Comfortable existence...most of the time.

[Anonymous]

Felyn smiled a bit. "Then I'll let you make us breakfast then." He said kindly, following her out of the room. He walked beside her, guiding her down the familiar halls to the kitchen. Ah the kitchen, he knew it well. Bastian always loved the kitchen at night, and Felyn, well he didn’t usually get much sleep, so he found himself keeping Bastian company for his late night snacks. "So, how was your sleep?" he asked softly, tired, pale eyes shifting to her face. "I know the bed was unfamiliar to you, but I hope you slept well." He blushed a bit.

[Anonymous]

She let Felyn lead the way down the halls to the kitchen, still finding it a bit odd and amazing that she would be following a blind man everywhere.  Still, she followed him.  After all, how bad could it be if they got lost on their way to the kitchen?  It wasn't like there was anyone trying to kill her *here*.  Besides, she could think of worse things than getting lost in the guildhall with the drow.... she flushed a little.  It'd give her a chance to get to know him better, that was all!  That was all she wanted, was to get to know her protector better!  ....especially now that he had to be with her at all times....  'Well, fat lot of good knowing that is,' she thinks, remembering Felyn's meeting with the alluring shemale the day before.  She wondered if Felyn really had no attraction to the other man...the way Bastian had been with her guardian implied a level of closeness that she could not begin to understand.

She smiled.  He would let her cook....good.  She knew that if he had cooked, she'd have been terrified that he'd burn himself.  She felt bad thinking that, as Felyn was obviously capable of taking care of himself, but still, it was a kind of motherly concern that she had for everyone.

He asked about her sleep--he simply couldn't be any kinder, could he?--and she smiled.  "I slept very well, thank you," she replies with a soft smile at his second comment.  "I've slept in less-familiar places," she says, "and considering what I've been calling a bed for almost a year now--" a pile of rags had taken that station--"it was no trouble at all to sleep on."  Her smile falters.  "I don't think I've ever had a softer bed, not even when I was with the Muershi."

[Anonymous]

Felyn frowned a bit at her statement about her personal bed at home. No one should have to live like that... Especially not someone as kind and lovely as her... He blushed under his ebony skin and stared don a little. "Well, I'm glad you had a good nights sleep." He smiled again for her, just a bit. He wanted to suggest something about her home, but he was too unsure, and didn’t want to seem rude. "Now then, how about that breakfast?" he smiled a little more. Felyn walked around the large island counter and found two stools to sit. He pointed out where everything was, thanks to Bastian, and then took a seat in one of the stools. "If you need anything, don’t be afraid to ask." He reminded her softly, hoping he wasn’t imposing on her by having her make breakfast.

[Anonymous]

They soon reached the kitchen, and Tem couldn't help but be awed.  It was so large and clean and pretty.... it was so unlike the kitchen where she worked.  Well, they both had a lived-in feel, and were definitely loved, but the coloration of the two kitchens, the layout, and the spacial differences..... they were staggering.  Felyn showed her where everything was, and then took a seat on a stool.  She smiled when he gently suggested that she get started, and immediately set into making some pancakes for the two of them.

"I'll be sure to do just that," she says in reply to his last statement.  "I think I'll be fine, though," she says as she pulls out everything she'd need.  "I hope you don't mind if I make pancakes," she says.  "It's been so long since I've been able to make a real breakfast, especially for someone else--" here she blushed lightly-- "I want to make my favorite."

She worked for a while, mixing the batter together, then leaned next to the stove as the griddle heated up, waiting for her to cook the batter.  "So.... Felyn'afay..... that thing I wanted to talk to you about...."

[Anonymous]

He nodded. "Pancakes are fine. As a matter of fact, I haven't had them in a while. Not since Bastian made me breakfast last. That was a while ago. We don’t see each other as much lately." He smiled softly, comfortable with talking about Bastian casually. Hardly did he know he might have sounded like he was deeply involved with him. "Favorite?" he repeated with a kind smile. He didn’t know if he had a favorite food. He never thought about it actually. He sat patiently, listening to the soft sounds of her rustling in the kitchen and he could smell the batter. It smelled good.  Then she reminded him of wanting to talk about something. "Hm?" he asked, those pale eyes gazing at her warmly. "Oh, Yeah... Did you want to talk about it now?" he asked gently, letting himself relax around her.

[Anonymous]

Waitaminute waitaminute..... Felyn *wasn't* attracted to Bastian....right?  Then why was he talking about 'the last time Bastian made him breakfast'?!  Tem almost forgot what she was doing when he mentioned that, but she forced herself to continue, reminding herself of what Fel had said, that he *wasn't* sexually attracted to Bastian, wasn't, wasn't, wasn't!

She continued cooking.  "Yeah, my favorite...breakfast, at least," she explained, forcing herself to smile.  She truly just loved cooking in general, and loved different kinds of food.  Whenever she found a new recipie she liked, she always begged until she got the recipie, then she'd try it herself.  She was just very adept at cooking.

Felyn asked if she wanted to talk about what she had thought about, and she felt her nerves jangle a bit.  "W-well," she replies, suddenly trying to back out of it for the time being, "w-we can, but...we could also eat a bit, first, if you want," she suggests, then looks around for the spatula so she could flip the pancakes when they were ready.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, all right then. We can eat first if you like." He smiled. The pancakes were cooking now and they smelled even more delicious. When they were done, Felyn decided to help after all and got up to bring her the plates to serve the breakfast. He set them out by the stools and proceeded to get two glasses for their drinks. He then wondered what she'd like to drink. Well, what did he have to offer? Hmm. Uh, that was the difficult part... He couldn’t read the labels. He just knew where the general 'types' of cookware and ingredients were. This is why he didn’t like cooking... So he stood there for a moment, staring into the refrigerator wondering how to solve this little problem. "Uh, heh...that’s right...  YOU wanted to make breakfast...so I should let you handle the drinks then..." he smiled, pretending to play around and let her get the drinks. He sat down in one of the stools and waited patiently for her.

[Anonymous]

Phew, what a relief.... she had managed to hold off broaching the subject she had thought on in her sleep for another few minutes.  She began placing the pancakes onto an extra plate, watching as Fel got up and made himself useful.  She smiled at his thoughtfulness.  'He's so sweet....' she thinks, then flushes again, returning her attention to the pancakes currently on the griddle, flipping them before they burned.

The last of the batter was made into a pancake when Fel announced that she would be deciding what they would drink.  She smiled and laughed a little.  "Alright, well, there's milk" (of course there was; she needed it to make the pancakes) "and there's orange juice.  Which would you prefer?"  She looked up at him, sitting at the island again, smiling in her general direction.  Her heart melted a little.  "Do you want anything on the side of your pancakes, like eggs, or hash browns?" she asks.  "I can whip something else up real quick if you want more."

[Anonymous]

"Um...I-I'll have milk... And..." he thought for a moment. "...I'll have some eggs and hash browns then." He smiled sheepishly, actually feeling hungry this afternoon. "I-I f it's not too much trouble...that is." He said timidly, his voice soft. Then he remembered the silverware and got up to get some and set them out. Sitting down once more, he sighed tiredly, his kind eyes still showing a tad lack of sleep. It was more than just a little lack of sleep though. But he hid it well. "Yeah, Bastian loves pancakes too..." he said randomly. "...Now that I think of it..." he continued. His lack of sleep was finally getting to him. "Yeah, he's so sweet..." He blushed a bit under that black skin. "Too bad he's missing this...he'd sure love it..." he smiled again, loosing his concentration slightly and drifting into a loose state of mind. For any normal man, his current condition would make them collapse. It was amazing that he was even conscious.

[Anonymous]

She smiled and got to cracking eggs and preparing potatoes.  "Oh, it's no trouble at all," she replied, "That's why I asked.  I wanted to do this."  Truly, she did.  It was grounding her some, bringing her back to a comfort zone she had felt spiraling away the moment she had been grabbed by those men two nights ago.  Cooking was something she had always loved doing--it reminded her of her mother, and the days when she was young, cooking with her as they traveled, and occasionally stopped for a month or so.  It had been her main job with the Muershi, and her favorite job when she was a slave.  Being able to cook was what kept her happy and optomistic when she came to Cerenis and found herself only able to afford her hovel in the ghettos.  Cooking, she thought, would be what kept her going through this time in her life, as well.  Just as long as this guild let her cook, she'd be able to handle whatever happened.

She found herself grating the potatoes into hash-brown-sized peices a little more vigorously as Fel started talking about Bastian more...  There was no way they weren't something to each other, the way Felyn kept talking about him!  Personally, she couldn't help but be a little glad that Bastian wasn't there.... she didn't want to deal with the man rubbing himself all over Felyn when the drow said that he wasn't sexually attracted to men.  .....well, not men....but Bastian, anyway.  She cooked the potatoes and eggs for Felyn in brooding silence, trying to convince herself that she was overreacting to Felyn's apparent affection for Bastian.

When she placed Felyn's eggs and hash browns on a seperate plate next to his pancakes with a slight grumble, it became clear that she was not the most persuasive person.

She poured herself a tall glass of milk and made some eggs for herself, then she sat next to Felyn, eating in silence as she tried to find something else to think about....or talk about.  If he kept speaking that way about Bastian, she was going to go insane!

[Anonymous]

Felyn was too tired to see that he was making her uncomfortable. He quieted down though, just thinking in silence now. His food was placed before him and he thanked Temesca softly and waited for her to sit and eat before he stared. She was unusually quiet... He ate as well, not saying anything. Then a thought hit him, and he needed to see. "Does...homosexuality...offend you...?" he asked curiously, now realizing that she might not think highly of homosexuals. He himself had no qualms with them, but he never even though to ask if it bothered her. Crap... what if he had really angered her by introducing them??

[Anonymous]

Tem nearly choked on the bite of food in her mouth at Felyn's question.  She forced the food down with a drink of milk, then shook her head as she wiped her mouth.  "Oh, no, it's not that... they don't offend me at all," she replies.  "It's just that... well, you said you weren't attracted to Bastian, yet.... the way you keep talking about him...."  She shakes her head.  "I'm just being stupid, I guess.... don't mind me."

[Anonymous]

After hearing her explanation he lowered his head a little and blushed under his ebony skin. "Oh..." he smiled a little. "I see...nono, its quite all right. I don’t mind." he smiled a little more for her, glancing in her direction a bit. "I guess...in some way...slightly..." he admitted timidly. "But not like that....you know...I admire him...I suppose.  He's...like a mother to me." He smiled sheepishly. "Its kind of nice, actually. But...I do feel bad because of it...like I'm being selfish toward his feelings...but I can't tell him to stop..." he explained gently, staring at his food sadly. He sighed and smiled for her, pushing away his depression. "Then...my feelings for him...do they bother you...?" he asked curiously, staring at his food still with those blind eyes.

[Anonymous]

She closes her eyes, then shakes her head.  She couldn't allow herself to be bothered by Felyn's feelings for Bastian, whatever they were.  The best she could define them as was "curious", and besides, she and Fel.... well, they weren't even friends.  They had just been shoved together by circumstance.  "No," she replies, her voice quiet and a bit forced, "they don't bother me...."  She was only partially lying.  She forced herself to eat, even though she found her appetite waning, and tried to find a way to shift the conversation topic.  After a few uncomfortable bites, she decided the best way to change the subject would simply be to speak bluntly and change it.

"About that subject I wanted to discuss with you.... well.... I hope you don't mind if I bring it up now?" she asks.

[Anonymous]

Felyn was relieved at Temesca's response and sighed gently, taking another bite to eat. She was quiet again and he wondered why, but then she changed the subject before he could ask. "No, not at all. " he replied, looking over at her. "What was it you wanted to talk about now?" He took another bite and then took a sip of his milk, setting down his glass gently. Usually he wouldn’t care, but he sensed that something bothered her about Bastian, and he didn’t like that tension.

[Anonymous]

"Well, I was thinking," she says slowly, trying to find the right words so as not to offend him, "since your guildmaster has assigned you to watching over me..... and you have your own place...... well, I suppose....."  She sighs, thinking, trying to figure out what to say.  "Well, if I were to stay here, wouldn't it be a bit out of your way?  You have your own home, and my staying here is keeping you from it, so... I was thinking...."  Here she flushed a bit and felt her voice tighten with nerves, "....I was thinking.... maybe I could.... live with you..... a-as long as it isn't intruding on you," she adds hastily.  "I-I just don't want to be m-more of a bother th-than I already am."

[Anonymous]

Felyn blinked curiously at her stuttery explanation, listening calmly. "You wish...to live with me?" he said, pondering. "In order to make my taking care of you less of a burden? Hmm, well..." he chuckled softly. "I-its really no bother either way...I mean, I don’t mind staying here if you like this better than my small home..." he offered kindly, not feeling she'd be comfortable living in his shabby little house when she could have this cozy guild to live. Those blind eyes stared at his meal with a meek smile as he thought about it a little more. He blushed at the idea that she suggested she stay with him. And he wouldn’t mind it in the least. But he didn’t want her to say that just to make his life easier. That’s not how it worked. He was in charge of her well-being and to make sure SHE was comfortable. Not the other way around. Was that all she was worried about? "No, its okay, really...we can stay here if you prefer it..." Damn, no he couldn’t get that thought out of his mind. "You're the one who's supposed to be relaxing, not me..." he looked up at her with hose blind eyes and smiled genuinely.

[Anonymous]

His words comforted her more than he could have known.  She had been so scared that he would immediately (and possibly cruelly) dismiss the idea.  However, he seemed willing to entertain the thought, if that was what she really wanted.  The smile he sent her was the clincher.  Even if the guildhall was bigger, better taken care of, and better insulated, she liked Fel's modest little dwelling better.  It was so much nicer than her home, and yet didn't feel like it was more than she deserved.  The guildhall, with all it's winding hallways and numerous inhabitants, felt just like that--like more than she deserved.  It was even two stories high!  She knew she could never feel like she belonged here.  Besides, she felt that she would be more relaxed in the smaller, more intimate home that Fel had.  She had no doubt he'd appreciate her helping around his little home in exchange for his hospitality.

She smiled back at him, though he couldn't see it, and said, "But.... I don't deserve this place..... I'd feel more comfortable... in... in a smaller home, like yours," she says, stumbling as she searches for the right words.

[Anonymous]

He blushed under his skin at her reply to him, and he laughed nervously. What to say... He was quiet for a moment, that tiny smile still on his face while he thought about it. His blind eyes left her and stared downward again as he stirred his fork a bit on his plate. "Um...I...are you sure...? I mean...its not the most secure place...compared to the guild..." He was starting to feel a little awkward now. "...Its not a matter of deserving the guild...w-which I'm not suggesting you're not deserving of it...." He was noticeably a little shaky after his blunder and tried to keep on track and calm himself, hoping it would go unnoticed. "...I-its more of...I'd feel better...I mean..." He blushed darker under his ebony skin. "...It'd be best if you were in a safer environment...and my home...its...I-I wouldn't want-err...I-I couldn't have something bad to happen because you weren’t in the safety of the guild... " He tried to explain smoothly.

[Anonymous]

She listened to him haltingly try to explain why the guildhall would probably be a better idea... and while all his points were valid (if nervously made), they could not dissuade her.  It didn't matter to her that the guild seemed more secure than Fel's home.  She had seen Fel fight, and she knew what he was capable of, and she had been in his home, and had already memorized it mentally.  Besides, she felt *comfortable* around Fel, unlike the other assassins here... even if they were on her side.

"I'd...rather stay with you," she whispers softly in reply, smiling a little.  "I would never stray far from you, and.... I know you'd keep me safe...."