Private Common Ties

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

"Fair? No. I'd argue you can be honest without being fair. Do they go hand-in-hand at times? Certainly, but they can be entirely detached from one another." If two bladesmen stood face-to-face with one another without any poison, but one was aggressively more competent at their trade than the other.

Is that fair? Presumably not, but it was honest.

She continued and for a moment August just watched her. Listened. Before placing the dagger pointedly between them. If she cared to meet his gaze, there would be another amused expression there.

"That is a lot of words to basically say personal responsibility has little merit compared to observational skills." Which was to be expected. Their culture was all about observation. Reading body language and tone and everything in between. His hand rested lightly right next to the blade and he watched her carefully, to see how she'd react, using her own advice for it.

"You didn't answer my question however- what weapon you prefer to handle yourself. Or is it the dagger and did I hit your... soft spot."

Something suggestive there that made his lips curl into a smirk.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Her attention flickered between the blade and the hand laid besides it, the woman quickly deciding to not spring the trap and reach for it.

"You are rather bold for an echani," she stated coyly, though what she meant to say was-- he was rather bold for a male in Eshan. It made sense, he had spent so much time abroad. He reminded her of her mother.

The foreign one.

Maybe that was why he intrigued her so much. Or why she didn't mince her words back. It was remarkably refreshing to be able to call things as she saw them. It was just as strange to feel the way her skin kept warming up as he looked at her.

"But no. My soft spots are better guarded than that." Her fingers flashed out, quick and nimble as she reached for the dagger.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

"And you are rather permissive for an echani." He murmured in return without taking his eyes off of her. Just as she was plainly referring to his gender, so was August referencing hers. Of course. If he had known he was actually playing this little game with the Queen of Eshan it all would have gone a little bit differently.

Probably.

Maybe.

It was difficult to tell and thankfully neither of them were aware of each other's status. That would be a problem for another day. It did surprise him that 'Jade' was so willing to join his game however. He had expected to be chastised a number of times. Instead, she had kept the door open and at times even invited more.

Maybe that was why 'Amaranth' felt so emboldened.

"I see then I just-" Before he could finish his statement her arm blurred. It would have succeeded to, if not for that tingling sensation right behind his brow that promised a headache later.

Just as her hand settled on the hilt of the blade? So did his hand pin down hers against it. "-will have to try harder to penetrate one." There August finished the sentence without skipping a beat. While one hand kept hers pinned, the other went for his tea to take a sip. All the while keeping his gaze on her with an expecting quality.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Her lips parted, brows arching up as he pinned her to the table. The ruckas, however small, earned a few pointed looks their way. Public manners dictated a little more finesse at a public table than rough housing and cup rattling. Even more so was the obvious fact of who the aggressor was.

Tension built around them, all the while she held his gaze as shock turned into elongated consideration.

"The half sword," she finally answered, a subtle smile hitting the edge of her lips. "I will likely finish my training with a focus on the half sword. Not too unwieldy, enough length to hold its own in many siturations-- the perfect middle ground." Her fingers flexed under his hand, hinting at the sudden twist that left her rotating over to pin him down instead.

"You don't know the half of me. You couldn't handle what you would find." She warned, delicately serious. She released his wrist, prim as she went for another dainty sip of her coffee.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

Everyone else around them was pointedly ignored.

"The half sword? For half measures?" Teasing her lightly before putting his cup down. The twitch forecast her next move, but there was little to be done about it. So the position reversed and August smirked. "It's good for up-and-personal moments, I will give you that." He preferred hand-to-hand personally, but there was something good about holding a bastard sword.

Flexibility- that was what it gave you.

His trail of thought was interrupted by her challenge.

He pulled his hand back, letting his fingers trail the table as he shrugged gently. All around them the observers went back to their own business. Whatever had happened here, it had lost its draw once the physical moment was finished.

That was also deeply Echani from his experience.

"Is that a fact?" Amused once more, but from what Noelle could tell this one was almost always amused. She hadn't seen him be completely serious even once during their back-and-forth. "Well, what say you we have dinner and drinks next, after this caf?" Leaning in with his chin resting on his palms to watch her closer.

"It's about time for food and now I am curious to see if your challenge actually... measures up."

 

[Noelle Varanin]

It was easier to hold his gaze then, as she warmed to the tempo of his jests. It had moved from off putting to a touch... amusing. At the very least the unpredictability was a breath of fresh air after months of lonely routine. Everyone knew what to expect of her and she always knew what to expect of her court.

Somehow, she felt a bit more like herself as she stared down the brash stranger making puns on love making and her.

As if she'd ever.

Well, in fact, she had never...

A burst of brash boldness took over her, her usually reserved nature dashed as she plowed through the walls of expectability that made up her life. It was just a dinner.

"Very well. But if you make another pun, I'll be forced to crush one of your toes. Accidentally of course. I've been told I'm quite clumsy after a drink," she told him through a charmingly threatening smile.

She stood up, taking his umbrella for him and giving it a twirl.

"Before the dinner rush then?"

 

[August Oreno]

"Why, ma'am, I wouldn't dream of it." He drawled while rising up and offering an arm. "I do value my toes, after all."

---

​

A while later (after strolling through the streets, until August tracked down the restaurant he had been thinking of) they were sitting in a quiet nook. August considered that just prudent. The last time they had been around their people. Well. Their private staring contest had turned into a public one with many eyes on them.

Best to avoid that this time around.

Especially if toe-crushing was on the table.

(He definitely believed it was on the table or rather... under the table)

"How do you like your food? Coruscanti Pizza." He murmured with a smile as he took a sip from his ale. High-brow variant, of course. They didn't do things cheaply this high up the streets. It was some crafted dark ale. It had quite the twang on it. "I will say that they mimick the elastic feel of the cheese almost to perfection."

His eyes skipped past her to take in the bustling crowd deeper in the restaurant.

Sit here, among the well-off, and you'd be excused to think everything was just peachy keen on Eshan.

"You know, you don't actually seem all that clumsy, Jade. In fact, I'd almost say you are perfectly..." A smirk there, before twisting away from the pun that had almost skipped his lips. "...able even with a drink in you." His toes sang his praises for avoiding the crushing pun.

"Do you have anyone in your life who can handle you? Since you spoke with such confidence."

Noelle Varanin

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Pizza.

How quaint.

Noelle cut at hers with a knife, which was proving to be more than a little awkward to control. Perhaps this was why it was never served at court, or why her Mother had only given it to them as children.

Her chest twanged at the memory, a smidge of bitter heat reaching her at the pain that followed. She hadn't had the most ideal childhood. Even now, the concept of a hug or maternally word was distant and childish to even wish for. Ashin had said so herself. In fewer words, that is.

She wondered if that pain would ever go away, or if she really did just need to grow up. The Queen of Eshan forced back a swish of her drink and give the man besides her a tight smile.

Oh he was talking.

"Do you have anyone in your life who can handle you? Since you spoke with such confidence."

"No," she answered without a breath of hesitation. She paused and only then added. "Well, one. But he is dead. Does that count?" She mused, seemingly feeding into his game.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

A slow head tilt there.

He had been expecting the initial no, but that one came out of the left field.

Then again. The world was an odd strange place these days. Decades ago the dead... well, they were dead and that was that. Things were different now however. The Akala Crisis ripped open the fabric between the living and the dead. Some... some dead anyway. Dead people popping into existence all around them, living people disappearing into Hell with no clear means of immediate return.

Apocalyptical.

August could only be relieved his parents weren't Force-sensitive, since that seemed to have been the common trend.

What would he have done, if his mother suddenly showed up out of the blue? Ghastly to think about.

"Dunno. Seems like a bit of a reach." He murmured seemingly nonplussed. "I will allow you extra-galactic sentients, creatures from other dimensions, but dead people? C'mon, you can do better than that." Challenging her once again. That seemed to be the game at play, pushing and prodding at her, to see what the responses would be.

So far, so good, no broken toes after all.

He sipped from his wine again and sighed contently. All in all? A good time tonight. He hadn't thought about his own issues (in an elaborate fashion) in quite some time.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle laughed, the sound surprisingly light and pure for someone who so often glowered.

"Fine, very well. A misnomer. A shadow, I believe he calls himself. Though he likes to play his games too." She give August a knowing look as she sipped at her drink. She quickly found herself at the end of it, a fact which earned a forlorn frown. It was delightfully sweet. Like a punch. Better than the bitter dregs of fine wine. It hit harder too.

"And what of you? What does your family make of a war-fairing traveling male named after tea dishes," she jested, calling him out on that original lie. "Is there no one in your family that can manage you then?"

She fussed with a string of cheese, trying to bring a bite of pizza to her mouth with it-- oh for force's sake. She broke the trail off with her finger, then continued to spear it with a fork and slide it between her teeth.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

"A friend that is a shadow? My oh my, you lie with strange bedfellows... so to speak." A chuckle there as that settled in. "Quite the mysterious woman, aren't you?"

As it often did such things only increased the appeal.

When the story turned around to his family he grimaced just slightly. It was a fair question and one he had truly invited himself, because of his own line of questioning. It still took him by surprise. Which was his own fault. He should have seen it coming and preemptively steered away from it. Yet, the wine left a nice hot core in his stomach.

What could the harm be in picking at that wound?

"Oh, none in my family enjoys the Amaranth brew. Enjoyed I should say." Clarifying himself a moment after. "They are dead. Mother died at the frontlines against the Thyrsians. Father not long after that."

A shrug there.

"I learned from a young age that I was not what people expected or wanted me to be. Some attempt to change. Others... me get stubborn. And now there is no one left that can give me a stern look or a whack over my ears." He finished his glass and studied it for a while. The silence heavy ringing between his ears.

Then August coughed awkwardly.

"But we are here to celebrate freedom, aren't we? More drinks, yes?" Ordering himself a refill, but letting 'Jade' handle her own side.

A stubborn decidedly un-Echani male he might be... but some boundaries even August wouldn't cross.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle's mirth grew solem. Yes. Tactful. Ask about parents on a world were 80% of the population lost at least one person person in the gritty warfare of recent past. Brilliant diplomacy skills, Noelle.

She waved her head in subtle acceptance of a refill, before looking back to Tea-cup with pinched understanding.

"Well, I can think of one person left to pull rank and get you in check." She paused, a delicate smile hitting her eyes as she left him to think.

"Our Queen." She winked, then laughed at her own expense and placed her hand over his. "For those whose lives gave us tonight," she told him, raising her new drink as it came to her side.

She drank in sync with him, her hand warm as it squeezed and pulled away.

"I must say, this tastes like five gained pounds. At least." She jabbed at her cheesy plate, giving him an easy conversation changer. If he wanted it.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

He chuckled with her at THAT thought.

It was certainly true, but August hoped that the Queen had more important things on her mind than him. Otherwise the audience he had requested would be very awkward and presumably very short indeed.

"Well, if I would be honored by anyone getting me in check, it would be our Queen." Inclining his head there with a crooked grin. Not that I would have a lot of choices left to me, if her Highness went that route, he thought to himself quietly while raising his own glass. "Here, here, I will drink to that." August agreed with a smile before saluting and taking a deeper sip.

Already the drinks were making him warm.

It had nothing to do with her hand on his, of course. That would be silly. But before she could pull away? His own hand squeezed back and held her... just for a moment longer.

Certainly not something socially acceptable, but as their eyes met his held a challenge.

"Well, there are plenty of ways to work that off again, if that is something you are worried about, Jade." Twinkle in the eye as his challenge continued.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Another blush hit her cheeks.

Really, her mothers would be unflappable in a moment like this. And Quinn, that girl would be halfway in his lap by now. Why was she such a spineless lump that she couldn't hold his gaze and push back ?

She swallowed hard and reached forward, stubborn heat ruling her movements as she caught the back of his neck and pulled him forward. Her lips collided against his, wet with liquor and clumsy with inexperience.

It was only after a moment of exploration that she pulled away, her chest heaving with each rapid slam of her heart. "I hate being played with," was her only breathy explanation, the woman releasing his neck and sitting back.

She sought to catch her breath, her spinning as she left August to make of what he could from that . Oh, yes.

Yes, she had just done that.

She reached for her glass, this time of water.

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

For a moment August thought this was it.

He had finally earned that punch in the face.

Or throat.

Or mouth.

Or heart.

Somewhere painful anyway. He braced himself, because really August would have deserved it, after teasing her relentlessly for the past few hours. It was no surprise then that when Noelle grabbed him by the neck? No resistance at all. Just... a keen awareness of his own guilt that made him close his eyes to accept the inevitable.

The inevitable... was warm, slightly wet... and most definitely awkward.

August blinked... and realized that no, he was not imagining it. The lady was actually kissing him. Internally his thoughts raced from why to is she going to poison me? to i am going to pay for this anyway, no? Before eventually settling on enjoying the moment by closing his eyes and kissing her back.

Sadly only two breaths later did Noelle decide to cut the kiss short and leave him once again blinking. Maybe even breathing breathlessly too.

"Um." Nodding there at her words. "Well, if this is what you do when you hate the move, I'd love to see your actions when you're into it." August's tongue waggled before his brain managed to catch up with it. He couldn't help but smile there, slightly crooked, definitely goofy and maybe even blushing just a little bit himself.

That last part was definitely the drink however.

"I got a place nearby. If you want to go check it out with me?" Leaving that prospect dangling just there. Right as she was taking a sip from her glass of water.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Water went up her nose. A pained snort followed, finished off by a spray of liquid over the table. Ouch. She sputtered against the sudden burning, the bold man earning a look of ludicration as she turned in her chair.

Ah, there it was. The typical echani glower. Her muscles betrayed her intentions. Her hand whipped out. A slap rippled over his cheek. It sounded as good as it felt. She shook out her hand, the other holding her face together as water streamed down her fingers.

"You have been off world for too long," she chastised, still breathy with exertion. She grabbed a towel and begun to mop herself up. Just who did he think she was? Certainly not who she actually was. Perhaps that stick had been shoved a bit further up her butt than she thought.

She moved down from her face to her dress, patting it dry with agitated puffs that dispersed by the moment.

"Well if I did, and I'm not saying I do, this is not how you go about it," she snuffed. "There should be a courting. And dinners. And some might even say marriage-- do you care nothing for protocol?"

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

In truth the water spraying had him distracted.

That was why he entirely missed the muscle movement. Only at the last moment did August's eyes widen as the hand ran its trajectory towards his face. In truth? He deserved it. So, even if he could have avoided it, he probably wouldn't have.

Not that August could have avoided it.

Too fast.

THWAP.

That one definitely made people turn around and look. The conversations freezing up in their immediate vicinity for a moment. At least until Noelle started dressing him down, which was when they politely restarted their own conversations. It was never civilized to listen too clearly to a lover's quarrel or whatever this was.

"Well, you may be right about that." He murmured as he rubbed his cheek slightly bemused. Damn it burned. But August caught something at the edge of her tone. He wasn't entirely sure. But. "Oh, really? Marriage? Already?" Bemusement turned into another smirk as he leaned on the table with his elbows to watch her closer.

"But no, I can't particularly say that Amaranth cares about protocol. Does Jade really?"

A teasing reminder that whatever they had to profess to care about in their real lives...

There was a reason neither of them had used their real names even once here.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

His point earned another glower. It was calmer this time and directed at her own plate.

"Jasmine," she finally said. "I told you my name is Jasmine. Like the tea. Or were you too busy undressing me with your eyes to remember?" As insulted as she acted, a demure edge of calmness reentered her tone. Forgiveness? Or perhaps acceptance. She picked up her wine glass with two delicate fingers, forgoing water for another long sip.

"But yes, she does," She teased back, glancing his way to survey his features. A glance fell back on those lips, followed by another wash of heat through her. She squirmed and straightened, a small smile gracing her features.

"You are rash. You have no grace. You should start with a hand on my leg followed by a laugh in my ear. And drinks, many more drinks than this. Your fingers should find a way to my skin as we brush under the table. There should be heat. I should feel your breath across my collar as my strap falls... down." She broke the delicate description off, destroying the narrative trail as she looked back his way.

At least, that was what happened in the books.

"You are clumsy to the art of seduction."

 

[August Oreno]

Noelle Varanin

He chuckled at her rebuke.

"I did wonder when you'd correct me, or if you'd let me call you Jade all night." Smoothly and nothing to be read from his expression. Was he full of shite or did August really know her name?

It couldn't be THAT hard to remember 'Jasmine' could it?

Alas, it would have to remain a mystery.

His head did tilt at her description. That certainly was not part of any Echani literature, romantic or otherwise. Which made him think that this lady, who pretended like she didn't need anything from outside Eshan, had most certainly been looking past their planet for some things. Even if not most of the things. "Truly? Is that how the art of seduction goes?" Bemused there, but somehow even more interested. "You will have to forgive me, I haven't spend much time seducing people."

Which was an honest piece of information that rarely escaped a man's mouth, but here they were.

Without taking his eyes off of her, he rose up in one smooth movement, before casually pulling the seat with him and setting it close next to her. All theatrics and uncaring of what anyone might think.

"I have mostly spend my adult years fighting, so I do apologize for not filling your needs properly, Jasmine." Leaning in there, but not yet touching her otherwise. Even if August did wonder how the noble (she was definitely noble. Not just merchant class, no. Maybe a young daughter of a local lord?) would react to that level of forwardness.

"But we can certainly start again and explore that fantasy together." Breath hot and drawled, just as she had described it. More the husk of a promise than the blunt force of the teasing before.

 

[Noelle Varanin]

Noelle laughed as he switched gears, that smile growing ever so slightly.

"Oh is that so? Hm." She leaned into his presence ever so slightly, a sign of openness in the midst of their verbal sass. No, she was definitely not some merchant girl, if the stick up her ass was anything to go by. If she had been sober she might have ended this here and there, but the alcohol had made her increasingly less gun shy, and there were Kal's words to contend to.

"Go out there, be normal."

She turned her head and looked up at the stranger, the heat in his eyes catching her breath. She felt herself lean for a second attempt at a kiss, the motion tentative and reserved.

Quinn made this look so easy. What was more normal than kissing a stranger?