every day I shock, every night I shock [part 2]

[AH'ZUREI KRISTYL D'MARE]

THIS THREAD IS JUST FOR READING PURPOSES! NO POSTING :3

J'tai had seen Chiyo, but she had apparently brought a guy with her. Not that he minded, he didn't have a crush on her or anything. He decided to browse the food- there wasn't much going on yet. No music, not very many people there. He noticed a few girls looking at him, but he didn't pay it too much attention. Not that he wanted to sound conceited, but it wasn't like it was unusual. And he knew he didn't have dirt on his face, so he just gave them a charming smile before returning to browsing. He wondered if they had any liquor...

The smile was quite charming, but she was smart enough to see that it was directed at all of his admirers, not her in particular. She wasn't the type to jump to conclusions. Zurei spoke with Chiyo and Daeun for a little while longer, then moved on to some of the other guests. Soon enough the music started, and the drinking as well. The mood of the celebration heightened considerably when the birthday boy arrived. Zurei gave him an enthusiastic hug, offered to get him a drink, then made her way to the table laden with liquor.

He wasn't really there to get drunk, but alcohol did lessen the nerves, and he had a bit. He didn't do well in extremely large crowds when he had nothing to do. With his size and stature, he couldn't exactly hide when he felt uncomfortable, so he exuded and aura of confidence, as if he were aloof on purpose. One of the girls was approaching him, but he didn't think it was for him- there were rarely brave enough to actually speak to him, and the ones that were annoyed him. She was likely getting a drink- and he observed to her to see. When he realized he was right, he smirked a little and took a gulp of his drink. "You're busy, aren't you? Must be your party?" he raised an eyebrow- she had been walking around meeting quite a lot of people to just be there for no reason.

A deep voice spoke from near her one side, and while she didn't figure he was talking to her, Zurei liked to make sure. Turning from looking at the bottles of alcohol, she found herself meeting the eyes of the handsome guy from before. A hint of colour rose to her cheeks, "Yeah, I'm throwing it for my friend." She motioned toward said friend with her chin, then smiled, "Sorry about the lack of music before..." she gave him a shy smile and poured some ale for her friend.”I haven't seen you before...you know someone I would know?"

"That's nice of you," man, he wished he had friends that could afford to throw him a party. He knew this wasn't the most exclusive party or the best executed, but it was probably the best any of the kids on the street would ever know- and it wasn't that bad, not really. At least the eye-candy was great, and with that thought, he smirked a little at the girl he was talking to. "Don't worry about it- and yeah, you were talking to Chiyo earlier, right?"

"I'm not as selfless as you probably think..." She laughed a little, "I've been wanting a party..." Grey eyes blinked, "Ohhh Chiyo...yes I definitely know her." Zurei smiled, obviously quite fond of the girl. "I'll be right back," The girl brought her friend his drink then came back and started deciding what to do for her own, She wanted to ask how he knew Chiyo, but she was a bit too nervous to be talking more than she already did...

She said she would be right back, so he raised an eyebrow and nodded in response. She had made it back to him barely in time- one of the other girls had started making her way over to him, and he wouldn't have been rude and turned her away, but since Ah'zurei was back he just laughed some. "So, how do you know Chiyo?"

She was glad that he opened the conversation again. Damn, why was she feeling so shy? Zurei mixed her drink and brough the glass to her lips, taking a sip before answering, "Me and a few friends went to where she works one night..." The girl looked up at him, "one of my friends got drunk and wouldn't leave her be....and it all stemmed from there." Zurei smiled and sipped more from her drink.

"Hmm," J'tai smiled just a little at her explanation. "Yeah, she doesn't really stand up for herself, does she?" he asked Zurei. "But she's cute. And she generally cares about you-- she's like a little sister to me," it was his way of letting Zurei know that he wasn't interested sexually in Chiyo, seeing that he had just spoken highly of her. More of a... subtle way of letting the girl before him know that he was interested in her. "I'm J'tai, by the way."

There was a slight flutter in her stomach at the sight of his smile and the brought the glass to her lips again. He seemed to care about Chiyo quite a bit, but she was glad when he made sure to subtly explain that their relationship held no romance. "J'tai?" Zurei smiled, feeling a little more confident, "I'm Ah'zurei." She offered her hand for a handshake or something...how embarrassing.

J'tai took her hand and brought it to his lips- a greeting more common amongst nobles, he knew, but he thought she might appreciate the sentiment. "A pleasure," he raised his eyebrows before pulling back, taking another gulp of his drink.

His lips touched her hand and she felt a tingle move up her arm and down into her lower belly. Damn...Her cheeks coloured again and she was glad for the muted lighting. "Nice to meet you," Zurei took another sip from her drink then told herself to slow down; the girl didn't handle alcohol very well. It didn't take much for her to get tipsy...

"Are you alright? You look a bit dazed," he would like to flatter himself and blame it on the fact he'd been charming- but she was drinking. And she was probably starting to feel the effects. "Perhaps you shouldn't drink anymore," it was his own way of teasing, but it was in a caring way.

"Hmm?" she looked down at her drink, paused, then nodded, "I forget sometimes....that I should take it slow." with a sigh she set the drink down on the liquor table then smiled, "How do you know Chiyo?"

"Ah," J'tai could hold his liquor well, but he knew a lot of girls who couldn't, so he wasn't so surprised when she sat her drink down- well, he was, but only because she didn't try to giggle, be cute, and say she could handle it. At least she was intelligent. "Well, she helped me out," he laughed some. "I guess that's really all I can say. She'd didn't have any reason to- just did." he shrugged. "Didn't want anything in return, so I look after her when I can." Which meant he threatened any guys who wanted to get too close to her- or just erased their memories. Either worked.

Zurei found herself smiling as he spoke of Chiyo, "I love that about her....she's so..." The girl sought out the other girl in the crowd and sent her a smile, "She's so pure." the girl poured herself some juice and drank from that in stead. She felt almost tipsy now; not good, considering the party had just started. "That's nice of you." Her eyes went to Daeun, "Her date seems nice enough, but I'm not a very good judge of character." Light grey eyes went back to him, and her demeanour seemed a little more flirty than before.

"I saw. I'm surprised. I've never actually seen her WITH a guy before," he would keep an eye on them, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fun in the moment. "And what about you? Do you have a date I should be concerned about?"


"You haven't? I haven't known her for very long so I guess I wouldn't know." She glanced at the couple again while sipping her juice, His words however brought her gaze back to him, "I don't have date." Just then the birthday boy made his way over to them and slipped an arm over her shoulders, "Unless you count me." Zurei laughed and shook off his arm, "That's not likely, unless I've suddenly turned male." Zurei nudged her friend, a little disappointed at having being somewhat-interrupted.

J'tai raised his eyebrow at the spectacle, but didn't say anything. He wasn't rude, but he hadn't appreciated the interruption either. Still, this wasn't his party, so instead he fell quiet, bringing the glass to his lips and taking a drink- it kept him busy and prevented him from saying something he'd regret. "Hmm," he just smiled a little, but didn't speak- he had nothing worth saying.

She was glad --and feeling a little guilty-- when her friend finally moved on. "Sorry." Zurei bit her lip then laughed a little. "He's definitely not my date..." she smiled up at J'tai, hoping that her friend's antics hadn't scared him off, "Do you live in Tai Ran?"

"Sort of... it's a recent move," J'tai told her. "I'm in the process of moving back," he'd been around for a month or two, and he hadn't quite 'settled' in. No matter where you went in Wyeshing, you were faced with poverty, but at least he'd had a roof over his head in Hanko.

"I see. Where did you live before?" She wanted him to kiss her. Wow....Zurei had never dealt with urges like this before; it was a little frightening. She had no doubt that he'd still been in Wyeshing before; his accent was perfect, and he looked Wyeshing through and through.

"Hanko," he smiled some, letting the fond memories return. He couldn't forget the old, but he could repress them- perhaps it wasn't healthy, but it was effective. "And what about you? You don't look Wyeshing... but you sound like you're from around here."

"Ahh, I've never been there." Zurei tilted her head a little and moved a little so that a group of people could get to the liquor. "My father's half Wyeshing and half Carthonina. Mother was full Carthonian, or so dad says." The girl shrugged her shoulders. She didn't miss her mother because she'd never known her mother. "I've lived here all my life. Never travelled..." She did regret that, but she was only twenty and had her whole life to travel wherever she wished...

"Well, for what it's worth, you're very, very beautiful," he told her. He knew that many people who weren't from Wyeshing faced prejudice, and even if they'd grown up all of their lives there, they still faced it. "I don't say those words lightly, so don't get the wrong impression," he told her. He noticed the comment about her mother, but he didn't pry. He didn't feel that he knew her well enough yet to ask.

Zurei had know that she was considered pretty by Carthonian, and some Niendran standards --she'd been told so-- but it was very rare for a Wyeshing male to find her attractive. The girl wasn't low enough in confidence to consider herself ugly, but she'd never considered herself beautiful either. J'tai seemed like a genuine person, therefore his finding her beautiful caught her by surprise; pleasantly so. "Thank...you..." The surprise showed on her face, and she didn't yet have enough control to change her expression. "You're..." She breathed out and found herself looking into his eyes, trying to figure out what she was saying.

He just smirked as she lost her words. She was cute, adorable really.

And he wasn't a man to pass up an opportunity. he put a hand to her cheek, leaned in, and brushed his lips against hers before pulling away and stepping back- just incase she decided to smack him or something (it hadn't happened to him yet, but he figured it could, so why risk it?). "My apologies. Couldn't resist," he told her. "I should probably be going. Perhaps I'll see you around, since you're a friend of Chiyo's."

She felt frozen in place as she felt his hand on her cheek, and then his lips on her own...Had she developed some new ability? Some type of Charm ability? It wasn't likely. The kiss was short but it sent a sort of soft shock through her --if that wording even made sense. Then it was over and he stepped back. Zurei's expression was quite bared; pleasantly startled. "Don't apologize..." When he said he was leaving, she nodded, "See you." While she didn't look smitten, obsessed or anything of that nature, Zurei certainly looked interested.