Skipping class

[Zana]

56th Ymiden, 718

"How yummy," Zana said, sitting up in bed and finishing the brunch they'd ordered up. As a general rule, this place didn't do room service, but they'd arrived here just after noon yestertrial and hadn't emerged yet and they'd eaten two full meals. Theo had paid them, Zana guessed and she looked at him with a lazy smile on her face. She'd pulled on his discarded shirt, mostly because she knew she looked adorable in it. "This probably isn't legally allowed to be called brunch you know. I think it was past breakfast by the time we fell asleep." Leaning back and craning her neck backwards, she looked out of the window she considered that it was probably early afternoon. "I missed class. Oh no." Standing, she walked over to the low table and considered carefully. "I think I prefer the bed by the window. Reminds me of home, the window seat." Wickedness twinkled in her eyes and Zana walked over to him, took his finished tray and deposited it next to hers. Then, like a child playing, she jumped on to the bed, standing on it for a trill and then dropping to a sitting position. Leaning forward, she kissed him and nestled into his arms.

"So, what did you think of the new ability? It's quite something, isn't it?" She asked, and looked at him with a grin. "Tempering it, that's been tricky because it has the potential to get completely out of hand. It's more difficult to do that with you, too." Because with him, she felt pleasure much more intensely, much more honestly. "But I think it could be a real moneymaker." The feeling of his arms around her, his hands on her was, as always, soothing to Zana and she rested against him. That they had missed each other, that they were happy to be reunited and that they shared something, some attachment which defied definition. Zana was content with knowing those things, and knowing that he knew them too. She had no need for repetition or fussing. That was just irritating.

"We need to make some decisions, dear heart," She sounded a little gloomy when she said it and she twisted slightly so that she was looking at him. "I would be most content to stay here and not move for a trial or two. Or, not leave here, anyhow. We'd do plenty of moving," But, she said, they needed to focus at least a little. Leaning forward so that she was more or less kneeling, she reached and fished out one of the cigarillos she knew he enjoyed after a meal. "There you go. I like the smell. So, what do we want to do? I have some suggestions," Of course she did. "You could, most genuinely, pose as my brother. We could spend our time getting in with the Viden nobility, the rich and shameless." Kissing his neck, she considered "You could become a business man, but not a brothel owner. Or a professor. We could be a pair of socialite siblings, you seeking to make a new business venture and gain a suitable match for your beloved sister. Maybe find yourself a wife while you're at it." Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him and smiled. "We could buy a house together and I could be the very epitome of dutiful sister all trial long." Her hand trailed down his chest and she looked up at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes. "And we'd have to be very careful. But it could be fun and, if we get bored there's apparently a magic gate to Scalvoris here, we can run."

Nestling into his arms, she considered, "Or, we could work from home again. You are a very good handler and you handle me very well. But it might be fun to do something else, you know?" Turning around so that she was kneeling opposite him, she smiled. "Would you like to be my protective big brother, Theo dearest?"

Every honey bee fills with jealousy, when they see you out with me
I'm much sweeter goodness knows. I'm your honeysuckle rose.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

"The letter of the law is for the peasants and for the chinless wonders of the world," Theo drawled lazily while setting his emptied tray aside. "I prefer a looser interpretation. Much more profitable, and a lot more enjoyable," he added as he leaned forward, reached out and flicked loose the top tie strand of her shirt. Or rather his shirt. He had to admit it looked better on her. The inn's cook had done herself proud, and the girl who'd been delivering their tray had been more than agreeable. He'd made sure of it by leaving a little extra something for her when she returned to collect the empty tray, and what a few coins didn't accomplish, a wink and a compliment did.

If she liked the bed by the window, he told Zana as she curled into his arms, it was hers. Or they could push them together so long as they were sharing the room. "I'd hoped for better accommodations to be honest," he admitted with a critical look around the room. "But it appears that as long as you're renting, it's as good as it gets." At least where actual inns were concerned. Someone really ought to do something about that. A better class of accommodations. And what did he think of the new ability? Snorting in amusement and pulling her closer, more fully against him, Theo kissed her, lingering and deep, and growled, nipped at her bottom lip when it was done. "You have to ask? I think I might have sprained something important."

Things had almost gotten out of hand, and clearly there was a learning curve involved. Practice, practice, practice, he whispered in her ear. But it was also a talent that, just as she implied, could turn out to be a very lucrative one. When the subject turned to their future, however, Theo pushed himself up into a seated position, pillows propping him up and he took a few trills to light the cigarillo she'd handed him. And then a few trills more to savor the flavor of the fine tobacco. "I've shown up with no responsibilities left behind me, no plans for the future," he said when Zana revealed that she had some thoughts, so far as the future was concerned. "Eventually I'll run out of nels."

That the money wouldn't last, that was a given. Theo wasn't the sort to live plainly or simply and neither was Zana. And they also knew, both of them, that most of the time you had to spend money to make money. "I think I could put that off," he said. Posing as her loving brother, engaging in all sorts of profitable business, rubbing elbows with the well connected and better off. "There can't be any of that however," he growled when Zana nuzzled his neck. "At least not in public. Not unless Viden is more like Rymere that way, than not."

To pose as a professor however would require him to actually know the subject he was to be teaching. And there were things that he lacked, such as earned credits and documents. Those things would have to be forged, and forged well. All in all, that particular scenario he thought was too full of tripwires and pitfalls. Business was better. He knew business. Socialite siblings, it all appealed very much. "You know, I wouldn't mind being kept, and kept well," he considered, with a gleam in his eye. Some obscenely wealthy woman of middling arcs, ready to spoil and indulge him might be just the thing. So long as he had his dear sister nearby.

That gate to Scalvoris could be handy as well. Not just to alleviate any potential boredom. But should things go south? Then a quick disappearance could turn out to be just the thing. Not that they'd need it. "We could work from home, I could handle you yes," he considered, but shook his head. "I say we start something new. I've always wanted a sister," Theo added, grinning as he kissed her. He hadn't. He'd never wanted a sister. It would have been just another mouth to feed. But that was by the by. "So what is it to-trial then? House shopping?" he wondered.

[Zana]

56th Ymiden, 718

Looking down at her shirt, which was his shirt, and the casual manner with which he had flicked a finger and caused it to fall open Zana chuckled. "Oh, dear heart. I don't care which bed I sleep in. That isn't why I prefer it." Contentment relaxed her body against his and her voice was slow, lazy and deeper than usual. He was right, though, the accommodation wasn't fantastic but it was a very definite improvement over her cell, she assured him and besides? "It has beds, floors and walls. Those are all we need, as a rule." Her laugh was genuine when he said that he might have sprained something important, though. "No," she replied, lifting her arm to wrap around the back of his neck, holding on to him as she leaned against him and his hands pulled her close. A low, deep groan escaped her and she leaned back into him. Her voice was husky with her reaction to him, always her reaction to him and she cursed him for it. "I don't need to ask how much you enjoyed, I felt quite the same. Yes, that," she answered as he whispered practice, practice, practice in her ear.

The smell of the cigarillo was heavy and it reminded her of him. Revenge was quick to appear as he growled at her when she nuzzled against his neck. "Oh, no, dear heart. None of it. I'll be a devoted," a gentle train of kisses on his neck accompanied the words, "dutiful sister. What else would I be when my big brother looks after me so well?" Lifting her head, she whispered in his ear then, "but when we're on our own?" Apparently, she would be having quite a different role then and she informed him fully.

House hunting? Zana considered it and nodded, then gave her full attention to kissing him back. "I think a nice house, some servants. Money on a good wardrobe and go from there?" That made sense to her and Theo saw her mind working, considering it. "We'll need a story, and I think we can use Zane. His parents are wealthy and will be a good in. Also," her hands trailed along his chest as she thought. "Maybe, you've come to tell me that our last remaining parent has pegged it. That way, should we be caught in an embrace, you can be comforting me?"

Zana's mind ticked over, thinking about it from each angle. "And now that we're all that each other has in the world," her expression was pure mischief, "well, it's only right that you'd want to see me safely wed. Settle yourself too. So, I think I am going to need to be all apologies to Zane, but when we tell him of the awful news, I'm sure he'll understand."

If they were going to do that, then yes, they'd need a house. Larger than they needed, a bedroom for her, one for him and a couple of spare rooms. Nice reception rooms, too, and they'd have to get their story straight. Why, for instance, had Zana left when one of their parents was ill? They should have been ill, she suggested, because it was something that would make him more attractive - that he'd stayed at home and looked after their poor mother. Whereas he'd sent her to Viden, to fulfill her ambition of studying in the greatest academy. "So, my darling brother, what say I introduce you to my boyfriend and we buy a house?"

If he was happy with that, then she'd get dressed. "Do me a favour, dear heart? Blow smoke in my face, would you? My eyes specifically." She needed to look like she'd been crying, after all. Zana thought that maybe, the thing to do would be to have Theo fundamentally disapprove of Zane, since he evidently wasn't good enough for her. Before they left, she checked that he had the small hip flask he'd always had and, into that, she put some vodka. With a shrug, she explained that when she was working in Ne'haer she'd had a client who liked it when she cried, but she wasn't a good enough actress to just turn on tears at whim, so her mother had taught her a trick of putting alcohol on her fingers and rubbing her eyes. It was where she'd learned the trick with the smoke, too.

Just before they got to the Academy building, she solemnly put a small amount of vodka on the ridge of her fingers and she walked with her arm around Theo's waist, but the way that she did it was different. She clung on to his shirt and, as they walked together across the reception hall, Zane came up to them, it was like he'd been waiting and he looked furious. "Zana, where have you been! I've been worried sick and who the hell are you?" His voice raised and his whole body was tense. Zana, knowing an opportunity when she saw one, turned and buried her head in Theo's shoulder, lifting her hands to her face and letting out a remarkably good sobbing sound as the young man in question turned on Theo with a glare and a very real hint of danger in his eyes.

Every honey bee fills with jealousy, when they see you out with me
I'm much sweeter goodness knows. I'm your honeysuckle rose.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

"Well whichever bed you prefer, it's yours," Theo had said with a lazy smile when Zana protested. And reaching up from his half reclined positioned, he'd gently with his thumb, traced the outline of her face. "You deserved to be spoiled." He didn't need to elaborate and he didn't believe that Zana would argue the point. Of course she deserved to be spoiled. Theo was fairly sure she'd concur.

As for the accommodations, he agreed that all they really needed was four walls, a ceiling and floor, and a bed. But having been raised in a state of absolute poverty, disease, chaos and filth, he'd developed a habit of craving the finer things. Need was one thing, want was another. Just as well it was understood that in order to pull off any sort of believable ruse, they'd need to surround themselves with better things. Far better than the usual, in fact. There was a lot to plan, though Zana curled up against him, still in the bed, wasn't exactly conducive to plans carefully made.

"You can rest assured that your dear brother will be taking very good care of you," he said, grinning as he untangled himself, sat up and dropped his feet to the floor. But not before giving Zana's bare bottom a good smack, for good measure. "Very attentive, on all accounts." So yes. A house, servants, wardrobes, even a few good pieces of jewelry. Nothing too flashy, he advised Zana, but more simply refined. If they were going to be mistaken for having come from money, and that in fact was the plan, he'd rather be mistaken for old money, rather than new. "Do you know that my grandparents, my mother's parents lived in the Glass Quarter when I was a child living with my mother in the Dust Quarter" Theo said as he ran the water for a bath and pulled a change of clothing from the wardrobe.

"So far as they were concerned, she and I didn't exist. We lived in squalor, their own daughter and grandchild, while they lived in luxury." One trial however his mother had sent him on a rare errand to the market, with a few silvers in his pocket. She'd come upon some good luck and they could afford a half dozen eggs. He'd spied his grandmother there, Theo told Zana, though the old woman hadn't known who he was. in fact she'd pulled her skirts aside when she saw him there because his clothing was threadbare and grubby. He'd overheard her talking with another old woman however, about how so and so wasn't really their kind. Vulgar, classless, she'd said, seeing that this mysterious other had come from new money and not old.

The scenario that Zana suggested made sense. Their father had died some arcs before, and now their mother was gone. And if Zane could prove useful? Theo shrugged when finally they'd washed up and dressed, and he was pulling on his boots and strapping on his sword. "We could use him certainly, and as a prospect, at least on the surface we needn't write him off yet. At least, he could be strung along for a time." Whichever the case, they left the inn together, with very different plans in mind than when they'd gone in, several trials earlier. And each of them was a fair enough hand at acting, that they looked every bit the loving pair of siblings, from their heads to their toes. He'd even obliged and had cooperated with what otherwise would have seemed like an odd request. He'd blow cigarillo smoke in Zana's face before snuffing the thing out in a crystal tray by the bed.

Ordinarily there was nothing innocent about the way they touched one another, even in public when they were back in Rharne. But this was a new place, and the scene was a different one. Theo's arm was draped round Zana's shoulder in a protective seeming embrace. And as chaste an embrace as there ever was. At least where he was concerned. And there was Zane. The man was on them, almost before they'd completely crossed the reception hall's threshold. Both instinct and deliberation caused Theo to pull Zana just a little bit closer in response. He'd been right the trial before, Theo thought, and the look in the other man's eyes, now, only seemed to confirm it.

Zane's approach, both physically and in his choice of words and tone, was very telling. But so far as Theo was concerned, it set the scene very nicely. Zana, on cue, shrunk away and then into him, and fixing Zane with a glance full of warning, Theo wrapped one arm round her shoulder more snugly and shifted their positions just enough to make a barrier of himself. One between Zane and Zana. "More importantly," he growled under breath, "my question for you, sir," he added for extra derisive flair. "By what right do you approach my sister, or in fact any woman in such an aggressive and demanding manner." Theo looked ready to draw his sword if necessary, in order to defend his sister's honor. In any case either the gesture or Theo's words caused Zane some temporary pause. "Is this true Zana? Is this man your brother?"

[Zana]

56th Ymiden, 718

Zana was, had always been, a very physical creature and she craved physical contact. With him, moreso and that had been first by nature of his role with her and then, at some point, as their attachment grew. Her reaction to his touch, his hands on her was obvious and intense, but in its own way, so too was her reaction to his thumb gently tracing her face. Her eyes remained locked on his and she smiled a soft, genuine smile of contentment. Which, of course, turned to a squeal when he slapped her behind without reason. Narrowing her eyes, Zana glared at him and the chuckled. He was a beastly man, she said and just as he started to move, she grabbed him, pulling him to her for a final kiss and a whispered promise. "I look forward to those attentions, brother mine. " With a chuckle she, too, got dressed.

When he told her about being sure that nothing was too flashy, Zana rolled her eyes. "I am Delroth's daughter, Theo. I was understated elegance before you were born." But then he spoke of something, from his childhood. His grandparents had been wealthy, very wealthy, and they had allowed his mother and her baby to live in squalor? Many people would be horrified, others still would be sympathetic. Not her. Zana listened, intently, and she watched him as he spoke. When he was finished, she moved over to him, stopping to pick something out of her bag. First, she pulled the lace he'd untied earlier and allowed his shirt to fall off her as she stood in front of him before moving to behind him and there, she stepped into the bath behind him, sliding down and wrapping her legs around him. Putting a small drop of oil on her hands, she massaged his shoulders, her hands dexterous and assured. "We will be so rich, Theo," she whispered, kneading his muscles and getting him relaxed before picking up the sponge. "So rich that even we will be content. And you, dear heart, you will have not only everything you have ever wanted, but you'll be the envy of every man and the desire of every woman." Leaning forward, so her mouth was right next to his ear, her voice was soft as she whispered. "Even me. I want you. Need you, even. Imagine that."

No, sympathy was not Zana's strong suit.

But when they eventually left, they'd agreed on their story and she clung on to him like she was a little bit lost and he, in his turn, was her anchor and guidance. The way that Theo kept his arm around her shoulder, held her protectively but with a very different kind of possessiveness. It was interesting to her and observed - other people, how they looked at him.

But Zane? He came charging up like a bull in an antique shop and Zana buried her head in Theo's shoulder. Zane looked between the two of them and then, at Theo's words the surprise registered on his face. He asked her if it was true and Zana nodded her head, turning to him. Her eyes were red rimmed and tears trickled down them - she could feel the fumes which had caused that reaction in the back of her throat. "He... this is Theo. Theo, this is Zane. I told you about him, remember?" Putting her hand on Theo's arm, she looked at Zane and his face was concerned and confused all at once.

"What's going on, Zana? You missed class, why didn't you let me know? I've been so worried about you, what's the matter?" He ignored Theo for the moment, though his eyes had flicked to Theo's sword, noting it and then moving on. "Theo arrived just after I left you yestertrial. Our.. our mother died." Zana buried her head in her hands and thought that she really hadn't grieved this much, or this publicly, when her own mother passed on. However, an opportunity was what this was and she stepped out of Theo's arms and into Zane's.

"Immortals, oh, I'm so sorry!" In fairness, he said that to them both and his arms wrapped protectively around Zana, stroking her hair and kissing her head. "I'm so sorry for your loss. Come on, lets sit you down, over here. What are you doing here?" Zane asked, leading her to a seat. Zana went with him, but she turned to check that her brother was there. Looking at Zane, she held on to him as she spoke. "Theo... Theo came yestertrial. He's staying... we.. I don't know what to do. We need to buy somewhere to live, Theo wanted to sort things out, the inheritance and so on, but I..." She looked apologetically, but with just a hint of defiance at Theo. After all, the brute had ordered her around all her life. "I wanted to see you." Zane pulled her close and rested his chin against her head as he did so. His expression was triumphant.

"You shouldn't be thinking of me at a time like this," he said. Zana clung to him, desperately seeking comfort. Later, she'd tell Theo with an entirely dry delivery that she finally understood what it was to feel dirty. Zane turned to Theo and offered a slight smile. "I'm sorry, Theo, truly. For your loss and for our introduction. Your sister is very important to me." He looked at him and put on his best face. "I can help you with the finding of appropriate accommodation. There's a specific office. My family name might help." Zana lifted her head from Zane's now damp shirt. Little did he realise that she'd been dribbling onto her hand purposely before transferring it to his shirt.

"Please, Theo," she said, softly. Looking at him with soft and swollen eyes, Zana seemed to be pleading with him. "I know you didn't want to come here, but please? Zane can help us." As though she knew she'd said the wrong thing, she put her hand on to Theo's arm and added, quickly. "He knows this place, he comes from a good family. Please? I just want to get settled somewhere. Can we?" Zane, it had to be said, looked rather surprised. Who was this man and what family did they come from? During the time he'd known her, Zana had always seemed privileged, now that he considered it. Like she was more used to the sort of life he lived than he was. The man in front of him, too, he had that air about him.

"Are you planning on staying here?" He asked, and Zana looked at him with those same wide eyes. Zana, however, kept quiet and let the men folk sort it out. As was her role as a dutiful sister.

Off Topic

The employment contractor

Every honey bee fills with jealousy, when they see you out with me
I'm much sweeter goodness knows. I'm your honeysuckle rose.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

It was a wonder that they ever emerged at all from the inn that trial. When they did, the trial had grown substantially longer than Theo had intended it to. It wasn't for lack of trying either. It was only that both of them, him and Zana, were creatures who could be easily distracted by certain things. And they had been, more than once, even after they'd resolved to get out and about. It was yet another wonder that neither of them was too exhausted to get out.

Yet for all the world to see, they looked like the loving siblings they were pretending to be. Zana was right, Theo had agreed. If they played their cards right, they could become, in time, rich beyond their wildest dreams. They would, and they'd do it together. And the first test of how well they could pull it all off, was Zane, depending on how clever he actually was. Little good he'd do them as a test case, however, if he turned out to be one of those chinless wonders that Theo had referred to earlier.

Like Zana, Theo watched as others passing by watched them. Though he didn't seem to be, so far as the casual eye was concerned. But the reactions of others, of complete strangers passing by, were another good measure of how well they were pulling it off. And what they saw, so far as he could tell, was a pair of strangers...known to each other and very well, but in a way that seemed as platonic as any set of genuine relations or good friends ever were. Good, he thought. They'd only need to reliably keep it up.

Zane however was different. He was pushy, he was aggressive and arrogant and too familiar. He had control freak oozing out every pore, and Theo wanted to turn the man's face inside out. It was an inclination, an indulgence even that he could allow himself, however controlled, considering his role as protective older brother. One confronted by a complete ass that was pressing too aggressively and too close to his beloved younger sister. "I remember," he said when Zana placed her hand on his arm, and looked adoringly up at him. Yes, the gesture implied. She'd told him, but perhaps she'd left out the bit about what an ass this Zane was. And he stopped short of apologizing for his earlier tone when Zane had rushed in. No self-respecting, protective older brother would apologize for that.

But then Zana explained, Zane offered his condolences, and she went from one set of arms, to melting in the other. "Thank you," he said, in response to Zane's offer of his condolences. The stroking of hair, the kissing of foreheads...There seemed to be an awful lot of groping going on for someone merely offering their support during a time of need. And as any older brother would, when confronted with a man who was not nearly could enough for his sister, Theo leveled off a very disapproving look at the man as he sat down. The first volley of a contrived campaign that would see them using this man for what reasons they could, then hopefully shaking themselves loose of him.

"Let's not bore your friend with the dull topics of estate and business, Zana," he seemed to scold her lovingly, no matter how defiant she was. A message with a double meaning in fact. Talk of estates and inheritance invited questions that were unwelcome at this stage. But for another to even consider asking or wondering aloud, would be considered an insult, and a vulgar one at that. "Zana is correct, however. Now that our mother has passed, there are some things in need of sorting out." And those things, he implied, had fallen onto his shoulders as both the oldest child, and the male heir. One of the most obvious would seem to be, that Zana was now his to contend with, her being his charge after all. Her future in his hands, along with an estate, a legacy, and lots and lots of money.

It was appreciated, he added, when Zane offered his help in finding suitable accommodations. But of course the question hung in the air. Would Zana's pleas to remain in Viden fall on deaf ears, or would Theo be persuaded. It turned out that Zana was very, very good at the art of persuasion. Still, Zane's question and offer of help hung in the air for a little bit longer. "Are you keeping up with your classes?" he asked. "What about work? You know h how important it was to mother and father, and grandfather before them." Looking Zane's way, Theo explained. "It was important to our parents that we should understand the value of a trial's work, of investment, of being philanthropic, all, rather than simply relying on name, legacy or inheritance." Revolting, really, Theo thought to himself. But he sounded and seemed as sincere as ever a man had.

And obviously, in order to keep up a semblance of a luxurious lifestyle until a real one actually came their way, they were both going to have to secure a steady source of income. All without raising the suspicions of others. "Well I suppose that we are," he said in response to Zane's question, whether they'd stay or not. "On a trial basis," he was quick to tell Zana. "We'll see how it goes won't we?"

[Zana]

56th Ymiden, 718

"Of course, I'm sorry, Theo," she said, when he told her not to bore her friend with talk of inheritance and so on. She had a wide eyed expression and she looked more than a little lost. Zane kept his arm around her, possessively and held her close, but his eyes were on Theo. It was obvious to Zane from everything about Zana that this man was the one that he was going to have to get past if he was going to achieve what he wanted. That had changed, in these few moments, he'd thought Zana beautiful and intelligent enough that he might have kept her as a mistress - his parents were pushing him to marry. His real hope had been that he could persuade his parents to accept her, but he knew that was neither likely nor realistic. But now? She was monied, he could tell and more than that, it was good money.

Holding her tightly to him, Zane considered that this was perfect. He liked her, he liked her a lot and he thought that his parents might go for this. The brother was the problem, though, and he'd have to go on a charm offensive with him. But he saw Theo's look of disapproval and he made a choice. It was, to Zane's mind, the right choice and the one likely to get him the furthest. He held her close and stroked her hair gently, whispering to her. "I have you, it's alright, it is. You can lean on me." She looked up at him with surprise in her expression at that.

But, she asked Theo and he considered it. "I am, Theo yes. I missed to-trial's class, but I've been studying and working hard. I'm assisting one of the professors here, the official title is Research Assistant. Zane has been helping me to study Chemistry, too, as an adjacent subject to Alchemy." Zane nodded, though he had the sense to keep quiet. "And I'm lodging in the student accommodation. I haven't even told anyone our name, I put down the name Delroth." She glanced to Zane and explained. "I have a bird, back home. I named him Delroth." Zane looked at her and smiled, moving his hand to put her hair behind her ear. Zana, however, glanced at Theo and seemed a little uncomfortable. He dropped his hand and smiled at her.

When Theo agreed, though, she moved and hugged him. "Thank you, Theo. I'll make you proud, I promise. I'll work hard and do my best." Immortals, it was sickening, but she said it and looked at him with serious eyes. "I'll take up dance again, too. I haven't since I got here. Mother.. she'd like that, wouldn't she?" Their mother was a devotee of the arts, Zana told Zane and she had ensured that they both appreciated it. Sitting there, now very much next to Theo and with her hand in his, she smiled up at him, bravely. "I won't let you down, Theo."

"Well," said Zane, "let me escort you to the office and we'll see about getting you accommodation more suitable, shall we?" He stood and looked a little unsure as to what he should do. In that hesitation, Zana knew that he was deferring to Theo and she, of course, did the same, standing next to him. "We'll make that trial stay a very happy permanent one, you'll see." Immortals, Zana thought as Theo put his arm around her protectively and led her from the reception, save her from enthusiastic and determined boys.

Every honey bee fills with jealousy, when they see you out with me
I'm much sweeter goodness knows. I'm your honeysuckle rose.

[Theo Nji'Ryn]

"It's quite alright little sister," Theo said, smiling sympathetically, and indulgently, when Zana apologized for mentioning their inheritance in front of others. "You've had a shock. We both have. It's understandable." However the expression he wore as he watched Zane rushing in to comfort her, was designed to deliver a very clear message without having to say it aloud. If the other man persisted in pawing, attempting to take charge and clinging intimately to the young heiress in front of her brother, as a prospective candidate he was going to find himself booted right out of the running, before the race had even begun. A foot and a half of open space between them would suffice, Theo figured.

Of course Zane had been assisting her in her studies. He was already proving to be as hard to shake as a deer tick in Saun. And about as charming as one too. "Well it sounds like you've been doing our mother proud...Studies and work," he concluded. "We'll have to make some adjustments, so far as accommodations however." Only the best available would do, and it was neither a closet at the university or a twin room at the town's inn. But yes, he knew that she'd do her best, and their mother in fact would be proud, he assured her.

She'd be even prouder, Theo agreed, to know that Zana was dancing again. "But yes, we'll see," he added as he stood up and placed a hand at the small of Zana's back, in order to steer her towards the door and off on their way. Zane too, naturally, since the man had offered to help them secure the best housing available. The sooner they got themselves set properly up, after all, the sooner they could put their plan into action. This was only the first step of course. But a critical one all the same.

[Rynata]

Reverse Pirate Rynata,
here to reverse pirate your rewards!

Name: Zana

Knowledge:
Acting: Smoke in your eyes to bring on tears
Acting: Alcohol on your hands to make your eyes red
Acting: Dribble on a shirt if you can't make yourself cry
Acting: Pretending to sob
Acting: Attend to how you walk
Acting: Pay attention to how people look at you
Seduction: A man's shirt is a wonderful accessory
Seduction: Undressing slowly in plain sight
Seduction: Sharing a bath

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: 10
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15
Name: Theo

Knowledge:
Acting: Smoke in the eyes to bring on tears
Acting: Alcohol on the hands to make your eyes red
Acting: The protective older brother
Acting: An imperious tone of voice
Acting: Attend to how you walk
Acting: Pay attention to how people look at you
Deception: Pretending to have money
Deception: Taking a role
Deception: Ensure that you keep up your story

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Expenses: N/A
Renown: 10
Magic XP: N/A

Points: 15

Comments: Wow, scandalous for all sorts of reasons. I enjoyed getting to watch how the plan of deception was set up first in the room. It made watching it go well all the more rewarding. Well done with Zana's honeyed words with Theo, and I thought he pulled off the lover's teasing quite well.
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