Alain and Atiya

Well, crap.

Alain kept his polite smile on his face, but inside he was panicking. How could they refuse his offer, without drawing attention to themselves? Yes, there was safety in numbers, but that was only if those numbers could be trusted. But then again, this was a merchant, and merchants had to be more careful than most.

"It sounds tempting," he said to the merchant, while glancing at Atiya. This was her Pilgrimage, and thus her choice.

Syrien, Atiya, Merchant

"What do you think, Atiya?" Syrien inquired of his granddaughter. "This trip was your idea in the first place. Shall we travel with the merchants and his guards?"

Personally, he did not want to do so himself. But ultimately it was her choice, no matter how much he wanted to be away from the merchant.

Atiya pondered the idea, for a few moments, before smiling. "Sure! I don't mind. Besides, if we travel in the carriages, it'll get us to Lyandor faster."

Alain gave a nod of his head, and then stepped forward, holding out a hand for the merchant to shake. The decision had been made, and there was no reason not to be friendly. The merchant seemed nice enough. "I guess we will be traveling with you, then. I'm Alain."

Merchant

"Wonderful to meet you, young man!" The merchant eagerly shook Alain's offered hand. "I am Varisoth, as I said."

"Syrien," the Elf replied, giving the merchant a civil nod.

Atiya herself curtsied, and said, "I am Atiya, Varisoth. Nice to meet you."

"Well then, shall we get going? We have a lot of ground to cover!" Varisoth exclaimed.

Alain let his hand fall back down to his side and then took a step back, to stand beside Atiya. His hand brushed against hers, causing a slight blush to grace his cheeks, but then he was talking, to distract himself. "Which carriage would you like, Atiya?" His eyes then moved to Varisoth. "Unless you would like us somewhere specific, of course."

Varisoth

"Sorry, but yes. The last carriage is filled with goods I will sell in Lyandor. The middle one holds myself and my guards. The first one, however, is largely unoccupied. Two of my guardsmen were in it, but I am sure they can squeeze in to my carriage for you all." Varisoth offered. Atiya nodded thoughtfully.

"Sounds fine with me. Syrien?"

"Aye." he said.

"Ok. Alain?"

Closed in space followed by two carriages of strangers? That sounded like anything but okay to Alain, but still he gave his consent. Maybe he had been spending too much time with Ana, to be this nervous of a simple merchant.

"C'mon, Atiya," he said as he started for the first carriage. "I can help you up."

Atiya

"You help me up? More like the other way around." Atiya replied with a giggle, as she followed after Alain.

Alain felt his face growing red, though he joined in with her laugh. Ugh. How could he have been so stupid to suggest such a thing? Of course Atiya wouldn't accept his help. But still he reached up, and opened the door for her, hoping that she at least wouldn't object to that.

"I'm an elite warrior, you know. I don't need help climbing into a simple carriage." He smiled as he spoke, his tone light. It was amazing how easy life's worries could disappear, when he was with Atiya.

Atiya

"Ah, very true. Well then, my brave and noble warrior, thank you for opening the door. I appreciate it." Atiya teased with a smile, before leaning over to kiss Alain on the cheek. She giggled again and stepped into the carriage.

Alain's face grew even redder, and he could only mumble for a moment, but then he was moving forward, floating almost, as he stepped into the carriage and sat down next to Atiya. She had kissed him. Sure, her words were a jest, and maybe the kiss was as well, but still... a kiss was a kiss. It was he protecting her, not Bakar, and it was he, not Bakar, who had received the kiss.

((Aww. Alain's reaction is so cute!~))

Atiya, Syrien

"If your face grows any redder, you'll become a tomato." Syrien whispered to Alain with a dry chuckle, as he took a seat across from the young teenagers. Within a few moments the carriage moved into action, and they were going along soon enough.

(Hehe)

Alain sent a glare at Syrien, and then glanced away from them both, as he reached up and rubbed at his cheek, trying to get the color down. Why did he always end up so red, when around Atiya? And why did Syrien have to comment on it?

"It's just the sun," he muttered.

Atiya, Syrien

"Sure it is, Alain. Sure it is." Atiya replied with a grin, as she affectionately patted Alain's shoulder.

"Hm. Why if I didn't know better, I'd say you have a crush on me, Alain." Atiya added, giggling once more.

"I..." Alain turned his head further away, and his voice dropped with each word that he said. "I do not. It's just... the sun." Wait... Why was he denying it? Atiya wasn't angry at him or anything, over it. But she was laughing, which wasn't a very positive sign either...

Atiya

"Oh?" Atiya leaned in closer to Alain, smiling at him. "Is that so, Alain?"

Alain leaned away, fighting to keep his face from turning any redder. "Y-yeah. It is so." He turned his head back to face her, making sure to mask any of his nervousness. "Just the sun."

Atiya

"If you say so," Atiya replied with a giggle, moving back from Alain so she wasn't in his personal space anymore. She giggled again.

"You're so easy to tease, Alain! I can't believe I find it so fun. Only teasing Taloc is better than teasing you!"

Alain straightened back up and stared down at his hands in his lap. He fought hard to keep them still, just as he fought to keep his face from turning red again. What was it about Atiya, that made him fumble and stutter and... and made him just fall apart? Sure, he couldn't mask his emotions like Ana could, but he still wasn't bad at it, not unless around Atiya.

"I'm not that easy," he muttered, and then lifted his head to smile at her. He opened his mouth to say something more, but the sun streaming in from the window hit her just right, highlighting her natural beauty, and he could do nothing but stare at her. Wow... She was beautiful.

Syrien

The Elf rolled his eyes at the smitten boy, and nudged him with his foot, hoping to snap him out of his fantasy, or whatever was captivating him as he stared at his Granddaughter.

"Wake up, boy, before she notices." Syrien whispered, glad at the moment that Atiya was looking out the window at the moment.

Alain started, turning his head towards Syrien, and then blushed lightly and looked down at his hands. Caught in the act... But at least Atiya hadn't noticed. That was all she needed--more food to fuel the fire.

"So, Atiya," he said a few minutes later. "Lucky the merchant came along, isn't it? Saves us some of our walking." Ugh. What a boring subject. But Syrien made him feel awkward, just as Atiya made him feel flustered. What a combination...

Atiya

"Indeed!" Atiya agreed kindheartedly, giving Alain a charming smile as she looked over at him. "We are quite fortunate. Maybe if we're even more lucky, I might find a pretty gem or some such thing in the merchant's wares!"

Alain gave a nod of his head. "That's true. Maybe he'll let us have a peak at his wares before anyone else. And I've got some coins." She wouldn't take offense at that, would she? Atiya was strong, independent, but surely she wouldn't mind if he gave her a gift, right?

Atiya

"Oh?" Atiya looked over at Alain, smiling at him. "Are you offering to buy me something, Alain?"

Alain gave a shy nod of his head. A smile was a good sign. "Sure. I mean, nothing extremely expensive, but I won't mind giving you a small present of some sort."