´´ ;*cheater, cheater. (♬)

“ would you like me to force a different one for you? ” he said, folding his arms. he still avoided the original confrontation, but knew tahno would not rest until relian admitted what he wanted to hear. who is he to accuse me of not changing expressions? came the thought, fingers running through thick ebony hair. since the day they met, all he saw from the other had seemed to be that same, impish smirk. it drove him mad that all of his words slid through a teasing smile ( mad with desire of frustration, he did not know ), and he hated to admit that it actually sort of fit him. 

   ‘ i look ridiculous, but you’re allowed to wear a giant wolfbat outfit on arena entries? pfft, alright, mr fashionista — ‘ but beneath the bravado of shallow insult that riles her irritation and has her nose all scrunched up ? maybe, maybe, tahno has a point, and she can see it.

   ( her puffing up and quick exhale, sudden slump, would seem to indicate agreement, after all. but as if she’s going to admit that to him. they’re friends, but she’s not a punk. she’s got some pride. )

   ‘ it’s training gear, okay ? ‘ if the heavy bands strapped around her ankles and wrists are what he refers to, coloured in varying neon shades. though, considering she’s squat on a mud mound, stuffing her face with food on a break ( circuits and lifting, not exactly graceful ) and still dripping sweat, that’s probably not the only thing he’s commenting on.

      ‘ just because you’ve got the musculature of an overcooked noodle — !         you just couldn’t cut this game. jealousy’s ugly on you, pretty boy ! ‘

    “  —– please. what i wear when i enter the arena and what you’re wearing now     are two very different things. i have a crowd to appeal to, for one, which means      i have a reason to be dressed that way. and for another — i’m not covered from     head to toe in muddy neon straps. … sorry, “training gear”. my mistake. ”

   an obvious dig  at her current state; he can’t claim to think that the look flatters her in the least, hence the subtle wrinkling of his nose as he comments on it. she might have thought her explanation to be acceptable ( or she might simply have cared less of her physical appearance than tahno clearly did, which, in retrospect, seemed more likely ), but her fellow waterbender is less than understanding. he clicks his tongue, both at the nickname and the unsightly comment she makes about his build, and resists the urge to roll his eyes. suffice it to say he fails. miserably.

originally, it took him a great deal of patience and self-control to be around tahno. now, strangely enough, he began to almost enjoy his presence. perhaps it was the fact that someone was taking time from their day to merely seek him out, even if it was only to toy with him — or perhaps it was plausible that, at this point, relian wanted to know more about him beyond the teasing and flirtation.  he didn’t want to admit to himself that he missed this man, but in truth, he rather did.

“ ..i think you’re being a bit over dramatic. ”

    “  and i think you’re sorely mistaken. ”

   after all, his  words can’t possibly be mere dramatics if they ring true --- and so far, relian has said nothing to deny the fact. he hasn’t said anything that would confirm tahno’s ( egotistical ) ‘suspicions’ either, but for the moment, he would cast this aside. it was all in the name of fun, after all, despite the fact that said ‘fun’ came at the expense of another. such was usually the case when it came to tahno, though; it was to be expected.

     in any case, he wasn’t so sure that his presence ( or his behavior ) bothered relian as much as it might have in the past. signs pointed to ‘no’, to the possibility that he might have grown accustomed to the other’s antics with the passing of time. in which case, had he felt poorly for acing the way that he did, this might have made it less so.

      unfortunately, tahno never regrets badgering.

vvolfbat

         “So, we on for poker this Thursday?  Or do you have another lavendar-scented aroma therapy hair gel commercial to film? I was a big fan of the last one. You looked just like Jennifer Aniston.”

          It was Jennifer Aniston.

how dare

╳—: vvolfbat.

‘Do you know what happens when you                         rush a miracle?’

[ she says, glaring over her shoulder. her   paintbrush hovers in the immediate space   between her and the canvas. her brows   contract and she frowns, grumbling to   herself as she turns away. ]

‘You get spoiled miracles. Now shut up.’

   he’s not bothered  by the glare, nor by the grumbling she does as she turns away from him. such things had a tendency to lose their effect over time; especially so, when two people dealt with each other as frequently as tahno and myrtle did. as such, he’s grown accustomed to the remarks ( but he’s not learned to leave her be while she was working, it seemed ). he might go as far as to say he found it endearing. 

    --------- or he would, so long as she neglected to take it a step further. he might not be so playfully coy if the brush in her hand found its way to his new suit, after all.

vvolfbat

       …