No, we can't understand the universe...

[fatefullfriend]

Who: Arf and Fate
What: When it comes to complicated yet simple relationships it's best to talk to someone trusted... who has experience in the matter.
Where: 945 Beulah - master bedroom
When: 1/17/12
Warnings: girl talk and ridiculous hair styles

Brush, hair bands and bobby pins in one hand, Arf dragged Fate to the bed with her other hand. She'd have picked her master up, but Fate was a lot too old for that. But she wasn't too old for Arf to play with her hair~

The wolf had other reasons for this, but she had been wanting to try a certain style out on all this blonde hair Fate had. Maybe Bardiche would take pictures!

"I don't ever get to do this anymore," Arf said, tail lightly swishing across the covers as she sat down and tried to pull her master down in front of her.

Comments

[thunderace]

"It's been so busy, we haven't really had a chance," Fate said, sitting down across from Arf on the bed. She'd be lying if she said she wasn't looking forward to this; with the amount of hair she had, it felt nice to have someone else take care of it once in a while.

"A pity... I always had fun doing this."

[fatefullfriend]

"There's nothing better than having someone brush your fur," Arf replied. Yes, humans didn't have fur, but their hair was the closest thing, and Fate knew what she meant.

Setting the implements aside, Arf undid the ribbon at the end of Fate's hair and then spread the blonde mass across her lap. She started by finger combing out all the tangles. "The shampoos from this era aren't doing your hair very well."

[thunderace]

"Don't remind me," She sighed, sounding a little miserable. She wasn't someone overly obsessed with her looks, but it did take a lot of care to keep hair as long as hers in good condition.

"It's such a silly thing to get upset over, but that's something that's irked me for a while now."

[fatefullfriend]

"Maybe one of the scientists among us can create something better," Arf suggested. It was better than expecting the town to give Fate back some hair shampoos and conditioners. "I'm sure Bardiche can convey the proper formulas to one of them."

Picking up the brush, Arf started gently running it through her master's hair. "Hey... Fate? How are you doing - really doing - without Nanoha here?"

[thunderace]

Fate is silent for a moment at that. She missed her partner dearly, worried about her on a daily basis (not that this was much of a change from the usual), and thought about her all the time. To say that it felt like a piece of her was missing without Nanoha there would be a lie.

"I'm... doing okay." It wasn't a total lie. "I feel like I'm being too selfish, though. There are days that I wish she was here with me... not the other way around. This town is horrible, and I wouldn't wish imprisonment here on anyone, but... I can't just leave. I have to find a way to help everyone."

[fatefullfriend]

"You're a good person, Fate. You always have been. Your compassion knows no bounds." Thanks to Nanoha. "You're going to stick this through, endure it, until the end. And I'm going to be right here with you."

Arf leaned forward to nuzzle Fate and then went back to brushing her hair. Then she parted it down the middle.

"And I know another who will as well." There was an unusual softness to Arf's voice right then.

[thunderace]

"Oh?" Fate turned her head a little so she could look over her shoulder. "And who might that be?"

There was curiosity in her voice. Of course her mind immediately jumped to Vivio, but there was that strange tinge in Arf's voice... it seemed a little different from the tone she usually used when talking about their family.

[fatefullfriend]

Arf clucked her tongue when Fate turned her head, guiding her master's head back to facing forward. Partly it was so she could continue working on Fate's hair and partly because she was a little nervous talking about this.

"Garviel," she replied, that same tone touching her voice. Arf has never referred to him as Garviel before to her master; he's always been Loken. And yet, she knows Fate has met him...

[thunderace]

"Garivel..." It took a moment for Fate to recognize the name, for that reason. Her eyebrows raise a little when it clicks. "The space marine?"

There was surprise in her voice now, too. Sure, he seemed nice enough. He was strong, too, so Fate wouldn't mind having him as an ally at all. But they didn't exactly chat that often.

[fatefullfriend]

"Mhmm. That would be him," Arf confirmed. "What do you think of him?"

She took half of Fate's hair and draped it over her master's shoulder, down her front, so it'd be out of the way as she worked on the other half. Up it was pulled and then coiled.

[thunderace]

"He doesn't seem like a bad person. A bit on the stern side..." She said, a light smile on her face. "I admit, I don't know him as well as I probably should, but I would be thankful to have him as an ally."

[fatefullfriend]

"He's a good man, just a bit unused to not being in war. Makes it a little hard for him to lighten up sometimes," Arf replied with a chuckle.

[thunderace]

"Getting stuck in a town like this must not help at all..." Fate sighed. "But I don't blame him. Even I have a hard time completely relaxing here."

[fatefullfriend]

Arf secured one little bun in Fate's hair and started on doing the same on the other side. Her tail was swishing audibly across the comforter in happiness, enough that Fate could hear it moving over the fabric.

"But such relaxation is needed. All work and no play..." Another chuckle, this one softer. "And you never know when something good will come from such adversity. When you're not even looking for it."

The familiar nudged her master once and said in a teasing tone, "As if you don't know what I mean~" Such was a very accurate description of Fate meeting Nanoha.

[thunderace]

Fate couldn't help but flush a little at her familiar's teasing. She was right, after all.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. Not at all. But after seeing what this town is capable of..." Heck, even just being dragged here in the first place and stripped of all your powers. You didn't even need to factor the strange events that crop up from time to time. "I just meant that it's easy to see why he doesn't want to let his guard down. Things can be pretty peaceful here most of the time, but still... you never know when something might happen."

[fatefullfriend]

"True."

Arf pulled the other side of Fate's hair up into the bun and secured it. She ran her fingers through the blonde strands of both so they would lay right. And then she draped her arms over Fate's shoulders and rest her forehead against the back of her master's head. Her tail stilled and she spoke quietly.

"I like him."

[thunderace]

Fate, needless to say, was surprised. She and Arf had been together for pretty much all their lives, and she had never once seen Arf take real interest in anyone like this.

It was surprising, yes, but there didn't seem to be any suspicion or uncertainty in Fate's expression when she turned to look at Arf again.

"Does he feel the same way?"

[fatefullfriend]

"It's... hard to say exactly how he feels," Arf replied. "I think so. He... he'll touch me here..." She lightly ran her fingers behind Fate's ear in demonstration. "With a gentleness most probably wouldn't expect from such a large, strong man."

And then her ears drooped a bit and she looked down. "But Astartes follow a very specific code of conduct and... such feelings for non-humans are heretical and possibly grounds for execution among the Space Marine ranks. So... I think he's at war with himself. At times he's so gentle and he lets me bandage his wounds and comfort him, but then he goes cold and refers to himself as a weapon, a tool of the Emperor, and becomes a lone wolf again..."

[thunderace]

"I see..."

It's times like this that Fate felt at a loss. She had been lucky; her relationship with Nanoha was practically the textbook fairy tale romance. Aside from a brief period where they were oblivious to each others' feelings, they never had to deal with such a conflict. So it was hard to help someone with a subject like this.

"I think the important thing is to just give him time. Let him know that you're there for him and you'll support him... but it's something only he can solve."

[fatefullfriend]

"Yeah..."

That's it. Arf flopped into her master's lap, laying her head down now that she'd finished with Fate's hair.

"I just worry. Lone wolves don't survive, Fate. No matter how strong they are, wolves need the pack. Without it, we eventually wither away," Arf explained. "But sometimes it's hard to form a new pack when the alpha of the old pack betrays you. And even worse when the alpha is your father."

She looked up at Fate. "Garviel is the last loyal member of his pack. All the others that stayed loyal after their alpha betrayed them were slaughtered. He's afraid of letting anyone close... and I don't blame him. It's easy to close off when there's so much pain."

Her hand reached up to touch Fate's cheek just below her eye. "Sometimes his eyes remind me of how yours once were."

[thunderace]

Fate slowly stroked Arf's ears as the woman spoke, but the motion stopped when she mentioned father.

Yes, she knew better than anyone the pain of a beloved parent throwing you away. The desperate attempt to stay loyal to them, after all they did... No wonder he had attracted Arf's attention.

"It's almost too easy to close yourself off in that situation..." with a sigh, she resumed scratching Arf behind her ears. "He seems like a strong person, though. With your help, I'm sure he'll be able to get through this."

Then, she smiled. "I'd like to help too, if he'd let me."

[fatefullfriend]

"It might take a bit for him to trust you as he knows you're a mage, but he also knows what you are to me. What I am to you." Arf sighed, shifting her head into the ear scritches. "He has a very hard time with magic users. But he says you're very kind."

Hearing that from Garviel, offered by him without prompting, meant a lot to Arf. "I'm... I'm glad you want to help. He's so lost right now, with Sanguinius being taken from him... He really is all alone without a commander to follow. I know he can lead, he can be an alpha, but I don't know if he knows."

She gives a heavy sigh. "Fate, I just... I just want to hold him... get him to rest."