[SE] life and how to live it

Aurelia

everyday can be a better day
despite the challenge

She huffs out when he holds her at arm's length, ears dropping down on either said of her head, looking rather unhappy at being caught and held like this.

At his recognition, however, her ears perk up and her nose twitches. I'm a red panda! She barks with the words as they dash back across the bond, too indignant to feel embarrassed about her rather harmless shift right now. Listen, it's--Ah! Suddenly he's smushing her against his chest. At first, she writhes in his arms in an attempt to get away, but this only ends up in her being crushed further against him while her tail-end hangs down uselessly. Unamused, she grows stiller and grumbly. It's not fluff, it's muscle.

Something weird happened to me in the Oerwoud. Changed how I look. And Safrin attuned me. There's a prouder edge to that last point. That's right, she seems to say.

Ronin...

You smell like a dirty sock! And I told you who I am! So... lemme go! Her back paws scrabble out against him in emphasis.

It's gonna get difficult to
stand but hold your balance

RONIN

"It is definitely fluff," Ronin coos, grinning like an idiot and scritching behind her ears even as she fights and subsequently gives up. "A red panda, huh? Is it some kind of teddy bear? It looks like one - but you have such a long tail." Clearly enamoured by it, and able to properly enjoy it now that he knows who it is waggling around in such an adorable shape, Ronin takes a good few moments to fuss over her before he sets her down (reluctantly).

"Fine, fine - you're free. And Safrin Attuned you?" He grins. "Congratulations. It wasn't connected to the weirdness in the Oerwoud was it?" he asks, tilting his head. "Either way, do you want to carry on this discussion in the Hanged Man? I don't know if you've noticed, Aurelia, but it's raining a lot."

soft spoken with a broken jaw
we step outside, but not to brawl

Aurelia

She has to admit being scritched behind the ears feels wondrously good, to a point that it's euphoric and she can do little else but succumb to it for a moment. But his fuss over her tail has her pushing away again, until he eventually releases her.

In a flash of dark red, she hops away a few feet - to regain some amount of personal space again. She indignantly sticks her nose up at him, taking a square little stance, glaring as much as a red panda can glare. But he seems to let go of the teasing an so she shifts back into herself with a small huff.

"No, nothing to do with the Oerwoud. Though.. it all sort of happened at once. Flowerbirth was quite a time for me," she clarifies.

At his suggestion, she nods, "For a bit... I can't stay long..." And if the conversation goes in the directions of her becoming Arbiter, and everything that proceeded thereafter, then that's where it goes. But if Ronin will keep things light, she won't steer away from that either. In a way, she's actually pretty relieved to see him here, and a drink sounds nice anyway.

"I really got you, though. You should've seen your face!"

---

fin!

What is clear is what is gold
You're only human after all