Farewell Date (Ariadne, Lyria, Toshiro & Jungi)

The chatter in the infirmary couldn’t even keep her mind off of the date that evening. Ariadne was excited to see Toshiro again and to see Jungi one more time before he was on the road again. She could share her excitement with Lyria but not why she was so excited. After all, Ariadne was going as Jungi’s date and was bringing Lyria along to be Toshiro’s so it would be Toshiro’s job to let Lyria know how he felt about the girl. Just as it would be hers to let Jungi know how she felt about him, should he think there was something more serious going on between himself and her.

Since the girls were working together, Ariadne asked her over to get ready at her parents place. It took them longer than they thought it would to get ready, each re-thinking what they were wearing and how they had done their hair more than once before deciding there wasn’t time to change what they had on or their hair.

Ariadne wore a light blue dress that came down a couple inches past her knees, the skirt moved out at an angle from her small waistline. The top of the dress had short sleeves, a v-neckline that did not reveal much of anything. Lyia too was in a dress, though the skirt was a bit shorter and clung to her hips, the fabric flowing down from there. The dress was a deep purple with a sweetheart neckline and no sleeves. She wore a cream colored sweater with three quarter length sleeves unbuttoned over top to keep her from being chilly in the night air.

The sun was still up although already getting close to the horizon. The two women walked and chatted like good friends would. Laughing and telling stories that only friends would share. Still they both had their secrets. When they arrived at the venue Jungi had mentioned, Ariadne held the door for Lyria and then walked in herself. Both of them scanning for the men, who were likely there already since the two of them had not arrived exactly on time.

Catching a glimpse of Toshiro’s hair from the entry way, Ariadne said, “I see them, come on.” Sending a smile to her friend, she held her hand to lead her through the small crowd of people between them and the men. “Good evening!” Ariadne said cheerfully.

Lyria stood right next to Ariadne smiling just as much as the other woman. She was looking a Jungi and knew she had seen him around hte Hold, but had not had the pleasure of being acquainted with him. He too was an attractive man. She would have to remember to stay around Ariadne for surely the other woman seemed to find the most handsome companions.

Looking at Jungi, Ariadne said, “Jungi, this is Lyria. She is a healer in the infirmary. Lyria, Jungi is good friends with Lord Rihan, he is a Trader as well as an honorary Guard." Taking a small pause for them to acquaint themselves, she went on to say, "The rest of us know each-other.” When Ariadne finished, her eyes lifted briefly to meet Toshiro’s.

The dark-complected trader, wearing an incredibly sharp suit of white with a black shirt beneath it, was the first to glance up as the two women approached. Both hands had been resting on the tabletop around the base of a wine glass he'd been nursing while they waited for the girls' arrival. Trademark silver dangle earrings and dashing, rogueish smile he wore as natural accoutraments. Standing from his chair, Jungi bowed courteously to greet Lyria, drawing a seat out from under the table for Ariadne, who was his date.

"Ah. I should have guessed the other half of our double date would be someone else from the infirmary staff. It's good to have you join us, Lyria."

Toshiro had stood from his chair as well, having been dressed -probably by Jungi's eclectic tastes- in an edgy attire of black with white shoes and a vest, though it seemed as though he was hardly able to get the shirt on, because it was left unbuttoned almost to where the vest itself buttoned rather low on his midsection. Of course, no tie or anything of the like was worn, as the neck of the shirt had been left loose and open in an entirely more casual manner. The Captain greeted both women with a nod of his head, pulling another chair out for Lyria, figured that to do such a thing was only polite, though it irked him a bit that it was Lyria's chair, not Ariadne's.

When greetings had been exchanged and the girls were taking their seats, Toshiro and Jungi both sat down again; Toshiro returned to the dark beer in front of him. Of course, it was Jungi who addressed them as a group first, "Order anything you like. Tonight will be the last time we get to enjoy eachother's company for the next couple of months."


As the server went to their table to take orders for drinks and hors-devours(sp), a small stage toward the middle of the establishment was being set for entertainers. The stage setting had four posts at each corner between which curtains had been hung from the ceiling on each of three sides that were open to the audience. The curtains had been drawn back however, so as not to conceal the stage from view, but purposed more for interior decorating and ambiance purposes. Apparently there would be at least two musicians tonight, because their instruments sat propped on the stage next to chairs that should be for them.

Ariadne smiled at Jungi as he helped her with the chair but didn’t say anything. She watched as Toshiro did the same for Lyria and didn’t let her self get jealous over it. He would rather be doing that for her, she assured herself. As always Jungi was the person who always knew what to say and then said it. He was such a charming rogue, Ari knew she would miss him. “Thank you Jungi” Ariadne said, getting a nod of agreement from Lyria. She would have said it if Ariadne had not said it first. It was nice to be taken out to dinner and not have to worry about the cost of the food.

Excited by the idea of travelling, Lyria piped in with some questions, “Two whole months? You must be travelling a long way. If you don’t mind my asking, where do you do most of your Trading?” Obviously the charismatic Trader was going to have some extra attention tonight as Lyria was easily drawn in by charming people. Actually, come to think of it, Lyria seemed rather naïve about people in general despite being a Healer.

Lyria and Ariadne ordered drinks but not hors d’oeuvres; neither of them wanting to feel stuffed before they ate their main course. If the men decided to order something that would be fine with them but they were not going to order anything just yet. As the stage seemed to be preparing for the entertainment that evening, Ariadne found herself feeling quite awkward, sitting next to one man and staring at the other. If Toshiro had told Jungi how he felt about her, the situation would be different perhaps but there was no guarantee that it would make things less awkward for her.

Luckily both Jungi and Lyria were being talkative.

Since the girls passed on apetizers, Jungi and Shiro did as well, both both ordered more drinks. When the server returned with them, Jungi was leaning back in his chair with one arm relaxed behind Ariadne's shoulders where she sat directly next to him, his drink in the other hand. Maybe it was simply unconscious on his part?

Either way, across the small table from them, Toshiro's neutral expression began turning a bit sour, though he did well to hide the extent of the twinge of jealousness that came over him. Taking a quieting breath, Toshiro was brooding over Jungi's apparent 'affection' for Ari, trying to talk himself into accepting that Jungi meant nothing by it seeing as this was the same Jungi who was nice to every woman, after all. Nevertheless, Toshiro probably only made things worse when, in jealous reaction, he put his own arm behind the healer next to him, doing his best not to glare noticably across the table. It was almost as if he was implying 'oh yeah, I can do that too', only..he wanted the girls to have switched places.

Anyway, there was nothing he could do about it. This was supposed to be an innocent, casual double date; and a happy farewell occasion at that. Not to mention, it was the last time Jungi would be around for a several weeks to have the chance to touch her like that again anyway. Toshiro took a long drink from the beer in hand, eyes averting away from the table, and at that point possibly trying to ignore the fact that Jungi had arms altogether. If he had no arms then he wouldn't have them around Ariadne. Whether or not Jungi noticed the shift in Shiro's mood was yet to be seen, as his attetion was on Lyria who had been doing the talking.

"My family heads one of the largest trade caravans in the central part of the continent. Which is why we have always been very close to the Lord Holders of the territory. We work closely together for mutual benefit. There are several families and individuals who are responsible for their own waggons, and have added to our numbrs over time; its better to travel in larger groups for safety. So, anyone who wishes to join can pay the caravan master, who is my father, for apprenticeship or if they already know how to work a supply load, they can pay for protection by becoming a part of the train. The caravan route begins north here with Teglar and will go as far south as Fort Sea Hold. The routes further than that are not well maintained, so to reach Southern Boll, it's much easier to send goods by ship."

Jungi canted his head seeming to consider something for a moment, taking a drink of the wine in hand, then adding, "We make the trip a couple of times a year, from Telgar and back, then stay here over the winter when the roads are blocked."

A moment later, the server had returned to take their orders for food, looking to the women first.

Sipping at her glass of wine, she set it back down on the table. No sooner had she done so than Jungi’s arm was around her shoulders. Though it was unexpected, Ariadne didn’t really mind. After all, he was about to be on the road for two months. Before she took another sip of her wine, she looked across from her to see Toshiro’s features change very slightly. Just as Jungi had done to Ariadne, Toshiro now put his arm around Lyria.

Ariadne didn’t like it. While she was smiling and being pleasant on the outside, inside she was upset. What was he thinking? Doing that wasn’t going to upset Jungi, it might make Toshiro feel better but she couldn’t really see how. Her eyes dropped to her glass of wine, which she took multiple sips of, wondering if finishing off the glass would be completely trashy. The situation wasn’t entirely Toshiro’s fault, how could she be such a hypocrite? She was allowing Jungi to keep his arm where it was. Still Toshiro was leading Lyria on too and the poor girl was already crushing on him so badly. Ariande knew Jungi had a reputation for being a womanizer, she didn’t think of herself as anything more than a friend in his eyes. So the situations were entirely different even if Toshiro didn’t see it that way.

Lyria was rather pleased when she felt the Captain’s arm come around her shoulders. She want to burst with her excitement. She knew he would come around and see that she was wonderful and he would want to be with her. Used to Toshiro’s sullen quietness, she was not used to the same behavior from Ariadne and wondered if something was bothering the other woman. She would ask her later, in the meantime she was engrossed in Jungi’s explanation.

“Sounds like an adventure.” Lyria said a little wistfully. She liked being a Healer but every so often one could dream of adventures. “I think it would be fun even if it is hard work. The part I wouldn’t like would be getting lonely for my friends.” She paused thinking about it, “Yea I think it would be very hard for me to leave some of my good friends here. Especially Ariadne.”

Ariadne shook her head and smiled at the other girl, “You’ll be like a sister to me no matter where you go.” Especially if the girl would go far away from Toshiro. “And Jungi knows that true friends will always be here for him when he needs them. I’m sure it’s not so bad leaving them behind when he has his family with him on the road.” She tried to think of how that would be with her parents. Someone would probably be killed for everyone else’s sanity. Likely her sarcastic moody sister who knew just how to piss everyone else off.

Lyria ordered her food first and then Ariadne ordered. The orders were almost identical. “We eat together too much!” Lyria laughed. Ariadne was smiling too. It was true they had lunch together often. Lyria didn’t miss a chance though to go back to the previously being discussed topic. “Toshiro would you regret leaving anyone behind if you went on the road as Jungi does?”Lyria asked, thinking he would likely reply with a yes and not say who. Of course she would take an answer like that to mean he was thinking about her.

Food orders taken and placed in the kitchen by the server, Jungi was smiling as joyful as ever, though he was beginning to like the feel of where his arm lay around Ari's shoulders. He'd never thought too much about his relationship with her until now, but he did like her more than most of the women he'd spent time around, and didn't see any reason he couldn't start making some attraction to her known. Ariadne had not expressed any interest in other men to her, and she had been very willing to accompany him on multiple dates -the two of them had had a lot of fun together. But what if Ariadne felt awkward about him being more obvious about his interest in her? In any case, she hadn't expressed disinterest in him, so he should start showing his own interest a little more.

That however, was already not sitting well with Toshiro, and he was doing well to hide the distaste of it, though that did make him focus more on the drink in front of him so that he didn't have to focus on where Jungi's arm was at; so, his beer was almost gone.

Leaning forward over the table onto his elbows, he pulled his arm away from Lyria, listening to her conversation with Jungi with idle interest before she suddently turned the questions on him. Sitting up a bit more straight, the Captain glanced sidelong at the Healer. "No" Of course he had no one had no one he'd regret leaving behind, was his first instinctive response; because Toshiro was the alwayss indifferent, hardened hearted, distant Captain of the Guard who never let anyone get close enough to him to need to care about. Right?

Glancing back down at the nearly empty beer glass before him, sliding it to the edge of the table to be refilled, feigning mild disinterest in the query. Of course, the question having caught him offguard he'd started with a bit of a bluster but...after setting the drink aside, he'd actually taken a moment to consider it and seemed to think a bit differently, correcting himself. "I mean.. maybe."

After another split second longer, "Probably."

And then again, in the next breath, "Yes."

After that, Jungi was eyeing him a bit curiously from across the table, thinking it was a bit odd, his answer. Was he talking about Lyria sitting next to him? Maybe Toshiro had had something to do with the choice Ari made to bring Lyria along. Maybe he'd requested her come with them. If that was the case, well good for him. Jungi thought that Toshiro needed the influence of a good woman in his life. It might do him some good.

Chuckling over the thought and Shiro's reply, Jungi again addressed Lyria over the topic. "It's not as lonely as you might think. And it can turn out to be very exciting. Have you ever traveled much, Lyria?"

Both women were very interested in Toshiro’s answer although each of them probably discerned his answer a bit differently. At first Lyria seemed upset a little that he wouldn’t think of her, then as he edged his way closer to the right answer, she smiled. Of course he would miss her, they saw each other all the time! She didn’t need his arm around her now to feel like he cared about her. She was almost certain he was feeling as she was. There was no reason to really doubt this feeling.

Ariadne felt her stomach fall to the floor. He was building up to saying something that meant he had some feelings for someone. She was pretty sure he meant her but not wanting to push him to say more, she let the answer go. However, her eyes did look to him again. She was much much happier now that his arm wasn’t around Lyria.

As Jungi asked Lyria about travelling, her innocent looking face beamed, “Only from Fort Hold to here, it was so much fun. I was not permitted to travel while I was at the Healer Hall due to my …well…” She seemed nervous but in present company it wouldn’t hurt to be completely honest. “I was orphaned, my mother died at the Healer Hall and they did surgery to get me out. The Healers felt it unwise to send me out into the world knowing that whoever of my family is living is likely Holdless.” She smiled then though, “However, now that Telgar River Hold has a beautiful young lady, my talents shall be useful at last. Oh I can’t wait till she is pregnant!”

The statement had Ariadne laughing because it sounded a little crazy so she set about explaining, “Lyria’s specialty is pregnancy and childbirth. Although young lady, you’ve never had a baby, I don’t think you’ll see it the same once that happens.” Ariadne said in a big sister way. She liked being pregnant it was the giving birth part that was awful.

Lyria said, “Oh I guess you guys don’t care so much about babies.” Shrugging, “Sorry we’re used to all the women in the infirmary it’s one of the things they gossip about there now that the Wedding is over.”

As Jungi asked Lyria about travelling, her innocent looking face beamed, “Only from Fort Hold to here, it was so much fun. I was not permitted to travel while I was at the Healer Hall due to my …well…”


Jungi was nodding acknowledgement as she went on, and as Ariadne elaborated, the Trader's eyes turned on her. Listening to her tell about the healer's specialization, Jungi idly teased his fingertips through Ari's curly hair since his hand rested closer to the back of her shoulder, being out of view of Toshiro and Lyria both. All the while, he casually sipped on the wine held in the other hand, only looking back across the table at Lyria when she spoke again.

Jungi was chuckling over the comments about gossipy women in the infirmary and the topic that they seemed insistent on. "Well, that's great you found yourself a place in the healer hall and can really enjoy the craft. I'm sure that our young Lord and his new wife will be pregnant very soon -perhaps even before my return at the end of two months!" He was winking across the table at Lyria then, figuring two months might really be too soon to expect such a thing. But they could have high hopes.

"I hope someone's reminded Lady Eolyn not to go riding. I suspect you do some preparations with her beforehand?" Maybe it was a bit too personal a question in regards to the private lives of their Lord and Lady, but he'd tried to word the phrasing carefully so as not to seem too intrusive. He was an inherently curious person though, and he was close to Rihan, so he didn't feel as though it would be too much to ask; even in public.


Toshiro on the other hand...was not as thrilled about the topic of conversation, even if Jungi's interest was relatively minor. That just meant Toshiro's interest was incredibly minimal. The Captain though, sat rather more stoically now at his own corner of the table, completely attentive of how quickly he should or shouldn't be finishing the beer in front of him. Of course, his gaze did not remain situated before him, but wandered a bit idly, flitting periodically about the room, regarding the establishments other occupants with mild interest or disinterest, however one wanted to look at it.

Anyway, he was very glad when the food arrived, being brought to them on several plates that quickly covered the tabletop.

If Ari hadn't done anything about it before, then it was only then that Jungi would have removed his fingers from being very loosely entwined in her hair. Straightening his posture to remove his arm from around Ari's shoulders and set his glass down to accept the meal brought to them.

Ariadne stiffened ever so slightly at Jungi’s fingers messing with her hair, she almost wished she were another person in that moment. She couldn’t bat his hand away or move without being incredibly rude. Jungi had no idea what was going on with her and Toshiro and in fact she barely knew what was going on with them. There was no doubt in her mind that she could never feel for Jungi how she was feeling for Toshiro but she did care about Jungi’s feelings. They would need to have a talk tonight about how she felt. He was like a brother to her and she didn’t want to lose his friendship.

When Jungi continued talking, Lyria brightened. The Lady Eolyn was one woman she loved to talk about to Ari. She loved the woman’s hair, her clothes and was fascinated that the lady knew so much about healing. Giggling, “She won’t need any reminding. She might as well be a Healer. She made sure Toshiro got here alive. Otherwise he would have died. He is very lucky she is such a talented healer. “

“ No one would believe it really. She doesn’t seem so intelligent when you meet her.” She bit her lip, feeling immediately guilty for saying anything bad about her favorite Holder ever. “I think its cause she seems so sweet and kind and people see her as being too young to know much of anything. It is quite deceiving. Did you know the Healer Hall wanted to train her because she had such a natural talent? I was amazed to learn that but you know she doesn’t act like she is any more knowledgeable than another lady would be when we see her. She is very kind. I am so glad that she is because that means I will love her even more and worry even more over her and her babes whenever she has them. My only concern is her size. She is so tiny.”

It wasn’t just Eolyn’s height but the width of her hips and such that Lyria was referring to. Ariadne thought it might be best to change the subject when the food arrived to save them all. She was glad that Jungi had removed his fingers from her hair. While everyone was enjoying their meal, it grew quiet. Ari finished her order around the same time as Lyria did, again cause they ate together so often.

Lyria spoke up again, “Is there anything in particular you want to do before you leave for two months? There has to be something you really want to do before you go.”

Ariadne's attention was on Jungi then too. Wondering what exactly he would like to do. It was difficult to say knowing Jungi.

Toshiro and Jungi both were impressed about Lyria's apparent knowledge of Rihan's new wife. Toshiro wondered if it was a bit curious how much she seemed to know, but he hadn't said much the entire meal, and continued the trending silence; especially since now, he had the excuse of eating.

Jungi on the other hand, found it amusing that Lyria enjoyed talking about Eolyn to such an extent, guessing that her fondness of their Lady Holder would serve them well when she most needed the extra care. "The Healer Hall wanted to apprentice her?" Spoken with an ounce of disbelief, he couldn't imagine a Lord Holder letting one of his daughter's apprentice in a craft over being married off for the benefit of the Hold. Taking up a craft was a very different path than the usual life a Lady of the Hold lived, even if her skills were diversified. For Rihan's sake, the trader was glad that Eolyn had been allowed to marry him, and not been allowed to devote her life to being a Healer -even if it might be just as noble. His friend really needed someone in his life like Eolyn, who could love him and be close to him on a more intimate level.

Unfortunately, Jungi hadn't really gotten much of a chance to get to know Eolyn since he'd been kept very busy as of late, because of his own business, and due to trying to fulfill Rihan's own personal requests. But he knew that upon his return he would have a chance to meet with her at length.

Lyria didn't need to go into detail over what had happened after the rescue near Igen Weyr; he'd been present, but perhaps she didn't know that. In any case, he smiled, finding her whole talkative spiel kind of cute.


The conversation quieting as they were all enjoying the food set before them, Toshiro was the first done with his meal, taking more time to nurse the drink in his hand than anything else. Jungi had been finishing his second glass of wine as Lyria pinned another question on him. "I think I've done everything I need to do before I go. I'll be heading out early in the morning anyway, so that doesn't leave much time for a lot of activities." Grinning, he wasn't sure if that would suffice as an answer or not, since that didn't mean there weren't things he didn't 'want' to do if he had more time. Though...one thing he could say, but wasn't about to do so outloud, was that he wouldn't mind looking for a good fist fight before leaving town, and also wouldn't mind getting laid. He'd been working too many hours this trip around, so had made little time for such personal pleasures -even if he did tend to mix business with pleasure, that was one thing he didn't like throwing into the cocktail.

Lyria smiled and nodded when Jungi questioned the Healer hall. She knew a lot because well… the infirmary was a huge rumor mill and she had met the Lady and spoken with her for a while. She liked her. Lyria made up her mind about some people very quickly, others she took her time with. Ariadne for instance, she liked immediately. Then she was beginning to notice most people felt the same way with the other woman.

The healer seemed not to believe there wasn’t anything he wanted to do, “Really? Nothing at all? Before I let the Healer Hall I had a list of things but I didn’t get to do nearly as many of them as I wanted to.”

Ariadne had listened intently even if she already had heard most of it. When Jungi replied with nothing, she cocked her head to the side and smiled, “It is getting a bit late. We have an early morning tomorrow too.” She indicated herself and Lyria who nodded in agreement. When the servers came and took their plates both women found they didn’t have much to say.

Toshiro seemed consumed by the glass in front him so he wasn’t going to be a conversationalist. “It is probably a good idea if we all head home now anyway.” Ariadne said, trying not to be too pushy. It wasn’t like she wanted to go home that badly but as they pointed out it would be an early morning and she had a toddler to take care of.

Glancing down into his lap in an almost bashful manner, the smug grin that took over Jungi's expression was most adorable. He only looked back across the table at Lyria when speaking again, "I wouldn't mind spending all night in the company I have here with me now. I'll be back in two months anyway, but..." His tone of voice ending on a bit of an upnote, Jungi wasn't sure how viable that plan was, or how it might be interpreted by anyone else, though it could take on more than one meaning. Certainly it seemed as if he might have wanted to say something more, but the thought had faded from him and the sentence ended in more of a mental shrug.

The trader's head turned to look on Ariadne somewhat expectantly, figuring that she was probably wanting to head home to see her daughter. At just that time, Ariadne addressed the same thought. So, Jungi gave an incline of his head, and waved the server back over. The server, expecting payment, let Jungi know the total cost for their meal, but would not be so lucky as to walk away with even fraction marks as Jungi argued the matter, "Since we're leaving early and won't get to see the performance tonight, you may adjust the price; and put it all on my tab. I'll repay the cost when I return." In two months of course. But that was Jungi's way.


Standing from their chairs, both men moved to help their date for the evening up from the table. Toshiro though, was not as thoughtful in their departing, because he did not offer Lyria his arm as Jungi had offered Ariadne, and as soon as Jungi had, Toshiro's eyes averted in a sideways glance while they all began heading for the door.

Even as the headed that way, the server seemed agitated by the fact Jungi had denied them payment, and started to wave as covertly as possibly toward the veritable bouncer. The gruff man's expression turned sour when he realized what she was trying to tell him. He turned as if to move to stop the group of patrons now about to leave, going so far as to place his hand on Jungi's shoulder. The moment Jungi turned to meet his gaze though, the man backed off, a sign of obvious recognition coming over her. "O-oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else." Quickly recoiling his hand and nodding in apology, the bearded fellow bid them a good night before returning to other work.



Once they'd stepped outside Toshiro was looking up at the sky, taking the fresh night's air deep into his lungs with appreciation before turning his attention to Ariadne; as if assuming their date had ended and there was no more reason for him to continue accompanying Lyria. After all, they had arrived separately, hadn't they?

"Ari, do you want me to walk you home?" He'd called her by her nickname as a slightly more affectionate term. Jungi immediately caught on though he couldn't understand any depth of relationship they had ,and though he was still smiling like always, stepped up beside the woman to address Toshiro's question, "Ariadne is my date. I think it would be appropriate if I took her home."

The two men seemed to be staring daggers at eachother in the silence that passed next between them, though neither would show any sign in their outward posture of.. well... posturing.

Lyria smiled, at Jungi, realizing she had been thoroughly ignoring Toshiro. She found she preferred the less surly Jungi for conversation. He wasn’t bad looking either. However she had come with Ariadne and wouldn’t dream of stealing her date from her, “We should do this again when you are back. I would really love to hear about your travels.” She said as they all prepared to get up and leave. Lyria watched the others, walking behind Toshiro. There was some strange dynamic going on here and she was kicking herself for not noticing it sooner. Hanging back she could see everything much more clearly and a slight pang of jealousy hit her.

Ariadne tried to help things move along smoothly so she took Jungi’s arm as it was offered. Her eyes though were on the other man in their party. Even with the small interruptions it seemed to Ari they were all ready to turn in for the night. She had obligations that the rest of them did not have. Stepping outside, she took in a deep breath and glanced at the stars. The evening stars made her think of her long talks with Toshiro.
It seemed he thought of her too as he offered to walk her home. She was about to accept when Jungi spoke up. Well now wasn’t she in the worst sort of pickle. Ari wanted to walk home with Toshiro, of course she did but she didn’t want to hurt Jungi’s feelings. She kind of stood there unsure of what to do.

Lyria however, did. “We can all walk Ariadne home but maybe we should be asking a more important question here? Hmm? I may be young and a bit silly sometimes but I’m not blind.” She said walking closer to the other three now. She could see that Ariadne was at a loss for what to say again and she laughed. “Jungi, you didn’t notice?” She said cocking her head to the side to examine him a moment.

“They’ve been very quiet most the evening…” Even Ariadne who had conversed a little was not as chatty as she normally was. “Toshiro, you like Ariadne?” She asked although she already figured she knew the answer. “And Ariadne?”

She turned to face Jungi, feeling kind of bad for allowing him to grow any sort of attachment to her, “Jungi, you remember the day you saw me crying… it was after I fought with Toshiro.” She bit her lip. “I didn’t tell you who had caused me to be upset because you are friends and I didn’t want that to change. No I feel like I’ve caused more grief in not saying anything. I want us to remain friends Jungi because you are really kind and fun to be around.” She paused, turning to look at Toshiro. “We recently talked and worked things out and I didn’t want to cancel the date since we were getting along well as friends, Jungi.”

Jungi's eyes shifted briefly onto Lyria as she addressed the issue between the three of them, but were not long in finding Toshiro again. Indeed. He was taking notice about the same time that Lyria had been.


Toshiro was glad when Lyria redirected the question to Aridane, because he wasn't good at verbally addressing such things. His heart found warm and gladness in the face of Ari's reassurances of her feelings for him when she began telling Jungi how she truly felt about him.

On the other hand, Jungi only became more angry at the situation; not at Ariadne, but at the fact that Toshiro of all people, thought that he would be able to make her happy. Neither man was thinking of their friend just now, they were thinking of Ariadne, and Ariadne obviously had some previous relationship with Toshiro he didn't understand the extent of, but Jungi would have bet anything that his relationship with the Captain had been even longer standing. That being the case, he understood Toshiro's strong points, his quirks and his shortcomings. He knew Toshiro very well. And that's what worried him on her behalf. Jungi knew that the longer she spent time around him, the more emotional turmoil she'd be put through. After all, hadn't she just admitted that all these sevendays they'd been spending time together had been brought on because Toshiro had hurt her enough to drive her away? Glad that they were able to work things out, the Trader was only worried something like that would happen again and again, if she involved herself too deeply with him.

The extent of his frustration was hidden behind a more solemn expression as he breathed deeply to suppress that feeling while in front of the girls. "Sure. Let's all walk together." Jungi let Ariadne's words roll off of him, dissaffected by her sharing that she wanted nothing more than friendship between the two of them. Given time, Toshiro would hurt her again and she would start to see how unhealthy such a relationship was. Wanting to hold onto Ariadne's arm and tell her that it was for her own good that she avoid getting so close to Toshiro, Jungi did the oposite, and let go of her arm where they'd been linked. When would she see that she should trust in him? That she should be with him, and that he would be the one who could care for her and make her happy forever?

Of course, neither Jungi nor Toshiro knew the extent of the others' feelings toward her.


As the four of them walked toward Ari's house, Jungi and Shiro both were fairly quiet. Both of them were glad that the walk was not too far a distance, because such silences as these were a little awkward.

When they neared her home, Jungi turned to inquire after Lyria, "Is your home nearby as well? We should both walk you home, too."

Although Jungi might seem to be taking this all very well, Ari could sense a difference in him. She was saddened that she might have caused him undue pain or even concern. He seemed to be a genuine man despite his joking around and pretending to be a womanizer. They all must think she was used to men throwing themselves at her when the truth of the matter was she had only been in one relationship that lasted a long time. Having two men interested in her at one time was difficult.

She knew how she was feeling but were her feelings more important than either of theirs? Ariadne felt miserable the entire walk back to her place. She was walking in between the two men and wondering if they were going to have trouble remaining friends because of her. Would it have been better if she had never opened up to either of them about anything?

“Oh I’m just around the corner from here. It is not far at all, I can manage alone.” She was used to looking out for herself. She had no family and few friends. “In fact I’m going to head there right now…” She said, breaking off from the group. Whatever was going on between the other three was none of her concern. She didn’t want to be involved.

Lyria had broken off from them before either man knew what to say or do, and was making her way home solo. Jungi felt a little at odds as to whether or not letting her do so was polite or not? But she was not his date, she was Shiro's. Jungi shot the Captain a somewhat disbelieving and perhaps expecting glance, as if he should go after her, but the Captain made no move to do so.

Instead, Toshiro turned to face Ariadne with goodnight wishes that were hushed as he'd neared her, "Good night." Perhaps unexpectedly then, Toshiro leaned closer to hear, laying a kiss on her lips -a kiss that he was not willing to break away from quickly. Though, the Captain did stand back a moment later just in time to catch Jungi's somewhat wide-eyed reaction.

"Ariadne, goodnight. Thank you for joining us for dinner and bringing along Lyria." Jungi inclined his head, figuring he'd better get out the thank you's and goodnights before Toshiro stole the rest of his attention or things got even more awkward. Both men continued eyeing eachother in a manner of challenge, and almost at once, both turned from Ari to walk away.



When they'd gona distance on their own, Jungi stopped in his tracks, catching Toshiro by the arm, turning the other man to face him abruptly. The expression found there was nothing resemblant of the usual amicable way he had about him. "Shiro. Do you really care that much about Ariadne? Don't joke. I'm not going to let you toy with her feelings."

Toshiro also regarded Jungi with a bit of skepticism. "You think I would joke about having feelings for Ariadne? You must think that she'd be any better off with you." A glower was exchanged between them then.

Jungi searched the eyes of his friend for level of sincerity through a moment of silence that passed between them. He wouldn't discount Toshiro's feelings if they were sincere, but that didn't mean that he would give up on winning her over. Jungi knew how likely it was that Ariadne would only be hurt again if she continued having feelings for the Captain in return, and he wasn't going to stand by and let that happen. Not if he had feelings for her too.

Just because Ariadne had expressed a liking for Toshiro didn't mean she couldn't change her mind about him. "Fine. Then you'd better use the time that I'm gone to your advantage, because when I get back, I'm going to be fighting for her too." After a moment of pause the trader added, "No. Even while I'm gone, I'll be doing everything I can to win over her heart. So, if you really do feel that sincerely about her, you'd better not mess up. When I get back...I'm going to make the best move I can."


For another long moment of increasing tension between the two, there was silence until finally Toshiro finally adressed his friend again, "I'll look forward to your return then."

The two men did not remain there long after; Jungi departed first and then Toshiro returned to the officer's quarters.