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[indent][indent] After she spoke, a smirk that could only be described as duplicitous contorted the features of the man in front of her. Yet, the effect it should have brought—suspicion, a warning prickle—never arrived. Instead, Anissa’s mind supplied an easy explanation for it, something that felt perfectly reasonable. He wasn’t mocking her; this was just how some people smiled when they…well, when they encountered someone with her level of audacity, perhaps. Sylas’s next few statements seem to confirm just that. 

[color=#0a6d6b]“You’d have a hard time explaining that to your boyfriend,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he said, nodding his head towards River before taking his handkerchief and slipping it into his pockets. [/color][color=#0a6d6b]“Even someone as skilled as you might struggle explaining the monogram.”[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“He’s not my boyfriend,” [/color][color=#ffffff]she replied with no doubt in her tone, [/color][color=#5a3e85]“So, the monogram? Cute, but not exactly a crisis.” [/color] Besides, even if River [i]were[/i] her boyfriend and he cared about something like a borrowed handkerchief, it would have said a lot more about his insecurities than Anissa herself. And really, when had small, unnecessary kindnesses ever been common in her life? Little gestures like this weren’t traps by default, surely, just based on being rare enough. So, why poison a harmless thing with suspicion? Especially when it came from someone who radiated as much confidence and, frankly, trustworthiness as Sylas. Her gut, once again, told her the smile had been nothing more than a test of her wit, and her gut, for once, didn’t seem worth arguing with.

[color=#808000]“Pardon the interruption,” [/color][color=#ffffff]an amicable voice said, and Anissa turned to find Heath with that small, apologetic smile that didn’t ask anything of her. [/color][color=#808000]“Anissa,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he continued gently,[/color][color=#808000] “I just want to let you know that Anatoliy got his guitar back.  So you don't have to worry about that.” [/color]

[color=#ffffff]Hearing this, a wave of relief washed through Anissa. Leaving the instrument had felt strangely wrong, almost like deserting a living thing that understood its owner deeply. Yet, the thought of taking it herself had also seemed like crossing a line she’d already blurred by touching it. Therefore, knowing it was back with Anatoliy, without her direct involvement in its return, meant one specific wrong had been corrected. It wasn't the forgiveness she truly desired, nor did it erase the memory of the encounter itself. Still, the simple absence of one more potential problem was undeniably pleasant.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Oh, thanks, Heath,” [/color] Anissa replied, putting far more genuine gratitude into those two words than they could normally hold. She nearly asked if he’d said anything about her as well, but stopped. She doubted Anatoliy would have described her kindly, and not knowing was probably better.

[color=#808000]“Evening, Sylas, nice to see you're doing well now,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Heath then said, turning his attention to Anissa’s current companion. [/color][color=#808000]“Is it okay if I sit with the two of you?  Have both of you eaten anything yet?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Anissa looked down at her abandoned plate at the mention of food, nudging her plate a little closer, as if proximity alone might convince her appetite to cooperate. With Heath’s question hanging there like a polite challenge, she finally broke the cookie in half and took a bite, grateful that it was still just as warm as when she'd chosen it. Sugar flecked her lip, and she chased it with a sip of the punch she’d also abandoned. The blunt sweetness did what it always did—grounded her, even if only by millimetres.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“I’m working on it,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Anissa answered, tapping the remaining cookie half with a fingernail before placing it onto a napkin and offering it to Sylas. Meanwhile, Sylas’s flat [/color][color=#0a6d6b]“sure”[/color][color=#ffffff] in reply to Heath barely registered in her mind; she interpreted it as typical Sylas behaviour, not the warning signal that it was. She gestured towards the empty chair beside them. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“Please, sit down.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Heath had just settled into the seat when Sylas’s fingers lightly touched his hand. [/color][color=#0a6d6b]"I almost forgot, Blair was looking for you earlier. She said it was an emergency and looked pretty frantic." [/color][color=#ffffff]Sylas shook his head before Heath could ask. [/color][color=#0a6d6b]"She wouldn’t tell me anything, just said she needed you. You should go see what she wants."[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Instantly, Heath’s posture shifted forward, and then he was rising before the chair had even finished scraping backwards across the ground. Anissa watched, a little flabbergasted, as Heath vanished swiftly into the shifting crowd. [/color]

[color=#5a3e85][i]Well, that was…strange, [/i][/color][color=#ffffff]she noted to herself, a light frown on her lips. Yet, now that the thought crossed her mind, did she seriously believe that [/color][color=#ffffff]the kindness Heath had shown her was something special or anything tuned just for her? Maybe it was simply how he interacted with everyone. Better yet, for all she knew, this Blair person could be his girlfriend or something, given that she didn’t really know enough about Heath to say otherwise. And strangely, that realization made it easier to hold onto the compassion he’d offered her. It now felt less like a personal debt owed and less like a warm light that might sting later when it inevitably faded.[/color]

[color=#0a6d6b]"So… you were telling me your thoughts on this new leader,"[/color][color=#ffffff] Sylas prompted once they were alone again, steering the conversation firmly back to the subject that still held his focus. In turn, Anissa tipped her head, weighing how much to give, then decided to be plain because, well, she had no reason not to trust the man with a gaze that was not unkind, but was unmistakably hunting something.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Well, I already agreed that he was attractive, but I guess he’s also a little…”[/color][color=#ffffff] The word snagged, something in her wanting to lock the rest behind her teeth. The walk she’d taken with River felt like a sealed room—his near-miss with the water, the way he said he wasn’t good at people, her admission about not knowing her father and the lies she fed her mother to keep the peace. Rain, pastries, the long way around. All of it had felt [/color][i][color=#ffffff]theirs[/color][/i][color=#ffffff]. Protecting that was the entire point of her retaliation against Anatoliy’s dismissal. She’d practically bitten him for merely pawing at it based on his reaction.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Still, the urge to hold still and the urge to [/color][color=#ffffff][i]give[/i][/color][color=#ffffff] pulled against each other. It wasn't a suspicion of Sylas. If anything, it was the opposite. Trust slid in like a warm tide, softening the corners of her guard. This feeling didn’t dramatically rearrange her world; it simply made sharing a small piece seem acceptable. [/color][color=#5a3e85][i]He feels safe,[/i][/color][color=#ffffff] the thought drifted. [/color][color=#5a3e85][i]It’s okay to share a little. [/i][/color][color=#ffffff]Her fingers unconsciously sought the seam of her glove, rubbing the stitching back and forth in a nervous habit. She could give Sylas the basic outline of their meeting, she decided, the shape of the encounter, while fiercely keeping the intimate details locked safely away inside that private room. The core would remain hers and River’s alone.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“…awkward,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Anissa finally finished, an almost involuntary smile touching the corner of her mouth. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“But honest. Really deeply honest.” [/color][color=#ffffff]She paused, recalling the moment clearly. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“He said something that could have sounded like a pickup line, except he immediately looked like he wanted to punch himself in the face for letting it slip out.” [/color][color=#ffffff]The memory of his mortified expression was oddly endearing to her because that particular moment perfectly captured River’s genuine nature, his discomfort more revealing than any smooth talk could be.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“I know you mentioned thinking he’s probably the dominant type,”[/color][color=#ffffff] she continued, her tone thoughtful. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“But honestly? It’s difficult to see him acting that way around [/color][i][color=#5a3e85]me[/color][/i][color=#5a3e85], at least.”[/color][color=#ffffff] She gave a small, dismissive shrug. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“I was the one who chose to keep talking, to walk further. And he respected that, kept his distance physically the whole time.” [/color][color=#ffffff]She emphasized the point.[/color][color=#5a3e85] “He matched my walking speed without making a big deal about it, and he didn’t crowd me.”[/color][color=#ffffff] She looked directly at Sylas. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“You know… things like that. It didn’t feel like he was trying to lead or take charge of the situation between us.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Anissa let out a slow breath. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“There were some… weird things that happened, though.”[/color][color=#ffffff] Her voice lowered slightly, her mind rearranging the event in such a way that the truth of it remained unmarred without revealing too much of herself.[/color][color=#5a3e85] “When I made a joke about the gods right beside him? Actual thunder rumbled over us, and the surface of the lake… I definitely remember it moving in an unnatural way.” [/color][color=#ffffff]The memory sent a small chill through her.[/color][color=#5a3e85] “Which tells me, if I’m interpreting it right, that someone powerful is probably keeping an eye on all of us here. But I’d bet he’s watched the closest of anyone. He never actually asked for this leadership role, you know? Poseidon basically just...dumped it on him.” [/color][color=#ffffff]The burden seemed immense and unfairly placed, and Anissa felt the same pang of sympathy she’d felt when River had told her all this.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“But anyway…that’s genuinely all I can tell you. There’s absolutely nothing happening like you suggested between us.”[/color][color=#ffffff] As if to prove the point, Anissa glanced over her shoulder to locate River in the crowd. She spotted him standing slightly apart with a petite, anxious-looking blonde girl. Her eyes, trained to observe details, instantly registered the subtle shifts: River’s previously guarded posture softening, his tense smile fading into a calm expression as he listened to the girl. His whole demeanour radiated attentive concern, a stark contrast to the awkwardness she’d witnessed earlier. Anissa absorbed this snapshot, accepting it as yet another piece of evidence confirming the picture she’d started forming of her newfound [/color][color=#ffffff][i]friend.[/i][/color]

[color=#ffffff]And then she performed a quick check-in with herself.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Was there even the slightest sting seeing him engaged elsewhere? Perhaps a tiny flicker of…something. Not of envy, but simple curiosity about who the girl was and what troubled her (and also...what was with all the flowers on the ground, suddenly?). Yet, that was all. There was no jealousy twisting inside her, no descent into overthinking or insecurity. Seeing him respond this way actually strengthened her earlier assessment. It was proof that he seemed to naturally create space for others when they needed support, despite his own feelings. Good. That was a decent quality in a leader. That was what Anissa told herself.[/color]

[color=#5a3e85]“Do you see it now? How wrong you were before?”[/color][color=#ffffff] Anissa said, turning back to Sylas. [/color][color=#5a3e85]“He's not the dominant type. He helps...everyone. Like he's supposed to.”[/color]

[/indent][/indent][hr] 
Location: Table near the bonfire  
Interactions: Sylas ([@Mjolnir]), Heath ([@Pristine1281])
Mentions: River, Blair, Anatoliy, Iliana