Closed Torn Hearts (Orion)

[Tabitha Aryns]

Winter 52nd, 513AV Soothing Waters Continued from Here When Tabitha left the room, and made her way into the main entrance where her manager Ivis ran the front desk, she had expected there to be someone in armor waiting for his fixed shirt to be given back. Instead there was the normal rabble that came in, keeping Ivis busy, and Tabby in need of a question answered. She motioned for the man’s attention when there seemed to be a momentary bit of peace for him to interact with Tabitha. “Is the owner of this shirt still in the bath, or did he just leave without it?” She held the fixed shirt up, and Ivis gave her and the shirt a look, before replying back. “I believe he’s still in the baths, he may be getting out soon though, so go wait over there by the door.” Ivis pointed towards the exit and entrances lounge couches as he said it. “I’ll direct him to you when he comes out.” Tabitha shook her head, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. “Can’t I just leave the shirt here, sir? My shifts over.” Of course Mr. Balak gave Tabby a look that made her wish she could cringe, and he said with a smile “you’re the one trying to do another’s job, now step up for it, and do as you’re asked Tabitha.” She stared at him, having of practically worked over time, she wanted to throw the shirt into his face but only nodded in submission, there wasn’t any use arguing with her superior if she wanted to keep her job. So Tabitha did as she was asked and moved to stand next to one of the entrance’s lounge couches, not sit, not lounge, but stand next to one. If Tabby sat on the fluffy goodness, she feared that she would end up napping up right, and she really didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t long that the girl who was suppose to work the next shift came bounding into the bath house, disappearing the same way Tabitha had just came out of chimes prior. Eyes following the younger girl with some annoyance. I wonder what excuse she’ll have for them now. It was a short lived thought, as the words of her manager “your shirt is over there, sir” wafted into her ears slowly from afar. Brown eyes flicked to the voice, and saw another man at the front desk, with Mr. Balak gesturing towards Tabitha. When the customer turned and started towards her she had this strong sense of familiarity, had she seen this guy before? Tabitha held the shirt up to the squire, a gnawing feeling in the back of her head as she tried to remember where she had seen him, or if she had even interacted with him. "Here is your shirt sir.." She trailed off, and then added with embarrassment, a light blush settling on her cheeks either because of said embarrassment, or because he was shirtless, it was entirely up to one's own perception. "Uhm, if I may ask, have we met before?"

[Orion Michaels]

The training had been brutal, and it left him exhausted. Fighting from horseback was something he’d detested more than anything. Not that he had any issue with the fighting part. There was peace to be found in the midst of battle, in the clanging of steel, and in the pouring of sweat and blood. He’d actually found himself enjoying the strenuous physical activity. This issue was not what was in his hands, but what was between his legs.

The horse.

Dirty, sticking, disgusting horses.

He hadn’t figured out how to effectively fight from a mount, and as a result, he had been upended from his place atop the steed’s back. While normally being removed from a horse was a good thing, it was far from such a thing when he was forced to combat a mounted warrior while he was on foot. If the training had been real battle, Orion knew he would have been dead on the field. Fortunantely, he’d been left with nothing more than a dislocated shoulder. A trip to the medic later, he was fine.

But he still smelled like horse.

To top it all off, his shirt had been torn at the shoulder in their training, so while he went about getting himself cleaned of animal smell, he’d left his shirt to be mended. While he could have simply purchased or ordered a new shirt be made, he quite liked the simple white shirt and had chosen to have it repaired. It had, however, left him in quite the awkward situation when it came time to leave. He supposed if there were a place for muscular, shirtless men to be wandering about it would be within the walls of the Soothing Waters.

”By the Gods, Orion! What’s happened to the scrawny doctor I knew? Did you eat him?” Ivis let out a chuckle as his old friend, Orion, approached the counter. ”You were enough trouble before. Good gods.”

The squire chuckled, giving a shrug in reply. ”I can’t help it. I won’t make it a habit of walking around shirtless here, I promise. I just..I need my shirt. Unless you want me wondering Syliras like this.”

”I think you’ll be thrown in the tank on principle. Your shirt is over there, sir,” he teased, waving his former coworker away.

”See you around, Ivis,” replied Orion, making his way over to the woman who’d been highlighted by his long time friend. When his eyes rested on her, his breath stopped momentarily, though he kept walking towards her, as to not rouse any suspicion.

There’s a face I did not expect to see again.

She was a stranger, one he’d met by chance. They didn’t share a bond, a friendship, a connection, or anything like that. What they did both have was a moment of kindness, both perfect and completely uncomfortable at the same time. It almost hurt that she didn’t recognize him.

”I don’t believe so,” he lied, not missing a beat. ”I never forget a pretty face, after all. I’m Orion, and I assume you’re the one that had to deal with my shirt?” Bowing his head, he gave her a sheepish grin. ”I apologize for any trouble it caused you. I try not to bring in shirts right after they’ve been used, but I had little choice in the matter. I do beg your forgiveness..Miss…?” He trailed off, hoping she would fill in the blank on just what the little dark haired woman’s name was.

[Tabitha Aryns]

Tabitha exhaled her disappointment. “Oh…” “Its Tabitha.” She filled in his silence. So it had just been a case of misinterpretation, she didn’t even bat an eyelash at the answer, but the look on her face was crestfallen even as he flirted lightly. Tabitha offered him a small and apologetic smile instead, bashful, at such a compliment. Brushing some of her side bangs behind one of her ears, she gestured at the shirt, and then looked up at him. “Its alright, its just my job.” Overtime, more like it. She added silently to herself, still very much wanting to go relax, but she was having difficulty disentangling herself from the thought she had seen him before, but where, it was driving her up a figurative wall made of one exact question. Gesturing again, at the door, she said with a nervous smile. “I actually just got off my shift, would you like.. To retell how you tore your shirt?” Smooth. Real smooth. Tabitha could almost hear Amanda chime to her all sassy like, she batted the thoughts away, quick pushing it from her mind that she was a little more than just interested in answering a question. Maybe the best place would be over food, and drink, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night, and she felt lunch was in order. On cue her stomach seemed to growl, and rather violently, she really needed to remind herself to eat something in the morning before arriving at work. “Over food?” She added to her question. It took her maybe a tick to understand what she was implying, and quick scrambled to hide her intentions. Pausing in between small chunks of words she internally quailed at her tactless hide. “Er, I mean, if you want to, that is, you don’t have to, I’m just, you seem very interesting is all, and. I.. I.. Yeah.” Stop. Stop. Stop. You are making things worse. Tabitha couldn’t add anything more, she was fairly certain she had just screwed up, and terribly, she blew her chance. This would have been so much easier if she had Amanda at her back.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion's lips dropped into a frown as she reacted to his lie. He'd made the decision unilaterally that they would avoid brining up the topic of their meeting. She'd seemed such a distant woman that day, and Orion didn't want to be the one to lead her back to somber memories. The tears in her eyes and the absolute sorrow and confusion which sat on her expression still sat in his mind. Her thanks for his kindness still burned into his heart. He could still see her hurriedly rushing away from him.

Running like he always did.

"Don't sell yourself short. If not for someone such as yourself, my shirt would still be torn and there would be nothing I could do." After taking the shirt, Orion returned the cotton garment to its proper place on his body. He was glad they were able to save it, though he did wonder if it was actually something he could do himself. The former physician didn't imagine there was terribly much difference between stitching up a wound or mending a shirt. Still, he appreciated the fact that he didn't have to do the work.

A wry smirk spread across Orion's lips as the scene played out. The young seamstress seemed to realize she'd all but asked him out on a lunch date. It was almost smooth, almost natural at first. Not from any particular talent in attracting people - her cuteness had that under control - but from an almost oblivious nature to what she was asking. "I swear, I wasn't trying to get picked up walking around shirtless," he said, chuckling softly."Though if it gets me asked to lunch, I might have to try it a bit more." He brought his finger to his lips, his smirk hiding behind the 'shhhh' he was giving the rambling girl. "Let me see..."

Orion adjusted his shirt on his chest and rotated his arm where the tear had been in order to test the quality of her work. After a few rotations without the shirt tearing, Orion gave a nod towards Tabitha. "Seems pretty good to me. Where are you taking me out to lunch on our date, Miss Tabitha?" The squire tilted his head slightly to the side, inquisitive in his body language, but mischievous in his eyes and action. "I hope to find you interesting, too," he added, raising his eyebrows at her before turning and making his way towards the exit, not giving her a chance to rebut or change her mind.

He was curious about her, though not in the way most would have thought. Their encounter at the Temple of All Gods weighed on him heavily. He had to know if she was a different girl than the tearful one he'd met earlier in the season.

[Tabitha Aryns]

Tabitha kept her tongue silent, watching him bring his finger to his mouth, as the previous blush that had already been lightly tinted on her cheeks now grew, she could feel the heat flush in her face at his reply. The intention hadn’t been to pick him up, so to say, but it seemed just now that she had; it wasn’t like he was bad looking, the man was quite attractive, but Tabitha’s mind was on other things. She didn’t have time to flirt, did she? Following his movements to the shirt, she released a soft sigh, one of relief that he was content with her stitch work. Tabby wasn’t certain if she really wanted to do it over for such a simple tear, especially when she was so ready to leave, and get food. “I’m.. I’m not sure yet.” She replied to his question, averting her eyes towards the door after the word ‘date’ was uttered. They had just met! How could he see it as a date, she would at the very least try to not look at it like one, and oh how Amanda would have had her head for thinking like that. “I hadn’t given it- ah- h-hey.” When he started towards the door, she stood where she was still in surprise at his abruptness; Tabitha could feel Ivis’ eyes boring into the back of her head and could almost imagine a grin as wide as a cheshire cats plastered on her manager’s face at both her, and possibly at Orion. Without a second thought, she ran after Orion, stepping quickly after him and out the door. Moving to walk beside the man, Tabitha held her sewing kit up so he could see it, nervously side glancing at him. Clearing her throat. “Uhm, before we go.. eat.. y’know food. I’d like to put this away.” She then pointed into the direction of the Traveller’s Row. “I live in the Row, so it shouldn’t take too long, I just don't want to lose it.” But now Tabitha had to think of somewhere to eat, the Stallion was her more frequent of visits, most of her meals that she had day and night, she had with her mother as well, were at the Stallion. Though, there was another place, in the docks, but its name eluded her. Tabitha had never been terribly good with names, but she certainly remembered the food, and how good it was. The area felt more like home to her, too. What was it called again. The expression on Tabitha’s face twisted in thought, she knew it was in the dock area, and that her mother, and father, had frequented the tavern often. Ceras had made sure to rehash every fond memory with her husband to Tabitha when ever she got the chance, or depending on how inebriated the older woman was. And Tabby, with her never ending fountain of innocent intentions, had managed to get her mother to take her to the tavern, but in the process accidentally caused some healing wounds to fester. Maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas, but it was better than the Stallion, and if this was to be a date, then at least she would have to try and go to a more unique tavern for it. Right? She hoped that was what Amanda would do. “Do you know where the Croaking Basket is? We could eat there.” She was certain that was the taverns name, as they came up to the Traveller’s Row, and Tabitha’s apartment. Holding her hand up to signal Orion to not follow inside her apartment after her, smiling sheepishly. Fishing for her key, she opened the door and sat the sewing kit down on her bed, calling out behind herself to him. “I don’t really know of anywhere else, besides that and the Stallion place nearby.” Tabitha turned to walk out of her apartment, shutting the door behind her, and locking it. Looking up at Orion with an inquisitive expression.

[Orion Michaels]

"Oh, fun," he said, grinning. He didn't want to scare the girl off, but the squire was tempted to poke more fun at her for just how red her cheeks had gotten. It was certainly a look he enjoyed better than the sad one from their first encounter. Orion found the fact that she didn't deny it to be a date more amusing than those oh-so-rosy cheeks. Not giving her a chance to embarrass herself further, he'd left her abruptly, a soft protest left in his wake.

This was her chance to separate herself from him, escape from the words she'd said. Either that, or follow the squire and begin a rather dangerous game. While Orion was much more careful than he had been in the past, it had still been awhile since he'd relaxed with someone outside the order, Emily, or Hadyn. "Oooh, I like it. Call on me, and then make me wait. Look at you go," he laughed, turning to walk backwards in pace with her. She was a curious one, and he wanted to see her every reaction.

"Ivis been giving you trouble?" His inquiry was innocent enough. Orion had worked with Ivis for many years throughout his life, only seeking entrance to the Order a year prior. Ivis was a helpful man, even though he could be a bit stern with the workers at times. He didn't pry into her choice to live at the Traveler's Row, though it did pique his interest. Was she like he had been, or was she truly new to the city? "Lead on, Miss Tabitha. My day is yours."

The squire followed his new acquaintance to her place of residence, nodding to the familiar faces he saw working around the non-permanent homes. How many times had he wandered these hallways in his days? Stumbling drunkenly back with a beautiful -or so the beer said- woman for a night of debauchery. Doing the same thing sober. Or just seeking refuge from the struggles of day to day life. He'd nearly forgotten what it was like to live on his own. A man of his age was forced to share rooms with the other squires, eat the shyke they were given, and be run into the ground training. A momentary desire for the days of old nipped at his thoughts, but when Tabitha spoke on the 'Croaking Basket', he was snapped back to reality.

It took him a moment to register what she'd said, as he scanned his memories for any location that name. He'd spent the vast majority of his years within the walls of Syliras, so he found it odd that such a place would have escaped him.

Croaking Basket...Croaking Basket...

He absentmindedly followed her into her apartment, barely registering her actions around her home. When she mentioned the Rearing Stallion, he regarded her fully. "Hmm. There's the Rearing Stallion, the White Swan Inn. The Herald's Arms, but I don't think that's the kind of place you take an innocent gentleman like me on a date, and then there's the...That's it. Do you mean for us to lunch at The Broken Casket?"

He'd had a lot of memories near there, both good and bad. If the Rearing Stallion was the working man's pub, then the Broken Casket was for the men who worked for the working men. Stuffed to the brim with dock workers, laborers, and sailors, the knights often had to pay extra attention in the evenings in case someone got too rowdy. At the lunch hour, however, it was likely to be much calmer.

[Tabitha Aryns]

“Its not that I want to make you wait, its just that I’ve been increasingly forgetful lately- can’t very well mend clothes if my only kit is missing.” Tabitha countered, voice level, and expression calm as she added on after his question about her manager. “Mister Ivis has been no trouble at all.” Leaving it at that, as she didn’t want to start a fire, where there should be none; burning bridges was not Tabby’s idea of a good time. Who knew what would travel to her manager’s ears if she spoke her mind openly, and how badly chopped up the end product would have been, it wasn’t something she wanted to deal with. There was a bit of annoyance as he followed her inside her apartment, when she had thought she gestured for him to not come in, but perhaps that had been her fault, she should have said something instead. Tabitha let it go with a mental note following in the decisions wake to speak first, gesture second, the next time she brought a stranger to her doorway. Though it would have been difficult to tell if she was annoyed, her face remained unchanged until he began to speak, softening into a nervous smile. He named off some establishments, two of which she didn’t know had existed, and could only guess at what the ‘Herald’s Arms’ was for. Then there was the Broken Casket, a name that sounded eerily close to the name Croaking Basket that she had offered, was she mistaken again? “I guess I meant the Broken Casket. Its in the dock area, right?” Tabby started to walk away from the Traveller’s Row, assuming Orion would follow, in the direction she presumed to be the docks, but who knew if she had gotten that right either. “I’ll pay for both our meals- since this is something of a date, but if you want alcohol, then thats your business.” Laughing weakly at the prospect of having to buy more of the drink after being guilted into buying large amounts of the substance by her mother. Adding on, in hopes of explaining without going into full detail why she didn’t want to pay for the alcohol too, Tabitha sighed; how were you suppose to even explain that it was your mother’s doing anyway? “I think I’ve bought enough to last me a lifetime, three fold, if thats even possible.” Of course Tabitha was grossly exaggerating the amount spent in the beginning of the season, but between she, and her mother, with the vast majority of the coin drunken away by her mother, it had been a fair bit of mizas. If anything, Tabitha wouldn’t be so quick to open her purse for a stranger, but she understood the barest of basics when it came to a date and she would take responsibility for inciting it. “Uhm, and why.. would I not want to take you to this Herald’s Arms?” It was an innocent question that reeked of the girls naivette curiosity, but she wanted to know.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion wasn't sure if this girl was dense, playing hard to get, or was simply uninterested in any sort of conversation. She reacted with about every emotion but what he expected of her, and when he thought he had an angle on her, she responded plainly and logically to his flirting and teasing. Maybe she did remember who he was, and she was toying with him for not telling her. "That makes plenty of sense," he replied softly, letting the topic drop.

As he absentmindedly entered her apartment, he didn't noticed her look of annoyance as he had missed her motion to wait outside as it were. Before he could really study the interior of the apartment, however, she was ushering him out of her place of residence. He supposed he couldn't blame her, as she seemed to be sitting in a strange place of disinterested interest of the squire. "Indeed it is. I've been there a time or two," Orion said, downplaying the dozens of times he'd entered the doors of the location they spoke on. "Lots of sailors, can get pretty rowdy. The knights keep it from getting too out of hand, though."

He tried not to react to her refusal to purchase alcohol, but he couldn't avoid a rush of thoughts going through his head. It wasn't the first time that a woman had no intention of drinking around him. But it had been in his past, when he was the scourge of Syliran woman left and right. Even those who knew who and what he was would fall victim. Perhaps his reputation hadn't receded enough for him to recover, even with a stranger from outside Syliras' walls. "Fine, you get the food, I'll get the drinks. We can split the burden. I warn you; if you think you can get the better of me and drink me out of house and home, you'll have to wait and see just how much I can eat." He winked and then set about making sure she was heading down the right path. The direction she was taking would indeed get her to the docks, but only in the most roundabout of ways. "Why don't you follow me. I know where it's it at."

He motioned for her to take a different corridor than the one she was heading down, but before he could speak she caught him off guard with a question he wasn't sure how to answer appropriately. If she didn't know what kind of business it was, then there was a reason for that. Orion only knew because he lived in the city, and even then he wished he didn't. For as much as he enjoyed the fairer sex, he wasn't about to pay just to enjoy their presence. "Ah..ahahaha....see, the Herald's Arms...it's not a place you go if you already have someone to share a dinner with. If you're lacking companionship and craving something a little more..physical, that's the place to go. No where you'd want to take an innocent fellow such as much self, I assure you."

[Tabitha Aryns]

“Is that a challenge?” Tabitha’s expression twisted in mildly amused confusion at him, not so much a smile, yet neither a frown, she asked her ‘date.’ For a tick of a moment she considered it, just how much alcohol could Orion drink, and what exactly was her own limit? She’d never gone so far as to get drunk, let alone smashed, mainly because she did not have the time to partake in such boisterous activities, or felt the need to lose herself. Watching her mother drink herself to near oblivion had been enough for Tabitha to look at alcohol in a different light, but Tabby wasn’t her mother, so that wouldn’t happen to her, could it? One stray smile cracked through the seams of calm. “I guess we’ll see, I might take you up on on that.” She was about to enter a corridor that would have lead them towards her mother’s, a habit, nothing more, but found herself a little shaken at the prospect of passing by with Orion. “O-oh.. Alright, lead the way..” Tabby laughed weakly as she changed courses with him and away from her mothers. It would have been just her luck to be caught with a boy on a date by her mother, and would never hear the end of it after embarrassing Tabitha in front of the boy with a lecture on how the old woman doesn’t have grandchildren yet, how terrible that would have been. Not just for Tabby, but for Orion too, she almost shuddered at the thought; every boy had run screaming for the hills after each lecture but there were no hills in Syliras. “We probably don’t want to go that way anyways.” Not today, mother, not today. Tabby thought as she listened to Orion’s round about answer on the Herald’s Arms. Chewing her bottom lip in silence, thinking, on what the establishment could possibly be and by Orion’s description; A place not for innocent gentlemen, those who did not already have companionship, and wanted something a little more physical, and since the place must have some sort of service.. Why it almost sounded like a whore house to Tabby as she ran through the information presented. The word physical had been more of the key indicator on what he was trying to get across; He’s right, I wouldn’t want to take him there. “If that is what I think it is.” Tabby stated rather than questioned, her tone turned to a wee bit of teasing, while glancing over to him. “Wouldn’t want to give you the wrong idea, now would I?” He was a random date, nothing more, and she only had the inkling that perhaps she had met him before. Orion was indeed familiar, she was sure she had seen him before, heard him, but when, where? “Good thing the Croaking Bas-..Broken Casket.. Isn’t anything like that.” Tabby caught herself before she could complete the wrong name, she had to remember it was Broken Casket, not Croaking Basket, it didn’t have frogs or baskets there as far as she could tell. “You’ve still yet to tell me how you tore your shirt. Orion.” Change of subject. Tabby reached to tug Orion’s repaired shirt somewhat cheekily as she mentioned the initial reason as to why they were on this date, but she was not at all trying to be suggestive.

[Orion Michaels]

”Everything is a challenge,” he retorted, his dangerous gaze lingering on her face. Orion was pleasantly surprised by the sudden energy she exhibited in response to his statement. Some people took a while to open up, and he wondered if this young woman had more to her than what she showed outwardly. There was an almost mischievousness about her that he couldn’t quite place. ”I’m looking forward to seeing what you’ve got, then. I can eat and drink with the best of them.” Several years of self loathing and indulgence had taught him skills, both good and bad. Binge drinking was among them, and its quality was in the eye of the beholder.

The squire didn't say anything specific about her initial choice in destination, happily guiding her through the paths of a city easy to become disoriented within. He couldn't help but quip at her statement, however. "Oh? Got an ex-boyfriend who lives down that way? Wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea?" He grinned, but didn't look back at her to let her see his expression. Instead, a voice dripping with exaggeration would do the trick.

He nodded in agreement as it seemed she figured out just what the Herald's Arms was. Not the kind of establishment many women would go out for lunch with someone, and Orion wasn't sure if he'd be interested in the type that would, though it would be a new experience. "You don't have to worry about giving me the wrong idea, I promise." His gaze flicked back over his shoulder for a moment. "I can do that all on my own."

She deflected his comments by steering the conversation back to the shirt, the reason they had met today, and the indirect cause of them going to the Broken Casket. It seemed like she was decidedly making an effort to avoid anything that could be taken the wrong way. Orion responded as only he could.

Coming to a stop, Orion turned to face Tabitha. He leaned down to her height, voice dropping into a hushed whisper. "Oh, Tabitha. What if I told you I saw you working and just had to meet you?" The squire wet his lips with a quick slide of his tongue before continuing to speak, warm breath seeking her ear. "What if I tore my shirt so you would have to fix it, so I could show off my body, and get you to ask me out to dinner, all because I just had to be with you today?"

The squire backed away slowly, biting his lower lip and never breaking his stare on her face. "Or maybe," he continued, letting his voice rise to normal levels,"we should let our lunch conversation wait until lunch. I'm starving." With a wink, Orion was again on his way through Syliras and towards the Broken Casket. He'd listen if she had a reply, but he wasn't going to stop. He actually was quite hungry, and teasing only made it worse.