Re: A Pair of First Impressions

[Biran Everard]

Biran thought for a moment he struck a nerve, which wasn't his intent, just his honesty. He wasn't about to apologize, but whatever words were to come out were sealed quickly as he felt her foot brush against him under the table. A surprising yet pleasant sensation came over him and his lip curled into a small smirk. "Do you enjoy such a thing? I would of never guessed that you. A woman who knows what she wants and expresses it is more impressive than one who is unsure or suppresses it." Of course, this implied prude women weren't his type, but he was sure she would hardly mind that.

Speaking of such girls, she confided in him that she was raised to be as such. Groomed to be so high class and pampered with riches and fancy material things undoubtedly. From what she spoke, her parents seemed like the exact opposite of the company he would enjoy. Even if this unexpected date so far was seeming a little fancy for his blood, hers seemed to be at a similar level and did not judge him as those moneybag types likely would. Rune was a lady of some kind of wild class, a class of her own if you will. It was interesting to him that she could give it all up and resist the way she had in order to live the life she pleased rather than the one that was comfortable.

Biran was taken even more off guard when she had mentioned and told him the skeleton in the closet, that her parents were marrying her off in order to control her. It made Biran sick to his stomach, honestly. But of course, it wasn't her fault and as she said, it was nothing she could run away from. "As if marrying off a wild animal can turn one into a docile and trained beast. No. Not I, that's for sure. I couldn't even imagine the intense rage that would bring me. To even think of it..." He leaned back in his seat to cross his leg over his knee in a relaxed manner, taking a moment to even fathom the absurdity. It was then it occurred to him that this may of been the news that brought her to such a fuss in the brothel? It was surely a good reason. "What do you plan to do about it? Surely you wont marry and appease them?"

The waiter then came over and splashed a taste of the red wine that was ordered into the lady's glass to see if it was to her liking. Biran watched carefully in wonder to see if any trained etiquette in her had remained as habits now. Of course, he was also curious what real fancy folk did as he had seen an old flick once where they would sample the wine in many ways, engaging different senses in order to verify the quality of the beverage. Personally, he thought it was stupid. Wine was wine, after all. It wasn't supposed to taste good, just be there to physically and socially unwind. At least this was true to him.

[Rune Tyche]

The woman gave a slight laugh as he asked if she enjoyed such a thing. Really, it depended more on her partner is she enjoyed it or not, but for the most part, she did enjoy those that were able to subdue her enough to make her compliant. But she wouldn’t tell Biran that. It was best to let him figure it out on his own than to be upfront about such a thing. Surprise was the best thing in the bedroom, or out of it, after all.

As she told him everything that was going on in her life, a story that no one really knew about her, he was quiet and he listened well to what she spoke of. A life she had hated and one she ran from, clinging to the freedom she’d wanted for so long and that freedom was being threatened to slip through her fingers. Rune couldn’t marry, she wouldn’t. Not for anything or anyone and definitely not to appease her parents. Marriage was about love and loyalty and being with someone that made you the person you wanted to be and she’d rather die than give her heart to anyone again. Not that Biran needed to know about that heartbreak as well, but still… Thinking about everything brought those memories to the surface.

The male across the table seemed to agree with her, which was comforting all on its own. He understood and it made her feel like she could rely on him a bit more because of it and that… It was a powerful feeling. One she hadn’t felt for a long time. The woman huffed and joined him in his position, leaning back in her chair before turning her gaze to the ceiling above them. ”Exactly… But with enough chains, even the most fearsome of beasts can be held into place, or so they think.” She spoke in an exasperated tone as she ran a hand over her face and down her neck. But now the next question… What was she going to do about it?

”Obviously, I’m not going to marry, least of all to make my parents happy.” She gave a look of disgust at the mere thought of it, but the waiter came over to fill her glass before she could finish what she was saying to the male. Offering a smile to the waiter, she thanked him politely and swirled her wine around before taking a sniff of the glass, and let out a soft sigh before turning her gaze back to Biran once more as she took a sip which ended up turning into downing the whole glass in one go. Whoops… Oh well. She needed the alcohol at that moment to ease her irritation and help her relax before she flew into yet another fit of rage. ”But as for a plan… I’m really unsure at the moment. I was just informed tonight of all of this so I haven’t had a lot of time to think my options through…” And really, she hadn’t. She’d thrown a tantrum at the brothel and had then been whisked away, or perhaps she had whisked Biran away before she thought anything through.

”I was told that even if I disagree, they will force me there and that I will have no choice in this matter. So I’ll just have to keep an ear out about any party planning by the Tyche family and go into hiding when that happens until I can figure a way out of this permanently.” Gods… Was she really reduced to this? Running with her tail between her legs every time they planned a party? ”And marriage to someone for the sake of getting out of marrying whom they want is out of the question as well.” The woman groaned loudly and ran her hands once more down her face before she leaned forward in his chair, her elbows on the table as she rested her chin on her hands once more in a sort of sulky look. ”I have enough clients that I’d be able to house jump for a little while, but gods… I hate most of them.”

The woman shook her head and huffed once more. ”Enough about this, please… I’ve already ruined my appetite once tonight and I’d hate to miss the rest of this play because I need a distraction.” And by distraction, she meant something a bit more primal than anything and it seemed like Biran was rather enjoying the show. The last thing she wanted was to make him miss the show as well just because she needed an emotional outlet.

[Biran Everard]

This was an odd turn of events truthfully. She was willing to speak of everything on her mind and more and she had obviously put a lot of time into thinking about avoiding this betrothal. For good reason, he would be the same way, tactfully thinking out every possible scenario in order to loophole himself through the entire thing. He personally would just marry Soori or some other woman who would be open to an open marriage, where love with one another wasn't even remotely present so that they could happily be wherever they pleased. But Rune didn't think that was a fair solution either, which Biran physically shrugged at. She didn't want to talk much about it and he would respect that and let it lie. "Of course." Though he wasn't quite sure what else they could talk about now after that mess. There was nothing interesting he could possibly do or say to derail her thought from the issue.

He would ask her where she grew up perhaps, but maybe that was in the same league as talking about her parents, which he still wished to skirt around. Maybe he should talk about himself? Was that too conceded and insincere though? What else was there to even say about him? Should he just keep himself as a Mr. Mystery and Danger? Girls liked that after all. Maybe he should stay silent? But that wouldn't likely sit well with the topic they just ended. Overthinking conversation with women was definitely a family trait ingrained deep from Trever Valentine himself, the legend himself warned him of that. Biran was finally starting to believe it. But why now was this curse rearing it's ugly head? Usually he'd be so good at continuing a solid conversation.

Luckily their appetizer saved the bell for a brief time, which gave him time to think on a topic. Luckily he had thought of one with enough time to not leave them awkwardly silent. "So what do you do with your free time if you aren't here or at work?" He looked down at the plate before them and wasn't too sure how to properly go about eating snails. To avoid the embarrassment of slurping them and being rude, he simply prepared himself for the feast slowly. He placed both feet flat on the ground, sat up properly in his chair, and placed the napkin on his lap. He at least knew that much of dining etiquette, but beyond this he was sort of at a loss. And never mind knowing which fork was the right fork at the right time. Why the fuck did they give two forks anyway? A fork was a fork. Eating with his hands typically suited him more anyway, but that was hardly proper. Was he stressing this too much? Could he not do anything right? What was wrong with him tonight?

[Rune Tyche]

The conversation fell quiet and for a while, she wasn’t sure what exactly to say to follow that conversation either. She was so curious about the man across from her and what he did for a living and how he lived and why they had never met before now and what was his favorite dish to eat or liquor. So many questions rolled around in her head, but her mood had been soured by the prior conversation that had left a bad taste in her mouth. Instead of speaking, the dog sat there looking around the room at the people laughing at other tables and having a good time. And why weren’t they? Here she was, supposed to be the hostess with the mostest and she was being the Debby Downer here.

Rune perked up, giving the man across the table a purposeful look and opened her mouth to speak when the waiter returned with their appetizer. Closing her mouth, she looked up at the waiter once more with a polite ”Thank you.” and asked him to top off her wine once more, which she thanked him again for doing so. She copied Biran’s motions, placing her napkin in her lap and smoothed it with her hands, thinking over how best to answer his question. She did a lot of things in her free time besides going here, but how best without going on and on with it?

”It depends on the day, I suppose. I run every morning, noon and night before work. Other than that, I go to the arena sometimes to blow off some steam or the beach to go swimming, occasionally to the gym, but I prefer to be outside when exercising.” She laughed softly and waited, her mischievous nature getting the better of her. ”I just really don’t like sitting still and would rather be constantly moving… In one way or another.” She purred the last words with a suggestive tone as she once more ran her foot up his leg in a teasing gesture.

But her better judgment once more talked some sense into her as she looked down at the escargot and back to Biran. ”Why aren’t you eating, my dear? They’re quite lovely in flavor despite what they are.” Her tone was once more teasing, but it had lost it’s more seductive nature and picked up more of a playful tone as she grinned at him in the same manner.

[Biran Everard]

Good, the conversation changed pace nicely enough. And everything she said he could relate to on some level and continue a better conversation than he had been. "That's wonderful. I also love to run. It's a big part of my routine." And a big part of training his recruits but he'd leave that out in fear of telling her too much and going on about himself or at least talking to much about it. "I probably run twice a day if not more." Was that stand offish though? He hardly wanted to compare, just express his love of running. "Sounds like you're very active though. That's really good. Improves moves and blood flow and all that, aside from all that other health shit." Now he was babbling like his great granddad too. What the fuck was going on here?

Surprisingly her question didn't really stump him as much as it could have, given his current disheveled state. "In all honesty, I used to eat these raw. Fresh from wherever I happened to find them. I severely doubt my way is proper enough for this setting and was waiting on you to make a proper example." There we go. That was a little more smooth this time around. Hopefully he'd be back on an up streak. "Sorry. That's probably weird though." And now he ruined it. Whatever sort of flustering sorcery she knew, it was working on him.

Biran picked up his glass of water and finally drank from it in order to just keep himself from talking at this point. He checked his own arsenal of head games and trying to gain back his momentum of stimulating a woman's senses. Horribly enough, it was innate and natural up until now and he sort of struggled now to find better words. Hell, he was struggling now to stop himself from sounding like a complete fool. Failure. This was just an utter failure. But maybe this pause was enough to find another topic and attempt to save face.

[Rune Tyche]

His routine, hmm? Interesting. Maybe they could start up a daily running routine or something like that. Try as she might, Silky wasn’t exactly cut out for running the long distances that Rune often went, not to mention that the other woman was a constant distraction for the dog with her bouncing and such. And he ran twice at that. What times, though? She could always adjust her own schedule to meet up a few days a week and go for a friendly competitive run just to blow off steam. Rune nodded her head as he mentioned her good activity as he babbled on about all the benefits of it.

If she’d been honest with herself, it was rather… Adorable the way he spoke as if he was unsure how to stabilize the conversation along with how he easily skirted what could have been an embarrassing moment where he reached forward and just ate the way he wanted. Though she had almost hoped he would have. Being proper in a place such as this was hardly her first concern so long as they didn’t get kicked out. Instead, the woman laughed softly and shook her head. ”It’s not weird. At least you haven’t rooted through the trash to find a meal and these little babies are a great source of protein for short periods of time.” She said as she took the tongs that came with the dish and grabbed one of the shells with the opening pointing away from herself. ”You hold them like this and then you take this fork here,” she picked up the small two pronged fork from the table, ”and you can just use it to scoop out the insides. Like so.” She demonstrated on how to stick the fork in and pull out the meat before placing it on piece of bread that was served with it and took the bite. ”You can also use the toothpick to get it out instead of your fork, if you prefer. Either way is acceptable.” She said after she swallowed and ran her tongue over her lips as she grabbed another to show him again, just in case.

Instead of taking the bite herself this time, she offered it to her date, holding out the meat on the piece of bread she’d just taken a bite out of. Lord knew if they couldn’t get past a sort of indirect kiss that tonight wouldn’t be worth it to get all worked up with the run and the race and then have him get cold feet at the last second. Though he didn’t seem the type to care about such things, she would much rather be safe than sorry in the end.

[Biran Everard]

Biran watched her as she demonstrated the workings of eating a snail properly. Of course, slurping it just seemed that much more easy but it probably wasn't so when the poor creature was baked into its own home. He was going to take her word on this and try it for himself as she showed him, fumbling around with the tiny fork that was given. She made it seem easy and sure enough, it pretty much was that easy. Biran looked up to her brightly with his success and realized a piece of her score was placed before him to sample. Of course he would take a bite if it was offered to him. Biran was hardly afraid of snails or cooties, he didn't grow up with the concept of being scared of either. He'd lean over the table just enough to take the offering gingerly, being sure his bite was complete before pulling away so that he didn't make a mess of everything.

Biran chewed slowly, to taste all the flavors. Maybe these fancy folk had the right idea for snails after all. Yeah, he was definitely doing it wrong all these years. "Delicious." He complimented as he dug into the one he had removed just prior. "I would of never guessed they'd taste so good cooked. I really only ate them when there was nothing else around and I couldn't find a way to make fire." The night of his coming of age came to mind specifically, but even then, there were not even snails to attempt to gain nourishment from that night. Embarrassment came as he realized he even admitted to have ever been such a sub par survivalist, but perhaps he was being vague enough to not have her realize that. He just rolled with it. "Tigers are born with stripes but mine were earned, you know." He attempted to clarify until he realized he probably just made matters more confusing. She hadn't even seen his markings yet. He couldn't really continue to clarify it unless he took his clothes off here at the table either. It was something she needed to see for herself. "Ah right, nevermind. Another time for that." Biran would wave it off with a smile on his face.

He knew she likely wouldn't be satisfied with him suddenly bringing something random up just to take it back, but he had an auxiliary thought to throw at her so that she couldn't argue it. "Excuse me if this is forward or otherwise rude to mention. But...entertaining in the way you do is a wonderful occupation, but I don't see it as something you knew from a young age that you wanted to do." Yeah that probably could of came out better. "I want to know what your dream was. What was your calling?"

[Rune Tyche]

When was the last time she found a male fumbling with something cute? She really couldn’t remember. Women were easy to find adorable, but with men, she typically liked them to go in knowing what they were doing in pretty much everything. However, he gaze was all but locked on him with an amused smile on her lips as he tried to get the snail from the shell and the way that he beamed when he had done so. Not to mention the fact that he took the bite she offered easily without much fuss in what could have been seen as an extremely intimate gesture to any onlookers, if there were any.

A light laugh left her lips as he complimented the dish and then finished off the one he’d torn from it’s shell himself. Rune removed her gaze from him, turning it to the bowl of lemon and garlic sauce as she dipped the last of the piece of bread in it before taking a bite. Couldn’t even make a fire? Seriously? Had she overestimated his abilities in thinking he could take care of himself if he were out in the wilderness? Then again… She wasn’t sure that without her fire magic, she could make a fire either, but still, the fact that he seemed like the type to be able to rub two sticks together to get fire or even two rocks or something like that. It didn’t matter, she supposed.

”Of course, of course. She said with another bit of a laugh as he tried to clarify what he’d meant. Some skills people weren’t born with and she knew that very well and that was alright. Just as trying to save face was alright. As much as she was curious, she was more so amused by him as he waved off the conversation with a smile. ”We have all night. And depending on how you play your cards, or with me, we might just have longer than that.”] She purred seductively as she dug into another of the snails.

It was then that he asked her something that totally threw her for a loop, her thoughts halting in mid thought as surprise took over her expression, her gaze once more moving to meet his with a perplexed look. Why did he want to know that? Despite the fact that she wanted to answer with a lie, she’d opened up about everything else, so why not this too? ”Hmmmmm” She leaned back in her chair and thought for a long moment, her face taking on a more serious look than it had the entire night. ”I went through a lot of different phases… As a child, I wanted to be an actress in plays much like this one. As a teenager, I picked up dancing and fell in love with it. In my later teen years… I simply wanted freedom to be who I wanted to be and with whom I wanted to be with. And now…” She paused once more and looked away from her date. What did she even want to be now? She didn’t mind her job, though it had it’s ups and downs, but she was lacking passion for the profession that she’d taken up simply to spite her parents and make easy money.

”Now… I really don’t have a calling right now for something bigger. I have too many battles to go through right now to think much on it. But I’d love something that I can do a lot of physical activity in while being able to leave this city every now and then and come back as I please…” She shrugged her shoulders as she moved around the snails that were left in the bowl with her fork. ”But the more I think on something like that, it’s probably impossible to be able to come and go whenever it’s convenient for me, or whenever I want to get away… In that case, something with a pack sort of feel, maybe? Where I can actually be myself without having to temper myself?” She laughed after a moment and shook her head. ”I don’t know. Now I feel like I’m babbling. What about yourself, Biran? What do you do? And what is your dream occupation?”

[Biran Everard]

Biran listened intently. Of course, he did figure she had wanted to be an actress or a dancer, or both. This seemed to be what she loved, after all. He wasn't shocked one bit. This girl seemed very intent on taking him home too and sharing some experiences in the sheets with him. Her job in what she was doing wasn't rewarding enough, he could also see that. Not that this woman was an open book to read, no. She still had her secrets and her quirks that surprised him. But he really was curious where she saw herself then verses now, and what she wanted to do in the future. To him, it sounded like she was describing his dream job.

Of course, he'd indulge her when asked, after taking a bite of another snail he managed to get into. "When I was a boy I wanted to be a warrior." Probably not the typical response and probably one that needed more explaining seeing as soldiers or even Marines were not the same as his old definition. But he'd leave that for another time because what mattered was that he did become a Marine and he was a warrior and he even lived to see himself as one now. "I really hate to brag." He'd open it up. "But I lived my dreams many times over. Started out in the streets of California as a thug. Cleaned up my act eventually and joined the United States Marine Corps. I went places that...I never really came back from in full. Not just in the way you'd think, I suppose either. It's true that my fallen brothers still have a piece of my heart and soul where they rest now, and I've seen things that haunt parts of me. But I loved my job so deeply that I wish I never left it...because through the rough times I look on those days fondly and still long to be there." He'd digress though, look down and shake his head at the thought.

"I'm a very violent and dangerous man, I suppose." His eye contact would come back upon her very intensely, on purpose to strike some sort of emotional response from her. But after observing, he'd merely smirk and continue. "Now I'm an entrepreneur. I run a business doing what I love. It isn't quite the same as rolling around in the sand and dirt, sweating balls in pounds of gear." For whatever reason that's the kind of stuff that was appealing to him. "But I train and oversee a large unit of individuals with purpose...whatever that purpose may be. Usually fighting for the goals of whoever the highest bidder is. I think you understand. Mercenary work." His tone was a little hushed. Untamed activity wasn't always legal or appropriate conversation among the jaded rich of the city. "But with luck in the next few years, I hope to prove my company's worth to the city so they can start paying tax dollars toward us to make us more...legitimate. You know...like a real military of the city." He'd have to cut off his less than legal contacts first before that, but at least it was his goal to eventually be an honest man with an honest military living again.

[Rune Tyche]

”A warrior?” She couldn’t stop the question from spilling from her lips before he could continue, but she smiled warmly and let him finish what he was saying with a slightly embarrassed look. A warrior fit him, or at least what she’d seen of him. But it was good to hear that he’d reached his goals a lot more than she had, even if those dreams sounded… Terrible in a sense. She couldn’t even imagine having lost so many people that she cared for to battle, but to love a job so passionately even after all that heartache… It was probably a nice feeling. One she had yet to fully experience herself.

As he rose his eyes to meet hers with a ferocity she wasn’t expecting, her brows rose for a moment in surprise before she relaxed a little to give him a skeptical grin matched with a ”mmmmhhhmmmmm” to show just how much she believed him, but finished it with a short laugh. Rune did believe that he was dangerous and even violent, but that was likely only part of him. After all, she could also be considered dangerous and violent to people, especially those that paid to bed her. But honestly, the way he described rolling around in the dirt was rather entertaining a thought, one she could get behind if the military had ever been a thought in her mind as a career.

She placed her chin in her palm once more as it rested on the table and listened to him as he told her more about his band of mercenaries. It sounded like a thing she could get behind, but the last thing she wanted was to offer herself up to join this group if things were going to sour between them. The last thing she wanted was for things to get awkward in a group that he’d established. No, she’d need a little more time o see if and how well they got along before even attempting to join. Instead… ”Despite the hard work it must be, it sounds rather fun. I never really thought about that kind of life before, surprisingly…” Rune was thoughtful as she looked over at him from across the table. ”Do you ever hold any events that are open to the public? Spartan Races or Tough Mudders or the like? It’d be a great way to bring in new recruits and bolster your numbers to help make that more of a possibility.” She smiled at him. ”Being exhausted, caked in mud and pushing all of your limits sounds like a great way to spend to spend an afternoon and it would draw in the kind of people I would assume that you're looking for.” Her grin grew wider as she thought about it.

[Sponsored content]