💋 - Your character was just kissed by someone they can’t stand. Why and how did it happen? (Fennel)
Cui-Fen had grown to accept that perhaps she wasn’t -quite- as much like the earth as she would like to be.
Especially when she was angry.
It had started quietly enough.
One of the new workers at the Lewis farm had rubbed her the wrong way when he had first started.
“Hey panda. Can. You. Speak. Common?”
Rocking back on her heels, Cui-Fen turned to look up at the smirking human with long hair. She raised an eyebrow.
“…yes? Can I help you?”
“I’m Raleigh. And you’re in my spot.”
She shrugged, lifting herself up and dusting off her knees.
“Plenty of spots to go for. This one has quite a fair amount of stones, so you may need to dig a little more careful.”
Turning to make her way to a different patch, Cui-Fen stopped as the human stepped in front of her.“I said…I’m Raleigh. Guess you don’t know Common as well as you say….that -usually- means you should introduce yourself too.”
She felt her fur starting to rise out of indignation. Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly.
“…I am Cui-Fen. This is Tai. We are only here until the fields are ready for planting.”
And with that, she turned and made her way to another patch of field.
It took a long time for her paws to stop shaking from anger.
“Hey Fennel!”
Closing her eyes and counting to ten before she answered was the only way she kept herself in check.
“I don’t want you to call me that.”“But everyone else does, Fennel!”“I suppose that says something about our relationship then, doesn’t it?”
Raleigh laughed, rubbing at the back of his head.
“…guess so, yeah. Listen, the fields are almost ready….the rest of the farmhands are gonna get together for some drinks and stuff. Leave the kid with Mrs Lewis for a change, and come.”“……Why in the name of the Celestials would I do something like that? I don’t like being around you on a good day. I can’t imagine what it would be like if there was alcohol involved.”
His face darkened.
“….Gods dammit all, you are frustrating!”
She stared at him as he stormed away, muttering angrily to himself.
That had lead up to this moment, she figured.
Standing outside the small building the farmhands slept in, her arms crossed, glaring daggers at the drunken man who had, just a moment ago, been hollering her name.
“Raleigh. What. Do. You. Want?”“….Y’pretty, y’know…”
Cui-Fen raised her eyes to the sky, muttering a quiet prayer for patience.
“….and you’re drunk. And lonely. And you would do almost -anything- at this point to relieve stress. I know. I’m not foolish enough to not recognize the signs. And to listen to -everybody else- after your attempts to woo them have failed. Go sleep the drink off, Raleigh, before you embarrass yourself any more tonight.”
She turned to walk back into the building. And discovered, very quickly, how fast a drunken human can actually -go- when enraged.
“Pffff. Show y’how much failin’….”
There was barely enough time to blink, let alone react, as he spun her around and pressed his lips to hers.
The kiss was over almost as soon as it began, as his drunken stumbling pulled him back a step.
“…see? ‘m good for it. C’mon, let off some steam, Fenny.”
Her head snapped up as she bared her teeth; the thin amount of patience she had left, gone.
“NEVER. CALL. ME. THAT!”
Cui-Fen clasped her paws behind her back, head bowed. Her bag was packed, Tai fast asleep inside.
“….I am sorry for causing problems for you, Mr and Mrs Lewis. I hope the harvest goes well.”
Shaking their heads and sighing, the elderly couple glanced at each other, then at the Pandaren.
“….you are still welcome, Cui-Fen. Perhaps….another season.”“Yes. We will miss you, and Miss Tai!”
The Pandaren smiled, giving them a half-bow. She turned to leave.
“Ah…Cui-Fen? Could you…please, unbury Raleigh before you go? He hasn’t stopped crying since he woke up…”
A sigh, and with a flick of her paw, the ground cracked around a dirty figure who, until that moment, had been buried up to his nose in earth. He screamed as the earth flung him up and out of the hole, sealing itself before he landed in a heap.
He scrambled backwards, staring at the Pandaren with a small whimper slipping past his lips. She levelled a gaze at him, her voice low.
“…what is my name, Raleigh?”“C…cui-Fen….”“Thank you.”
And she left.
