Flirting?
Raindrop grimaced as she pulled the bandage away from her wound to inspect the handiwork of the dark guard.
It was just after midday, and the pegasus was rocking back and forth slightly to the sway of the train as it took the gently curves down towards Ponyville. It was a short trip; but long enough for her to change her bandages.
It was the first real look she’d had at the wound since it was a gaping opening in her flesh. The area surrounding the injury itself was inflamed and puckered, and the hole in her flesh where the dagger had penetrated her was still quite visible, with raw, red flesh showing clearly, weeping a thin clear liquid.
The cream she had to apply to the wound was a notoriously fast healing agent, but it also, as a by-product of the accelerated healing process, kept the wound completely open. As such, any poking and prodding in the area was painful and caused the pegasus to gasp and grit her teeth. Already, the wound was beginning to close, and soon, it would be no more than a thin sliver of scar tissue hidden underneath her fur.
Raindrop grit her teeth, and then pressed the mouth of the ointment tube against the wound, closing her eyes and then squeezing, several stuttered gasps leaving her as the cool liquid contacted raw, open flesh. The pegasus quivered, her wings stiffened and fluttering just slightly as she swallowed down the yelp that tried to escape her.
The door to the train cabin slid open, and Sentinel stepped through, closing the door after him.
“Don’t you ever knock?” Raindrop asked between gritted teeth, her ears splayed backwards as she pulled the tube of ointment away and then pressed her hoof over the wound.
“And give you a chance to refuse me entry?” Sentinel asked with a slowly raising brow.
Raindrop rolled her eyes a moment and then tentatively dropped her hoof, capping the tube of ointment and throwing it back into her bag. She folded the bandage up as neatly as she could, and then stuffed it into the trash area, before digging out a fresh bandage to place over her wound. “Don’t you have your own cabin?”
“I find it difficult to guard somepony when I’m not in their general vicinity,” Sentinel stated, as he moved over to one of the seats and sat himself down on it, stretching out languidly and adjusting his helmet.
“We’re on a moving train, Sentinel. Do you really think there is a chance one of those guards could get on here without being...you know, seen?” Raindrop asked flatly, frowning at him.
“Expect the unexpected,” Sentinel stated with a raised hoof. Obviously, it was some kind of motto.
Raindrop rolled her eyes again. “That’s an oxymoron.”
“But it sounds clever,” Sentinel said with a wise nod.
“So do you. Until you speak,” Raindrop stated, as she undid the bandage and began to wind it awkwardly around her shoulder. It was difficult to get it over her shoulder and around her chest, especially with only one hoof.
Sentinel made a faint, derisive sound, and then slipped down off the seat, moving over to the other pegasus and then halting her motions with a hoof.
“Look, you need the bandage to be firm. You’re making it all loose. It’ll slip off in a half hour after you start walking,” he stated, as he unwound the bandage completely and began to wind it correctly.
Raindrop arched and bit her tongue until she tasted blood as Sentinel pulled the bandage firmly over the wound. She gasped and spluttered a few times before she managed to get control of herself, grinding her teeth in pain.
“Wow, anypony would think you got stabbed,” Sentinel quipped as he heard her grinding her teeth like that. He continued to wind the bandage over her shoulder, kneading his free hoof soothingly between her shoulderblades. “Relax. Breath shallowly; it’ll put less pressure on the wound.”
Raindrop nodded helplessly, panting for a few moments before evening out her breathing, subconsciously leaning into the soothing kneading of Sentinel’s hoof.
The guard finished winding the bandage about her, and then neatly stretched the toothed elastic strip over both sides of it, keeping it in place. He patted her shoulder gently, “There, done.”
“Th-thank you,” Raindrop growled between gritted teeth, limping over to the bed and sprawling across it untidily, lifting a hoof to lay over her wound, just resting it there, not applying any pressure, but giving her something to focus on to dull the pain.
“That ointment always sucks when you first apply it,” Sentinel said with a wise nod, watching her.
Raindrop nodded in response, “In spite of my inclination to argue with you on every point possible, I agree. This sucks. I bet you get injured plenty as a guard.”
Sentinel gave a laugh and a shake of his head, “Actually, the royal guard is a very sedate job. Basically, I stand around and look intimidating. The armour helps. Most of my supply of accidents and mishaps came from my days off.”
“So you’ve never been stabbed?” she queried, perking an ear upwards at him curiously.
“Well...kinda? I guess?” Sentinel responded, making a circular motion with a hoof to indicate that he was unsure. “I’ve been impaled, but stabbed...no.”
“Impaled?” Raindrop asked, looking him up and down. “Like...with a spear?”
“A fence,” Sentinel said calmly. “You know the ones in front of the palace with the big, pointy black spikes on top? One of those.”
Raindrop winced sympathetically. “I’m willing to bet that hurt...did you scream?”
“No!” Sentinel replied instantly, looking affronted.
The female pegasus slowly raised a brow at him.
“Okay, fine,” Sentinel stated, shaking his head, “I bawled like a foal and screamed like I was being murdered.”
“An appealing image,” Raindrop stated with a nod and a wry smile.
Sentinel shifted, and slipped off the armour covering his right forehoof, tilting his hoof to show her the faintly visible scar running from the inside of his elbow to almost the end of his hoof. “Went in one side, and out the other.”
“I don’t blame you for screaming,” Raindrop said, staring at the scar for a long moment. “How in the name of Celestia did you manage to do that to yourself?”
A soft laugh left the guard, and he waved a hoof, “I was fleeing from the kitchens. I was on a strict diet of bread and water because I might have ruined one of Celestia’s favorite statues. So I snuck into the kitchen and got some sugar cubes. One of the kitchen staff saw me, and I ran away. Tried to fly out the back door, clipped my wing, bounded up over the fence, and came down on one of the spikes.”
Raindrop wrinkled her nose, “I bet your teacher or whatever you call it was unhappy with you.”
“Oh for sure, but not for the same reasons you’d think,” Sentinel said, waving a hoof airily. “He was more angry that I got caught than the fact that I was sneaking in there in the first place.”
“Then what’s the point of disciplining the younger guards if he’s expecting them to sneak out and get sweets?” Raindrop asked, bewildered.
“...That’s the point,” Sentinel said with a snicker, shaking his head. “See, he denies us things we want, and then hints at ways we can get them back. I learned more sneaking into the kitchens than I ever did sneaking past a training partner who knew I was there.”
“That...makes so much twisted sense,” Raindrop stated, prodding at her shoulder gently to see how much pain it would give her.
“Indeed it does,” Sentinel stated, narrowing his eyes at her after a moment, watching her prod at her bandaged shoulder. “Stop that. You’ll just irritate it.”
Raindrop snorted, and then dug around for the Seeker Stone in her backpack, pulling it out and inspecting it.
“Worried its going to disappear?” Sentinel asked, raising a brow.
“It’s changed,” Raindrop stated, staring at it for a long moment. “I’m not sure how ‘general’ of a direction it points in...but look at it.”
Raindrop held out the Seeker Stone for Sentinel to see.
“It’s pointing east,” Sentinel stated unnecessarily.
“But it was pointing further south than east while we were in Canterlot!” Raindrop said with an excited little bounce.
“...And?”
“And. If there’s such a drastic change in direction from Canterlot to Ponyville, then the element must be close to Ponyville!” Raindrop pointed out.
Sentinel stared at the pegasus for a long moment. “If you say so.”
“Ugh, this is like talking to a fish,” Raindrop said with a shake of her head.
“But I’m better looking than a fish,” Sentinel rebuked.
“Only by a little, hun,” Raindrop stated, patting the guards cheek gently.
“So you think the element is close to Ponyville?” Sentinel queried.
“I can’t be certain...” Raindrop admitted, shaking her head, “But s’far as I can tell...in the Everfree forest somewhere?”
“The canopy deep in the Everfree is too thick to really get through if you’re flying,” Sentinel stated knowledgeably.
Raindrop raised a brow at him slowly.
“Hey. I liked to sneak away every now and again, plus our Captain taught us that the forest is the first place to try and stop an escaping fugitive from reaching, because once they’re in there, it’s ground patrols only. Not to mention all the dangerous things that live there,” he said with a short nod.
“Yes, lets not forget the pony-eating monsters,” Raindrop agreed, sliding the Seeker Stone back into her pack. “Why can’t this be...simple? I mean, what kind of asshole just goes and hides these things? It’s inconvenient.”
“Discord,” Sentinel stated flatly. “Though, I must say, knowing his history...I’m surprised he hasn’t jumped up on a pedestal and declared his intent and power.”
“He’s the element of chaos. That’s kinda what he does,” Raindrop pointed out.
Sentinel nodded, frowning. “Well the last time he came back, he just took over Equestria. Turned it into pure chaos.”
“Plays get boring if they repeat the same thing over and over again. He’s Discord. If he did the same thing over and over again, then that would be order...and it would be the opposite of chaos, yes?” Raindrop suggested, raising a brow.
“...I personally don’t think that Discord would ascribe himself to any kind of patterned randomization. Because that would make him predictable and therefore not chaotic.” The guard nodded smugly.
“We’re going to go in circles,” Raindrop stated flatly. “But he hasn’t gotten up and announced his presence and taken over all of Equestria, so obviously, I’m right.”
Sentinel opened his mouth to protest, and Raindrop placed a hoof over his mouth.
“Sentinel. It has been a grand total of three days since I last hit you. I’m sure my being unconscious in the hospital for a third of that and drugged out for another third has something to do with that, but if you continue arguing with me, then three whole days is going to be the new record for ‘not beating Sentinel up’.”
The guard paused a moment, tilting his head at her, and then giving a smug smile. “You hit me when you were loopy. Said I was making unwanted advances on you by hopping into your bed, and then ordered me out of it. And then you asked me why I got out of the bed and demanded I get back in it.”
Raindrop took a deep breath, closed her eyes for a long moment, and then gave Sentinel a ringing blow to the cheek with her hoof.
“Annnd back to zero,” she stated, pursing her lips.
Sentinel grinned, his helmet having absorbed most of the blow. He lifted a hoof to gently bop her nose. “You’re cute when you’re mad.”
Raindrop scowled, and then paused a moment, staring at the guard and slowly tilting her head to the side. There was a long pause before she asked, disbelievingly, “...did you just try to flirt with me?”
The guard smiled and shook his head goofily, before blinking and then looking up and to the left at a corner of the room, pondering deeply. “Oh sweet Celestia I think I did...Quick, hit me again!”
Raindrop gave him a ringing backhand with her hoof, on the opposite cheek, before leaning in and staring at him. “...Better?”
“The urge to make nice with you has definitely faded,” Sentinel stated, rubbing his cheek with a hoof and frowning.
“Good. Flirt with me again and I’ll put you in hospital,” Raindrop stated flatly, turning away to hide the inexplicable blush spreading across her cheeks.
“Still cute when you’re mad,” Sentinel said with a sly grin.
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It's cute in a violent sort of way
Aaaaaaaaand then they totally banged.
I love how you are creating love-hate relationships. You created something similiar in "Transcend", but this is plain more funny
It's doubly funny because even if she doesn't hit him when he flirts with her, he's going to get hurt anyway.
Update? Funny? Yet Im reading an awesome story :3
Another now please?
-Dashie
888798 Ha! You misspelled your name at the bottom of your comment.
Update? Funny? Yet Im reading an awesome story :3
Another now please?
-Daahie <--- lawl
Epic chapter from an epic story.
Love is in the air everywhere I look around
Love is in the air every sight and every sound
And I don't know if I'm ....... ow
What was that for?
Raindrop: "The song.."
Sentinel: "I enjoyed it..."
Raindrop: Gaaarraaaagh!
Commenters run!
88857 Da fuq you talking about?
I like this because most romances on this site are very plain and normal for a romance but this one does it in a way I've rarely seen and pulls it off brilliantly! So in short: This has got to be the best romance I've seen on this site. Trust me half my favorites have romance.
tsundere. Period.
Ah, young love. Can you feel it?
Of course, if Raindrop ever gets back to normal, there's the issue of her paramour... or is it ex-paramour?
Sentinel you sly dog
889016
Not quite yet. But soon... very soon....
chzbronies.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-soon-cupcakes-for-every-pony.jpg
it's still tsundere because of the hostility in the beginning and we all know that something's gonna happen
This relationship is so much fun to watch develop.
The inevitable angry sex will likely end in hospital bills and awkward silence.
871244
Finally picked up this story again. I still stand by my points in the first chapter, but convenient isn't necessarily bad, especially when telling stories. Also, this story just has a completely different feel than "Transcendence" did, so I honestly can't recommend going straight to this story right after it. Don't get me wrong though, this story is great and I am pretty impressed that this story has such a different feel (I feel that most authors tend to make more of the same, which is okay if it's good, but its better to be both good and refreshingly different).
I wanna weigh in on the whole "slap slap kiss" relationship, but first I kinda wanna curse you for spoilers. Yeah it was revealed by Celestia that Sentinel is equipped to deal with changelings, but since that wasn't the main focus of the conversation, I forgot about it quickly. I didn't even think about the implications since the relationship hadn't started developing yet. Then you say he's immune? All the drama from Raindrops realizing that all her family's problems coming from Cee, that this could affect her relationship with Sentinel? Gone. Instead I'm left wondering what you're going to do with Shine. I'm glad that Raindrops is still thinking of him, but I can see it's going to be a challenge to keep him in the story long-term. I'd prefer he not simply be forgotten (if nothing else, I don't think that reflects well on Raindrops' character).
Alright, on to the Tsundere discussion. In Anime, it is incredibly convenient to write Tsundere characters because it creates great tension and drama, which always seems to sell well on both sides of the Pacific. What I do NOT like about these characters, especially when physical abuse is involved, is when the girl fails to grow out of the tsun-tsun side of the dynamic (and, by extension, I begin to dislike the male that puts up with sometimes truly bad behavior because he loves her and it's so cute.
). This behavior is fine in the pre-relationship and developmental stages of a relationship, because it helps define the differences between characters (bonus points for characters whose differences give good reason for them to dislike each other. Kudos to you!).
I found their violence to be very believable on both sides, and I agree with your point that males tend to be better built to dish and take, and find it reflected well in the story. I feel that special mention goes to you writing Sentinel hitting Raindrops without making him a monster, or making Raindrops a helpless victim. Too often do we see this both in fiction and in real life when this dynamic is very rare. I feel that this works because Sentinel doesn't hit Raindrops because of what she is (though that helps) or what she says (that helps, too!), but the choice she made in leaving him behind, even briefly. Then, he hits her in order to help her recover from the stab wound. The term "for her own good" comes to mind, but that's a slippery slope. I'm glad he didn't do the same thing when she got on a bender with the drugs and alcohol. She hits him because he pisses her off. As I said before, I think this is okay in pre-relationship and development, and I think it's done well here (he is an ass to her and she's not exactly having the easiest time of her life), but if their relationship is going to grow, her reasons for hitting him will have to grow, too (story wise. Number wise, I'd hope that it'd decrease).
All too often in those many Anime series that feature Tsundere characters, drama and volatility (and entertainment) are preserved by NOT having the relationship grow. This means that they can get into all sorts of wacky hijinks that involve her hitting him and yelling about how stupid he is. Hilarious! What a cute couple! Coming from someone who's seen and been in abusive relationships, it is especially terrible to see when the girl uses a weapon against him when she knows he won't fight back. The whole "better able to dish and take" becomes rather trite when the other party is armed. One of the things that makes the violence acceptable in your characters is that they both accept responsibility for their actions and acknowledge that the consequences mean taking a hit in return (especially true for Sentinel and his insults).
Anyway, enough with the song and dance about how you're doing it right. If you're planning on letting this relationship grow, the violence has to change (I didn't say stop, but it's going to be different, have different context). Long story short, the initial violence was born of ignorance (Sentinel not understanding that Raindrops was pony-born), and after a suitably dramatic point in the story where the two commit to caring for one another, the violence will have to reflect that (sounds weird, but stick with me). Sentinel had reasonable justification to hit Raindrops after she left him tied up, but post-development would probably not have hit her (trusting in her to come back, and understanding her Changeling nature). Raindrops hits him when he makes her mad, but post-development would prefer a verbal spar, or (if you don't want a repeat of Cee and Evergreen) the threat of violence through words, not action (saying "I'll hit you" instead of physically pretending to). As long as it is not done constantly, this is both believable and shows growth.
I covered how their growth might cause them not to use violence (physical violence, at least), but then when is it okay? For Sentinel, this is pretty straight-forward. It was okay that Sentinel knocked Raindrops unconscious after the assassination attempt to spare her the pain. While in real life it is NEVER, EVER advisable to induce unconsciousness via head trauma (the long-term effects can be severe and permanent), it is done so often in media that there's no point faulting writers for it (just like falling into water without injury). Anyway, one of the ways that violence can be used acceptably is hitting someone to "snap them out of it" after or during a traumatic experience (this is more often done by a male to a female, but is acceptable from both). Frame it around one caring for the other enough that they want to be certain that the other has the capacity to survive and/or recover from the experience. Those work for both Sentinel and Raindrops (equal opportunity violence, yay!). If you wanna come up with more, make sure to gender-flip it. If you can't come up with a reason that a caring pony would do that to their partner, it's probably not a good idea. Keep in mind, however, that this is probably more a concern for Sentinel than Raindrops (it's much easier to make a violent man a monster than a woman, especially if the audience is encouraged to be sympathetic).
Wow, re-reading that brought back some crazy memories. Good luck on the story and I'll be reading!
889385 LOL
"Your going to FUCK ME"
889385 You have no idea.
893989
That comment right there...speak volumes to me
894592 Whaaat? Everyone can see it coming! Sudden, angry sex ending in a trip to the hospital and awkward silences is going to be hilarious.
894627
Oh dear...
Is he getting feelings for her? or is he just teasing her like she did to him?
-Shadow.F
888495
go read a clop fic or something
894627 oh ya, b/c it's totally romantic to get dat plot while it's nice and drugged