Closed Little Distractions (Eshe)

[Zeran]

Zeran ignored disbelieving tone she replied with. She must've accept some of what he said, otherwise she wouldn't have asked the question if she didn't think some of his response was truthful. The half sun was known well enough to be able to run into someone who knew of it quite frequently. And if she wasn't going to believe his answer, then that was her problem. He wasn't going to change the truth to satisfy her. She asked, he answer. I still have my arm floating around. The dead weight he held against his chest looked to be irrelevant now. His astral arm hung at his side, invisible to almost anyone. It seemed a waste of to go through the detachment process with the sudden turn in the chat they were having. It was out now, and Zeran decided it was probably better to keep it out for the moment. Why not? Eshe's new interest could easily be a trick! She wasn't as stupid as Zeran believed then. Clever indeed. Make your target think you're not a threat and then jump them. Very clever Lady Eshe. I'm on to you. "Because you asked a question," he replied. "I always smile! If everyone always clung to everything that went wrong in their lives, nobody would ever be happy enough to enjoy the things worth smiling about! I always smile everything off because then I can enjoy the things that most people miss. Like you caring enough to ask about my mark." The breeze picked up, rustling the surrounding flowers. He looked away from Eshe and took the time to admire the colours and movements of the things that had been planted around by many a generous volunteers. They should really get rewarded for their help in making the Sundial Circle enjoyable for everyone. Zeran turned away from her and towards the flower beds. The petals felt soft and smooth against his fingers, like the finest of clothes that could be bought. It was a shame that in most societies, beauty could only be admired by such people who had the coin to spend. Nature didn't care. It shared its craft with everyone, regardless of who or what they were. "Do you ever wonder why flowers of all sorts can be found in the most inhospitable of places, Lady Eshe?" He picked one stand-out flower, a mix of colours in its petals as twilight's sky. He turned back to Eshe, holding out his newly-picked flower. "It's because they don't care about the hardships they have growing, they're just happy to be what they are and share that with others." Whether it was a lot or, more likely, a little, Eshe couldn't say she didn't care at all about his mark. There must've been something for her to ask.

[Eshe Czardas]

Because she asked a question, he was smiling. That was odd. A bit of wind picked up, enough to shift the flowers. Zeran had looked away, obviously to enjoy the view. He was touching a flower now. Why were all wizards so strange? "Do you ever wonder why flowers of all sorts can be found in the most inhospitable of places, Lady Eshe? It's because they don't care about the hardships they have growing, they're just happy to be what they are and share that with others." He was holding out a flower now, one with petals that looked like someone had made night and day liquid and swirled the colors together. It was certainly pretty, but why was he holding it out to her? Did he want her to take it? She hesitantly reached out, plucking the plant from his grasp. Yanking her hand back as if burned, she quickly inspected the flower. "Yes, it's... Quite pretty. Thank you." Eshe swiftly placed it back in his hand, taking two large steps back. Just in case she needed to run. She didn't like this man, not one bit. Especially when he was being nice, of all things... Her eyes focused on the mark, not being able to direct her gaze to his face. It was easier to look at his hands, instead of his face.

[Zeran]

Eshe was more cautious of him than he was of her. Zeran watched as her hand drew slowly closer until it managed to grasp the flower. Her arm shot back like a bowstring afterwards with surprising speed. Zeran didn't think that muscles could work that fast outside of reflexes, which almost destroys your arm from the sudden snap. If she was more cautious than she let on, it was a wasteful use of djed to keep his astral body free of his arm. His fingers found their respective holds on his physical hand, starting to reattach his entire arm. What a waste. "To civilised conversation, from complete distrust. You're making progress Lady Eshe." Zeran crossed his legs and collapsed to the floor. A little too hard. His backside ached now from the impact, sending a slight shock through his spine, and jostling his right arm around as it still hung loose. If he was ever likely to die from any injuries, it was going to be ones he had inflicted on himself from lack of attention. Then again, if he grew used to injuries, he would be much harder to take down! That's how it worked, wasn't it? The half sun was garnering a lot more of Eshe's attention than anything else since she noticed it. Wasn't it considered rude to not look at somebody else's face when talking to them? Or was that only if the one being spoken to was self-centred and wanted all the attention in the room? He didn't care much for the attention, but he'd have to check up on the answer at a later time. For now, he moved his mark around to see how determined she was to follow it, chuckling as if it were a game. "Why is it you seem to care more about my mark than I do, Lady Eshe?" Was she actually going to feel bad for him? The monstrous wizard who toyed with people as if they were meant to be used, broken and discarded? Perhaps even complete opposite people can find some common ground to maintain a civil chat. She seemed to pity slaves, and he had been one. There were times though when that pity got a little annoying. 'Oh, it must've been so horrible being a slave!' Not really. It beat wandering aimlessly around the streets homeless and hungry, worrying about your next meal and next beating by an angry shopkeeper. At least food and shelter was guaranteed, even if it wasn't the best. 'But surely they mustn't have treated treated you well?' He survived, didn't he? Slavers don't make a habit of killing all their wares at a sudden mood swing. They'll keep you around if you prove you're worth keeping. And Zeran had done so on a number of occasions. "Do you actually feel sorry for the big, bad, manipulative wizard now?"

[Eshe Czardas]

Zeran had sat down, and quite hard too. If that were her, she'd be in pain. To civilized conversation. Yeah, whatever. Eshe refused to let down her guard and stayed standing. He moved his hand, the marked one, and she looked to his face. Was he acting as if it was a game? "Why is it you seem to care more about my mark than I do, Lady Eshe?" She really wished he would stop calling her that. "Do you actually feel sorry for the big, bad, manipulative wizard now?" Eshe scoffed, but even through her uncaring front she couldn't keep her voice from breaking on the lie at her lips. "N-no, of course not. You even admit you're manipulative." There was probably sarcasm in his words, but she didn't detect it, or didn't want to. Walking around to the opposite side of the sundial, Eshe leaned against it. Sure, it must've been unpleasant as a slave, but he somehow managed to get through. Suspicion rose in the girl. Unless he's still a slave, and acting as a spy. No, that didn't make sense to her. Why would the slavers allow a man magic? It was an advantage over them, unless they too had magic. Eshe's brow furrowed once again, and she chewed at her bottom lip. Had he learned the skills after he escaped? It was definitely possible.

[Zeran]

"Said with such conviction," he said to her back. Maybe his earlier assumption that she'd only be happy with a dead wizard was wrong. Especially if she was taking pity on a wizard who had been a slave. Then again, was it that she didn't like seeing a person suffer before they died? She'd prefer a wizard to die quickly as opposed to suffer for a long while before succumbing. "People tend to be much more talkative to someone who agrees with them, Lady Eshe." Zeran watched her back as she crossed to the other side of the sundial, chewing on his tongue in thought. There was conflict going on in her head. There must've been. On one side, she took pity on the slave. Even if she didn't know how young he was, how he got away, how long for, or for what reason he was sold into slavery, she still had a reserved amount of pity for him. On the flip, she had a reserved hatred for wizards, hypnotists especially, based on interactions with her sister. Strange how people were much more likely to pity an entire section of life based on rumours, but condemn another based on one bad experience. And now, here sat a mix of two opposing beliefs, and she didn't know what to believe or which stance to take. "Shame how decisions in life are never easy, isn't it?" There was an amount of sarcasm etched into his voice for that. Many decisions and choices were easy to make, but when morality started to be tossed about, that's when things started to get complicated. It was the 'wrong' of slavery that conflicted with her 'right' idea of wizards, instead of the 'fairness' of being allowed to live for pulling your own weight and 'unfairness' of being branded the same as every other wizard. Zeran laughed at the stupidity of it. Eshe seemed to be deep in her own thoughts, facing away from him as if his very sight disturbed her. Perhaps it did. Anyone would be justified in saying so after having had their thoughts and feeling openly influenced by the individual sat so close to you. Zeran placed his cloak at his feet, as to muffle any sounds he made when getting up. He tried getting as close to her as possible without being heard. With any luck, she was too deep in thought to hear his heavy-footedness. "So, what are your views of me now? Or do I have to persuade you to tell me that as well?"

[Eshe Czardas]

Of course decisions in life were never easy. She knew that for a fact. One hand went to her face, scratching her cheek, then her jawline and lastly her neck and collarbones. It was a peculiar way to scratch an itch. She stared at the sky for what seemed to be eternity, until Zeran's voice sounded in her ear. "So what are your views of me now? Or do I have to persuade you to tell me that as well?" Eshe yelped, her right arm coming up with the fingers curled into a fist. If that didn't hit him, her awkward turn coupled with a poorly-aimed left-handed swing towards his gut wouldn't either. She was simply weak to hurt anyone, even if she struck true. She had never fought off anyone, either. The girl had always stayed close to someone else who could. Eshe danced backwards two large steps, nearly tripping. She could outrun him, if she pushed herself, and maybe get the Shinya to sweep him up. Her posture was that of a cornered animal, all hunched shoulders and hands in front as if to protect her from harm. "G-get away! I won't tell you anything!" Her actions were leaning towards 'stupid' and 'naive' instead of 'brave.'

[Zeran]

Her right arm swinging blindly at him was easy enough to push to one side, but the left managed to get past him, hitting him in the stomach. There wasn't enough force in it to wind him, but there was still enough to cause another ache. Today wasn't a good day to go without injuries. First his head, then backside, now his stomach. Was there anything else the universe wanted? He still had two perfectly working arms and legs. One bad projection detachment would be rid of those as well. Zeran was still thankful that enough of his right arm had been reattached that ripping it out again wasn't a reflex. He watched as Eshe twisted away from him. Impressive. It wasn't something he even considered he'd be able to do. It didn't look like it had much practical use beyond getting a round of applause from anyone who spent the time to notice her skill. Though when he looked again, she looked like she'd seen a serial killer. Wait. She wasn't surprised. She knew exactly who it was. "It's a bit late in the conversation for fear, don't you think, Lady Eshe?" Why so suddenly? "After all your 'I'm not a coward' talk, you now decide to show fear after you've found out I was a slave?" He shrugged, slumping over the sundial she had just leapt from and falling to his knees, dangling his arms. He had been expecting her to chew his ear off about hypnotism again, whether he surprised her or not. Instead, she had once again thrown him off by going in the opposite direction he had been expecting. Looks like you don't know people as well as you would like to think you do! It must be so much easier for you when they act as you had planned. And what was that exactly? He'd never worked with someone who had known he was a hypnotist right from the start. You have all the time in the world to work on people if they think you're a friend and don't instantly brand you a threat. And all because he'd been sleep-hypnotising. Is that even possible? Wouldn't I have to be sleep-talking to be sleep-hypnotising as well... What if I was dreaming? Oh dear. Hopefully I don't have any more dreams of being an invincible god and inviting people to kill me. That would be a very bad suggestion. "Managed to get everything off your chest yet? You've been all over the place during this chat, Lady Eshe."

[Eshe Czardas]

And there he goes again, talking about her being afraid. He was on his knees now, arms just kind of... There. Like he didn't even have any. He didn't even look surprised, but she was glad she had managed to hit him. "Managed to get everything off your chest yet? You've been all over the place during this chat, Lady Eshe." The girl cringed when he said her name. She really wished Zeran would stop calling her that. It was both annoying and unsettling. Her posture straightened, hands fixing her hair and clothes with clean, economical movements. Blast it all, there was dirt on her skirt. That would prove to be some trouble to clean out. "Oh yes, of course." She decided to try and make a different impression. Not let him get ahold of her emotions. "I do believe we started off on the wrong foot, Mister Zeran. Shall we attempt to make friends, instead?" Eshe extended one slim, pale hand. The nails were bitten to the quick, though. Her icy eyes stared into his face. "Pleased to meet you, sir. My name is Eshe Czardas."

[Zeran]

What was it with some women and mucking about with their appearance every couple of chimes? I'll sort this crease out here so it doesn't cast enough of a shadow so an assassin could hide in it. I'll fix this one strand of hair that is invisible to everyone standing more than a finger's breadth away. And I'll adjust my fringe so it is at the exact angle across my face as it was this morning, regardless of weather's permission. I sure hope my face hasn't fallen off in that time. No, but mine has. Did women know something others didn't? Was there a secret to eternal youth if you kept your appearance looking as such until the day you were due to die? Did Dira care so much for beauty? It didn't really seem like Dira to let somebody out of dying just because they had an immaculate appearance. Then again, stranger things had happened. The Skyglass Caterpillar was a wonderful example. Invisible death on a leaf. "Yes, we did start off badly, but most of that is probably my fault," he replied, kicking off the ground and rolling over the sundial. Dangling hands met the floor first to stop him from whacking his head again. Zeran collapsed in a heap as the rest of his body followed over the sundial and finished with him lying on his back. "It might be too late for friendship," he called out, pulling himself up into a sitting position, smiling. "But we can still try. I like that idea." Banging the loose dirt from his cloak, Zeran clambered to his feet again. Eshe extended a hand out to him, although the accompanying eyes said volumes. 'Grasp my hand and lose your arm.' And he was about as inclined to believe that she was 'pleased' to meet him as he was to believe an Akalak was a pacifist. The chances of it being possible were too small to even consider. Zeran took a step back from where he stood and, placing one arm across his stomach, stepped back into a bow. "Well met Lady Eshe." Liar. Resuming his stance, he walked within arm's reach of where Eshe stood, inspecting the outstretched hand. Reaching up to meet it, he stopped short of it, facing Eshe as he spoke. "You sure you want me to shake your hand?"

[Eshe Czardas]

Well, she was certainly glad that he was taking the blame. Most men were much too proud of themselves to admit that something was their fault. Why was he rolling about in the dirt? It wouldn't come out easily, no sir. He didn't even shake her hand! He just stepped back and bowed. She scoffed. So gentlemanly. "Well met Lady Eshe." The girl rolled her eyes. "Will you stop calling me that? I'm just Eshe. Sheesh." He inspected her hand, as if it were something nasty. Did she want him to shake her hand? She held it out, didn't she? "No shyke." Eshe didn't want to wait for his response, so she lunged forwards and grabbed his hand roughly. Her other hand went to his shoulder, just in case he yanked his arm away. Now that she was close enough to properly inspect his face, the girl was... Startled, to say the least. He wasn't much older than her, four or five years. Not much taller, either. She finally noticed that his hair was messy, and resisted the urge to try and fix it. There was even a bit of stubble on his chin. He wasn't totally hideous, but neither was he too pretty. A nice, even, masculine balance between the two, but it couldn't be called plain. This brought a smile to Eshe's face, eyes carefully taking in every detail.