[PRP] Unintentional Dinner Date [FINISHED]

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Masozi, having finished his shift for the day and having bathed at home, headed to the Tangled Vine for dinner. He sat in his customary back-corner table with his customary glass of red. For dinner he'd ordered salmon, which the village had received recently in trade from Sunset Terrace, and which would be satisfying for the end of the day. He'd also ordered a small plate of tabbouleh. He'd quite enjoyed it when it was introduced to him. Although the odd salad did make him think of Coracias. She'd been gone on that trading endeavor for a number of weeks now, along with Kasmai. Masozi wondered when they'd be back. He swirled the wine around in his glass thoughtfully, thinking back on the day, and what ought to be done for tomorrow.

Daisicle

Wherever Coracias went when she was in such a mood, chaos was sure to follow.

Her entrance to the Tangled Vine was dramatic - she practically slammed the door open. Her hair was a bit of a mess, her skin looked coated with a fine film of dust from the travelling, and it was clear she had come here before home. She didn't care who's evening she might have been disturbing as she practically fell over her feet to get to the counter, while whining loudly, "Wiiiiiiiiine, I need wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. And snacks."

Menelie

Well, that answered that question. Masozi froze where he sat, only taking the occasional sip of whine--er, wine--as he watched Coracias approach the bar.



Cosme, who was thoroughly done with Coracias' attitude by this point, entered behind her to tell her that he was heading home when he noticed his grandfather in his typical corner. "Eyy, look who it is in the corner!" He said, clapping his travel companion on the shoulder. "Looks like you're in great hands. I'm going home." And he beat a swift retreat.



Traitor, thought Masozi.

Daisicle

Cora's head lazily turned to look over where Cosme directed, and then seemed to straighten up as she caught site of her buddy (?) in the back. She clapped Kasmai's back with a "Get home safely!" before she took her drier white wine and bowl of salted, roasted chickpeas and and assorted nuts and helped herself to the open seat in front of Masozi.

She waved, took a solid swig of her drink, and then dramatically leaned back in her chair. "Masoziiiiiiiiiiiii... I hate merchaaaaaaaaants"

Menelie

This...was a side Masozi hadn't seen to Coracias. "I'm....sorry?" he said with an upturned brow. He thought he remembered her being a merchant at one point but sensed now was not the time to bring it up. "Welcome home," he offered with a little chuckle and took another bite of his salad. He wondered what her problem with merchants was.

Daisicle

"They're all just as boring and stuff as I remember them being, and you have to be so formal with dealing with the crooks!" She took another hearty swig, then lifted the glass up to admire the liquid within. "Ah, how I've missed this - you can only get the best here." She swirled it in the glass, sniffed, and sighed.

"How have things been while we've been gone? Did ya miss me - actually, did I miss anything." Another drink, and she set her emptied glass near the edge of the table to signal for a refill.

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Masozi rested his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand. He wasn't entirely sure how to respond to her. Her "energy", for lack of a better word, was classic Coracias, but honestly he wasn't used to interacting with her when this attitude wasn't directed at him. "You must be glad to put the trip behind you," he offered.

Her question did catch him off-guard, and he couldn't help but blush. He had missed her. A lot. He wouldn't admit this to her aloud, but before she'd left he looked forward to work each day. And while she was gone? He'd missed her wisecracks and sass. He'd missed her cheerful company in the fields. He'd even missed her teasing. And...he'd missed seeing her. Her beauty rivaled the morning sun, and he was still a man, after all. The thought made him run his hand through his hair and straighten up, taking a cooling sip of water. Not the time, Masozi.

"Did you miss anything?" he repeated, setting his water glass down and swirling his wine around. Of course she hadn't. It'd been the exact same, day in and day out. His facial expression might have belied this, but he didn't want to say it aloud. He remembered the last time they'd talked in this pub. She left towns when things got boring. He changed his expression to one that was more noncommittal and shrugged. "Guess you'll have to find out," he said mysteriously, surprising even himself with his tone. He took a drink of his wine, then added, because he just couldn't help himself: "Did you miss me?"

Daisicle

Cora sighed melodramatically as she practically melted into the table. "Masozi, you have no idea." Her face was still pressed against the table as she looked over at him. "Don't make me go on anymore trade triiiiips." It wasn't that she'd disliked the journey, per say, just the mercantile aspects.

As Eniku refilled Cora's glass with a bit of a smirk, she ran her finger against the rim. "Yeah... I def missed this..." Was she talking about the wine, the company? Who knew.

Menelie

Masozi coughed slightly into his wine. Had that been...? Had she missed him...? And was she admitting as much...? He cleared his throat, blushing, and ran a hand through his hair. He drained his glass and set it near the edge of the table, nodding to Eniko before she walked away.

He tried to compose himself while eating more of his meal. "If you truly don't want to go on a trade trip again, I can always tell the overseer how indispensable you are." He grinned at his own joke, and tried to put the fact that he was the overseer, therefore making any flirtation between them somewhat inappropriate, out of his mind.

Daisicle

She straightened up a bit and practically beamed at Masozi's suggestion. "Pretty sure that at least -was- you before I left," she made a mock curtsey while remaining seated and switching to a more polite tone, "But if you would, it would certainly be much appreciated." She then smirked and sipped on her newly-refilled wine. "Besides, Cosme'll be just fine handling this stuff from now on - he didn't even need me there by the end. Just get him a traveling partner for safety and all's good."

Menelie

Masozi's expression darkened as she sailed over his joke. She must really be exhausted. "I am the overseer, Coracias, I was making a joke," he said, nodding to Eniko who'd brought another glass of wine. He had a feeling he was going to need the extra glass.

"That's good to hear," he said of Cosme. "I'll let my aunt know." She was the one responsible for such things anyway.

 

[Daisicle]

Daisicle

Cora shrugged and leaned back in her chair again, "Hey man, who knew if you got fired in the time I was gone. You did say I'd have to find out what changed on my own." She took a pinch of her snacks and ate them, that smirk never leaving her face. It seemed she was cheering up quite a bit

Menelie

Masozi couldn't help smiling. It was hard not to, especially when she had that little smirk. It seemed like her mood was improving, which pleased him. "Hm, I did say that, didn't I," he agreed, tapping his chin. He shrugged and finished off his salmon. "So what made you come here first thing rather than go home?" He inquired casually.

Daisicle

She shrugged again as she took a sip of her wine, then glanced down at the glass. "Probably... Cause if I was going to drink either way, it's more fun to do it here than at home?" She glanced up, "If you weren't here, I'd just have complained to Eniko until she kicked me out - so you're probably saving my reputation a bit. Just a little? She'd have just ignored me anyways, so this is more fun. Cheers to the Guardians for some good luck!" She raised her glass and waited until he did the same before taking another hearty drink to the tune of about 1/3 of the cup.

"What about you? Just grabbing dinner after work?"

Menelie

Masozi smiled broadly. "Are you implying you enjoy my company?" He asked with a little baby smirk. "Santé," he returned her toast and took a long sip. He pushed his empty plate toward the edge of the table so someone could clear it on their next pass. "It's funny, I was just wondering when you'd return when you came in." He blushed and stammered. "Wondering when the trip would return, that is. You plural," he tried to clarify. Guardians, he was making a mess of this!

Daisicle

"Oho, is that you smirking? Don't see that very often. Also I'm not implying - would I bother being here if I didn't enjoy it? I could have always made Cosme entertain me instead." Which she'd probably done a few times as the trading trip continued on and she grew more bored of all of it - might have been the reason he'd been so keen to get rid of her.

"Now that's what I call a coincidence! I don't remember, did we send a letter ahead of us coming back? I know I meant to..." She shrugged. Didn't matter at this point if she forgot.

Menelie

Whew, she appeared to not have noticed his slip-up. But what she had said made his heart skip a beat. So she did enjoy his company. He smiled a little self-satisfied smile and sipped from his glass again. "Mm, no letter that I saw," he responded, leaning back in his seat. "Glad you're home safe, either way." He wanted to keep her talking, so he swirled his wine glass thoughtfully and asked a question. "So what was something good that happened on your trip? Merchants aside, there must have been some beautiful sights to see."

 

[Daisicle]

Daisicle

Cora covered a rather large yawn with her hand before reachin over to finish her second glass. "Must have forgot." Half-shrug, followed by a nod, followed by silence as she fell into thought. Something good about the trip... "The lakefront is always lovely, and we were able to take a boat from Zamarad to Sunrise Terrace to cut the return trip quite a bit. I also got to nap quite a bit between the stops." I.e. she made Cosme drive the cart most of the time while she lazed. The thought of that made her yawn again - yeah, it was good to be back.

Menelie

"It sounds lovely," said Masozi, smiling a little distantly. "I'd love to see it. It's been...forever since I left Koehaira for anything." When had been the last time? He could only half-remember. And it had only been to the City; hardly a pinnacle of sightseeing.

"You must be exhausted from your trip. Are you sure you want to loiter around here with me? I'll walk you home if you want."

Daisicle

If he was a bit closer, she would have leaned over to poke him, but as it was she just made some hand gestures. "You really should get out some more, see some sights. There's so much the island has to offer." She paused again as he brought that up and thought on it. Yeah... she was a bit tired. "You got me. Yeah, I should probably head home. Don't let tired ol' me keep loitering from loitering here." She laughed at that before standing up and stretching. "I can get home from here no problem - I'm tired, not drunk."

Menelie

Masozi also stood up, and tossed some glass coins on the table to pay for his meal and her drinks. "Call me old-fashioned, but I think a gentleman should walk a lady home after dark." He pushed his chair in and offered his arm. "Or, if you'd prefer, I can walk you as far as we would walk together before parting ways naturally."

Daisicle

She raised her hand to brush off his arm - not because she disliked the offer, but because she felt it wasn't necessary. "Eh, you're free to join me walking home if you'd like, but I'm fine I swear. A bit of tiredness and a couple of drinks aren't gonna get me down. Thanks for covering me though. I'll get you next time, that's a promise." She grinned and gave him a thumbs up for that.

Taking the lead, she headed on out and turned around on her heels to look back at him once they were outside. "I really am telling you though that you don't hafta come with me."

 

[Daisicle]

Menelie

Masozi visibly deflated a bit as she waved off his arm. Needing to be walked home wasn't the point. He started to make a dismissive gesture at her offer to pick up the tab next time, but then considered it might be her own funny way of letting him know she wanted to see him again.

He smiled a soft smile as she tried once again to deflect his offer to accompany her. The alcohol was finally loosening his tongue. He wasn't intoxicated by any means, especially not since he had had the wine with dinner, but he was feeling pleasant and warm. "I didn't ever think you needed someone to come with you, Coracias," he started, clasping his hands behind his back as they walked. "I want to walk with you."

Daisicle

It was a good think that Masozi picked up on that hint - she'd have been a bit annoyed to get turned down so quickly, and she was tired enough that she'd have complained quite immediately.

Cora nodded once, pleased with his answer. "Well, so long as you understand that." She about-faced on her heels once more, glancing back to make sure he was keeping up with her just fine before glancing upwards as they continued towards her place. "You know, the stars look a little bit different depending where you are."

Menelie

Masozi kept pace with her just find, his hands still clasped behind his back as he walked. He wished they could be walking arm-in-arm, but then again, one of the things he loved admired about Coracias was her independent spirit. Still, he felt awkward and wasn't sure what to do with his hands.

At her comment about the stars he paused and looked up. "Really?" He queried. "I had no idea...." There were lots of things he hadn't thought about, he realized.

Daisicle

She nodded, still looking up. "Like, here you can still see most of them, but there's some fire in the town to darken them. In forests they might be blocked by the trees, while the City or even Zamarad is so bright and lively that the sky seems black. In the fields, you almost don't need a fire for safety they're so bright." She paused for a moment as she wrapped up her thoughts. "Isn't it interesting that the same stars change depending on where you are?"

Menelie

"Wow," said Masozi. "I'd love to see that someday." He imagined camping under the stars and smiled. "Mhm," he agreed, glancing back at her. "You're, er, I mean, it's very interesting." Yikes. Maybe one glass of wine was enough.

Daisicle

She looked over at him with a grin. "Right? I bet the same pae are different depending on where they are too." Her grin twisted to bit of a smirk as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I wonder what kind of pae'il you'd be away from here."

She glanced forward, surprised how quick the walk had ended up being. "Guess you did end up walking me the entire way here - I'll be damned."

Menelie

Masozi blushed and ran a hand through his hair. "I wonder too..." He said softly.

He grinned and gave a little bow. "Thank you for allowing me to walk you home. I enjoyed our conversation out here in the quiet." He wanted to kiss her hand or something, but refrained, clasping his hands behind his back once more.

Daisicle

Cora laughed a bit before offering him a wave. "Thanks for the company - it's nice to be back. I'll be seeing you around!" She continued waving until he started off towards his place, then returned to her abode for the first time in far too long.

Menelie

"Pleasant dreams," he wished her. He hadn't said that in forever, and it surprised him to hear himself say it.

Masozi headed home and bade goodnight to Kasmai, who was as usual a night owl. Cosme had gone to bed already, which wasn't surprising given the travel day.

He closed the door to his own room and leaned against it, closing his eyes and sighing. "Guardians help me..." He recognized this feeling. Barely, as if seeing a friend for the first time in ages. He was in love.

He went to his vanity and washed his face in the basin he kept there, then climbed into bed. He laid awake for a long time, just thinking, and eventually drifted off.