Muses in the Stars

Raiden really wasn’t fooling Gwynneth, so she began laughing. At the very least, she decided not to exacerbate the situation, so she played it off as if she was laughing with him and not at him.

“You really are brave, aren’t ya?” she giggled. She was totally pulling his tail with that comment. As he explained his case–which, partly, she still didn’t believe him–Gwynneth watched him with a smile. She sighed contentedly and looked back over the pond. “Is that so, then I should thank Sandon later.”

Perhaps the Ashitagirl liked her Mysterious friend…a bit more than just a friend. She wouldn’t admit it, though. They were friends, sure, and it was Valentine’s Day…but as much as she liked him, she felt he could find someone better.

For now, she was just happy enough to spend time alone with him like this. Without being surrounded by crowds of people or other Yokai…just them and a lot of air to breathe.

“Sure am brave!” the Ittangomen laughed in reply, “Heh, anyway... Sandon’ll be real happy to hear you liked his chocolates.”

Raiden relaxed when Gwynneth’s giggling started to fade. He grinned himself as he gazed over at her, basking in the warmth of her adorable smile. He also gave a little sigh, allowing his shoulders to ease while he allowed his guard to drop for a moment. He did feel so calm near her. He could hardly remember when he could just chill out like this before he met her. He was always so tense and riled up.

A few minutes of quiet passed, sneaking by like a passing wind. The ducks had eaten their fill and were now wading by the bank, though a few other ducks appeared to have caught on that the pair had food, and were making their way over. There was still plenty of rice in the bag however, so that wasn’t going to be a problem.

Gwynneth looked at the box, then at Raiden. She paused for a moment before giving him an unamused look.

“You already showed that to me, though.” She shrugged and stuck her nose up in the other direction. “That’s kind of cheap, it’s like you were already obligated to give those chocolates to me…”

Another pause, for dramatic effect. Hopefully it was long enough to get under the Ittangomen’s skin. After Gwynneth felt she gave Raiden the cold shoulder for long enough, she quickly turned back to him, winking with one hand held in front of her forehead and her tongue sticking out.

“Uso~! Did I get you with that?” The Ashitagirl laughed. “Sandon made you give these to me, didn’t he? Like on Christmas…unless…it wasn’t entirely Sandon’s idea, yet again?”

"I know! I was gonna day that's the first part!" Raiden added quickly, "C'mon, I saw an opportunity and took It!"

Though his tactic wasn’t very effective, as the Ashitagirl didn't seem to be at all pleased. When the cold shoulder went on for a little while longer than he was anticipating, he started to get uncomfortable. His tail twitched a little ad his smile faded away, a bit of worry sinking in. So much in fact, that when Gwynneth sprung to life again, he couldn't help but jump.

Raiden tried to cover this by adjusting the way he was sitting, hoping she didn't notice his surprise, "You've been hanging out with Urien too much!" he exclaimed with what was supposed to be a casual chuckle. He didn't want to admit that she got him, but it was written all over his face.

"It actually WAS Sandon's idea this time!" Raiden explained, "He always makes chocolates for friends n' stuff, and since I wound up having to help him, he was like," he put on his best impression of the Sunao, "'Hey! Why don't you make some for Gwynneth, too!' So... Yeah. Hope you like them, I worked real hard."

Gwynneth reached into the bag of rice and threw some in front of her. Since there were more grains near Gwynneth than on Raiden, the mother duck moved over to pick at the small pile of rice. Her ducklings soon came up and also pecked at the rice in front of Gwynneth. Pleased with her quick thinking, she adopted a smug look and hummed contentedly.

“You owe me now~” the Ashitagirl commented smugly.

The Ittangomen was relieved when the duck walked off, though he felt a little honored that she had so boldly walked over him. He had thought he was too intimidating for something like that, but this duck simply didn’t seem to care! Even still, he tucked his tail underneath him to avoid him being pinned down should the duck decide to rest on it...

“Owe you one?” he returned Gwynneth’s smug expression with a sly look, “Heh, guess I do” Raiden grabbed a bit of rice and scattered a bit in front of him, “Alright! How about... This!” 

“Don’t throw it too hard, OK?” Gwynneth warned. The ducks hopped out of the water to peck at the rice, quacking and whistling as they did. The mother duck actually came over and began pecking at Raiden’s tail. The Ashitagirl was shocked at the development…but she snickered softly. “Oh no.”

“I ain’t gonna pelt them with the stuff!” he replied firmly. Though he was smiling as he reached into the bag to grab more rice, “Hey, why don’t you give them some?” he offered Gwynneth the bag. 

Although Raiden was met with a surprise as he felt a dull sensation of something peck at his tail. His knee jerk was to pull it away, but when he saw it was the mother duck he refrained, the tip twitching slightly. Pulling the bag back a little, he didn’t seem to know what to do with the situation as she waddled along the tattered fabric of his tail. She seemed perfectly content to pick the grains from the fibers.

“I’m not a baby, you’re just a jerk!” Gwynneth cried out in retaliation. Although, it was easy to tell she didn’t mean it; she was just very emotional over water fowl at the moment. It took a little bit for her to quiet down, but soon her sobs were subsiding. Sniffling, she looked at Raiden. “I saw a video of a duck eating peas…does that count…?”

Truth be told, she wasn’t an expert on ducks. But she did know that bread was out of the question and grain was much more appropriate. What kind of grain? She wasn’t sure, that just sounded right.

“Maybe it’s OK to feed them rice…?”

Raiden grinned and snickered. It wasn’t often that he saw her angry, but he did find that to be a little cute, “Aw, I’m just teasin’!~" he continued to laugh, “Lookit you! Gettin’ all excited about ducks! That’s great!” he’d have to remember that she liked ducks a lot. 

He watched the ducks for a little bit longer, thinking about ducks eating peas very quickly as his mind started to wander off. He blinked and glanced back to Gwynneth, “Rice?” he asked, “Huh, that’s probably right. I dunno much about ducks, I just heard you’re not supposed to feed ‘em bread. That’s what Sandon said, anyhow.”

Floating upwards he was smiling from horn to horn, “Hey, I’ll run over to the Everymart and get a bag of rice! Be back in a sec!” he zoomed off towards the mart without another word. The trip was pretty fast as he said however, as he returned just minutes later with a bag of dry rice in hand.

“Yeah, that seems nice…” Gwynneth sighed as she slowly floated the towards the bench. She was about to sit down when she caught movement in the corner of her eye…and almost immediately she dropped everything and zipped over to the pond, crying out happily. “Raiden, look! There’s ducks!”

Indeed, there was a family of ducks near the edge of the pond, the mother duck quacking and whistling as her ducklings peeped and leaped into the water. It’s not like ducks were a very rare sight, but Gwynneth felt like she wasn’t even alive just two minutes ago. Cuteness relief indeed.

“They’re so cute…” And suddenly the Ashitagirl was crying. Out of happiness, but she was still crying. Apparently seeing ducks after a stressful shopping spree cures all ills.

Raiden was ready to plop down in the bench when Gwynny was already heading for the pond with glee in her voice. He didn’t mind sitting on the grass, so long as she was comfortable and happy! He smiled and followed after her, “Well you sure turned around quick!” he chuckled, “Cuteness sure is a cureall, ain’t it!” 

He lighted down beside her, tucking his tail so he looked as though he were sitting. He watched the ducklings for a moment--they sure were adorable--before he noticed that Gwynny was crying. A little surprised at first, it took him a moment to realize that she wasn’t upset, just very happy.

Upon reaching the outside, Gwynneth practically went limp; it was as if the tense air in the mall was all that was keeping her together. She whined softly as she was suddenly able to breathe again. Once she gained composure–as best as she could–she looked up at Raiden. Her eyes were pleading with him. They were saying “anywhere but here”.

The Ittangomen frowned lightly. Shopping must have wiped her out completely if she was like this! He could feel the exhaustion radiating off of her, which only reminded him of how tired he was... Flicking his tail he hooked one arm around one of Gwynneth’s for extra support, “C’mon! I know a real nice spot.”

Well, he didn’t have an exact spot in mind, even though he did suggest Gourd Pond. If that wasn’t too crowded or noisy, that should suffice just fine. Besides, the pond itself was pretty nice to look at!

Still being flustered, Gwynneth only barely caught what Raiden said. In fact, she only reacted when the Ittangomen held his hand out to her. Gwynneth flinched slightly, but was brought back to the real world by the gesture. She was already blushing hard, so blushing even more wasn’t entirely possible. She slowly took his hand and immediately looked away from him once she made contact.

“…where are we going, Raiden?”

His heart fluttered when she took hold of his hand, instead of him having to take full initiative. A little smile cracked his lips, though he tried to keep himself focused; he was just leading her out of the mall, nothing more, nothing more... He closed his eyes and puffed out a tiny sigh before looking back at Gwynny with a proper smile.

“Dunno!” he replied as he started to lead her along, “To a park, maybe! Anywhere that’s quieter than this place.”

Once they were outside, Raiden took a moment to decide where he wanted to go. It wasn’t as if there were few options in Springdale; in fact one might say there were too many options!

“Ah…aaahh…um…” She thought for a second before handing one of her bags over. If Raiden managed to get a glance at its contents, there actually were ingredients for curry inside the bag. Apparently her offer was much more than a passing thought…

When Raiden mentioned having something for her, Gwynneth paused and looked at him…seeing the box of chocolates. She then recoiled and began waving her hands.

“No, no, it’s OK, you didn’t have to do that for me, it’s fine…!” Normally Gwynneth’s skin was pink, but it was now positively red. She was completely flustered…and only became more so. “…ah, but if I don’t accept it, I look totally ungrateful…! I’m sorry, I don’t mean it like that–! I just mean…”

Gwynneth was so flustered she couldn’t even agree to Raiden’s plans.

Raiden took the bag she handed him, though he was so focused on her state that he didn’t even think of looking inside. Though he did frown a tad when she reacted to the chocolates, adjusting them under his arm with his fee hand. Maybe she had already received too much chocolate--or was she just trying to be polite...?

“Sorry, not sorry!~” he chimed before clearing his throat, “Haha, seriously though, I wanted to make somethin’ nice for you! I-it was Sandon’s idea anyway,” he added quickly, “Mostly.” he muttered. 

“Eh, it’s the thought that counts, right? You don’t have to eat them,” he continued with a shrug, “But c’mon, we really should get going! You’re not looking too good.” there was a crease in his brow, a worried smile on his face. It really must have been a long day for her.

Mark the ones your muse has done.

Use your result as your post title.

Please repost and don’t reblog!

TAGGED BY: @robocatandboy​

TAGGING: ?? Feel free to steal if you like! I haven’t interacted with many people recently so I feel a bit weird tagging ;;;

RAIDEN YOU FILTHY SINNER 

[ X ]  consumed alcohol [ ]  slept in the same bed with someone of another gender [ ]  slept in the same bed with someone of the same gender [ X ]  kissed someone of another gender [ ]  had sex [ X ]  had someone in your room other than family [ ]  seen porn [ ]  bought porn [ ]  tried drugs [ ]  been drugged

TOTAL: 3

[ X ]  taken painkillers [ ]  taken someone else’s prescription medicine [ X ]  lied to your parents/guardian [ X ]  lied to a friend [ X ]  snuck out of the house [ X ]  done something illegal [ X ]  felt hurt [ X ]  hurt someone [ X ]  wished someone to die [ ]  seen someone die

TOTAL: 8

[ X ]  missed curfew [ X ]  stayed out all night [ ]  eaten a carton of ice cream by yourself [ ]  been to a therapist [ X ]  received a ticket [ ]  been to rehab [ X ]  dyed your hair [ X ]  been in an accident [ ]  been to a club [ ]  been to a bar

TOTAL: 5

[ X ]  been to a wild party [ ]  been to a Mardi Gras parade [ X ]  drank more than three alcoholic beverages in a night [ ]  had a spring break in Florida [ ]  sniffed anything [ ]  wore black nail polish [ X ]  wore armbands [ X ]  wore t-shirts with band names [ X ]  listened to rap

TOTAL: 5

[ ]  dressed gothic [ ]  dressed girly [ X ]  dressed punk [ ]  dressed grunge [ X ]  stole something [ X ]  been too drunk to remember anything [ X ]  blacked out [ ]  fainted [ ]  had a crush on a neighbor

TOTAL: 4

[ X ]  had a crush on a friend [ X ]  been to a concert [ ]  dry-humped someone/been dry humped [ ]  been called a slut [ ]  called someone a slut [ ]  installed speakers in a car [ X ]  broken a mirror [ ]  showered at someone of another gender’s house [ ]  brushed your teeth with someone else’s toothbrush

TOTAL: 3

[ ]  considered Ludacris your favorite rapper [ X ]  seen an R-rated movie [ ]  cruised the mall [ X ]  skipped school [ ]  had surgery [ X ]  had an injury [ ]  gone to court [ ]  walked out of a restaurant without paying/tipping [ X ]  caught something on fire [ X ]  lied about your age

TOTAL: 5

[ ]  owned/rented an apartment/house [ ]  broken the law in the police’s presence [ ]  made out with someone who had a GF/BF [ X ]  got in trouble with the police [ X ]  talked to a stranger [ ]  hugged a stranger [ ]  kissed a stranger [ ]  rode in the car with a stranger [ X ]  been harassed [ X ]  been verbally harassed

TOTAL: 4

[ X ]  met face-to-face with someone you met online [ X ]  stayed online for 5+ hours straight [ ]  talked on the phone for more than 4 hours straight   [ X ]  watched TV for 5 hours straight [ X ]  been to a fair [ X ]  been called a bad influence [ ]  drank and drove [ X ]  prank-called someone [ X ]  laid on a couch with someone of another gender [ X ]  cheated on a test

TOTAL: 8

COMPLETE TOTAL: 45

If you have 00-10 … write [I’m a goody-goody]

If you have 11-20 … write [I’m still a goody-goody]

If you have 21-30 … write [I’m average]

If you have 31-40 … write [I’m a bad kid]

If you have 41-50… write [I’m a very bad influence]

If you have 51-60 … write [ I’m a horrible person ]

If you have 61-70 … write [I SHOULD BE IN JAIL (And break out like a badass)]

If you have 71-80 … write [I should be dead]

Only Gwynny has the power to convince Raiden to do this sort of thing!

“I’m fine with being anywhere but here,” Gwynneth sighed wearily. She totally had all the pep sucked right out of her. While the chocolate smell emanating from Raiden would’ve been obvious to anyone, she seemed…not entirely there. Gwynneth definitely needed a rest.

The Ashitagirl let go of her Ittangomen friend, only to almost immediately fall to the ground due to not remembering she had grocery bags. She just barely caught her balance.

“Urien was with me earlier…he was helping me avoid guys…but he had to buy some stuff himself. He said he was going to try and make ‘the best curry udon ever’ for his boyfriend. I think he said his name is Smile…? I just remember for sure he’s an Ittangomen like you! Maybe I should make you curry for dinner…just because I can.”

She hid it well, but that wasn’t the actual reason she wanted to make Raiden curry.

“Whoops!” Raiden spurted when Gwynny nearly fell, “Be careful!” tucking the box under one of his arms, he held out his hands, “Here, lemmie take some of those.” he offered. Even if she was convinced she could carry them herself, he’d still try to take a bag or two. Too bad she didn’t have a cart, or something!

“Urien, huh?” the Ittangomen mused, “Yeah I remember him mentioning something like that about his boyfriend,” he gave a simple shrug, “But boy--that curry udon sounds pretty darn good!” he chuckled. He paused when she offered to make him some though, “O-oh!” grinning, his tail began to wag this way and that, “That sounds even better!~” he hummed, “I got something for you, too... But your hands seem pre-tty full right now.”

Gwynneth looked like she was very much ready to flop into a bed and sleep the rest of the day away. She had a few bags filled with groceries and other things. She listlessly looked up and it took her a moment to realize that it was Raiden calling her.

“Hi, Raiden!” She flew over to him at a speed that belied just how tired she really was. Gwynneth gave Raiden a hug–although it seemed more like she was clinging to him to try and avoid floating. “I just finished my shopping, and…and, and, I’m ready to go home, guys wouldn’t leave me alone. I don’t wanna be in public anymore.

Gwynneth pretty much sighed all her words out. Please help this poor girl.

Raiden’s grin only grew when he caught the Ashitagirl’s attention, eager to hand her the box of very fresh, still slightly chilled chocolates. However when she approached he wound up “catching” her in two of his arms, holding the box in his third just above her head.

While he couldn’t say “no” to the hug, his face grew hot in the embrace. He held her all the same, shoving his thoughts onto the back burner once again as he forced himself to focus on her problems rather than his own.

“That bad, huh?” Raiden sighed. Though he had expected this, “Looks like you’ve kept yourself busy, at least!” he proclaimed as he glanced down at her bags. Maybe he should hold off on adding another thing to what she was carrying, but he could at least offer to carry a bag or two.

It felt as though he were caked in chocolate and the sweet smell wasn’t going to wash out for a few weeks, but Raiden overlooked the treats he and Sandon had made with pride. Pink, red, white and brown hearts, all filled with a bit of peanut butter! Each little chocolate looked surprisingly great--though when using molds it was difficult to mess up. After packing them each into a red box, Raiden flew out of the house with a hasty thank-you thrown over his shoulder, too excited to think of throwing on a scarf to combat the cold... Though, that could have also been thanks to the five cups of coffee he drank today.

Though he did pause to think of texting her, at least. Seemed as though she was trying to buy some stuff, so off to the mall he went. With some energy having returned to him it didn’t seem to take very long to reach the mall, but finding her in the Valentine’s Day crowd was a bit of a problem... Though he did finally find her, calling out her name and waving one of his many arms in the air.