Upper Flower (Ash)

[Deleted]

An afternoon day and classes were over finally. After a brief detention(as if there was anything brief about it), Oriel headed off to his usual hang out spot where he could laze and relax until he felt like doing something else. Maybe homework eventually, but, ugh...he preferred waiting for Phoenix to get that shit done, otherwise it just became a tedious, headsplitting activity that wasted time because he couldn't get past the first page without zoning out with feeling of 'omg this if fucking impossible!'.....or maybe he'd go to the computer lab later and just suck it up and get it done there. Just the thought of doing something that now he just plain didn't want to do(even if he had the means) was tensing him up to the point where he was wanting to punch a tree. And since he didn't want to break his hand, he had to look for other means.

The dorm room was pristine last he checked, Phoenix wasn't around so no lovin' times, auditorium was filled with idiots this time of the day that he'd rather avoid...Oriel's last resort was becoming his first resort more and more lately. He'd even asked Phoenix to start picking up a package or two on his way home from work(of course, Oriel gave him the money for it). Menthols. 100s, because they lasted longer.

Oriel took off his outer shirt, just a solid dark blue button-up, leaving him only with a white tank that showed off his collarbone and shoulders, and laid it on the ground like picnic blanket, upon which he planted his ass. He pulled the rectangular pack from said ass(or rather, his back pocket), and flipped out one before dropping the pack to his side. The boy lit it up and dropped the lighter next to him as well before taking in one deep breath of cancerous pleasure. He laid back in the grass and let the nicotine go to work.

It was...a nice day, he thought, looking up at the blue sky.

[Ashley Engel]

Hammel was not designed for the antisocial.
Ash wasn’t sure if the statement applied to all schools, but she knew it was true for this particular one. There were very few places save for broom closets and her dorm room where she could be alone. The task of finding seclusion while outside was even more impossible. It felt like her options were fresh air with migraines or privacy with a sense of stuffiness. Maybe once upon a time being holed up in her room wouldn’t have bothered her. But then along came curiosity and a bold streak, and after her first venture outside her home she hadn’t been able to really look back.

She’d been at Hammel for a very short time, but the stress that came with socializing and trying to function in society made her restless. Sitting in her room with the door shut was not good enough a means of unwinding, not today. So (like an idiot) she’d stepped foot outside.

Just leaving her room was bad enough, but going as far as to leave the dorms entirely and venture into open space? She was feeling particularly stupid. And as much she scolded herself for as she trekked around, seeking a safehaven from the uncontrollable chaos of the outdoors. Hammel’s campus was orderly enough, but the students were not. People were all over, going about and thinking as they pleased. It was a layer of noise on top of what they made naturally with their running mouths, and the two distinct sounds colliding was too much.

Ash retreated further from signs of life rather than going back inside. It was a matter of pride, after a certain point. Even if her head was starting to pound and her grip on her messenger bag was growing near vicious, she refused to crawl back inside. She would not be denied sunlight and air just because of some ridiculously frustrating power.

So she walked. Mostly in circles, though her paths were quick to be carved whenever the sounds of people hit her. Haphazardly she navigated her way further from the collective group of class buildings and the courtyard. She hadn’t really planned on winding up anywhere definable, but the eventual discovery of the pond was not mourned.

The presence of someone else near the water was, however.

Slowly she approached, eyes locked on the only other soul present.
Male. Young (possibly around her age?). Dark hair, and eyes cast skyward.
Really the most notable thing about him was his smell. Smokey. Minty. Menthols.

Ash didn’t smoke, and she’d never tried. But she knew the smells of cigarettes the same way she knew the smells of liquors. Wonderful company and acquired knowledge.

Without any real sense of personal space to speak of she walked right up to the stranger and stood above his head, staring down slightly. The proximity made him louder, but thus far he wasn’t exactly thinking in screams, so she managed well enough. What was a whisper next to the chorus of shouting she’d left behind her?

“Menthols.” It was a comment, and one she didn’t necessarily mean as an opening to anything. She just said it, all the while staring down at the boy. Part of her reasoned if she was unpleasant enough he’d leave, but she lacked the motivation or skill for malice. So she just relied on being herself. That was usually more than enough to drive others away.
“Just laying here.. Don’t you have a room to sleep in?”

[Deleted]

Oriel wasn’t a socialite. He was an extrovert, he loved getting attention from people and hated being ignored(ragingly so), especially by people he was close to, but he was also riddled with a myriad of social anxieties that kept him from diving into the throng of enjoyment that most people got from crowds. He hated crowds, he hated being touched unexpectedly(especially by strangers), he hated his personal space being invaded(though he would readily invade someone else’s). He had a sharp glare that was usually enough for people to keep their distance and when that didn’t work he had and equally sharp tongue. If all else failed, then he could always fall back on his psycho-bully reputation as the kid who beat students to a pulp if they got on his bad side….honestly, Oriel was glad that those rumors had died down somewhat. Less people staring at him when he went to go beat up the vending machine or just going to the cafeteria for a meal that he didn’t feel like cooking.

His thoughts tended to swarm over those things. Being here at the pond reminded him of when he met Phoenix, when Phoenix broke his leg on the ice and people thought Oriel beat him, of when he came a few weeks ago in crisis after smashing the face of Tak’s baby daddy…..Oriel closed his eyes, trying instead to concentrate on the buzz of nicotine stimulating his nerves, tingling down his extremities like electricity.

Oriel hated himself for giving into nicotine, but it was better than the alternatives; drinking again was always a bad idea, and sex with the next person he saw would damage his relationship with his boyfriend. It didn’t get rid of the knot of anxiety in his gut, but it did distract from it.

Phoenix needed to come home faster.

Oriel blinked up as he heard someone step behind him. He saw a short haired girl standing with a foot on either side of his head. Menthols. “Yeah, want one?” He had no intention of giving her one though. They were expensive enough as it was without him giving them away. Unless she was willing to part with some cash.

Her question had him stare for a brief moment before a twisted grin crawled up the side of his face. “That an invitation?” he asked, giving her a once over as best he could from where he lay. A little skinny for his tastes, but he’d never let that stop him before. Oriel wasn’t picky. “Cuz I’m sure my room’s well-equipped to accommodate our needs.” He sent her a wink then slid his tongue over the front front row of his teeth. Sex might be off limit, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t flirt.

[Ashley Engel]

Her nose crinkled at the offer of cigarettes. It was less due to any stigmas or results or smoking, and more the idea of accepting something from a stranger. Of course, as displeased as her expression looked then it was nothing compared to what the boy summoned out of her in following.

Ash stared, at first not understanding what he was getting at.
She was not giving him an invitation to return to his dorm and sleep per say, but if he took it that way-

He was not taking it that way. He was going a wholly opposite direction with it, and about the only thing worse than the words coming out of his mouth were the ones coursing through his mind. Ashley could handle wading through people’s recollections because when people thought of memories their voices were soft, and scattered. A whisper of a detail, a murmuring of a name. Rarely was she ever bowled over by nostalgia or quiet musings. Casual processes during conversation were distracting, but often manageable. Usually what people thought and what they said were fairly close, meaning one or the other could he heard and responded to easily enough.

In this case, both of what she could hear was revolting.
For all her disgust and discomfort, very little reached her face. Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled up ever so slightly in a snarl. From her position by his head, she continued staring down with a flat stare.

“I am very tempted to press my boot into your face now.”
Her voice was dull- painfully so. The kind of pointed low tone that made it clear she couldn’t have been farther from amused. To be honest, the way he licked his teeth made her stomach roll. The only thing more tempting than trying to break his nose with her heel in that moment was outright getting sick right over him. Would have served him right.

Sadly, neither of those were particularly mannerly and she was attending with the intention of working on that. So, rather than move to kick the asshole, she took a pointed step backwards away from him. It had nothing to do with the fact he could have easily taken her in a physical confrontation.. Nothing at all to do with that, no.

“Besides, you can’t currently pursue physical avenues.”
Her hands moved from her bag’s strap to her jacket pockets, tightening into fists there just at the thought. She hadn’t heard everything running through him, but she’d heard the more recent, clear thoughts. Most notable of which being an intention to flirt without following through. Despite hearing that, she still felt uncomfortable. Suddenly going somewhere secluded seemed like a stupid idea. Backing down now would be a fracture to her pride, though. So she didn’t leave. She stood her ground, carefully out of what she estimated was the boy’s current reach.

[Deleted]

Often Oriel wished that he could hear the thoughts of others if only to ease his worries about what other people really thought of him. He often felt that they were staring, whispering behind his back, sharing their distaste for the errant boy to each other while putting on a face of geniality in front of him. He couldn’t imagine what it must be like to actually have telepathy, the headaches and chaos it inspired. It probably would yield a perturbation not much different than what he already had.

Oriel blinked again at her first comment. Or was it a threat? Either way…Oriel found the response amusing. His smile widened and and he curled himself up in a short series of chuckles. That was a “no fucking way” if just not in those exact words. He’d known some girls who wouldn’t have even bothered with the threat, they would have just gone straight for punching, or slapping, or stepping on him at their convenience. Some would only dare to lash out verbally. Still others would fluster and blush, or just plain ignore him. Most of them got an immediate follow up, as equally invasive and crude as his initial comment. A few times his words were met with flirtations that matched his own or he wasn’t taken seriously and they would just engage in a bantering contest. Those were the ones he enjoyed the most.

This was something different. And because it was different, it amused him. Oriel grinned up like a little boy at the girl. “If boot worship’s what gets you going, I’m always up for trying something new.” Oriel was into a lot of weird shit anyway. Even so, he was looking forward to this girl’s response.

If she did lash out, Oriel would rule that as a win. His entire purpose was to get a response from the people he harassed.

Her second statement, about as robotic as the first(which was still amusing), had Oriel creasing his eyebrows forward in confused interest. It wasn’t a secret that Oriel was in a relationship amongst his peers, but he wasn’t sure how many knew he was exclusive now. Oriel stared at her a moment, cocking his head pensively. “You psychic?” he finally asked, shifting his position on the grass so that he wasn't quite looking at her upside down.

[Ashley Engel]

Boot...
Ash looked down at her feet. She understood what he meant, between thought and context. The idea of kinks and fetishes ironically didn’t bother her nearly as much as blatant flirtation, though. So she found herself staring at her own boots and thinking about it. It was less in a sexual manner and more in wonder of the idea. Somewhere out there in the world there was someone who really would be into that. Her soured expression drew up further for a moment before smoothing back out.

“No.” She deadpanned. It wasn’t clear which words she meant it for as she continued to keep her eyes on her feet and off him. After a moment more of consideration she lifted her attention, staring at him blankly. He wasn’t being hostile- at least not by her definition. Thus a decent amount of her concern faded, replaced instead by her usual dull pulse and disinterest in others.

“Psychic suggests an ability derived from mysticism and ESP. My method of hearing thoughts hasn’t been defined, so calling it a psychic ability would be disingenuous and absolutely ridiculous.” She didn’t buy into the ideas of magic and ghosts and all the in between. Metahumans were a scientific occurrence, therefore her abilities lied with genetics and biology, not spirits and voodoo. The fact the boy probably hadn’t meant that didn’t occur to her. Even if he’d meant something else, the word he chose was incorrect. That was all that mattered.

“However, I can hear what you think. That was what you were getting at, wasn’t it?”

[Deleted]

Oriel watched with interest as the girl seemed to scrutinize her boots, like she was having trouble wrapping her head around what he’d said. It even occurred to him that maybe she was seriously considering making Oriel bow down to all the glory of her footwear.

Her expressions were interesting. Or rather lack thereof. It was hard to read this girl, she gave so little away in her both her words and her body language. It was frustrating, to say the least, he couldn’t tell if he was actually bothering her and she just had a good poker face, or if she honestly cared as little as she seemed. Oriel saw it as a challenge, trying to figure out what made this girl tic.

She was funny too. Probably not intentional, but her verbal responses were getting more and more amusing. So concise and to the point. Technical, even.

His interest piked in continuing this conversation with a bit of an argument, or debate, or something. Oriel sat up and turned himself, taking a quick taste of his nicotine stick and blowing the smoke to the side and into the wind. “Yeah, something like that, but nah. I mean, psychic,” he repeated. Though if she was telepathic, maybe he wouldn’t have to explain? Nah, it was more fun and truthfully, Oriel loved the sound of his own voice.

He remembered before he came here nearly three years ago he asked the same question of his recruiter, Dr. Campbell. ”Psychic is a broad term that covers a variety of powers…It covers almost all mental and kinetic powers. Everything from mind reading to controlling fire.” Oriel disagreed, though. His idea of the word was that it covered mental powers that allowed the user to obtain information through unconventional senses or perception. It made more sense to him. “I got a friend, says her power is ESP. Extrasensory perception. Says that info just kind of pops into her head sometimes.” How it happened was as this girl said, undefined, but they still used the term because it was the most convenient way to describe what was happening.

[Ashley Engel]

Her eyes settled on the smoke in the wind.
It was more captivating than current company, to be certain. When it dispersed to nothing she still kept her eyes off him. The nearby water was more worth her direct attention. All the while his intentions didn’t go unnoticed, though she had no more reason to act differently upon knowing than she had before. Simply- she didn’t care if he wanted to play a game. If he wanted to try to get under her skin, that was his prerogative. He had already, to a degree, but she wouldn’t say so. That would just reward his behavior. If he wanted to keep trying to prick at her she wouldn’t stop him. Tolerating one asshole at a pond was better than drowning in a mass of strangers anywhere else outside on the school grounds.

Her eyes narrowed as he spoke.
She didn’t intend on hiding her reactions just because she knew his goal. He got what he earned, no more and no less. So as he went on about a friend and ESP, traces of displeasure laced her features. Her lips pursed and her jaw set momentarily before she sighed. With him sitting and her standing and looking down at him, the moment was very much a picture of an exasperated adult trying to explain a concept to a stubborn child. At least, that was how it felt to her.

“ESP and parapsychology are pseudoscience. They aren’t credible or reliable for use in defining anything.” Ash shook her head slightly. She’d read up on a lot of things when her power had manifested. Even if she didn’t like it, and wouldn’t train it into something manageable, she still wasn’t content in remaining ignorant about it. She’d read up on the general concept of telepathy and extrasensory perception. From her angle, it was all garbage.

“Perhaps your friend should stop writing occurrences off under lame terms and research herself. Everyone has five definable senses, no more. She’s acquiring information through those somehow, and more conviction in understanding that would be beneficial.”
Slowly, as Oriel became less a threat to her and more an annoying detail in the setting, Ash withdrew her hands from her jacket pockets and crossed her arms. She didn’t like the idea of someone spouting on about ESP, and she liked someone telling her about it second-hand even less. It all felt incredibly lazy.

“And you should stop defending a concept you don’t understand.”
Because, clearly, if he understood it he wouldn’t defend it at all.

[Deleted]

Oriel rose an eyebrow, taking in her explanation as if she were the spokeswoman of an interesting(and rather informative) television show. Like maybe one of those from the Discovery Channel, or maybe Sci-Fi. Honestly, Oriel didn’t watch those that much. The idea of ESP and telepathy were interesting enough, and considering there were metas roaming about the world, that more than explained a lot of the unusual phenomenon that people classifies as the paranormal. How it all happened was interesting as well, but as he believed, far beneath his capability of understanding. Oriel was never going to be a scientist, that required skills and patience that he had neither of. Plus, no doubt it involved a lot of reading. Oriel could barely read the birthday card that Phoenix had written for him(although to be fair, Phoenix had somehow managed to write an essay in that one card).

It was when it started getting into weird shit like ghosts and spirits that Oriel started getting weirded out by the topic. At least for something like telepathy and pyrokinesis there was proof that it existed, even if it wasn’t in some supernatural way like this chick was associating ESP with. Oriel didn’t know if he believed in that kind of thing, he just knew it unsettled him.

But as for her explanation…Oriel deemed it flawed. It didn’t matter how telepathic she was, it clearly didn’t make her any more open-minded.

“Well ain’t that what the whole fucking english language is made up of? “Lame terms” that we use to describe shit, especially shit we don’t understand? It’s like what I always say ‘bout cursing. The only reason we ‘ssociate “fuck” as a “bad” word is ‘cause too many people say it is. The world comes to a consensus or something 'bout what's "proper" and what ain't. But how’s "fuck" any different that crying out “spoon” when you fucking stub your toe? If everyone keeps doing it, some fifty years from now, we’ll be saying that “spoon” is the worst thing you can say to a person.” Oriel liked his logic on this and it was the entire reason why he made little effort to curb his foul language.

“The way I see it, ESP and telepathy are just fucking words we use to describe something. You know, give it a name so we don’t gotta use a million and one words to say it. Kinda like how we say, uh…like the sun is rising and setting as if it’s actually moving. But everyone knows the sun ain’t going nowhere.” Oriel remembered that from his science classes. Language didn’t make sense. Like, why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway? Why do we say “take a dump”? It was better to just accept it as is and not try to drive yourself crazy with the technicalities. Which was what it sounded like this chick was doing.

[Ashley Engel]

Ash blinked slowly as Oriel spoke.
It was a slow, cat-ish mannerism. She kept her mouth shut as he went on, managing at least the amount of respect needed to let someone talk without interrupting them. She did that with her parents sometimes, but only because they never had anything good to say. This boy, with all his backwards ideas, at least put thought into it. Even if it all sounded incredibly ignorant and half-baked to her, it was effort. It was something. A finger painting next to the Mona Lisa, but effort all the same.

Carefully, and only once he was clearly done, she drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Exasperation wasn’t quite right. For this moment she felt.. Disappointed, almost. That wasn’t quite right either, though. It was strange. She’d never felt such a way towards anyone or anything before.

“Intention. The point is intention.”
She spoke slowly, like if she gave each syllable and sentence enough time it would sink into the other deep enough to get through his skull and deep into his brain.
“It doesn’t matter if someone says they love you or hate you if all you look at is the word.”

Carefully, she put one foot in front of the other and forced herself closer to the boy.
“When people say things like that, you look at the intention. How they feel when they speak. What they mean with the word. Fuck is just frustration condensed.”
Another step, placed precisely. She drew herself up to stand barely inches away from his crossed legs. In the close proximity she looked down on him with the same dull, seemingly emotionless stare she’d had for most of the conversation.

“When you say psychic your intention and implication is incorrect for what telepathy is. At least in the case of reference towards what I can do. Due to that, the word matters. You should use something more apt- hence the correction.”

For a moment she went quiet, simply staring and letting the point of it all simmer between them.
“Now would you kindly spoon off, I came out here to be away from people and their aggravating noises and you're making a lot of them.”

[Deleted]

Oriel had, of course, put a lot of thought into this. Thinking is pretty much what he did, believe it or not. After all, there was nothing better to do sometimes. And then he thought even when he didn’t want to. And when he was busy trying to do something else. Exercise usually helped, especially dancing as that typically required an immediate presence of mind.

But on days like this, when he was trying to nap…that’s when he usually came up with these things. And overall, he was pretty proud of himself for what he came up with.

Oriel didn’t think he was all that smart, but he knew he wasn’t stupid either.

Either way….yeah. He was becoming more and more amused by this girl the more she talked. “Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say,” he confirmed. He just used too many words for it, which incidentally only backed up his point. But it seemed she was very stuck on her interpretation of words, very insistent that her interpretation was the only possible one out there. As far as Oriel was concerned, as long as people got the point, it didn’t matter what you decided to call things.

“Well…please, explain to me. What is it you do? Please explain it to me. If it you can’t call it telepathy, what word, or group of words, would you use to describe it. And what makes telepathy so fundamentally different than what you do? Because in my book, telepathy is the ability to read minds. Which is what you said you do.” Oriel cocked his head, letting his long hair drape over his shoulder.

What she said next, however, made him laugh. Oh, that was beautiful, he couldn’t imagine anyone else in the world who would actually play along like that. Well, she seemed serious. Whether or not she meant it as a joke, Oriel curled his head down into his palm. “Alright, Ms. Vulcan, need I remind you that you spoke to me first.” He looked up at her again. “I was just here, napping and minding my own business. You interrupted my leisure time.” Though it had resulted in a rather enjoyable conversation on his part so he didn't mind too much. "Now, there's enough room for both of us to hang out and ignore each other, if that's what you want to do. But honestly, you are far too interesting a person to leave alone."

[Ashley Engel]

Her hands had come to her hips at some point and she wasn’t sure when.
It wasn’t like her to make terribly offensive postures, even when she felt confrontational. Her body couldn’t up in a physical altercation for long, so she pointedly tried to avoid body language that could subconsciously egg on a fight.

Still, there she was, hands on hips and torso leaned slightly in towards the boy like she was trying to taunt him into something. It happened when he spoke, and she replied. It happened without her realizing, and that fact was annoying to say the least. She did not like doing things subconsciously.

While she wanted to surrender the boy’s personal space back to him, retreating so quickly felt.. bad. A bruise to her ego. So while she straightened slightly to not feel quite so in his face, she didn’t take a single step away from him either.

“I never said I could read minds. I told you I could hear your thoughts. There’s a difference, though both abilities are broadly classified as telepathy.”
The way she sighed was the same way people did when they’d had a bad conversation one too many times. All the same, she still managed to look neutral towards Oriel. She wasn’t quite frustrated with him specifically, not yet. She was just irritated by the topic.

“As long as you exist conscious and in the same open space as me, I will be able to hear you. It isn’t optional and it isn’t invasive. You make noise, I hear noise. That simple.”
Briefly her eyes drew off him, to look around at where they were. It was nice. Trees, water, grass. Peace and quiet. Sort of. It would have been a nice refuge, if it wasn’t occupied by a boy and his thoughts. It wasn’t really Oriel’s fault for any of it- and he was there first in all fairness. But Ashley was not fair. She was self-centered and spoiled and not used to the concept of sharing or putting other people before herself in any way.

“Also, whatever a vulcan is I feel it’s meant offensively. So screw you.”
She didn’t say the words like someone earnest upset would say them. She didn’t look mad, she didn’t snap or shout. She just spoke at Oriel, too calm to be angry and too flat to be ribbing him.

“And don’t call me interesting.”
Now that time she looked briefly offended. But as soon as the words were out the expression faded into nothing but the air between them.

[Deleted]

Oriel was getting to her. Either because he kept talking, or because his logic was sound, or because he refused to accept her point of view or something, but whatever it was, it made Oriel internally giggle and glee. Another person annoyed equaled another productive day for him. He didn’t even care that she probably could see his intention coming a mile away with her telepathy. Foresight wasn’t worth shit if you couldn’t use it to your own advantage, like in a verbal battle.

If he could get her to lash out at him, physically even, then he would be even more pleased to have pushed her buttons to evoke such an extreme response. Because she was telepathic, it would be even more of a victory.

Still, he wasn’t going to argue against a point that was solidly made. “Right, fine. I’ll concede, you don’t read minds, you hear thoughts. Telepathy is a broad representation of both hearing thoughts and reading minds, despite the fact that many would call it the same thing. You can’t conceded that psychic ain’t just an even broader term? That ‘cause you’re just stubborn and don’t like to lose, or ‘cause you got some proof that all things “psychic” is all a bunch of mumbo-jumbo? ‘Cause the way I see it, just ‘cause we don’t get the exact way it works, don’t mean we can’t put a name to it.” Because that’s just how things works, you name it, describe it, and figure out the mechanics later.

Oriel laughed at her “insult” and sent her a wink. “Anytime, Princess, just say the word.” If she didn’t even know what a vulcan was, then this chick really was sheltered. Didn’t they have TV from wherever she came from?

He shrugged. “Fine, I won’t, don’t make it any less true.” If a person was interesting, especially to Oriel, then they typically stayed that way. Interesting was interesting, and you couldn’t really will yourself to not be if you were.

[Ashley Engel]

Oriel spoke and Ash sighed, heavily.
She moved one hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. Her expression bled into visible frustration as the boy went on. Her mind was already piecing together what to say in response, she couldn’t help that. But she had no intention of saying it. What was the point?

“I get the feeling you’re saying that just to frustrate me.”
She shook her head, tipping her face skyward briefly. Deep exhale, deep inhale. Whens he looked back at the other, her face was composed again. Neutral and even. She blinked at him slowly, considering something for a moment.

“I don’t understand why you keep diverting things into sexual suggestions. You’re incapable, I’m incapable, and we both know there is no possible legitimate interest on either side of this equation.” Her lips screwed up as she said it, into what was possibly the most childish almost exaggerated expression of confused irritation manageable. She looked like kids in old movies, overacting their parts. Sadly, hers was honest. Expression, like many other social turns, was not something she had nailed down yet.

“Is it supposed to be funny? Like sarcasm? Or another aggravation?”

[Deleted]

Oriel continued to smile, wondering what she would come back with next. He liked this girl’s arguments, he liked her expressions, however subtle they were, and he liked that he was being a pain to her. But when she decided to engage not with another argument, but instead with calling him out on his intentions, Oriel laughed again. “I ain’t going to deny that,” he admitted, grinning up at her like a silly schoolboy. She kept up with the ‘conversation’ a lot longer than he thought. A lot of people would have left him alone by now, or actually lashed out in an attempt to cause physical harm instead of merely threatening it. He was impressed.

And she was still interesting.

Oriel turned his head up, looking to the sky for answers, or possibly in a slight mockery of what she’d just done, before resuming eye contact and shrugging with pronounced blink. “Can’t it be both?” he replied. “I mean, I find it amusing, even if you don’t. And there ain’t nothing wrong with flirting without intent. Some girls like that shit.” He shrugged again. “And…some girls don’t,” he said, referring to present company. Though she wouldn’t be the first. Regardless of whether his companion appreciated his affections, though, he still found himself amusing. It was just another game to him.