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| Details |
| Author: | inkie |
| Summary: | Bryn Baird has questions for Sil Silentstep about noble girls and courtship. Cressidha Aspenwood joins them sooner than they think she does. |
| Rating: | T for Teen |
The terrace of the Shrine of Seven Stars is busier these days than it has likely been in some centuries, and with peoples only now growing familiar to see in Pandaria. The day is shifting over toward the evening, but merchants are still doing a brisk business and members of the Golden Lotus are pacing around with alert eyes.
On a little bench toward the center, set apart from the sound of commerce, Sil Silentstep sits beneath the sparse shade of a pale-barked, golden-leafed tree. He's dressed for the possibility of war, in his usual brown leather armor, but today he rests with a sense of peacefulness, a smile on his lips. A dinner of steaming hot skewers and bao buns rests in paper on his lap, and his gaze is out on the horizon, watching the sky starting to turn pink and yellow.
Another young man, in similarly nondescript brown armor, is making his way up the steps to the terrace from the Vale. Bryn Baird has his ubiquitous rifle slung on its strap over his shoulder, and the dust-worn state of his armor and the perspiration-damp edges of his hair suggest he has been afield and at work for some time. Without that evidence, it would be impossible to tell this from his serene expression and cloudless pale gaze as he starts across the terrace toward the Golden Lantern.
Then that pale gaze — always scanning, sharper than it seems — catches Sil.
Baird turns at once to detour casually toward the other man. "Hey. Sil."
The words catch Sil's attention, and his gaze snaps from the sunset to Baird. "Bryn, hey! Comin' in from the fight?"
"Yeah, that's right. Well, patrol. Not much of a fight today. How've you been? Busy?" Baird looks him over.
"Not too busy," Sil says with a smile. "I help out when I can. Good to hear they're not pushing the lines today." He looks down briefly, and back up to Baird. "Want a skewer or two? I got a bundle of 'em."
Baird flashes his quicksilver smile. "Yeah, sure. Your turn." He steps closer and takes the rifle strap from his shoulder to prop the gun on the ground against the bench beside him as he settles next to Sil. "You mind if I sit?" he asks belatedly.
"Course not," Sil says with a laugh, shifting a little to make room as he lifts the paper, offering Baird his choice of skewers and buns. "I heard about the whole thing with the palace. You went in there, yeah?"
"Yeah," says Baird, and selects a skewer. "Good time."
"Good time?" Sil asks, looking over at Baird curiously as he grabs a skewer of his own. "What'd you find in there, cute mogu girls?"
Baird cracks a smile. "Nah. It was a good team, though, good group. We got the job done." He eats some of his chicken skewer and then says thoughtfully. "Not sure there are mogu girls."
"I guess I've never seen one?" Sil says. "That is, unless they look pretty much like mogu guys. I guess there's no reason they'd look different in the same way we do."
"Species lack of sexual dimorphism," Baird says. "Yeah, maybe." He finishes his chicken and sets the empty skewer on the bench beside him. "How've you been? Meant to catch up with you again sooner."
"Everything's been going pretty well," Sil says, having a bite of some kind of meat. "I've settled in at the Golden Lantern. The war isn't… it isn't the kind that bothered me, up in Northrend, before the fleet. Or maybe it is, and I'm just a little tougher now."
Baird shakes his head. "Not to say you're not tougher now. After Northrend, you'd have to be. But also this isn't anything like Northrend." He's silent a moment. "Feels… off here. But not like Northrend did." He gazes at the sky. "I was just talking last night about Northrend. Melancholy asked me."
"Your friend Melancholy?" Sil says, looking over at Baird mildly. "What'd she ask about — the Icecrown expedition?"
"Yeah. Can I have another?" Baird nods toward the food. "How's your… Lady Cressidha?"
Sil offers over the skewers and then takes one himself.
"Doing pretty well, I think," Sil smiles. "It's the kind of fight she prefers — straightforward, defending good people from an invasion. And physically, too. She's good at wall defense." He pauses for a bite, then adds, "It's nice, here at the Shrine. Lot of people I haven't seen in a while, and new friends too."
"Yeah." Baird settles back with his new skewer. "I've worked with Lady Cressidha a couple of times now. Cool under pressure. I was worried, the thing with the mogu cages, but she shook it right off." He pauses to eat and then adds, "She made some stuff for Melancholy. Clothes. Did a hell of a job. You met Melancholy yet?"
"Not yet," Sil grins. "But its beginning to seem I should, at this rate. What'd she make for her? Cressidha's a genius at fitting the clothes to the person, not just in size but like, personality-wise."
"Oh, yeah," agrees Baird. "Pretty amazing. She made a swimsuit for Melancholy that I about — " He shakes his head. "Damn."
Sil raises his eyebrows, pausing with skewer a little away from his mouth. "A swimsuit, huh? A hot one?"
"You have no idea," agrees Baird feelingly. "Helps that Melancholy is like 70% legs." A silence while he finishes his skewer, and then he sets it aside and says, "Hey, you mind if I ask you some questions?"
Over by the kite master, rolling up her flying carpet, Cressidha Aspenwood considers her legs, which are currently fully concealed by her blue and gold mage robe. She is not as tall as Melancholy. Shaking her head to herself, she goes to lean with her back against a pillar, listening.
"About… swimsuits?" Sil asks, looking over curiously. "Can't say as I'm an expert, but sure."
Baird flashes him a smile. "No. About noble girls. I'm pretty good with swimsuits, but thanks."
"Oh, sure, yeah," Sil nods. "I'm a little better with that. Know a good number of them in Cobalt, and then of course there's Cressidha. What's on your mind?"
"I know there's rules," Baird says. "There are the etiquette ones. Captain Fallon's been on me about those since he promoted me, since officers, gentlemen, you know. Remembering to pull out chairs and carry handkerchiefs and stuff." He looks over at Sil. "You got a handkerchief? On you?"
"Yeah, I do," Sil nods, and pats his armor for a moment till he finds the pocket with a little handkerchief in it. "There's not really much call for handkerchiefs, but if you don't have one you know you'll be needing it. Like an umbrella. Does Melancholy need a lot of handkerchiefs?"
"Not really," says Baird. "But a couple of times I didn't have one. Which feels a little… emblematic. Being unprepared for all of the rules and stuff." He pauses. "There are etiquette books, I know, but I don't think they really cover… some specifics I need to know."
"Specifics to like… being in a war zone together?" Sil asks curiously. "I guess that's not likely to be covered in the usual texts."
"No," says Baird, and side-eyes Sil a little. "No, I'm all set on war zones. I mean sex." He pauses. "I know they're not supposed to get laid before they get married. And I have… a lot more practical experience than she does. I don't want to do anything that, if she does decide to marry a noble guy someday, is going to mess that up for her. And, to be clear, ordinarily I'd just be like, ask her. But like I said, she's… inexperienced, and, ah. She's got some ideas about herself and her marriage potential, and I'm not sure her premises are correct. I don't want to do anything, like I say, that's going to foreclose any of her options. And I think I'm going to have to be the one who minds the line. So I probably ought to know where it is."
Cressidha silently mouths the words 'get laid', her nose wrinkling slightly.
"Oh. Things have got that far?" Sil runs a hand through his hair. Not the one holding the chicken skewer. "And you don't trust her to know what tell you. Like, okay. The mainstream answer is you court a noble lady, with respect. You make your intentions clear, so she knows where you're hoping to go with it — and that's usually marriage. And before that, if you're doing something that would embarrass her in front of, say… her brother, it's probably over the line."
"I do respect her," says Baird. "She's incredible. Just because — why would that mean I don't — Well. Shit." He lets his head fall back against the tree. "My intentions are… I don't know what my intentions are. Sort of depends on her intentions, you know? I mean, I think I'm a reasonably good guy. Maybe a good time and all. But I'm… that's about it. Just a good guy." He's briefly silent. "I'm friends with her brother. But… yeah. I would sure as hell not have done…."
Cressidha stands up straight, folding her hands in front of her. She has thoughts.
Baird exhales, gazing unblinking at the sky. "I don't know what my intentions are. But I talked to Captain Fallon about leaving the Blanche."
"Leaving the Blanche?" Sil looks at him, a shocked, deer-in-headlights kind of look, but then he continues, "You're a good guy. I mean, anybody could get messed up in this stuff. And you haven't really said why she's not looking toward noble marriage, which might make all my advice moot."
Sil sighs. "But for me… for me and Lady Cressidha… I didn't talk to her about it until I was sure of my intentions. And how can I say — I'm absolutely attracted to her. Light, but she's beautiful. And sometimes I'd like to break the rules, but there's so much more than that. I want to share everything with her — the memories we build together, the conversations, happiness and sorrow — and if some of that everything comes later, I don't mind." Sil smiles. "So I guess that's my main advice, to figure out your intentions, and hers. Which I get its kind of early on for either of you to know."
As Sil speaks, Cressidha tucks herself more tightly behind the pillar, covering her mouth to hide a smile. She has changed her mind about going out there to set Bryn Baird straight. Apparently, Sil will say nice things about her when she's not there.
Baird is still staring at the sky. At length he says, "Not early enough. I gather we have… moved a few steps ahead of where I thought was okay." He is silent again, ruminative. Then, dryly, "I was kind of assuming you were attracted to her, Sil. I mean — that seems prerequisite. You told me you were courting a girl you weren't attracted to, I'd have to wonder what happened to Sil. Also, you know, I've seen Lady Cressidha."
Sil grins at him. "Just making it clear." Then his smile fades as he ponders the problem. "I take it you haven't done anything that would obviously damage her prospects, so maybe there's still time to slow down and figure out where you're going."
"No," Baird confirms. "I figured I knew that much about it. Wouldn't do that. She never even kissed a fellow before."
Cressidha, who has also never kissed a fellow, crosses her arms over her chest.
"Well, then, a kiss is probably not gonna ruin her chances, even if it is a little improper," Sil says, picking up a bun. "Though I don't know. Maybe kissing's the sort of thing you don't realize how much fun it is till you actually do it? And then once you do, you want to do it more…"
Cressidha looks skeptical, but she can't prove that he's wrong.
"I mean, I hope it wouldn't," says Baird. "Ruin her chances. We got… I mean, we got past kissing."
Sil winces. "Might be harder to back off. But maybe if you make it clear it's for reasons, so she doesn't think she's done something wrong. If she's not done anything like that before, she might worry about that if you suddenly cool off."
"Yeah," says Baird. "Yeah, no. I'd talk to her about it." He gazes into space again. His expression suggests he is doing mental algebra. "Okay," he says at last. "I have to think about — I have to make a decision about the Blanche. I told Captain Fallon I would. But I might… know what I'm doing now."
"Good man," Sil says with a smile, clapping Baird on the shoulder lightly with his non-sticky hand. "I'm sure you two will figure it out."
"Yeah," says Baird. He is subdued, still staring at the sky.
After a few moments, his intense stare finds Sil again. "So, hang on. You didn't start dating a girl until you were sure you wanted to marry her? Isn't that the whole point of dating?"
"We didn't start with a wedding ceremony," Sil says with a grin. "Courting is dating in a way, but it's dating with intent. Not to pass the time, and not with no clear idea of where it's meant to go. It's still possible things could go wrong — I hope not — but we're both clear on where we're aiming to go. And you know, I've dated people the other way before. Neither way of going about it is wrong, so long's everyone involved agrees, I think."
"'So long as everyone involved agrees' is a pretty fundamental principle of anything," Baird observes. He rests his head against the tree again. "You want to meet Melancholy sometime?"
"Sure, that'd be fun," Sil says with a smile. "Seems like a number of my friends already know her, after all."
"She's worth knowing," Baird says. "You gonna eat that bun?"
"Oh, want one?" Sil offers the second bun to Baird. "The food here is really pretty great. Could stick around the Shrine for that alone."
Cressidha turns and walks forward, then makes another turn to come out into full view of Sil and Baird. "Silvestre, Bryn, good evening." She has had time to stop blushing. She looks calm and put-together.
"Sidha," Sil says, a warm smile lighting his face. "Headed somewhere? Care to join us?"
"Certainly, if I might have one of those skewers as well," Cressidha says.
"Oh, for sure," Sil says, and he's still speaking in that casual, informal style he was using with Baird, rather than the more careful cadence he typically uses around the nobility. He glances to Baird and then to Cressidha with a moment of puzzlement, before he shrugs it off. He offers the paper of (less, now) options of skewer to Cressidha, and scoots a little away from Baird so she can join in the center of the bench
Baird stares at Cressidha’s approach in much the same intent, impassive way he stares at everything and everyone. "Lady Cressidha," he says politely, and salutes her with the bun. Also politely. He shifts on the bench to make more room.
"You may call me Cressidha, if you wish, as a friend of Silvestre's," Cressidha says.
"Thank you, Cressidha," says Baird. "And I'm glad to thank you in person for that bag. Never had anything like it before. Appreciate it."
"You're quite welcome." Cressidha nods graciously. She tucks her robe neatly around her legs as she sits down in between Sil and Baird. "Tell me about yourself." It is an incredibly broad request. She produces a cloth napkin from her bag, unfolds it, and lays it out neatly over her lap. Now she is ready for skewers.
"That's a pretty broad request," Baird observes. "I'm Second Lieutenant to Captain Fallon aboard the Lady Blanche. Grew up in Stormwind City — which is where I met Sil as a kid — and then Fallon Harbor. Joined the navy at sixteen, been there over a decade now. Lost touch with Sil after my family moved down to Fallon Harbor, but we caught up again when Sil contracted with the Blanche in Northrend for a while." He pauses. "How about yourself?"
Cressidha is able to answer that question without much hesitation. "I grew up on the Varley farm in Elwynn Forest, and my family moved back to Stormwind in year 12, where I began studying the arcane under an independent mage, Mrs. Martha Granville. I was betrothed to Mordecai Harbrooke when I was sixteen, but we had no particular interest in one another. I joined Cobalt Company at twenty-five. My brother Colson, with my full approval, made the arrangements to marry Mordecai instead of me, and he did so, but my dowry still went to the Harbrookes, lowering my prospects significantly. Silvestre was not concerned with money, or what my family name could do for him." Her hand reaches up to touch the snowflake-shaped pendant she wears.
There's already a lot to unpack in that, but she adds, "My favorite color is red. I used to practice my polymorphing by turning sheep into different-colored sheep. I enjoy jumping off of towers and slow-falling down. My favorite type of outfit to design is wedding clothes. I'm actually the older twin, even though I'm much shorter."
Baird stares at her again for a while in silence. It is a thoughtful silence, that seeing-through quality to it, rather than a baffled silence.
"Okay," he says at last. "Thank you. I was born in Hillsbrad during the exile but my dad moved back with me and my sister in the year 7. My sister is younger. Her name's Bryling. I never went to school for anything. My favorite color's either blue or purple. The wingspan of an albatross can be as much as twelve feet. Captain Fallon is the first — the only — noble I met until recently, so if I'm impolite I beg your pardon but it's an accident. You should tell me, though, because I'm working on it.
"I've met your brother, and worked with the Bishop. They seem pretty happy together, so that worked out well I guess. I expect Sil's lucky to be courting you, but I hope you know you're lucky too, because Sil's a solid guy. Did the sheep mind? And was it normal sheep colors or like blue and pink and stuff?"
Sil might know most of these details about Cressidha and Baird, but he still listens with genuine interest. It's good to hear things about people you like. He smiles when Cressidha touches the snowflake pendant, and again when Baird says he's a solid guy. Apparently, your friends will say nice things about you sometimes, right in front of your face.
Cressidha carefully selects a skewer. "I had not thought to use unnatural colors. I'm afraid they simply had the color patterns of other sheep. I did not want to disturb them." She delicately takes a bite.
Baird nods. "That's thoughtful of you."
"Probably didn't even notice, 'less they spotted themselves in the water and thought something seemed a bit off," Sil says with a grin. "I could give you both my about-myself, but I think you both know. Born somewhere up north that I don't remember, grew up in Stormwind — streets with Bryn and sitting rooms with the Sullivans — left my family soon as I was old enough, went through a series of jobs before Cobalt, then made a name for myself there. Literally and figuratively, I hope." He pauses. "Worked in the circus, good at knife-throwing, like being outdoors, um… favorite color varies, maybe."
Cressidha smiles faintly at Sil. These are all things she knows about him. She is getting a good grade in knowing about Silvestre. To Baird, she says, "If you're looking to improve your manners, it's generally considered rude to stare. Are you aware you do that?"
"Sometimes," says Baird. "Sometimes not. But a lot of the time I'm listening, is why."
"Listening," Cressidha repeats. She turns her face more towards him. "Do you lip read…?"
Baird nods. "Not all the time. I can hear okay on the left, depending. But it helps, especially if I don't know someone's voice well yet."
"Maybe it'd be a good idea to mention up front," Sil muses. "If you're comfortable with that, of course. But then folk would know you're not just staring."
Baird shrugs. "Sometimes I am, I guess. Just thinking, and I zone out. Feels weird leading with something like that, anyway. Mostly I get by without asking people to accommodate."
"I see." Cressidha smiles faintly. "That is entirely justified."
Baird flashes her an answering smile. "Thanks. Sorry." After a moment, he deliberately averts his gaze to stare at the bun he's holding, instead.
"You don't need to worry with me, though," Sil says, smiling at them both. "I don't mind staring."
Cressidha rotates her skewer in her hands. "You may continue. It was not my intention to make you self-conscious, I apologize."
Baird looks up again. "That's okay. Don't mean to make anyone self-conscious with staring, either. So how long have you known Sil? Since you joined Cobalt Company?"
"He joined later on than I did," Cressidha says. "I'm afraid I cannot recall our first meeting." She shoots an apologetic look at Sil, and takes a bite of her skewer.
Sil leans back a little, thinking. "I was one of the first, not long after the first squads. Ran into Sir Ference on the side of the road handing out fliers — Cobalt was a smaller outfit back then. Still, things were a little bit more separated between the squads and the newcomers at first, so I'm not sure when exactly? I mean, I knew of you of course. And then some months later I got to know Cole, and he talked a lot about his sister," Sil flashes a smile at Cressidha. "Good things, only. It might be I felt we'd met before we really had, through that."
"Why did you decide to join?" Baird asks, and looks between them, leaning forward a little bit. "Mercenary company. As opposed to enlisting or something." No judgement, only curiosity.
This is a question Cressidha has received often. She finishes chewing and turns to Baird to say, "I intended to enlist, when I was a child. But when Colson and I turned eighteen, my magic instructor determined I was not ready. I was twenty-five when she gave me the go-ahead, and at that time the Defias Brotherhood were being troublesome, and the army was doing nothing about it. Cobalt Company was."
"That's one of the things I like about you," Sil says with a smile to Cressidha. "Always looking for where to do good for people. I'd been through a number of jobs by then, was working at the docks in Stormwind, manual labor. It wasn't really playing to my strengths. Sir Ference had this whole thing about Protagonists and making the world a better place, and I thought… maybe I could? At the time, I didn't figure it was going to be something that would change the whole course of my life."
Cressidha looks fondly in Sil's direction and nods.
"Hey, I didn't know you worked at the docks." Baird is at least as interested in this fact as anything else. "You know Brophy and his guys? What ways did Cobalt Company change your life? You think they do better than the regular military?" Again, no judgement or confrontation; he sounds like he might be interviewing them for a college newspaper.
"Brophy? Yeah, I think I met him," Sil says running his hand through his hair again. "I wasn't there long, though. Back then, I was just taking work where I could find it, hadn't really found my place yet. Military wasn't really on my mind, I guess. My family didn't have a history in the military, and I wasn't really looking to go from one kind of strictly-governed life to another one. But how Cobalt changed… I mean, I've been Cobalt for like five years now. I've been on squads, I've fought wars, faced down world-ending threats, traveled from one side of Azeroth to the other and beyond, made friends, fell in… well, found Sidha." He smiles at her.
"Cobalt Company serves a different purpose than the military," Cressidha says. "You would have to ask someone who has been in both for a true comparison. Our forward squads have at times done work comparable to that of the 7th Legion's expeditionary units, and at times we have dug around in the mud for a woman's lost necklace." The way she presents these two things has no greater weight of importance placed on either task.
Baird nods thoughtfully. "I guess I could ask the Shines, too."
"Colson and Sir Atley have both served in the army as well," Cressidha adds to the list. "And Mordecai was an army chaplain, although I don't actually know how his position was different from a full member of the army." She's never asked.
"I don't know any of 'em as well as the Shines. And they've both got navy experience. But yeah. Thanks." Baird nods to Cressidha.
"Are you thinking of joining Cobalt Company yourself?" Cressidha asks, curious.
Baird is silent for a few moments. "I don't know," he says. "I'm not… planning on it. But I have to make a decision about where I'm going. Because I can't stay on the Lady Blanche."
Cressidha takes a bite, chews, and asks finally, "Why is that?"
Baird blows out a breath. "Because Melancholy's going there. For her apprenticeship. It would be inappropriate for a ship's officer to be involved with a subordinate. So Captain Fallon said either I break it off with her or I go to another ship in the Fleet. And I don't… particularly want to break it off with her."
He looks at Cressidha again. "Oh. I'm involved with — courting? Melancholy." That's probably a salient detail.
"Ah. Congratulations." Cressidha doesn't look particularly surprised, but she does have a tendency to take things in stride. "Please keep me in mind as a tailor for the wedding. Melancholy has been such a delight to design for — she has an idea of the look she wishes to curate, but is open to experimental suggestions."
"Uh, we — I don't — " It's Baird's turn to cast a deer-in-headlights look at Sil. Help a man out, man. He clears his throat and has a bite of steamed bun. Cannot complete answer, very busy eating.
"They've only just started," Sil says with a reassuring smile to Baird, throwing him a kind of life raft. "I don't imagine they've made a lot of wedding plans just yet. Plenty of time. But Baird, you and Melancholy really should see some of the wedding dresses Cressidha's made. Beautiful, and perfectly suited to the brides. But is that — do you really think you'd leave the fleet? Melancholy would only be there till she's done apprenticing, right?"
Sil clearly has no idea how long or short duration that might be.
"I wouldn't leave the fleet, no," says Baird. "But I would need to take a leave from it. At least for a while. Captain Fallon's offered me a place with either Captain Foyle or Captain Skylarke, but — I was talking about my career and advancement last night with Melancholy, and I have… a plan, I think. A better one. But it requires my taking a leave of absence from the fleet."
"Oh yeah?" Sil asks, curiosity piqued. "Can I ask what the plan is, or is it under wraps at the moment?"
Cressidha raises her brows questioningly. She wants to know too.
Baird tilts his head from one side to the other reluctantly. "I have to talk to Captain Fallon first. I don't even know whether it's possible. But I'm hoping he'd be willing to sponsor my application to the Admiralty School. For officer training. I don't have any… actual schooling, and I don't have any formal credentials. Captain Fallon's promoted me on merit, but if I want to go elsewhere in the fleet — be recognized elsewhere in the fleet in general, outside of the Fallon Fleet — I'd likely be stuck where I am. A junior lieutenant for life. And some people doubting I should have gotten that far.
"So if I need to step away from the Lady Blanche for a while, I'd rather not do it just to go to some other captain in the fleet. I'd rather… make way for myself to go wherever I want to in the future. And maybe that'll just be back to the Blanche for a while afterward, I don't know. But I don't want to just be biding time. I'd rather… use the time.
"But because I don't have schooling or whatever, I'd need Captain Fallon to sponsor me, I think. So I'll need him to approve it. To agree."
Cressidha looks at him with genuine warmth. "One of my strongest impressions of Captain Fallon is that of a man who is willing to invest in the future. I think it is highly likely he will approve."
"Oh yeah," Sil nods agreement. "And Fallon's not somebody who judges people based on their backgrounds, or to think people shouldn't makes a way for themselves. I mean, Lena wouldn't be a fleet warlock if he were that kind of person, right?"
Baird flashes a quicksilver smile at Cressidha, and then nods at Sil. "Yeah, I know he's not. How I am where I am. He knows where I started, because it was with him. I figure — he's already given me a shot, if he thinks I can handle it, he'll help me out. I don't know how much of the rest of my life it's going to complicate, though, for a while."
Cressidha finishes the food on her skewer, and she wipes her hands and mouth on her napkin in a very ladylike way. She folds the napkin so that the stain is no longer visible and tucks it away, and then she tries to twirl the skewer stick between her fingers with limited success. It moves, but it doesn't look cool, and it isn't very fast. "And by 'the rest of your life' you mean your courtship, I take it? I don't see why she wouldn't be in favor of your further education as well."
Sil watches the stick-spinning with a fond smile — it's almost like knife-manipulation. He seems to think it's cool, even if it doesn't look like it.
"Yeah, I'd think she'd be in favor of her guy going for officer training, and Stormwind could use some solid officers, besides," Sil pauses, folding up some of the paper in his lap over the empty skewers, and offering the remaining few to Cressidha and Bryn. "But I take your meaning. If you're in school and she's in her apprenticeship, that could be a lot of time apart."
"No, thank you," Cressidha says quietly to the offer of more skewers.
Baird stares at one of them and then the other. "I didn't mean — I mean. Yeah. But that's — " He stares through Sil for a moment. "Premature. To factor that in. There was… the impetus for the idea, the maybe decision? But I'm not — I'm thinking this through for me. I'm not putting any of it on Melancholy. I meant more in terms of… family, finances, current career trajectory. How all that's — Yeah."
He sits back. "I am still thinking it through. I don't like thinking out loud. I need to work stuff out in my head. Shouldn't've said yet."
"Of course, I understand," Cressidha says to Baird. "I believe I'll excuse myself here. Have a good evening. And you as well, Silvestre." She nods to each of them and rises.
Baird casts a guilty look at Sil, and then turns a quick smile up at Cressidha. "Hey. It was nice to talk to you more, Cressidha. Thanks. If you want to stay, actually, I just got back from working. I should go get cleaned up and leave you two to it."
"And don't worry about it," Sil says, smiling at him. "I didn't mean to pry. When you do want to talk about it, let me know."
"Yeah," says Baird. "Sure." He picks up his rifle and gets to his feet. He slings the rifle over his shoulder and then… offers Cressidha a handshake. That's manners™.
Cressidha shakes Baird's hand firmly, nodding to him. She looks down at Sil and asks, "Would you like me to stay a little longer…?"
"I'd like that," Sil says, and looks over at the darkening sky. "Maybe till the stars come out?"
Baird gives Sil a casual salute and a half-smile and heads for the Golden Lantern.
"Certainly," Cressidha says, and takes a seat next to Sil. She does not reach for any more skewers; she clasps her hands in her lap and watches Baird leave, after which she turns to Sil. "Have you given any consideration to when we should be married?"
Whatever Sil had thought Cressidha might ask about tonight, that wasn't it — though maybe he should have, given the current conversation. There's a flicker of surprise in his expression, but it quickly resolves into a warm smile. Expected or not, the question is welcome.
"I meant to ask you about that, or something similar," Sil says, reaching his clean hand toward hers. "I thought… I feel like things are going well between us, but its better to ask, right? I was thinking, for marriage, we might discuss and decide on a season. I know we'd have to decide pretty far in advance, to arrange everything."
Cressidha takes his hand. "I thought you might like something outdoors, or at the least an outdoor reception, although that always carries the threat of poor weather. Autumn, perhaps, so no one gets heatstroke or freezes."
"That would be perfect," Sil says, smiling as he imagines the scene. "In Elwynn, so we can see the changing leaves and the sunlight through them. And yes, weather could be a problem, but life is unpredictable, right? Is that what you would like, too? Maybe… this autumn?"
Cressidha nods her approval at the choice of Elwynn Forest. "Yes. I hope that circumstances shall allow our friends and family who are currently working in Pandaria to attend by then."
"I hope so," Sil says, sitting back and looking at the sky, as the brightest of the little pinpricks in the heavens begin to become visible. "We can't put off all the things of life till the best possible time, because who could possibly know when that is? But I hope things are better in the autumn."
Cressidha is not looking at the sky. She is studying Sil's face. "How strange," she murmurs. "I find I am looking forward to it. Such a difference, with you."
At that, Sil turns to back to face her. From the way his breath catches, and the faint flush on his cheeks, it seems that he is now looking at the brightest star out tonight. He holds her hand gently, and leans in a little to say, "If you weren't, I hope you'd tell me. I'm looking forward to it… and the whole life that'll come after. But your happiness is the most important thing to me, through everything."
"Of course I would," Cressidha promises. She leans in as well, mirroring him subconsciously, and whispers, "I've had an idea. We should go camping, one of these days."
Sil's eyes light up. "Yeah? I'd like that. Somewhere safe — not that we can't handle ourselves, but just so we don't have to. Maybe here in Pandaria, when all's said and done."
Cressidha's expression softens. "Whenever you want. I shall let you pick the location, as the expert."
"I'll keep an eye out, as we work here," Sil says, smiling. "I'll make sure to find us the best campsite in Pandaria."
Cressidha chuckles quietly. "It needn't be the best one. Just somewhere you will enjoy."
"That opens a lot of options," Sil says, and his eyes go a little vague, playing back all the countryside he's seen in Pandaria so far. "There's some really nice places in the east, like around where they're building the big jade statue. Or maybe even somewhere here in the Vale, far enough south to be well away from the front. Probably a one-night trip to start with, to see how it goes, make sure we don’t run into any troubles."
Cressidha smiles gently at him. "Certainly."
"I'll plan us a camping trip," Sil says, raising her hand to kiss it, if she'll let him. "Sooner rather than later."
As he lowers her hand, his eyes flick in the direction of the Golden Lantern, and he adds, "I'd like to spend some time with Bryn and Lady Melancholy too, while we're all here in the Vale. Not camping, I mean, just in general. Because Bryn's a friend of mine, and also for… support, I think. For their courtship."
Cressidha does permit it. "That sounds most agreeable." She finally looks up at the night sky. The stars are starting to come out, but she doesn't make any move to leave.