Comforting times - student lounge (closed)

Mollie was sitting in the student lounge curled up with a blanket on the couch. She had been learning her way around better and was becoming more comfortable wandering around on the ground floors without her walking stick. Her fingers gently caressing the pages of one of her text books, re-reading the chapter she and Bolin had gone over in her psycology class.

She couldn't help but shiver a bit and pulled her sweater closer around her. It was definitely getting colder and she was gratefull for whoever had left the blanket in the lounge so she did not have to go back up to her dorm room to get a jacket as well. A small grumble escaped her lips and she rubbed her eyes, getting a bit tired after all her studying.

Taibhse pushed his hood back as he cracked the student lounge door open. He flinched when he saw someone else in there, but relaxed at the realization of who it was. "Hey Molls." He ambled over to the couch and rubbed the back of his head.

"Is it okay if I hang out for a bit? I'm a little down today."

She smiled when she looked up and saw his familiar warm aura. "Hey, Taibhse~." She all too eagerly closed her book and carefully set it down on the floor by the couch. She sat up straighter and reached her hands out towards him, wanting a hug.

She dropped her arms a little and her brow furrowed a bit when he mentioned being down. "Aww, you know you can always come to me. What's wrong?" She tried to stand up to hug him but her legs got a little tangled up in the blanket. She grumbled and decided that she was stuck on the couch. Her arms reached out to him again and she wiggled her fingers slightly. "May I have a hug?"

Taibhse chuckled and flopped onto the couch to wrap his long arms around her in a tight hug. "Eh, the usual thing. Feelings suck and all that." He ruffled her hair.

"So what have you been up to today? I've been asleep all morning."

She smiled at the hug and leaned against him, partially mooching off of Taibhse's boody heat and to be more comfortable. "Yeah, I know how feelings can be difficult." She made a content sigh. "I've just been studying a bit. My classes have been a bit odd since I need more one on one time with my professors so some of them are having to work special times for me into their schedules. But I can't complain."

She nuzzled his shoulder a bit and then smiled up at him. "So what feelings are making you grumpy?" She gently nudged him with her shoulder. "What can I do to help?"

Taibhse grumbled. "I went to walk Roo home from work last night. But I guess she closed the shop early, because she and Abaddon were already halfway back to the castle by the time I got there."

He carefully tucked the blanket around Mollie. "From what I saw, they're a couple now. But I guess it's for the best. It just hurts." He raked his hair back and sighed, and decided that a change of subject was called for. "I'm glad to hear your teachers are working with you. How's the progress on your piano lessons?"

Mollie pouted softly and rubbed Taibhse's arm. "I'm sorry," she said softly, "You never got to tell her, did you?"

She smiled softly up at him, trying to be comforting. "Piano lessons are actually going really well. Professor Vincent says that I'm learning very quickly and I'm really liking it." She bit her lip and giggled. "I'm trying to get to the point to where I can link my aura with the piano and see if I can play it that way. Then I could make the music room really seem haunted."

Taibhse shook his head and gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze.

"With the whole piano?" A smile curled his lips and he chuckled. "I'd like to hear you play again. When's your next lesson?"

Mollie smiled and giggled. "Yeah. It wouldn't be any different than when I make Boshaft dance or when I make my walking stick levitate, just on a larger scale. It's just difficult because there's just so much of it to fill, you know? I don't have another lesson until next week because I'm having to catch up with some of my other teachers."

She looked up at him and carefully moved one of her hands up to cup his jaw. "Hey, I don't know if you get told this enough but. . .you are a very kind person. Instead of pushing yourself and how you feel on to other people you want what is best for them. That is a very respectful and good thing." A soft flush came to her cheeks and she moved her hand to rest on his neck. "Would you like to do something to do something? Like maybe listen to music? or if you want to watch a movie I can listen?"

Taibhse nodded, trying to imagine Mollie making a whole piano glow. He would certainly like to hear her play again.

He turned his head to look at her as she spoke, and his expression softened. A tiny smile curled the corner of his lips and leaned forward to rest his forehead on hers. "I just wanted to hang out with you." He managed a chuckle and looked over at the tv. "I think we have one of the Fantasia movie's here. It's just a symphony with visuals. Would that be okay?" He brushed her hair out of her face with his free hand. "If it doesn't have words, it shouldn't distract you too much if you want to keep reading."

Her face flushed a nice pink when he rested his forehead on hers. She smiled with a soft giggle and gently began to swirl her fingertips along his neck and collarbones.

She made a soft sigh when he mentioned reading more. "I'm done with my school reading for today. It was making me sleepy. Besides," she carefully moved her hand to play with the hair at the base of his skull, "I need to focus on making my wonderful friend feel better. I'm okay with listening to the music in the movie though if you want to watch it. If it doesn't bother you... I might ask you to tell me what is on the tv. What they set the music to? So maybe I can imagine what it looks like?"

Taibhse blushed and gave a nervous chuckle as he twitched away from her touch. "Hey, that tickles."

He grumbled and reluctantly-- very reluctantly-- pulled away from her petting hands and knelt on the floor to put in Fantasia.

"I can do that. Do you want another blanket, Molls? You look cold still."

A smile curled onto Mollie"s lips and she giggled mischievously. "I didn't know you were ticklish, Taibhse."

She fell onto the arm of the couch a bit when he moved to put the movie in, from being displaced on the couch. She readjusted herself and moved the blanket around a bit. "I think I'll be fine with someone to cuddle with." She brushed her bangs out of her face and tried to fix her hair over one shoulder. She didn't know why she was even trying to bother about her appearance when she couldn't even see herself. But she felt like it helped. "Hey, you don't mind that I'm. . . a bit touchy, right? It helps since I can't actually see your face. . .so it helps me feel closer, if that makes sense."

Taibhse chuckled as he set the movie up and shrugged.  "I don't mind at all.  My ma is a really touchy person as well, so I'm used to being affectionate with people."

Once he got the movie started he settled back on the couch, one leg crossed neatly over the other and one arm outstretched, inviting Mollie to curl up with him.  "It does make sense.  Hugging someone releases oxytocin, which relieves stress and lowers the heart rate, and hugging also stimulates the brain to release dopamine, which elevates mood and makes you feel closer to people."  He winked and snapped his finger at her.  "Science."

She leaned against him when he sat back down and looked up at him. She smiled and laughed, a bit louder than she intended. She bit her lip and covered her mouth with one hand. "Science indeed."

She nuzzled against him and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you. I know that sometimes touching people, especially around the face feels weird for other people but that's the only way I can really see someone's face. I know Jaebi did not like it at first so I've just gotten used to touching his shoulders or arm. . .but then again he's so tall that's about as high as I can reach on him." She giggled softly. One of her hands wandered its way back to his neck, gently petting the side of his neck and collarbones. "Although, it's nice to be around people that will let me touch them at all."

Mollie's mind wandered back to the darker times when she was at the orphanage. When she would be picked on and hit by other kids for just trying to reach out to them. She sighed and smiled softly, coming back to where she was. "I know I say this a lot but I am very gratefull to be here and to have wonderful people like you with me."

"Jaebi is... unfair tall." Taibhse laughed and brushed Mollie's hair over her shoulder with his fingers. "He's just a little skittish when he's around new people, is all. He got to meet my mom when she showed me around campus, and he got all snuffly and twitchy because she wears perfume with citronella in it. Cats apparently hate citronella. It was hilarious."

He draped his arm around her once she got comfortable and hummed. "I don't think I'll ever be bothered by you touching me. I dunno, it feels like I've known you for a lot longer than I actually have. This is comfortable."

He gave the top of her head a light nuzzle. "I'm glad you're here, too. And that you've found so many people here that you get along with."

She giggled at the story about Jaebi. "I'm kind of sad that I didn't get to see that. I bet it was funny and adorable at the same time. I like the sounds he makes but I never expect them. I expect a much louder or deeper sound but instead he's a tinny kitty." She bit her lip and wiggled a bit in happiness. "He's adorable."

She looked up at him through her bangs and smiled. "That actually makes sense. One of my guardians said that he believed in like kindred spirits. Where the souls had known each other either in a past life or just existed together for a long time before they were placed in their current bodies. So if you think of it that way, we might have known eachother before." She shrugged softly. "Or we just get along very well. You are very comfy, by the way. I appreciate it."

He chuckled and shrugged. "I don't think even he expects the kitty noises sometimes. He said he used to be a choir kid before he was Changed. I wonder if he was a good singer."

He bowed his head a bit to meet her gaze as she spoke, still with a happy curl to his lips. "Kindred spirits, huh? That would be a cool theory to explore. Like with that past-life meditation thing. I have no clue if it works, but it would be fun to try."

Another laugh. "I'm comfy? Heh." He rubbed his nose. "I always thought I was a little too bony for cuddling. If you want comfortable hugs, find Kazuo when he's in bear mode and tell him you need a hug. He won't ask questions. He might pop your back on accident, though."

When he bowed his head, her hand gently trailed down his jaw. She blushed slightly and bit her lip as she listned to him. "I didn't know there was a meditation thing that would tell you about your past lives. Where did you hear about that from?"

She moved her face closer, not sure of how close they actually already were together. Their noses ended up touching and she moved away quickly again. "Eh, well I think you are comfy so. . .there." She nodded as if she had proven a good point. "I think I've seen that person. They were in the shape of a bear but their colors weren't bear. I bet he is wonderfully fluffy."

She paused for a moment. "May I ask you a question about your power when you taste someone's blood? If you aren't comfortable with it you can tell me."

"It's just something I've heard of. Like astral projection and all that." Taibhse snickered when she twitched away from him. He was prepared to nuzzle her nose with his, but oh well. She was being painfully cute at the moment, though.

"That's the one. I get hugs from him a lot as a bear." His nose crinkled a bit. "Not as a human, though. He's put me in headlocks before, and those are pretty comfortable, aside from the lack of oxygen. If he ever gets together with anyone, they'll have a great man-pillow to nap with."

He rested his cheek atop her head, eyebrows lifting curiously. "Sure, yeah. You can ask me anything."

She smiled and sighed, getting comfy again. "I will have to see if I can talk to this bear man that is oh so cuddly." She blinked for a second. "Actually I don't know if I could talk to him. I would have the same problem I had with Jaebi at first."

She bit her lip and traced a small pattern along his sternum for a moment. "Do you get to pick what kind of vision you get? If its from the past or from the future?"

"Eh, he's not always a bear. Though I imagine hugging his sister would be just as comfortable." He blinked and added in a grumble, "Just don't tell Kazuo I said that."

"You figured things out with Jae, though. Pretty genius, if you ask me."

He felt color rising in his cheeks a bit, and was glad that Mollie couldn't see. Granted, he didn't know if auras responded to heat, so she may very well be able to see it, but he certainly hoped that she couldn't. This attention felt... really nice. He found himself grinning, despite the question.

"Ah... Er, well, it's totally involuntary. I don't know what time of the person's life it'll be from, or even what the content is. I just know I'm seeing the vision through the eyes of the blood donor, for however long the vision lasts."

"Well, Jae was the one that figured that out so I can't take the credit for that."

She continued to pet along his sternum and up to his collarbones, fiddling with the neckline of his shirt. "That must be a bit scary for you, though. Suddenly being thrown into another person's mind. Not knowing what or when it will even be." She tugged softly on his shirt. "I-if you do ever taste my blood and see a vision of my future. . . don't tell me much about it, okay? I feel like, I shouldn't know what will happen to me until it happens." She smiled softly up at him. "That's only if though. Have you ever seen yourself in the visions from someone else?"

Taibhse arched an eyebrow and chuckled. "It's terrifying. Hey, is there a problem with my shirt, Molls? I can't tell if you're adjusting it or trying to cop a feel." He ruffled her hair again and looked up at the tv screen.

"I promise, Molls. If I get a vision from you and it's of your future, I won't give you spoilers." He started combing her hair back into place, as if he felt bad about messing it up. "Only once. It was ma's blood. The vision I got was of her holding me, cradling me in her arms like I weighed nothing, and she was looking down at me and crying. I remember thinking that I looked so fragile." He furrowed his brow and shook it head. "Ma says that was from the day she Turned me. I had been attacked and almost killed by the Fae that tried to turn me into Changeling. Ma tore her to shreds."

She stopped messing with his shirt and folded her hands in her lap. She could feel her face becoming very warm. "I'm sorry. I mess with things. I fidget with my sleeves and Boshaft's ears and stuff. It's a habbit."

She tipped her head slightly, enjoying having her hair played with. "That must have been scary to experience and then to watch. . . I'm glad your mother was there to save you." She turned her gaze back to him. "You're colors are strong, Taibhse. They aren't too bright or faint. Very solid and rich. I just don't think you should worry about being fragile." She smiled softly up at him. "I wish I had better words to explain it to you."