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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 1:12:39 GMT -5
My new found companion and I found a seat at the new Alban pub as discussed, and a server was soon over to take our order. I asked for their house ale, then looked to Gillermo.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 1:29:08 GMT -5
I discussed a little, and settled for the house ale as well. I was more of a wine drinker myself, and uisge... well I couldn't quite stomach it since the carousing on Coronation night.
Once we were settled, I lifted my mug, and said, "Well, what are we drinking to, then?"
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 1:35:37 GMT -5
"To our women?" I asked with a wry smile, lifting my mug to mirror his.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 1:44:48 GMT -5
I chuckled, "How appropriate," I said as I lifted my glass. "To our women, then."
I clinked my mug, and downed a healthy portion of ale, looking him straight in the eye, in the way Calderon had instilled in me. Something about trust and luck, they said in his pueblo.
Once I was done, I said, "So how many do you have, exactly?" He'd mentioned two, but who knew? Maybe he had more. He wasn't awful looking, after all.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 2:06:19 GMT -5
"Two, and a possible third on the way," I replied after quaffing a decent amount of my ale. The thought of having a daughter filled me with joy, though I knew it was going to take a lot of work.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 2:08:40 GMT -5
I laughed a little for the way he said it. Either he hadn't sealed the deal with Lady number three or... my eyebrow creased, and after I'd had another draught, I asked, "Courting, or expecting?" He smiled, though, seemingly happy.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 2:23:50 GMT -5
"Expecting," I told him with a grin, and toasted him with my ale.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 2:28:07 GMT -5
I gave him a startled look. I hadn't expected that, but I smiled nonetheless. His happiness was contagious. "Well congratulations," I replied as I toasted him back. "I could say the same," I added with a grin. "Two, and expecting. But I'd wager my situation is rather simple compared to yours." Since no-one is pregnant.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 2:44:58 GMT -5
"Thank you," I replied, then raised a brow at his following words. "Oh yes?" I asked, inviting him to continue.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 2:52:13 GMT -5
I chuckled. "A little sister, an intended, an adept, whose marque I intend to buy," I told him. "Only in love with one of them, though, and I'm sure you can guess which one. It simplifies things."
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 3:00:01 GMT -5
I was a bit puzzled. "Well, either you don't much care for your intended, or you're about to buy the marque of an adept you don't love." I said. Neither option made much sense to me.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 3:05:01 GMT -5
Ah. It seemed I was an enigma myself. "I love my intended to madness," I told him, my smile broadening at the thought. "And I care very much about my adept. She saved my life."
I took another drought of ale, and asked, curious, "Does that make more sense to you?"
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 3:15:11 GMT -5
Gratitude I could understand, though inwardly I whistled at how much money he had to have. Marques didn't exactly come a silver a dozen.
"Yes, it does." I confirmed. "Have you set a date?"
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 3:19:34 GMT -5
I looked at him with lifted eyebrows. "I'm not sure which one you're referring to," I told him with a grin. "The wedding, or the contract?"
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 3:24:31 GMT -5
I chuckled. "Sorry, I meant the wedding." Apparently, I had wedding on the mind to the point where I was becoming ambiguous.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 3:31:54 GMT -5
Ah. Of course, the wedding. I took a swig, a long swig of ale, and found I'd emptied my mug. Before I knew it, I ordered more for us both. I'd pick up the bill anyway. "No date yet," I replied somberly. "She hasn't accepted yet, though she says she loves me. I've agreed to wait."
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 3:42:33 GMT -5
Oh, that was rough. "Well if it's any consolation, mine agreed but seems in absolutely no hurry to finalize it," I offered, finishing my own mug.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 3:50:56 GMT -5
"Ah, women," I said as I nodded gratefully to the lad who set the two mugs down. "I could wait forever, I think, for this one," I admitted. "What's holding yours up, then?"
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 3:55:46 GMT -5
I murmured my thanks to the boy who dropped off our drinks. "Commitment issues, to be perfectly blunt." I replied with a chuckle. "Though I hope some of that eases next week when I meet some of her family."
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 3:59:44 GMT -5
Commitment issues? Oh, that sounded like a song I'd heard before, and one I'd even performed countless times. Ow. It didn't sound good.
"Is that so? I hope it works out for you. I'm confused, though. I would expect those issues to come up before she said yes, not after..." I killed the end of my sentence in my mug of ale. It was self-evident.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 19:40:40 GMT -5
"She's... a complicated woman," I replied, not really wanting to discuss the intricate relationship between Mala and I. "But I expect I can coax her along. I'm patient." I thought of her ring, and then the trip out to get my collar. Unconsciously, my hand rose to trace the line where it normally rested, and I smiled slightly.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 20:02:53 GMT -5
“Looks like we’re quite in similar boats, then,” I observed, trying not to think at what he let happen to himself as he put his hand to his neck. “Why would she have commitment issues, though, if she is…” it dawned on me, and I mouthed a silent gasp of understanding. “Oh. Not quite the same boat.”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 20:28:08 GMT -5
I watched his expression change at the eureka moment. "And what exactly just dawned?" I asked, amused.
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 20:32:04 GMT -5
"The woman you intend to marry... isn't the one expecting, unless I've missed my guess." I shrugged. How could one have commitment issues, if they were with child?
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 20, 2008 20:42:04 GMT -5
"You're correct. It's what makes matters rather complicated. Especially since my fiancée and the mother of my unborn child have absolutely no use for one another." I sighed, and took another fortifying drink of ale. "To put it mildly."
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 20, 2008 21:25:57 GMT -5
I couldn't contain the little frown of concern. "That's inconvenient to say the least," I conceded. I took another slab, and added, "But do you love the other woman as well?"
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 21, 2008 0:51:30 GMT -5
"Inconvenient is definitely saying the least." I agreed. "I love her, but as an adept loves a patron. I don't want to spend the rest of my life with her. I was contracted to father her child, nothing more. I can have a place in the child's life, but it was quite explicitly stated that she would not marry me, or take me from Valerian. This was, just to make things more entertaining, after a fight with my intended when I never thought I'd hear from her again."
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 21, 2008 11:12:43 GMT -5
I nodded, understanding more than he perhaps could imagine. “It makes sense,” I replied. “I care deeply about my adept, but I don’t want to marry her, or have children with her, for that matter. That is for the other one… but I sense her uneasiness at the thought.” I gave him a grin, and added, “A rather lucky draw, though, to have both of them…” I creased my eyes, and asked, “The mother of your child, your patron… she doesn’t want more of you, now, does she?”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Jan 21, 2008 12:32:18 GMT -5
"She doesn't want more of me, but she doesn't want anyone else having me either." I replied with a wry twist to my mouth at the last. "You should have seen her face when I told her I was engaged. It was the same day she told me she was pregnant."
"Have you ever been jealous of someone your adept has?"
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Post by Gillermo Stregazza on Jan 21, 2008 12:42:12 GMT -5
I gave him a look. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant, but it must have been surprise. “What an alien concept,” I observed. “Of course not – it is in the nature of the adept to be polyamorous, is it not? Why try to cage them?”
I drummed, and added, “A contrario. My adept loves someone, and I wish them deep happiness.” I thought a moment, and wondered if I would be jealous of someone else who had Mirielle. I wouldn’t be possessive, I didn't think so, anyway, but I’d be hurt. The idea was highly unpleasant. “If it were my intended, it would hurt me, though,” I admitted at length.
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