can your heart rate | ooc prompt | rise a little?

[ophelia.]

[align=center][div style="borderwidth=0px; width: 65%; line-height:120%; text-align: justify;font-family: verdana;"]Sorting through her own feelings was never one of Ophelia's strong suits. She was good with helping others - or at least she hoped she was - sort through their own feelings, but when it came to herself she tended to push things away rather than face them. Feelings were strange things; she'd never really had the time to focus on them before. Survival was all she'd focused on in the past. Things that were practical mattered more than how her heart felt. She needed to hunt, to fight, to train herself until moving through the motions of living were muscle memory.

Now, though... Now she did have the time to think about how she felt; there was time to examine her own heart and decide how she wanted to treat it. The concept was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

Lately, most of her thoughts were drifting toward Leroy, swirling around him in heart-shaped patterns that she was slowly acknowledging. It was strange, but she didn't let it bother her. At least, she tried not to. It wasn't that big of a deal for friends to become closer, to become more. He wanted that, she thought, and she did, too. It wasn't a big deal. Well... Okay. Maybe it was a big deal, considering that she'd never experienced romance before in her life. It would be fine, though. It would. It couldn't be much harder than friendship. Romance was just... advanced friendship, right? She could do that.

Taking a deep breath, Ophelia slipped her new choker around her neck, making sure it fit properly. It had a longer chain in the back, would be easier to fit onto different forms as she shapeshifted and discovered them. For now, it was perfect for her look as a german shepherd. Her thoughts flew by in a blur for a moment, reminding her that Leroy thought she was pretty, and she tried and failed to not get too embarrassed about it. She knew she was pretty. She knew it in her original form; she always had. She just wasn't used to others pointing it out yet, casually fueling her pride and her ego. It... wasn't a bad thing.

Her paw touched her chest for a small moment, thoughtful, before she grumbled unhappily and went to fulfill her duties.

Shaking out the thoughts swirling in her head, she wandered around the mess hall, exchanging the dying bouquets at the ends of the tables for new, beautiful ones and refilling the vases of water. As she reached toward the last one, her paw bumped against the vase and toppled it over, and she could only watch, embarrassed, as it crashed to the floor and shattered. She couldn't stop the "Dammit!" she let out as it smashed. The sound of the vase shattering was loud, and she let out a soft, unhappy huff. Get it together, Ophelia. You're not clumsy. Stop letting your thoughts distract you and ruin your reputation.

//the last paragraph is the only necessary part to read if it's too long and you dont wanna read the rest! <3

[arrow]

Ha. Romance. Arrow had pretty much given up on the idea, the only direction her love went was into familial love. Not to mention life always kicked her in the metaphorical dick and everyone in Tanglewood was falling in love left and right while she was here, useless and gradually getting gayer.

[color=#208030]"Ophelia, you okay in here?" Arrow heard the crash and came running, which was really more of a brisk jog. The broken glass caught her eye, and she frowned slightly. She must've knocked it over somehow, but that seemed very out of character for someone as graceful as Ophelia. Or maybe she wasn't as crazy graceful as the chocolate feline thought she was. [color=#208030]"Broken vase, eh? I got it, hold up." One ear twitching, she swept the pieces of glass into a sparkling, sharp pile and out of the way. She didn't care if she cut her paw or not, wouldn't be the first time.

© LEXASPERATED

[toboggan]

//tracking )

[cavalrychoir]

[align=center][div style="width:60%;font-family:arial;font-size:11px;text-align:justify;line-height:130%;word-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:0.5px;"]Romance is a big deal. Falling in love with another person was a huge deal. So huge Ren put his best foot forward when it came to desperately trying to avoid it. The concept of love and affection was pleasent in theory but a disaster in practice, according to him anyways. Now, he may have very little room to talk considering the brute of a male develops crushes faster than the speed of sound but he has good reason to be weary of it. The main reason is how he's seen it used. Granted, he grew up in a toxic environment that twisted wonderful things such as love and affection into grim and grotesque tools of destruction and manipulation. So when faced with genuine thoughtfulness, his heart would skip a beat and it's a challenge to find the words to convey how he felt. Should and when that happens, he swiftly and expertly removes himself from the situation or ignores their friendly gestures altogether. Maybe once he trusts himself enough to be alone with another, then he'll start to learn how to deal with anything and everything romance.

If any word came to mind when thinking of Ophelia, 'kind' would be the first to spring up. So when he heard a loud crash and saw the broken vase close to her form, he rushed over to investigate. Now, he and Ophelia weren't friends - that much shouldn't be confused. Perhaps they could be in the future when he learns to open up more but for now, he regarded her as 'someone he wouldn't want to see hurt.' He viewed all Tanglers this way which he suppose was a upgrade considering he really only cared for Delilah upon first joining. He still mostly cares for her but that was for other reasons he's yet to discover himself. Trotting over to first Arrow - on his way, he noticed no one seemed to be hurt which dulled his sense of urgency - he carefully helped push over some of the glass that strayed farther than the rest. Seconds later when he finished, he turned and walked off only to return with a small bin to put the shards in. Placing it down near Arrow, he shifted his attention to the black feline. "Are you feeling alright?" Came his inquiry, dull red eyes scanning her form for anything out of the ordinary.