Kipo and the world beyond

Dealing with feeling (shorter)

Sometime after the fight with the blood raptor, the team needed a moment to collect their thoughts after the whole endeavor. So they search for a place to make camp for now, Rook leads the group, with Kipo in the very back, to a cave and they get a fire going. Rook went out and collected some insects to cook over the fire, he returned to see Kipo clawing at a tree. "Hey whatcha do-" She growls at him, shutting him up immediately, he looks forward and goes into the cave. The group all seem a little tense, Rook sets the food down and works on cooking them. Benson seems to have enough of this silence. "...Soooo... How long have you been able to do that...?" Rook looks at him and shrugs. "Uh... forever I guess, I mean if I didn't I would be dead by now..." Lio seems interested in this conversation. "So what else can you do?" Rook thinks for a second. "Well, I have these." He shows his sharp talons. "I've never really had to sharpen them before, and they cut into rock pretty easily. I'm also really resistant to venom. Granted it does slow me down, but it clears out of my system after a while. I also found just recently that I can scream really loud." He smiles innocently. His smile drops as they hear a crash and see a full tree fly across the opening of the cave. "AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kipo screams, and Song sighs. "She's really upset."

Rook looks at the fire as the food cooks. "Man, why is she so angry, and how is it my fault?" They all look at him. "What?" Wolf speaks up. "Well, you did scare her. I mean you could have at least said you were ok..." Rook looks like he's trying to come up with the right words. "I-I-I couldn't have, when stuff like that happens my body shuts off for a second to focus on healing, I even wasn't conscious." He defended himself. Molly speaks next. "Well you could have at least told us beforehand that you could do stuff like that." "Ugh, I never had a reason to tell you, plus none of you asked, now did you?" They hear Kipo roar and they all jump in surprise. "...Maybe you should go talk to her?" Lio suggested. "Don't you think I've tried, every time I do, she either growls or ignores me." Molly gets up and whispers something in his ear. "Really?" She nods. "Alright, I'll give it a shot... but I can't promise anything." He gets up and takes a deep and steps out of the cave, only to find several trees completely destroyed and Kipo working on the next one. He gulps and walks over to her. "Uh...Kipo..?" She ignores him and keeps clawing at the tree. Rook isn't waiting and uses his talons to cut the tree down in one swing of his leg. "K the trees down, can we talk now?" She doesn't respond as she goes and sits on one of the stumps she made. "Kipo.....Kipo" he pushes her, not enough to push her over, but enough to annoy her. "I'm not gonna stop until you talk to me." He pushes again. "Kipo." He pushes again. "Kipo." He pushes again. "Kipo." He pushes again. "Kipo...." He pushes and stops for a sec. "Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo Kipo-" She finally snaps. "WHHHHHHH AAAAAAAAA TTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!?" She roars as loud as possible.

"AH.... wow... That was loud.... So.... we gonna talk now?" "UGH!" She storms off, and he follows her. "Hey, we're not done here!" "WELL I AM!" "Will you stop being a baby and just calm down?" She growls at him. "See, I try and talk to you, you say grrr, I try and reason with you, and you say grrr!" She growls at him. "See? That's your answer to everything. Can you stop being a jaguar, and talk to me like Kipo." "Oh talk? You mean like how you failed to talk about you being able to heal? WELL FAT CHANCE." Rook facepalms in frustration. "You're still on about that!? Why are you still mad about that!?" "I'm not mad at that!" "Then why are you so angry!?" She suddenly grabs him and pins him against the wall. "I WAS SCARED I WAS GOING TO LOSE YOU!!!...." She started to tear up. "I was... scared... I was going to lose you... I've never lost anyone close to me before... they're all still here, I've grown so attached, the thought of losing you hurts!" She says the tears falling from her eyes. Rook didn't expect this. "Kipo..." She steps back and continues. "You think I'm having a good time here, I've been stressed, This... All of this! I've been stressed before, but this is too much... and You!" He flinched. "You've been this thing... this little thing that's been keeping me together... Right now... here of all places, you make me feel safe... AND THE THOUGHT OF LOSING THE FEELING.... LOSING YOU... I JUST CAN'T!... I just can't..."

Rook walks to her and wraps his arms and wings around her, and starts to hum the song she shared with him. She cries into his shoulder, just letting it out. "Kipo, you're not going to lose me, I've survived this long, and I'm not dying now." Kipo sniffs and looks at him. "Promise...?" He smiles and wipes her tears. "I promise." She smiles and the hug for a sec, Kipo breathes easier but then starts to get his scent again. "Ah, sorry, your scent is getting to me again." She tries to push away but Rook doesn't let go. "It's alright, if it makes you feel better, have at it." Kipo's eyes widened. "What? Are you sure? What if I bite you again?" He pulls her closer. "It's alright, I can take it, and I know you wouldn't hurt me." She's nervous, but sniffs his scent and her worries soon start fading as her mind gets fuzzy. "Feeling better?" Kipo is enjoying this very much, but one thing is still nagging at the back of her mind. "Rook... There's something I need to tell you..." He looks at her confused. "What is it?" She takes a deep breath, and slowly wraps her arms around his neck. "Rook, since we met I've been feeling things I've never felt before, the way you scent makes me feel, not to mention your strength, your determination, and your kindness.... Rook I... I..." "What?" "I... Oh screw it!" She grabs the side of his head firmly and smashes her lips against his, shocking him and making him freeze, not knowing what to do. The kiss becomes softer, Kipo's jaguar ears, tail and eyes form. Kipo pulls away and is very flustered. "Wha... what was that... just now?" Rook asks, just as flustered. "That was a kiss, it's an intimate gesture people do, usually to people we love... Rook, I love you..."

Rook is taken aback, these feelings are all too new to him. "I uh... uhhh..." Kipo looks hurt."You... don't feel the same..." He panicked a little. "Hey wait, I didn't say that I... I just... this all new to me... and I don't exactly know how to react at all, BUT... I'm willing to give it a try... for you..." Kipo looks hopeful. "Really, for me!?" "... uh... yes..?" She practically throws herself on him and they fall to the ground, she kisses his face a few times and squeezes him. "thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! I promise, you won't regret this, I'll be a good girlfriend, I promise!!" "What's a girlfriend?" Kipo giggles. "You're so cute." She held him close, very happy, her tail swishing behind her. Their moment was interrupted by the sound of clapping, they look to see everyone watching them, and Dave clapping his four hands together. "My little girl is in love, I told yall!" Lio yells out. "DAD!"