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 Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 5:21 pm
"Can't ruin such a perfect thing," he said in answer, waving a hand to encompass said atmosphere. "I'm about to eat no doubt the best pastries in this country beside an amazing wonder of the world." Pausing for effect, he gave her a quick, small grin, "Oh, and the ocean." Snatching the apple from the air, he held it out for the stallion, letting the creature take a few big bites before letting him chomp up the rest. "Adair? Cam? Daegus, maybe..." he said, looking the horse over with a critical eye. The beast eyed him right back, tossing his head in a rather sassy manner as he finished the apple. "Are ye a Daegus, beastie?" His voice changed in the question, letting in the thick brogue his country was known for. But it was gone as quickly as it had come and he turned to Raj with a lifted brow. "How about Daegus?"
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Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2014 9:54 pm
The gypsy paused and blinked. "...I cannot believe you just said that," she lamented, lips twitching despite herself. What a horribly over the top line. He sounded like a particularly bad playwright. Had the man no shame?
Shaking her head, she instead considered his suggestion. She had heard the name before, though it was on a much smaller creature than the fiery horse. Almost as opposite a beast as one could imagine, truth be told, though perhaps they shared one or two things in common. At the least, Soibhan's mouse was as bold as the horse.
Oberon found the comparison to be particularly entertaining. A horse that was named after a mouse - or at least shared a name. Perfectly fitting for so ignoble a creature, in his not so humble opinion. Rajani did not necessarily share his opinion, yet the Guardian had been so accommodating the past several days that she could hardly help but humor him this once.
"It has a good sound," she said, and that much was true. Oberon made a sound suspiciously like a laugh, but the gypsy ignored him in favor of pouring the juice. "Now eat before it all cools." Most of it had managed to retain some warmth, all bundled together as it had been, but the breeze was quickly cooling it - not that it tasted at all bad cool, it was just that much better while still warm from the oven.
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 12:05 pm
His laugh was warm and hearty at her reaction to his very absurd compliment. It had been a stretch, but he had mostly wanted it to make her smile. Slapping the horse's neck in an affectionate way, he said, "Well, Daegus it is," and the stallion snorted before dodging away and directly towards the water. He began to play in the waves, entertaining himself, as Maedoc settled down beside Raj on the stone. Lifting one of the cups, he sipped the refreshing drink while eyeing Oberon. The buck was a rather stoic sort, but not when it came to the disdain he apparently felt for Maedoc. It was almost flattery to be hated so much. "Does he hate all the men that deign to speak to you?" Grabbing one of the fluffy, icing covered pastries, he took a rather large bite and savored the buttery sweetness of it on his tongue. He was right; these were the best pastries he'd ever eaten. "Which is to say, he must hate quite a lot of men, as I can't think many would pass you by without a word." Nyx Argyros He likes complimenting her apparently xD
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 4:30 pm
The stag stared straight back, looking rather haughty despite the fact that he was lying in the sand - in fact, he looked rather like a feline in regal repose. He managed to give the impression of looking down his nose at the man, despite the fact that Maedoc was actually seated higher than he.
Rajani glanced at the stag as she took a bite of the first morsel. "I think," she said after swallowing, "he finds it simpler to dislike men in general, and hate especially those who seem interested in me." One of the stag's ears flicked back, seeming to convey his opinion on the matter. Pests.
"He's almost as bad as an overprotective brother, though you may be exaggerating," she added, though this did not deter the stag in the least.
It did not seem to occur to the gypsy that Maedoc's observation was, in fact, a compliment. At least, not until she had said herself that he was exaggerating. Neither did she realize that her correction might sound like a boast. It was just the way that Oberon was, regardless of how much it did or did not have to do with her.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 4:36 am
Maedoc regarded the stag with a raised brow, tipping his cup to him in a small, very slight toast. You won't deter me, the toast seemed to say. To Rajani he said, "He is a more reliable protector than perhaps anything else, I'd imagine. It is good you have him, though don't get me wrong. I don't doubt you could take care of yourself." He gave her a rather pointed look and wondered how many weapons she had hidden on her person. Though none of them were visible to his rather observant eye(and he had definitely looked, for more than one reason), he didn't doubt for a second that they were there. Not only did the Romani have a penchant for such things, but Raj just seemed like the type... "I hope we can see Pemma once more before we leave, by the way. I don't think I can give up this town without having a few more of these before I go." He lifted the sugared, flaky pastry and took a massive bite, sugar dusting his lips and he chewed in true food induced pleasure.
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Posted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 7:58 pm
Oberon seemed to be wondering what the man's angle was, to be praising his abilities so highly. Particularly since he did not sound insincere.
Recalling their first conversation, Rajani did not doubt his words - if she had, she would have violently disproved his own doubts. She needed no protection. She did just fine on her own. So why was it that when he mentioned them leaving Northport and taking it for granted that they would leave together, she did not so much as bat an eye? In fact, she hardly seemed to notice it, as though it were the most natural thing in the world that they ought to travel hither and thither together.
Oberon noticed it, however, and he wondered about it. He Chosen was not the type to fall so easily into stride with another. Her close companions earned their place. What had this man done but smile and talk pretty? Her easy acceptance of the virtual stranger troubled him greatly - particularly because she did not seem to realize how oddly she was behaving at all. Oh, yes. The stag would be keeping a close watch on this one.
"There will be more at the House tonight," she assured him. "Though if your appetite is so keen for them, perhaps we ought not remain here long. You'll make yourself fat." Not that she could really talk. She licked a finger clean of icing and the few sticky flakes of pastry that clung to it, unwilling to waste even that much of Pemma's heavenly creation.
"Is there anything in particular you would like to see or do while we're here?" she wondered. Not that the town had attractions like the capitol or points of interest like Oldcastle, but being a center of trade, the various meshing cultures did create their own particular kind of appeal.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 5:31 pm
Putting a hand to his belly--which was quite flat and in no worry of going otherwise, he thought--Maedoc feigned hurt at her words but popped the last bit of pastry into his mouth and made a show of enjoying it.
"Enjoying my present company and beholding the sea were the two important things. But I think there is one thing I would like to do before we traipse elsewhere." There was a rather cheeky grin on his face as he said it.
He snatched another pastry and held it between his teeth as he rose fluidly to his feet and began walking towards the water. With deft fingers, he began unlacing and unbuckling his various weapon belts and traveling clothes and dropping them to the sand, stopping to take bites of the pastry as he did so.
Toeing off his boots one by one, he stepped onto the wet sand just out of reach of the water and let his toes sink into it. It felt cold, but amazing. These next moments were going to be very cold but he had to do it. Grin widening to one of almost childlike glee, he ran into the surf until he couldn't run anymore, and then he dove into the waves.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:05 pm
Somehow, Rajani had managed to forget how much a man could eat. She had grown up with a brother, had known the twins for years, and still the full extent of their appetite had slipped her mind. She shook her head, but wondered dubiously just what trouble that smile promised. It was a good smile, though. A very good one. She tried not to think about it.
It proved rather difficult when she was left staring at a bare expanse of tawny skin. It was much easier to imagine that smile coupled with that bare torso.
Heat rushed to her cheeks, but she couldn't quite look away until he had dived beneath the waves. Then, she gasped and wondered that a fool he was, going for a swim in the Iron Sea so early in the year. Not that the water was ever warm, but few would attempt to dip their toes in for another month!
"Get out of there, you great idiot!" she called once he had surfaced. "You'll catch your death!"
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:28 pm
Tossing his drenched hair from his face, he threw his arms into the air and let out a great whoop of both excitement and sheer, overwhelming physical sensation. The water was so cold that it nearly took his breath away, so the whoop sounded perhaps a little less exuberant than it could have. Letting his body fall back into the water again, he floated on the waves as his teeth chattered, riding it into his back hit the sand. <******** hell," he sputtered then, unable to take it anymore. Scrambling to his feet, he bounced out of the water and began running in a large, loose circle in the dry sand to dry his upper body a bit. While he had a spare pair of trousers and a clean rag for his hair in his saddlebags, the water had made good work on turning his body into an ice cube, and, well....he wouldn't be putting on a very manly, impressive show if he stripped in front of her to change at the moment.
"Had to," he said between breaths, his teeth chattering a bit still. Clicking them tightly together, he focused on getting the blood pumping through his veins. Which....brought rather ungentlemanly thoughts to mind about other ways to warm up. "Would have regretted it if I didn't."
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:43 pm
"You couldn't have waited a month or two?" she snipped, arms crossed and lips pursed. Or at least, she hoped she sounded snappish and not at all like she couldn't help but notice how clean the lines of his face were with his hair slicked back. Or how tattoos seemed to mark half of his body. Or how little droplets of water added a certain glimmer to his body. Or how some of those droplets of water slid down his strong chest until they caught on the band of his pants...
She swallowed and cast her gaze to the side of him, seeming to find something in the middle distance most worthy of her scrutiny.
"Go dry off, will you? You wouldn't want to die of pneumonia before you sampled more of Pemma's delicacies." The gypsy truly hoped that her face was not sporting yet another flush, or if it was, that it could be passed off as temper.
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:58 pm
Clicking his tongue at Daegus and the horse blew out a long-suffering sigh before he walked placidly towards his human. Manuevering the big stallion to stand between himself and Raj, Maedoc began digging in his saddlebags, tossing a dry pair of black trousers and a rag across the horse's back.
"No idea if I'll be back here in a month or two. I was willing to live in the moment." He tried to make his voice sound like more than a cold wheeze, and he thought maybe it came out more like a rough, whiskey soaked growl instead. "Even if now I feel like I could sit comfortably inside a hearthfire and still get my teeth to chatter."
Stripping the wet pants off, he tossed them aside to be wrung out later. While the wind off the ocean hadn't felt particularly special before, now it bit at his bare hide like a slap of needles over his backside. Yanking the dry garment down, he hastily slipped the pants on and ignored the laces as he stepped out from behind Daegus, towel in hand. Normally he'd let his hair dry on its own, but the prospect of catching a chill was not one he wanted to linger on.
When he looked up at Raj, he found a faint splash of pink on her cheeks and stopped, idly drying his hair with the rag and wondering what was going through her mind. Was it just the wind that turned her rosy, or something else? The mere thought made the grin reappear, though it was a little more subtle.
"What's on your mind, m'lady? Surely you're not worried I'll catch ill."
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Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:46 pm
Seize the moment and damn the consequences? That sounded like something a man with far too cavalier an attitude would think. That sounded like something she couldn't afford to do. She had to live with the consequences...or escape them. Yet somehow, even though she could evade them for a time, Rajani was beginning to realize that she had to face her demons sooner or later. In fact, she had one or two waiting back in Palisade. Those were sobering thoughts.
But it was difficult to dwell on her personal problems when she was faced with a much more immediate problem, though she refused to classify it was such. No, it was an annoyance. Merely an annoyance. Because a problem would imply that she had good cause to be worried, and there was no reason whatsoever that the gypsy should be concerned about the man who was changing behind his horse - behind his horse! - and...
...and happened to look like trouble drying his hair off like that. If she were a more proper lady, she would be shocked by his indecency. As it stood, she was had grown up surrounded by sometimes uncouth gypsy men. There was absolutely no difference between this and what she may have seen as a girl. None at all.
She scoffed at his suggestion. "Worried that I'll have to explain to Pemma why her special guest fell ill, more like." She dared to cast a disparaging glare at Maedoc, and her eyes most certainly did not linger on the play of firm muscle beneath skin before she looked away again, resolutely refusing to look quite at him.
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 3:06 pm
"Special guest," he snorted, still smiling as he dried his hair. "More like future prospective family member. She looked at me like I was the catch of the century." There wasn't any arrogance in his tone. No, in fact, he was a bit out of his element. To go so far as to say he was uncomfortable might have been a stretch, but it was close. Finding his sister should have been the first thing on his mind, and yet here he was, flirting with a beautiful woman on a beach at the end of the country and preparing to go to the family house of said beautiful woman for more delicious pastries.
The absurdity of it almost made him laugh.
"I feel like I should grab a shield and possibly an iron poker to fend off nosy family members."
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Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 9:38 pm
"Don't flatter yourself," she said, lifting her chin slightly. "Pemma looks at most men of a certain age as future prospects." Which wasn't a lie. The old gypsy did enjoy playing matchmaker. She just hadn't ever taken to one as instantaneously or intensely as she had Maedoc. If she were to think deeply about it, Rajani may feel she had cause to be worried, after all. "But if it makes you feel better, none of my blood will be there, nor my tribe, most likely. Just my people, and Pemma." Though of course, the older woman was close to her heart. The House was rarely empty and one never could tell who might be there from one day to the next, but they were all one people. Especially under that roof. No squabbles were permitted there. It was a safe-house. A sanctuary. Something almost sacred. An unspoken symbol that though they were scattered to the four winds, they were still united in spirit; and that was really all they needed. She glanced at him and found that he was still indecent by polite standards, though he was at least decent enough to spare her modesty. "If you are quite finished recovering from your foolishness, I would like to enjoy the town before you feel forced to take up a shield."Ashtiel Arykosa I figure we can gloss over their daytime meanderings before we put them at the House, unless you want to have the pretty birdie show up while they're still in town. Whichever you prefer.
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