Paki'o sat with a small smile on her face. Her sister was doing so well! She hoped Elena won. Not for pride or anything of the sort, just because it would make her sister happy. And silly as it might be, it pleased her to see her siblings happy and accomplished. Not that it ever reflected back on her. Paki was just a simple huntress, content with her place in the pride, in her clan. No ambition, just do what needed to be done to keep order. Hence not even considering the Sky Ceremony. Especially not when she might have had to face Elena; she wouldn't have the heart to fight anyone, much less her own sister, for something as silly as some recognition.
"Nice day." She jumped a little at the sudden voice behind her. Turning, she found a male, one who seemed smaller than he should be, standing only a few paces away. How strange, she should have heard him approach. He gave her a grin that tried to hold sheepish remorse but failed miserably. Apparently he wasn't sorry for startling her.
"Yes, it is," she replied, her smile having fled for a contemplative frown.
"I'm sorry, scaring you and all. Sometimes I forget," the male replied, taking a step and not making a single sound doing so. Well, now that she knew he was there and focused, she could hear the light shift of dirt, but... He was remarkable, to say the least.
"It's alright, I suppose. As long as it wasn't on purpose."
"What if it was?" Paki rose an eyebrow at that statement. Goodness, what a rogue this male was! But he wasn't, not really, not by the amount of tattoos he had. He was an Ela, born and bred without a doubt. But she'd never seen him before, so he must be from another clan. She'd have to ask, well, if he didn't goad her into sending him away, that is.
"Then I'd say it was rude of you and that I don't really care for rudeness." This only made the male grin all the more, his golden eyes sparkling with barely restrained mischief.
"My name's Gavriel." Gav replied, far too amused to not follow some semblance of social protocol. If he didn't, she might take it into her head to leave or drive him off and then where would he be? Alone and bored again, and that was the last thing he wanted.
She was stuffy, far too stuffy for his taste, but amusing nonetheless. Of course he'd snuck up on her on purpose! He liked taking others by surprise, especially his elder brothers. Not Lus or Mikhail, no Cas and Dene and Sae. He generally enjoyed being the nuisance of the family. Or, one of them at least. His brother Balth wasn't much better and Lus seemed to have a knack for troublemaking, despite his reserved attitude.
"Paki'o." Was that all she was going to say? Well, at least he'd gotten her name. He wondered what it meant. It didn't sound terrible, maybe not something he would have preferred, but not bad. Silence began to stretch between them, something he wasn't particularly fond of. Not that he reveled in the sound of his own voice, it was more that silence only led to two things: uncomfortable feelings and over-thinking. He wasn't a fan of either.
"Enjoying the festival so far?" he asked with a tilt of his head. Ah, at least that brought a smile to her face.
Only a few moments into his interactions with this lady and already Gav was deciding that he wouldn't be spending much more time with her. At least not deliberately. Even a little stuffy was too much for him and it went against his grain to try and change anyone, outside of his own family that is. He was forever trying to get some of his brothers to loosen up, if just a bit. Perhaps he should introduce her to one of his littermates, there had to be at least one that might enjoy such a pretty project.
He filed that thought away for later.
"Yes, I am. My sister is in the Sky Ceremony," Paki replied. Did she sound a little smug? No, surely not, smugness wasn't in her nature. But she couldn't keep the pride out of her voice, either. Both of Gavriel's eyebrows rose in keen interest.
"Which combatant?" he asked and she caught the curiosity. He must be enjoying watching the event. Such an interesting character, this Gavriel. He seemed interested in the event itself, but the way he carried himself and how he acted made her think that when faced with a conflict, fighting would be the last thing he'd want to do. From what she could tell, his tongue was edged in silver.
"Elena."
"Oh. No wonder you're proud," he replied with a small smile caught somewhere between genuine and a smirk. Yes, she was, but not entirely so over him having noticed. Pride was not exactly becoming.
"Do you have any relatives participating?"
"No. Probably one of my older siblings considered it, but none signed up." Probably because fighting wasn't much of a sport in his family. His parents had both come from the roguelands and two of his siblings had been lost at a young age. And only one of them had returned as of yet. Samm probably would, someday. Not that Gav really cared, his opinion of Samm and Dene was strained at best. He hadn't exactly been the most welcoming of siblings when Dene returned. But that was a subject his mind steered away from. He had a pretty lady to talk to, after all.
He cleared his throat a bit and tilted his head.
"Looking forward to any of the other ceremonies?" he asked, keeping up the bit of idle chatter for just a little longer.
"Not one in particular. I am mostly pleased at seeing new faces," she replied and he couldn't help smirking a bit.
"Like mine?" That drew a roll of the eyes from her, but she did smile, a plus in his book.
"I suppose so, but I was more referring to incoming rogues and new members to my clan."
"Fair enough, fair enough." He couldn't stop the small laugh that accompanied his acquiescence to her clarification. "I enjoy meeting any new face, as long as it's a pleasant one," he added with a wink and stood. "I'll leave you alone now. Perhaps I'll run into you again, Paki'o."
She watched him dip his head respectfully, turn, and walk away without even waiting for her own farewell. What an interesting male. Strange, and very cocky in her opinion, but interesting nonetheless. He said he had older siblings, it made her wonder just who his family was and how on earth they put up with him if he was always like that.
(WC: 1,151)
