Karyk's laughter died down, but his grin never faded, especially after seeing Shiress smile at his own raucous. Even the ravosalaman had joined in. It was an especially nice moment. One of so few in recent times. But as quickly as the woman's smile had come, it was gone, blown away by a tired sigh. Something big was troubling this woman, that much was obvious, but that was something for another day. It had been a trying day for the both of them after all.
Karyk heard the announcement as they arrived at Shiress' house, and his eyes grew wide. He'd expected an apartment like most of what he'd seen around here. Not an actual house, let alone a large one at that. Clearly this woman had access to wealth, not that it mattered to Karyk, but he never would've guessed that about her. Karyk watched Shiress stand, feeling that odd chuckle trying to force its way out. And when she climbed out, and the boat rock, a bit of one did escape his lips, but nothing more than what might seem a child laughing at something so simple. Karyk stepped out, feeling a compulsion to follow her.
He hadn't heard her first words, but did hear every single one that followed, watching her eyes cast downward. Again, something was wrong, but Karyk didn't press. As she thanked him, Karyk felt the urge to laugh hilariously, and it was a struggle to not do so. It made no sense to him. He felt as if he might die if he didn't laugh. So he did, but tried to cover it and keep it subdued to a light, casual one. And it took everything he had to do so. It came out as a light, though slightly forced laugh, "No worries darlin'. Anythin' for family. Jus' glad I could 'elp, 'specially since ya 'elped me so much."
As it grew awkwardly quiet, Karyk cast his eyes back to her home, and the surroundings, making sure to log it into memory. It wasn't terribly far from the boarding house, and he was confident he could find it again. The internal laughter started to die down, Karyk not realizing it was due to Shiress not doing anything to set it off. And that was when he felt her lips on his cheek once more. And he turned just a hair, to find their lips a breath apart. He held his breath, torn inside of to press forward or to hold off.
But she made the choice for him as she pulled away, and Karyk relaxed, only to feel that laughter welling up again. How was this woman making him laugh so much with everything she did? It made no petching sense. Karyk chuckled lightly again to release it, so as to not make an even more awkward scene, "G'nite Shiress. See ya soon."
As she walked away, Karyk turned to enter the Ravosala. But soon felt a compulsion to follow the woman. It was very unlike him. Was he still drunk or something? Maybe that was it. Because none of this made sense. The ravosalaman looked at him curiously, and Karyk shook his head, feeling the need to follow grow stronger. The boat took off and Karyk turned now watching the woman enter her house. As he moved closer to the door, the compulsion weakened, like an addict getting their fix. But it felt as if she was still moving further away, maybe to another room. Karyk would never trespass, but he did try walking around the side of the house, following that compulsion. Eventually he found a spot in a wall where it was at its weakest, on the back of the house. Karyk slumped against the wall, finding comfort in this spot, not realizing that Shiress was just on the other side of it. He sat down, trying to figure out just how he was going to get through this life. And he thought on it for so long, until Syna began to rise. As he moved to shield his eyes, he realized the need to follow her was no longer.
So Karyk turned for home, eventually finding an early morning boat. He knew the next time he met Shiress, he'd have to make it extra special. Because for the first time since his sister died, he felt a bit of hope in the future. And that was thanks to her.