LABYRINTHS | keona

[salem]

[div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]SALEM | Steady, the tread of vine-wrapped paws.  Thought heavy as they followed the tavern stairs.  A more familiar path now, from the crossing of recent days.  The memory, already fond, relaxes tense muscles.  Still, quietly, Salem lingers at the door.  An uneasy swirl of thoughts hold him in place.

Ever quietly, he releases a breath.  Raising a single dark paw, the small feline taps on the door.  "Hey... Keona? Do you have a moment?"

[ [member=265]Keona.[/member] ]
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[Keona.]

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If I fall, get knocked down, pick myself up off the ground

The petite feline blinked, small paws sliding to a stop where they rested.  Reading a book.  Her pale hues flickered thoughtfully.  Salem's voice never took long to register.  A friend.  She should not find visitors surprising, but the solitary dealer had rarely been sought out from others besides Goldie, or family.

It must be important than.  Quickly, she hopped up to her paws, sliding the tome to a close.  She could finish reading later.  "Aloha Salem," she murmured, pushing the door open with a concentrated gust of air.  Her head cocked lightly.  Curious.  "You can come in."

Still wondering what brought the other feline over, she found the small cushions she preferred over chairs and took a seat.  "What's up?"  This felt oddly formal and she could feel the ends of her fur standing because of it.  Friends hung out, she knew, but... Well, she had never had friends over in her rooms before.  And this still felt... Serious.  Something was on his mind.

Why go to her?

✯ — keona sibéal ní faoláin. female. dealer of the typhoon. blind. rusty spotted cat.  ref. bio.

[salem]

[div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]SALEM | A soft smile, hidden by the grin of the pumpkin, lifted his lips.  Soothed by the confirmation the dealer possessed time to for him.  Dutifully, he followed her inside, conscious of her curiosity.  The sudden thought he had never visited her like this struck him off-guard.  Nor had she stepped inside his treehouse. 

An uncomfortable notion, since he enjoyed the thought of Keona standing among his friends.  Resolutely, he decided he would attempt to purposely seek her out more often.  A plan for another day, since he came with specific intentions -- a fact she seemed already aware of.

"I..." Self-conscious, Salem locked his eyes on his paws, tracing the vines securely wrapped around his legs.  "I wanted to ask you about your blood ceremony.  And how you decided your division."

"It's been awhile since I joined so I thought I should... Pick." Many moons past since the first day, the first moment -- soon enough, he would know a full year living among the pirates.  A year that started with Keona's simple 'aloha', he realized warmly.  "How... How did you pick?"

He tucked his paws tightly against his chest, dark gaze remaining fixated on the ground.
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[Keona.]

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If I fall, get knocked down, pick myself up off the ground

Shy.  Something about Salem seemed almost shy.  Confusion quickly bubbled.  Wary she had done or said something wrong but... Well the last they spoke he'd been helping her move.  Keona frowned.  Shifted her paws where she sat.  Her ears perked up attentively, deciding she ought to listen politely before jumping to conclusions.  Even if this felt stiff and awkward.

As he spoke, memories shifted in her mind.  Her blood ceremony.  Seas.  Two years ago.  Almost.  Her eyes widen slightly at the thought.  The event existed with sharp clarity in her mind, although she rarely walked through the memory.  An important choice, though it hardly seemed so crucial then.  As head of the division she chose, she saw with more clarity.

The doubt in Salem's voice caused her to blink.  Considering.  He seemed more like her.  A quiet soul...  The fact he found the choice less straightforward than her bemused her but it made some sense.  "I didn' pick 'til I reached the volcano," she admitted gently.  She recalled the fear of the volcano in greater detail than pushing the figurines down, but she shoved the memory away.

"I had the three in front of me and..." Weighed the possibilities.  Doubted herself too.  Doubts that resurfaced sometimes.  "… I didn' think that I would fit well with the Grim Rays..." For obvious reasons, she supposed, shifting her weight.  "an' I like the idea of healing but... I didn' find it interesting."

"So... I only had one choice left.  That's how I picked."

✯ — keona sibéal ní faoláin. female. dealer of the typhoon. blind. rusty spotted cat.  ref. bio.

[salem]

[div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]SALEM | As Keona began speaking, Salem continued to study his paws.  Her voice, softer in volume like his own, kept him grounded, holding each word with rapt attention.  Seeking an answer, he shifted the paws he examined, considering the recollection.  How did she know it was time to go through the ceremony, if she had not even decided her division until reaching the summit?

When she finished, his dark gaze flickered, seeking her eyes out -- windows, with or without sight.  Comforting too, for the unique and familiar colors.  A deep breath escaped his jaws, a heavy sigh.  "You just... Thought each one through... I..."

"You make it sound so simple," he whispered.  Dejected -- he did not want to be, much less ungrateful for his friend's retelling but he felt no closer to the answer he sought.  No closer to a decision he would feel confident in.
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[Keona.]

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If I fall, get knocked down, pick myself up off the ground

"Sa..." Seas.  It sounded like he was overthinking this.  Not unreasonable, exactly... But Keona found her teeth sinking into the inside of her cheek.  Private by nature, the petite feline knew what it was to get stuck in her head.  Walking in circles.  Uncertain.  She enjoyed simple things.  Sensible plans.

The only reason her choice may have been 'simple' was because it had been... In the end.  For her.  While Keona knew if she set her mind to a different path, the one she followed suited her.  She smiled faintly, her fur prickling as she felt his eyes on her.  She could only hope her eyes seemed direct.  "… Breathe."

"It's okay." She took a soft breath and rose to her paws. "Let's go outside." She could taste the salt in the air, carried in by the ocean breeze from her open window.  It wasn't close enough.  She missed the water.  The waves.  The breath of the ocean.

Keona waited by the door until she was sure he was following, then quietly led the way out.  With soft steps, she trotted down the tavern's steps, a soft tune hummed under her breath.  An old song she didn't remember knowing.  The words gone.  She padded across the sun-kissed sand until she found the shore, halting right where the water would wash over her tiny paws.

With a small smile, she took a seat, wrapping her tail around herself.  The wind felt cool, the sun keeping a chill from sinking through her fur.  Her chin tilted, head raised in Salem's direction, her sea-green hues gleaming expectantly for him to join her at the water's edge.

✯ — keona sibéal ní faoláin. female. dealer of the typhoon. blind. rusty spotted cat.  ref. bio.

[salem]

[div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]SALEM | Breathe?  The gentle command throws the feline off -- head spinning for a moment.  The simplicity of taking air in supposedly soothed the mind and steadied the heart.  Salem realized sharply Keona may simply be encouraging him to stop thinking.  He might run himself in circles, spiraling out of control if something did not stop him.

His chest aches as he sucks in a deep breath, watching his friend with uncertain eyes.  Dark paws shifted as she suddenly stood -- her intentions unclear.  "Outside?  Um... Okay."

Falling into step, Salem keeps one eye on her, ears perking absently as she hums.  The quiet but steady sound felt easy to hold onto and his dark eyes blink, as though dazed when they halt by the waves.  The ocean's rhythm is louder on the beach -- a familiar symphony he had unknowingly begun to associate with his friend.  Whenever they had spent time together in the past, he found it often took place by the water.

"... What are we..." The straightforward intensity in her eyes startles the words off his tongue.

Hesitantly, he sat beside her, letting the water gently caress his paws.  For a moment, the youth watches her.  The sun almost lit her fur into gold.  Her eyes however, he finds more fascinating -- the same color of the sea.  A soft yet vibrant color he found fitting.

Slowly, he let his attention shift towards the ocean, watching the clouds through the reflections.  Steady, he found his thoughts less crowded and more transfixed; on the water, the waves and the sound of Keona breathing beside him.  He may not have an answer yet, but he felt as though it was okay.

"... Thanks, Keona." The feline wondered how many times she walked along the edge to simply allow the waves to wash her thoughts away.
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