Jiskastya X Seravee

[Jiskastya]

Vangren settled into an armchair next to Raylynn, watching her dig into her plate. A small smile flickered across his face before he began to eat as well. The food was rich, flavorful, and warm, coated liberally in sauce, and was one of the finest foods he had eaten in several months. Despite that,he was significantly more reserved than the overenthusiastic Raylynn, taking the time to savor his mouthfuls before moving on to the next bite. Despite the attention he paid to his food, he still noticed when Raylynn cleared her plate and glanced over at the wine. Ever a proper gentleman, Vangren paused, set his plate down carefully on his lap, and leaned forward to uncork the bottle with the opener that was resting beside it. The cork came out quickly and cleanly, and the rich, red liquid was soon being poured into two delicate crystal glasses. He offered Raylynn one of the glasses with a silent toast, before taking a sip of his own wine. His eyes fluttered closed, and his mouth parted open slightly to allow the wine's flavor to mature on his tongue. Clearly he was no novice to the art of alcohol, either.

[Seravee]

She traded him a smile for the wine that he offered her, and once the glass was in her hand, she took an enthusiastic swig. Her features immediately crumpled into an expression of extreme distaste, and it took every ounce of willpower to keep from spitting the blasted liquid back in to the glass. She hastily swallowed it, coughed once, and placed the glass on the table next to her chair. Raylynn had not expected that at all. The wine was quite a bit different than what she had had to drink at the temple. It was sharp, and bursting with a flavor that caught her completely off guard. She clenched her teeth together tightly to avoid coughing again.

The young woman sat back in her chair and regarded Vangren as he ate. He still had quite a bit left on his plate, as he was eating far more slowly than she had. As she realized how she must have looked, she blushed slightly. This, combined with the embarrassment of the wine fiasco, caused the silence between them to grow uncomfortable in her mind. "So," she started slowly, "do you travel a lot?" In the morning, when she was well rested and her head was clear, she might kick herself for asking such a stupid question. But for now, it seemed appropriate.

[Jiskastya]

Vangren's mouth quirked upwards slightly, but he quickly removed it from his face as he took another sip of the rich wine. He nodded his head, a little bit slowly, but not slow enough to seem sarcastic. It was almost frustrating to try and counter his movements to this girl's oversensitive belief that he was always laughing at her. Well, he was laughing at her, but he wasn't doing it in a cruel way. Or, at least, he wasn't trying to. His only response to that was a mental sigh.

"It has been..." Vangren began, "quite a while since I have settled down anywhere for long enough to call it home. My life is one very big 'travel'" It would be nice to have a horse again, even if Vangren had never been one to mind walking. He was in no hurry to be in any particular place at any particular time, but the straightforward, nonjudgmental attitude of an equine companion would be a welcome change, especially from the solitude he had experienced for so long. Was that why he was taking care of this young temple girl?

No, there were reasons beyond that, and it was good to know that at least one of them wasn't selfish. He knew, simply from the way that she acted, that Raylynn would not have been ready for the "perfect" life of spreading the word of her gods, she was far too hot-headed. But he couldn't help but wonder if the temple leader had known exactly how much of a novice Raylynn was to everything in the world. If Vangren didn't take care of her, at least until she was able to get her feet well enough under her that she wouldn't walk right off of a cliff, she would never make it through the winter.

And there was no need for him to ask about her own traveling experience. The fact that she hadn't even recognized the name of the town closest to her home told him clearer than anything that she had probably not even been outside of the city since she had arrived, or been dropped off. Instead, he reached over, grabbed the glass of wine that she had set down, and offered it to her. "Don't gulp," he advised politely. "This is more than flavored water. Take just enough into your mouth to fill the cradle of your tongue, roll it around your mouth, and then swallow. I think you might find the flavor more attractive when you do not overwhelm your taste buds." It truly was a rich drink, laced with subtle flavors of oak and earth, and a heavy, almost chocolaty aftertaste.