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Post by leslie on Jul 2, 2007 3:43:49 GMT 1
Jaw tightening with surpressed anger from the way he dismissed her correct observations - neither of them rationalizations as they were what others had done. "I pay plenty of attention shounen. Maybe it is you who needs to pay better attention." It was what her own family had done, at least part of it. Taking each step one moment at a time, she held onto the banister loosely then paused on one step. While she would have happily left the conversation at the point where she walked away, the moment she got down the stairs and glanced at the table she was met by a disappointed gaze from Tomio... something she wouldn't allow to remain. It was clear he had picked up on what she had done though it was unlikely anyone else at the table had heard - so to remedy the situation she had to make a decision.
"Uncle, Kaiten-san, Tumiko-chan. I didn't quite finish my exercises before everyone arrived. Since Kyousuke-chan is drilling I was hopeful that he would spar with me. But I must ask your forgiveness for cutting my dinner participation short." Tomio nodded, approving her decision with the ghost of a smile to which Leslie nodded with a frustrated glint in her eye, "Kaiten-san, Tumiko... If you'd excuse me."
Waiting for Kaiten's permission to leave, as soon as she had obtained it she turned around then steeled herself for the coming storm. She didn't want to speak with him further but she would always give way to Tomio - after all. He had taken her in when she had no where to go. The least she could do was respect his opinion. Opening the door and walking in only to move to a second door that went to her room, she shook her head... remaining silent as she changed within seconds to a comfortable gi.
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Kyousuke
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 2, 2007 4:08:16 GMT 1
Kyousuke didn't pay any attention to the girl, or much else, as he had walked into the room. The only thing he wanted to do was smash the 100lb punching bag that was set up in front of him. Only problem was he didn't bring his wrap. Or did he? After he stripped off his shirt he reached into his pockets, searching for it. "Seems like habits pay off on occasion." While Mai went down stairs he wrapped his wrists and hands accordingly, and then set himself into stance in front of the bag, and focused his own on it.
When his eyes focused he was moving forward, stepped half a foot to the left and planted the foot. His left hand came up in a circular motion, and hit the bag solidly with the back of his fist. His momentum would push through the bag, turning to the left. He continued to push forward, swinging his right foot around and then planting it. As the momentum of his fist stopped his right leg had planted itself ahead, and continued the pushing momentum by driving his shoulder into the bag. But the spin was only half done. Without a moments pause he continued to turn, his fists had tucked into his body to speed the momentum, but as he squared himself and planted his feet to stop his lower body from turning, his right continued. Cocked at the hip his fist shot out, and up, slamming the bag hard enough to dent it, and swung it almost vertically.
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Post by leslie on Jul 3, 2007 4:04:18 GMT 1
Pulling her gi tightly around her slender body, Leslie gathered her wits about her then turned to look at the closed door. Something told her that it would easy or difficult - and judging by the way things had gone before easy didn't happen the same way. Tugging on the ends of her waistbelt, she tied the end carefully in a proper knot.
The same way that she had left the exercise room, she returned. Catching his movements against the bag at the last moment, she raised a brow then faultered at the doorway. The punching bag did not give way without an extreme amount of effort on her part. Her uncle of course could do it in his sleep - but Leslie's weight combined with her strength didn't make her a powerhouse. Her forte was evasion, not attack.
"Angry?"
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 3, 2007 4:22:30 GMT 1
Kyousuke ended the movements next to the bag, letting it hit his shoulder, and then turned to look at the source of the voice. It's not that he wasn't used to being watched, it's that he didn't expect to be watched. "It's not that easy to get me angry. Frustrated perhaps." He said in a low tone, his eyes dropped as he flicked his wrists to in front of him, shaking off the last of the blow. Without gloves it was more punishment that his wrist took, and he could feel it fairly well now. "Why are you in a gi. It's dinner time."
He had muttered as he moved toward the middle of the floor, his chest was still dry ,he hadn't worked up the sweat he had been hoping for. But he still had a chance, if she just had eaten and wasn't planning on getting in his way. Or having a discussion. But, then again, from the way she looked it was more likely that she was going to ask for a spar. Rolling his shoulders once, twice, and then turned with them to square off with the bag, intent on returning to his training if she wasn't going to speak up.
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Post by leslie on Jul 6, 2007 3:43:30 GMT 1
Leslie, while impressed by the spectacle of her half-brother nearly knocking their bag vertical, was ready to try out his speed. Strength he had, speed had yet to be determined. “Frustrated.” She nodded then tugged on the edges of her gi then approached to bind her wrists with tape and cloth only to cover them in stiff leather gloves to protect her knuckles. “My uncle’s gloves would probably fit you.” Carefully drawing the thinner, larger pair into her palm, she walked over and held out her hand for his, “You look about the same size. And I’m in a gi so I won’t dirty my dress. I can’t exactly work-out in all that fabric.”
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Kyousuke
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 6, 2007 3:54:24 GMT 1
Kyousuke had nodded back at her as she confirmed that he looked frustrated. "I suppose that's true." Watching her bind her own wrists, only to put on stiff leather gloves, he wondered if that was the best choice.. He didn't mind that his own would be larger gloves, he was used to it, and would make his worry a lot lower of knocking her around too much. But he wasn't sure that was the best place to start. "I suppose your right. But if you wear a dress and your in a fight, what would you do then?" The logic was what he was trying to get a grasp of. If you wore something like that, why not practice in it? His hands took up the gloves, and bounced them in his hands. "You know it would be safer to push hands, right?"
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Post by leslie on Jul 6, 2007 4:08:06 GMT 1
“I don’t wear dresses. I was told by Tomio that we had special guests coming so I put in extra effort. My normal clothes are much like a gi.” She wasn’t about to explain that her wardrobe consisted of mostly all cargo pants and sweaters along with the variety of oversized shirts. If he was going to go to Hircine it would be obvious enough when he saw her at school. “If I did have to fight in a dress I’d probably tie it at the corner to keep it out of my way.”
Surprised by not overly so when he snatched the gloves and began to put them on his hands, she moved closer to him again then snatched one hand then the other. “These gloves have to be fastened at the back by another person unless you’re going to do it with your teeth. And let me be the first to tell you that you don’t want to put your mouth on those gloves.” Her nimble fingers deftly weaving the leathers into the gloves only to pull taunt until the gloves were snug upon his hands, “There. And if you say so.”
Taking a step back to offer the backside of her right hand, she took a comfortable stance and let the tension ease out of her body with deep, even breaths, “Ready when you are.”
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 6, 2007 4:19:46 GMT 1
Kyousuke nodded to her, taking her word that she just didn't wear dresses. Not many women did. Skirts, pants, and shorts that were hardly there. Those seemed to be the fashion at the time. No sense in going into questions about it. "You mean at your hip?" He asked, not getting a mental image of a dress being tied very easily. He moved his head to the left, about to pull it tight with his teeth.
Before he did his hands were taken by the wrist, and she told him what he already knew. "I've put these on before. It's not impossible.." He muttered, and then watched as she set them to the point that they were snuggly on his wrists. The fact that he didn't want his mouth on the gloves weren't exactly wrong. He didn't. But he would have if she didn't help.
She then moved back, and had offered the back side of her hand. He hadn't known what martial art she practiced, but he now knew it was not one that used pushing hands as practice. "No.. like this." He put his right hand up, and put his forearm against hers, placing a light pressure to keep then connected. "This practice is not for strength. You push and then relax, a waving motion back and forth. If I find an opening that you can't predict and tap you in that place, you've been hit, and we start over again."
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Post by leslie on Jul 6, 2007 4:48:23 GMT 1
“No, just gathered up then tied at the thighs in a knot just like you would a shirt that’s much too big.” As soon as she was sure that the gloves were snug but comfortable on Kyousuke’s hands, she stepped back to give them both their own personal space again since they weren’t quite sparring yet. “It’s easily done with the dresses I have. All of my clothes are long… I don’t like exposing much.” What she failed to mention was that she despised being exposed in front of men, including her uncle, since she had nearly been sold to the highest bidder.
“They’re not impossible but they’re not your gloves so your mouth on them would be… unpleasant. So, I’m looking out for your interests as well as my uncle’s.” The way that she presented it was polite but the message behind it was more. She wasn’t doing it just for him.
The outcome of what he meant was a little different than what she and her uncle practiced but she understood it would be easier until they started to gain each other’s measure. Carefully readjusting her feet so that she was a bit more prepared, she moved with him – testing only to defend herself against an imagined attack, “Sorry. I’m always a bit jumpy when we first start.”
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 6, 2007 5:15:34 GMT 1
Kyousuke paused a moment, the image of a dress strapped to the thighs seemed like a connected hakama. He wondered if that was the original idea. The idea was brushed off as the conversation continued. "Mortality taught from your father, no doubt." He had already guessed her father was faultily based on traditions. The way she presented herself originally, despite her nervousness, presented that aura about her. "He must have offered something for mother to have gone to him." He shrugged, and sighed a bit.
He also brushed aside the hidden jab. It was annoying, but he wouldn't delve into it. Nothing good would come from that for the moment. As they began the exercise he made sure not to push her around too much, as he could quite easily throw her to the ground with a simple shove. And as that had no basis for their practice, it was not very helpful even thinking about it. Other than the fact it defused his frustration.
He followed her movements against him, and then pushed back, for now only one hand raised, specifically for the reason of gauging how relaxed she was. She then jerked her body, defending a blow that he had not even hinted that strongly at. "Think of the ocean. Simple movements, rolling in two dimensions, trapped there. Let it build up until you unleash it at the point of most weakness or greatest speed." His voice was cold still, but it normally was. He was simply a very distant and stoic person under normal circumstances.
"Go slow until you get a feel for my pace, and find the weak point I create.." He instructed as he had know the basis of these techniques and practiced them on occasion when his grandfather was not busy with work or exhausted. In his younger days it was something he did daily. "Leverage, reflex, sensitivity, timing, coordination and positioning. Pushing hands works to undo a person's natural instinct to resist force with force, teaching the body to yield to force and redirect it. This is the means to an end." To reiterate this point as she circled forward toward him, he pushed against her, redirecting her force in a near straight line toward her own body, forcing her to stop back or go completely off balance.
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Post by leslie on Jul 6, 2007 21:29:20 GMT 1
Leslie stiffened violently, dropping her hand from its place at the mention of her father and her ‘morality’, then shook her arms and hands out to try to cover up the reaction, “My father taught me what my place was in the world. He taught me nothing about morality other than I should protect it to better my bride price.” While she could keep her body from trembling as the memories came flooding back, she could do nothing to keep the despise and loathing from her voice as well as her fear of her father. However, when Kyousuke mentioned their mother she gained a hopeful glint in her eye and a soft tone to her voice, “You – you remember our mother? I only have… have a picture that my brother gave me but it’s very old.”
Once she had settled into the pattern of pushing against him and relaxing again as he brought his hand around, the motion stilling until she was almost perfectly in tune with what was happening. Flexing her hand momentarily, she drew in a deep breath then nodded and returned to the movement. Instead of thinking of the ocean, she thought of the wind – how it traveled wherever it wished, moving when stopped to find another way.
While her forearm remained connected to his, her eyes closed and she tried to read his motions before they happened – seeing nothing but smoothness. What she began to see was a circle of light, endless and pulsing with both of their energy. The energy was just as smooth but each altered movement carried over into the circle they had created. “An beginning to an end.” A sudden surge came from his body, his arm pushing forward and into her. While her natural reaction was to push back it would have knocked her onto her butt she found herself leaning back and shifting even as she continued the circle – moving his arm with hers as she moved back and into him.
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 6, 2007 23:00:29 GMT 1
Kyousuke watched with vague curiosity as Mai stiffened and dropped her arms to her side, looking as displeased as she sounded. Although, what caught his attention the most, was the fact her body was trembling. "A better price? I assumed that is why you left. It seems both of us are born of bastards then." His voice was low, and lacked the bitter venom of his half sister. He had come to terms with his fathers nature, and did not yet realize how it had affected him. Shaking himself out of the small drip of a memory he waited for her arm to raise again, his voice still calm and smooth. "I remember as much as one could as an infant. I suppose I held onto them more because she wasn't there "
The movements continued until he finally gave that small burst of forward energy, and watched to see if she would fall backward on her rump. But instead she had managed to react in a relaxed manner, rolled backward with it, and then continued the circle at the new angle. "Good. We'll do this for a few more minutes. It warms up the mind and relaxes the body. It's good preparation. Then we can spar as you wished too."
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Post by leslie on Jul 7, 2007 2:56:55 GMT 1
Leslie did very little to conceal her emotions when it came to family matters or anything that came too close to her father. But when he spoke of her birth as well as her leaving, she grew even more tense and snapped at him irritably, “I was born to a couple, man and wife. No one chooses their parents but I was born to parents none-the-less.” He had jabbed a sharp issue with her – fallen upon it accidentally but painfully for her. Yet she raised her hand and began the exercise anyway, smoothly and gracefully although she was trembling with emotion.
“I wish I could remember kaasan. Even a little bit. Even just one moment. But I never even saw her.” She spoke and her trembling gradually stopped, falling into the movement… her concentration on her exercise rather than on her own self-pity. Reacting seemingly easily to his power, she regained her position and continued to gently surge against him – suddenly pushing forward as she felt what she interpreted as a fault in his movement. “Not a spar. Well, maybe a spar.”
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 7, 2007 3:18:22 GMT 1
"Fine, I'm the bastard, does that make you happier?" He retorted dryly, his eyes showing how little the word meant to him when he was focusing on something else. He wanted to focus on training, not be forced with growing annoyed and wanting to smack the side of her head. the arm against his was trembling as the movements went, and he was starting to lose patience with her, and he wanted to spar because it was an excuse to smack her once or twice.
The trembling stopped after she spoke of their mother again, and he was starting to lose patience with the movements. Putting force to force wasn't wise, but it was entertaining. As she finally rolled him forward with more strength. But she went too far into the movement. He shifted his body to the outside, and led her arm to the side the moment her momentum finished. "Your reading me improperly. There's too much emotion clouding your mind."
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Post by leslie on Jul 7, 2007 4:12:38 GMT 1
The moment after Kyousuke spoke, Leslie’s eyes shot up toward his face to read the emotion there but all she found was sarcasm. While she didn’t mean that he was the only one who was a bastard – she was, after all, an orphan of sorts – but she disliked the name being used with anyone. What she couldn’t have known was his growing impatience with her and her words and emotions. On the other hand, it was hard enough for those who intimately knew Lin to understand what her mind was flying through at that very moment, meaning it was impossible for a boy who had never met her before to even begin to comprehend the turmoil he had stirred up.
Having had enough of his little ‘lesson’ for one night, she grit her teeth then took a step back and bowed stiffly, “You’ll forgive me for being a bit… distracted.” Her words were laced with biting sarcasm, the hurt glowing in her dark eyes as she forced back the tears. It wasn’t her fault. She had kept the wolves of memory at bay by simply forgetting but the moment he arrived they came rushing back, sharp and wrathful in their being. “I need to readjust my gloves then we can spar. I’ll be right back.” Whirling on her heel, she hurried back to her room to kneel by the bed… mute, dry sobs racking her body as she stubbornly resisted the urge to cry. While Kyousuke had inherited whatever trait of steely resistance, Leslie was not the same. Not the same at all.
Collected and calm, she tugged on the lacings of her gloves then tightened them again with her teeth – making a fist to pound them together. Content that they were ‘fixed’, she opened the door to the workout room then closed her door behind her, “Ready when you are.”
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 7, 2007 4:41:28 GMT 1
Kyousuke shrugged off her bitter words after she had stepped back, and bowed stiffly. He wasn't done yet so he wouldn't bow. Raising his palm slowly he began to loosen the bindings, only to find she had made the knots better than he would have expected. Which is why he wanted them off int he first place. In her anger she had nearly cut of circulation to his wrists, and they were beginning to feel cold. He walked to the side of the door, where coat hooks were bolted to the wall. he looped the laces into them, and then pulled. But instead of loosening, he undid them all together.
Sighing heavily he stepped out of the room, and followed the sounds of movements until he was outside of an open door, watching Mai's back moved in a muted rhythm. He didn't know if she was crying or not, but it was hard to discredit the thought. As guilt stabbed into his legs, preventing him from ignoring the scene in front of him, his mind began to work back over what had transpired. Surely he hadn't said something so bad that she cried about it. But again, it was hard to discredit.
Being the kind caring soul he was, he walked forward to Mai. Reached out. Placed his hand on her shoulder. And spun her at arms length, seeing that she did not have tears in her eyes before he spoke. "If your going to cry you might as well make a fuss about it." He muted under his breathe, his hand still resting on her shoulder as he look into her eyes quietly. He did care, to the extent he could, but he also had no experiences with these things.
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Post by leslie on Jul 7, 2007 4:50:29 GMT 1
Leslie was carefully curled against her bed, her thick comforter pressed against her face to keep what few noises she was making to herself. She hated the fact that she couldn’t remain emotionless when it came to her family – her real family. While Tomio, bless him, had taken her in and given her a home, he could never replace the figure of her father who had permanently scathed her view on men. Even her brothers, for all that they did to help, had done more harm by never calling or writing – visiting was a dream. So to have even a half-brother come, without her being forwarned, it was more than she was equipped to deal with at the time.
Caught up in trying to stifle her cries, she didn’t hear his footsteps move from the hard wood floor of the workout room onto her thinly carpeted floor – not knowing of his nearness until he touched her. Instinctively she jerked away from the touch but looked up through red, dry eyes as she sniffled dejectedly, “I don’t cry.” Stubbornly she wiped her eyes, making sure there were no tears on them as she huddled against her bed, “Not about things that hurt on the inside. I cried when I broke my arm and fingers… but not about family.”
As she looked up at him, she couldn't help but wonder why he cared. Yet at the same time, all she wanted to do was to be comforted. Throwing caution and reason, as well as her own common sense, to the wind - she moved over then wrapped her arms around his chest, still sniffling but pressing her head into his shoulder to muffle it.
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 7, 2007 5:24:07 GMT 1
Kyousuke watches as her body jerked away from his hand instead, and looked up at him with obviously irritated eyes. She wasn't shedding tears, but she was crying. It looked and sounded ridiculous in his mind. But he wouldn't be saying that aloud of course. He wouldn't talk either, not for the moment. He wanted to see what she would do first, after being found crying on her bed. While she spoke he shifted his gloves into his pockets, and seemed to be simply waiting for her to make a move.
He was about to show why she would cry without tears once more, but instead he had been stopped. By something he didn't expect to happen. She moved to the edge of the bed, and wrapped her arms around his torso, sniffling before she pressed her head into his shoulder. "So your not as angry as you seem." He said down at her quietly, and placed an arm around her shoulder, turned his body, and sat down on the bed. He moved back onto it, resting his back against the wall, and kept that one arm around her shoulders. "Now seems like a good time to cry."
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Post by leslie on Jul 10, 2007 2:33:00 GMT 1
Caught up in her shaking sobs that wracked her delicate frame, she felt rather than heard him speak – not catching the words but the rumbling of his chest. Instead of admitting that she hadn’t heard, she nodded slightly then followed his body to the bed and curled up against him. While he was moving she thought back to any time she had ever been so vulnerable with a man. So utterly open and exposed that he could have shattered her and her mind completely instead of trying to keep her together with soft, kind words.
Her sniffles gradually turned to full-throated sobs, hugging him tightly as her eyes brimmed the torrential tide that was her held-back tears, “I miss my *hic* brothers. Koji sent me one letter. Just one in nearly two years. I miss my home and *hic* my family and I wish I had known *hic**hic* my mother. She’s so *hic* beautiful in her picture.”
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Kyousuke
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Tell me when, and why, you give or take Karma from me. Otherwise it is meaningless.
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Post by Kyousuke on Jul 10, 2007 3:06:13 GMT 1
Kyousuke felt Mai follow him onto the bed, his head and body resting against the wall. For a moment he wondered if he'd need a pillow to keep himself from an uncomfortable position, but with her curled up against him he didn't really pay attention to it very much. His right arm was over her shoulders, resting his palm somewhere around her collarbone after she had turned. His left hand came up to rest on the arm that was hugging herself to him. A casual reassurance that he wasn't just doing this out of pity, or perhaps a reminder that he wasn't rejecting her.
"You have family again. And I can tell you what little I can remember of her." His voice, although still cold, somehow held a softer tone. His hand, once on her collar bone, moved away and was placed on the top of her head. In an instinctual movement he moved his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp gently, and moving the hair out of her face so it wouldn't stick to her cheeks while she cried.
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