Smugglers Vale - New Space

[opius]

He shrugged. "It depends on the study. Maybe you only want to pick up one skill or two, learn to make a sword that won't lose it's edge over the course of a couple years. Or maybe your focus requires multiple disciplines- which could take a decade or two. Then there's the alumni who never really leave, who end up working in the Lyceum... Most people who take on that lifestyle are deeply focused on understanding the nature of magic and the world, and beliece Artifice is the way to that goal." He looked back to her.

"That path usually begins with curiosity about the age of wonders. Magic was understood better back then, and reverse engineering what artifacts we've found can offer a massive insight. People spend a lifetime trying to make these old and broken things work, from students to alumni to maesters themselves."

He looked back down to his bag. Then his wrists, taking note of the mercurial bracers. "So... It can take a while. It all depends I guess."

[CautionCat]

"Mmn. I will see what calls to me, then." A smile, a sway, and there was a moment of silence.

Konane spoke up, a little quiet at first, before clearing her throat and trying again. "Remember when I... Asked you what would you do if someone said they liked you? Have you... Thought about that? Anymore than what you already said."

[opius]

Alastair blinked as he continued his work before laughing. "Beyond the absurdity of it? No not really." He plucked the bag up and looked it over. "I suppose I'd be a little dumbfounded." He shook his head and glanced back at her.

"Following that, I suppose i'd struggle to really do anything with that information... Like, okay, cool! By some fluke you've come to perceive me as attractive. You're wrong, but I'll play ball. What now? I wouldn't know the first thing to do." He shook his head, looking back to his work. "Would I even be able to reciprocate? Would I want to? People are weird animals- what happens if I say 'no thanks?' it'd get really weird, I imagine..."

[CautionCat]

Her ear flicked, and she glanced away, feeling her face get hot. Thank goodness for dark fur. She really wanted to probe him about it.

"If you say no, I am sure they would still want to be friends with you. They would probably be mature about it." Though her heart felt crushed at the idea.

"What if it was... A friend. That admitted feelings..? Not a.. random person you met."

[opius]

He cocked a brow, glancing at her another moment or so. He then... Shrugged. "Well I don't know. I think I'd be confused but less offput. Like... Okay, you're... Considering me, like that- maybe even decided. I guess it's certainly a choice." He shook his head. "I suppose I'd have to give it thought- an admission like that isn't something to take lightly. I think I'd have to ask them why, what they saw." He shrugged and looked his work over.

"...And then let them down carefully. I wouldn't want to cause a rift by saying 'no thank you' with all the bluntness of a cudgel. I wouldn't want to... I don't know, lead them on?" He glanced at her before returning to his work.

The occasional glances seemed intentional, as though he was trying to insist he was paying attention or giving the question proper weight. While he focused on his bag he mused. "I could certainly try and play the part, but I don't know. It's all a bit... Alien to me, I suppose."

[CautionCat]

'Just kiss him.' 'Tell him, he won't know otherwise.'

'Let him figure it out.'

Konane wad quiet for a time after that. Thinking about what she wanted to say next. Did she want to probe more? Or did she want to be honest.

How thick did she have to lay it on him before he figured it out?

She took a quiet breath, and folded her arms. "What if it was... Me?"

[opius]

Alastair tilted his head and looked back to her for another few moments. The little furrow in his brow turned into a slight skew before he broke eye contact again and shrugged. "Well... I suppose... If you said you were interested in me, I'd ask if you were certain the aberration... thingy.. Whatever it was didn't actually break your mind." He turned the bag over.

"You're cool and different. You're disarmingly good with people, comforting without trying, all while remaining kind despite the harshness of the world you came up in. Say nothing of the struggle of wild magic- a power that you were born into without so much as a guidebook. Rather than blow yourself up, hide from it, or hide from yourself, you're... here. Being you, exploring that while growing still. And the growth I've seen..." He laughed slightly, "Is exceptional. Beyond anything I knew was feasible. Magically, emotionally. At any point you could have cut and run, and here you are." He shrugged once more and looked back at her.

"You've got the makings of someone who might some day pave a legend for themself... Maybe a folktale- let's not get ahead of ourselves. So I'd be surprised- and confused- as to why someone that cool would want to court someone like me." He quirked his lips to the side. "...And then I'd have to figure out what exactly to say in that confusion."

[CautionCat]

"Because you're not like the other boys at home." Konane glanced away, knowing full well he was assuming it was all speculation. He didn't get it, because he didn't think someone like her would be interested in someone like him. It made sense. Really, she knew she was way out of his league- she could have gone after any other man, but none of them had that... spark he had.

"You're smart, you've got a good heart, and you..." She looked back to him, lifting a hand to rub her warm cheek. "You accept me for who I am."

"I... I do like you, Alastair. So... I guess you need to figure out what to say. Or just say nothing, and accept that... someone as cool as me, has interest in you."

She took a deep breath, and held it.

[opius]

Alastair fumbled his bag. There was a long silence as he kind of just stared at the unfinished thing now flopped haphazardly on the desk.

When he again reached for the bag and his scribing tool, he quietly broke the silence. "Saying uh. Saying nothing doesn't seem... right. A lot of bad things in my life came from saying nothing, and the uncertainty is... Well, in the place of something, sometimes the wrong thing is assumed. And..." He took a breath and glanced back at her. There was a little swell in his chest as he smiled an awkward, but earnest, nervous smile.

"I'd rather not do that to a friend." He pursed his lips, tongue tucked under his teeth until the smile faded to something a little kinder than neutral. "... I can accept that. I'll again ask if you're totally okay, but I guess... In retrospect, this must have been on your mind for a while. The uh. Questions. Back at the refuge. When I was tipsy." His lips went tight, he broke eye contact and again looked at his work.

"... I can accept that. But I'm going to need a little time to think about what to say in response, if that's alright with you."

[CautionCat]

Konane nodded, and let out her held breath. She was expecting something... wrong but... this was a better outcome than what she had thought. Suddenly, she felt... a flush of emotions. Her tail flicked and swayed behind her, and started to feverishly wag.

"You... can take all the time you need. I... have been thinking about it. A lot. For a while. It wasn't until... maybe a half a month or so ago that I realized... this wasn't just... the feeling of friendship."

She couldn't look at him, her face felt so red and hot. Her heart was pounding, and she was stammering- something that wasn't like her at all. If she wanted someone, she was direct! She was to the point! But even now, with the cat out of the bag, she was flustered.

But even then, the thought of just holding his hand, with him knowing how she felt now was making her all twisted in the belly.

This was so weird. She wasn't used to this. So she sat, quietly, tail going a mile a minute, nervously wagging.

[opius]

He nodded a little as he worked, and she might not be able to tell that he was actively not looking in her direction. His ears were warm and pink, his cheeks a little flushed. Just a little more than usual. She couldn't tell, but in his own mind his movements were off, his runic... sloppy. He took a pause in his work, took a breath, and nodded. "I uh. Yeah, I get that. I could see how it might get weird considering what I said." He licked his lips before searching for his waterskin. After taking a slug of it and setting it down, he finally glanced back at her.

"...So... do you still want to hang out while I work?"

[CautionCat]

Konane looked at him when he asked, ears perked up. She was still for a moment, but then nodded. His features were a little more pink than before. She smiled, and rubbed her cheeks.

"I do not have much to do, and... like I said, I enjoy your company. Even if we sit in silence. But we do not have to have silence. I... mmmn."

She needed to relax- she needed a change of subject.

"I should... think about what I want to make for lunch." She nodded, tail still uncontrollably wagging behind her. "Maybe I should start on a stock, and make something simple... Rice with vegetables and meat. Maybe onigiri. I... I wonder if there is nori... I... Hmn... I wonder how much is there. If it is just... simple things or if there is... anything I could use... I suppose I do not need nori to make onigiri. Or even need to wrap rice with a filling."

She paused, and looked at him. Now she was the one rambling.

"But I guess that depends on... how much time we have in this place..."

[opius]

Alastair laughed. "I recognized maybe four of those words. I'm sure whatever you make will be good- it tends to be!" He smiled and turned the project at hand.

"You're welcome to hang around as long as you like. I'm not sure how long we've got here, but I'll take an opportunity to rest and put something together in an actual room." He tilted his head.

"The uh. Beating. Your tail- if you're nervous, you can sit on the bed if you want. If it'll help."

[CautionCat]

"Ah. I'm... Nervous and... Excited. I have been bottling this for so long. I... Didn't think what I would feel. When I finally... Said something."

She glanced to the bed, pausing. "I've never felt like this before."

Rambling. Mind racing. She looked back to him. "Everyone knows. Well, Jaeger doesn't remember, but everyone knows. So... If you ask someone for advice, umn... Do not be surprised."

"Sorry. I'm. I just. This is silly. The world is falling apart, we talk to gods, we stop wars, and yet this... This has been making me worry and keeping me up at night."

[opius]

He laughed and cocked a brow, "Wait- everyone? Everyone knew you were struggling to figure out how to... Tell me you liked me? Like that?" He blinked a few times and scratched the back of his head, turning in his chair to watch her.

"Wh.. everyone but me I guess." He spoke more quietly before following up, "Well I did say I wasn't really great at knowing things like this-" he shook his head to change the subject.

"What did- that did they say? I imagine you'd have gotten some, uh, interesting takes."