A Chance Encounter (Sade)

[Ronin]

This woman didn't cease to amaze Ronin. She was only person he had ever met who could say "Don't flatter yourself" then follow it up with a compliment. Ronin knew she had the upper hand on him in the conversation, since every time he had made an attempt at getting her to warm up to him, she had shot him down. When she wished him luck it just further confused him. Did she really want him, or was this just another taunt? Ronin had given up trying to figure her out. It didn't seem to matter what he did. She responded the same to everything, bait him in and then reprimand him for it. He was going to try to turn on the charm, and if that didn't work he didn't have anywhere else to go. It was time for flattery. "You've done a lot of things tonight, you've flirted with me, you've threatened me, you may have even insulted me. I'm not sure. But there is one thing I wont permit you to do, and that is lie to me." Ronin did his best to remain serious and flirtatious at the same time. "You say there are women better looking than you, but I don't believe it. They certainly aren't any in here, and I high doubt there are any in the city. I can honestly say you are the most attractive woman I've met, and I will not stand you putting yourself down like that." He obviously wasn't as outraged as his words implied, but he was genuine in the meaning. She was, in his opinion, by far the most attractive woman in the room. And the fact that there was a slim chance of her sleeping with him put her above the anyone else he had met. When she started focusing on how much time Ronin spent watching people, he knew he had made a mistake. Why couldn't I just make up a believable lie? He thought to himself. He had already said too much, and defending himself would be of no use. And it was not as if he would have had a chance to speak anyway, as she suddenly jolted out of her seat and sat on the table. Ronin was speechless. What was this girl doing? Besides, giving Ronin an ample view of her body, that is. He tried hard to keep his eyes on her face, and, for the most part, he succeeded. And once again she chastised him for his actions. He couldn't understand why she was spending time with someone she seemed to have such a low view of. "Didn't I just tell you? I don't dance. Not out of some smug superiority, no, it is because I simply can't dance. I'm am unskilled beyond belief. I will have to be drunk out of my mind, before I will even walk onto that dance floor." Ronin smiled and shook his head. It would either take a lot of persuasion or a lot of alcohol to get him to dance. He didn't think he was a 'sad case' as she had put it. He just didn't enjoy making a fool of himself. He motioned to the waitress to bring them another round. When she came by, he grabbed both tankards, taking a long sip from one and holding the other in front of his companion.

[Sade]

Sade was somewhat shocked that Ronin thought she had insulted him. She had never done anything of the kind! Why was it that people had come to believe that outspoken and utter truth was equivalent to an insult? Sade never meant to insult anyone. She simply meant to tell them life how it was. Some people appreciated it, found it refreshing. But others found it offensive when she pointed out what everyone could see but only she had the guts to say. The ones who were offended, she found, were the ones who were truly not happy with their existance, but too timid or arrogant to do anything about it. Sade, because she was so truthful all of the time, knew when people were lying. And to an extent, Ronin was lying. The most beautiful girl he had seen, ever? Exaggeration was the most common, and the most recognisable, form of untruth. Sade could recognise it in seconds. They lived in Wind Reach, with hundreds of extremely attractive, fiery, passionate, red haired Inarta around them every day, and Sade was absolutely the most attractive lady he had seen? Yes. And Ronin's hair was the sexiest she had ever seen. Sade snorted at the man, amused he was trying to flatter her with lies and deceit. Surely he had noticed by now that she appreciated honesty in approaches? "I am not the most attractive woman in Wind Reach and you know it. Surely you realise this is not me being modest. I do not do modesty. If I was the most attractive woman in Wind Reach, you would all know it from my own mouth. Flattery, contrary to popular belief, dear Ronin, does not get you everywhere - it gets you nowhere." She accepted the second tankard of alcohol without so much as a thank you. There was no point thanking someone for something they said they were going to give you anyway - the word was redundant. Again, she took a long draught of the warming mixture, sighed and shook her head at the man. "Well, you're rather boring. I'm going to dance. That's what a dance club is for - dancing, not creeper staring at the other patrons." Sade plonked the tankard down, the liquid splashing a little out onto the table, and swung her legs over Ronin and stood up. She walked confidently out, alone, onto the dance floor and turned to the man. Her arms folded, her eyebrows furrowed, as if to say "You're not going to leave me out here all alone, are you?"

[Ronin]

Ronin was frustrated that he could do nothing to please her. Couldn't she just take a compliment? If he would have been as brutally honest as her, he would have expressed his growing annoyance. However, he actually had a concern for how he made others feel, so he kept his mouth shut on the subject. But once again, he felt bad for upsetting her. Even if she was upset with everything he did. He was beginning to run out of ways to salvage his time her, and he seriously considered ignoring her and going back to what he was doing before she arrived. But, as she hadn't neglected to point out, he knew what he did here was strange and a bit sad. Sade had emphasized her our honesty so Ronin decided he would be honest with her. Not about her flaws, but at least about her positives. "Fine, you want the truth? I'll level with you, and if you don't like it you can feel free to leave." He paused. His mind was rushing to compile his thoughts into a well thought out format. "I honestly don't know what it is you want. I tried acting like most of the uncivilized patrons here, because I thought that is what you wanted, but you didn't. I put myself down, because I thought you were self-important and wanted someone to worship you, but you didn't. I tried to be honest with you about why I was here, and all you did was put me down. Finally, I tried to flatter you, hoping that a nice ego-stroking was all you needed, but yet again, I was wrong. So now, I'm going to tell you what I think about you and what I want. If you don't like that, feel free to leave me alone to my 'sad case' life." Ronin barely even took a breath through that entire rant, and he wasn't about to let her stop him now. "I think you are way out of my league, and I don't even know why you have put up with me this long. The reason I've tried all these things is because when I'm myself, I am nowhere near as outgoing as you. Now I'm willing to try to be what you want me to be, but you're going to have to tell me what that is, because all I want is a pleasant evening where we are both happy with our night." Ronin finally stopped long enough for her to say something. He ignored her comment about dancing for now. If she still wanted him to dance after this, he would. But he felt pretentious to assume she would do anything other than slap him and walk off. He had put himself out there, now it was time to see if she would crush him or accept him for it.

[Sade]

oocSorry it's so short. At last. A genuine reaction from a man who had chosen to be completely ungenuine up until this point. Sade could not help but grin as he released his frustrations at her. She loved this part everytime. Where she got someone to realise just how freeing the truth was, where all their pent up emotions and anger and irritation at society exploded in pure, beautiful Truth. At the end of his rant, she burst into applause - applause that was not in anyway sarcastic. "That is Truth, my friend! You have tried to be what I want you to be, whereas really, I just want you to be you. I want you to be honest and forthright. If you had been that in the first place instead of flattering me with false exaggerations and flatterations, perhaps I would have respected you more." She paused, leaning into him, close and whispering, as if to impart the importance of this statement. "People are interesting because they are them. Not because they try to be who others want them to be." Sade stood in the middle of the dance floor, alone, after she had told him everything. Her arm was still outstretched, and her smile was bigger than ever - she was glad that the Truth had come out of his mouth. Truth was important. "Dance with me?"

[Ronin]

With a reluctant look, Ronin rose out of his chair and walked over to where Sade stood. His avoidance of dancing did not come from a distaste for it but from inability. He had never learned to dance, and he was not eager to make a fool of himself right after he had finally figured out what she liked. The only thing he knew was what he had watched others do here, but seeing it and doing it were two totally different things. It seemed that the first rule of dancing here was that you must have every inch of skin touching that you possibly can. Ronin had no problem with this, but he felt awkward as he advanced toward her. He didn't know what the balance was between accepted and too much. So he made up his mind to stop only a couple inches away from her and let her decide how much contact they would make. She hadn't seemed to have any qualms with being up close and personal so far, so Ronin assumed that her choice would probably be even more than he was really comfortable with. When he reached her began to move slowly to the beat. Ronin didn't look as awkward as he felt, but it wasn't hard to tell he didn't know what he was doing. "If you want honestly, then I'll tell you this. I don't know how to dance; at all. So you will have to show me." He smiled and waited for her to make a move. If she wanted to dance lewdly like many of the other, then they would dance in that manner. However, Ronin wasn't about to start anything with this girl. There was no knowing how she would react. Ronin decided to have some fun with Sade's ideology that being one's self was best. "Let's talk philosophy for a minute. So, if you want me to be myself, and that is why I'm being myself, then am I being myself or who you want me to be? In fact, how do you know that I am being honest at all?" Ronin smiled. It was obvious he was bring this up as a joke and didn't expect a serious answer if she didn't want to give one. This was his way of making small talk, and he didn't mean anything by it. He was clearly having fun, despite being out of his sphere of comfort with this girl.

[Sade]

oocShort posts. Been lacking inspiration for this thread. Perhaps we should think about winding it up? Sade smiled as he made his way up to her from his seat in the corner. What a successful day. Not only had she induced truth in him, but he had made the decision to get up from the sidelines and actually do something. There was hope for this man yet, hope for him to discover truth and discover society and get involved. The first step for being involved was him doing what he was doing now - standing up and making his way over to the dance floor. She smiled as he stopped further away from her, as if he weren't sure where the boundaries are. Sade would show him, but that would take away the fun of him finding out himself. She stood where she was, did not move to close the gap. If he wanted to do that, he would have to do so himself. Sade was not there to force him into anything. The beat was pounding rhythmically, and Sade could not help but move her hips to the beat. She smiled and reached out grabbing his shoulders. "Keep doing what you're doing. The music will take you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled up at him, still moving her hips against his body. "Hi." She smiled at him, glad he was thinking. "You're being yourself. I just ... encouraged you into being yourself. Now, shut up and dance." She ground her hips into his to get him moving. After all, that is what one did at a dance club, right?

[Ronin]

Ronin had never liked the idea of dancing, since he thought that those who did it looked foolish. However, with Sade's hips pressed tightly against his body, it didn't see so bad after all. When she placed her hand's on his shoulders he grabbed her hips pulling himself closer to her. Thanks to Sade's rhythm, Ronin was beginning to catch the beat and moved to match his partner. Once he had caught on, Ronin no longer needed his hands on her hips to keep the beat. So he slowly moved them up from her hips to her waist and then to her sides. He was still far from talented, but he was better than he expected. Ronin followed Sade's instruction and didn't say a word. He was perfectly content to dance for now. Speaking was what had gotten him in trouble in the first place. His body language was much more honest, and from that it was clear he was enjoying this. Ronin continued to let any space between them disappear as he became more comfortable. However, he still didn't know exactly what to do with his hands, but he was also embarrassed to ask. He fought with himself in his mind, trying to convince himself that he was doing okay, and he didn't need to ask her anything. But his self-conscious fears won out. Perhaps, admitting his short coming would win point with her. After all, she like honesty. "Umm.. what exactly am I supposed to do with my hands?" He spoke with an awkward smile on his face. It was apparent that he was embarrassed, but he also wanted to learn, so he put up with the feeling for a short time.

[Sade]

oocGood place to end it? Sade smiled at Ronin. He looked so awkward, dancing with her, though slowly he seemed to be relaxing more and more, his movements flowing easier than they were before. Sade could not help but squeeze his neck for a moment, drawing her body against his, as if in congratulations that he had made it out onto the dance floor at all. She chuckled at his question, and unlinked her hands from around his neck. Trailing them slowly down his chest as they ground hip to hip to the beat, she placed her smaller hands lightly on his. She stroked his wrists, his fingers. "Right where they are is fine," she murmured, squeezing them as they rest on her sides. All of a sudden, she pulled back. A large grin was on her face. She stepped back a couple of paces, stopping moving to the beat, completely disentangling from him. She wanted to be as far away as possible from him, so that he could make an informed decision - not at all influenced by her gyrating body. "You told the truth. I'm glad. You deserve a reward... a night with me, perhaps?" If you asked Sade, she would not say she had seduced him at all. She had simply shown him Truth and been honest and forthcoming. Hopefully, now, he would be too. She held out a hand, waiting to see if he would take it. If he did, she would take him to her room she shared in the Eagle Aeries with her brother and they would spend the night there. If he did not, however, she would simply drop his hand and thank him for a fun evening, wishing him good luck on his endeavours with life and honesty. It was not the sex that mattered - it was the Truth.

[Ronin]

oocI think I want to leave some ambiguity as to what happens, if you don't mind. I'll submit it for grading.

[Flicker]

Character: Ronin Skill Experience Award: Observation 3, Seduction 2, Acting 1, Dancing 2 Lores: Planning to go unnoticed during a night on the town Letting others beat each other up Knowing he's sexy Forgetting he's sexy When consideration gets a man nowhere Primping the hair Following the social example working to socialize pleasantly with someone seriously lacking social skills Some Kinda Arrogant Offering to change self for sex Winning the challenge Eschewing anxiety of trying to impress a pretty girl to be himself Prudently shutting up Barroom mating habits Not in control of the situation Valiantly asking for instruction at the risk of embarrassment Over coming fear of the dance floor Letting the girl take the lead Not letting a person's horrid personality change his first lustful perception of them Sade XP: Teaching 2, Observation 3, Dancing 2 Lore: Helping another be honest Enthusiastically wasting time with "frivolous" endeavors Being a bitter old hag before her time Torturing self to avoid a brother's torture Sickeningly in denial Leaving a hopeful suitor in the dust Storming the introductions Boggled by people's negative reactions to her bitchiness Reading between the lines Obsessing over honesty By untactfully inflammatory Deliberately spinning honesty to be inflammatory Fixating on her own sexual appeal In denial about arrogance Having good enough lungs to down half a tankard of ale in a single sip Proud over her own honesty Self absorption Somehow managing to do some good amongst all that self absorption Jumping to erroneous conclusions (almost facetiously) Downing a drink she'd already finished Showing affection out of pity Inviting the pupil home Taking the lead Comments: These two characters are something else. Interesting read! If you find something I've missed or made a mistake with, feel free to communicate with me via PM or office.