[The Rearing Stallion] A Girl's Gotta Eat (Markus)

[Airil]

Current DescriptionThough she is wearing a cloak, she does had her hood back, revealing her face. Her flows over her right eye and down around her neck to about mid back. Though none of the more obviously Konti features are visible, her coloring is almost unmistakable. She looks to be quite young, though one might know that with the Konti it's difficult to tell how old she may actually be.

20th Day, Fall 510 A.V.

Airil pushed open the door of the Rearing Stallion and peered into the dim interior. It was still early in the evening and as such the tavern had not yet begun to fill. The smell of food wafted more strongly under her nose and her stomach silenced her mind's objections.

It had been a long day, and she was hungry. She stepped inside, trying to appear confident as she threaded her way through the tables, to a table along one of the less well lit walls. Seth was upon her almost as soon as she sat down and she proceeded to order some dinner, her stomach interjecting its need.

She sat, staring at her hands as she waited for her food to be brought out.

[Markus Andres]

It had been a while since Markus had last visited The Rearing Stallion, he simply hadn't had the time, he liked the atmosphere of the place when it was bristling full. Not to mention that their ale was of a good quality.

Markus pushed open the door to the tavern and stepped in. He was wearing his dark blue tunic under his identically colored cloak, his legs covered by his favorite pair of black breeches. He took a glance around the tavern to see if he knew any of the people, so he could join their table. He didn't spot anyone and he wondered if he should just leave again, or if he should go find a table and get hammered.

But then he noticed something he had rarely seen in Syliras, pale blond hair. Often a sign of the Konti. He had always wanted to meet a Konti and talk with a Konti and he could hardly get a better chance than tonight. And he boldly approached her table while putting together some sort of introduction. As he neared he found it increasingly harder to form a sentence in his head.

"Excuse me, miss. If I may be as bold to ask - you shouldn't by any chance be a Konti?" Markus said when he reached the table, a little amazed by his own ability to be so polite.

[Airil]

Airil had been careful to not look around the tavern in an attempt to not draw attention to herself. At the sound of footsteps heading in her direction, her heart began to rise slowly into her throat. They weren't coming over to her table, she told herself. There was no reason for anyone here to have any interest in her. She just had to keep her head down.

Her heart seemed to stop along with the footsteps. The question was spoken. Airil's head slowly came up, and up. He was so tall. Considering Airil's meager five foot stature, added to the fact that she was sitting, she had to crane her neck to look up at him properly. As she did so, her hair fell back over her left shoulder, revealing gills. There was no way to mistake her race.

Her chest felt ready to implode as her heart pounded away. Mouth opening and shutting, she tried to push down her initial response of panic. This place was safe. No one would be attacking her. She kept repeating these things to herself.

Why was she even reacting this strongly?! Perhaps the day had been too long.

She swallowed and offered a simple reply, “I am.”

[Markus Andres]

Markus didn't like that the way the girl looked when he asked his question, she looked - scared? Markus regretted approaching her right away and he almost apologized and backed away from her, but then he noticed the gills on her shoulder. She really was a Konti and some seconds later she confirmed it herself.

"Really? That is so cool, and sorry if I startled you." Markus said with a warm smile. As he grabbed the back of a chair and pulled it closer.

"You don't mind if I join your table? I have always wanted to talk with a Konti, I mean, not... because you're all the same, I just ..."

Markus just stopped talking, he couldn't think of a good way to finish that sentence without feeling stupid. And to make it better, he felt some warmth rise to his cheeks and he knew he was blushing, with good reason, he felt quite foolish after talking. He noticed he was still holding on to the back of the chair, he let go of it and was ready to walk away should she dismiss him. Which he couldn't blame her if she did.

[Airil]

Airil fixed her hair with a gloved hand before slipping it and her other hand under the table. As his hand grabbed the chair she had to fight hard to keep from bolting from her own, but his stumbling words stayed her.

She seemed to calm slightly even if her discomfort hadn't totally faded. Something about the blush creeping into his cheeks was endearing, perhaps the involuntary nature of it. She glanced around the bar, it was beginning to fill. Perhaps having someone at her table would keep others from approaching her. He seemed harmless enough so far.

Finally, she looked back up at him, offering him a small, unsure smile. “You can sit.”

[Markus Andres]

For Markus it felt quite humiliating standing there, waiting for her to give (or deny) him permission to sit. But he was given permission and he sat down at the side of the table, a quarter of the table away from the Konti.

"Thank you for letting me join you, it is very kind of you. Are you from around Syliras?" Markus said while he moved the chair closer to the table and he could feel the warmth fade from his cheeks, only for it to return at full force when he remembered something important.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself." He said offering her his right hand. "I am Markus Andres."

[Airil]

Airil shook her head at the question but didn't offer what city she was from. Her own cheeks burned slightly at the thought of the city she had left behind so recently.

Her one visible eye studied him, though her face didn't offer any reaction to what she saw.

He offered his hand and she stared at it, looking for all the world as if it might bite. But the blush in his cheeks was back. She extended a shabbily gloved hand, giving him the opportunity to see her pale fingers and the small amount of webbing that spread between them. No need to wonder why she had cut the fingers off of the gloves.

“Airil.”

[Markus Andres]

So, she wasn't from around Syliras, which explained why he hadn't noticed her before. He gave her hand a firm shake, feeling something different, but assumed it was the fingerless gloves.

"Airil, that's a pretty name for a pretty girl." the young squire said with a glint in his eyes, before looking away from her and at the influx of people in the tavern. The more the merrier. He looked back to the pale girl at his table, or rather, her table. He hadn't said it to hit on her, rather to try and break the thick layer of ice or getting her tongue to loosen.

"So, what brings you to Syliras?"

[Airil]

She blushed at the comment and looked down at the hands in her lap.

“I just needed a new place to stay,” she said quietly, offering no further information. She seemed to be calming down but obviously wasn't comfortable yet.

Seth came up to the table a moment later, laid a plate in front of Airil and asked if Markus wanted anything. The plate contained no meat, just bread and some vegetables.

Up at the bar, the patrons were becoming louder, some already well on their way to becoming drunk.

[Markus Andres]

"Just a mug of ale, please."

Markus looked at what the girl had ordered and was a bit surprised at the meager rations on her plate. Maybe that was a normal portion outside the order? Markus would probably starve to death within weeks.

"But you made a good choice when you came here, there is no safer nor better place to be than Syliras!" Markus said with a clear prideful tone and one of the barmaids came to him with a mug of ale.

"Thank you." He said as he drank some of the bitter ale - but he liked it.

"Ah, been a while since I've tested some good ale" He said, mostly to himself before looking at Airil. "So, what do you do for a living?"