Description: This is it, folks: the final Alma-Xiangfei scene, and the culmination of all our awesome RP to date. You'll laugh, you'll cry -- well, hopefully you'll laugh, at least. Most importantly for Alma, however, it is here that he once again loses one who he cares for, and gets the opportunity to show what he learned so long ago and only now found the strength to prove: that true strength isn't the ability to prevent or even endure loss, but having the power to see the beauty in it. Having, in other words, the power of love. Enjoy.
Breath misting in the sharp-edged chill, Alma Towazu walks through the fog sure-footed, guided by the faint light of the obscured sunset.
Things have been good. His life has reached a certain flow; he's found a routine that keeps him always expressing his passions, always in connection with overs, but never feeling overextended or overwhelmed. He has to change with what's needed, of course, which is why these days, he's been focusing more on schoolwork and modeling than his martial arts. His recent draw match against Feilong has brought him back into the game, however, feeling once again the incredible sensation of self-expression through combat; but intuitively, young Alma knows that even this is not enough. School, fighting, modeling. Though it's all based around interactions with other people, still, Alma in alone in many ways. Inner harmony makes it unnecessary to actively reach out. In a funny way, it's not healthy.
In a funny way, an important part of being a balanced person is getting unbalanced on occasion. And in a certain sense... that's why he's doing what he's doing now.
Well, that and the everpresent hope of an eventual kiss.
Dressed warmly but with effortless stylishness, blond hair dashingly pseudo-unkempt -- which is to say, looking unkempt because a lot of effort has been spent on it -- the tall teenage bishounen-fighter seems unconcerned by his inability to even read street signs except for within a foot of them. The fog has decended like a shroud, and today, Southtown is indoors save him. This is, at least, what he is banking on. Perhaps she may have friends over, but surely, she's home.
~ ...if there are others, I hope I made enough cookies for everyone... ~
He reaches her apartment, and intuitively, without really thinking about it, looks it up and down, as though memorizing what it looks like now, framed by the fog. He takes a moment or two, just watching, that mild and composed look on his handsome face -- and then he walks up to the door and rings the buzzer. And waits.
If the weather is of any indication of what's to come.. Well.. Then that means that there is plenty of fog in Almas future! Alma may not be overly familiar with Xiangfeis home, since she never -did- bring him to meet her parents, but the generally cleared out street is otherwise occupied by many brick apartment complexes; he just happens to pick the right one where there is a sweet-looking bike residing on the stairwell; its one of those bikes that is a blast to the past, 7 feet tall or so, silver in color with a -giant- wheel on the front, and a tiny one on the back. It has a crushed soda-can jammed near the rear spokes, and has all kinds of neat little stickers littered over the pipes. No way it can be Xiangfeis though.
There's silence at first, when the doorbell rings, but then there's loud tromping coming down a stairwell, "Yo, who dat??" bellows a clearly teenage, male voice, and before Alma can even respond, the white door swings open. He's greeted by a smaller individual, probably about 5 foot five, a bit on the thick side, and sporting full-body pajamas that clearly is the character of 'Tigger'. Hair dark and spiked, narrow eyes and studded earings line his ear; and most important there's a giant, fake-gold 'Y' chain about his neck- he is no doubt a thug. Uh... .. Sort of.. The young man squints his eyes, lips twisting up as he looks Alma up and down, and finally, after taking a deep sniff, jerks his shoulders forward, "... Who you, dawg-diggy-dawg? Milkman?"
:|
It's a friendly enough expression, mind you. It's not stern or disapproving, it certainly doesn't make him appear offbalance -- and actually, it's not really blank, either. His expression simply hasn't changed. It's as though either this simply /hasn't just happened/, or because Alma doesn't know how to react to this at all, he's going to somehow psychically 'save' having a reaction until he has a better idea of the situation.
To a casual observer, Alma would seem used to this kind of thing.
"No, sir," replies the youth evenly in his usual mild tone, looking down with that unchanged expression into the pajama-clad man's eyes. "Is this the residence of Miss Li Xiangfei? I've come to call."
He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket and produces -- a gun! No, but that would be unexpected, wouldn't it? He pulls out a tightly wrapped package of freshly baked cookies, as proof of his mission.
He's looking pretty chill right now. It'd probably take another psychic to realize that he just has /no idea/ what to do.
The thick fella, for the moment, doesn't know just how puzzled (and possibly -scared-) Alma may actually be! Nope, he's just standing there, looking a bit thirst, a slight sway in his step- Not in a threatening manner, but giving off the idea he doesn't stand still very long.
An eyebrow raises quite high to the words of 'No, sir', but he responds anyway, ".. LiX? It might be," he says, his words quick and smooth.
And poor Alma actually doesn't even get to finish whatever it was he was going to say as the man continues, "What's it t'yo- OH DAMN!!! HE'S PACKIN'!!!!" in an instant, he flies, diving off to the side, behind the door and hits the floor with a heavy sounding *WHUD*, "OH DAMN, POLICE!!"
As if on cue, suddenly things just get... More wild. "Tigga!" is a cry from above, a squeaky, high-pitched female tone, and the source of that voice comes tromping from the second floor, leaps onto the stairs banister like a surf-board. This girl is even shorter than 'Tigga', about 4 and a half feet tall, head sported by a backwards cap; she's wearing a white sports bra, and snow-pants, the kind that are like overalls; dark blue, and black, thick mittens that are the same color as her snow boots. With a leap, she lands in a crouch, pointing her fingers like guns at alma, blue eyes wide as saucers, "Drop it, drop the cookies, bitch! I ain't playin' around here!" she shrieks at the top of her lungs.
"Don't mess wit'm, Suno! He speaks 'Whitey', he can USE THAT SH*T!"
"DROP THE DAMN COOKIES!" C_C
...
"I'm putting the cookies down," Alma announces with supreme calm, meeting the girl's eyes the whole time as he gently leans over and sets them on the ground before her. "If I drop them," he adds in a gentler, more explanatory tone, "some of them might break."
Straightening to his full height once again, Alma towers over the two of them, but something about his mild and composed manner makes that less obvious than it would seem. I mean, height, right? You wouldn't think you could disguise something like that. But when you're a big gentle guy who doesn't like scaring people, these are the sort of skills you develop -- letting your shoulders hang low even when your posture is straight, letting your eyes almost half-lid in a relaxed way, not as though sleepy but just to look more gentle, little things like that -- and when you get psychic powers and naturally extend your emotions out around you, it's very easy to make yourself seem unthreatening when superficial reasoning would be screaming, 'Not only is he huge and clearly built under those clothes, he's making you feel insecure just by his /face/! Whether you're a man /or/ a woman!'
Alma can't help being himself, but he doesn't like people feeling this way, know what I'm sayin?
"I don't want any trouble," the young bishounen says, sounding quite untroubled. Does this happen to him every day or something? "I'm just looking for Xiangfei. I'm her..." Well, he wants to say 'boyfriend', but if she's mentioned him, then... but he can't say 'fiance' honestly, either. Hmm.
"...I'm her man. Alma Towazu."
[OOC] Xiangfei XD
[OOC] Alma XD
Sonu, the blue eyed girl, (mind you they are both chinese), keeps her fingers extended in warning, making it absolutly clear to Alma that she's going to shoot at any given moment if he doesn't do as she says. Luckily, things are going smoothly, the tension lowers, and for the moment it doesn't seem like Alma is any longer a threat; particularly when he claims he doesn't want trouble. They believe it, for some reason they're not quite sure of.
Tigga gets up to his feet, dusting off his knees and comes back to full view, and points to his buddy, "Yo, Suno, that was hot, I like how y'did that."
"Hehe, yah, me too, that was tight." they fist-stack one another, and then both look up to Alma once more with astonished expressions.
So this was the guy? ".. You don't -look- like a Towazu," Tigga then snorts, "You look mo' like... Like.. Young Mista Rogers."
"HELLO NEIGHBOR!" Sonu chimes in, holding out her arms as if to say 'what'!
"Looks like you gonna have to go back to the land of Make-Believe, sucka-fool-chump, we never even -approved- of you takin' our LiX like that, f'real. We was countin' the -days- until she finally lost to yo' ass!"
"S'right. On a side note, tho, those cookies are smelling really good." Suno crouches to pick up the gift, just looking it over closely, "It's all intrimacate lookin'."
Alma is silent, letting them speak. Still, his face does not change. Not enough information yet, perhaps... if there will ever be enough for him to really comprehend what the heck's goin on. But go with the flow, right? As always.
There is a moment of pause before he inclines his head to the one called Suno. "Feel free to have some if you like. I was planning on sharing them." He offers her a smile that, while brief, seems genuine on his good-natured face. "Just don't take them all."
But although his tone doesn't actually change, when he turns his head back to the one called Tigga, not even his latent and unconscious psychic affect can disguise a certain subtle firmness beneath his obvious gentleness:
"I won't let you keep me from Xiangfei. If she is here, please let me through. She knows me."
Finally, a change; but only in his eyes. His eyes are definitely serious, now. Saying it's threatening wouldn't be right; it's just... less unthreatening, you know? Like, the realization of just how big this guy is... it's kind of coming back.
He doesn't even mean to do this, you know. It just happens.
Tigga immedietly looks interested in said cookies, it's difficult to keep his attention on both them and Alma. Forget being thirsty, now he was rather hungry. But still, first things first, it'd seem for the time being, he wasn't afraid of Alma anymore, he smirking as he crosses his arms, "Yeah, she knows you a'ight. But whutcha gonna do if she -is- even here? Charge us with yo' credit card?"
"Oh -NO-, not that!" Suno cries.
"Hehe, whatcha gonna do, check yo' stocks on us?"
"Oh -NO-, Tommy Jeans is down again!"
"Whatcha gonna do, like, graduate from Harvard University, and get a GED in Scientology, and then get married and get yoself a house, with a lovely wife and two point five children with the house all with a WHITE picket fence, and a little dog named Benji on us?"
Suno jerks her shoulders forward this time, nodding her head as it's quite clear for the moment she is also the woman without fear, backing Tigga up. Granted, the final comment catches even her off-guard, forced to then stare at her compadre, "........ what?"
:|
Again, that pristine expression, just as before. But this time, it's not because he doesn't know how to react. Though it doesn't show in his eyes as it usually does... he's genuinely thoughtful.
~ What /am/ I going to do? ~
But by the look of him, there is no indecisiveness there. He just gazes calmly at Tigga, looking him in the eyes, and slowly raises his right hand to the level of his chin, showing both of them the back of his hand.
Then he lights it on fire.
A moment of silence, save for the sound of gentle crackling while apparently quite real white fire dances off of his fingers, trailing wisps of purple and pink just to liven it up.
Then it's gone. And Alma's eyes haven't changed.
"Please let me see Xiangfei."
[OOC] Alma Towazu: The only man to bluff when he actually /does/ have cards in his hand, because he's not willing to play them.
[OOC] Xiangfei aww -yeah-.
[OOC] Alma XD
"......................................................"
"..............................."
The duo didn't quite see -that- one coming. It would seem then, that the fun and games are over. They may be 'tough', but even a tough-guy needs to know when they're outmatched, and when a dude sets their hand on fire, yeah.. That's probably a sign of being out-matched. Their expressions are exactly the same, their jaws dropped, frozen in mid-dappage, and... Not quite trembling, but definatly they look shaken up.
".. U.. Uh.... *ulp*" Tigga takes a deep, audible swallow, poking his pawed fingers togeather, as Sonu rubs the back of her head, looking awkwardly to the side, "W.. We house-sittin', sh.. she's been gone for a'couple weeks now."
Sonu very quickly nods her head in agreement, still refusing to make eye-contact, "Y.. Yeah, and besides, LiX'd be pissed if you messed withus, y- you don't know who you're messin' with."
Composure is one thing; hiding your emotions is another.
As his hand falls, Alma cannot help but look deeply disappointed.
"...Thank you for telling me," he says at last, expression reverting to normal but tone almost grave, in a way. He takes another moment, and then adds, sounding gentler again, "I'm not going to cause any trouble. I just..."
~ Xiangfei... ~
"...where is she? When is she coming back?"
The duo still look a little shifty; at this point they really don't know what to think -themselves- now, messing with Alma further could cost them their -lives-! Tigga and Suno look to one another, and back to Alma with weak smiles.
"Uh, well she said just a couple weeks," Tigga then finally speaks up, "But that was a couple weeks ago, so.." he gives a little shrug, and crosses his arms once more, "Tho it's kinda funny, you claiming to be her man, and not even knowin' she left!"
"Yeh, what's up with that?" Suno suddenly throws in, looking to Alma once more, "You lyin' to us? Don't -make- me have to call up Shorty, Almanac!"
[OOC] Alma...laughs, and laughs. "'Almanac'."
[OOC] Alma says, "I just can't get enough. XD"
[OOC] Xiangfei >:D
Alma smiles.
"She doesn't usually tell me what she's up to. Most of time, when we meet each other, it's for matches." For a moment, then, shockingly-- his smile flickers, his composure wavering just for an instant, as he realizes that that's true. How often did they just hang out? Sometimes, but... not nearly often enough. He treasured all their battles because he connected so intimately with her form for self-expression... but then... he treasured all their interactions.
~ I'm not a very good boyfriend... am I? ~
"I was actually here to talk to her about that," he continues softly, not trying to force the smile back. He's at least reverted to his usual calmness. "It's the sort of thing I have to talk to her about in person. At this point, though, I just want to ask her how she's doing..." He trails off a bit, realizing that he's allowed himself to voice his monologue again. Probably not worth it around these people. He pauses. Then:
"...who is 'Shorty'?"
It's clear that neither Tigga or Sonu see that as 'normal', yet somehow, "Hehe, that definatly sounds like her," the girl snickers, her mood lightening just a bit, and she folds her hands behind her back, "You got -wrecked- is what happened, even we know she left! An, I ain't gonna try to figure out what you said after that."
"As for who's Shorty," Tigger interjects, "Man if -she- were here, we'd have nothin' to fear, she's the straight up THUGGEST of the Hip-Hop Honeys, yeah! But I kinda like you, so we'll give you the 4-1-1, this time.. That is, if you pass.. 'The test'."
".. Ohdamn, don't do that, Tigga, he ain't ready for 'The test'."
"Oh, he's gonna be. So what's it gonna be, Cookie-man? You gonna take 'the test', or you gonna run away with your tail between your legs?"
Alma isn't going to try and figure out what Suno has just said, either. Wrecked? But he won the last fight...
~ The thuggest of the Hip-Hop Honeys? Hmm. ~
"I have no choice," Alma says simply, now perfectly composed. "I'll take the test, if it will give me some way to talk to Xiangfei."
He lets a couple moments pass, standing there look like a man or among men, or at least a man among bishounen.
Then, looking mildly curious, he turns to Tigga.
"...you're a Hip-Hop Honey, too?"
Suno cups her cheeks and gasps, "Omigod!" she cries, her voice cracking at Alma accepts, "Oh Almanac, I dunno if you brave or.. Or just plain stupid.. First you accept the test, then you don't know who the Original Hip-Hop Honey's are? Say -whaaaaaaaat-?"
"HELLS YEAH I'm a Hip-Hop Honey, the Portly Hip-Hop Honey, fool, can't you see?" he tugs at the shoulder of his pajamas, that Tigga, and then crosses his arms once more, "Where you been, huh? Next you gonna tell me you dunno the Snowy Hip-Hop Honey over thur."
"Suno 'Like WOAH' the Snowy Hip-Hop Honey to be exact!"
"You don't know no -nothin-, do you, Mr Rogers? Sheeee-it, don't worry tho, you'll know soon enough. Break out the boom-box, Suno!"
"On it!" the smallest girl reaches into her pocket and takes out a cell-phone. At least, we think it's a cell-phone, it's about the size of a paper-towel tube, littered in little pink stickers of flowers and teddy-bears. Expression falling serious, she presses the button on the side, and it blares a tinny, hip-hop beat, which seems to force her to bob her head as she raises the roof.
o/~ *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet* *bii-dii deetdeetdeet* *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet*
Tigga's shoulders shift from side to side, hopping in place, his expression dead-serious as well, his eyes narrowing even further as he stares at Alma eye-to-eye, "Show us your moves!"
o/~ *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet* *bii-dii deetdeetdeet* *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet*
[OOC] Alma says, "..."
[OOC] Xiangfei :D
"..."
Alma is silent -- through the conversation, through the beginnings of the music. He just stands there quietly, looking at them, completely inscrutible and deadpan. There is no judgment in his eyes, no emotion whatsoever. He just looks at them. Just looks.
Then, without any other movement, his foot starts to tap.
And he busts a move.
Spinning once rapidly, Alma seems to fall to the ground but catches himself on one palm, arcing his body and remaining poised in a twisted one-handed handstand. Twisting his body again, he rolls himself onto a low handstand and, Rising Fury style, pushes himself into the air, crossing his arms to increase torque as he spins upsidedown before snapping his legs out, looking like a helicopter (or possibly a taller Chun-Li). If that wasn't already impossible, he then somehow tucks before his head hits the ground and lands on his feet, turns, and runs right toward the nearby wall -- and makes it almost halfway up before kicking off, flipping twice, and landing again. Even then, his body never stops moving, feet shifting and kicking along with the tinny beat as he slowly dances his way back to where he started...
...and somehow, knows to stop exactly when the music stops.
He retains his poised pose for a few moments, and then settles again, looking at the two of them with his usual expression.
As though nothing had happened.
[OOC] Xiangfei XD XD XD!!
[OOC] Xiangfei dies
[OOC] Alma says, "You know it."
It's a party!!!
There are the refreshments, the people, the music. It is a block party in Chinatown! The dynamic duo start off in the lead, staring at Alma expectantly, though Tigga veers off-course and proceeds to walk around, walking like an egyption, while Sonu raises the roof, standing one just one foot, both a clearly feeling the groove. They're feeling the beat. But there's just one thing they -didn't- expect, and that was Almas Trap Card.
What.. WHAT? Apparently Alma didn't look like the sort, in their eyes, to do much more than ballroom dancing. They were ready for a laugh- And instead are faced with ownage never before seen by man. Tigga freezes. Suno freezes.
o/~ *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet* *bii-dii deetdeetdeet* *bii-dii deet-deet-deet-deet*
The only reason the music stops, is because the phone slips from the smaller girls grip, clattering loudly on the ground, and for a moment, everyone is just... Standing there. They stand there, looking at one another, no words exchanged, no sudden hip-hop, the chaose just.... Ends.
On the other hand, standing at the outside stairwell is another chinese girl, dark hair in braided loops, wearing overalls common for a construction worker over her basketball jersey, a large dufflebag over her shoulder and- Bells in her hair? Why it's the Heavenly Hip-Hop Honey herself, eyes for a moment having become little dots, a simple blink returning them back to normal, "...... What are you guys doing?"
[OOC] Alma says, "...!!!"
Alma, Restorer of Order, Ender of Chaos.
He remains impassive, and it's impossible to tell what he's thinking.
~ That's right. You got served. ~
...Man, if only they /did/ know he was thinking that.
But then, who should appear but the love of his life, the Heavenly Hip-Hop Honey herself? Alma Towazu, warrior-bishounen and Hip-Hop Honey applicant extraordinaire, turns disbelieving even before she speaks, the sensation of her aura so foreign and unexpected that he almost wants to deny his own senses. Again, that surprised expression that he shows so often around Xiangfei and so rarely around others: eyes slightly widened, lips parted, hair rising as he tilts his head back as though just hit by a crashing wave of pure awesome.
"...Xiangfei..."
And then he grins. /Really/ grins. For the first time, Tigga and Sonu get to see Alma looking truly happy. It's quite a sight -- like the sun has risen through the fog.
"I... I thought you had left."
He makes no move toward her yet, but... that expression is just so sweet. Aww, Alma.
It's a rare moment in history, Alma didn't know this, but it had been a while since Xiangfei's posse had been togeather like this! Granted, they were short one, but the case still stands! But that isn't what catches Xiangfei by suprise; aside from the little dance party that was going on, "... Alma?" is her response, suddenly taken aback by the fact that he -is- actually there, "Aaaah!"
The other two, they seem just as suprised as Alma at first, but then there's just only more confusion for the pair; did the atmosphere just -completely- change all of a sudden?? "Boss!" they cry, snapping into a salute position; for now they were just going to have to deal with the fact that Alma completeled owned them. Oh but one day they'll get revenge, oh yes.
Oh yes.
Xiangfei takes a moment to regroup herself, free hand raising in a wave and her cheeks redden a bit, "Geez, you look like it's Christmas time or something.. Hey y'all." a salute is given in return, attention back to Alma once again, "Yeah, I came back to get some of my things, I'm er.. Gonna be gone longer than I had originally planned." her voice a bit more meek toward the end of the sentance.
"I see."
Alma has naturally recomposed himself in the meantime; his expression just seems to eventually settle like that. Those words from anyone else's lips might sound cold, but Alma's voice is gentle and serious.
The tall young man steps forward, moving a bit closer, though there's still quite some distance between them. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving, Xiangfei?" he murmurs, looking at her with those calm, gentle eyes. "I like to be able to see you." Then, fortunately, he smiles, eyes warming again. "Besides, my training with you isn't done yet, just because I won once."
"Where are you going?" A pause. "And... why?"
Xiangfei re-adjusts the bag on her shoulder, which upon closer inspection, appears to be mostly empty, not a lot of weight in it. The chinese girl still seems a bit shocked, but when Alma steps forward, she does as well, and she gives a little laugh, "Why? 'Cuz I was expecting to come back, of course, I originally planned to be out for just a week and.. That's not really out of the ordinary, right?" her attention for a moment shifts to the others, "Hey I need to talk to Alma in private for a moment, I'll see y'all later tonight ok?"
"Huh? Uh, y-yeah, no problem, LiX." Tigga replies rather quickly, though he seems pretty excited to see Xiangfei too, much like Suno; whom remembers to toss Alma's bakes goods to her,
"Yeah, we'll catch you later boss, these are from yo' man." a wink, and they rather hesitantly make their way upstairs, Xiangfei again looking a bit astonished.. Then hungry, "Cookies!! Oh uh.. Right, um, the going away thing. Hooboy, where do I start there.."
Alma stands as Xiangfei takes the cookies, glancing over his shoulder for just a moment at the retreating Tigga and Suno before looking back to his pseudo-fiance with calm, serious eyes. Normally, the young man is able to pull off that sort of expression with a gentle mildness that makes it seem far more reassuring than distant...
...but there's a new quality to his eyes now, a quality that makes him look, well, awkward.
He blinks once as she talks, and shifts his feet a little taking a quiet breath as he tries to banish that look from his eyes. His self-reassertion makes him look a little more like the usual Alma, but there are certain slight clues -- a furrowing of the brow, the slightly parted lips -- that show he's in an unusual situation.
A situation, that is, where he doesn't know what he wants.
~ I have no idea what she's trying to say right now, and I have no idea what to say to her... and she does this to me /all the time/... ~
"You don't need to tell me much about it if you don't want to," he says, back in his normal tone of voice. The strong-minded youth seems to have relaxed himself again, though he's not smiling. "I just got worried when your friends said you'd been gone for a long while. I wanted to make sure you were safe."
~ ...and you know... that's probably why I keep coming back... ~
A slight smile grows then, just an expression of simple warmth.
~ ...because even unbalance and disharmony are beautiful things. ~
Xiangfei actually isn't sure what to make of the cookies at first; were she in higher spirits, she'd immedietly accuse him of having done something wrong- But instead, seeing the situation as is, she just grins a little as she shakes her head, "Yeah, sorry about that, I didn't expect to be gone as long as I had been. But.. Since you're here I may as well fill you in a bit, it's nothing dangerous really." she shrugs the bag off her shoulder, setting it down by her side and then slips back to sit on the stairwell, eyes for a moment looking rather distant, "I suppose really, you would understand the best, with that whole 'spiritual' and like, 'aura' things like that.. Really, I guess you could call it 'divine intervention', that's one of your words, right?" as she glances over her shoulder, apparently expecting Alma to be sitting with her.
~ But this... this is unlike her. ~
Alma seats himself by Xiangfei's side, fairly close without touching -- perhaps a couple inches apart. He himself doesn't seem to be paying attention to the distance between them, however; he's leaning forward slightly so he can tilt his gaze toward Xiangfei's eyes, blond hair shading but not obscuring a quiet, respectful concern.
~ Something's changing inside her. Xiangfei's changing. ~
"Yes," Alma replies softly. "For most people, 'divine intervention' is an act of God reaching down to change someting. But if you believe in that there's a right path for everyone, and a general 'rightness' to all the true paths, then you don't need to believe in a God. In that case, 'divine intervention' would be a sequence of events that prepare you for finding a path that seems more 'right' than the one you're traveling down now..."
~ Xiangfei is... changing? But... ~
"What happened, Xiangfei?" the young man asks, softly, calm-voiced.
~ For some reason... I assumed Xiangfei would never change. ~
There go the little dot-eyes again, the chinese fighter staring at Alma in a way that makes it quite clear that more than 50% of what he said went in one ear, and out the other. Just, completely over her head; some things just never change, at least. Her jaw slacks a bit,
"Uhh.. R.. Right," she finally replies with a nod of her head. Thumbing the cookies a bit, not enough to break them luckily, she furrows her brows as she looks to them, "I guess I am a little spiritual, sort of.. I do believe my ancestors watch over me all the time, but I think they've blessed me yet again. I have a past that I've sort of avoided, and tried to forget, because I was afraid of it. And a few weeks ago, it returned to me. But in doing so I've been given a chance to sort of, I dunno, correct what I've done wrong."
The woman pauses for a moment, seeming a bit hesitant to continue, but, "It's going to take more than a few weeks to redeem myself."
Alma looks at her quietly for a few moments. The young man looks genuinely very deep in thought, just gazing at the Hip-Hop Honey of Southtown, his... well, his woman, according to the way he defined himself. Not exactly an Alma word for a girlfriend, but.
Just silent.
He could say something direct, perhaps. Or ask her what the heck she's talking about, even though he has a very strong intuition. He could do a lot of things, but right now, for some reason, he begins to feel as though those are boyish things to do. To quiz her, or to plead with her...
He smiles.
"Not all the consequences were bad," he says, smile slowly turning to a grin as his eyes warm. "Remember? You were in the gas mask when Nassir tried to kill me. Kai-san tried to fight you, and then you knocked me out with one punch. And I tried to find you again afterward, but I think Kai-san must have spiked the drinks, or bought spiked drinks without realizing it, because when we fought..."
A pause, his grin turning to a smile as he tilts his head.
"...if that hadn't happened, I never would have gotten to know you."
His smile becomes truly beautific now, and in his eyes is his most admirable quality, so unlikely for one his age, always implied but so rarely actually revealed: serene peace.
"Funny how that works," he adds, in his usual calm tone.
[OOC] Alma says, "...I feel really good about that pose, for some reason."
[OOC] Alma is becoming a man. x_x;
[OOC] Xiangfei XD XD XD
Xiangfei's shoulders lower a bit, at this point she can't even look at Alma her cheeks growing hotter as she, at that exact moment, had been reflecting back to when they had first met; their confrontation afterward- Really there's just simply no way one could have predicted that the outcome would have been what it is today, ".. Yeah, I guess.. I never really thought of it that way," she mumbles at first, but then she jumps in suprise, her head turning quickly to face Alma once more, and quickly shakes her head, her face suddenly red as a beet, "I.. I mean, n-no! Wh.. what're you talking about! How did y- When... Wh..."
"Xiangfei."
The younger man's face provides a perfect contrast to Xiangfei's. While she is blushing and startled, he seems perfectly composed, even strangely 'at home' in this situation, his eyes calm and soft and his lips set in a slight smile. Sitting with his right leg draped over his left, left elbow resting on his elevated right knee, Alma rests his chin on his left hand, looking sidelong at Xiangfei with that unconsciously bishounen expression.
"I'm attracted to you for a lot of reasons," he says simply, looking into her eyes as he says it. It doesn't seem to be any kind of gushy heartfelt comment; he's just stating a fact. "I talk about auras sometimes, but for me, auras just represent personality, and your fighting spirit never ceases to amaze me. I care about people who are passionate. You're very passionate." A short pause, and his eyes soften a bit more. "And... you've changed me, too -- because we both have strong passions, but we express them so differently. You've showed me a different way of doing things."
"I didn't want to be your boyfriend because you'd help me grow -- but I've come to believe that that's just an important consequence of having any kind of friend. To better express your passion, you need to continue to learn what that passion is for."
"And that's why..."
For the first time, he /really/ pauses. Just watching her. It's like the way he looked by himself before, when he seemed to be memorizing her building; now, in a strange way, he seems to be trying to memorize her face just as it is right now.
"...that's why I understand that there are things you need to do on your own. Because anything that helps you become a fuller person... is something I support."
Xiangfei can't believe what just happened here; in some ways, she shouldn't be suprised but in others.. Really, as long as Xiangfei had known Alma, there wasn't any point where it was obvious he 'knew'. It's a real shock, her heart starting to pound, the debate of even fleeing comes to mind.
Yet as she stares into Almas eyes, she somewhat gets controlled by his expression, her body very steadily relaxing, or at the very least the panic doesn't go up any higher, "Sorry," she mumbles, and she then lets Alma speak his mind. Though she can't help but to take one of the cookies and munch it lightly.
Then, she actually finds herself a little intimidated, her cheeks pinkened once more, eyes looking elsewhere as she takes her free hand to slug Alma in the arm, "S.. Since when did you become such a man all of a sudden, huh? First you lose your stutter, now this.." the girl then giggles weakly, ".. I don't really think I'm anything special, not just yet. But I've been thinking about it, these past few weeks, and after listening to you, I've decided that not only am I going to be the strongest woman, I'm going to be the greatest woman." again there's a pause, the womans head lowering a bit as a tear plips onto one of the cookies, ".. It's weird, really.. In a way I sort of saw it as a game, but.. Your support.. I didn't know it'd be so important to me."
'Since when did you become such a man all of a sudden, huh?'
~ It was you... ~
Listening to her, Alma realizes he had forgotten.
~ ...it was you to inspired me to lose my stutter. ~
When he lost his parents, Alma swore to himself that he would never give up. This did not mean that he would learn to become perfectly strong, or that he would gain the power to change others in order to prevent them for hurting themselves; had he sworn such things, he would be a very different individual, possibly stronger but definitely less mature. What he meant when he swore that was that he would learn what he really ought to be motivated by, and through that be able to let anything go. By keeping in mind what's truly important, he won't make the same mistakes; he won't give up trying to learn from his experiences, and make something good out of a tragedy.
Make something good out of a tragedy... like his relationship out of Xiangfei's previous assocation. Or like right now, where he's finally given the /choice/ to let someone go rather than having them simply taken away... and still, though he has so few who love him now, choosing to do so...
His left hand rests gently on her shoulder.
"I know," he says softly. "But games are important, too. For what they teach us about ourselves and others."
He smiles at her, again a beautiful smile, again so real, so perfectly from the heart, as a tear of his own trickles down his cheek.
"I know you can become the greatest," he says, and there is not a shadow of doubt in his voice. "You're already my favorite."
~ You've helped me so much... ~
He gently squeezes her shoulder, a tear dripping off his chin.
~ That even if you leave forever, I won't have lost you. ~
Xiangfei again finds herself at a loss for words.. At least for a moment as she listens to Alma, quickly raising her forearm to wipe her eyes, her shoulders do still tremble just slightly. Which, almost like magic, calm when the model rests his hand on her shoulder. All these emotions, some she's quite used to, others she isn't quite as much so rush to her heart again, an inspired smile forming as she looks to Alma once again.
She's always learning something new from this man, and his words always sound so genuine, in fact at that moment, she can really understand how Alma seems to break so many fangirls hearts. Poor suckers. ".. Rgh, don't say things that, I bet it isn't even the first time," she sniffles, raising a hand to Almas cheek, and brushes some of the tears, her position straightening a little and her gaze almost piercing, ".. Well then again, I guess I should be thanking you."
Alma sniffles a little himself along with Xiangfei, although his gentle smile remains, proof of his happiness through the grief. "You know I don't say things I don't mean," he says softly, his tone warm, bittersweet, sort of amused even, but a lopsided kind of amusement, a helpless amusement. "I've never said that to anyone before, Xiangfei--"
His smile fades into a slightly startled expression at her piercing gaze, lips parting slightly instead, his calm eyes blinking once. By the look of it, thanks of any kind hadn't even occured to him.
He tries to think, but all he gets is a blank.
Only one thought surfaces:
~ All I want is for you to be happy, Xiangfei. ~
Alma swallows, finding his throat suddenly dry for some reason.
"...I'll miss you," he says simply.
He sounds a little hoarse.
Xiangfei pauses yet again at another realization. She'd never seen Alma shed tears before; granted, it wasn't as if she had been by his side every day, but she'd seen him in some painful situations; and if her memory served correctly, not even a drop would escape his eyes. It's a really powerful moment for the chinese girl, whether he assumptions are correct or not, and she even starts to feel a bit weak, losing her strength every second she stares into his eyes, ".. Alma,"
The tone is a bit of both disappointment and sorror, yet she manages to keep her own smile, her opposite hand cupping the other cheek to wipe the other tears; cookies safely set on her lap, "I'll miss you too, of course." and she swallows hard.
".. oh shi-"
*KER-SMASH* An oversized, tube-shaped phone slams onto the stairs right behind the chinese girl and shatters into large pieces, LiX's hair nearly standing on end in shock.
Up one story, Suno's halfway leaning out of the window, a bit of a sheepish expression on her face as she scritches her cheek, ".. Uh, my bad. Don't mind me."
[OOC] Alma XD XD XD
"..Xiangfei."
Before, Alma was suffused with the perfect feeling of doing the right thing -- feeling as though he had gone back in time, and was able to repeat the events of the past with his new strength and experience to guide him. This time, he was facing loss like a man; unafraid to lose, and unafraid to grieve. His serene smile was caused by his overwhelming inner warmth -- the power of love.
Now, though, he reconsiders the actual power of his inner strength... for there could never be any spiritual warmth as soothing or fulfilling as the touch of her hands on his tear-streaked cheeks.
Not even being right felt righter than this.
Without even meaning to, somehow, Alma finds that his hands have encircled the petite woman's waist. More time would have been nice. More moments like this. But right here, right now-- that he has this, right now--
"Xiangfei, I..."
--it is more than he ever dreamed.
"I lo--"
*KER-SMASH*
O_O;
...
"...ha ha ha..."
Staring stunned into Xiangfei's own totally shocked expression, Alma slowly begins to grin, his eyes beginning to twinkle with overwhelming mirth. "Always," he manages, gasping for breath as his shoulders begin to shake. "There always seems to be... ha ha ha ha ha!"
He grins at her, through eyes that are narrowed in laughter and misty from tears.
Xiangfei looks over her shoulder to the poor 'boombox', and glances up to Suno with the all-to-familair 'I'm irritated' look. Though it's irritation that she actually had the nerve to eavesdrop on them; how... How.. Very Xiangfei-like! Unforgivable!
But then it'd seem that Alma wanted to say something on top of it, her attention his again for a moment; and red eyes blink in confusion at first to the model, but then, then she finally gets it, "Ha.. Ha ha.. Aaaaaaaaah ha ha ha ha ha! I know, every single time! Haaa ha ha haaaa!" Her laughter as boisterous as always, her hands draw down to his shoulders; the feeling of joy, that very feeling was definatly enough to finally take some of that weight off of her shoulders. And then, as her laughter dies down, she gives a relieved sigh, and takes another cookie as she looks to Alma with an adoring smile; actually no, she didn't understand that, ".... I don't get it." beat, "Hey, my buddies will probably want to watch a kung-fu flick with me tonight, wanna hang?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha!"
Alma and Xiangfei's laughter mingle together, one of the few sounds to penetrate the day's fog. He smiles right back at her, definitely looking quite relieved himself. There's a lot of emotion in the air -- but this was a good way to release at least some of it.
A pause, as he continues smiling warmly.
'.... I don't get it.'
"Yes, I know."
Beat.
Alma's gaze travels up to the window where Suno's face once appeared, and his eyebrows lift speculatively. "...Yeah, sure, why not," he says, sounding game. "I still have to find out whether my dance moves got me the respect of the Hip-Hop Honeys."
A pause. A real pause. Like, a pause wherein Alma's actually thinking about whether or not he should say something. This is an unusual kind of pause for Alma, but it's happening right now.
Then:
"...Are they going to be here all night?"
[OOC] Xiangfei LAUGHS. XD
[OOC] Alma gotta believe.
Oh Alma, you poor guy, you are love's punching bag.
"Er probably, I asked them to housesit for me, my parents went back to China for a little while," Xiangfei explains, "And I'll need to find Yuri and a few others as soon as possible tomorrow, I've got a few other things to take care of here in Southtown.." Xiangfei sighs, she stretching her arms a bit and picks up the cookies once more as she stands up, slipping from from Almas light hold, and grins once more, "You seriously want to get mixed up with these guys? They won't give you anything but trouble in the future." OH THE IRONY. "Come on!" and she'll take the lead from that point.
Alma just looks at her for a few moments, and then, probably inexplicably to her, grins softly and shakes his head, glancing down at the ground for a moment.
~ I guess /that/ was too much to hope for. ~
Still...
He rises then, still grinning, and begins to walk alongside her.
~ What really matters it that I almost got to tell her how I feel. ~
/Still/...
~ And, I mean, at least we had a wonderful moment together. ~
/STILL/...
"...Come by my place once you're done taking care of things," Alma says, in his normal tone of voice. "I'll bake you something special."
...it's just not in his nature to give up hope.
Log created by Alma, and last modified on 13:49:54 05/08/2006.