Rodrick & Lorelei
Lorelei hadn’t even heard Sir Vermont Baleth approach and this fact alone surprised her a little. She glanced over the man, quickly taking note of him and deciding he definitely wasn’t one she wanted to piss off. Anyone that was that big and could move so silently was dangerous. As things seemed to deescalate she finally deemed it safe to go sit back down. She heard the teacher suggest Rodrick drink some water and Lorelei looked at the tiefling. Well he definitely didn’t realize how strong that wine was. She sighed as she grabbed her glass of wine and downed it quickly before turning her attention to Rodrick.
”How are you feeling, bud?” She asked him, a kind smile on her face to hopefully make it clear she wasn’t judging him in the slightest. She herself could feel the warmth and calming effects of the alcohol, but that was it. She’d need to drink quite a bit more to be on the same level she guessed Rodrick was on right now. Perhaps it was best if she didn’t, though, as she had a feeling she’d need to help her roommate back to their room.
Rodrick took a healthy sip of his water, knowing that his instructor was probably right. He turned to look at Lorelei when she spoke to him. She was very nice to ask.
And very pretty. He though to himself, the self consciousness that would have normally never let him think such a thing seemed to be missing at the moment. Still, there was something in her eyes that he couldn't quite place that made him pause. It was like mix of danger and....sadness maybe? Perhaps not, but there was certainly more to her then she let on.
After a moment, Rodrick realized that if he didn't respond soon, their conversation would become rather awkward. He smiled at her, giving her a more goofy smile then the charming one he had been aiming for.
"I'm not really sure..... I think I might be drunkk." He said, the last word slurring just a little.
"I've never had a chance to try wine before.... Good shit." The urge to grab the glass of wine was rather intense, but Rodrick managed to hold himself back.
The goofy smile mixed with the slight slur caused Lorelei to giggle, genuinely giggle.
"Yes I believe you are as well. I can't blame you though, this wine is top notch. I'm even feeling it a little bit." She gave him a playful wink as she said this. It wasn't a complete lie as she was feeling some of the effects of alcohol, but she felt like she still had her wits about her. There was the dark side of her that urged her to use this situation to her advantage. She silenced that part of herself for the time being, however. She wasn't on a job, there was no sense in using people right now.
"Did you have anything else you wished to accomplish for the day? If not then I'd be more than happy to navigate you back to our room?" She offered as she poured herself a glass of water and took a drink. She personally didn't wish to do anything more for the day, wanting to rest up before classes began in the morning. Besides, she'd drawn enough attention to herself when she stood to stop Finn. Better to make herself scarce for the rest of the day.
Rodrick was glad to hear that he wasn't the only one feeling the effects of the wine. Maybe it meant he wasn't a total lightweight after all when it came to drinking.
"Heading back to the room sounds like a fantastically wonderful idea. My lutes there, and I frankly feel a little naked without it." He said, realizing for the first time that he did indeed feel oddly vulnerable without his lute. He had barely been anywhere without it in the last 8 years. It felt like he had left an arm behind.
Rodrick went to stand, wobbled, and braced himself against the table. He still felt slightly...spinny. Well there went his lightweight theory. Still, it wasn't so bad that he couldn't walk. He looked around at the other first years, one of the most fascinating groups he had ever met, and managed to give them all a halfway respectable bow.
"Friend's, it has been an honor to meet you, dine with you, and watch you all fight the urge to punch a Biq ao marwy wmuz (Bag of horse shit) in the face. I wish you all a good night." He said this all in the most charming voice he could muster, again slurring every so often.
"Wonderful, we'll go back to the room and you can serenade me with your lute and I'll in turn sing you a lullaby." Lorelei joked, though wasn't actually opposed to playing music and singing. She still needed to take a bath as well, but she'd likely wait till Rodrick was out for the night. She wanted a good, long soak in the water as she hadn't been able to do so in quite some time.
She stood shortly after Rodrick did, preparing to try and catch him if he decided to fall over. She knew that the likelihood of her falling with him was high, but she'd try nonetheless. Thankfully he steadied himself and went on to bid everyone farewell. She watched him with an amused smile before looking at everyone else.
"It has been lovely meeting you all and I'm sure we'll cross paths again. Have a wonderful night everyone." She linked her arm with Rodrick's once again, but this time she did it in an attempt to help keep him steady. Last thing they'd need was him accidentally bumping into someone and she'd have to ward off a fight again.
"So you play the lute, you can be quite charming, you're rather handsome, and today was the first time you've had wine." She said once they were away from the group.
"What else should I know about you, dearest Rodrick?" She gave him a charming grin as she kept a slower, yet steady pace.
Rodrick let Lorelei guide him back towards the room, doing his best not to stumble or rely on her too much to hold him up. He felt as though he was doing an okay job. Rodrick took a deep breath before answering. The air here smelled so clean and pleasant, that was quite the change.
"Hmmm what else should you know. Well... I don't snore, so that's a plus. I traveled from one end of the continent to the other when I was young. And my horns are abnormally hard and give off heat, which is supposedly rare among my kind." He said smiling, oddly not feeling as awkward having his arm linked with Lorelei as he had before.
He left out the darker parts of his past out. Kind of a mood killer to tell someone you've lived on the streets for the past 8 years. All the lessons his mother had taught him about being charismatic and charming towards others had started to come back far quicker then he ever would have thought, though he knew he was still rusty. Still it felt good to talk normally with someone again.
"Now what about you? You sing, your hair is glorious enough that it makes ME jealous, much less all the other girls, you carry yourself like someone who knows how to fight, and your way to good at making others blush. I get the feeling you think the last one is funny." He said looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh, and you're here to get rich." He added, though a small part of him felt like that last one was off. The reason felt shallow, and Lorelei didn't seem like a shallow person.
"What have I missed? Are you a dragon slayer? Bet you're a dragon slayer." He said with a smile.
She giggled a little at him informing her he didn't snore. Yes she would consider that a good thing. She merely smiled and nodded as he continued, that is until his comment about his horns. This statement took her aback and she found her initial instinct was to want to pull a Selana and reach up to touch them. Her hand even betrayed her and had begun reaching up, but she caught it and quickly dropped it back down. She did look up at his horns for a moment though.
It was now her turn, it seemed, as he began to list off things he'd observed of her. She smiled and nodded, a little impressed.
"Oh yes, I'm definitely a dragon slayer." Lorelei looked up at him and winked before letting out a small laugh.
"No, honestly I'm not all that interesting. I moved to the content here from an island off the coast when I was little. I was raised by a man who deemed it necessary I learn how to talk to and charm others while also learning how to fight. He always brought in the best of the best to teach me. I've always had a natural affinity for singing and apparently that also means I should be a natural at playing any instrument, but that is far from the truth. So now I'm here to hopefully learn more about music and how to combine music and magic." She shrugged, knowing she was leaving out a lot of details. Those details weren't important, though, at least not right now.
They were outside their room now and she paused.
"Oh and I DEFINITELY don't know what you're talking about. I would never purposely make someone blush and find enjoyment out of it." As Lorelei said this she turned to face him and gave him a smirk. She leaned in closer to him and placed a hand on his chest, just meaning to tease him for a minute before spinning and opening the door.
"Well here we are. Home, sweet home."Rodrick had decided two things by the time they had arrived back at the dorm room. The first was that Lorelei was anything but uninteresting, no matter what she said. The second was that he enjoyed hearing her laugh and giggle, and he truly hoped they could be friends. He paused for a moment when she placed a hand on his chest and leaned in close. His face turned slightly redder again. He paused for another moment when she spun away from him. He squinted dramatically, pointed at her, and in an overly suspicious tone said,
"Im on too youuu." He held those pose for a moment before losing control and laughing at his own stupid joke. He realized he was acting out of character, more bold and out going then he had been in years. Was this from the alcohol? If it was he'd have to drink wine more often.
He entered the room, and without even thinking about it walked over to his bed and plopped face first onto it, making sure to avoid landing on his lute that he had left sitting there. He let out a long sigh of relief, the bed felt amazing. How long had it been since he had been able sleep in a real bed? Hell, had he ever been able to sleep in a real bed for more then a night or two at a time? He could certainly get used to it. He opened his eyes, and gasped a little as he noticed a large glass of water sitting on his bed side stand. It had certainly not been there when he had left. It even looked cold.
"How are they doing that?" He whispered to himself. Was someone coming into their rooms when they were gone and leaving things for them? Or was there some strange magic that just plopped useful items into existence for them?
It was then that he noticed a pair of white pants and a shirt folded perfectly sitting next to his pillow. They had provided him with pajamas? That was just too much.
"This place is too strange. How do they know what were going to need before we even say anything?" He sat up a little and took the glass of water, taking a deep drink. It was refreshing and surprisingly cold.
"On to me? I am innocent in all things." Lorelei jokingly said as she turned to face him again, trying to give the most innocent look possible, but then grinned at him. She watched him faceplant on the bed and shook her head in amusement as she moved over to her own bed. Rodrick was quite an interesting person, though she felt he was rather harmless. Alcohol helped to bring out the true nature of people and she was beginning to feel a tad more relaxed around him because of it. Perhaps it was also the alcohol affecting her too, but she really didn’t view him as a threat. In fact, she’d even venture to say she was enjoying his company. Was this what it was like to begin making friends? It was strange, but she didn’t entirely hate it.
He made a statement about this place being strange and she had to agree.
”Magic!” She answered in a joking manner, but she also knew she may not be far off. There were pajamas sitting on her bed as well and it made her a bit uncomfortable to think someone may have been in their room. She may have to set up some alarm system while they slept just for her own peace of mind. Part of her actually hoped she wasn’t too off with it actually being magic. She picked up the pajamas and looked back to Rodrick.
”However they obviously don’t know everything we need otherwise they would have know I don’t need these as I like to sleep in the nude.”Rodrick choked on the water he was drinking, just a little bit. She was teasing him again, obviously, and he was slowly getting used to it. Still when a pretty young woman said she liked to sleep naked in the very room you were staying in, a little shock was normal.
"You're lucky its me you have as a roommate then, as I am a perfect gentleman and would never impede on a young woman's honor to try and catch a peak of anything sensitive. Regardless of how she chooses to sleep." He said in the most dignified voice he could manage. He even closed his eyes and put his hand on his chest to try and strike some sort of regal pose.
"Also, I think you would have caused anyone else to die of shock by now." He said opening one eye to look at her. He cracked a little smile. This was fun, he hadn't had a chance to talk with someone like this in a very long time.
Rodrick let out an involuntary yawn. Damn he was tired. He laid back down on his bed with another sigh. He could feel the sleep sneaking up on him. He wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was the trip getting here, or maybe it was the fact that he actually felt kind of safe for the first time in a very long time. But whatever it was, he felt like he was going to be able to sleep very well tonight.
"Mmmmm, I think I'm going to close my eyes for a.. little .....bit......."”Oh you’re no fun.” Lorelei gave him a pouty look for a moment, but then smiled and sighed as she tossed the pajamas to the side and sat down on her bed.
”You’re probably right though. I’m glad I got stuck with you.” She teased him, but it was true as he was taking her flirtations and bold statements like a champ. She went to say more, but stopped as she noticed him closing his eyes. He was drifting off to sleep and she giggled a little as she stood up quietly.
”Goodnight Rodrick.” She said softly before going to grab some of her things.
She spent the next few minutes rigging a small bell up to the door so that it would ring if it were opened at all. She then did something similar with the window, just in case, before grabbing some of her own pajamas and heading towards the bathroom. With Rodrick safely asleep she was ready to take a bath and relax. She started the water and began humming to herself, partially as a comfort and partially to quiet the darkness of the siren inside of her. She glanced at herself in the mirror for a moment and gently traced a portion of a fresh scar that was peeking over her shoulder from her back. A moment of anger filled her before she quickly looked away and entered the bathtub.
She took a deep, shuddering breath as she sat down in the water and allowed herself to transform. She took a long moment to fight off the dark urges that always rushed over her when she did this. Finally she sighed in relief and relaxed as she reached up to pull her long blue hair out of the updo it had been in. The ends of it floated all around her and the end of her tail flicked over the side of the tub. Slowly she began to
sing a lullaby she’d heard her mother sing before. Before she realized it, she drifted off to sleep there in the bathtub.
PapaOso,
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