Good way to bond [FoP - Day 1 - Night]

Takoda

Naero

I'll be the one screaming and running toward you for a hug attack. The sentence was stuck in his head, he had waited for her, almost jumping up and down from excitement once he noticed the boat from the Vylasar family. Only to find nobody there for him, only to be given a letter from her younger sister, only to have his excitement disappear as if someone threw an ice cold bucket of water over his head. She wasn't coming, she left him alone for the one fest where they could reconnect. And for what? He couldn't even think about it. The letter said enough. She wasn't coming, he had to deal with it. Make the best out of it. Takoda sighed softly, while he sipped from his wine and looked around. The party had been started and while he normally would be standing in the middle of it, with whoever wanted to dance at that moment, he was now sitting alone. The letter was in his room, but the words had been spinning in his head. He felt sad that Ani wasn't coming, he had looked forward to see her again, to talk about what had happened after he left the group for Xaila. But maybe it was better to not wallow in self pity all night. It was a party, he should party. He should enjoy himself. With or without his best friend. At least her family was here, maybe he could get some information from them. Takoda pushed himself up, downed the last of his wine and set out to find either Chaska or Deimos. The twins were the closest to Ani, they should know why the sorceress wasn't here, right. Had to be.
His blue eyes found one of the twins, Chaska, talking to someone else. It was an older man, stoic. He had seen the man walking around here before, talking to other guests but never hanging for long. Just like here, as he was excusing himself before walking away, wine in hand and a devious sparkle in his eyes. Takoda didn't trust the man, something was wrong about him and how he acted. But that could wait for later. First, he had to speak with Chaska. "Hi!" He waved, while walking up to the younger sorcerer. "Chaska, right? Not sure if you remember me? Takoda, from the same group your sister was in? I used to perform with her." He introduced himself casually.

TAG: Chaska Vylasar -

she wears strength and
darkness equally well

This wasn't quite how she'd imagined her first night at the festival, left alone by her husband not long after the sun had disappeared into the sky. It all happened so swiftly; The stranger introducing himself and running off with the silver haired sorcerer in a headlock before the two of them could have a say in it. Only when the pair had turned the corner, vanishing from her sight, had she started to feel annoyed by this sudden change of plans. They were supposed to be spending the celebrations together, as the married couple they'd only just become. Well, apparently, he would much rather spend his time hanging out with some old friend he'd never actually mentioned or spoken about. Amazing, truly.

Dressed in a more Xailan suited attire, no longer flaunting the colors of her kingdom, she'd walked herself towards the nearest tavern, eager to drown her displeasure with one -- or a few -- glasses of Xailan wine. Music was playing from both inside and outside the building as the sorceress found herself leaning against a wall, processing the strange and somewhat upsetting conversation she'd just had with that mysterious, silver haired man. By the gods, it almost seemed as if the foreign temperatures drove every non native mad.

Lost within her own thoughts, she hadn't noticed another unfamiliar face walking up to her until his words reached her ears. Turning her head towards the young man, she realized that she kind of did recognize him. In a strange, 'I haven't seen you since I've grown up and formed a concious mind of my own' type of way. Which his introduction was quick to clear up, however. "Takoda, hm?" she started, still sounding a bit absent from processing the past thirty minutes or so. "I think I do remember, actually." Forcing a polite smile on her lips, she offered him her free hand to shake. "I assume an introduction of my own wouldn't be necessary, but I'm pleased to meet again." She could've taken her leave, continue to ponder on whatever her husband was doing or what that strange man meant by rubbing her sisters trauma into her face on a day like this, but the gods knew when she would be back here again. Perhaps she would be better off sticking to this not-so-strange-stranger for a while, even if it only meant killing time. "Have you been enjoying the celebrations so far? All of it must feel as foreign to you as it does to me," the sorceress continued, sipping her drink as she finished. At least both of them shared the feeling of being foreigners.

Outfit

the girl has always been
half goddess half hell

Takoda

Naero

He saw a thought disappear to the back of her mind, the moment he spoke to her and he wondered if he had disrupt anything important. Not that it really mattered to him, he just wanted to have a good talk and something more to drink. Chaska did sound a bit in the distance when she repeated his name, probably wondering how he remembered her. With a smile on his face, he was happy that she remembered him. They hadn't spoken much when Koda was still singing in the group, but he had seen her and her twin brother at some of the after parties. He shook her hand gently, before slowly shaking his head. "Everyone should know Chaska Vylasar, part of the wolf twins and currently married to..?" He asked with a playful sparkle in his blue eyes. He had noticed the ring on her finger, however, no husband had been in sight. For as far as he could have seen that is.
Koda shrugged when she started about the festivities. "It is true that this is the first time I see this festival, but I have been living in Xaila for almost a year now. So it's not that foreign anymore." He spoke softly, scratching the back of his neck. "Are you enjoying it? Not getting too homesick about Lemuria?" Sometimes he misses it as well, the salty air and living under the dome of Lythrania. He missed Ani and the group the most of all. Koda felt a painful stab in his heart thinking about Ani not being here. He bit his lip, wondering if it was disrespectful to ask for someone else while being in a conversation. He had opened his mouth to ask her about it, but stopped his train of thought, and thus his jaw closed again. It was not nice, he would not do that.

TAG: Chaska Vylasar -

she wears strength and
darkness equally well

To be honest, she didn't remember much about him, other than the fact that she'd seen him during and after her sisters performances but never really paying attention to anyone except for her siblings. Judging from the way he'd approached her, however, he seemed to be a decently mannered, young man. A smile played around her lips at his words, though that smile soon turned into a scoff at the mention of her husband. Suppressing an eyeroll and keeping herself from showing her honest feelings about how he'd left her behind to catch up with that strangely charming Zinyra. "Ezekiel Vylasar," she simply replied, unable to repress a sigh from rolling over her lips as she spoke. "Though he was eager to catch up with an old friend of his. Which is, apparently, more important than spending the festival with his wife" The words were out before she realized it. Maybe she wine had been quick to take that polite edge off of her.

Luckily, the conversation was quick to shift to something less.. personal. Swirling the liquid within her glass, she listened to his words, intrigued by the fact that he was familiar with the desert kingdom already. "Must've taken you a while to get used to all the differences in culture here, then?" the sorceress replied, still amazed by how different Xaila seemed and felt in comparison to the neighbouring, seaside kingdom. "It's alright," she admitted, wondering why she'd even try to conceal the annoyance towards her disappeared husband when she already ran her mouth about the subject. "Just didn't expect to be spending it by myself." Shrugging off the disappointment with a faint chuckle, the sorceress emptied the glass, already keen on being poured another drink as soon as she would be allowed to. "The people surely look beautiful, however," she continued, hoping to lighten the mood a little as she referred to everyone's colorful outfits and shimmering, golden jewelry. All of it was so different compared to Lemuria's restricted color palette of cool tones and hues of blue.

Outfit

the girl has always been
half goddess half hell

Takoda

Naero

Ohh. He had said something wrong. As if a dark cloud appeared above her, her mood changed and she seemed not too happy with him mentioning her husband. He involuntarily stepped back, afraid to get wine splashed in his face. But she answered his question, with a bitter tone. Ezekiel Vylasar, not a name he had heard before. Or did he? He wasn't sure about it, Ani hadn't spoken much about her family. The fact that he had recognized Chaska and Deimos was something already. But it were the words following that made him feel bad for her. Her husband had left her for someone else, an old friend from here. Koda thought by himself if it was inappropriate to say that they are probably just catching up somewhere. He knew the Xailan life style and if this was a friend from here, there was little change for talking. "His lose. Maybe he should be more worried that someone is trying to steal you." He said with a smile and a playful wink.

He shrugged when she spoke about getting used to the difference in culture. "It wasn't the first time we had been here with the group. It's just that the second time, I decided to stay. Ani was against it, of course. But she saw that I was more happy here than performing on stage." His eyes glazed over for a moment, thinking back at that moment, when he had to say goodbye to his best friend and let her go back to Lemuria on her own. She had promised him that she would be safe and that they would keep in contact. He remembered how he had to push back the urges to kiss her there. Koda blinked a few time, trying to break free from the memories and sighed softly. It took him a moment before the words that Chaska had spoken reached him and he understood them. "You can spent it with me?" He suggested with a smile. "I mean, Ezekiel stood you up, Ani stood me up. We're in the same situation." He watched her down her drink and wanted to ask to get another one, but her words stopped him. "What is stopping you from adapting the colours yourself?" The question was genuine, but there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. He was never good in speaking with people who were set in rules. "I'm certain that the Xailian colours would look lovely on you, and the gold matches wonderful with the silver streaks in your hair." Koda stopped himself, hoping that he hadn't overdone it.

TAG: Chaska Vylasar -

she wears strength and
darkness equally well

It didn't take long for a feeling of guilt to creep up on her, burdening him with the displeasure towards her husband's actions when all he seemlingly approached her for was some small talk. Still, she felt somewhat relieved at his presence, not having to play the shameful part of the abandoned wife, showing off her pearls and ring without a husband in sight. The thought of simply taking the jewelry off for the night did cross her mind at times, just to spare herself the shame and possible rumors, but alas. Now that she'd found herself someone to spend the evening she wouldn't be the culprit of judgemental eyes anymore. She might as well keep him close for the evening. With him being an acquaintance of Aniu, she was almost certain she could trust him.

A chuckle rolled over her lips as he spoke, gently shaking her head. "He has been wise to drape me in jewelry before leaving me alone at the festival, and I am quite certain these refrain from making me a suitable courting candidate," she spoke as her free hand briefly touched the pearls around her neck, fidgeting them in between her fingers as her silver wedding ring shimmered in the torchlight. "So no, I assume such worries have not crossed his mind." Her lips were laced with that same, polite smile, though the words ached her heart as she spoke. She didn't know why she felt the way he did. It wasn't like he chose to bring her here. He had been given no choice, given the fact that she was his wife now.

Apparently, he had been staying in the desert kingdom for a while. The sorceress clung to his lips as he spoke, curious about his reasons to stay here. ”Certainly sounds like my sister,” she replied to with a smile. ”I can’t help but wonder what caused you to be drawn towards our neighboring kingdom rather than Lemuria itself, however.” Xaila was beautiful, but she couldn’t imagine herself spending her life hidden away behind the Infernal Wilds rather than spending it beside the sea. Or underneath, in her case as her parents suddenly decided months ago.

His next words surprised her, though they didn’t fail to turn her polite smile into a more genuine one. ”I’d love to, Takoda,” she was quick to reply, relieved about not having to spend the evening moping around until Ezekiel decided to take her home. She was just about to ask about Aniu, when his following words came as a surprise. His compliment even managed to flush her cheeks a little, though that could have simply be the wine as well. ”That’s very kind,” she started, lifting her dress with her free hand for a brief moment as she gazed down upon it. ”My husband bought me this dress to wear during the festivities, but compared to the locals I assume it is quite plain.” Her ivory dress didn’t stood out as much compared to the dresses of colorful silks and fabrics. ”That aside, however,” she continued as she let go of her dress, averting her gaze back to man in front of her. ”I didn’t know Aniu was supposed to be joining us for the festivities.”

Outfit

the girl has always been
half goddess half hell

As if his smile was permanent, he looked at her. Her chuckle did him good, she wasn't as moody as her sister could be sometimes. And if he could cheer up Ani, he could definitely cheer up Chaska. "Probably so, as they do suit you. But it almost a shame that he's allowed to have so much fun at this festival, while you have to stand here and be pretty." It was daring what he said, but Koda was never one for not speaking his mind. If he could help her taking of some edge of this night, he'd love to do so. As, in his mind, everyone deserves to have at least some fun at a time like this. "Shame on him, he should've thought more about it then." He followed up with a playful spark in his eyes.
Koda shrugged when she asked him why he had chosen this land over Lemuria. "I got tired of the sea." He laughed softly. "No, I fell for the freedom that I could have here. I've always been working, performing, practicing. Here, there is nothing like that. I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want." He would not tell her about his heritage. Only a very few people knew about his elven lineage and that was something he would keep that way. Not every human was keen on elves and vice versa and while he had a good relationship with most humans, he could not blame his kin. "Would you? Go somewhere else and start over, if you had the chance?" He asked, curious about her world view.
She accepted his invitation to spent the night with him and he had to stop himself from making any kind of remark. This was Ani's younger sister, he was not allowed to make any move on her. Although, she was not here. And that fact did hurt his heart a bit. "Please, just Koda. My parents are the only one calling me Takoda." He chuckled softly. It wasn't that he hated his full name, but Koda was way easier for people to say. And moan. He looked her up and down, the dress did most certainly suit her, but the colours dulled her natural beauty a bit. "If you would let me, maybe I can fix you something with a little more flair. Some red, orange and yellow. It will suit your natural pale skin and those piercing green eyes." She wouldn't be the first one he had dressed, as he liked to experiment on Ani with different colours and patterns as well. He looked up when she spoke the name of his previous singing partner and he sighed softly. "I had sent her an invitation. She sent a letter back that she would come around, but alas, she's not here." His voice dropped a bit, betrayal clearly visible in his eyes. He had a plan, however, he would see Ani once again. But that was for after the festivities.

MONTY