Brazen, brash, and tasting of onions and the alcohol that flowed freely at the palace gathering, the kiss was sloppy and without polish. It didn't matter. Curling an arm around the Alienage girl, Zevran pulled Shianni closer firmly, fingers trailing over the line of her smooth jaw before parting.
She laughed, face tucking into his shoulder, the wintry chill of the desiccated estate garden making her breath puff clouds of steamed frost.
The green and cream woolen dress was warm under his hand, and Zevran snorted, "What is it that amuses you so?"
"Aw nothin' really - you're just different," Shianni's nose crinkled as she leaned back, squinting at him, her green eyes the same shade of oak leaf as her dress. "And I didn't get you a present, even though you got me somethin'."
"Ah," as he reached for some sort of understanding. Winking, "Very well then, I accept your most gracious gift."
He wasn't entirely certain as to how he was different. Or different from what. Himself? Others? Fereldens? Shems? Other men? Women? Knowing what it was she meant was likely important, but Zevran wasn't inclined to probe at the moment. The redhead would tell him or not tell him as she chose.
Another laugh. "See? Polite - that's different."
"And why should I not be polite? It is you who gave me a gift," jostling her lightly with an elbow as they resumed walking in the frozen garden, the sounds of revelry in the estate loud. "It is only recently that I am becoming acquainted with receiving gifts, and I must say that the first one I ever was given, I was not overly polite about it. Mostly because I had gone my whole life without one before, so did not know how to take it. It was all rather clumsy on my part."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I've ever had a nice kiss before, so it was probably kinda clumsy too!"
Tugging Shianni to a halt, Zevran cocked his head to one side, speculatively. "It was a nice one nevertheless. Skill is not always so important, but meaning is more so. Something freely given has meaning and worth."
A great deal of it.
Shianni might not be the prettiest - nor the most homely - of women, but there was a startled brightness that made her lovely at his words. "Yeah, well, there's not always much like that to go around."
Smiling lopsidedly at her, "Quite true. Now, shall we go and stumble through some dance steps where it is warm, or continue wandering?"
Re: Shianni/Zevran
She laughed, face tucking into his shoulder, the wintry chill of the desiccated estate garden making her breath puff clouds of steamed frost.
The green and cream woolen dress was warm under his hand, and Zevran snorted, "What is it that amuses you so?"
"Aw nothin' really - you're just different," Shianni's nose crinkled as she leaned back, squinting at him, her green eyes the same shade of oak leaf as her dress. "And I didn't get you a present, even though you got me somethin'."
"Ah," as he reached for some sort of understanding. Winking, "Very well then, I accept your most gracious gift."
He wasn't entirely certain as to how he was different. Or different from what. Himself? Others? Fereldens? Shems? Other men? Women? Knowing what it was she meant was likely important, but Zevran wasn't inclined to probe at the moment. The redhead would tell him or not tell him as she chose.
Another laugh. "See? Polite - that's different."
"And why should I not be polite? It is you who gave me a gift," jostling her lightly with an elbow as they resumed walking in the frozen garden, the sounds of revelry in the estate loud. "It is only recently that I am becoming acquainted with receiving gifts, and I must say that the first one I ever was given, I was not overly polite about it. Mostly because I had gone my whole life without one before, so did not know how to take it. It was all rather clumsy on my part."
"Yeah, well, it's not like I've ever had a nice kiss before, so it was probably kinda clumsy too!"
Tugging Shianni to a halt, Zevran cocked his head to one side, speculatively. "It was a nice one nevertheless. Skill is not always so important, but meaning is more so. Something freely given has meaning and worth."
A great deal of it.
Shianni might not be the prettiest - nor the most homely - of women, but there was a startled brightness that made her lovely at his words. "Yeah, well, there's not always much like that to go around."
Smiling lopsidedly at her, "Quite true. Now, shall we go and stumble through some dance steps where it is warm, or continue wandering?"