Good Company

[Kasimir Sewik]

At a bar in Hargeon, round two. This time, however, Kaz was drinking with his 'friend' from a last-minute mission. He had owed Amie for saving him, so tagging along and helping with his mission just felt natural. Amie had been injured, though, so Kaz stuck with him until they'd properly gotten the bullet out, cleaned the wound, and bandaged it much better than their earlier makeshift attempt. With so many life-or-death encounters stacked back-to-back, Kaz really wanted a drink right now. Even if his original drink in Hargeon had been the source of most of his trouble.

When they first entered this particular bar, Kaz unconsciously found himself scanning for the girl who'd set him up earlier. She wasn't there, of course. They were at a different bar than where he'd met her. And really, Kaz was hoping not to run into her... he wanted to avoid any unnecessary conflict. He followed Amie into the bar, letting him pick out the seat.

Now with a mug of beer, and the danger gone, Kaz felt unusually content. “You've certainly got a knack for finding trouble, it's actually kind of impressive. Let me guess – Fairy Tail wizard?” He figured that with the way Amie had jumped in to save him, and then subsequently planned to storm an entire gang by himself... it was reckless enough to uphold Fairy Tail's reputation. “You probably already guessed it, but I'm not with a guild, so I'd appreciate it if you kept our meeting quiet from the rest of your friends.” He took a long draught of his beer, sighing as he felt some of the tension fade away. Considering all that Amie had done, Kaz doubted Amie was the type to accidentally slip and tell someone... but still, never hurt to say it directly.

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie didn’t spend a lot of time in bars alone. Actually, even if he went in to a bar alone, he was usually either approached or he approached someone. Some of his female friends encouraged him to go to the bar with them, and he was almost like their body guard. It worked, since he didn’t mind warding off unwanted attention, and he liked the company. If he did go alone he usually tried to make friends, and if he didn’t, he sometimes got hit on anyway. It wasn’t something he complained about, but it definitely wasn’t something he sought out. Although since he was very friendly it wasn’t a real problem.

Tonight Amie was with a man he’d just met. A man named Kaz, who apparently had a bounty out on him, though Amie didn’t know what for. Amie cared on some level. He wasn’t okay with certain things, but then, he knew he was associated with a lot of unacceptable things himself, and he wouldn’t just take it at face value. He wasn’t asking though. Kaz had helped get the bullet out of Amie’s shoulder. It was still sore, but he was used to physical pain. A couple of beers would help drain away the pain anyway.

Amie picked a seat slightly off to the side and ordered himself two beers, and put Kaz’s mug of beer on a tab, paying extra to make sure he started out in the green. He opened his beer and took a large drink from it. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but tonight was a special situation. He laughed a little when Kaz guessed that Amie was a Fairy Tail wizard. He’d heard the comparison before, and maybe he did seem like he might suit them, but he was perfectly happy in Lamia Scale. They also drew less attention, which was good for Ambrose, “Nope, I’m from Lamia Scale, been with ‘em for seven years already.”

Kaz asked for Amie not to mention his guildessness. Amie hadn’t planned to mention it, so he just tipped his bottle at Kaz and then took another drink, “Wouldn’t dream of it. How would they be to repay good company? Besides, I don’t much like getting folks in trouble, bad karma too,” he nodded thinking about it, “So, I don’t know much about you, where are you from?” he asked, almost finished with his first beer already. That beer was there to buzz the pain, the second was for sipping.

[Kasimir Sewik]

So Kaz's mysterious helper was from Lamia Scale huh... Seven years was a long time. Apparently he couldn't judge a book by its cover. Lamia Scale probably had plenty of reckless mages too, like Fairy Tail. The only group Kaz didn't hear much about was Blue Pegasus. Kaz took another long draught from his cup. He was purposely matching Amie's pace for drinking. Not that he was in the mood to get drunk, but Kaz had built up a pretty strong tolerance to alcohol, so it would be a bit before he felt anything. Since Amie was paying though, Kaz planned to drink more modestly, and figured whatever Amie did was a safe bet for Kaz to follow.

"I always kind of thought Lamia Scale was home to balding old guys. Didn't really expect such an attractive guy to be  part of guild named after a snake," he took the last swig of his drink before he could regret what he'd just said and hoped it wasn't too awkward. There was little point unless he tried so better to try than not at all, although he would be quick to back off depending on Amie's response.

He tried to hold back visibly grimacing as Amie asked about where he was from. Kaz's face flickered for just a second, but he managed to hide it pretty quickly. Reaching for a second drink, he kept it in his hand to keep pace with Amie. He did appreciate that Amie would keep the guild-less thing a secret, not that Kaz had expected Amie to do otherwise. Amie was smart enough to know the implications of telling his guildmates about guildless wizards. And Kaz knew the question was an innocent one; Kaz didn't want to appear rude. "Oh, kind of had a sheltered life, didn't get out much," he half lied. The sentiment was right at least; Amie would get the right idea of his lack of worldy info with 'sheltered'. Although that didn't really mean he'd been with an overprotective family or home. "Crocus mainly, but I wasn't really involved with the bigger part of the city," he answered more directly, mainly because he was trying to at least appear like he wasn't avoiding the question... even if he was. Crocus wasn't much of a 'home town' to him, but it was where he'd grown up.

"It's because of that, that I'm on a backpacking trip around the world now," Kaz shifted topics slightly. When asked about the past, most people talked about the past. He'd somehow turned the conversation of the past into the present. "Just exploring and seeing new things. I think I've been to most cities and towns around Fiore now. How about you, came to Hargeon for guild business?" He guessed that Amie had come for the job they'd just completed.

[Ambrose Wilder]

There were lots of things people could tell about Amie by looking at him. A lot of those things were true. However a lot of things were contrary to appearances. Amie was a confident man, but had his worries and his issues. He was open about most things, but pointedly did not want to discuss others. It was all good though, he was a happy guy, and he enjoyed himself most of the time. He was currently enjoying his time with Kaz quite a bit. And then there was that one comment that threw him off. It was like he couldn’t decide between coughing, blushing, looking away, or taking it like every time a girl told him he was good looking. The girls were actually a lot more direct, but he played it off, because he really didn’t care either way.

Kaz was drinking as much as Amie, and that actually just encouraged Amie to drink more. Amie was four inches taller than Kaz, but it would take less to affect him. That wasn’t so bad, because normally he would pay more attention to what he was drinking. He was paying a bit more attention to Kaz drinking now, right after his comment on attractive men, like Amie, in a guild named after a snake. He coughed slightly, because that was apparently the winning reaction, and took a drink himself, “Probably as many attractive men at Lamia Scale than elsewhere,” he wasn’t really sure what he meant to say by that. It was just strange. He actually said things like that often enough, but he knew why he said it, and that was the difference now. “Take you for example, point proven.”

Amie suddenly wanted to hit his head on something, but instead he finished the first half of his second beer. It didn’t make him feel better, but it sure made him feel like his mouth wasn’t making him look stupid at that exact moment. He didn’t flirt; he didn’t really find any particular man especially attractive, besides mild preferences. He wasn’t flirting now, he was just surprised by the situation. Oh well, when his words got him into trouble, usually he just talked more and let it go. Sounded like the best idea right now.

The question about where Kaz was from apparently struck some nerve. Crocus, and sheltered life. Amie chuckled, “I was a bit sheltered too,” if being raised around family alone in a cave was sheltered. And killing people. Yeah, so it was secluded more than sheltered, but he didn’t know what Kaz meant either. Probably not the same thing. Kaz shirted to his present exploration and Amie nodded, “I do a lot of travelling too, just always end up back near Cerulean. No point in having a home if you don’t ever go back I guess,” he admitted with a shrug, finishing his beer, and registering the question about coming to Hargeon for business, “Sorta. Just looking for information. Actually, you travel, ever met a blond chick name Mariana? Probably looks like me, I don’t know really….” he sighed. His beer was empty, so he ordered another, but didn’t open it.

[Kasimir Sewik]

At first Kaz was pretty sure he'd said the wrong thing. The fact that he'd nearly made Amie choke on his drink seemed like a pretty clear indication. He'd probably scared the poor man. He was already thinking of backing off until Amie actually returned the compliment. Kaz's eyes flickered back, unable to help smiling wryly. "Heh. Thanks." Appearances could be deceiving. It was the first time in a while that he hadn't met with a hostile or frightened response. He wasn't sure if it would go anywhere or not, but at least now he knew they had the option.

Amie mentioned that he had also lived a sheltered life. Kaz refrained from commenting, but he seriously doubted that Amie's sheltered life had been like Kaz's time spent pretty much under lock and key in Crocus. Well, at least Amie was trying to relate. It wasn't like Kaz had been very clear in his description. He didn't really consider Crocus his home... and Kaz frowned a little when Amie mentioned that there was no point to having a home without visiting it. He didn't need a home; he much preferred wandering around and seeing the world. For all intents and purposes, Crocus was as much an unknown city as the rest of them. Except that there were more people in Crocus that could get Kaz in trouble. It was a place he didn't frequently visit on his travels, at least not without a good reason.

"Cerulean huh... I actually just visited Cerulean. Living next to a beach must be nice." Actually, he'd met a certain other Lamia Scale member there. But he wasn't about to bring another girl up at this point. Except Amie beat him to that. At least the 'looks like me' comment made it sound like a sibling. "I haven't met anyone like that," Kaz shook his head at the description. He would remember meeting a Mariana that looked like Amie, if he'd met her. "Long lost sister?" He guessed from Amie's description.

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie gave off a clear indication that he didn’t get flirting. Well, okay, men didn’t hit on him. Ever. Sure, he knew some hit on each other, but they didn’t hit on him, that was for sure. He was so used to knowing that no matter what, it didn’t matter if someone flirted, that he forget it was actually possible it might matter. It was actually possible he didn’t need to politely ignore flirting, or tease about it. It didn’t even matter if he cared, and he didn’t want to care, because it was so confusing, it was always a non-topic. Well he complimented Kaz, and Kaz thanked him. Amie wasn’t sure if he’d just said sure, I’m attracted to men and if he had, he would probably be a bit more anxious, since no one ever asked, but he chose not to dwell on it, for that exact second.

They changed the topic to past life, or present, either way. Kaz mentioning being near the beach, “Well,” Amie said, running his fingers through his hair, “It’s mostly hanging out at the guildhall for me, when I’m there, but…. Beaches are nice.” He mostly knew how to swim even. Now Kaz asked about the girl, long lost sister, “Basically. Family is important, right?” he asked, opening his next bottle, “Its…. I’ve been told its all you can count on. I guess that becomes confusing when you’ve got no family left, mm?” he asked, musing at the ceiling before smiling at Kaz. It was serious, but being serious didn’t ruin his mood.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Oh, that's right. Kaz had completely forgotten that Lamia Scale's guild hall was near Cerulean. That certainly made sense now why he'd bumped into Astra. It hadn't even really occurred to him at the time. His thoughts were still a bit on Amie's compliment earlier though, so he didn't feel too bad for being distracted. He honestly did try to remember his various encounters with women though, searching his memory for anyone that might vaguely resemble Amie's description.

"I wouldn't know," Kaz slipped unintentionally, when Amie started asking about family. Wait, was he buzzed? Two beers shouldn't have been enough for him to say something like that. "Well, at least you've got a lead to check out," he added quickly to keep the focus on Amie. It was certainly more than Kaz could say for himself. He had no family to speak of either. Worse, Gunther had taken Kaz in so early, that Kaz couldn't remember anything before that point. He had no memories of parents or siblings... even no last name to search for. Sewik was Gunther's last name, a name Kaz had taken more to remind himself of where he'd come from. And similarly, Kasimir was a name given to him by Gunther. Kaz was pretty sure there were no official records of him existing... So even attempting to search for any family would be impossible.

Kaz cracked into the third beer, although he took just a small sip this time. "If I see anyone like that, I'll find a way to let you know. I could leave a note in Lamia Scale or something," he offered. "Besides, you've got your guild at least right? So you still have some family." He was trying to cheer Amie up a little, because Kaz couldn't help but think that Amie's smile looked sad. Kaz certainly wasn't trying to make himself seem lonely or pathetic, although he supposed indirectly he just had.

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie had his beer open in front of him, and a man who was messing with his senses unintentionally. Kaz mentioned that he wouldn’t know about family. No, no Ambrose’ family, but about family. Amie arched an eyebrow at him, but Kaz said something about a lead to check out. Well Amie supposed Kaz must not have much family, or a good relationship, or maybe he was an orphan, Amie didn’t know. There were a lot of options for Kaz’s statement. Having a lead didn’t exactly help. It made Kaz even more curious. A first name, an age, a hair color, and that she might look like him. In the entire world, that was a lead? Yep, Amie decided Kaz was an orphan.

“Its not much of a lead, but oh well. Dwelling on the negatives, and the past, doesn’t do anyone any good,” he said, sipping his beer. The beer was starting to taste better, which he told himself meant he should stop drinking it.

They both had a third beer open now, both keeping things slower. Did that mean they were both aware of the situation? What was the situation? Amie probably wasn’t are of it, except that it was serious feeling. Kaz said if he saw anyone like Mari, he’d leave a not in Lamia Scale, “Aw? I don’t even get a visit if I’m around?” he teased, “Yeah, they’re… like family, but a lot less violent,” he chuckled. Probably too much of a hint at the past, which he didn’t want to get into, but he was allowed his mistakes. It didn’t matter, Kaz would probably not take him seriously anyway. Who had a family that was less violent than a guild of wizards? Besides Ambrose. “Do you ever want people to travel with?” he asked Kaz. It seemed like the man travelled alone, and Amie travelled alone as well, a lot. It helped that he was so friendly, but it sounded like Kaz was always alone, and that just didn’t sound like fun. Especially with a bounty on his head.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz nodded as Amie expressed that dwelling on the past and negatives wouldn't do much good. He tried to follow that philosophy, although there were times it was easy to slip. There was nothing he could change, although it was hard to not think of doing things differently. He cheered up a bit when Amie teased him about visiting in Lamia. "You seem like the kind of person who wouldn't be in the guild hall much, but yeah, if you're around, I'll definitely drop by," he promised. "Maybe I'll look for leads just as an excuse to see you again," he grinned. Although that grin faltered when Amie mentioned a violent family. Kaz had never really considered that having a family might be a bad thing. But it could be. Maybe having a family was something Kaz could be less jealous about.

He was in the process of taking another sip of beer when Amie asked him if Kaz ever thought of traveling with anyone else. Now it was Kaz's turn to sputter. He hadn't expected that question. He wasn't sure if Amie was indirectly asking if he wanted to travel with him either. Honestly, he'd only ever dreamed about traveling with others. It just seemed far too impossible to be a reality. Mainly because if he ever did spend an extended period of time with someone, Kaz would indirectly give them trouble one way or the other. He pounded his chest and cleared his throat, taking another sip this time to get the rest down.

"I mean, I don't know, I've never really considered it seriously," he said truthfully enough. "Seems like kind of a bad idea. Having a bounty, being guild-less and all. Puts me on the hit list of the Magic Council and some questionable folks. I have an adventure or two with a wizard every now and then, and then it's back to being on the road." He hadn't really answered the real question - did he 'want' anyone to travel with him. Mainly because he wasn't sure if he did or not. "Makes me seem more dark and mysterious or something," he finally gave up and shrugged. "How about you though, you typically fly solo in your guild?"

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie didn’t always succeed at listening to his own philosophy, but he still kept it in mind. People weren’t absolutes, but they could have good ideas, still applicable even when mistakes were made. Kaz commented that Ambrose wasn’t exactly the kind of guy who seemed to be in the guild hall that often, “Not all the time, no, but I stay for a bit when I am there. I like to see my friends after all. Gotta hang tall things from the ceiling and all that jazz,” he added. That was something he’d been asked to do a few times, by a particularly small and spoiled young woman he took a liking to. Kaz then added that maybe he’d look up leads as an excuse to come visit Amie. The blond smiled, “I certainly wouldn’t complain.” Kaz was pleasant, and if he actually heard anything about Mari, that would be more than enough. Amie would put up with someone he hated to hear about his sister, and Kaz was definitely not someone he hated.

Amie asked about Kaz travelling with others, and Kaz started choking. Amie cautiously took a drink of his own beer, hoping this routine didn’t turn into both of them choking. Amie didn’t consider himself high strung, but this encounter seemed to call some of that into question. Kaz finally answered, but Amie wasn’t really fond of his answer. It seemed like a generally bad idea, but then again, Amie was a bit of a hypocrite... other than not wanting people to know if he actually ran into trouble, more so than keep them out of it.

“Sounds like its asking for trouble going on alone. No backup and all,” he reminded him, as per the reason he thought it was a bad idea. Amie chuckled when Kaz said it made him dark and mysterious, or seem it, “Eh, mysterious, not so much dark. And… other than some specific jobs we get given, I go on my own.” He didn’t mean to direct any of this at Kaz, even if he wouldn’t have minded travelling with him, personally, “I’d like company, but none of my friends actually do the sort of travelling I do. That makes it hard to keep company,” he nodded, finishing his third beer and feeling warm.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Gotta hang the ceiling what now....? Kaz wasn't completely sure what Amie had just said. It was certainly an expression he had never heard before. But at least he understood the part before it to get the context. Amie had friends in the guild. Considering Amie had been in Lamia Scale for seven years... it would probably be stranger if he had no friends. Kaz was legitimately considering asking around for Marianna. He traveled here and there anyway, so he might as well ask when the opportunity arose.

Kaz shrugged unhelpfully when Amie mentioned the dangers of traveling alone. Yes, being alone was certainly more dangerous. But it also ensured that no one else would get hurt, at least not on another's account. It made sense for guild wizards to band together and tackle missions; same enemy, higher chance of success. He grinned a little when Amie questioned his 'dark' complex. "I'll settle for mysterious, that's one more than what I thought I had going for me." It was kind of fun to think of himself like that, even if he was anything but dark and mysterious. Although maybe from Amie's perspective, Kaz did seem mysterious.

He thought a little on Amie's words about traveling. "What do you mean, what kind of traveling do you do?" Kaz wondered, honestly confused. Since Amie was from Lamia Scale, Kaz had assumed that Amie traveled for jobs. Jobs seemed exactly like what any Lamia Scale wizard would be interested in doing. Unless... "You mean you just kind of wander, searching for your sister? There must be someone in your guild who would come with you." Kaz wasn't about to volunteer himself to join Amie, even if he was trying to allude something with his words.

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie didn’t really pay attention to Kaz’ confusion, if he actually noticed it. It made sense that Amie had friends after seven years, sure, but that wasn’t why he had the friends. He’d had friends there, as far as he was concerned, before he even joined. He was friendly, and if he and someone saw eye to eye enough to avoid conflict, and they liked interacting, they were friends. There was a lot of bad stuff around, so Amie didn’t get real strict with how he saw the good things. If they were good, they were good. It wasn’t quite that black and white at times, but he liked to aim for a simple color scheme if permitted. It wasn’t permitted as far as the past, and that was just another reason not to jump back into the past.

“You seem like you’ve got lots more goin’ for you than you might guess,” Amie shrugged, as far as Kaz being mysterious. He might be wrong, but Kaz just didn’t seem like the must chipper dude as for his self-image. It was nothing close to scientific, but he was giving off those vibes. Amie got those vibes from some people, and some people it was an ocean of negativity just surrounding them. He wasn’t much for swimming in the ocean, really.

Kaz asked what sort of travelling Amie did. Ambrose really didn’t see the confusion at this point. He ran his fingers through his hair, “Lookin’ for Mariana. Travel around, see what folks know, stay outta trouble, and… be cool and guilded I guess? Might not be the word,” he shrugged, “I do some jobs for people if they ask, basically, but mostly I am investigating.” He tried to drink more out of his bottle but it was apparently empty, so he just shook it a little and looked at it while Kaz spoke. “Ah, maybe, but they all have their own agendas, and seemingly never ending travel doesn’t suit ‘em. Only some people are happy with that kind of schedule,” he said, taking a deep breath and then smiling at Kaz. He was enjoying the conversation. He wasn’t entirely sure what about it he was enjoying, but his shoulder didn’t throb anymore, and he was in a good mood.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Despite Kaz's earlier adventure with Amie, Kaz's life was surprisingly fairly quiet. At least, as far as he could tell. The first year of freedom was spent mainly combatting pursuers and learning much about Fiore. After that he'd mainly learned his way about the world, although many lessons had come the hard way. He continued to fade from the public eye as his record remained straight past his initial bounty. There was the odd occasional wizard which lead him to trouble - Shinju for example - but mainly Kaz had taken up odd jobs that were unrelated to the guilds or combat. If it wasn't for his desire to travel the world, Kaz would have been happy to just settle down somewhere remote and try to eke out a humble living.

"Well you seem like a pretty cool guy to me," Kaz added when Amie mentioned being 'cool and guilded'. Clearly not what Amie had meant, but Kaz would take any opportunity to throw in a compliment. And maybe some teasing. "But staying out of trouble? Not as natural as your good looks, I'm afraid. I think that's inevitable with your work with Lamia Scale or even getting friendly with someone like me." He didn't drown himself in alcohol this time, having lost the majority of his nervousness by now.

"So you're a well-traveled guy, what's your favorite place you've been to?" Kaz asked, grinning mischievously. Maybe the drinks were affecting him a little, but he was still plenty coherent enough to plot his next strategic move. Besides, he was honestly interested in what kind of place Amie would like the most. Cerulean Town, home to Lamia Scale? That would be a practical home-like answer. Or would it be a place he'd only visited once or twice, somewhere either foreign or exotic? Kaz was fairly confident he would at least know whatever place Amie would say.

[Ambrose Wilder]

Amie might enjoy a quiet life, but it didn’t end up that way. He enjoyed the excitement, but he knew it was dangerous. There were things he was willing to seek out, and he was more than willing to risk a bit of danger to get them. It was lucky for him that he hadn’t used magic as a child. Honestly, the only people who should be able to tie him back to who he was were the bandits, and anyone they’d talked to. He didn’t wish ill on anyone, but he almost hoped they were dead, so no one could tie him back.

Amie smiled when Kaz said he seemed like a cool guy. It was always nice to get a compliment, even better to get them from someone you wanted to think well of you. Kaz really enjoyed messing with Amie’s head though. Natural good looks, hm? He sighed, blushing either because of the alcohol or the comment. No, it was probably the presence of both that caused any blushing. He looked to the side, but turned back. It was natural to get in trouble being in a guild, or getting friendly with someone like Kaz. “Ah, but someone like you makes for good company. Good company’s worth a lot more than avoiding trouble,” Amie said, his change of mindset easily allowing him to forget the blushing.

“Favorite place…” Amie said, scratching the side of his face thoughtfully. He’d been around a lot in his life, a whole lot. He didn’t know the names of a lot of places. Sometimes he’d needed to keep to himself, sometimes he talked. He’d spent a good deal of that time being entirely unable to read, which didn’t help. He ran through the years, and tried to make an educated guess. “Uhm, I’m not sure where it is. Someplace in North Fiore I think, maybe near Shirotsume Town? Not really sure, but there’s some mountains there, and my favorite was one I used to climb up. Hold some colored glass,” he said, knowing they were precious gems, but knowing better than to say that, “up at sunset and it was the prettiest thing I ever saw. That’d be my favorite then I suppose.” Kaz thought Amie might pick home, and he did, just not the most recent home. Amie was a bit too distracted thinking about that to ask the same question in return.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz leaned against his hand, still watching Amie curiously. Kaz chuckled a little when Amie looked away and then mentioned that Kaz was good company. Personally, Kaz thought the trouble wouldn't be worth the company, but he wasn't about to try and change Amie's mind. And maybe Kaz was wrong, but he thought he'd caught a blush, it was very hard to tell in the tavern's lighting. Was he... shy? That was interesting. Amie seemed so eager to deal with everything head-on. Love and affection was a fickle thing though, probably moreso between two guys than other kinds of relationships. Kaz had much more of a 'live in the moment' mentality; there was no telling what the future might bring, so he knew he acted more brashly than others. But if he was interested why not? Better to see what happened than live in some grey area of nothing.

"Shirotsume..." Kaz recalled the town. It was one of the smaller places he'd visited, up on the mountains. "Yeah, I've been there, the mountains are amazing. Although I haven't tried climbing any of them yet." With Amie's descriptions it sounded like he had some history with the town too. "Colored... glass?" Kaz looked away frowning a bit, trying to picture what Amie meant. Stain glass window? He pictured a little Amie holding a broken shard of glass up to the sunset, from the top of the mountain. The image didn't seem quite right. Kaz rarely saw stained glass although maybe it was more common in certain parts. "I'll have to try that if I'm in the area next time." The question hadn't been returned, but with Amie's earlier shyness, Kaz thought of holding back for now. It was probably silly to treat this the same way he talked to women anyway.

"Well thanks for the drinks..." Kaz finished up the third beer, deciding not to let it go to waste. It was hard to constantly flip between being hopeful and hopeless. Even though their conversation had gone well, it felt oddly painful for Kaz to continue so subtly, especially when he expected to only see Amie on the odd occasion. With his identity recognized earlier in the day too, Kaz figured it would probably be safest to leave Hargeon quickly. If the earlier flunkies had alerted the Magic Council or anyone else, Kaz would have troubled visitors soon. "I think it's best if I don't linger too long here, so I hope you don't mind me ducking out early. I'll be sure to let you know if I find out anything about your sister, though."

[Ambrose Wilder]

Most people weren’t that good at changing Amie’s mind. He might agree to go along with whatever they wanted to be nice, but rarely had his opinions actually changed. He just happened to be accommodating. As far as Kaz, Amie liked him. He was fun and helpful, and capable of what no one else had managed in years. Making Amie feel shy. Strange that it made him a bit more interesting. Amie didn’t mind trouble, and he liked company, but Kaz didn’t seem of the same train of thought. Amie was interested in enjoying the moment, but he also had to plan for the future. Besides that, he just wasn’t sure how to act with some of the things Kaz said. They were…. Different.

When they got on the topic of where Amie liked spending time it seemed Kaz knew the area. The area, not that Amie knew anything more than that. If he went back maybe he could find his old home. Maybe it hadn’t been raided yet. He had no idea, but he didn’t want to go snooping around there for any reason. Maybe he would one day, but not now. “Well you should, it’s a nice view,” Amie said with a small nod. When Kaz heard the comment about color glass it seemed to confuse him. Amie sighed, “Or precious gems. They reflect the light…. Its… ah never mind,” he said, before sighing again. Now he was talking too much. Kaz said he’d try it if he was in the area again.

Suddenly it was over though. Kaz thanked him for the drinks and said he was leaving. Amie was tipsy enough, but he wasn’t drunk. “Yeah, I guess. Ah, thanks,” he added, regarding Mariana. That was nice. Someone who travelled was a good deal better than someone who didn’t. After all, Amie didn’t guess Mari actually travelled, she was just… somewhere he wasn’t. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Kaz,” Amie said. It was…. Really quite strange. Ambrose was in no way shy, he just didn’t flirt. That threw him off, and the short, alcohol filled conversation ended abruptly. Oh well, he probably needed to get a room himself. He cleared the tab, got up and left not long after that. Maybe when he cleared his head he would have any idea what had just happened. Probably not, but maybe.

[Kasimir Sewik]

Kaz paused when Amie mentioned precious gems. That sounded expensive. Oh, wait. Maybe that's why Amie had said colored glass at first. The rich seemed eager to hide their riches from others... at least, while traveling. At their homes, they were all too eager to show it off. One of the first impressive places he'd seen was House Caligo, and he could remember each section of the vast manor despite only staying for a few days, and years ago in the past. He wondered if Amie had a similar background. ...Well, Amie had mentioned that his family had brought up poor memories, so maybe not. It was hard to picture someone with such a life deciding to become a Lamia Scale mage, especially one keen on finding trouble. Kaz grinned when Amie mentioned it was nice meeting him. "The pleasure was all mine," he assured Amie. "Until we meet next time." And he did think they would meet in the future, but likely not for some time.

He would be glad to get back on the road again, maybe it was his traveler life calling him. Where to go next? Kaz knew Amie would be traveling too. And maybe it was silly, but he didn't want to run into him again quite yet. First he wanted to find more about his sister, and then find him instead of having a coincidence find them together. Kaz left Amie with the tab, heading out to the star-filled night. He took a deep breath of the clean air, before wandering to find a place to stay, at least until morning.

~Exit~

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