Completed How To Make People Like You

[Julian Benavide]

Julian was bored, and when he was bored, whatever he did to fill his time never ended well. Currently, he was wandering the Monastery grounds, staying close to the stone walls. The sun was high in the clear sky, and a gentle breeze lifted strands of Julian's dark hair. The Monastery was unusually full, but he supposed that was due to a gap between missions. He could not find anyone who was not happy; everyone was glad to be home.

Julian's attention was caught by an interaction that maybe didn't leave one individual too happy. He recognized the young, frail looking squire from the aptly named Himbofest, and an amused smile danced across his features. The squire himself did not look too happy, however, and Julian was nearly certain it was because of the two female knights walking away from him, looking thoroughly annoyed and rolling their eyes at him. It seemed that Nacht, as Julian had learned his name was, had little luck with women.

Julian's faintly amused smile broke into a grin. That was a problem he could fix, considering his enormous luck with women.

He approached Nacht, who was now alone. The squire was shorter than him, but not by much, and Julian thought offhandedly that Nacht could still use his height to his advantage, even if he was a bit on the thin side.

"No luck?" he asked, his voice holding nothing but friendliness. He had no intentions of teasing the squire; only of helping out a fellow man.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

"I was remarking on their sword forms and they for some reason did not like my constructive criticism. I literally said one thing about using your weight to make your swings more heavy and then they both snapped and I tried to explain but that seemed to make things worse," he stated casually. Well, perhaps he waaaasss a bit out of line. "I guess that's fair, though, cause I don't even use swords too much." He said with a shrug while his finger pointed to one of the daggers by his side. Overall, he didn't really care what anyone thought of him (been there, done that, got the depression) but it was still a bit saddening to see that his advice was less than wanted. He had only deigned to help, after all.

"Sorry, what do you mean by no luck?" He asked, stretching a bit. He was wearing more armor than he usually did, so his joints got rigid a bit quicker. There was definitely a reason he preferred his good ol' leather garb. Now, what did Julian possibly mean by no luck? He considered himself very lucky to have gotten the chance to become a squire and learn from great people. Wait, from an outsider's perspective it could look like...but why? Not only was there no time to be looking for romance when the life or death conflict against the Everwatcher raged on, but he was simply not a good option. However, he knew this and was fine with it. His pale skin, thin frame, ever-present cat, and overly enthusiastic attitude probably turned a lot of people off, especially when they had pieces of art like Bebin, Faramund, and for the matter of fact, Julian to go after.

The man in front of him was probably already in a relationship. However, he didn't seem to be teasing or pitying him. Because of this sort of genuineness, Nacht waited for his response, willing to continue this topic for now.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian's grin did not slip and he tried not to laugh at Nacht's rookie mistake. "No luck with the ladies," he clarified, before continuing, "First thing, don't ever say anything about a woman's weight. It's a trap, whether it's a compliment or not. Second of all, I wouldn't start a conversation with a stranger, whether they're a woman or not, with criticism, even if it is constructive. Compliments. Flirtation. Flatter them. They like to feel important,"

Julian was amused by the squire's enthusiastic attitude, but he guessed most women might be turned off by that, at least at first. (Julian was not so daft as to claim to be an expert on women, but he had plenty of experience with them).

"And it couldn't hurt to try and keep your mouth shut, not talk so much or so often; get them to talk about themselves, make them feel important," he paused, considering a moment before continuing. "And honestly, any of this could apply to anyone you want to like you, romantically or not."

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

So it was the assumption he had been making some sort of pass, then. Well, he would have to correct that rather quickly. "Oh, I'm not interested in a relationship or anything, but learning how to get along with people like Saskia and Byanka could be useful." He mused a bit, expression considering. Just then, Julian brought up that you should never comment on a woman's weight. Ok, now he was being confusing. He had told them to use their body weight to make their strikes heavier, which was seemingly pretty obvious, not that they themselves were heavy. “But I wasn’t…commenting on their weight?” Had his prospective mentor made an oversight? "No, no, not the point," he said, waving that train of thought away.

"Right...let me see. Start a conversation by saying something nice, and get them comfortable enough to talk about themselves so they feel noticed," He summarized. "That seems tough to actually execute, though. How do you find it so simple?"

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian raised a scarred eyebrow at Nacht. "Like I said, any comment about their weight, whether you mean for it to be good or bad, is in general a big no," he replied. This was certainly more fun than anything else he could be doing right now. Well, not anything...

"It's not that tough, actually, though it does depend on the woman you're talking to. Some are easier to flatter than others." He mentally shuffled through the women he knew, sorting them by who was easy to flatter and who wasn't.

As if thinking about her conjured her, he saw Byanka walking across the courtyard of the Monastery, towards the building behind them. As she drew closer, her gaze inevitably landed on Julian himself, and he gave her a wide, kind smile. "Hey, Byanka, I like your short hair, you look nice,"

At his words, the younger knight blushed furiously and mumbled a thank you before hurrying away. Julian turned his grin on to Nacht. "See?"

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

"Right, I think our leylines are crossed on what we both think I was saying, so forget about that, Mister Julian," he conceded. No further use digging a hole that held no reward deeper in. Anyway, what Julian had said made a lot of sense. Perhaps he should have started the conversation by complimenting the rest of their form, which was pretty much flawless, then related to them by mentioning he was also working on his technique with different kinds of weapons as well? Hmm, might they have even ended up sparring? That would have been fun. His method of criticism, however constructive, was conversationally wrong, he could see it now. All it did was kill communication, or extend like it so quickly had into a misunderstanding.

Next, Julian explained that it varied from woman to woman exactly how hard they were to flatter, which Nacht could believe. Someone like Petra would probably be more appreciative of his compliments than say, Monroe. As he said that, he got a faraway look in his eyes, probably because he was thinking of examples. Far from intimidated, Nacht was actually impressed with how long it took him. Having such a list meant he was simply good at communication, not some sort of enemy like he sometimes heard males of the same species considered each other. Luckily, before the conversation could stall, a suitable example walked on by. Nacht observed from his seat as he managed to catch what snippets he could from his place.

She certainly gave what Nacht assumed was a positive reaction even to the rather simple compliment about her appearance. See, charming Byanka was a pretty big deal to Nacht. He had never seen her become quite so red besides at the Himbofest, but then again that entire event made both man and woman at least somewhat “preference-confused”, himself included. Julian was probably the real deal for managing such a feat by his lonesome. However, Nacht was not so daft as to attribute such success to his words alone. On his response, he decided to try something his temporary mentor had proposed. “That was pretty impressive. For such simple words, you managed quite a reaction,” He grinned in return.

“However, there remains one clear difference between us. Physically speaking, you are…attractive, to say the least. I’ve found people usually feel comfortable around people they view that way. I don’t have that sort of…thing, y’know?” he managed, shrugging. “I don’t suppose you have tips for getting around a hurdle like that?” Nacht inquired, falling silent and yawning.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian's grin stretched wider, if that was possible. "I've got history with her; about two years ago," he replied to Nacht's first statement about Byanka's reaction. He wondered if he would have gotten the same reaction if he had complimented a woman he didn't already know, but then he decided he would.

Julian did his best not to agree with Nacht's statement about each of their respective attractiveness (that was a word, he was sure of it). Yes, Julian was beautiful, and Nacht wasn't nearly as good looking as he was, but he was by no means ugly.

"I would suggest working out," Julian answered. "Put some meat on your bones. It will help in a fight too,"

"Though a pretty face is significant and draws people in, it's your charisma and charm that will keep them by your side," he added.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

“Huh. That sounds like an interesting story, you’ll have to tell me it sometime.” Nacht said with a slight chuckle. Julian seemed to be quite the mysterious fellow. The confidence he had was definitely something to learn from. As for his previous question, it was handily answered.

"I do work out. I'm just not ripped." Nacht said with a sigh, rolling up his sleeve, the one that had the arm with his scar only on his shoulder. His strength were not effortlessly visible, but one could tell if they looked hard enough that lean muscle powered each movement. "Though, I guess that's a bit hard to tell, I admit," he said with a grin.

"Charisma and charm are...the same thing, I think. Unless charm contributes to- No, overthinking this." Nacht cut himself off. "Your demonstration on someone else was nice, but...hard to decipher." he continued, shrugging once again. "I don't understand it. Can you, like, demonstrate on me or like describe the feeling it's supposed to evoke..? I mean, only if you're comfortable." He finished, holding out his hands in the universal sign for "I don't mean anything weird".

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian almost chuckled as well, but thought it better he didn't. It was certainly an interesting story; but he thought Byanka might have been avoiding him for the past two years; he couldn't exactly blame her. He was certain a good number of women were avoiding him now, though that did not stop him from being friendly.

Was Nacht really so daft he needed Julian to demonstrate on him, or was this Nacht's attempt at flirting? Either way, Julian did not particularly care.

"You can be charming when you want to be," Julian replied. "Your optimism and friendliness can inspire others. It's what's on the inside that counts," Julian paused, looking Nacht up and down, his smile turning to a smirk. "Though what's on the outside can help,"

After he spoke he was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if Nacht would catch on and release what Julian had just done.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

Nacht listened to Julian compliment him and didn't really see how-. Wait. He put a hand to his heart and noticed the beats were slightly elevated. That makes no sense, though. He doesn't know anything for sur- Just then, he noticed his skin was strangely different. Goosebumps. Why was he physically reacting so oddly to praise? Wait a minute, I get it. The point of charisma. Julian's comfortable stance and slightly cocky smirk made him feel more comfortable as well. By combining confidence with positive words that appeal to the more emotional side of a person, you can manipulate their actual opinion of you. That's really scary. Nacht shivered, a tad frightened by the prospect.

"I think I see the general idea. I also see it being used the other way, so remind me never to get on your bad side." With how generally popular Syr Julian seemed to be, Nacht bet himself he could count on his fingers the amount of people who would emerge relatively unscathed from an...exposé of sorts by him. He himself, of course, was not among that number. "Also, that backhanded compliment did not escape me, Syr." Nacht sighed, feigning hurt.

"Right, so let me try this." He said, taking a breath. "I'll try and see if I can do what you did, and then ask for feedback," he finished, dreading how terribly this might go. "Syr Julian, your smile can put people at ease." He began with a grin, more at how silly this all was than an intentional one, deciding on going for a simple opener. Even a remark on hair appeared to be effective even though Julian HAD admitted to slightly cheating the difficulty, so this should not fare much worse. "I think your ability to make friends is cool, and something I want to learn." he explained genuinely.

"Was that alright so far?"

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian did his best not to laugh as Nacht attempted to 'flirt' with him.

"Yes, except you told me things I already know. To your credit, it is harder to to flirt with and compliment those who are already confident," he replied. "But I appreciate the compliment," he added. His intention was not to be mean, rather the opposite, and he was very much enjoying himself as he tried to help Nacht become more sociable.

An idea occurred to Julian, and he looked behind him in the direction Byanka had hurried off after his brief flirtation with her.

"How well do you know Byanka?" he asked Nacht, turning back around to face him. "Like if you tried to flirt with or compliment her, would she kill you?"

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

"Right. That makes sense. It's rather hard to flatter someone who already is fully aware of their coolness. Do you mean that I should identify insecurities and then use those?" Nacht asked, stretching his legs. He had been sitting for a second, no need to allow his legs to fall asleep. Now, what exactly was the end-goal of this whole lesson? Nacht wasn't trying to seduce any women like Julian happened to be an expert in doing, just become better friends with them and allow for easier teamwork.

"Those questions have two different answers. The first is decently well, we've worked together on a mission or two." There were other various small things, but the big missions he remembered doing alongside her ended there. The other question was much more obvious in terms of an answer. "The second is...well, Byanka already seems to dislike me because I'm a bit of an optimist even in bad situations, I think. I'm working on reading the room, though. She'd probably just look at me with disgust, which would be totally reasonable."

After all, he had never shown interest before, and was still not interested. "I'm not too interested in any sort of relationship beyond being good teammates. That goes for everyone, though, so don't think I'm singling Byanka out or something," he explained with a shrug.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian did laugh out loud this time. Byanka loved everybody- what made her so 'disgusted' towards Nacht. Though he could not deny a bit of relief when Nacht said he wasn't trying to romance anybody.

He mentally berated himself. He was the one who had suggested Nacht try on Byanka, wasn't he? And he had no right to be jealous of anybody, especially the way he acted.

"Sorry for laughing, I just- how did you manage that?" Julian asked, referring to Byanka's dislike of the squire. "I thought she liked everybody,"

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

"I was a bit too enthusiastic, like I said. This whole thing still feels like a dream, like I'm walking in the shoes of one of my favorite characters from a book, y'know?" he admitted, hands splaying out in reference to the monastery. "Still feels weird, if that makes sense. Like I'm not supposed to be here and will wake up soon, but I don't want to." Just then, he realized he was rambling and tried his best to get off his face whatever weird expression had popped up. "Whatever, you probably don't care and that makes sense, that was random of me to say." He said this with a smile, truly not at all sad. Facts were not things to be upset over, just like Julian was not his therapist and didn't need to be and that he was not in some story.

"She isn't disgusted towards me or anything, I'm saying she would be if I just randomly sprung some sort of flirtation when I previously showed no indication I fancied her. I simply struggle to read the room...uh, most of the time." He explained. "Ha, but I guess you're right. She's nice and heroic anyway, even if I may not be her favorite." It was true. He had heard the female knight had tried to protect him and that was more than most people would do for him any given day.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

"I can definitely understand that," Julian replied. It did feel like a dream sometimes; and even on rarer occasions, a nightmare. But life wasn't a book and Julian was no hero, though he often pretended he was. "I do care," he added after Nacht finished rambling.

He smiled at Nacht's description of Byanka, though this smile was not nearly as wide or joyous as his others. Byanka certainly was "nice and heroic", but she was so much more than that.

He berated himself once more. Who was he to profess about Byanka's good qualities? He really was such a hypocrite.

"Do you want to go into the Knoll? Try out your newfound skills? Thank me when they inevitably work?" he said, changing the subject.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

"Nice fuckin' try, Syr Julian." Nacht said, laughing. "You've been struggling to hold back laughter, so I don't feel too great about my chances." What fun this was, having such a stupid conversation about flirting and such. Nacht got a strange feeling, as though this sort of thing was something he had never experienced before but should have. I suppose it's a bit hard to have a conversation when your greatest worry is high in the sky and affecting the entire world. A determined look crossed his face, and he resolutely decided to be better than his fears, but always keep them nearby in case. I won't hide.

"Actually, could you please find Byanka for me? I have something I'd like to say to her." he requested, mentally going over possible things to bring up.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian laughed again, this time with Nacht rather than at him. His laughter quickly faded however when Nacht asked if he could fetch Byanka.

"Sure," he said after a moment.

He walked away from where he had been sitting with Nacht, heading back inside the Monastery and into the Knoll. Sure enough, he found Byanka sitting alone, nursing a cup of coffee, despite the fact that it was mid-afternoon. Mentally planning the words he would say to her, he hesitated only a moment before walking up and sitting down beside her. He got a sudden bout of déjà vu but swallowed it down.

Her head shot up, red coloring her cheeks as her eyes met his own. "You ok?" he asked softly, his tone suggesting that he wouldn't pry if she didn't want him to.

She returned her gaze to her coffee and nodded. It hurt that she wouldn't look at him but he knew full well why.

"Nacht wants to talk to you," he went on, hating how the words tasted sour in his mouth. He reminded himself he had nothing against Nacht as Byanka's head shot up once more.

He stood, and led Byanka back outside to where Nacht was waiting.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

The advice Julian gave to me was good, but I don't have a reason to use it in the way he intended. Instead, I can apply it to an apology, He thought. "Right. Got this." Nacht spied Byanka and Julian coming back, taking a relaxed stance. Then, once it seemed reasonable to do so, he brought his feet together and bowed. "Syr Byanka. I'd like to apologize for being childish at the expense of preparation and your patience. As it turned out, things went alright, but that is no excuse and it's reasonable to get annoyed at me for that. I'm really sorry, and am trying to work on it."

He took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "I'd, uh, if it's not taking too much of your time, also like to say thanks. I wasn't awake for a bit, but...I heard what you did for me. Very heroic. I owe you a debt of gratitude words cannot explain." Weight he hadn't known to be there was lifted from his shoulders and he felt much better than before. "Uh, thanks for listening, I guess." he finished. Hopefully it was enough, but if not, that was fine. Sometimes life was not so simple as a "sorry".

Julian Benavide

 

[Byanka Valkas]

Byanka hated herself for getting so worked up when Julian sat down beside her. She did spectacular job of hiding it, though, at least until he said Nacht wanted to talk to her. She was gloriously confused. What were Julian and Nacht doing talking? God, she hoped it wasn't about her... history with Julian.

She followed Julian out of the Knoll, staring holes into the back of his head. Her gaze shifted when she saw Nacht waiting for them. When Byanka and Julian reached Nacht, the squire bowed- actually bowed- to Byanka. She wondered if he knew about her father but she thought it highly unlikely.

Finally he spoke, and she was surprised yet again when the words that came out of his mouth were an apology- and a thanks. Byanka was at a loss for words for a moment. She felt bad that he felt that he had to apologize, for how she acted towards him, but then his gratitude for saving his life... He had been unconscious, and she had fully expected for no one else to notice or remember what she had done, let alone tell Nacht.

Pink tinged her cheeks both from guilt and surprise. "You don't have to apologize," she said softly. "And its what anyone would have done," she added, referring to her saving his life.

She wasn't feeling particularly keen towards Julian at the moment, mostly because he had spoke to her first and brought her into this situation, but also because she felt guilty he still had an effect on her.

It's been two fucking years, she reminded herself.

"Was that all?" she said, this time directing her question to Julian.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

Nacht grinned and stretched a bit. "Well, that's good to hear. Gives me hope." He said. Byanka then turned to Julian and the air became just a bit more tense. He quieted down, wondering how Syr Playboy would respond in turn.

Byanka Valkas

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian stood off to the side as Nacht... apologized? He was not clued in as to what the conversation was about but he didn't care- he didn't- and it didn't matter. Byanka, like usual, deflected attention off of herself, and Julian almost smiled, but then Byanka turned to him and the smile was quickly wiped from his face.

"Yes, but you don't have to sound so upset about it," he replied, making an attempt at teasing her. Byanka just looked at him, and Julian was struck once more with the fact that Byanka Valkas was a hard woman to read.

"See you around, Julian, Nacht," she said finally, looking back over her shoulder at Nacht, a smile on her face, before she walked away again.

Julian turned back to Nacht, and could tell that Nacht had noticed the intense atmosphere. "Is it obvious? That we..." he started trailing off.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

“See you around.” Nacht said, saluting.

When Julian asked whether it was obvious something was going on, Nacht laughed at him just a little bit. What an odd statement to make, huh? Yes, it may have been unintentionally condescending but stupid questions often beget those types of responses. "Sorry, sorry, Don't mean to make fun." He ceased his mirth and began analyzing. "I can't say to what extent, but you two seem..." He paused. Why? No reason, it was just one of those pauses for dramatic effect that everybody unconsciously did once in a while. "...to have a history."

"However, given your very presence seems to make her uncomfortable, I don't really want to know. It seems rude, y'know?" He made a contemplative face, as though he was thinking of something. "I think you took something very different away from that time than she did, so maybe...stay away for a while? Just a suggestion from a...friend, I guess." Nacht was serious at this point. He had no interest in Byanka, but quite possibly someone that did was currently mucking it up.

Julian Benavide

 

[Julian Benavide]

Julian quickly gathered himself as Nacht laughed a bit. He was right, of course, but Julian knew the fact that his presence made Byanka uncomfortable was his fault.

"It's a good story," Julian said most of the joking gone from his voice. "But, it is her story to tell," he said, lifting his hands as if in mock surrender.

"Anyway, where were we?' he said, changing the subject. Perhaps this conversation had run its course and Julian would be forced to find something else to fill his time.

Nacht

 

[Nacht]

“All that’s left for me from your lessons…is to try and amend what I said to that girl, I guess.” he asked, stretching. "Yeah, I don't want any enemies, so that seems like a good first step." He mused, a little bit to himself and less totally towards Julian. "I think I should go find em now, so this seems like the end of our chat." Nacht grins, taking a breath of fresh air. "Hey, you offered to talk to me, so if you ever need anyone to speak with, just ask." he offered, turning away and beginning to walk.

Julian Benavide