Private Tales Graceless and Divine

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria's hand clenched the bedding under her hands. She cleared her throat, here eyes moving away from his eyes but fell onto his smirking lips.

"Dance with me. At the festival." She blurted, and the horror of speaking without thought consumed her. "That is... no, what I meant to say was..." She sighed, her eyes closing for a few moments before searching for his gaze once more. They were easy to find now, and yet his amusement further disarmed her.

Vittoria bit down on her lip. "Would you like to dance with me at the festival, Kilien?"

She was not sure why she had asked, her own dancing not as perfect as it should be for a noble Lady, but she needed an excuse to be near him in shallow waters. In town, that was safe. Here? Vittoria became nervous at the thought of what her affections would dive her into.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Well now. This had taken a turn he'd not been expecting. A pleasant turn, but a sharp one at that.

He lay beneath her gaze, hand falling still within her hair, and stared up at her with raised brows over an easy expression. Vittoria wanted to dance with him. Who could have ever predicted that? Not he. Not in a hundred thousand years.

Was this what it felt like to be on the receiving end of the ask? Kilien couldn't remember the last time a girl had asked him, but he could hardly deny her. Not after witnessing her fumble so closely. He could nearly feel the warmth of her coloring cheeks.

"Hm," the smile that formed was equal parts endeared and amused, "I thought you'd never ask."

He had fully intended on dragging her into the dancing if there was any to join, but this approach was nicer. With a stiff inhale of breath through his nose, Kilien moved to sit up, his head pushing through her curtain of hair as he did so, and pushed himself off the bed. Taking a moment to assess himself, he straightened his jacket, pushed his own unruly brown locks from his face, and smoothed his popped collar. With a skip in place, he tapped the toes and heels of his boots against the hardwood floors twice to test them out, then offered his hand to her, "Ready when you are, Vi."

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Her eyes never left him.

She watched him leave the bed, stand straight, and fixed himself so that he may look presentable as he now waited for her to move. Vittoria went to meet him, standing before him although it was a braver distance to what she would have used between them. A half step from him, her hand found shelter in his, and their connection warmed her. She peered at their hands, finding that she enjoyed this sweet gesture more than she thought possible, but made no effort to make it known to him.

Vittoria did not let his hand go.

Not even as the crowds had grown thicker than it had earlier, and in order to get through to the main square of the town, she had to pull him behind her through the masses. Her grip was tight, secure, and a connection anyone may have a hard time in severing as she successfully pulled him towards the lane where some street stalls were set up. Music called to them at the other end, promising merriment and cheer. It was one way to beat the crowd, to cut straight to the Town Square.

"Do you know how to dance, Kilien?" She asked as they got closer to their destination. Vittoria slowed enough so that they could walk side by side, but it did not go unnoticed that she would walk closer to him to let someone else pass her.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

There was no resistance to be had from him. Kilien followed most willingly as she lead the way, feeling no shame or embarrassment in being lead. Not even a sense of self awareness - he was simply living in the moments as they passed, enjoying the warmth of her hand in his and the spare glances she sent back his way as they wended through the growing crowds.

It was freeing - this heedless decision of theirs to forgo the call of responsibility and duty for the mere simple pleasures of a festival. This was the life he wished to live day in and out; the freedom to go where he wanted when he wanted, without the burden of Academy or curse. Though it was very unlikely he'd ever been without the latter, Kilien was only growing more and more sure that he'd be taking his leave of the former.

Though he'd hardly expected to find any reason to stay, let alone a connection with anyone within the Academy. He wasn't going to hedge any bets on whatever this thing was with Vittoria, but the thought of running away with her wasn't a bad one.

"I can snake-line with the best of them," he answered over a smile, leaning into her side to speak more directly into her ear as the music became louder, "and Rovani never waste a good party."

He wasn't schooled in any waltzes but he was quick on his feet.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria decided she liked hearing his voice so close to her ear. It meant she did not miss a word, that she could hear that lower growl to his voice that was lost on her when they spoke normally. Her hand tightened around his, the only evidence that she showed of her enjoying listening to him speak.

"I am curious to see how Rovani are at a party." She turned to face him, and mere inches separated their faces, but her cold eyes never left the warmth of his gaze. The amount of times her eyes would seek his out, as if a cold shiver sought out the nearest warmth.

And finally, they had arrived to the heart of the celebrations. Music swelled, louder than anything Vittoria had heard before. It roared to life with every swish and twirl on the dancing floor. It was livelier than anything she had participated in, and Vittoria found herself taking a step back, not realising that put her against Kilien's side. The energy was crazed, filled with a chaos that came with laughter and folk dance.

For the first time, Vittoria hesitated with nerves.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

"We're a great time," he smirked at her, the caps of his teeth showing with the firelight of the festival glinting off his long canines, "the best fun."

His eyes locked eagerly onto her own, breaking only as they found their way to the edge of the dance floor where couples were quickly assembling into two separate lines facing one another as the music kicked up. He watched, keenly following the movements as the lines came together, kicked up their heels, separated, then pairs criss-crossed to separate people to whirl about before criss-crossing again.

"I think I know this one," he leaned against Vittoria's side, his hand squeezing hers as he waited for the two separate lines to form again, "ready?"

A few more beats of the music before the whirling pairs separated back to their lines again. With a push forward and a large grin, Kilien shouted for Vi to go now and bounded onto the end of the line across from her as other couples moved to join in as well.

The dance repeated as the music picked up even faster this time, his heels flying in tandem with the others before skipping back to part and then quickly skipped across to another woman on the opposite side whom he clamped arms with into a whirl. Though he had to look where it was that he went to avoid crashing into others, he did find himself looking back for Vi - who he next swung across the floor to pair with and clung to with a grin as they moved into their whirl, "Keeping up?!" he yelled.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

A dance was like learning the sequence of combat, of critically watching how an opponent moved so you knew how to strike. This art she was well versed in, but the music grew quicker, more chaotic. She became lost to the dancers, weaving and spinning, crossing and all the while aware of her proximity to others and the placement of her feet as she tried to keep the pace.

By the time Kilien returned to her, a large smile was on her lips. It had been so genuine, so rare, it lit up her entire face as laughter softly filtered past her lips. It was a delightful chaos, and all involved were in it for the sheer fun to be had by this dance.

Vittoria looked to Kilien without word, the pure enjoyment evident on her face. She would look at him like that the entire time, even as she would eventually cross to partner with someone else, her head swiveled to search for him, to watch him.

Only when they came to meet again did Vittoria answer him.

"Better than most." She grinned, and at least half of the floor was full of dancers trying to keep up and fumbling their steps.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Of course she would turn this into a competition - did Vittoria Larrainth even know how to enjoy herself simply for the fun of it? Kilien's beard stretched over her tooth-baring laugh but before he could even respond their whirlwind dance returned to start and picked up pace yet again.

Around and around they went. Heels kicking, feet skipping, bodies spinning, bow, skip, kick, spin. Over and over again. Faster and faster it went until at last the two broken lines faced one another red in the cheeks and short on breath and the music swung into a full stop. The dancers laughed and cheered and clapped, bowing to one another, some even toppling over from the mere exhaustion of keeping up.

Kilien, laughing brightly for what felt the first time in a long time, crossed the dancefloor to collect his partner with an arm around her middle.

"Well done," he said to her, keeping close so as not to be forced to shout over the din of excitement as the band dwindled into the next tune and new dancers took to the floor for a different number.

"Let's get a drink," and maybe something to eat, "but not tea, eh?"

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria was on a high like nothing she ever experienced before.

She was breathless, and happy about it. The smile still gleaming on her expression, even as a hand snaked around her and the arm pulled her towards Kiien's body. Her hands had come up to rest at his chest, as if she would push him away, but her fingers splayed across it. Familiar, comfortable. To see him now, face flushed from the fast paced dance, his eyes so mottled she could not determine how his hazel eyes could pick a hue as he looked to her.

A drink was exactly what she needed, and Vittoria swallowed to find her mouth and throat dry from the laughter and dancing. "Is there fresh lemonade?" She asked, her voice a whisper as she suddenly became aware of their close proximity. Oh how her mind now went to the thoughts of instinct, the thought of angling her head as she neared his face. Her fingers curled, nails scraping at his shirt as they came to close into a fist. "I do not drink wine... or mead." Nothing alcoholic. Once it's affects began to stir inside her, it often made her vulnerable and aware of just how monstrous her magic could be, and that what not a frame of mind she wished to enter when Kilien had made her feel so alive and seen.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Though they were practically the same height, the way in which Vittoria leant into him gave him the impression of feeling larger than life itself. Perhaps it was the high still roiling through his mind of the dance and the euphoria of joviality brought with it. It had been so long.

So long since he'd felt any semblance of those emotions and the notion of his emotional desert hit him suddenly with the same weight of grief. It pinched at his chest and drove a spike between his eyes to the point that he felt the sting of them trying to water.

"Lemonade?" he asked after her, clearing his throat and lifting a free hand to wipe over his face as if he were wiping sweat away. He didn't ask out of curiosity for why she would pick such a thing, merely echoing her words as he distracted himself with looking around for any sign of what she wanted.

It did not matter to him that she chose not to partake in alcohol. In fact it almost came as no surprise. Larrainth was too serious about her studies, about achieving her goals to allow drink to muddy her current.

"Yeah," he said after a moment, "I think I see a stand over there near the other food vendors. Come on," his arm slid from her waist, hand trailing along her lower back and lifting to take one of her own from his chest to lead her through. Palms clasped, he moved without the same urgency she had before in her excitement to find the dancefloor, but instead broke through the tide of festival goers with calm persistence.

Soon they both had lemonade and it was indeed very refreshing.

Kilien's head remain on a swivel as he watched performers traipse about. A man on stilts. A juggler. A magician (of all things). A contortionist. A fire eater. The revelry of normal folks about such mundane tricks, Kilien wondered if they lived their entire lives without witnessing true magic. It was so easy to forget how much of the world was untouched by it.

He contented himself to watch it all at Vittoria's side, a look of warm amusement plastered on his face as he sipped lemonade. "It reminds me of home," he said to her, leaning closer to her ear so she could hear him over the din of the festivities, "whenever Rovani gather in numbers it's always a party. Bonfires, dancing, stories, music, food and drink." The Initiate loosed a heavy sigh as he allowed himself to dip into the nostalgia of his youth.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

There was a happiness she could not explain as Kilien took hold of one of her hands and began to lead her through the masses gathered. There was too many things to look at, but all the entertainment was ignored by the Larrainth girl as her eyes fell on the visage of the boy that held her hand. Her heart was faster, her cheeks warmed, all the remnants of the dance. It had become a bed of embers she danced upon, waiting to ignite and roar.

By the end of this night, Vittoria's fire would rise.

The smile she had been wearing was a soft memory on her lips that grew the moment he pulled near to whisper in her ear. A conversation only meant for the two, and she began to imagine what it could have been like for his people to celebrate. "It sounds lovely." To have memories of such a thing at a young age to reflect on... "I have a story I could share once we have our drinks. My mother had written a book for me before I was born, and it is the only thing I have of her to remember her by since she died giving birth to me." Vittoria was not sure what sort of stories was told at parties like this, but it had been a story she had committed to memory in remembrance of a mother she never met.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Vittoria offering to tell a story? That got a raise of a brow from him, "Sounds like a good story to hear."

His stomach growled. It was not a sexy growl. Kilien looked down at it and rubbed idly at his middle with a sound of thought.

"Let's get some food to go with this lemonade first," then they could find a picnic table to sit at and chow down. Getting food in his belly was imperative if he didn't want her and her intense stares or alluring scent to distract him completely for the rest of the night.

Lemonades in hand, he sipped a bit more and picked a line for a vendor serving cuts of spit-roast ham. The overwhelming aroma of the whole damn pig on the spit over the fire was enough to make him salivate. This was a good festival. He'd make a point to come back to it again next year. If he was still around to come back to it, anyway.

"What's your favorite food?" he asked after her while they waited to be served.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria had to think, her brows furrowing when nothing immediate came to mind, and thus had to truly think of an answer.

"I do not know... I am not one for sweets, either." She could not possibly think or deign the title of favourite upon a dish so suddenly. "I like to eat this strange fruit... mango. That is a lovely treat."

She had gotten to try it once when in Vel Anir, at the market. It was something different and tropical, and unlike anything she had before.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

"Fruit, huh?" a brow arched at her answer, his mind fleetingly replaying images of her trying to catch blueberries in her mouth.

He liked fruit as much as the next person and he wagered had he been a normal fella, fruit probably would have been at the top of his list as well. Alas, with the heady aroma of spit roast wafting ever more strongly their way as the line continued forward, he knew in his heart of hearts that meat would always be #1.

Hazel shifted across Vittoria's face and along her jawline. He wasn't sure if it was simply the scent of food or the general close proximity he'd maintained with her for most of the night but something was still stirring. And it was trying to tell him that there was something else that could combat for #1.

"I saw an orchard out past the tea house," Kilien leaned in even closer. He simply couldn't help himself or the way his free hand lifted to gently swish a stray lock of her long, dark hair back over her shoulder. He smiled easily, no teeth, eyes meeting hers intently.

"We should pick some fruit before heading back."

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Instinct had Vittoria lean into the movement of his hand, watching her hair fall back behind her shoulder. "They have strawberries in that orchard too." She knew the one he spoke of, the one that looked so lovely all year round with different fruits and berries growing. Vittoria had seen it in every stage, every season, but the invitation from Kilien had interested her to see it again.

"And you, Kilien? Is there a Rovani dish that is your favourite food?" She asked as the line moved forward. Vittoria moved ahead, but turn so that she could face him and smile. "Or has my cooking convinced you that pancakes are the best?"

All she had learned was he was happy enough to eat, perhaps he wasn't too fussy about what he ate either. She could have been the worst pancake cook and he would still happily eat it, but she prided herself on that craft and would cook more for him one day if he still enjoyed them.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

"Mmm," the sound of hungry intrigue. Strawberries. Well, he didn't need anymore reason to go there if it would make her happy to do so, but he did like himself some fresh strawberries.

The mention of Rovani dishes took his mind on a whirlwind of memories, egging on his own current hunger. His eyes swept upwards as he thought on them all, pancake memories now added to the mix, and he chuckled. Jaw slackened into an open grin that allowed the tips of his fangs to glint in the festival lights as a particular memory came to mind, "My Pa, he used to make these brandy-stein chickens in the bread oven. You fill a pewter stein with brandy, hollow out the chicken and sit the whole stein up inside it, then bake it in the oven standing up. Mmmf-" he licked at his lips just thinking about it, "They were the best..."

When his eyes returned to her he let his grin settle into a lopsided smirk, "But blueberry pancakes made by Vittoria Larrainth rank pretty high up there."

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Her eyes flicked down to his lips, watching his tongue wet them for the briefest second. She still watched as his face relaxed into an easy smile, and only when she realised she was staring did she bring up her eyes to meet his.

"I will have to do something about getting my pancakes to the top of your list." The challenge was in her voice, but her eyes were not as focused as the distraction she was making for herself.

The line moved behind her, but with her back to it, she did not know to take a step back. Her eyes and mind get going to his lips. What would they feel like? What would they taste like? Vittoria's head canted to the side as she wondered...

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

A welcome challenge indeed. If it meant more time spent getting fed delicious breakfast flapjacks hand-made by Miss Larrainth, he had no reason to dissuade her from it. The smirk thinned and relaxed into a state of contented mischief as his eyes glanced the movement of the line behind her.

"Yes," he agreed, free hand moving to Vittoria's hip where it settled there as naturally as a bird upon a branch. Fearless. Bold. Unapologetic as he then pressed against it and walked her backward one step at a time, watchful and attentive, until they were both back in their place in line.

"Please do."

His hand then casually retreated from her hip but he made no effort to retreat himself from her personal space.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Her entire frame stiffened at the press of his hand at her hip, moving her back a few paces as he followed her. Vittoria's eyes flickered up to his, watching him intently before his hand left a coldness in it's absence. Despite how close he stood to her, the promise of more warmth seemed to open to her to take.

Vittoria's hand moved from her side, seeking the hand that had been on her seconds ago. The lean brought her closer before him she had ever been, that she saw colours and shapes in his hazel eyes she never knew existed. "Let me hold your hand...." There was no way out of it on his end, not when her fingers curled around his hand and pulled it forward so that they stood chest to chest. Not even when they were dancing had they stood this close.

The way she studied him, regarded him entirely, was with furrowed brows that created a wrinkled above the bridge of her nose. "What if I were to begin my attempts tomorrow? After classes, we can meet, eat, and then work on our poisons assignment..."

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Funny how her requests always seemed to come across as commands. Being completely honest with himself, he liked it and her hand found no resistance whatsoever in claiming his own. Nor did he show any indication of alarm or shyness at her move to close the distance between them. On the contrary, Kilien leaned into her, welcoming the closeness and what many others likely would have viewed as a heavily veiled threat on his life.

She could gut him right now and he'd likely die with the same look of mischief on his face. All too pleased with himself.

It emboldened him. Squeezing her hand in his own, he plied her arm back so he could wrap his arm around her, grip of her hand loose enough to keep the movement from twisting her arm in the wrong way but firm enough to keep them linked. If she was baiting him, he was going to take it hook, line, and sinker.

"I suddenly find all my afternoons entirely free for just this very venture," and was also rather strangely now looking forward to working on their cooperative project.

And to think how this day had begun. He'd lived through stranger tides than this and of all them this one was the most pleasant to ride out. He pressed forward against her and walked her backward once again as the line moved, noting some sly smiles and smirks from others around them at what they believed to be a young couple in the throes of affections.

"Same pancake place?" he smirked, referring to the little cabin from earlier in the day.

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Something tore inside her, but it was not one of pain and despair. It was a beast beneath her, one that craved for the closeness of Kilien as he moved to trap her hand behind her back. It had liked how easily he could play against her taunts, challenges, and expectations. It liked how despite things escalated between them, he still played along and amused her.

But Vittoria began to realise that beast was her own conscience, her own thoughts. Her own wanting.

"Of course." She barely breathed the word as her eyes never left his. Now that she knew what she wanted, what she was beginning to like, her body began to react in ways she never experienced before. Her free hand lifted to cling to the side of his jacket, as if she would pull him back to her if he ever chose to take a step back.

Vittoria was blind and unaware of those witnessing the scene in their midst, did not pay them thought that they knew her and watched her grow up. They all likely thought it was sweet and positively cute that young love was in the air.

"Kilien...." His name left her lips before she could figure out what she had wanted to say, but her eyes fell to his lips again. "I..." Her sea coloured eyes moved back to his eyes, noting the multitudes of patterns and colour the closer she got to his face. "Stay still." She commanded, lifting her chin enough to gently press her lips to his lower cheek in a tentative move. They stayed there, feeling the rough stubble beneath her lips and thought it odd at first before deciding it was pleasant enough to press another kiss to the same spot.

Vittoria was still, as if determining the theory, the execution, the outcome. She could not pinpoint what had made her perform such an action, for she never had such an intense curiosity experienced like this. Of course, the Proctors had lectured them on the changes in their bodies, the nature of those their age. She was not shy about it, but she knew she was never interested in such things.

But if there was one thing she could admit to in that moment, it was to kiss Kilien Basmarc and put an end to her wondering.

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

He was happy to watch her back, and the more he did so the more the dopamine hit. The feel-good chemicals seeping forth from his brain and saturating his blood. He felt its warm tingle in his fingertips and upon his chest where she leaned into him.

"Kilien..."

"Hm?" he liked the way his name sounded from her lips, barely a whisper. Where had that sultry tone been earlier today when she admonished him for ever considering they'd be friends? He amused himself with thinking on how past-Vittoria would react to him telling her how this day would unravel.

Perhaps as a tea reading.

His smile grew.

"Stay still..."

"Mmhm." He wasn't going anywhere. A gentle squeeze of his arm around her middle affirmed that much.

Then she kissed him. On the cheek, in his stubble (not a place he'd recommend starting but he wasn't going to complain). This elicited a low rumble of appeasement from him, if not outright surprise. Kilien was a gambling man but he never would have put money down on Vittoria making the first move. No, he'd fully intended on stealing a kiss from her in the orchard when she least expected it.

She kissed his cheek again.

"Mmm," his smile broadened, cheek pushing into her lips, arm squeezing her again.

Hot damn, it was their turn in line. Kilien walked her backward one last time and lifted his other hand, still holding on to his lemonade, and signaled to the vendor for 3 kebabs by holding out three fingers from the cup.

"Hurry," he hissed to the Vendor, "before this woman eats me alive."

A grin followed, broad and tooth-baring as he looked back down to Vittoria, "I think I underestimated her hunger."

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

Vittoria laughed.

It was something that had been robbed of her childhood, the sound almost youthful and childlike, it would have surprised a great many people that knew her only as the cold Unmaker. She turned to see the vendor, handing the kebabs over to Kilien, and before he could do or say anything, Vittoria's hand clawed into the magical pocket under her forearm and produced some coin. It was more than enough, but Vittoria assured the man to keep the change as she directed Kilien away.

"Right. Where would you like to go? Eat and drink here with the crowds, or somewhere quieter so that I test my hunger on you?" The smile she threw his way was wry, amused by his earlier words. "I was only curious as to what it would be like. How one's lips would move to do such a thing."

She wrapped an arm around one of his, careful not to spill the lemonade he had bought.

"I can see why people like to do it." Vittoria declared, but from her tone it was unclear if she was positive about the experiment or disappointed. Would the fact she did it in the first place mean she had enjoyed it?

 

[Kilien Basmarc]

Lemonade in one hand and kebabs in the other, he planted a look of amusement on her as she lead him away by the arm. He certainly didn't require privacy for Vittoria to test her hunger on him. Was she afraid he'd be embarrassed by it? Far from it.

Was she embarrassed by it?

Jury was out.

"Don't want others to see?" he verbally poked at her, raising a brow at her reasoning behind it.

"What?" Record screech. He blinked, boots coming to a full stop as he looked at her in disbelief. Kilien's brow furrowed faintly over his eyes which gave Vittoria a short look down and up again.

He almost looked offended, as if he were about to ask her if she was just treating him like an experiment. But actually he was confused.

"Was that your first time kissing someone?"

 

[Vittoria Larrainth]

It was Vittoria's turn to look at him, lips pouting slightly as her brows furrowed deeply in defense. "Of course it was."

She could not articulate best how to inform him that she never felt any of this with anyone else before. Not even King when the rest of their class still believed to this day they had coupled together. She had always had clear boundaries and expectations, but no one had ever warmed Vittoria as quickly as Kilien had.

"I have never really seen how it is done, honestly. King has talked about the girls he has kissed, but... I never asked for details." Her eyes narrowed onto him. "Was it bad?"

Did he prefer her not to try again?