Ruined Rendevouz -- Aeris

[Ashari]

Samheen 21 EMT

Suddenly Jin was beside her, she didn't even register the footsteps on the roof. His lips moved and every word was absorbed by the maiden. "So much for our date," she replied. Before she could utter more uncomfortable banter he extended his hand in the attempt that she would respond mutually. She did.

As they walked towards the ladder, her wings began to shed. The magic dissipate. The show tonight would be carried on for ages and ages to come. Maybe Aeris would be around to tell the story herself. She didn't know. All that was certain was that things weren't going to be the same anymore.

"What do you mean? We've still got until dawn, right?" He had heard lore of the swanmaidens before, and knew that they needed to change form with the changing of days. He hadn't known them to be nocturnal, but he supposed it made sense. Then again, what about being with a supernatural creature of fantasy was supposed to make sense?

Jin gave a warm smile and quickly decended the ladder, and extended his hand for her to take once again as soon as they reached the ground. "You were amazing, you know." The young slave was bleeding from his upper arm as well as at a wound across his chest which had cut through his shirt. He didn't seem to really notice, however. It seemed to have been caused from a single slash as it was one fluid line only broken by the separation of his arm from his torso.

"I can't believe what an ass I felt like though... thinking I needed to protect you." He rolled his eyes. "Rather naive notion..." His voice trailed off. "I haven't seen my sister since the fighting broke out. Have you? I lost her before the actual riot, she ran off into the crowd." Although panic hadn't yet crept into his tone, it was obvious from the sudden strain on his vocal chords paired with a wrinkling of his brow that he was worried.

[Aeris Mourir]

OOC: Hawt Avie.

IC:

"I do supposed we have until dawn," she sadly said. For a full day she yearned to walk for the entire time. Bathe in the warmth of the hot sun and even gaze up at the stars and vast moon. The simple woman hoped for a day when she wouldn't have to walk down the road a night and fear what might happen if someone knew about her secret. Her mind shifted back to the colony, the happy faces and smiles that she always carried with her. People knew she wasn't the only swan maiden in the world, what would happen if they found her flock.

"You are the true hero, Jin. Besides, you did protect me. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have been able to pull that off. I saw you fighting for your life and mine .. thank you." As she peered at the slave, she noticed the cuts and wounds that he had sustained protecting her. "Don't move," she commanded as the maiden started ripping his shirt apart. Once she got a worthy piece, she tied a tournicate around his arm. "There ... that should last awhile."

The mention of Akuta had thrown her concentration to a more important topic. "No, I haven't seen her. Fear instantly struck the swan. Someone might have seen that the acolyte and Aeris were friends and taken her as a bargaining chip. The more the apprentice thought about scenarios the more fear sunk into her heart. "We need to find her," came out a bit more desperate and chaotic than it was supposed to sound. She didn't care, her main concern was her glass blowing sidekick.

[Ashari]

Jin smiled. "Well, I suppose I was pretty great." He boasted. "But yes, it really was a team effort." The young confident man grinned looking at the fair beauty before him and the urge to kiss her was quite suddenly more than overwhelming. He wasn't sure if it wast the excitement of the evening, and the closeness to having been killed, or if it was just her stunning eyes with the moonlight caught within their embrace.

"You?.. what?" He looked down as she told him not to move, and of course, the first instinct when told such a thing is to move, thusly he did. The fabric slipped from her grasp as she first tried to grab it. "Oh, it's nothing. I've had worse." He stood still as she got hold of another shred and managed to tie off the most impressive of his wounds. "If I didn't know better, m'lady, I might think you were attempting to disrobe me, and right here in public, no less!" He winked.

But then the topic shifted to Akuta and her being missing, and Jin's heart was racing with the thought of his little sister having been harmed. However, as he saw the instant fear snap across the swanmaiden's face, he calmed down and switched gears toward her. "It's alright, Aeris. She's a scrappy little thing, and she knows how to protect herself, I made sure of that." He tried to assuage her fears. "Let's try her hang outs... like that blacksmith's place.. what's his name there?" Jin had never approved of her spending so much time over there with him, even if he was a harmless glassblower in the evenings.

He had already started walking in the direction of the smithy. "Really, I'm sure she's fine," he said. "I'd know if she were hurt, you know, because we are close, and I'd be able to tell. I'd feel it." He nodded succinctly. The streets were almost entirely empty now as people had filtered toward the Simbahan or to their homes. It wouldn't take long to get to the plain shop. "The only other place I can think of her going right to is the Simbahan to help with the injured... or perhaps to my owner's." He shrugged. "Maybe to the library, thinking we would go there." Jin tried to keep track of the places in order of likely hood. "Can you think of anything?"

[Aeris Mourir]

Aeris shook her hand. "No, the only place I could think of her going would be to the smith's. She is quite fond of him, so I would assume she would go to his place and see if he is alright. Either way, lets head there," she finished picking up her pace slightly.

It didn't take long for her stride to slow and become even less than it had been. She was getting tired from shifting so dramatically back to her human form. It might have looked easy from the watchful eyes, but really it was draining. Most of her reserves that she had acquired while sleeping and what food she had consumed before the gathering was virtually gone. However, pressing matters gave her legs the strength they needed to push on. Aeris was a fragile being, but tough as nails.

"How much would a slave go for?" she asked bluntly. The inquiry was rather harsh in a way, almost demoralizing. She thought a person such as Jin's stature would pay a lot more then someone of less caliber or trouble. Gears in the swanmaiden's mind started to turn, igniting brilliant schemes within the catacombs of her cranium. Aeris, for the most part, was unaware of what slaving someone entails. She decided to find out.

"I don't mean to press, or being up any bad memories, but I'm interested. If someone wasn't worth the trouble, would their owner sell them for less? Or more if they served their master well?" The apprentice hoped to find her answers without upsetting him.

[Ashari]

"Are you alright?" Jin took to her elbow gently with sympathy in his eyes. Though he didn't realize the amount of energy she had used, he realized that anyone who had done fighting that night, nevermind shapeshifting, would be beyond tired. "If you'd like you can go back to the Simbahan. I can find her on my own..." His dark eyes betrayed him, however. He really didn't want her to go.

At her question his gaze shifted to the ground. He swallowed. Though it was hardly a thing to be shameful in a place like Abu`Sahir since slavery was so common, it was usually not asked about by outsiders, which Aeris certainly was. Turning his ebony eyes back up to her, there was a harshness to him. "Why do you want to know?" Jin started walking again, as if the subject was not something he could talk about when just standing still.

He was a prideful animal, and he enjoyed his visions of grandeure. The slave liked to pretend himself to be a rich man when out of the sight of his master. "A good slave, like a good camel, sells for a higher price." He said matter of factly and continued walking at a good clip toward the blacksmith's. "However, if one is lucky, one stays in the servitude of a single master for the entirety of either their own life, or their master's. I, for example, have seen the slave's quarters of no less than five masters." He didn't elaborate on the reasoning of this. "It is better to be with a single master, as then you have a chance to prove yourself worthy to be set free upon their death. Like any piece of property, a slave can be willed to their heir, but occassionally we are set free."

"Are you interested in purchasing, m'lady? There is a slave market during tradetide near the Golden Square if you are looking." There was almost a bitterness in his tone. Even if slaves were treated well here in Amun Rah, they were still slaves, and didn't enjoy the same rights as regular citizens.

Clearing his throat Jin stopped infront of a building which Aeris would quickly recognize. A familiar sign, rod iron with stylized word blacksmith hung in the cool night air. "He probably won't be in the shop, maybe there is a back door." Jin looked down an alley that lead toward the far wall of Nepmar's building. "Stay close to me." His hand tentatively reached out for hers, but then, with a surge of bravery, just grasped hold tenderly. "Let's go."

Jin walked somewhat infront of Aeris as if protecting her. No matter if she had proven she was self-sufficient he wanted to be the man here. Plus, she was tired. There were no windows on the side wall, but as they continued around the corner to the back of the building there were a few windows cascading yellowish firelight into the enclosed alley. Jin lifted his chin and looked into the window, Aeris could easily see inside as well.

"Oh thank Anasis..." He let out a deep sigh, and it was as if he had been holding his breath since he realized that Akuta was gone. But, there she sat, on one of the anvils, infront of Nepmar. He had pulled up a chair infront of her, and had a bandage which he was putting on her leg. The blacksmith looked up and said something to her, which they couldn't hear through the heavy glass. He then smiled.

Akuta smiled too, and looked as if she was laughing a bit. She put a hand on his shoulder and leaned down to give him a kiss. Not just a peck on the cheek, or a quick friendly smooch in passing, but a full out kiss. "What... the..." Jin's hands balled into fists as Nepmar put his hand on her knee and then to her elbow which traced up her arm to her shoulder and then neck. He stood as his hand progressed to her innocent face where he caressed her cheek. "That bastard." Jin's voice came out as a growl.

If looks could kill, then daggers would've flown from the slave's eyes as he tore forward to the back door which he flung open. "Get your hands off of her!" The door screamed on it's hinges and hit the wall so hard one of Nepmar's art pieces fell to the ground and shattered. Many others clinked against one another.

Nepmar stepped away from Akuta as if she were a thing that might attack him. "This -- this isn't what it looks like, Jin." His round face looked at the young man then to the swanmaiden. "Lady Aeris, please." He glanced over to the slave again, and hoped that she would do something to stop him. "We were just - she - her leg." He pointed. He didn't look as if Jin would outclass him by much in weight, nor in muscle, but Jin had a specific kind of rage working behind him, that of protecting his sister.

Akuta stayed ominously quiet as she watched Nepmar beg that Jin understand. It was the slave that spoke again. "If it's not what it looks like, then what in the name of Uphuron is it?" His muscles moved under his skin, restrained strength. He was ready to pounce like a desert cat. The smell of fire and wood was thick in the air, and if it were possible, it seemed that Nepmar's fear was as well. Nepmar, however, said nothing.

[Aeris Mourir]

"No, no, I am fine," she answered back. "It's just that I don't do that often, let alone purposefully..shift back. The transformation go much smoother if time has a chance to wear away the wings," she added. It was a touchy subject for the swan maiden, but she felt she at least owed Jin that much of the truth for what she had inquired.

Aeris recognized the intriguing blacksmith sign and liked how it arched here and there. Before she could really grasp anything that was happening, Jin had burst through the shop's back.

The apprentice felt a slight relief in knowing the Akuta was at least alive. "Jin," she interrupted. Her eyes jetting from the young woman to the smithy. "There is no need to yell, no one is deaf. Also, calm down. Being angry isn't going to help the matter." Aeris breathed in and out, centering her emotions. She wasn't about to contradict herself by yelling and reprimanding everyone. If the agile person wasn't able to hold the situation she was of no use, which Aeris wasn't about to accept.

"Now, what is going on? Do not lie, either of you. I am tired and not really against using force to hear the truth. Speak."

[Ashari]

Jin nodded with as much understanding as he could offer. He didn't really get magick all that well, and he certainly had never experienced shapeshiftng, so it was hard for him to grasp exactly what she was saying. What he did know was what it was like to be tired, however. That much he could absorb even without the magick involved.

Once inside the slave stared wildly between Nepmar and Akuta. He looked feral, as if anything might send him reeling, might push him over the edge. All he needed was the right word, the movement from either one of them, and he would pounce like the animal he was. His pupils were dilated, and his fists spasmed. The muscles beneath the tan skin of his arms undulated like waves.

Akuta, on the other hand, couldn't look more innocent if she tried. Her face was perfectly smooth as only a child's face can be. The acolyte's small fingers pressed against the anvil. Her body was in profile, displaying how young she was as she lacked feminine curves, but her face was looking directly at Jin. There was something in her eyes, a temptation. She was inviting him to play, seeing if he wanted to tango with the blacksmith.

Looking at Jin, it was tough to tell whether or not he could withstand the bait. So far so good. Swallowing hard he looked at Aeris, and it was obvious he was using every bit of his self-restraint not to attack.

Nepmar looked as if he might be sick, but he also had that ashamed air of a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. There was no way he could sneak out of this one. "N-Nothing is going on." He couldn't stand the silence. It was turning his insides to jelly as each flicker passed. "W-w-we were, well, Akuta was.. looking for somewhere to go because she got hurt in the riot." He glanced over to her, she didn't do anything to aid him in his explaination. His eyes widened a bit as he looked at her and his head moved just a fraction forward as if he was indicating she ought to add something. She didn't. Quickly he looked back at Aeris, deciding that she was more likely to hear him that Jin at this point. "So, I got my bandaging material, I hurt myself sometimes here at the shop so I need it around, and I just fixed her up. That's all." He barely believed himself, and it showed.

Jin was not impressed, and it definately showed. "Liar." Was all he said, but it was barely audible. Aeris heard it, but only as a gutteral growl from his throat. Enough was enough for the slave. He threw himself forward, or atleast, that was the best way to describe his movement as he brought his weight forward in a single motion that seemed to not quite be a run, but not quite a jump either.

The blacksmith wasn't expecting the sudden attack, nor the weight of Jin's body as it slammed into him and threw him to the ground. Another of the beautiful glass pieces fell right after with an airslicing crash. Akuta stared down at the mass of arms and legs with a mix of horror and disbelief. "JIN!" It was the first thing she had said, and it was lost within a storm of curses that cascaded from the slave's mouth as he tumbled with the blacksmith. Jin pinned Nepmar to the ground with his strong legs and hefted his fist, slamming it down to his face. When he pulled back Aeris could see blood starting to collect at the man's lower lip where it had been split in half.

"You. Stay. Away. From. Her. You. Bastard!" Each word was punctuated with another swift punch toward Nepmar's face.

"Aeris! He's going to kill him!" Akuta's eyes now looked much like Jin's had, though tinted with fear instead of rage. She sat frozen on the anvil still, the fighting happening just below her feet. Very childlike, she pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, as if by embracing herself she would be safer. "Please..."

[Aeris Mourir]

"You don't need an empathy skill to know exactly what you're feeling. Besides your eyes betray you ... they are of course the window to your soul. I don't know what lead to this, but it ends now. I don't care if your precious Akuta came on to you, you are the adult, with that comes responsibility. You know more than best that it was wrong," and the swan suddenly stopped her speech.

"I'm done lecturing," she was looking at Akuta now. "We're leaving and you're coming, missy," Aeris eyed the girl like she had known all along what she was brewing. Devious.

The simmering angel reached out to Jin but the flicker her hand almost came into contact with his wrist, he was half air-bourne lunging at the black smith. Aeris pulled back her hand in an effort not to be taken off balance.

A emotion flared through her the moment she saw the crimson liquid swell on the man's face. Anger. She was furious that Akuta had manipulated the black smith like this, livid at the glass blower since he allowed it, and wrathful that Jin had actually attacked him.

"Why should I help? I just put my life on the line to save this entire city, I have filled my quota for aiding the well being of people for the rest of the day. You dug the hole, climb out," she scolded.

Aeris watched out of the corner of her eye the slave's fist fly into the air and back down. Fly and fall, fly and fall. Ok, he's learned his lesson. The swan walked up behind Jin who was hunched over beating a grown man. Her black eyes shifted back to the acolyte and she said, "you are lucky I am fond of your brother, or I wouldn't mind him beating someone to death. Death has a way of making someone quite guitly," and with that she laid a hand on the right side of his should and dug in. It was a manuever that was hard to ignore. She gripped as forcefully as she could, without damaging the assailant, but pulled back to split the two apart.

"Are you finished?" she questioned rhetorically. "I've had enough..."

[Ashari]

Akuta was shocked at how easily Aeris turned on her. Her eyes fell to the floor as the swanmaiden reached down to stop Jin. She was obviously ashamed.

Jin's body stiffened as he felt the firm grasp of the porcelin woman on his shoulder. His arms slacked and he looked down at Nepmar. "Don't touch her again." He said as he pushed himself off the blacksmith's chest. Blood dripped from the knuckles of his right hand. Jin shook his arm and the thick red liquid slid off, splattering on the floor in a small spray.

He looked at Akuta, but didn't say anything at first, he just reached out and yanked her off the anvil. "Move." He pushed her toward the door. She nearly stumbled, but managed to find her footing with the assistance of the now broken door frame. She stepped out of it quickly, looking back at both Jin and Aeris.

The slave's breathing was irregular, he was still panting, and he wanted to just turn around and kill Nepmar, almost as badly as he wanted to scream at Akuta, but he couldn't do either of them. They walked in an ominous silence, he didn't even look at Aeris, he was afraid to. He had a strong feeling he wouldn't be seeing her again after tonight, a feeling she wouldn't want to be around a monster like him. He had snapped, he knew that, but that didn't change how angry he was.

Once they reached the main street he loosened up a bit, and his shoulders hung with a bit less tenseness to them. "You can't keep doing this, Akuta." He growled at her as she moved a few paces ahead of them. She didn't react whatsoever to what he said, as if she didn't even hear it. "I was serious after the last one. This isn't a game." She didn't respond, again, and it was irritating Jin to no end. "Akuta! Listen to me!" He reached his hand forward and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around. She stared at him blankly as if nothing were happening. "Ah! You are impossible, do you know that? You ruin their lives." Her shoulder had Nepmar's blood on it, in a handprint of Jin's. "Go back to the Simbahan. Run." She didn't move. "GO!" It was then that she took off, her thin legs carrying her with the speed of youth. Once she passed around a corner Jin finally lost it and just collapsed onto the road. He sank to his knees and just sort of sat there.

"You must be tired. You should go back to the Simbahan, too. I've got to get back to my master's." He didn't look like he was going to be moving any time soon, though. "I'm sorry, Aeris. Sorry you had to see me do that." He shook his head and tried to wipe the drying blood off his hand onto his pants. Pants which were already stained with blood.

[Aeris Mourir]

Emotions slammed in the swan maiden like a crashing wave. She didn't say much, or anything for that matter, on the way out of the shop and to the street. However, once Jin spoke her eyes grew large, ominous, and extremely dark.

"What do you mean, again?" she half snapped. The other half of her mixed emotion was sheer shock. Just then the acolyte shot off like a cat.

The maiden wiped her face, a black spot smearing across it. Her hair wasn't as white as it was when they had first ventured out into the night. The only debris that had little or no weight to them seemed to nestle quite nicely in her silky, pale hair. A sigh escaped her mouth; it wasn't meant at Jin either.

"How can you keep letting this happen? .. like you said, 'it ruins their lives'. Did you think that faith was going to save her?" the woman questioned.

Aeris walked around the slumped slave. Something still human within the swan maiden felt bad for Jin. She watched for a flicker not a moment longer as he tried to wipe his hands off, and failing. From the pounding of Nepar, he had soaked his own clothes. Jin was simply smearing his own hands with blood, instead of on his pants.

The magical being crouched infront of him, swiftly going to a kneeling position. "Here," she demanded, grabbing his hands in the process. Using her skirt, the woman cleaned his skin off; leaving a crimson spot on her clothing.

"It wasn't right what you did to Nepar, but he deserved it .. if that makes sense," she could feel his stress like a second layer of apparel.

Aeris looked skyward then. "They're beautiful aren't they? Stars always made me content. My mom was an astrologist, you know. She would go on an on about what constellations were located where. She would try so hard to show me ... I can still remember her pointing wildly and her face so happy since she got to spend time with me," she looked into his eyes then. "I never said this was going to be an easy road to walk, but it's one rough terrain I wouldn't mind huffing it through. However, it will have to wait since I need to get back to the Simbahan. I will talk to you in the days to come."

Throughout the entire mess of evening, she had remained relatively calm and now she was going to use it, if she could. The female balled the tranquil feeling and pushed it through herself. Aeris envisioned her own emotions seeping into his hands, calming him. If she was successful she would leave him with something other than pity tonight.

[Ashari]

Jin's hands were sticky with the drying substance. Blood is like that, so easily flowing when wet and alive, but as soon as it leaves the body, turns to viscous sludge. It was that thick vermilion that was stained upon his skin, weaving through the marbled fingerprints on the tips of his fingers and creating an outstanding map upon his palm by darking his life lines. Lines which were supposed to be able to tell the proper person the way to a man's core and about his future.

The slave's hands spoke of a life of hardship and toiling in the earth. They were rough and calloused in many spots, but he did his best to keep them clean. His were not the hands of the blacksmith, with permanent midnight colored crescents under his nails. Jin, through it all, was always trying to keep up a pretense that he wasn't actually a slave. He had goals in his life, he didn't always want to be in this position. The young man swallowed hard as she took them into her own hand and wiped away much of the shed blood. Most of it was his own, from the Gravetide Market earlier that long night, rather than Nepmar's. However, it all looked the same eery black in the nighttime.

He was just looking up at her. He hadn't responded to her question. Infact, he couldn't have looked more like a kicked puppy than he did right that moment. Jin had spent a majority of his mature life, and even some of his premature life, protecting his sister. Now, here he was protecting others from her. None of that matter, according to Aeris. He wasn't doing enough.

There were times when a man needed support, and there were times he would be asking for a kick in the ass to get him going, and the swan had chosen the wrong method against this situation. "Of course it wasn't right, damnit. I knew that." His eyes were a neverending portal into him. He was a swirling mass of somethingness, and so much was going on within them.

His jaw clamped shut as he looked upward to the stars. He tried to calm himself. For a flicker he considered taking his hands from hers. She had entirely shot him down, made him feel worthless, he wasn't sure he really wanted her touching him, but then he started to feel better, almost in a surge. Not overwhelming -- rather just calm. Tranquility, much like that which was within the Simbahan, fell around them. Aeris could see it, behind his eyes, replacing something within them.

"I'm not looking for easy, Aeris. Trust me, if I was... there are much more avenues I could've taken." He pulled one of his hands from hers so he could push himself up off the ground. The young man stood a bit taller than her, but not by much. "I don't want you to see what I did to Nepmar when you look at me. Do you?" His big brown eyes stared into hers, daring her to try to lie, as if he could sense it.

[Aeris Mourir]

It was funny. Aeris had never enjoy killing people, wounding them at best. She could just never bring herself to landing that final strike. However, suddenly and sporadically a massive wedge had just been forced between the battling minds. Was it a good thing? It could be Aeris' clean break. One more wrong word that escaped her mouth would be the end of them, for whatever they had.

Jin's question took the swan by surprise. According to Akuta, her brother was a lady's man. Always hawk-eyed when the right hump walked by, or the large chested. Since when did he start caring how I see him? she questioned to herself. A flicker pasted and the maiden stood their and looked at him.

His arms, legs, hell, most of his body was still slick with the darkening goo. And as she peered at him, her mind went back to her fist slamming repeatedly into the Nepar's face. Over and over, blood flying where ever gravity would take it. The methodical swing of his arm, and then she saw Akuta. What a wonderful little child, no monster. Had the acolyte's family ties save her countless times ... when Jin was enslaved. How many times had brother swooped in to a difficult situation and 'rescue' her? Aeris didn't know, and she didn't want to.

"Jin," she said, reaching her hand up slightly and then lowering it again. As the swan maiden stood and watched the tired individual, the crimson liquid seemed to fade into the backgrond. The smears across his face became fuzzy and she didn't really see the outlines of another man's handprints.

"As we stand here and look at one another, I don't see what you did to Nepar as face value. I see a brother protecting his diabolical sister," she added sincerely. The street-smart person could pry all he wanted, Aeris wasn't about to lie. The glint in her eyes itched to give him a hug, to let him know everything was ok between them. She wasn't about to jet forward, however, she wasn't opposed to be approached.

[Ashari]

The slave nodded after she spoke. "I'm glad of it. Glad you don't see it." He imagined she would at some point though, see his violence somewhere else, and then that image would come back to her mind. He couldn't think of that though. He had to trudge forward. "The Simbahan. It calls to you, as I'm sure the moon does as well. There are forces beyond our control, and you need to be prepared for your change before the sun rises." He lifted one of his hands that she had so gently cleaned off, and rubbed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

"I'm sorry our date did not go as planned." The emotion was nearly gone from his eyes, he was done being expressive of it, done hurting and feeling those difficult things. His hand fell across her shoulder, down her arm, past her wrist to her palm where he scooped and lifted, bringing her hand up with his. "We will try again." Jin's mouth pulled to a courtier's smile and he placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"I really need to be going as well. Things to attend to, I'm sure you understand, m'lady." He allowed her hand to go, if she withdrew it. "I will call on you in the next few days." Jin turned, to walk in the opposite direction of the Simbahan. "And she isn't diabolical, she's just confused. She wants attention, and she doesn't care where-from. You two were friends until tonight, keep that in mind."

OOC: You can post a final farewell to monsieur Jin in this thread, and then start another thread which will include your time jump. Thank you for the fun thread!

[Aeris Mourir]

"Yes," Aeris replied with a sad sorrow littering her voice. She didn't want the night to turn into some akawardness that was inescapable. However, with the turn of events, that what it had come to. A fear struck her like a lash across the back. She didn't bow from a real strike, but a severe emotion passed behind her eyes. The emotion was clearly visible behind the smile, that acted as an extremely cracked mask.

"I am sorry the evening did not go according to plan. It's ok though .. maybe Anasis will give us another chance," she shrugged. It was the least she could do.

A sweet smile crept across her face as his lips carassed her knuckles. "Yes, the magics pull at me .. it is time to get going. We will see each other in the 'morrow. Have a good night ... and Jin ... lets not have other people get in the way of us," ending the conversation with a slight emphasis on us.

[Ashari]

Jin just nodded. It was all he could do. The facade would only last so long, and he had had more than just a trying tiring evening so far. It would be a short night before he had to get up at dawn to do his work. "Farewell, Aeris."