Two For You, and One For Me. (Blink, or if invited)

[Wrathwyrm]

He knew that he was asking alot.  That's why he said so up-front.  At least she didn't get mad for bringing the subject up, as he thought she might.  Nevertheless, it didn't make it any easier for her.  It was evident on her face, and in how she bade him to sit down with her.  Touchy subjects could be like that, he guessed.   He hadn't quite had this kind of success when talking to Alaeya back in Essyrn...about her alchemic problem.  Sano nodded and just said "Go on" after Nashya spoke her proviso about telling him mostly what he needed to know, which was largely what he wanted.  Eventually, Golden Gear was going to sit up and take notice of things.  He wanted to be prepared for that, in the same sense that knowing about her shadow had significantly softened the blow when that came to pass.

When she felt nervous about calling themselves Misfits, Sano did not really understand, at first.  He was effectively an assassin, sole student to another - and more infamous - assassin.  As she went on, though, it sounded like they were into quietly manipulating certain things beneath other people's notice.  To what end, she couldn't say because it would jeopardize whatever they were doing.  This was understandable, considering Sano had never spoken directly about where he lived, even though he'd said a number of things that others would find disreputable or even terrifying.  As for the shadow, she couldn't really divulge anything at all.  While it had let slip to Sano that it HAD plans and that it needed Nashya for them - something Sano himself might've not done, in the same way he was protecting Keefe and home from invastion - it had never spoken details.  He nodded at all of this.

"Well, if anyone asks, you can honestly tell them that I'm no champion for justice looking to get in the way.  Not unless it harms something I truly care about."

She'd know what he meant, of course.  Now, he put on a smirk and sais...

"Okay, go on.  There's gotta be something you've been holding back on asking.  Go ahead.  You earned it."

[Blink]

It was no suprise that Sano took it so well. With each confession he seemed to take it with stride. Clearly, he had been faced with tougher ultimatums than Nashya's in life. All of this of course led up to a question of her own building up. And when he gave her to opportunity to ask it who would she be to say no?

"You said Keefe found you and helped you. I understand she is a very important part of your growing up and also a very important part of your life..." Pausing briefly she looked at Sano with assuming eyes. But, this was not the time nor place to think about how close Sano and Keefe could have been.

"Who exactly is Keefe other than your mentor? What does she do?" Keefe was the last bit of the puzzle that was Sano. He had brought her up so many times as the reason behind finding this vampire... this she understood. But even Nashya could sense there was something else about her. In her experience people didn't usually take interest in someone as gifted as he was unless they were trained to see that potential.

(sorry for the shortness)

[Wrathwyrm]

[OOC: Ah, no worries.  It's a big question.]

This wasn't unexpected.  Keefe was so important in his life that it was hard to imagine him ever having survived without her.  Not because of the circumstances that allowed them to meet, but because the life that had been set out for him was as crushingly hopeless as it could possibly get.  This wasn't so much an eembarassing topic or even so much a sensitive one, since he mentioned her a bunch of times already, but...it was deep.  Well, why not?  It's a nice day.  Story time.

"When I first met Keefe, I didn't get her either.  I'd never seen anything like her before and hadn't really spoken to anyone - let alone a woman - in years.  If there is a more perfect example of being out of my depth, I haven't seen it.  She came out of nowhere, knocked everybody out, and proceeded to tell me if I didn't calm down that everyone would die because of my power.  Confused does not even begin to explain my feelings.  I was curious and grateful...and yet scared.  She was an assassin and she wasn't even human."

He remembered that time, trying to get a handle on the moment, but Keefe remaining on the upper hand   It wasn't that she'd been trying to be mysterious, just so direct that it was off-putting.

"I've mentioned already, things like that about her.  The thing is, when she's not being that way, she's been very nice and completely unwilling to talk about herself and her work.  I had to pretty much accept that she'd go out and kill people, and then come home after a few days to just get back to what she was doing, like it was nothing.  That night she came back from the vampire attack was the only time she spoke directly about those things, like she'd been protecting me from having to worry about it."

And in a way, it worked.  She'd always come back and he had never imagined her not coming back.  It was probably what drove her to make it back home so desperately, that he needed to know what befell her instead of never seeing her again.

"But still, the truth is that she can do a great deal.  With Ferromancy, anything involving metal is easy, and she's actually world-class at needle-and-thread.  That mantle of mine?  Her doing.  Sometimes, I think she wants to just do simple jobs around town and be happy, but she can't be that way because she hates people who ruin it for everyone else."

He'd said alot, but by the look of things, he was trying to figure out how to say what else he knew, what else he thought.  It took him a bit of thinking to word it out in his head, then...

"I've always been unsure about how I feel about her.  We're close.  Let's not deny that.  After beating me in training, she'd comfort me, encourage me, and not simply like a teacher.  She cared.  I think...  Well...  Okay, while she was out, I'd been...you know...curious.  She didn't lock her room and she didn't tell me not to, so naturally one day I was in her room...  I think someone took Keefe in when she was younger, because there was a drawing - a good one - of this old woman, reminded me of someone's grandmother.  I think Keefe and I are both alike.  We're both strays, trying to be something more."

[Blink]

Nashya simply listened as Sano began explaining Keefe to her. It seemed she was many things to Sano, the most important being the person who saved him from himself.

"So Keefe seems like someone who doesn't let many people in. She must have seen something special in you from the get go."

Smiling she then playfully pushed at Sano's shoulder " And I am sure she cared about you plenty. If she didn't I don't think she would have invested so much time in you."

As she had already thought many times when Sano spoke of Keef, Nashya was almost jealous. She would have given anything to have someone there to save her from herself. Even more she was already enchanted with this woman for stepping in and helping him. It probably took a lot for her to take someone in, especially if she was as guarded about her personal life as Sano let on.

"I would love to meet her some day.... to thank her for what she did for you."

[Wrathwyrm]

There was no doubt that Keefe cared about him to some extent.  It always made Sano feel better, knowing that there was somebody out looking for him.  Wasn't this mission just a way to return the favor?  At any rate, the day was wearing on, somewhat.  They had to get back to what they were doing.  It was nice that they could meet up like this, but the truth is, they needed to focus on other things.  The move into Connlaoth wouldn't happen if he didn't get more people to follow him, and Golden Gear still obviously needed Nashya for their work.  Her abilities were crucial, it seemed.

Days would pass.  A week, even.  Sano had sent out a number of flyers to different parts of Serendipity, starting with that place where that Goldswith person was suppose to live.  He had to be fairly subtle.  In fact, it was basically the same flyer that he had put around this town, but sent out by messenger bird.  The problem?  Well...while he had received a few hopeful replies, there were a buncha' nopes and responses from people who didn't really seem...the type.  One thing that bothered him for a while was that he didn't get a reply from that Goldswith chap, but then...he didn't know that that person was headed directly here already...

It was the seventh day when he awoke, unaware that she had checked in last night and was in the room next door.  Sano got up to greet the day, hopefully with breakfast...

[Blink]

It had been a week since the day Nashya and Sano solidified the relationship between them. Unfortunately, only a few days after that were spent together as Nashya was pulled away to handle some 'business'. The entire time she was away though she often found herself daydreaming of the man with dark hair and crimson eyes.

Nashya and her partner were called away to deal with some business happenings regarding the winery the two of them ran. Of course, wherever Demagogue had to be so was Nashya. There was no way he could 'face' the public eye without her. The entire time she was away her darker self kept rather quiet, not really chiming in much at all as of late. This happened from time to time where it seemed to 'fade' for an undecided amount of time.

She had arrived very late in the night at the inn and despite how much she wanted to she withheld from knocking on his door. It took a great deal of restraint not to do so, but Nashya knew it would be best to wait until morning. So instead she opted for taking to her room without bothering him.

Rising with the sun Nashya was quick to get up and dressed for the day. It was suprising she managed to not forget anything as she hastily threw open her door while in the process of strapping on one of her boots. She hoped that he would still be in his room, and so she took the few steps over to his door and lifted a hand to knock.

"Housekeeping" she muttered, half laughing as she tried to disguise her voice from behind the door. When and if Sano finally did open the door he would find Nashya standing with an excited smile on her face.

[Wrathwyrm]

Sano's room was a bit of a mess, so the coincidental mention of housekeeping would actually be a godsend.  Let us look around the room for a bit: Because he had sent out flyers, received messages, sent out replies, and so on...there were a sizable amount of papers, some of whom were ripped or torn, others with spilled ink, and a fair few crumpled-up pages from various people whose answers ranged from being unhelpful in some way to outright telling him 'Nope!'

He was, admittedly, feeling a little tired or groggy or something right now, because of all this.  Sano was dressed in casual clothes, which included one of his rare white shirts.  He did not expect what actually happened here.  Upon hearing the 'housekeeper', he opened the door - not quite registering that it was Nashya yet - and immediately responded to the offer to clean.

"Thank all kinds of gods your here.  I'm afraid I made a mess of things that a simple wastebin will never properly solve.  I need sustenance, so you have the room.  Please don't hurt me for making the mess."

Meanwhile, a woman in shirt and pants with brown hair walked by with a yawn, getting behind Nashya with a "Pardon me." so she could go get the very thing Sano sought: Breakfast.

[Blink]

He was a sight for sore eyes to say the least as Nashya practically melted at seeing him. She actually found it quite adorable that he failed to see it was her standing in the doorway and not actually a housekeeper. As she looked past him and into the room though she could definitely see why he had hoped she was one. His room was a mess with papers everywhere!

Bringing her focus back to him she then noted that he was wearing white. It was unusual to see him in such a color and honestly she found it quite refreshing. Being so captivated with the sight of him she hardly even reacted to the woman who walked behind her but still managed to give an apologetic nod for being in the way.

Oh the possibilities that presented themselves here as she contemplated how best to address the situation. She could easily keep up the charade but even Sano would have to eventually look up and see it was her.

"I missed you" she muttered before reaching out and grabbing his arm. "Breakfast?"

[Wrathwyrm]

It took a second for his brain to get started up properly.  Uhh, coffee and tea were downstairs, you see.  However, as Nashya started to speak again and grab his arm, he did sort of a cold reboot as he saw that lovely face.  For a brief second, he wondered what happened to the housekeeper, but umm...wait.  Oh, that was her!  ...dammit...  He hoped there was a REAL housekeeper here.  That said, his achey-breaky brain was glad to see her there and he put on a small smile.

"I'm sure I mentioned a deep desire for some.  Please, lead the way, but don't drag too hard.  I might trip and I'm pretty sure there's some stairs involved."

He was half-joking, but also half-uncoordinated.  Nevertheless, Nashya would be leading him to water, so to speak, where he would be willing to drink.  Several other people - workers, people with hangovers, and some guests - were already here.  The woman from before was enjoying some tea with her morning meal already.

[Blink]

The main room of the inn was busy indeed with several other patrons coming down for their morning meal. Not a single one of them mattered though as Nashya only focused on Sano. "Sit here" she said as she pulled at a chair for him and then took off. Even she could see he was quite exhausted despite her own chipper attitude.

So now she had a new mission... coffee.

Walking up to the innkeeper she was greeted with a half hearted smile. She knew the woman was probably sad to see her return but at least not stupid enough to turn away a paying customer. "Coffee please" she smiled as she slipped the woman some coin. It only took a few minutes for her to return with two full cups of the blackened liquid, the steam indicating it was freshly brewed.

Setting one of the cups in front of Sano a welcomed 'thump' should have snapped his attention to it should he still be a bit dazed. "I assume by the state of your room you have been busy." Nashya quickly took a seat next to him with her own cup of liquid ecstasy and took a cautious sip. The coffee here really was quite magnificent, the aroma alone known to linger for hours past the first morning meal.

"Anyone good turn up yet?"

With her elbows rested on the table she held the cup close to her lips as she awaited an answer. The few days she had been gone left her wondering so much about what transpired. Perhaps Sano would have good news of new prospects or leads on the vampire's wearabouts.

[Wrathwyrm]

Operation: Blessed Brew began in earnest as soon as Sano was seated at a chair.  His part in the plan was not to fall back asleep, an act which was not that hard when you consider that he woke up on his own.  Sadly, the problem was that he was sort of filled with the work of the past few days, looking over people who had sent him corrospondance, leaving him a bit frazzled.  Sano only snapped to attention when the cup was placed before him.  First, his nose twitched, and then his eyes came to rest upon he black hole of infinity that was the cup of black coffee.  Afterwhich, he picked it up and began to sip deeply the bitter nectar, his only reply to Nashya's question of being busy with an "Mmm".

His response to the second part was a bit more glib.

"Ah hah hah hah hah hah..."

Thud.  Sano thumped his head on the table, next to his coffee, which he held steady and balanced despite all this.  The words that she heard next - while more articulate and focused - were slightly muffled by his current - and rather amusing - position.

"Alot of the ones that I'd felt were hopeful were either busy or turned me down, and I got alot of people who would be eaten alive that I can't take because they'd get eaten alive."

He raised his head.

"The worst part is that some of them haven't even responded.  Hoping that's a good sign, but I dunno."

[Blink]

His frustration was evident when he thumped his head on the table. Sitting back a bit Nashya watched on amused as Sano went through the stages of grief. "Awe... it will be okay" she stated while reaching out a comforting hand on his shoulder. He really did look quite sad in this state, muffled voice and all as he spoke into the old wood.

When he raised his head she withdrew her hand and tilted her head at him. "Maybe it is a good thing like you said." She then went to take another sip of her coffee as she looked around the room. "Give it a few weeks. I am sure plenty more will show up."

Look at her being the optimist for once.

"I mean... there are so many out there just itching at the chance to take on a vampire." This was no lie though. As long as Nashya could remember she had met plenty of people who were determined to exercise their abilities. Heck, even she was kind of looking forward to using her own in a battle.

With a new sense of determination she almost slammed the cup back on the table. "How about when we finish our coffee we go back up to your room and look over some of the applicants together? If we are lucky we can at least sort them into some kind of system of yes and no. Not to mention your room could use the purging."

Innocently she lifted the cup back up to her lips taking yet another sip. "I have faith we can slay that monster together."

... of course she was referring to the paper monster building an army in his room.

[Wrathwyrm]

Depression really wasn't the word for this.  Now, frustration...  Aye, there's the one we're lookin' for!  Sano rubbed his head as soon as he raised it again, taking in more coffee for good measure.  Such things were often able to make connections in the brain and ignore pain from the stimulation involved up there.  Besides, he hadn't hit his head that hard.  It was mostly for effect.  Nashya was taking the optimistic approach on this, which was reasonable.  He was, after all, sending out alot of letters for a simple band of deadly warriors.

"You're probably right.  I should really be more patient with this.  I'm just a little burnt out from the reading.  The one thing, though, is that I've only informed the responders about the vampire.  I don't want the information to get out all over the place so that it finds its way in his hands."

A fair point, one that was only countered suddenly by Nashya's desire to stand up to that paper-oppressive room and slay that paper tiger...dragon...thing.  Uhh, keep drinking, Sano.  You're not quite awake yet.  He had to chuckle, though.

"My room could use a bonfire, and I could use food to go with this powerful brew.  Do we have time or does it wait for no man?"

[Blink]

She found herself taking another sip the moment Sano asked if his room waited for no man resulting in her choking on the drink. Covering her mouth she was part laughing part dying at the hilarious comment. As soon as she was able to compose herself she responded.

"It can wait."

Nashya then looked for the inn keeper and signalled her over by raising a hand. Of course it was no suprise the elderly woman narrowed her eyes before making her way over. "She still hates me I see...." her voice barely a whisper as she set her cup back down on the table.

"Sweet porridge please." Yet again Nashya gave the woman an endearing smile after placing her order, hoping that maybe one day she would forgive whatever it was her darker self had done. Today was not this day as the old hag huffed and turned towards Sano.

Despite the growing divide between herself and the old woman Nashya did happen to be a big fan of her sweet porridge. It was sweet with sugar butter and milk, hardly a suitable dish for breakfast. But still being the lover of sweet things that she was she found it irresistible almost every morning and you could bet she would be going to get some honey bread later in the day as well.

With all things aside and the woman gone hearing whatever Sano wanted Nashya fell a bit more serious. "Did you miss me?" Her smile was genuine as it expressed how much she had missed him in turn. But Sano didn't need to know that he was practically all she thought of while she was away.

[Wrathwyrm]

Whoops!  Timing, Sano!  Timing!  Now is not the time to make people choke.  Actually, there's never a time for that.  As she said, though, it could wait.  Unfortunately, signalling the innkeeper brought a sort of scowl, which showed that Nashya still had her ire.  While she had still managed to get an order down - and Sano had ordered some meat and cheese and grits - it was obvious that that bad blood wasn't going to go away easily.  Once she was away, the question came.

"What?  When I had all these letters to keep me company?"

He paused to take a sip of his cup.

"Of course I missed you."

At least he was in good humor over all of this.  Then...

"You know, I just remembered, there was this alchemist that I met in Essyrn that I'd hoped to get some decent potions from.  More than healing, but like something we could use against him.  No promises, of course, but I think I should check and see if there's any progress."

[Blink]

Nashya appeared to take interest in the alchemist from Essyrn but in reality she was feeling something much different. In fact, mentally she had already slammed her face into the table ten times over. Of course she cared about Sano and his mission at hand, but then again she also cared about him.

She had been gone for three days... three days where the two had no idea if the other was even all right and the first thing he thought talk about was work. Get it together Sano! Nashya may have been the one to prompt the discussion by simply asking 'find anyone yet' but she never would have even asked if she knew that was all they were going to talk about.

I mean, they were two people with feelings. Very new feelings that they were still trying to figure out or at least that was what Nashya thought. Oh gods, what if Sano had realized while she was away that he didn't actually have feelings for her? The thought alone caused Nashya's face to flush white as it dawned on her.

Of course it all made sense now.

"Hey..." her voice meek as she tapped the sides of her cup with her fingers. "I completely forgot but I think Demagogue had mentioned needing to do something at the winery this morning." Of course she was lying but at this point if she stayed she risked falling deeper into the pit of dispair she had already begun to dig for herself. "You go ahead and eat and I will meet up with you later." Clearly there was something wrong with her but she was doing her best to hide any negative emotion with a fake smile.

Standing up from her chair she dug in her coin purse and laid plenty on the table to not only pay for her food but his as well. It really was no problem as Nashya was supplied with as much funds needed to keep her comfortable while she worked... Cyn really was a generous boss. She didn't even care that she was leaving before eating her sweet porridge and honestly it was the last thing on her mind.

From there even if Sano said something Nashya didn't hear it. She was too busy repeating over and over in her mind to at least keep it together until she got out the door. The moment she did close the door behind her though her entire demeanor changed into that of a defeated soul. "So stupid..." she muttered to herself as she stood outside of the inn.

"I must admit you are pretty stupid." And there she was.. making her grand entrance at the most inopportune time.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

"Then again I think he may be more stupid than you. I mean.. what kind of guy puts off having a girl in his room! You were practically giving him the invitation of a lifetime!"

Nashya's face flushed red as she thought about it. Of course that was not her intention at all but now that it was being brought up she just couldn't get it out of her mind.

[Wrathwyrm]

While it WAS true that Nashya had gotten him onto the topic - with her enthusiasm, no less - there is the fact that Sano just doesn't think right, sometimes.  Neverminding the whole 'It's morning' thing.  He just didn't have experience with this, and he had some faith in Nashya's abilities to keep alright.  It would take him a while to realize that this kind of thinking was exactly why he was so shock that Keefe had been injured.  All that he knew of either of their strengths and abilities had put him under the impression that - barring harsh circumstances - they could come out of things alright.

It was still kind of his fault, though.  He hadn't reckoned on Nashya's mental state, forgotten that she could jump to certain conclusions and not even second-guess.  When she made her excuses to leave, the way she said it made him stop and look, and that made him worry.  Because to him, it was sudden and unexpected, especially after all that enthusiasm from before.  He saw her go and just sort of stared, trying to process that.  Fortunately, while he was at a bit of a loss there, someone else wasn't.  That someone was the brown-haired woman, who'd been eating breakfast and was now approaching his table.

"Nice girl."

"Yeah..."

"Friend of yours?"

"Yes."

"Close friend?"

Pause...  She seemed to be angling at something here.

"...why?"

"Because it looked and sounded like you said something wrong, and then she needed to be somewhere else, all of a sudden."

"What?  She-  Wait, weren't you across the room?  How did you figure all that?"

"Good eyes, good ears.  I think you should go."

"Uhh, yeah.  Thanks."

She watched him go, shaking her head.

"Guess I'm gonna be waiting a while..."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The door opened and Nashya would feel a hand on her shoulder.  Being a Shadowmancer who was completely aware of her surroundings, she would know that it was him.  On the other hand, if she were heavily-distracted by her own issues, she might not know.  We leave that one up to the gods.  Suffice to say, Sano looked her in the eye and said...

"Nashya, we need to talk.  I know that I handled that wrong, and I'm sorry.  I'm still new at this.  I could never forgive myself if I ended up pushing you away."

[Blink]

Jumping to conclusions at times like this had always been one of Nashya's biggest faults. It's actually quite funny because in any other situation such as battle she was so great at remaining cool and collected. Perhaps it had something to do with her confidence. At least she knew when facing certain foe she had the gall to know what would work and what wouldn't. Then again the art of conversation was no duel and Sano was no foe.

Now as she stood outside of the inn she was beating herself up even worse than before. "Why why why..." is all she could manage to get out as she tried to sort out what exactly it was she had just done. Of course she knew Sano cared about her yet in the heat of the moment she had once again jumped to the worst possible outcome.

Even worse she now had to find something to do while she pretended to be at the winery all day! Oh the mess she had managed to land herself in, and on her first day back no less!

Her little woe me party lasted for a whole of only a few minutes before it was interupted by Sano grabbing her shoulder. At first she honestly had no idea it was him having been too distracted to even begin to understand what was going on around her right now. When she did turn around though the initial shock followed by the complete horror in her expression would be evident.

Worse for wear being that he started off with the three worst words anyone could ever start a statement off with. 'We need to talk.' And there she was jumping to conclusions again, practically turning to jelly under his hand until he continued on. Sano had practically taken the words right out of her own mouth by stating he was still new at this. Was he really feeling exactly like her right now?

Nashya lifted a hand to cover her mouth but not in shock. It was actually quite the opposite as she let out the faintest of laughs. "I was about to come back in and say the same thing." Lowering her hand she then began to fiddle with her fingers as she often did when she was searching for the right words. "I jumped to the worst possible conclusion and I am sorry."

Slowly she let her eyes meet his as the shame of the entire situation began to hit her. "When I woke up this morning I was so excited to see you and it felt like you just didn't share that same feeling."

[Wrathwyrm]

The look on her face, at first, had been like she'd just seen a ghost!  Or...something.  Perhaps it was deserved, since Serious Sano had a serious face like you wouldn't believe, and that he was basically an assassin didn't help either.  Still, her reaction thankfully progressed from that, as she suddenly...laughed.  She began to explain the fullness of her concerns.  It made sense.  He'd been conversational, which was alright for normal situations, but didn't exactly stand out when you're with someone you care about.  Sano sighed at this.

"Yeah...that was my fault.  I'm sure you've done this in Golden Gear, guarding your reactions so that people can't read you easily.  I wasn't doing that on-purpose.  The truth is that I was a little too readable for Keefe's liking when we trained, so she had me figure out how to internalize."

He clasped her shoulders, looking her in the eyes with real emotion, open honest about this and smiling.

"I am overjoyed that you're back.  The words 'breath of fresh air' come to mind, given the work I've been doing.  I'm just something of a weird ebb and flow, sometimes."

He had indeed been looking forward to her return.  Just that the hours blended in with one another and he lost track of time, and then she came by when he wasn't even prepared and...  All this makes sense, right?

[Blink]

Of course he would be trained to speak without letting his true feelings show. How could Nashya be so stupid as to forget he was an assassin!? She did the same thing with Golden Gear and his insinuation of it was dead on. If anything she felt like even more of a fool than before as the pieces slowly came together.

However when Sano held both of her shoulders it snapped her out of the mental hurricane she was currently experiencing. The way he looked at her seemed to ground her in a way, even bringing up a slight blush to her cheeks as he called her a breath of fresh air.

"Well I guess if you are willing to put up with my crazy then I can learn to understand yours." Her statement was spoken as a joke but in all reality it was far from it. Nashya truly did want to learn to read Sano better so that she may never push him away just as she had a few moments ago. He had already put up with so much from her that even a minor infraction like this was nothing more than a bump in the road.

Nashya's stomach then made a very strange gurgle which caused her cheeks to flush even more red than before. In truth she was starving and the thought of a nice hot bowl of sweet porridge only made it worse. Another reason she thought herself an idiot as she had walked away from a perfectly decent meal.