A Day to Rest. Maybe (DragonSong) (M)

[Marakai Trin]

"Erm...no, actually." He raised a hand to rub the back of his head, brow furrowed slightly.

Damn...moron! You got money and no plan for it? Seriously!

He gave a bit of a sheepish grin. "Honestly, I usually have so little free time, I didn't plan anything more than spending time with you. I was able to earn a bit of coin, if you're hungry, though...?"

He felt like an idiot. Most of the women he spent time with were just the girls at the tavern, good for a laugh maybe, but this...

...this was a proper lady. He needed to do this right. So, he put his best smile on. "Well...what if we walk to the upper districts, have a meal, and then I'll give you a ride back on my horse. On the way back, we can take the scenic route, if you want. The city is beautiful at night, if you find the right places. There's a bridge, actually not too far from the Mordecai garrison, that's perfect for stargazing.",

[DragonSong]

Nyla's smile widened and she nodded at him. "That sounds lovely. Honestly, I almost never get out of the shop, it'll be nice just to be out."

She hesitated a moment, then moved forward and cautiously took his arm. She may have had her share of decorum lessons in her lifetime, but she'd never really done anything like this before.

[Marakai Trin]

Diz smiled warmly. "I'm glad. I won't lie, I was a little worried. But I hope I can truly make the night enjoyable for you."

With his free hand, he gently patted hers, and with his other he slightly tightened their entwined arms.

"No need to be cautious - I daresay I won't bite. So...you say you never leave the bakery, then? ...while putting your all to your work is admirable, you mustn't push yourself. Take a night every now and then....though I suppose I'm one to talk."

He looked away from her and inclined his head to look into the deepening night sky.

"I work as both a Captain of Ansgar's Hand, and bodyguard to its commanding officer. I'm honestly only in the city accompanying her...I'm not sure what her business is, but I was given leave during our stay, as I was assured she was quite safe. So...this is actually my first day off in a long time."

He gently moved to set them down the road, and as they walked, he looked to her warmly. "I honestly didn't have prospects for a night like this. It's certainly pleasant to have the company of one like yourself, Nyla. I thank you for taking the time to be with a soldier such as myself."

[DragonSong]

"I take a night off every once in a while," Nyla defended herself with a chuckle. "I just...haven't in some time."

A small thrill of nervous fear ran down her spine and she looked up at him sidelong. "You're a captain?"

Gods she was an idiot. Why on earth was she doing this? Sure, she'd kept her magic hidden some upwards of four years, but what if the one time she slipped up was around a mordecai. Not just a mordecai, a Captain of Ansgar's Hand.

Relax. How is he possibly going to know unless you use magic in front of him?

[Marakai Trin]

Diz returned her glance, a brow arched. Her tone indicated she was worried, or nervous, though he didn't know why.

"Yes...a captain. Don't worry, unless you plan on whipping out some magic, I'm not going to do anything to you. Besides...off duty, remember?"

His smile returned again. "Besides, you're a baker, not a mage. What have you got to worry about? And trust me - tonight, there could be no safer hands for you to be in."

[DragonSong]

Nyla gave a sharp, distinctly nervous laugh- but she managed to quell it quickly enough, hopefully he wouldn't have noticed anything unusual. Smiling, she ducked her eyes a bit and murmured, "Well, I suppose I'll just have to trust you then."

Gods help her, she was an idiot.

Clearing her throat, she glanced up at him and tried to steer the conversation toward safer topics. "So...how does a mordecai captain end up in a tiny bakery in the lower district anyway?"

[Marakai Trin]

Diz noted the laugh, but at this point choose not to comment. However, he couldn't help but wonder, why was she so nervous? He made a mental note to ask later...but for now, he'd rather not make the night unpleasant. He had looked forward to it all day.

"I originally went just to walk, but like I said earlier today, old habits die hard. I found myself walking my old patrol route, from when I was stationed here in Reajh....I found Thom at your storefront, being bullied for his place in line, and decided to lend a hand. I can't stand it when people push around others less than themselves."

He gave a bit of a sigh, and shook his head. "Can I be honest, and this not reach others ears? I feel almost the same about Mordecai toward mages... you see, I was born to mage parents. I still see mages treated unfairly at times, and perhaps knowing where I'm from, it bothers me. But...duty calls before personal inclinations, I suppose."

[DragonSong]

If nothing else, Nyla had always been a good listener. Her head tilted slightly as she listened to him talk- then her eyes widened a bit and she blinked up at him.

"Your parents are mages? How- I mean..." She trailed off, cleared her throat, then resolved herself and asked, "I don't mean to pry, but how does that work?"

[Marakai Trin]

Disgaua gave a bitter laugh, and he shrugged. "I've no idea, but for years it made my life hell. I was taken just the day after I was born to the church. When they found out I was born with an aura, they kept me from my parents. I lived at the church until I was sixteen, before I was selected for service...there at the church, the 'Carth boy' was ridiculed as a mage child, despite my aura. It was...not the best years of my life."

He was silent for several moments, before he shook his head and looked back up to the sky. "I'm sorry about that...it's just...being born to the parents I was...I know how the mages feel. And I'm torn, because it's my duty anyway."

[DragonSong]

Nyla bit her lip, quiet for a few moments. "Have you...seen them? I mean-"

She cleared her throat and shook her head. "Sorry, I shouldn't have- I shouldn't be prying." She rubbed at the back of her neck, feeling awkward.

[Marakai Trin]

Disgaua stopped walking, rather suddenly in fact, and immediately dropped his gaze to the street ahead of them. Blue eyes, normally so full of life and with a constant twinkle, whether from some trickery or near-constant joviality, were now full of moisture. His face was devoid of that happy smile.

It lasted only a moment. After that moment, he turned to look back at her again.

"It doesn't matter anymore...I don't mean to hide anything from you, but I think we should like tonight to be enjoyable, yes? I'm afraid I won't be such good company if I keep prattling about the distant past, eh?" He gave a small smile, slightly sad.

"What of you? Where did the mistress of that wonderful bakery come from?"

[DragonSong]

Her eyes softened and she bit her lip again. "Forgive me, I really didn't mean to pry," she murmured. Without thinking, she tightened her grip on his arm a bit in an unconscious effort to comfort.

His question made her swallow a little nervously and she tried to force a smile. "Oh, well...not much of anywhere really," she said with a small, tight laugh.

She hated lying, especially to someone she might actually like, but what choice did she have? So she fell back on the story she'd been using for the last four years. "Small farming village near Matron's Hollow. My parents died several years ago, and I came here." She shrugged. "But enough about the past, yes?"

[Marakai Trin]

Diz gave a slow nod, and patted her hand. "I'm very sorry to hear that, Nyla. But yes, enough of the past...but what of the future? Do you plan to stay here, in Reajh with your bakery? Or do grander designs brighten your horizon?"

Slowly, his smile began to return. He noted their path, realizing they were nearing the upper districts. He hoped Sleipnir would receive her well - he hadn't tried to put a second rider on him before, but it certainly wouldn't stop him trying.

[DragonSong]

Nyla laughed and shook her head. "Oh, I don't think grand plans suit me very well," she chuckled. "I'm built for a quiet life. I enjoy running the shop, and I'm faring better than many." Her mouth twisted a bit at the corners- she saw the poverty people of the city lived in every day, and she knew her spare loaves and coin wouldn't really make a difference, no matter how much she tried- but she quickly shook her head to oi the thought from her mind.

She glanced up at Diz, head tilted just slightly. "And you? A military man forever, or do you see something different in your future?"

[Marakai Trin]

The Mordecai gave a half shake of his head, thought better of it, and then shrugged. "Honestly? I have no idea. I mean...I'll probably be serving for quite some time, as both a soldier and as my Lady's bodyguard, but...well, I would like to settle down, one day. Get married, have a child or two, maybe, and retire in happiness."

He gave a wistful sigh. "But the likelihood of that is but a tiny thing. So, perhaps I'll spend my off time keeping pretty young bakers company after their finished with the says work." He gave a small chuckle, and again shook his head.

"... honestly, the future for me looks...sort of bleak. But, it is what it is."

[DragonSong]

Her all-too-easy blush was back, but a soft frown tugged at her features as she blinked up at him. "Well." She cleared her throat, then said determinedly, "Even a small chance is a chance, yes?"

Her instinctive need to comfort, to make things better, rose up in her chest and she held his arm a little tight. "Alright- if you could be anything you like, go anywhere, do anything, what would you do?" She tried to keep her tone light, perhaps steer the conversation somewhere that would bring back the smile that had been haunting her all day- even if it was a silly reflex.

[Marakai Trin]

Diz blinked, and returned the squeeze. "There is always a chance, I suppose, no matter how small." He flashed that smile again, brighter now. He liked how this woman made him feel - she talked to him like a person, instead of a soldier. He wondered if perhaps this could be more than a pleasant walk with good company. What would the end of their short journey bring? The chance for a friend - at the least - that could be with him more than just the night warmed his heart so.

"Go anywhere and do anything? ...I think, I'd like to own a farm, as my parents did, out there on the plains. Have a pretty little wife, couple children. Be just honestly happy, without having to worry about being a soldier for once. Grow old with her, watch my kids grow up....I don't have high aspirations - just simple ones." He gave her arm another squeeze.

"So what grand dreams flit about in that pretty head of yours, then? I can't be the only one revealing my heart, can I?" His smile tilted a little, teasing slightly. "What do you want out of life?"

[DragonSong]

Nyla smiled, both a little surprised and utterly charmed by his answer. He was so unlike what she'd expected- though if she was honest she wasn't entirely sure what is was she had expected.

"What would I want?" She tilted her head slightly as she though, then gave her head a quick shake in exasperation when her hair fell in front of her face. "I suppose I'd be happy if I could continue on as I have," she mused. "Perhaps...it's a little lonely, running the shop by myself, but honestly I'm quite content."

Not entirely a lie. Just not the whole truth, either. If I could do anything...

If she was stronger, she would make things right. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand to rub at the start of the long scar that slashed from her shoulder to her hip.

[Marakai Trin]

Diz blinked, and raised a brow, apparently not satisfied with her answer. He turned to look at her directly, again stopping them., He laid one hand on each shoulder, trapping the hand that rubbed at one, not tight but gently, looking into her dark eyes with his ice blue ones.

"Surely that's not all. If the entire world could be at your disposal, you would stay there? On your lonesome in Reajh, in a bakery for the rest of your days? I mean, I know it's yours, but that's all you want, truly?"

Despite his tone, he still had a twinkle to his eye and a smile upon his lips. "What about a family? Or at least someone to spend your life with? It's fine to do what you love...but you needn't be alone to do it."

Inside, despite his smile, he felt a cold feeling in his stomach. Logically, he knew that with his duties he needn't hope for something he more than likely could never have, and that hope would likely in the end only hurt him.

But still, he couldn't help himself. Here, there was a very kind woman whom it seemed made him smile with her presence. He hadn't missed her reassuring comfort with the tightening of her arm in his - it only reinforced his feeling.

[DragonSong]

She paused, startled by his sudden closeness. For a moment she had to fight down an instinctive urge to flinch away, reminding herself that this man had no reason to show her aggression.

"Well, I-" She swallowed and glanced away. "I suppose... I mean, it would be nice to...not be alone." She cleared her throat and shook her head, offering a quick smile. "But like you, it seems my options may be limited."

Not for the same reasons, of course; he had his duty, but what about her? How could she share a life with someone, never able to be completely honest about herself for the sake of protecting them?