New Friends! whether you want it or not...
A collaboration with [ShwiggityShwah];
@Kitty; and
@Hero
”Lia. A lovely name.” It matched her.
”Like a musical instrument.” He knew he was laying it on pretty thick, but he honestly was just trying to be a gentleman, trying to remember what he heard others say. He didn’t figure himself an eloquent or poetic man. Instead he toned himself back a little hoping not to put the woman off. He has been described as being a little, load.
She asked him his own name while hanging from his arm. He could of sworn he told her, but maybe she was so blown away by his presence that she didn’t quite catch it. He was embarrassed but he found it undeniably charming. He raised his other hand, scratching his burning hair and laughing out loud.
”Don’t you remember? Hah! I guess I do talk a little fast.”He gave her a cool look with a wink and his thumbs up.
”My name is Kyros, but you can call me…” He placed his hand gently on the hand that held his arm.
”Yours.” His smile softened and cheeks reddened. He thought that line was pretty good.
”We should get you a towel, and then find a place to wine and dine, I want to learn everything about-”THUD
”Hmm?” He looked down to see a woman had run into him. She looked utterly in a panic, though the first thing he noticed was the pair of horns on her head. A demonkin, no, what were they called? Tiefling? He shrugged. So it was going to be a fateful day of one beauty after another. Just cause she had not risen from the sea, doesn’t mean this clumsy woman deserve any less kindness. Kyros looked to Lia for a moment with an innocent smile before he leaned over, offering a hand to her as well.
”Are you-”To his surprise the girl seemed to run behind him. He was confused by this, his eyes looked at him, though he followed his gaze and it turned out the lady had a bit of a party following her. Kyros’ sheer size caused them to stop in his tracks. The six men seemed irritated. Kyros looked back, wide eyed.
”Can I help you gentlemen?””Grrr, get out of the way! That girl broke my drinking stall!””Why you talking to him!? They are probably working together.”The crowd was just shaking first, one even holding bottles of booze.
Kyros had to release Lia, breaking his heart a little as he stepped forward and made sure he was far away. He’d die a thousand deaths than let a scratch befall her.
”Sirs, please. I’m sure this is just a misunderstanding, a friendly accident.” He kept his heads upturned. The last thing he wanted was a fight, especially when he wished to show his gentler side.
The offer seemed too good to be true, Lia’s imagination running completely wild. Kyros--he said he had already introduced himself? She would have to take better care to consider his words in the future. Perhaps she had let her excitement get the better of her, an all too common occurrence that nearly every resident of Thalassa could attest to. Still, he didn’t seem to mind, much to her relief, albeit before she could inquire on his offer (a towel? What is that?) someone walked into him. Or ran, or something, she had been far too busy paying attention to him to be wary of her surroundings.
The perpetrator chose to hide behind them--a wise choice as the entourage that followed showed. Frowning at the gathering crowd, Lia let out a huff as Kyros stepped forward. A kind soul, indeed, preoccupied with solving the situation with words and not force. Admirable, truly, and were it any other time she would have greatly appreciated it.
But as petty as it sounded, she was more annoyed they were interrupted. Did these peasants not understand the event of
love, for goodness’ sakes?!
Narrowing her eyes, she eyed the crew warily. The stench of alcohol was strong, causing Lia to wrinkle her nose. It would be a lie if she said she had never partook in the drink, but letting oneself lose control like that was such an ugly display. She looked back and down at the one who had caused all the discord, raising an eyebrow. A hood? Hooded figures usually had something to hide, though for the moment, she would only let out a wary sigh. No need to jump to conclusions yet, she supposed.
”An entire group of drunkards chasing a lone woman…disgraceful,” Lia huffed again, placing her hands on her hips.
”How are we to believe you, hm? For all we know the entire incident happened because you don’t know how to control yourselves!”Kyros looked at her with surprise. Maybe not so gentle. She’s… wonderful…
While she did have a very solid point in the matter, the men were drunk, belligerent and out for restitutions or blood. One of them actually threw their bottle at Kyros. He managed to swap it out of the air, the glass clattering nearby.
”You butt out of this girl! You don’t know crap!” Kyros muscles noticeably tensed.
The yelling of all of them cutting through the crowd became a bit of a jumbled mess. A few things rung out loud and clear.
”Do you see the things on her head!? I bet they’re all in this together!” Now this was getting to be some kind of conspiracy. It was hard to talk about who they were referring, the mermaid or the demon.
Kyros glared a little bit, diplomacy wasn’t going to resolve this as well as he hoped.
”They’re all guilty! Just a bunch of thieves and freaks!”There was a calmness, before there was a sudden gust of wind, a sudden flash of heat. The walkway they stood on cracked under the pressure as something as suddenly Kyros ran forward and was in the groups face, his hand sole gripped around the one who spokes face and was holding him in the air. Two feet in the air.
Kyros was… different. His eyes seemed completely devoid of emotion, his teeth were clenched, his hair seemed to be whipping wildly and even getting slightly bigger. Then from his hands, and around his body, little sparks of flame appeared and it seemed to coat his body. He looked at the man with utter hate in his eyes. His voice boomed like a thunder crack
There was a gasp and a scream as Kyros literally became
engulfed in flame. The group wisely ran, the man being held by his face struggling to get free in the Genasai’s grip before Kyros let him go the man falling on his rear and then crawling before scrambling away whimpering, having just saw death.
Kyros didn’t chase, they weren’t worth it. He merely breathed, in and out, trying to calm himself down as the fires on him began to very slowly dissolve away. He lost his cool it seemed. He didn’t even realize what he was doing until the heat fully died down.
Both of them were helping her out, even the larger man who had caught a glimpse of her horns. Two people in one day who hadn’t instantly chased her away or tried harming her once they saw her horns, what are the odds. Eris watched as the two defended her against the group and watched in awe and amazement as she watched the large man become engulfed in literal flames. The men ran away scared and she simply stared on, that was the first time she’d seen anyone do that or anything like that.
”Well that’s a first.” Eris muttered to herself from where she stood. She walked until she was in between the two and looked back and forth between them. She didn’t know exactly what to do, she wasn’t much of someone who thanked people normally but they did just help her so she should do something. Reaching in her small coin bag she pulled out a gold piece for each of them. She walked over to the woman first and handed one to her then over to the man.
” For helping.” Lia's jaw dropped at the audacity of the drunkard's words. How utterly rude! Thieves and freaks, the nerve of their baseless assumptions was enough to stun a court to silence. But it seemed that despite their vulgar words, they were no match for the literal fiery fury Kyros held. He wasn't just kind, it seemed: he had power that could be felt even from a good distance away. Her eyebrows shot up at the display, anger all but forgotten as she watched the rest of the thugs turn tail and flee. Served them right!
Now that the distraction was gone, it was time to go back to more important matters. Or at least, that was what Lia wanted to do, but she was quickly reminded what started this all in the first place: the hooded girl. She was grateful, at least, even if a bit odd. As petty as it was, Lia couldn't help her wariness as the woman stepped between her and Kyros, unable to hide her displeased expression. As she was handed the coin, Lia inspected it. It looked like the ones Undine had given her for the festival. As fascinating as it was, there was the matter of the unwanted company at hand.
"Your gratitude is appreciated, but…" Lia slowly stepped around the woman, taking the chance to be close to Kyros as she flashed a smile.
"I believe your thanks should be reserved for this one." She declared, throwing him a look of approval.
Kyros held his head and then threw his head back.
”Gah! I didn’t want to do that!” He exclaimed almost letting the two girls behind him go ignored for a moment. He turned, his eyes averted, and his chin pointed down. He looked… ashamed.
”I apologize, Lia… to both of you.” He tsk’d, clenching his teeth before looking Lia, a sorry expression.
”I hope I didn’t scare you…” He then looked at the hooded girl, she had gold in her hands but he seemed embarrassed.
”Or make things more difficult for you.” His hands ran through his hair.
”I hope those guys don’t decide to try and get the guards or something.” He honestly could get in trouble with the law, and what would that lead for Lia, and worse, this poor innocent stranger.
Eris was off put by the woman now slightly based on how she acted with the man, but simply shrugged it off. The two were probably destined? Although they seemed strangers still. She didn’t care enough to ask. As the man spoke, her focus went to him.
”Yeah no, your little thing you did. Not scary at all. Nor could anything make things more difficult for me.” Eris told him, her coldness beginning to come out as she spent more time around these strangers.
”Also those cowards won’t dare get the guards involved, too drunk to be believed.” She’d had a run in with people like them before, guards rarely listened to drunken ramblings from men like them.
”Can you just take this gold coin so I can go?” She asked the man after having held it out to him for a while without him taking it. She had fallen in shallow water and was still too close to said water for comfort in her book. Not to mention she’d had her horns seen by two people today and that just had her uncomfortable on a lot of levels. So she just wanted to get out of this situation, but not until the man took the coin.
The northeastern coral kraken was scary, though Kyros' display of power was more exhilarating than frightening. Still, she couldn't enjoy his response for too long before the woman seemed to be losing patience. Lia wrinkled her nose at the woman's insistence that Kyros take the coin. Goodness, someone was being quite testy all things considered. Did she forget that she was the one who came to them? Honestly, she was getting a bad impression of the common populace. As much as she wanted Kyros to take her offer so she could go, her more royal duty to her own people gave her some compassion. Or something like that, who knew. Either way, she couldn't exactly shoo her away without looking bad.
Deciding to take another approach, Lia gave the woman a shrug.
"Now, now, that's no way to talk to someone who helped you out. Kindness is free," She stated, a hand on her hip.
"If you really must be going, I believe a 'thank you' may go a longer way than coin would."”More difficult?” He repeated. The woman’s words did make the man turn with an odd look about her. Everything she had said had left him with a cold feeling, a cold chill. Horns? Paying for kindness? A disposition of mistrust? He could relate. She probably had so little to rely on, and yet she ran to them. This was the festival, destiny is supposed to happen here. He had found his one and only, but no one deserves to be alone.
He turned and smiled as Lia took the words out of his mouth. Then to Eris, his hands on his hips and smiling broadly, thinking himself clever.
”And if a thank you is too much, you can always show your gratitude by offering a bit more of your company. Perhaps join us for a drink, or lunch?” he suggested, actually inviting the hooded girl to enjoy the festival with them.
”Its a festival right? You’re not allowed to have a bad time.”Glaring under her hood towards the woman,
”You took your coin so you can stay out of it.” Eris cooly told the woman before looking to the man once again.
”Just take the coin. I’m not someone to hang around so take it and we can all go on our merry little ways. I think this festival is dumb anyways. Destiny is a load of crap. So let’s get this interaction over with so you two lovers can go get married or whatever.” She didn’t understand why this man just couldn’t do what she was asking of him, people couldn’t be that oblivious right?
Puffing out her cheeks in irritation, Lia had to remind herself to hold her tongue. Why was Kyros inviting her along?! What happened to getting to know one another?! As much as she wanted to put this peasant in her place, it was not up to her to do it. Kyros' kindness was wasted on such a rude person, and despite his insistence, she refused to just thank him and be on her way, claiming he was trapping her. Lia returned the glare with much gusto, albeit she was about as threatening as a pufferfish considering she was more pouty than anything.
But when the woman mentioned that she thought the festival was dumb, that was when Lia felt herself understanding somewhat. So the woman was alone? Was that why she was so cold and grumpy and rude? Oh, the poor thing, everything made sense now! Her heart splintered, torn between wanting to encourage Kyros to take the coin so she would leave already and wanting to assist the unfortunate soul. This, too, must have been fate, though it felt cruel to deprive her of her alone time. But it was her duty as both a woman in love and a (self proclaimed) matchmaker to assist the less fortunate. Even if three was a crowd.
"Oh come now, you don't truly mean that, do you?" Lia asked, suddenly changing her tone and barely containing her blush at marriage--
marriage--being suggested.
"This entire festival is supposed to be about finding true love!"”There’s an idea. Marriage, but we’d need a witness.” Kyros teased now finding humor in Eris’ sour note. He was thrilled that Lia had agreed, he felt it deep in his chest that she’d protest, but she was every bit the spitting image of an angel in his heart that he thought. He crossed his arms.
”Besides, Destiny, True Love. The gods. All that pales in one simple fact.” He held up a single finger while walking over to Lia’s side.
”No one should be alone. Come on, I’m stubborn as an ox, you live by a strict code of your own personal honor, and you have nothing more to lose.””Love doesn’t happen for everyone.” Eris scoffed at their positivity.
”I meant exactly what I said and actually I do have more to lose. It’s called my life. So if you aren’t going to take this then I’ll just keep it.” Shaking her head at their ignorance and overall positivity she muttered to herself, not so softly.
”Why do I even try to be nice. Now people are pushing the stupid festival on me and trying to befriend me. I swear…”How anti-social! But then again, she probably shouldn't have come running to them for protection if she didn't want to interact. Just as that thought crossed Lia's mind, however, her eyes brightened up. Ah, of course! Why didn't she think of this earlier? She flashed a mischievous grin at Kyros before stepping forward, her hands behind her back as she came up with a solution. Regardless of what she would choose, Lia would be happy either way.
"Well, I suppose the right thing to do would be to send you on your merry way, but may I ask one more thing?" Lia had a glint in her eye as she spoke.
"What will you do if you run into further trouble? Will you continue to hide behind people and possibly expose yourself to more danger? You can do that, or--" She took a step back and looped her arm with Kyros'.
"We can be your bodyguards!””Seeing as I’ve been running into and away from trouble my whole life without help I think I can handle it. I just happened to literally run into you both while running. So I used you both to my advantage.” Eris shrugged, she didn’t care she was coming off rude one bit.
”Besides. Like I said. I’m not the type of person you want to hang around.” She reminded hoping they’d give it up, these two seemed to persistent for her to be able to simply walk away from this conversation. At this rate she was thinking of robbing them for all they were worth but she wasn’t at that point yet.
”Oh I dont know, I’m having a lot of fun talking to you. You have this adorable way of pouting.” He laughed shoulder to shoulder with Lia.
”For someone who doesnt care about others, you’re spending alot of time explaining that you don’t care.” His laugh settled.
”wouldnt it be nice to not have to run for a single after. A change of pace. And variety is the spice of life." Ultimately it was her decision. Just a bit of cheer hopefully to remind her that she could be welcomed.
"In any case feel free to use me as your shield from harm whenever you need to. Though I think we would like your name. It’ll make each rescue a bit less formal.”It was difficult to admit that there was definitely a momentary lapse in her cheerfulness, not having missed that little compliment thrown the woman's way. Argh, why must the gods test her so?! No, no need to panic, she seemed adamant on staying her way. And Lia was very happy about that.
"He's right, you know," Lia cheerfully agreed, delighted that the stranger seemed intent on staying just that: a stranger. Still, no matter what she decided, Lia would be alright with. Either she'd cave in and agree and they would go forth and partake in the festivities, or she would finally take her leave for good and she would
finally get some alone time.
"I am Lia, and this is Kyros.”When others won’t leave well enough alone, you have to explain it a few times to get it through their thick skulls.” Eris coldly informed the man who she now knew had the name Kyros. She scoffed at giving these two her name. Like she wanted them to know such privy information that would allow them to acknowledge her elsewhere. No, that wasn’t happening.
”And I’m... “ Eris began to take a few steps back.
”Leaving.” She turned sharply and left the two where they stood. Going back to the busy areas to no longer be alone with such cheery, positive, annoying people.
Kyros shrugged.
”You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” Kyros wished the girl luck without words. She’d need it. He’d been there. It was a cold path she was walking.
Distractions gone, he turned back to Lia, finally alone again.
”But you, you have such a big heart.” Honestly her words for strangers, the bravery and compassion. He felt such a kinship. He put his hand over hers while she hooked her arms with him and looked down to get lost in her eyes.
