driftfleet | closed

Entry tags:

arthur,
syeira

closed

Who: Arthur and Syeira
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Starting on the Red Fish
When: Today

It's not really an unusual day. They're in a new area, people are milling about, the ships are running normally. But Syeira's fever broke finally, and she's actually starting to look like herself lately. So it's a good day, and a relief, to have her back and safe (and feeling a little better now). He doesn't want to think back on when he thought she was gone. It's stupid to do that anyway. It's irrelevant. She's here now.

With Syeira back, there are things to think about. One thing on the forefront of his mind: their relationship. He kissed her. Actually kissed her. She probably didn't remember it or appreciate it, but it happened. And now he's afraid, just praying he didn't go too far.

There's really only one way to find out. Ask her on a date. Another one. In any case, it would be a good excuse to get her out and doing something. It would be good for her. He's nervous as hell, though. He doesn't remember the last time he asked someone on a date. But he had the first part of the plan down. Dress up. Look good. Bring present. Ask her out. He could do that, right?

He's wearing a dark sweater with the sleeves rolled up and some neutral trousers; dressy, but not too dressy. His hair is slicked back as always, but he keeps messing with it like it's got him nervous. He stops at her door, knocking with the hand not holding a small bag.

“It's Arthur.”

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She's feeling better. Not great, not at her best, but better. She's managed to get up and get dressed by herself, but after that, she had to sit down again. Fatigue. She kind of hates it. A lot.

The knock, and voice, at her door is a relief. She's not lacked for company while she was feverish, she knows, but Arthur is...special. "Come in."

She's sitting propped up with pillows on top of the bedding, and she smiles at him when he enters. She's still very pale, but then she's not seen a sun in some time, and she's been down with fever. It's understandable.

"Hey."

He returns her smile once he's inside. He's so comfortable in here now that he doesn't think to ask before he's sitting beside her on the bed.

"Hey. You're looking better," he tells her with a grin. "I, uh... I had a question for you. I know you must be tired, but I thought an outing would be good for you."

His fingers reach to tug at his sleeve nervously, his eyes following the movement before looking back up at her.

"Or... not an outing. Not just an outing, I mean... Ah, I was just wondering if you wanted to go on a date."

That was terrible and rushed and she's going to laugh at him, oh God. His cheeks are a little pink from being flustered, but he keeps his eyes on her, quite serious about the offer.

Her color comes up about the same time his does, making her look healthier than she has in a tenday. It's nice, to blush again, to feel those emotions that only got to be recognized in the tree house. The flutter in her belly, and how she can't help but smile bashfully, even though she's beyond pleased to be asked. She reaches for his hand, the one picking at his sleeve, and tucks hers into it.

"You want to take me on another date?" She has to ask, because after the last one, well things went south a few days later. "Even after I've been so much trouble?"

"You're not trouble," he says immediately. He smiles at her hand in his, hoping his hands aren't clammy. "You're just... stubborn and self-sacrificing," he amends, cracking a small smile.

"But yes, I'd love to take you on another date. If you want to."

"I want to." Her voice drops lower on its own, and she only hears it after. She clears her throat, sitting up and swinging her legs over the edge of the bed.

"I hate to ask, but could you help me with my boots?" She's still weak, and it's frustrating. But she's not a fool. She wants to go out, with Arthur, on a date. And if asking him for a little help gets them there, then she has no problem with it.

A relieved grin spreads across his face at her reply. God, he's so relieved.

"Good. I'm... I'm glad." He nods and stands up, searching out her boots. "Only if you promise to tell me if you get too tired to go on."

Boots acquired! He lugs them over and kneels in front of her, holding one up so she can slip her foot in.

"I will. I promise."

And then he's assisting her with her boots. She did ask him to help her, but she can't help but blush harder as he kneels there while she slips her foot into the first boot. "You just tie those there behind my knee." She can't think of anything better to say. Arthur is helping her dress. She's kind of distracted by that.

It feels strangely intimate, and he's a bit distracted, too. He nods silently, his fingers quick with the laces, and then he helps her into the second boot with the leg farther away from him. He has to lean kind of into her space to do it, and the laces slip from his nervous fingers for a moment. He doesn't realize that his hand ends up on her leg closest to him when he's smoothing out her boot for her.

He looks up at her when he's done, his heart rocketing in his chest when he realizes how close he is to her, how much she's letting him touch her. "I, uh..." He removes his hand from her leg as if it was burnt, his face turning a nice shade of pink. "Oh. Um. Is that okay?" He means how tight he tied her boots.

Thre's a moment where they're just looking at each other, his hands on her legs. She breathes through parted lips, shallow, soft little breaths of anticipation. And then he breaks the spell of the moment, pulling away. She has to wet her lips and swallow before she can try to speak.

"Yes..." Wait, he meant the lacings. Right. Right. She tries again. "Yes, that's good. Thank you."

There's a moment of awkward tension, until she laughs nervously. This is going to be some date, she can already tell. "You should probably help me up. Sometimes, my leg doesn't want to hold for some reason."

He laughs with her. It's nice, to know they can laugh about this sort of thing with each other, that not everything has to be serious.

"I can do that," he says as he stands. He holds out a hand for her and bends, looping his other arm around her so the effort isn't entirely on her.

They have to laugh. Because it's a little bit silly, isn't it?

She stands with his help, testing her leg. For the moment, it feels fine. Normal, just like her other leg. Her only issue is the lingering fatigue that makes her have to lean on him a little.

"It's as healed as it could possibly be. Not even a scar from..." From where the dragon-creature had bit through it, while she was transformed. "From before, but sometimes, I'll feel it again. Like the bones are broken."

She speaks matter-of-fact. It doesn't bother her to remember, not really. What's bothersome is the wondering if she will always be potentially crippled, from one moment to the next. Or will it fade like the fever faded? Only time would tell.

She sighs, giving him a small smile. "Come. Take me somewhere I can see sunlight, Arthur."

Staying close, he watches her test her leg. He's worried about her and her fatigue, but she did promise to tell him if it was too much for her.

Her almost mentioning the attack has him flinching slightly. He hasn't talked about it... really at all. He doesn't want to. He just wants to forget it ever happened.

He returns the smile, trying to shake off that and the nerves. Tonight was supposed to be fun. "It would be my pleasure. Just grab me if you're feeling unsteady."

He lets go of her middle and bends down to pick up the bag he brought in. "But first, I brought you something." He holds the drawstring bag out for her. It's a little heavy, and if she opens it, she'll find a small white ceramic statuette of an elephant.

"You did?" Gifts still baffle her. Baffles and humbles and delights her. She opens the bag with a giddy reverence, and carefully takes the figurine out. She draws in a little breath of wonder, turning it over in her hands.

"It's an elephant." She doesn't sound put out, or confused. Just purely happy and excited. "I've seen drawings of them. They're supposed to be enormous!"

She lifts her gaze to his, smiling warm as midday sunshine. She puts her arms around him then, in a tight hug. "Thank you. It's beautiful."

She hugs him, and he startles, surprised by her unbridled happiness. He thought maybe she'd be confused or think he was dumb. He hugs back, smiling softly.

"I'm glad you like it. Elephants make me think of loyalty, the way they think they can recognize family members that have been killed. And they're so smart. Like you."

He smiles, gesturing at the door. "Shall we leave? I thought we'd head to this Spirit store not too far away."

It's kind of fun to know what they're doing and not telling Sye, not gonna lie, but he'll eventually tell her.

"Yes, lets. I'll just put this here." She moves away from him only a little, to place the elephant statue on her night stand, right next to her little tree, carefully and with purpose. She points it so that it can be seen fully from across the room.

Then she loops her arm through his, wanting the closeness to him, but also in case she needs support. "I'm ready."

He watches, quietly pleased that she likes it so much. And then he takes her arm and leads her out.

"Have any idea what we're doing?"

"Hmmm," she pretends to think. "I'll wager...Leaving the ship?"

She chuckles, no she has no idea.

A grin. "Right. For the first part. Then we're going to a store that has items that got me through my childhood."

"Oh really?" That's an interesting little mystery. "And what are those?"

It feels great to be outside. Probably even better for her. He smiles, looking over at her. "Books."

He couldn't have pleased her more if he'd offered her diamonds and gold. Not by a long shot. Her expression goes bright with delight and excitement. She even hops a little, boosted by the idea of getting some new books.

"Really?!"

He laughs delightedly. "A girl after my own heart. Yes, really."

She's so irresistible like this. He could just kiss her silly, if he only had the courage.

"When I was about thirteen, I was really into this series of books. It was about this man who went into space and fought aliens. Kind of ironic, that now I'm buying books in space. What kind of books should we get?"

"Every kind." She's passionately adamant, and obviously not joking. "History, Mathematics, Astronomy, Magic Theory, fiction, anything! We could take them to the library on the Iskaulit and add them to the collection!"

She's so excited, so energized. It means she's going to crash sooner, but at the moment, she can't possibly care. Arthur is taking her to do one of her favorite things. She even tugs on him a little, despite not knowing at all where they're going, just that she wants to get there now.

"That's a good idea. Especially if we get all the kinds you want to."

They've gotten such good ratings lately that they should be able to afford it, too.

"I'm keeping a few for myself, though. You should, too."

It's always good to have a little personal collection. Especially while she's not feeling completely well. He leads her down another street.

It's not as busy back here, and it's a bit of a hole-in-the-wall place. It's old and dusty and probably a weird date location, but he holds the door open for her, smiling. It's one of those places that is stuffed and stuffed with books, of all kinds, sorted with a few handwritten signs. The shopkeeper gives Arthur a quick smile, then turns back to his paperwork.

Arthur smirks and takes her hand in his, leading her back through stacks and stacks of books to the book.

"I like this place. There's a lot of history books back here that I wanted to look at."

She's all smiles in the bookshop. The hand Arthur doesn't have, touches everything. Every spin and cover in reach, her fingers run across. But she lets him guide her back to the stacks, where the books he's after are.

She picks one book, leather bound with gold embossed words on it. She runs her hands over it, almost worshipful. Opening it, she's careful not to crease the pages. She breathes in deeply, taking in the scent of parchment, ink, and leather. And suddenly, tears are in her eyes and she has to cover her mouth to stop a sob coming out. She turns a little, hoping Arthur won't notice. She doesn't want to spoil the outing with this random outburst of emotion.

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