paixaorpg | What is Love? [Active]

Entry tags:

What is Love? [Active]

Character(s): Urd, Yorda and Ico
Content: Urd introduces the concept of a date to Yorda.
Setting: Jogo da Crianca
Time: Afternoon, Week 7
Warnings: Yorda being Yorda. :|

To say that Yorda frustrated Urd would be putting it mildly. The girl asked too many questions, most of which were about trivial matters and completely boring to the goddess, who'd never been the most patient of types to begin with. When she'd written the journal entry about love, Urd had hoped for questions, but the chain of annoyance the girl posted that followed was enough to give her a headache.

Yet, the seemingly innocent questioning was as endearing as it was annoying. And the way she talked about "the boy," the unflinching and genuine admittance of her feelings...well, that was enough to get the self-proclaimed Goddess of Love interested.

So Urd sat on edge of one of the stone fountains in Jogo da Crianca, long legs crossed, enjoying the mild weather of the afternoon as she waited for Yorda and her boy to appear. Chuckling, she closed her eyes and lost herself to the memories of her own dates, some of which were wonderful and many of which were best forgotten. What must it be like, she wondered, approaching romance with such innocence and purity?

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Yorda was unaware that her questions were annoying. Most of the people she met were a little bewildered at the strange, glowing girl who was curious about everything, which was so new to her. Some were able to take her questions in stride, while some others were annoyed at having to answer so much.

But Urd had introduced Yorda to the concept of love and the very real possibility that Yorda may love Ico. Although she hadn't known his name until recently, the two children had remained together as much as possible throughout their escape. And now Yorda had excitedly brought Ico to the park with her, where Urd would explain what a date was. She looked at Ico, happy somehow to be leading him around by the hand for a change.

It was Yorda's idea to go and see this woman, and Ico reluctantly found himself coming along for the ride, if only to make sure that this mysterious 'love guru' wasn't trying to swindle or hurt Yorda in some way. He'd left the sword at the place they were staying for the night, hidden safely beneath the bed, and instead carried a straight branch he'd broken off a tree as walking stick - and a hefty club, if there was need for it. With the described "bad guys" lurking in the city, Ico felt the need to be prepared, and old habits cultivated in the old fortress still held strong.

Oddly enough, Ico hoped that this was a trick of some kind. If it wasn't, then maybe this woman was going to try teaching them about 'romance' and what came with it, things that Ico plainly didn't feel ready for. To him, romance was meant for grown-ups courting each other for marriage, and the boy certainly didn't feel ready for marriage. Even he thought he was too young for that kind of stuff!

Despite his misgivings, he managed to return Yorda's smile as she led him to this meeting spot, following her without complaint. It was amazing to him that she was so independent now... able to find locations on her own, able to guide him to this place without getting distracted or overwhelmed. He felt strange fluttering happening within him, close to his heart, as he looked at the girl he was holding hands with, but he didn't have time to investigate it as he caught the eyes of the woman waiting for them.

She had long white hair, and a tanned face, and it was obvious that she was very beautiful. She didn't seem too dangerous to his eye, although he knew that appearances could be deceiving. With some trepidation, he glanced to Yorda and inclined his head to the woman, slowly guiding his friend to the woman they had agreed to meet.

Stopping before her in front of the fountain she sat on, Ico held onto Yorda's hand and gazed at Urd appraisingly. "My name is Ico," he introduced himself in an even, polite tone of voice. "You are Urd?"

Urd slowly opened her eyes, regarding Ico and Yorda with a small smile. "That's what they call me," she replied lightly as her gaze flicked down to the children's linked hands. Her smile widened slightly; how adorable! He was protecting her. He seemed more like her little brother than a potential date, but when it came to love, the goddess knew that the heart made anyone beautiful.

"So you would be The Boy," she asked, rising from the fountain to stand. She looked both of them over, walking around them in a slow circle, one arm crossed over her torso as the other hand idly stroked her chin. "My, you're rather young. How old are you?"

Yorda didn't have any idea what was going on, naturally. Her naivety combined with her trusting nature had yet to truly endanger her (although she hadn't known it, she had come terribly close when she'd moved in with Larxene, also known as "Cora," for a few days), but it was bound to get her into trouble eventually. As for Ico, she genuinely cared about him, perhaps even loved him; that had certainly given the girl something to think about.

The girl turned with Urd, her eyes on her curiously. She didn't know how old Ico was. She didn't even know her own age, really. It didn't bother her, of course, but she wouldn't mind finding out (not that she knew how to keep track of the years as they went by, and the only way she knew to measure time was by how long her shadow grew or how the moon hung in the sky).

"Old enough to know how to fight," the horned boy replied dourly, disliking the condescension in the woman's voice. "If you would like a number, I have lived for more than twelve summers. What use is this knowledge to you?" He didn't like the title she had assigned him either: The Boy. As if he were nothing more than that, as if that were the sum of his entire being. The Queen had thought him that, too... just a useless boy futilely contesting his fate, and Yorda's. He narrowed his eyes as he watched Urd pace back and forth, waiting for her to make up her mind about them.

Maybe if this hadn't involved Yorda, Ico would have not been so unfriendly to the white-haired lady. Or perhaps he was embittered towards adults in general, for it had been they who had condemned him to die. But all the same, he was instantly guarded while in Urd's presence, watching her and not letting go of Yorda's hand, adhering to another instinct he'd formed in the fortress. They couldn't hurt her if he held onto her.

Urd nodded seriously, hand over her mouth to hide the automatic grin on her face. She immediately liked the little mortal, admired the fire in his soul, related to the confrontational reaction to authority. "Relax, Ico," she chuckled, moving away from them to sit on the ledge of the fountain once more. "I'm not here to hurt her."

She switched her focus to the "her" in question. In person, Yorda still had that wide-eyed innocence to her, but there was more to it than that. Some mysterious force that surrounded her, some strange question in the way she viewed the world. It required more time with her to discern for certain.

"Yorda," Urd said, leaning back a bit and tilting her head. "You told Ico why you're here, right?"

Edited 2009-06-12 02:21 (UTC)

Yorda looked at Ico, silent for the moment. She had never seen Ico like this before, even around the Queen - but ten again, the girl hadn't been aware during the boy's final confrontation with her. She almost wanted to ask what the matter was, but thought better at it for the moment. She knew Urd wouldn't hurt her, just as she knew Cora wouldn't.

The girl blinked at Urd as she realized that she had forgotten. "I did not say why," she replied, shaking her head, a faint blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. "I must have forgotten in the excitement. I am sorry."

Despite his reticence, Ico found himself taking Urd at her word. Certainly, she didn't seem like she was out to get them - there was no malice in her speech patterns, or her mannerisms - and so he relaxed a little, though he still kept one hand on the tree branch in his hand for his own reassurance. He directed his gaze to Yorda as Urd turned her line of questioning to her, a little surprised to see her blush. It was true, she hadn't said anything about why they were here, although Ico could certainly guess by what he had read in the writing tablet he carried around.

"You do not need to apologize, Yorda," he assured her, squeezing her hand tenderly. "I could guess why you wanted me to come. This was the lady who you were talking to the other day?" Another disapproving glance from Ico to Urd... he really did not think he wanted to have this conversation.

Urd's eyebrows rose at Ico's disapproving glance. "That would be me," she answered before Yorda could. She lifted a hand and gestured to the girl. "Yorda was curious about romantic matters, as you saw. I suggested the idea of a date." She didn't hide her smile now, watching their reaction with obvious interest.

"Yorda doesn't know what a date is, but do you? You seem more, uh...worldly than she is."

Yorda was used to strange looks by now. The fact that she glowed with the power that had birthed her combined with the utterly new manner in which she observed the world often had people staring at the girl in disbelief, interest and sometimes annoyance. She nodded at the woman and smiled back. "Yes. What is a date?"

She looked over at Ico and blinked at the squeeze to her hand before nodding at him. "She is very nice. She answered many of my questions," Yorda answered, stepping closer to the woman and reaching curiously for her hair and face, letting go of Ico's hand in the process. The facial markings especially fascinated her.

Suggested the idea of a date... the words rankled in Ico's mind, for in his mind, that sort of thing was very much linked to marriage, and Ico had no intention of getting married this young in life! Even if he cared about Yorda really deeply, it wasn't something he liked to think too hard about. If something felt good, Ico wasn't going to question it... he was too instinctual for that. And he wasn't going to try changing it, either, not while it lasted.

Nonetheless, he answered her question. "I am unfamiliar with the way you speak of dates, but I think they are like courtships in my village. Is that correct?" He watched the woman intently, his jaw still set as he controlled his frustration at being here. "Courting is a thing that adults do when they are interested in marriage. Do you intend to make us marry each other?" he asked, keeping his voice even, though his gaze belied its intensity.

The boy knew there were women who had an interest in marriage; the village wives used to gather while working and talk about who had an interest in who or what, when they thought no one else was listening. How trivial, Ico had thought, never questioning why it was so fascinating to them. At the time, he had other concerns on his mind, like avoiding the group of children that liked to gang up on him. But could it be that this Urd, for all her beauty, was like one of those old wives, trying to match-make when they saw a girl and a boy together? Would the old wives have gossiped about them if they had known?

The thought made him more than a little uneasy... and not just because of Urd's scrutiny. Yorda was a girl, yes, but she wasn't like any of the other girls he'd known in the village. She wasn't like anyone he had ever met in his entire life. And now this woman was trying to get them together like they were just some ... toys, that she could play dress-up with. At this thought, Ico bleakly turned his gaze away from both Urd and Yorda, choosing instead to focus on two of the blonde citizens, merchants having a business transaction while showing off their wares. An easier thing to think of, he decided, than the thought of love.

As Ico responded with a level of agressiveness that was hard to ignore, Urd let Yorda touch to her heart's content. The girl was gentle, after all, almost like an infant in her curious investigation. "They can be courtships," she replied as she smiled in bemusement at Yorda. "Sometimes it's just about having fun with someone you like to be around. Most people don't think about it much further than that."

She glanced sidelong at Ico with a small smirk. "I don't intend to make anyone do anything. You're free to go whenever you want." She placed a hand on Yorda's shoulder and steered her around so that she faced Ico. "I just thought you'd like to spend the day with the girl you like. The girl you said was beautiful." She looked at the boy over Yorda's head, eyebrow raised. "You do think she's beautiful...right?"

Edited 2009-06-15 02:31 (UTC)

Yorda was gentle in her exploration of Urd's hair and face; she didn't want to accidentally hurt the woman, after all, and the woman was very beautiful - and didn't even seem to mind. Most people were taken aback by Yorda's curiosity and general lack of a sense of personal space, something she still didn't quite understand. Even now, the world was still so very new to her. At last, the girl stepped away and allowed Urd to turn her around, looking about her curiously before blinking at the boy.

"What is marriage?" Yorda asked innocently, not knowing or understanding the reasons behind Ico's annoyance. She just knew that he was, and that she didn't like that, so she bit her lip and looked at Ico nervously, wanting to ask him what was wrong. That line of thought, however, was interrupted by Urd's question, and the princess suddenly found herself fidgeting and looking at the ground, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

And just like that, Ico's simmering frustration was dispelled, to be replaced with shock and confusion. Immediately, a blush came to his cheeks as well, as Yorda was wheeled around to face him and the question was asked. Yes, a voice was saying inside of him, Yes, I'd like to spend as much time with her as possible, but the words couldn't come out like that, not yet. Instead, he bit his lip, and looked from Yorda (whom he had never seen tilt her head like that - was she okay?) back to Urd.

"I think," Ico began to say at length, "That you come from a very different place than where I come from." As he finished speaking, contemplating the woman's definition of a 'date', he amended, "But maybe it is a better place. And... I would like to spend time with her. I am spending time with her. Do you think what I've been doing with her is wrong?" He glanced at her nervously as he asked the question. What was her goal, in all this? Never had he been more unsure of a person's motivations.

"Wrong? Of course not," Urd scroffed, waving a dismissive hand. "From what I've gathered, you and Yorda are already inseperable and you look out for each other." She stood, smiling knowingly at the two children. "What makes a date different from the usual time you spend together is the intention...and the mood." She gently pushed Yorda towards Ico.

"You're both a bit young for the good stuff, but there are some things I think you'll both enjoy." Urd levitated off the ground slowly, her hair floating unnaturally. She slowly flew behind the two, pushing them close so that their arms were touching.

"Yorda, hold on to Ico's arm," she instructed, floating backwards. "You're a bit taller than he is, but it should still work."

Yorda blinked. What were these two talking about? She moved towards Ico when she was pushed and looked at the taller woman, confused. She and Ico always held hands; why should that change now? But the girl nodded nonetheless and placed a hand on his upper arm, taking ahold of it. Naturally, it looked rather silly, and Yorda wondered why she was doing this to begin with. Judging by the look that had been on Ico's face almost since they had arrived, so was he.

Intention and mood. What could that mean, and why was it so important? And 'good stuff'? The boy eyed Urd again, raising his eyebrows at how vague she was being. For once, he kept his mouth closed, watching the goddess levitate - how was she able to do that? - and float behind them, pushing both Yorda and himself together. Initially he bristled at the woman's interference, then relaxed a little as he felt Yorda's pale hand on his arm.

It did feel unnatural to him, and he glanced at Urd questioningly, before directing his gaze to Yorda's. Though there was no hardness in his eyes as he looked upon Yorda, his perplexed expression still remained and he wondered what exactly they were supposed to be learning from this woman. More to the point, he didn't know what they were supposed to do after this. Was he supposed to lean against her? Do something with his other arm? Silently, he waited for Urd to elaborate further.

Urd floated in place in front of them, arms folded, face grave in severity. Than she burst into laughter, waving a hand at them. "N-no, no, nevermind," she chuckled. "The height is still too off." She tilted her head to regard Ico with more than a little mischief. "Though...I do have an aging pill. We could make you a little older and..." She trailed off, shaking her head. "No, not now. Maybe later though."

She gestured to their hands. "Hold each other's hands, now." Urd smiled, letting her feet touch the ground. "Maybe you two hold hands a lot? That doesn't diminish the importance." She glanced at Yorda. "Do you know why you hold hands?"

Why was Urd laughing? Yorda didn't understand, and she looked over at Ico with a questioning look before taking his hand as Urd said. There, that felt better. It seemed much more natural to Yorda than the awkwardness of holding his arm. She nodded at Urd's question. "We have held hands since we met," Yorda replied. "It ensured we did not lose each other in the castle."

It had been that and the fact that Yorda, even now, was rather passive; had it not been for Ico, she never would have left the castle.

Aging pill? What was this woman talking about? Ico cringed at the thought that she could make him grow up. He rather liked the age he was now, and who knows how large the horns might get if he grew up? He remember seeing pictures of deer-like creatures with curled antlers... would he end up looking like that?!

Still, he was contented when Yorda's hand shifted and they resumed their hand-holding, and visibly relaxed. Glancing to the girl beside him as she explained, he decided to clarify a few details, looking to Urd. "Yorda and I were trapped in a castle before we came here - her home. We were trying to escape. We--we both escaped, right?" And here he looked back to Yorda warily, remembering what Naruto had said about her. Had she really stayed in the castle?

Eventually, Ico's gaze shifted to Urd. "...I have a question. Why is it so important, how we look? Or how we hold hands? You seem very concerned with odd interests."

Urd turned her head to regard Ico with hooded eyes, an enigmatic smile curving her lips. "It's not about how you look. It's a matter of setting the mood." She pointed absently at their linked hands. "Things like holding hands and being close, talking about certain matters, doing certain activities...they may seem trivial, but they all add up to making you feel wonderful." She grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Romantic."

She folded her arms, tilting her head so the long curtain of her hair slid over her shoulders and obscured half her face. "You hold hands because you like to be assured the other is close by. In a date, that's important; the desire to be near one another."

Yorda looked from Ico to Urd and back again. This situation was so strange, but the girl listened to Urd's explanation nonetheless and looked down at her hand, entwined with Ico's. Was such a small thing truly so important? Then again, in the castle, even small things (candles, for instance) had helped them escape. And it did feel good to be able to hold hands with the boy again, when she had been beginning to think she might never be able to until he had shown up.

Yorda nodded in agreement with Ico. "Yes," she told him quietly, "we both escaped." She'd feared they might not, but that hadn't mattered in the end; what was done was done, and now they were here instead of in the fortress on the island.

Again, a pained look came to Ico's face as Urd explained to them what 'setting the mood' meant. Romance. More than just reluctance to accept that particular term into his life, the boy felt like the love goddess was trying to fit what he felt for Yorda into some bizarre, and yes, trivial ritual that he had never in his life encountered before. It was hard to truly put a voice to that feeling, however, and chose instead to continue questioning the woman, for it felt like there was a lot of things she was holding back. (Because they were "too young"?) "What sort of matters and activities do you speak of?" he inquired, raising his eyebrow at her in return.

He watched Yorda as she responded to his question, feeling more than a little bit of relief. It was only later that it'd occur to him that perhaps she meant escaped here, to Paixao, and not truly away from the fotress. The thought of people being sent back, of a frozen timeline awaiting him, and of a deadly adversary not yet fought, still haunted the boy to some extent. But for now, he squeezed Yorda's hand gently, and gave her a small smile before returning his attention to Urd. Truth be told, Ico was more than a little shy about demonstrating his affection for Yorda in the presence of another, especially one who seemed so... involved in the intricacies of their mutual feelings. Who could know what the white-haired goddess was thinking of them right now?

Urd's eyebrow twitched slightly as she watched Ico's expression yet again sour with distrust and distaste. She frowned, hands on her hips and she leaned toward him. "Kid, just relax for a bit, will you? This is supposed to be a fun day. You're doing this for Yorda, right?" Suddenly, the space where the goddess had been was empty. A second later, her voice came from behind them.

"Look at her," she sighed, hugging Yorda's shoulders gently, pressing her cheek against the milky, luminescent cheek of the girl. "She's so cute! So pretty and kind!" She turned and smiled gently at Yorda, though her deep purple eyes had a spark of mischief in them. She scowled once more when she faced Ico again, however. "Don't you think other boys might think she's nice? Might want to spend time with her and hold hands with her like you do? Maybe you shouldn't act like this is all some big chore, huh?"

Yorda tilted her head to the side, utterly lost and confused as to what was going on. She smiled at Ico, though, and gently intertwined her fingers with his. What was so difficult about this situation? She couldn't understand it. Of course, Yorda knew nothing about the intricacies of courtship, having been sheltered her entire life even when she had been imprisoned,

The girl jumped as she felt Urd embrace her, but relaxed when she realized she was in no danger. She smiled back at the goddess, blushing at the unfamiliar praise (although she didn't know why she was so embarrassed) and wondering what Urd meant by "other boys."

She hadn't answered his question. Was she being evasive, Ico wondered? It was like she was trying to explain something to Yorda and he without doing any explaining, and it confused him as much as Yorda. And though he held onto Yorda with one hand as Urd came up behind him, he did inch away a little from the presence of the goddess, watching her a wary gaze. She did like to float around a lot, he mused, and wondered further what sort of creature she was. She didn't appear to be malevolent in any way, but there was something strange and mystical about her manner that he had never encountered in any other being.

However, irregardless of his curiosity, the boy focused his attention on Urd's accusation. "I'm not acting like this is a big chore," Ico protested, frowning at her. He would've folded his arms if it weren't for his holding hands with Yorda. "And if Yorda wanted to... to hold hands with other boys, then she could do that if she liked. But you didn't answer my question, about the things you do on these 'dates'. How is it different from what we do now?"

Urd seemed to almost pout, absently petting Yorda's head. "I already told you, it's the intention behind it. You go out on a date because you want to spend time with a person, alone, to fully appreciate the presence of the person you like. You do romantic activities like eating the same ice cream or dancing close together." Of course, she mused to herself, once you're older, some better activities will become available... She moved away from them and stood on the ground once more, hair trailing behind her like she was underwater. Her back to them, she glanced at Ico over her shoulder. "Did you bring any money with you?"

Yorda didn't mind the thought of holding hands with others - to her, it was simply a way of reassurance and to keep from losing someone. Sonic had held her hand while leading her to the hotel where she lived now, after all. The girl didn't know the other implications of holding hands, of course; she was far too innocent for that. The princess blinked. "What is ice cream?" she asked, looking up at Urd even as Ico backed away a little. She knew what dancing was now, but she had never seen it nor participated in any; did dancing closely have some sort of significance?

At the question of money, Ico reached beneath his tabard to produce a pouch of 'money' - assorted collected shiny things that passed for currency in this city, most of which he used for food and the stay at the hotel. He decided not to press the goddess further with questions - he didn't believe that it'd yield any more knowledge, or her reasons for being so curious about them. Instead, he chose to follow along with her, showing her a reasonable amount of funds for whatever outing she had planned. "I did. What do you need it for?"

He did not know what ice cream was either - he knew what 'ice' and 'cream' were, separately, but he couldn't fathom what they could combine into. Was it just supposed to be very cold milk? He glanced at Yorda as she asked the question, before looking to Urd as well, equally curious.

"I don't need it for anything. You do." Urd turned and started walking down the path past the fountain, gesturing over her shoulder for the children to follow. "Ice cream is a delicious treat. I think you'll love it. Comes in all kinds of flavors." She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at them as they walked. "My personal favorite is black cherry."

After a bit, she stopped and pointed to a nearby cart, manned by the typical blonde and blue eyed native. "Ico," she said casually, floating once more as if tipping back in an invisible chair, "Why don't you go buy an ice cream cone? Any flavor you think looks good. Only buy one, though!" She stressed that last bit firmly -- apparently, it was pretty important.

Yorda followed Urd, smiling at Ico. Her time in the city had changed her vastly; the girl was more confident now, more independent. Of course, she still had much to learn about the world and all it's good and evil, and her naïveté got her into trouble from time to time, but she'd been managing well enough so far - and now that Ico was here, she was bound to learn even more.

Yorda looked curiously at the cart, wondering what it did and why it was there - until Urd seemed to explain it. This was fun, but so confusing.

Taking Yorda's hand, the boy matched his step with Urds's walking (floating?) as much as he could, peeking around at whatever she was walking towards, eventually coming to a stop at the vendor and looking curiously down at his wares. So many strange flavors! Blue, dark brown, green with black specks, white and black... eventually, he pointed his gaze at a red-colored one, and glanced up at the vendor. "Um, can I get that, please?" he asked, somewhat unsure of how to broach this transaction. As he asked, he held up the money, some of which the vendor enthusiastically snatched up with a loudly-exclaimed "Thank you!"

Soon enough, Ico possessed a strawberry-flavored ice cream cone, which he held in one hand, gazing at it curiously. Slowly, he noticed it began to melt, dripping down the cone towards his hand. He glanced up at Urd, silently wondering whether he was supposed to eat it or give it to Yorda. Was he making this too complicated? He still wasn't sure how exactly he was supposed to act on this 'date'.

Urd barely resisted the urge to laugh at Ico's confusion. They really hadn't heard of ice cream before! How adorable. She wondered what else the children had yet to experience.

"Now, both of you eat it," she said, covering her smile with her hand. "It's customary to share the same food on a date." She decided not to explain the concept of an indirect kiss to them -- it was really more of a Japanese thing anyway. Besides, with any luck, the both of them would get flustered and shy all on their own.

"...you lick it, by the way. Hurry, before it melts!"

Yorda was the first to try the strange thing in Ico's hand. The girl hesitantly licked it and examined it curiously before smiling. It was sweet, not something she'd eat every day, but nice nonetheless. She stood up straight and nodded her approval of it to Urd, unsure of how else to express the way she felt about this strange new thing.

She then leaned over, careful to stay on one side since they were supposed to share it, and nibbled carefully on the ice cream. It tasted like... she didn't know, but she rather liked it.

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What is Love? [Active]

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OH, URD. <333

ffff. THIRD EDIT. B|

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