Bibliophiles Unite!

[Zero]

Another little jump in his chest, a soft skipping as she patted his hand before running back inside. Yes, he would definitely need to ask his brother about all this. Conrad was so much more knowledgeable about personal interactions, especially with women.

Keiran waited as patiently as he could, but it was impossible not to fidget anxiously while he stared in the direction Lyssa would reappear. It was all a bit alarming, wasn't it? The mage prided himself on his extreme control on his emotions and reactions. He didn't get anxious or fidget or become flustered. Except now he did, but thankfully only around the pretty librarian.

A sense of relief shot through him when Lyssa returned and asked if he was ready. For a moment his intense blue eyes just took her in. Her skin was flushed and her breathing was abnormal, things he had noticed about himself at times when she was near.

Clearly this was not just something affecting him.

"Yes," Keiran breathed simply, offering her his arm so that he could escort her properly. This was perfectly natural. A gentleman should offer to walk a young woman home when it was possible.

[DragonSong]

Was she imagining things, or...was he a little breathless too?

No. No, that couldn't be right, she was just overly excited.

Clearing her throat, Lyssa nodded and took his arm, pressing as close to his side as she thought might be deemed reasonably appropriate. "Well, let's be off then, shall we?"

[Zero]

When her hand came around his arm for a moment Keiran was simply frozen. He had done something similar a thousand times. It was a perfectly innocent gesture he had made many, many times for different ladies at formal occasions. Had he not walked her home with her hand on his arm before? It was hard for him to remember in that moment.

Realizing he was just standing there and staring down at her, the young lord flushed and mentally kicked himself.

"Right, we should be going. Yes." Embarrassed by his fumbling, Keiran started walking back down the streets he remembered from the last time he had taken Lyssa home. He recalled be a bit flustered then too, but it seemed even worse tonight. Was it the thought of taking her home with him? Perhaps that was having a greater impact on his nerves than he had anticipated.

"I hope you like my home. Despite staying away for long periods I still long for it." He was just saying something to say something.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, I'm sure I'll like it!" Lyssa beamed and gave his arm a soft squeeze where she held it, pressing a little closer against his side for just a moment.

She was quiet a moment, then asked a little hesitantly, "I take it it's been...a long time, since you've been home?"

[Zero]

Why did it feel so nice when she squeezed his arm and move closer? Keiran wished she had stayed so close, for a moment he could truly feel the warmth of her next to him and it was a pleasant sensation.

A soft frown tugged at his lips at her question, his thoughts turning inward. "Almost two years. I do not visit my family often, though perhaps I should."

He shook his head to dispel the gloomy thoughts and smiled down at her. "Do you visit home often?"

[DragonSong]

Her expression fell slightly and she shook her head, looking down at her feet. "I...I actually haven't been home since I came to Arca," she murmured. Forcing a bright smile onto her face, she added quickly, "But I write home every week, sometimes more often if I can manage it. It's just...money is a little tight, and--"

She snapped her mouth shut, then shook her head with an almost nervous little laugh. "Sorry, I don't need to bore you with this. Ah, what's your home like?"

[Zero]

Not since coming to Arca? Keiran tried to recall if she had mentioned just how long she had lived in the city, but the answer eluded him. Her reaction had him frowning again, pensively this time as he considered it. Was she embarrassed about mentioning the money?

"My home is..." The mage searched for the words for several moments, "beautiful. The woodlands are wild and lovely, not the estate itself, of course. Father keeps the grounds immaculately landscaped. Or the groundskeepers do. Father does not do manual labor himself. The grand hall is extravagant, but natural. It is a remnant from the days when there were still fae courts. Ravensway is far south, so even the deep winter is mild and never overly chilly."

[DragonSong]

Lyssa smiled a little wistfully as she listened to him. "It sounds wonderful," she murmured, sincerity shining in her tone and eyes. She giggled a bit as she glanced up at him. "A Summer Court for the modern age, I suppose?"

Her gaze flicked down, over herself. Rather spontaneously, she blurted, "My mother used to say we were descended from them. The Summer Court, I mean, the Fae. It's just an old family legend, but..." She shrugged, smiling a little crookedly. "I always liked the idea, when I was a girl."

[Zero]

"The fae bloodlines still run very heavily in my family. It is a fact we pride ourselves on, and why we have kept the great wild hall of our ancestors instead of favoring a newer construction. I can certainly believe that your fae blood runs strongly as well." Lyssa did not look truly human, not like any pure human. It was obvious that some form of non-human ancestry was present.

That was true of many Serenians.

[DragonSong]

"Oh, I'm sure we have some fae blood." She glanced down at herself and giggled quietly. "Probably more than a little, I should think. But I suppose the idea of being a long-lost faerie princess of some sort is appealing to almost any little girl."

She shrugged and crinkled her nose. "Silly, but my mother could always comfort me with those stories, when I was...I don't know, lonely, I suppose." She flushed a bit and cleared her throat, adding, "I, ah, didn't have many friends as a child. I preferred books."

Smiling again, she chuckled, "I still do, honestly."

She wasn't entirely sure why she was babbling on about this-- some combination of nerves and excitement perhaps-- but she couldn't seem to stop her own tongue.

[Zero]

"Your mother sounds lovely." A barely perceptible tightness entered the corners of his lips and eyes as she spoke of her mother comforting her with tales of being a faerie princess. His mother was...well he had not truly spoken to her in a very long time.

"Our mutual preference for books over people may be why we seem to get along so well." Keiran blushed again, eyes darting down to look at her for a reaction. It made sense, that two bookworms would make for good companions for each other. If he was to make a friend, well Lyssa was exactly the type of person that would appeal to him, was she not?

[DragonSong]

Lyssa giggled again, blushing herself, and nodded as she glanced up at him. "I suppose you're probably right," she replied with a quick, soft smile. With a little shrug, she added, "Lucky we found each other then, yes? It really seems like such a marvelous coincidence, in a city like Arca, leading very different lives..."

The implication of her words suddenly seemed to hit her and she added quickly, "Not as if-- I mean, lucky as in serendipitous, not-- not fated or some such...ahem."

[Zero]

Keiran could not help but stare down at the woman on his arm as she fumbled over the idea of fateful meetings. A smile split the young noble's face as he allowed himself a soft chuckle. It was not at all that he disagreed with her assessment or thought her silly.

"Our meeting was a most fortuitous coincidence, Miss Lyssa. One I am most grateful for because you are a very charming young woman and I think I would be very privileged to call someone like you my friend." He meant the words, too.

[DragonSong]

Her blush abruptly deepened by approximately ten shades of blue-green and she squeaked, "O-oh."

Embarrassed even further by her reaction to her own embarrassment, she found herself chuckling quietly and shaking her head, eyes on her feet. "I-- well, thank you, first of all. That's very kind of you to say."

She couldn't quite risk peeking up at him, but with as much sincerity as she could muster she added quickly, "And the feeling is very much mutual, Keiran. I...I don't have many friends, but I'd be incredibly happy to count you among them."

[Zero]

"I am you friend, Lyssa." Keiran said quietly, his smile had softened and there was still a flush to his cheeks, but he was looking ahead once again, making sure he did not lead them astray in his...distraction. He had only been to her residence once, but he could see it approaching and actually had to be mindful not to start dragging his feet to procrastinate their parting further.

They were going to see each other in the morning, for Kia's sake.

[DragonSong]

Her smile brightened, just a bit. She may have said something else, but then it was clear that they were quickly approaching her lodging house and she blinked, slightly startled that the walk had gone by so quickly.

Goodness, I need to get a hold of myself!

"Well, I suppose this is my stop," she joked lightly, pausing outside the front door. "I'll see you in the morning then--?"

Before the question was even fully out of her mouth, another voice from the other side of the door called, "Lyssa? That you, lass?"

The door swung open to reveal her landlady, looking just a bit harried with her bun slightly disheveled and her kirtle smattered with flour. "There you are. A package came while you were out and-- oh." The older woman drew up short as she finally noticed Keiran, her eyes widening slightly.

Then, rather abruptly, they narrowed, and she glowered at Lyssa. "You, miss, know the rules. No gentleman callers in your rooms. I don't care what you get up to out in the world, but under my roof--"

"Mrs. Havish!" Lyssa cut in desperately, cheeks flaming. "He's a friend, he was just walking me home!"

[Zero]

They stopped at the front door and Keiran smiled at her sheepishly. He was being a fool. There was no reason to be so discontent with parting from the librarian. Friend or not, they would see each other again shortly. It was not as if he was whisking away from Arca without her - at least not since she had agreed to come with him.

The sudden voice calling from inside the building startled Keiran, causing him to jump slightly as the woman appeared. He had not expected that! Suddenly he felt embarrassed to have their goodbye interrupted.

Not nearly as embarrassed as he was a moment later. The young lord's cheeks flamed red at the suggestion that he was a gentleman caller. Oh dear!

"Yes, simply a friend walking the young Miss home!" Keiran's objection echoed Lyssa's immediately, his hands coming up defensively as he tried, and failed, to will the heat out of his face. Really, the idea of him intruding into a lady's room!

[DragonSong]

"Oh. Well. That's alright then." And just like that Mrs. Havish was all smiles, beckoning the two of them into the building. "You're welcome to come in here if you like. Just no funny business! I've got my eye on you."

Though it was clear that now she was joking, Lyssa still blushed harder, unable to even look in Keiran's direction. "Madam, you said a package came?" she tried to change the subject desperately.

Glancing almost fearfully toward her companion, she added in a softer tone, "You don't have to stay if you don't want to-- she seems to be about thirty seconds away from forcing a cup of tea into your hands," she chuckled a little awkwardly.

[Zero]

Keiran hadn't planned on entering the building. Of course now that the opportunity presented itself he was somewhat curious. He had been invited in, and it might be rude to turn it down. Yes, he definitely followed them inside because it was the polite thing to do and not because he was reluctant to leave.

"On my honor, no funny business." The young man blushed, eyes darting to the landlady, before turning back to Lyssa.

"Tea is always a welcome diversion." Drinking his tea would be just one more reason to linger.

[DragonSong]

"Oh?" She couldn't stop her smile from widening-- she knew it was silly, but a part of her was almost excited for him to see where she lived.

Well. Not exactly where she lived, Mrs. Havish had made that very, very clear.

and just like that her blush was back. Clearing her throat, she slipped inside and held the door for him, glancing around the small common space that all the tenants shared. It was really just a sort of living room with a kitchen tucked into the back left corner-- where of course her landlady was already bustling about, a telltale pot set to heat on the wood burning stove.

"Package is on the table, lass," the older woman called, and Lyssa nodded, crossing the room to the small table where what appeared to be some sort of small crate rested. "Do you know what it is?" she asked curiously, peering at it.

Her landlady grinned at her, eyes glinting. "Why don't you open it and see?"

Lyssa rolled her eyes, glancing back toward Keiran again a little sheepishly. "Um, sorry, I'm being a terrible hostess. But, do you mind if I...?"

"Squeak!"

Her eyes widened and her voice trialed off, gaze snapping back to the wrapped crate. "Um...is there something...alive in here?!"