Luncheon Club [Zeek]

[Vala]

Closer and closer; too close! Vala tried to tell him to back off, stuttering, words catching in her throat. He was getting so close; Vala whimpered. At the tingling of a soft breath against the tender flesh of her ear, Vala’s body reacted, actually, fairly reasonably. Instead of flipping out, which would have probably gotten her whipped for doing so to an Endal, or maybe even a swift punch to the face from Zeek himself, Vala just ran away. Well it was more of a rolling away. She was young, lithe, and quite supple; moving in a way that didn’t really seem humanly possible or comfortable, Vala scooted off the work station and landed nimbly on all fours. She popped back up, a comfortable distance of a few feet away from Zeek, with a painfully large smile plastered on her face. Her right eye twitched. “Yeah!” Her voice came out squeaky and wavering. “I would love to learn about blacksmithing! Just blacksmithing! Yup, blacksmithing.” Vala giggled nervously. “Yea hahaha…. Uh yep, so what’s this do?” Vala pointed at a random tool, not even really looking at it.

[Zeek]

Zeek smiled pleasingly, he was correct after all. With a tendency t push others to their limits he had to find out for himself. Vala was obviously afraid of touch. But why? It was such an odd thing to have a fit over. People accidentally bumped and touched one another all the time. Did she always react like this on those circumstance also? Zeek needed to know her limits. Once Vala had finished her escape attempt, he turned toward her. Zeek slowly jumped back onto the work station. A small gesture to show he was not going to get any closer. As Vala forced an obviously fake smile on face, for good impressions now doubt. She began to ramble on about blacksmithing, empathizing the word. As if he had other intentions? “Relaz Vala” He said soothingly, his attempt at calming her nerves. Which seemed to be on the fritz. “That?” He asked looking at the tool she pointed out. “Is a chisel, for designs and such.” It was the truth, though a vague response. “But enough of that.” He said, eyes focusing on Vala and her fake smile. “Why are you so afraid of a slight touch?” He asked bluntly. He did not mean to be rude, and hopefully she wouldn’t take it that way.

[Vala]

If pushing to the limit was his goal, then Zeek achieved it with flying colors. Zeek was lucky. He was an Avora. He was much beefier. And Vala was beginning to learn the meaning of control. The latter bit was thanks to her dealings with Fois and her new friend Ronin, and possibly all the meditation sessions every day, but mostly likely it was because she thought he was cute. His cuteness was just enough to keep her from attacking him like a crazed glassbeak, but it wasn’t enough to keep her from running like a flighty bunny. The Arms Gallery was clearing out faster than ever, as everyone was going off to enjoy midday meal. Vala’s eyes darted, as she kept a false smile plastered perfectly on her face. She was under pressure; Zeek was beginning to ask questions, forcibly at that. She tried not to swivel her head, trying to maintain at least a minute level of inconspicuousness. Unfortunately for Vala, she wasn’t that good, yet. Her range of vision was limited without head movement. The fading noise from the still working blacksmiths was also, still loud enough to disorient Vala. She forced herself to focus on the shifting groups of men, passing Zeek’s station. There was a pair, two apprentice blacksmiths, on their way over, but they made an unfortunate detour to the right before they could be useful. There were several other pairs, all putting away their tools, but they would arrive too late, to make a proper escape. Vala continued to look, trying to be aware of her surroundings and any opportunities. Vala quickly whispered a prayer of thanks to Priskil when she caught a group of five blacksmith Avora about to walk right by them. Her wide eyes narrowed into predatory slits as she drew up a plan. The men were tall for Inarta, especially wide as well. She could tell they were friends by how close they walked and how loud they talked. There was a possibility of brushing up against them if she tried to pass them, but that danger seemed far less daunting than having to deal with the overly inquisitive man before her. She was small, if she was fast she could slip out before he could protest – it was all about the timing. One chime, less. Vala turned back to Zeek, bringing her full attention to him. She smiled, blindingly. A fire in her eyes and tongue, lies dripped from her lips with ease. “I am so very sorry, but I believe I will have to be going soon. Work and all.” With an easy laugh, she was gone, with nary a look back at the man she deserted. Using all the agility she could muster, Vala slipped in between the group of men, using them as a human smoke screen. A few cursed after her, at her audacity, but none really cared enough to chase after her. She ran. She did not know the place very well, she barely knew it at all; she let her feet take her away by instinct. Vala was not weak nor out of shape, neither was she very fit. Long hours of sitting, recording, copying, writing had left Vala very… fragile. She continued to run. Her booted feet barely made the slightest of sounds at each delicate step. She ran without form. She quickly tired after weaving between lines of people walking in the warrens. It took her sometime before she managed to reorient herself as she entered a common courtyard, one fairly deserted. Vala stopped. She leaned forward and brought her hands to her knees. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. Her chest and legs burned from the impromptu escape. Secret : We could end it here if you’d like or you can chase after her. I would have preferred for her to stay and talk it out, but Vala is too flighty for that… just be happy she didn’t throw a hammer at you (that and she’s too weak to pick up any of your tools)

[Phoenix]

Vala Cooking- 5, Socialization-5, Observation- 5, Running- 2, Aerobatics- 2 Zoning out from sheer concentration, Learning about the cooking savior: Flour, Asking after a friend, Providing a simple lunch, Actually feeling nervous and wanting acceptance from another, Overcoming discomfort, propositioning to be taught a skill, Buttering someone up with compliments, Running from the truth Zeek Cooking- 5, Socialization-5, Observation- 5 Putting decent work into simple projects, Trying to prevent accidents, Being disgusted by body odor like a normal person, Receiving one of the far-and-few-between acts of kindness from Vala, Toeing at the line of what’s proper, Being able to realize when one has gone too far, Asking a blunt question I really like the interaction between the two characters. I wish Vala would sit still! Or maybe Zeek can pin her down and force her to talk so that she can get a little bit of that crazy out Good work you two!