Growth Prompt
Lithian may not reside in the Plane as often as others do, but he's visited for long enough periods to have caught the eye of a girl. Females, especially females who are just becoming women and live a sheltered life, often fall in love with people without getting to really know them first. This young woman, adult in body but not in mind, has decided that the attractive young Peisio she sees every now and then is the most handsome and charming person... Her mind has made up all sorts of stories about him based off of rumors o small tidbits of information that may or may not be true.
Gathering her courage, she approaches Lithian and confesses her love for him in a very public place with a family member of his present. How does he react? What is his family's reactions? Hers? Feel free to flesh the situation out and have all sorts of fun things happen if you wish.
Strangled by the Red String
"And what about her, eh?" Syrikk asked, elbowing Lithian gently to emphasize his 'playful' goading as he gestured to a young girl across the room. "She's cute, right? Look at those curves — and her horns! Nice scales, too, though a bit on the sparse side, from what I can make out from here…" He tilted his head, squinting as though either trying to make more out or potentially second-guessing his choice to encourage Lithian over towards her. Maybe he would have rather made a move himself. Soon, though, he lost the look and turned his characteristic, beaming expression back towards Lithian. "I think she might be the Revvidans' daughter. Could be worth taking a shot?"
A pause ensued.
"Lithian?" Syrikk repeated, and Lith blinked, turning his attention back to his brother.
"Oh, er…the…Revvidans, yes, that…that's nice." It was two days after his progression to expert and only a few weeks from his eighteenth name day — a fairly important event in his family's eyes and, admittedly, in Lithian's also — but unfortunately, all
Lithian wanted on this day was impossible to ask for, let alone acquire. How to explain to his parents — his brothers and sisters and all their respected, 'normal' and proper friends — that more than anything, what he wanted on this night was to spend his hours with a hybrid boy? It never would have gone over, and he knew it. Still, it left him feeling lonely. Robbed, somehow, though he'd never admit it.
"You seem distracted tonight, Lith," Syrikk said, his tone going uncharacteristically serious, and Lithian pushed a smile onto his lips, turning his attention fully to his brother.
"I am sorry. I suppose I have a good bit on my mind, is all."
Syrikk tilted his head, eyebrows raising a half-notch and the corner of his lip edging up. “Oh, yes, the great ‘expert’ Lithian is now incredibly serious and has much to think about.” At Lith’s lack of reaction, the teasing in his voice edged back off. “Anything you'd like to talk about?”
"Mm…" Lithian glanced away.
"Oh, come on, you can tell me," Syrikk insisted. "Do I need to promise to keep a secret?
Wait. No, no, no, let me guess…" His brother grinned like he'd come upon an open gold mine. "You already have your eye on someone, don't you?"
Lithian, despite his best efforts, immediately felt himself flush, heat sneaking up his neck and into his cheeks. Quickly, he shook his head, clearing his throat. "No, it's—it's nothing like—"
"Oh, you
do," Syrikk responded, laughing. "What, what? The Rivvedans’ girl not enough for you?"
"
Syrikk," Lithian chastised, cheeks still burning, and his brother chuckled, but thankfully seemed to calm down a fraction.
"Ah relax, little brother. I have your back."
Lithian's shoulders sank a bit with his unspoken relief. "Thank y—"
"But."
Lithian winced. "Syrikk—"
"You've got to tell me who this girl
is, eh?"
Lithian frowned. "I can't just—"
"Oh, come onnnn, Lithi…you're the worst. You owe me, right? After all I’ve spilled to you? Come on. I'll promise not to tell a soul if that helps. Brother to brother. Nothing behind my back. No words whispered to the dragon god, alright?"
Lithian flushed, still frowning. "It's not that simple…"
"
What's not that simple, huh? You've got a crush. You're the little brother, I'm the big brother. You can
tell me these things, you know? I swear on my honor."
Lithian raised his eyebrows. "Honor?"
Syrikk huffed. "Very well, I swear on my life. How's that?"
Lithian sighed. "It's…just not appropriate, Syrikk. I don't think—" He pursed his lips. "It would never work, regardless. There's no point talking about it. Besides, I already have—”
“Lithian?”
Lithian blinked and turned, startled by the unexpected interruption. “Assara. I…didn’t realize you were here—”
“It’s a
celebration for you, of course I’m here!” Assara Meiri, one year his junior, had taken several study sessions with him over the years since his progression to adept, an arrangement set up by their teachers at the time with the intent of giving them both someone to practice with. Lithian’s parents, in particular, had pushed the idea of him spending time with more persons his age — especially, as he grew older, suitable females, since he never seemed to take initiative on that front himself. Assara, though he didn’t know her particularly well at all outside of their training and study sessions, seemed a buoyant and strong-willed young woman with a head full of aspirations, never hesitating to speak her mind. “Besides,” she said, her smile broadening into a winking grin, “I have a confession for you — and a proposition. Your whole family can listen.”
“List—what?” Lithian stumbled, startled as she caught his hand, guiding him towards the center of the gathered crowds. He glanced back, gaze flitting to his brother and expression conveying a multitude of wordless questions. Syrikk, though, only shrugged, giving him a, ‘
Go get ‘em…’ wink and leaving Lith to his own devices. So it was, cheeks red and entirely clueless as to what was going on, that Lith came to be standing side by side Assara as she raised a hand.
“Everyone gathered here — friends, family, and otherwise…I have an announcement to make.”
Lithian glanced down, eyeing her, wholly puzzled, out of the corner of his eye. Short as she was, and him with his most recent growth spurt, she did not even reach his shoulder in height, but her bright, firani-red hair stood out like a shock of color in the crowd.
“Sir and Madam Bhardvaris…I have had the pleasure of working with your youngest son for several years now, on and off. While I admit, I was not lucky enough to manage to pry him away from his books or his training for anything much more than that…” A series of soft chuckles rippled through the crowd, many of them quieting as more realized something was going on, “…I do feel that I’ve gotten a strong judge of his character over time. Kind. Thoughtful. Courageous…”
“Assara,” Lithian murmured beneath his breath, “
where are you going with—?”
“Enchantingly beautiful.” She winked; Lithian’s face burned, and somewhere in the crowd, Syrikk whistled encouragingly.
“Assa,” Lith sputtered out. “I’m tall and awkward. Not—”
“In any case…as I’ve grown older, I’ve come to notice, as many of you have, that despite him being such an
eligible and charming bachelor…he’s courted no one as of yet, and is approaching his eighteenth name day at that! Which I find
such a pity…”
Lithian stared, speechless, suddenly all too aware of where this impromptu ‘speech’ might be heading. Unlike him, the crowd — his family in particular — seemed to be drinking in the display with great pleasure in amusement, leaving Lithian to feel like a beached fish, helpless, and far out of his element.
“As such, I’m standing here before you now to confess that, over these years, I have come to fall
madly in love with your son, and would like to remedy his situation, inviting him — with your permission — to perform the
pavrei deue with me, and initiate a courtship.”
The
pavrei deue or ‘dance of two’ in the traditional tongue, was an old — if simple — dance ritual, once a center point to the concept of mating rituals that slowly, over time, faded out of necessity. Still, many young couples enjoyed taking part in the tradition, if only as a means of showing affection and making a first official ‘step’ together towards a proper mating ceremony on down the line.
Lithian, for his part, felt as though his tongue had turned to desert sand and his cheeks to Eowyn’s sun. The girl, if nothing else, had
guts, but he had no idea how to explain to her here, now, in front of his entire family, that he
couldn’t. He was
with someone, he wasn’t
interested in—
He opened his mouth again, but nothing came out but a hoarse squeak, inaudible over the murmuring of the crowd. His father came forward, beaming with pride — and a sparkle of amusement, Lithian was sure — but Lith barely heard his conversation with her, only that she was “so bold” and had their “full approval” to help him “come out of his shell” as well as a hearty “good luck” and a ‘knowing’ wink. Everything else was drowned out by his surge of emotions: confusion, panic, guilt, uncertainty, more guilt, frustration, embarrassment, more embarrassment. Still, nothing came from his lips, and only once the hubub died down, did he manage to catch Assara’s wrist and guide her off. Several comments followed in his wake, but with her at his side, surprised at his sudden energy, no one followed them, and Lithian walked until they had the night sky to themselves and complete quiet around them.
“Lithian? I didn’t realize you were quite this—”
“Were you
serious?” Lithian demanded, and Assara blinked, entirely startled, her posture immediately sinking back a fraction, as though she hadn’t realized until that instant how her proposal might have affected
him. He regretted his harshness immediately, wincing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—look, I—”
“Of course I was serious…” She frowned, eyeing him. “I didn’t realize you were so upset by it—”
“No, no, no, no—no,” Lithian shook his head, heart tripping over itself in his haste. “I didn’t mean—I’m not angr—I’m not upset, I was just…
surprised and I didn’t…I don’t know how to…what I’m trying to say is—”
She arched an eyebrow, posture relaxing again a fraction at his blundering and the corner of her lip edging up. “Perhaps breathing would help.”
“Nnnnh,” Lith groaned, “I
am breathing, it’s just…I don’t want to
upset you, I only—”
“Well I already upset you, clearly.” She held up a hand, shaking her head when he tried to object again. “It’s alright. I have a thick skin and plenty enough nerve to go around, if you hadn’t noticed.” She threw a teasing punch his chest and Lithian winced, coughing and rubbing the area. “‘You only’ what, Lith, hm? Spit it out.”
“I just…
can’t…I already have…”
She waited, watching him, but when he didn’t finish, eventually, she still blinked in recognition. “You’re with someone? But why did no one know? I didn’t know, your parents didn’t know, no one—”
“No one knows,” Lithian said.
She stared at him.
He winced.
She squinted and put hands on her hips. “That’s why you spend so much time on Eowyn, isn’t it?”
He blinked. “Pardon?”
“Your girl is a hybrid. She lives down there. You—”
Lithian flushed darkly, shaking his head all over again. “No, no, he’s—”
“
He?”
“Ah—I meant, I meant she,” Lithian hastened to correct. “She’s not—”
“You’re
bent?”
Lithian stared blankly at her. “I’m…what?”
“Bent,” Assara said again. “As in, you know, you like men.”
“Ah…I, er…didn’t…realize there was a term for it,” Lithian mumbled, frowning.
“Well there’s lots of
terms for it…” Assara began counting off on her fingers. “There’s bent, o’course, a**l buccaneer, arse bandit, back door bandit, cocksucker, bentshot, bone smuggler, bum-driller, p***k gobbler—”
“Oh,
gods…” Lithian shook his head, face in his hands as he felt ready to self combust. “I’m not—no—what? Where did you even
hear all these things? And I’ve never sucked or, or, or…‘gobbled’—” Eartips burning, he clung to the nape of his neck, shaking his head again and squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ve never sucked
anything…”
“How do you know you like it, then?”
Lithian blinked, frowning, and raised his head, staring down at her. “How do
you know what you like if you’ve never had it?”
“And who’s to say I haven’t?”
Lithian shut his eyes.
“Well come on, then,” she prompted. “What’s he like?”
Lithian pinched the bridge of his nose, shoulders sagging.
“Is he handsome? I bet he’s handsome.”
Lithian glanced back to her, defeated. “So you…don’t care…?”
Assara blinked. “Well, I’m
disappointed, sure. I really do like you a lot you know.” She tapped his chest in another light punch. “We could have made some
lovely children, you and I.”
Lith sputtered.
“But oh well, I suppose,” she carried on without falter. “They do say the prettiest ones are often bent anyway.”
Lith sighed.
“So…” She threw him a smirk. “Going to tell me about him?”
“Mm.” With a shrug of defeat, Lithian ran his fingers back through his hair, pushing it from his face before rubbing abashedly at a horn. “He’s very handsome…”
“I
knew it!”
Word Count: 2,160
