[amberra]

Kirye was surprised when she found that she was able to manage a small, watery smile. Thanks for understanding, Zadar. She said in a voice barely above a whisper. Then, surprising herself even more, she laughed as she listened to Zadar tell her about his sister.

Oh, you poor thing. She said, her paw over her mouth in an attempt to stifle the giggles. She wasn't sure if this would offend Zadar or not. I can't imagine what it would be like to be someone's punching bag. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Well...I wouldn't wish it on most people. She smiled, finally happy again.

[clackno1]

Well, it looked like humor had worked. He smiled back at her. Zila found his jokes annoying, mostly because they were usually about her. She laughed at them rarely when they were about someone else. Like of one was about their father she might laugh. Might. "I'd like to get a good hit at him too. I'm not usually a very violent person, and my sister says I'm a wimp so I'm guessing and hoping those mean the same thing to her, but in this case I might make an exception." Why would someone do that to another person.  Put them in the worst state of emotional breakdown possible. What in the world would cause someone to do that to another person. he knew a creature that had been lied to about love, but she had a bleeder to comfort and annoy  and distract her. So how did Kirye manage to get by for so long?

[amberra]

Kirye felt an odd stirring within her. Why would he want to punch someone for hurting her? Was this...friendship? She wasn't sure. She had never had one true, real friend who cared about her, and enjoyed just her company. All of her friends were either adoring guys or admiring girls who hoped that her popularity would rub off on them. They were always quick to leave her when she was in a fix.

I'm sure you're not a wimp. Kirye cocked her head to the side. The curiousity was too much for her to ignore. But...why would you want to hit him when he didn't hurt you. I'm the one he hurt.

[clackno1]

"I don't know." Zadar said, moving his claws through the warm sand. "I guess I don't like the fact that he hurt you. That should have never happened to you, and he really does deserve that bloody nose." He said, sticking out his tongue to one side and punching the air with his paw as if practicing for the real thing. He'd like to see what that creep did after getting what he deserved. Exactly what he deserved. "That creep doesn't deserve any girl, especially you. I don't know what possessed him to do that, but it must have been pretty evil."

"I guess that's what friends do, right? With friends, isn't it like "You're sad I'm sad" or "You're happy I'm happy"? Man, my sister reads me too many chick magazines. I guess that's why she thinks I'm too girly to be a guy." He wouldn't blame his sister for the way he was. Since they were little she was always the leader and he was always the follower. She always fought his battles and her's, she had always been the more independent one, but she still rarely went anywhere without him, and the same with her. The only reason he was out there on his own now was because she had already gone somewhere he couldn't go.

[amberra]

Kirye smiled brightly, the first smile in years that actually brightened her eyes. Zadar had just said that they were friends...hadn't he?

So...you would count me as a friend? Even after my little flirting thing when we first met, and the way I just totally broke down randomly? You would really want to count me as a friend? Then, speaking to herself, I've never really had a true friend before.

[clackno1]

"Of course you're my friend. I mean, what else would you be? You wouldn't be an enemy, I don't have any or even know how to get one. Heck, I wouldn't even call you a frenemy." Maybe she thought it was too soon to call each other official friends. But what else would he call her, a companion? Too formal for him. He'd feel weird going around and calling her his "companion". But maybe she didn't think it was too formal. "Maybe I use the term "friend" too loosely. My dad told me to pick my friends wisely, but he just wanted me to have friends. He really only wanted me to socialize, so I guess that could include enemies and frenemies. But I don't even know how to make a friend so how am I supposed to make an enemy?" Wait, was he rambling? Crap. His sister hated it when he rambled, which is usually why she didn't ask his opinion on things.

His sister usually just kept him quiet most of the time. She didn't have time for ramblings. She liked things simple and to the point. She didn't care about minor details. When something made sense to her it made sense and that wasn't going to change. Even if it's wrong. She'd argue and argue until she was either embarrassed into submission or got her point through and won.

[amberra]

Kirye couldn't help but laugh with the joy bubbling up inside of her. A real friend!

I'm sorry, I probably seem crazy right now. It's just that...I've never had a real friend before, and now...now I have the most amazing kuhna in the whole world as a friend! She hadn't said it in the flirty way that it could have been said. She truly meant it, and said it as truth.

Well, friend...perhaps we should get back to our sandcastle? I promise I won't break down again.

{18}

[clackno1]

Kirye didn't seem to notice his ramblings. And if she did notice she didn't say anything, and he was grateful to her for that. His sister would criticize his clothing and hair sometimes, but his father would always say if was because she cared about him. Well, she didn't care about his feelings. Who wants to be told they look sloppy or that they look like a hermit? He certainly didn't, and he was always looking for ways to criticize his sister and see how she likes it. Thought there was never a chance because she was always perfect. Good style, hair always shiny, not a strand out of place. In kuhna form her fur was always nice and going the right direction.

Laughter was good. "You're not crazy because you laugh. You're just happy. Crazy people laugh randomly and in creepy ways about creepy stuff. Like voodoo and torture and poison. That stuff's not good. I've never had a real friend outside my home and family before." His pelt burned with embarrassment when she said he was the best friend in the world. "Oh, I'm confident there are better friends out there than me." He mumbled quietly. He started wringing out one of his tails like a human would do with a cloth when nervous. "Much better." His sister was looking for the perfect guy, but his father said she was too young but that didn't stop her. She wanted a sweet, sensitive, handsome guy, if not a little bad. She had a slight crush on the sulkuhna they lived with, it was pretty obvious. He was always called a rogue for some reason. During his thoughts he heard Kirye mention working on the sandcastle again. "Of course!" He said and bounded back over to it, working on the moat.

[amberra]

Kirye laughed again at his crazy people comment. Oh, I know one of those types of people. He's...quite scary at times. Especially when he stares at me and randomly starts to laugh... Kirye shuddered. But anyways...I still think that you're the best friend. I mean, you didn't judge me when you first met me, or any time after, either. You're friends with me...simply because I'm me. Not because you want something from me, or because you want to get close to me in a different way. You simply like me...for me. I've never had that before, and I'm not quite sure I'll ever find anyone quite as unique as you. And don't worry...I mean that in the best of ways.

She suddenly noticed that he was acting a bit nervous, and shut her mouth quickly. Had she offended him? Said something wrong? Was there anything she should apologize for?

[clackno1]

When he saw that she had noticed his nervousness he tried his best to hide it. "S-sorry." He apologized, some of his old stutter coming back. He winced slightly at that, knowing it wouldn't help much. He tried again. "You didn't do anything wrong, just a bit embarrassed is all." He noticed right away the way he had said that. His sister would have screamed at him for talking that way. She would have told him to say it "I'm just a bit embarrassed, that's all" if she had heard him talk like that. Would Kirye care?

He stopped working on the sandcastle for a moment to listen to her response. he never did this with his sister or his father since they knew and were used to how he acted. But had he made the wrong impression on Kirye? Had he made himself look incredibly weak and shy. He was shy in the beginning, yeah, but not even his sister would call him weak in the right environment.

[amberra]

Kirye winced. She wasn't upset at Zadar at all...only at herself. Had she been flirting again? She hadn't meant to. She was trying her best to be real with Zadar, not her flirty, all eyes on her attitude that she usually had. Zadar deserved to see her as she really was...not her hiding behind her little mask.

No, don't apologize. It's my fault...I'm sorry. Was I...was I flirting a bit? I'm truly sorry if I was...I didn't mean to. It's just that...well, I really meant what I said. But, if I'm embarrassing you, I'll stop. I'm sorry. She shut her mouth tightly and looked down. She was the one who was embarrassed now. All she was trying to do was have a nice conversation with Zadar. She wanted them to become friends. And now...had she ruined everything?

[clackno1]

No, she was definitely not flirting again. He knew. He was more observant than others. He knew that and so did his father and siblings. All the other kuhnas he lived with knew it too. She was beating herself up over it though 'cause she knew how he reacted to it. Why did he always seem to mess things up? Did his embarrassment seem like nervousness? Well, aren't you nervous when you're embarrassed? Ugh, he didn't know. How was he supposed to untangle this not he had made?

He looked around while he tried to find something to say. he made odd faces while trying to create something that would make this right. "I-I know you meant what you said." Crap! What was with the stuttering today? he almost slapped himself in the face for that. "Ugh, please forget about the stuttering. It seems to be becoming a habit of mine." His sister was going to kill him for that when she found out. "It's actually pretty hard to embarrass me. Well, I do it pretty easily myself, but when my sister tries it doesn't work. Usually because it's in front of family and really really close friends. Like I said before, I don't get out much so she never gets a chance to embarrass me in front of strangers." Great, rambling again. Like that was going to help anything. he started rambling when he got nervous, okay. And who wouldn't be nervous in a situation like this?

[amberra]

Kirye let out a sigh of relief. Ok, I'm glad that you understand that I wasn't flirting. She had to giggle at his stuttering though. And you don't need to apologize for the stuttering. I actually think it's kind of cute. Oops! She hung her head. That time, she had been flirting, she was pretty sure. Why did everything she tried to say in all reality come out wrong?

I'm sorry. It's just in my nature to flirt like that. I'm really trying to stop, honestly I am. She searched his face, looking for signs of anything angry or upset. And I don't believe that you could embarrass yourself easily. Of course, I've only known you for a short while. But still.

[clackno1]

Zadar held back a sigh of relief that she knew she wasn't the problem, but when she said his stutter was cute all emotion disappeared from his face for a few seconds before he fell back, laughing. He fell into his half-built moat that was now filled with water from the tide sneaking up on him. Water splashed around him, and some may have even hit Kirye. He was watching. He too was busy holding his chest and kicking his back paws in the air. She probably thought him a fool.

He wasn't listening to her apology, and hopefully she wouldn't be offended by that, so he didn't know how bad she felt. He had curled up on his side after thirty seconds of continuous laughter as he tried to regain his breathe. He hugged his throbbing chest and stomach as small giggles erupted from his mouth. He started to get to his feet, his knees wobbly, but he collapsed again onto the sand as another wave of giggles hit him. he went back onto his back and squirmed with laughter. he hadn't laughed this hard since...well, he couldn't remember.

((He's so weird XD))

[amberra]

Kirye cocked her head to the side, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion at Zadar's reaction. He was laughing at what she said? Did that mean that she hadn't offended him with her flirting? Kirye winced a bit as the water hit her, but she didn't really mind.

For some reason that Kirye couldn't explain, she felt laughter building up inside of her. She tried her best to keep it in, but her effort was in vain. Soon, she too, was laying on her back, laughing. Something about Zadar's laugh was just so contagious. Besides, Kirye was known for being unable to contain her laughter when someone near here was laughing. And Zadar's humorous position only gave more strength and mirth to her laughter.

After a while, Kirye was able to stop her laughing. Taking a deep breath, holding her now aching stomach, she looked at Zadar. Would you like to share with me what we were laughing about? Does this mean that you're not mad at me?

((haha...Zadar's so funny. I think he's good for Kirye...she could use some amusement in her life ))