Rotxo was outside her house an entire half hour early. Kiri was still in her pajamas, eating breakfast with her mother, when he knocked on their front door. Kiri answered it, instantly feeling her face flush with embarrassment. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and let him in, hiding behind the front door until he was past. She then sprinted up the stairs, hurriedly getting ready. She heard Rotxo speaking downstairs, followed by Neytiri's laugh. Kiri smiled to herself as she blow dried her bangs. She did one last once-over of her room, making sure she didn't forget anything. She had decided to start bringing her camera places with her. She was seeing too much beauty to let it go uncaptured. Kiri packed it in its case and slung it across her chest, heading out her bedroom door.
Kiri ran downstairs and found her mother sipping her morning tea, with Rotxo for company. He was clutching a glass cup of tea with both hands, holding it close to his face and blowing on it to cool it off. Kiri grinned. "Are you guys having tea? Without me?" Neytiri shrugged. "He asked me if I prefer tea or coffee. He told me he liked coffee more, so I had to show him what he was missing."
the group🌺🏊🎸🎨🏄🏽♂️🥍:
(kiri) i come downstairs and see rotxo in my kitchen right (kiri) tell me why why this mf is drinking tea w my mother rn
(rotxo) Mrs. Tshaka-Sully's black tea 💯🔥
(lo'ak) damn right
After Rotxo finished his tea, Neytiri handed her an insulated water bottle full of tea. "With honey and lemon," she murmured, tucking a piece of Kiri's hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead gently. "Love you, Ommi," she whispered, smiling at her in thanks. Kiri grabbed her bag and motioned for Rotxo to follow her out to his car. "Wait," she called, leading him back behind the house. "It'll only take a second." Kiri went into her mother's garden, leaving her bag by the gate. "Pspspspsp," she whispered, crouching low to the ground. She heard a chirp and looked up to see her green-eyed tuxedo cat slink towards her. Rotxo squatted down beside her gently, careful not to spook her cat. "This is Grace," Kiri whispered, holding out her hand. Grace rubbed her cheek against Kiri's fingertips, purring softly. "She likes to stay in the garden when she's not in my room. Ommi says she's something of a botanist." Rotxo laughed softly. "Put your hand out," Kiri murmured. He did so gingerly. Grace sniffed his hand hesitantly and sneezed. Kiri grinned at his surprised expression. "Cmon, Kiri, we gotta go," Rotxo urged, getting to his feet. She nodded and stood. "Bye, Gracie girl," she called over shoulder as she followed him out to his car, grabbing her bag as she went.
the group🌺🏊🎸🎨🏄🏽♂️🥍:
(rotxo)
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(rotxo) i also met grace the "botanist" today
Kiri elbowed his arm lightly. "Stalker. Taking pictures of me when I'm not even looking." Rotxo grinned. "Wrong. I took a picture of Dr. Grace, the botanist. You just happened to be next to her." Kiri rolled her eyes and let him open the passenger side door for her. As Kiri sat, she was instantly bathed in a wave of pine-scented air. "Mm. It smells nice in here." Rotxo grinned widely at her. "Really? Does it?" Kiri nodded. He smiled down at the steering wheel and muttered something about air fresheners while he started his car. "I would let you get on aux, but the only thing that works in here are CDs," Rotxo apologized, fishing around in his center console for something. "Here. I think you'll like this one." He handed her a CD in a thin plastic case. Something had been sharpied on the front in thick red marker. "'Rotxo, Reya, and Ao's adventures: part 5'?" she asked, smiling over at him. He laughed softly. "Yeah. Our most recent CD. We have nights every couple of months or so where we burn new ones." He paused. "We use my van for, like, trips and stuff, because it's so big. One time, we ripped out all of the seats and crammed an air mattress back there!" He pointed over his shoulder excitedly. "Oh, but don't look back there now, it's a huge mess," he hurriedly added, pulling his hand back.
"Okay. We gotta go. Buckled?" He looked over at her to check. She grinned, tugging on the buckled seat belt in demonstration. "Great. Put that CD in. Just there." Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol started playing. Kiri blinked. "Really? Neteyam loves this song." Rotxo shot her a curious look. "Interesting. Ao'nung put this song on here, I'm pretty sure." She leaned across her arm rest, eyes narrowing suspiciously. "How sure?" she questioned. Rotxo's eyes darted between her and the road. "Oh, I'm very sure," he murmured, focussing his attention back on his driving. "Hmm. Do you know something?" Rotxo blinked. "Know what?" She regarded him, taking note of his slightly widened eyes. Either he really didn't know, or he was bluffing. "Hmmmmm," Kiri muttered, making a mental note to ask Reya how much information Rotxo knew later.
Rotxo was a surprisingly good driver. He stopped at every stop sign for at least 5 seconds, looking both ways. Even Neteyam would blow through them on the way to school. Kiri sipped her tea as they drove, listening to Rotxo's CD. The two of them were making a game out of guessing who put which song on it. "I've figured it out. If it's something that sounds like Tsireya would put on, it was you. If it sounds like Neteyam's music but a little more gentle, it's Tsireya." Rotxo laughed. "And if I have absolutely no clue, it's either you or Ao'nung." "That's pretty accurate, actually," he replied, grinning. "We should make a CD with your music on it. Neteyam and Lo'ak's, too." Kiri scoffed. "Lo'ak's music taste is rancid. It's a mix of asshole gym guy music and Dad's 90s shit." Rotxo grinned. "Perfect. Sounds like a good mix."
They got to school about ten minutes early. They sat in silence for a few moments. Rotxo was fidgeting with his sweater. "Oh, look, I wore my green converse today, too," Kiri said suddenly, picking up her leg to show him. Rotxo smiled at her. "Did you embroider the flowers and stuff?" She nodded proudly. "They're really cool, Kiri. You should do that to mine one day." She shrugged. "You'll have to pay me." He folded his arms across his chest. "No, I don't think I will." Kiri rolled her eyes sarcastically. More silence. "So, what do you like to do?" he asked, looking over at her. "What do I like to do?" he nodded. "You embroider, you like the stars. What else?" Kiri thought for a moment. "Well, I like taking pictures," she said, holding up her camera. "Wanna see some?" Rotxo nodded, grinning.
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