Darius was very bored and had decided to take a little detour through Cerenis. That was one of the good things about being a retired knight; he could go anywhere he pleased. Besides, the ports were always interesting. There was no telling what the ships might be bringing in or what kind of people he might meet. He could hardly wait to find out. He was always one who sought companionship if he was feeling especially lonely.
He liked the scenery, too, though. There was just enough breeze for a ship to come in, the sky was blue, and the sun was bright. He rode his horse along the shoreline, and though it found no grass, he fed it an apple as it carried him around.
Once the dock was in view, Loreley threw the lasoo-like rope she held onto the metal post on the dock, before she turned to look at her ship;
"Lads, I'm gonna go grab a drink or two, yer free to do what ya like, jus don't leave the ship deserted!" she called to her crew
She heard a shout from them, she knew they'd heard.
Witht hat she disembarked and lookd on at the town.
Serendipity had some unique charm to it that a pirate like herself couldn't quite resist. She stepped off the last step, and walked with that bounce she had while on shore, across the dock.
She straightened her hat, glancing at the sky, wrinkling her nose at the distant clouds. It looked like she'd need to stay in this town for a while.
She was too busy looking at the sky, that she didn't notice the man she walked into, she only just caught herself before she hit the floor, turning to look at him;
"Sorry, there, didn't see ya'" she looked up at him, taller than she. An old man, who looked like he'd seen a fair bit, she cocked her head slightly, she was sure she'd seen him somewhere before "Names Loreley, ave' I seen you round' before?" he did look somewhat familiar. She chuckled "Or maybe it's just me' old age catchin' up on me again"
He thought for a minute. She didn't look familiar to him, but that didn't mean she hadn't seen him before. It was the best beach in the area.
"Sir Darius Scollard at your service, ma'am. You probably have seen me before. I just did not have the pleasure of knowing your name," he said, bowing. "Might I buy you a drink? I came here for a little relaxation myself. What's your name?" he asked.
A smile breached her lips as he bowed to her, Loreley always loved being addressed formally.
"Darius Scollard, eh?" she said, testing the name from her lips, she nodded at his request, attempting some of his educated speech from her own mouth, "I would be honored to join you, sir" she laughed lightly. She grinned, "I am Loreley, I am glad to meet you" she shook her head, that speech... Did not work for her.
She laughed, and gestured for him to follow.
"Loreley." He liked the sound of her name on his tongue. It was soft and fluid and mysterious. He nodded and followed her, though he did not know to where. "So... where's the best tavern around here?" he asked. "You might know better than I would. You seem like you're familiar with Cerenis. What do you do that brings you here so often?" he wanted to know. "I'm a retired knight, by the way, though don't let that be spread around. If someone hears the words "retired" and "knight" in the same sentence, they often assume I don't practice my swordplay anymore and am vulnerable. But it isn't true. Besides... I still rescue my fair share of damsels in distress regardless."
"Yeah, the best one's this way" She said, grinning back at him, "I come here often tis' a good place for ship repairs" she nodded to the men at the docks, "Easy for someone with my gifts ter get help from them" she laughed, thinking of her influential touch.
Loreley raised her eyebrows as he mentioned he was a retired knight, "Ooh, a knight? I've never met a retired one before" she looked him up and down, he still had some muscle left, she laughed at his next comment.
"Well, I'm a retired pirate, nowdays i spend me' time transportin' people" she laughed, she led him to the door of her favorite tavern, pushing the door open, she led him inside.
"This here's the best tavern I ever did go to" she turned too him again, "Tell me Sir Darius, what was it like? Bein' a knight?"
"What was it like? To be honest, I haven't given that question much thought. I became a knight because my father expected me to. But it's definitely not a boring job. I'll give it that," he admitted. "What about you? Why did you become a pirate? I don't see how anyone could give up a job like that," he said. "It sounds...adventurous, to say the least." Darius then remembered he'd offered to buy Loreley a drink. "I'll have a beer. What would you like?"
Loreley smiled, "I always wondered what it was like ter be a knight" she grinned again. "A pirate? It's very tiring, you spend the majority of your time lookin' for crew members ter replace the one's ya killed" she sighed and shook her head, "Ya can't keep a job like that fer too long, I got a lot out of it, thats fer sure. Saw some things no man has ever seen, but you can't keep it, ya loose too many good men"
She sat down on one of the stools att he front of the tavern, "I'll have the same" she said to Darius.
"So, these damsels ya saved" she laughed lightly "They'd be grateful fer your help, I'm sure"
He smiled. "Of course they were. Why, I remember this one girl. Beautiful little thing. A nymph, I believe she was. Some men were trying to rob a store she was in and they saw her and tried to kidnap her. But I drove the sword straight through one man's throat, and his comrade took off running like a child who has just been caught doing something bad." Darius chuckled at the memory. "Quite a life, being a night. And it is also rewarding, most of the time."
Loreley's eyes widened, "A nymph? whoa" she listened to the rest of his story, a smile creeping its way onto her lips, she laughed when Darius said he had driven his sword through one of the men, "Sounds a bit like bein' a pirate, only with a little more class" she laughed again, "Most of the time? I would think that any knight would have loved their job, I'd imagine it ter be rewarding all the time" she pondered out loud.
Leaning forward slightly, she cast a glance at the man beside her, one hand cupped her chin, while the other was propped on the bar.
He smiled when he saw her glancing at him, though he could not tell what she was thinking. Loreley was attractive, more attractive than he'd seen in awhile, and he wasn't sure what to do about the fact that he felt that way. The waiter set their drinks on the table and left. He picked up his, gave her one, and took a sip of his beer. "What are you thinking, Loreley?" he wanted to know, his voice low and gentle. "Yes, it is rewarding, but when it's not rewarding, it's lonely," he admitted. "Do you find you have the same problem with being a pirate?" he asked.
Loreley accepted her drink from the waiter, and downed half of it in a matter of seconds.
Mmmh, that's good... she thought.
She moved her gaze back to Darius, "Very lonely, can't ever stay in the same place fer too long, and your crew could turn against you at any time, it's a bit annoyin' really" she sighed and swirled her beer around her glass.
She met his gaze squarely at his next comment, and a grin crept its way onto her face, "Ter be honest, I was thinkin' that ye look terribly attractive fer your age" she laughed lightly, and took another sip of her beer.
"Thanks, I do try to keep fit. I usually get my hair and beard trimmed at least every two months too. I was thinking almost the same thing about you," he admitted. She looked attractive for any age, actually, but he doubted she would want to do what he wanted. They had just met. Then again, she had been the one to compliment him first. He took his time with his beer at first, unsure of what to do, but then he noticed that she had downed over half of hers and did the same.
"Thanks, I thought I was loosin' my touch, what with all me old age" she let out a hearty laugh, her age was something she had lost track of, she was old, she knew that much. But for some reason, it never showed.
She watched him as he drank from his glass, downing half the liquid inside. She drank slowly, wanting to take her time, talk a little more with Darius. He spiked her curiosity.
"Old age? You couldn't be more than twenty-five!" he said with a chuckle. "You're less than that, I should think." Unless he was wrong and she was one of those nymphs like the other one he had met. Not that he would mind that either. If she were, it would be nice not being the oldest person in a room for once. "I'm sure that if you say I've still got some life left, then you do, too," he said softly, just in case she was sensitive about her age. Not that things that lived a long time seemed to be, but it wouldn't hurt to be careful. He fought an urge to stroke her hair, to find out if it was as pretty and silky as it looked, and he wondered if she was as intrigued by him as he was by her.
Loreley laughed, "Twenty-five? I'm over five centuries old!"
She curled a lock of hair behind one of her pointed elven ears, to show him what she meant.
"Like I said, I've seen more than most people" she grinned a second time. "All the same, thank you"
She regarded him wish a slight smile, she had encountered retired knights before, all still had some muscle build remaining, she had to wonder if he did too.
"I beg your pardon, but it is nice not to be the oldest person in this room," he said. "You don't know, I'm almost sure, how people dislike you once you get old, because you will probably be eternally young-looking. Right?" he had to ask. He stared, smiling, at her cute elven ears. Oh, he did wish he wasn't always alone! Nearly every person he met of the opposite sex seemed to intrigue him, and he had to wonder if it was really fair to either of them that it should be so.
She smiled back at him, "I'm always the oldest one in the room" she laughed, then nodded, "I'll be stuck lookin' like this fer the rest of me life, s'what happens to elves, either we get killed, or we live forever" she shook her head slightly, she found this prospect depressing at times, and always tried to dance around the subject, but the alcohol was causing her to be slightly more truthful, and she didn't really mind.
Then she frowned, "I can't understand why andyone'd dislike you, yer quite a nice lad" she offered him another smile. It was true, she was beginning to like Darius.
"Oh I didn't mean they dislike you as a friend. They dislike you as... someone to date. They think that when you get old, you're too old to want to fall in love. And speaking from personal experience... it's not true. You may have noticed I try to keep fit. But it is perhaps because of that fitness that I still have needs."
Darius admitted the fact that he had 'needs' to very few people. There was that one girl, the one he'd told Loreley about, but other than her, no one.
Loreley nodded, a smile creeping upon her lips once again, "We all have needs" she suppressed a laugh, "It's never too late ter fall in love" she sighed, "I have... Many times... Corse, someone with the likes of me? It's hard to find someone, someone who'll stay with ya... We see love differently" she paused, and trailed a hand along her tattoo's, "We feel it differently, It's like... a thread of life... It binds us to that person... and when they die... well... we do too" she shook her head, and drank from her glass, "Humans see it differently, am i righ'?" she returned her smile again.
"It depends on the human," he admitted. "I've known some who see it exactly the way you do. My father was one of those. He and my mother died within three days of each other, they missed each other so much. Others, though, see it as... just something to do, for lack of a better explanation. They want love in the moment, right now, and when they are done with that person they move on to the next just as easily. And me? If I could find someone to love forever, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But sometimes when you're lonely, you get impatient."
She nodded, taking in everything he said, "You are a wise man, Darius. Love is a horrible thing... It can tear you apart, but it can light you on fire at the same time" she swallowed the lump that had fought its way into her throat, "But... humans don't know the meaning of forever, livin' for it may not seem like such a bad prospect, but.. I've outlived all me friends... m'father too" she sighed, "It's even harder to find someone fer forever when yer like me" she shook her head, and raised her beer to her lips again. Lost in her own thoughts. "Have you ever... been in love?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "I wish I did. But I don't think I have," he said sadly. "If anything, I've probably been in love with my job rather than with a person. But... if I found the right person...that might change," he said. "But no one...well hardly anyone... pays attention to an old man like me. I've got at most twenty-five good years left and then I'll be gone. But if I could find someone to spend those years with, it would be worth it," he whispered.
Loreley's expression softened as he spoke, "Twenty five? Fath-... Lance, an old friend o'mine, when he was your age, said he was goin' to try an live for as long as me... I knew he wouldn' but he lived ter be a good century old, it's will Darius, if you want ter' live for longer, will it" She smiled at him, "I'm paying attention to you" she laughed before placing a hand on his "I think... m'glad I met you" she offered another smile.
He welcomed the touch of her hand and was suddenly overtaken by a desire to kiss her. He didn't know if it was the beer causing him to think this way or if it was what he really wanted, but he decided to surrender to it. " Do you really mean that? I think I'm glad I met you too," he whispered, placing his lips on hers. She was right...it was will. Mind over matter. Right now, he felt he could live forever if he wished it.
She grinned as felt him give in, her touch felt like working today it seemed, sometimes it was flawed and didn't work, but not this time, her eyes widened as she felt his lips press against hers, but she soon welcomed the feeling, before leaning back slightly to look at him, "I never say sumin' I don't mean" she grinned again, before placing her other hand on his arm, letting her odd magic do what it did best.
She was just interested in seeing where this led.
When he pulled away for air, Darius looked at her searchingly. "Do you want to go... somewhere?" he asked her softly. He didn't know of anywhere to go, but suddenly the bar seemed far too crowded. He wanted to be alone with her. Even just for one night. Only time would tell where it led. He hoped it would lead to forever, but a part of him didn't dare hope. She was a pirate. She'd probably met lots of nicer men than him.
A grin crept onto Loreley's lips then; "Anywhere"
she had bedded far older men than Darius, it was nothing new to her, she was in the mood for it now.
She glanced to her side, yes, people were beginning to stare, she shook her head, "Where should we go?" she giggled lightly, liking where this was going.
"I don't know of anywhere to go," he admitted. "I just want to be alone with you." He was tempted to take her in his arms right there, but he held back. Instead, he finished downing his beer and led her outside. "Is there a hotel? A ship? Anything? There has to be somewhere around here. Do you know?"
Loreley nodded, and her ears perked, "Yes! My ship! This way!" she took his arm and led him around too the docks, and onto the wharf's were her ship sat, rocking to and fro in the surf.
A huge ship, Loreley's was, it's masts were tall with sails that were now rolled up. Her flag was down and her crew members had turned in for the day it seemed, hopefully they wouldn't notice Loreley returning with a man in tow.
She led him to the ladders and she crossed with ease, she turned, waiting for him to join her.
Climbing the ladder was quite a feat for someone who wore armor, but Darius managed to do it somehow. As soon as they had reached her room, he removed his armor, then his clothes. He stood before her grinning in only the glory he was born in, and he couldn't resist taking her in his arms and kissing her everywhere it was possible to kiss. She was so beautiful... so perfect. But he was kind enough to want to romance her first before doing anything else.
Loreley and Darius passed slumbering crew-members on her ship, not waking any. As Loreley knew they wouldn't, her crew had a habit of sleeping through anything.
They entered her cabin, big in comparison to the others. Her bed was massive too, taking up a good half of the room, the other had a large wooden table, maps pinned onto it.
Loreley removed her hat, throwing it onto the table as Darius stripped himself of.. well everything.
He grinned at her, and Loreley chuckled back, kissing him as he did her. tonight had taken a rather... unexpected turn.
He eagerly kissed her as much as she was kissing him. Perhaps their enjoyment was mutual now. He was so glad they both wanted this. "I'd love you forever if you wanted me to..." he whispered. Even though it was said in the heat of the moment, he knew he meant it. How could he not mean it when she seemed just as lonely as he was? He held her tenderly in his arms as he lowered them onto the bed. He wasn't just going to sleep with her, he was going to make love. Somehow, he wondered if she knew how gentle and passionate love could be.
"That's impossible" she whispered, tracing the contours of his lean chest, "But I wouldn't mind it" she chuckled.
She didn't know if he meant what he said, it could have been a heat of the moment decision. But she didn't mind it, she couldn't stay with him, she had a job tomorrow.
Escorting a family to Ketra.
She didn't mind though, she leaned in and kissed his neck eagerly.
What if he had meant it? Would she have come back for him? Darius highly doubted it. But he knew that without someone to love, he would only die that much sooner. She was the first person who had paid this much attention to him in a long time. It actually seemed like she cared. For once, he wished he hadn't retired. His world would need something to fill it when she was gone. All of these thoughts going through his head only caused him to hold her more tightly to him.
Noticing his change in expression, Loreley keaned back a little, "Darius?" she murmured, "something is troubling you?"
He griped her tighter, and she smiled at him, raising a hand to stroke his cheek, her eyes still filled with concern.
He nodded. "Suppose I really would love you forever?" he asked. " At least for the rest of my life. You are the first person who has paid this much attention to me in a long time. If I really would love you forever, would you come back for me? I wish I hadn't retired now, because my time will need things to fill it. It actually seems like you care enough about me to want me to live forever. If you don't want to be alone anymore, you don't have to be."
(OoC_oh my god, I'm sorry this is so late D: )
She smiled sadly at him, in the long run... it was going to hurt her, but... she didn't care, "Come with me" She blurted, "Come with us! Th' lads won't mind" She shook her head in dismay, a grin forming on her lips, "I could take you to so many places..." She laghed, and pressed her forhead to his, "Will you... stay?"
"For the rest of my life," he whispered as he kissed her neck. "I promise, I'll never leave you for the rest of my life. And thanks to you, that could be longer than usual." When the serious moment was over, then he had to chuckle. "Aye, I bet you could take me to many places, maybe even some I've never seen. I can hardly wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Do you feel the same?"