Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 7, 2020 21:34:29 GMT
This lord - this dangerously insightful vampire - seemed to be able to peer right through Kendry's mask, and it made the mercenary's heart thud in a most disconcerting way. Despite the warnings to keep his tail tucked like a behaved guest, a smirk stretched across his face as he took a moment to gaze into Lord Sabal's eyes of infinity.
Before more words could be exchanged between the men, Basil's sweet voice broke his daring stare, and his leer softened as he looked to her. "I love to dance," he replied. "You'll have to forgive me, however - I am a bit rusty."
Turning to Lord Sabal once more, Kendry bowed his head respectfully. "Meeting you has been an honor, my Lord. Please excuse me - I grow weary of the judgmental staring about us and would like to help prove the humanity of your daughter to these…" A description for the nobles surrounding them did not come to mind as Ken lifted his head to meet the vampire's eyes. "These people."
He felt that the words he had chosen probably sounded odd or cocky to Basil and her father, but the weight of eyes focused on the vampire princess irked him. As if she's an animal to be gawked at. It is the lot of you who are the animals.
It was brave of the man to make eye contact with the vampire lord – most felt an instinctual unease doing so – but Basil could tell that her father was expecting the man’s bravery. The nobleman moved his narrow gaze to where his daughter’s hand rested on Kendry’s elbow, and the mercenary’s hand rested over hers.
It was in his nature to be suspicious, Kendry was a mercenary after all, and there was certainly a reason for his presence here tonight. “Please do go dance,” he smirked before stepping closer to the elemental and speaking quietly to him. ”But first, tell me – who is your intended target tonight?”
Although Lord Sabal spoke quietly enough to keep the average passer-by from hearing, Basil was standing close enough to catch the conversation with her enhanced hearing. ”I assume you have one, as is your profession. As much as I don’t like to get involved in mortal affairs – this is a celebration that I would prefer to keep friendly.” As much as Basil wanted to interrupt, she kept quiet. “My daughter will not be witness to any… shenanigans.”
She didn’t have to be looking to know the look her father was giving Kendry in that moment, a warning look, his face and tone of voice at its most serious. It was a combination that she had seen all of her life yet it still intimidated her. The questions she had running through her mind would have to wait until they hit the dancefloor. ’What does he mean, target? What profession? What kind of ‘shenanigans’ could possibly occur tonight? What could go wrong?’
Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 14, 2020 18:22:22 GMT
A pleasing shiver ran up Kendry's spine when the Lord Sabal drew near, the closeness of the vampire igniting a sense of welcome danger. He would not give an answer, but instead he thanked Basil's father, returning the smirk with sparks dancing in his eyes.
"Thank you, my Lord. With your permission, I will simply enjoy the festivities." Ignore the target, enjoy the dance. The mercenary felt relief, deciding to worry about his contract at a later time. What the vampire lord forced upon him was a gift indeed!
With a bow, Kendry eagerly led Basil onto the dance floor, attempting to suppress a chuckle that vibrated his upper body. "Your father is quite protective, not that I can blame him."In fact, I envy it."Whatever you heard, worry not over it - I'd rather dance with you than apprehend my target."
He moved his hand to take hold of Basil's, stepping away from her to stand opposite, dipping into a courteous bow. "May I have this dance, Lady Basil?"
The Lord Sabal seemed content enough with the mercenary’s answer, even if his direct question wasn’t answered. Before he and his vampire entourage departed to leave the pair to their dancing, he placed a light kiss on Basil’s forehead. She was still a little uneasy about the whole interaction, but found the small gesture of affection comforting, a content warmth settling through her.
”The mercenary will behave; for tonight. Find out who hired him, and who he’s here for.” Those were the words she could make out her father say to the group of men around him, before they all dispersed among the crowd. The hybrid found herself being pulled towards the dancefloor, and her attention was immediately shifted. Oh how she loved to dance!
Returning his bow with a smooth curtsy of her own, Basil tried to ignore the looks she and Kendry were now receiving as room was made around them on the floor. “Of course, kind sir.” Stepping into him as the music played, their dance beginning. "It seems you’ve created quite a buzz amongst my father’s men, not an easy feat, I assure you- he’s always been extremely protective of me, but I imagine that will only continue to increase now that I exist to the rest of the world."
She wasn’t about to let Kendry get away without answering some questions, however, the lady forever and unabashedly curious. “Tell me, Kendry…what exactly is it you do as a mercenary?”
Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 16, 2020 0:58:10 GMT
As they closed the distance between them, Kendry delicately took Basil's hand into his, his other reaching around to rest at her shoulder blade. It had been a while since he had gotten to dance properly, and he was grateful that his feet seemed to remember the steps when his brain refused to aid him.
"Oh, this and that," he answered the Lady Sabal, his gaze locked with hers as they swayed together. "I'm hired for different reasons, it just depends on the client." Ken debated over if he should admit to the contracts he had accepted that paid him to kill people. "Usually I am hired to escort merchandise, protect a person of importance, or, as with tonight, to apprehend someone - kind of like arresting except a wee bit outside of the law." He grinned stupidly, making the decision to keep quiet about the blood he has spilled.
"If I may ask, Basil, what exactly is it you do here in the manor?" He stepped back to allow room for his partner to twirl. "How do you occupy your time?"
As they danced, Basil’s stance mirroring that of Kendry’s, she couldn’t help but once again note just how warm he was where his skin touched her own. There was also a current of energy that she sensed ran underneath that skin, which energized her dance while the warm comfort of his hands kept her grounded. “Oh, that sounds exciting,” she responded to the mercenary’s description of his job, meaning every word. “A different assignment, a new job all the time.” Basil had experienced so many new things since becoming of age, even more than the usual noble lady, and kept an unwavering enthusiasm for each and every one of them. “You’re probably not going to tell me who it is you were *supposed* to arrest tonight then, huh? Not that I would know them anyway, most likely. It really is none of my business.” She asked with a playful smile - she was curious but polite, and made it clear that she did not truly expect an answer.
“As for me…” She loved to twirl, so when he gave her the room to do so she did it joyously, her movements displaying the grace that naturally came to her kind. When she rejoined her partner, she was laughing lightly. "I love to dance! Ever since I was born. But I mostly do a lot of reading. Or I stroll the gardens. Father has started to allow me to explore them further, and I do much prefer being outdoors, so I’ve been spending most of my time in the black rose garden recently.”
Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 19, 2020 20:00:32 GMT
Kendry let out an awed laugh as Basil twirled without hesitation, her movements so incredibly graceful as her hair and dress complimented her form. When she returned to him, his steps became more energetic, his grasp a little tighter. Her cool hand within his beckoned the energy within to enrich the dance with more zest. The elemental's previous concern of touch was washed away in the fun.
"A black rose garden?" he asked as they moved, adding more drama to their duet. "I can't say I've ever seen anything like that, and I've seen some dreary things in my lifetime."
The room spun about them, and Ken couldn't tell if others had joined them on the dance floor, or if they were just watching with those prying eyes. The mercenary spun himself to stand behind Basil, taking both of her hands into his and taking a moment to sway slowly, eyeing the crowd around them with a smirk plastered to his face.
Basil could feel the change in her partner’s energy when she came back to him, the current that ran underneath Kendry’s skin before now hummed forcibly against the palm of her hand. If she were something other than what she was she probably wouldn’t be able to feel it, but she had learned to tune her enhanced senses at a young age, currently the sense of touch taking over all the others. His skin was warm, and alive. The hybrid hummed happily along with the music when she wasn’t speaking, following his lead in the dance perfectly, using those enhanced senses once again to pick up on all of his small ques. “Oh, no, it’s not dreary at all!” she responded to his comment with an enthusiastic shake of her head and a lovely smile. “It’s really quite beautiful. You can't just grow black roses, you know. They require magic. Father apparently spared no expense finding someone that could do it. The garden was a gift for my mother, you see."
While that could turn a mood dreary, Basil didn’t see death that way, knowing first hand that there is such a thing as life after death – just perhaps not always on this earth. As Kendry maneuvered himself around her, she once again took his que, and took this time to look around the room and observe the crowd. Quite a few people had joined them on the floor and seemed to be enjoying themselves, but there were still those whose sole mission tonight seemed to be to stand on the sides and stare at the Lady (and by association, her partner).
Last Edit: Mar 21, 2020 4:13:12 GMT by Basil Sabal
Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 21, 2020 5:49:00 GMT
"Ah, it seems that your parents had shared a special bond!" Kendry's words were strained as they slipped from the grin that he wore, blurred images of his own mother and father threatening to intrude on his fun. To exorcise his personal demons, he maneuvered Basil into a second twirl, her bright blue eyes returning him to the present.
"And your mother," he pried, drawing near, "She is not attending tonight?" He had almost avoided asking Basil about her mother, the assortment of possible answers already playing out in his mind, nearly playing out in the way he danced with the half-breed girl.
The mercenary lead with quick and nimble steps, weaving through the other dancing pairs to subtly get a look at them. Though he was no longer focused on why he was there in the first place, he was still curious to see if his target had shown up at all. Black eyes danced along the room like an ill omen, but his hold on Basil remained almost innocent.
“Yes, my mother was a florist – I got my love of plants from her I’m sure. She’s out in the rose garden now.” Basil’s words were misleading it was true, but in her untarnished mind, her mother was indeed attending the event tonight. Perhaps not in person, but in spirit, her headstone (the only one to ever exist on the premises) buried deep in that black rose garden.
“Find who you are looking for yet?” she asked with a playful grin, having caught his eyes scanning the other dancers on the floor as they weaved through them, “All of the gardens are open tonight, you know. They could be taking a stroll outside. Guests usually like to.” She offered Kendry the information, helping him in his endeavor in what way she could, not knowing what exactly his endeavor even was.
The hybrid’s hummingbird heart beat ever rapidly, the blood flowing steadily under porcelain skin – this, in combination with the mercenary’s warm skin, and the number of bodies now moving around them, made a stroll in the cool outside air sound exactly like what she needed at the moment. She was much less bothered by the cold than she was heat. *A vampire trait, perhaps?* When the song slowed, and came to an end, she politely curtsied to her partner and joined in the clapping to show appreciation for their musicians. She then turned her head back to him in attempt for her ocean blue eyes to catch his flighty black ones. “Shall we?” Motioning towards the double doors at the back of room that led out into the gardens, she decided on the stroll whether or not Kendry accompanied her.
The young woman had never been around more than a handful of other beings at a time, and she found herself feeling something she could only describe as overwhelmed. Or was it anxious? Could it be both? It was so new, she was uncertain, never having felt her own heart beat quite so hard in her chest.
Post by Kendry Yildirim on Mar 24, 2020 2:26:37 GMT
"Oh?" Kendry was surprised by the inkling of relief he felt spreading inside his chest. So often were sons and daughters left without one or both parents, he had assumed the worst after seeing Lord Sabal without a woman by his side. How could he know the truth behind Basil's words?
"Mm, no," Kendry hummed in reply to her question. "The guy I'm looking for was presumed dead already, having disappeared out at sea about ten years ago." He lead them away from the other dancers. "I was offered a contract based off of a rumor," he scoffed, smirking slightly at the thought.
Reluctantly, Kendry drew back from Basil when the song ended, and he dipped into a bow, hiding his disappointment about the dance being over. He rose slowly as she clapped along with the crowd, a focused gaze watching her, sensing her unease. Again he offered her his elbow, slipping to her side. "We shall, if you don't mind leading me this time."
By this point in the evening, the mercenary was hoping his job wasn't sauntering about the manor or the gardens. He was enjoying his time with Basil, his mood brightened significantly from their dance. "I would love to meet your mother, Basil, if that is allowable." And he would love to get a grandeur at what a black rose garden looks like.