Leo Vance

She rolled her eyes at that. Khai had always been perfectly capable of buying her own drinks until now, and when she did persuade other people to buy them for her, it had been more of a game of manipulation than a financial need. “It doesn’t usually take much talking, either. Perhaps it’s my looks? Or my undeniable charm?” Softly, Khailee shifted her arm to elbow him playfully in the side, feeling more and more like her old self with each passing moment. “What have you been up to? How many times did you get your ass kicked in my absence?”

“I think it’s a winning combination of the two. Why else would we still be friends otherwise?” Unlike most other people he met, Khai was actually fun. Leo did not give many people the opportunity to be a close friend and yet she had manipulated her way into his good graces and had stayed there ever since. Whenever a game of bed, wed and behead sprang up during a round of drinks, Khai was always his ‘wed’ option, mainly because she was the only woman he had been friends with long enough that he didn’t see a future together as a punishment. Not to mention that their marriage would most definitely be an open one if it were to exist. Neither of them had ever been the monogamous type. “Watch your tongue. I’m using my latest winnings to buy your drinks.”

      “ fantastic, ” she said scathingly. with a tight smile, she all but sneered, “ have a great day. ” then, she turned on her heel and made her way through the crowd. even if she never saw him again in her life, it’d be far too soon. 

The sudden turn on her heel did momentarily surprise him and he sensed what he had just seen as banter had deeply irritated her. “A very mature way to end a conversation.” He called after her with a laugh. And people said he was immature.

His suspicion was correct – she didn’t even notice him until he reached out and touched her, at which point Khai gave a slight startled jump and looked up to meet his eyes. She relaxed immediately upon recognizing him, of course, and was rather relieved. Leo was welcome company, in part because she hadn’t seen him so long, but also because he was very good at distracting her when she needed it. “Always, darling,” she replied, the interaction so familiar that she actually began to feel like herself again with each word she spoke. “You’re buying, though. It’s only fair, considering I just arrived yesterday. It can be my homecoming gift from you.” Khailee even managed a ghost of her usual smirk as she linked her arm through his.

She seemed to quickly snap out of whatever had been bothering her, although Leo was not entirely convinced that she was fine. He wasn’t the best person to comfort someone or find solutions for their problems, but he made for a good distraction and maybe that was just what she needed. “Now I see why all of your friends have money,” Leo teased as he linked her arm and headed out to the street. “So you never have to buy any drinks because you can talk everyone else into buying them for you.”

       she can literally feel her teeth grind together as he tries to lecture her. she had felt guilt earlier enchanting the vendor, but all she feels is soiled mood thanks to leo’s self-righteousness. “ sir, ” she starts fiercer than usual, “ you do not know me. there is no reason for me to explain myself to you. i can hardly explain to you why this man is disproving your entire existence by showing me kindness. who cares about their motive if they’re helping someone else ??  ”

He was growing tired of this lecturing. He was evidently not going to convince her and she was certainly not going to convince him, and it wasted breath for both of them to try and convince the other. “We will agree to disagree. Arguing in circles will not get us anywhere.” It had lost any slight amusement or point that he had gotten out of it already.

Her family was dead or gone. She’d abandoned her betrothed in Kradaeca, unwilling to lead a life as a married woman once more. She had no money left and was now concealing it by pretending to live her old life – dressing in her usual clothes, carrying herself like a rich woman, doing everything just right to throw suspicion off instead of confronting her own shame at her now being poor and helpless. Khai had been living her own little lie for the majority of the day, but now that night had fallen and she was once again facing the reality of not having anywhere to sleep, she found the facade beginning to crumble. She stood staring out a nearby window without actually seeing anything and tried to maintain her grip on her emotions, refusing to break in such a public space. Khailee would get through this, one way or another.

It had been too long since he had seen his friend - with all of the travelling and general calamity, they had not had the chance to interact, and Leo had stumbled upon Khailee now purely by chance. She seemed so lost in her own world that he doubted she noticed his approach until he tapped her on the shoulder. “Why are you standing alone when there are pubs to crawl?” Although he was not usually one for caring or kindness in any fashion, he did have a soft spot for Khailee that he would deny if anyone asked him about it. “Or is drinking copious amounts of wine not enough to put a smile on your face?”

the more condescending he got, the more quietly furious she became. “you don’t seem to know how not to be an arrogant prick. hide behind weapons? it is not hiding. if you cannot see their use than you are not only arrogant, but blind as well. twist the knife out of my hand? try twisting an arrow out of your arm. and… opponents? really? you are delusional. this is not a prize fight!”

“That’s because I am an arrogant pick. You can’t change your nature, and I see no point in pretending to be something I’m not.” But after that, he just let her tire herself out with her ranting. “It’s very easy to piss you off isn’t it?” Even as she had gotten angrier, Leo’s voice had remained the same constant, slightly amused tone.

“it’s as if you can’t see i’ve a bow. i’ve a knife, too, by the way. and i am of half a mind to use it on you.” she didn’t make a move to, though. stabbing a stranger somehow didn’t seem like something she could get away with, and so if it wasn’t absolutely necessary… besides, she could always just hurl her apple core at his face. “you say you know your skills but talk like you know nothing.”

“The type who hides behind weapons, I see.” He used them himself, but only when necessary. He believed everyone had to be reliant upon themselves first, and resort to additional weaponry only if needed. “You could try, but I could just twist the knife out of your hand. You should assess your opponents better before making threats.” If he did end up provoking her into an attack, the odds were that her anger would cloud some of her judgement. Maybe not, if she had a good head on her shoulders but he would take that bet. “Some things I know, some things I don’t. Is that not the nature of everyone? Or are you claiming to have knowledge of all skills that can possibly be acquired?”

         there was no way to get him to leave her alone without her telling him the truth. however, she didn’t let up. “ you’d be surprised how many people would be willing to extend a helping hand. ” she shook her head with a sigh. “ i can’t believe i have to explain the concept of kindness to you. ”

“And you were in need of free fruit more than someone else?” Knowing the life of being homeless and starving, if he had seen a stallholder giving free produce to someone with money in their pockets and a roof over their heads, he wouldn’t have seen that as kindness, but just another indication that people did not like to see those like him - it was like being invisible. “Perhaps because there’s no such thing as true kindness. People never do a good deed for purely selfless reasons.”

        purnelle rolled her eyes at the man, unwilling to reveal her secret to him. she hardly spoke of her powers to her brothers– of course she wouldn’t dare tell this stranger before any of them. “ if this is how you treat strangers, it’s no wonder no one is kind to you. ” flashing leo a sharp look, purnelle crossed her arms. “ if you just asked nicely, perhaps someone would indulge you. ”

“I wasn’t talking about myself.” He made enough that he didn’t have to think about stealing food - those days of his life were over. But there were plenty of citizens who were close to starvation and yet she was the one provided with free goods. “You expect me to go up to a hardworking farmer and ask him to please give me free produce for no reason other than politeness?”

it took some doing, but she managed to ignore the urge to hit him in the face, or stab him in the arm, or throw an apple at him. “a charming smile will get you nothing from me. and your smile is not so charming. you should work on it.” she sighed. “don’t you have better things to do than stand there acting like a fool?”

“Yes I can see that.” Perhaps his charms might have worked if she had been in a better mood, but Leo was smart enough to know that she was too annoyed to succumb to any of his wiles. “But the insult is not necessary. I know my own skills and just because they don’t work on you doesn’t mean they don’t work at all. Besides, now I can see I’m irritating you, it gives me something amusing to do for the time being.”