Private Tales Even Wallflowers Bloom

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Zinnia was right back to blushing and making eyes at her cutlery at Silas' flattery. She doubted she'd ever get used to flattery. Even still, and despite Silas' words to the contrary, Zinnia did feel like she had something to prove. Surely if she could look better to him than any of the other girls he was interested in, Zinnia might "win?"

Silas moved right along with the conversation, snapping Zinnia out of her internal brooding.
"I'd like that, Silas," she said, managing the short statement without a stutter for once. She enjoyed the feeling she got when she got to dance with him that while ago. Recapturing it without the anxiety pressed on her by being in a crowd sounded even better.

"Oh! Um, w-well," she fidgeted in her chair, working to recall the details of when she was selected for the honor of the Dreadlord Academy. "I was s-six, I think? When the Academy scions p-pulled me out of St. Kolbe's Orphanage, I mean. I f-fell into a fireplace and didn't get burned, so the s-staff assumed I was probably magically inc-clined. They were right!"

Right about her being inclined, yes, but only meagerly endowed in her ability.
"I d-doubt I'm better than you at fighting, Silas, b-but even if I was it's because I spend so much time t-training. My magic is 'agg-gressively average,' as the proctors put it, so I work out and r-run drills to compensate."

A thought occurred to her as she went on.
"W-wait, you grew up with the G-Guard? How does that work?"
 
Zinnia was an oprhan? Silas supposed he'd never heard her talk about her parents, but then she rarely talked in general. He'd figured maybe it just wasn't something she discussed with people she didn't know well enough. Hearing that she'd been raised alone, though... he felt a tug of kinship towards her in that regard, and a soft smile rested on his face, without him realizing.

"That's one way to find out you're magical, I suppose. At least nobody got hurt, though, right?" Silas paid a thought to Rhidian, who'd taken out everyone around him, friend and foe, when he'd discovered his powers. Poor bastard. Silas held back a wince and shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Aggressively Average does sound like something they'd say, but I wouldn't worry about it, Zin."

Silas finished the last of his drink, and paid another brief glance to the server carrying around the wine before smiling back to his date. "If anything, I think it says more about you that you've put in so much work to keep up with the others. Lesser people would quit, going through what you put yourself through." Artesto leans forward again, tilting his empty glass towards her and extending a finger to point her way. "I've seen it firsthand, tightwad Guard rookies hanging up their armor for good when they realized it actually takes work to make it."

It wasn't often Silas talked about his upbringing, but Zinnia had opened up to him and he wasn't about to let her be the only one to put a little effort in.

"My parents were in the Guard. Real heroes, well-decorated and all that." Silas slouched in his seat, drumming idle fingers against the table as the smile on his face faltered a bit. "They died in an Elven ambush when I was really little. Since they were so important to the City and they both practically lived in the Guard anyway, I was taken in and raised by them. The plan was to have me enlist when I was old enough, but..." He shrugs. "Obviously once I started showing signs of magic, plans changed."

Silding a hand across the table again, Silas places his palm over hers just as he'd done before, this time, without the momentary hesitation.

"Guess we both had kind of a lonely childhood, huh?" He offers, a bit bittersweetly. "You done eatin'? We can get out of here, if you like."

Zinnia
 
"S-somewhere in my top five strokes of l-luck, I think," she joked.
Zinnia had to fight back that inherent urge within her to bat off all of Silas' compliments like mosquitos. Instead she smiled her thanks.
"The Academy gave me a home, a family, and a f-future. What kind of p-person would I be if I didn't give my everything back?"

She listened intently as her date explained his own origins, and when he grabbed her hand she squeezed it tight.
"Silas...I'm s-sorry to hear that..." she said empathetically, rubbing her thumb softly over the back of his hand. "I guess we d-did. It might be s-selfish of me, but at least I'm glad you wound up at the Ac-cademy. Gave me a chance to m-meet you, and all..."

The gold-eyed girl glanced down to her plate, only now realizing that she had in fact finished. Huh. Good food and better company made for a quick meal, apparently.
"Mhmm! Let's."
 
Gods, was she always such a sweetheart? It was a wonder nobody had fallen head over heels for Zin yet, but now Silas was realizing that if she spoke up a little more often, then they probably would have. The timid little remark she made about being able to meet him was enough to make even him feel a little bit bashful, looking away for a moment and swallowing down the color threatening to paint his cheeks.

"Well, it's not how I'd have wanted things to go, but I can't pretend it hasn't gone alright for me so far. I like to think they'd be proud of what I'm doing." In truth, there wasn't much for Silas to go off of in regards to knowing what his parents would and wouldn't have approved of, only what the Guards who had served with them had told him. "Plus, like you said. I've met some people I'm rather fond of. I'd have gone mad by now if it weren't for all of you."

It had taken Silas a bit of time to warm up to the rest of his class, but once he did, he really came into his own. He couldn't believe there'd been a time when he'd been reluctant to try to make friends and get to know the others, because he thought it would somehow make him 'weaker.' Looking at some of the people that had graduated before them... he was glad he got out of that mentality when he did.

Zinnia was ready to go, and so was Silas. He hadn't exactly sussed out what was next on the docket, but spontaneity was just as good as an itinerary, in his eyes. Turning his hand over and keeping it extended for her to take as he rises from his seat, he offers a playful little bow of his head.

"Consider this fair warning that I'm about to carry you outta here when you take my hand." He snickers, remembering what she'd said earlier. Upon taking her hand, Artesto would quickly whisk Zinnia out of the restaurant and back out onto the street.

Making sure to swipe that bottle of wine he'd been eyeing, of course.

Zinnia
 
The gold-eyed girl quite happily reached to take Silas' hand, hesitating as he offered the warning she'd earlier requested. She steeled herself, taking on a serious expression and pulling down on her hat to make sure it stayed put.
"I'm r-ready this time!" she answered before firmly taking his grip in her own.

One breakneck rush of wind later and the two of them had vacated the restaurant. Zinnia shook her head, fluffing her hair about in an attempt to keep it from being a mess. The hat helped, but it wasn't perfect.
"I think I'm s-slowly getting used to that..." she said with something of a dazed laugh. "Y'know...I th-think you, Proctor D'Amour, and Kristen are the only people I know that c-can beat me in a foot race."

She made the point wistfully, not really having a point to it but mentioning her thoughts aloud nonetheless.
"B-but anyways...what's up next?"
 
Silas stashed away the bottle in the pack he had slung over his shoulder and grinned at his messy-haired date. She'd taken that one much better, and it had made that particular dash about ten times easier than it would have been had she been stiff and afraid. "Well, I could probably outrun Pirian, but I think D'Amour has me beat. I would like to pick her brain sometime, find out how she does it." He didn't have any classes under Proctor D'Amour, but he'd seen her demonstrate her blinding speed in the past. Maybe someday he'd match her, but that sure as hell wasn't any day soon.

As smooth as ever, Silas effortlessly found Zinnia's hand with his and interlocked their fingers, keeping her close at his side as they set off back down the road. He did have one other stop in mind, and it was one they wouldn't have to brazenly sneak into, either.

"You remember that club we had to poke around a while ago, the Yeoman's?" It hadn't been a particularly remarkable job, save for the scantily clad illusions and Fennec's volatile temperament. "After we busted the Songbird, they remodeled and rebranded. They're a theater now, I guess. More traditional. Thought maybe you'd like catching a show with me before we settle down for the evening?"

Zinnia
 
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Again Zinnia couldn't help but wear a broad smile on her mien as Silas took her hand. She nestled into him as naturally as she might've if they'd been dating for weeks.

The Yeoman's? Zinnia's eyes searched around as though trying to pick out some answer that had been written in the air in front of her. Oh, right, the Songbird! A fair chunk of that assignment had been spent goofing off. She'd nearly put it out of her mind.

"A th-theater? My goodness, that's so fancy. I've n-never been to one..." and that was a far cry from what the Yeoman's had been before, markedly less seedy. She nodded, squeezing Silas' hand in her own. "I'd l-like that very much. You're...you're really very s-sweet, you know?"

That last admission surprised Zinnia herself, and she quickly locked eyes with the cobblestone in front of them, blushing as hard as ever.
 
"Me neither. I don't even know if the city had one up until now." Silas admitted. A soft, content little smile settled onto his lips as Zinnia nestled into him, and his arm naturally wrapped around her waist and pulled her in closer. "I'm glad they made something out of that mess. It was actually pretty cozy inside, if you could get past the skeezy Illusionist and his fake half-naked women."

The compliment was a gentle one, something that usually wouldn't have gotten much of a reaction out of Silas. Somehow though, hearing such a thing coming from the shy, feather-light voice of Zinnia gave it more weight, made it feel as though it meant more.

His hold on her tightened a bit, and he turned his head slightly to look down at her.

"Sweet? I dunno about that..." Artesto chuckled. "I like being around people who make me feel good, and I like making them feel good back. I almost feel like that's more selfish than sweet." He hadn't picked Zin out of the crowd because he thought she needed company, or a friend. He'd picked her because there was something that'd drawn him to her, and it made him feel happy when he'd needed the pick me up. "If anybody is the sweet one, it's you. You never put yourself first, always thinking of others and how you can help them before you pay even a thought to your own needs. I could never."

Zin was keeping a tight line of sight on the ground by this point, and Silas relented, shaking his head with a snicker and looking forward. Up ahead was the road where the Yeoman's had once stood, now replaced by a freshly renovated exterior, wiped of all the old branding and advertisements for the now ex-songbird. Gone was the burly, intimidating man standing at a dimly lit door, in it's place was a brightly lit marquee and a wide open entryway, the sounds of laughter and chatter spilling out onto the street from the lobby within.

Zinnia
 
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Zinnia giggled.
"I guess it's s-something that Vel Anir never really n-needed before. It's good that they cleaned it up," she said, happy to be taken in by Silas.

"I don't think that's s-selfish at all. Maybe just a...p-pleasant consequence?" she smiled back at him before blushing again. Was that how others saw how she behaved? "I...th-thank you, Silas. It's hard for me to t-take a compliment..."

It was hard for her to hear them when she thought so little of herself. That was the real reason she put everyone else before herself. She just wasn't worth it. If Zinnia ever prioritized her own goals or happiness, that was a true act of selfishness. Perhaps even her vendetta against Soleil had been a quest borne solely of egocentrism.

With Silas, however...for once the compliments felt genuine. It was nice to feel that someone appreciated her for who she was and meant it--or at least seemed to.

Zinnia's eyes lit up as she turned to look at what had caught her date's eye. The theater awaited, and the sights and sounds ahead were fresh and new to her.
"Is that the place? It looks so d-different!"
 
Silas had only heard of the renovations done to the former den of the Songbird through the grapevine. To see what the city had done to the place in person had him every bit as impressed as his lady of the evening. "Yeah, doesn't even resemble the old building... Did a real number on it!" Silas wasn't going to miss the Yeoman's-- It was a seedy club loved mostly by rich assholes who just wanted a pair of tits in their face and some cheesy music.

Once word got out that the Dreadlords had shown up there, suddenly going out to clubs became a far less popular pastime. Funny what people will do to avoid getting in the way of a magical killing machine on legs. No, this theater was a vast improvement, and he was beyond glad he'd be going into it with Zinnia.

Where once there had been a queue marked only by a velvet rope and a burly doorman was now a brightly colored carpet splashed with reds and purples like the robes of some perfectly stereotypical king. The dim, blinking magelights that had once shone just brightly enough to inform passerby of the establishment's name now glared blindingly around a large marquee:

ANIRIAN FIRST PERFORMANCE THEATRE
TONIGHT'S FEATURE:
THE FOUNDING OF FARRIS -- LOVE AMONGST BLOOD
​
Artesto's nose twisted at the name on the marquee. It wasn't a title that rolled off the tongue, and it sounded like either a historical piece or a love story... wait, did the dashes mean they were separate stories or one story? Did theatres do more than one different performance a day? Silas felt his shoulders slump a bit, realizing perhaps a bit more research had been in order.


"Vel Farris... That's a fringe city out in the Falwood, isn't it?" He muttered over to his companion as they stepped in line to enter. "I heard it burned down recently, barely anything left of it. Maybe they're doing this as a tribute or something? But what's the love part of it?"

Zinnia
 
The gold-eyed girl continued clinging tightly to Silas, curious as she was to drink in the sights and sounds of this unfamiliar scene. The title that shone above fascinated her, and without thinking she found herself bouncing on her heels in excitement.

"Oh! Oh!" Zinnia exclaimed, her eyes lighting up with recognition. She gripped Silas shoulder with her free hand and looked up at him, stars shimmering in her eyes. "I c-can't believe it! This is--Silas, it's a r-romance novel!"

What an incredible coincidence! She never knew that something from her time spent in the solitude of her room would come up like this. With nothing to do back then, reading took up much of her time. Love Amongst Blood had become a favorite of hers a couple of years prior, such that it was difficult for her not to geek out over what she was seeing now.
"Well, it w-was, originally. I've read it! It's about a soldier and a healer who fall in l-love, and the tragedy of--well, I don't want to s-spoil it for you. But! But! It's r-really quite good!"
 
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Romance novel? It did seem like the kind of thing Zinnia would be into, but he'd never heard of books being turned into theater plays. Then again, he never really went to places like this, so what did he know? It seemed to excite Zin, so it wouldn't kill him to give it a shot.

Who knows? Maybe he'd actually enjoy it.

It surprised Silas how quickly the line moved. The two of them never needed to stand still for long, as the woman enclosed within a booth by the door, where an imposing bouncer had once made his home, quickly swapped out coin for admittance with deft hands and a smile to each passing face.

"Guess we picked a good day for this. Quick line, and something you're interested in seeing. We have a little luck in us, after all."

Stepping up to the booth, the woman within displayed that same bright grin she'd given everybody before them, a manicured hand sliding through the slot on the booth with an upturned palm. "Two silvers per seat!" She chirped happily. Silas tucked his hand into his jacket and dropped the coins into her hand, and she quickly swapped them for a pair of tickets. "Enjoy the show!"

Looking down at Zinnia, Silas offered a smile, and led her inside. The girl was practically vibrating with anticipation for whatever this story was. It almost made him excited by proxy.

The Yeoman's had been gutted inside; the booths and tables where men of ill-repute had lazied about and indulged in women and drink were gone, as were the smaller stages that had lined the walls, meant for exotic dancers, Silas assumed. Instead, the mainstage had been expanded to fill an entire half of the building, and rows of seats divided into aisles filled the other.

"Wow." Silas let out an impressed whistle. "They really went to work in here. And I can actually see, without those gross colored magelights they used in here before."

Humorously, there was still some noticeable damage on the ceiling, from where he'd blown up the Songbird's piano. It gave him a chuckle that his handiwork hadn't been completely cleaned up yet.

Zinnia
 
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"I c-couldn't agree more," she returned with a glance back at Silas. "I really feel like my l-luck has turned around in general as of l-late, you know."

Beaming brightly, Zinnia was indeed wiggling with excitement by the time they had reached the front of the line. She almost instinctively paid the entry fee herself, but Silas beat her to the punch.

There was no way for Zinnia to be able to appreciate just how much the Yeoman's had changed since their impromptu raid of the place, but it still filled her with a sense of wonder.
"It's b-beautiful...it was a b-bar before, yes? They really f-figured out how to make the best use of the space."
 
Silas felt his lip curl a bit as he thought of what this place had been, shaking his head as he led Zinnia to their seats, snugly in the third row from the stage. "A 'gentlemen's club' is what they'd say. A place to drink, listen to music, and get a pair of tits in your face." Silas momentarily forgot to check the more crass words from his tongue, given his company. "That was the kicker though, the girls were all fake. Conjured by that Songbird character through illusion magic. They had the rich and the desperate emptying their pockets to hallucinate."

Leaning back into his seat and smiling over at Zin as she found hers, he made himself comfortable and continued, "That was the kicker though, the girls were all fake. Conjured by that Songbird character through illusion magic. They had the rich and the desperate emptying their pockets to hallucinate." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "At that point, it might as well have been a drug den."

The lights in the auditorium had slowly begun to dim, and sounds could be heard behind the curtain concealing the back of the stage from view. Music played, soft and slow, something that fit the romantic theme Zin had painted for him.

"So this... novel." He whispered over to her. "Was it a big deal? Sounds kinda familiar, this song."

Zinnia
 
Zinnia let slip an "Oh my," as Silas described the theater's former purpose, raising a hand to her lips, but then lowered it as he elaborated.

"Oh...well th-that sounds less f-fun..."

There was a certain raciness in the idea of such a place, but everything involved in the "entertainment" being false somehow sucked the taboo out of it. None of these were thoughts or feelings that she had ever previously considered, of course, but the transitioning of the stage quickly pulled her attention away.

"Umm...k-kinda? The owner of the book store I b-bought it from said it was one of her t-top sellers, 'based on a true s-story, very popular with young wom-men,' she said," she whispered back, dropping her tone slightly to impersonate the old book lady from back then. "I mean they m-made it into a play, so it must've been at least k-kind of a big deal, right?"
 
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