Jainaβs heartbeat thudded in her chest as he raised her hand to his lips. She made no effort to remove it. Swallowing past her pulse, she looked beyond him toward the tavern in question. It was one of the most frequented establishments in the city. She herself had been a patron on many occasions. It was, as he said, decent.
Jainaβs brows drew together as she thought. Decent was fine, really. She held little concern for the quality of the fare or decadence of the atmosphere so long as it didnβt distract her from his company. Perhaps in some other time she would have smiled at the people and couples entering the tavern. She would have seen the possibility of her future reflected in them, her hand being touched gently by someone who adored her and a shy smile might play on her lips. But not anymore. She watched their chances of simply sitting and talking quietly, uninterrupted, dwindle with each person that walked through the door. Even with the hood of her cloak up, she tended to attract attention.
Jainaβs eyes met his as she shook her head gently. βI know of a place a bit more interesting.β She tightened her grip on his hand as an aqua aura of light enveloped them. Within moments, they were no longer smelling the fish tinged, salty sea air of the marketplace, but the perfumed atmosphere of the courtyard just outside Unity Square. Jaina took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar fresh scent of ivy and garden flowers that reminded her of her childhood.
She dropped his hand immediately and turned to him, smiling mischievously as she walked backward to the nearby entrance of Proudmoore Keepβs garden maze. βAre you up for a challenge then? Iβm sure weβll have plenty of time to talk as you guide us through.β
βHmm,β feigning confusion, she leaned against one of the pillars of the entranceβs wooden archway and eyed him curiously. βIs this the beginning or the end, I wonder?β
She seemed to be taking his question into consideration, watching those sea-blue eyes shifting to the tavern behind him. That was where he meant after all. It seemed as if she didnβt agree with his decision though, watching her brows furrow in thought, as if there was some reason she might wish to avoid such a place. Well, perhaps there was, and Thor simply was unaware of it. She seemed to be trying to hide herself to some point anyway, wearing a hood and a cloak in this kind of weather. She wasnβt the only one, but somehow she stood out.
He wasnβt quite surprised when she finally mentioned that she knew of a place that was a bit more interesting than the tavern, and already that had Thorβs interest! Blue eyes danced as she tightened her grip on his hand, looking to the joined hands just before the aura enveloped them. Oh he knew what this was, and he was about to ask if it was necessary before she teleported them away. Apparently it was.
After his senses adjusted to the shift of location, he found himself standing beside her at the entrance of a maze, the one that had been beside the Admiralty headquarters. In fact, the building was right there, sticking over the edge of the hedge only barely. If Thor had been an inch shorter, the building would have been lost behind the tall hedges. The point of a maze after all. His gaze turned to her as her touch slipped his hand, moving to lean against one of the wooden pillars of the entrance, that mischievous smirk on her lips. he had to admit, that was a good look for her, smiling back as she started to let confusion drape her features.
The words she spoke provoked gentle laughter from the God, those blue eyes dancing with delight as he approached her, offering his arm for her to take. After all, this was for the both of them wasnβt it? If she left him alone in this maze, then perhaps she was telling him his attention wasnβt quite wanted. That would a hint that even Thor couldnβt ignore. βThe thing about ends, is that thereβs always beginning behind them. If this is the end, then weβll move to a new beginning.β A wink accompanied those words, though in truth, they were a little bit nonsense.
He was blowing the metaphor of the words she chose way out of proportion, out of curiosity more than anything. She seemed to have certain notions of things, and perhaps his words might cause her to open up a bit more. Of course, it was all a theory inside of his head, he had no real foundation for it.Β After all, for all their run ins lately, Thor knew little of Jaina, aside from the rumors that came with her name.