[img]https://i.imgur.com/2sbSrxg.png[/img]
[center][h1][color=30A4D9]Bastion[/color] [color=E0D6C0]&[/color] [color=olive]Talis[/color][/h1][/center][hr]
[color=30A4D9][b]Mentions:[/b][/color] Wendel [@funnyguy]
[color=30A4D9][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] Meiyu [@Tae]  [hr]

[color=E0D6C0]

Bastion was still watching the glass of water when Meiyu spoke again.

[color=7DBC89]“You may be the most terrifyingly sweet thing I’ve seen all week.”[/color]

His head tilted slowly toward her, taking in her smile, her tone, the way her words curled around themselves like a ribbon. It wasn’t the first time he had been called terrifying. It might’ve been the first time he’d been called sweet. He considered this.

[color=30A4D9]“I do not intend to be terrifying,”[/color] he said after a moment. [color=30A4D9]“But... I am glad if the result was positive.”[/color]

He watched as Meiyu turned her attention to the tankard offered by Wendel. Bastion observed her drink...unbothered, graceful, confident. He liked that she seemed to say exactly what she meant. He appreciated that kind of directness. 

He also appreciated Wendel’s warmth. The way he smiled. The way his eyes softened around the edges like old paper that had weathered over time but still held ink. 

Bastion thought for a moment, pondering how some could be so humane to his kind while others were so obviously disgusted by his presence.  But before he could even complete the thought, Meiyu spoke again…this time to Talis. 

[color=7DBC89]“You’ve got the look of a smuggler. Or a sorcerer. Or maybe just a scholar with questionable life choices… So, little sparrow… what’s in the bag?”[/color]

Talis stopped breathing.

Not literally, but close enough that even Bastion picked up on the severity of distress the question caused the dehydrated woman. 

She tried to laugh; “[i]Tried[/i]” being the imperative word. 

[color=olive]“Oh! Haha. What, this?”[/color] she said, holding her satchel like it might bite if provoked. [color=olive]“Nothing! Just… books. A snack. Some other boring stuff. Haha.”[/color]

She was doing the fast-talking thing again. Bastion had noticed it earlier. Her words sped up when she was anxious. Her eyes darted. Her hands never stopped moving.

[color=7DBC89]“Wendel, want to place a wager? I say it’s cursed. Or alive. Or cursed and alive.”[/color]

Talis's almost choked on air as she breathed in deep, her laugh cracking mid-chuckle in the most unnatural way.

[color=olive]“No need for wagers! Definitely not cursed or alive or... anything like that. Haha. Ha. Just a normal bag.”[/color]

Her stool scraped back with a sound that made several people glance over. She stood stiffly, the satchel now gripped with both arms like it might fly away.

[color=olive]“I...uh. I need to go. Gotta…uh… relieve myself. [i]Biologically[/i]. In a place. That is not here.”[/color]

There was a brief pause as she looked around the bar with her best attempt at a normal smile. 

[color=olive]“I’ll be back! Probably.”[/color]

And then she was off…Half-speedwalking, half-fleeing. Bastion’s gaze lingered on the hallway she vanished into, then he turned back to the group and very softly, to no one in particular, he spoke. 

[color=30A4D9]“She forgot her water.”[/color]

He reached out and slid her untouched glass closer, just in case. And then he stood beside the stool, unmoving, watching the door…Waiting.

[/color]