Visting the Dead

[Kairi Valor]

The woman known as Kairi Valor walked down one row of tombstones, and then the next, simply looking at all of them, row after row, as if she was looking for a certain one.

But by the time she reached the last row, she simply turned and made her way back up, going from row to row again.

One would think she had gone crazy, or lost her mind, or maybe she had lost something among the tombstones and was wanting to retrieve it.

She was smiling her overly active grin, and as she passed each tombstone, she made a small bow of her head. Once she'd gone through that time, she turned around, and done it once more.

One would have thought this was going on forever. No telling how long she had been out there during the day, and even the night that had set in an hour ago.

She was undeterred by any obstacle, and after she had finished one section of the cemetery, she simply moved onto another. It was impossible to guess what she was doing, or if it had any meaning at all, but by the smile on her face, one could tell that whatever she was doing, she found it meaningful indeed.

[Dante Kimura]

Dante stood at the gate to the cemetery, watching the girl's strange actions with the slightest hint of amusement. Though he could see no obvious rhyme or reason to her wandering of the graves, at least beyond her walking from row to row, it was still mildly entertaining.

He had been watching her for a few minutes, having come to the cemetery to pay his respects to his grandparents. His maternal grandmother's birthday was coming up, and he felt it was only right to pay her a visit.

However, he had certainly been distracted from his original goal by this odd female. Though his usual habit would have been to simply go to his grandmother's grave, pay his respects, and leave, all the while hoping that she would ignore him, her strange behavior had piqued his interest.

"Coming to visit anyone in particular?" He called out to her, walking into the nicely-manicured graveyard.

[Kairi Valor]

The woman let out what sounded like a strangled squeak, spinning around and blinking at the man who'd spoken to her.

She was blushing, she could feel it, and she shook her head hastily to his question. "Um, no, I'm just....Paying my respects to the dead. After all, some of these graves haven't seen anyone in a long time."

Still slightly embarrassed at having been caught just randomly paying respects to random people in graves she didn't know, the woman could only muster a sheepish smile.

"My name is Kairi Valor." She seemed to brighten a little, motioning to his side. "Do you mind?"

She was asking to walk with him. After all, it was rather boring walking alone. And since he'd seen her, well, escapade in the cemetery, she deemed it to fit to ask.

And then she saw a spider, crawling across one of the tombstones. she was sure the man saw it too, and then there was a silence. But it didn't last long. When Kairi was near, it normally didn't.

She screamed, jumping away from the stone and somehow tripping over the stone behind her, ending up on her back. She was blushing as she sat up, but she couldn't help but giggle, taking a glance at the man, hoping she hadn't scared him off.

[Hilda Holloway]

Just as she had done every day for the past few months, the young girl, with one small flower in hand, entered the cemetary. She first walked past a young man, the colour of his purple bracelet identifying him as a member of the same clan as her. She continued walking past him, avoiding eye contact and hoping that he'd not speak to her.

She continued through the pristine grass, not at all bothered by the thought of walking alone in a graveyard in the middle of the night. As she continued walking along the the cemetary she spotted the outline of a female figure lying on the ground. She tried not to think too much about her, maybe she was a zombie emerging from the ground or maybe just an embalmed body that someone forgot to bury.

She continued walking past the girl on the ground as well, taking no time to even investigate if the girl was alright. She continued walking past these, going to a simple, unmarked, rather large mass grave. Very unassuming, only a single large stone slab, in the shape of a cross, jutting from the ground was the only sign that someone was even buried here. Hilda knelt down, dropping the flower at the base of the cross and closed her eyes, hands coming together in a silent prayer.

[Dante Kimura]

The vaguest hint of a smile crossed Dante's face at her reaction. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said, though to some extent he had. Her reason was a bit surprising to him. "That's quite kind of you," he said. Of course, she was right. Some of the graves had clearly been forgotten, and while the managers of the cemetery did try to keep it clean, it was obvious which ones had visitors and which ones didn't.

"It's perfectly fine," he said. "My name is Dante Kimura," he introduced himself. Closer to her, he let his eyes flick to her wrist, where he noticed the bright green bracelet. So she was an Ookami. Not that it mattered to him.

He also noticed the spider, though he was planning on ignoring it. However, her reaction made him do something he hadn't done in a long time. He started to laugh, not at her per se but at the whole situation. As she sat up, he offered her a hand. "I can tell that spending any amount of time with you is going to be very entertaining, Miss Valor."

When Hilda came into the cemetery, he nodded to acknowledge his clanmate, but nothing beyond that. Though he was usually fairly good at reading people, Hilda was beyond his skills. She frightened him a bit, to be honest.

[Kairi Valor]

She took the hand, a bright smile on her face. She rubbed her free hand on the back of her head. "Me? Entertaining? Well, okay, maybe I didn't have to scream at the little bugger......"

She blushed when she realized she was still holding his hand, and released it slowly. "You sure you don't mind if I walk with you? And, if you don't mind, to whose grave are we going?"

She knew it wasn't her business, but her curiosity was as overly active as her personality. Although, with a large smile, she linked her arm with his, but let him take lead.

After all, she had no idea where she was. Giggling to herself, Kairi told him, "You know, I was actually quite lost, when you showed up. So in a way, I'm glad you scared the Hell out of me."

She then turned her head to take a good look at the one called Dante Kimura. She found herself simply looking, or maybe staring was a better word? Either way, her eyes remained on him longer than necessary.

Great, Kairi. By now he's probably noticed your freaky stare on him. Good going. Kairi's mind mumbled to itself in embarrassment. But she didn't turn her head away.

Instead, she kept it where it was. Yeah, she was definitely staring. She blinked, her overly active smile in it's proper place, and turned her head up to the sky instead.

She only let him guide her as they walked through the cemetery. But Kairi was clumsy, and the moment her head had turned towards the sky, she had tripped. On AIR.

There was nothing there for her to trip on! Nothing! and still she tripped. She made an "Eep!" and closed her eyes, preparing for the harsh impact of the ground.

[Hilda Holloway]

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of the fai-

"!"

Sure, she was glad that they weren't talking to or about her, or making any reference towards her, however this was a private place of mourning, not exactly the most hip places to score a date or anything. She refrained from speaking however the pair were getting a little too loud for comfort.

She had to make a bold decision as she remained there, kneeling over the mass grave of her family. Either tell them to be quiet or have her few moments of solitude broken.

May the souls of the faithful departed
through the mercy of God rest in p-

When at last, a loud, high pitched "eep" like noise, shattered her deep-like concentration. She wasn't too sure exactly if she heard a loud crashing sound as the girl impacted the ground, or if she heard the young gentleman effortlessly and gracefully save her in a display of full on manliness, however she was mostly unimpressed.

Not bothering to turn around to see which of the two above scenes may or may not have occurred, she spoke up, rather loudly, only opening one eye in pensive weariness, but not turning around to look them in the eye. "Uhh, excuse me, boy who is in the same clan as me, and girl who is not in the same clan as me! But do you two... ummm... mind keeping it down for just a minute?"

She really didn't want to be a bother, but considering this was a daily activity of hers she felt it was at least slightly within her right to complain. She closed her eyes and began once again.

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord...

[Dante Kimura]

Dante nodded. "Very, very entertaining." He said. He gripped her hand lighlty and pulled her up. He was actually rather disappointed when she released his.

"I don't mind at all," he said. He took advantage of this opportunity to take in the lovely woman he had met. He certainly liked her very much already. "We're going to visit my grandmother. Her birthday is coming up," he explained.

He glanced down, slightly surprised when she liked arms with him. His eyebrows briefly flicked up, but he had begun to realize that this girl was a bit more hyperactive than most. He was starting to think that he rather liked that. He began to lead her through the cemetery. "Well, I suppose this was fortunate for both of us. It would have been rather sad, visiting her alone."

He felt her eyes on him, and turned to meet them. His eyes, at the moment a deep stormy gray, held her crystal blue ones for a long moment, until she broke away and looked up. He continued to lead her the entire time.

When he felt her trip, he reacted without thinking. Dante reached out and caught her, steadying her against his body. He held her tight, then slowly propped her back up. "Are you all right?"

[Hilda Holloway]

Edit: (OOC: Err... am I going crazy, or was there a post after my last post by Kairi? <_<)

[Kairi Valor]

"Y-Yeah, just me and my clumsiness! Hee hee......" She was blushing again, and rubbing the back of her head.

"You know." Her eyes started to twinkle merrily, before she winked at him. "I keep falling when your around. Maybe I'll blame you."

She giggled, resuming their position: him leading her to his Grandmother's grave, their arms linked.

Her face grew a little solemn. "I glad you can face your Grandmother's death. It's hard for me to even think about my parents. As a matter of fact......" Kairi stiffened, mumbling, "I can't even remember them all the way. Stupid memory."

Her traitorous eyes found their way back to the man she was walking with. She had liked his eyes...... Great. We're back to staring.

Kairi blinked, before smiling largely, all solemness gone from before. "It might rain if we don't hurry. Then we'll be left out in the rain, at a cemetery, at night........"

Shrugging, Kairi laughed. "On second thought, let's take all the time we need. I like the rain." Here she blushed, hiding her head down slightly and mumbling, "It comforts me."

[Dante Kimura]

Dante had certainly liked the brief contact with Kairi. It had been very, very hard to let go. "It's alright, it gives me an opportunity to catch you," he said, giving her a little smile. Her next words made him outright laugh. "Perhaps I'm bad luck?" He joked. However, Hilda's sharp words had led to him dropping his voice to a lower level. It was rather unfair of them to be so loud.

He glanced down when she relinked their arms, and then led her the rest of the way to his Grandmother's grave. "Well, she died when I was ten," he said. "I suppose I've had seven years to get used to the idea, and she was very sick for several years beforehand." His expression was a mix of curiosity and sympathy at her next words. "That's awful. I can't imagine not having my parents around. They may be distant, but at least I can still see them."

"Ah, perhaps we sohuld hurry," he said, not sure how he felt about being caught in the rain. It wasn't the idea of being in a cemetery that bothered him, it was the idea of being wet.

"You certainly are unusual, Miss Valor," he informed her. Then, he paused in front of one of the gravestones. "We're here," he said, gesturing. Both his maternal grandparents' names were on the stone. He lay down the lily just below his grandmother's.

[Hilda Holloway]

(OOC: Eh, must have just been a random side effect of all the pills I'm taking. <_<)

Still giggling like a pair of school children who had finally sealed their relationship with a "Your [sic] Cute" lovey dovey note they passed around. She prepared to uncharacteristically go over to the couple and tell them off, before overhearing a comment from the girl not in her clan.

She blinked, cringing at the thought of rain. Not only did it cause her normally baggy clothing to cling to her, showing off her not exactly human-like frame, but more importantly the rain would sometimes cause her metal joints and gears to rust, making her incapable of moving. Or at least, that's what she heard. She never actually experienced it but it sounded like a horrifying experience and with any luck she'd not experiencing the rusting and non-movement of her metallic body.

She looked down at the grave of the entire Holloway family before sighing. "I'm sorry..." she whispered slightly, hoping her family would forgive her for not paying her respects that day.

She hastily made it out of the cemetary, in hopes of finding a shelter to whether the storm in.

[Kairi Valor]

After seeing the grave before her, a slight blush from Dante's earlier comments, Kairi bent down and touched the tombstone softly, closing her eyes and smiling her famous grin that stretched across her face in happiness. "Rest in peace, for you are not forgotten. Amen."

Standing, Kairi nodded to herself, and then blinked, looking up at the sky, then at Dante. "I felt a rain drop."

And as soon as she said it, it came down, hard. Kairi blinked, before trying to hide her laughter as Dante looked horribly displeased at the falling rain.

But Kairi simply held out her arms, and lifted her head to the sky, her smile twice the size it was before. "It was hard, about my parents. I can remember the feeling of loneliness."

She stopped and marched over to him, drenched, and linked their arms, once again resuming their walk, and Kairi still let Dante lead them. "I remember crying, wishing, but knowing I should have done something......But didn't do anything at all."

Kairi shook her head, her hair sticking to her wet clothes and body. "I know it wasn't my fault." She pressed herself to Dante's arm, sighing. "But sometimes the feelings attack me, and then I don't know what to believe anymore."

She erased the melancholic feeling by sticking out her tongue and trying to catch raindrops, huffing indignantly when she couldn't, muttering, "Stupid raindrops......Avoiding me......"

And yes, Kairi was pouting over not being able to catch a raindrop on her tongue. ......I don't even think I need to say anything more.

One more comment from her subconscious, and Kairi might just have permanent brain damage from strangling the little voice in there.

[Dante Kimura]

Dante glanced over, and noticed Kairi's sligh blush. 'That's...cute...' he thought, and smiled a little. There were a few flowers already at the grave, indicating that perhaps his parents had already been by. When Kairi mentioned feeling a raindrop, he was about to comment, but then the sky opened up and it began to pour.

"Huh. Looks like you were right," he said. Between his tone and his expression, it was obvious that he was nowhere near as pleased at this turn of events as she was. He personally wasn't a fan of rain, or really precipitation of any kind. However, his displeasure was alleviated slightly as he watched Kairi. It was hard to be upset, watching how happy she was. So, he reached up, brushing his wet bangs away from his face and staring at the sky as well.

He was a bit surprised when she marched over and linked arms with him. As she spoke, he waited for her to finish her thoughts before responding. He began to lead towards the exit to the cemetery, as his business was finished. Finally, he did reply.

"Of course it wasn't your fault." As someone who had long thrived on logic, it was obvious to him that there was nothing Kairi could have done. Clearly, she had been young at the time. However, he also knew that emotions were funny things, especially guilt. No matter whose fault it really was, guilt tended to eat away at the innocent. "But I suppose that doesn't always matter." He added, as a concession to that fact.

He rather liked the feeling of her pressing against his arm. It was a bit distracting, as was her attempt to catch a raindrop on her tongue. Clearly, she was refusing to let her thoughts get her down for long. Dante liked that about her. He paused for a moment. "Perhaps if we stand still you'll have better luck," he proposed, an amused smile on his face.

[Kairi Valor]

Kairi stops, blinks, and then smiles up at him, her head cocked to the side. "But you don't seem to like the rain very much, so it's okay. I won't hold you out here much longer than you want to be."

And with that, scooting closer, Kairi held her hands over Dante's head, standing on the tip of her toes. Of course, they'd stopped, so this was easier, but being clumsy, Kairi ended up unbalanced.

She stumbled slightly, falling straight into Dante, who she couldn't help but notice was very warm. Great, now we're snuggling him.

Ignoring her subconscious, Kairi smiled and snuggled closer, forgetting exactly who she was with, and that it was pouring rain. All she knew, was she was warm.

And then her mind put two and two together. Blushing, she took a step back and rubbed the back of her head nervously. By now, though she held ner normal grin, her face was painted completely red. She looked like a tomato.

"Sorry about that, it's just you were so warm, and I was cold, and......I'm going to stop now." She was sure she couldn't get any redder.

Still blushing, she held out a hand for Dante to take. "We could go to the bar, The Allure of Darkness for a while. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling some music."