Time: Evening
Location: River Port, multiple locations
Interactions: Darius
@FunnyGuy and Nur
@DreamingflowersAmbiance: -
Nur waited outside the gates of the graveyard, leaning against the cool brick wall. She stared out into the distance. A cool evening breeze brushed past her shoulders. A chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered a little. It was getting kind of chilly, she missed leaning against someone warm. Her personal heat source was visiting the gravesite. She didn’t want to go with him. The dead made Nur uneasy, being immortal herself it was not something she gave much thought.
She sighed impatiently. What was taking him so long anyway? It wasn’t like they were talking back at him. Nur had turned and glanced through the iron gates a couple of times, but she didn’t see Darius anywhere. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, frowning. Out of all the places they could go in River Port, he wanted to go here.
Although what if he knew someone whose final resting place was here? That would be terribly sad, and she didn’t want to be insensitive if that was the case. Nur released the tension and her body, letting her arms fall to the side. She spotted Darius walking towards the gates and looked towards his face. It was weird to see him with a fake smile.
She joined him at his side, holding his arm like he was used to. At first, she let the silence linger a bit, to give him some time to compose himself if he needed to. The succubus leaned her head against his arm, not because she was tired, but because she wanted to make him feel better.
“I know what you need….” She smiled knowingly, leading them to the vineyard. A couple of drinks would make Darius smile way better than this miserable attempt he tried to sell her.
"And what might that be?" Darius asked as he caught a view of the vineyard and the winery on its grounds. He was sure he knew what Nur was referring to and her simple acknowledgement of the feelings he hid from her. He needed a distraction, and wine with good company seemed to be the answer.
“A distraction, and lucky for you I require your full attention” He managed a chuckle. A genuine one at that.
At the entrance of the vineyard, a centaur demihuman dressed in formal wear stood. He appeared to be some kind of guard or doorman.
"Good evening." He said with a slight nod as the pair entered the vineyard lit dimly by soft lighting set up throughout the vineyard.
"Wow… this is amazing." Darius commented in awe. The two took a moment to look upon the soft lights spread throughout the grapevines. As the sky grew darker, the vineyard imitated its starry appearance.
“It’s beautiful,” Nur exclaimed in excited agreement. They followed the designated path taking them through part of the grapevines, which were set up in a variety of ways. Some arranged in neat rows, resembling a cornfield. Others were being guided across wooden beams, creating archways and leafy roofs. Both white and purple grapes, dangled in heavy clusters above their heads. The fruity scent was pleasant, and light.
Nur inhaled the scent deeply, enjoying it.
“It smells so nice”A neatly dressed waiter approached them, coming from the main establishment carrying a tray, with glasses of wine and some refreshments. There were a handful of other visitors, but it was relatively quiet overall. Nur left Darius’s side to get a better look at what was on offer. She eyed the waiter who gave her a friendly smile.
“Which one will make you forget being miserable the quickest?”The waiter was taken aback by her question. He cleared his throat and lifted one of the glasses of red wine with his gloved hands.
“Well this red wine, is very ah…” He didn’t have time to finish. Nur quickly swiped the glass from him, he barely had time to blink.
“Great that will do nicely, thank you so much, Sir!” She’d already turned on her heel and made a beeline for Darius, who was still admiring the scenery. The waiter huffed and went over to the other guests.
She walked up to Darius, presenting the glass of wine like she was holding some precious treasure. It caused him to smile with amusement.
“Look what I got for you…… now don’t tell me you don’t drink red wine”Nur smiled, waiting for his reaction. He did not hesitate from the gesture, grasping the glass from Nur's hands. As Darius motioned to take a sip, he stopped with the rim of the glass an inch from his lips.
"What about you?" He looked at Nur with a raised eyebrow but proceeded to sip anyway.
Nur watched him take a sip, feeling pleased. She started to notice something about Darius. This was the second time he thought of her needs, without needing some kind of incentive. Most people would only act like that once she had charmed them using her power. Sure he could just be playing the long game, trying to fall into her good graces, simply because of the way she looked. But Nur had the feeling that wasn’t the case with Darius, or he would have come on much stronger. It was a strange little dichotomy, it made him unpredictable, in a way which both unnerved and excited her.
Let’s test that theory, shall we?
She got closer to him and held his wrist, drawing it down to her. The glass resting in front of her face. Without breaking eye contact, Nur dipped the forked tip of her tongue into the tart, slightly sweet liquid. Darius blinked a few times and was sure he saw what he saw.
So that was what I thought I saw in the alley.“Just a taste is enough for me,” She said with a mischievous wink. Nur let go of his wrist with a smug smile. She enjoyed her flirtatious interactions with him. He smiled back, not appearing bothered by the showing of her tongue. Perhaps during his first few hours on Avalia, Darius might have given a much more lively reaction.
He brought up the glass to have another taste. This time it was more than a sip… much more.
"Just one, huh?" He stared at the contents of his glass for a second.
"I'm different. If I enjoy something, I indulge… Maybe that's not a good thing, but if it doesn't hurt, why limit yourself?" His eyes directly met hers.
"Cocytus? Is that how you say it? I want to go there at least once. And if I enjoy it…" He took another long sip of wine.
"I'll indulge."Nur frowned slightly, caught off guard by his mention of Cocytus. Why would he want to go there? It was not a good place to be for a light elf. The succubus voiced her confusion.
“Why do you want to go there?”The demon city had been her home early in life, but she didn’t just leave to explore the world. There was a valid reason behind it, it wasn’t an easy city to live in, even for demons like herself.
So he was the indulgent type, wouldn’t that come in handy. Nur liked someone who enjoyed life. She indulged in the things she loved, excessive amounts of clothes, jewelry, and other beautiful things were an ever-present part of her. She wouldn’t be who she was without them.
"I just want to see it for myself… I have an open mind and I like getting to see new places. I am an explorer after all." Darius tacked on that last bit for legitimacy.
“I guess you are…” He would see for himself once he visited the demon city.
They enjoyed, or rather Darius enjoyed another glass of wine or two, pointing out the different sights at the vineyard to each other, after which they made their way back to the town square. Right outside of Sandy's souvenirs, the owner of the shop had set up a stall. The stall was decorated with colorful paper lanterns of all shapes and sizes. It didn’t take Nur long to spot the colorful stand and she dragged Darius towards it like she’d been doing all day.
“Oh look! I love lanterns, let’s get one”Sandy greeted her first customers of the evening with a welcoming smile. It warmed her heart to see that even adults liked the magic of the wishing lanterns.
“Good evening to you two, I have a special offer today, couples only” She added with a wink and a smile. Sandy grabbed one of the larger lanterns, its shape was more traditional compared to the rest she had on offer. The paper was a bright warm red, which would grow even brighter once the light was lit.
“This one is guaranteed to make your wishes come true” She held out two slips of paper to both Darius and Nur.
“Perfect, I know what I want”Nur looked to Darius, to see what he was going to do, and proceeded to take the paper from Sandy, writing down her wish in swirling letters, hiding the words with her other hand. She finished with a hopeful smile, crossing her fingers for luck, and handed the paper to Sandy. Darius however held his slip-on hand for a moment.
A wish? His eyebrows furrowed a bit before he took an audible breath and started writing. Just two words. They wouldn't mean anything significant to anyone else, but to him, they did. He handed the paper to Sandy with a smile.
"Same, here." He said confidently.
Once the wishes were inside Sandy leaned over to hand the lantern to Nur, who was standing closest to her. She carefully took it into her hands, as to not rip the paper. This was so exciting! It had been ages since she had a lantern like this. Haldir and most men before him didn't really care much for romantic antics. Nur on the other hand loved it. It brought out the part of her that believed in the magic of fairy tales and true love.
She held it out to Darius, so he could hold it too. He placed his hands gently on the lantern, his face full of wonder.
"We have to let go at the same time, or it will spoil our wishes"Nur explained with excitement in her voice. She looked at his face, his red eyes were even brighter in the light between them. A true smile gleamed! Exactly what she wanted to see.
"On three!""One… Two… Three!"One… Two… Three!" They both shouted as they simultaneously released the lantern, their eyes watching as it rotated and floated up with its red glow.
The pair followed it with their eyes, it floated past windows, rooftops, and ultimately into the night sky. It kept going higher and higher until….
They spotted two figures darting across above the port town. Nur narrowed her eyes to make out who they were and what was going on, while Darius blinked in bewilderment. It looked like a fight between two fairies. Nur followed one of them more closely. He wasn’t a fairy. He had leathery wings, a demi-human and he was rushing after the fairy, clearly angry. They exchanged a few final blows with their swords until they each went their separate ways, disappearing into the distance.
"Whoa… Not gonna lie, that was pretty cool!" He commented excitedly. The alcohol was subtly affecting him. His eyes fell on her, his inhibition waning.
"Did you wish for a fight in the sky?" He joked.
Nur could tell Darius was getting a little bit drunk, asking her a funny question. She hit his arm, to snap him out of it.
“Of course not, I wouldn’t waste my wish on some….” The remainder of her sentence was cut off by a loud bellowing sound, coming from a horn being blown somewhere close to them. It startled Nur, her heart racing in anticipation, while it simply captured Darius' attention away from her. They weren’t in any danger, however. She saw a dragon demi-human seated on top of a riding drake near the fountain, holding the culprit of the noise in his claws. Why a dragonoid would ride another dragon mystified her. He looked out of place in the seaside town. Dressed in a full set of heavy blue and gold armor, she could tell he had a few years on him already.
"I need me one of those." He commented with a smile.
Nur hoped he was here for the rebellion. She turned her attention back to Darius and nudged him.
“I’d say you’re a little drunk Darius the daring, it’s best if I take you home, or someone will surely take advantage of you like this.”And that was her job, she thought with a smirk.
