Walking to clear the mind.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

Early mid winter, year one of Queen Sabrinas reign.

I wasn't sure what to do when I left the temple. I'd hoped for.. something.. but I left feeling as lost as when I'd entered, and I didn't know whether I should do something to distract myself or simply go home.

In the end I chose to stay out, to walk around the temple district of the city. Drawing breaths of chilled air, I began a slow stroll, not hurried, simply walking and looking through the windows of the shoppes I passed. My cloak was pulled tight around me, a deep, lush red velvet, and my dress was a charcoal grey with accents of red in the same color as my cloak.

I wasn't in a bad mood, nor an overly cheerful one, more one of quiet curiosity, open to conversation should I happen upon it, but otherwise content to remain in silence. One window in particular caught my eye and I stopped to look at the little trinkets inside as the wind gently drifted through, sifting across the skin of the base of my neck where my marque was finished.

[Yves Chevalier]

It was early enough in the day for me be away from the bath house for awhile, I'd left Jacques in charge in my stead, and he was a pretty solid man in a fight. I hadn't any clear plans, I just wanted to get out and get some air. My ribs were healing well, but they still pained me and I wondered if I should try to see Faisan. I did not wish to make an impromptue visit to Mont Nuit, however, and possibly get him in trouble for his help.

Instead I did what was probably the opposite of what he would have recommended: I went for a walk. A long walk, through Night's Doorstep and then through the Temple District. I thought about visiting one of the Temples, but I was no longer an overly religious man; in fact, one might call me cynical about that sort of thing.

The walk was actually making my sore muscles feel better, so maybe it was not a bad thing that I exerted myself in this fashion, but at one point I found that I was tiring more easily than I otherwise might have. To rest a bit, I paused near a beautiful woman, one that looked so luscious and graceful, that I pegged her for an Adept. Wondering if I was correct, I addressed her.

"What takes your fancy, then, My lady?" I asked, noticing that she was intrigued by something in the window display.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I was looking at a little jewelry box, painted with a scroll that had words upon it. They were done with a fair hand, but it was just far enough away that I couldn't make them out, and my attention was fully upon it when of a sudden I became of a figure next to me, one that spoke as I was straightening my form.

My glance took him in, and I was struck by a vision of bistre locks that echoed the color of his eyes, ones that held a curiosity that was at once polite and interested. "Oh," I said, a smile blossoming over my mouth as I held my cloak closed with one hand, my other arm escaping the relative warmth to gesture lightly as I spoke. "The box there, actually... there are words writ upon it, but I cannot make them out from here." Pulling my arm back in again, I kept my cloak tucked in around me, my eyes going back from the box and to his again, the breeze trickling across the both of us as we stood.

[Yves Chevalier]

"Ah, intrigue!" I exclaimed, moving to stand closer to her, then peering into the window, squinting. My own cloak had blown back in the wind, revealing the rough hewn tunic and breeches that I wore beneath it. Madam paid well enough, but I was not the type to spend overmuch on clothing.

Before I knew it, my nose was against the glass. "I think it says, 'The love that lasts the longest is the love that's never returned.' Well, that's an odd sentiment for a music box, perhaps I am reading that wrong..." I trailed off, backing up and looking at her with a crooked grin. "Or perhaps this is a shop for that unrequited lover who has everything?" The thought behind it gave my heart a painful jolt, making me realize how oddly true that sentiment was. Perhaps it was because a love unreturned stayed ideal in one's mind, never tainted by the rigors of a true relationship.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I literally shivered as he let his cloak flip back in the wind, exposing his bare clothing to the bite of winter. My fingers clutched at mine a little harder, but my attention swung immediately to watch him as he pressed his nose to the glass, peering through the imperfect barrier to read the box for me. Part of me thought it incredibly kind, and the other part comical to see him like that, though I held back any laughter that might have come of it, not wanting to irritate him at all. When he read off what he thought the box said, I was glad I didn't laugh; the inscription made me frown softly in an unexplained sadness.

"I have to agree," I said as I peered at the box again, my eyes taking in its polished corners and sides before looking up to the mystery man with bistre locks. "That is rather odd a thing to have on a place you're to store jewelry within."

For all the inscription bothered me, his smile was still infectious, an I felt my lips rising despite myself, my brief moment of melancholiness dissipating in favor of a smile that overtook my features again. "Thank you for reading it though... I hadn't made up my mind on whether I was going to go in to look at it, or whether I was going to keep walking." Bending my knee, I dipped into a slight curtsy; from the cut and fabric of his clothes, I didn't think he had much money or a title, but that was no reason to be rude. "I'm Aurianne no Ca... Hughes, monsieur." My smile remained through my mistake, and I straightened, my gaze returning from the height of his knees to his own face again.

[Yves Chevalier]

I tried not to smile when she introduced herself, apparently I had been correct, although it seemed that she was a former adept. Adepts never lost that certain grace they possessed, that aura of beauty that transcended that of normal women, even D'angeline women.

"Yves Chevalier," I said, bowing deeply to her. "At your service, my lady." I crooked another smile and gestured at the music box in the window. "So, did the inscription make you want to go in and take a further look, or pass this window by in favor of another?"

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

"Yves," I repeated, tasting his name upon my tongue, and at his deep bow I blushed lightly, wishing I'd given a lower curtsy. My lips remained curved in a friendly smile, and ironically as he asked the question of what I had planned on doing, another gust of wind rose, sliding across my bare neck as my hair was pinned up. "I think I'd like to go inside," I said with a shiver, though I couldn't help but laugh a little as well. His good mood was infectious, and the slightly lopsided smile he gave was boyish and charming. "Has something caught your eye as well?" I asked as I glanced back at the wares, wondering if he would want to accompany me in, but not being near so bold as to ask it outright.

[Yves Chevalier]

"Oh me?" I asked, noting that she seemed chilled, but as she was already wearing a cloak, offering her mine seemed redundant. For some reason the cold didn't bother me ... all of that time in Skaldia, I supposed. "I'm not sure, I'm not a huge shopper, but I must admit to being intrigued by that inscription. Maybe they have other odds and ends that will catch my fancy, or yours."

I smiled and held my arm out to her, "If all else, fails, it's sure to be warm inside at the very least."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

"I tend to browse more than actually buy," I confessed; I never did have the money to purchase anything anyway. When he held his arm out, I smiled softly and took it, my hand resting lightly through the inside of his elbow, fingers upon the rough spun thread. "I don't know how you're not freezing," I said, wrinkling my nose ever so slightly through my smile as we walked into the store together. "I miss summer, when the wind is blessedly welcome." I glanced about as we moved, wondering if he would want to go over to the display case to look at the box, or if he was only feigning interest.

[Yves Chevalier]

I laughed, nodding in agreement, "That's me as well. It's fun to look, but not many things seem worth parting with my hard-earned coin for." When she had taken my arm, I smiled and led us into the shoppe.

"For some reason, weather doesn't bother me. I think I have just gotten a talent for ignoring it," I said. I realized that the skin of my arm was cold, though I did not particularly feel cold. "One day I shall probably die of exposure," I laughed.

Once we were inside, I glanced at the window display, though I saw no proprietor in sight. "Do you think the shoppe keep will mind if I manhandle his window display?" I asked in a lowered voice, my manner conspiratorial.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

He was so relaxed, so easy going that it was hard not to let down my guard and feel more relaxed than I would have if he were more stiff-necked, so when he said he had a talent for ignoring the weather, I laughed. Not boisterously nor like at tinkle, just a soft chuckle that made me duck my head a little; had my hair been down, it would have fallen over my shoulder. "That must be a nice talent to have," I said, glancing up at him again with a more natural smile than I'd worn before. "If you've figured out how to apply that to some people and situations as well, why, I should think you're richer than many others I know."

My gaze went from his as he mentioned the display window, traveling to the little box that sat just barely in sight. "I don't think so," I said, giving him a warm look before a slightly teasing light came into my eye. "And should he, don't fear; I'll see about engaging him in conversation and distracting him for you."

[Yves Chevalier]

I chuckled, for I did possess that talent, to some extent. Maybe it was because I had once endured things that I thought would break me, but since coming to the City everything rolled off of me. I did not care enough, I supposed, to let anything get to me. I didn't share these thoughts however, as I did not wish to bore her.

"Well, where ever the shoppe keep has gone, I shall hope he does not return angrily." I reached into the window display and plucked out the music box. I opened it and was greeted by the strains of a haunting melody, one that definitely evoked the message on the inscription. I had to laugh and shake my head, placing it back in the window. "I can't imagine the emotional masochist who would want this music box." I paused and reflected, then added, "Or the sadist that would give it as a gift."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I watched him with some amusement, thinking of how different his demeanor was to Damiens. Damien was more serious in good truth - easy to smile, but still somehow more serious. Even a haunting melody and a saddening inscription upon a jewelry box brought laughter from Yves, a reaction that I suspected few would imitate. It was... refreshing, in a way.

"Unless they gave it as a jest," I suggested, grinning lightly at him. "I myself cannot imagine owning such a thing though.. it would fill me with sadness whenever I looked upon it."

Something itched at me, in my heart, and I pushed it away as I took a few steps to end up alongside him. My hair, bound in a clip and pins, brushed against my neck where the top of my marque lay upon my skin as I leaned over the half partition, looking curiously at the other objects on display. "This is lovely," I commented as I brought a finger to lightly gesture at a babe in swaddling clothes, laughter on its face as it lay belly-up in a wash basin. It was carved from soap, but the details were so intricate that I couldn't imagine ever using it. "I've never seen anything like that before."

[Yves Chevalier]

I reached into the window to pluck the object that caught her fancy, lifting it up to her so that she might make closer inspection of it. "The detail on it is amazing," I said, "you can see the babe's features and everything. Impressive." I looked back at her, silently marveling at her perfect features ... Camellia House must have been sorry to lose her.

"Although, I have to say, it seems rather silly to carve something so painstakingly out of soap, so that if anyone uses it, it will be ruined. I suppose if people get some enjoyment of it before that happens, the artist's work has been accomplished..." I trailed off as I set the soap back down in the window. "This shop is rather full of oddities, isn't it?" And still no shopkeeper to be seen...

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I watched as he plucked it up, his fingers nimble and careful enough that it didn't break any of the fragile limbs off. I had to admire it, even in silence, as he held it out and inspected it. "Incredibly amazing," I murmured, leaning in a little more so I could see every last detail. The eyes were carved, little nostrils, a rosebud mouth... A former Eglantine adept, maybe? Someone highly skilled, if not highly trained.

"Some people put much stock into things like that," I said, smiling and leaning back again as he set it down once more. My eyes rose to his, and my smile grew a little more; his own grin was so infectious that I didn't think many people looked at him and didn't smile. "I had a patron once whose bathing room was full of frivolities like that; he had soaps carved into flowers, oil jars blown into beautiful shapes; even the feet upon his copper tub was decorated." Recalling brought a light blush to my cheeks, and not because I was ashamed to refer to my calling of Naamah... Oh, no. The oil jars had been blown into the shape of women; breasts, waists and hips, thighs, even one where the legs were parted and a clean slit slid down into a rear. The soaps too were done in that of the Night Court; he'd bathed me with a Camellia flower before leading me to his bedroom.

Clearing my throat lightly, I turned and looked out across the shoppe again, taking in the organized clutter with a curiousness that still battled the blush on my cheeks. "But, you're right; it does seem like this shoppe is full of oddities. Is there anything that strikes your fancy?" I queried, catching sight of a little movement in the very back before I brought my gaze to Yves' again.

[Yves Chevalier]

As she spoke of her patron, I could not help but imagine that she must have had quite a few of them - she was so beautiful. I smiled at the tale she told of her patron's bathing chamber, wondering at someone who spend such coin on things that seemed rather useless to my mind.

When she asked if anything struck my fancy, well, how could I pass up such a perfect opening? It was not often that I thought of women as other than little sisters, to be protected or coddled. Something about this one, however, affected me in a manner that I had not felt in such a very long time.

"Only one thing," I said, reaching out and trailing a finger across the perfect line of her jaw. "But I fear it is not for sale."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I blushed - I couldn't help it. Rose fused in my cheeks immediately, building upon the color that was already there, and my mouth lifted into a smile even as I ducked my head down a hair, eyes lowering. His reaction had caught me off guard; it'd been so long since anyone had truly looked at me like that, but I didn't leave Damiens townhome much anymore, just a few scarce trips to Mont Nuit. I didn't like to spend his money, not if I could help it.. something held me back from it, not wanting to be a burden upon him.

"My marque was purchased," I said softly, picking my gaze up off his chest and to his eyes again. I hesitated when I looked at him, and I felt my cheeks manage to heat more as I realized I was admiring how truly handsome he was, how his smile fit his face so perfectly. "I..."

"Hello there!" I fair jumped when the shopkeep showed up finally, an apron straining over the bulk of his midsection. His face was jovial though, and I turned, half tucked in next to Yves side as I looked at the man, a smile rising to my lips by habit alone. "Can I help you with something? Looking for anything in particular?" Tucking his hands behind him, he looked at both of us curiously, though his gaze tended to stay on Yves longer than mine.

[Yves Chevalier]

"Forgive me," I began, my cheeks reddening slightly - what had come over me? It was so unlike me to respond to a woman that way, not since ... well, not in a long time. And of course she was unavailable, a woman like her would not be short of suitors or men standing in line to be with her.

I didn't have the chance to say more, however, as the elusive shopkeep appeared at the worst - or best? - possible time. "Nothing in particular," I replied, my smile returning as if naught had occurred. "We were drawn in by your music box, it seems rather ... well, melancholy, is there a tale behind it?" I smiled down at Aurianne, hoping that I had not made her uncomfortable.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

He blushed, and immediately I felt badly for it, that he'd feel any amount of regret for having said what he did. There was nothing to be said though, nothing that could be voiced, especially with the smiling shopkeep standing just before us. When he glanced down to me and smiled again, I felt the habitual one I'd given the shopkeeper lift more, warming considerably as I looked back at Yves. It stayed even as I dropped my gaze again, glancing towards the flooring with a light blush upon my cheeks before I brought it to the shopkeep to hear what he said, though I brought my hand up wordlessly, very carefully and very gently taking Yves' arm once more.

"The music box? Ah, yes, well. A slighted lover made it, or so I was told when I purchased it. He fell in love with a girl from Namarre, but all she wanted was a bit of fun. Forgive me," he added, his gaze upon me as his cheeks reddened a bit. It amused me, as if I'd never heard the concept of coupling before. I didn't say anything, just nodded my head once graciously towards him, a touch of amusement tickling my features. "He made the box as a way to... release some of what he felt inside when she left and refused to take him. It's a sad story, if you put yourself in the mans shoes."

[Yves Chevalier]

It heartened me, that she took my arm again, it let me know that I had given no offense. I turned my attention to the shopkeep, though I felt oddly giddy that I hadn't ruined everything with my forwardness.

The story made sense to me, and hadn't I done something similar, only with a blade and leaving nothing so lovely in my wake. "It is a sad story," I said when he finished, "though the tale does make the music box more appealing, for who among us has not felt the same at some point?"

I looked down at Aurianne and smiled, then back to the shopkeep. "Do all of your wares have such interesting tales attached to them?"

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

He didn't push for more, didn't pull me in close or anything of the sort, just stood and listened with the same smile on his face that he had before I took his arm. It.. gave me strength, in a way. It helped me relax a little more, that there was no wounded pride in the way of any newly forming friendship. I half listened to the shopkeep, paying as much attention as I had to to make it look like I was honestly interested, but my thoughts were mainly directed inward. When Yves smiled down at me, I returned it, though my gaze didn't linger on his, just looked back at the shopkeeper again.

"Well," He said, tapping his hands on the apron that spread across his generous girth, "Some do, and some don't... I like to keep unusual things here, as you have probably noticed. But there are some more delicate things just over there, things your lady here might enjoy."

His second chin wiggled a little as he grinned, and I blushed again, not exactly sure how to respond. "I enjoy all sorts of things, monsieur," I said, scrambling for a response that hopefully wouldn't make either man feel slighted. "I actually find I enjoy your shoppe quite a bit.. it's.. out of the ordinary, quite unique."

I glanced to Yves and flashed him a little smile, my fingers giving his arm a soft squeeze before I looked to the shopkeep again, who was beaming at the mention of how unique his shoppe truly was. "Yes, well. I shalln't bother either of you any more," he grinned, bowing his head to the both of us. "I'll just be in the back, if you need me."

[Yves Chevalier]

It was strange, for I had only met Aurianne minutes ago, but I rather enjoyed that the shopkeeper referred to her as my lady. It had been many years since I had had a woman on my arm, and it was with a sudden pang that I realized I had missed it. That feeling threatened to lead to others, ones that I had spent a long time burying, so I quickly quelled it, focusing on the shopkeeper as he excused himself.

"Between you and I," I murmured after he had gone, "I rather prefer to shop without the shopkeeper nearby, less pressure that way." I chuckled and led her a bit to the left, into an aisle full of blown glass figurines. "These are lovely," I said, finding one that was shaped like a Camellia flower. "And look at this..." I gestured to it and then smiled at her. "Not half so lovely as the real thing, however."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

Yves took the lead naturally, guiding us over to an isle adorned with blown glass, and I found myself appreciating it as I walked alongside him. "I don't blame you," I said, agreeing wholly, "I dislike browsing with a shopkeep nearby as well. I always feel badly when I walk out without purchasing anything... especially when they're as nice as he was," I added thoughtfully.

I was looking at an oblong figure that I couldn't quite make out when he spoke of a flower, and I glanced to it, a smile already blooming across my mouth. "It is beautiful," I said, admiring the delicate petals. "Elua, it must have taken a long time to accomplish." His smile only lifted my own, and I found myself looking at him rather than the glass. "A true Camellia flower smells wonderful.. Light, with just the right amount of scent; I remember how it would fill the air in the gardens." A lovely memory, but my mind was riveted in the present, in the shoppe here, and the man next to me.

[Yves Chevalier]

"That sounds beautiful, actually ... I have seen true Camellia flowers before, but only one or two together, I can imagine that an entire garden full of them would smell amazing." I lifted the delicate glass object from the shelf, suddenly feeling like the proverbial bull in a china shop, aware that if I happened to drop it or some such, it would probably cost me a month's pay to replace. At least.

Still, I examined it, turning it this way and that, and at one point it caught the light and refracted a brilliant pattern of rainbow speckles all over the display shelf. "I can see why someone might like to collect these," I said as I laid the object back in it's place. I noticed that it was an entire collection: there was an Orchid and a Dahlia and there, even a Mandrake flower. "What a nice idea," I added, though before this day I had actually harbored a secret dislike for the Night Court. I found that I could hardly hold on to that feeling in her presence, as if she represented the whole of it.

"Do you miss it?" I asked suddenly, even while realizing it was such a personal question to ask a woman that I hardly knew. "The Night Court, I mean..." I turned away then, feeling like a foolish oaf for even asking. "I'm sorry, that's personal, you don't have to answer." I hoped that I wasn't alienating her, all of a sudden I seemed to have lost my wits, odd as that was.

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

I watched as he picked up the flower... and was amazed that fingers so calloused, so large, could be so careful and gentle with the delicate piece. He was.. different, somehow, his expression softer even while he examined it. I admired it as it much as I quietly admired him; thankfully I was standing at just enough of an angle that I could see his face without it being apparent I was doing so.

I smiled at his compliment of the collection, an agreement upon my tongue when he suddenly switched the direction of the talk in a way I hadn't expected. I hesitated in answering, not really sure what to say or how to answer when he turned away, almost abashed.

"It's not..." I started, but stopped; it was personal, but I found myself not wanting him to turn away, or feel badly for asking a question. Amending what I was going to say, truly not wanting to lie to him even to spare his feelings, I took in a soft breath. "I don't mind sharing with you," I added softer, my hand coming up to touch the back of his in hopes he'd look at me again.

"I.. do and I do not miss it. I don't really miss the assignations, or the..." I paused, struggling for the right word, "...pressure inside Camellia, but I miss the feeling of home. Damien has been good to me, and I care for him, but it's difficult to adjust. It's like something is missing, but I don't know what. Mayhap it's all the bustle," I said, my brows furrowing slightly as I tried to figure it out. "Or maybe it's just how different everything is now than it was then. I don't know. Sometimes I feel lost."

It came out before I realized it, and my cheeks didn't just blush, but flared with crimson heat. My eyes widened, and I looked up at Yves before glancing away again. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling..." I was tempted to take up a small figurine of a bird, but if I wasn't sure I had the funds on me to pay for it if it broke, and I didn't want to force Damien to pay for anything. I knew he wouldn't mind, but I didn't like putting it on him... didn't like putting anything like that on him. He had enough to worry about.

[Yves Chevalier]

I felt the soft touch of her hand on my back, and I turned back to face her, relieved that she did not seem to mind the intrusion. I smiled softly at her as she spoke, her eyes getting a somewhat faraway look in them as she spoke of that ever elusive feeling of "home." Did one ever truly feel at home once they had gone out in the world? There were times when I ached for that feeling so badly that it was like a physical pain, but I knew that even if I went there, home would not be what it once was, and that alone kept me far away.

I felt a strong connection with her when she said she felt lost ... that summed me up entirely, though one would never know it who met me. I kept it buried, so well that sometimes even I forgot, but never for long. No, the life I had made was nothing more than an attempt to hide from who I was, and who could truly do that for long?

"No, it's all right, I like hearing your thoughts." I glanced at the shopkeeper, who seemed to have disappeared again, as my eyes did not find him. "Would you like to leave? I mean, we can walk and talk some more, if you'd like." I wanted to talk to her somewhere else, outdoors for some strange reason. Like she should be in the sunshine, always. My thoughts were all over the place today, so odd for me, and I pulled myself together as I placed my hand gently at her waist, to guide her from the shop if she agreed.

"I do understand what you mean," I added, smiling at her as I felt myself opening up much more than was usual for me. "I've decided that "home" is not a place or a time, it's a feeling ... it's a person, even, and when we find them, we've come home."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

For all my cheeks were aflame, Yves seemed nonplussed by it, not commenting or even seeming to notice, something I was eternally grateful for. When he suggested leaving, I nodded, a smile rising unbidden to my mouth; for some reason I craved fresh air. I turned, grateful I hadn't touched any of the figures, careful of keeping my skirts from brushing anything.

His hand on my waist, I followed his guidance out of the shoppe, though admittedly my mind was mostly on him and what he was saying rather than anything else. The wind felt refreshing though, even if it did make me tug my velvet wrap tighter around myself. For a moment I was thoughtful, quiet after he finished speaking, and I continued to follow him wherever it was that he led me, trusting him enough by this point not to worry about it.

"I think you're right," I said softly, slowly, though it pained me to admit it, pained me to realize what I'd already somehow known. "I was born in Alyssum, but when my tenth natal came, Camellia was the House I'd ended up with, buying my marque from Alyssum. After a little time at Camellia... visiting my mother didn't feel like going home anymore. And now?" I shifted slightly, swallowing a sigh and the sadness that threatened to creep up. Now, I didn't have anything. "Even if I went back to Camellia, it wouldn't be the same."

It scared me to think about it, as much as it saddened me, and I pushed away the thoughts before they could even form. Looking up at Yves, I smiled at him, a genuine smile that inflicted my eyes as well. "Where do you call home Yves, if you don't mind my asking?"

[Yves Chevalier]

I felt badly just then, for my words seemed to have brought a melancholy upon her and I wondered at the seriousness of our interaction. First the music box, and now our conversation had turned to this most painful topic. However, it did not seem out of place for us to be conversing about such things, and that was something else to wonder at.

Outside, the chill air seemed to clear my head a bit and I led her along the broad avenue, no real destination in mind. "Me?" I asked, taking her arm as we walked, ever the gentleman, no matter who or where I was. It was a good question and one that demanded an honest answer. For her, I could give no less.

"Nowhere, truly. I have lived in the City of Elua for some years now, but it has never felt like home. Like you, I suppose I am lost, still trying to find the person or place that is home to me. I had begun to doubt that I would ever find it, but meeting someone else who shares the search does make me feel some hope."

[Aurianne nó Hughes]

It surprised me, in truth, that he had nowhere that he truly called home. Yves was a few years older than I, if I was any judge, though his face was still unlined, making it hard for me to pinpoint exactly how old. I don't know why, but I'd thought he'd spoken of home and a person to call home as if he'd experienced it before, as if he already had it... but looking back, mayhap it was just wishful thinking. I felt a tug for him, a shared sadness, and I found myself walking closer to him for it.

"I'm sorry to hear that Yves," I said softly, honestly meaning it. "Mayhap one day we'll both settle into it in one fashion or another." Mayhap my problem was I was out of my element with Damien. I felt as if I owed him, and truly I did, but maybe one day I'd finally feel.. home. Feel like I truly belonged.

I barely knew him, but I laid my temple on the side of his shoulder as we walked, taking silent comfort and hopefully giving it. It was only for a moment, but when I straightened I did feel better, more.. whole. Looking up at him, I smiled softly. "I have a feeling wherever it is that you choose to call home will be lucky to have you."

[Yves Chevalier]

The way she lay her head against me as we walked reminded me of- well, it was best not to be reminded, and Aurianne was in no way like any other woman I had known, I could tell that already. "Do not be too sorry for me," I said, looking back at her and smiling, "I have a good life, even without finding 'home'." It was trite to think it, perhaps, but I was indeed happier with less than I had ever been with plenty.

"Oh, not too lucky, I have all sorts of terrible habits. For instance, I am always leaving my dirty socks about, the horror!" I laughed as I attempted to lighten the mood. I liked being with her, and I did not want her to think of me as a depressing person, though she did seem to bring out the reflective side of me.

"What about you, I cannot conceive of it, but you must have a bad habit or two yourself, do share so that I don't feel so bad about mine."