loved her.

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke smiled at her approval, that was perfect. He'd hit the nail on the head with this one, for certain. She asked what they should do, and Locke was expecting this, he'd already had an answer prepared.

"Why do we need to do anything? We've been apart so long, maybe we should just sit back and relax for a day. It feels like forever since we just sat around talking about whatever we thought about, not always serious and important things."

Locke thought for a moment, it had been a while...Oh! But wait, there was something they had in common that had jumped back into the limelight.

"Oh!" Locke exclaimed. "I remember hearing that Rae was coming back to town soon, I think one of her tours just ended. Maybe we should go visit her one of these days? It's been a while since I've seen her, and I never did get the chance to thank her."

He looked among the flowers, they really were quite beautiful. He'd been so focused on the other beauty he hadn't really noticed.

[Kiri Honeywater]

Nodding and smiling at his suggestion she looked around for a bench or even a clear patch of grass to sit on. His idea sounded okay with her though she was a tad worried that they wouldn't have much to talk about. Even if they didn't they could always just sit and enjoy being together again. That sounded good with her even if it wasn't all that exciting, but who needed exciting all the time? Plus exciting usually meant danger or something similar and they did not need danger. They could do exciting things over the summer for now they could just be.

Her attention pulled back in when he mentioned Rae's name and she bowed her head staring at a flower. Rae had scared the snot out of her she was a rather intimidating woman and had suggested that Kiri try to be sexy. She wasn't quite sure if she cared for the older girl, but she didn't want to say so to Locke. If he wanted to meet up with the girl that was fine. All she would have to do is smile and giggle when appropriate like normal. Maybe Rae wouldn't be so daunting this time.

"Sure! That sounds great. I don't know how to contact her so you'll have to set up the meet and greet. If that's okay?" She could send one of her animals but she didn't think Rae could talk to them anyway. Well, she could tie a message to the leg of a big bird or something, but how would the rock star react? Not knowing and not really caring all that much she decided to leave that little meeting up to Locke.

Then something clicked with one of the last things he said. Lifting her gaze back up at him she smiled but questions danced in her eyes. "Thank her for what?"

[Locke F. Herald]

Locke laughed at Kiri's formality, how odd for her. "Set it up? Heh, I'd just need to visit her club downtown. I'm sure she'd love to see a few familiar faces, having been away for so long." And when Kiri asked for what Locke realized, she didn't know about it. He laughed softly again.

"Oh right, you never heard how me and Rae wound up playing matchmaker for each other. This is enough to make even me believe in fate." He said, moving over to a small bench where they could sit among the flowers. He started from the beginning.

"I'll assume you remember how you met Rae, right? Well, my part in this starts a bit before that. I'd been being my usual anti social self when an older girl came over to me, she asked...well maybe asked isn't the best word, she told me that I was going to teach her to be calm. She was a war dragon you see, her name was Eve. Well, I sent her to Rae. Rae's an outgoing and aggressive personality, the best way to try and make a person calm is to set them against someone so overbearing like that. Turns out, as odd as it may sound, that the two became an 'item'. I couldn't have seen that coming, not a chance."

He stopped for a bit to recall those fond memories. "Anyway, I met with Rae a bit later before I knew any of this. And she recognized my instantly, from your pictures." He said, giving her a coy grin. "I think she likes you, she was really digging into me. Trying to find out my intentions, what kind of guy I was, if I was going to treat you well. I guess I satisfied her, because she gave me some advice on how to...eh I guess be a man about some things..."

He stopped again, thinking about why he'd wanted to be stronger. That bully had been put in his place long ago, and he didn't so much as approach Locke now. Guess it worked.

"Anyway, after a little conversation, we found out that without even meeting each other, we'd been effecting each others love lives. It was just kind of a funny situation. I guess I just wanted to thank her for her advice, I think it's really helped me to...I guess fight for what I want a little more. I needed a little tutoring in being assertive I guess."

Truth be told, he also wanted to thank her for risking her life to rescue him. But he wasn't going to say that here.