[img]https://i.imgur.com/2sbSrxg.png[/img]
[center][h1][color=30A4D9]Bastion[/color] [color=E0D6C0]&[/color] [color=olive]Talis[/color][/h1][/center][hr]
[color=30A4D9][b]Interactions:[/b][/color] Meiyu [@Tae][hr]

[color=E0D6C0]
Talis was still smoothing her robes when she realized Bastion hadn’t left. He was just… standing there. Like a particularly polite statue.

She peeked up at him.

[color=olive] “You don’t have to keep watching me, you know,” [/color] she mumbled politely, brushing a curl behind her ear. [color=olive] “I’m not going to fall again. Probably.” [/color]

[color=30A4D9]“I am verifying,”[/color] Bastion replied, as if this were obvious. [color=30A4D9]“You said it was part of your character development. I am unsure if your character is to be developed further in this way.”[/color]

That made her snort. Like, full-on shnort. She clapped a hand to her face immediately, as if she could cram the sound back in.

[color=olive]“No sequels, promise!”[/color] She assured him through her fingers. [color=olive]“I think the arc is complete. Unless there’s a spin-off where I fall off a different piece of furniture.”[/color]

Bastion looked at the bar stool.

Then at her.

[color=30A4D9]“Perhaps you should refrain from spinning off of this seat,”[/color] he said with gentle sincerity, completely misunderstanding her reference. [color=30A4D9]“I could hold it while you sit, if that would help.”[/color]

[color=olive]“That’s… very thoughtful. But I think I’ll take my chances.”[/color]

She eased back onto the seat with exaggerated care. Bastion watched the whole time, scanning her movements with not an ounce of subtlety.

When she was finally settled, she offered him a small, grateful smile.

[color=olive]“You’re very… thorough.”[/color]

[color=30A4D9]“Yes,”[/color] he said simply. [color=30A4D9]“I was made that way.”[/color]

She hesitated. Looked down at her lap. Her fingers tightened slightly around the strap of her satchel. That same look returned—something between worry and full on exhaustion.

[color=olive]“Sometimes I wish I’d been made differently,”[/color] she murmured, mostly to herself.

Before Bastion could ask what she meant, another voice cut gently into the moment.

[color=7DBC89]“You seem uneasy,”[/color] the woman said, her voice calm and precise. [color=7DBC89]“Is it the company, or do you always carry something that makes you nervous?”[/color]

Talis startled slightly—again—then twisted awkwardly toward the new speaker. Her eyes flicked up and caught a striking gaze: elegant, unreadable…she was beautiful in the same way as a lightning storm; equal parts gorgeous yet dangerous.

[color=olive]“Oh! Uh, I—I didn’t mean to look...nervous,”[/color] she lied, terribly. [color=olive]“I’m not nervous. Just—thirsty! That’s all. I haven’t hydrated. Very unhydrated over here.”[/color]

She pointed to her throat like it might explain something.

[color=olive]“Also the bar stools are taller than they look. Sneaky things.”[/color]
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