[Juniperstar45]

.:Jeu:.

Rolling over, Jeu blinked into the streaming sunlight in his bed room in the Dead Coast. He stretched and giggled at the sun. It was so warm and bright. Pawing at his wall calender he flipped the page over so that he could see the date. Under the bolded number he read the squiggles and smilie faces. Todays activities were certainly boring for some, but not for him. He would wander today, in hopes of finding a new friend.

Leaping up, he grabbed his journal, and a small pack with a juice box and apple. He shoved his journal in the pack with his snacks. Slinging the little pack over his shoulder, it nestled safely in his wing blades. He marched out of his room, whistling a random tune. A few pets that passed cocked their heads, without speaking, then they nodded in recognition. He only whistled the odd tune when he was  truly walking somewhere. His destination, Jawan. That was quite a ways to go for a little Lucain. He staggered out the door, his whistling faltered.

Finally, to the Lucain's surprise he saw the ocean...the other ocean. Not by his house. He grinned from ear to ear, excited about who he would meet.  Murmuring his song to himself, a few words coherent like, "I...lands...every single...day....through the...Do do doodlie doo do." His paws lifted in the air very high with every step he took, making him bounce up and down whenever he took a step. As soon as he was in the town, he examined the clear, glass windows of various seaside shops. Something caught his eyes in one of the stores. A shiny, golden CD was carefully being placed into a radio. He couldn't mistake the CD. It had his song on it. His wandering song. Bolting into the store he stuck his face right in the human owners face. "Excuse me," He asked in a laughing voice, "Could I buy that from you?" The man scrunched his forehead and rubbed his chin, his concentration penetrating deep.

"I would never let it break. It's got my favorite song on it...please mister!" His eyes widened when he saw that the man was turning away. But to his surprise, the man handed him another CD and gestured to his desk. It was filled with the same CD. All in gold, and all very shiny. "Really? Your giving it to me?!" He hollered with joy. Jeu gave the man the best hug he could do in his Lucain form and trotted out of the store with his new CD. While he was humming the song again he paused in a park to eat his apple. It didn't take long considering he was very hungry but he did notice that the garbage cans weren't were they used to be. He gazed along the streets, dazed at the fact that the bins were secretly blocking off an alleyway.

Galloping over to the cans, carefully lifting one lid then dropping it down softly, he heard a soft music come form the depths of the alley. Stifling another yell of glee (music could have been Jeu's third or fourth hobby, the only problem would be that he didn't have the patience to learn) he parted the two trash cans and stumbled down the alleyway, wondering what he would find.

.:15:.

((Wow, sorry this took so long! xD))

[clackno1]

It was still mostly dark out and the sun was just coming over the waves. It was beautiful, but not what she had woken up so early to see. She was actually trying to beat the crowds, if that was possible. Sadly, it was not. She held back the urge to growl and bark at the tourists dotting the sidewalk that were snapping pics of her. An almost pure white lucain seemed like a good choice to take a picture of. No, the beautiful sunrise wasn't even near as good enough as this lucain padding down the street. She kept her head low, showing obvious annoyance. But the tourists didn't even know Body Language 101. As if the anger floating around her eyes wasn't good enough. Well, you could lead the horse to water, but you couldn't make it drink. As in you could give people simple body language but you couldn't make them understand it. It was their choice if they wanted to be stupid or not.

The only thing she carried was the ipod strapped to her front leg. The case it was in was white with black stars, so someone was likely to spot it. But she wasn't listening right now. That would just draw more attention to her. Unwanted attention. The streets were almost empty now, but still the occasional tourist had to snap a few pictures or take a video. A small kid with them would try to reach out and pet her, but either the parents would pull it back or she would slap away the pudgy hand with one of her tails. She liked the satisfaction of slapping them away. The sun was now fully up. Her walk through Jawan seemed to be over now that she had found a good place to practice. A back alley blocked by trash cans. With a nimble leap she cleared the cans and landed in the alley. It looked abandoned. The doors that were there were boarded up and there were old crates in the back. Perfect. She set her ipod on a crate, chose a song to start with, and turned the volume all the way up so the music could be heard. A nice beat, a couple maracas, and a deep voice singing something in Spanish. A couple of weird words and then he would say the same word over and over every five seconds or so. She listened to get the beat and started on her foot work.

It would be easier in her human form, but someone would be more suspicious if they saw a human in a back alley than a dog. Even a white dog. But when she heard metal against concrete her ears went back and she froze, the music continuing on. Her golden eyes searched for the intruder. She could hear the paw steps of the creature and wondered what to do. Should she hide? But the person might look and the only good place to hide would be in a crate. Like she could pry one of those open. Might as well just face whatever it was. If it was hostile she could use the moves Nixie had showed her.

[1]

[Juniperstar45]

Sniffing down the alleyway, were he felt somehow claustrophobic compared to where he had just been, Jeu paused and thought melodramatically, what if I'm killed? What if this huge, three ton sparrow comes down and eats me alive? Or I get sucked into a portal into an unknown demention??? He thought about it for a moment then shrugged, smiling at the thought of danger. How could music be dangerous? He thought again. Putting his back on the wall, he snuck slowly until he could poke his head around the corner. His eyes met with a pure white, and somewhat grey Lucain. A female.

"Bwaaa!" Jeu jumped back, alarmed. That was definitely not what he was expecting. He was hoping he could add another broken record or radio to his stash. Remembering the friend he had met last, a proud wombear to be exact, he walked forward and grinned. "Hullo, sorry about that..." He laughed buoyantly. Cocking his head at the Lucain he looked at the iPod. He listened to the music coming from it and bounced a little at it, smiling wider. "Sorry for the intrusion. I heard your music," He motioned to the streets with random tourists and passersby, "from over there..." He trailed off, sensing that the female was unusually uncomfortable. He thought, well I would to if this great, lumbering peach like Lucain interrupted something private.

.:16:.

[clackno1]

(Um, Jeu couldn't have "walked" from the Dead Coast exactly since it and Jawan are on different continents. Just thought I'd point that out.)

Someone just had to come and ruin her peace. Now she'd have to try and get this thing to go away, and she might have to leave and go somewhere else. She already had to find a new place everyday. A short vacation was all she asked, and she got it. But nothing was ever perfect. She of all people knew that. The hard truth struck her in the face everyday. But all it did was make her more determined. The intruder came around and she saw her own species standing there. The opposite gender, however. Great, just what she needed. It was the colors that really caught her attention. The pink the main one. Well, it's not like you can control who your parents are. That's up to the gods.

She jumped a little when he jumped. Great, a skittish one. That would help a lot. But what he did next proved her wrong. friendly and social. That would a little with talking. But maybe not in trying to make him go away. if he was looking for an easy friend he was barking up the wrong tree. She saw him looking at her ipod and got a bit suspicious. If this guy was a pickpocket there was no way he was getting at her music. She loved the thing dearly, even though she lost it often. Music from a dark alley would probably trigger someone's curiosity. But it probably wasn't a very good excuse to intrude on someone. Either way she supposed he'd have to be nice to the guy until he gave her reason not to. "Hi. It's okay. I guess music from a back alley would be a bit hard to walk away from." She said, smiling a little. Just a little.

[2]

[Juniperstar45]

((Haha, whoops! xD Sorry about that, thanks~ Let's just say he road a boat *shifty eyes*))

Jeu laughed nervously, she didn't look very keen to talk. Or even smile for that matter. It was silent for a bit while he thought about her answser. He very rarely ever thought about what he was going to say next, but he decided this was an unusual situation. "Ya," He nodded his head, "I'm glad you understand!" His tails wagged slightly, happily. "So, my name's Jeu. Can I know yours?" Smiling, he cocked his head again, interested.

Staring up at the sky he continued wagging his tails, only slower now, "Haha, you like music? Were you practicing way back here?" He tried to stop his questioning, he has know people to think of him annoying. Sitting down he shut his trap, like his aunt had showed him to, and awaited her answers. If she would be kind enough to answer them.

.:17:.

[clackno1]

He seemed nervous, she was shy. It looked like this meeting wasn't going to last very long. The awkward silence that followed made her skin itch and burn. How stupid she must look and sound. She did not need this right now. it didn't look like it took a lot to make this guy happy. Well, at least he wasn't some moody goth guy with piercings all over his body. It didn't seem like he had a temper either, and she was not in the mood for an argument. But who really knew what he was like except himself. "Go ahead and call me Annie." She said when he gave her his name. A nickname would be better for a stranger than her full name. If he was some kind of stalker it's not like he could find her using just that. There were probably thousands of Annie's in Evelon.

Of course she liked music. Would she listen to it if she didn't? But when you were nervous you said the obvious usually. Either that or what you said didn't make sense. "Yeah, I dance a little." So that was somewhat of a lie. Dancing was her life, no less. She sat down when he sat down, trying to make the situation a bit more comfortable. Carrying on a conversation with a total stranger was not something she was good at. Sure, she could do it with someone she knew well, but that's because she knew what to expect from that person, or had a good idea of what to expect. Jeu was like a blank canvas, and the more she got to know him the more the canvas would be painted on and eventually there would be a complete picture.

[3]

[Juniperstar45]

He could sense the tension in the air, even when he was being a cool cucumber. Jeu's playful eyes danced with excitment, this person was new. She was interesting and secretive. He wasn't that much of a child to figure that out. His eyes looked around the alley again, tracing the darkish, dirty stains on the close walls. He could feel her scrutanizing him. Again he thought, Who wouldn't? A dude just comes out of no where and he begins smiling and asking questions! He blushed just a bit out of this fact. I have pink fur! Then he thought about all those creepers in his miniscule Lucain school who have pinkish fur. He shuttered. He then pondered all the girls in his school. How they would scowl...Again he felt disheartened.

Perking up he smiled, "Alrighty, Annie~" Nodding his head he took in the name, just incase he had to remember it for later referance in the future. "That's a nice name," He grinned again, knowing he didn't lie. He would never be sure of anyone else though. Thankfully he didn't have anything strange wrong with him...that he knew about. His eyes widend when she brought up dancing. They sparkled slightly with wondering, like he  was looking at an idol. That normally happens when someone is different from him. "You can dance?" He sealed his lips when he was going to beg her to show him some moves. But he could already tell that she was a shy one. Considering the lack of words she said. "I tried dancing once...Salsa...or wait, was it..." He remancied slightly, then shook his head, "But I wasn't that good..." He grinned with a blush.

.:18:.

[clackno1]

Jeu seemed calm and open. Playful almost. She could try opening up a bit. It couldn't really hurt, could it? Well, it might but it's not like it would hurt that bad. His colors helped a bit, but don't judge a book by it's cover. he could be some evil madman inside. Though it wasn't very likely it was completely possible. There were lots of killers in Evelon, so why couldn't this guy be one of them. And a female in a back alley. There's no better place to do a murder and get away with it. Now if they were out walking on the streets she'd have no fear of being secretly murdered. With all the tourists around someone was bound to notice something suspicious. Probably one that had been snapping pictures of her. But that conflicted with her hopes of just getting him to go away. Great now she'd have to choose one, or maybe Jeu would choose one himself.

Well, entrusting him with her name seemed to perk him up a bit if he wasn't perky already. He'd probably like her full name better since it has to do with the stars and space and stuff. maybe she'd tell him if she got to know him better. If. "Your name is nice too. It's odd, in a good way." She assured him. hearing that your name is odd might not be a compliment to some. He seemed to be holding back on something, like he really wanted to ask her a question. If it was to dance for him she was glad he was holding back. She'd sooner punch him in the face than dance for him. She danced for her instructors, of course, but that was because they knew dance. They saw more than just fancy moves and graceful poses. They saw her blood, sweat and tears, they saws the hours she'd put in practicing and perfecting her technique. When she danced her put her soul on a silver platter for everyone to see. She wasn't going to show her soul to some random stranger in a dark alley. Then he said how he'd tried dancing. "If you're a beginner then I can understand how you weren't good at the salsa. It's terribly complicated for those who don't understand it. You should of tried the waltz. Simple and easy." Now she could speak dance openly. That was a language she was fluent in.

[4]

[Juniperstar45]

Something tickled Jeu's nose just then, he seemed to sniffle a little, turning his head away before he sneezed softly. It was strange, unreal how quietly he sneezed. Almost like a whisper of wind or a murmur of a stream over pebbles in the water. He giggled slightly, "Heh, sorry. I've got a bit of a cold..." He trailed off happily. Why would a cold make him happy? Anyone would think he would be insane. But he was told different. From his devious sister, he was told that if he were to get really sick that would mean that many people loved him. So he was happy. "Really? Well thanks," He made an odd expression, between awed and a very wide grin, "It's French for Play or Playful. I think my dad's a mind reader." His eyes got serious, "How did he know to name me Play?" Tapping his paw he thought about it for a moment, then shrugged it off.

"Does your name mean anything special?" His innocent question sent him spiraling into thoughts. What if it meant something deep and personal? WOW! He smiled at that, but it wouldn't have been noticeable, since he was already smiling. "Your a quiet Lucain, aren't you." He mused slightly when she went in her reverie, also cocking his head to the side with a smile. Never in his life had he met someone as quiet as her. Maybe that one dude who sat in the back in the back of his class. He never said a word!

He blushed, "Wow, you sure know a lot! Waltz huh...Like..." He put on a concentrated expression, something very rare for him. But he was always up to a challenge. Who wasn't? Taking one step forward he placed a paw forward then the other. It was a little jerky and shaky, but he managed to waltz on his own, with an imaginary partner. Waving his tails he jumped and finished. It wasn't half bad, but then again it wasn't good. He smiled, "So, what did you think?"

.:19:.

[clackno1]

Annie was about to say something about his sneeze but then thought it might be rude so kept her mouth shut. "No need to apologize. You can't help it." he seemed almost happy at the thought of having a cold. But they did allow you to be lazy without having to make an excuse. But walking around town wasn't exactly something a lazy person would do, right? he seemed happy enough that she had complimented his name, and she listened as he exclaimed what his name meant. "ESP?" She asked. His father could have been psychic. She didn't know his family, or even him that well for that matter.

He seemed like a nice guy, and telling him her name couldn't hurt that much. Well, it could hurt, but it's unlikely he would kill her. "Annie is just a nickname. My full name is Andromeda Lyra. I'm named after the galaxy and the constellation. So, I guess it's not that special." She had researched her name when she was small. Looking up pictures of the Andromeda Galaxy. And she did think it was pretty. She had a pretty good knowledge on her namesakes. "Shy." She said when Jeu said she was quiet. She didn't always like admitting it, but it's not like she could escape the fact that she was shy. It was true, she did know a bit about dance. She didn't want to brag about it. "I suppose I do know a bit." She said, and watched as he tried to waltz. She had to remember that he was still a beginner, a very new beginner to keep from laughing at his attempt. It wasn't bad, of course, but it wasn't completely good either. "You can do a waltz by yourself, but it's better when you have a partner when you're a beginner, to help lead you. But I guess you can do both in this form." She stood up to show him. She hated dancing for others, but it was the waltz. She started with her paws right next to each other, using the back ones as one partner and the front ones as the other. One paw from each partner slid back, followed by the other two, but they weren't set down. Instead they went right into the next step, going straight across and were set down. The other two did the same and were set down. And then she did the same thing again to complete the box.

[5]

[Juniperstar45]

Sniffling he laughed, "Yup, your right." He rubbed his nose for a few seconds, then twitched it to see if he would sneeze again. Jeu smiled again and nodded, looking up to the sky, "I dunno, but between you and me," He glanced with shifty eyes over his shoulder, "I think my aunts got some issues...and not just with her temper!" Giggling quickly he continued, "But, I'm a big boy now, and that means that my sister can't pick on me anymore because I believe in apparitions! Or anything close to that..." He sighed and moved his head back and forth as if it were a clock pendulum ticking away the time. Pausing his 'ticking', Jeu thought. "The galaxy and the constellations!?!" He mused happily, "Wowee, that's awesome! Your pelt is very much like a constellation...and a dash of galaxy too of course!" His eyes trailed down to his paws, looking at his fur while it bristled in the wind. He scanned his markings and then looked up at hers. For the second time in his life he wished his pelt was different. It was so odd, with green and pink and tan...Shaking his head to dispel the brooding thoughts, he looked at her and nodded, "Yes, I'm sort of envious of shy Lucain like yourself," He gestured to her with his head, "because many of them are spectacular people! It's all stereotypical and superficial...I get generalized because I'm happy. Immediately people think something is wrong with me." His eyes widened along with a dramatic expression.

"Oh well...Anyway, I bet you know a TON of dance moves. You're rather talented! I wish I could say the same for myself. I could never get the hang of dancing...I just am an all around klutz sometimes!" He laughed, remembering some of his earlier exploits with dancing. Falling, tripping, laughing...the whole bit. Absorbing her information, he nodded with a serious face. In his mind he repeated the words, Waltz; a partner dance, two people are proffered for beginners. A simple box is completed when the Waltz is completed. His eyes trailed her paws, watching her move in a  lithe way that made him almost jealous. Not to the point where he would scream and shout like a temper tantrum, but something else. "Oh, I see!" He placed his four paws together, copying hers when she had started. Recalling from his mind, and also glancing back at Annie, Jeu positioned himself and moved his paws. Once he did a simple circle, better then he did last time with Annie's help of course, he jumped and landed again. Laughing he said, "That was awesome! You must be like...a goddess of...dancing or something! I thought I would never ever ever learn!" Thumping his tail happily on the ground, he beamed at Annie, "You don't have to show me but...could you tell me other moves?" He asked curiously.

.:20:.

[clackno1]

Andromeda nodded as she listened. He was very interesting. It's like he had the personality of a kid. The way he talked about his family sparked her interest too. She didn't have much family that she knew of. She had friends. The other female lucain was a good friend, almost like a sister. "Apparitions? Isn't that like a ghost or something?" She'd heard the word before in shows about haunted places and stuff like that. She blushed a little when he complimented her pelt. She swung her tails a bit to get a good look at them. "Hmm, well I guess it is pretty, but it's not very colorful. I mean, where's the emotion in black and gray? Sure it looks fancy on the dance floor, but you need emotion while dancing. It's what makes you good." Her eyes were the only colorful feature she had, and they were yellow. Nixie had purple on her pelt and her eyes were blue. Now she had really pretty fur. "Your fur is more interesting than mine. No offense or anything, but it almost reminds me of finger-painting. It matches your name and your personality. It's playful." Even if it had pink she liked it. Didn't tough guys wear pink? "there is not a thing wrong with you," And then she rethought her words. "that I know of. And you don't want to be shy. It's completely awkward when you're meeting a new person. Shy people don't mix. We need outgoing and happy people to get us to come out of our shells. You could probably get along with anybody if you tried and if they were willing." Every single word was the truth.

"Dancing isn't for everybody. there's a lot of things for you to do out there. You could play a sport, or an instrument. Maybe you might even be a good businessman. I bet you'd be a great father. None of your kids would ever feel lonely or friendless with you as their dad." She watched him copy her, watching every little move he made, looking for strengths and weaknesses. overall, he did rather well for a beginner. She laughed when he called her a goddess. "Please, I could be out-danced by so many others out there. I've had a lot of practice and my heart's in. If you're heart's not in it then you can tell the difference. Never dance "just to get it over with". Dance to dance, because you like it. learning to dance just takes the right teacher and good advice. If your teacher just stands there and tells you what to do you may learn how to do the dance but you won't learn the dance." She'd had too many teachers like that to count really. The only thing she got from them was a refund. "The waltz can get a whole lot more complicated. There can be spinning, twirling, leg swings here and there. And it can go fast. I got dizzy one time practicing it." Well at least he wouldn't ask her to show him. Small techniques was all she could do. it was hard to do anything more extravagant for a small crowd.

[clackno1]

Something nagged in the back on Annie's mind. Some appointment she'd forgotten, or a dance lesson....A dance lesson! She'd forgotten completely! She hurriedly went back to her ipod, turning off the music and checking the time. That was what she liked about her ipod. She didn't need a watch when she had this, and she never went anywhere without it since it had all her music. And she was late! Really, really late. Not like a few minutes late. Like half-an-hour late. Her new instructor was going to kill her. It was her first time with him, and she didn't want him to get a bad impression of her. Sure, all her other instructors told him wonderful things about her, but a first impression in person could change all that. "I'm really sorry, Jeu, but I'm seriously late for practice." She strapped the ipod back onto her leg as she talked. "Sorry again." She didn't want to be rude, but if he tried to stop her she might. Annie left the alley and started running down the sidewalk, drawing more attention to herself than when she'd first came.

((Pulling her out since you haven't been on in a while. Jeu's accepted, though. I really like him.))