RP:Primary Palmistry

Summary: After the chaotic events at the Opening Ceremony in Larket, Kyori and Natianara are forced to escape the arena and seek haven elsewhere. Both are covered in ale, fueled with unfamiliar emotions, and eager for the night to come to an end. The pair runs to the nearby stables, and rinses the liquor from their fine garments, talking all the while and strengthening their friendship. The ball was a 'first' for Nat, and she encourages Kyori to try something new, as well, and he asks to have his palm read. The witch gives him a rather accurate reading, and the two head back to Kelay, with another 'first' accomplished.

Kyori walks with Natianara as far as the Larket Stables before he pauses to take a breath. He brought another woman to the table with his date, got champagne on his clothes, upset Nat, screamed at the prince of Larket, then the fox woman, got doused in whiskey and urged off by a strange man at the bar AND watched Nat smash a glass on someone’s face. She did not need shoes to throw down. Kyori isn’t out of breath but when they stop he sighs and faces the witch with a befuddled expression. That wasn’t how her first ball was supposed to go. “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what happened, are you okay?” He starts reaching out gingerly to look at the wrist Aira grabbed and the hand she’d used to smash the glass in Aira’s face. They both stink of alcohol, clothes clinging to their skin in damp wrinkles.

Natianara isn’t sure where they are heading, though anywhere is better than the arena in Larket. Those overpriced silver heels truly are lethal as Kyori had joked about, as they are pinching her toes with each step she takes. To think, she had learned to walk in them in three short days, and now she was learning to run, in a matter of moment. “Oh my gosh!!! I broke that woman’s nose with a pitcher of ale!” Once the arena is completely out of sight, their steps slow, and the witch catches her breath. Kyori takes her wrist and inspects it for damage, and rather than eye the claw marks that were courtesy of Aira, she studies the male’s face for any signs of anger. “I… I didn’t mean to behave that way, or to upset you.” There’s a long pause, as they reach the stables and step inside, out of view from the public. Thankfully, no one is tending to the horses, and they are afforded some privacy. Lowering her hand from his, Nat eyes the area and smiles as she spies a trough with fresh water. “We can wash up a little…”

Kyori’s amazed that she thinks he’s upset with HER. It should be the other way around. He’d instigated the fight with Aira. “What? No? I’m not upset at all?” He lets her wrist go and surveys their clothes. “What I don’t understand is why you aren’t mad at ME. You were telling me yesterday how excited you were to attend and dance and drink but everything exploded before we could even enjoy it!” He gestures to her sopping dress. “Your nice dress is covered in ale now too.” The warrior frowns and shakes his head. “I’ll reimburse you, whatever your aunt paid.” He’d take sellsword gigs or janitor jobs and earn the coin back. Nat indicates the water trough and Kyori shakes his head. “Nah, I’m okay. Go ahead and wash up a little. I’ll have a chat with…” He looks around. All the horses are sleeping peacefully even with intruders. “...this pile of hay.” He gestures to a neat pile outside the stalls before flopping into it and feeling hay fuse with the wet spots on his shirt. He’d look like a scarecrow when he stood up. He keeps his sapphire eyes on the ceiling. “That Arena was crawling with magic.” He sighed. He’d been angry! Eager to fight for the thrill of beating a nameless stranger to a pulp. He imagined taking great pride in bloody knuckles and splattered brain matter. That wasn’t his style at all. “You haven’t answered me though Nat.” He says to the ceiling. “Are you okay?”

Natianara shakes her head, “I have no business even being in Larket… I’m a witch. I just… I wanted to see the face of the one that is responsible for so much…” She had lost a great deal, thanks to Josleen and Macon’s ruling, as her birth and existence were hidden for nearly five years. Nat sighs, not wanting to get into a deep conversation, in fear that she would cry in front of her date. But she had to open up a little, and so she forces those walls to lower for a moment. “I wasn’t allowed around –anyone- for four years… Okay? I couldn’t leave the forest, or the group that I traveled with, ever… I never was allowed to go to parties, have friends, or grow close to anyone, outside of my group.” She’s referring to the small coven that her Aunt Sharna led, as they feared her true identity would be known, and make her a target. “So, I don’t know how to act sometimes, and I seriously cherish every new thing that I see, touch, taste, smell, and experience… Maybe I shouldn’t have come to the lands, maybe I should have stayed hidden…” Swallowing, she mentally threatens the film that coats her eyes, blinking back tears and heading over to the trough. She doesn’t sit inside of it, though she finds a small towel and drenches it, before dabbing at her skin. As Kyori is sitting in the hay, Nat washes the ale from her flesh, though the dress would be a lost cause. “No, you don’t have to replace the dress. It’s fine! My mother-“ She panics, having mentioned Lanara, “Erm… My mother worked for this legendary designer and I’m sure he has something that can get the stains out.” A pause, as she dries up and resurfaces, smiling at Kyori lounging in the hay, “Your turn to wash up, Coyote…”

So Kyori’d been right and Nat is not okay. Her emotions weren’t directed at him though. He scrunches his golden eyebrows together at the ceiling still. Why didn’t she tell him that last night? That she wanted to see the Queen responsible for the persecutions of her people? The warrior supposed Nat didn’t want to explain more than necessary so he didn’t bother asking. He strains his hearing, listening to detect the rhythm of her heartbeat. He pulls himself up out of the hay when she calls to him. He cocks a wry grin at her, for her, and moves him and his fancy clothes beside the trough. He didn’t care about the stains or smell. He’d been homeless and wearing the same clothes for months at a time. A professional hobo. He’d pay for the dress, even if he had to figure out who this designer was and pay THEM off instead of Nat or her family directly. He thought about the Queen. She hadn’t looked like a vile monster. At worst, she spoiled her kid but she was fingered as the monster behind the witch persecutions. Kyori scrubs at the champagne stain first. “You should absolutely be here.” He says quietly. The waves of the water break against the trough as he scopes handfuls out onto his shirt, wringing it dry in bunched handfuls over fresh hay. “You weren’t acting weird.” That place was bugged, he just knew it. His warrior sensibilities told him so. “You’re allowed to have all the experiences you want Nat.” He was sincere but didn’t want to overstep. “I know I’m just a Coyote but you should know that.” She had to know she didn’t do anything -wrong-.

Natianara takes the place that Kyori had previously occupied upon the hay, resting her back against one of the stalls, and smiling as one of the horses snorts in his sleep. She always loved horses, though they weren’t too keen on the witch, as the blood of a wolf ran through her veins and always made them uneasy. One day, she would find a gentle mare and go for a ride, she mentally assures. Tonight, she wouldn’t even dare to lay a hand upon one of them, lest she spill all her secrets to the poor warrior. Kyori’s words reach her ears and she smiles, “I have to admit… You’ve witnessed several of my ‘smooth’ moments and you’ve stuck around almost three days…” She hesitates before issuing her next line, not wanting to overstep, “It’s easy being around you… I feel comfortable talking to you, or being my weird self.” She playfully hmphs, crossing her arms as he steps back into view, locking eyes with him, “And to think you were going to swap me out for that other woman… Ketchup? Something like that… She didn’t even wear a dress!” Nat chuckles, wishing she had been that comfortable in her own skin to attend a formal event in armor, “Coyote… What’s an experience that you haven’t had yet? I think it’s high time that I see you in action, it’s only fair, since you witnessed a few of mine.”

Kyori dabs at the side of his shirt while Nat talks. “People are people.” He repeats his father’s words with fondness. Flawed as they might be. He lets her continue, not daring to interrupt her train of thought. She would hear him chuckle though at the accusation of swapping dates. “I accidentally bumped into that woman. I wasn’t trying to swap you out.” What did that even mean? Women. “Karasu,” he corrects her with an audible grin. Her inability to remember names was charming. His shirt was a lost cause, he decides, before joining her back by the hay pile. “I’m honored you feel safe with me.” There’s hesitation in his voice. He’s still only a stranger, though they’ve had a few conversations now. “And I feel comfortable being around you too.” The witch said she was new to all these experiences. To friends. To balls. To boys. He eases down, bending at the knees, until they’re eye level near the stable ground. He looks serious. “Nat,” he says apprehensively. “I’m really glad I could help you with those thieves and that we tried to go to the ball. I’m only saying this because I feel like it needs to be said. I’m a nice guy.” It’s easy to say that about yourself, Kyori. “So you can trust what I say is true, or not, go with your gut instinct but...People are people. Unpredictable and selfish. And you can’t...open up to them as easily as you’re opening up to me.” He hesitates, adding a quick “Not that I don’t like you opening up to me, I encourage it because I know what kind of person I am. It’s easy for worse people to take advantage of a nice woman like you.” He’d forgotten his original point. “I know it feels safe with me, and again I’m more than honored, but we’ve known each other for three days.” The words aren’t meant to be heavy or harmful. It’s just what the warrior believes. “Make people earn your trust.” He smiles at her. “I guess it’s fair to trust a stranger that saves you, in your defense. I just don’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.” He’d promised to protect her, after all. She asks him about an experience he’s never had and he considers it. What hasn’t he experienced yet that he wants to? “I don’t know…” he admits sheepishly. “I really haven’t been aiming for anything.” Not in a long time. “I’ve just been drifting for a year or two now.” No ambition to speak of. “Besides, you’ve seen me in action too. I just yelled at a Prince!” He hissed his laughter through his teeth. His arms wrap around his bent knees to keep his steady. The jeweled handle of the blade in the scabbard reflects shards of moonlight. “Here, can you tell me instead?” He extends his palm to her expectantly. “Can you read my palm and tell me what experiences are ahead for me? Maybe we can go through them together.”

Natianara senses that Kyori is a good person, and the more time she spent in his presence, only proved her initial line of thinking. He could be trusted. The witch wasn’t allowed communication outside of the coven, and she thought she formed an actual friend and wanted to be truthful about a few things, so his words sting, even if it’s not the intent. “Yeah… I understand.” Despite his gentle tone, it’s still a warning, and she can’t quite meet his gaze, feeling as though she were naught more than a little girl in his eyes. “I’m sorry… I won’t open up so easily with anyone…” She had messed up since she set food in these lands, so as Kyori asks for his palm to be read, she brightens, eager to do something she excelled at for once. “Sure! You probably should sit down for this.” Natianara pats the bale of hay to her side, turning so that they face each other. “Relax, Coyote… Take a few deep breaths, and don’t cross your ankles or arms…” Kicking off her heels, Nat closes her eyes, centering her energy and erasing the worries of the day from her mind. One should only practice with positive energy, and once she feels the heaviness leaving her heart, she opens her eyes and extends both of her hands. “I need your left hand, please… That one will show the future, whereas the right is favored to read the past.” The witch takes his hand, and studies it with her eyes first, before trailing over his palm with a fingertip, “There are four lines… The heart… The head… The life… And the fate line.” She pauses, focusing closely to give him an accurate reading, “I see that you won’t suffer any sort of cardiac distress in the form of health, though later in life you will have a period of depression. You are less interested in romance than most, yet, you are capable of falling in love rather quickly when you meet the right woman. Hm… It looks like you may have already met the one, or you will meet her very shortly. Though I can’t read specifics in a line.” Grinning at him, she focuses on the head line next, “You prefer physical achievements over mental ones, and you prefer the practical approach to everything. I see that you will be going on a grand adventure in the coming months, and you will explore your creative side.” She pauses to read the life line, “You are cautious in relationships, you are strong physically as well as mentally, and I see that you will have a very long life.” Nat isn’t sure if she should read his fate line, as some didn’t like what they heard, but he had asked, so she reads that next, “You are a self-made individual, who is sometimes stubborn, but you are heavily controlled by fate. You will have a life of ups and downs, but you will remain true to yourself and your path… So, you had your palm read for the first time!”

Kyori knows his words are presumptuous and he feels bad for saying them but he’s only saying them because he feels protective of her. Three days. It had to be all his sisters. It was his knee jerk reaction to want to take care of her like she was more than a stranger. “We are friends,” He offers in lame apology before flopping down onto the hay, struggling off his fancy boots to collide with her heels and offering his hands per her request. While she concentrates, he watches her face. The make up she wore gave her face an older but still dainty appearance. He does as instructed and takes deep breaths, trying to clear his mind but finding a specific topic rooted in place. Where it had been and probably always would be. His eyes, turned aquamarine in the low light, follow the lines she traces. Damn, she was good at this. It’s like she wrote a summary on him after knowing him for two seconds. Like they’d been friends for decades. Her words about fate captivate him. Heavily controlled by fate. He lowers his eyelids, focusing on the palm she still held. Was that what happened? Was it all fated to turn out this way but he hadn’t known in time? Nat pronounces him officially read and his attention snaps back to the present. “Wow see?” He grins, rolling his hand over to hold hers. “I didn’t mean to sound harsh. I really do think we’re friends.” His thumb rolls soothingly against the side of her wrist. “This was a first for me. A first I got to experience with you. Are we even?” He holds that wry smile and locks periwinkle with sapphire. He never got a proper answer to that question. The ball let out and people clambored back to the stables to retrieve their horses and head home for the night. Nat and Kyori exchanged silent smiles and snuck out the back to avoid more potential drama with the other partygoers. In the escape, they left their shoes crumpled together in a dark corner, buried in hay.