Seeking solace... on Labyrinth Gardens

Leo Idoya

July 04, 2006 4:49 PM

Seeking solace... by Leo Idoya

Many people - including relatives and close family friends - might consider Leonardo Idoya III to be an all-around unpleasant boy. Even he could acknowledge that sometimes his behavior was icy, mocking, arrogant, and occasionally rude. But for all that, Leo rarely lost his temper.

This was one of those times.

As he stormed out of the Cascade Hall, the dark green robes of Sonora billowing behind him, his fists clenched and unclenched sporadically at his sides. His jaw was clenched so tightly it was a miracle teeth weren't splintering. For that matter, it was a miracle that any object he set his mismatched eyes upon wasn't spontaneously combusting - if not through accidental magic, then through the sheer ferocity of his glare.

That arrogant twerp! It was no great surprise when Gil completely ignored the signs that Leo was covertly sending him - i.e., don't you dare make me associate with these people - as Gil had always had a habit of trampling over Leo's wishes. But the Quidditch thing - how undignified! His own twin making him out to be some sort of weakling! Gil must have seen Leo out on his own practicing with Alejandro's Snitch, he must've. The cousins all knew. Alejandro and Joaquin were the ones who showed Leo how to Seek correctly and successfully, and that on their own ranch, right there under Gil's nose!

Well, at least that nosy Pecari, Elly, had had a good laugh to start out her day. She was probably still back there giggling with Gil and about the temper tantrum Leo had thrown. At least he didn't think Echo would laugh at him - not to his face, anyway.

As he passed out of the school proper and into the gardens, his anger began to subside into a bitter regret so strong it made his head throb. How could he have behaved so disgracefully? Merlin only knew what Nikki thought of him now...

Swallowing back a sigh, he slumped gratefully onto the first bench he saw, hands shaking with the last of his adrenaline rush and the beginnings of remorse. He squeezed them into fists and pressed them hard against his knees, staring down at the gravel walkway under his dragonhide boots, and wished sincerely that he was back home with Winnie Swift to turn to for comfort.\n\n

0 Leo Idoya Seeking solace... 0 Leo Idoya 1 5

Nikki Ramirez

July 04, 2006 6:37 PM

Meanwhile... (the revised version) by Nikki Ramirez

Nikki felt her robes flying up behind her slightly as she stormed out of the Cascade Hall. She pushed open the huge doors and let them slam closed. She looked around for Leo and saw him striding out to the grounds. She was sure he had heard her. And now he was going to hate her. She had just yelled at and insulted his twin brother in two languages. She followed him into the Labyrinth Gardens. Apparently he didn't see her. As he slumped down on a bench she could almost see him fuming.

Nikki sat down next to him. "Sorry about that." she said in a small voice, looking at the ground as well. "I just couldn't stand any more of Mr. Happy Happy Sunshine Rainbow. Especially this early in the morning." She looked up blushing "I usually don't go off like that." \n\n

0 Nikki Ramirez Meanwhile... (the revised version) 0 Nikki Ramirez 0 5

Leo

July 04, 2006 6:49 PM

No complaints here... by Leo

Leo tried to stave off the waves of emotion that threatened to engulf him, breathing deeply and evenly. Inhale - one, two, three, four; exhale - one, two, three, four, he counted. Concentrating on his breathing helped him calm down; at least, his hands were no longer shaking. He was still thoroughly humiliated; he couldn't believe how childishly he'd acted. Sweet Merlin, that was something Gil might've done a few years ago; and certainly it wasn't behavior to be encouraged in the heir to the Idoya patriarch.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the arrival of another person until their robes brushed against one of the hands, which were now gripping the edge of the stone bench as though rooting him there. His eyes slid upward to see blond hair and a pale, downturned face, and for a moment he was so astonished that Nikki was still willing to be seen in public with him that he didn't realize she was speaking.

"...couldn't stand any more of Mr. Happy Happy Sunshine Rainbow. Especially this early in the morning." She met his gaze, cheeks suffused with crimson. "I usually don't go off like that."

She must have been talking about her dressing-down of Gil; Leo had heard the first few words before the Cascade Hall doors closed behind him, cutting them off. He felt a small, shy, very distant cousin of a smile lift the corners of his lips a fraction of an inch.

"I don't mind, really," he said, looking away and out at the hedges surrounding them. "It was..." His voice drifted off. What did he want to say? He caught himself wishing Gil were there to tell him what to do, and resolutely pushed the thought away; he wanted nothing to do with that boy, at least not until he'd calmed down sufficiently.

"It was really great," he said finally, quietly, and slid his hand over so that his pinky was touching hers. It was the best he could do at the moment (a thought which was somewhat depressing), and he hoped fervently that it would suffice.\n\n

0 Leo No complaints here... 0 Leo 0 5

Nikki

July 04, 2006 8:16 PM

Leo's Wall by Nikki

Nikki was glad that Leo wasn't mad, and instead complemented her actions, but she found that she had half expected him to do so. She would have been immensly destraut if he had been angry with her. She was so...she didn't even know how to describe how she was with Leo.

It was like Leo had built a huge stone wall to hide his true self from the world, yet somehow she could get inside. She could see that he tried so hard to be the man everyone expected a pureblood heir to be, but what he really wanted was to be able to run free, like a wild horse. And she felt so special when she was inside his stone wall with him.

'That's so sappy.' she thought 'But it's true.'

She felt his finger touch hers. She kept her hand where it was, but turned her head to the ground on the opposite side of her. There was that feeling again. Like she had billywigs in her stomach. And she was sure her face had gone redder than the Crotalus House Emblem embroidered on Leo's robes.\n\n

0 Nikki Leo's Wall 0 Nikki 0 5

Nikki

July 06, 2006 11:58 AM

More to Say by Nikki

Nikki looked sideways at Leo.

"Thanks," she said smiling shyly "I wish I'd been more like you though. You were so calm and everything. You were in an argument, and you just excused yourself and left. I wasn't even part of it and I just let loose. I got so carried away I started yelling in Spanish. I'm going to be known as 'that crazy blonde girl' by lunchtime."

She slid her hand over so that her fingertips rested on top of his. \n\n

0 Nikki More to Say 0 Nikki 0 5

Leo

July 06, 2006 12:28 PM

--Cat got my tongue. by Leo

Leo froze as Nikki shifted her hand to rest on top of his, and his heart began to pound faster - a completely inexplicable circumstance. Why was he reacting like that? He tried to analyze the situation as his grandfather had taught him, breaking it down into all its component parts and examining each before recombining them all into a cohesive whole again.

It didn't work.

He was acutely aware of the warmth of her fingers over his, and how a drop of sweat was forming somewhere on his forehead even as his heart continued to thunder within him. He was positive she'd be able to hear it.

In a way, Leo really liked the sensation. It made him feel wanted - and not just because he was the eldest son of the eldest son of the patriarch, either. He knew at that moment (and wondered at it a little, shocked) that Nikki really was his friend, and was there to stay. Loyalty - that concept brought him some little ease. But at the same time, the show of affection was - uncomfortable. Leo had always spent most of his time with his grandfather, and secondarily with his father - neither of whom were especially touchy-feely. In fact, while Gil seemed inurred to their mother's penchant for hugs, Leo spent so little time with her that they always gave him the same feeling he had now - one of nervous anxiety.

After a moment he slid his hand out from beneath Nikki's, but in an attempt to show her that he wasn't trying to slight her, squeezed her fingers gently once first. Then he clasped them in his lap, as he was wont to do most of the time, and turned his attention to her words.

"You think that was calm?" he asked, a vague lilt of laughter coloring his voice even though his expression remained as composed as ever. "I guess our family has strayed too far from Latino passion - that was what constitutes a tantrum in my grandfather's book," he said with a dry laugh. "I suppose I can expect my return message to be a little... well, not exactly amiable."

Then his lips did begin to twitch, and after a moment of (vainly) trying to quell the sensation, he looked over at Nikki, who was smiling shyly at him. "Tell me. What exactly did Gil's face look like when you called him un 'ano'?" he asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

OOC (Translation): "ano" - literally, anus. Figuratively... I think you get it. ~_^\n\n

0 Leo --Cat got my tongue. 0 Leo 0 5

Nikki

July 06, 2006 1:23 PM

Alejo! Give that back! by Nikki

Leo looked nervous when Nikki adjusted her hand over his, but she could tell both by his hesitence and by the way he squeezed her fingers when he pulled his hand away, that he had not found it alltogether unpleasent.

He told her that his grandfather would have found his actions inappropriate and asked about Gil's face when she had called him 'un ano.'

"It was great," she said "he was so suprised and embarresed. But your grandfather, he sounds so strict; that's nothing like the person Abuelo describes in his stories. I wonder what made him change."

She turned towards Leo, pulling one of her legs up underneath her.

"Is that why you try so hard?" Nikki asked empathetically "To be so polite and amiable. Your grandfather?"

((OOC: Alejo is Nikki's cat. In the Aladren Common Room it says 'Alexo' but it's supposed to be 'Alejo.'))\n\n

0 Nikki Alejo! Give that back! 0 Nikki 0 5

Leo

July 06, 2006 4:55 PM

Re: Alejo! Give that back! by Leo

Leo raised one eyebrow eloquently as Nikki turned to him, one leg tucked under the other, and asked if it was Abuelito's fault that he 'tried so hard.'

"I don't know if you've noticed, Nikki," he drawled, "but amiability isn't high on my list of priorities. But manners - yes, those are rather important. I don't do it for Abuelito, though. I mean - " In a way, all his actions were for Abuelito; but it went further than that. "I do it for myself, and for my family. I am the heir to the patriarch of La Familia Idoya. That's my destiny, and that's what I must work towards."

He shrugged. Once upon a time he had been a little boy and had resented how his family dictated who he would become; he had harbored dreams of concert halls and fame. He stretched his fingers before him, remembering the feeling of ivory keys beneath them. But he had grown up very quickly in some ways, and knew that his family needed them. Abuelito was old, very old; Father had married late in life, and was nearing his sixtieth birthday. Leo would be relatively young when the patriarchy fell to him.

He gave Nikki a crooked little smile and stood. "I'm afraid I have to go owl the old man now, actually. He wants weekly reports, and he knows Gil's none too fond of the owls we were lent." Actually, Leo wasn't too fond of Acero himself. The cursed bird always bit him.

He was halfway down the path and around a bend when he stopped and looked back at the blond girl. "And Nikki? Thanks for following me."\n\n

0 Leo Re: Alejo! Give that back! 0 Leo 0 5

Nikki

July 06, 2006 5:59 PM

No offense meant by Nikki

As Leo answered Nikki's question, her heart sank. She was sure she had offended him. Then he got to the part about being 'the heir to the patriarch of La Familia Idoya.' She wanted to lecture him at this point. She wanted to say that he should be himself, instead of who everyone else wanted him to be. She wanted to tell him that even though that was his 'destiny' he could do it his way. She wanted to tell him that the heir to the patriarch of La Familia Ramirez was a Squib.

But she didn't. She didn't want to upset him further, and anyway he was saying that he had to owl his grandfather. Well, at least he could think of an excuse this time. He got up and walked away, but just as he had rounded the corner, he turned back and thanked her for following him. She smiled as she got up and walked towards him.

"I didn't mean to offend you or your grandfather. It's just that, I did notice that you don't find amiability important. I thought that maybe you acted the way you do because of your grandfather. The way you described him, he sounded strict. I'm sorry."

She walked past him, but then turned back to face him "Leo," she said "You may be 'the heir to the patriarch of La Familia Idoya,' but that's not all you are." Just before she turned back around, she shot him a look that said 'Ask me what that means.' \n\n

0 Nikki No offense meant 0 Nikki 0 5

Leo

July 06, 2006 9:11 PM

Checkmate. by Leo

This was the second time today Nikki had followed Leo after he left, and he was just as surprised this time as he had been the first - this time because he quite obviously hadn't just made up an excuse to leave an awkward situation, but genuinely had something else he needed to be doing. He looked back, a little annoyed.

He became genuinely irritated when she began to speak again, all about how she hadn't meant any offense, and how he was right that he wasn't too friendly, and how Abuelito seemed so strict... a muscle tightened in his jaw imperceptibly, but there was no outward show of any irritation on his part.

"I beg your pardon, Nikki," he said very politely, "but my grandfather is only 'strict' because he feels he needs to prepare me for my role in life." He nodded once and ventured to smile at her - it wasn't completely successful, but she should have caught the gist of the expression - and then continued on his way.

Nikki wasn't finished, though. "Leo, you may be 'the heir to the patriarch of La Familia Idoya,' but that's not all you are." She gave him a challenging look then, as though daring him to contradict her. Leo's patience wore through; she dared to challenge what he had known as truth his whole life, who he had been training to become since he was old enough to understand?

Knowing that he was dangerously close to another tantrum, Leo just shook his head, tried not to glare too hard at her and walked away, leaving her standing alone in the gardens. He had a letter to write.\n\n

0 Leo Checkmate. 0 Leo 0 5

Nikki

July 06, 2006 10:36 PM

I hate this game-- I always loose by Nikki

Nikki knew Leo must have misunderstood her. She had been trying to appologize. He had taken it as an insult. And now he was glaring at her. He had glared at Echo, she was pretty sure he had glared at Gil, and now he was glaring at her. He hated her.

"You're a kid Leo. You need to remember that." Nikki called as Leo walked away. She hoped she had been able to keep her voice level; she couldn't tell.

Nikki felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She had lost her only friend here. A tear rolled down her cheek. She hoped he hadn't seen. She walked back to the bench and sat down. Staring at the ground, she held back a sob. The tears were flowing freely now.

"I hate America." she whispered to herself. \n\n

0 Nikki I hate this game-- I always loose 0 Nikki 0 5