Heron Lake Plateau So there's this puzzle I work on endlessly
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Ooc — Talamasca
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#26
Okay so that didn't really work, but at least she'd stopped asking him questions. He gave a small nod as if he understood (but really the thought of waiting had never occurred to him, obviously, but he also hadn't known what sex was until it happened), and then with a shy smirk murmured, Yeah, you're probably right.

The conversation seemed to lull there, but his residual embarrassment hadn't fully dissipated yet. He felt really warm, and started to think that Niamh was a little bit too close for comfort; a part of him wondered what her goal was with these questions — was it just curiosity because they were both pretty young, or..?

Is there someone in the pack you'd... y'know, wanna do it with? That came out a little bit louder than he intended, and really Screech hadn't meant to say it at all. The thought popped in to his head and came out of his mouth without any filtering, and immediately he wanted to take it back (the look on his face said as much, he even stepped back a half-step). I mean, sorry, that's none of my business — they're my siblings, I don't — I don't need that mental image, which of course produced exactly that. Except it was the briefest of glimpses of gold fur beneath silver, a mixture of images that turned the memory of Sorina in to — well, Niamh.

(The irony of his statement was lost on himself and on Java because they're both morons.)
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#27
Her brow raised when he asked her an odd question. Well, yes; that was the short answer. But obviously, she couldn't- and besides, she wouldn't be good at it, would she? Now that she thought about it, if she ever got a chance with Quixote...She certainly didn't want to seem like she was young and immature. She looked at Screech, who looked a bit more relaxed, and was watching her intently with his one eye. He took his question back, but it was too late. The cat was out of the bag. 

"Not one of your siblings," She answered, purposefully keeping her tone cryptic, but her eye contact didn't waver. Why shouldn't she do this, after all? Quixote was with someone else...And if he wasn't, she wanted to know what she was doing. Screech hadn't waited for someone special, so why should she? She turned her head sideways, and coyly gave him a glance over her shoulder, which she then shrugged. "I mean, it's not a big deal, anyway." She said, though part of her heart rebelled; but she ignored it. "But...I..I want someone I know, not like...A stranger, and someone I trust." She said, waiting for a moment before she shyly slid her gaze back to him again. Her heart began to flutter again; this was new territory, and she wasn't sure she knew what she was doing. But it didn't feel wrong- not yet, at least.
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#28
This was probably the first time he'd had a healthy conversation with any girl.
Scratch that — half of this conversation involved him lying through his teeth, and he knew it would come back to bite him in the ass one day. Maybe Niamh would figure things out and hate him like everyone else. Still, he couldn't help but see her in a new light now that they were both discussing such an obviously risque topic.

How had this happened?
Oh, right. Raven.

Not one of your siblings, she countered, breaking him from a potentially dangerous downward spiral of thoughts, only to lead him on with some vague, leading comments that, strangely, made his curiosity pique. No, Screech, don't go there. You don't need more drama in your life (another lie).

Not a sibling — you don't have a thing for one of the Blackthorns, do you? That made him recoil a little, a frown creasing his features. He didn't want to judge Niamh or anything, but if she had her sights set on one of them, he wouldn't be able to help himself, and she was becoming a pretty decent friend (which he was in desperate need of). It wasn't like he was jealous if that were the case (he told himself quickly), but to choose a Blackthorn over — well — anyone else? Hopefully she'd clear the air with some other truth bomb, because right now Screech was ready to nope the heck outta there.
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#29
It seemed as though Screech didn't get the hint, and he asked, then, about the Blackthorns- which would mean the shy Lucca or the uncouth but hilarious Tegan. True, she'd gone on a mission with Tegan- but no sparks had flown, even though she did find herself enjoying his company a lot. Screech didn't seem to think much of the idea, so she didn't keep him on edge. She shook her muzzle, and stood up, then. She breathed a faint "No," swishing her tail as though to accentuate the point. She tilted her muzzle down and looked up at him, like a librarian might peer over their glasses at someone who needs to smarten up.
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#30
The pack was made up of Redhawks and Blackthorns, so if it wasn't one of his siblings but not one of the Blackthorns then that meant... The cogs in his mind were working a little too fast, but he didn't conclude anything immediately. Screech wasn't sure of who else was left if he excluded those groups, and he found himself recounting and recounting, staring off in to the space above her head as he did so; Redhawk, Blackthorn, Redhawk, Blackthorn, Colt? No, that's a Redhawk. Elwood? Gross, that's beyond silver fox territory — Quixote? His one eye opened as he pinpointed that one not-Hawk, not-Thorn, and then looked at Niamh with an oh my god expression.
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#31
OK. So that's not what Niamh had been going for. She'd been waiting for him to realize that by staring at him, standing up and peering at him all sexy librarian-like and denying that she wanted either his siblings or his...Whetever the Blackthorns were to him- she'd wanted him to take the hint that maybe, just maybe, she'd give it up to him. She was surprised, flustered, and frustrated. How was she supposed to do this? Wasn't she already looking pretty, and looking at him? Wasn't that how things worked? What else did she have to do? Exhasperated, and honestly a bit rattled to hear Quixote's name come up, she sighed and rolled her eyes, flattening her ears and levelling her gaze. 

"You can be kind of dense sometimes, Screech," She said, feeling pretty upset with herself at that moment. He'd guessed...But that wasn't what upset her. He hadn't caught on to what she'd been hinting. Maybe it was because the idea of being with her was too ridiculous for him to even think of. With that final blow to her self esteem, she tilted her head up, walked past him, brushing her shoulder against his and batting her tail purposefully in his face. She decided, then, that she did not like rejection- because surely, by volunterring the names of basically everyone else in the pack- he was just doing so to avoid bringing up his own.
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#32
Her reaction wasn't what he expected. She seemed to suddenly cut herself off, or at least distance herself from him with her comment — and the light of understanding flit out of his gaze just as swiftly. It was like being with Sorina all over again. First things were going so well (perhaps better than that) and, in true Screech fashion, he'd wrecked it before anything could really happen.

But — if it wasn't Quixote, or a Redhawk, or a Blackth-oh s o n  o f a  b i tch that only left— wait, you're not serious are you? No, that wasn't the right thing to say in this situation, but he was more perplexed now than he had been a moment ago. That—came out wrong—I didn't mean— well shit, what was going on right now? What was he supposed to say? This had been a rollercoaster of a conversation and now things had spun upside down and—

I'm an idiot, he blurts loudly, and before she can get the wrong idea: You can do so much better than me, Niamh.
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#33
Well there he was- finally putting two and two together, but it was too late; Niamh was miffed. He tried to do what he could to console her- but all that she got out of it was the fact that he was rejecting her. It was the whole 'It's not you, it's me' thing, and she called bullshit. As soon as he finished speaking, she whirled around, hackles raised and teeth bared, and walked toward him, eyes hard but glistening with tears. She snarled and snapped her teeth together visiously. 

"Oh fuck you, and your self-deprecating bullshit, Screech," She hissed, butterscotch ears pricked and the crown of her head tilted forward, using a posture that was new to her- but came forward instinctively. She'd never had to assert dominance before, but at the same time, found herself wishing he'd just try something- just so she'd have a reason to fight him. "You just. You just don't want me." She said, her voice starting to break up. "I mean, I'm right. HERE. And you just think I want anyone else. Well-" She said, sucking her breath back to keep a sob from interrupting her words. "You can just go and fuck yourself."
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#34
And then out of left field came the most ridiculous drivel he'd heard so far, and he was floored by her reaction, having failed to notice how absolutely awful he'd been in his reaction. There was being dense, and then there was being Screech — which was far, far worse.

She was screaming at him all of a sudden and all Screech could think to do was stand there, take it, and gawk. Niamh was suddenly so forceful; her posturing made him shrink back — but so did her yelling, and for the first time he felt really bad about doing this exact thing to other people, because it sucked to be on the recieving end.

Her claims made no sense — but he was still reeling from the initial realization that she'd be interested in him at all, and soon he was backing away from her like she was a raging bear or something equally dangerous. Note to self: don't piss off Niamh ever again.

Neev - Nee— he tried to inturrupt her emotional tirade but she cut him off with her final statement. This was exactly what he had tried to avoid, damn it. She was one of those rare friends he had wanted to keep pure and safe, just for himself — but that blew up in his face and he didn't even understand how

He didn't know what to say, so instead he just turned and left her there. Typical Screech; find an issue, run from it.
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#35
It wasn't until he disappeared from her sight that she realized she hadn't been breathing. Dizzyiness hit her with a rush, and she gasped for air as her hind end sank to the ground. Dumbfounded, she stared at the ground, panting, until her breath finally hitched in her throat; and stayed there. For a second, she panicked- wondering if she was about to suffer the same ordeal Screech had gone through- but then the air escaped her with a gut-wrenching sob. She startled herself, as the tears began to fall, and ashamedly, rubbed her face furiously against one beige forelimb, and staggered back to her den to curl up and nurse her wounded ego.