Only Better [Closed]

[Zevran]

((OOC: Firstfall 12, 9:34, Elunara))

The Alienage of Kirkwall was smaller than Denerim’s but much the same. Alienages, they were the same everywhere. One depressing hovel was pressed against the next. A giant tree almost dominated the center. And then there were the smells. The stench of self-pity was one Zevran particularly abhorred. A city elf himself, Zevran never allowed his circumstances to stop his ambitions. He learned very young he had to take what he wanted and not depend on fate to provide. So many in the Alienages of Thedas allowed themselves to wallow in their misfortune rather than taking opportunity where they could.

An irony of ironies, that he found himself in the Kirkwall alienage seeking out one who felt quite the opposite. A small bit of coin provided to a fishmonger’s apprentice reaped rewards. Zevran received news the previous day that Elunara had arrived in Kirkwall. She had, indeed, followed after him as she said she would. She even wore boots upon her feet upon her arrival; a bit of news that most certainly brought a tickle of laughter to Zevran’s lips upon hearing.

Inquiries once in the alienage revealed she had found a room to let that evening and it was outside the building Elunara currently called home that Zevran waited. He leaned casually against the splintered wood of a building across from hers, his arms crossed about his chest.

If he had his way of things, which he most often did, he would whisk her away from such horrid conditions and to a sumptuous room by night’s end. The Blooming Rose had taken good care of Zevran since his arrival five days earlier. He would make sure they staff did the same for Elunara as well.

 

[Elunara]

It had been a strange night. Correction, it had been a strange first day in it's entirety – and the night hadn't been anything to write home about either. Kirkwall was nothing like Denerim other than they both held a lot of people; after that was where the similarities ended. Perhaps she just hadn't given this place enough of a chance, and considering the small twinges of homesickness she was feeling now, that might just be the case.

In any event, the single room housing five other elves had made for a...cozy first night. It hadn't helped that she had come in late after a full day of searching for the lost boy she had shared the arrival ship with. Elunara had been quiet in her return to the house, taking up no more than a corner with her belongings closest to the door, but it hadn't stopped a few glittering eyes from staring at her in the darkness. At least no one had stolen from her. Yet.

She did not slept well.

It wasn't until morning's light that she felt a bit more at ease. Most save for one still sleeping elf had departed from the Alienage hovel, most likely off to search for work or beg in the streets. She would not be returning here, the room a one night offer. It was strange to think she could feel relief despite not knowing where she might put her head tonight. Worst case? She would find a way to camp outside of the city as she had in Denerim. These wilds couldn't be much different...right?

She needn't worry so much it seemed, considering the company that was waiting for her just outside the door. Shouldering her belongings she exited the home with her boots still on her feet – no sense trying to carry them in a bag when she could wear them easily enough. Mind you, once she had a proper place to store things they would be coming off.

Pale blue eyes blinked sleepily behind long blonde lashes, squinting a little at the change in brightness before they automatically snapped to that familiar face. Of course he had found her first. And fade it she must look out of sorts! The thought was a simple one but one that took her by surprise, her hand falling back to her side as she had to stop herself from reaching up to touch her hair. When had she started caring about that? Annoyed at her own antics she huffed out a small breath, shaking her head at him leaning so nonchalantly against the wall.

“Well...” she began, her hand winning the war as it reached up to tuck back some of her loose hair behind one ear. “You are a sight for sore eyes.” The smile she gave him now was genuine – it really was good to see him. Part of her had been afraid their paths might've not crossed again despite her following after him.

“Are you surprised to see me? Or have you been stalking me this entire time?” A jest...sort of. She still didn't know how in flames he could so easily turn her up no matter where she was.

 

[Zevran]

And there she was, the brightness of the sun momentarily causing Elunara’s eyes to narrow as she adjusted to the outdoors. Upon her shoulder, she hung a satchel presumably filled with her worldly belongings.

“Well...” Elunara lifted a hand to tuck some hair behind her ears. “You are a sight for sore eyes.”

Zevran had left Elunara to travel to Kirkwall by herself, having arrived much earlier himself. Elunara could have easily chastised him for leaving her to fend on her own but she did not. An easy smile that suited her well spread across Elunara’s lips. She was happy to see him, a realization that brought Zevran some sense of relief.

Zevran’s mouth spread into a wide and toothy smile. “I am a sight for any set of eyes.” A single brow row and motioned with an elegant sweep of the hand to his form. He pushed away from the slice of wall he had claimed during his wait for Elunara and approached her. Zevran was quite adept at handling sacks and reached for the one slung over Elunara’s shoulder.

“Are you surprised to see me? Or have you been stalking me this entire time?” She asked, a touch of a joke within her tone.

“I do not stalk,” Zevran corrected, his voice as light as hers. “Stalking is for those that do not wish to be seen. I am far too handsome to,” his tongue made a tut sound before he added, “stalk.”

His nose wrinkled, eyes trailing behind Elunara to spy the hovel from which she exited. “You will not be staying there again.” There was no question there. “So now, tell me of your journey.” Amber eyes flicked downward, “And those boots upon your feet!"

 

[Elunara]

“I am a sight for any set of eyes,” he began with that self assurance she was positive only he could summon, a flourish of his hand gesturing to all of him in case she might have missed some detail of his character. She might've been inclined to vocally agree if she didn't think wholeheartedly it would all go right to his head.

Pushing from the wall with the grace of a cat fresh from sunning itself, he closed the distance between the two of them and his hand reached for the heavy pack slung over her left shoulder. Her mouth opened in slight protest, the actual words sticking in her throat, coming out as no more than a stutter. Wetting her lips she sighed and shook her head, her fingers loosening their grip as she accepted his help without protest. Lack of rest aside, she trusted him; it was as simple as that. After all, there were precious memories in that sack of hers and it wasn't just anyone she would have let carry it for her. Would he be surprised at all the journals she was hauling? Would it be weird to ask him to read something from them to her? Better not to ask she decided – at least not yet.

“I do not stalk.” He stated after she accused him of just that. “Stalking is for those that do not wish to be seen. I am far too handsome to,” His words halted as he tutted at her, drawing her eyes right to that devilishly irritating mouth of his. “stalk,” he finished and Elunara tried and failed to hide the smile that pulled at her mouth.

“Hmm, so the fact that you are here without me telling you where I was has nothing to do with stalking. You will have to teach me how to do that little,” her own tongue curled, pressing to the roof of her mouth only to move with a soft click of her own. “trick.”

Fade – she was pretty damn sure he could show her more than a trick or two, but after yesterdays parade around Kirkwall trying to find Benjamin she felt emboldened. Teasing a man she was certain could have her pinned and disarmed in a matter of seconds was logical right? Zevran was hardly the sort that was all bark and no bite. Then again, maybe she wanted to get bitten.

“You will not be staying there again.” Elunara's mind was quickly brought back to the here and now, lashes blinking away any wayward thoughts. It was absolute, and while she had no interest to actually spend another night here it wouldn't be normal for her not to question.

“You have somewhere else in mind?” A familiar frown touched her features as she glanced up at him. “I do not want to be a burden,” she stated matter-of-factly, meaning she wasn't going to stay somewhere that only he was paying for. She hadn't even let Ryn pull that move – she could pull her own weight in Denerim, why was Kirkwall any different?

“So now, tell me of your journey.” His eyes traveled down toward the ground. “And those boots upon your feet!”

Free of most of her baggage, Elunara's hands clasped behind her back, her stride drawing her a few steps backwards until she posed with one booted foot held forward, stopping in front of him. “These,” She stated with a smirk, “will be coming off as soon as I am settled.” He could fight her on it if he wanted but shoes were never going to be her “thing”. She glanced away from him to look over the Alienage for a moment. Dusty, dry – with only a few other elves walking about.

“I did not know what I might be...stepping in. It is not as dirty as I thought it might be.” Kirkwall and Denerim shared in that. You just had to actually be mindful of where you placed your foot. At least here it seemed as though there were less dogs.

“As for my journey,” she contemplated for a moment or two. “It was...interesting. I met a human child – one that got lost as soon as we were off the boat.” The frown was back on her face again, pushing her eyebrows together as her mind went over yesterdays events once more.

“I found him, with the help of a woman named Celeste and some of her crew.” Her shoulders rolled up into a small shrug. “And then I came here...where I did not sleep much,” she revealed, probably confirming whatever fears he might have had about the sort of place it was she had tried to rest her head.

“And what of you? Has Kirkwall been kind to you?” It was hard to picture him having a hard time of it no matter where he might end up. Some might recognize him as part of the group who had helped stop the blight....others she could just as easily see being seduced by his charm alone.

 

[Zevran]

Hands clasped behind her back, Elunara walked just short of Zev and extended a single leg to give him quite the view of her booted foot. “These,” her lips turned upward playfully, “will be coming off as soon as I am settled.”

Laughter was his only response. Why some elves preferred to walk about barefoot was something he could never understand. Mud and shit made him feel no more closer to nature or grounded. It merely made him feel dirty and in need of a bath. Elunara would surely need one as well; a task he would be more than happy to assist her with after a day of walking about unbooted.

As if reading his thoughts, she continued, “I did not know what I might be...stepping in. It is not as dirty as I thought it might be.”

She was not wrong. Kirkwall, with its cobbled streets, had less mud about and certain less dogs. Of course, there were the stagnant puddles to avoid especially outside the Hanged Man.

“As for my journey,” Elunara paused for a moment, considering her words. “It was...interesting. I met a human child – one that got lost as soon as we were off the boat.” She frowned. “I found him, with the help of a woman named Celeste and some of her crew. And then I came here...where I did not sleep much."

Zevran’s turn to frown arrived, tugging feather light upon the corners of his mouth. As quickly as his expression shifted, though, it changed once more, a smirk taking hold. “I cannot promise you will sleep much where I plan to take you. Of course, that is entirely by design.”

“And what of you? Has Kirkwall been kind to you?”

Kind was an interesting choice of words. Nothing about where he currently found himself was kind. Elunara's bag secured in his grasp, he sought out her other arm, hooking within his own. He wished to put the Alienage very much behind them both and begin toward more kind surroundings.

“I have found ways to entertain myself,” he replied. “An old friend I had not seen in a time and I reunited the other night.” And what a reunion it proved to be. Not all details of that evening were to be shared, though. “I murdered her husband many years ago. Insufferable man. Breathed out his mouth.” His eyes lit with mischief, “Not kind."

 

[Elunara]

A throaty rumble escaped the man in front of her as she declared her intention to de-shoe herself at the first opportunity – the sound pleasant and one she rather enjoyed hearing from him. They walked slowly as she then moved on to describing what had happened the previous day, her body turning so that she was now walking next to him rather than backwards and in front of him. She didn't miss the fleeting change to his expression, though whether he was reacting to what had happened or to her not getting enough sleep she could only guess.

Zevran, of course, chose to pick the one that would jar up her mind the most and his mouth quickly reversed into a canary eating smile. “I cannot promise you will sleep much where I plan to take you. Of course, that is entirely by design.”

The effect was immediate, the flush on her cheeks a given as her gaze dropped to the ground, momentarily lost on her words. “Il me tuera, j'en suis sûre,”{I know it, he'll be the death of me} she mumbled, breathing out a slow breath. Had he tried anything other than that kiss to her cheek after the Royal wedding? No, but that didn't make her any less susceptible to his flippant flirtatious comments – a feat considering her thick head when it came to that subject matter. He could just as easily twist this back on her own wild imagination as to what his words meant.

Instead of allowing her thoughts to run rampant she chose to switch the subject, asking how Kirkwall had been treating him. As punishment for her wayward thoughts, he moved closer and frustrated her further – his free arm sliding around her own. Even when balancing the heavy bag he had taken from her, his movements were effortless – something to be expected she supposed from a man who chose to fight foes with one hand behind his back. Her body responded comfortably as her steps easily fell to pace with his own; it was hard to tell that just a few months ago she had been threatening to gut him.

“I have found ways to entertain myself,” he began and she wondered if she was in for some tall tale or the truth. “An old friend I had not seen in some time and I reunited the other night.” She arched an eyebrow, waiting to hear the rest of his story as she mentally prepared herself for something else that might make her blush. He surprised her when his story switched to a different type of “little death”.

“I murdered her husband many years ago. Insufferable man. Breathed out his mouth.” Amber iris' lit up as he continued, using her words from earlier to color his story. “Not kind.”

A frown touched on the Orlesian's lips, her own memories surfacing of a man who had very much breathed through his mouth as well – also not kind. “Non, I imagine not,” she murmured as she blinked away the ghosts of her own past, her attention now to the buildings surrounding them as they walked. She had not been taken anywhere by Zevran yet that had failed to rouse her interest – Kirkwall was proving no different and there was plenty to look at.

“Your friend – are you staying with her then?” Blue eyes regarded him curiously, genuinely wondering where it was he was taking her. Doubly, without meaning to, she wondered about this friend from the past, annoyed by the fact that his use of 'her' had sparked the faintest hint of jealousy. She squashed it quickly, filling her mind instead with thoughts about their destination, as well as a quick mental note to ask about the building with the giant sign of a man hanging upside down by his foot just above its doors.

 

[Zevran]

“Non, I imagine not,” Elunara offered, a quiet distance in her tone hinting at some unspoken thought.

While Zevran was in inquisitive sort, he allowed Elunara her secrets and did not pry. There would be plenty of time in Kirkwall to ferret out all the little stories that helped form Elunara into the intriguing woman Zevran was quite happy to have discovered that fateful day upon the streets of Denerim.

The conversation trailed back to the present, a question upon Elunara’s lips to match the curiosity pooling in her eyes, “Your friend – are you staying with her then?”

An innocent question he hoped came from a not so innocent place. He knew Elunara was attracted to him. Attraction did not always merit jealousy, however, and what was more complimentary than knowing someone else did not wish another to have you?

Amusement twitched upon the curve of Zevran’s lips. “We are not staying with her, no.” Rooms at the Hanged Man might have been more appropriate than the Blooming Rose. Some might believe better a tavern than a brothel. Better was a very subjective ideal, though. For Zevran, better involved a tickling the senses rather than reviling them. He would always take the scents of perfume and incense over piss and ale if given the choice.

“We are headed to Hightown,” he informed Elunara. “The Blooming Rose specifically.” He leaned toward her, his breath warm against her ear. “A house of ill-repute.” Leaning back, a light dusting of laughter followed. “I have become friends with the proprietress and she has offered me rooms within her establishment."