A night at the tavern (Juno)

[shinigamikitsune]

"Ah, so you're a fellow rover, like myself," he chuckled softly as his eyes wandered over the younger male's body. "There are changed happening every year... though the ones I mean take a lot longer to manifest then the normal lifespan of humans," he said softly.

Cyma was rather old, perhaps older then most of the trees in the forests. People always assumed that the trees which were in there, were as old as time. However, nature had a way of ensuring that new life grew every so often. Most trees were probably only between one to two hundred years.

He looked around the bar and shook his head. "It would seem that the rest of the patrons of this place are becomingly inebriated. I don't suppose that you would happen to have a place that we could go to, so that we could continue our conversation, without having to worry about a loud ruckus going on around us... hmm?" He gave Dominik one of alluring smiles.

[Anonymous]

Glancing up at Cyma, Dominik nodded. It was understood that the other male was not human, or at least not completely, but he didn't feel like prying at the moment. When the other male spoke again he lifted his head and turned to look around, noticing what he was talking about and frowning slightly at the others. "There will be many angry wives tonight. Shame." He chuckled softly then, shaking his head as he looked back toward Cyma.

Dominik couldn't help but smile in return, though he was sure his wasn't nearly as...entrancing. Downing the rest of his wine, he nodded. He set the empty glass down and said, "I do, but it's a good walk from here. If you don't mind, we could go there, to my camp." He didn't bother mentioning that his camp wasn't all that close to the city, that it was at least a half hour's walk. It was precaution he always took when traveling, a paranoid one really, so that he could limit traffic around his camp to feel safer when he slept.

[shinigamikitsune]

So this young man was another who preferred to camp outside of the city as well. This could prove very useful, and perhaps, if he could lure the boy in with his charms, they could travel together for a while. "No walk would ever seem too far, as long as I was graced with your presence to keep my company." The words spoken with almost a purr.

Cyma reached into his cloak to pull out a small coin pouch, plucking out a few coins, and placed them on the table. He then set his empty mug atop of the coins to hide them from sight. That way when the waitress came around to clean the table, she would find the tip he was leaving, still there for her.

He stood and held out a hand to the younger male. "If you are ready, would you lead the way, my dear Dominik."

[Anonymous]

Dominik stared at the table as Cyma spoke, confused about whether he was being complimented or mocked. He wasn't exactly sure how to take it either way. Gulping and scratching at his forearm for a moment, he smiled a little and glanced at the other man again.  His dark eyes watching the other's deft movements as he took out a few coins and hid them for the waitress, Dominik nodded to acknowledge the action. He saw it as considerate, something he didn't see much of anymore, though he didn't see many people anymore in the first place.

As Cyma stood he instinctual pressed his wings as close to his back as was possible, though he had already bound them together with a strip of cloth, and willed them to mold against flesh. Lifting his head to look up at him, he was tense until he realized what the other male was doing. Flushing with embarrassment over the gesture of Cyma's outstretched hand coupled with his calling him "dear", Dominik gulped again and cracked a somewhat awkward, nervous smile. Compromising, still unsure whether the older man was teasing him or not, he reached out and grasped his forearm momentarily as he lifted himself off of the chair.

"Alright, let's get out of here." With a final glance to the clustered drunks, Dominik hustled toward the door. Once outside, he took a deep breath, smelling the scent of the forest so close, right at the city's perimeter. Setting out, he walked in silence, casting a few hesitant looks toward his companion.

Until they reached the forest and were walking along a path that he knew all too well by now, he was silent. "Beautiful night, isn't it?" he spoke softly, almost whispering as he looked up at the treetops and the few stars that peeked through.

[shinigamikitsune]

Cyma was glad that Dominik was camped outside of the city a ways. His own camp being outside of the city as well, though hidden beneath the earth in a little cave he had created. The only times he actually stayed in a city, was when he had found a bed partner for the night.

At the other man's comment, he looked around and nodded. "It is indeed a beautiful night. The stars shine so lovely the further away from the city you are." Seeing that they were further out of the city, he pushed his hood back, and removed his shades. With the lack of light around them, his eyes didn't need the protection.

[Anonymous]

Being out in the forest again, and at night no less, helped substantially with calming his nerves. He started to relax since he only had one person to mind now and his walk took on a much looser, flowing habit, much different from the tense and wary steps he'd taken within Ketra. Of course, it didn't hurt that he'd had his share of wine for the night.

He smiled subtly as he continued on, taking them deeper into the forest, the brush dotting the ground and the branches overhead steadily becoming thicker and darkening the surrounding area considerably. After a while he motioned for Cyma to follow as he veered off to a little foot trail that would lead down to his camp.

At this point his wings were just itching to be freed; they'd been bound for a good portion of the day as he'd gone about a few errands and taken his dinner, but knowing he still had more to do the next day didn't help with his slight anxiety. Brushing a hand along his back, he tried to smooth down feathers, tried to bring some relief to that gnawing, achy, restless feeling. "We're almost there...well, it's right there really, right past that line of bushes. I'm sorry that you had to come all the way out here...this must be terribly inconvenient, hm?" he said with a chuckle.

His camp was surely nothing to be proud of. It was small, yet efficient, and the majority of it was his little "tent" slung together with some rope, a large skin, and some perfectly positioned branches overhead covering a bed of animal furs and his pack sitting in the far corner. "Outside" he had a small fire going that showed the signs of neglect since he hadn't been there to throw wood on it all day, and the rest of the clearing was covered in a variety of short grasses, the area getting little sunlight during the day in such a well-hidden place.

[shinigamikitsune]

Cyma looked around the camp, taking stock of everything, and found it to be acceptable. Dominik was still young, so it was understandable that his camp was like this. Plus it could also be that he didn't plan on sticking around town all that long. However, it was well off the beaten path, so it was less likely to be discovered by the random traveler.

He shook his head with a smile. "No, it's not all that inconvenient really. I tend to prefer staying outside of the city whenever I can help it." He was glad to see that it wouldn't be in the full sunlight during the day time.

Cyma purred and moved closer to him once they were in the camp. "It's a nice little place you have here. Looks rather comfortable."

[Anonymous]

For his paranoid self, Dominik's main goal each day was to keep himself "safe" from those who might turn him in for, well, being different. His greatest fear was being discovered by the wrong people and being captured or something, or so his mind constantly thought despite the fact that he was relatively safe in most places even with his wings. To keep the snapping dogs of worry at bay, though, he tended to make camp far from normal roads and populated areas in general.

Now, though, he was having a problem with himself; he was used to being able to let his wings out once at camp, but he hadn't thought about that when he'd invited Cyma. Terribly anxious, he busied himself for a moment with throwing some branches onto the fire and watching as it slowly began to grow again. Looking at Cyma as he came closer -and was that a purr?-, Dominik nodded, scuffing the toe of his boot into the dirt. "Yeah, it's really comfortable actually, though it doesn't look like much, I'm afraid." He frowned slightly for this, his brow furrowing a little though it was not only for his dissatisfaction with his camp; his wings were still being a terrible bother.

Looking back to Cyma for a moment, unsure if he should trust him, he exuded the most pleading expression he could suffice before looking down to the ground. "Um...excuse me, I need to...well..." His face was becoming red again as he didn't really know how to ask not to be judged. "I hope you don't mind, but...it's just bothering me so much..." Slowly he backed away in a feeble attempt at shadowing his backside as much as possible.

Still not looking at Cyma, for he feared an unfavorable reaction, Dominik carefully lifted his shirt away from his back to clear his wings and then pulled it off completely. Folding it up quickly he allowed himself a glance up to Cyma's face before he reached back and loosed his wings from the strip of fabric he had tied them with earlier in the day. Grateful for the relief, he stretched them for a moment before letting them hang idly, the shine of his feathers showing in the firelight. "Um...I...have wings. But I hope you don't mind! I'm not dangerous or anything..." He was terribly embarrassed, though he probably had no real reason to be.

Slowly, he moved closer again before sitting down by the fire, tossing his shirt to the ground. He figured that if Cyma was afraid he would already be halfway back to the city and now found himself caring little that the other man knew about what he'd been trying to hide all evening.

[shinigamikitsune]

Cyma watched as the other revealed his wings. He knew that there had been something different about the boy, and now he knew. In hindsight, he probably should have figured it out sooner... Oh well, he knew now. He smiled when he saw them, and had to chuckle to himself. It would figure that a creature of the earth would end up meeting a creature of the air.

"I know you're not dangerous. If you were, I would have smelled it much earlier then this," he said softly. Then decided that it was time that he had fully revealed himself as well. The first to go was his shades, since in the darkness now, he didn't need them to protect his eyes from the light. With them taken off, Dominik could see that his eyes were pure white, save for a sliver of black for his pupil.

Cyma pushed his hood back to show more of his long, silken, purple hair. Also, the length of his ears were visible now, showing the ridges and a few piercings along the pointed length.

"For the record, I'm not a dangerous creature to you," Cyma stated. While he might not be all that dangerous to the younger male, he could be exceptionally dangerous if he wanted to.

[Anonymous]

He was so preoccupied with trying not to look at Cyma that he didn't realize, at first, what the other man was doing, but he was able to breathe a sigh of relief when he was told he wasn't being regarded now as a dangerous creature. Of course he knew he wasn't, but it felt comforting to have another's approval. Smiling a little for this, Dominik nodded and turned to look up at Cyma.

With the tinted shades gone and his hood pushed back he almost looked like a new person to him. Studying him for a moment, Dominik forgot the fact that he was so blatantly staring and was being fairly rude for it. "Your hair... I didn't realize it was that long before," he said. "It's quite pretty, actually, if you don't mind my saying that." He fluttered his wings a little before bringing them to rest against his back.

When Cyma told him he wasn't dangerous to him he looked a little puzzled and wondered why he would be. Of course he looked different, his eyes particularly piercing all on their own, but purple hair was nothing to be fearful of! His mind was a little innocent in that respect, though; he wasn't taking into account what Cyma was and the fact that he presented no threat to the other man. So, Dominik simply nodded for this comment and patted the ground beside him. "Here, sit down if you will, unless you prefer to stand, of course." -he chuckled then- "I think I've forgotten in such a short time...what were we talking about, again?"

[shinigamikitsune]

Smiling, Cyma moved to sit next to Dominik, turning his head to look at the younger male. "I believe that we were about to get to know each other a bit better. Tell me, Dominik," his voice purred. "Just how many years have you walked this earth?"

It was a reasonable question, and he was curious to know how young this boy actually was. It would also be interesting to see his reaction when Cyma revealed his own age.

His tail moved to rest around behind Dominik, the end tuft flipping back to rest in the youngling's lap. The color of the tuft hair was just as purple as the hair that fell down the Tarrin's back.

[Anonymous]

If he'd been walking he would've stumbled; he hadn't thought about his age in a long time. He didn't smile now, though he wasn't upset at all, and really had to think about it. "I haven't really...kept track," he admitted, blushing a little and turning his head to stare at his feet for a moment. It gave him a reason to go back into his memories and all it had him doing was trying to remember how long it'd been since he'd last seen his mother. "I..." He wasn't going to cry or anything, but his face was probably giving him away to the fact that he didn't like thinking about it.

Then, he got it together. He smiled a little and chuckled before turning to look at Cyma again. "I think I'm in my early twenties. Maybe around...twenty-two or twenty-three," he said. "And how about you? Can't be that different...at least you don't look it." He had no idea what a surprise he was in for.

He felt something in his lap then, and it startled him enough that he jumped a little. Looking down he noticed it was just a tail. Yeah, just a tail. He hadn't known Cyma had moved his tail around him, but he wasn't all that surprised to see it, though he was puzzled as to why it was resting in his lap. Nonetheless, he moved a hand to pet the tuft of hair, a little curious about how soft it might be.

[shinigamikitsune]

Cyma couldn't help but chuckle softly. "How can you have forgotten your age after so few years?" he said with a smile. The fur on his tail was a little thicker then his hair, but it was still silky soft.

Shaking his head some he looked up at the sky. "My age... I know I'm over 1000..." he thought about it for a moment. "Probably closer to 1135, give or take a couple decades..." he shrugged some. "I stopped keeping exact count when I turned 1000."

He glanced over to the youngling to see what sort of reaction the boy was going to have. It should be interesting.

[Anonymous]

"I just don't think about it too much. It isn't all that important to me," he admitted, his lips curving into the slightest of smiles. Absentmindedly, Dominik was still petting the tuft of fur on Cyma's tail, brushing his fingers through it because it was so soft. When the other turned his head to look up at the starry sky, though, he shifted his gaze and looked over to him.

At first he thought perhaps he'd heard wrong, so his expression didn't change much for his first pondering. When the numbers were repeated, though, his eyes widen in surprise. It was confusing to him that Cyma just shrugged it off like it wasn't a big deal, but he wasn't considering that it might not actually be a big deal. Furrowing his brow, Dominik looked down at the fire in confusion. "Wait, that's...old," he said, immediately wishing he could take it back as he bit his tongue for it. "Umm...but you don't look that old. I mean, I'm not trying to say that you're old." His nervousness was getting the better of him again.

Sighing, he glanced back to Cyma just for a moment. He hoped he hadn't offended him since he meant no ill by his comments. "Sorry," he started again, smiling just a little. For a moment he just sat there quietly, not wanting to say anything that might offend his company. Fluttering his wings a little, he finally looked up again with cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "Sure have a way with words, don't I?" he apologized. "But I just didn't expect it. I mean, I know you're not human...or fully human, so I just didn't know." He had no idea why this was upsetting him so much, he usually didn't get so flustered over the possibility of offending people. It was in his nature, however, to want to keep up good relations and he just didn't feel right telling someone outright that they were old or abnormal in any way even if that person just didn't care.

"If you don't mind my asking, umm...what are you, Cyma?"

ooc: Sorry I was slow getting this out! ><

[shinigamikitsune]

Cyma chuckled softly as he heard Domink becoming all flustered about calling him old. He gave a little shrug and looked over at the young male. "I suppose I am old, even among my kind. However, I suppose that is only natural, since I was raised among the Fae." He smiled softly when the other apologized. "It's alright, I am not offended by your words."

When the other asked what he was, he took a moment to think it through, debated on what all he should tell him. "I am a half breed... though my father was Tarrin. I believe that my mother was human, though I'm not entirely sure. They both were killed before I was old enough to remember." He left it at that for the moment, knowing that the boy would have many questions, and he would answer them all one at a time.

[Juno]

Dominik just sat there, trying to come down from his nerves as Cyma had already said he didn't mind his questions. He listened as the other told him about what he knew, but he still had questions. So many questions.

"Ah, so...the tail?" he asked, gesturing to the thing on his lap by petting the tuft again. "I assume that's from your father. I've never heard of Tarrin before... Is that why you wear the glasses? Can you only see at night or something?"