(flashback) A Sign (Hadrian)

[Hana]

She was as pliable as clay as he led her along, save for her hand holding onto him for dear life. It was quite possible she may have even leaned a touch into him when he put his arm about her. When she sat down, she didn't let go of him. It was as if she'd forgotten she had a hold at all. Instead she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped at the place her dress rested over her heart. Her bottom lip trembled as she attempted to calm herself, which eventually she managed to do. Only then did she open her eyes again, allowing them to widen on him as she slowly let her fingers fall off of him. She swallowed, looking down to the ground. Her voice was barely above a whisper, cheeks warming despite the invisibility of her blush, as she said with a bit of a tremble, "Thank you. I... I don't kn-" A deep breath. "I don't know what came over me..."

[Hadrian]

He wasn't sure she appreciated his arm around her shoulders; they were strangers, after all. Still, he kept it there in case it helped at all, and remained quietly present for her benefit. He hadn't let anything happen to her while she was out of control, so perhaps she could take comfort in his presence while she regained it and recovered. "It's all right," he said softly, slowly. "I wasn't sure what was wrong, but I couldn't leave you in the middle of a crowd like that. Was it... the crowd?"

[Hana]

"I..." She looked out over the crowd, taking a moment to chew on her bottom lip as she thought on the question. She gulped, shaking her head slightly. "Not alone. Sometimes I just... The world is so large? And I am so little - So easily swallowed." She glanced at him, giving a little shake of her head. "Perhaps not the crowd. Not alone. Perhaps it was everything at once... I don't..." She chewed again on her lip, turning her head fully towards him then and lifting her eyes. "The sign..." But admitting ignorance was never a wise thing, she remembered. The statement trailed off into silence.

[Hadrian]

He nodded thoughtfully to what he said, though he, on the other hand, reveled in the greatness of the world. If he was small, then so was everyone else. He wanted to see every place, to know all places, to know life and the world and existence in its entirety. As to the rest of it, he put things together: she seemed foreign to Syliras, she was overwhelmed by the crowd, and the sign was the final trigger. "Would you like me to read it to you?" he asked gently.

[Hana]

Her eyes widened on his face, lashes fluttering a few times in a blink or two at him. A still-trembling hand reached out to wrap her fingers about his wrist as if she wanted to be sure that he was actually there. Leaning in the smallest bit, she almost inaudibly whispered, "Really? Would you do that for me?"

[Hadrian]

He blinked awkwardly back at her butterfly flutter of lashes, gulped, and nodded. A quick, faint smile jerked at the corners of his mouth. "Of course, I... I will read it to you and then introduce you to the merchants who might still have some things that aren't supposed to be available, and who will give you better prices."

[Hana]

The smile she gave him was particularly beatific, and the expression on her face was bordering on worshipping. He was, after all, a bit of a savior to her, though perhaps the extreme she was capable of taking it was overdone the slightest bit. Her eyes stayed wide as she started pulling him gently towards the sign, taking careful steps backwards as she practically chirped, “I would be so grateful if you would do that, sir. So very grateful. I’m afraid I don’t understand a word of it, because it has never been something I’ve needed to know. However, the lady of my house of work is quite particular about her meals, and she tends to send quite a few things back to the kitchen – If they are not eaten they are wasted, and that tends to mean money is wasted that could be used for things that truly please her. She has quite a taste for fine silk and cottons. And perhaps imported spirits, though it is neither my business nor my place to speak of such things. Oh, thank you, sir!” It was quite possible that if she got any more excited or happy, this poor stranger was going to get hugged.

[Hadrian]

A nervous smile twitched across his face as she spoke, some previously unknown part of him reacting to the beautiful damsel in distress. He had thought himself immune to such things, but then, few women paid close attention to him anyway. He heard something about food, and imagined eating it off of her body. She said something about silk, and he wondered how soft her skin was. Surely that wasn't exactly the meaning she had been trying to communicate, but his thoughts were divided between two thought centers and the one most coherent was also the one with the simplest desires. "Um, yes. Well, why don't we go see what the sign says, then? Um..."

[Hana]

His reaction, she thought, gave sign that he was not pleased with her talk, though she did seem to ignore the smile gracing his face. Instead she had heard the words. Sometimes expressions, words and feelings did not match. It was safer to assume that one had offended, so she withdrew a little within herself, which seemed to be quite a talent. Still her eyes twinkled, because, even if he wasn’t pleased, she was. Guiding him to the sign, she wrapped an arm about his arm and pressed in close. She blinked up at the words she didn’t understand and waited expectedly for him to explain what she seemed to want to know rather badly even as her face turned back to him.

[Hadrian]

Since there was no longer a crowd surrounding the notice, he pointed to the words so she could follow along while he read. This and that were unavailable until further notice, the price of this was fixed by order of the Council, and of course there was plenty of fish and edible kelp. Hadrian kept glancing to her to see how she was comprehending; it was a very crude and basic way to teach, but she already had a grasp of the language. He just had to help her see how the patterns of squiggles formed the words she knew. "But," he added, "they aren't going to tell you some things... Like I heard the other day that we aren't likely to get many citrus fruits for the next few weeks, so you might want to find some slightly less than ripe oranges or lemons that will last for a while to prevent scurvy. Unless the lady of the house has a bit of an orchard..." He was a little more comfortable when things returned to the realm of the mind: language, economics, logistics. It helped shield him from the effects of her on his arm.