Blind Dates: Farius and Sisara

[Farius Masello]

[[Woah, look at us being late and all. Better late than never.]]

Why do I need to go on a blind date, of all things? I can walk up to a girl and already be in her dress. Still, whatever Odelina said...so odd that she would set anything up for Farius. That bridge was burned a long time ago. Before the wall...before a lot of things. Whatever, Farius, just go with it. He walked up to the table and sat down opposite Odelina, looking around at the familiar tavern sights. When his eyes passed the bar, he instinctually started to rise to join the other patrons at his usual spot but reminded himself immediately that wasn't why he was here.

"If you walk out of here, I'll have your hide, Masello," Odelina said casually. "You're staying, no matter who takes my place on this side of the table. Deal?"

"Yeah, whatever." Farius reclined and gestured to Elise to get his usual drink, adding a 'small' gesture for a half pint after seeing Odelina flare up. "Chill out, it's just a drink."

With that, Odelina rose and made to leave. "Stay planted in that chair, Masello." That wasn't a problem until Sisara took her place.

[Sisara]

Sisara didn’t understand why she had to go through this ordeal. A blind date of all things! Why, just why? It wasn’t necessary. She wasn’t interested in dating and she had her reasons why she had been on her own for quite a while now.

She had argued long and hard, but in the end, none of it had mattered and she could have talked until her lips had shrivelled up completely, it wouldn’t have changed Odelina’s mind. So for the sake of giving her friend the pleasure of thinking she had done something good, Sisara finally agreed on the blind date.

After a little fussing, she had decided to try and stay as normal as possible but left out the usual adornment of swords strapped to her back. She still wore the bracers and leather straps around her arms. If whoever this guy was couldn’t deal with it, then at least this would all be over quickly.

Fighting her hair up into a ponytail, a few wild strands still escaping despite all her efforts, she threw down the brush, huffed at her image in the mirror in annoyance, grabbed some money and walked out without a second glance.

When she arrived at the tavern, she bumped into Odelina just outside the door. The woman winked at her and motioned to a table where a lone figure was seated. Sisara nodded and headed towards the man who had his back to her, wondering why the shape seemed so familiar. And then it hit her...

“Farius?!” Sisara took Odelina’s place at the table but looked at her friend questioningly, not understanding. “Are you waiting for someone? I thought Odelina had...”
A panicked look towards the door showed her that the woman in question was long gone. Sisara’s eyes wandered back to Farius. “What’s going on?”

[Farius Masello]

"That conniving bitch." Farius just crossed his arms and shook his head. Then he cocked a half-smile and said, "Hi there, beautiful. I'm Farius, Farius Masello. What would you like to drink? I can get Elise to bring you whatever you want." He took his (pitifully small) half-pint from Elise as he spoke. "Good timing, Elise, my date just got here," he added, speaking in her general direction but keeping his eyes on Sisara. "Get her whatever, it's on my tab."

[Sisara]

Sisara’s eyebrows shot into the air when Farius suddenly acted as though they had never met before. At first she didn’t know how to react, but then she cracked a grin herself and responded in kind.

“Sisara Kasabian. Nice to meet you, sweetheart.”
It was oddly disconcerting to have his eyes focused on her at all times, even when he was talking to Elise and generally her friend didn’t miss a chance to chat up the barmaids, even if he had been in their dresses before. Good relations with the right kind of people never went amiss. But having him call her his date was making her feel very odd.

“Would you be so kind as to bring me a pint..” - she eyed Farius glass curiously and grinned – “half a pint, I mean, as well? Thank you.” When Elise had scampered off to fulfil the order, she cocked her head to the side and looked at his drink again – anything not to have to deal with him looking at her. “Interesting choice in beverage. Not much of a drinker, are you?”
Might as well keep up the game.

[Farius Masello]

"I'm in here often enough, but I wouldn't call myself a heavy drinker. Have to keep my sobriety when I'm on duty, eh?" Farius was pleased with his little game. Elise came back with the drink, and Farius almost caught himself winking at her. He settled for a nod of thanks and returned to Sisara. This certainly was odd, but Farius relished the challenge. It was a different sort from the norm; he felt detached from the usual bed-banter.

"And you? I see you're not afraid of the brew. But you don't look like someone who'd frequent a place like this."

[Sisara]

“So are you on duty now?” Sisara asked, looking shyly up at him. The look was partially an act, partially she really was shy all of a sudden. What the hell were they doing? What was all this? They shouldn’t be faking being on a date. This wasn’t them.

When Elise brought her drink, Sisara smiled briefly at the girl before she returned her focus on Farius. “You’re right. On both accounts. I’m neither afraid of a good drink nor am I one to frequent this kind of place. Not often in any case. Though I do spend more time in them than I’d sometimes like. Ah well, the things you do for friends, eh?”
With a wink in his direction, she lifted her glass and held it out to him to chink. “To a hopefully pleasant evening.”

[Farius Masello]

"No, sweetheart, I'm not on duty. They don't let me talk to the cute ones when I'm on patrol." Farius leaned back with his drink and took a large sip, trying to pace himself. He didn't yet have a plan. That's always the rule: one round of drinks, then you have to shake it up. But how do I do that? This isn't some street merchant's daughter. Farius contemplated his course of action (oh, how he loved this game and was so afraid at the same time...exhilirating) as he looked across the plain of battle at the guard, the friend sitting opposite him. He couldn't help himself.

Ah, those loose locks of hair Sisara could never could quite capture captivated Farius. He smiled at her. Not his devious, devilish, sarcastic, self-satisfied smirk that was his trademark, but a sincere smile, one that slowly grew into a toothy chuckle. He sighed to himself, content in his game and his night and his company...Wait. Stop there. Not another breath, Masello. What are you doing? This is Sisara, your sister, your better half. Then the inevitable rebuttal came: Yknow what else they call your better half. The second voice cackled with glee and self-amusement. Alright, time for some fresh air. This isn't going to work. I haven't even finished a half-pint and I'm stuck.

"Hey, I've got an idea," Farius said, chipping absently at a knot in the coarse timber of their table with a fingernail. "I'm here every night of my life, and you're here often enough, too. What do you say we find someplace else to talk? Nowhere in particular, just walk and see where we end up, yeah?" He tried his best to sound nonchalant, but the smirk finally made an appearance. And though he wore it just as he had for years on end, it felt different tonight. Farius himself felt different tonight.

[Sisara]

Despite herself and despite knowing that Farius was only playing a role, she couldn’t help but blush. She wanted to say something, anything, no matter what it was to make herself feel less nervous about this whole endeavour but neither or brain nor her mouth wanted to work properly. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? It was Farius after all! She had known the guy practically all her life. He was like a brother to her. She should be able to talk to him. And yet...

When Farius then went ahead and smiled at her, really smiled at her, Sisara could feel herself crumble. Had he always looked this handsome when he’d smiled? Or had she just grown so used to the one he was practically constantly wearing on his face when in the presence of women that she hadn’t even remembered what his real smile was like?

The colour in her cheeks grew and she lowered her eyes to look into the depths of her drink before he noticed it. Or maybe before he realised just how dark her blush had grown. She should stop this. Right there and then. She should get up, excuse herself and go home before... Before what exactly? Spending an evening with Farius? She hadn’t spent time with him, alone with him in so long and she missed him, but she could never really tell him that.

His words cut through her thoughts and she looked up expectantly. Listening to his plan, a smile tugged at the corners of her lips though she tried to hide it. “I like your plan!” It didn’t escape her that he was busying his fingers but she didn’t comment on it nor did she let her gaze linger on his hands. If it weren’t too noticeable, she’d be doing it too. Luckily, she had her hands folded around her glass, which she promptly picked up and downed in a few quick gulps. Maybe that would help with her nerves.

“Ready when you are.” This time she couldn’t hide the smile on her face, or the twinkle in her eyes.

[Farius Masello]

It was time for Farius to think on his feet. Literally. He rose and offered his arm to Sisara, trying at least to be a gentleman to his best friend. This has to be nerve-wracking for her, too. He breathed a silent sigh of relief when she took his arm and rose with him. The relief went quickly away when her arm wrapped around his. Sis had called his bluff and raised big time. "I would ask where you would like to go, but if I recall, the point was that we don't know. So, shall we set out?"

The pair (can't say couple, don't say couple) walked out into the fresh evening. The sun had just set and the last wisps of daylight mingled with the flickering of street lanterns in so lovely a painting that not even the crumbled ruins of the wall could mar its beauty. It truly was a magnificent evening. That calmed Farius' nerves a bit. Just go with the flow, Farius. You've been out together with Sisara Kasabian more than any other person in this sanity-forsaken town. Don't go losing your own sanity. Farius tried as hard as possible not to lead, because he knew he couldn't keep himself from walking somewhere particular. He knew this town too well. Too well.

For the barest flash of a moment, Farius had a vision of taking Sisara away; no more bombs, no more Guard, no more reputations or inhibitions. Just the two of them. Not only are you going off the deep end, you're an idiot, Farius.

I blame Odelina.

[Sisara]

Charming! Sisara was almost surprised when Farius offered his arm but she didn’t comment, instead merely followed his lead and let him guide her through the tables and out of the tavern. She smiled when he kept talking, unable to respond herself for the time being. For some reason, her heart was in her throat and she was very close to starting to pray that he would not hear her incredibly rapid heart beat.

Why was she so nervous? What was going on? This was Farius. She knew him! There was nothing to be nervous about. They were merely going for a walk. Nothing was going to happen. They were friends and had been set up by a mutual friend as a joke. Nothing more. Nothing more.

The setting was surprisingly romantic all of a sudden. Sisara had never looked upon Marn as a particularly beautiful city but as they were walking through its streets now with the sunlight dying around them and lanterns flickering to life all around them, she couldn’t help but realise that maybe the place wasn’t quite so bad, that maybe there was something beautiful and romantic to be found here.

Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of such silly thoughts. Since when had she been looking for romance? Never. Why should she start now? Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

Nevertheless, she leaned in a little closer than she absolutely had to, still keeping her arm linked with his, hoping that he didn’t mind.

“We’re quite lucky that it’s such a lovely evening,” she finally said, instantly mentally flogging herself for starting to talk about the weather. Weather, really? Did they seriously have nothing else to talk about? ‘You know him, Sis. Come on! You can do better than this!’ Why couldn’t she just talk about something normal? Why couldn’t she just get over herself and tell him that she missed spending time with him?

“I mean, imagine you’d have had to take your date on a stroll under the pouring rain… Ahm… I mean…” Feeling stupid, Sisara stopped. “Never mind. You probably wouldn’t do that. I’m sorry.” ‘Splendidly done. Embarrass yourself. Way to go!’

[Farius Masello]

Farius didn't know quite how to respond, but he was glad Sisara was as lost as he was, in an odd way. And as malformed and abnormal of a date it was, it was the first of its kind he had been on since...well, since a lot happened. Farius needed something to do, to keep from running off in fear, from crawling within his own skin, from grabbing that woman who just brushed past him with the freckles on her breasts and taking her someplace dark, from dropping Sisara and going back to the tavern to drink himself into a stupor, from grabbing Sis and kissing her and holding her, from going insane at how different life was from a few months ago.

There we go, Farius thought in a mix of desperation and relief. Sisara's favorite food stall, right there in the market. It was small, but it had been around forever, for as long as Farius could remember. The quirky old man who owned the stall smiled at Sisara's approach, and Farius beside her didn't counteract his cheer as much as he thought it would. "Evening, sir, hope you weren't quite going home yet." He knew the old man wasn't going home; he typically stayed until midnight talking with his two friends, who always brought mild drink and the day's gossip with them.

Eyeing among the various entremets the small mince pies the old man was known for, Farius added, "I'll take a pair of those mince pies off your hands." Farius knew exactly how much he owed and counted out the bishani in his head as he fetched them one-handed from the satchel on his left hip. He offered the first to Sisara and took the second for himself. They weren't hot, of course, but that didn't matter. They were delicious and anything to get Farius' mind off what he was doing was welcome.

"Need to find a place to sit down and enjoy these, yeah?"

[Sisara]

At the sight of the food stall, Sisara briefly forgot that she was nervous and a broad smile appeared on her lips. She had barely registered the people they had crossed in the streets, or where they had been heading, instead focusing on not embarrassing herself further with childish talk and trying not to stumble over her feet in the nerve-racking state she was in.

Sisara thanked the man warmly before she took the offered mince pie from Farius. And she hadn’t even had to tell him what she wanted. What a blessing it was to be out with someone who actually knew what she liked to eat instead of her either having to refuse like a silly girl or ending up stuck with food she disliked, yet having to fake the contrary.
‘Yes, silly, of course he knows what you like. He’s known you since forever!’
With the smell of the mince pie in her nose, Sisara didn’t listen to the voice in her head however. It didn’t matter.

“Mmh,” Sisara agreed when Farius suggested finding a place to sit and she let her eyes roam over the market as they walked away from the stall before her gaze came upon a small alley leading off from the market towards the park. Small might be an understatement as it was barely wide enough for one person to fit through but it would be a bit of a shortcut.
“The park would have benches. Too cliché?” she asked, cocking her head to the side with an almost mocking smile. Nodding towards the pies, she added: “These aren’t hot anyway so a little walk shouldn’t do them any harm. What do you say?”

Maybe going to the park wasn’t the best idea as they would most likely end up being dangerously alone but at least it would be comfortable to sit, and they could talk like Farius had suggested in the first place. And this hopefully without interruption. Though of course the idea of talking suddenly made her bite her lip, to keep from shivering nervously.

Ignoring her inner voice yelling protests at her, and safe in the knowledge that her friend probably felt just as jittery as she did, if their previous awkward silence was anything to go by, Sisara grabbed Farius’ hand. “Come on.” With another smile and without waiting for an actual response, she simply lead him towards the alley, headed towards the park.

[Farius Masello]

Farius smiled again, but inwardly so. Here the pair of them were, twice the age they were when first they met, and yet acting (and feeling, at least on his own part) like they were still that age. Farius had hardly looked twice at the alley Sisara had designated their route, but now...Kids...Alley...toward the park? Oh, shit. Farius stopped in his tracks. "Sis, look at this. Look at this. Does this look familiar?" He had been at the threshold of the alley, but now he backpedaled, taking in the whole area. Farius' jaw slacked a bit in amazement.

Here they were...kids again...in the place they first met. "Tooth was here, and so was Wulf. There were...a couple more." Farius scratched the nape of his neck, straining to remember the fine details. "I found you by accident. They were going to...I hit them. I took you to..." Farius rushed past Sisara and into the alley, following the ghostly echoes of himself and his best friend to an old, run-down back door that led to an equally as old and abandoned-looking residence. "My grandparents. They let us stay. Do you remember?" he said, turning quickly to face Sisara and feeling no more shame for this outing.

[Sisara]

Sisara hadn’t exactly forgotten but it was a memory she desperately tried to keep far away in the dark corners of her mind. But it hadn’t even occurred to her that this... that this was the place. Her nervousness and giddiness evaporated as suddenly as they had appeared when she had first realised that she had been set up on a date with Farius.

When her friend halted in his steps and began pointing out the obvious she should have known as well, her stomach started cramping up. The memory he was bringing forth may have been the worst as well as the best day of her life all mashed into one. Only she didn’t want to think about the worst part. It had been so long since she’d thought of it.

And now... Now there was no more escaping it.

“I remember,” she whispered, keeping her eyes to the ground and suddenly hesitating to walk into the alley. How many times had she taken this shortcut without remembering? How many times had she expressly not taken it because she had felt that it wasn’t a day she could not have stopped the memory from eating at her?

Sisara let her arms helplessly drop to her sides, barely holding on to the meat pie anymore. She had lost her appetite with the onrush of the memory.

‘That day... They had come so close...’ “If you hadn’t...” Her voice broke off, barely above a whisper anyway, and she wasn’t even sure Farius could hear her.
“If you hadn’t...,” she started again only to stop again, almost choking on the knot in her throat. She could feel the sting of tears in her eyes and blinked fiercely to keep them from spilling over. ‘I am not going to cry. I am not going to cry!’

[Farius Masello]

"You're right, if I hadn't. But I did." And Farius, not able to bear the sight of Sisara's sorrow any longer, wrapped his arms around her neck, his forearms resting on her shoulders and his hands cradling her head. With a stern face, he said softly, "And that's all that matters. And I'm serious, Sisara and Farius are the only two people who matter in my life. Marn can rot. The Guard can rot. Odelina and Evard and Ferric and Camulous can go die in a rat-infested hole before you come to harm. I've lived in this hellhole my entire life and it's never given anything back to me. What I've had I've taken for myself, and I have my share of scars to show for it. But I wouldn't have made it this far without you, Sisara. You think I saved your life here where we're standing, all those years ago. But you really saved me. I'd be dead in a gutter or worse without you and I fucking love you, Sisara Kasabian."