Of Mistakes and Mats (Dorien and Cadence Chat!)

[Cadence]

((This takes place approximately three weeks after the coup is complete! So this is a FUTURE ARPEEEE sort of~ ))


Dorien was taking his daily stroll, or jog when he felt like speeding up a bit, through the city. He always found it a better obstical course than anywhere out in the forests or Westfall; dodging people made it singificantly more interesting. Even more so when he played chicken, trying to see how close he could get before having to shift away, lest he'd collide with someone.

The paladin was taking her walk at a much slower pace. She was dressed as usual; clean clothes were pressed and neatly arranged on her body, and her hair was carefully woven into a braid that trailed down her back and ended just above the waist. The difference was in her posture, the way she carried herself as she walked down the road. Where normally she might have walked briskly, shoulders back and head high, here she wandered, arms tight across her belly, eyes on the road. She was carrying a small satchel of goods over one shoulder, but didn't seem terribly interested in her environment, walking more with a casual familiarity with the streets than a definite awareness of her destination.

Dorien, staying on course for a bit too long, failed at his own game, clipping his shoulder against the woman. He paused, apology on his lips as he turned around, only to take in who it was. He smiled brightly. "Hey Cade, sorry for bumping into you there."

He was sweating, what would one expect from running, and his hair was tied back in a high ponytail, a poor attempt to keep it out of his eyes, seeing as a few strands hung free from the run. His shirt is loose, with several buttons undone. "Didn't mean to hit you."

She was jostled a little more roughly than she normally would have been, and she stumbled back a step or two, looking up in a bewildered manner. When she saw who it was, she was silent and still for a moment, and then furtive guilt crept across her features and she looked away abruptly. "It - no. Hello. It's fine," she mumbled, readjusting her satchel's strap on her shoulder. "Hello."

Dorien stared at her for a few moments longer, his eyes roving to take in her expression and body language. The smile is still there, once those moments pass, but it's taken on a slightly more tender aspect.

He stepped closer to her, keeping his hands at his side to make sure he didn't spook her. "Are you busy?"

She glanced at him - well, at his chin, really, avoiding eye contact at all cost - and gave a half shrug, toying with her sleeve for a moment. "No - I was just doing errands. Library, market. The church." She put a small smile on to mimic his, glancing away as though checking the sky for clouds. "How're you this morning?" she asked reflexively.

"Good, just doing my morning runs," he answered, still smiling. He followed her gaze up to the sky, raising his eyebrow at it. Uh huh... He looked back down at her, shuffling a few more steps closer. "How about you?"

"Fine," she answered in that same absent tone, glancing at his chin again. Dorien, as fine as he was at hiding his distress, seemed to have developed a knack for detecting hers, and she suspected that he was onto it as he crept closer. "Did you.. um. Need something?" she asked, tucking an errant lock of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I've been looking to talk to you for awhile, I just... Never seemed to have the chance of getting it." He shrugged, stopping any movement when she looked back at him. "It's why I asked if you were busy."

"Well, no - no, I'm not really." She fidgeted again, glancing down the road that led to her house, then back to Dorien. As much as she didn't want to accidentally let slip to him what had happened, she dreaded returning to her house moreso. "When would you like to talk, then?"

"Well, if you're busy, we can talk now, if you don't mind," he smiled down at her, pausing for moment before holding out his hand to her. "We can just move elsewhere, since this road is somewhat busy."

She tried not to look at his hand as he offered it, nodding instead to the road. "Lead on," she offered, trying to sound light-hearted and chipper. She wasn't as good at faking it as Dorien was by a long shot. "What did you want to talk about?"

Dorien stepped in beside her, still holding out his hand. "I can carry your bag, if you want to," he said, as if he was offering that the whole time. "And, er... Well, we can go back to my place, or out into Elwynn. It's rather nice out there right now, and not that cold."

"Elwynn," she replied almost automatically, clutching her satchel's strap and shaking her head. "I've got it. Elwynn's fine." The idea of accidentally running into Alkrenon should he choose to visit Dorien, either to rant or complain, made her throat go dry. "You didn't answer me."

"Hrm?" Dorien peered over at her, his hands going into his pockets. He wandered, keeping a fairly slow pace so he can stay beside Cadence. Whatever happened to make her this way... It must have been pretty bad.

"What you wanted to talk about?" she prompted, walking beside him at his pace. Her arms went back over her stomach, folded protectively in front of her, and her eyes kept to the road except when she needed to make sure she wasn't going to run into someone.

Dorien flapped his hand in the air. "I'll explain once we've settled, it's no fun trying to explain when I'm focused on walking." He looked over at her and smiled. "I'm not the best at multitasking." What a liar, but hopefully the humour will make her smile...?

It didn't. She just nodded faintly, frowning at the cobblestones, and walked on. "Okay." Either she was so distracted the joke went over her head, or she just assumed whatever he had to say was so serious it couldn't be explained on the move. "Sure."

"Are you sure you're alright...?" He murmured, as he turned towards the Trade District. He sped up a bit, wanting to get out to the forest sooner, hoping that Cadence would do the same.

That question at least seemed to snap her out of it for a moment and she plastered another fake smile on, nodding. "Yes, of course I am. I just didn't sleep well last night." It wasn't exactly a fib. She HAD been up most of the night, and did look tired.

"Ah, that's too bad," he nodded, looking off to the side as he turned towards the main gates of the city. "Heh, but I know what you mean. Whenever that happens, I just usually try to catch a nap later in the day." He holds out his hand to the sky. "Usually by the Harbour, wide open and sunny, most of the time."

She forced a laugh. "I couldn't sleep outside even if I tried," came her quiet, slightly bitter response. Though everything had been fairly quiet for the past week, it was hard to get over being kidnapped and shoved in a wooden coffin as a lunatic's prisoner. She turned sideways to squeeze past a small tradesman's cart as it took up most of the road. "Maybe later on when I get home."

"Mm, just so long as you feel better," he smiled at her, as they finally stepped out into the forest. He turned off the main road, slowing down slightly since they were in a relatively open space.

As soon as there was less traffic on the road, she gradually let more space come between them as they walked. "Right. Nothing a good night's sleep can't fix," she murmured. "Where to from here?"

"I was thinking of going down by the lake, is that okay?" He pointed off in the vague direction of it. "The one with the falls, if there are any other lakes here that I don't know of."

"Of course." She followed where he led, occasionally re-wrangling the loose bits of hair that wouldn't weave into her braid behind her ears. She was content to remain silent until they reached their destination, it seemed.

Dorien settled down at the lake edge, pulling off his shoes and rolling up his pantlegs. He patted the place beside him, an invitation for her to sit down as well.

The woman settled down within a comfortable distance of him - not close enough to be roped into a hug without warning, but not so far that they'd have to raise their voices. Her boots remained on, and she sat down, almost on one hip, with both legs curled to one side. Once she was settled she glanced at him. "What's wrong, then?"

"Well, I've been meaning to talk to you about this for awhile, ever since Hillsbrad really. Things just got busy-" An understatement. Kidnapping, then the coup, then the restructuring of the Kamil. "- and, well, I only got to you now." He winced, before breathing out a sigh. He looked over at her, back straight and shoulders out. "I need to talk to you about Alkrenon."

She visibly tensed up, and she turned to focus on the surface of the water, eyes darting back and forth for a moment or two as though searching for something there. "Okay," she answered warily. "What about him?"

Dorien paused, eyeing her body language for a moment, before continuing. "I needed to warn you, I mean, I feel as though you have some inkling on it, but he's a love them and leave them type, when it comes to women."

Statuesque wasn't exactly hyperbole in this case; Cadence straightened up, looking out over the water, and went very, very still. "Of course," she answered quietly after a moment.

"... What happened."

"Nothing." She set her jaw, her expression going stiff. "I suspected as much of him." Her tone was eerily even and she continued to stare out over the water.

He eyed her again, snorting. Liar, but he won't press. "Anyway, yeah. I've met one of his old flings. He apparently promised to marry her, just to have sex, then he ran off during the night when they finished." He held up his hands, clearly exasperated. "And when she caught up with him later, he did the exact same thing again. I met her on the third time around, and decidly, they have yet to get married."

"Well," she said, "thank you for warning me in advance."

"Yeah, I don't believe a word you're saying. I'm too late, aren't I? What did he do."

A startled expression crossed her features for a second, but it was quickly replaced with anger. "Nothing, Dorien," she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. When in doubt, turn to unrighteous fury! "He didn't do anything."

Dorien offered her a thin-lipped smile. "Sure, that's why you're acting this way." He covered his face with his hands, sighing.
"Cade... We're friends. If something's bothering you, you can talk to me. I won't judge." He looked up at her, the thin-lipped smile still on his face. "I really don't have any room to."

"There's nothing FOR you to judge!" She shifted abruptly, pulling her legs up to her chest and resting her arms on her knees. Her eyes were averted abruptly so she wouldn't have to look at him and that smile; Dorien was almost as infuriating as Alkrenon sometimes. How could he never get angry or upset? "Light, Dorien. Who do you think I am?" The last question was a little strangled, but she got it out fairly evenly.

"You're Cadence Greystone, a paladin, a beautiful and funny woman, as well as my friend. You're important to me, as well as the family." Dorien stated this evening, his expression serious, as well as his posture.

He should have yelled at her, or mocked her, or given her an I-told-you-so speech - any of those things would have hurt less than what he just said. She turned her face away further, looking in the opposite direction, and pressed her cheek to her arm. "Don't talk to me about the family, please."

"Alright, I won't." He nodded, before asking softly. "I'll hurt him, if you let me. Whatever he's done to you to make you act this way... It's unforgivable."

"Don't." She answered heatedly. "He didn't -do- anything." That was half-true, at least in terms of who was to blame; Cadence fully blamed herself. She shut her eyes tight, screwing up her face to keep the tremble out of her lip and the water out of her eyes. She had cried enough last night, she didn't need to do it again here! "Just trust me on this," she finally requested.

"Then I won't, but Cade..." He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Whatever it is, it's not your fault. You don't have to defend him, he's smooth, and been doing this for a very long time."

Suddenly she laughed; it was a short, harsh bark of a sound. "What do you think happened?"

"It's Alkrenon, you said so yourself one time." He replied back, evenly.

She laughed again, putting her forehead against her forearm instead and giving a slow headshake. "Alkrenon happened. That's a funny way of answering that question."

"So did it?" Stubborn Dorien is stubborn. >:[

"Did -what-." Stubborn Cadence is just as bad.

"Alkrenon. Did he happen, as in..." He trailed off, waiting for Cadence to answer and confirm.

"Nothing. Happened." She repeated herself slowly. If he wasn't going to say it, she certainly wasn't.

"Sex."

There was a pause before she responded, a pause that would have confirmed it even if she chose not to do so herself. ".. something like that," she answered, suddenly looking very, very tired.

Dorien frowned. "... May I ask why? You told me you would..." He trailed off, rather lamely. He wanted to apologize, but it probably wouldn't help at all.

Her composure faltered and she raised her head just to cradle her face in her palm to hide the slip. "It didn't happen," she tried to explain, but her breath hitched and she couldn't seem to get any more words past the lump in her throat.

"... Oh." Well, that was good, wasn't it...? "So? Why..." He trailed off, eyeing her again. He felt a bit bad, about this, but.

Cadence swallowed, turning her face away from him again. "Why what."

"Why are you acting like... Well, sad."

This elicited another sharp laugh - an arguably longer one. In fact, she laughed until there wasn't any sound left, and then it was just a mimicry of laughter; with shoulders shaking, Cadence tightened both arms around her legs and held them close to her chest.

Dorien ran his hand over his face and sighed. "I know that laugh. And I think I know the feeling. He was, er... Too much, right?"

"Light, Dorien.." was all she managed to get out. Her voice was strained at this point, and she shook her head. "I really don't want to talk about it."

"Well, I don't like to see you cry, or... Er, be close to it." He shrugged, running a hand through his hair. He focused on the lake, smiling slightly. "You had a different response to it than I did, to say the least."

That was the comment that broke the dam. She went completely still for a moment or two and then dissolved into a silent sort of sobbing, pressing her hand to her mouth tightly to try to muffle any sound associated with the shameful act.

Dorien winced, scooting a bit closer. He didn't touch her outright, instead just holding his arms out to her. It was always her choice. He had an apologetic look on his face, since he was fairly sure he couldn't say it aloud either.

She had her face turned away, so she couldn't see the gesture, but in a few minutes she set about trying to regain the composure she'd lost. She took a few gasping breaths, trying to force herself to calm down, and yanked a handkerchief out of her sleeve to press to her eyes. "I'm sorry," she choked out. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Dorien." The stuttered apology only set her two steps back and she covered her face entirely.

He leaned over some more, resting a hand against her back, before he started to rub it up and down along it. "There's nothing to be sorry about, Cadence. I honestly don't see why you're acting this way."

Cadence shook her head vigorously, sobbing harder for a few moments before she was able to take a shuddery breath to speak. "Y-you love him and I j-just, I just got in th-the way and took it at your WORD when you said there wasn't anything-" She had to stop for a bit to catch her breath again, looking up at the sky to try to halt the tears. "You said you weren't and now you say you did and I'm so sorry, you have to hate me, I'm sorry-" At this point she gave a helpless laugh. Hysteria is not a pretty thing to witness, and were she not so exhausted she might have been about to cross over into it.

Dorien grabbed at her, pulling her close against his chest. "I don't hate you, Cadence." He murmured, brushing some hair out of her face. "I couldn't hate you." Well, okay. He could, but not about this. This was just a silly thing to be angry about. He continued to do his best to calm her down, rocking her idly like he usually did, patting her hair, or rubbing her back soothingly. "And Cade, you ran off after shrieking when I kind-of told you, and then I found you crying. How could I say otherwise?"

She struggled at first, but there was no strength to her any more and she was roped into the embrace easily. There were little hiccups interrupting her speech at this point. "W-well g-good job, Dorien, I believed you," she started in a bitter tone. Guilt immediately washed over her again and she pressed her face against his chest. Here, have some remorse snot. "Y-you can and you should hate me, I'm s-stupid and selfish and awful."

He sighed again, resting his chin on her head as he stared down at her. "You're not stupid, or selfish, or awful. Alkrenon's incredibly smooth, and he has been at this for a long, long time." He smirked slightly, before shrugging. "I don't blame you, I more or less put the fault on him at this point."

"Don't," she started again. "It's not his fault." She gave another few shakey huffs before finally settling down, wiping at her face with her handkerchief.

"How isn't it?"

"B-because I should've known better and I didn't, and that's why I'm stupid - he's just the way he is and I knew he was and should've known."

"Well, as I said. He IS smooth." He laid back, more or less pulling her with him if he can, so she'd be laying on top of him. "He says incredibly endearing things, you know."

That brought her strength back for a moment and she struggled away from him, scooting aside. The last thing she wanted to be doing was laying down like that. "I'm sorry," she muttered again, putting distance between their bodies.

He sat up again, and shook his head. "No, no, that's my fault. I wasn't thinking." He held open his arms, inviting her to come back if she chose to, but he didn't try and get into her personal space.

She curled up into a ball again, gripping her handkerchief in both hands and looping her arms around her legs. She stared down at her knees, twisting the square of cloth roughly around in her hands until it was wrung and wrinkled. "I don't know what to do," she finally admitted, miserably.

"About?"

"Anything."

"Well, that's a broad subject, probably better to focus on something smaller before moving onto 'anything'." He smiled slightly, running his hand through his hair again.

Cadence gave a huff, finally lowering her forehead to her knees and resting it there. When she spoke, it was practically into her own lap. "Everything was.. I mean it- it wasn't perfect but things were okay and then I went and .. mucked it all up."

"Mucked it up how?" He said as he moved closer, trying to hear her.

"Doing what I said I wouldn't do? Making a fool of myself?" she offered one, then the other, and finally muttered under her breath, ".. wasting his time."

Dorien raised an eyebrow. "I don't really think you made that much of a fool of yourself. Or, I guess, wasted his time."

"Don't lie."

"About what?"

"This," she sighed tiredly. At least she wasn't crying anymore. "I did make a fool of myself and I did waste his time. Or maybe he wasted his time on me. Either way."

Dorien rubbed his face, muttering. "Cadence... I doubt he thinks that. And you're not a fool." He stressed that part again. "Well... Er..."

Glancing over him with weary, red eyes, she waited for him to elaborate.

"... Maybe a bit of a fool, but not TOO much. As I said, he's been doing this for a long time, it's not surprising that it's fairly easy to fall for."

".. right, so I'm just an idiot, then." Her eyes roved away again as she put her head down. "No big surprise there."

"No, no. I mean... Look, did he say anything to you?"

"Like what."

"Let me..." Dorien trailed off, tapping his fingers against his chin. "Just in general. What made you, er, do that with him? I mean to say is, he's good at saying endearing things."

Cadence grimaced and tension seeped back into her posture as she looked away. "I don't know. I just - Light, he's a friend and .. yes, he's awful sometimes .. but I just.. " She trailed off for a moment, gnawing on her lip. "I.. I can't explain it," is what she finally settled on, wiping at her eyes.

"Can't or don't want to?"

She shot him a dirty look, not answering.

"... Do you mind if I explain why I did?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Dorien leaned over, sighing idly. "Didn't mean to bother."

"I -really- don't want to talk about it. I'm so tired." She lifted her head and rubbed at her brow. "You don't have to explain, anyway. You love him, that's reason enough."

"But it isn't exactly fair, seeing as I don't know if you love him."

"I'm starting to think I'm not made for love." The quiet, anguished sincerity in her voice was almost lost as she turned away from him.

"I don't see why you think that, really." He frowned. "Everyone is given the chance."

"If I had it, I mucked it up."

Dorien rubbed his face. "How? I'm sure he doesn't mind, as I said."

She snorts. "Please. I was too stupid to appreciate you and too naive to handle him. I'll be too jaded for whoever might be desperate enough to try next." Her attempt at humor was weak and half-hearted.

"Cadence... You're not stupid. Naive, yes, but er, you never... Anyway. I don't see how two mess ups can make you jaded."

There's a faint laugh behind her voice. "Watch and learn, I suppose."

Dorien tossed his hands up in the air. Light, she was IMPOSSIBLE. "My point is..." He started, pausing to lick his lips. "My point in all of that is that if you do love Alkrenon, you can continue to, but just bear in mind. He can promise the world, but he likely won't deliver. You've seen how he is about humans. He gave me a weird look when I mentioned commitment, and laughed at me before saying that my idea of fidelity was 'eccentric'."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "While I'm certain he loves me, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to get away with half of the stuff I would, I'm also fairly sure he loves you as well. But... You deserve to be more than a side fuck to him."

She jolted a little at the end of his speech, and then seemed to sink even further into herself. ".. don't worry," she finally answered, her voice turned a bit monotone. "I won't be."

"I'm being a bit of a hypocrite right now," Dorien laughed quietly.

"We're all hypocrites," she answered darkly. Cadence moved to stand up, easing herself to her feet carefully and dusting off her pants. The handkerchief is put away in her satchel and she pointedly avoided looking at him.

"Mandy ended up giving me that advice, about him as well. It's strange that she's so insightful." He paused, before looking up at Cadence. "Cade..."

"What."

"Do you hate me?"

"Wh- no..! Of course I don't hate you." The surprise seemed to
shake some of the shadows from her face as she glanced at him with a frown.

"It'd be understandable if you did, though."

"How, exactly?"

"Er, this entire conversation?"

"You're an idiot, Dorien Mydral." Cadence shook her head incredulously, hefting her satchel on her shoulder, and started to walk off.

Dorien stood up quickly, and chased after her. "How am I an idiot?"

She stopped when she realized he was just going to follow her, giving an exasperated sigh. "Oh, dear, I've gone and been a nice understanding fellow again, dealt with the blubbering moron that is Cadence Greystone and attempted to give her advice that may actually prove worth-while in the future!" She mimicked his voice as best she could, even down to he accent he used. "Obviously such a wretched, dishonorable set of acts will set her against me, surely, surely!" Cadence raised one hand in a dramatic gesture. The sarcasm is strong with this one. "For LIGHT'S sake, Dorien, I may be an idiot but my mind isn't a total barren wasteland!"

"You're the one that seemed convinced that I hated you for an equally silly reason," he grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He slipped into his Lordaeron accent as well, SEE HER TRY AND MIMIC THAT ONE, grumble grumble.

She raised her hand as though to punch his shoulder, but then abruptly stopped, pulling it close to her body and holding it against her stomach with her other hand instead. "Silly - please. You had good intentions - I had selfish ones," she retorted bitterly. "No, I don't hate you - that would be stupid, and while that's par for the course these days, I've miraculously avoided it." Again, she turned to walk away.

"Cade, you're not stupid, or selfish! You deserve to be loved and love someone back." He continued to follow after her, frowning.
"Don't shut yourself out."

"Why shouldn't I? Why should I open myself to something that's only going to hurt in the end- and not just me!"

"Because if anyone I know deserves to be loved properly, to be cared for and cherished, it's you."

"Bullshit." She folded her arms tightly, walking on still, shoulders hunched. "You only say that because you only know how to be nice, Dorien."

Dorien raised an eyebrow. "I'm quite capable of not being nice, Cadence."

Cadence shot him an unconvinced look. Prove it, her expression said.

Dorien looked torn for a moment, before mumbling under his breath. He focused back on Cadence, pointing at her. "Don't blame me. But, I mean to make a point that I haven't needed your pity for awhile, yet you still continue to offer it to me. I'm capable in several ways, as I'm sure you've seen.

"Not only that, but at this point... While my relationship with Alkrenon is not exactly healthy, at least he doesn't pity me."

She squinted at him as though he'd just cursed at her, looking mildly offended. "Pit- PITY?" she repeated, to make sure she'd heard him right. "Pity! Since when is being a patient man something to pity?"

"You HAVE pitied me! I mean, there's no other way you would have agreed to stay with me if there wasn't something of the sort! And then there was that smile you gave me sometimes, when I was being...!"

Cadence stopped in her tracks to turn to face him fully, looking at him like he was a stranger who suddenly stopped her on the street to criticize her. "Being -what-? That wasn't PITY, Dorien, that was what any decent person would have done!"

He eyed her. "Either you're emotionally retarded, or you're lying. Or I'm wrong."

He threw his arms out. "A strange man with a broken hand and legs shows up, and asks you to live with him because he's scared, how ISN'T that pity?"

She scoffed incredulously again, staring at him and chewing air for a moment. "You - you're actually CRITICIZING me for helping you! You're criticizing me for HELPING you." She looked completely and utterly amazed and indignant.

"No, I'm thankful that you helped me, but there was pity!"

"So WHAT if there WAS?" It was Cadence's turn to toss her hands up. "A few brief pangs of sympathy for someone who's obviously got it worse off than you is a sin, now?"

"Sympathy is one thing, it's short, and you say 'oh, poor you'. Pity is something long enduring, hell, I'm fully capable right now, and I'm sure you still pity me in some manner!"

She snaps. "What do you EXPECT people to do when you won't bloody well do anything for YOURSELF! You're TOO nice, you're too damn eager to roll over and let people walk all over you - what is anyone supposed to DO but either trample on the Mydral Rug or feel sorry for you! LIGHT!" As soon as her outburst was over, she huffed, and then seemed to register what she'd just said. She looked to Dorien warily for his reaction.

Dorien stared at her for a few moments, before throwing back his head and laughing. "Everyone has their ways of expressing their love, apparently mine needs a bit more work," he says after a moment, once he's calmed down. "I had nothing to offer you, to offer others, other than my help and devotion."

He pressed his mouth into a thin line, before shrugging. "I know what I'm like, and I'm trying to change it. I've pulled back some of my offers, better defending myself."

The wary look melts away into annoyance. She couldn't quite pin down WHY she was annoyed, but there he was laughing instead of showing any sort of ability to be riled. "So, you can offer your help and devotion but when I try to do the same it's labeled as pity, and me a bad person because of it. I see. How fair."

"You did say we're all hypocrites." He offered, but he does look a bit guilty. "In return, you called me a mat for it, so I say we're even."

"You are a mat," she retorted simply, recrossing her arms. It wasn't said in any particular malice, but as a sort of fact. "I hate seeing you do it. It drives me mad."

"Why?"

"Because I can't EVER tell what you're really thinking, or if you're
actually angry or upset and you're just faking it with that damned grin of yours - I can't tell when you actually MEAN that something's okay and when it's really not. And you're worth so much more than just.. " She stopped herself for a moment, struggling to continue on with the revelation. ".. so much more," she eventually repeated with a sigh.

He ran his hand through his hair, frowning slightly. "You see what I mean, when it comes to you? You're worth more than what you consider." He twisted his mouth, looking off to the side for a moment, tugging at his hair. "And... As for the..." He trailed off, frowning. "I'm particularly good at expressing myself, with negative emotions."

Once the thoughts she had been searching for were out, it made room for guilt to seep in. She hugged herself across her stomach and shrugged, glancing down to toe the road with the tip of her boot. "Sorry," she offered.

"It's fine, and thanks for telling me. Really, your opinion means quite a bit to me." He waved his hand, reaching out towards her. "There's no reason curl up like that, no reason to apologize."

She glanced at the hand and just as abruptly looked away again. She didn't exactly shy away, but she didn't reach out to him either. "I'm not curling up," came the denial.

"Sure." He moved a bit closer, doing his best to slide his arm around her shoulders without being too quick. All about letting her choose.

She snorted faintly, shaking her head, but allowing him to settle his arm around her. "What now, then." It was more of a statement than a question.

He shrugged, giving her a squeeze. "Not sure, but we're okay, right?"

This elicited a faint, mirthless laugh. "Speak for yourself."

"I meant us."

Cadence gave him a quizzical look. Huh?

"We're good, right?"

"H-how do you mean?"

Dorien blinked down at her, smiling slightly. "Comfortable around each other?"

Cadence thought about that for a moment, and what she decided on must not have been good, because her small half smile was strained almost to the point of grimace. ".. yes. Sure."

"Maybe I should teach you how to hide your expressions a bit better."

Abruptly, she frowned, and elbowed him lightly in the side.

He snickered slightly, pulling away. "Sorry, I shouldn't have joked." He held his hands up, offering a peaceful gesture. "But really, you're not going to hurt my feelings if you say otherwise, Cadence. You've kind of spat out the worst by now, calling me a mat."

Cringing slightly, she moved a few paces away, heading back toward the city gates. "Yes, well, what does it matter anyway," she muttered.

"Hm?" He sped up a bit to keep pace. "Didn't hear your last."

She raised her voice so he could hear her. "If it's the worst then
we're obviously not 'okay', and it'll be my fault, won't it, so what does it matter if I think we are or not?"

"I meant... Ergh. Cade, I meant that in a way that you're free to say whatever you want to me or about me, without needing to worry. I'm sorry if I mistook you're agreement that we're comfortable or not as something else."

"I'm not even comfortable with MYSELF right now, Dorien, I can't be expected to be comfortable with other people!" She trudged on, though she didn't know why. Home just meant facing Alkrenon again, after all - assuming he hadn't split yet.

"Ah, well... I'm here if you need it, feel free to ask."

"Sure," she answered automatically, not sounding particularly convinced. "Likewise," she added after a moment, sounding notably more sincere.

He smiled, patting her shoulder. "My door's always open, especially if you want my cooking. I miss cooking for another person as well." Hopefully that was subtle enough.

At that she did curl away from him slightly, nodding just to confirm that she had heard the offer. "Of course. He - ah. Well. Maybe he'll just visit you," she mentioned absently. Maybe he'd leave her house and go to Dorien's.

Dorien shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Maybe, but who knows. Feel free to send him on his way over if you'd like."

"Do you want him there?"

"I've got no preference, but if he pesters you, feel free to just send him my way," Dorien frowned. "Need to have an argument with him."

She grimaced again, reaching up to run her fingers through her own hair. This mussed it quite effectively, turning the neat braid into a sloppy one. "Not on my behalf, you don't. If it's something else, fine, but don't.. it's not his fault, if it's that."

"Eh." How ambigious.

"I'm serious," she persisted, shooting him a critical look.
He looked over at her, before frowning. "I still don't see why I can't."

"Because it's - it's unnecessary AND it's not.. I mean.. it's not your business, is it." She finished that argument lamely. It kind of WAS, in a way, but she wasn't going to admit it openly. "I just don't think it's your problem."

"Fine, I won't go starting an argument, but if he comes to me with it, it's fair game." He nodded. There, compromise!

There again came the incredulous look. "Why would he come to you to argue about it?"

"He argues with Mandy all the time, calling her a prude because she won't mess around with him again." He shrugged. "And when she says she won't because she likes me too much to, he tries to argue with me about getting her to do it with him."

She frowned, looking thoughtful for a moment, and then rubbed at her face. "Right," she replies in defeat. That's Alkrenon. After a deep sigh, she muttered something under her breath.

"So there's a high chance he'll come and complain, that's all."

"I have to go home now," she interrupted him abruptly, hiking her satchel strap back on her shoulder. Her face was a little steely.

"See you, Cadence. Keep safe." He waved at her, shaking his head. He paused, looking down at his feet for a moment, only to realize that he had walked this far barefooted. Oh Light, did he really forget his shoes at the lake? "Shit."

She didn't stay to find out what had caused him to curse, but instead hurried off, vanishing into the crowded streets of Stormwind.

Dorien took off, he only had one pair of shoes! He needed those!