[IronWorks] Stubborn man, you should be resting (Ora, Rhuryc

[Ora Sa'vina]

The young woman gave Rhuryc a small nod as he spoke, she found herself lacking words for him, only small gestures could leave her body. Ora had not even heard of the place they were headed, when it came to eating The Rearing Stallion was the only place she seemed to visit.

Rhuryc took the lead and weaved the pair through Syliras, seeming avoiding the larger clumps of people, for this, Ora was thankful, her nerves were already peaked with emotion, she didn't need a crowded bazaar to add anything else on. The young woman looked up as they turned in front of the tiers of stormhold, her eyes glanced over the large building next to the castle. The Konti felt awkward, the building looked fancy, and likely, was expensive, she had no desire to make Rhuryc pay with limbs to try to cheer her up.

Violet eyes scanned the large, welcoming place. The tables were covered with crisp, clean linen, polished silver and even some flowers. The tables were all full with well dressed, proper looking individuals whom chatted, chewed with their mouths closed and used their crisp white napkin on their hands and face. Ora jumped slightly as Rhuryc nudged her with his elbow, a smile gracing his face for a moment as he glanced at her. The wounded man slowly made his way into the restaurant, moving on a pre-determined path to a soft looking couch.

The pale woman followed her companion slowly, violet eyes looking around curiously, taking in her surroundings. She watched Rhuryc as he sat down, the cushion compressing under his weight, the young woman's eyes bounced between his face and legs as he sat. The man motioned for her to sit next to him, Ora gladly accepted the invitation and set herself down next to him, sinking into the cushion, her feet didn't quite reach the ground once she had settled. Rhuryc leaned back against the couch while Ora leaning forward, her hands resting on the edge on the cushioned seat.

Ora looked over her shoulder at Rhuryc, he seemed relaxed as well as much better, his skin was a natural shade, the pale sickly look was like a mask he removed once he left the smithy. The Konti found herself breathing a small sigh of relief, he wasn't as bad off as she first thought. The woman's ears listened to the quiet and calming sound the violin made, it was a song and sound the Konti hadn't heard before, it was pleasant and Ora found her muscles relaxing as she took the noise in.

"It is a very lovely place, I imagine it puts as much effort into its food as it does with its decor." A small hand lifted from the couch to touch her discolored cheek, a small smile rose on her face as she leaned back against the couch. "It seems we are a bit out of place, though."

[Rhuryc]

"Maybe me." Rhuryc started, "But you could pass for a well-to-do merchant of some sort. So long as I don't come off as a slouch we should be fine."

And his words range true. Although the hostess that seated the pair gave the man a disapproving gaze, he was not right out denied service - it was the coat no doubt - and both Ora and Rhuryc were lead into the dining hall and given their very own fine dinning area. Fancy. Rhuryc was not much for such occasions, but he did his best to observe his manners. His hands, for one, laid in his lap and he sat straighter than what was usual, his shoulders upright and chin raised in a display of confidence. If anything he seemed to be trying to amuse Ora. All the while he continued offering encouraging grins, kind smiles, and the occasional complement, albeit the latter was subtle and not entirely suited to the woman's station. The thought counted, right? When they were finally situated Rhuryc took it upon himself to order his own meal, an appropriate lunch with a healthy supply of meat and some wine (ale in now way fit the venue). He allowed for Ora to order for herself, waiting patiently for their waiter to depart before he addressed his dining partner.

"You'll enjoy it I think. Even if you don't like the upscale environment, the food is damn well worth it." Pleasant conversation. Rhuryc avoided their previous discussion, dancing about the topic like it was some kind of taboo. In earnest, he had no intention to broach the events unless Ora started first. For now he was content with providing nothing more than a distraction, a simple, good time that they could both enjoy. Or at least pretend to. "To be honest I really don't know anything about the Konti. I know that I've never seen an ugly one and you all have the best hair." Rhuryc had a thing for the white haired or platinum blonde look. Albeit, if he had any sort of such feelings for Ora he surely hid them well. "Except for what you've told me, I guess."

[Ora Sa'vina]

“Well, at least I have that.” She said calmly, leaning forward on the couch again, waiting for the pair to be escorted and seated. It did not take long for the hostess to seat the two, even with a less than friend glance to Rhuryc the pair were seated at a fancy, clean table. The Konti sat in the cushioned chair, her eyes lingering on the table set up before her, it was a sight the woman was not use to, even back on the isle she usually ate with her hands all the frills of this place were strange but intriguing to the woman.

Her attention moved to Rhuyrc, his posture and appearance caused a small smile to form on her lips. He was sitting oddly straight, at least to Ora, on the other hand the times she had been around him he was usually sweating over malleable metal or simply walking, neither of which seemed to encourage such posture. Rhuyrc was treating her kindly, compared to their trip to the forest his actions seemed different, the young Konti pushed off that thought to be blamed on their current location.

Rhuryc ordered his food, Ora listened to what he was getting and followed suit, requesting the same meal for herself except exchanged meat for fish; which was something she hadn’t had much of sense leaving her home. A kind and thankful smile was given to the server as they turned and left, her attention then returning to the man in front of her.

“I think I will enjoy the food,” Ora smiled slightly at Rhuryc, her fingers pushing hair out of her face and behind her ear. “It is very…” She paused a moment, glancing around. “Proper.” Her words felt forced, her mind remained full of static as violet eyes bounced from their companion to the surroundings.

A smile graced her face as Rhuryc spoke of the Konti, never having seen an ugly one. “Beauty is based on your own opinions and perceptions, is it not?” Her smile remained on her face as she spoke; watching Rhuryc with soft, calm eyes. The fingers of her right hand moved to fiddle with a clump of white hair, her eyes crossing to look at it. After a moment of crossed-eyes she looked back to Rhuryc. “If there is something you would like to know of the Konti, all you need to do is ask.” Her hand returned to her lap as she spoke. “I know very little of humans or any other race to be honest.” A small frown graced her face as she thought, she did wish to know more of other people, but questioning people was something Ora preferred to avoid.

[Rhuryc]

"Not really." Rhuryc said. A hand rose to rub the back of his head as he spoke, seeming unsure about his words. "Beauty is in the beholder, sure, but most humans find the same things pleasing to the eye. Especially in women. Misshapen and ugly is just that. Ugly." He offered a shrug and an unsure grin, doing his best not come off as vain. He was not one to care about appearance and formality, but sometimes he had a way of mincing his words. And looking foolish. The latter was all-too common. in any case as their conversation continued Rhuryc made himself as polite a listener as possible. He hung on Ora's words and leaned in when she spoke, remaining interested and cognizant, aware of her subtle definitions and habits as they continued with one another. Even if he was a little rough around the edges the man had a peculiar charm about him. Not suave or witty, but genuine. There was no falsities about his manner or words, not even in his actions did he lie.

"I can extend the same favor to you. Humans really aren't all that complicated of a folk, but you Konti." He paused for a moment, his eyes flicking to the right as he attempted to figure out his next words. "You came from an isle, right? And no matter who you mate with you produce only a female?" A strange question, but often Rhuryc's curiosity had very little reasoning behind it. "And, ah, the white hair? Is that something you all have, or is that just common? And. The. Well, the scales. Can you all breath underwater?"

Rhuryc blinked. He found himself interrupted when one of the waiters brought over the wine, that of which he thanked the man for and grew silent, his attention now split between the goblet in front of him and Ora, should she deem his questions worthy of an answer. Like a schoolboy, he was.

[Ora Sa'vina]

Ora frowned slightly as he spoke, misshapen and ugly, in some ways she understood, if she had a extremely pronounced forehead, she would probably be seen as misshapen and ugly; but the young woman did not see this true of all things. They were not speaking about all things though.

As Ora spoke to Rhuryc, she watched him closely, he seemed genuinely interested in what she had to say, it was not something unusual, but it seemed when men seemed interested in what she was saying it was more for what she was than anything else. As she finished speaking, Rhuryc began to speak, inviting her to ask questions of his race, this prospect excited Ora, finally she would know more about the people around her.

His questions streamed out of his mouth like an eager boy at school for the first time. As he finished speaking Ora found herself laughing and smiling at the curious man. Her body relaxed, her back leaned against the chair and her hands stopped fiddling with her dress. The white haired woman bowed her head slightly to the waiter as he brought out their wine. "I do come from an Isle, Mura, it is to the east of here." She sipped her wine for a short moment, enjoying the taste of it, and interesting drink, sweet with a slight sharp bitterness to it, she preferred this to her excursion with ale. "When it comes to mating, that is mostly true, except in the case of the Akalak, a Konti could birth either an Akalak or a Konti, and on rare occasions a being that is the mix of the two, though that is exceptionally rare." A small frown crossed her face before she continued it. "It is odd, I have seen that human children resemble both of their parents, this is true, correct? As a Konti I have no resemblance to my father, nor does any other Konti." A small sigh escaped her as her fingers circled the top of her goblet. "I fear that even if I do find my father he will not acknowledge my relation to him." Her eyes moved from Rhuryc to her glass for a moment before continuing on to the next question.

"Konti usually have varying shades of blond to white hair. I'm not sure how common it is, but I would say it is not uncommon." The young woman shrugged slightly as she smiled at Rhuryc, the mention of the scales gave her smile a certain private joy. Ora held out her hands before her face, tilting them slightly so the light would reflect against the pale blue scales. "Yes," One of her hands moved the hair covering her next to expose three small, thin slits, her gills. "It is the gift Laviku gave his children, Avalis gave each of us our own unique gift, while Laviku grants us this." Ora's hands moved to rest in her lap before she continued to speak.

"I believe it would be my turn now, if that is alright?" Her fingers reached out for her goblet to take another small sip before continuing. "Humans, they are all over Mizahar, correct?" She leaned forward slightly. "Why do humans have so many differing features? There is a rainbow of hair colors and skins, why is that?" She glanced to a waiter who was passing by before she continued to speak. "And why do they look so different as they age?" Aging was something that barely affected Konti, their appearance remained young even as they neared death.

[Rhuryc]

What an exchange. Rhuryc felt more questions brimming on the edge of his tongue, but he kept them back for the moment. Instead he silence himself by grasping at the fresh goblet, the finery brought to his lips with a sweet, zesty taste. In truth he preferred ale. Wine was good, sure, but his common beverage was the former, one that he was comfortable with. Who knew how much of this he could partake in before it started ridding his inhibitions. When he set the cup back on the table the man brought his attention back to Ora in an effort not to appear distracted. He kept an ear open and ran her words through his head once, twice, and often a third time to remember some of the finger details. Gills? She had gills? So strange. Rhuryc imagined most of his might be put off by such an anatomy, but he found it a point of interest - something to be studied, examined. Even with all that about mating rituals and appearances, what stuck out in the man's mind were the scales. Laviku? Avalis? No doubt deities of some kind, those gentle enough to reward their creations with gifts. A pang of jealousy surfaced, but the motion was discarded.

"Oh. Ah, yeah." Rhuryc started, taken aback by the initial question. Humans really were everywhere. Like flies. But nobody liked flies. Did the other races all hate humans? "To be honest I can't really say for sure. Some of us are just blonde, some are brunette, some red headed. You would have to ask a scholar those questions I think." He finished with a humbled grin and a hand rose to rub the back of his neck, a tell-tale nervous habit. Rhuryc did not have the answers to Ora's questions, but he could provide some conjecture. Maybe. "So far as aging. Well. We ware as we get older. Like a horseshoe, you know? The more you use it, the more worn it becomes before it finally becomes bitter and old, misshapen. It's the same idea really. I figured all creatures just followed that cycle."

With a glance to the side Rhuryc shifted his gaze around the restaurant. While he remained calm, his demeanor strong, he felt himself to be uneasy. His external presentation was one of a controlled manner, but between the persistent ache in his thigh and the redirected conversation he felt his concentration start to slip. He wanted food. If he could stuff his mouth than perhaps Ora would take hold of their meeting and steer it toward whichever direction she preferred. At least for now he could abuse the wine.

[Ora Sa'vina]

Ora listened to Rhuryc while her hand held the goblet of dark liquid, she sipped it while he spoke. A small nod was given when he mentioned his uncertainty when it came to human genetics. The young Konti wasn't even aware how complex creatures were, such topics were probably best kept for the scholars. "Like a horseshoe?" She understood what that meant for the most part, once it went bad it was replaced, and with time the sturdy, strong metal gets beaten up, cracked, chipped, all sorts of things. "Ugly?" Ora asked, was misshapen the same thing as ugly, he had said that only a moment ago. Ora decided not to mention a Konti's life cycle, if he were to find out about it, it would not be this Konti who would inform him.

The young woman watched Rhuryc glance about the restaurant, he had fallen silent, a trait she had become use to , he was not one for speaking it seemed. A silence fell across their table as her fingers rolled over the base of her goblet. Her eyes focused on the red liquid moving about in her cup as she began to speak. "It might be a good thought to change the bandages, if you are not going to rest your legs, they should at least be freshly bandaged." The Konti smiled weakly as she looked up as her sentence finished. "Ultimately it is up to you, I would just like to see you heal as quickly as possible."

Her eyes moved to look around at the other patrons, most were eating and smiling, conversing pleasantly with one another. Violet eyes flashed back to Rhuryc, the young woman leaning forward to set her goblet back on her side of the table. "Thank you, Rhuryc," Her cheeks tinted pink as she spoke. "I do enjoy your company, even if you dislike mine." She smiled slightly at her own odd sentence, if he did not at least slightly enjoy her company, it would be doubtful he would have left the blacksmith. There was also the chance that Rhuryc was simply being a gentlemen, that idea was something Ora was hoping to be false, a fake smile was worse than a grimace to the woman.

Their dishes of warm, well cook food arrived almost immediately after Ora finished speaking. Did she time that? In front of the young woman was a well cooked, vibrant filet of fish, the smell was one that was strange, but slightly familiar. With a smile and nod to the waiter, Ora thanked him, waiting until he had moved on to pick up her fork.

[Rhuryc]

Was he so discontented? Rhuryc glanced up and offered Ora a quizzical expression, unsure as to why the woman believed him to disfavor her presence. He had offered to take her to the falls, fought to protect her in the woods, and was now paying for her to eat at one of the city's finest establishments. Rhuryc did not believe he would ever understand women; in his mind, he was almost courting the Konti, despite his undecided interest in the manner. Before he could speak though their food arrived and a large slab of meat was placed before the man; an act that stayed the mind of any young male. He offered Ora a shrug and armed himself with the proper combination of knife and fork, unaware of the normal etiquette associated with such finery. The stares did not bother him. At once he dug into the platter, having been unaware of just how hungry he really was. Blood loss and hard work did that to a person. He was able to retain some polite behavior at least, and he did not eat like a slob, but his desire to devour was evident in his demeanor.

"You assume too much." Rhuryc said after a satisfied gulp. His wine was left alone, he much preferred to enjoy the after taste of his steak. "If I didn't like you, I don't think I'd be paying for this. Or. You know. Talking to you." He shot a lop-sided grin at the woman and leaned back, partying company with his oh-so-tasty meal. The effort was more than he could bare. "Everyone deserves something nice now and again. Human, Koni, Akalak, whatever. You, Ora, were on your way to a depressing afternoon spent wallowing in misery. I think we're enough of friends for me to prevent that, eh?"

Friends. That was it. In truth Rhuryc had very few of those. Most of his contacts in Syliras were little more than acquaintances, faces with names that served one purpose or another, but this relationship - despite its youth - was one beyond that now. It was rare for two people to fight on the same side and at least not feel some sort of genuine kinship.

"Enjoy yourself. And don't worry about thanking me."

[Ora Sa'vina]

A shining fork and knife cut through the bright pink, flaky flesh of the fish on her plate, her eyes remained to her half of the table, her posture straight and proper, her mouthfuls were small and chewed slowly. The fish was excellent, Rhuryc was correct, this place could cook, that was for certain. A small, private smile crossed her face as she took a second bite of the fish, she had had a fair amount of fish in her life, but she could honestly say this was a best prepared fish she had ever ingested.

Violet eyes moved up from her food to look at Rhuryc, her head bowed slightly, almost shamefully as the man spoke. "I am sorry," She set her fork down on the plate, a small clank as the metal rested down on the ceramic. "I am not used to this sort of treatment," A frown claimed her lips as she spoke, her head remained slightly bowed. "It is seen as polite to be nice to others, even if their presence is unfavorable, that is how I was raised." Her eyes moved to look down at her own lap, her mouth felt sour as she spoke. "I suppose I do assume too much." Her fingers returned to fiddling with her dress. The Konti was far too fragile emotional for her own good.

Her mind thought over the word 'friend', Rhuryc used it in context to their relationship. Were they friends? They had been through a lot, at least to Ora, they had. Back on the Isle, Ora knew most of her Sister's, and most of the mother's, the Grandmother's were few and everyone knew them. Of all the woman on the Isle, most were passing relationships, her teachers were much like surrogate mother's and, of course, teachers. The other young Konti women were friendly, as was proper, and they would spend time together, but how many would Ora grant with the relation of friend? One? Two? Maybe. The closest person to her was now dead, San was gone and now she was here, with Rhuryc. Was he was a friend was suppose to be?

The Konti continued to sit in silence with her thoughts for a few more moments before looked up and smile softly at the man across from her, speaking up cheerfully. "Thank you, Rhuryc, for everything." A small laugh left her as she reached for her glass of wine. "I am sorry, but I think you have realized now, it is not in my nature to not thank others for what they grace me with."

[Rhuryc]

"I think finer conversation is lost on me." Rhuryc said with a chomp. He had returned to his meal. And what a meal it was. He could barely leave the meat alone for any extended period of time, intent on devouring even his plate if just to get at the juices that remained. His eyes were narrowed in deep concentration as he contemplated the ending to his fine opponent, a duel of ages indeed, this would end in terrible tragedy for his foot. Not that there had ever been a possibility of a different outcome. "If I was more suave I could tell you that it was alright and you'd believe me." He continued while he poked at the remaining bits of steak. His attention was torn between the tastiness and Ora. And what a vicious battle it was!

"At least you're smiling." And how did he know that? His eyes were so focused on the plate that it was a surprise he even knew the woman existed. In truth, he was watching her out his peripheral vision, a habit he picked up during his more combative years. Often one had to pay attention to multiple opponents at once. Was Ora an opponent then? What silly thoughts. "So!" He exclaimed, his eyes sweeping up to settle on the woman. "We talk about happier. Things. Or whatever. Do you have any family? Back home? I mean, sisters or a mother. Or however that works with Konti."

Despite the intention to sway the conversation to a more jovial exchange, Rhuryc was genuinely curious.