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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/23fb834f443fddf069b302a80ffae13a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/713c9ea7f90a3bccf2680492bc93671a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220928/bcf4c8fb894d886cf1f86d12d903935e.png[/img]

[color=1E90FF][b]Time[/b]: Late Morning[/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Interactions[/b]: [@Tae] Kalliope [/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Mentions[/b]: [@PapaOso] Cassius; [@princess] Charlotte; [@Potter] Layla[/color]
[color=1E90FF][b]Attire[/b]: [hider]
[url=https://i.postimg.cc/8z5xjhFf/b73aac48-9c15-4c53-9289-37731ac8aace.png](Placeholder until I get a better reference image)[/url]
Roughspun, blue trousers
A shoulder belt and waist belt carrying his equipment
Two swords and two pistols, one on either side
A woven, conical hat wide enough to shade his entire face[/hider][/color]
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A faint shade of pink crept over Sjan-dehk’s face – just as a flutter tripped through his heart – as Kalliope’s soft lips brushed against his cheek. The kiss had come as a surprise, but it would be an egregious lie if he claimed it to be unwelcome. Without thinking, he reached across to touch the spot where she had kissed him, and upon realising what he was doing, swiftly changed the action to a scratch against an imaginary itch before wiping his hand across the lower half of his face. His eyes turned to the sea, the sky, the trees, and even the crowd. To anywhere and anything but the pretty lady beside him.

[color=1E90FF]“I-It was nothing,”[/color] he managed to stammer out and pulled his hat lower over his eyes. [color=1E90FF]“Nothing you should thank me for, I mean. Anyone else would’ve done the same. If not to defend you, then to put an end to the shit spewing from her mouth.”[/color] He snuck a sidelong glance at Kalliope. With an awkward shrug, he cleared his throat and added, [color=1E90FF]“And besides, I couldn’t just stand there and let her get away with all the abuse she threw at you. That’s not the Way. Not the Jafin Way, or any Viserjantan Way.”[/color]

He cast his eyes over his shoulder at the group as he led Kalliope away, but it wasn’t the venom-tongued princess he looked at. Rather, his eyes lingered around the man who had initially accompanied Kalliope to the beach. Cassius, if Sjan-dehk wasn’t wrong. But that didn’t really matter. What did, was that Sjan-dehk was almost certain that the two of them were in an intimate relationship, if Kalliope’s words were anything to go by. Part of Sjan-dehk didn’t want to believe it – for whatever reason – but the larger part of him was occupied by a more immediate concern. He was currently dragging Kalliope away, and she had just given him a peck on the cheek. It didn’t take much imagination to see how Cassius might interpret things poorly, and that was a barrel of troubles Sjan-dehk could go without opening. 

Thankfully, it didn’t seem as if he noticed. The man was far more occupied with Charlotte, and that brought Sjan-dehk even more confusion. Was he so brazen that he would court another lady whilst his partner was within sight? Or was this how things simply worked here? Either way, Sjan-dehk didn’t like the look of him, and this was yet another feeling for which he had no explanation. The man looked normal enough, and he seemed polite enough as well. And yet, just looking at him brought Sjan-dehk great unease.

Sjan-dehk pushed those thoughts away – as best he could, at least – and continued leading Kalliope away and further up the beach. There was definitely something wrong with him, and the sooner he could return to his [i]Sada Kurau[/i], the sooner he could figure out what it was, exactly. 

[color=1E90FF]“I guess we’ve just got poor luck, then,”[/color] he quipped in response to Kalliope’s answer to his question about the princesses of the region. Casting a sidelong glance at her, he continued, [color=1E90FF]“That it’s the mean cunt that we have to deal with, and not any of her nicer siblings.”[/color] He paused for a moment, his mind chiding him for being overly-judgmental of a person whom he had only just met. An unpleasant person, to be sure, but still a stranger, nonetheless. “[color=1E90FF]But I was serious about my pity,”[/color] he said a little awkwardly. [color=1E90FF]“The Way teaches us that there are very few people that are inherently bad. As much as I think she’s a little shit, I hope she isn’t one of them, and that she’s just the product of a troubled life.”[/color] Even as he uttered those words, he realised just how silly they sounded. A noble’s life could be hard, he knew, but all the same he wondered just how troubled a princess’ life could get. 

Well, that was really none of his concern. He could only react to what he heard and saw, and what he saw and heard was a princess being unnecessarily mean and cruel.

He stopped a fair distance away – close enough to keep an eye on the group, but still far enough away to stay out of any altercations that might arise. [color=1E90FF]“Don’t listen to her nonsense,”[/color] he said with a sigh and turned to face Kalliope. She did tell him that she was fine, but concern still lingered in his mind. How could he feel otherwise? Layla’s words hadn’t been directed towards him, and yet even he felt their sting. He imagined that they must have left some sort of a mark on their intended target, Kalliope. [color=1E90FF]“All she did was make a lot of assumptions and attack your character. None of it was worth the spit she spent on them, and definitely not worth the effort of even reaction. Though I guess I failed on that one.”[/color]

[color=1E90FF]“And maybe I’m making my own assumptions here,”[/color] he continued, giving Kalliope’s arm a gentle squeeze and offering her a little smile. [color=1E90FF]“But you’re not what she makes you out to be, if you ask me. If you were that sort of person, you wouldn’t have paid your respects to Izahn. That you did makes you better than most in my books. The little princess can say whatever she likes. It doesn’t change who you are. It doesn’t change that she’s acting like a cunt, and you’re not.”[/color] He leaned in a little closer. [color=1E90FF]“Besides, I doubt she contributes to society as much as she thinks she does. Not as much as you, in any case. You work for a living. I find it hard to imagine someone like her doing the same.”[/color]

Then, he stood back, and quickly took his hand away from Kalliope’s arm. [color=1E90FF]“Probably should’ve done that a little sooner,”[/color] he said apologetically with a bow of his head. Discomforting as it may be, he had to remind himself that Cassius and she had some form of involvement with one another. He had to take a little more care with his words and actions, at least until he became more familiar with local norms. [color=1E90FF]“I, uh, I should let you carry on with your day, I suppose.”[/color]