"No. That's not at all my point. Neither. Wait—" Caius laughed, letting his half-hearted objections die against his tongue in a cloud of breath, Mae's riposte of his innuendo more than enough to trip up his own words. He just grinned at her instead of offered additional kindling to that fire, mischievous and conceding to her for the win. He'd assumed no such thing, and had certainly not committed to anything of the sort. For now.
Once out of the door, the young Gawyne did his best not to hiss at the chill, the sting of Viden Saun weather still a slap in the face. His homeland in the northernmost reaches of Rynmere offered some competition, but still. He considered just how long the Eídisi could live, weighing the idea, and came to the conclusion that it was entirely too long and he wasn't interested. Warm fingers tugged at the left sleeve of his coat in a subconscious need to touch near the tattoo hidden underneath, his reminder of the whispers of his own end that often crept into his thoughts. Maebella was talking, though, and Caius blinked, returning his briefly wandering focus to her face.
She bumped his arm with her comment and he moved quickly to catch hers, smirking wryly at her while he tucked her hand just so to keep things proper in his chivalrous escorting, drawing them closer and falling easily into stride with the blue-skinned woman who more or less shared his height, "Peculiar? Me? How many Rynmere nobles do you know again, Mae?" His irises warmed to an amused green as he questioned her sources, a color shift she most likely had learned the meaning of by now, "I suppose I'm out of the ordinary, but I sarding well try to just not compare. The weights and measures of nobility might as well be counterfeit anyway, so unbalanced and biased. I'd rather not fit into any of their expectations if I can help it."
That said, he knew that he wasn't completely free from the trappings of nobility, from his birthright. Caius was aware he preferred to be spoiled, that he took for granted far too much of what occurred around him on a trial by trial basis. He was perhaps more in tune with what he possessed in common with his peers than what he didn't, but he chose to keep the lengthy comparison to himself.
"I appreciate that you still tolerate my presence. I really do." The northern noble offered in a quieter, more genuine tone, somewhat chagrined by her giggle more than anything else.
"I'm prying? Getting to know someone is sarding prying now?" Caius teased her, feigning defensiveness and mocking concern. He rolled his eyes and leaned a little, no longer proper in his closeness, not meeting her pupil-less gaze in favor of getting his bearings on the frozen streets by scanning ice-coated buildings and signs, "I don't want to judge you—I'm not close to enough of your kind to make such sweeping decisions. I'm more than content to just get to know you, Mae, and not bother comparing you to any other Eídisi. For example, while you're far easier on the eyes than Rylan, I'm certainly not going to tease either of you about it."
He was grinning wickedly, a compliment thinly veiled behind a joke,
"Is my curiosity rude? Look, you can ask all the questions you want of me—now, anyway." He felt her tense, watching her expression change, and admittedly wasn't sure of the right words to say. Their first meeting had been more awkward, certainly, but the young Gawyne felt much more comfortable navigating Maebella's personality than he once had, even if his own personality was often grating and better suited for the print room than the public in general, "But I don't have any interest in judging you based on conventions and sarding standards I don't myself enjoy complying to, either."
The Devil's Advocate wasn't entirely close to campus, but Caius knew his way through the frozen streets. Unconcerned that there was a young Eídisi woman on his arm, the northern noble was quite content to enjoy her company along the way, their wordplay only slightly awkward but made somewhat endearing by giggles and blushes. For him, anyway. He took them in stride, it seemed, on the surface, perhaps even brushing them off cooly because of their differences, having long since assumed that their races were enough of a divide to prevent mutual interest on her part, no matter how well she played along.
Was he at all curious? Of course, but he at least made an attempt to keep it hidden behind his usual sarcasm. Mostly.
"I'm sure I could think of more scandalous things to talk about, if you'd prefer?"
Once out of the door, the young Gawyne did his best not to hiss at the chill, the sting of Viden Saun weather still a slap in the face. His homeland in the northernmost reaches of Rynmere offered some competition, but still. He considered just how long the Eídisi could live, weighing the idea, and came to the conclusion that it was entirely too long and he wasn't interested. Warm fingers tugged at the left sleeve of his coat in a subconscious need to touch near the tattoo hidden underneath, his reminder of the whispers of his own end that often crept into his thoughts. Maebella was talking, though, and Caius blinked, returning his briefly wandering focus to her face.
She bumped his arm with her comment and he moved quickly to catch hers, smirking wryly at her while he tucked her hand just so to keep things proper in his chivalrous escorting, drawing them closer and falling easily into stride with the blue-skinned woman who more or less shared his height, "Peculiar? Me? How many Rynmere nobles do you know again, Mae?" His irises warmed to an amused green as he questioned her sources, a color shift she most likely had learned the meaning of by now, "I suppose I'm out of the ordinary, but I sarding well try to just not compare. The weights and measures of nobility might as well be counterfeit anyway, so unbalanced and biased. I'd rather not fit into any of their expectations if I can help it."
That said, he knew that he wasn't completely free from the trappings of nobility, from his birthright. Caius was aware he preferred to be spoiled, that he took for granted far too much of what occurred around him on a trial by trial basis. He was perhaps more in tune with what he possessed in common with his peers than what he didn't, but he chose to keep the lengthy comparison to himself.
"I appreciate that you still tolerate my presence. I really do." The northern noble offered in a quieter, more genuine tone, somewhat chagrined by her giggle more than anything else.
"I'm prying? Getting to know someone is sarding prying now?" Caius teased her, feigning defensiveness and mocking concern. He rolled his eyes and leaned a little, no longer proper in his closeness, not meeting her pupil-less gaze in favor of getting his bearings on the frozen streets by scanning ice-coated buildings and signs, "I don't want to judge you—I'm not close to enough of your kind to make such sweeping decisions. I'm more than content to just get to know you, Mae, and not bother comparing you to any other Eídisi. For example, while you're far easier on the eyes than Rylan, I'm certainly not going to tease either of you about it."
He was grinning wickedly, a compliment thinly veiled behind a joke,
"Is my curiosity rude? Look, you can ask all the questions you want of me—now, anyway." He felt her tense, watching her expression change, and admittedly wasn't sure of the right words to say. Their first meeting had been more awkward, certainly, but the young Gawyne felt much more comfortable navigating Maebella's personality than he once had, even if his own personality was often grating and better suited for the print room than the public in general, "But I don't have any interest in judging you based on conventions and sarding standards I don't myself enjoy complying to, either."
The Devil's Advocate wasn't entirely close to campus, but Caius knew his way through the frozen streets. Unconcerned that there was a young Eídisi woman on his arm, the northern noble was quite content to enjoy her company along the way, their wordplay only slightly awkward but made somewhat endearing by giggles and blushes. For him, anyway. He took them in stride, it seemed, on the surface, perhaps even brushing them off cooly because of their differences, having long since assumed that their races were enough of a divide to prevent mutual interest on her part, no matter how well she played along.
Was he at all curious? Of course, but he at least made an attempt to keep it hidden behind his usual sarcasm. Mostly.
"I'm sure I could think of more scandalous things to talk about, if you'd prefer?"
❦
