Open [The Blue Bull] Sometimes We Need Saved From Ourselves

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 60th of Fall, 514 AV.

If she was honest with herself, Kavala would have admitted that she needed a break from the work at home. She would have further admitted that life in Riverfall was getting rather lonely surrounded even by friends and family. The Summer had been quiet, and thus far the fall had proven to be somewhat unusual. And while things weren't exactly ideal, they had indeed set themselves up for Kavala to slip away. Her children were safe at home, exhausted from a big day, and everything that needed to be done had been.

So the Konti had bathed, dressed with care in a floral dress and heavy shawl, and put on sandals instead of heavy riding boots and leathers. She didn't want to be 'that woman' tonight. The one everyone knew would take care of herself in a fight. She didn't want to be armed. She didn't want to protect anyone or be the one people looked too for leadership or protection or education. She just wanted to be.

Kavala wanted someone to buy her a drink. She wanted to be able to join a dice game or two with an Akalak or Dhani or maybe even a human and not have them consider her one of the men because she dressed and moved like one. She wanted to be bought drinks for a change, and maybe even a meal. The Konti longed for some attention and for no one to say she was an ex-Nakivak poster child for women who had turned their lives around.

It made no sense to her. She never felt that way. But tonight she wanted to dance with strangers, maybe even kiss one or two of them, and be propositioned in the quiet way Akalaks usually did. And she wanted the option to take one home or head home with one if she so desired.

The thought made her smile a little. And that smile grew to an all out grin as she took her fist pull on a glass of Riverfall Brandy that someone else had sent over the moment she had walked through the door of the Blue Bull and took a seat by herself. No one had asked her to dance yet. No, none of the men here were that desperate to pounce the moment a woman walked through the doorway. They'd wait. They'd watch, and while she nodded to a few of the folks she knew, including one woman whom often chatted at her in the bazaar, Kavala relaxed and let the brandy do its job.

A band was playing in the corner on an upraised dais, and before long her sandals were tapping in time. She'd dance with the first person that asked her, race aside, and everyone thereafter. She missed having someone in her life, being in someone's arms, and knew too that those days were long past for her. This was what was left. And enjoy it, she would. And in the end, she'd go home to her normal life and set about her normal work because she loved that life and what she'd built for herself. It just wasn't utterly complete.

[Shane Wallsly]

The night was cool, the bar was bustling and Shane felt a bit under dressed in his blue shirt and brown trousers. He'd never bothered to purchase any finery before but for the first time he felt like he needed it. Even the Akalak who were usually content to walk around half naked had kitted up in their finest apparel for a trip to the tavern and the woman were just as lovely in their fine, silk dresses of many hues and colours. In fact one ladies dress was so multicoloured it made Shane think he was viewing her Aura for a moment.

Shane sighed as he placed the gold on the bar in payment for his drink of ale. It contained a healthy tip but he hadn't thought about it. He didn't think about these things any more. Money was so easy to acquire and so easy to lose he had given up on his tight fisted ways with it. Let it go and let it come, either way he'd be as happy as... Shane paused for a moment as he tried to think of a rhyming word that would fit. Plum? Or maybe rum.

The bar was warm but a little draughty. It was a comfortable draft coming in from the open door. The nights in Riverfall where never bad. It had been a little colder than usual today but not so cold as Syliras on those brisk Fall days where the wind rushed into and up all the creases in your clothing freezing you from the inside out. Shane gota chill just thinking about it but he'd never have to face that again. Riverfall was so nice it was practically tropical to him. Like everytrhing in the city the whether was simply of paradise proportions. He'd found a slice of the Ukalas right here in Mizahar and he could scarcely believe it.

The only thing he was missing now were friends and loved ones. He hadn't felt alone since he had arrived at the city. The ever present multicoloured hulks of manly perfection that was the Akalak were everywhere in droves and usually quite friendly. Especially the ones known as the Cerulean with the brilliant face tattoos. You could always have a nice chat with a Cerulean. Not those weapon brandishing Kuvay'Nas though. Some militia; they were more likely to harm the citizens than the criminals. They were worst than the Knights. Shane guessed that no matter where you want such folk were always present to be the 'protectors'.

They were the only downfall of utter paradise but he was digressing. He was letting his mind simply wander. The feeling that he had been feeling tonight was loneliness. Loneliness because he had left everyone he had ever known miles and miles and miles away. He needed to make some new friends. Not just chat with a few folk pleasantly but go out and meet a real friend or perhaps even swipe a lovely woman such as the ones that appeared to be hanging of a lot of the Akalak's arms.

In order to do this he needed to cast his gaze around but, to give himself that added advantage, he needed to cast the gaze around. So he did. He closed his eyes and summoned his inner power to open that inner eye. When he opened his eyes again the world was in a bright rush of lights. For a moment he felt quite drained and had to sit down and avert his eyes. He needed to focus in on a specific thing. He focussed on the floor's aura. It was quite a normal floor was all his investigation found but he rose to a stand again and looked up removing his focus from the floor and to the far wall. It too was quite ordinary. He started to move through the crowd. As he did so he would shift focus every now and again. He would stare at another aura for a while to see how their mood was and perhaps try to guess if they would be compatible as friends.

He did this for a while. In fact he did this for much too long and the strain of constant re-focussing suddenly hit him and, for a brief moment, the world went dark. It was just a brief moment and when it came into focus again he found himself sitting down at a table and his auristic sight was gone. His head was thumping painfully. He had clearly fallen into the nearest seat from where he had been standing. He didn't want anyone to quite notice what had happened so he tried to make it look naturally as if he'd just decided to sit on the chair rather than falling into it. That was when he noticed he was sitting across from a woman. She was no doubt looking up at the rather unexpected company and he smiled as charmingly as he could muster. She was blonde of hair and blue of eye. Quite fetching.

“Uh, hello.” He managed. “I saw you were sitting here all alone with your, umm, brandy and I thought you might like some company.” The words were coming out of his mouth on impulse his head was thumping too hard for him to think about it. “Umm, would you like another brandy? I appear to have lost my drink.” Shane looked around for the mug but could see it nowhere in sight. “Oh, where are my manners. I'm Shane, Shane Wallsly. What might I call you?”

[Kavala]

Kavala liked the slow fire of the brandy burning its way down her throat as she sipped at it. The heady taste reminded her of finer things and quieter places. She didn’t want quiet though and wondered if she was drinking the wrong drink. Crossing her legs and uncrossing them, the Konti shifted in her seat and noticed a man walk through the doorway. She was taking note of the comings and goings of everyone, well positioned to do so with a view of the bar and the door. That was, after all, what shadowy corners of bars were for right?

The Konti watched him scan the crowd, then scan it again, and glance at the floor. His mannerisms were odd. Usually men came through the door, scanned the crowd for anyone they knew, hit the bar, and then either joined their friends or made a beeline for the first available lone female in the place. This human was looking… really looking.

Kavala narrowed her eyes, curious. He didn’t seem to be joining anyone and he didn’t react to his observations like he recognized anyone. She opened her awareness slightly and felt nothing from him. He was truly human then, and not a Kelvic trying to blend in. That was a bit disappointing, admittedly. The Konti would have liked to talk to the man, moreso if he was Kelvic than humans. Humans could be bigoted arrogant zithshits sometimes.

But this one didn’t have the hardened features for it. He looked like a man who had lived softly. He wasn’t bristling with weapons like most of the Akalak were. Nor did he move with a grace that a skilled trained warrior would. He wasn’t plump or overindulged like some humans were. There was just an averageness about his handsomeness that struck her as odd. No one was average in the world. She knew when she saw something that cloaked itself.

Then he furrowed his brow, gave off a definite in pain sort of expression, and stumbled against her chair before he took a seat. He looked up and she noted his vivid blue eyes. They held a trace of pain in them and her compulsion to heal kicked in. Without a thought she reached out and soothed her hand across his brow, wincing as she recognized the overgiving for what it was and not a true headache due to something else. Rak’keli’s gift never lied. Calluses slid across his forehead as the pain retreated, soothed away by the cool divine djed that flooded his forehead and the backs of his eyes.

“Power holds responsibility. You should give more of a care for your body than you are.” She said abruptly, softly for his ears only, not answering his initial question about the company and the drink. Then, once his expression softened, if it did, she’d answer his questions more politely.

“Yes. I came here for some company… new faces, a new friend perhaps, maybe someone to dance with and definitely someone to drink with. My name is Kavala Denusk, of the Denusk Pavilion, Sapphire Clan. It is nice to meet you Shane Wallsly.” The Konti said politely, her face softening into a smile. “I would like a drink, but perhaps not now… not before a dance. Are you interested?” She asked countering his offer.

[Shane Wallsly]

With one touch of her hands the headache was gone. Her hands were tough. They were tougher than he would expect of the woman. They were workman's hands or perhaps even the hands of a warrior. Shane's curious nature piqued. He could never quite help himself whenever he was faced with a curiosity. His brain hungered to know. What? Well everything if it could. If someone gave him the option of simply sitting in a library forever if he was promised that all of the knowledge of the world was there Shane just might have agreed to it but tonight he was weary of it. Did he always need to know everything? Was not a surprise viewed sometimes as a treat. He let his curiosity go and decided instead to just enjoy himself.

But then she spoke of power and he knew that whatever she had done to heal him had also informed her of what the problem had been. Shane recognised the power however. A great man he had known was a weilder of it also. Aoren; he felt a pang of sadness at the thought. He missed the man that he had met only once. In another time, in another life they would have been great friends. However that was not the thought for now. For now his thought was that she knew what he'd been doing and she sounded somewhat disappointed in him for it. He didn't reply to her warning. He merely nodded seriously and smiled thankfully.

So she was Kavala Denusk, of the Denusk Pavillion, Saphire Clan. What a name, he thought. It was definitely more of a title but it impressed him none the least and frankly he couldn't help but think that Kavala was actually quite a lovely name and she had come for company. Shane, for the first time in his life, felt like the Fates had been on his side tonight. He'd never, ever blamed the fates for any good fortune before but this simply was not something he'd earned or achieved. It was by pure coincidence that he had sat down across from a beautiful woman who was interested in a new friend and seemingly a dance.

The dancing part might prove to be an issue, he thought. He wasn't a dancer. In fact he didn't really know how to dance. Dancing was just nothing he'd ever had the time or chance to do and he was quite uncoordinated. It was one of the sole reasons he couldn't find skill in combat or labour. Anything he tried to do in that regard usually ended with him falling flat on his behind miserably. He felt like that could change tonight though. He was feeling a bold confidence that he had never really felt before.

“That's quite a name, Kavala Denusk, and if I might say so quite pretty./b]” Shane found his words flowing out of his mouth as if uttered by another man. A confident, romantic man who could melt the heart of a Zith. He rose suddenly to his feet. “[b]I don't normally do this but I'd be delighted. A dance, I think, is just what the doctor ordered.” He offered his hand to the lady so that he might lead her to somewhere with some space to dance. “I have to warn you though. I'm all left feet.”

[Kavala]

The Konti’s lips curled up into a smile as he rose and offered his hand to her. She took it and allowed him to assist her to her feet and then out onto what was a cleared section of slick floor where a multitude of men and women were already dancing. If she would have picked the Coils Club instead of The Blue Bull, then Kavala could have just wrapped herself around Shane and reassured him that there was no need to actually have a left and right foot because the Dhani and Akalak there weren’t actually truly dancing, but instead simply having sex with their clothes on. There it was all touch, rub, grind, and taste. Here, there was some skill involved. In a way that would be preferable. She had very little skill dancing as well, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy trying.

So instead she reassured him the first way she could think of. “Half the men here are already drunk. No one will notice.” And at that point she copied what she saw the other women doing and lifted her hand to touch his and circled to the right and left, before moving in close and linking arms to follow a set of steps as well. It was a square patterned dance, not difficult, and in Kavala’s mind more of a means for two people of the opposite sex to introduce themselves to each other than to actually get too physical. There were parts where they lept, parts where they dipped, and parts where they walked away from each other and returned. The patterned dances came in spurts, coupled by other dances where the music changed and people stepped closer to do Riverfalls’ rendition of a waltz or swing.

She didn’t mind Shane’s company, not in the least. He wasn’t from a culture she was aware of though. He didn’t seem Drykas, like her own, or even as if he came from the mountain of eagles. Perhaps he was Syliran or Zeltivan, places she’d only passed through briefly and hadn’t lingered long enough to get to know the peoples. His accent was strange, not one she recognized, and she decided as they danced awkwardly that she’d ask him something of himself.

“I’d like to know more of you. I haven’t seen you in the city, though I do not by any means know everyone, and I cannot place your accent.” Kavala’s own accent was thick with Pavi, the language of the Sea of Grass. She spoke Common well and was fluent in Tukant now that she’d lived in the city for a long period of time. It still gave her no hints as to who Shane was or where he came from. Though he did remind her of someone she knew from a long time ago, Matthew... from Zeltiva.

The music took them closer and then drew them further away, following the steps of others out on the floor with them. And while Kavala was a graceful partner, it was obvious that she didn’t really know the steps either, since her eyes constantly scanned the room and she was a half step behind everyone else following. But they both were learning. The dances repeated themselves and were not complicated. The Konti could move and did so once she got a handle on the steps, dipping and swirling when the woman’s roll called for it. Slowly, she relaxed… a combination of the physical exercise and the brandy she already had warming her belly.

And when the steps called for the woman to press against the man and kiss both his cheeks before backing off, she did so with enthusiasm and laughter – as did many of the other women enjoying the mixed male company on the dance floor.

Finally, the pattern dance they were doing ended, and Kavala stepped closer as an exotic Dhani dance tune came on. She didn’t wrap herself around him like some of the women did their men, but instead danced in the circle of his arms to the sinuous music that coiled like a snake. The Akalak men grinned like fools who had women with them willing, and the others smiled politely to those that kept their distance. Kavala struck a middle ground and laughed explaining it all to Shane when they drew together with the music. “Riverfall has a lot of diversity here. There is a Dhani nest in the city, a supposedly well kept secret except that they opened a club called Coils. The dancing there has taken some popularity here now, and we have to take a break in the patterns to enjoy the trend. It’s a rather debase thing though.” Kavala said as she moved closer and laid her cheek against his and slipped closer into his arms. “The Dhani have no shame and the Akalak like this about them. They have good ideas though, once in a while, since dancing like this does no harm.” She said, pressing herself slightly closer, pelvis to pelvis, distracting him, and readying him for her next question.

“Whats a young mage like you doing in Riverfall? We have very little to draw people of power here. And you being here makes no sense” The Konti whispered, almost in Shane’s ear. To the outsider just observing, it would look like a Konti was getting frisky with a young human. But in reality, she was simply trying to keep him open to the idea of telling her the truth. Mages could be trouble, especially human ones. And she wanted to see if he was thinking with his head or if he’d allow her body to distract him into thinking with something else entirely.

[Shane Wallsly]

Kavala graciously accepted his and he half lead, half followed her to the dance floor. There were numerous Akalak, humans and Konti all dancing some kind of patterned dance. Shane's eyes flickered about with the look of someone who was trying to absorb as much information as he could. At Kavala's comment he smiled. He was glad he wasn't drunk. He could only imagine the kind of calamity that would befall him if drunk. Even the idea of embarrassing himself in front of this charming woman was something he did not want to entertain.

She seemed to understand what was going on a little quicker than him as she lifted her hand to touch his and began to circle left and right. He copied the male's response to this and fell into tune. The dance, he found, was actually quite simple but that step or two he had missed when he had started he never quite regained. Kavala herself was about a half step behind everyone else s even she tried to copy them but Shane was always perhaps a step or a step and a half behind that his mind and body working in conjunction better than he had ever hoped they would. It was already going better than the day he'd decided to try using an axe.

Kavala, however, was soon so very comfortable with the dancing that she decided to speak at the parts of the dance where they were close together. She wanted to know about him and mentioned his unplaceable accent. Shane didn't know he had an accent which, he realised, was a silly thought to entertain. He must have some kind of accent. Everyone did. He tried to place her accent then but he couldn't either. Then again oral information was never quite his forte. He could have been born deaf and it wouldn't have bothered him much.

The next time dance brought them in close Shane replied “I just arrived here about ten days ago. I came from Stormhold Citadel in Syliras.” he told her raising his voice just a touch to account for music. However he could not ask her where she was from as the dance took them further away again. It was a little while before they were back together again and finally Shane got to ask “And how about you? Where did you come from?” He felt, and he couldn't quite place the feeling, that she wasn't truly from Riverfall either. Of course one could claim any non-akalak wasn't really from Riverfall but she seemed to be familiar with the city as a long term citizen but not, he suspected, from having lived there quite her whole life. All of that and he'd not heard anyone else in Riverfall mention a Clan before.

His thoughts were cannonballed out of his ear for a moment when the dance called for the girl to move in and kiss both of the cheeks of the men. Shane's cheeks lit up with red almost as if he'd had an allergic reaction to her lips. He almost missed the next step in fact and spent the rest of the dance simply enjoying himself free from the trouble of thought. However, as the good Gods say, all dances come to an end and end the dance did leaving Shane and Kavala standing there for but one moment before the song changed and a very different kind of song began.

Shane really didn't know what to do with this one. It was extremely alien in nature to him as he watched the other dancers. Some of the girls were coiling right up against their partners rubbing and sliding in all kinds of suggestive manners. Others were keeping their distance from their partners but still coiling suggestively. The dance reminded him of the way he had heard that snakes move. He had never seen a snake before but he had been described their movements in very intricate detail one night by Avira as he recounted some of his more adventurous youth.

Kavala, as seemed now the usual, was only too happy to explain. Of course Shane couldn't really, truly understand what she was saying because he had never met a Dhani before and didn't quite know what they were but he assumed them to be some kind of people who danced very suggestively. That's all he could really guess of them. Perhaps they liked snakes. In any case the opening of their club had cultural ramifications on the city. The akalak, whom Shane were starting to see more and more as gentle, womanising giants, admired the dance floor and it had now spread to popularity across the city. It made sense of course. Whenever merchants from distant lands came to Syliras their products would run rampant through the city for weeks. Everybody would have some new statue or food for as long as the traders were around and then the fad would die down and everything would go back to normal. It was not an alien idea to him at all.

The dance however was quite alien and Shane tried his best to copy the men and remain respectful as well. Kavala was keeping away but not as far as some of the other woman were so Shane respected that and made sure he didn't encroach in any way that space she maintained as their buffer zone.

“I see.” Shane replied lamely not really sure what else to say about the dance. “We certainly never had dances like this in Syliras or at least I was never anywhere that it was taking place. The people in Syliras were far from keeping their noses clean though, if you catch my drift. If you get them together away from nobility and knighthood and I could se dances even more lewd than this coming together.”

She pressed closer to him; pelvis to pelvis; and something constricted in Shane's chest and he felt a rather funny feeling in his stomach. It reminded him a lot of the feeling he had that night in the Heralds Arms when Atheara had offered to 'go upstairs with him'. It was a funny kind of feeling. The best way he could ever put it was like a natural kind of hypnotism where, for a moment, one would do almost anything and, had he been in his right mind, he might have been instantly suspicious of it when she uttered her next question. Instead his reaction was actually a faint chuckle. With a certain amount of smooth audacity he place his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him lightly allowing her to resist if she so wished; If not he brought them body to body so that his lips this time were positioned by her ear. “I'm flattered you would use the word power in any kind of way in regards to me but I am simply nothing more than a modest Aurist and a tinkerer of a few other disciplines.” He whispered with a smile. He had let slip more than he would have usually done but for some reason, here tonight, he found her efforts almost charming. He felt it necessary also to add “Syliras is no longer safe. The Ravokians have struck and I lost someone important to me. I didn't feel like staying long enough for another attack and I've always heard nice things about Riverfall.”

“It really is beautiful, don't you think?”

[Kavala]

Shane wasn’t half bad to dance with. He had an easy confidence about himself that caused her to relax even further. He didn’t come across as arrogant or pushy either, which was nice. Humble young humans with an open attitude were somewhat rare to find in Kavala’s eyes. Perhaps in Syliras they were a copper miza a dozen, but here in Riverfall it was an unusual find. The Konti settled into the dancing with a gusto and enjoyed herself fully. Shane lead and she followed, though sometimes she had to take the lead as well. It was only fair they muddle through the steps together, sometimes bumping each other which caused her to laugh a bit. It was just the sort of evening she’d needed, getting away from everything and everyone that was familiar and getting out on the town.

They even spoke a little and she learned he was indeed from Syliras and not Zeltiva as she had anticipated. He spoke with more education than she had expected which was perhaps why she had thought to label him from the city with the university. She knew of Stormhold Castle and had visited Syliras briefly in her youth on her way to Mura to train to be a healer. She hadn’t spent more than a night there though, resting up for the final leg of her ride to Zeltiva where she’d caught a ship north.

“I would have guessed Zeltiva from the way you speak. You sound well educated, perhaps better than most. I’ve been to Syliras, but only briefly for an overnight stay on my way to Mura as a girl. I went there to study Medicine. The city was impressive. I saw it again two years later on my return.” Kavala said, freely offering the knowledge about herself. It was harmless, though folks around here weren’t prone to travel far. No one usually had a reason to leave Cyphrus, at least among the Drykas, though the Akalaks tended to make the trip to Mura once or twice in a lifetime, especially if they had family there, which a great deal of them did.

“Konti are subject to The Call. My mother felt hers and came from Mura to the Sea of Grass to marry a Drykas Ankal… a leader. I was her second child. So I was born and raised on the Sea of Grass among the Drykas there. That’s why my name is so long. We introduce ourselves by not only our name, but our pavilion and our clan. There are seven clans among the Drykas and unlimited pavilions among each clan. It narrows down who we are and see ourselves.” Kavala said, catching her breath as the music slowed, toning down her pace where they could more easily speak.

“The Sapphire clan is known for their mages. They keep the magic of the grasslands and hold power close. We believe all things are interconnected and maintain those contacts.” Kavala said, smiling slightly, and going on with her explanation. “But more recently, for the last five years, I’ve lived here in Riverfall as a healer of animals and Kelvics. I breed warhorses on the edge of the sea just north of here and am opening a college to train more healers since many come to me to learn.” The Konti said, wondering suddenly why she wanted to talk shop on her day off. Thankfully the music didn’t allow him to respond much to that information and they were off again whirling as the rhythm picked up.


Kavala chuckled when the talk turned to the dance and their bodies drew closer. “If you think this lewed….” She referred to the way he had said ‘even more lewd’ ….”then you should see how they dance at The Coils Club. They routinely remove clothing and follow through with what the dance is only mimicking, out in front of everyone. The Dhani are an interesting race. Long lived and I think closely related to snakes, they are as formidable on the battlefield as they are on the dance floor.” The Konti said, enjoying a little bit the man’s obvious slight unease. The flush in his face gave him away and the way she could feel his heartbeat increase because she was pressed against him.

The Konti would have loved to have lied to herself and said she hated the way Shane ran his hands down her body and pulled her closer, but it would simply be a lie. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. She didn’t know the man and most likely wouldn’t be following him home or taking him home herself, but in that moment it was nice to pretend that someone cared, someone held her close because they wanted her close, and that they were old friends and perhaps even older lovers. The small fantasy would end when the music did, but until that moment she savored it. After all, it was why she came out tonight wasn’t it? Kavala shifted her body, fitting against him nicely and held him as he held her for that moment, listening to what he whispered into her ear. He could feel her lips against his neck and would be able to feel them curl into a smile, one if he pulled away he’d see was one of polite disbelief.

But in that intimate moment she felt something in him open, spill out, and the confession washed over her like cool water, shattering her little fantasy of love and affection. She lifted her head, met his eyes, and in them felt something of a kinship with a man who simply wanted to be someplace safe, someplace new, to start over and let his pain wash clean with time and peace.

Her eyes went so pale blue, studying his, that she almost looked blind in that moment. She stepped back a half pace, breaking their truly intimate contact but remaining in his space, being with him but not part of him.

“No place we live is safe unless we make it so. And even then you cannot close your eyes or drop your guard, even for a moment. Even in your own bed, the taste of your djed should coat your tongue, dripping off its tip as res, ready and waiting to defend yourself, your family, and what you hold dear.” Her hand reached up and stroked his head then, brushing stray hair out of his eyes gently, a sympathetic gesture of sorrow for his loss and even more than that for his loss of his sense of security. “You can run far, far away, but it never changes these facts. Riverfall is a nice place. It is a good place with warm winds and food aplenty. But it is nice because the men that live here are ready to defend it at the rise of the wind, the drop of a coin, even the mere whisper that there is trouble. You should be the same way… and you will thrive here, Shane Wallsly. Do you understand what I’m saying?” The Konti said softly, leaning forward. She kissed his lips then, not like a lover, but like a sister would, one that was suddenly concerned when she had no right to be.

“I’ll take that drink now… if you’d care to find us our seats again.” She said abruptly, a smile playing across her face. It was a soft playful one, meant to sooth the words she’d just filled his ears with.

[Shane Wallsly]

She definitely told him about herself when requested. She wasn't shy or secretive as Shane so often was. She was open and honest and, beyond all that, bold. She talked about her mother and The Call, which he simply thought must be some kind of mating thing the Konti did, she talked about the Sea of Grass, which sounded kind of wonderful, and the Drykas, that race sounded familiar, and why her name was quite so impressively long. She told him about her Clan, her magic Clan, and they're philosophy, finally about her recent endeavours in Riverfall which included animals and horses. All the while they danced. Listening and dancing he found no available holes in the conversation to offer any kind of reply. All he could do was listen with interest and continue to dance until the song was over.

When he had offered the thoughts on the lewdness of Syliran peasantry she offered her own remark about the Dhani and Shane couldn't help but smile. That sounded like quite an affair to witness though he doubted if he would ever have the brass to enter that club after what she had just told him. He also noted, with some satisfaction, that he had been right about the snakelike dancing. He didn't have anything else to say about it though so again he refrained from answer.

All of this refraining from answering didn't halt the events of the night of course as there had been many other answers made and questions given throughout but to join them again where we left off Kavala did not reply to what he had whispered in her ear for some time. She seemed to just want to stay where she was. Shane decided to savour the moment too his lips just merely inches from her ear. He never dared to kiss or do any of the things he might have wanted to do at that moment. He didn't dare go any further than he had already but to be this close to another was good enough for him. He'd felt loneliness at the beginning of the night but here, in this moment, it was gone.

Then, they parted and she looked up into his eyes. She stared long and hard as if she too were an Aurist and she could divine his very soul from his eyes. It was more intense than that, in fact. It reminded him of Aoren the diviner. How he had looked so deep into his eyes he had read his past. That man had seen the closest thing to a soul Shane had and for some reason, though he detected no magic divine or no, he felt like she too was looking into his soul.

Then, finally, she spoke. She revealed that she at least knew the intricacies of Reimancey but that wasn't the point, he reminded his brain. The point was that this woman fiercely believed that if an enemy came to her door she should fight to the last. No running away, no surrendering. She was very powerful in her speech; deeply charismatic; and for a moment Shane was filled with the same kind of fighting spirit that was beyond the opposite of Shane's usual cowardly self. Shane needed to be strong. He needed to fight. He had the power within. It was just dull and weakened through lack of use. He had to sharpen his fighting spirit, ignite his flame, train his body and mind. Somehow, Shane felt like Riverfall was the perfect place to do this. Somehow Shane felt like a purpose had finally found him in this city of paradise. Something to wake him from the dream of luxury. Something to fill his days beside simple joys.

So when she addressed him directly; when she asked him if he understood; it was with a wealth of seriousness he nodded. His eyes burning with intent and his mind filled with solemnity he looked back into her eyes. He studied her. He didn't see a girl. He didn't see a woman. He saw power and the passion to use it. For the first time that night he viewed her as something more than he could see and he found himself almost in awe.

Then, of course, she broke the entire situation with a kiss. A soft, chase kiss that eased all the seriousness, all of the profound thought that had been in his head into nothingness and suddenly they were again standing there on the dance floor of a tavern. Shane smiled. “Certainly, though I'd forgotten all about that drink... For a moment there I'd forgotten everything.” He replied “Drink or seat first?” He asked indicating that their seat and the bar were on opposite sides with his head.

[Kavala]

Kavala’s smile lit the room as an idea struck her. The human was a stranger in town, someone she already had a growing fondness for even though she didn’t know him per say. She could almost forgive her dislike of his race and their inherent need to literally try to rule everything and anything. She liked that Shane gave her choices and didn’t try to drag her around the bar decisively like one of the Akalaks would. Either he spent little time with women or had a halfway decent mother that taught him respect. Both thoughts seem to appease Kavala greatly, who headed straight for the bar with her new companion in tow. She ordered a bottle of whiskey, smooth, and two shot glasses and then headed back to the vicinity of her vacated seat. The ones they did have were long gone, but two more opened up at a quiet table away from the music and dancing which Kavala decided to take possession of.

She slipped into her chair, leaned back and set the bottle down. The only other chair was on her side of the table, next to the wall where the two of them could sit side by side like miscreant children or lovers. The two shot glasses clinked when they hit the table, one getting nudged to in front of Shane. The other Kavala held up speculative, as if checking for its cleanness. She found it wanting and touched the rim and insides with her hand, then switched shot glasses with Shane doing the same for his which had now reverted to hers.

She handed him the bottle to uncork and pour. And as he did so, she gestured to the glasses. “There’s nothing left to do but drink and talk the night away. I’m not ready to go home yet, and nor do I feel inclined anymore to take anyone home or follow them to theirs. Your company is enough, I think, better than most, and I’d like to keep it a while more.” The Konti said, smiling at Shane. “So that means we can wrap ourselves around each other, kiss a little and fondle a little more while doing what half this bar is doing or we can get to know each other a bit more sensibly. I thought you might like a game, Shane Wallsly. A drinking game…” Kavala said, proud of herself and enjoying the night. The behavior was highly uncharacteristic of the Mistress of The Sanctuary, but then the whole season had been just a little off for her in more ways than one.

“You get a question of me. And I must answer it or take a shot of this fine whiskey. And when said answer is between us or the shot is consumed, then I get to ask you a question in turn. You can either answer or drink, and pass the turn along to me again. We talk until we run out of things to say or the bottle gets empty. At that point we can decide further what to do with ourselves. The rules are simple. You can’t ask the same question asked of you immediately afterwards. You can ask it a turn or two later, but not before. There are no rules to the questions asked, and no penalties for not answering them other than the shot. No two part questions. Only simple straightforward things. To spice it up, if you refuse a question and take a drink, you must kiss the other as you will, with the taste of the drink still on your lips.” Kavala grinned at this, having made the game up on the spot. She thought it a good one, one that rewarded both the curious and the coward. There would be answers for the brave and kisses for the cowards. And there would no doubt be plenty of drink between them. One or both of them would be under the table before the night was over, sure enough, but they’d be thoroughly kissed as well, if luck hung true.

“And since I created the game, I get to ask the first question.” She tapped his glass as if trying to decide to ask one he’d answer or one she’d really wanted to know about. “How did you learn of Aurists… meaning what was your first experience with it?” The Konti said, curious at first and last to know how he had become a mage. Later, with enough booze in him, she’d ask him what other magic he knew. Because she suspected he knew more. Most mages weren’t simply content with one form of power. It was craved like nothing else and they often frequently broadened their horizons and knowledge base..

[Shane Wallsly]

Kavala smiled a very mischievous smile in reply to his question and lead him to the bar. She ordered a bottle of whisky and nothing else. The fact that she asked for two shot glasses told him he would be partaking also. He'd tried straight spirits before. They tasted worse than wine and that was quite saying something. He still hadn't felt drunk before but he felt with the mischievous look in Kavala's eye that was possibly about to change.

She lead him to an empty table and he sat down allowing himself to relax somewhat after all the dancing. It hadn't been too physically strenuous but it had been quite straining in a few other ways for sure. He was promptly handed the bottle. He assumed to open and pour for that was what he did. He didn't know how much to pour in each little glass so he just filled them both up. He didn't dare take the first shot however for she didn't even move to take hers. Instead she began to talk. She talked of going home with men and of sitting curled in embrace but instead she stopped upon merely being in one another's company. He could only wonder if that was intentional. She did seem to have something of an absent-mindedly flirty nature or at least it did seem to him.

However Shane did perk up at the mention of a game. “I do like a good game but sometimes it's so hard to find a good partner.” He smiled playfully. “Alright, so what are your terms?” He asked and she answered. She'd clearly been thinking about this since the dance floor because she didn't falter once in her relaying of the rules. They were, however, quite simple. Ask a question, respond or drink and kiss, change places, repeat. It was easy as peasy and quite tempting if he said so himself.

“A devious game if ever I heard it.” Shane replied with a smile. “I like it.” Not a moment later did she declare that she would get first turn and asked her question boldly and what a question. Shane chuckled at the audacity. He had forgotten that perhaps this question was something that could be asked freely in Riverfall or between fellow wizards but he'd never been in that kind of environment to him and his usual secretive nautre demanded him to take the shot and leave her without answer. After all he'd be breaking at least two, or maybe three, of the codes he had once sworn to live his lify by including, perhaps, what would be seen as the Prime Directive.

Shane fondled the glass as if he were drinking but decided to actually answer the question. “Never met an Aurist before.” Shane finally replied rather anticlimatically. “Well at least none that I know of. Magic is very uncommon in Syliras and even less common are those who are open about it.”

Shane was tempted to take the drink anyway and fingered it again thoughtfully. “My, umm, my...” He paused hesitantly. “My first experience was when I unlocked the ability. It was an interesting day to say the least. I fasted most of the day. I promised myself I wouldn't eat until I'd done it. Spent most of the day thinking about my hands actually.” He raised his ahdn in front of his face like he had that day. “I thought about what it was. It's an appendage of course but it's also got these other appendages called fingers attached to them and it itself is attached to an appendage the arm which is attached to my body. Everything is connected but we seperate them out into individual functions. What for? Ease? My arm and my hand weren't so different. My body and my head too. The only differences in reality being between my body and another's body. My body and a bed etcetra etcetra. The very fundamental differences were essential to the entire process. That wasn't the whole realisation of course but it was the line of enquiry that first established my ability to see.” He looked back up at her for the first time since he had started. He'd been wrapped up in his story too much to even remember she was there.

“Well I guess that was my answer then.” He smild half-heartedly unsure if his answer was what she had been looking for. “I guess it's time for my question. Hmmmm....” He studied her thinking of what it was he truly wanted to know about her and what questions were suitable really for the beginning of such a game. He didn't want to scare her off of course. “I've spilled the beans on my magical escapades. How did you get into the magic business?” He asked with a smile fully expecting her to take a drink rather than answer. After all if he'd had the advantage and Kavala hadn't known anything about his magic he wouldn't open up to specifics.