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This is gonna take a while (CottonCandyHaze x A Wintered Heatwave)

CottonCandyHaze

CottonCandyHaze

Planetoid
Joined
Apr 7, 2013
This is a roleplay between the following users:

- CottonCandyHaze
- A Wintered Heatwave

If you are not either of these people, please do not post here.
However, you are free to stay and watch.

Thank you and have a nice day.​
 
Adina snuggled up to the warm body present in his bed, ignoring the knocking at the door that was becoming more and more insistent. "Did you order room service?" He inquired sleepily to the male laying beside him, drawing a lazy pattern into the man's skin with his fingers.

"Mm, no. Didn't ask for a wake up call, either."

"Well whoever it is must really want your attention." Adina certainly wasn't going to get up to check, he was far too comfortable where he currently was.

"They're going to have to wait longer," he pressed a kiss to the fae's skin, drawing a laugh from the smaller male, "because I'm not done with you." The knocking grew louder, almost pounding against the wood of the door. "Or not, one moment."

"Don't take too long," Adina let his nails linger on the man's skin as he slid out of bed, sliding down his arm and shoulder.

"I'll try," he winked before walking to the door, picking up his pants on his way there. As much as he desired to shock whomever dared interrupt his morning, it wouldn't do any good if it was an employee. "Yes?"

The man in front of him looked up and down quickly before pushing his way into the room, ignoring his protests. "Adina, we have places to be, put your clothes on and say good bye to whoever this is."

"My name is Thomas and *you* need to leave."

Asher eyed 'Thomas' with the same look one would use to observe a tiny bug as they considered flicking it before looking back to Adina. "Come on, the more time we waste the longer it's going to take for us to get to the next town."

Adina pouted, sitting up and forward so he could rest his chin on his hands. "Do we really have to go *now*? I'm still tired."

Asher snorted. "Obviously not that tired, considering the woody that just left this guy's pants," he gestured to the man named Thomas with a jerk of his thumb.

"Excuse me-"

"You're excused, in fact, get out."

"I will not! You need to go before-"

"Yeah this is taking too long," he gave only a single shove to the man's chest, causing him to stumble out the door and into the hallway, said door closing as soon as his feet touched the carpet of the outside, locking with a click. Asher promptly ignored the angry pounding and shouting on the other side of the door, scowling at Adina who still had yet to move. "Put your clothes on so we can go."

"I haven't bathed yet."

"You can bathe back in the room, just put your stuff back on yet."

Adina gave a long sigh before *finally* slinking out of bed, retrieving his clothes that had been tossed to the floor the night previous. "You didn't pack my things, did you?"

Asher gave a snort. "Of course not, that's your job."

"Good." He loved the man but, honestly, he couldn't fold to save his life, and the last thing he wanted were unnecessary wrinkles in his clothes. "There, all done. Let's leave before Thomas draws more attention to us."

Upon opening the door Thomas was still there, irate as ever, and could hardly be calmed down no matter how many apologies Adina gave him. Asher didn't seem to have much patience for it, and yanked the fair male away as soon as Thomas began speaking of how Adina could 'make it up to him'. "You have your apology, good bye."

"Asher we can't just-"

"We're leaving Adina."

And he wouldn't hear anything otherwise, just dragged his companion down the hall and to their room so the fae could bathe and they could finish their preparations for their journey.

"That was very rude of you, you know," words of Adina as he walked out the bathroom, nude save for the towel that he was using to dry his hair.

"He wasn't cooperating, what else was I going to do? Let you 'pay him back'?"

"We could have worked something-"

"No. All he wanted was to f*ck you again to spite me, and that's only going to slow us down because you'll be tired and won't want to leave."

Adina admitted that he could be somewhat of a brat, - mainly because he liked to tease Asher - and that totally sounded like something he'd do, so he didn't try to deny it. "Fine fine, but I still think you shouldn't have shoved him out of his own room."

"He was distracting you."

"He was not-" He stopped at the look the other gave him. "Okay, he was just a little bit, but he had a nice body." He paused in his speech to tug one of his shirts over his head. "Not as nice as yours, of course," this earned a blush, which made Adina's smile a little brighter.

"Just hurry up." He was so cute when he got flustered. If they had time - which they totally did, despite what Asher said, there was literally no rush since no one was waiting on them - he'd try to get more than just that out of him, but he decided to spare the male for once.

Fifteen minutes later they were checking out of the inn, deciding to grab something to eat from a passing vendor instead of staying for the breakfast the employees provided (Asher's words being that if Adina had gotten a move on sooner then they could have taken their time, but he didn't mind all that much). Said chosen vendor was selling some sort of bread stuffed with meats and herbs, Asher taking particular joy in the find. Adina thought it to be tasty, though a bit heavy for something so early in the day. Still, though, it provided the nourishment they needed to begin their travel, and an additional four were purchased for the road.

"Check the map, we're headed East, right?"

Adina did as he was requested, unfolding the large paper. "Mhm, the town of Norivul."

Asher sighed. "It's going to take forever until we reach the capital."

"Awh, don't say that," Adina moved beside his travelling companion, grabbing his hand and interlinking their fingers as they walked, "remember what that man said, it's not the destination, it's the journey. I like going from place to place like this."

The taller male made a huffing noise, but didn't try to dispute the other's words, which pleased him as it foretold a rather peaceful morning (at least until someone came along and ruined that, but for now he was going to enjoy it).

After a while, Adina felt Asher's fingers tighten against his hand, and he shot the man a questioning look. "Wh-"

"Shh," he hissed in a low voice, keeping his gaze straight ahead. "I think we're being followed."

What? "By who?" He whispered back in an equally quiet voice.

"I don't know, but they've been going in our direction for a while now, I thought they would have gone by now but it's not the case."

"Should we confront them?"

"Probably, get ready."

Just when he thought they'd relax today. "Okay."

The two came to a sudden stop, Adina being maneuvered behind Asher as he turned around, the man placing a hand at the hilt of his sword. "What do you two keep following us for?"
 
This is going to take a while [O1]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

The sun's first rays had just begun to filter in through a poorly covered window, when one of three figures began to stir, eventually pulling itself up groggily. The man, peering down at his still sleeping bedmates with a slow grin before finally pulling himself from the bed. Without bothering to cover himself, he made his way quietly over to the wash basin which had been left for them, and began to wash away away the sweat and grime which had built up during the night. It wasn't until he was satisfied that he would not be offensive to be near that he began to pull on his clothes, only then noticing that someone had been following him with lust blown eyes.

"Are you sure you can't stay longer? It'd be worth your while." Lying back against the headboard was a very beautiful (and very naked) blonde, who sat watching as the handsome stranger she had spent the night with continued to dress. Had her words not been clear as to how she planned on compensating him for more of his time, than the fingers dragging tantalizingly across her own alabaster chest were.

"You make an extremely compelling case," came a rolling baritone in reply, "But I find myself already late for my next engagement." As he finished the bindings on his hanfu, the scholar gave one last smirk at the woman before making his way to the door. Behind him, he could hear the third participant in his previous night's activities finally stirring, calling out to him in a hypnotic tenor.

Yes, last night had definitely been one for the record books.

"About time."

Leaning against the side of the inn and surrounded by his things was just the woman he was looking for, her emerald eyes narrowing as they met his own coal orbs. As always, the raven haired girl looked less than impressed with his disheveled (and rather satisfied) looking state.

"Well if you didn't refuse to enjoy yourself little sister, you wouldn't be in such a hurry." Smiling fondly at the eye roll he received in return, he moved to grab his walking stick, about to grab his bag with his free hand only to have a bao shoved into it instead.

"Just eat, we need to get a move on." Swinging his bag over her shoulder, Vivian began walking towards the town's eastern gate, not bothering to see if her brother was still beside her, "I saw those same people making a racket earlier, and I want to try to lose them by the time we get to Norivul." Those people of course being the male and female pair she had noticed several towns back, and had since popped up over and over again as they passed through countless towns and villages. True it may have been merely a coincidence the first few times she had spotted them, but by the third time, she had begun to suspect intention.

That meaning of course that she was more than positive that the pair aimed to rob them blind, something that happened all to often to unassuming travelers about these parts. With the government police scattered sparingly in places so far from the capitol, the only justice to be served would be their own and while Vivian knew that she was more than equip to deal with a couple of petty thieves, she hated the thought of wasting time (or precious ammo) on people she could avoid in the first place.

"Who? That beautiful woman and her companion?" Now walking beside her and chewing thoughtfully, his thoughts moved from the two he left in his room and to the fae he had caught but only quick glimpses of before being swept away by that night's chosen bedmates. "Surely you don't think that they have an ill intent toward us simply because they're traveling in the same direction?"

"That's exactly what I think," came a huffed response, "And you would too if you weren't busy becoming acquainted with the entire countryside." She received a laugh for her trouble, and could not stop her eyes from rolling at his easy nature. He had always been far too trusting of people.

"Don't you think that you sound a mite paranoid Viv? Especially when they could no doubt say the same of us?" Now done with his food, the two paused long enough to exchange one bag back to its rightful owner before continuing their leisurely pace.

"Right, because they're clearly government workers as well," she muttered dryly to herself, refusing to acknowledge the logic in her brother's words. The point still stood that she wanted to be rid of the brunette and his companion from her peripheral as soon as possible, and nothing he could say would make her feel different.

With that, the two finally crossed back onto the open road, an easy silence settling over them in an all too familiar way. As usual, Xiaoh had already pulled out one of his countless manuscripts, reading it for the umpteenth as he let his bag hang carelessly from his shoulder. Beside him, Vivian kept her eyes over her shoulder on the lookout for any unwelcome guests walking along the road with them. It was due to this that she didn't notice the two who had suddenly come to a stop several feet in front of them until a voice called out to them.

A second was all it took for Vivian to gather herself, right hand resting on the hilt of revolver and eyes narrowing as she took her place in front of the scholar much like the male had stepped in front of his own companion.

"I'm pretty sure that's my line." Scowling, she moved as though to draw her weapon only to have a firm hand on her elbow stop her.

"Now Vivian, surely you don't mean to draw in the presence of a lady." Not taking her eyes from the sword-wielding male before her, she shrugged off her brothers hand. The last thing she was going to do was give those miscreants a chance to get the upper hand on her.

"I'm sure pretty boy there doesn't appreciate you making eyes at his companion," she said just loud enough for the other pair to hear, before addressing them directly once again, "That being said, why don't you two go about your own business and stop hovering about us like some parasite? Not that we didn't love your company," she finished dryly, raising a single brow in challenge.
 
Of course it would be the pair that he kept seeing in every last town they'd been in. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but Asher had seen both the woman and the man more than a few times previous. Once or twice is a coincidence, this went beyond that and could not be a coincidence like Adina had said, that'd be too convenient and probably what the two wanted. No one was going to put the drop on the two while he was still alive and coherent.

Adina blinked at the word lady used by the opposing male. Lady? He couldn't be speaking of his sister, so that only meant-

"Who are you calling pretty boy?" Barked Asher, attempting to set fire to the two through sheer eye contact alone. The male had a temper on him, something he tried to reign in for the sake of business but he wasn't always...successful. "And you're one to talk, you guys have been stalking us for weeks now, it's getting annoying. If you're trying to rob us you're doing a horrible job at it. Now f*ck off."

Adina sighed, this was getting them nowhere. "I think there's been some confusion," he put a placating hand on Asher's arm, stepping forward. "By the way you speak it sounds as though you think we're the ones following you, yes?" He waited for her response. "As I thought. We've made the same conclusion about you, as you can probably already tell. We're on our way to the capital-"

"Don't just tell them that! Goddamn-"

"Shh." Gentle smack to his arm before the slighter figure continued, "Could it be that you're going in the same direction as us?"
 
This is gonna take a while [O2]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

"You're right, monkey-faced is probably a more fitting adjective," she spat back without a moment's hesitation, meeting his fiery gaze with a chilling one of her own. It wasn't until he began accusing them of being bandits that she let out a disbelieving laugh. "That game of yours would probably work better one someone who's not an off-" She was cut off by Xiaoh, who shook his head at her, so minuscule that it would not have been perceptible to the other group though his eyes remained locked on the mysterious woman.

For once, the raven haired girl heeded her brothers advice, pressing her lips together in a thin line. It had not taken long for them to find out that many along the road did not take as kindly onto government workers so far out in the country. It made more than enough sense in theory, but still irked her when a brawl would start while she was trying to have a simple drink at a village's tavern, or rent a room out for the night. That was why they had agreed to keep her line of work on a need to know basis, instead brushing off any questions by saying that she was simply accompanying her brother to the capital.

Before she could say anything else, a melodic voice rung out from the fae woman, who had now stepped out in hopes of clearing up any confusion between the two parties. From what she had said, it seemed that the whole ordeal had been a misunderstanding, and the other pair was simply heading to the very same destination as them, easily explaining away the similar route which they were taking.

Not that she was going to ever admit that to Xiaoh.

"In fact that is exactly where we are heading." Once again, another voice had sounded before she had had a chance to answer, her brother stepping out from behind her, the same friendly grin decorating his face as he did so. Ignoring the angry scoff behind him as Vivian dropped her bag and moved to cross her over her chest (still glaring at prett-monkey boy as she did so), he held out his hand in greeting, hoping to be able to lay a kiss on the fae girl's hand. "A divine coincidence indeed, if I do say so myself. As though fate has brought us four together." Another irritated huff sounded behind him, "It would be a shame to not take advantage of such a connection, with us traveling the same way like this."

Finally tearing her eyes from the brunette, she shifted her glare to the back of her brother's head, as though hoping she could inflict mass amounts of pain on him with only her gaze. "Absolutely not," was all she hissed instead, just loud enough her her sibling to hear.
 
Asher's face flushed as he sputtered. "Monkey?!" Gods she's done it now. "At least I'm not some choppy banged-" Cut off again by a smack to his arm, sharper this time. He grit his teeth, glaring at the offensive woman. How dare she call him a monkey! And, more importantly, why did everyone always call him a monkey, of all animals?! Adina always said he was more like a small dog - not that that was anymore endearing - if anything. Was it his ears?

He did catch the bit of unspoken dialogue between the two newcomers, but didn't comment on it, merely stored it away for observation later. If it was dangerous, then he'd deal with it the same way he dealt with everything else dangerous, with his sword.

Before Adina could move his hand out to greet the fellow, he was taken by the shoulder and moved back by a glaring Asher, gaze with a clearly written message saying 'get back'. The fae sighed, "I can handle myself, you know."

"Not important." He couldn't agree with the woman's objection more. "Absolutely not is right, you two can go your own way by your f*cking selves."

"But Asher-"

"No, f*ck that, we don't need the baggage," nor did he want it, "it'll only slow us down."

"I was going to say," Adina only raised his voice a little, because it was clear he wouldn't get a word in otherwise, "that this is technically the only path from town, and the other way is miles back."

"So?"

"So, it would only be logical for us to travel together, at least for a time." He smiled at the two, "If these two people wouldn't mind going along with us. We could use the extra company. As they say, there is strength in numbers."

Asher scoffed. "You're only saying that because monk boy over here is giving you the eyes."

Adina rolled his eyes. "Clearly, because that's the only thing I think about. Do I have to remind you of the girl from Traverse?"

A blush. "No."

"I didn't think so." And, while Adina's smile was warm, don't let that fool you. It is full of spite and the occasional evil from someone used to getting their way. "So," he directed his attention back to the two black haired travelers, "what do you say?"
 
This is gonna take a while [O3]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

"Ah," the soft sounds of disappointment was all Xiaoh had let out when the fae's hand was denied to him, something he immediately wanted to rectify. He would have too, had it not been the slightly murderous gaze which he was feeling, not only from the beautiful woman's companion, but from his own, something (though he was all too used too), still scared him enough for him to draw his hand back unmet.

A steely-emerald gaze flickered over to the male across from her, clearly taken aback that he had been able to catch her barely-there comment. Not that her confusion stopped her from giving him her most unimpressed gaze, followed by a scoff which was even more so. "I promise you the only baggage you're going to get is a hospital bill if you don't-"

"Aha, Vivian dear, your wit is never ending," Xiaoh suddenly cut off with a forced chuckle as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, using his before forgotten manuscript to block their faces from the other pair, giving each group some semblance of privacy as they discussed things with their partner.

"What the hell are you doing. We are not going to just prance along with these people just because you want to make goo-goo eyes at one of them." Glaring up at her elder, she could not help but frown angrily at him, something she rarely did with such severity.

"If you're done having such a tantrum," Vivian knew well enough to look a bit ashamed, "You'd let me explain that this is a blessing in disguise." Already seeing her open her mouth to argue he barreled on, "It's an extra pair of hands to earn money during the journey, and and an extra pair of hands in brawls that you always seem to throw us into."

Frowning at his logic, she tried to find fault in what he had said, only to give up with a sigh. Instead of affirming this, she simply pushed his makeshift cover away just in time to see the fae girl's attention turn back to them.

"I'd say it's a marvelous idea," the scholar grinned easily, allowing himself to enjoy the pleasure of the woman's warm smile. 'Ah, such innocence is so hard to come about in this day and age,' he could not help but think, already fooled by the woman's appearances. Shrugging out from beneath his arm and moving to continue their earlier path east, only sparing a distrusting glance at the two before she moved to walk by them.

"So long as our chimp-like companion here keeps his blade to himself, I'm sure we won't have a problem," she added flatly, annoyed by her brother's easy acceptance of the two strangers. It didn't matter however, because she would not be making that mistake. When the two tried to betray them (and she had no doubt that they would), she would be more than ready to rain her justice on them. Not that she would kill them being a lawmen herself, but they would certainly rue the day they ever thought to cross her brother's trust by the time she was done.
 

Asher blinked as he, unashamedly, listened onto the conversation. Nothing was being said that was worrisome, however, but he was still uncertain if he liked the idea of two strangers going along with them, especially that rude woman. Like, what the f*ck was her problem anyway? From the sounds of things she, too, had a temper on her - not that Asher would readily admit his own, his excuse being that he just has a violently allergic reaction to the rude and stupid - and also.. got into fights, hm, he wasn't sure if that settled well with him, despite getting into similar situations himself. Despite his flirtatious demeanor towards Adina, which in all honesty he couldn't fault him for completely, considering everyone went stupid around the male - he still didn't have to like it -, he seemed to be the more level headed one, or at least the calmer out of the two, and goddamn it Adina was giving him that look.

"Finally see reason?"

"No- I mean! There is no 'reason', it's a bad idea."

"Shh." The two were done with their discussion. At the agreement, Adina's expression grew brighter. "Excellent, thank you for taking our offer." Blatantly ignored Asher's protests against the word 'our', moving into an easy rhythm next to their new travelling companions.

"Hey why don't you-"

"So! What are your names? I am Adina and this is my friend slash body guard Asher."

Male only grunted, refusing to let himself become at ease with this arrangement just yet, still unhappy with the circumstances and for some reason not being allowed to defend himself against that woman.

(He'd get over it, maybe)

Besides, they didn't even know if they could trust these people, whether or not they were planning to rob them blind from the beginning. For all he knew the woman could be some sort of estranged hunter and they'd wake up one morning in chains, and he'd sooner tear her throat out with his teeth before allowing that to happen. Adina seemed perfectly content with letting them walk casually with them to their destination, but he wasn't, not until they earned their trust and like hell that was going to happen so easily.

Adina, meanwhile, was actually very pleased with the new additions to their duo. The woman seemed strong and...had a potential kindness about her, despite her rough demeanor. She clearly cared for her brother, and he couldn't fathom for the life of him why she seemed intent on behaving in the way that she did. Humans were odd like that, though, he supposed. On another more pleasant note, the man in the robes was very attractive, it was just a shame that he possibly thought Adina was a woman. He'd have to correct that eventually, before it was too late.
 
This is gonna take a while [O4]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

"Well it's a great pleasure to meet you." With a lazy smile, Xiaoh fell into step besides the beauty, though he could not help but to throw a wary glance to his sister, whom walked several feet in front of the trio. "Isn't it, Viv?" His attempt to pull her into the conversation was only met with a hum of affirmation.

Refusing to give up, he turned his attention back to Adina (a rather fitting name for such an angelic face), and finally introduced himself. "I'm known as Xiaoh, and my sister there is called..," he trailed off, clearing his throat when he was only met with silence. "Her name is V-"

"Vivian." Finally speaking up then. Lowering her bag from her shoulder, Vivian raised a free gloved-hand to give a mock wave before turning to peer over her shoulder at the group behind her. "My friends call me Viv, but you," her eyes flicked over to the equally unhappy brunette called Asher (though personally she liked chimp-face), "Can call me Vivian," she finished with a mocking smile, before turning back to face forward.

By the time she had finished speaking, Xiaoh was staring at his sister despondently, frowning at her cold attitude. He had expected as such, but it did not stop him from wishing that she would let people into her heart more readily. By now the two others would want nothing from her no doubt, the end result she seemed to always be able to reach with new acquaintances. It was as though his sister would rather be hated at the start than give others a chance to hurt her, and sadly, far too few people put in any effort into getting past that defense.

He gave a quiet sigh.

"Ha, there's that sense of humor again," he laughed half-heartedly before giving the two walking by him his full attention. "So you must tell me of yourself," he started in an attempt to start friendly conversation, "I'm sure there's much to tell. It's not everyday someone as beautiful as yourself decides to trek to so far as the capital." Looking up at the other male, he tried to get him to speak as well, "And how did you get so lucky as to accompany Adina? I find myself quite envious," the scholar joked,still all too aware of his silently walking sister.
 

Adina could only give the man a sympathetic smile at his sister's behavior. He was more or less suffering the same with Asher, only he decided that he'd join in the conversation when he wanted to and was done acting like a child. No use in trying to convince him beforehand, and also no point, he had other things to focus on (like the man next to him but shh).

"It is a pleasure to meet the both of you." He didn't seem to be upset at all towards the woman's demeanor. It was clear she was just as uncomfortable with the way things were going as Asher, and she'd come to terms with it on her own time. At least she wasn't a faerie, thank the gods for that, they could be just as stubborn and he wasn't sure if he could deal with it. Humans were far easier, in his honest opinion (that he'd probably end up changing sometime later, as he always did). He did feel sorry for Xiaoh, though, who was obviously not pleased with her behavior. The man would get over it, as harsh as that sounds, it would just take a little time.

A small blush graced his cheeks at the man's words, "It's very kind of you to say that." As much flirting as he frequently engaged in, there were the times where a simple compliment could bring heat to his face. "There really isn't much to tell. We're headed to the capital for more business opportunities. We get work outside the city, but we figured heading there couldn't hurt."

Asher blinked at the man, remaining silent for what seemed like a while before speaking. "We met some months back when he," and he gave a smile full of teeth, feeling triumphant in revealing his companion's gender (Adina rolled his eyes at this), "ran into a little trouble in town. I took care of it."

"And then he decided that I'm incapable of taking care of myself, stalked me, and held me prisoner ever since."

"I did not stalk you!"

"You followed me for three days, that counts as stalking."

Asher was blushed. "I-I was just making sure you weren't lying face down in a ditch! I was there on business and you happened to be in the same area as me most of the time."

"I'm sure." That smile again that only proved to make Asher redder. "So what about you, Mister Xiaoh?" He pressed on before the mercenary could speak again. "What reasons do you and your sister Miss Vivian have for heading to the capital?"
 
This is gonna take a while [O5]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

Though she was walking ahead of them, Vivian could still hear the ongoing conversation, meaning that as soon as she heard her brother schmoozing up with the porcelain beauty, she could not help but roll her eyes with a practiced fondness. Still, she had to admit that she was also curious as to how the two had ended up on their travels together, when one seemed so regal, and the other being the very opposition of the word. Even so, the lawman didn't make a single noise until a short laugh bubbled it it way from her throat at the easy banter between the two, sounding all to similar to her own with Xiaoh. As soon as it did, she cleared her throat and frowned, as though unhappy with herself for enjoying the couple's company.

Noticing this, the taller man's grin grew in sincerity, giving an easy chuckle as he watched the two interact with one another. When Asher had specified Adina's gender, a disbelieving breath had sounded from his sister. Xiaoh however, reacted with no more than a minute raise of his brows, clearly not at all bothered that the object of his attentions was a man.

After all, beauty was beauty no matter the form it chose to take on.

"Ah well as for myself, " he began motioning down to his formal wear, "I am a scholar looking to join with several colleagues within the capital." Now he motioned towards his sister, glancing briefly at her before continuing, "Viv was convinced I would not last a day, 'out in the wild' as she put it, on my own and so insisted on accompanying me." A fond chuckle left him and he moved to run a hand self-consciously through his fringe. "Truth be told, she wasn't very far from the truth."

Ahead of them, Vivian let a small smile pull at her lips, quietly mumbling to herself as Xiaoh continued to speak. "Damn right."

"Now that I say that, it seems that Asher and Vivian have far more in common than they want to admit." Fighting to keep from laughing, the man gave the fae man by him a look of faked thoughtfulness, "Wouldn't you agree, dear Adina? And it seems we are the ones unfairly left to deal with them."

An offended sputter sounded from ahead, and Xiaoh didn't bother trying to stop the amused laugh rolling from him.
 

The reaction Asher was hoping for didn't...come, and it left him even further unsatisfied for the day. The woman, at the very least, gasped, while the man had merely rose his eyebrows. Where was his blush, his stammered apology for possibly offending either of them? He lived off this stuff, damn it! Why couldn't he be an insensitive jerk at the very least so they could just kick him out the group, taking the one named Vivian with him? He would get the one guy who has enough control of himself not to seem foolish, he would.

Adina's eyes fluttered with interest. "A scholar, you say? I would not have guessed, you must be very intelligent." Attractive and smart, he honestly could not have asked for better. If they run into any trouble, they'll now have more than one quick witted mind - not that Asher wasn't bright himself, just obviously hot tempered, which slowed the thought process down - among them to help out. He gave a small laugh. "I feel our situations are much in the same," referring to his earlier story of how he and Asher had ended up with each other, "though I still stand that I would last a little longer on my own." Said mainly to rib Asher, who gave a snort because he is so done with that topic.

Another laugh was drawn from the fae's lips, who had no problems with showing his mirth. "I do find myself agreeing, though I'm certain our companions are not pleased by this comparison."

Asher, too, was left to sputtering, "I am not anything like that woman!"

This, of course, dissolved into undoubtedly another argument as the group walked together to the next town, Adina finding himself amazed yet again by his friend's ability to speak for so long, and with such enthusiasm. It was a little late into the afternoon when Norivul was reached, the town still buzzing with life. Vendors occasionally shouting their wares to anyone that may be interested in them, women gossiping out of the way in corners, a customer haggling prices, the air a blend of scents that, for the moment, were actually quite pleasant.

"I believe," Adina spoke, "that our first thing should be to find an inn." Which, of course, is very sensible, but then came the question of *whom* was going to sleep with whom, and how many rooms to buy. The poor desk attendant decided to flee to another task, asking that they 'ring when they come to a decision', which may take a while by the inevitable argument that was present. "One room should do us fine."

"I don't see why we can't get two."

"It will cost us more if we only have one room."

"I'm sure they want their privacy."

Adina sighed, but Asher had a point. "What would you and Miss Vivian prefer, Mister Xiaoh?
 
This is gonna take a while [O6]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

Needless to say, Xiaoh was a very torn man.

On one hand, he jumped at the opportunity have having a night with the fae beauty, for who knew when they would next have such amenities to themselves. On the other, he was in no way ready to let some possibly handsy fellow room with his precious little sister, no matter how capable she believed herself to be. Basically, there seemed to be no plausible answers to their current rooming disagreement, and for once, he was very much a part of the reason (even if he had stayed mostly quiet up til that point).

Running a hand through his wild mane, he looked over at Vivian who stood leaning against the counter, making no move to join the ever growing argument. "It seems we are in quite the predicament," he finally said after a moment's pause before continuing. "From what I can see, no single room may be large enough to contain all of us without further incident, don't you think?"

Vivian, whom had looked enough in time to see the meaningful look her brother had shot her, rolled her eyes, finally moving from her perch. "Well I think," she began, her words dripping with sarcasm, "that you lot are more than capable of figuring this out without me." Giving one last (and somehow very sarcastic) smile, the woman dropped her bag in the faithful hands of her brother and made her leave, throwing one last wave over her shoulder before she was gone.

"...I really should have seen that coming."

Sighing, the scholar turned back to his two new associates, no further along in figuring out the rooming than they had been when they first arrived. "No need to worry. She's no doubt gifting the local tavern with her patronage." 'As well as starting up a brawl or two', he added silently, now wanting to decide upon everything with much haste. She would need backup no doubt. "Now about the rooms..."

----

On her own, Vivian was proud to say that she had in fact not begun a brawl of any kind. Instead she was sipping away morosely as her ale and giving it the occasional glare as she saw fit.

"'ad I naught pourn that drink meself, I'd be thinkin' itd done killed ya' fam the way yer glarin' at it."

Green eyes met the icy blue orbs of the bartender, who seemed to have found someone else to pour drinks as he saddled up across from the lone woman. The very same woman who felt a smile tug at her lips before she could stop it. "Something like that." Chuckling, the blonde moved around the bar and settled himself in one of the empty seats by the mysterious raven-haired girl.

"Well, I ain't got nothin' but time for sucha pretty girl."

"Best go find one then." Smirking, Vivian tipped her glass at him in good nature, all while refusing to give thought to what may be going on back at the inn.

-----

"I would propose rooming with our respective partners if not for my sister's..wariness to sharing a room with me. It's all a very long story," he added hastily at the questioning looks. "It seems we'll never make it to our rooms at this rate."
 

The woman's answer, it seemed, was to leave the four of them to decide for themselves. This suited Asher - even if he thought it was rather rude of her to just leave like that - as it meant one less person to argue against his decision. The only other people to take care of in persuading were Xiaoh - who's opinion mattered little to him as he was a stranger who kept flirting with his friend, like all the other men they'd met - and Adina, who was just as hard headed as Asher himself, despite his frail appearance. The slight man could keep up his side for the better half of a day if he was allowed, and Asher would really rather avoid that.

Adina just wanted them to come to a decision. "I don't think sharing aroom would be too bad. You and your sister are already close, due to your relation to each other," blood or otherwise, it was obviously a strong bond, "and Asher and I have had to share a bed before, so it wouldn't be an inconvenience to us." But he did know that humans were odd when it came to these things, and surely the siblings would find problem sleeping so close to one another.

Asher still wasn't keen on sharing a room with the two strangers. "Or they could just sleep in their own room and whatever problems they had the last time could just not repeat itself." He shot Xioah a pointed look. Asher had no idea what the incident could have been, but it obviously wasn't pleasant if it'd make his own sister wary to sleep in the same room as him.

"Or," and he flicked Asher's ear because he felt the man was being rude, blissfully ignoring the glare he received, "we could save as much money as possible and sleep in the same room. The beds should be big enough to support two people, and Asher if you have a problem sleeping next to me then *you* can sleep with Mister Xiaoh, if," and he looked to the other male present, "he doesn't mind that. I wouldn't mind sleeping next to Miss Vivian, if only for the night, if she's comfortable with it, and if you are. I understand that we're both strangers and you're probably not very keen on the idea of either of us being near your sibling throughout the night as everyone sleeps."
 
This is gonna take a while [O7]

Vivian : Wearing
Xiaoh : Wearing

The discomfort between the three whom were left behind was heavy, and a long silent pause had followed Xiaoh's last comment. In fact, the older man would have feared that the trio were stuck in that tension filled limbo had it not been for the angelic Adina stepping up in order to make sense of their arrangements. Sadly, the arrangements were once again quite contradictory to what Vivian (now greatly missed), would be openly against.

Very, very much against.

This is course due to the rather embarrassing incident several towns back involving a pair of twins who were far more adventurous then he had given them credit for. To be fair, she had implied that she would be staying out far later than she had been, and well it was really very easy to lose track of times with two times the pleasure.

So yeah, sharing a room in any way with his sister was far from being an option for now.

He was about to point this out when the other male rather adamantly shot the idea down, shooting him a pointed look which spoke volumes on how he felt about his new travelling companions. Xiaoh's answering frown was saved only by the reprimanding which the brunette received from his more willowy friend. Ah, now that was a room pairing he (surprisingly) had not himself thought of. It was not ideal, but with the current circumstances, he'd much rather have the sweet and accepting Adina pair up with his younger sibling than the more... bristly Asher.

"I still believe we should stick with renting out two rooms. Vivian made some extra money in our previous stop, so that should not be a concern for a little while." Turning more fully towards the other two, he offered a a small half-hearted smile. "The room pairings are something I believe we agree upon however. I have no problems rooming with Asher so long as he has no objections?" He turned a questioning eye towards the shorter male, "I'm sure Vivian will also be fine with the arrangements."

And if he was lucky enough for them to agree, he could get closer to Asher and learn more of the brunette and his companion. More importantly, he would keep the unfriendly male away from his sibling in case he had been wrong with his initial impression of them. One could never be too careful.

-----

Back at the pub, Vivian continued to chuckle at the barkeeps regaling many of past clientele whom had passed through the town. For once, it seemed she was enjoying her time without too much unwarranted attention. True a few of the more questionable men were glancing at her more often than necessary, but that was negligible. It was almost too bad that she would need to head back to the inn soon to see the no doubt less then favorable conclusion for the nights sleeping arrangements.

Great.
 

Adina was delighted at Xiaoh's agreement, though he still thought they should just stick to one room. Honestly he was just trying to avoid the last incident when they'd ran dangerously low on funds from having to change towns so often. If he remembered correctly it was some mark or another Asher had been after that somehow knew of them tracking him. Asher had been so displeased and it took everything Adina had to keep the man from setting both the target and his informant - another mercenary who was trying to snag the man himself - on fire. It would have been somewhat amusing but horribly inconvenient in the long run, because societies tend to frown on that sort of thing (and the man was wanted alive).

Asher huffed but he didn't voice his opinion for once, merely shrugging. "Fine." He honestly didn't want to be near either of them but he was already pushing the limit with Adina so he decided he'd comply for the time being. "But there better not be any bull sh*t or I'll-"

"Excellent!" Adina interjected, smacking a hand over Asher's mouth and using his other to tug at the man's hair. "Now I all that's left is to inform Miss Vivian and hope she's okay with the arrangement." He paused. "Do you think she'll be very long, Mister Xiaoh? I don't want to intrude on her personal time and try to find her but I think she should be informed before too long." He didn't imagine it would go well if she came back late in the night only to find out that she had to sleep in the same room as one of her new companions.
 
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