Paul
My
name ees Paul, and ai teenk I like you.
Name: Paul
Age: Thirty two. But don’t tell
him that. Say he looks late twenties!
Gender: Oh. Definatly male. You
don’t get that kind of preening in a woman.
Species: Human. Supposedly. But…
Occupation: Perfumerie…person. Oh
heck. I don’t know. Just slap that down, okay?
Appearance: Tall, skinny and with
something vaguely European that you can’t quite place because it
happens to be so exaggerated, he’s pale, the kind of sweet gothic pale
that only comes with practice and black hair. But it’s not greasy
(thank god) since it’s long, a little bit more than shoulder length and
kept away neatly in a low pony tail. He’s very well groomed, with thick
well defined eyebrows, a swirling moustache (just WHERE does all that
HAIR come FROM?) and lips that are (although he will never, ever admit
to it) penciled in with liner to define it’s shape a little bit more.
They happen to be too thin, you see, and his last boyfriend made fun of
him…
His eyes are a dark blue-black
color that would seem lifeless or too dopey except on his face; they
come across as incredibly calculating and bright. With a nose that is
just a little bit large (don’t make FUN OF IT!!) and very manicured
hands, he’s quite pretty, in your odd slightly altered state of mind
and homosexual enough that for some reason, he gets to hit on women as
well. Yeah. I don’t understand that either.
Usually dressed in very, very
expensive black business shoes made out of real leather and hand
softened (or something ludicrous like that) and slightly less expensive
tailored black trousers, he’s always wearing a turtleneck, and he’s
slender enough to get away with it.
Personality: He’s very arrogant,
a little bit of a fool and he will never take no for an answer.
(NEVER!!) So don’t even try. Very obsessed with the idea of love and
the whole romantic shimbag, he has an over inflated opinion of himself,
and it doesn’t matter what anyone says. He still thinks that he’s
right. Although he does try to pretend that he is cold, cynical and a
little bit gothy, he is just too innocent and too romantic to really
fit in anywhere in this world.
He has one friend, and that
happens to be Shy. Which means that what ever he does is always
measured up to the standards of the lecherous scientist. Hyperactive,
he can’t be given too much sugar or caffeine, and forget about alcohol.
With a smarmy accent and those eyes peering down at you, he’s either
really, really loved or really, really hated. It’s just really
difficult to have a neutral reaction to this skinny man.
History: Paul (no last name,
thank you very much) used to own a perfumerie in the center of Paris.
Actually, his father and his grandfather owned it, and Paul worked very
hard, traveling the world, studying at the most prestigious colleges
and poisoning off his rivals so that he too would be able to take over
the age-old tradition. All the rich and famous used to flock at the
shop, and when Paul turned twenty-five he was given the keys.
Only to realize that he actually
didn’t like it that much after all. He hated working every day! He
hated sucking up to the customers and having them tell him what THEY
wanted, when he knew that he could give them so much better! Having
lost several employees and clients due to his rather frantic temper
tantrums (did I forget to tell you that he actually majored in theater
arts?) he was losing hope in everything.
And then he met an enigmatic man
who dressed in flashy cheongsams and visited the shop for a cup of tea
and something ridiculously expensive, and decided that he too, like
Shy, wanted to travel the world! And he too, like Shy, wanted to
collect animals! (Or dragons. Or what ever else you want to call them)
and almost, for a second he too, like Shy, wanted to dress in
cheongsams. But Shy stopped in them because he didn’t like the fact
that Paul was skinnier than him. (or had nicer black hair)
***
The apartment was plush, deep and
rich and even though the scent of leather and wood would always argue,
there was something no doubt luxurious about the entire thing. As the
private lift made its way to the top floor and as the automatic lights
went on in soft glows, the room seemed to be alive, welcoming…
Well, Paul of course.
Cursing quietly in French and
throwing a leather jacket over one of the counters, his eyes were dark,
dangerous and his lips sulky as he tried so hard to keep in the temper
tantrum. He did not like wasting energy, and it was so wasteful to
throw a tantrum in privacy. He would wait, preserve his strength until
later, when it was more crowded.
“I did nothing wrong.” He said,
speaking to himself as he walked over for a cup of strong coffee. “I
was charming, and beautiful, and likable, and he was pulling all the
right signs.” And then he reached for one of the pastries as well. “He
did not have to react so violently.”
He paused, hand raised to touch
the burning cheek. That man did not know what he was missing by turning
Paul down! Paul was so upset he was going to eat out the entire bag of
chocolate croissants…
“Chocolate croissants?”
Knowing that there was only one
man in the worlds who would give him such a valuable token, and that
really, there was only one man who could get into this apartment (after
all, Shy WAS the one to support him.) Paul smiled.
“Shy?” he called out, all
rejection forgotten as he moved through the rooms. “Shy? Are you still
here? Baby?”
Except that of course, came out
more like bayh beeeee?
Silence met his words, and
suddenly Paul was very sad. He had spent the past three years traveling
a few of the worlds, and Shy had been the one to point him out in the
right direction, to give him a beautiful house full of clothing and
money for him to spend, and while Paul did not know why Shy was doing
this for little Paul, Paul was not going to complain about all this
attention. He sometimes felt like a kept man. And it made him very
happy.
The room was empty.
Shy usually came by once a week
to talk to him, to spend the night and to drool over the local denizens
of the city. Paul was very loving, really, and all men of all shapes
and sizes were loved. Especially the beautiful ones. It was just that
not many of them seemed to want to be loved by Paul. He did not
understand!
He loved Shy the most though, and
now Shy was not here!
He must have left a message, at
least.
Moving through the rooms, the
three-story penthouse with dizzying views, he frowned. From somewhere,
from a corner he could smell something slightly… well, slightly
disgusting.
“What is this awful schtink in my
beautiful house?” he asked himself. And proceeded to go look for it.
Paul was a very gifted Nose, the
type of person who could make or break a scent and was very talented,
especially when it came to sniffing objects out. Maybe he was a
greyhound in his past life, or something like that. Paul did not know
what kind of dog had a keen sense of smell, but greyhound sounded about
right.
Or was it those beagle thingies?
He found the source in a small
closet at the back of one of the guest rooms. It came from a Styrofoam
container, and within it laid a projection of a rotten egg. But why did
it smell so awfully bad? It was horrible! Paul frowned, and saw
the very beautiful note folded below it.
‘Paul’ it read. Paul was very sad
that Shy did not start if off as Dearest Paul, or My Darling Paul. But
it was okay! He would forgive his oldest friend for this transgression.
‘Paul’ it read. ‘I am currently
in this world called Driolo. I’ve left instructions on how to get
there, so please join me. There was something fascinating taking
please, and I am sure you will love this world. There is a delightful
person here called Siche Four. I think she must be in love with me,
because whenever I arrive, she delights in a game of hide and seek!’
Paul was jealous of this woman.
‘Paul’ It continued. ‘the
projection is of an egg I have reserved for you in a distant planet. I
do not know what it contains, but I want one of those so I hope you
will take care of it for me.’
Of course! Paul would do anything
for his man.
The letter ended with short
pleasantries as well as instructions, and after placing it in a
gold-rimmed box that contained all of Shy’s letters, Paul set out to
pack a bag of beautiful clothing. He always obeyed Shy, no matter what
it was and so he was going to go to this world called Driolo.
The smell was bothering him too
much though…
Packing a small bag of clothing
(about twenty two outfits) and sneaking the croissants into a little
hand held manpurse so that if the journey grew too long, he would have
something to snack on, he turned back to the egg thing.
Why would the smell not go away?
“It is so schtinky.” He muttered
to himself, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He did not have to earn his
own money these days, because Shy always took care of him. But this was
getting insane! What if one day, he wanted to continue his nose job?
What if he wanted to become the world famous perfumerie kind of person?
It would not do, to have this
schtinky egg in his house any longer.
Walking over and figuring out how
to turn it off, he went into the kitchen and threw it down the garbage
shoot.
Well, even if he had not turned
the thing off properly, it would not be he who would have to suffer due
to the smell!
***
“Siche.” Shy drawled, placing one
hand on Siche Four’s arm and tightening in a vise. “You know you love
me.”
The poor visiting Minister of
Flights and Hatchings goggled at this man. Where… what… how… she
absolutely spluttered, trying to say words that wouldn’t leave her
mouth and was instead stuck with the retreating form of Croste.
“CROSTE!” she bellowed. “THIS IS
YOUR WORLD! DEAL WITH HIM!”
The Minister of Flight and
hatchings of Driolo looked over, smiled and waved his hand. “You seem
capable of handling it yourself.” He said pleasantly. “Thank you for
your help.”
She was going to kill him.
“What is it, Shy?” she asked,
wary.
Meanwhile, Croste, who had
managed to escape the attack of the lecherous scientist was walking
away, quite cheerful when he ran smack into something brown and black.
Something human and brown and black really, tall with pale skin that
wouldn’t last a day here, and a very form fitting black and white
turtle neck that looked a little bit… odd.
“Can I help you?” he asked
gruffly, but pleasant enough. The man looked lost with a smudge of
chocolate on his lips and a bulging bag by his side.
“Thank you.” He said, smiling and
then something clicked.
This man reminded him of…
“You look so strong and dashing.”
Paul purred. “Do you know where I can find Shy?” he blinked black blue
eyes as if they were beguiling.
Croste hesitated. “Shy?” he asked
a little bit weakly.
Paul beamed, nodding his head
strongly. “He told me to meet him here, that there is something he
wants to show me.” He frowned, looking around. Already the weather was
sapping at his clothing. It was too dry and hot! “Is this Driolo?”
Croste nodded. “If you want to
see Shy.” He said, slightly easing himself away from touching distance.
He was no coward! He just didn’t like wasting his energy. “If you go
back down that way” he said, pointing to where he knew Siche was still
with the cumbersome scientist. “You’ll see a colleague of mine.”
Croste did not know what kind of
good luck had led Siche to him, or why Shy was infatuated with the
feline anthro. But he wasn’t going to push his luck!
“Thank you.” The man replied,
beaming again. Hoistng up the back, he reached out with his right hand.
“My name is Paul.”
“Paul.” Croste said, and nodded.
“Welcome to Driolo.”
There were TWO of them!!
***
“That’s what you were here to ask
me about?” Siche asked. “If your friend could stay here?” she looked
around with a why-me expression. No one answered. “You could have
talked to anyone—“
“But I wanted to talk to you.”
Shy said simply, and Paul nodded his head.
“So you are Siche.” He said, and
watched her. “It’s okay. I will share Shy with you. Because your love
for him must be---“
She wasn’t listening any more.
The feline anthro was not going to listen to this pair any more. At
all. Nope.
“Talk to him.” She said,
motioning to someone else. “He’ll get your friend settled in, happy and
then we can talk about how he’s going to survive. You’ll have to buy
your own place.” Suddenly, Siche paused. She had heard that some
wealthy creepy man had bought one of the white, sprawling homes near
the life and that they had paid through the nose to… “Do you already
have your own place?”
Shy beamed, and Paul beamed right
back.
“You have bought me a new home?”
Paul gushed. “Shy, this place will be so much fun with us together.”
Shy beamed right back at Paul. “I
will have to leave you alone, but I thought it would be nice for you to
consider this to be more of a semi permanent home. It is a beautiful
sprawling house, and you’re neighbors are very nice. Just a little bit
shy.”
Paul smiled, clasping Shy’s hands
and bounced up and down. “Then we can throw a house warming party, yes?”
Siche sighed. This was a city,
for goodness sake. Why did the man always chase her down? As if reading
her mind, (if Shy could read that thought, why couldn’t he read the
thoughts that kept telling him to stay away?) Shy smiled.
“Because Paul is my friend.” He
said simply. “He is new here, and I thought that if you knew who he
was, and he came to you for help, you will be able to help him.” He
sidled closer. “You will help my friend, yes?”
Siche Four cursed the day that
what ever it was had sent this man into her path.
“Just go.”
Shy smiled, turning to Paul and
slipped his hand into the crook of the elbow. “Paul.” He purred,
leaning forewords and leading him away. “Why did you bring a bag? You
know I provide for you.”
Paul smiled right back. He didn’t
know where they were going, and while at first glance it may seem as if
Shy was following, the truth was that the smaller man was leading the
way.
“I did now know if you wanted me
for a long time,” he said modestly, looking around and a little bit too
distracted. “The people here are so diverse!” he gushed.
Shy smiled. “You’ll fit right at
home here.” He promised.
***
While Shy was around, Paul had
the best time. They moved into the high-class neighborhood, visited
their neighbors, threw parties and looked around. Paul met many
beautiful men and women who were not human and became infatuated with
the seedier areas of town as well. This place was exotic, and he loved
spending time here, of being just one human among so many different
kinds of creatures. They spent most of the day outside, and while Shy
was there, Paul never noticed the heat or the humidity, or that it was
so dusty in half the places they visited.
Paul was infatuated with Shy, and
so he had fun.
And then Shy left.
And the stickiness and the dry
weather, the heat and the swirling dust grew to be too much for him.
His pale clothing got dirty too easily, it was so HOT outside sometimes
and why wasn’t it cooler? And the rain…
Paul hated the rain. Especially
if it was outside.
“You know.” One of his new
companions, a beautiful mink anthro crooned as he rolled on one of the
couches. “Ever since your friend left, you haven’t really been going
outside.”
Paul looked out at the weather;
the pouring rain that he swore was going to cause his house to melt. “I
do not wish to go outside.” He said simply.
“Why not?” button black eyes
peered at him from under a wealth of thick, furry hair. Or hairy fur.
Paul found these anthro people fascinating, especially the scent they
gave off. It wasn’t human, it wasn’t really animal. He wished that Shy
would bring him a perfume lab so he could create scents for his friends.
“It is so hot.” He complained.
“So rainy. So tiring.” He whined.
The mink smiled, a little bit
amused. “You were only caught in the rain once. It won’t happen again,
you know. And I remember how you used to say that the weather was so
pretty, and that it was so romantic to get caught in the heavy ran.”
Paul frowned.
Yes, yes he had said that once,
had he not?
“But.” Paul pouted. “Do you not
like my home?”
It was a very pretty home. So
plush, and expensive and Paul liked expensive things a little bit too
much.
“I do.” The mink assured him.
“But let’s go outside. Lets meet new people.”
Paul sighed.
He had promised Shy he would live
here, consider this his semi permanent home.
“I guess.” He said grudgingly.
“Let’s go out after the rain stops a bit.”
***
“I think you’re beautiful.”
Anjeli laughed. “Asufirso
Selamputo.” She said, trying to stay serious except she couldn’t.
Asufirso was good at shape shifting, and with the appearance of mostly
human (maybe the blue tattoos gave him away?) he looked so right
sitting there, trying to… “Stop trying to woo me. It won’t work.” But
she smiled.
Listening in but not meaning to,
Paul walked over, curious to see something shift and then move back
into the form of an orange and blue dragon. He was really, really
pretty and Paul loved pretty things so much that before he could stop
himself, he found himself walking forewords a little bit too quickly,
moving as fast as his long legs could carry him.
Asufirso saw him first. “Yes?” he
asked, watching the man with long black hair. Hmm…. He was a different
type of human, so maybe he would look better if he mimicked the
stranger’s lanky frame.
“I think I like you.” He gushed.
“Will you two come live with me?”
It was harder than just saying
that, of course. Anjeli had been occupying one of the rooms that had
once belonged to candidates, but once it was revealed that both did
know Shy very well, it was easy moving all of Anjeli’s stuff into
Paul’s house. It was a large house, and even Asufirso liked it.
Of course, Asufirso liked Paul,
because Paul was the first man to gush that away about his appearance.
Paul, being stalkingly curious
about this bonding thing decided the stick around for it as well. There
were so many beautiful dragons! Maybe he could take one home? He wanted
to own someone really pretty as well.
***
Dragon
Name: Yambara Jariane
Bond: Paul
Gender: Female
Breed: 1/2 Daemon(2), 1/8 Light, 1/8 Fire
Mother: Shandura
Father: Ontellonji Jariane
Height: 16'
Length: 64'
Colour: Silver
Number: 18
Personality: Yambara loves men like Paul... if he likes expensive
things, then she likes expensive people! She's not exactly a mooch, nor
quite a 'fag hag', but she does delight in being looked at and envied
over by Paul's friends! When it comes to Shy... well, his love of
pastries may well be challenged. She certainly does have a sweet tooth
(and an expensive one, at that!)
Abilities: Verbal Speech, Psionics (Telepathy and Telekinesis), Genetic
Manipulation (In Offspring)
