ooc: OMG, I love how he is obsessing over her hair! HAHAHA, makes me giggle every time....
ic:
Chailyn blinked up at Khas when he commented about the way his name sounded on her lips. She hadn't had nearly enough experience with men to realize that this line could be viewed as sensual...instead she was simply confused. No one had ever murmured anything like it to her before. Who would consider the way their name sounded when another person said it pleasant? It was just...
Odd....
And for this reason, Chai found herself unsure of this strange, new person she had stumbled across. Or, rather, he had stumbled across her. Not that it mattered, really! Here they were now, both having a conversation with the other....Her insecurities were more than apparent the moment her fingers resumed their nervous twirling of her hair, increasing in intensity when she was nervous. If only she knew how blatantly her emotions were perceived by her companion, she would have stopped.
"You must have some talents, " she pressed, hoping to turn the conversation from her to him, "Fenwa--I mean, his Majesty screens his knights and soldiers thoroughly, as I'm sure you know. I doubt you would have been allowed to stay if he hadn't seen some promise, or competence, in your abilities." She smiled at him for a moment, before the fleeting moment of warmth left her cheeks and returned to the slight frown which she always wore. "Magic is less impressive than skill" she added as an afterthought, her finger that had been twirling her hair now pressed pensively to her lower lip. "We're born with our abilities...you have to work for them, hone your skills...continuously practice..."
It was true, too. Not just anyone could become a good solider, it took discipline and hard work to get there. And untrained mage, however, could easily become a skilled Head Mage without trying at all...but she would flounder if she were ever given a blade to hold and expected to defeat an enemy. Sure, she could probably stumble through some swings, but in the end she would be cut down. For that she respected the soldiers, knighted or not.
"Ah...um..." she stepped back in surprise when he offered his arm. The scared little girl that still lived inside wanted to cringe and run away; to hide under her bed in the hopes that this too would pass. But...to be honest...the other part of her wanted to continue talking to him. Oddly enough, she was enjoying his company. No, her guard had not been lowered, she would still run at the first sign of danger, but...
"Just Chailyn, please." she begged instead. Having any prefix made her seem too lofty for a girl who was once treated as a slave. Not that she had ever actually been one...but her childhood reflected that lifestyle...even the scars on her back made her appear to have been sold and then given her freedom by a "good, honest master," rather than the strength of her own persona. She was just Chailyn, through and through, and didn't with to be anything else. If anything, those around her were more qualified to be lords and ladies than she. Even Khas to her was not a "lowly guard." He deserved to be a knight, she did not deserve to be Head Mage...not matter what Fenway said. Deep down, Chailyn would never be able to forget that she was once called "the little whore."
Without taking his outstretched arm, she stepped beside him, her feet deciding to walk with him rather than her mind. Her hands were clasped firmly behind her back to avoid any confusion on the "holding hands" front, or whatever it was called...
Then it hit...
"Short?" She asked incredulously, staring up at him with a look of pure disbelief. All walls were momentarily down. Chai definitely had not expected that word to finish his sentence. "Woman" or "Girl" were the first thoughts in her mind!
"Short?" she asked again, her hands no longer behind her back, but gesticulating before her as she spoke. This, perhaps, was the real Chailyn, unguarded and perplexed. "I think I would prefer to say that you're just uncannily tall!" She wasn't that short! "Have you seen some of the noble women? They are short. I could probably lift some of them up with my thumb!" With this comment, she thrust her thumb forward, waving it under his nose to further her point. "And if the guards talk about you, you could probably just step on them like little bugs Sir Giant."
Without even realizing it, Chailyn found herself talking to Khas like he was a normal person, not some predator in a shell, waiting to hatch and claim her as his next meal. Whether he knew what he was doing, or not, Khas had single handedly managed to do what Fenway had been trying to do for years.
See Chailyn without her barriers.