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 Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 6:20 pm
She was mid cheer when her ears caught his words. Riya looked at him with a somewhat startled look. "Huh?" Instantly she looked around then back at him. "You want to be with...? But I thought.." Iriyana frowned as she let her gaze drop to her lap. "You have been avoiding me since I got here."
Bringing her brows together she started to once again pick at the greens in her lap. "I gave my body to you already so I don't understand why.." Things had been so much easier when she had kept everyone away. Ergon wanted to be with her and yet he didn't want to touch her? She was so used to leaning against him, hugging him, and much more but now he wanted none of that? So she looked up at him. "Am I not good enough?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 6:46 pm
The startled look made Ergon's brow rise slightly. Thought what? Avoiding? She thought he was avoiding? His cheeks flared bright purple as he turned toward her. "I-I'm not avoiding! I asked you to come so that we could spend time together." He gawked slightly, uncertain of what was happening.
Oh......... "It wouldn't be polite... to touch on our.. first actual date," he murmured out. It had made sense at the time, but considering what they'd already given to each other... "Saying it out loud.. I guess it is rather silly to you."
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 6:56 pm
Riya blinked. And blinked. Then slowly smiled and eventually giggled. Not just because he was cute when he turned that color but because she now understood! Whether or not it was polite she leaned over and kissed his cheek sweetly. "It is silly to me." If only because of what they'd shared. Sitting back in her chair she couldn't help but grin. "You are so much more proper than I am used to, Ergon." The crowd around them cheered again for the combatants and she looked at the herbs she'd gotten from him.
"I like being able to hold your hand and lean on you." It was the kind of closeness that she didn't have with everyone. Her twin didn't count since it wasn't romantic. Li didn't count either. With her cheeks likely matching his now she peeked toward him. "I guess you really are out of my league.."
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 7:40 pm
The light kiss made him pause, cheeks flaring fresh. A kiss in public... Riya had truly been raised differently than he. It wasn't until now that he really saw. When he was alone with Riya, he enjoyed holding and touching her. But here in public, he was keeping himself away.
Brow knitting, he looked down at the herbs as well. He barely noticed that the contestants had left the arena, making way for a pair of swordsmen to take their turn. His mother's speeches rang in his head. Find an ice woman of good breeding, she said. Make sure the girl is of quality, she said. He'd let her ramble at the time, but thinking back... "I.. do not want you to think like that," he murmured suddenly. Cheeks burning, his hand reached out to take Riya's and gave it a squeeze. "I like holding your hand, too."
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 8:03 pm
Riya had taken note of how the small, innocent kiss had made him react. It seemed she couldn't even do that when people were watching. "Sorry.." She mumbled to him. Why was it that everything she did when she was with him was wrong? Thinking that he wouldn't want her to do anything else like that she bit down on her bottom lip and scooted to the opposite edge of her chair. Iriyana didn't look at Ergon as she did since she looked on the verge of crying.
He didn't want her to think that way? Riya forced a smile and shook her head. "It's fine. I know I'm not girly or a damsel. I'm rough and --" She was going to say more that would put herself down when she felt his hand squeeze hers. A tear rolled down her cheek and she gave a squeeze of her own before pulling her hand away. "You don't have to come down to my level. It's alright." She could try to be more proper, try to be worth it to him. Only, now she felt a new kind of embarrassment. Riya had lain with him. Well before he'd even asked her on a date. Did that make her worthless to someone like him? Someone so proper? As she sat there she did her best to keep her emotions from showing.
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Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2016 9:40 pm
The squeeze back was briefly encouraging. Then she pulled away, and he felt himself cracking further. Shifting to face forward again, Ergon was utterly perplexed. Nothing prepared him for dealing with a woman on such an intimate level...
The swordsmen danced and clashed around the arena, his eyes now scanning the crowd. Faces he knew and recognized. Faces he did not know. Faces...It was just a sea of faces. Did they really matter as much as he thought they did? Did they matter as much as his parents told him they did? "I did not ask you here because I thought you were a damsel." He snorted lightly. "You made that clear enough at our first meeting. You're no damsel, Riya." Was he digging himself deeper here? Give him a foot race! A snowball fight! A school quiz! A girl who liked him, and who he liked in return though? He hadn't been taught the rules. The steps. Nothing!
"I mean, it is fine that you are not a damsel. I feel a damsel would not have agreed to come to such an event. I'm pretty sure that someone who would not come to this would be quite dull," he mused, glancing to Riya again with the hopes of a smile.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:17 am
She gave a flinch when he mentioned their first meeting being a clear indication that she was no damsel. Riya frowned at herself and turned away from him. Had she sabotaged herself from the beginning?
Then her ears caught something that made her freeze. It was fine she was like this? Iriyana turned back to look at Ergon. There was a glimpse of a smile on his face. "It is? I mean.. You don't mind that I'm not like other girls?" Considering she was raised with boys she was bound to be a bit rough.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:33 pm
Ergon's smile grew a little. There wasn't much in his life that was going 'as planned'. Why should it surprise him that he liked a girl who wasn't exactly as 'girly' as his parents would have liked?
...This was really happening.
He was still nervous as heck to openly display affection, but he wanted Riya more... He reached over to rest his hand on top of Riya's and laced his fingers through hers to give another light squeeze. "It is."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 12:53 pm
When he took her hand again, this time entwining their fingers, Riya blushed just as cutely as any girly girl would and smiled at him. Moving back toward him in her seat she ran her thumb over the fingers she could reach. She was ok with this.
While she wanted to lean her head on his shoulder she didn't want to make him uncomfortable so she stayed as she was. Still, at least now she didn't feel like he was trying to get rid of her. Unable to help it she still smiled as she turned her attention to the contests. Riya wanted to watch them since he had invited her to but she also wanted to learn more about Ergon. So she did her best to split her attention. "I never asked if you had any siblings."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:26 pm
The blush was quite adorable to see. His own heart thudded nervously, waiting for someone to start shouting about their hand holding. No one was shouting at him though. All the attention was on the fighters... His father would have called it out right away...
With their attention back on the contest, Riya's question made his smile drop suddenly. It was a natural question to ask.. but he really hadn't been asked that in quite a while. He didn't realize it still hurt that much. "I had a brother," he replied, taking a deep breath. "He died when we were young though."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:40 pm
She heard the word "had" and instantly turned her eyes to him. His smile was gone. Riya couldn't imagine losing Hulis. The pain of that must be hard and she'd brought it up. "I'm so sorry Ergon. I didn't know..." She pressed her lips together trying to think of something to say to make it better but there was nothing. Iriyana didn't think anyone could tell her anything to make it better if she lost her brother. So instead she gave his hand a squeeze to try and comfort him.
"Uhm.." She was fumbling again. Trying to fix the mistake she'd unknowingly made. "We can talk about uhm.. what you like to do?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 3:02 pm
After a moment, Ergon shook his head. "You couldn't have known." Surprisingly enough to him, he did find comfort in Riya's touch. There had been few people he'd taken comfort from when it came to the loss...
Do? He looked to Riya with a small smile again. She was trying to learn about him! "I.. like watching these contests," he started, lips pursing slightly. "I like... spend most of my time taking care of my mother and the house these days," he admitted. "I hadn't thought about it.. but I guess I don't actually get out much."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 4:45 pm
Even if she didn't know she still felt bad for bringing it up.
The contests? So it wasn't just for her sake that he was here. Riya perked up more. She still wanted to know which one was his favorite. "This is my first time seeing them." She admitted. Then he told her that he cared for his mother and the house.
Her head gave a small nod. "You were buying things for your mother when we saw you at the market. Is she sick?" Iriyana wondered if maybe she could convince Makani to look at Ergon's mother before he left for home.
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:12 pm
Oh, so he was showing her something new? That was important for a first date, right? Made it something special.
Poor Riya.. All of these perfectly normal questions that stung the young man... "She is ill," he replied, though he hesitated to clarify. Though, most of those in the village already knew of his mother's condition. It wouldn't take much for Riya to hear some rumor or conjecture. "She became ill after my brother died. She could not.. can not function like she used to." He glanced over at Riya and shook his head. "And no apologies. It is what is. I am happy to care for her as I am able to."
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Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2016 7:42 pm
She remained silent for a while as she took in his words. At least she was learning one thing in all of this; she was horrible at asking the right questions. After a time she took a breath and lowered her eyes to look at their hands together. She brought her other hand over and traced lines across the back of his hand. "That is understandable. I have a feeling my mother would be the same way if she lost me or Uli." Even Valek. Though he wasn't part of the family by blood.
Giving her attention to the fighting, mostly to check and see if it was time for archery, she went quiet again. When she was sure that she was missing nothing Riya turned back toward Ergon. "It is sweet that you care for your mother in such a way. Maybe I can come over and help you one day?" She knew nothing of taking care of a person, but she could clean! Iriyana had had to do more than a few chores before since she broke the rules of the house often enough.
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