nlike so many of his blood-brothers, Tug had never been one for the sin of alcohol. The things he'd done haunted him, surely, he saw things at night that left him jerking awake, shaking and soaked in sweat.
But never did he drown his sorrows in alcohol and, in fact, he tended to give it a wide berth for fear of finding himself as so many soldiers before him.
And besides, while he was not on duty, while he was to enjoy himself ('for once in your life, brother!') and 'eat and drink and be merry', he was always on guard, always on watch. A party with liquor flowing could only bring about trouble, would bring about rowdiness and fights, arguments over who would dance with who, people who'd imbibed too much getting just a bit too rowdy.
So it was he stood at the edge of the crowd, rump to the wall, a plate of 'nibbles' as the fancy folk insisted on calling them held close though he focused, mainly, on watching the crowd as they twirled and talked and drank and ate.
Leave a note for your next of kin
Tell 'em where you been
Pray that Hell or Heaven lets you in
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
There was so much sound.
The star looked around, a little nervous, a little uncertain. She kept to the shadows for now, not easily as she twinkled with each movement, glinting with galactical dust, as if a part of the night sky had come to the earth. In a way, it had. So much notice as others moved about, eating, drinking. She'd tried some of those drinks, and it had disturbed her, alarmed her even. She'd set it down and gone as far away as she could get. Eagerly avoiding them from now on.
But still there seemed to be so much going on.
And she couldn't help but watch the dancers, the way they moved to the noise. That was intriguing, that was exciting. She moved slowly, stepping from the shadows, her wings drawn close. Her galaxy-pink eyes looked around slowly, the galaxy dust wafting off her like a trailing cloak. She didn't meet any gazes, even as she stopped to pick up something to eat briefly, nibbling on them lightly, moving back to the wall, wondering if Jane would be there, would show up, her dearest friend, her safety net, the only one she knew who could explain things to make her feel better.
She returned to the wall.
Her gaze briefly paused on another, eating from his own plate, rump to the wall. Her head bowed lightly in greeting, sincere gentle smile, soft as those galaxy eyes, though she spoke no words, she barely knew more than a sentence after all. Instead, she turned back to the crowds herself, her eyes following the dancers, the sounds they all made, wondering what they might mean, what was being communicated, and how the dancers could move with such grace.
It was beautiful.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Tug Notes:: I'm intrigued by him <3 Forgive the fact she really cannot speak yet.
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
he was a beauty, if he could be a judge of such a thing - the night sky as he laid with his men and waited for the dawn, stars twinkling overhead and the flowing ribbons of the nebulas. And she was small, much smaller than he, perhaps a lady of the court if he was to guess but he was never a good guesser.
He bowed his head low in return to her greeting, as low as she surely deserved, a knight's greeting to a lady, "A pleasure, my lady. A beautiful party, is it not?"
Leave a note for your next of kin
Tell 'em where you been
Pray that Hell or Heaven lets you in
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
Her gaze had returned to the dancers.
It was hard for her to look away, really. She enjoyed watching them the carefree movements. So when the man returned her bow, she glanced at him in surprise, particularly at how low he dipped. That wasn't normal. Most of the reactions she and Jane picked up from the cheapest part of the Court streets, where the hard working, take and toll sort recided . . . was merely to be overlooked. Occasionally she'd get a second look - confusion, curiosity. But never anything like this. Why?
He made noises, just as the others.
She tried to peace together any words, in any all she might know, but only fillers came to mind, nothing concrete, nothing that told her what he intended to say, what his words would mean. But, the tone was there. The respectfulness, a since of admiration - but not for her, for the surroundings? The environment? The existence of the world? No . . . for this place maybe? The place they were at. This was the problem of trying to rely on emotional magic to give her context, it could be so difficult to pick up the right meaning, how she might need to respond.
So instead, she dipped her head.
Hopefully acknowledging his words would work? It seemed like the safest of options, before her gaze returned to the others, watching them, her muzzle never so much as dropping open, her plate of snacks already forgotten as the star allowed herself to relax again the present company. It was quite the thing to see. To experience. Though a part of her was also missing the quiet of her little one-room apartment with her best friend.
Being out and about could be scary too.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Tug Notes:: I'm intrigued by him <3 Forgive the fact she really cannot speak yet.
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
nod was his only response, her eyes locked firmly on the dancers, and he hoped he hadn't offended her. That she wasn't the sort who offered only a greeting then wanted nothing from 'his sort' in return.
He twitched his ears, flicking his tail in something between embarrassment, irritation, frustration and an attempt at friendliness, "My name is Tug, ma'am," he tucked his head to point at himself, "Might I have the pleasure of knowing yours?"
Leave a note for your next of kin
Tell 'em where you been
Pray that Hell or Heaven lets you in
Visions of your pretty face send me into hyper space
Caught up in a palentary world
There was a shift in the emotions her magic was feeding her.
Instantly she felt herself grow disappointed in her own self. She'd done something wrong. But what? She'd acknowledged his words, that was proper, wasn't it? That was how one does it? But she could feel the frustration, and this time, as her ears caught his noises, her head turned, tilting slightly, her ears flicking lightly with her own sense of confusion, lost a drift in the stars, trying to breath in oxygen and only getting carbon (not that either was truly important to the star).
Then she realized his words.
The star in place of where a heart might be seemed to glow brighter, burn hotter in her chest, as her eyes lit up, this time with recognition, with understanding. Name, she know that sound! And the sound that always followed was the individual's calling. Just as she was The Veil Nebula, his identifier was 'Tug'. She paused then, hesitating, ears pinning in uncertainty, trying desperately to remember the right way to make the sounds, the right way to return her own identifying sound. The sound that had been whispered on a god's breath during her creation.
Her hesitation seemed to extend.
But finally the way to make the sounds came back, I . . . am . . ." The speech was a little broken, a sign of not often being used, of repeating sounds that she didn't really have a full grasp on. But the voice, the voice spoke with infinite wisdom, the type of wisdom from being part of a bigger picture, part of the universe, connected to it on a very personal level. Her gaze lifted back up, a little stronger in voice, she repeated herself, I am The Veil Nebula." SHe paused, remembering the sound shortening that Jane always used.
Her smile was warm, considerate.
"Veil." The only way she knew how to offer the shorter name, with out the words to explain what she offered. She just hoped he would understand her, and forgive her for not being able to respond as one likely was supposed to in this event. Or perhaps, even more important, to not write her off as mindless just because she hadn't yet learned the languages of this planet.
FROM THE MOUTH INSIDE THE MIND
@Tug Notes:: I am soooooo glad he used the word 'name' or she'd have been even more lost. it's the only sound she's been able to relate to 'identifiers'
Breathin' in you give me air, I'm living on your solar flare
Could you be my super nova girl?
