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 Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:07 am
"It's nothing, my Lord," she immediately replied. Formalities were back in place, and all the headway they'd made seemed to disappear. What was wrong with her? Crystal straightened her posture, better holding Kaoru against her although her eyes never lifted to meet Irene's.
The child huffed. "That's not true! You should see! She has one of yo--"
A hand clamped firmly over the child's mouth. "That's enough, Kay." There was a stern tone in her voice, laced with tiny bits of fear. She hoped Irene didn't understand what Kaoru had been trying to say. The woman would be utterly mortified if he asked.
The Scent squirmed a little, scowling at Crystal once she removed her hand. "Mo~om! Why?"
"Kaoru, I said no." Her eyes blazed with grey, looking pointedly at Kaoru until the child gave in and simply sat in her arms. Crystal breathed a sigh of relief, pressing a quick kiss to the top of the girl's head. The assertive and gentle maternal side she displayed with Kaoru was very unlike how she usually acted with Irene, and she hoped he didn't think ill of her for it. It was a delicate balance, one she wasn't sure the noble would understand with his mother.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:18 am
Irene blinked again as Kaoru tried to tell him something...something that Crystal wanted to hide from him. He bit his lips subconciously, wondering if he should ask. On one side he wanted to, but on the other he wanted to respect Crystal's decision. But overall, there was a side that was angry, angry that he did not know much about Crystal and that Crystal did not want to tell him much.
He sighed, and smiled at Kaoru, reassuring that she did nothing wrong (even though it's likely not needed). He chose not to say anything, and merely looked at Crystal gently, with an expression of curiosity and a hint of sadness even, something he could not hide wholeheartedly.
"Well, if my lady does not want to show her creations, I shall not press further."
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:26 am
Now she was flustered. On the one hand, there was her hobby that no one really knew of, one she'd rather keep to herself; on the other hand, there was Irene, who seemed to finally be making some type of acknowledgement of her. Her own sadness on the subject surprised her a little, although her eyes still refused to turn to Irene. "It is mere hobby, my Lord, not befitting for eyes of those who have the Masters adorning their walls. I would feel foolish." It was the truth, and there was a good chance Irene would take that the wrong way. There wasn't much she could do about that.
Kaoru glanced up to Irene, then to Crystal, and back to Irene. What was going on here? "Mom doesn't paint much anymore." Red eyes shifted up to make sure the woman wouldn't get upset; when there was no reaction from her, the child continued on. "She's been sick for a while, so she hasn't had time."
That earned a small gasp from Crystal. "Kaoru! That is not necessary!" She finally did glance over to Irene, murmuring, "Forgive her my Lord, she simply wishes to make conversation." It was clear the flower girl was uncomfortable at being the subject of discussion, shifting in her seat. She hoped the food would come soon and silence all of them.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 10:39 am
"No, no, it's alright, I can understand that---"
Irene did not finish his words before Kaoru's voice cut him off. Deciding not to compete with the child, Irene fell silent. He had figured his half words were enough to send out the message to Crystal.
Irene's face fell blank when Kaoru mentioned Crystal's sickness. He looked at Crystal for a minute or two, mouth slightly open. Then he winced visibly and lowered his head. There were mixed feelings brewing in his mind, mainly the polite side fighting with his outgoing side. Even if it had nothing to do with him, Irene blamed himself for not knowing such information. Kaoru had won yet again.
"My lady's sick?" Irene asked, finally able to look back up again. His voice was surprisingly calm, if not cold. "I apologize. I did not know...perhaps I should have asked, how fair is my lady today?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:02 am
Crystal didn't have time to open her mouth to reply, as the waitress returned with their food, laying the plates in front of each person with a kind smile. "If you need anything else, please feel free to ask!" she said before leaving the couple and their child to eat.
"Ooooh that smells SO GOOD!" Kaoru quipped, bouncing out of Crystal's lap and into the chair between her and Irene. The child gleefully sipped on the hot chocolate with small marshmallows, giving a purred, "Mmmmm," before picking up the fork closest to the inside, awaiting the bowl of fruit from the black-haired woman.
She complied easily, putting the side of fruit in front of Kaoru, smiling a little as the child was more than happy to take a whiff and eat. "It's nothing, my Lord," she said after a moment, turning to smile at Irene. "You had no way of knowing. I am well enough." She, too, picked up the proper fork, cutting a small piece of the white fish. "Would you like to try it, Kaoru?"
The child nodded enthusiastically, swallowing the current mouthful before daintily taking the offered fish from the fork. A few thoughtful chews, and the Scent gave a surprised, "It doesn't take like fish at all! It's good!" Despite the praise, Kaoru contentedly returned to the fruit bowl, cutting a piece of watermelon to a sizeable piece. "Here, you try some of mine!"
Crystal chuckled, accepting the piece before hesitating. Would it be rude? Out of line? Her eyes shifted back to Irene, thoughtful, admiring before lifting her fork, her other hand cupped beneath it as though to keep it from falling. "Would you like to try a piece, my Lord?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:13 am
Irene seemed to be snapping out of his formalities as the waitress returned with their food. He was surprised that she had returned so fast, or seemingly so. Irene turned away from Crystal as the waitress came, making sure he was no longer staring at her. And when the female went away he turned back again, only to be confronted by Kaoru's joyful glee as well as Crystal's watermelon invitation. Having no time to consider what the young woman had said before that, Irene stumbled a little on his words before finally coming up with a surprised smile.
"Why, I, I suppose I would. It is not often for me to eat fruits raw like this...I mean usually we make deserts out of them..."
The young noble mentally gave himself a slap on the face, and coughed. "I'd love to try one, if you will be so kind..."
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:23 am
Crystal smiled sweetly. "I prefer them like this, personally. There's no additives to take away from their natural splendor." Slowly, almost shyly, she extended her fork with the watermelon speared upon it towards Irene, indicating that he could accept it from the fork or simply take it off and put it on his plate. She wasn't actually thinking that he'd take it from her fork...she wasn't really thinking at all, her mind was still so wound up over the painting and sickness mentioning.
"The opah opah is good too, should try that," Kaoru chimed in as the child also ate some watermelon, eating happily. The Scent adored fruit, and preferred it much like Crystal did, without any adornments or extra sweetness. It seemed that fruit lost its original taste that way, and being a fruit-based Scent, Kaoru had an appreciation of such things.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:36 am
Irene smiled at Kaoru, then turned to Crystal, smiling in appreciation as she handed him the fruit piece. Not really having any second thoughts, the young noble reached out to receive the watermelon from Crystal's fork, but the fragile fruit lost its balance during the tranfer and lost itself on the table. Irene grimanced visibly, and sighed, looking up at Crystal with a sorry expression.
"Perhaps I'm not meant to eat from others' plate." Irene forced a smile on his face. His words, althought meant to be a joke, sounded awkward. He hesitantly pulled back his hands and stabbed the fork into his own food. "Maybe later, little lady." He adressed to Kaoru, "I think I'll have my share in my own plate first."
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:43 am
The woman shrugged, returning to her own meal at hand, cutting a piece of the supple white fish and eating it in a dainty manner. It wasn't that she was trying to be polite or mindful, it was just how she ate, with small bites and little contact with the fork at all. Crystal smiled at Kaoru as she spoke up, giving her a gentle squeeze on her shoulder before continuing to her own meal.
The time passed easily as they ate, Crystal mostly chatting with Kaoru between bites, when anything was said at all. The woman only ended up eating about half of her meal, of which, Kaoru happily finished the rest. The Scent looked content as any full child should, smiling lazily up at Irene, "Was yours good, Irene?" Kaoru had been told to call him by his name, and so the child would. If only that stubborn mother could do the same!
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 11:55 am
Time passed slower than snails during the time in which they ate. Irene had plenty of time playing with his food. The occassional chatters between Crystal and Kaoru only made it more awkward to him. He made no attempt, however, to talk to the young woman nor the child, for he had plenty of things on mind to think about. The fact that Crystal had not talked to him at all also discouraged him. There was an invisible wall between the two, and Irene felt he was too weak to break it.
When Kaoru asked Irene looked up. He had hardly eaten a fourth of the food in the plate, but most things were cut neatly into small pieces (he had taken the time to do the cutting, but not the eating). He smiled a little at Kaoru.
"It was delicious." He said, and took a small bite and chewed on it. He wasn't exactly impressed with the overall taste, but at least he admitted that the crawfish was fresh and well seasoned.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 12:33 pm
The lack of communication between the two adults was likely laughable to any who would witness it. Crystal was mostly oblivious to the noble's discomfort, as she had been under the impression that she was to act accordingly with other people around. The chatter with her daughter was only to keep the child happy, as that was far more important to her than her own happiness. It was not something she expected the nobleman to understand.
"I'm glad it was edible," she said lightly, eyes sweeping briefly over the untouched food. It seemed more to her that he didn't approve of it, and she couldn't help the small bit of guilt that creeped into her eyes. Of course common food wouldn't be good enough. He had agreed to come though, and there wasn't much she could do about the quality of the food.
Kaoru bobbed that curly head. "It looks like you had fun with it," the child said in a chipper voice. It didn't bother the Scent in the least that Irene didn't eat, as that was his decision. Such things as Crystal was thinking were far over the child's understanding, and so, Kaoru was content to think that the noble was having more fun playing with his food than eating it. "I saved you a piece of watermelon!" The child moved the bowl towards the man, a pleased smile on those cupid bow lips, quite proud.
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Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2008 1:01 pm
Irene felt a cold rush up to his body as soon as Crystal spoke. Perhaps the female didn't mean anything, but to the young noble, especially after the long silence, felt there must be something wrong.
Something he had done.
Putting (almost slamming) down the fork, he looked at Crystal intensely, both confused and worried (and hurt, but the expression was much hidden in midst of the other two). He heard Kaoru, but didn't respond this time. The bold side of him had, at the moment, won over, and Irene wasn't about to let go of this rare opportunity.
"What's the matter?" The young noble asked quietly. His voice, although low, was tense, and he did not bother with the formal languages.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:27 pm
Crystal blinked her doe-like eyes at Irene, a slender hand draping over Kaoru's shoulder. She regarded him quietly for a moment; she was not aware that formalities had been dropped, as it was a perfectly normal question if there was, indeed, something wrong. If there was, she was unaware of it, or at least, did not recognize the problem well enough to answer. "My Lord?" she inquired quizically, confused by his question, her dark brows arching in curiosity. Her tone suggested that she did not understand, or that she was uncertain there was a problem at all. His voice brought goosebumps to her skin, and she was grateful that she was wearing long sleeves to conceal the fact.
The Scent, on the other hand, shrunk against the woman whose hand was on a dainty shoulder. Kaoru turned red eyes upon the curly-haired mother, finally realizing there was a game going on that the child truly could not grasp. Not only was a boring and obnoxious game, but it was upsetting Irene, and that just wasn't acceptable. Until the noble would call Crystal on her response, the child would wait and see what happened.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 9:32 am
Irene stared into Crystal's eyes intensively for a moment. His brown eyes digged at the girl's expression, trying desperately to find something that would satisfy what Irene wanted. But eventually they failed, when Irene realized that Crystal was truely baffled by his question. He sighed, and looked sideways, eyes quickly glancing over at Kaoru, but noting her expression as well.
No, if he was to become mad at Crystal, this was not the time to do so...not in front of the child, at least. No matter how much Irene hated Kaoru's presence sometimes, she was, nonetheless, innocent, and someone who should not suffer in between Crystal and Irene's relationship...if there was a relationship between them at all.
Irene smiled bitterly to himself, then raised his head, a pleasant smile returning to his face. "I apologize, my lady. But the food was truely delicious, it was unlike anything I've eaten before, but I find pleasure in its taste. And little lady Kaoru, thank you for the watermelon, but I am afraid that my stomach is already full with the wonderful food here. Will you have it for me?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:05 am
The woman would have no idea that Irene was at all interested in her personal life, which was a great part of why she was so confused. Crystal simply nodded at his words, still baffled but not willing to press the issue. Perhaps he was just nervous, being in the lower class area for so long. She stood from her seat, motioning to the waitress that she'd like to pay and leave, looking down to Kaoru.
The watermelon disappeared in an almost sulking manner, Kaoru giving a singular nod to Irene. "I'm glad you're full. It was good, too," the child added, almost sullen. The Scent liked Irene and was rather fond of stealing his attention, so when it was time to move from the diner, Kaoru was more than a little pouty about it.
"Come now Kay. If you ask nicely, I'm sure my Lord would come by the cafe at some point for a taste of home grown fruit. You needn't look so put out," she adjusted the girl's curly hair with a fond smile. Her grey eyes shifted back to the noble in question, her expression indicating that he didn't actually have to do or accept anything, she was just trying to cheer up her daughter.
And it worked. Kaoru burst into a gleeful grin, crawling out of the chair and lifting dainty arms to Crystal. "Spin?"
Crystal laughed, kneeling to hug the child. "Give me some time for the food to settle sweety, and I shall spin you to the sky."
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