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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 27, 2012 21:05:29 GMT -5
Narye never really consider his own name... in any way. But if this young woman said that it fit then he guessed it was an appropriate name for him. Though he didn't think it stood for anything. More importantly, however, Narye had been thoroughly enraptured in the way she visibly enunciated his name, watching her lips and tongue move as it rolled out of her mouth. That was actually something he had to stop himself from staring at.
He had better things to watch as well, like the young lady revealing her full face to him. He was greeted with a lovely visage and a better view of her differently-colored eyes. She definitely had a face that could be called "pretty", and not in a condscending way. She was pretty.
"... Saaga..."
Repeating what she did, Narye repeated her name in a whisper to get a taste for her name as well. Saaga was a name he had never heard before, it was unique and memorable. Without saying anything more, Narye's hand came up and brushed away a stray feather that she had missed, letting his fingers brush against her cheek.
"I dunno... I, for one, am pretty pleased to meet you right now..."
Saaga's lean was mirrored by Narye, whom also leaned forward towards his dance partner, bringing their faces pretty close together. So close that he could almost feel her breath on him.
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Post by Saaga Sun on Jul 27, 2012 22:00:50 GMT -5
She liked the way he said her name in that low pleasant voice. If truth be told she could have spent the remainder of the evening just listening to him speak about anything. Even though Saaga preferred to be addressed by her given name, at work she was either Miss Sun or ‘blasted woman’ and when her friends called her by name it didn’t have quite same ring to it.
When he reached his hand towards her face, Saaga’s first reaction was to raise her hand to wipe her cheek, but instead she ended up brushing her hand against his. She instantly pulled it back to her lap, trying not to look too awkward about it. She glanced sideways about the room and took note of people passing their bench and nodding at their direction muttering some secrets she was not privy to.
Returning her attention back to Narye she was almost startled to see him leaning closer and at first she was half expecting him to kiss her. But he didn’t. Huh…
She pursed her lips into a thoughtful pout for a moment, only for it to melt away in favor of a sneaky smile not too long after. She licked her lips carefully and looked straight on into Narye’s eyes right as she blew a thin breath of warm air on his mouth.
So maybe she was poor at reading a situation or noticing when a person was putting the moves on her, but in her own way Saaga knew how to tease people. After living with five other people in a single room apartment for a few years, she pretty much excelled at it. She was especially fond of blowing air into someone’s ear while they slept and it was all the more satisfying if the person was sleeping late.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 27, 2012 22:34:17 GMT -5
For Narye, an eternity felt had passed from when he had leaned-in to Saaga and awaited her reaction. He fully remembered this kind of tense of moment. A kiss seemed like the most obvious reaction for when two people had their lips so close together and a specific kind of tension was hanging in air, but when Narye just let them hang that, he was giving the final move to his partner, in this case Saaga.
He wasn't fully expecting her to go the final distance and make contact, though he was pretty certain she would. The time and the moment seemed right for it. In fact, it looked like she was about to when she wetted and pouted her lips.
When the resulting action was a teasing breath of warm air on him from a devious little smirk, Narye's initial reaction was nothing. He remained where he was until his expression started to crack and he had lean away from her so he wasn't giggling right in her face. Turning back to face her, she would see that he wasn't disappointed or anything. He simply looked amused.
"Well then aren't you just a playful one?
If there was one thing he would always like about a woman, it was a sense of wry humor, perhaps even a sense of coy playfulness. Saaga definitely had something like that, and it excited him.
After gulping down the rest of his wine, he placed the glass on the armrest of the bench, hoping someone wouldn't knock it over later. Then he jumped up to his feet, pulled his mask back down over his face, and reached a hand out to Saaga.
"What's say we get that last dance in, Saaga?"
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Post by Saaga Sun on Jul 28, 2012 11:42:36 GMT -5
Saaga was relieved to see the man burst into a fit of laughter, instead of taking offense at her playing around with him. Truth be told she had been expecting a very different reaction but she was glad he proved her wrong in this. His amusement was contagious and she found herself giggling right alongside him giving the waiters cause to roll their eyes when they passed their bench in search of empty glasses and plates. Watching others drink and have fun while they had to work and keep the guests content must’ve been very taxing.
“I try,” she replied to Narye, feigning modesty by her tone of voice, though her happy grin was a stark contrast to any sort of humility. She did not really mean to appear boastful, what she said was just more of the same joke.
She slipped a hand inside her obi and pulled out a small embroidered napkin she used to wipe her forehead before putting the mask back on. Their previous bout of dancing had made her sweat a little and sitting on the bench for a while and cooling off was making her skin feel cold and sticky. Of course it was only a natural side effect of exercise but nonetheless thoughts of plunging herself into a hot bath were starting to get more pervasive in her mind.
“Sure, let’s do that,” she agreed to his request and folded the napkin before placing it back inside her belt. She hopped to her feet and took his hand, using him as a steady support while she put on her sandals. Then she’d let him lead her back to the dance floor. This time the band was starting to play a slower tune, which Saaga found disappointing. She much preferred the faster, energetic songs which allowed for more movement and less physical contact.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 28, 2012 12:48:44 GMT -5
This time around, Narye was less talkative during their dance, preferring to enjoy the closeness of the slow dance. Still, it wasn't like he was being lazy with ther dance either, he lead her through the moves as the music dictated it and even gave her a spin or two when it seemed most appropriate. Every time he looked down at Saaga, he was smiling and his eyes glistened with genuine happiness from behind the mask.
Narye never would have predicated that he would be enjoying this evening quite the way that he actually was. At best, he thought it would be an evening of random small talk with random people and women before they went off to do their own thing. Maybe he would get the chance to dance with a woman before she went off. The point was, Narye would be by himself most of the evening. But actually connecting with someone, a little at least, like this was a very pleasant surprise.
As much as the age difference had bothered him before, it was hardly registering in his mind now. It was still there, but he seemed to no longer care. She was an adult and he was an adult and she quite capable of taking care of herself. Why should he be worried?
"So, Miss Saaga, do you feel goin' somewhere more private?"
Narye spoke in that same low tone that he had used when he first reiterated her name, with a mischievious little grin on a his face too.
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Post by Saaga Sun on Jul 28, 2012 15:13:35 GMT -5
Despite her initial disappointment in the band’s choice of music, Saaga found it was very hard to stay vexed when her partner was spinning her around and being genuinely happy and entertained. That made her smile as well and helped her relax somewhat. No matter how casual and confident she tried to be, there was that bit of nerves nagging away inside her. Even more reason why she was happy to notice she was getting more comfortable with him.
She had expected to spend the party trying to sneak into conversations and waiting for Aya to be done with her conquest. She had not expected her to be so insincere towards her, that she would actually leave her behind. But she supposed it had all turned out for the best; Aya could have her fun and Saaga was able to meet Narye and enjoy herself.
And then he asked her the question.
At first she just blinked at him, her mouth slightly open and unable to give him an answer. It was all fine and good to be dancing and talking with him here where there were lots of people around. But in somewhere more private as he had put it, she’d be completely at his mercy. Not that she wanted to believe he’d do anything untoward to her, but she could not help being a little distrustful towards a person she’d only just met.
But when she thought about declining him and going home instead she became hesitant. She really did not want to go back to that hole, where it was crowded and hot and she had to sleep on an old futon next to five other people. The thought of it made her skin crawl. She’d rather sleep on a park bench with a newspaper for a blanket than go home where she had no privacy and no chance for peace and quiet.
“Well…yes. Where do you propose we go then?” she answered him at last, her pulse quickening. This could turn out to be one her more stupid decisions.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 28, 2012 15:46:04 GMT -5
Narye, in a change of pace, craned his head upwards to gaze at the sky. It was dark, yet clear. The lights of the Ball were drowning out most of the stars, but it was still a nice sight before he looked back down at Saaga.
"Well, it's still a nice night. So lets go for a bit of a walk."
With one last spin to end their dance, Narye took Saaga gently by the hand and made his way toward the exit with her, hopefully, by his side. As they passed under the lighted archway that was the main entrance to the Ball, Narye removed his mask by pulling it down and allowing it to just hang around his neck. Though it was probably expected that the streets would have a couple of tipsy Ball-goers still in their masks roaming the streets, Narye didn't intend on being one of them.
He also didn't intend on being the threat that Saaga may have perceived him to be. Her initial silence told of her anxiety and her nervousness of his question. From there Narye knew he had to be careful and gentle because there was no way he was going to let the young woman think he was some creep.
The place he lead her was a nearby wooded section of the City Park. They walked down the path, dimly lit by street lamp along the side. Here the stars were much brighter and easier to see.
"You can relax, y'know. I'm not going to hurt you, or do anythin' you wouldn't want me to."
He shot her a smile before stopping and turning to face her, holding both of her hands in his.
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Post by Saaga Sun on Jul 28, 2012 17:14:55 GMT -5
Saaga followed Narye out of the Ball and glanced behind one more time to appreciate the colorful clamor of party goers. Then she slid the mask off her face and for a moment she considered throwing it away. She didn’t though; no matter how ugly, it was still a gift and she didn’t feel comfortable slighting Aya just because she had poor taste in masks as well as men. She let the mask hang from her neck, feeling some of the loose feathers making their way inside the back of her outfit. She had to wonder if the mask would have any of those left, come morning.
Even though the Masquerade Ball had been held outdoors the mass of people and continuous exercise had made her feel rather warm and dizzy even. Now that she’d gotten away from the crowd she welcomed the fresh air and space around her. She felt the warmth of Narye’s hand on hers and looked at him thoughtfully thinking whether he was in the habit of picking up other women he did not know and taking them for walks. He was easy on the eyes after all and she had no difficulty imagining why women would find him attractive. It was more out of curiosity than anything else and having considered it she stashed the thought in some secret corner of her mind and continued walking.
She turned her attention to the stars and reminisced of the time she’d been a child and her father had taken her to the continent. During one such night as this, he’d let her sit on his shoulders and they’d named the constellations together. Somehow it felt like it had happened ages ago, to someone else completely unrelated to her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be suspicious of you,” she started as they stopped though what she was thinking was: “I didn’t mean for you to notice I’m being suspicious of you.”
“It just doesn’t hurt to be a little careful. This city can be a scary place sometimes. But I do want to trust you,” she finished, returning his smile. She looked at her hands, which had completely disappeared inside his and then she closed the gap between them, pressing her forehead against his chest. He felt warm and she could hear his heartbeat.
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Post by Narye Matsuya on Jul 28, 2012 17:51:49 GMT -5
There was a bit of understanding for her suspicion for him. Though they had danced together and knew each other's names, he was still a bit of an unknown man that she had only known for one evening. No one would blame her for feeling that way, and some would even encourage her to be that way if not more so. However, another part of Narye was a slight bit offended that she was still wary of him. He had shown her a good night, right? And he's mostly been a gentleman so far. A small part of him pouted on the inside.
"Yeah. Gets scarier at night too I suppose..."
All of his little misgivings were extinguished when Saaga said that she wanted to trust him and pressed her head into his chest. It was such a small and adorable gesture. One that was met with Narye wrapping his arms around her and gently leaning his head on hers while swaying them both from side to side ever so slightly, like a tiny dance. She could probably hear his heartbeat speed up from the moment.
Alone together under the night sky, having just gotten from a fancy Ball, things were especially... romantic. Narye kind of wanted to avoid that word, but that generally summed-up the moment the best. It had been a long time since Narye had experienced that feeling, and he missed it.
"Saaga..."
After giving Saaga a gentle squeeze, he brought his head back up and raised Saaga's own head with a gentle hand. Looking into her eyes, he knew he wanted to do this. His head bent down and he brought his lips to hers in a gentle kiss.
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Post by Saaga Sun on Jul 28, 2012 19:04:31 GMT -5
Wrapped in Narye’s arms Saaga felt warm and a little drowsy, like she was a chick in a bird’s nest being lulled to sleep by the swaying of the tree branch. She listened to his heartbeat and smiled as it sped up. Such an honest reaction and it made her feel safer with him. She tried to remember when was the last time she’d had a genuinely happy moment or moment of physical closeness, which had nothing to do with guilt or sadness. She could not recall such a memory, choosing to root herself in the present and enjoying every second of that moment.
"Saaga..."
She really did like the way he said her name and looking into his eyes she felt like she could have drowned in them. Their shade of green made her think of meadows and how she’d roll around in the grass laughing and smelling like earth and swatting butterflies. When he bent over for a kiss, she did not refuse him.
She dug her fingers in his hair and rose to her toes, tip-toeing to try and narrow even some of their annoying height difference. His lips were soft and tasted sour and sweet, of wine and strawberries. When she eased into the kiss she could feel a fluttering in the pit of her stomach, like someone had just released a cage full of birds there.
Then she pulled off and looked at him, cheeks almost as red as her hair and eyes bright, almost as if she was a tad bit surprised at what had happened. She didn’t know what to say. Somehow nothing she could think of seemed appropriate, so she just stood there on her toes marveling the fact that she’d been rendered speechless.
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