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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/23fb834f443fddf069b302a80ffae13a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220927/713c9ea7f90a3bccf2680492bc93671a.png[/img]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220928/bcf4c8fb894d886cf1f86d12d903935e.png[/img]
[h3]...Feat. [color=228B22][b]Iyen[/b][/color][/h3]
[color=1E90FF][b]Time[/b]:[/color] Evening
[color=1E90FF][b]Location[/b]:[/color] Banquet Hall
[color=1E90FF][b]Interactions[/b]:[/color] 
[color=1E90FF][b]Mentions[/b]:[/color] Kalliope [@Tae]; Cassius, Milo [@PapaOso]; Hala [@JJ Doe]
[color=1E90FF][b]Attire[/b]:[/color] [hider]
[color=1E90FF][b]Sjan-dehk:[/b][/color]
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/0QCZ6rQj/alkalinestingray-Watercolour-painting-of-an-outfit-for-a-male-s-312f5cf8-c1fd-4b90-8f64-d292f9b1da7f.png[/img]
[color=1E90FF]Sword and pistol hanging down his right thigh[/color]
[color=228B22][b]Iyen:[/b][/color]
[img]https://i.postimg.cc/bJfFDK9C/alkalinestingray-Watercolour-painting-of-an-outfit-for-a-female-4e7d7b50-e077-439d-b35a-05297e271a19.png[/img]
[color=228B22]A short blade sheathed on her lower back
A coil of rope across her body[/color]
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Sjan-dehk watched the brief, but tense exchange from a distance. Every part of him wanted to jump in and lend Kalliope a hand, whether with harsh words, threats of violence, or anything in-between. Doing nothing and simply watching was making him more and more agitated with each passing moment. But, his senses told him that doing something would likely only serve to make things worse, and so he remained where he was, stewing in his own unease. 

Thankfully, the blonde man and his companion parted ways with Kalliope and Cassius soon enough. Even so, Sjan-dehk kept an eye on the former pair, watching them leave with narrowed eyes, until he was more than just merely certain that they wouldn’t turn around and return to bring more trouble to Kalliope. 

He let out a relieved huff, and his shoulders relaxed. But the unease still remained – a strange, sour pang that coiled itself around his heart. It tightened when he shifted his attention back to Kalliope, and saw how close she was, how…Was that intimacy, that he saw between her and Cassius? He wasn’t sure, but every part of him didn’t like it, whatever it was. It set off a storm in his heart, and a mess of confusion in his mind, and both only intensified when he caught her gaze.

[color=1E90FF][i]No, no, no, you know they’re lovers. You’re just being an idiot.[/i][/color] He told himself. Swallowing hard, he placed the very picture of nonchalance on his face as he gave her a single nod, as if to tell her that he’d seen her, and that everything looked fine from his end. Then, he quickly looked away. 

[color=228B22][i]“So…Are you still planning for a fight, or are you going to move your hand?”[/i][/color]

Iyen’s voice pulled him from his thoughts, and he looked at her. She grinned up at him, then pointed to his waist. He glanced down his side, finally noticing that he’d been cupping the pommel of his sword the entire time, his hand wrapped around it and ready to draw it at a moment’s notice. [color=1E90FF][i]“No, it’s still too early to start a fight. Can’t even blame it on drinking, yet.”[/i][/color] He played it off with a joke, and Iyen’s quiet laugh told him that it worked. [color=1E90FF][i]“Anyway, we should probably get seated.”[/i][/color]

[color=228B22][i]“Easy for you to say,”[/i][/color] Iyen said with a pout. [color=228B22][i]“You actually have a seat. What about me?”[/i][/color]

[color=1E90FF][i]“What do you–”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk began, but then he saw the namecards on the table, in front of every seat. She was right; there wasn’t anywhere for her to sit. He chewed on his lip, brows furrowed as he looked around for a place for her. 

Then, behind his seat and across the aisle, he saw an empty chair in front of a card that read ‘Cynric’. His first thought was that it was strange – the [i]Recompense[/i]’s captain hadn’t seemed the sort who’d be part of, or even want to be part of, Caesonian high society. If his attitude towards the two girls in the tavern was an indicator, he’d sooner have this banquet devolve into chaos.

It was a shame, then, that he wouldn’t be attending. [color=1E90FF][i]“You can use that one, I think,”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk said, tilting his chin towards the chair. [color=1E90FF][i]“The last I saw him, he was still busy repairing his ship. Unless he’s learned the sort of arcane stuff that’ll let him teleport, he’s not coming anytime soon.”[/i][/color] He gave Iyen a sidelong glance, and a cheeky grin. [color=1E90FF][i]“And if he does, we’ll just play dumb. It’s his own damn fault for being so late.”[/i][/color]

[color=228B22][i]“Play dumb?”[/i][/color] Iyen giggled and smirked. [color=228B22][i]“You mean, I’ll be playing. I don’t think you have to.”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk rolled his eyes and shook his head. [color=1E90FF][i]“Go on, then. I’ll be over here if you–”[/i][/color]

The sound of a chair’s legs scraping against the floor interrupted him. He stared, mouth agape, eyes wide, and body frozen in disbelief as Iyen pulled the chair by its backrest across the aisle. [color=1E90FF][i]“What in the Abyss do you think you’re doing?”[/i][/color] He asked slowly. 

[color=228B22][i]“Getting a seat?”[/i][/color] Iyen asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

[color=1E90FF][i]“You can just sit there, you know? And I’ll be here.”[/i][/color]

Iyen balked, and shook her head resolutely. [color=228B22][i]“No, it’ll be awkward!”[/i][/color] She protested. [color=228B22][i]“You know I can’t speak this local language as well as you, so it’s going to just be me staring at a bunch of other people talking and eating. Can you imagine how uncomfortable that’ll be?”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk shook his head. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’m sure they’ve got…I don’t know, protocols or something for this fancy sort of thing. You can’t just move chairs around on your own!”[/i][/color] Iyen leaned against the chair, but didn’t budge, and instead looked at him with an arched brow, as if asking him when did protocol and procedure ever prevent him from doing as he wished. She was right. They never did. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’ll be awkward on my own too, Iyen. It’s not like I’ve much to say.” [/i][/color]

[color=228B22][i]“Great!”[/i][/color] Iyen chirped. [color=228B22][i]“Then we can be awkward together instead of awkward apart.”[/i][/color]

A long, resigned sigh left Sjan-dehk’s lips. [color=1E90FF][i]“Alright, alright, do whatever you want,”[/i][/color] he said. Arguing further wasn’t going to get them anywhere, and he didn’t want to make this matter any bigger than it needed to. It really was just a minor issue, at the end of the day. [color=1E90FF][i]“But I’m warning you, Iyen, if you get into trouble over this, I’m pretending I don’t know you.”[/i][/color]

Iyen laughed. [color=228B22][i]“Sure, Sjan-dehk. Like the last few times you pretended not to know me?”[/i][/color]

Sjan-dehk didn’t reply, and simply watched her skip between tables as she moved not just the chair, but all the cutlery as well. The commotion around them, of people mingling, conversing, and socialising, allowed her to pass almost unnoticed. Sjan-dehk read the namecard of the person seated to his left. Whoever this Count Blackwood was, they were going to return to Iyen’s good company.

Woe to Count Blackwood, then.