dancing in a daydream

Soh laughed a little as Mateo offered a corrected question. "His name's Jude," she confided in her friend. "He's been my best friend for ages, but then recently he kissed me, and now we're dating." She hadn't meant to ramble on quite so much, but Soh hadn't had many friends with whom to talk about her love life, and so there were only a few people who knew about her and Jude. "Sorry," she said, blushing.

Dragons, though, were an easier topic of conversation, and Soh listened with rapt attention to the information Mateo provided, her fingers itching for her journal to jot down some notes - except that would be rude, and she was anything but that. "Fascinating," she said, something like awe in her voice. "But it must have been so exciting to see one in the wild!" she added in response to his joke, wrinkling her nose at her friend. Then her mood shifted. "I already owe one of your fathers enough," she said softly, thinking again of the man who had been so helpfully taken care of.

Sohalia

Mateo

Unable not to look mildly victorious at having guessed the he of it all, Mateo at least contains himself enough to be able to listen to what Soh has to say next. He gasps and swoons and congratulates in all the right places, because even if the botanist doesn't believe in dating (or rather, on going on more than two dates with a single person), he can absolutely appreciate it for other people. "You have nothing to apologise about," he informs her, lifting his wine glass to offer it out in a toast. "Here is to your budding new romance, and your not-just-a-friend-Jude."

Sitting back, he racks his memory for the day in Halo with the white dragon; he had found it mildly terrifying, in truth, but he supposes it translates to excitement with time. "Ah, yes, but this is the other one," he clarifies, of the murder!father and the dragon!dad. "And you do not owe either of them anything, do not be silly. They were happy to help."

I wanna wake up
Can't even tell if this is a dream

Soh couldn't help a smile at Mateo's victorious look. His excitement for her seemed genuine, and she blushed a little as she talked. She really did adore Jude, and it was surprisingly exciting to talk about him with a friend. She picked up her glass and clinked it against Mateo's before taking a sip. "Thank you," she murmured. "I do feel a little bad, though. I went on a few dates with someone here before I knew how Jude felt - how I felt - and I'm not really sure what to do about it." She genuinely liked Koa, after all - he'd been wonderful to her, and were Jude not in the picture, she could certainly see herself falling for him. Unfortunately for Koa, Jude was very much in the picture, and there was nothing she could - or wanted to - do about loving her best friend.

There was little else to say about the dragon. Sure, it must have been terrifying - but on the other hand, wondrous. What Soh wouldn't give to see one in the wild - from a safe distance, anyway. On the topic of Mateo's fathers, however, Soh bit her lip, toying with the stem of her wine glass. 'Happy to help' seemed like a bit of a reach to Soh, but then, she didn't know them and didn't know exactly what they'd done. In the end, she simply said, with a bit of a rueful smile, "I'll have to take your word for it."

But today was a happy day; how could she not be relieved knowing that she was safe in the city once more? "Anyway," she said, shoving all thoughts to the contrary from her mind. "How are you? What have you been up to? Staying out of trouble, I hope?" she added teasingly.

Sohalia

Mateo

"Oh, do not feel bad about that. It is not as though you knew that this was going to happen. Especially since Jude was your friend first," Mateo says, but then again it's easy to be so blase about it when you've got the emotional commitment of a goldfish. As for taking his word for it, he merely raises his glass again in a private little toast, taking a smaller sip before setting it down again.

"May I take a guess who you were dating here, though?" he asks with a wicked smile. "Does he have a chiseled physique and all the subtlety of a brick?" Oh hi, Koa didn't see you there. "I have it on good authority that he can be a bit of a cad, if it helps." No one better to hang from the rafters with, hey?

Speaking of, Mateo pauses so their appetisers can be set down, and he spends a moment enjoying a sprig of asparagus before replying. "Of course I have not been keeping out of trouble," he sings. "I attended a bar opening in Torchline for my sister, Flora. And two days later I believe I was still going here, in the White Hart. I have only just gotten all of the salt water out of my hair."

I wanna wake up
Can't even tell if this is a dream

As a person on the opposite end of the commitment spectrum, Soh felt very bad about that. Sure, it had only been two dates, but they had been lovely dates, and she'd had every intention of going on another. She sighed, using a puff of breath to blow a tendril of hair out of her eyes, only to pause when Mateo offered to guess who she was dating here. And it was very clear that he knew.

Soh had two choices: she could play dumb, which likely wouldn't work on her friend, or she could be honest. After a moment's hesitation, she chose honesty with a rueful smile. "Gods, am I that easy to read?" she joked. "But really - he was perfectly lovely to me. And I do feel bad." She ignored the bit about Koa being a cad - she simply didn't accept that as truth, not with how tender he'd been with her.

With their appetizers delivered, Soh enjoyed her own asparagus and shook her head at her friend's shenanigans. It was honestly quite strange, for them to be friends when they ran in such vastly different circles, but here they were. She supposed that a near-murder would do that, though. "Sounds like fun," she said with a laugh. Sometimes she wondered what it was like, to be Mateo, partying without a care in the world. "I take it the bar opening was successful?"

Sohalia

Mateo

It is strange, how certain events can cement a friendship, despite pesky things like personalities and social circles. For Mateo's part, he also certainly considers Soh to be a dear friend, and the fact that she appears to have hit it off with his husband Everest is a plus, too. "I assure you that you are not as easy to read as that," he replies with a dimpled grin, before lowering his voice as if what he says next ought to be a secret. "Koa is, though. I guessed it when we were putting up those lanterns."

Or rather, Koa had said it with his body language and facial expressions. "I will endeavour to pick him up and dust him off for you, so that you do not feel too bad," he suggests, tipping her a wink before selecting some sweet peppers from his plate.

Humming an affirmative as he chews and swallows, Mateo pauses for a sip of wine before speaking again. "Yes, I believe it was," he says, full of pride for his little sister - and it shows. "I think you would like Flora. She always leaves people in a better mood."

I wanna wake up
Can't even tell if this is a dream

Mateo's reassurance relaxed her, and she laughed as he lowered his voice and revealed how he had guessed. "Yes, I suppose that was a bit obvious," she said ruefully, a grin appearing on her face at the memory. "Thank you for your help with that, by the way. I know it's not much, but I hope it helps a little." She just wanted to make Stormbreak a better place - it was already wonderful, in her eyes, but there were certainly things that could stand to improve.

She rather hoped that Koa wouldn't need too much dusting off, but they'd really seemed to hit it off, and she knew that were their situations reversed, she would be hurt by his rejection. Though, now that she thought about it, she probably would come to Mateo for comfort and a pep talk to get back out there, so perhaps it made sense for him to offer the same service to Koa.

"I'm sure I would," she said in relation to Flora, pushing food around her her plate as she pondered her next selection. "If she's anything like you, she must be lovely. You said she's in Torchine, right? Maybe I'll look her up, next time I'm there."

Sohalia

Mateo

"Any time," Mateo says, and he actually means it; if he can show up hungover to hell and back, it's safe to assume he'll be there for Soh regardless of the state he's in. (He just might be varying degrees of unhelpful, depending on said state). "And it cannot exactly make things less safe," he continues - more light in the Silk Houses isn't a bad thing, especially given the events preceding the decision to put up the lanterns.

Picking at his vegetables, he's never really considered that he and Flora are alike - such is the case when you're a sibling to twins - but at Soh's remark, he realises it's quite true. "Larger than life," he corrects with a grin, though lovely works too, he supposes. "She is, yes. She owns a place called The Hanged Man. If you go there for a drink, be sure to tell her I say hi."

I wanna wake up
Can't even tell if this is a dream

Soh was more grateful than she could say for Mateo's friendship, no matter how different they may be. There was a small part of her that wondered what it must be like, to be him, to have fun partying and living life to the fullest. Still, she simply wasn't that person, and that was okay. She could just live vicariously through Mateo.

Soh took a bite of her vegetables, enjoying their flavor as she listened, covering a smile at Mateo's description of his sister as 'larger than life.' Soh supposed that worked just as well; if anything, it was more accurate than 'lovely' had been. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out," Soh promised. "And I will certainly say hello if I see her." She must be something, to own a place called The Hanged Man, to have thrown a party for its grand reopening,

Sohalia

Mateo

More than vicariously if she hangs out with him enough; Mateo has a way of ending up at a party even unintentionally, and if nothing else Soh will go home with a few funny stories and sore feet from dancing. (Honestly though, if she's lucky, that's all she'll go home with). "She likes to be behind the bar," he says helpfully of his sister, offering her a playful smile before finishing off his plate of vegetables.

He's got a feeling Flora would be the type to only hire male wait staff, too, so they know she's the owner and not some other girl working the bar. He's about to add that too when their own server approaches to see what they'd like for their entree, and Mateo is quickly paralysed by the decision to get either ravioli or grilled fish. Regardless, it's a fine night for gossip and laughter, and he can't deny that it's good to see Soh with a smile back on her face.

~FIN

I wanna wake up
Can't even tell if this is a dream