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Invisible Conversationalist
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 Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 7:59 pm
 Celosia trotted along the sandy shore, ocean waves darting in playfully and nipping at her feet. To her right the immense body of water stretched as far as the eye could see. To her left the beach continued several yards, slowly turning to grass and rising into up a minature slope two feet before turning entirely to grass. The grass stripe, not quite as wide as the beach, bordered a pine forest. Normally shafts of sunlight reached between the gaps to light it up but today was cloudy, the forest dim.
In front of her, in the distance, was a much higher slope. The slope marked the start of a series of rugged, sea-side cliffs that afforded an excellent view of the bay and the ocean beyond. This was Celosia's destination.
Many were surprised that the firey Hollow lived and swam by an ocean. She would just laugh as ask if they expected her to live next to a volcano. It was always so amusing to see the blank looks on their faces, like it was exacting what they had expected. A small smirk found it's way to her lips at the memory.
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 8:44 pm
 Sirius walked calmly from the direction of the forest, heading towards the beach. He loved the sound of the beach, but hated the sand.
When he was in the middle of the grassy area, something caught his eye. It was moving, and it was definitely female. She was hard to miss, being a bold red against the ocean backdrop.
Watching her, he slowly made his way to the beach, wanting to wait until she was closer.
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Wed Sep 22, 2010 9:02 pm
Celosia spotted the male the instant he started moving away from the forest and onto the grass strip. It would be hard not to notice him, he had very bold markings. His coat was was too blue to successfully blend with the forest, but it would certainly do better than hers.
She raised an eyebrow. He appeared to be watching her, since his face was turned in her direction and he wasn't moving. She didn't read aggression in his body language.
Celosia didn't say anything until she was twenty feet away. By then she was close enough to see all the tiny black spots on his grayish-blue fur, which she had to admit was an interesting color. "Like what you see, or do the sand crabs have a hold of your toes," she asked, mischievous grin on her face. Celosia just couldn't help it, she had a sassy tongue.
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:01 am
Sirius was almost shocked, but whether it was because she spoke, or what she said, he couldn't tell. She obviously had a quick tongue, but he didn't mind, he saw it as having wittiness, something that he liked to think he had.
He smirked, strutting over to the female. When he reached her, he looked down at his paws. "I don't see any sand crabs..." He paused, to look back at her, taking time, paying attention to her fur, which reminded him of lava. "So I'm guessing I like what I see." He finished, letting his flirtatious personality take control. "Any chance I could get your name before some sand crabs attack me?" He asked, falling in step next to her.
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 2:54 pm
Celosia's emerald eyes twinkled. Here was another player of her own game. If she was correct then this conversation would prove to be an interesting one.
"Big strong boy like you, getting taken down by some crabs? You must be made of nothin' but fluff! To answer your question there is indeed a chance you could get my name, but you have to pay the price."
She paused, pulling a somber and serious face like she was about to ask for something along the lines of his firstborn pup or a lifetime of servitude. "You gotta tell me your name first." A twinkle of humor gleamed in her eyes, cracking the serious persona.
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:37 pm
Sirius watched her eyes, when she mentioned a price to pay, her expression turned serious. At that moment he almost turned away, wondering what the heck he was going to get himself into. When he found out that all she wanted was his name, he laughed.
"The name's Sirius." He started, "Oh, and one thing: I never said anything about crabs taking me down. I just said they didn't want them to attack. So, now," He paused, a smirk lighting up once more, "I paid your price. Time for you to keep up on your end of the deal."
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 8:46 pm
"I keep my end of the bargain, of course. I'm Celosia." A rush of cold salt water barreled towards her, this time high enough to gurgle around her paws and those of Sirius. The water tried to drag it's new prizes with it as the ocean pulled back, but the scant amount of water had no hope of pulling more than a few lose hairs off a paw. Still, it clutched it's prize of gleaming blue and red with as much triumph as if it had snagged the whole Hollow.
"I can't help but think of you as a tad of a quitter, Sirius m'lad, if you'd let the attack of such a small creature scare you off the name of an eye-pleaser." She guestured with one bright paw at a small shelled creature, scuttling sideways as quickly as it could and bubbling at the mouth as though cursing the wave that brought it to shore and left it behind.
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:13 pm
"Hmm... Celosia..." He said, watching the water for a second, enjoying the coolness of the ocean around his paws. The contrast of Celosia's fur against the ocean's blue was stunning.
He looked back up at her, wondering how he was going to defend himself to show Celosia that he wasn't afraid of crabs. "Hey, now, Celosia. I'm not a quitter. I didn't let them stop me, did I?" He paused watching the crab scramble around for a moment. "I still came over and introduced myself. No sand crabs could've stopped me." He looked at her, his eyes extremely serious for a moment before adding a slight grin.
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Thu Sep 23, 2010 9:26 pm
"No, but you haven't been attacked yet. I'll be impressed if you stick around after one of those stinkers pinches one of your toes. Even if you squeal like a girl," she added, with the familar laughing twinkle in her eyes.
This male was throwing her off slightly. By now the vast majority of Hollows would have a few puffed up feathers. It was a testiment to how good she was at being sassy that she didn't have many close relationships. And that suited the firey Hollow just fine, since for the most part she enjoyed her own company.
Sirius though. For one moment she thought she saw something in his eyes. It elicited a response from her, a feeling that was equal parts anticipation, excitment, and fear. It was putting her off her game. Rather than try to analyze the feeling, Celosia focused on the ground. They had finally reached the beginning of an incline, the ground becoming less sandy and more grassy as they steadily made the climb up the hill that would lead to the cliffs.
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 5:47 pm
"How would you know if scream like a little girl? You just met me. True, I haven't been attacked yet. But I simply just don't plan on being attacked any time soon." He paused, watching her for bit.
She was different, other females would have told him to back off or swoon all over him. She was fun to talk to. Sirius couldn't predict was she would next. All he knew was that he would have to find some retort to counter it.
He climbed up the incline, watching where his feet were taking him, but mostly watching her out of the corner of his eye, watching for any type of small reaction.
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:08 pm
"But you anticipate being attacked, seeing as how you asked to have my name before anything got to you.
So tell me then, He-Who-Screams-Like-A-Man, what are you doing around these parts? Can't say I've met many Hollows who like the ocean." Which was entirely true. Celosia only encountered other Hollows when she moved deep into her forest home to avoid a storm or hunt for food. Meeting another Hollow on the beach, that was almost unheard of.
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:50 pm
"I only anticipated being attacked because you mentioned them." He paused, trying to figure out how to exactly explain why he was here.
"I found this place when I was in one of those moods where I just wanted to get lost, you know? So when I stumbled across it, I loved it. Just the sound though, I don't really like the sand against my paws." He sort of shivered, to show his dislike. "Luckily, I remembered my way here. So after that I just come here to relax, clear my head and listen to the sound of the water." He took a sidelong glance at her. "So what about you, Miss Firecracker? What brings you here?"
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:02 pm
Firecracker? She giggled a little, liking the nickname. "Nothing really. I've lived here for quite some time, since I was barely more than a pup. My den shifts around a lot, up the coast or down, deep in the forest or right at the sand's edge. But I've always been a day's walking distance from these cliffs."
They had just reached the top now. The clouds out over the ocean were large and angry-looking, a deep gray that was almost black. The ocean was the color of steel, and out in the distance winds whipped up giants waves so that crowns of white foam stood out starkly against all the darkened colors. A wind tugged insistantly at the Hollow's fur, as though trying to push them off the cliff and into the forest.
"Appears to be a storm heading our way."
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:49 pm
Sirius looked out over the cliff, stunned by the beauty. Celosia was right, a storm was coming, but he was looking for ward to it. The wind tugged at his fur and he put on a smirk. "You're not afraid, are you?" He looked at her carefully, waiting to see what her reaction would be if someone suggested that she could be afraid.
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Invisible Conversationalist
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Posted: Fri Sep 24, 2010 8:00 pm
"Says the squid bait afraid of crabs," Celosia laughed. His coat reminded her of squids and octipi, who squirted black ink and had round suckers on their multiple limbs. She rarely saw the creatures, but they made for good eating.
"Cautious and scared are different things. I quite like storms, but you won't find me up here when one hits. I quite like not being knocked into the oceans and drowned beneath the waves."
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