When My Dreams Come True (Oriel)

[Luxanna Viera]

Out of all the friends Lux had and out of all the people she had met during the retreat, there was only one she had been looking forward to spending time with; Oriel. Their relationship seemed odd and sometimes creepy in other people's eyes, but Lux didn't really mind it. If anything, she felt sort of privileged to be the one Oriel felt the need to protect. It was rather sweet and comforting to know that she always had someone who'd protect her back and make sure she was fine. Not a whole lot of people could say they had someone like that, and even if it meant being treated like a possession, which she didn't really mind all that much, she was grateful.

Lux walked through the camp, trying to spot the brown haired boy. He wasn't all that easy to find. Not that it was all that weird, he seemed to be flying around all over the place, always doing something weird. He was like that and it was rather amusing. One could never be too sure about what he'd come up with next, or what kind of mood he was in. It was challenging, but hey, who didn't enjoy a challenging friendship? It'd grow dull quickly if everything was like walking on rainbows and riding on unicorns.

''Oriel?'', she called out, growing slightly impatient. She didn't want to walk out into the forest all alone, because with her luck, she'd trip in some roots and break her neck. That would be so typical. ''Oh, Dark Overlord!'', she tried again. Maybe that would work.

[Deleted]

Indeed Oriel had been flying all over the place in the camp. While he got to spend a good time enough hanging off of Lux's shoulders, it was usually in the presence of other people, so the two of them hadn't really spent a lot of time alone, just the two of them.

Which was fine, he guessed, well, it wasn't like he didn't want her to have other friends, well ok maybe he didn't, but he wasn't stupid enough to keep her from them, ok maybe he was….

But Oriel could be a reasonable person(sometimes), so if the Princess wanted to have some time alone or would rather hang out with her friends(especially that cosplayer chick, she was probably ok), then she could….maybe. If she said so…

Oriel heard her the first time, but was lying in wait for her to come closer. Honestly, didn't she know him well enough by now to know that the best place to look for him was up? Of course, he couldn't help but start laughing when Lux addressed him as the "Dark Overlord". He found it hilarious that there were actually two people so far who would actually indulge him with that title.

No doubt she could hear his laughing.

Oriel peered down a the Princess from his perch, pulling back some foliage that was blocking their line of sight. "Oh, Princess!" he called to her in the same tone of voice.

[Luxanna Viera]

Yes, it was probably stupid of her that the first place she looked wasn't up. But then again, there were a billion trees and if she ran around looking up all the time, she'd surely fall and break her neck. No, it was far better for her to keep both feet on the ground and her eyes forward, so she could actually see what was in front of her. After all, she was sort of clumsy and she'd had already fallen once, she'd prefer if it didn't happen again.

And then there was laughing.

Lux stopped in mid-step and looked around. This was definitely Oriel's laugh. Because, really, who else had such a overly stupid laughter? Exactly. And then she heard the brushing of leaves, which wasn't really uncommon here in the forest. Seriously, why was she even here? Lux + forest = bad. She was doomed to end up hurting herself. And then she heard his voice coming from above and turned her head up to look, shading her eyes from the light.

''Oh, there you are.'', she said with a half smile. She was pretty sure the boy was half-monkey, seeing as how much he loved climbing in trees. And the other half was probably a donkey or something. But she wouldn't get into that. ''How's the view?'', she asked with a grin and let her hands drop to her side.

[Deleted]

Oriel must have been smiling like a doof, because he certainly was laughing like one. Especially at the nonchalant answer the dear Princess made to his call from up above. He swung down from behind the foliage and onto the lowest branch, getting a much better view of Lux(and also giving her the chance to not crink her neck from looking up).

"Meh, ain't half bad," he said with a shrug, then lean forward, crawling across the branch closer to the girl. "After all, it is you're dog-face I'm stuck looking at." Of course, this was said with Oriel's own twisted version of affection, whatever that was.

He leaned his head over the back of his hands as he looked down on her. "Soo….what you been doing?" It wasn't like he kept tabs on her all the time. So of course he had to check with her to find out if anything horrible had happened or if anyone had attempted anything untoward towards his Princess.

[Luxanna Viera]

She watched the boy draw closer while holding back a chuckle. He was a monkey, and he looked like one. Especially when he swung down from the tree, crawling down the branch. And surely, it didn't help that he had that foolish grin on his face. But at least he was in a good mood, and that made her happy.

His comment however, twitched the corners of her lips up into another grin and she rolled her eyes. ''Watch out, maybe this dog does more than just bark.'' She didn't really mind Oriel's comment all that much anymore. With time, she had learned just how to handle them and how to respond back. Besides, she knew he cared, even if his way of showing it seemed odd to most people.

Well, what do you know, Oriel not knowing what she spent her time doing. ''Well, now. Someone's doing a horrible job, I see.'', she said with a chuckle and shook her head. She could either tease him or tell the truth, but considering everything that had happened, the truth was probably the safer path to walk. Too bad Lux didn't like the safe path. ''Oh you know, getting drunk... Meeting up with guys all alone... Nothing big.'' Well, at least she was just half-lying. Not that that was important, ahem.

[Deleted]

Good mood? Why, Oriel was always in a good mood! Just ask his good friend Jack! He'll testify to that!

Ok, maybe not.

"Ooo!" Oriel's eyebrows shot up as he draped himself even further off the branch, closing the distance between them. "Looks like this puppy has got some bite to her too." He laughed. "When did you become so sassy, talking to me that way?" Not that she wasn't always trying to one up him.

He shrugged, pretending to be a mite ashamed for slipping up on his watch over her. "Well…I do have a life outside of watching over your clumsy ass all the time." Oriel grinned like a little boy. He was actually have a great time on this trip so far. He was glad he came, especially since he could watch over her most of the time…and he got to engage in a lot of things he never had before. It was pretty relaxing out here. "Oh, well, if it was that Jack McCarthy guy, you don't have to worry about him anymore. I took care of him this morning. Yup, got my rope out and showed him who's boss, sure did!" No he did not hang the bastard.

[Luxanna Viera]

She enjoyed this witty banter thing she and Oriel had going on, and it was actually kind of amusing how Oriel seemed to bring out her more sassy side. Usually, she was a little more quiet and pulled back, but with Oriel? Oh, no. No, with him there was a constant struggle of who could tease the other one the most and stepping over various limits. It was fun. At least until someone ended up being pissy. ''I don't know. Maybe it was the day you tried drowning me, or maybe even that night when you tried feeling me up all the while trying to forcing stuff down my throat. Guess we'll never find out.'', she teased.

''Oh, you do? Since when?!'' She didn't mind him watching over her all that much, but she was really glad that he was enjoying himself. He really deserved having some fun and doing whatever it was that he liked doing. He needed more happy memories in his life considering everything that had happened lately. Kodah going MIA, their fight, that night at the dorms... Lux was glad it hadn't ended up ruining their relationship. She didn't really know what she'd do without Oriel. ''Oh, don't worry dear. I'm sure you scared him good.'', she said with a chuckle and ran her hand through her hair. ''So, why don't you come down?''

[Deleted]

Huh? There was wit going on here? Where?

"Feeling you up? When did I do that? Why would I want to do that?" He stuck his tongue out at her. Seriously, the Princess must be dreaming if she thought that Oriel ever wanted to feel her up. "Trust me, that was not, no where near a feeling up. If you want me to though, I can totally give you an example, but!" He slid down closer. Oriel was practically only hanging onto the branch by his knees and half an elbow. "I'll have to ask for a downpayment. Small bills. Stuff the duffle bag in the trash can behind the dorms just before midnight. And make sure noone sees you." He kept a straight face for about five seconds before snorting and devolving into short, quick bursts of laughter.

"Hey! I have a life! I do things!" He almost took offense at that, though Oriel knew very well that he had issues with getting out of his comfort zone…and making friendly with people he didn't already know….and just overall not being an ass. "There was…um…" Oriel though over the things he had done since coming on the camping trip. "I played Truth or Dare." He looked rather pleased with himself over that. "And I…played "Calvinball" or whatever the fuck that old guy called it. And," he was most proud of this next one and it showed on his face. "I got to see a snake eat a fish."

As for the stuff Lux was worried about, the shit that had gone down lately, well, Oriel was keeping himself occupied enough to ignore it. Maybe a little too occupied. "Sure did! The two of us reached ourselves an "understanding"." of what, he wasn't sure, but it was definitely moving somewhere.

"Why don't you come up here?" he retorted back at Lux. Still, he was happy to oblige as he let his weight slip off the branch and he swung himself down, landing keenly on the ground before her. "At your service, my Princess." He gave her a little bow.

[Luxanna Viera]

Sure, that couldn't be called feeling up, and even so, it had been more than enough for her knowledge. Bless the naive and the ignorant, that was all. Lux had no need to learn more about the topic and similar topics for now. She had seen, heard and experienced more than enough of it just living with the twins, and it was pretty amazing that she still managed to stay so ignorant and naive to the topic. ''I'll pass, thanks.'', she said with a chuckle. No, she enjoyed her life the way it was, and she didn't really feel the need to add in things she wasn't sure she knew where she was standing about. She really needed a friend, someone who wasn't Oriel, to talk to about things like these.

''I'm glad you're having fun.'', she said with a sincere smile. He really needed it, that much was for certain. And as long as Oriel was happy, she was too. ''Poor fish.'' Lux pursed her lip in an attempt of a pouty face. She didn't really feel sorry for the fish, but that didn't mean she'd want to watch it get eaten by a snake. She didn't really like snakes. They freaked her out. ''When you see that snake, let me know so I can run.'' Or shift. She could probably shift and beat the crap out of it. Or die trying. Though, snake bites didn't sound nice. Nah, she'd run.

She turned her attention back to Tarzan and nodded. ''I think the two of you would make great friends.'' And she surely wasn't getting drunk again. Ever. So he didn't have to worry about that either. ''He's a little odd, but cool. I guess.'' Okay, Jack wasn't cool. At all. He was rough around the edges and obnoxious. But he was also funny and sweet. A little anyways.

''Me, climbing a tree? What, are you purposely trying to get me killed?'' No, there was no way Lux would tempt destiny enough to actually climb up a tree and fall down and probably break her neck, or something around the lines of that. But luckily for her, Oriel decided to come down instead, and as his feet hit the ground, Lux grinned. She walked over and wrapped her arm around his arm, pulling him with her. ''Let's do something fun. Like... You can teach me how to swim!'' No. ''Or...'' What was there really to do in the forest? ''Uhm..''

[Deleted]

Naive and ignorant indeed, and if Oriel had anything to say about it, things would stay that way! Seriously, though, Oriel had no doubt that Lux would freak if he ever actually felt her up like she was one of his fuck buddies. Which, honestly, just gave him the funny-feeling willies just thinking about it. No, no no no no…. let's not go there. "Good girl,'" he said with a smile.

He was glad he'd come out to the camp. It gave him a lot of new experiences that kept his mind occupied, away from everything that he wasn't thinking about yet. "You know, any animal who's dumb enough to be caught by a stupid hook with a worm stuck to it probably deserves to be eaten." Really, Oriel would never fall for something that stupid. "Sure thing, though…." he pondered, "Erik said he doesn't bite…but if he's lying, I'll be sure to hop on your back and you can carry me out of danger this time." He sniggered with a ever more childish grin.

Funny that Lux should mention Jack and Oriel being friends because, well, Oriel thought so too! It was just a matter of how long it took for Jack to realize that Oriel was just fucking with him with all the death threats. "He sure is interesting, I'll admit." Oriel liked him enough and might even forgive him for getting Lux drunk in the middle of nowhere.

Oriel barked out a laugh. Of course Lux would be hopeless in climbing a tree, unless she was strapped to Oriel's back. "Something fun, you say?" A devilish grin appeared on Oriel face. Oh, he definitely had something in mind. "I can think of something, you know, if you're willing to follow an Evil Maniac into the depths of the forest." He ruffled her hair, "And not trip, of course."

[Luxanna Viera]

Yes, Lux would completely agree; Let's not go there.

Lux frowned slightly at his comment. She was clumsy enough as it was in human form, she could barely imagine how it would end up if she shifted and started roaming around. She'd probably end up just like that fish, getting caught in the spiderweb and getting eaten alive. It made her shrug and she tried not thinking too much about it. After all, that was one of the main reasons she didn't shift or even use her ability. She didn't want to think of the damage her clumsy self could do in a lioness or tiger form. She shifted her position and looked back at the boy, her gaze empty, as if she hadn't paid attention to a single word. She hadn't. ''Right.'', she said, sounding a little dumbfounded.

''Yeah, he sure is.'', she said silently, nodding. Jack was something completely unique. It was a good thing Lux was as ignorant and naive as she was, or else she might not have liked him at all.

Well, if there was any truth behind Lux's naivety, it would be that she'd follow Oriel to the end of the world without as much as a question. Maybe a little complaining and whimpering, but she trusted the boy completely and fully. ''I can't promise anything about the trip part, but I don't mind following you.'', she said with a smile. She didn't really mind him ruffling and messing up her hair either, it wasn't like it stayed in place when she wanted it to anyways.

''Lead the way, O'Evil One.''

[Deleted]

Oriel gave a low grunt in response to her blatant apathy. Here he was, trying to be funny and possibly even open up to her about some things, and she was completely dismissing it! Oriel hated being ignored. He hated being ignored when he was actually trying to share personal things even more.

Well, that sure killed his good mood.

"Look, Princess," he started, trying to curb his sour tone, but probably failing miserably. "If there's something you just don't care enough to hear about, you just need to say so, and I'll keep it to myself next time." Mumble grumble, stupid feelings, grumble.

And here he had gone out of the way to construct her a gift worthy of the gods. Who the fuck knew if she'd even appreciate it. Oriel was probably the only one excited for it, like the stupid little boy he was, thinking that something like sentiment actually meant anything to anyone else.

Mumble grumble, grumble mumble.

Lux's smile and agreement to follow him did little to improve his mood(though not completely nothing either), and Oriel forced out his crooked smile. "Don't you worry your little head about it. If you fall, I'll catch you." Well, he'd try at least. "Just stay close, Princess. Or better yet..." Oriel grabbed her arm and linked it around his, curling his hand around her. "There. Now if you start to slip, you can just hold on for dear life." He looked down at the shorter girl with a snarky smile and stuck out his tongue.

"Let's go." And thus he led the fair Princess off the main path, and ventured deeper and deeper into the dark, dark woods.

[Luxanna Viera]

Lux's eyes widened slightly at his sudden change of mood and she stopped in her step. ''I never once said I didn't care.'', she began coldly, but as she continued to speak, her tone grew softer. ''You should know better than to make assumptions like that.'' Lux started walking again as she wrapped her arms around her waist. ''My mind was elsewhere.'', she said mattter-of-factly and pursed her lips.

Sometimes, Oriel could be such a child. Though, most of the time she didn't really mind it. She found it cute, really.

And this was just one of these things he did that made her love him so. She couldn't help but to smile wider at his words, and when he linked their arms she turned her head to look at him. ''Boy, aren't I a lucky girl. I got my very own knight in shining armor!'', she mused with a chuckle. ''Thank you.''

Right there, that was exactly why she so blindly followed this crazy ass boy around like a lost puppy. She trusted him completely and utterly. He made her feel safe, and he made her happy. She didn't care if other people didn't see it that way. They could all stick a sock in it for all she cared.

''With pleasure.'', she said with a grin and tightened her grip around her knight's arm.