Early evening, and the light was still fading, the street lamps giving off an arbitrary glow against the light of a pale violet sky. Gideon reveled in the warmth the sudden spring brought, cuffs of his shirt rolled up to just under elbows, tie pulled slightly askew with the top button of his pale blue shirt undone. He mingled with the early evening crowd, absently people-watching, waiting for the darker evening to set in before he began the task of abating the roiling hunger that clawed harder and sharper with every little bump and jostle of soft limbs of the crowd against him. Stride an easy, lackadaisical pace, he ate up the cobblestones slowly, one hand shoved deep into the pocket of dark grey trousers, the other flicking thoughtlessly at one of those ever-present cigarettes.
Even starlets have to eat, and after being in Rhy'Din for two weeks, it was time for a resupply run. Lelah had spent the evening in the Marketplace, marveling at the sheer number of stalls and shops and things to taste and buy and smell and see. The place reminded her a great deal of the bazaars she'd wandered through in Marrakesh and Cairo. She was paused in front of a greengrocer, running a finger over a bunch of asparagus, debating buying it, when she caught the orange of a burning cigarette and the shock of black, carelessly tousled hair above it. She sighed deeply and shook her head at the grocer, foregoing the purchase in favor of a hasty retreat.
He grinned to himself as his wandering gaze caught the gloss of brunette waves lingering by one of the outside stalls, the curve of feminine shoulders under them stiffening in that tell-tale tension as the woman turned away. He couldn't help himself; she was becoming far too much fun, and though he'd have rather have her on friendly terms, he enjoyed her derisive anger almost as much. "Lelah!" Loud enough to be heard over the crowd, the tone pure joviality.
The crowd was thick enough that she could feign not hearing him and continued picking her way, slowly, through the crush of bodies. She could not, however, keep the sudden tension that crept across the set of her jaw when he called out her name. Through an effort of sheer will, she did not glance over her shoulder at him to see whether he'd follow. Pray God, he didn't. He scared her as much as he intrigued and disgusted her.
Follow he did, cutting a path through the crowd like a hot knife, something about him always made people give way, be it that barely repressed stride of a lazy predator, the intrinsic air of privilege he carried like sharp armor, or something more insidious. Cheshire grin as if they hadn't exchanged such heated words for two nights in a row only grew when she failed to glance back but instead struggled forward. A step behind he bent slightly to speak right behind her ear. "Lelah." Sing-song, laughter barely repressed.
Seeing that he did not intend to give up the chase, she stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and rounded on him, regal indignation in every line and curve of her body. She skewered him with dark eyes narrowed slightly and then allowed her gaze to travel from crown of head to tip of toe and back again before settling on his eyes, which she boldly met. Tipping her head to the side, she said, "Haughty."
He drew up as she rounded, generous mouth all broad ivories as he regarded her perusal of himself. One brow arched high as he took a half a step closer, fingers raking a tugging pull at the mess of his dark hair. "Hullo to you too. A new word to add to your ever-growing list of things to hate about me?" He breathed an exasperated laugh and glanced past her, watching the crowd before flicking attention back to her chocolate brown glare. "You know what I think, Lelah? I think you like the fact that it is exceptionally easy to hate me. You like it because it's so much easier than liking someone who challenges you, someone who doesn't fawn and fall all over themselves to make you happy, someone who doesn't need your help like your hapless friend Ori. Someone who you aren't better than. Hating me is the easy way out, and something tells me that's a path you aren't unfamiliar with."
"Haughty," she repeated, ignoring the fact that his words stung and were too close to the truth for her to be entirely comfortable right now. "Arrogant, conceited, egotistical, imperious, over-bearing, supercilious, and above all, snobbish." She crossed her arms over her chest, thrust one leg forward at an impatient angle. "A very smart man once wrote, 'The haughty do but build castle walls behind which they try to hide their doubts and fears'. Is that true, Gideon? Do you hide behind this...this bratty exterior? What is it that you're afraid of?" Perhaps if she could contrive to put him on the defensive for once, she could overcome the bizarre things his presence did to her stomach - like butterflies made of horror.
Feline-pleased slant of eyes at her rant as his head rocked back slightly with another brief bark of a laugh. He shifted, foot to foot, almost too pleased to stand still. "You think I'm hiding, Lelah? You think I need walls to protect myself? This is me - this is who I am. I'm not always nice, my regard doesn't come easily. I will tell you exactly what I think and you can like it, or lump it.
"You think I am haughty, arrogant, conceited, egotistical, imperious, over-bearing, supercilious, and snobbish? You're too right, but it's no skin off my nose if you think that. I'm many, many other things too. Some people can accept the good with the bad, others can't. Why should I waste my time being anything other than myself, luv? I'd like to show you the other sides of me, but you seem to be bent on this one now.
"I apologized for being rude to your friend, though I won't apologize for why I was. And you no sooner got what you wanted than you tried to turn around and twist the situation to suit what you wanted it to be? You practically begged me to tell you I disliked your friend because I felt threatened that he'd steal your affections away. You put a whole hell of a lot of stock in yourself, luv. If there was ever one for arrogance, I might take a look in the mirror if I were you.
"You already know I'd like to spend time with you, or else I wouldn't keep throwing myself on that barbed wire fence you keep wrapped round, but trust me, I'm not going to chase you like a lost puppy just to get kicked.
"You're beautiful, Lelah, and I think you could be fun if you let yourself, but I'm not one of your pathetic suitors. Let me be myself and I'll let you be yourself in ways that all those little boys can't or won't."
Even starlets have to eat, and after being in Rhy'Din for two weeks, it was time for a resupply run. Lelah had spent the evening in the Marketplace, marveling at the sheer number of stalls and shops and things to taste and buy and smell and see. The place reminded her a great deal of the bazaars she'd wandered through in Marrakesh and Cairo. She was paused in front of a greengrocer, running a finger over a bunch of asparagus, debating buying it, when she caught the orange of a burning cigarette and the shock of black, carelessly tousled hair above it. She sighed deeply and shook her head at the grocer, foregoing the purchase in favor of a hasty retreat.
He grinned to himself as his wandering gaze caught the gloss of brunette waves lingering by one of the outside stalls, the curve of feminine shoulders under them stiffening in that tell-tale tension as the woman turned away. He couldn't help himself; she was becoming far too much fun, and though he'd have rather have her on friendly terms, he enjoyed her derisive anger almost as much. "Lelah!" Loud enough to be heard over the crowd, the tone pure joviality.
The crowd was thick enough that she could feign not hearing him and continued picking her way, slowly, through the crush of bodies. She could not, however, keep the sudden tension that crept across the set of her jaw when he called out her name. Through an effort of sheer will, she did not glance over her shoulder at him to see whether he'd follow. Pray God, he didn't. He scared her as much as he intrigued and disgusted her.
Follow he did, cutting a path through the crowd like a hot knife, something about him always made people give way, be it that barely repressed stride of a lazy predator, the intrinsic air of privilege he carried like sharp armor, or something more insidious. Cheshire grin as if they hadn't exchanged such heated words for two nights in a row only grew when she failed to glance back but instead struggled forward. A step behind he bent slightly to speak right behind her ear. "Lelah." Sing-song, laughter barely repressed.
Seeing that he did not intend to give up the chase, she stopped, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and rounded on him, regal indignation in every line and curve of her body. She skewered him with dark eyes narrowed slightly and then allowed her gaze to travel from crown of head to tip of toe and back again before settling on his eyes, which she boldly met. Tipping her head to the side, she said, "Haughty."
He drew up as she rounded, generous mouth all broad ivories as he regarded her perusal of himself. One brow arched high as he took a half a step closer, fingers raking a tugging pull at the mess of his dark hair. "Hullo to you too. A new word to add to your ever-growing list of things to hate about me?" He breathed an exasperated laugh and glanced past her, watching the crowd before flicking attention back to her chocolate brown glare. "You know what I think, Lelah? I think you like the fact that it is exceptionally easy to hate me. You like it because it's so much easier than liking someone who challenges you, someone who doesn't fawn and fall all over themselves to make you happy, someone who doesn't need your help like your hapless friend Ori. Someone who you aren't better than. Hating me is the easy way out, and something tells me that's a path you aren't unfamiliar with."
"Haughty," she repeated, ignoring the fact that his words stung and were too close to the truth for her to be entirely comfortable right now. "Arrogant, conceited, egotistical, imperious, over-bearing, supercilious, and above all, snobbish." She crossed her arms over her chest, thrust one leg forward at an impatient angle. "A very smart man once wrote, 'The haughty do but build castle walls behind which they try to hide their doubts and fears'. Is that true, Gideon? Do you hide behind this...this bratty exterior? What is it that you're afraid of?" Perhaps if she could contrive to put him on the defensive for once, she could overcome the bizarre things his presence did to her stomach - like butterflies made of horror.
Feline-pleased slant of eyes at her rant as his head rocked back slightly with another brief bark of a laugh. He shifted, foot to foot, almost too pleased to stand still. "You think I'm hiding, Lelah? You think I need walls to protect myself? This is me - this is who I am. I'm not always nice, my regard doesn't come easily. I will tell you exactly what I think and you can like it, or lump it.
"You think I am haughty, arrogant, conceited, egotistical, imperious, over-bearing, supercilious, and snobbish? You're too right, but it's no skin off my nose if you think that. I'm many, many other things too. Some people can accept the good with the bad, others can't. Why should I waste my time being anything other than myself, luv? I'd like to show you the other sides of me, but you seem to be bent on this one now.
"I apologized for being rude to your friend, though I won't apologize for why I was. And you no sooner got what you wanted than you tried to turn around and twist the situation to suit what you wanted it to be? You practically begged me to tell you I disliked your friend because I felt threatened that he'd steal your affections away. You put a whole hell of a lot of stock in yourself, luv. If there was ever one for arrogance, I might take a look in the mirror if I were you.
"You already know I'd like to spend time with you, or else I wouldn't keep throwing myself on that barbed wire fence you keep wrapped round, but trust me, I'm not going to chase you like a lost puppy just to get kicked.
"You're beautiful, Lelah, and I think you could be fun if you let yourself, but I'm not one of your pathetic suitors. Let me be myself and I'll let you be yourself in ways that all those little boys can't or won't."