Closed Date Night [Duron]

[Ayatah]

Riverfall was a majestic city. When the Myrian people claimed that the barbarian cities that lay outside the jungle were nothing in comparison to Taloba, Ayatah suspected that none of them had laid eyes on Riverfall. It was hard to imagine anywhere more beautiful -- even though it did irk Aya's Myrian pride just a tad to admit it.

Ayatah had never been to the White Crane before, lacking the adult kind of company that was welcome to the chic tavern. As she stepped inside after Duron, the warm smell of alcohol and spices, as well as the dull murmuring of other parties, greeted Aya. Indeed, the tavern was already buzzing with people. Servers dashed to and fro, whilst sophisticated-looking men and woman lingered at bars and at tables. Only the low hum of a trumpet or the rumble of percussion instruments punctuated their voices, the band warming up before the first nightly performance.

She watched Duron go, her hand tingling coldly as his hand retreated away. She missed his presence almost immediately, though the Myrian could see her companion speaking to the male maître 'd. She suddenly felt awkward, like the start of a bad joke: so a Myrian walks into a bar...

Thankfully, Duron returned after only a short while, as did Ayatah's excitement. She welcomed him back with a smile and said, "sounds perfect." But soon her smile dissolved as she watched her date closely. His body language had changed dramatically since they had walked into the White Crane. He seemed nervous: constantly jittering and barely moving his gaze from off the floor. Briefly Aya frowned, glancing around the room with dark, hard eyes, silently challenging whoever had dampened Duron's mood. And then she noticed how many people were looking in their direction: some merely glanced fleetingly, whilst others seemed to be outright staring -- until Aya stared right back.

So what if people stare? She thought, suddenly irritated by all the other people in the tavern. The Myrian wanted to defy them, or at least give her and Duron's audience something worth staring at. And - more importantly - she wanted to reassure her companion. He seemed weighted down by the unwanted attention.

So Ayatah sidled up to him, placing her hands on chest before moving them up so her forearms came to a rest on his shoulders, her hands touching the back of his neck. "I'm glad we'll have our own table and space." She said in a low voice, trying her best to draw her date's attention back onto their evening and their previous shared excitement. Those dark eyes searched his face fleetingly, trying to find some source of relief or at least distraction. And then she touched her lips against his, holding her body closely against his warmth.

[Duron]

The voices around him seemed to grow louder and louder with each passing chime, and the anxiety growing in the cyan giant was getting close to the breaking point, but something remarkable happened to quiet the mind of Cerulean. Ayatah walked close to him, slipped her hands around his neck, and kissed him. Duron accepted the kiss and pulled the myrian woman close to his body. As he kissed her, it was remarkable how a simple gestures as a kiss could bring clarity to the large man. Ayatah choose him as her companion tonight, so he didn't want her to regret her decision. Duron knew that he needed to relax and fight the urge to lash out, but he knew it was easier said than done. Eventually, Duron pulled away from her, peered into her dark brown eyes, and said with a smile, “Sorry Aya. I am not much of crowd person, but I will brave them for you...” The akalak didn't want to let her go, but the host came up to them and said with a nod, “I...hope I am not interrupting anything, but your table is ready, Sir and Madam.”

Duron removed his hands from her waist, took Ayatah's hand again, and followed the host up the stairs. The Cerulean kept stealing glances at the woman besides him as he walked up the stairs. It was amazing that myrian who were know for their cruelty and barbaric nature could be as elegant and graceful as any woman in Riverfall. Duron recalled his father telling Aferan about how their mother could be as crude as any sailor in the docks, but when she wanted too, she could mingle with even the most up tight aristocrats in Riverfall. He knew that he would never be able to marry Ayatah like his father married his vantha mother, but he could still try to feel what his father felt for his mother. It was sad way to think of trying to grasp for crumbs under the table, but even crumbs are something. When they made it to the top of the stairs, he noticed that the first table was occupied by a akalak and a human woman. The host led them around the circle and noticed most of the balcony tables were occupied by other guests. Eventually, they made it to a table with a single light candle in a glass candle holder with two table settings. The host nodded to them both and said with a weary smile, “I will let you get situated before I let the server know you are here. The music should start in a bell, so I hope you enjoy your time with us.”

When the host left, Duron sat down in his chair and looked over at the beautiful woman sitting in the chair in front of him. Looking over the ledge, the akalak saw the musicians fiddling with their instruments. The akalak was definitely happy that he choose a balcony seat because the floor was quite crowd with tables around the circular stage. On the balcony, there was a lot less tables, and they were spaced far enough part, so Ayatah and himself could have private conversation without anyone eavesdropping. It was amazing walk over to the restaurant, but he still wanted to get to know her. Deciding to break the ice with a joke, the akalak looked over at Ayatah and asked with a smirk, “That is quite a ways down... if I happened to drink to much tonight, make sure I fall the opposite direction from the edge. I doubt the flutist will break my fall...” Leaning over, the akalak rested his elbows on the table and propped his chin in his hand and asked with a silly grin on his face, “Now onto the interrogation....what is your favorite color, Ayatah of the Shattered Bones?”

[Ayatah]

Ayatah smiled, pleased that her companion seemed to be put at ease once again. She of all people understood the difficulties of judgement from others, and having grown up as a half-breed in Taloba, the Myrian knew how stares and whispers could haunt an individual. "Don't apologise." She murmured as they began to follow the host to the other side of the bar.

The table was beautifully set, but simply so with only a sole candle standing in its very centre. The low light and now somewhat dulled sounds of murmured conversation set about a rather romantic, sultry atmosphere to the tavern. She thanked the host briefly before he left, then Ayatah slid down onto her chair. As Duron made reference to the deathly fall back down to the restaurant below, the Myrian grimaced. "It'll certainly keep me from drinking too much." She said, turning her dark eyes back onto her male company.

His question - so innocent, yet something she had never been asked before - made Ayatah chuckle. "Orange." She replied, after giving her answer quite some thought. Her initial response had been to say green, to match the jungle she had grown up in. But then she had realised that, as much as she appreciated Caiyha's creation, the jungle was a place far behind her now. "What about you, Duron? What's your favourite colour?"

She considered what else she wanted to know about the Akalak: his parents, his childhood, his favourite food, his favourite drink, what he enjoyed doing in his spare time. Ayatah was desperate to learn all she could about the male, and yet something held her back. Something was stopping the Myrian from lying her desires and questions out on the table between them.

Kuame.

The woman sighed, brushed a hand through her hair and then set her palms upon the tabletop. "Duron," she said, her voice only half-serious, yet her stomach knotting already with the weight of the confession she was about to make. "There is something I should tell you before we start about the task of getting to know each other," another nervous sigh escaped from her lips before Ayatah finally said those four words: "I have a son. His name is Kuame and I adopted him late last year. I know that this may put off some men but--" she shrugged, suddenly feeling very open and vulnerable to abandonment. Ayatah did not want Duron to up and leave, but she owed it to herself, him, and of course Kuame, to be honest about her life. "--I like you, Duron. It's strange, because men haven't been of interest to me for the past two years, but you seem to break through that. So I had to tell you about him, about Kuame."

[Duron]

Duron made a mental note about Ayatah liking the color orange. He wondered the reason why, but she asked him what his favorite color. Duron would have to say purple because it was the color his mother's hair used to shimmer, so his father told. However, Aferan enjoyed the color blue because it was the color of the sky and the ocean. Such a simple question, but the answer or answers are the truly intriguing part. The akalak smiled when she said orange than he answer her question, “My favorite color is purple because it was the color my mother's hair used to shimmer...”

Duron was about to elaborate, but the cerulean could tell by the change of her demeanor that something was troubling her. He could tell earlier that she was nervous before he kissed her. At the moment, Ayatah seemed to resume the same awkwardness, but the reason for it was truly shocking. She had a son named Kuame. Suddenly, he felt a loss for words, but he realized that he should say something. Ayatah admitted that she liked him in a romantic way, and she wanted to be open with him even if she risked him rejecting her. How could he reject a woman over the fact that she opened her heart to a child in need of a parent? He wasn't Aferan. However, Duron was starting to realize if she told him for a reason. If he wanted to be with her, he needed to be there for her son, but how can he do that if he didn't know if he control his fits long enough to be safely around a child. It was part of the reason the council forbid the members of the Cerulean from getting married. A relationship with Ayatah would be so much easier with her because he knew from the spar earlier today that she could defend herself against him, but could Kuame?

Duron reached out, took her hand, and said with a smile, “Ayatah, you must have a big heart to take in a child into your home and raise him as your own. This speaks volumes of you as a person and a mother...” Squeezing her hand, Duron looked into her brown eyes and stated, “I like you too, Ayatah, and I would love to meet the one light in your world....” Letting out a sigh of his own, Duron said gently, “However, I need to be honest with you. There is a real danger behind my green eyes that you need to know, so you can decide if I am worth the risk to be around your son and...you.” At this moment, the akalak wished that fate would have made him normal. Was wishing a normal life just a dream? He knew that he could be happy with Ayatah, but he was always going to be dangerous and unstable. He was always going to part of the Cerulean Cult till the day he died. Maybe a normal life with a family and a loving wife was just a dream that he would never have.

[Ayatah]

Ayatah released a sigh, and huge amount of relief came with it. She had shared her not-so-deep-and-dark secret, and thankfully Duron had acted remarkably well. He had even turned this news into a means of complimenting Ayatah - and she blushed ever so slightly as he spoke.

But so sooner had this relief relaxed her nerves, were they tightening up again, turning into a knot in her stomach once more. The Akalak was speaking of risk and danger once again, and it dulled down that sense of hope Aya had allowed to flourish in her mind. Part of the reason she had decides to live in Riverall, and not in Taloba, was to protect Kuame from the many dangers that lingered in the jungle. But it appeared that, in pulling her son out of the jaws of a Myrian tiger, Aya had instead dragged Kuame into a very different type of risk.

"I know." She murmured quietly, her dark eyes fixated on her fingers, currently cradled by Duron's far larger and distinctly blue hand. She would be her utmost to protect Kuame from almost any threat she could imagine; Zith, thief, child snatcher... But Duron was an all-together different type of danger, one that she could not imagine doing any harm to her son. It was a difficult thing for the Myrian to swallow.

"I appreciate your honesty, Duron, and so I'll do the same." Clearing her throat, Ayatah glanced up to watch him evenly in the face. "Kuame means the world to me, and I would do anything for him. But as a mother, I've come to learn that sometimes doing the best for my son means doing what is best for me." She gestured briefly to the romantic setting around them, the dress she wore and finally to the Akalak himself, "that's why I'm here, because I realise that I don't want to be alone in the world, with only a six-year-old for company."

She was losing her point: what was it she had meant to say? Ayatah fumbled over her next few words in an uncharacteristic state of nervousness. Finally the Myrian gave another short, somewhat frustrated sigh. "What I mean is: until you give me a reason to think otherwise, I want to... y'know?" Now her hand flickered between herself and Duron, indicating her desire to bring the two together in whatever way she meant. "I want to continue spending time with you and... well, kissing. And beyond."

Those final two words were said with a quirk of her eyebrow and a dangerous smirk on her lips. And with that, Ayatah said all she wanted to on the topic of her son and the potential danger Duron posed to him. "So... other than losing to a Myrian in a spar, how else do you spend your time?"

[Duron]

Listening to Ayatah, the myrian woman seemed to understand that he was potentially dangerous, but she wanted to take the risk for her own sake. To Duron, he was grateful that she was willing to take such a risk for a chance at their happiness. If she was willing to take a chance with him than he will do his best to control the insanity for the sake of her and her son. When she asked if he understood what she meant about breaking up with him for the sake of her and her son's safety. Duron just said with a nod, “I completely understand, Ayatah. I just wanted you to know, so you knew what to expect, but we can talk about it at a different time...” At least, she knew now, so now he could focus on better topics like the reason her favorite color is orange. When she said she wanted to spend more time with him and kissing him, the akalak gave a small chuckle and said with a smirk, “I am happy you enjoy kissing me because you are the first woman that I ever kissed....”

When Ayatah took a shot about losing his match to her, Duron took his hand away and laughed out loud, “Wow! Your going to hold this spar over my head the rest of our lives...aren't you?” Pointing a finger at her, the akalak looked into her brown eyes and said with nod, “I live a vary long time, Aya, so even if I don't beat you right away, I will beat you eventually that is a promise. I might have to wait till you're old and grey, but I guess a win is a win...” Duron's mood had changed quickly, but he wanted to get away from serious topics. The akalak looked at the woman and answered her question, “When I am not training, I spend a lot of my spare time in nature. I enjoy the solitude of not being around to many people. As you could tell earlier that I was nervous around the crowds in the restaurant. It wasn't because I was worried that they were judging me. I know where I stand as a Cerulean in akalak society, and I accepted it. I just don't get many opportunities to spend time with normal people in a social setting when I am not a job. Anyways, I am rambling...” Duron chuckled to himself and continued, “I am hunter by trade and pleasure. I hunt with a spear normally, but I eventually want to learn how to use a bow. Trust me it gets kind of frustrating trying to throw a six foot pointy stick at a rabbit the size of my head. I think I invented curse words in my frustration!”

Duron ran a hand through his black hair and looked at the musicians below them. They looked liked they are just about to start, but he figured that they will still have sometime to converse before the performance. Duron looked at her and decided to tell her about other things that he enjoyed in his spare time, “Honestly, a lot my spare time goes to into my physical training. I need to stay in shape for my survival as a soldier, so I often spend time in the gym working out, weapon training, and martial arts in my spare time. Often I spend time jogging around the city.” He knew soldier wasn't the correct word for his job as a cerulean, but he it was the best job comparison that he could think off. In reality, he would be a spy or a assassin. Duron looked at her and asked with a smirk, “I hope you don't get offended, but is beating up males part of courting ritual in Taloba, or do you just enjoy beating up poor defenseless blue men in your spare time?”