Her reaction was as surprising as the question that had precluded it. Though her voice and words carried a diluted feeling of the sadness he had considered as a possible response, Lorelle smiled. There was even a strange sense of relief, even happiness in her tone - though to be perfectly honest, Meville wasn't exactly the master of Vani's more intricate sub-verbal cues. It took him completely by surprise, so much so his brain was temporarily unable to translate her Vani into his Common. Blinking blankly at her once she'd finished, Meville's lips frantically twitched as he rushed through what she'd just said, translating enough to allow him a stuttered "Y-you are welcome?" before dazing off into contemplative silence.
Out of all of the possible outcomes he'd though to predict, the current, actual path Lorrelle had chosen was entirely far too far off for him to quickly recover. Her unexpected happiness at the whole situation was not only disconcerting, but it was all too genuine. There was no hidden motive or clever ploy for some sort of self-gain within the gentle curve of her lips or sadly shining eyes. Meville could only chew on his lower lip, staring back into Lorelle's face with a perplexed frown. He was confused, but Lorelle, apparently subconsciously empowered through her perhaps even more subconscious conquering of Meville that night barreled on, only allowing him a few brief moments to himself.
His turn?
Now he grinned, shaking his head so the warm water splashed off of his chin sending mixed sensations of cold and warm as he moved. There really was no one like Lorelle. She was one of the most deceptive people he'd ever met, and he wasn't entirely certain she did it on purpose. What he'd initially thought a silly question, she'd held such gravity for; yet, once she'd responded, it seemed almost like that gravity had been inverted, throwing Meville for a ride while she calmly smiled back at him. With her allowance of his own question now between the two of them, Meville ran a had through his hair, grimacing slightly as he felt frozen bits in it where it had been out of the water for too long. "A question..."
It was good she'd given him something else to think about. Her feelings towards him, towards his answers, could wait to be analyzed at a later time. For the moment, he and Lorelle were having a conversation that he supposed required his mind to be present. Unfortunately, he was - for once - fresh out of questions. She'd already revealed quite a bit about herself to him, either by directly telling him something or through his own deductions. The main puzzle that was Lorelle was not a conglomeration of facts, rather the why behind those "whats". It wasn't a very simple task of inquiring "why", as it didn't translate well outside of the realm of thought. "Why are you the way you are?" or "What is your why?" were about as close as Meville could pin down. Even in Common, they sounded too jocular to be considered anything she'd respond to seriously - or anything he really felt like asking given the circumstances.
Instead, he just shrugged, letting the very tips of his shoulders take a quick breath of the nippy air above them before retreating back into the haven of aquatic warmth around him. "Maybe I will save for later. My question." He winked then, the customary twinkle of his eyes returning to reflect the lights above them in an impish glean. She seemed alright with it, as, again, her mind seemed to be elsewhere. There was, again, that strange, contemplative look upon her face, mixed with a hint of pity. Obviously directed at him, Meville wasn't nearly as surprised at her next statement as he had been with everything else she'd said that night.
"Leave?" She continued on, as was her way, with a more detailed explanation that was only slightly flustered. He tilted his head slightly, his smile a more neutral turn at the corners of his mouth as he studied her. True, there really wasn't a solid reason for him to remain in Avanthal, and it certainly was much more hazardous for he who had no mark than a common Vantha. Still, it wasn't quite as if he'd lived a non-existent life up until that point. There had been adventures: Inarta, Symnestra, tent-men, cursed girls... And there was the Warrens as well. He had a life here but- But Lorelle was right. "Home" was more of an abstracted ideal rather than a physical place, though in Vani "home" was much more literal than "home" in Common - most likely due to the culture the language was based upon. It wasn't surprising at all Lorelle thought of "home" in the Common sense. He still remembered - if only partially - their discussion on love when they'd first met.
His smile deepened some then. How strange they were where they were, after everything that had happened. Never would Meville have ever imagined his life would turn out in such a way, yet it did. He was there with Lorelle in the Springs of Avanthal being told he should leave, not out of anger or spite, but out of genuine care. It was all so strangely peaceful. Meville looked down from Lorelle's face for a moment, gazing down at the softly reflected lights dancing upon the steamy surface of pool. "Home is wherever you want it to be..." His voice was soft, introspective, drifting from his lips and fading into the vapors around him. Was "home" the only reason he'd stayed in Avanthal for so long? He'd though about it a lot, but never had he been able to seriously verbalize it with anyone before. Now, with Lorelle, Meville could think of little other reason that kept him there.
Wherever you want it to be.
She wasn't done, and Meville diverted his attention to her words. He nodded his affirmation that she had indeed discussed such things with him before. Then, however, she'd seemed hesitant, as if the idea was a bit frightening. Now, Lorelle spoke of it with the sort of tone that was common with those who wanted something to the extent of talking themselves into it, rationalizing reasons to the point where the idea becomes an actualized event. Meville frowned then, his brow furrowing just slightly with concern.
Meville wasn't well-versed on Lorelle's mundane every-sort-of life. In fact, he knew very little about it. She worked at the library, lived in a separate room from her parent's Arvinta, and wasn't overly fond of his more childish antics. There was also... His frown deepened then. Her birthday. He was still uncertain as to what about her birthday was just so awful to her, but Meville figured her current line of thought had more than a little to do with the upcoming day. His thoughts were interrupted when she caught his gaze, asking him her final question.
Immediately, Meville knew exactly what Lorelle's answer to her own question was. For half a moment, he wasn't even sure if the question she'd asked had been directed at him, but Lorelle's expectant face reminded him otherwise. "...Yes." The answer that came out of his mouth seemed to surprise him. Meville glanced down in the general direction of his mouth with a look of perplexed vexation. It seemed his tongue had betrayed him before his brain could really mull it over. "I would go." Seeing as he'd started into the role of honesty, Meville figured he might as well stand behind his statement.
In all honesty, his true answer was: I'm absolutely uncertain. Lorelle had asked if he "could" leave, would he, as, in her world, he assumed she'd been unable to leave the city for her own personal reasons that restricted her from traveling. He was a different case. Meville had possessed the ability to leave Avanthal from the moment his father's lifeless corpse had hit the ground. So, technically, he could have left the city at any point during that time. The problem was, he didn't know what had kept him there. There was, as far as he could tell, no reason for him to have stayed, yet... There had also been no reason to leave. Perhaps that had been the lock that had kept him in place: where Lorelle's had been a "could", his had been a "why". Funny how that was what it seemed to boil down to. It was the same fundamental principle that had drawn him to Lorelle in the first place.
Before Lorelle had time to respond, Meville amended his previous statement. "I would go if..." His hesitation held for a few beats as his eyes stared past Lorelle, gazing into the semi-darkness behind her. "If I had a 'why'." He knew it didn't make a whole lot of sense, especially in Vani as he'd used the same structure he might have in Common. Still, it was the only way he felt he could explain himself. People often wondered if Meville ever had a reason for doing anything, and though they rarely ever knew, he did. He operated similar to other creatures, in that his actions required a reason behind them to be meaningful, those reasons just tended to be vastly different from those around him. To leave Avanthal, however, was one of the few things Meville had been unable - or perhaps unwilling - to contemplate a reason for. Now, quizzically staring back into Lorelle's color-shifting eyes, Meville wondered if his "why" was staring back at him.
Though he knew the answer already, Meville asked it anyway.
"...Would you?"
OOC :
Common | Vani
