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Aya · **07-29-2014, 03:04 PM**

Aya's grin softens to a smile as she watches and listen to the bulky paladin flexing his fingers, and words, trying to squirrel his way out from underneath the dereliction of duty she had playfully put at his feet.

At last she cannot help herself, leaning toward him she teasingly jabs his shoulder, "I think its because she likes the shy, stoic type, who's all like honey inside."Â That teasing grin of hers returns for just a moment.

"So don't worry about those other things, okay?Â Stop doubting, and wondering.Â This world has a way of not making any of us want to look back, doesn't it?Â The future is what matters.Â For you.Â For her.Â For all of us."

She leans back, smiling warmly to him as she draws in a deep breath, "I love having you two around, but I know what you two have is more important than that, now.Â You're a delight to watch, you know: its like happiness dancing upon tense little fingertips, wanting so badly to embrace, but afraid to.Â For silly little fears.Â Fear of the unknown.Â Fear of losing what you've always known, fear of what others will think.Â Things you should not worry about, but cannot help, mmmm?Â But, I know you'll find the strength, eventually." She giggles softly, her lips embracing a warm, happy smile.

She glances down for just a moment as she watches his reaction, "So do what you think is best.Â We'll appreciate your company, and hers, and what the two of you are together, even more.Â Still, more quiet nights like this would be nice, don't you think?"

Warren Castille · **07-29-2014, 03:16 PM**

Warren couldn't do much else but sit dumbfounded as the bubbly woman before him basically delved through his thoughts and hopes and arranged them as politely as she could on the countertop between them. He didn't have the wherewithal to interrupt here and took a moment to reply once she finished. Warren had to consciously wipe the look of surprise off of his face.

"Uh... Yeah. Wow. You, uh, got all of it." He sounded confused, possibly struck with amazement. He reached up to scratch the back of his head, closing one eye and looking at her out of the other with his head tucked down a little. "I'm not really, shy I think, just... Sturdy? She's strong like I said, she didn't -" He paused to shake his head. "...need me. But I guess it's no secret I wanted her to, I suppose."

He smiled, still touched by her breakdown of his worries and fears. "I feel like I've been looking back for so long. It's easier than facing what comes next, you know?" Warren was confiding in her now, the prefaces of gallantry and armor and duty stripped away to reveal just a man. "But I think I can do that now. I think I have to. She... makes me want to."

It's as much of an admission to himself as it is to Aya, and he half laughed and sighed at himself. "I guess I was just the last to know it."

Aya · **07-29-2014, 03:26 PM**

Aya looks back at him with a broad grin.Â She lifts herself back up from where she'd been leaning against the bar, and draws out one of the tumblers she had justÂ dried and placed away.Â She sets it before him gently, and then spins back around, theatrically retrieving a bottle of amber liquor, and pouring the tumbler half full, before returning the bottle to the shelf.

She looks down at the drink, its complex aged aroma drifting to Warren as a heady mixture of strong alcohol and barrel-aging.Â She leans over the bar, directly in front of him, her elbows resting on the serving-side edge.Â Her finger gently taps the rim of the glass, as she gives her head a little shake, jingling her earrings as she grins.Â "To not looking back."Â She leans a little closer, her expression looking a little more serious for just a moment, Â "And being the man you know are."

She raises herself back up to standing, fingers still clutching the edge of the bar as she grins down toward him, "And then you can tell me all about the excitement of the Grindstone!"

Warren Castille · **07-29-2014, 03:37 PM**

Warren nodded and smiled confidently as she proposed her toast. He was nearly overwhelmed at the depth of the woman he'd typically only seen as the smiling flirting hostess and felt briefly disappointed in himself for not looking further previously.

"To not looking back," he agreed quietly and lifted the glass. "And to being the man I am." He repeated her words with a serious tone of his own, the smile fading and leaving his mouth a determined line. He took a mouthful of the drink and swallowed after letting it sit in his mouth a moment, then pushed the glass back towards his conversation partner, the clean bit of the tumbler facing her.

"I feel like I should have something deep and insightful to reply to you with, but I think all of the wisdom is on that side of the bar tonight." He shook his head and waved off her interest in the Grindstone. "Berrod nearly punched my lungs out of my chest. It was over in seconds, like it usually is. "He won the whole damned thing, went through me and Howl to do it. Some nights, it's just someone's night."

Aya · **07-29-2014, 04:03 PM**

In response to Warren's praise, Aya just smiles sweetly, adding a little shrug of her shoulders.Â What the paladin thought was wisdom, seemed anything but to the girl, but who was she to argue?

"Berrod huh?Â Why does that name sound so familiar!Â He really just hit you that hard, huh?Â Knocked the wind right out?"

Warren Castille · **07-29-2014, 07:37 PM**

Warren spoke quickly to defend his honor.

"It's not like he just hit me once!" He stopped to think for a second, scratching his chin. "He hit me twice. In the same exact spot! He did..." Warren makes a motion with his hands. "...thing and it broke... something."

Warren folded his arms and looked away. "It's not like he just barely touched me and I crumpled."

Aya · **07-30-2014, 11:27 AM**

"Oh?" she raises her shoulders and the blonde eyebrows that seem such an essential component of her expressiveness, while listening to his evolving tale of woe, struggle, and defeat.

Her giggle at his pouting gesture is not exactly consoling, but there is a comforting warmth in her smile as she nods knowingly, "Of course! I knew that even someone as tough as Berrod couldn't take you down so easily!Â Twice in just the same spot, hmm? He's just that quick?Â And who's this other fellow you mentioned?"

She purses her lips a bit, turning her upper body back and forth, "Why do you guys enjoy fighting so much, anyway, doesn't it hurt?"

Warren Castille · **07-30-2014, 11:50 AM**

"We were sort of rolling around in the dust at the time. I was trying to headbutt him, he was trying to headbutt me. I pulled back, he seized the opportunity. It was a clean win. And Howl's my best friend. He's a good fighter. Strong. You've probably seen him around, he comes through for liquor often enough. Got me into the scene in the first place."

He shrugged and gave a moment of thought to her question. "It's a little hard to explain. They have healers standing by, so there's not any real danger. It's the best place to practice for that reason. Sparring with somebody using a dulled edge makes you underestimate the weapon. When someone comes at you with a spear and they intend to truly run you through, you learn to dodge out of the way, or else you learn what it feels like to not dodge. And that makes you want to make sure you dodge next time."

Warren reconsidered the less-than-half-full glass on the counter. Aya didn't seem interested in it so he took it back in his hand and continued. "I'm so used to being in my armor, having a sword in my hand and a shield on me arm. My first week there I tried to block a kick with my shield. I'll let you know, now, that I fight at the Grindstone barehanded and bare- unarmored." He caught himself. "Berrod caught me here, right between the ribs. If I were in my armor, I would have ignored it like I tried to do. Instead of that being the case, I nearly passed out and couldn't breathe any longer."

"I've got things to fight for now. True, good reasons to make sure that, if I end up in a real life or death situation, that I don't make mistakes like that. I trust myself with a sword and armor. I might not always have them, so I've got to bring up my fundamentals. A lot of folks there fight for similar reasons, I suppose."

Aya · **07-30-2014, 01:32 PM**

Aya listens, and he can see the little smirk on her lips as he discusses his "friend" that she absolutely must have seen before...

As he discusses the fight, she turns her head a bit, "So its not really fun, but practice?Â That's what it sounds like at least~Â I'd like to meet these friends of yours, Berrod and Howl.Â Maybe I could go with you sometime?"

Warren Castille · **07-30-2014, 01:35 PM**

"I'm not sure it would really be your scene, Aya, but I don't see why not. It's the same time every week, and while I wouldn't exactly called Berrod a friend, I have to respect him. He plays at being a rough and tumble thug, but he was concerned when I went down. His heart's not nearly as hard as his fist." He smiled at her then, and Warren realized he was genuinely enjoying himself and her company.

"It's practice for me. Sport for others. Proving grounds for some. And it's in the dust and the grime, and there's always blood. I've gotten pretty mangled the last few times I've gone. You think you could stomach seeing that?"

Aya · **07-30-2014, 01:41 PM**

The girl laughs softly, a bashful smile crossing her features.Â "Mmmmmmm, maybe not... we could ask them to come here sometime!"

Berrod was a familiar name, she felt like she could almost place his features... if Warren was right about him, she had known the type before.Â The sort of man you always wanted to avoid meeting, but then always seemed thankful for after you had.

She holds her finger to her lips, "I wonder why I've never met this 'Howl' friend of yours... what's he like?"

Warren Castille · **07-30-2014, 01:47 PM**

Warren smiled, but it faded just a bit as unheard thoughts passed behind his eyes.

"Howl's not his real name, obviously. It's some meeko tongue, and I'm not really good at imitating it. It's close enough and makes for a fighter's name." His smile turned proud. "He's my best friend. We share a place together. He's had some bad things happen to him, though, and I blame myself for a lot of it."

The smile lost its luster, but he kept the frame of it on his face. "Didn't deserve any of what's gone his way, but he's like a brother to me. More. He was the reason I was gone for so long; He was in trouble and I needed to help him. He got by without me just fine, though. Of course he would; He's strong after all."

Aya · **07-30-2014, 01:51 PM**

Aya smiles softly, unable to miss the misgivings in Warren's expression.Â Saying, and doing, were always two very different things. Still, she had not intended to tread upon the recent past he would prefer to forget.

She glances down and then back up, a little coyness in her expression, "You should bring him by sometime when I'm here.Â It sounds like you two are a lot of fun together."

Warren Castille · **07-30-2014, 01:54 PM**

Warren gave her a renewed smile. "I'll do that. He stops in sometimes when I'm on patrol, but he always leaves. Doesn't want to stick around when I can't share a drink with him, I suppose."

Aya · **07-30-2014, 01:57 PM**

"A little shy then, hmmmm? And I suppose he doesn't have a pillar to guard." she grins, tossing him a playful wink.

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Stranger in a Strange Land

RPC has moved! These pages have been kept for historical purposes