Kanalie watched in surprise as she caught on to the fact that he had been counting her questions from the beginning, the kind of surprise that quickly morphs itself into miserable embarrassment. Still, she forced herself away from such an emotional response and instead made sure she listened closely to his answers. And apparently his scolding as well. When he chose to explain the rules of the game to her, her face grew a touch hotter and she glanced away from his eyes, trying not to pout.
She had simply been trying to avoid wasting his time like a good little mage. This man really enjoyed trampling all over her careful set of rules, throwing them out the damn window. Though, admittedly, she was rather glad about the lemons. It had been a great disappointment discovering the bliss of lemon bars only to simultaneously discover their outlaw within her home. She wasn't even allowed to eat outside with home unless she showered aggressively before returning, the smell apparently clinging to her.
As Declan described his home life, Kanalie was quick to compare it to her own, wondering if it was much the same. And if it was the same, how in the gods's names had he ended up so loose in his terms.
She was pulled away from her internal ravings for just a moment as they entered the dorm halls. She took in the opulence and smiled a small bit as it reminded her of her home. Perhaps a bit
more in just about about every aspect, but similar enough that its vision brought some relief. The adjustment to this aspect of her new life would be much easier to handle. It was while she was inspecting the pleasant swirling texture on the walls that Declan yanked her forward and she released a shocked breath. A renewed flush overtook her features as the distance between them was suddenly incredibly minimal. Somewhere in her mind, she registered that Alex would be cross with this development. Right as she thought of this and considered pushing him back a ways, he was gone and her respiratory system functioned again. She was about four steps behind when she recovered enough to chase him up the flight of stairs.
They reached the door at the same time and she sighed in relief at having caught up. Only to grow distracted yet again as the door to their apartment opened up, revealing their home. She slipped past him, stepping inside and gazing about her. She spun on her toes slowly to take it all in, arctic blue eyes wide to absorb more of the scene. When she had gone 360 degrees, she saw the eight fingers he held up and bit at her tongue, surprised to find she had actually spouted out that much.
"
Right, okay." She sat herself down on a chair at their dining room table, stabilizing herself upon the stained wood. She was quick to remove her shoes and then folded her legs up to her chest, hugging them. She listened carefully and attentively as he offered up each inquiry, knowing she would forget in a second if she drifted. She only realized how much eight questions was when they were directed at herself.
She took a deep breath and began.
"
Honestly, I have no preference. My only concern is that I'm a bit of a zombie in the morning and will likely fall flat on my face if there isn't a clear path to the bathroom. Which actually leads into your next question, yay. I prefer to shower in the morning since it wakes me up, but if it's a particularly cold or stressful day I melt into a hot bath. And before you ask, I am not willing to share." She felt silly the moment she voiced her teasing jab, regretting it. Her head ducked down carefully and she stared at her socked toes, wiggling them distractedly. She tried to rush back into her responses, hoping to drown her stupid joke. "
For fun, uh... I like to hang out with Alex most of the time, we do a lot of different stuff together. But on my own I watch a lot of baking tutorials online. I also like comedy TV shows and star-gazing."
And long walks in the park and romantic sunsets and a man that makes me feel like a real woman! Kanalie recited in her head, feeling like she was straight out of the lamest dating show on the planet.
At the mention of her family she finally glanced up, fixing him with a reflective stare, before shrugging one of her shoulders. "
My family's pretty traditional, I guess. I was born from two mages who live with a vampire family. They're not particularly wealthy or well known and only have my family in their household, but we're all comfortable." She scrunched up her nose a bit, debating the truth of her own words. "
I actually have a sibling too! An older brother named Shaun. He goes he as well, but I doubt we'll be seeing much of him."
Remembering his last two questions stopped her dead however as she grasped tightly at her own knees and felt her cheeks ignite yet again. She was only 18, had yet to quite be comfortable with her own bodily functions and probably would never be comfortable enough to discuss them with a stranger. Those words were the perfect recipe for chasing her eyes away yet again and she nervously tapped her fingers against her leggings. "
U-um, I-I don't- well, y-you don't have to worry about th-that, I will take full care of it on my own!" And of course, the last one. She tucked her hair back behind her reddened ears and tried t respond without causing more embarrassment for herself (something that this man was making an impossibility). "
I am not currently in any romantic relationship and, ah, lets just go with 'yes' for sexuality as well, then."
She kept her gaze focused on the wall now, curling and uncurling her toes. If Declan looked any closer, he could probably see her cheeks steaming.
That is, until her phone started to shout out the main refrain of Hot Blooded by Foreigner and she let out a shriek. She hadn't expected anything like that and with current conversation, she was wound up so tightly, she absolutely could not help it. Groaning, she reached into her pocket to pick it up, knowing already that it was her friend. "
Sorry! It's Alexander, I've got to take this." She swiped to accept the call without looking at the vampire across the room, the phone going to her ear. She turned her away from Declan just slightly, answering almost breathlessly "
If you're calling me to help clean up a dead body, I don't really think I can deal with that right now, Alex."
