Celebrating a New Year

New Year's Celebration

Well, she either wasn’t gonna show or she was. Not much he could do about it.

After the first time they had met, Xavier had been thinking about Aeron. They’d spent a very interesting and illuminating time together during Earthland’s traditional Halloween celebration. Despite not knowing one another beforehand, they had somehow managed to connect and spend the evening together. She was cute as hell, with apparently a lot of bad things from her past. Not that really mattered much to Xavier; he hadn’t exactly been a saint either. But there had been a connection there, especially how revealing that one particular ride had been for both of them. He’d promised to look her up and take her on a real date, a comment that was probably eye-rolled at as a line and nothing more.

Well, he’d followed through. Granted he’d been hella busy since then, what with the creation of Confidence International. Still, he’d heard about a rather robust and fancy party happening to celebrate the approaching new year. People would be dressed to kill and while that usually would inspire him to plan a con job, he decided to leave the event untouched. Instead, he used the connections he had gained as a struggling artist to figure out who Aeron was and where she could be. Luckily she’d given him some hints, most notably the name Mythal. Granted there was only one major name that came up in that particular search; Mythal Ragnos, the Director of the Rune Knights. From there, it was just about spreading the net to see what he could catch. As it turned out, Aeron herself was a Rune Knight as well. Aeron Krishna, only recently recruited into the numbers of Fiore’s policing force.

He didn’t need much more than that. He got himself on the reservation list for the party and once he had the extra invitation for his guest, he headed over to Era. It was less suspicious if he went and provided the invitation by hand rather than through some kind of mailing service. Dropping it off at the reception area with a very pleasant lady named Valorie, Xavier asked that the invitation be passed onto Aeron from her friend on Halloween. It provided all of the details of the gala, including just how snazzy she would have to dress and where she could go to meet him.

Sure, it was a bit presumptuous and he wasn’t entirely sure if she would even want to go. She’d been a nervous wreck on Halloween, especially once she had been enchanted to sing, so it may have been a bit too high brow. Hell, Xavier wasn’t even sure if it wasn’t too much for him, especially given how little funds he had. But he went out and got himself a nice, crisp suit, draining the remaining funds in his savings. He may have been temporarily destitute but he would sure look hella fly while being so.

Once the night of the celebration came, Xavier arrived at the meeting place first. He wore a large top coat that covered up his sleek outfit beneath but it was just as fancy. The snow beneath his feet crunched softly as he stepped in it and the Rhaegarian took a moment to bend down and pick up the cold, wet substance. He’d arrived in winter and had been shell-shocked by the sudden appearance of the white frozen material. Frankly, even a year later, he still wasn’t over it. There were snowy areas of Rhaegar, sure, but he’d never gotten a chance to visit them. Smirking to himself, he closed his hand around the snow and made a miniature ball before he tossed it away. Brushing his hands off, he stood back up and tucked his hands in his jacket pocket, looking around to see if she would show.

New Year's Celebration

Xavier wouldn’t have to wait long for confirmation that he would not be going stag to the party. Granted, he hadn’t been standing in place for very long but he was already feeling like it wasn’t going to happen. Aeron had been nice enough to walk with him and spend time with him during Halloween but that had just been circumstance. Actually requesting to take her out and to a party no less was something else entirely. Given how nervous she had been just walking around people, he imagined that an elegant party was right up there with performing on stage as one of her top nightmares.

Then again, he could be wrong. Maybe it was just casual social settings that she didn’t enjoy. She could come down the sidewalk with poise and dignity and be the very picture of confidence. Then he’d be the one that would be all sorts of flustered. But of course, that expectation was a far cry from reality, quite far-fetched. And of course that was confirmed only a moment later when he heard the familiar sound of her voice complaining about walking in what he could only assume was some kind of fancy footwear. As she came into view, he had to take a moment. She was… well, she was beautiful. And showing a lot more skin than he had expected. The dress was tight fitting and complimented her figure, showing plenty of leg and much of her chest. She had a fur coat on for warmth that somehow just added to the style of the ensemble. Then there were the shoes, that were probably the greatest enemy she had ever faced.

Xavier grinned as she adjusted the tie of his suit beneath the jacket and walked over to meet her. "Not easily, I hear. I imagine it’s easier to walk on a tightrope,” he answered her question, sort of. As he came to a stop before her, he took a moment to look her over. "Not gonna lie, I didn’t think you’d show. Strange man dropping off an invitation, especially one y’all met only once. You must be one of them brave Rune Knights, huh?” he gave her a charming, cheeky grin. "But I’m glad you came. You look stunning. Like ‘damn I feel underdressed’ levels of beautiful.”

He stepped over to stand beside her, offering his arm. "Here, just put your arm through here and lean on me. I can’t really help with making it easier to walk in those platforms you call shoes but I can at least give you something to support you.” Counting that she took his arm, he would lead her to the entryway. A man was waiting there with a checklist and as they approached, he looked at them. “Name?”

"Trevor Winters.”

The man checked the list quickly and then nodded, crossing off the name and waving them through. They walked into a hallway full of lifts and Xavier would lead them into the closet, unoccupied one. He pressed the button for the ballroom hall and up they went. "Handle bar is right there if ya need it,” he teased her, nodding to the metal bar on the side of the elevator.

Once they arrived at the ballroom floor, they were treated to the sight of a massive hall with a very open concept. It was so large that thousands of people could have very easily filled it and then some. Only a hundred or so were in the place so there was plenty of open room between groups. "I figured if I was gonna take you out, I should at least try to do something where you aren’t rubbin’ elbows with people every which way,” he explained as they walked up to the attendants. There they could hand off their jackets, allowing her to see him in his full suit. It was a clean-cut black suit jacket, with a smooth white button up shirt beneath. Stripes adorned the collar, where a purple tie was set. Adjusting his jacket, she would be able to see that the jacket was lined with purple fabric to match.

Now that they were inside, he turned to look at her once more. "So how have you been? It’s been a bit since we saw one another.”

New Year's Celebration

Xavier laughed as Aeron lamented her cruel friends, having bullied her into going. Considering how she talked about them the last time they had seen one another, he was sure that what she really meant was that they had convinced her to step out of her comfort zone. She’d given praise to her friend Mythal for helping her to escape from her shell, even if she wasn’t always happy with it. It was one thing to know it was the right thing to do and something else entirely to follow through. Deciding not to remark on the comment, if only not to create another moment of her having to re-clarify anything, he moved on and complimented her, bringing about a blush he was beginning to know rather well. Fighting through her embarrassment, she thanked him for inviting her out, though she admitted she wasn’t sure how he was able to track you down. "I did tell you I would find you, right? Man’s gotta keep his word,” he gave her a grin. "But really, you kind of gave me all the info I needed. Mythal ain’t exactly a common name so once I knew who he was, I figured that you might be part of the Rune Knights. Friend of a friend had someone who was in the Knights and confirmed you were one of the newest recruits.” It didn’t serve him to lie about his methods or even be mysterious. He wasn’t trying to con her so it was better to just tell her the truth.

She was careful about taking his arm, only slinging herself through it out of respect and courtesy at first. It almost seemed like she was giving herself room to reconsider but when she hit a small patch of ice, enough to rattle her already unsteady stance, she became a vice around his arm. He chuckled once more and made sure to keep his balance so that she didn’t lose herself. Out of instinct more than anything, he reached over with his other hand and put it on her arm gently to help her out. Once they were inside, he teased her about the railing along the lift wall, earning a dismissal of his comment, though she seemed to be hiding her amusement.

Once they arrived at the ballroom, Aeron was quite stunned. In truth, Xavier was pretty impressed himself. There were a lot of large structures on Rhaegar -- or used to be -- but they weren’t meant to entertain large groups of guests. They had been self-serving modules for the former rulers to display their riches and achievements for themselves and small gatherings. They would never be so considerate as to have such a large hall to incorporate such a massive crowd, if only due to their own distrust. He walked them over to the staff that were gathering coats and they handed over their winter wear, now able to fully reveal their high-class get ups. Xavier adjusted his tie and collar and then as he looked over at Aeron, he caught her staring at him in wonder. She did her best to try and look at his face and answer his question, hoping beyond all hopes that she had covered her obvious staring.

She hadn’t, obviously, and Xavier wore a little tell-tale smirk that revealed that he’d caught her. But rather than call her on it, he just chose to listen as she explained how she had just recently joined the Rune Knights and was going through basic training. Beyond that, not much else had gone on, as she wasn’t one to go out on her own without prompting. She turned the question to him and, as she did, he led them over to a standing table, relatively secluded from the larger portions of the crowd. "Well, I managed to get a full time job,” he said with a chuckle as he looked at the table. There were some lacrima tablets built into the table and as he pressed his finger on the screen in front of him out of curiosity, the screen lit up and revealed a drink list. "Uh… well, I guess it’s more appropriate to say that I started a business. Confidence International; a company helping artists like myself get proper exposure through representation. We’re still pretty small at the moment, real tight knit group, ya know? But it brought in enough scratch for me to put out my first song so… that’s something, you know?”

He scrolled through the list of drinks before settling on one. "I have no idea what some of these are,” he said with a laugh. "But it looks like… champagnay is the featured one for the night. How about a bottle of that?”

New Year's Celebration

She congratulated him on his starting a business and he chuckled a bit bashfully as she wished him luck. "Thanks. We’ll see how it goes. It was a big investment but if it pans out, it’ll help a lot of people. A lotta artists here don’t get good representation and then get swindled. I just… want to help them not become victims of that.” Of course he also wanted to help them get even with the ones that tricked them but that wasn’t exactly a date conversation. He turned his attention to the drink list and found one that had been highlighted as a special for the evening called champagnay. She didn’t seem to know what the bottle of alcohol was either, elaborating that she didn’t really drink and then realizing that she may not have had any kind of alcohol before. She reached back to scratch her head and then realized she still had product in it, earning a genuinely amused smile from him. She said she was willing to try but if it resulted in her singing again, she would throw herself right off the balcony without hesitation.

Xavier let out a full laugh. "Aw, c’mon, you had such a pretty voice,” he playfully tried to defend her from herself. "How ‘bout this; we’ll ask the waiter when he comes over to make sure it ain’t enchanted with anything. I don’t see anyone else takin’ on any weird forms or anythin’ but we’ll ask to be safe,” he offered, taking a moment to look around. There were plenty of other tables with people and they had bottles that they had poured into glasses and were drinking from. But he wasn’t sure if it was champagnay or not. He put in the order for one bottle and then let the screen go idle as he got comfortable, leaning against the table.

He was mostly watching the crowds around them, an avid fan of people watching. He was content just to spend time with Aeron, not having to keep her talking constantly and allowing her moments to collect her social energy as it were. After a moment of silence, she started to speak, beginning to ask him a question and faltering before finally finding the courage to ask him why he had invited her. As she saw it, they barely knew one another and she imagined he had other friends that he could have invited or at least people he knew better. He shrugged. "Not really, no. I know some people but they do their own things and I do mine.” He turned slightly to face her fully. "But more to the point, I like you. You’re cute, funny and we get along pretty well. People are only strangers until they take the time to get to know one another and we shared… well, we went through some things that revealed a lot about ourselves. Plus… you mentioned your friend Mythal, always tryin’ to help you get out there and experience things. I guess I wanted to… help you out with that as well, you know?” He admitted the second part with just the tiniest bit of bashful humility. "I didn’t want to overwhelm you or pressure you into anything but I figured havin’ someone else on your side wouldn’t hurt. I dunno, it’s silly,” he laughed off the bashfulness, waving his hand slightly.

"And I told you I’d take you on a proper date the next time. So here’s next time,” he gestured to the ballroom. Right about that time the waiter came over with the bottle of champagnay. "Oh hey man, there’s nothing funny in this champagnay, right?”

The waiter blinked. “Excuse me?”

"Like enchantments. This isn’t gonna make me turn like… into a ghost or make me sing or nothin’ right?”

“... No. This champagne is pure and untouched. We don’t put any kind of enchantments on it.” The man looked at Xavier like he had multiple heads.

"Oh champagne, that’s how you say it,” Xavier said with a laugh as he glanced at Aeron. "Alright cool, thanks man.” With that he took the bottle and the glasses from the waiter’s hands. The cork had already been popped before it was brought over so it was easy for Xavier to pour the bubbling liquid into the glasses.

Once he’d filled a glass, he passed it over to her and then poured once for himself. "Here’s uh… here’s to you,” he said, holding the glass up to cheers. "Gettin’ out there and putting on tower shoes that you can barely walk in and probably could kill a man with.” Once she had clinked her glass with his, he would take a sip from his drink, reeling back slightly in surprise with a wrinkled nose. "Man that is bubbly, huh?” he asked with a laugh.

New Year's Celebration

"Right? Seems crazy to me,” Xavier remarked with a laugh as Aeron commented on the spelling of champagne. They had apparently been pronouncing it wrong the entire time, despite sounding it out based on how it was spelled. The waiter had been… confused and then had corrected them, albeit quite coldly. Whatever the case, they had a bottle now and could simply pour themselves without any further assistance. Xavier took the bottle and began pouring into the first flute, passing it to Aeron before he tended to himself. After a quick toast to her, causing her to smile and chuckle, they both took a drink. Xavier was, at least, able to handle it better than she was. She started coughing almost immediately, hacking at the strange new taste. He watched her, trying not to laugh himself and spill the alcohol all over his tuxedo. She managed to swallow it down and sort-of agree with his testimony before she took another, less disruptive drink.

She admitted that it wasn’t bad; she’d had better and far worse so something that was definitely palatable. "Honestly, I’m right there with you. But where I come from, we have limited liquor. I only got my real first taste once I came here. First time was in some bar in… Oshibana, I think, was the name of the town. I’d finished a gig and the bartender offered me a free drink on the house. Having no idea what to pick, he suggested one for me. I think it was called a… rum and soda? Before he gave me the drink though, he had me try the rum first. Damn near spit up all over myself in surprise, at this powerful, searing liquid. He got a good laugh out of that. Tasted better once it was mixed with something else though.” He took another swig from his flute.

As he placed the glass down, realization dawned on him. "I think they had food on this thing too. I should have probably asked if you wanted some food, that was rude of me,” he said with a chuckle. Tapping on the Lacpad once more, he scrolled through the drinks until he found a different part of the menu. "Looks like they have something called… hors doeuvres. Lots of finger food things it looks like.” He pressed his finger on the menu of his Lacpad and then dragged it over until it popped up on the one in front of her. "If there’s anything that pops up that you think you’d like, order it. Everything is on me tonight.”

It was around that time that the music started up on the other side of the ballroom. A small half-orchestra had set up and began to play some suave, jazzy music. Their instruments had been enchanted so that the sound carried throughout the entire hall, sounding as clear and concise in every nook and cranny. The crowd nearby applauded at the new inclusion, with a few people pairing off and beginning to dance to the dulcet tones. "Nice place for music,” Xavier commented idly.

New Year's Celebration

"No, no, please,” Xavier was quick to turn down her offer of jewel, waving her off. "I’m the one that asked you out and had you come all the way here. The least I can do is cover for your food and your drinks. Please, it’s my treat.” The former God-King knew enough of his former manners to know that it was polite to treat the invitee if it was possible, no matter the gender. Especially when he’d invited her to an entirely different city, outside of the realm of where she may or may not have felt more comfortable. She seemed to be satisfied with that, at least for the most part and then turned her attention to the list of appetizers. After a moment of consideration, she pointed at some kind of roll with a bunch of different things in it. Food that Xavier was honestly still learning about. "Sounds good to me,” he replied with a grin.

With that order in, he remarked on the room, prompting her to comment idly about it as well. After a moment, she asked where he was from, initiating a deeper conversation as she wondered about the fact that he didn’t have a lot of alcohol and though she didn’t know much about booze, she had traveled enough to know it was pretty accessible. It was a fair question and he had all but danced around confirming his whereabouts since they met. It wasn’t the easiest thing to explain, nor the most sound. After all, there was no telling if she had met up with someone else from Rhaegar, counting that they had survived. It was something he had wondered about for months now; he’d been saved by mere chance. It wasn’t impossible to believe that others had been plucked from the point of annihilation and dropped here or somewhere else.

That meant he had to be more careful about who he told his backstory to. He’d adapted a moniker to avoid the du Wolffs but now there was the chance that others could know him. But so long as he didn’t use any names, he was safe. "Well, it’s gonna sound a bit crazy but… I actually came here from a different dimension,” he admitted a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I was messing around with something I shouldn’t have and must have hit something or turned something on. Next thing I know, I land in a pool of water. Luckily I didn’t have any family left there; I was doing what I could to survive and might have broken into a laboratory that didn’t belong to me.”

It was earmarked with honesty and half-truths, the former God-King easily crafting a tale that was believable, mostly because it wasn’t far off from reality. There was no need to mention anything about his time as the ruler or what kind of chaos had come before and during it. "Frankly I’ve liked it a lot better here. Where I came from, you had to constantly fight to survive. Food, water, the works -- all rare and hard to come by unless you had mad skrill or trade goods. If ya need a comparison, I guess I would say it’s like this place’s Desierto. But no alcohol… or at least any that I ever heard of or got to taste.” He met her gaze timorously. "Hope that don’t make you all sorts of freaked out. I don’t really go around advertising it, y’know?”

The waiter came and interrupted the moment, dropping off the plate of food along with two additional plates and some napkins. He took the offered one from her and plucked one of the hot, wrapped shells, examining it curiously. He watched as she dipped hers in the cheese and took a bite and when she mumbled through chews about how good it was, he followed suit. It was a delightful mix of cheesy, steamy, meaty flavor, unlike anything he’d had before. "Hory fuck is whrite,” he said as he chewed as well, swallowing it down. "I’m gonna have to get the recipe for that. Goddamn!”

New Year's Celebration

Maybe it wasn’t the smartest idea to reveal the more mysterious side of himself. He’d kept most people at arm’s length, dancing around questions or simply generalizing. But with Aeron… he felt he could be mostly truthful. After all, he’d seen that crazy woman Thana during their unpleasant trip on the river ride and based on what she had said, it seemed like she was a big bad deal. So he opened up, easily mixing truth with lie and hoping that it wasn’t going to freak her out so much that she ran. He wasn’t really sure how to take the silence that followed his explanation, filling the gap with trying the egg roll and exclaiming his own enjoyment of it. She didn’t seem like she was about to turn tail but she was giving his words some serious consideration. After a few moments, she told him that it didn’t seem to be all that freaky. She stated that she had experienced far weirder things and then added on to that statement by claiming that she hadn’t even existed until a few months prior.

Now it was Xavier’s turn to look at her with interest. It was a pretty big statement, saying that she had only come into existence a short time ago. She looked like she had the form and mind of a person that was old enough to drink but her words seemed to hint otherwise. Then again, magic seemed to be infinite in its ability and form. Perhaps she was crafted out of magic for one reason or another? It seemed far-fetched, as he could only imagine there were laws and rules to magic, but he certainly wasn’t any kind of expert. She chewed on her egg roll and chewed, pondering actively just how she wanted to proceed. At least she wasn’t just going to drop that knowledge bomb and then leave him hanging, given the look on her face. So Xavier gave her time, eating his own egg roll until she finally stated that she wasn’t a full person or rather she was sort of a person. She twirled her champagne glass as she once more tried to find the words and when she did, she brought the topic back to Thana. He nodded silently as she went into more detail of just how awful the dead woman had been. Apparently she committed all sorts of heinous acts for her own amusement, terrifying Aeron even as she clung to her for survival.

As it turned out, they were the same person. Xavier’s brow furrowed slightly. The literal same person? She confirmed it, stating that she had been hallucinating Thana the entire time, putting the blame solely on the dark wizard’s shoulders. Thana apparently tried to tell Aeron the truth plenty of times but she just ignored her, believing Thana to be trying to lie and manipulate her. It went further, as it turned out both Aeron and Thana were psychological manifestations of yet another woman’s psyche trying to deal with trauma. It had been Mythal that had figured it out, having befriended Aeron during his time hunting Thana. He realized not only the truth of her but that if he truly killed Thana, it would kill Aeron and the other chick as well. It had bothered him enough that he had gone and sought a power to help split them into their own beings. Aeron and the other girl, apparently Calliope, had their magic taken away as Thana claimed it all for herself.

And then she name dropped Vandrad. It took an expert level of focus and control for Xavier not to outright show his shock. Vandrad, who was Mythal’s brother, had been there to help kill Thana for good. The damn irony… he finally ran into a girl that he actually kind of liked and enjoyed being around and she was six degrees away from Vandrad. Fate truly was a cruel bitch. "Damn,” he remarked softly, his eyes trailing slightly away from her. She commented on how being from a different dimension wasn’t that strange and was fairly normal for her but his mind was solely focused on the Vandrad connection. The worser part of him, the vengeful con artist, saw the opportunity to use her to get close to the du Wolff. But his more sensible side could see through the simple-minded plan. She barely knew Vandrad from the sounds of it; he was just someone that had helped take down Thana. She primarily spent time with Mythal and though there was that familial connection, it didn’t mean he could just haphazardly ask or inquire on meeting the man. Especially now that he had outed himself as being from another universe; it wouldn’t make sense for him to get starry-eyed over Mythal or Vandrad.

It was a breadcrumb but one that he couldn’t take, else it would all fall apart on him. He wouldn’t be as blind and stupid as he had been near Rhaegar’s end. If he was going to get close to Vandrad, he couldn’t grab the low hanging fruit. He had to be patient and wait for a sure shot. Refocusing on her, he smiled softly. "Well I’m… sorry to hear about all of that. Sure does sound like my being from somewhere else really isn’t that big of a deal, huh?” he offered with a chuckle. "But I’m glad Mythal did that for you. If anything, he gave you a chance to be a real person and I think you’re doing a good job so far.” He took a finishing swig from his champagne and filled his glass again, offering to top her off if she needed it.

"So now that you’re out an’ about without Thana houndin’ you, I gotta ask; why’d you want to join up with the Rune Knights? I assume it has to do with wanting to be near your friend Mythal but doesn’t it come with a bit more than that? They’re right smack dab in the middle of a war. Figured you’d want to get out and see the sights.”

New Year's Celebration

Xavier was genuinely curious about what had prompted Aeron to join the Rune Knights. He didn’t say as much but her demeanor seemed to lean more towards a loner and from what little he knew about the military of the country, it was anything but lonesome. There were orders, superior officers and regulations to constantly be paying attention to. Then again, perhaps that was all part of her choice to get more comfortable around people? In all honesty, it seemed more like a second-hand decision, one that Mythal may have kindly suggested for her to better free herself from her past. Still, that wasn’t for him to judge or make conclusions on so it seemed easier just to get it right from the tap. She amusingly remarked that she had done plenty of traveling, taking a sip from her refreshed glass in preparation for a lengthy explanation. She told him of Calliope, the woman that had been the original before Thana and Aeron. She’d been sold into slavery in Bellum since it seemed she lacked magic. She found herself under the thumb of a man named Calahan who threw her into his illegal fighting pits. The trauma had been enough that Calliope had begun to separate herself from her pain by creating Aeron and Thana.

Eventually they broke free and while Calahan had attempted to capture them a few times, they’d avoided him by traveling all over Ishgar. They had even joined a few dark guilds to foster protection but they had shut down. The last one she was in, one called Elysium, had been the guild that Mythal had eventually met her at. Though he knew what she was and should have slapped cuffs on her, he hadn’t and she supposed it was because he had sensed that Aeron was different from most dark mages. She was stuck with Thana and hadn’t necessarily wanted to be around her but lacked other options. When Elysium crumbled, she simply stayed in the guild hall for lack of anywhere else to go. Mythal had found out and started sending supplies to her, as she had only survived on whatever monsters she was able to kill.

It… explained a lot about her character. As the fragment of someone else’s anxiety, who had seen a lot of darkness from her only companion in the world, it was safe to say that Aeron had suffered from one of the worst ‘upbringings’ a person could go through. She’d only had one person she could rely on and she’d been an absolute psychopath. Xavier continued to listen as she spoke of how she had just wanted to be by herself for most of her time alive, constantly on the move to escape the slaver that she believed was still after her. Once she was free, she had no ideas of what she could or should do. It terrified her, in both the past and the present. But Mythal had provided a guiding hand and Xavier was not so clueless or lacking attention to miss the slight blush that tinted her cheeks. She found comfort, strength and friendship in him that she’d never had. Serilda provided much of the same but it was different and the former God-King had a pretty good idea of what that difference was.

Yet it wasn’t just all of that for Aeron. As she fought through her anxieties to try and reveal more, he simply gave her all of his attention, not wanting to rush her or show ambivalence. Even he could sense this was a lot and a big move for her. After a moment, as she found solidity in the table, she revealed that she had done a lot of terrible things. They hadn’t been intentional but they had still happened and they continued to haunt her. But while she understood that she couldn’t wipe her slate clean, she wanted to be better than she was and not run away from everything. Mythal and Serilda had shown her that she can still make the changes she wants and the Rune Knights would help her learn how to take care of herself, through survival and possibly magic. She could be the protector instead of the protected and with the war going on, she saw a lot of people that needed help just like she did. So it felt right.

She let out a firm breath before she apologized for talking so much and chuckled. Not wanting her to feel as if she had overstepped or overshared, Xavier reached over slowly and placed his hand on hers gently. "You don’t gotta apologize for anything,” he told her in a soft voice. "I like hearin’ about you.” After a moment, giving her a sure smile, he gave her hand a squeeze before pulling his own back. Xavier was no fool; it was clear this woman was holding a flag for her friend Mythal. It was understandable, given everything she had said. He’d done a lot for her. But she also didn’t mention his fiance with any kind of venom or bad taste. She genuinely seemed to like this Serilda woman, meaning that she had accepted her attraction to Mythal as nothing more than that. Or she was in denial; there was no way to tell without asking her. Normally Xavier would probably try and back off there, not wanting to overcomplicate a situation that already seemed complicated.

But hell, may as well shoot his shot while he had the opening. She was always welcome to shoot him down, right? "Truth is, I know a little about that. Not everything with Calliope and Thana but… I’ve told you I was a thief. Had to fight to survive. Doin’ that doesn’t exactly mean everything you do is clear cut or clean.” He paused for a moment, his eyes drifting slightly away as he descended into his own memories. "There was a war… a terrible one. One side fighting for freedom, the other side looking to squash it. Me and my dad got involved on the former, seein’ as we were some of the poor folk. My dad, he uh…” His face wrenched in frustration and turmoil. "He was killed during it. Ripped my heart right out. Made me cold, you know? We won the war but I wasn’t the same. I was angry and a lot of people got hurt if I thought they were in my way. I was so blinded by my pain that I never stopped to think about the pain I was causing. Then I messed up and got myself sent here. Stopped being angry for long enough to see what I’d done. It makes it hard to sleep at night.” Something she knew very well, it seemed.

He let out a shaky breath before taking a deep gulp of his champagne. "The lesson is about moving forward. Learn from your mistakes and don’t fuck it up again, right? Ain’t much else we can do.”

New Year's Celebration

Xavier found himself incapable of holding back his thoughts and feelings. She had opened up to him, arguably a lot more than she had to. He never would have asked or demanded to know more about her because each person’s business was just that. But it seemed his line of questioning about her joining the Rune Knights had opened up a path for her to touch upon more personal subjects. She’d shared with him about the past of her former body and how tough things had been for her. And after finding her freedom, Aeron had sought to make a better impact than the one she had already put upon the world while attached, literally, to Thana. She could hopefully protect people now and that was an honorable ending to her explanation.


He didn’t really have much in the way of a happy ending, outside of his arriving there. His tale of being caught up in the war and losing his father in it had been truthful, even if he glossed over a very many details. Nonetheless, the pain and hurt he’d felt from losing his parent was real enough as well as the anger and hatred that he had spread throughout the world through his actions afterward. It hadn’t been until Vandrad had ripped him out of his home world and dropped him here that he’d even had time to escape the tunnel vision he had seemingly been stuck to. He realized just how far off the deep end he’d gone. He considered that a gift; one that would allow him to move forward with the lessons of his past always present in his heart and mind. She understood it well, admitting that it was not an easy lesson. And then, surprisingly, she found it in herself to reach over and place her hand on top of his. He looked at it briefly before meeting her gaze as she apologized for the loss of his father. "Thanks. He was my world. Without him, it didn’t seem like I had much of a place. Maybe I can change that here.”

After what was a surprisingly emotional and tender moment, they were able to return to eating and talking about plenty of other things that weren’t as deep. While it felt good to get things off his chest and just talk to someone about it, the lighter topics helped alleviate the tone of the night so that it wasn’t just down and, to be frank, a bummer. She asked him about his music, wanting to know more about what he did or played. As a man learning brand new instruments, he had taken to anything and everything he could get his hands on. And there didn’t seem to be one genre that he simply clung to; he wanted to explore and experiment with them all. He pulled out the iLac he had managed to procure quite some time ago and played her his first public song so that she could get a taste of what he was playing with.

Before long, it was very nearly midnight. They’d ripped through the bottle of champagne, leaving them both in good places. Xavier was feeling light and airy, smiling a bit like an idiot but enjoying the hell out of it. Eventually she looked over at the clock and informed him that there were only thirty more minutes left before the countdown. She asked him if there was anything else he wanted to do, as she was completely inexperienced when it came to usual date routines. Xavier glanced over at the clock and then over at the dance floor briefly before turning her attention back to her. "Far as I know, we’ve been doin’ the date thing right; just chilling and chatting. But since this is supposed to be a celebration, we should get a bit more bold, right?” Brushing his collar off briefly to get rid of any wayward crumbs from their food, he stepped around the table and offered his hand to her. "Dance with me. We don’t know anyone here so we don’t gotta be worried about anyone remembering us. And we don’t have to get fancy or nothin’. Just… a dance until the new year. How ‘bout it?”

He knew it would probably take a little assurance from herself to work up the courage. He would wait as long as needed. Once she finally took his hand, he would lead her over to the edge of the dance floor, where not as many people were. Once there, he put his hands on her hips carefully and guided her to put her hands on his shoulders. After they were in the right positions, he would just gently sway with her, back and forth to the melodic music that was playing from the orchestra.

He chuckled. "This is nice. I can’t remember the last time I’ve danced with a beautiful girl.”

New Year's Celebration

"Probably,” Xavier agreed with her, flashing her a grin as his hand remained out and waiting for her. She hadn’t quite fully turned the idea down, her tone betraying a slight amusement at the offer. And after a moment of consideration, she finally took his offered hand and allowed him to lead her to a more solitary portion of the dance floor. He took care in showing her how they would dance together, fighting back chuckling as her hands wrung and wrought in trying to figure out where to go. He also chose not to point out just how red her face had gotten, as he was sure pointing it out would shut down any courage she may have summoned up to that point. She looked everywhere other than at him, even as they began to sway slowly. As he complimented her, she chuckled nervously and revealed that she’d never danced before, though she imagined he wasn’t too surprised by that. That much was obvious by how her feet kept failing to move away from him, pressing down on her shoes in several different places as she apologized each and every time.

"Only one way to learn, right? I don’t know much about how dancing goes here beyond this; something I’ve seen in a few clubs while I was performing. It seemed the uh… more acceptable route.” There were certainly more vigorous dancing types that he had seen but luckily both the mood and the music didn’t open itself to that. He was sure even slightly suggesting any kind of dancing that may or may not have involved grinding themselves against one another would have sent Aeron through the roof. But he didn’t mind that she had to keep adjusting her footing because frankly, that was the only way to get it right. You had to make a few mistakes. Not many were naturally gifted at dancing and capable of moving about without hindrance or issue.

He glanced up at the clock after what he thought was a few minutes. But the hand was very nearly meeting its brother at the 12, the countdown to the new year only three minutes away. "Damn, time flies, don’t it?” he asked with a slightly nervous chuckle, the first time he seemed to show any kind of real anxiety focused on the date. "There is one other thing that I hear people do at these celebrations. I guess at midnight people like to kiss one another, as a good luck tradition for the new year.” It was clear what he was hinting towards. "We don’t have to, of course. But I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t want to. I know it’s a bit sudden but I didn’t want to like… blind side you with it. I’d rather be upfront about it, as well as, you know, ask for consent and all.”

New Year's Celebration

To be completely honest, Xavier expected her to say no. Or at least to insinuate that his request to kiss her was a bit much. Though it was true there were plenty of people, himself included, that kissed and did a whole lot more within a short timespan of meeting, it wasn’t something he would ever push onto Aeron. Considering all he had learned about her, observed about her, this was going to, most likely, be a huge hurdle for her. There was also the fact that she clearly had a thing for Mythal and asking her to kiss him would truly put her feelings to the test when it came to that.

But he liked her -- he had stated as much to her. And if there was anyone that he would be willing to take it slow with and just see what happened, it was Aeron. He wasn’t sure why he liked her as much as he did, as he usually went for girls that had a bit more of an edge or attitude. Maybe he saw something in her that resembled himself, a kindred spirit that he could truly connect with on several layers outside of physical. So despite how he knew it would probably cause her to freak out a little, he decided to ask her outright if he could kiss her, rather than taking her by surprise. And she was stunned; she barely managed to get any kind of words out, her eyes as large as two moons as she looked at him and then seemingly looked everywhere else but at him.

But surprising him, and perhaps herself, she agreed to it. "O-Oh.” It was his turn to stammer out, his eyes widening a bit in shock. He quickly recovered but it would be evident that he was surprised she had agreed, though not displeased in the least. "Alright,” he reinforced his stance with a small smile, taking his gaze away from her to look towards the clock. Now less than a minute, the countdown to both the new year and to what was surely going to be a monumental moment was quickly picking up. The rest of the crowd joined in at twenty, counting down in unison out loud as Xavier turned his gaze.

Ignoring the rest of the world, he pulled one of his hands up from her hip and gently ran it across her cheek, the back of his hand stroking her skin lovingly. "I got you,” he told her softly as his hand turned so that he could softly caress her cheek and jawbone. His eyes flitted between her face and her lips, finding himself nervous as well for some reason. He was sure that this wasn’t her physical first kiss, or rather, it wasn’t the first kiss her conjoined body had taken. But for her, he imagined this was going to be groundbreaking. He could be wrong, especially since she hadn’t tried to deter him in any way. But whatever the case, he wanted to make sure that he made an impact. Slowly his fingers drew down her jaw to find her chin and ever so gently lifted it so that he had a direct line to her.

To be fair, he cheated a bit. They still had a whole second before he leaned in and kissed her. As his lips met hers, his hand pulled back to once more lovingly hold her cheek, even as his other hand on her hip held her close to him. It wasn't a lust-filled or sloppy kiss but there was certainly plenty of passion in it, the nerves making it impossible for it not to be. He held her lips with his for several seconds before he finally pulled back, the rest of the world crashing back down around him as cheers and different party favors were set off. Off in the distance, fireworks exploded in the night sky, lighting up the cold winter’s night with colors. "Happy New Year,” he told her softly, smiling slightly. "Hope you get plenty a’ luck.”