RP:Pilar Tries to Cheer Up Aira

Hanging Corpse Tavern

Pilar was back in the Hanging Corpse after quite an absence. She was a bit nervous, so close to the house, but with Daermon and Khitti hanging around in Cenril, she felt a little more comfortable being in Vailkrin again. Plus, she needed to start earning money again somehow. So she sat at the piano once more, playing for tips. It was a doleful tune, slow and sad, exactly the type of music you'd expect to hear in the city of the dead.

Aira pushed her way inside the Hanging Corpse Tavern. The high elf had only been there on one other occasion that she could recall, but she was exploring the area and opted to stop in for a refreshment. It was odd for the huntress to be out of Frostmaw, especially for an extended period of time, but it would seem that since her imprisonment, the city of war was not her more favorite place. Dressed all in black with her platinum locks tied in a high ponytail, she scanned the room and noted Pilar playing the piano. Did she know that? As Aira walked past the vampire she patted her back and nodded before slipping on a stool at the bar.

Pilar smiled at Aira as the elf passed by. She did wonder what she was doing so far from the mountains, but she supposed she could ask later. She had a song to finish, like a ~professional.~ A passing vampire dropped a few coins in her cup and Pilar nodded in thanks. As Pilar finished, a few patrons clapped politely. :Pilar blushed as she grabbed her tips and headed over to the bar. "Hello, Aira," she said. "What brings you to Vailkrin?"

When Pilar approached, Aira would offer a few gold coins of her own as a tip before giving her a half smile. Once again, an untouched glass of liquor was in her grasp but the high elf made no move to drink it. At Pilar’s question, Aira merely shrugged her shoulders. “Expanding my horizons,” she offered as a vague excuse.

Pilar sat down next to Aira, thanking her as the coins plinked into her cup. She fished a couple out and ordered herself some fudge. She hadn't splurged on a decadent dessert for awhile, and felt like treating herself. To Aira's response, she said, "That is always good. Just be careful around the graveyard, you would be surprised what walks there." When the fudge arrived, Pilar cut it into quarters. She nudged the plate over so it was between them. "Would you like some?"

Aira gave a half hearted chuckle at Pilar’s warning about the graveyard. The huntress was not one to take much consideration to her own well being. Although she wouldn’t be quick to go visit as the last time she had been in one it didn’t end well for her. Aira’s copper gave dropped to the plate as it was inched closer, holding up her hand and shaking her head. “No thank you.”

Pilar popped a piece of fudge into her mouth and chewed it. Mm, peanut butter fudge. *drooling noises* Erm, anyway. Pilar thought about their last conversation. Aira had been so distraught over her situation with Daermon and the bard. The poor girl was so unlucky, developing feelings for two men, both of whom had other women in their lives. Pilar wished she knew how to make Aira feel better without either tearing Khitti down (as much as it would have been cathartic for her, given their recent fight), or saying things that were patently untrue ("Of course Daermon loves you more and will leave Khitti for you, you guys are soul mates!"). She was reluctant to bring it up again, but felt she had to say something, so when she swallowed, she merely asked, "How are you feeling?"

Aira stayed silent for a while, idly running her fingertip along the lip of the untouched glass. The high elf’s eyes were fixated on a spot behind the bar, yet her copper gaze seemed unfocused. “I don’t know,” she finally answered honestly.

Pilar put a hand on Aira's shoulder. She wished Daermon didn't have that stupid enchantment, hadn't gone and claimed another woman's heart. It wasn't his fault that he could love more than one, she knew that. This situation was just a big mess, and she wished that there was a way for the three of them to be happy. "You wanna talk about it?" she asked in Elvish.

Aira pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed anxiously. Did she want to talk about it? Aira didn’t know. What could she say? Eventually, the huntress abandoned her drink and sat back, crossing her long legs and knotting her fingers in her lap. “I’m thinking maybe I should have just stayed in Rynvale,” she finally admitted in her native tongue.

Pilar frowned. Rynvale was where her family groomed her to be wife to an abuser for the sake of... what was it again? A familial alliance or something? She couldn't really think that was preferable to the life she had now, could she? Pilar squeezed her shoulder. "I know it's hard, so hard, the position you're in. I can't imagine what it must be like. But don't ever think that life in that gilded cage would have been better. Don't ever think that your presence here hasn't made so many lives brighter. You saved mine, after all."

Pilar was right, of course. Her life back in Rynvale was not ideal and incomparable to what she had now, despite her personal issues. Saving lives? Aira doubted it. But she was a tough huntress, a sharp shot, and a fighter. She wasn’t this weak being who found herself wound up by matters of the heart. She loved Daermon, but everyday he broke her heart--everyday. And now she had this bard, his constant presence in her life over the last few weeks playing in her mind on repeat since their first encounter. And then there was the gift of the piano, her heart practically beat out of her chest at the thought. Aira didn’t know what to do, or what to feel. Instead she leaned forward on tented elbows and hid her face in her open palms.

Pilar wrapped an arm around Aira and pulled her into a hug. She wished she knew more about what was going on in Aira's head, wished she could tell her what to do. But the elf's heart was pulling her in two different directions, and that was something no one could fix but her, and perhaps the men she loved. So Pilar just sat there, holding her friend.

Aira felt Pilar wrap her arm around her in a hug, not pulling away, but not speaking either. After a long time, Aira finally spoke barely above a whisper. “He loves Khitti more.”

Pilar felt her heart break for Aira. What could she say? She couldn't deny it. At the very least, the only thing she could say was that he loved them both equally, and what comfort was that? She wrapped her other arm around the elf and held her close. The only advice she had was 'talk to him,' but she didn't know if Aira had done that or not. All she could do was offer moral support. "I'm so sorry..."

Aira :: The lack of Pilar’s denial of Aira’s statement was just further confirmation that she spoke the truth. The huntress wasn’t angry at Daermon, he had been honest the entire time. Rather, she was angry at herself for allowing this to happen. For not stopping this as soon as he bid her to his secret...for Khitti, to protect Khitti, to not hurt Khitti. It was the first time anyone had ever shown the high elf love so she was loathe to lose it. And where had that gotten her? And now she felt another edging his way into her heart as well. A few silent tears began to roll down Aira’s cheeks. “I don’t know what to do.”

Pilar chewed on her own lip as she thought. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Khitti. Talk to him. You've given him your heart, he ought to know what he's doing to it. Only he can reassure you. I can tell you that he loves you both equally, and I fully believe that he does, but it's really not my place to speak for him." She sighed. "You must decide if he makes you happy enough that this heartache is worth it. He is my best friend, and I know his love for you is real, but you deserve to be happy, and if he cannot do that for you..."

“I don’t believe he loves us equally,” she answered rather quickly, wiping away her tears and moving to drop some coins on the bar for her untouched beverage. “As I said the whole point of keeping me a secret was to protect Khitti.” Aira sighed and slid from her stool, shrugging on her quiver of arrows and pulling her bow across her body. “I know I agreed to it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s right. He chose Khitti over me as soon as he asked me to keep quiet. He chose Khitti over me because he lives with her. He chose Khitti over me when he turned her and not me.” Aira had no desire to be a vampire, but regardless, it was never offered. “I cannot name one instance in which he choose me over Khitti.” Aira shook her head and began to walk out, she didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Stopping right before she pushed open the door she turned back to her friend. “Maybe, I’m just not meant to have unconditional love and happiness. It’s been my life thus far, I shouldn’t have expected anything different once I came out west. I’ll...I’ll see you around Pilar.” And with that, Aira slipped out of the door giving no indication of where she might go to next.

"Wait!" But it was too late, she was gone. Pilar sighed. She knew Aira had a point. But if she would only talk to Daermon, let him know how she felt, maybe... maybe he would make more of an effort for her. But then how would Khitti feel? It was a delicate balancing act, and Daermon was failing at it. She wanted to believe there was a way they could all be happy, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn't meant to be. Still, she resolved to make sure Aira knew she was loved, even if it wasn't romantically.