Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 20:12:06 GMT -5
My smile slipped a little, and I dropped my gaze back to my plate, feigning at picking through my food to choose out a particularly inviting piece of almond. He laughed, hinted that there might not be a next time; I wasn't sure whether it hurt or not, but either way it didn't settle well on me. A quick moment passed as I gathered myself, then looked up with a mildly forced smile.
"That's true," I said, scooping the almond up onto my fork. "It was rather presumptious of me to assume there would be a next time. I hope you can forgive me." And if there were, I'd eat my slippers before we ate here again.
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Tabién de Valclesa(I)
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 20:23:27 GMT -5
Well, that was surprising. She had been sincere, and I would be foolish to let her leave so easily. "Yes, it was presumptions," I started, refilling her glass. "But I've found that women who second guess those presumptions were usually right the first time." I finished with an inviting smile.
"Of course, I think someone is judged better by their actions than their thoughts, so their is nothing to be shameful of, and nothing to forgive."
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 21:20:37 GMT -5
He changed, moving from appearing as if he were scoffing politely to not particularly disdaining the thought. I ate the almond as I listened to him, my mind twirling in effort to figure him out. "I agree; people should be judged on their actions, but their thoughts count as well."
Picking up my wineglass, I took a drink, savoring the liquid before speaking again. "And on that note, I shall do my best not to be presumptious again. Is your shark still acceptable?" I motioned to his plate with a subtle drop of my eyes before looking down at my own dish, gathering a piece of chicken to eat next.
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Tabién de Valclesa(I)
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 21:25:04 GMT -5
"I think so, but I could use a second opinion. Would you care to try it?" I said, offering my plate to her reach. "It looks quite dead, so I don't think it will bite." I said humorously.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 22:24:40 GMT -5
Catching the hitch in 'it', I glanced at him, curiousity creeping into my features. "Are you hinting you might, my lord Valclesa?" I gave him a small, semi-teasing smile and reached, taking a small portion of his food onto my fork, then placing it in my mouth. The flavor reflected what I'd remembered, though it'd been a little while since I'd last had it.
"Very good," I said pleasantly. "Thank you - you're welcome to taste mine as well if you're curious of it."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 22:36:46 GMT -5
I bit my tongue. Hard. Her last sentence conjured a rather vivid image, and I quickly reached for my glass to hide behind, as if I my face was an open book.
Lowering my glass, I responded at length. "Sure." Was all I could say.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 22:46:32 GMT -5
I blinked. Why in Eluas name had he just reacted in such a way? I hadn't said anything vulgar... Unless he'd.. No. Yes?
An amused smile came onto my mouth; it was by far not the first time that someone had connected something I'd said to something sexual, and it didn't frazzle me. "Are you sure? I don't mean to pressure you." There was no tease in my voice, though my smile itched near a grin. Somehow, the very fact that he used his glass as a shield was endearing. My hand itched to touch his in reassurance, but I didn't; I wouldn't be that forward.
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 22:53:46 GMT -5
"Pressure me? About what," I asked hastily, taking my fork, and unceremoniously nabbing a piece for myself. I took care to take a rather large one too, so that I could choose my words carefully as I chewed.
I think she caught that. Dammit. She went from offended to coy in the blink of an eye. Keeping me off balance, I felt like the bait they used to catch this shark I was eating.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 23:24:32 GMT -5
"About tasting what I have," I replied, my grin coming out a little more. Gods, I felt bad, but after the bit about being presumptuous, well... I reached out across the table and held my hand palm-up, a waiting, open invitation for him to either lay his hand on mine, or to ignore it, pretend it was a simple stretch. "My salad is completely different than your shark, but I hope its comparable in taste alone."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 23:34:37 GMT -5
I sat there for a moment, eyes shifting between her face, and her hand. I swallowed, and responded with perhaps some surprising insight even to me.
"You care very much what others think of you," I said in my most compassionate and understanding tone.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 23:37:56 GMT -5
I tilted my head a little, wondering what it was that he was thinking of, what had brought him to such an unexpected statement. "I care very much for what others think," I said, my fingers curling into my fist as I pulled my arm back. "And to a point, what they think of me. In the end, though, I won't change who I am for someone else."
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Tabién de Valclesa(I)
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 21, 2008 23:47:06 GMT -5
"Good. You shouldn't have it any other way." I said sincerely. I offered my plate. "You suggested I try the salad as well?"
This conversation was interesting on so many levels. Maybe we were flirting, or maybe we were criticizing. Either way, we both seemed to take cautious moves, and try not to show more than we wanted.
Meetings like this never have simple endings.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 21, 2008 23:52:44 GMT -5
It was there still, those thoughts rolling around behind his eyes, masked and shrouded enough that I hadn't a glimmer at what he was thinking. I tucked my hand back in my lap and picked a leaf of lettuce out of my salad, eating it thoughtfully before answering him. "I did," I said after swallowing. "It's nothing grand, but I enjoy it."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 0:03:42 GMT -5
"It's rather good, I think." I responded after taking a sample bite. I went to my water to cleanse the palette. And with that thought, I decided to take a shot.
"Y'know, if we're going to keep sparring with each other, perhaps we should choose something that better tests our skills." I said idly.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 0:10:11 GMT -5
I peered at him, curiosity creeping into my features. "Anything in particular you have in mind?" I'd found his shark good as well when I'd tasted it, but as he had proffered his plate, I took a second, small bit. I really had liked it, and it was kind of him to offer it.
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 0:17:44 GMT -5
"Well, I''m guessing that you've spent a fair amount of time playing in the hall of games, which are a good judge of skill. But." I tapped my finger to my chin. "There are a few clever games that have been tradition in Siovale as long as I've been there. A game of languages and tongues. Heard of it?"
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 0:22:47 GMT -5
I nodded as he mentioned playing in the Hall of Games; I had spent my fair share of time, it was true. What he spoke of, though, I didn't recognize, at least not off the bat. "Not from what I can tell," I responded, my salad forgotten as I peered interestedly at him. "What does it entail?"
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Tabién de Valclesa(I)
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 0:42:57 GMT -5
Interesting. "Oh, it's a learning tool as well as a game. We engage in conversations and questions as normal, except that every time either one of us speaks, we use a different language. Sometimes only two or three would be uttered during a whole session, though there are others who could go through a repertoire of over a dozen. Still interested?"
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 0:46:46 GMT -5
"Si," I replied in Aragonian, flashing him a bright smile. "It sounds rather interesting. Starting now, then?"
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 0:53:43 GMT -5
"Of course. Think you can keep up?" I said in Alban. A staple language, it was easy to speak as D'angline, and certainly not a challenge for her.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 0:58:50 GMT -5
"Don't worry, I don't think you'll lose me," I replied in Kritian. I toyed with my salad again, then idly stabbed a piece of chicken. "So, tell me. Of all the places you've been, is there any in particular you'd live at over the other?"
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 1:02:27 GMT -5
"Hmmm. I liked Tiberium actually, the short time I stayed there." I said in matched Caerdicci. "There was something enlightening about that place. You've been there, yes?"
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 1:05:42 GMT -5
"A few times," I replied in Eiranian, smiling. "Their library is second only to that at the Palace; I could be lost there and die happy."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 1:10:40 GMT -5
Barely caught that one. "Oh, the library may be lacking know, but they have far better teachers there than I have seen. And most of them have books of their own that they won't give to the library." I managed to not destroy the sentence in Ruskovian. It was a commoners dialect, definitely not academic, learned in my travels.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 11:47:39 GMT -5
Gods, it sounded familiar, and at the same time completely foreign. I leaned forward a little as I tried to figure it out, then gave up with a gracious smile. "You win that one," I replied in Cruithne. "I have no idea what you just said."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 13:01:22 GMT -5
I reverted back to D'Angline for the explanation. "I said ' the library may be lacking know, but they have far better teachers there than I have seen. And most of them have books of their own that they won't give to the library.' It was Ruskovian, though I had to kind of make up a couple words for library and teacher, seeing as I learned it from villagers.
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 13:40:17 GMT -5
"Oh, so you cheated a little," I said in Caerdicci, a grin coming out onto my face. "Ruskovian, though? There's a Ruskovian prince here, though I haven't really had much of a chance to meet him yet. I hear he speaks d'Angeline very well, though."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 22, 2008 21:50:05 GMT -5
"How could I be cheating," I said in my more fluent Aragonian. I'd brushed up, rather quickly. "It's all I know." I said at first. Nodding at her second statement, "Well, I doubt I would have such an opportunity to speak to a prince. I'm not even sure what I'd say."
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Princess Azabel de Somerville
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Post by Princess Azabel de Somerville on Jan 22, 2008 22:31:46 GMT -5
I grinned. "You made up a few words." The tease was still in my Cruithne-inflicted voice as I pushed my plate away a little, folding my arms across the edge of the table. The game had successfully chased away my appetite, though I'd eaten half of it already.
"Say anything you'd say to me. He's from Ruskovia, though from what I hear, he's a lovely man. Very polite and respectful. There's Princes of the Blood here in Terre d'Ange that act far worse."
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Post by Tabién de Valclesa(I) on Jan 23, 2008 0:33:40 GMT -5
Matching her in Cruthine, "Interesting, and yet not entirely surprising. After all, one might expect a foreign noble to be on his best behavior. And just as likely, royal blood of our own kingdom can often act insolent, given their position,"
I switched to Cardacci again, giving her a genuine smile, "present company excluded, of course."
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