Swept away...not in a good way. {Kiv}

[lili]

During the daily lunch break, the courtyard of Asher Academy was always buzzing with students, fair weather or no. Though the cafeteria was obviously the most popular area of the school to eat lunch, on warm, breezy days the outdoor area easily rivaled it; students perched on the edge of the fountain when there were no longer open bench seats, and when that no longer had vacancy, some would simply plop onto the ground to nibble on their ham and cheese sandwich.

It was one such day, if not with a bit more cloud cover to keep the temperature slightly cooler and a touch windier, compelling students to pull on a light cardigan or jacket. Despite this, there were still plenty of teenagers stuffing down their lunch, standing in small groups chatting, and the occasional freshman being shoved into the fountain. Some were only passing through the courtyard as a shortcut, however, such as sidekick Eva Zwingli.

If I cut through the courtyard, I could make it to the library more quickly and could have more time to work on my presentation due next week... The petite blond girl's mind was swimming with sorting through the various assignments she had been assigned and when each had to be completed by, turning quickly to push through the doors leading outside a couple of books tucked under her arm.

Lilli shivered slightly, her pale, bare legs and arms instantly becoming covered in goosebumps; she wasn't unused to cold weather, her home being the Swiss Alps, but on the tropical island she had become accustomed to warm and humid conditions. She wasn't wearing socks, only ballet flats on her small feet, and she inwardly scolded herself for not checking the forecast earlier. As she hesitated in the doorway, a taller student barreled past her, nearly knocking the poor, dainty thing onto the ground. After stammering out a quiet apology (that went unheard), the sidekick took a moment to pickup her dropped books and straighten her skirt, the hem brushing her thighs a little above the knees..

Having lost the time she'd predicted she'd save by taking the path through the courtyard, she picked up her pace a little, making sure to keep out of the way of others. (Eva already felt a little guilty for blocking the door for the first person.) Without her noticing, however, she began to daydream as she was apt to do; the girl was normally very hardworking and focused, but her naivety often took a hold of her, especially when she was outdoors or in the presence of any type of animal. It could have been the little white butterfly fluttering about that brought on her distraction, or possibly the unique chirps of the birds of the island, but whatever it had been caused her steps to slow and go off-course into the grass.

Luckily, she had only zoned out for a minute before she was swiftly awakened from it by a sharp, sudden gust of wind -- unluckily, it caught the hem of her skirt and roughly whipped it upwards. Lilli let out a high-pitched squeak not a millisecond afterwards, and all but threw her books to the ground to fumble to hold the article of clothing down to save her dignity, but the damage had been done. Her reaction had been only a moment too late.

Frantically the mortified girl looked around to assess how horrible the accident had been, slightly relieved to find her mindless wandering had led her to a quieter, less populated area of the courtyard. However, that did not mean that absolutely no one saw; Eva refused to make eye contact with anyone around her, sinking to her knees by her books in the grass and finally sitting, slumped in shame. Her delicate hands covered her eyes and red-hot cheeks, the embarrassment slowly gnawing on her from the inside out; she could never show her face again, not even to her parents, or her brother -- what if he heard about it? She'd absolutely die, she was sure of it. If she didn't die before then, that was; Lilli was pretty sure she'd been wearing the underwear with the cartoon kittens on them...

As she was wishing the grass would suddenly drag her down into a hole in the ground, a hand was placed on her shoulder and she jumped, looking up with a startled expression.

[Deleted]

Kiviuq glanced upwards, at the sun before looked back to the trees that swayed gently in the wind. The Inuit was doing the same thing that he did every lunch hour; listen to music and stare into space. Kiviuq wasn't all that keen on his schoolwork, to be honest. He had his reasons though. Focusing on the task of homework only made the pages rip, or caused any tool he used to complete assignments to shatter. Whether it was a pencil, pen, desk or computer, it always ended badly. Thus, the Greenlander decided that grades weren't critical. In fact, Kiviuq had no aspirations to get a job, even as a sidekick or whatever they were supposed to be trained to do. Besides, Kiviuq didn't need to know calculus in order to hunt. He just needed to know how to control his incredible powers so he could go home. Humanity would be better off without him trying to be some sort of hero. He was perfectly content watching other gifted youngsters receive fame and glory... Nope... Didn't bother him one... bit...

Kiviuq sighed as his canine placed his fluffy head in the tanned boy's lap. A hand came up to gently rub the sweet spot behind the gentle giant's ear, enough to make his eyes roll back a tad and his tongue loll out of the side of his jowls. The sight brought a rare smile to Kiviuq's lips. “You like that, don't you?” Kiviuq paused, as if to wait for a reply. “Hehe, I know I know. I think it might even rival your tummy!” Kiviuq continued to pat the white Canadian Eskimo bug before he noticed the fur that was coming off of him. Hm... Nanuq needed to be brushed. Again. The warm heat was doing a number on both of them... even Kiviuq felt slightly ill today. The cooler wind was a nice break though. Even after the few weeks that he had been on campus, he still hadn't adjusted to the climate and he honestly doubted if he ever would. He was simply made for the cold, not this thick soupy heat.

Kiviuq eventually leaned back, allowing his eyes to close and the music to take over. He had gotten a bit of a concussion a few days back, so it wasn't surprising that Kiviuq's need for sleep increased. The boy already got 12 hours a night. It was almost becoming impractical, as he was starting to run late for his morning classes. Oh well. Detention suited the sidekick better anyways.

The walkman hummed along as Kiviuq drifted into a very light sleep. He was enjoying the lovely wind today... it would gust up his shirt and chill the soft skin of his stomach. It felt so good and it was so much nicer than sweating his Northern skin off. Wih a warm presence on his lap and the wind ruffling his hair, he couldn't be more at ease.

That was, until Nanuq's head lifted from his lap. Kiviuq's eye flicked open as he saw a girl walking nearby. She was a ways away from the normal dining area, now wasn't she... Kiviuq raised a brow as he studied her. She had short blond hair that extended just past her chin, and these dazed looking eyes that matched the hue of the forest around them. Kiviuq had never seen eyes that colour... so strange. He was used to ebony eyes, like his own. Yet, almost every person he encountered had some sort of essence trapped within their irises. For Mathias, it was the warm ocean that surrounded them. For this girl, it seemed to be the lush vegetation. Strange... Kiviuq idly wondered if their powers were somehow connected. He chuckled ironically at the thought. Bad luck and black were one in the same it seemed. He matched his little profile to a tee.

Looking back to her, Kiviuq wondered why she was here. Her steps seemed to be without direction and her eyes almost looked glazed. Was she daydreaming? Or merely deep in thought. Regardless, she seemed... well, cute looking. Well.... until a gust of wind case up and Kiviuq accidentally saw something he wasn't really supposed to see. As she squealed, Kiviuq quickly snapped his gaze down as he pretended to exchange the disk out of his walkman. Oh merciful spirits, he saw... he saw her underwear. And by her reaction, she was clearly embarrassed. Through his peripherals, Kiviuq noticed her looked around for witnesses. He stared so hard at his retro music device that the cover snapped off when he opened it.

H-He could fix that. What was really bothering him was the fact that he saw... and the fact that it was probably him who cause the bad spout of wind to blow up her skirt. Kiviuq almost wanted to mirror her and hold his hand in his palms. He wanted to forget. He wanted to forget the cute cartoon kitties on the backside of the go- WHY COULDN'T HE JUST BLOCK THE IMAGE OUT?! Swallowing thickly, the Inuit decided it would be best if he pretended nothing happened. He pieced his walkman back together (though it would need to be fixed completely at his dorm) as he played with his headphone cords in his clumsy fingers. After a few moments of this, he tested his luck and looked over to where the blond had been. Instead of leaving quickly, she had sunk to her knees. Kiviuq grimaced at this. She looked... utterly defeated. And... he felt compelled to go over to try to comfort her.

'This is a bad idea Kiv. Really really bad. What if something else happens?'

[/color]The thoughts continued to bounce around the tanned boy's head as he cautiously meandered over, Nanuq at his side. When he finally reached her, he paused before barely touching her shoulder to get her attention. She snapped her head up at him all too quickly and Kiviuq's hand shot back to his side. Oops... guess he shouldn't have tried to contact her.

“Uh... um, you dropped your books...” Kiviuq mumbled as he lowered himself, picking up the leather bound hardcovers slowly. e... He'd feign ignorance. He silently thanked the spirits for his tanned skin, as it made his faint blush almost invisible.[/blockquote][/font]

[lili]

Just as she was wishing that she could melt away, face and ears red-hot in shame, a hand fell upon her shoulder. Lilli jumped, completely startled and horrified, and whipped her head around. She hoped it was just a passerby that hadn't seen the incident; after all, she was sitting in the grass with her head in her hands. The boy seemed kind and harmless, and she felt a little guilty when he hurriedly retracted his hand and begin to pick up her things.

Eva didn't say anything at first, observing him quietly and wondering from what reach of the globe he was from. His eyes were the darkest brown she'd ever seen and his skin had an almost olive tint to it, which the young European found foreign but also beautiful, in a way. She averted her gaze in case he caught her staring, face brightening when she saw that there was an immense, furry dog by his side. The creature's sweet little ears and nose charmed her immediately and she instinctively reached out to pet the canine.

"M-may I pet your dog?" she asked, pausing with her hand hanging in the air as she realized that not all pets appreciate being touched. It was then she realized she had completely disregarded his concern and courteousness, blushing a little at her own rudeness.

"U-umm, I mean, th-thank you for helping me.." Lilli was unable to stop stammering, the fear that he had seen lingering in the back of her mind. If he had, he was composing himself rather well; or better than herself, at least. She glanced back to the other student, smiling weakly and bashfully meeting his gaze.

[Deleted]

Oh dear... Kiviuq kept his eyes on the ground and his focus on the books. This girl who's name escaped him was even cuter up close... Her skin was fair and much lighter than he was used to, as was her blond hair, but her eyes were what intrigued Kiviuq the most. Such a vivid shade, and so wide-set. Like a baby seal or something... Though, he could see her looking at him through his peripherals and the Inuit's ears burned from his vision prior to approaching her. He hadn't... made any obvious moves at to what happened, right? He was just simply helping her up! Swallowing, Kiviuq stared at the grass. He didn't want to get too attached to her either... if he focused too intently upon her features, he could cause an accident. Er... well... another one.

The silence was finally broken when the girl's melodic voice sounded ever so cautiously. Kiviuq looked up, the vivid green from the grass mirrored in her irises as he wordlessly nodded, tearing his eyes from hers to glance at his canine. Nanuq didn't need permission from his owner though. As soon as he saw the extension of the hand, he shuffled forward to press the top of his snow-white head against her palm, relishing in the contact. The canine almost smiled, his lips pulled back to allow his tongue to loll from his jaws in a dog-like grin. The act almost, almost made the Greenlander roll his eyes. What a suck-up. Still though, Kiviuq was glad that the dog was present. Nanuq helped break the ice, plus he quelled Kiviuq's nervous tendencies when the boy got riled up.

"His name is Nanuq. He's quite friendly..." Kiviuq said, his English thick with his Inuit accent as he stated the obvious. Of course the dog was friendly! If he wasn't, he wouldn't have leaned into the contact that the girl offered. It was a stupid, clearly obvious statement, but Kiviuq wasn't exactly educated in social etiquette, so he kind of just stated what came to mind. Reaching up to gently comb the plush fur that flanked the canine's side, Kiviuq blinked and silently flicked his onyx gaze back to the girl's, peering through the coal black locks that partially obstructed his view. She was thanking him.

"Ah, please, it's no trouble," he said quickly as he picked up the last small novel and gently placed the stack next to her knee. She was still sprawled out on the grass timidly and the boy wondered if he should say something, or question why she was in such a position. However, he wasn't very good with these bashful emotions, and trying to feign ignorance was difficult enough. He hoped she wouldn't touch on the wind before, because he sure wouldn't.

"Do you need help up?" Kiviuq offered instead without really thinking. Then it hit him. He'd touch her. Physically touch her hand, her skin. What if something happened? Heart attack. Blood clot. Stroke. Cerebral aneurysm. Countless ways to die passed through the Inuit's head as he swallowed. Maybe she wouldn't take him up on the offer. He stood from his squatted position and waited for her words. If she did happen to take him up on his stupidly bold offer, he'd hold out his hand and and pray for nothing to happen. If she didn't, his hand would remain at his side and they'd part ways as unlikely friends. Right?