PM to join Dance, Baby, Dance!

[Saiyin]

.
.

45th Summer 518 AV
"Speech"

Lhavit's people were dressed in their finest and paraded and glided amongst fun-filled stalls and festivities that dotted the verdant and vibrant Surya Plaza. Saiyin was not dressed in the latest trend, nor was she particularly smart-looking. She wore her usual green shirt and leather trouser combination, neither of which were fresh after several days of hard labour at the furnace, and a grey cloak to account for the unseasonable cold. Nevertheless, she had tied her hair up in a simple plait and brushed the majority of coal dust from her sleeves for the occasion, and left the hood down to be better able to see the comings and goings, of which there were many.

Saiyin had fond memories of the Midsummer's Festival as a child. Although her parents had been preoccupied with grand quests of knowledge and harebrained forays into the unknown for the majority of time she'd known them, the Midsummer's Festival had always been left available to share as a family. When she was younger, the highlight of the trip was a painted stone her mother bought her each year to ward away bad luck. Once, she had been treated to a lucky pendant, which she'd treasured until she lost it several years later. Now, into adulthood and alone though not lonely, Saiyin didn't expect to buy herself a charm. Nor did she expect to see a letter on red paper given to her, another tradition of the Festival. None of that mattered though.

Fire flared from the mouths of performers, and the various wide sconces dotted through the park were seeming to banish the majority of the clinging, frigid fog that had been plaguing the city since the end of Spring. It was for that reason that Saiyin was idling in the park, killing time and people watching. The fog had been pretty at first in a mysterious, mystical kind of way, but then she'd grown tired of the constant swirling, impenetrable stuff. She couldn't really afford to garb herself in extra clothes and the thick, colourful scarves that were becoming Lhavit's latest thing, so instead she kept herself busy and draped herself in her cosy, grey cloak.

With the prospect of fire and merriment to warm her, Saiyin was beginning to relax away from the all-encompassing mist. The day was still grey and nondescript, but there were enough earthly pleasures to whittle away the bells. Saiyin would treat herself to a hot meal and maybe a drink, if she could find such a thing, and then walk around until her feet grew tired. The plan seemed a good one, if not particularly exciting. Half-heartedly, she wondered if Hessel had made her way down from Okomo Estates, but even if she had it nigh impossible that she'd spot her amongst the crowds, so she settled down to walk alongside a row of trees and gaze out at the faces, young and old, who were enjoying the Festival.

She followed the boulevard until she heard music, and at the sound of a wildly rocking fiddle relaxing into a more stately dance tune, she approached the small gathering of dancers. Handfuls of couples and clusters of laughing teenagers lined the edge, and Saiyin slid beside a red-headed man to watch and appreciate the music. The fiddler was a young woman with gorgeous skin and fair hair swept up into a pile on her head. Her long dresses swirled as she half-danced with the music, and Saiyin watched her fingers with honest amazement, and the actions of the slightly more inept dancers with amusement.

She found herself tapping her foot with the beat, and sensing a chance to make a new acquaintance and have a little fun, she spun on her heel and chirpily asked the fellow beside her, "Care for a little dance?" A smile sparkled in her eyes, and she did a mock bow as the next song, a galloping, frolicking tune, started up. It was far too fast for an inexperienced dancer like her, but it was too late, and she couldn't pull back her request now.

.
.

[Raeyn]

The midsummer festival was most certainly Mara's favourite day of the year. Since she was little girl she looked forward to the morning her mother would plait her hair, ready her finest dress and send her off with a few topaz Kina to watch the fire dancers. They captured her imagination. So much beauty was captured in the fluid movement of dance, the twirling of batons and swallowing of lit swords. And although she was more than old enough to plait her own hair now, she still did it exactly as her mother did all those years ago.

Midsummer was the day of love and passion. A game that Mara excelled at for every year on this very day she seemed to have a different fella on her arm. And this year was no exception. Lucky Mara was in the presence of not just one handsome man but two. One a recent lover, Taris, who boasted a jaw so sharp it could cut glass and musculature so refined he put other men to shame.

The other man was shorter, slimmer and certainly not as burly, but there was certainly a very different charm about him. His name way Raeyn and around the Twilight Tower he was a regular. An Inarta with hair as red as midsummer flames who stuck out like a sore thumb, dressed in a black cloak lined with rabbit fur. Richly died red and navy robes peeked out from beneath it. There was an air of refinement about him even when he regarded his twin sister with affection as he spoke and her gentleman friend with cold, polite detest.

Suffice to say though no fault of his own Raeyn was third-wheeling the party and as far as he was concerned he'd much rather have staid at home. It was Mara's incessant pleading for three days straight that doomed him to a day of merriment and leisure. How very unfortunate.

"Perhaps this year you could finally meet someone, Rae-rae." said Mara as they passed a stand with red paper notes. "You spend so much time by yourself..."

"Must we have this conversation every single year?" sighed Raeyn, rolling his eyes for it was most certainly not the first time and possibly not the last he'd have to shoot down his twin sister's hopes of ever becoming an aunt.

"Maybe this time it will be different?" she replied.

"Hey, just look at yourself, brother. Any girl would be lucky to have you." added Taris, clearly oblivious to the glare Raeyn was shooting him. A venomous glare caused not only by the man's very existence but also the insinuation that the two would every be brothers. Such a thought was simply a too horrific to think.

Mara giggled, seeing the uncomfortable expression on her brother's face. Sometimes it seemed as if she picked them only to wind him up. "Come on Rae-rae. Take a chance on love." she chuckled, clearly struggling to take her own words seriously but then a thought popped into her mind. Ducking between the festival goers she quickly leaped over to the red note stand, exchanged a few coins and returned to the men who now engaged in awkward silence. "Why don't you write a little note on this?.."

"NO!" cried Raeyn, attempting to snach the piece of paper from her hand unsuccesfully.

"It won't hurt! Don't be such a massive stick in the mud and have some fun for once."

"I wouldn't even know what to..."

"Something nice and generic. Something a girl might like to hear... or a guy."

"Mara this is not funny." Raeyn protested as if his life and pride depended on it.

She however did not listen. "Look, I'll do it for you." she giggled as she turned her back and wrote down the first thing that popped into her mind:

"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

-it was a simple message but it would do the trick. Feeling so very proud of herself and entertained endlessly by the whole debacle Mara disappeared into the crowd, pulling her gentleman friend after her and leaving poor Raeyn alone.

But the day was still young, the party was in full swing and he had to find some way of even marginally entertaining himself until she would finally stop being childish and decide to abandon this inferno of joy and dance. For a few chimes he wandered around aimlessly from display to display, watching dancers perform their stunts and routines until sweet music reached his ears. The sounds of a fiddler fiddling melodies with such finesse that she had gathered an impressive crowd around her. A crowd which he soon joined as if entranced by the notes.

For a while he watched the fair faired woman play; the way her fingers glided and danced along the fretless neck and the way the bow swooned backwards and forwards as she leaned into the many melodies that she plaid. And as one of such songs came to an end a voice surprised him with a proposition to dance.

Raeyn turned to see an extraordinarily ordinary looking woman, especially by the standards of the city where no one ever really looked quite this plain. It was a face he would not instantly remember should he try to recall this day. Her clothes bore none of the usual splendour of Lhavit's latest fashions.

Unwilling to seem rude, Raeyn brought a smile to his lips as he spoke. "But m'lady I'm afraid I'm no dancer. I'd hate to disappoint." he spoke hoping, praying to Leth and Syna and any god that would listen for her to not push the matter. He simply dreaded the feeling of embarrassment.

[Saiyin]

.
.

"Speech"

Unfortunately for Raeyn, Saiyin's impishness was only growing, and she feigned not to have heard him. This was almost true- she had seen his small head-shake and general look of regretful declination, but the meaning of the words had been partially lost over the bustling sound of the crowd. Her extended hand looked foolish now. She bit her tongue to stop herself from cajoling him..- was he going to leave her hanging? She grinned weakly and tried to pretend that she was going to straighten her cloak instead, but just ended up looking more embarrassed than smooth.

A woman in her forties raucously butted in, and Saiyin could almost feel the strings of fate tying her shoelaces in knots to trip her over socially. "Hey! Don't stand up the girl Mr! She's smitten!" That word was drawn-out and sing-songy in the most irritating of ways. Saiyin absolutely wasn't smitten, wasn't anything of the sort, but she grimaced tightly at the guffawing woman, and turned her eyes up to the silken-haired man. Partly to get away from the abrasive intrusion, and partly in retaliation, she lunged forwards exclaiming, "C'mon then!", and without warning grabbed Raeyn's hand and pulled him into the dance.

She immediately regretted it. Not only had she accidentally chosen one of the fastest dance tunes to dance to, but she was not a natural dancer and her movements seemed to only get in everyone's way. Saiyin tried looking at the other couples feet moving and shuffling, but every time her eyes darted down to the floor she found herself elbowed in the ribs or the shoulder, enough to draw her attention up again. The red-headed man was pleasant in the face, and under normal circumstances she would probably blush, but in the heat and fury of the stomping, rollicking dance, she aggressively wound her arm around his waist in an attempt to keep them both under control.

It didn't work. She swished around and around, getting herself in a tangle. She couldn't even tell if he was good at it or not, she was too caught up in her own problems. Suddenly, she felt a shove to her back which sent her stumbling forwards. She was so spun around that she couldn't think properly, and without warning she placed both her hands on the man's chest to steady herself and stop her from completely falling on her face and embarrassing herself so publicly. Now she blushed, a shock of pink quickly spreading to her cheeks, and she abruptly stepped back just in time for the song and the dreadful dancing experience to finish.

"Um, I'm sorry, haha!" She laughed awkwardly, and ran a hand through her dishevelled hair whilst trying to catch her breath and fan her burning cheeks. "I got pushed, and that wasn't a good idea in hindsight. Aah, uh, anyway. I'm Saiyin. It's kind of nice to meet you." She giggled in a somewhat desperate way, and rubbed her palms against her trouserlegs. "I'll leave you be now. Unless...?" She left the unspoken question of whether he'd be mad enough for another dance hanging, and began turning on her heel to walk away to save herself from any further social shame.

.
.

[Raeyn]

Raeyn was indeed full of himself enough to believe she was smitten. He wasn't oblivious to his handsomeness. And it was in this honest belief that he protested no more as the girl pulled him towards the rest of the dancers. Much like her, he did find himself regretting the decision soon enough for barely did they step into the mass of twirling couples, the complexity and tempo of the dance stole his breath away.

At first he did honestly try to keep up. He did his best to stomp and frolic along even though to any outsider he must have looked like a stumbling idiot. Quite unbefitting a man of his refinement was this dance. In a flurry of jigging and twirling white and red strands slipped out from his braids as his stiff demeanour loosened up, started taking some enjoyment in the freedom of the melody and the silly dance. There was even a smile on his face. Their feet moved far too quickly for him to even think, never mind strive for any semblance of perfection. Besides she as as bad at this as him and that gave Raeyn comfort for all the worst reasons.

As the melody came to an and he felt her hands on his chest and almost instinctively he held her tighter, fearing she might trip. Her apologies were unnecessary. She wasn't the only one who had to take a moment and breathe. Raeyn too had wiped a dot of sweat from his mismatched brows and pink cheeks. Could it be? Was he blushing or was it just the effect of the cool fog and physical excretion?

But as the music came to an end so did the brief encounter and he was very much ready to leave it as just that. A moment of childlike glee to stay in his memory just that: a perfect little silly moment he'd never mention again. It was not to be so however for barely did Saiyin manage to turn her back she would feel a tug on her sleeve.

"I see you met my brother!" came a familiar female voice as a fiery haired beauty shoved her way through the crowd. "I'm Mara. That Rae-rae." she leaned in closer, whispering as she pushed a red piece of paper into the woman's hands. "He wanted me to give you thins. Don't let him see it though."

Before the true gravity of this unfortunate change of circumstances truly settled in; before he had even the slightest chance to react, Mara was gone. Whatever the colour in his cheeks might have been, it was definitely the blush of embarrassment now.

[Saiyin]

.
.

"Speech"

Saiyin blinked a few times as the woman, introducing herself as Mara, burst onto the scene. She could only wordlessly gape as the red note was pushed into her hands, but she paid attention to the warning and quickly pushed it into the inner pocket of her cloak, in case Raeyn had been looking. Dots connected as she realised that Rae-rae was Mara's brother, and Saiyin waved half-heartedly as Mara fled almost as soon as she'd arrived. She was convinced that 'Rae-rae' was not his real name, and feeling it would only be right to find out his real name, she turned on her heel and faced him again.

He was flushed, from embarrassment she supposed, but she ignored it and tried to make herself look less awkward and more approachable. After all, she reasoned to herself, she liked talking to people, didn't she? Despite her foolishness, this social encounter was no different than any other. The thought was soothing, and she unconsciously settled into a more comfortable version of herself.

"I imagine your real name isn't Rae-rae, right? I'm Saiyin. It's nice to meet you." She patted her pocket self-consciously, checking the note was still there. She was curious now, really very curious to know what was written on the red note. There was a tradition of the Midsummer's Festival to exchange conversation starters as a way of finding a new flame. Saiyin couldn't believe that Raeyn would have written the one in her pocket for her, but even so she was apprehensively curious to know what it said. She tried to think of how to read it without him seeing, in the meantime saying,"Your sister seemed like a nice lady. She had very pretty hair, at least."

She was testing the waters now, having been thrown off course by the arrival of Mara and the red note. And she thought she finally had a way to reads the note! "Would you be interested in another dance? I think she's getting ready to start another tune. But first I need to tie my laces!" She exclaimed, and then hurriedly knelt down with her back twisted to the man whilst she rummaged in her pocket for the little crimson paper.

"You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen."

It was a compliment, but Saiyin had absolutely no idea how to take it. She looked at it once more, then furiously shoved it back in her pocket and just remembered to tie her lace before standing and trying not to look at Rae. But she had to, of course, it would be rude not to. In a silly state, like a blushing schoolgirl, she darted a glance at his eyes. They were crystalline blue, like a pool. "You have very lovely eyes too." A compliment for a compliment. She hoped that would be the last of the flirtation and waited to hear what he had to say to her proposition, whilst simultaneously knowing that she was in for an interesting day.

.
.

[Raeyn]

He'd been used to the embarrassing nickname for years, yet hearing it come from the lips of a virtual stranger irked him. it was so undistinguished, so disgustingly sweet and childish. All the qualities which he did not care for. He was a Raeyn, a learned, skilful man of many facets. He dressed like a Raeyn and spoke like a Raeyn and carried himself with no other manner than that of a Raeyn. However, what he was most certainly not, at least in his own opinion, was a Rae-rae. How disgraceful! Hearing the name leave Saiyin's lips was like a stab to his pride.

He grimaced as if he'd have just swallowed a lemon and brought a hand to his forehead to check that it was still there. For all he knew, his head might have swollen with embarrassment and exploded. A tactile affirmation to the contrary was necessary.

"No. Most certainly not." he chuckled for at this point, drowning so deep in his embarrassment, he could think of no other apt reaction that simply to laugh. Of course, perhaps if it had been more socially acceptable, he might have jumped off a cliff and plummeted to his death; but alas in the current shortage of adequately tall cliffs, this suicide would remain social only. In spite of the handsome smile on his face, the Inarta was indeed drowning pits of emotional despair.

"It is truly a pleasure to make your acquaintance miss Saiyin. My name is Raeyn. And if you'd be kind enough to banish that dreadful nickname from your memory I would be forever in your debt. As you see my sister lives to embarrass me and will evidently stop at nothing... no matter how much I wish she would."

Raeyn was far from observant so he had neither seen Mara pass the note to Saiyin nor what was written on it. Every fibre in his body wished that it had been left black, which was very much not the case. He had guessed what his sister made her appearance for, however. It was so very transparent.

As his new lady friend proposed another dance he jumped to object as politely as he could. After the unbecoming adventure of the last attempt he would do his damnedest to avoid the next, especially since he knew Mara was watching. After all, the prospect of her finding out that he had fun was unfathomable. She'd never live it down.

He watched her tie her shoes for a moment, hoping his pleas might dampen her thirst for dancing. Perhaps a more dignified pass time would serve them better, like a conversation or literally anything other than dancing. But as she rose to her feet an unexpected comment reached Raeyn's ears. A dumbfounded expression etched itself into his features. His eyes searched her's for an explanation as to where such a comment could have come from.

"I... well.. you flatter me my lady. And likewise, by all means, but..." the words trailed off and his lip hung agape there for a few moment as the gears of his mind turned and slowly. very slowly and to his very horror the connections were made. Mara! It was all Mara's doing. It always is. She was like a shadowy puppeteer, pulling on Rae's strings. And as the horror of the realisation dawned on him, he became more and more convinced that perhaps she really was the devil incarnate. There was going to be a fight in the Inarta household later. For the last time would he let her get away with such shenanigans without an ear beating.

"My sister. Has she given you anything. A note perhaps?" Raeyn asked cautiously, hoping that perhaps his assumptions were wrong. Perhaps he really did have pretty eyes.

[Saiyin]

.
.

"Speech"

Saiyin didn't believe she was imagining the pained expression that had settled on the man's face, but then he had a charming smile to counter it, and that masked the embarrassment that they shared between them. As she tied her laces, she quickly ran his name over, faithfully banishing the amusing nickname from her memory.

Raeyn...

It was back to Raeyn's eyes that she stared with confusion to match his new found understanding. Had he not known about the note? Saiyin wasn't sure why Mara had slipped her the note, but had assumed that somehow Raeyn had wanted it to happen. Perhaps he was shy, or just couldn't find a way to share the red note paper in the way he wanted. Saiyin slowly withdrew the note from within her cloak pocket and held it in the palm of her hand. A little flicker of breeze gently rocked the crimson paper, but it held still, giving Raeyn a good chance to look at it.

"Yes, she did... Has there been some mistake here? Did you perhaps, or I suppose did Mara give this to the wrong person? If so, I'm terribly sorry for crumpling it so. Here, you can take it back if you like." Saiyin's mouth turned down at the corner, but she held out the note. There was nothing quite so unfortunate as realising you weren't the subject of affection, even if it was from a stranger she didn't quite know if she even liked or not. Saiyin felt the same embarrassment of someone extending a hand to another, only to realise the recipient was already shaking someone else's hand.

Still, it would be amiss of her to be feeling down on a festival day. There would be some broken hearts on Midsummer's Festival, but Saiyin wasn't the kind of girl to let a silly misunderstanding get in her way of fun, and so she brightened slightly and put her hands in her pocket. The fiddler woman had already started the next dance tune, and the clustered people around had started to waltz. Saiyin decided that she didn't want another dance, after all. One lot of clumsiness was enough for today.

Instead, she tilted her head to watch her new-found acquaintance with curiosity, mainly directed at the red hair she could see peeking out from his braids, and more specifically the abstract lock of white mingled within. "So, Raeyn. Shall we leave off the dance? Can I ask..- what happened to your hair? It's so very similar to your sister's, but that white patch is different. And, although please don't get me wrong, but it suits your face I think. But, not to say that I find it particularly appealing. Well."

She trailed off. What on earth was wrong with her? One small encounter with a handsome man and she was in knots. Saiyin mentally slapped herself. "It is an unusual look, but not one that is necessarily bad. Like my nose, for instance. Just a little bit potato-y, but I'm quite fond of it." She laughed in good humour, if only to appease herself that she wasn't completely butchering their conversation.

.
.

[Raeyn]

There it was. Unmistakable and red with his sister's handwriting scrawled across the paper as if she was purposely trying to embarrass him. No dignified gentleman would ever even consider such bad calligraphy on a love note. Certainly not Raeyn. Even if he wasn't one for romance, he had more tact than that.

His eyes stared at it with horror spread across his face as if she had just backhanded him. At this point his cheeks had become the same colour as his hair. Torrents of emotion swirled in his head. First embarrassment, then dread and then.... pity - something he seldom felt. But seeing the dire disappointment manifest on Saiyin's face could twist any heart, even one as cold as his. Could he sacrifice just a shred of his ego for this one selfless act? That certainly seemed the case for before he even realised, his body acted on auto pilot and his fingers curled around her's, closing her palms around the red letter. "Keep it." he whispered, simultaneously answering all and none of her questions at the same time. Exactly in the moment following he would be asking himself why he did what he just did but do his best to keep up the poker face.

Seeing Saiyin's change of heart about the dancing allowed Raeyn to breathe a sign of relief, but just to be sure he grasped her by the wrist and gently pulled aside, where they could be away from the loud music and dancing. A place they could delight in conversation rather than festive but essentially contrived attempts to force strangers to mingle. Strangers such as them indeed. Albeit seeing the way she stared at him now made the Inarta a little nervous - and he was never nervous.

Raeyn should have been better prepared for the question that followed for he was asked it really quite often. Yet somehow he figured more pressing topics of conversation, than his hair, to be at hand. He watched the woman stumble over her words awkwardly, trying to articulate her self. He watched her laughter try to hide what he deemed was perhaps the most drawn out and indeed butchered way he had ever been asked the same question before. At least she was far more polite about it than some.

His eyes blinked, a little dumbfounded for a moment before beginning to chuckle quietly. Entertainment of his tastes was the last thing he expected to find at the festival yet such entertainment indeed did he find in this conversation. "I can assure you there's simply nothing potato-y about you, Saiyin. Quite the contrary" he said, finding the whole concept rather amusing.


"I apologise my dear, but I'm afraid you may find the answer rather underwhelming. I suppose it is unnatural," he left short pauses randomly dotted between sentences as if to give himself time to think. " but I was born like this. Look." He pulled back his hair a little more to reveal a patch of white skin, that matched that underneath his eye, just below his hairline. The corners were fuzzy, undefined as if some painter simply forgot to finish of the canvas that was Raeyn.

[Saiyin]

.
.

"Speech"

She pocketed the note and smiled when Raeyn pulled her aside, following willingly until they were away from the dancing and music and somewhere a tad quieter. Saiyin wasn't sure that was for the better... She was tongue-tied. Conversation was likely to be poor when she was in such a state. She chalked it up as the fact Raeyn was an attractive sort of man, with a kind of charm she wasn't accustomed to, but really Saiyin was used to enjoying people's company, and talking clearly. Now, she was just as clumsy in speech as she was in dance. The thought irritated her somewhat, that she was letting a handsome man make her feel in such a way. So she smiled with quirked lips at his passing compliment, and peered closer at the patch of pale skin he showed her, ignoring his blue, blue eyes.

"Well, unnatural or not, I'll stick by my statement after all. It suits you. As for myself, you flatter me, but I am perfectly happy knowing I'm plain. Not everyone in this world gets to be beautiful, but everyone can be useful to some degree at least. I aim for the latter." She smiled again, good-naturedly, and gestured to the path in front of them. "Would you care to walk with me, rather than just standing here like lemons? I think we're both worn out from dancing, but my feet can cope with a little walk. There's lots to see here, after all, and I haven't seen much of it yet!"

If Raeyn was happy to walk and talk, they would set off through the Plaza. Saiyin's eyes wandered across the stalls and performers that dotted the space, but she was particularly entranced by the fire that was dotted throughout the festival. In a way, she had always been amazed by fire. Her father, long-ago, had taught her how to create fire from flint and tinder, but it was the playful and utterly wild nature of the flames themselves that fascinated her. They danced with a controlled passion that she didn't truly understand, but she appreciated the power of the flame more than most. In her line of work, fire and the heat it brought was beyond essential.

"What is it that you do for a living, Raeyn?" Even before she'd finished asking the question, she brought a finger up to halt his answer. "Or, can I guess?" Her voice tilted up and trailed off as she ran her eyes over the man again, trying only to analyse. She saw he wore neat clothing, so very unlike her own, which meant she almost immediately dismissed any thought of manual work. Was he a scholar? The precise way in which he spoke seemed to suggest it, but Saiyin wasn't so sure. Weren't scholars supposed to have ink-stained fingers and bags under their eyes? Stumped, her shoulders slumped and she ceded defeat with a wry grin.

"I'm afraid I spoke before I should have. Raeyn, I've no idea of your occupation... Unless by chance you're a scholar?" She paused to let him confirm or deny it. "Would you enlighten me then? Then you can try to guess mine. Unless you'd prefer I stop with the silly games and just tell you." This time, she grinned full and wide. Truthfully, she loved the mystery and sleuthing, even though it was for something as mundane as guessing someone's employment. There was a childlike sense of glee at the little game. Whether Raeyn shared in the fun, well, that was another matter.

.
.

[Raeyn]

Raeyn tilted his head somewhat. Eyes puzzled by her comment but no reply came from his lips as he codon’t begin to suss out how to formulate such a reply. She was wrong. Of that he was certain. Everyone could be beautiful. After all that’s what fancy clothing and rouge was for. A little khol around the eyes, a little lipstick and even the plainest could stand out. Who ever wanted to be subjected to a life of being plain? Certainly not a native of Lhavit.

Truly, the spoilt man that he was, Raeyn cared little about his usefulness to others. His friendships, companionships and even the few lovers he had over the years, all revolved about what the other could do for the selfish Inarta alchemist. Even now Saying wasn’t permitted to his time because of any usefulness he might have to her but simply to keep Mara’s nonsense at bay. It wasn’t something Raeyn was consciously aware off but an undeniable truth hiding deep at the back of his subconscious. He treated her, just as he had ever treated everyone, as a convenience of circumstance. And unless their paths were to cross again for some uncontrollable by himself reason, It would be unlikely for the Inarta to ever seek the woman out of his own accord.

“Certainly.” Raeyn smiled politely at the offer. He took Saiyin’s hand and looped it beneath so that her fingers rested on the ledge that was his left forearm. His arm palm covered her fingertips. Skin warm against skin. So very proper, was he. So very formal in everything that he did, even walking beside a woman. For afar, Mara would glimpse sight of the couple as they made their way to see more of the festivities. A smile on her face, entirely concerned she had managed to work her magic after all these years.

A chuckle came from the inertia’s lips as she began guessing his occupation. It was really quite entertaining. If she couldn’t tell what he did for a living at least he was doing something right. “I’m a hunter.” Said Raeyn after a few moment, satisfied that she wasn’t going to get it on the first try or the second.

But then came his turn. Slate eyes studied her disheveled dress, the sut about her sleeves, the unpainted face. A prolonged “Hmmmmm.” echoed from his lips before he was finally ready to make his answer. Judging by the lack of makeup she couldn’t work in the art trade, surely. Glasswork briefly crossed his mind but the thought was quickly abandoned for a myriad of other guesses in his mind. And when none seemed more plausible than the next, Raeyn decided that perhaps being a little more strategic about this was the way to go. “Do you, work in a shop? Trade skills perhaps? Oh goodness I’m terrible at these games.”

But then it was his turn to ask questions. That’s how this game worked right? She asked one, then one from him would follow. And if that wasn’t at all what Saiyin had meant when she proposed such a game, he’d make it so anyhow. “Whereabouts in the city do you live?” Such information told him a lot about the character of somebody. Knowing Lhavit better than the back of his own hands, he was familiar with the character of each peak and the people that resided on it.