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 Posted: Wed May 03, 2017 10:24 am
"Miss Aaricia, I mean, Miss Aari, you okay?"
Aaricia looked up from the display she had been staring at. "Yes, Halim. I am fine." She reached over to ruffle the youngling's hair affectionately. "I suppose I just got lost in thought."
Here she was, Aari's first time in Matori. Her Matori friend Jydora had insisted they take a vacation. Now that Aari was healed up enough to travel, Aari had reluctantly agreed. She had wanted to focus on her training, but it was indeed hard to train when her last training session had sprained a wrist that had still been healing from a previous injury. So, here Aari was with Jydora and Jydora's son, Halim.
It was her second day after arriving, and the three of them were exploring one of the markets. It was nothing short of wonderful to see the free Matori thriving... Jydora had separated earlier to collect food for a meal while Aari and Halim looked at the clothes and accessories. Being careful of her bandaged wrist, she plucked up a lighter fabric and held it under Halim's chin. "This would be quite nice on you."
Halim wrinkled his nose. "Miss Aari, can't we look at what fishin' stuff they have first? I wanna go fishin'!"
Aari smiled lightly. "We should find you some good fishing clothes then."
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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 1:34 pm
Nyko couldn't have asked for a better day. For the first time in weeks his back wasn't nearly as stiff and achy as it had been, even if the scars remained. The treatments had gone a long way to return his mobility to him, which in many ways had also given his spirits an adjustment.
Who wouldn't be happy to be able to move around freely? And without an elderly healer hanging over your shoulder, watching, making sure you didn't do this and didn't lift that. He wasn't that likely to reopen his wounds; after all, it wasn't as if Nyko was looking to push himself.
For once he was able to relax and he was taking full advantage of it.
Currently he was scoping out the marketplace, mentally marking them for Sajah to track down later. Nyko wasn't nearly adept enough to try and pickpocket in broad daylight; that was more Sajah's deal. But, while on his stroll, he could simultaneously look at pretty jewelry and do some recon. Who said work had to be dull?
"Back again?" Nyko stopped and canted his head to the left, then smiled from ear to ear when he saw his 'favorite' jeweler. The old man was just as grouchy as ever, though a little wary this time. He kept looking around Nyko, as if he were waiting to see other forms pop out of the shadows.
"Just looking today, I'm afraid. My friend is keeping a close eye on our coin. Can't be too careful." Amusing as it was to say, Nyko knew that Sajah would keep it all under watch from now on. Ever since Leukos has opened his big mouth in the market....
"Though that headdress does look stunning-"
"Back off. If you don't have coin then you can keep on walking."
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Posted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 6:36 pm
Though she was honest about finding fishing clothes, Aari was still set on finding nicer cloth for regular clothes.
Halim, meanwhile, was starting to drag his feet, bored from walking the market. He had fishing on the brain, after all! He would get Miss Aari to see though! "Miss Aari!" Darting over, he murmured a small 'excuse me' as he rounded a customer talking to a grumpy looking jeweler. Plucking up a shimmering earring, he held it up with a big smile. "Can I use this fer fishin'? The fisher guy said the fishes like shiny things!"
Blushing with amusement, she hurried over to take the earring and put it back into place. "That is for people to wear. They make special ones to be used in fishing, I am certain. Goodness, you are as stubborn as a janarim today! You need some clothes that have only the requires holes in them." Taking Halim's hand, she turned to continue on her way, excusing herself as she passed the customer standing there.
Her heart skipped a beat though, and she did a double take. That face.. he looked so much like...
"Miss Aari! Ye're always tellin' me that starin' is rude!" Halim scolded, pursing his lips in a pout.
Aari blushed hotly and gave the Matorian a mini curtsy. "My apologies. I fear you have reminded me of someone who could not possibly be here.. as much as it breaks my heart to say." Considering the brutal punishment her father had described, the young servant that she remembered should not have been able to even walk! Perhaps this was a family member..?
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 2:08 pm
For the most part Nyko paid little attention to those milling around the stands. He knew others were there, of course, but his attention was drawn in by the purses they carried, so fat with coin, and the items they happened to peruse. He pulled his sash further over his shoulder, fingers lingering on the sheer fabric while his eyes took in a particularly glorious set of earrings-
Or at least, he had been, until he was rudely interrupted by an overly excited child. Furrowing his brow, he looked up, curious to see just who it was that had broken his concentration. Some little matorian boy, no surprise given where they were, and a girl with darker skin-
Yes, staring without a proper greeting is rude.
"It's quite alright, Miss Aari, though I have to wonder who you could have possibly mistaken me for?" He stepped closer to her, reached forward, and pinched her chin lightly between his thumb and forefinger while bringing his face in closer. "Given our history I find it hurtful that you don't remember me."
Nyko didn't know how much involvement she'd had with his punishment, but as she had been the tipping point he wasn't exactly pleased to see her again. Especially now that he was a freed man.
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Posted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 3:00 pm
With her chin lifted and a closer look given, Aari's eyes instantly filled with water. "Nyko... It's really you?" Something seemed off about him. He wasn't as light as he had been when they had first met. ..Then again, he had been so severely punished for their last interaction.. and she had been the cause of it.. Would he really be walking around yet? Or her father had exaggerated the punishment... which was not unlikely...
Oh, none of it was any matter! Blinking the tears away, she smiled and cupped her hands around the one at her chin. "Nyko! Are you.. are you free of those wretched people?" While he wasn't pleased, she was more than delighted by this encounter.
Meanwhile, Hamil watched the two before sighing and rolling his eyes. Now they would never get around to fishing! Instead, he held to the side of Aari's skirt, taking a minute to look over the sleek man they had run into.
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Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:57 am
[3/10]
In respond to her teary question Nyko just quirked his mouth into a smirk. Honestly, who else could compare to the magnificence that was himself? Even after the ordeals he had endured Nyko liked to think he came out of it twice as beautiful as before. And just as vindictive. He gave her chin a little pinch before dropping the contact and stepping back a bit, just enough so that he wasn't being touched by her anymore. It was one thing to have the upper hand, but he was too gun shy to trust her. Just having those hands around his own had added a thread of steel to his smirk.
"No thanks to you, Aaricia. Tell me, how long did it take after our private dance to tell your father about the unruly slave boy?" His warm, honeyed eyes took in the boy at her side briefly before going back to her.
Maybe she didn't have anything to do with it, at least intentionally, but just being around her had sparked it all. She was bad luck; and now that Nyko finally had something good happening in his life he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.
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Posted: Sat Jun 17, 2017 5:17 pm
The pinch was subtle, but enough to get her attention. Letting the hand slip from her own, her delighted expression rapidly fell. "I told that man nothing," she insisted, mind trying to quickly sort through the moment.
This really wasn't the Nyko she had met before. The one who had given her the warmest smiles, had been defiant in the faces of his masters, and had been willing to help her escape the rigid party for even a short time... Whatever the punishment had been, it was enough to taint whatever happy time had been between them.
Halim decided to pipe up though. "Miss Aari ain't Miss Aaricia anymore! She's Miss Aari, 'cause master- I mean- that guy's a poop head an' tryin' to get-!"
Closing her eyes, Aari reached down to put a hand on the boy's head to gently silence him. "It is alright. Nyko knew me as Aaricia..." Looking back up at Nyko, her lips quirked into a tiny smile, though the rest of her expression remained somber. "It feels as though that party and the foolish youths who danced were from a time so long ago... but it has not been so long, in truth."
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Posted: Wed Aug 16, 2017 9:16 pm
"Are you sure about that? Because it wasn't long after you left that I -" It wasn't like Nyko to stop once he had mentally crossed a line, but some part of his mind reminded him that a child was present. He wanted to yell at her; but scaring an innocent in the process wouldn't help. It would also draw a lot of public attention his way, and after that incident with Leukos he couldn't afford to make another spectacle if they wanted to remain in Matori.
Instead he flexed and clenched his fists, popping the stiff joints to try and alleviate some of this -
"Foolish indeed," He murmured, more to himself than to the others. The truth was that Nyko didn't know if Aaricia had been the one to turn him in, thus acting as the final straw, or if his masters had been spurned by other acts. He wanted to trust her, but the incident was still too fresh in his mind for him to do anything beyond lash out.
That bit about the master though....could the boy be talking about her father? She had attended that party as a guest, not as the hired help, so he could only assumed her father had some form of wealth. "What's the matter? Daddy get tired of his little girl slumming it with the help?"
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Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 7:25 pm
Brow knitting sharply, Aari felt the sting in her heart. She could infer the rest of that halted statement. Not long after the party... Was it really because she had entertained the willful servant? "I am absolutely certain," she replied gently. She could only imagine what her father would have done if she had told him she had danced with a servant at a dinner party!
Blinking at what was surely supposed to be a sarcastic remark, Aari sighed softly. "You are closer to the truth than you think," she mused.
"Miss Aari saved me from her papa!" Halim chirped happily, only to get another hushing pat on the head.
Aari couldn't help how her own fist clenched, angry at her father, Nyko's masters, and herself. There was no clenching her wrapped hand though, and that one remained on the boy's head lightly. "Now is not the time, Halim," she murmured. If only she had rebelled sooner, then she might have been able to save Nyko as well. ..Or she could have gotten everyone into much worse trouble than they had already been in. "It is more that I tired of his attitude than his tiring of mine," she admitted, her eyes lifting to look back up at Nyko. "For what it is worth.. I am sorry that I did not fight back until after what happened. You were willing to push the boundaries within plain view of those setting them while I hid well away from that line.. and my silence helped no one."
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Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:25 am
I am absolutely certain.
Nyko wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. If she were trying to dodge the truth then there should have been some kind of tell tale sign; a tic, a twitch, something, but the more he prodded the more it seemed she was actually telling the truth.
Which...was still just as distressing as the lie he'd told himself.
"Did she?" His voice was losing some of it's tension; bit by bit the bite was leaving him, deflating Nyko's puffed up exterior and leaving a tired young man in it's wake. Even if she didn't seem keen on talking about it, Nyko had no sense of boundaries, and pushed it a little further, "Is that why you're here? Because of a falling out with your father?"
The way he questioned it held more weight than even Nyko himself could express. It was as if he needed to know not just because of morbid curiosity, but because he wanted to make sure she was genuine.
"Don't say it like I'm a hero. You're the one who saved a kid." He motioned to Halim before casually wrapping his arms around his torso. "Just because you scream the loudest doesn't mean you're right. It just means you're the first to get burned." It hadn't stopped him from making a ruckus in Matori, but it had made him wary of the Oban people in general. He shied away from imposing men, especially when they raised their voices, which was new for the normally outrageous boy.
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Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 9:59 pm
Halim nodded happily. "Mama an' me are lots happier now."
Aari's cheeks flushed slightly. "If I understand correctly, a 'falling out' would require the pair to have been content together beforehand. ..That was never the case." Who was she to complain though? Compared to others..."Let us just say that it reached a breaking point that I could no longer remain quiet about."
Her brow rose as Nyko spoke his warning. Head tilting slightly, she gave the Matorian a tiny smile. "There are different kinds of heroes out there, whether it's getting a boy away from an abusive brute.. or whisking a girl away from a party that she wanted no part of to let her have even a short reprieve of fun.. but you are one of those who pushed me to finally stop tolerating and hiding from the truth." Her blush increased a little as she reached to give Nyko's forearm the gentlest touch. "You are one of my heroes... Please do not doubt that.. and I am truly unable to convey how happy I am to see you again."
"I got burned once!" Halim piped up suddenly, innocently ignorant of the depth of conversation going on above him. "I was fillin' a bowl with soup, an' it got too heavy an' it spilled an' got all over my legs. It hurt a lot. You remember that, Miss Aari? Mama had ta wrap my legs up."
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Posted: Tue Aug 29, 2017 8:48 pm
Nyko slipped his hands out from around his waist and held them up, palms up with a slight smile. "When you're right, you're right, princess." When he lowered his hands this time he slipped them into the waistband of his pants, hooking his thumbs into the belt around his waist, near the back of his hips.
It may have been an unconscious gesture to keep his distance, but that didn't stop her from touching him. He didn't back away this time, nor did he flinch. If anything he looked down at her hand, so dark and warm, on his skin and followed her arm up to her face.
He'd never seen eyes that bright.
Nyko moved one hand from his belt and shifted his arm moving just enough out of her hold so that he could take her hand into his own. "Aari-" He was so close to opening up when the boy spoke again, causing Nyko to jolt, momentarily spooked. Goddess, what was with this kid? Couldn't he read the mood?
"Did MIss Aari give you a kiss to make it better?" The smile he passed to the boy was sweet enough but the sly look he passed to Aari was anything but.
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Posted: Wed Aug 30, 2017 9:50 pm
Though she would normally have objected to the title, Aaricia was happy to see Nyko's smile growing more sincere. Still small, but she would take it. Maybe he was going to actually believe her..? That would be such a relief. So she kept it simple. "Please, just Aari."
Her hopes fell in one moment when Nyko shifted, but then surprise sprang up as her hand was held, gladness returning fully. He wasn't pulling away! Nyko's jump startled her as much as Halim's voice though, and she gave him an apologetic smile before focusing on Halim. "I do remember that."
Halim giggled with amusement at the adults. "Yep! Mama kissed my bandages, an' Miss Aari kissed my head when she could see me again, since mama made me stay in my room for the night. Even though it was my head an' not my leg, she still helped them ta feel better, like mama's did. I hope you get ta meet mama, mister. She went ta get food fer dinner. Think she'll be back soon, Miss Aari?"
Meanwhile, Aari's gaze caught the look the young man sent her, and she couldn't quite pinpoint what made her cheeks heat even further... "Yes, it has been long enough. Your mother will surely appear shortly."
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 9:04 pm
"I wonder if she would kiss me, if I asked? What do you think Halim?" Turning that sly, complex grin her way, Nyko carried on, "We've both have it pretty rough lately, and kisses do make it better." He didn't know what he expected out of it, honestly. To catch her up in something she didn't want to do and humiliate her with it, or to genuinely have that touch. Maybe even a little of both, if he were honest with himself.
"And I bet if she does I'll be back to my old self and I can help you look for your mama. I'm sure she's close."
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Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2017 10:55 pm
Aari's cheeks flushed bright with surprise and bashfulness. The air was changing so quickly...
Of course, Halim watched Nyko with a most earnest expression. The guy wanted a kiss to make things better, too? "How 'bout it, Miss Aari?" he asked, glancing up at the hybrid. Oh, but then Nyko promised to help look for mama! "Come on, Miss Aari! Help mister feel better, an' we can all go find mama, an' have fun together!"
Aaricia was staring at Nyko though. ..She wasn't sure if she wanted to laugh or cry. As if a kiss could bring Nyko back to his old self.. "I wish it was as simple as that," she finally managed. Halim started to whine, but Aari placed her hand on his head. "I did not say that I wouldn't..." she assured, the heat returning to her face again. "I .. just.. I.. want Nyko to make certain that it would truly help.." Her gaze back to Nyko was hesitant but hopeful. While she wasn't quite sure of the impulse behind Nyko's words, she wanted to believe that the anger Nyko had sported at her earlier was being mended.
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