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Post by Angel ♥ on Aug 11, 2009 9:21:07 GMT -5
"Ohhhh, sorry." She murmured as he told her that he had only been playing, laughing faintly. Her only excuse was that she had only known Kai for a few days, so really she was still learning what to expect from him. She lingered behind Kai as he looked into the room, peering over his shoulder to check what state the room was in. "We'll get all the boxes moved out and stored away properly...and the room cleaned because it's a little dusty...and maybe it could do with a new coat of paint..." She nodded, seeming to already be planning what they would need to buy for him. He would need some furniture, and some soft furnishings, like cusions and new bed linen, and anything else that he wanted. Pari was sure that her father would give her an unlimited budget, all she would have to do would be to buy what she wanted and sign to say that her father would pay for whatever she bought, that was usualy how her shopping trips went anyway. Her father knew that he could trust Pari not to spend too much. Leila, her sister, had been a whole different matter. Once Leila had gone and spent so much on clothes that their father made her return half of them.
"Yes Kai, your clothes should match. You know, go together." She smiled to him once they were back in her room, shaking her head a little. "Just wear similar colours, that usualy works." She advised, not used to giving fashion advise. Fashion was more Leila's field of expertise than hers. "You have to look smart for dinner, especially because you just got accepted into the academy. I have to look smart too...because of all the trouble I caused...oh...I don't know what to wear." She sighed, brushing the beads out of the way before disappearing into the walk in closest.
By the time Kai was finished getting ready Pari had only just chosen something to wear, opting for a pretty white outfit with gold thread that complimented her skin tone. "Hate getting dressed up." She mumbled, sighing as she stepped out of the closet, her clothes folded over her arm so that she could change behind the screen. She smile as she spotted Kai, nodding to him a little. "You look smart, you're not going to be too warm, are you?" She asked as she walked across the room and disapepared to change quickly behind the screen. Her trousers were baggy, the gold thread around the waist, sitting comfortably on her hips. The top was gold in colour and only short, leaving her stomach exposed, the sleeves loose, more for decoration than anything.
"Do I look alright?" She asked, looking unconvinced as she tilted her head at her full length mirror. "I should neaten my hair up...and put some nicer earrings in...and find some bracelets." She sighed, moving over to root around in her jewellery boxes, slipping quite a few gold bangles around her wrist and putting in a pair of plain, golden earings before sitting down to fix her hair, smoothing it into a loose bun at the nape of her neck before shrugging and standing up. "That will do. You ready, Kai?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Aug 11, 2009 11:05:09 GMT -5
The half-demon turned at the sound of her voice as she moved across the room to stand behind the screen, smiling faintly and looking down at his shirt, fingertips tracing the intricate gold patterning on his sleeves before he glanced up again. “Too warm? Nah, don’t think so…” he shook his head, as though he still found it pretty strange to have someone care how he felt. “The clothes aren’t too heavy anyway, and it’s gotten dark so it’s cooler. I should be okay. If it was the middle of the day and we were outside, I might have somethin’ to say about it.” He joked, laughing softly and waiting patiently as she got changed. “At least I look smart even if I don’t know what looking smart means.” He murmured, looking up at the dark sky now as the stars slowly appeared and the moon rose up, looking as if someone had taken a bite out of it.
He moved back into the room as she asked if she looked alright, lingering behind her in the mirror and tilting his head. “You look fine to me.” He told her, frowning a little at their reflections, seeming to find it faintly amusing. Their clothes matched, they looked as though they were from the same place, but at the same time they couldn’t look more different. Kai decided he didn’t like mirrors very much. Reflections in water were alright, but that was because he would be more interested in what was in the water than his face in the clear surface. He left the mirror alone as she moved to ‘neaten herself up’ hovering by the balcony doorway again to stare up at the moon, his tail wagging ever so slightly and smiling.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” He nodded to her as she stood up, moving away from the door again to wait and follow her, considering that she knew where she was going. “I don’t think you caused that much trouble, Pari.” He murmured, though his definition of ‘trouble’ may be a little different than hers. While running away was probably a very big deal for Pari’s family, Kai couldn’t see the big deal in it. Everyone wanted to run away at some point, right?
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Post by Angel ♥ on Aug 12, 2009 15:42:39 GMT -5
Of course Pari cared about Kai. She didn't want him to feel miserable. She was the one who had brought him here, which made her responsible for his happiness and wellbeing. She wanted to make sure that he was alright because she doubted that he would say anything if he wasn't okay. Kai didn't seem to be the type of person to complain, being at the Arena had probably knocked all the complaints out of him. "That's good. If it were the middle of the day and you were outside then I don't think that anyone would expect you to wear so much clothing. The uniform doesn't have a shirt anyway, just a light waistcoat, so you shouldn't overheat." She nodded to him.
It was strange looked at the pair of them together in the mirror. The colour of their skin contrasted so much, Pari with her golden tan skin and Kai was so pale. Her hair was dark and curly while his was straight and white. They were like complete opposites, except for their eyes. Kai's may have been an icy blue whereas Pari's were a warmer shade of the colour, but they both had blue eyes. It was strange, they could look so different yet have something in common. "This might sound strange Kai, but I don't think that you will stand out too much at dinner. Of course you look different, we can't change that, but you look almost like a noble dressed like that. It suits you." She smiled to him, obviously meaning that as a compliment. Kai wouldn't have to worry about anyone speaking badly of him while Pari was around, she would have a few choice words for anyone who dared to insult him while she was there.
"You don't?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at him. "Unfortunatly, I think that my father and everyone else at dinner will think differently." She sighed as she lead him to the door. "I am an embarassment to my family, putting them to such an inconvenience by running away. They will think that I am ungrateful...and they will say that my father should arrange a marriage for me to help me to 'settle down'." She wrinkled her nose up, glancing back over her shoulder to smile to Kai weakly. "I was a trouble before I went away. Most other nobles think my father is foolish by indulging me and letting me learn to fight. Women aren't supposed to learn such things. Women are supposed to look pretty and have children."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Aug 16, 2009 11:57:10 GMT -5
“A noble?” Kai had to suppress a laugh at that, he really did. Never in his life would he have dreamed of being compared to a noble, it was just enough for him to dream that he really would get out of the Arena some day. To be here, right now, with Pari saying things like that, he really was beginning to disbelieve that any of this was real. Part of him was still expecting to wake up soon back in the tent in the Arena, all of this having been just some weird delusion where he’d hit his head a little bit too hard this time, and it had taken him a couple of days to recover. Though he couldn’t help but smirk as she said the look suited him, shrugging and brushing his hair out of his face. “As much as I might look the part, somehow I think people’ll manage to over-look that in lieu of the ears and the tail. Not to mention the teeth.” He smirked at her.
“Let ‘em think differently.” He told her as he followed her to the door, glancing around just once more as if to commit this room to memory, just in case he did manage the inevitable and got lost in the house. If he ended up here at least, he’d know where she was. “It’s the way they’ll always be, you can’t change people and the way they think. Especially people as set in their ways as they are.” He shook his head. “Women should be whatever they wanna be.” A strangely radical concept, yeah, but then Kai had been confined in a place so full of prejudices he was of the opinion that people should be and do whatever they enjoyed the most. Life was precious, people shouldn’t spend a moment of it wishing they were doing something else. “But I promise I’ll not mention my insufferable, savage views at dinner. Don’t think it’d go down well.” He winked.
He waited until she had opened the door before following her again, nose twitching at the scent of the incense in the corridor. He’d get used to this one day, he swore he would. “Is that why you’re getting so much trouble from the other students here…?” he tilted his head, frowning a little before a light smirk lit up his face. “Don’t worry about ‘em Suki. For one, they’ve got someone more strange than even you to talk about now.” He winked to her, “And if you ever have any problems, I’ll ‘indulge you’ and teach you to fight. My way, not the way you get taught here. All the first class teaching in the world won’t protect you from someone who can use the world around him as a weapon.” He nodded to her.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Aug 16, 2009 13:55:01 GMT -5
"They are pretty closed minded. I don't think that they will be able to see past the ears and the tail, and definatly not the teeth, but that's their problem, isn't it?" She shrugged to him, smiling as she looked over her shoulder at him. "You look far more handsome than most of them will, they will just be jealous." She winked to him playfully, not wanting him to feel too self conscious. As soon as they walked into the dining room everyone would look around and stare at Kai, and she was sure that there would be a few whispers, and she didn't want that to sour his opinion of the academy. "You can sit with me though, if that helps. Then you might not have people asking you stupid questions all night."
"No, it's best to keep opinions to yourself unless they are the same as everyone elses. It will be better not to start some sort of arguement today." She agreed with him as she grabbed a light wrap to put around her shoulders later, incase she got cold, before heading out of the room. "You'd teach me? Thanks, Kai. I think I might need that. I'll be lucky if my father lets me carry on at the academy after this. I'll have to hope that no-one puts him in a bad mood through dinner before I go and talk to him." She sighed heavily. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting with her father at all. If he was in a terrible mood he might even send her away to live with Leila for a while, and that would be Hell. Pari vowed to be on her best behaviour through dinner, just so that she didn't put her father in a bad mood.
She was quiet as she lead Kai through the house to the dining room, the hum of voices from within the room audible from the other end of the corridor. "Just smile. Try to remember as many names as possible, but don't worry too much if you forget, even I don't know all their names." She murmured as they walked towards the large archway that lead into the dining room. The room itself was large to accomodate the huge, low table. Comfortable cushions were on the floor next to each place setting, the table decorated with beautiful flowers. One side of the room was completely open, leading out onto a terrace at the front of the house, making the room feel cool and airy. It was filled with people, most of them standing around and chatting. Dariyush was stood towards the back of the room, a beautiful woman on his arm (who was obviously his finace), surrounded by his friends. Pari's father was talking with some of the other teachers to the right of the door, the man looking up as they came in, excusing himself from his current conversation to come talk to them.
Leila, however, got there first. She swept over as soon as the stepped into the room, her jewellery jingling as she hugged Pari (much to Pari's annoyance) before turning to face Kai, stood right in front of her sister to block her out of this exchange. Leila was your typical beauty. Long, sleek hair which fell in loose curls down her back, left loose to frame her heart shaped face. Her eyes were golden brown in colour, framed with thick lashes. She did look like Pari, you could see the family resemblance, but there was also something about her which put her in total contrast with her sister. Pari looked plain when she was stood next to Leila. "Awww, well what do we have hear? I've hear so much about you already! Though, I have to say, you are much cuter in real life." She smiled to him, instantly reaching up to stoke his ears without even asking. "I'm Leila, though I'm sure that Pari has already told you all about me."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Aug 16, 2009 17:17:31 GMT -5
“Well, where’s the change there?” Kai admitted with a smirk, sounding surprisingly light-hearted about the way these people were going to judge him before they even knew him. In a way, you could even say it was a comfort thing that he could cling to. Everything was so new and different; at least the prejudice was the same as usual. Although he was rather confused as she called him handsome, chuckling and shaking his head at her as he noticed the playfulness in her voice. “Jealousy, that’s somethin’ I’m not used to.” He shook his head at her, smiling lightly as they walked down to the dining room. “I’ll be on my best behaviour, I promise.” He assured her; he really would try today, he decided. Kai wasn’t usually the type of person to be anything other than he was, and like it or not he had his pride, but this wasn’t really about him today, and he wanted things to go well between Pari and her father. He’d found some kind of respect for Pedar Kashani, and knew that he’d treat Pari fairly if nothing went and threw a wrench in the works.
“He’ll not kick you out, but on the off chance, I’ll teach you a couple tricks that’ll get you through a fight with someone who fights dirty.” He winked to her as they moved down to the dining room. She wasn’t the only one who fell quiet as they entered the dining room, Kai automatically retreating back into his silent and indifferent shell that he’d been in at the Arena, minus the apathy. Nothing could make him become that despondent again, not now that he was free. But it took every fibre of his being not to look at the ground, to keep his head up and actually look at the people standing around. The only people he didn’t seem uncomfortable looking at were Dariyush (he’d fought him; that automatically meant they were on practically equal terms) and her father. Kai even managed a polite smile as Pedar Kashani moved over to them, although even the half-breed with his keen senses didn’t expect the speed at which Leila suddenly seemed to invade everything.
He had to hide his smirk at Pari’s reaction to being hugged; so this was the infamous sister who she’d spoken so little about, but he could still practically feel the dislike for her. Kai’s ears flicked a little at the jingling of the bangles and bracelets Leila was wearing – okay, that sound could get grating after a while, he had to admit. But he couldn’t deny that yes, she certainly was beautiful, almost seeming flawless as she beamed at him, his nose twitching ever so slightly from the scent of her perfume, before she was suddenly talking. Oh. That was why Pari hated her. He wondered how further she could stick her head up her a— no, he wouldn’t think things like that, they were liable to end up in conversation, and he was supposed to be behaving himself here. But that didn’t mean he had to be a play thing.
Pari might seem plain next to Leila, but her older sister just didn’t have the spark or the personality Pari had. And it wasn’t as though Pari was plain, anyway. He was even more puzzled as Leila just… reached out and stroked his ears. Like he couldn’t do anything about it. Like she owned him. And he was what? Cute? What? Kai was rather confused, but he already knew who he’d rather spend his time with. Suddenly he seemed a lot more confident, a rebellious little glint in his eyes as he drew himself up to his full height, flashing Leila a wolfish grin that bared those sharp canines of his.
“Y’know, actually, you never came up in our conversations. And whatever I might seem in real life, you should remember that appearances can be deceivin’.” He told her in a soft, polite voice.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Aug 17, 2009 12:08:05 GMT -5
Either Leila didn't read anything into his words, or she simply ignored what he was trying to say, because she hardly batted an eyelid as he grinned at her like that, nor did she seem to find anything wrong with what he had said. Pari, however, knew her sister better than that. As she moved around to stand next to Kai she caught one of those nasty little glimmers in her sister's eyes which always meant trouble. Leila had just recognised a challenge, and she never lost. But still, Pari couldn't help but smirk a little at Kai's comment, he had sounded perfectly polite, yet the meaning behind his words hadn't matched his tone. Maybe he wouldn't struggle as much as he thought that he would afterall.
"She didn't mention me? Ah, well, Pari has always been the modest one." She shrugged his comment off easily, "I have never really agreed with that little saying. If an apperance is deceptive you simply aren't looking closely enough." She added as her hand dropped from his ears, for now anyway.
"I simply didn't want to bored Kai, Leila." Pari shrugged to her innocently, making her sister narrow her eyes ever so slightly. "And, if apperances aren't deceptive then I have no idea how you don't have horns and green skin." Just like Kai, Pari's tone remained polite, though she seemed to have no problem with insulting her sister. Between Leila and Pari it was war, and Dariyush was usualy the one who had to play the role of the peace keeper.
Pedar Kashani joined them just before Leila could respond to her sister, moving to place a light kiss on the top of Pari's head in greeting before holding his hand out to shake Kai's hand. "I am glad that you could join us." He smiled to Kai warmly. "You should sit at the top of the table, next to Dariyush. There are lots of people here curious to meet our newest student." He nodded to him, though there was a comforting look in his eyes, as though to tell Kai that he wasn't just going to leave him to battle off the nobles questions. That was why he wanted him to sit at the top of the table with his family, to show that Kai was his guest and to try and prevent anyone from asking him too many akward questions.
"Don't worry, father, I will sit next to Kai. We can't leave him to fend for himself now, can we?" She smiled sweetly, cutting Pari off before she could ever speak. Oh, this was why Pari hated Leila so much, she always had to be at the center of attention. The worst thing was that Pari had to behave today. Poor Kai, Leila would latch onto him because of the attention that he attracted.
Pedar Kashani nodded to Leila before smiling to Pari. "I hope that you don't mind if I borrow my daughter for a moment?" It obviously wasn't really a question, the man leading Pari away from their little group to have a quiet word with her, probably telling her that he wanted to talk with her after dinner, though this left Kai alone with Leila.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Aug 18, 2009 13:23:36 GMT -5
Kai was simply smarter than perhaps even he took himself for. He had been what you could call an emotionless shell for a good few years now, but before he had withdrawn into himself he had been cunning and intelligent, and obviously had a sense of humour (albeit a wry and sarcastic one) and it was starting to show through again. He’d even surprised himself at the reply he’d given to Leila without even thinking about it; it had just slipped out before he knew what had happened. His ears twitched a little as she moved her hand from them, as if to rid himself of the feeling, the half-demon tilting his head at her words.
“Careful you don’t look too close. You might see something you don’t like.” He warned her, though his voice remained casual, not even the slightest hint of a threat there. His entire demeanour shifted, however, when Pedar Kashani appeared, Kai giving the man a real smile as he shook his hand, laughing a little as he told him he could sit at the top of the table; now that was a privilege he certainly hadn’t expected. Hell, simply being here was enough for him, and he was still in shock about that. “I’m glad to be here…” he nodded back to him, hiding a light smirk at the look in his eyes. Kai couldn’t deny that yes, he appreciated being spared the questioning and the glances and the poking and prodding from nobles, as though he was an object, although he wasn’t going to lie. He was more than used to them; his Master, when he wasn’t pitting him against impossible opponents, liked ever so much to invite people to view his prized ‘pet’, and he could guarantee that the guests he invited around were a lot less polite than these nobles were going to be. But still, he was grateful.
He was less, grateful, however, at Leila’s assurance that she wouldn’t let him handle things on his own. He got the distinct impression that he would much prefer to fend for himself against a group of hungry mountain lions, or scorpions, or poisonous snakes, than have her look out for him. But then Pari wasn’t the only one that should probably behave herself this evening, so he kept whatever comment that was threatening to slip out to himself. See, he could behave when he wanted to. It was just very, very difficult.
“Of course not.” He shook his head to Pedar Kashani as he excused both himself and Pari from their conversation, casting Pari an encouraging smile as she moved away. Even if her father had to have words with her, he honestly didn’t think she’d be cast out from learning at the academy. Surely he wouldn’t have been accepted unless she was going to stay there as well. But then, he didn’t know how those things worked. Although glad for his freedom, Kai had to admit that staying here where the rules were different and fighting, although the same as ever, actually had sentiment and you couldn’t really hurt someone on purpose would be difficult without her. He was dragged from his thoughts, however, when he realised that he had been left alone with none other than Leila. Oh, roll on bed time.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Aug 18, 2009 19:08:16 GMT -5
Kai was lucky that he was naturally cunning and intelligent, because amongst nobles those were the weapons of choice. All attacks had to be hidden behind the veil of polite smiles and civil words. It was one of the things that Pari hated so much about living at the academy. She had always been far too open for her own good, and she had never mastered the art of hiding an insult in a compliment. That was Leila's territory, or maybe even Dariyush's. Her brother did a good job of telling people just what he thought of them without openly insulting them. Once Kai had mastered that, he would be perfectly fine here.
Leila watched Pari leave with a barely hidden smirk, turning to Kai now. "You poor dear, everything here must be so much for you after that awful arena." She gave him a sympathetic smile, reaching up to pat his head patronisingly. "We will help you grow out of your savage ways, don't you worry about that. By the end of the month you will be the perfect gentleman." She assured him with a nod before suddenly linking an arm with his and turning to lead him around the room. There really was no stopping Leila, was there? She simply didn't understand the word no, nor did she pay any attention to the numerous hints that Kai gave to say that he disliked her already.
"Let me introduce you to a few people." She nodded to him as she walked him around the room, nodding to various people in quick sucession, not giving him chance to memorise one name before telling him ten more. She was obviously doing that on purpose, to make it obvious just how little Kai knew about this world, and how very out of place he was. Even if he had looked like everyone else, he would still have stuck out. He didn't belong here, as Leila was so kindly pointing out for him. She was even going as far as to give him a brief history of some of the more established noble families, as though to tell him how much better than him they were.
When they had walked around the room a small, tinkling bell sounded, signalling that dinner was ready. Leila lead him over to the table, smiling to him sweetly. "You can sit between myself and Dariyush, I am sure that Dariyush won't mind." She nodded to him, taking the third seat along the left side of the table, motioning for Kai to sit by her, leaving just one more seat before the head of the table, which was obviously for Dariyush. Pari and her father seemed to have finished their conversation, for now at least, Pari moved to sit opposite Dariyush, on her father's righthand side, the woman who had been stood with Dariyush earlier sitting next to Pari. Leila's husband wasn't there, he was busy with business in the city, as usual.
Pari gave Kai a reassuring smile as the maids arrived to start serving dinner, setting various dishes and plates of food along the middle of the table so that people could choose for themselves what they wanted to eat. Pedar Kashani took his seat at the head of the table, waiting for the table to be filled with food before clapping his hands to signal that everyone couls start to eat.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Sept 11, 2009 15:57:59 GMT -5
Kai wasn't even really paying attention as Leila spoke at first, he was rather hurriedly trying to think of a way to excuse himself, to get away from this man-eater before she made some comment which would seal his fate and make him stay around her. If he'd been here just one day more, even, he could have probably found some nice distraction to wander away and look at, but as it was, everything was completely new, and he had nothing to do but let the young lady who he had already made quite clear he thought very little of, pat his head like a puppy and lead him around like he was an animal on show.
"Oh, you'd be surprised at how similar these places can be." he smirked to himself at her patronising words, "This place is just a gilded arena, and the battles are fought with words." he murmured, a polite smile still on his face even though his eyes had flashed when she patted his head; Kai wasn't exactly the most refined of people as it was, and he got the idea that behaving himself tonight was going to get more and more difficult; he'd be very surprised, in fact, if he managed to get through tonight without accidentally ripping Leila's beautiful face to pieces. He wasn't an angry person by nature, but she might just manage to get under his skin enough to bring out his temper.
As cunning and witty as Kai could be when the situation called for it, he was no doubt in out of his depth as Leila quick-fired the names and titles and the various heritages of all the nobles in the room, the polite expression never leaving his face although it was increasingly obvious that whatever she was saying was sailing dreamily over his head. At first he had realised that she was trying to belittle him as much as possible, to make him feel worthless, but as angry as he thought he should be getting, she did little more but irritate him with her voice. By the time they were halfway around the room he wasn't even listening any more, more interested in the various tapestries and fascinating scents which drifted around the room.
To the nobles he must have seemed utterly impolite and stupid (because he really cared about what they thought of him), but Kai could vouch that he had more interesting histories than the richest of people here. Even as he sat between Leila and Dariyush, he head his head high. He was from a place of bitter winds and freezing ice-storms, of harsh, white ground and the clearest, most beautiful sky you could ever set your eyes on. Why should he give a crap if Lord Whatshisface owned a mansion in the district of Whereever, and his ancestors fought in some meaningless war and managed to loot some priceless amulet from a dead man's body?
He smiled back at Pari as the little bell rang, seeming more reassured that her father didn't seem to have said anything too severe than the fact that she was there. He quirked a brow as the food was served. He wasn't hungry, but he guessed it would probably best to appear polite and try some of it.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Sept 13, 2009 9:45:24 GMT -5
Leila didn't seem to pay much attention to Kai's comment, hardly even raising an eyebrow at him. She did, however, respond to him, though she sounded distracted and bored. "Well, if the battles here are fought with words then I dare say that you may well find yourself less well equipt as you did at the arena." When it came to wars of words, Leila was an expert. She had spent her life engaged in such battles. Pari, on the other hand, had never seemed to master this ability. She just wasn't subtle enough, she would rather just say what she meant than skirt around the issue and imply meaning into words. How was anyone supposed to be sure of anything if everyone spoke in riddles?
Unfortunatly for Kai, Leila paid no attention to him as she lead him around the room, undeterred by the fact that he obviously wasn't listening to her. In this world the who, what, where, when and why's were important, especially if you wanted to stay in favour. Kai had been dragged into the world of the nobles, where everything was a delicate balance of politics, manners and money, and one wrong move could have you falling out of favour. Here, power and influence were everything, and the more people that you knew the stronger your influence was. That was why dinners and parties like this were so important, you had to make sure that people remembered who you were, and sometimes you just had to make a show of your money.
The variety of food on the table was huge, there was something for everyone. From meats and vegetables to rice and fruits, there really was something to suit all tastes. Served along with the food there was a choice of a light, fruity wine, spiced mead or just plain water. It seemed that most of the women opted for the wine, including both Pari and Leila, while the men chose the mead. Not many took up the offer of water, not yet anyway. Nobles just loved to indulge themselves, and water wasn't really very indulgent, was it?
Pari was soon drawn, rather reluctantly, into conversation with Dariyush's fiance, for now avoiding questions about where she had been. She suspected that either her father or Dariyush had warned people against prying, but no doubt by the end of the evening someone would have had too much to drink and would ask. It was easy to see that they were all curious, their gazes kept flicking to either Pari or Kai, and you could see that they were dying to know what had happened. Gossip about her disappearance was ripe, and everyone wanted to know what had really happened, but, for not at least, they were polite enough to hold their tongues.
Leila paused to look at Kai for a moment when the food was served, before taking it upon herself to educate him about what he should eat. "Oh, I doubt that you have ever really seen good food before, have you? Well, in that case I would suggest that you stuck with just the plain meat, it's nicely spiced and that and some rice or vegetables should be quite filling. It's not very adventurous, but compared with that you are used to eating I would imagine that it would be a feast." She nodded, something in her eyes telling that she didn't really think that Kai was worthy of some of the more exotic dishes on the table. "Or, if the food is too rich, you could always just stick to bread and cheese."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Oct 11, 2009 13:52:37 GMT -5
Kai couldn't believe that he'd ended up here, of all places. He'd gone from in shock, then awed to irritated and bored out of his skull in just under an hour. It wouldn't have been half as bad if Leila had paraded him around the room and left it at that, but no, it looked as though he was in for an entire night of taunting and arrogance and his buttons being pushed. He could see that, although he had been pretty placid and laid back for Pari's sake as well as his own, this state of mind wasn't going to be very easy to maintain, especially if Leila was to be his companion for the night. His temper, though not easily provoked, was beginning to rise. And though it took Kai a lot to lose his temper, once it had finally snapped there was hell to pay. He didn't know how something as meager as a woman (because, to the half-demon, that's all that Leila was) could manage to get under his skin.
"No, unfortunately where I'm from there's nothin' to eat but dust and sand and rocks." he retorted with a roll of his eyes. Although it was true, he really hadn't seen anything like what was in front of him now, even pre-slavery, but that didn't mean he was going to let her continue trying to make him feel so completely out of place. He could do that all by himself, thank you very much. So if she wanted a wild animal from the slums of the Arena, that's what she was incredibly close to getting.
"I imagine that you think I'm stupid." he murmured, his voice barely more than a whisper and a polite smile on his face, so that to anyone looking at them it would seem as though the half-demon was taking on board the advice she was giving him, and they were having a quiet, distinguished conversation. "Y'know, you might be right. There are a lot of things I don't know. I don't know these people. I don't know their names, or their histories, or what their stance is in this whole thing. And to be honest, I don't rightly care. And I s'pose that you think I'm a savage. Something wild, something way out of his comfort zone." he shrugged a little, a wolfish smirk on his face now. "But the weird thing, is that you don't seem to think I'm dangerous. You're not scared of me. You're not even worried." he glanced over to her now for the first time, flashing her a grin that showed his fangs. "But you know," he muttered, "You really should be."
Kai had leant towards her now, so that it looked as though they were whispering to one another, and actually getting along remarkably well. "Sweetheart, the things I could do to you, if I ran into you on a dark night..." he chuckled darkly, "You probably couldn't pronounce most of them. I could squeeze you until you popped like a cherry, I could rip out that perfect, delicate little throat of yours and never think twice... the things I could do, could make you scream so loudly you would break glass..." he whispered, a sudden growl bubbling up from his throat and tearing across the room, a remarkable contrast to his soft tone of voice. He didn't even care about the silence that had descended over the room, that predatory look was still on his face as he stared across at Leila.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Oct 11, 2009 16:13:16 GMT -5
Though Kai's tone of voice or demeanor didn't give anything away, the atmosphere between him and Leila became tense, and anyone sat close enough to them would have been able to feel the shift. Pari, for one, had glanced up at the pair of them, confusion and questioning in her eyes; they looked to be getting along so well, so why did it feel as though something terrible was going to happen? Dariyush was also watching the pair of them closely, absently pushing his food around his plate. Something was out of place, and he would not have things escalate here. This was supposed to be a civilised dinner party, what would people think if Leila and Kai started arguing...or worse?
Leila was doing her best to mask the sudden tingle of fear which was creeping up her spine, averting her gaze away from Kai so that he wouldn't see that his words were affecting her. She had been purposely pressing his buttons, seeing just how far he could be pushed before snapping, but she had never expected this kind of a reaction. Yes, she had been wanting to show him for the lowly slave that he was, but she hadn't been expecting for him to sound quite so cold and calculated. There was an intelligence there that she would never have attriubted him to have, and a controlled anger which made his threats seem all the more real.
She picked up her glass to take a drink, trying to act as though Kai's words were having no affect on her, but if you looked closely you would see that her hand was trembling. The growl was the last straw though, something that she couldn't hide her reaction to. She uttered a small cry of surprise as the feral sound ripped through the air, jumping and loosing her grip on her glass, which shattered on the tiled floor next to her chair. Her eyes were wide as she looked up at Kai, all of the indifferent responses that she had been formulating in her mind dying on her tongue.
Everyone was looking at them now, most people, including Pari, gawping in disbelief. Dariyush, however, had a little more sense than everyone else. He couldn't say that he was particularly surprised by what had just happened, not only because it was Kai, but because he knew Leila and he knew how she loved to wind people up and belittle them, she had just chosen the wrong person to belittle, and the wrong time to do it. That didn't excuse Kai though, which was clear as Dariyush calmly rose to his feet and pretty much grabbed him by the back of the shirt, half hauling him to his feet. "Please excuse us." He murmured, glancing to his father, who gave a small nod of his head.
With that Dariyush marched Kai out of the room, ignoring all of the astonished looks they were getting. Pari did move to follow, but her father put his hand on her shoulder to prevent her from going anywhere.
Dariyush lead Kai outside, taking him out into the manicured back garden, just far enough away from the dining room so that others would not hear them, before letting go of him and giving him a shove. "What on earth did you think you were doing?" He demanded, keeping his voice level as he spoke. "If you can't control you anger you can't stay here, no matter how hard Pari fights for you. I've seen the bite on her arm, and it's pretty obvious how that happened. I won't let anyone else here be hurt by you. I know Leila and I know that she is a pain, but you were out of order and you are going to apologise to her and everyone else."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Oct 11, 2009 16:45:20 GMT -5
The sound of the glass shattering to the ground made Kai's ears twitch, but he had to admit that he was rather satisfied with the reaction he'd caused. He wasn't this way by nature, but he really did want her to know that he was by no means a stupid savage; on the contrary, he may come from the slums but he was a lot smarter than she was. And he had strength and even fear to back that up if his words failed him. Although he had completely expected the reaction from the nobles around the room (he was laughing inwardly even as they fell deadly silent) but he wasn't counting on being dragged from his seat like a puppy by Dariyush, and yanked outside to be scolded. He threw a faint smile to Pari as he left, as if to say that he hadn't meant it... even though he had.
He definitely liked it much more outside in the garden than he had inside, although his reaction to being shoved by Dariyush wasn't as well received, the half-demon scowling across at the noble, eyes glinting like shards of ice in the darkness. "You think that was angry?" he tilted his head, "Really, completely angry?" he even laughed at it, Dariyush quickly becoming the second victim to Kai's irritation. "Let me tell you somethin', mister high-and-mighty. If I had lost my temper, there would have been a lot more than just a broken glass in there. I think you should just thank your lucky stars that I have a surprisingly good temper, with the torture I just had to endure, an' I gotta tell you, it's not gonna be long before I really do start to get pissed off." he snapped, shoving the noble back.
A glint of defiance shone in his eyes as he mentioned the bite on Pari's wrist, Kai looking suddenly very confident in himself. "Anyone else be hurt by me, huh? You're not really the brightest spark, are you?" he laughed, shaking his head. "Pari and I both decided that the only way to get the guards in the Arena to believe I had escaped was for me to bite her arm. I didn't go crazy and maul her. I'd never hurt her intentionally, what do you think I am, an animal?" he growled, before pausing. "Okay, maybe you shouldn't answer that. But still."
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Post by Angel ♥ on Oct 13, 2009 14:57:44 GMT -5
Dariyush didn't seem the least bit impressed with this streak of defiance, folding his arms over his chest as he ranted. No-one spoke to Dariyush like this, not anyone. The only person that seemed to dare tell him that he was wrong was Pari, and he only tolerated that because she was his sister. He wouldn't tolerate Kai speaking to him like that, however. He wasn't going to let some arena slave talk back to him. This wasn't going to end well, was it? Dariyush could see Pari being angry with both of them, but right now that didn't matter. He wasn't scared of Kai, sure he had big teeth and moved faster than anyone Dariyush had ever seen before, but he just refused to be beaten by someone like the half demon.
"I told you to mind your temper." He repeated, his tone carefully controlled, but you could see the anger starting to build in his eyes. "I think that it is you who ought to thank their lucky stars. Threats won't get you anywhere here, well, anywhere other than you being sent back to the arena if you prove to be more trouble than you are worth." It was obvious that Dariyush took great pleasure in having that little bit of power over Kai, that threat that he could leave hanging over his head. Pari would only be able to get Kai out of so much trouble, and once he reached that limit Dariyush would make sure that he was out of the academy and back to the arena so quickly that his head would spin.
"You both decided that you would bite her...?" The sarcasm in his voice made it clear that he didn't believe that. Pari came up with some crazy ideas sometimes, but letting him bite her? That just didn't seem plausible. It sounded more like an excuse she had come up with to protect Kai. "You are an animal. Just look at you. You're nothing more than a savage beast, and the sooner Pari realises that and gets bored with you the better. You're little more than a pet, Kai." Dariyush didn't particularly believe a word of what he had just said, but it sounded nice and harsh, enough to add more fule to Kai's temper anyway, and plant that seed of doubt in his head.
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