[Wildwood Music] Clumsy Fingers [Runas, Lucas]

[Seven Xu]

Seven’s eyelids fluttered as a pair of pale hands squeezed across his chest, searching for evidence they would not find. No breasts, just a heart thumping fervently in his growing discomfort in the other man’s presence. Discomfort that was very quickly turning to heated anger. Something turned in his stomach and he took a careful step backward as Lucas yanked his hands away.

“‘Oh’? I told you I was not.” The response was cold, drawn through tight lips and nearly hissed in response to Lucas’ immediate turnaround – brought on by his own embarrassment, no doubt – but no less irritating. “And yet you insisted on grabbing my chest.” At least the man hadn’t attempted to ‘prove’ Seven’s gender by groping elsewhere. He briefly considered using the lute to knock sense into Lucas’ tiny red head but it was snatched away before such a thought could flourish and inevitably end his short career at Wildwood Music.

Seven let the lute pass between their hands, albeit forcibly. His dark eyes were drawn towards the closed door over Lucas’ shoulder – would the man make a run for it, feeling owed some compensation for the embarrassment he had suffered? Seven inevitably decided that despite his lack of tact and disregard for personal space, the redhead could not have been so stupid as to steal something within the walls of Stormhold. He turned his back to Lucas, wandering back towards the table where he had originally sat with a piece of paper, a pencil, and the mandora he simply could not urge pleasant music from. Seven hoisted himself back up onto the rough wooden work table, folding his legs beneath his small frame and bending forward on bent elbows before turning his attention back to Lucas.

“So,” Seven ignored the bitter venom that had leaked out in a moment of surprise and was now burning on his lower lip, “Is that how you always treat a woman? I would not try that on the Eypharian when she returns; she has no obligation to her job in this workshop as I do.” A smirk teased his lips now, afforded boldness in their distance. Now that the ordeal was over, Lucas had his ‘fun’ and looked at Seven with bitter contempt for nothing more than a case of mistaken gender – the entire thing seemed rather amusing. “I would not object to seeing you pummeled by those six lovely arms, though.”

[Lucas Arias]

„Yeah, you told me“, the squire admitted, avoiding direct eye contact with Seven. He was too embarrassed and angry – and a few things besides that. „But I wasn’t sure if I could trust you. You could have been like that Jokor fellow. He said he’d give me a free shot at his stomach, but then he took advantage of the situation and beat me up instead. Repeatedly. You could just have claimed that you weren’t a girl because you don’t want to have anything to do with me. No offense, but you look even less like a man than I do.“ Lucas was short and skinny, but at least he had a comparatively masculine face and would look weird in a dress. This white haired person on the other hand would really look better with a pair of breasts and a lot of frills ... and he really shouldn’t be thinking such thoughts! Lucas wasn’t sure whether he wanted a hole in the ground where he could hide until this embarrassing situation had been forgotten or whether he wanted to hit somebody (he wasn’t sure whether he should hit Seven or try to beat himself up – at the moment he was tending more towards himself). „No!“ he insisted as Seven asked him if that was how he always treated women. He sounded offended. „Most of the time I’m nice to them and treat them like real ladies. You just confused me, that’s all. I’m not going to grope Tawna – unless she asks me to! Although being pummeled by those six arms doesn’t sound entirely unappealing ...“ He suddenly had a dreamy look on his face, and then he begged Seven, „Please don’t tell her about this when she comes back!“ He sounded as if he were about to panick now. „I’ll even give a few mizas extra for the lute!“ If Seven talked to her about the incident, he would lose his chance with her! Lucas had no interest in stealing the lute, so Seven shouldn’t be worried. No matter how much of an idiot he was otherwise – and he could be a huge idiot sometimes – he knew that stealing things in Syliras rarely worked out. Besides being punished for it, he would likely lose his position as a squire and never become a knight. And that was very important to him. So he plucked the strings of the lute – the sound was a little painful to the ears – as if he were trying to make sure that the instrument was in perfect condition. His gaze never left Seven entirely though, as if he were worried that he’d do something unpleasant to him when he got the chance.

[Runas]

"Don't tell me what?" Runas' soft voice floated through the door as she reopened it, carrying in her harp in a delicate, firm grip. Her dark, forest green eyes lingered on the squire, then moved on to the young man who looked flushed. Slowly, a smile formed on her lips as she walked towards the pale young man. "Don't tell Tawna what, Lucas? Did you do something you shouldn't have? Will it make me laugh?" She looked at him as she asked, her eyes glittering like cunningly lit emeralds, before she lifted the harp to show the store's current manager. "This is my harp." She announced unnecessarily. "Still want to paint it?"

While Runas had no aptitude for Auristics, she could still feel the tension in the room, and she really did wonder what had happened while she was gone. Had Lucas put his hand where only a man had something? Was that what was making them flustered? Oh, how she truly wished she'd stuck around to watch.

Her eyes settled on the lute the squire held and she tilted her head at the instrument. She wasn't sure what to think of it. When Lucas had said he wanted the instrument, she assumed he was kidding, but when she came in she had heard him tell the manager he would pay extra for it.

"Can you play that, squire?" She asked in her softest voice. Any laughter in it was masked by the quiet tone. She set down the harp before hefting it around caused her to melt off her paint and smiled towards the pale man who seemed the most flustered of the two. The half blood.

[Seven Xu]

“I don’t concern myself with my manhood, day in, day out,” Seven shot back, fingers diving through fair strands of blond-white at the back of his neck as a mocking grin began to grow on his face, “but if you’re so worried perhaps we should whip out our cocks and find out who is manlier than whom.”

As Lucas continued to ramble, Seven’s scarlet eyes rolled upward in exasperation. He’d had about enough of this walking sack of hormones that could barely discern male and female but seemed to adamant on making gender matter. There were far more interesting things that differed between individuals than what hung – or did not hang – between their legs. Topping it all off, Lucas was just as terrible at plucking the strings on an instrument as he was at charming a man whom he thought would be a lovely flat-chested addition to his bed.

So of course, he felt only relief when the Eypharian woman returned, harp in hand to catch the tail end of their conversation. Don’t tell ‘Tawna’ what? Well, at least he had a name for her now.

“Of course I do, Tawna.” Seven slid off of the work table again to approach the pair as an amiable smile found his lips again. The captivating curve of her gilded neck that flourished into deep emeralds washed Seven of his previous annoyance. “What is it that you want painted on your harp? I could –,” Lips pursed as a particularly off note brought his thoughts to a screeching halt and he shifted his weight to one hip as he listed sideways to leer at the redhead behind Tawna.

“About as well as I can,” Seven remarked, a twinge of humor finally allowing him to eye Lucas with a look that wasn’t marked with embarrassment or contempt. The harp passed between their hands without incident, and he set the hefty stringed instrument down on a nearby table.

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas on the other hand concerned himself with his manhood a lot, and he didn’t realize that talking and thinking so much about it didn’t exactly make people more inclined to like him either. To him the things that people had between their legs were very fascinating, and he seriously considered taking Seven up on his offer and pulling his pants down to prove that he was indeed the more masculine one of them. But then it occured to him that a customer might come in – or worse yet, that Tawna might return sooner. The Eypharian didn’t seem like the kind of woman that would like to see him with his pants down, engaging in a weird kind of contest and generally making a fool of himself. She seemed like the kind of woman that wanted somebody that acted like a gentleman and had exceptionally good manners. And thus he remarked to Seven, „That’s not necessary. I think it would be pretty childish if we did that.“ And then she was already there. Lucas nearly jumped as he heard her voice, and he blushed. „Ummm ...“ he made. He looked a little lost and uncomfortable for a moment, but then he grinned – he had himself halfway under control again. „I asked this gentleman ...“ He put a certain emphasis on the world „gentleman“. „... not to tell you that I think you are a very beautiful woman! I hope you don’t mind that. And I can play the lute quite well, thank you very much.“ The last bit was directed at Seven. He was pretty sure that he could also paint better than Seven, but he decided not to tell him that. He really wanted to make a good impression on Tawna. „So ...“ he then wondered. „How much does this thing cost anyway?“ He pointed at the lute he was still holding.

[Runas]

"I'm glad!" Runas smiled once again, and at his query at what she'd like done, she began to think. Her thoughts, like his words, were cut short by a particularly sour note that caused her to raise her eyebrows and look at Lucas. "No... I think you're better..." She said quietly to the man that was equally as stupefied as she.

"You should play me a song, since you are so wonderful, Lucas." She didn't say anything about his compliment, and nor did she blush. Her eyes just glittered even more. If one could read enough into them, they'd say she was pleased with Lucas' words.

"This thing[b] is called a lute, Lucas. Ah yes, and before I forget, can I take your name so I may tell Sina about the wonderful man who took care of my needs so sweetly today?" She spoke to the half-Symenestra male at the end. She looked back at him, her interest focused on this pale anomaly. Lucas she'd enjoyed talking to before. "As for my harp, anything you think I'd like, but with undertones of Leth, Zintila, and Akajia. If you need something more... Descriptive... I'll give you." She gave him what she assumed would be considered a winning smile, but that came out as a quiet grin.

[Seven Xu]

Seven was about to comment on Lucas’ deeming of his joking offer as ‘childish’ – of all people! – When Tawna returned and saved him the trouble of furthering the conversation of manhood. Narrow eyes softened with his smile and he ran his fingers across the smooth, unpainted wood of the harp he’d set down on the work table. It wobbled, and then settled again. As Lucas spoke, Seven gathered paint and brush alike, setting them down gingerly before setting to work removing the catgut strings from the harp. The instrument protested in its quiet grace as he removed string after string, setting them down in order.

“Lutes are seven gold mizas,” A breath, as if he was giving Lucas an opportunity to make some snide remark, “That’s buying it as-is.” A dismissive tone lingered on Seven’s tongue, though he remained painfully cordial to the fiery young man. At least Tawna was there to break the tension. While his back was to Lucas, his shoulders visibly shook in amusement when she asked him to play a song for her. To an onlooker with any sense at all, it looked as if the Eypharian was making a game of the boy’s volatile passions.

He may have commended Lucas on his fine taste in women, had he not himself been groped moments earlier.

“It’s Seven,” the number seemed to be a suitable response to both questions. “Though, I am the only one that works for Sina, so even if you referred to me as ‘that strange blond-haired boy’ she would know who you were talking about.” Finally, he was allowed to let out previous amusements in a laugh too eager for his own comment.

Hues of deep blue and silver were plucked from the vibrant line of paint jars. Seven’s mind was already swimming in ideas; having lived and studied under Zintila’s sky for so long, the possibilities to impress the lovely Eypharian seemed endless. “You worship these gods?” A smile tugged at his lips as he grasped for common ground. No crimson flashed to afford her his unnerving gaze; his eyes remained on the harp that lay un-stringed and on its side. “I am particularly fond of Zintila, myself.”

[Lucas Arias]

„He is better?“ Lucas obviously misunderstood Runas' comment, made a face and cast a glance at Seven. In fact he glared at him and seriously considered disagreeing with him, but then he decided not to. The beautiful Eypharian had just asked him to play for her, and thus he assumed that she had merely been joking, even though it hadn’t been a particularly nice joke. „What kind of song do you want to hear?“ he asked her and smiled at her, the most radiant smile he managed. „Do you want something fast and funny – or a love song?“ His eyes practically gleamed as he said this, and he looked excited. There was a noticeable emphasis on the words „love song“ as well. He was so deluded that he had no idea that his love song would probably make her run away and hate him for the rest of her life! „It may be a lute, but it’s still a thing“, he retorted, somewhat offended, as Runas corrected him. „Seven mizas, you say?“ he asked the halfblood, rummaged through his pockets – he had a lot of things in them – and finally found a few coins. He almost dropped them as he heard the other boy’s name and laughed. He found their conversation about gods and such a little boring, but this had definitely caught his attention! „Seven?“ he interrupted them incredulously. „Why did your parents name you after a number?“ They must really have hated him!

[Runas]

Runas smiled slightly at seeing the most interesting half-blood's shoulders shake at what must have been her comment. Well, at least she knew he had a sense of humour. Or he could see a well-placed barb when it was laid. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Lucas, but she suspected Lucas was the youngest in the group, while the body the Ethaefal stood in could be considered the oldest.

"Seven's quite an interesting name." Runas said earnestly. She could have commented on it's feminine overtones, smothering the masculine sound, but she doubted Seven would take kindly to that. It was a perfect Dra name, however. As was Runas. And Lucas. All three feminine. How sad that the humour would be lost on them all. "I don't find you weird, Seven. In fact, I'd have to say you are a very interesting person." She added a lilting, flirtatious tone to her words, but didn't look to see if they had affected him. Her dark green eyes were on Lucas.

"You may need to play for me in private, Lucas." She said lightly. "It's hardly polite to play where someone is hard at work, isn't it?" She didn't want to discourage him. Not in the least. He was fun to have around. "So, to a God, would that make you a human, but still a thing?" Narrow black eyebrows rose incredulously as green eyes gleamed. "I view objects such as that lute as living things as well. To be treated well and cared for. You're a thing, I'm a thing, and Seven here is a thing. Should I refer to you as a thing, then?" Her tone softened near the end, becoming kinder. She wouldn't stoop so low as to do that... Unless she felt contempt for any one of them. With another smile towards Lucas, she looked at Seven.

"I do worship them. They are the night sky, and I am devoted to them all. They aren't Eypharian deities, however, so I go against the norm. Although, Syna is lovely too." She didn't mind discussing her Gods. She worshiped the three she'd named primarily, but she occasionally included others into her prayers. "I'm quite fond of Zintila myself, but Akajia is perhaps the most... Breathtaking. She knows all secrets, it is said. So, if you ever wish to learn a secret, or a well-kept promise, ask the Goddess of Shadows for help." She smiled again. She could have tried to woo Seven with tales of her life painting the God's she worshiped, but that was hardly acceptable as she had died during that life and had lost all of her skills with a paintbrush.

"He's named after a number, yes, but the name Tawna is spelled alike to the language spoken by a race in Eyktol. Chaktawe I believe. My name must be strange too then, right, Lucas?" Her emerald eyes flashed to look up at the Squire and she gave him a radiant smile.

[Seven Xu]

The burning tendrils of anger had gripped Seven’s chest as Lucas persisted in his endeavors to genuinely piss him off. “Seven is only a number in Common. I bet Lucas means something else in some other language;” maybe donkey, he concluded in silence. Common had been the young man’s second language, in all means of technicality, though he’d learned both Lhavitian and Common at a young age—with most knowledge, seasons past without speaking the western language had left him rusty. At times, Seven’s voice still carried an unmistakable accent under the heavy influence of liquor or anger.

Tawna’s voice cooled hot nerves and Seven shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he turned back to his work. A brush slathered deep navy across the column of the harp before it worked its way across the neck and shoulder. He would leave the sound box bare of paint, which could very well distort the instrument’s sound. “I do not know much regarding the gods,” Seven admitted, speaking slowly—perhaps so that Lucas could follow, “Of course, I know of Zintila, vague bits of stories passed around about Leth,” His expression softened, recalling one such nickname he’d been awarded, “and Viratas.”

Hues of navy licked and stained white fingertips as the harp was stood on end. “I cannot say I actively worship any god. What about you, Lucas? Do you pay worship to Rhaus for that talent?” a snide vermillion leer canted towards the ginger-haired squire, “From the sounds of it, he has forsaken you.”

Perhaps the pair should leave, he decided; let the squire play for his damsel in private where Seven would not have to listen to Lucas’ words dripping with such grinding tones of crude desire the boy would make Nikali shake her head in disappointment. The Lhavitian kept his head dipped to regard the slowly-drying harp, seeming to mull over his next choice in color.