Post by Arixan on Jul 27, 2010 22:36:36 GMT -5
Mandy sits out in the harbor on the usual hill, looking out at the water. Her legs are drawn up to her chest, arms wrapped around them, her chin on her knees and a almost forgotten cigarette hanging from between her lips.
Dorien stops just short of the hill, frowning up at the person on it. "Always someone here," he mutters quietly, tucking the book his was holding open back under his arm. He climbs his way up to the top, only to stop short when he saw who it was. "Oh, hello Mandy."
She blinks up at him, a little wide eyed. She really didn't expect someone else to be around. Once she recognizes him she relaxes some,"Oh, heya. What's up?"
"You're on my reading spot, that's all." He moves to sit down nearby, but not too close. A healthy distance away, that's all he wanted.
Her shoulders slump and she frowns,"Oh, uhhh... I... I can move if ya wan'."
"No, it's fine," he shakes his head, pulling out his book and flipping it open. He stares at the page, not really all that focused on it. After reading the same line three times in a row, he sighs. "Hey, Mandy."
She's gone back to staring out at the ocean. She blinks, looking at him,"Yeah?"
"Have you ever thought about getting married?"
"Yeah, like, long time ago. But... yeah. After.... Derron...." She swallows hard and looks back out at the water again, jaw tensing. It still hurt, even after all these years,"...I ain' doin' that t' ennyone again."
Dorien winces, running a hand through his hair quickly. His hands shook now every so often, he was starting to get worried about that. "Sorry I brought it up."
She shrugs,"'S a'ite. I... I was stupid."
The redhead looks over at her blankly. "You really can't say that about yourself, you know. You aren't stupid." He smiles slightly. "Love makes you stupid, it's a general fact."
"Don' mean et ain' stupid." She blinks hard and sighs,"Shoulda jus' left 'im alone. Wut e'er. 'S past now. Don' gotta worry about love and wut e'er bullshit now." She sounds just a bit regretful, just a bit bitter. But, she knew what she was in for when she signed up.
"You technically don't have to marry for love, you know, but that's another story." Dorien closes his book, placing it on the side as he leans back on his hands.
"I know. Technically am." She laughs. There's a lack of humor in the sound, though.
"Huh?" He looks over at her, eyebrow raised.
She blinks. "Oh! Uh, yeah. Back b'fore I joined in th' family and all, uh guard friend of mine got orders t' draft me. Said I could get outta et if I was married or 'ad a kid, so, yeah. Pro drew some papers up an' got me hitched t' some guy fightin' in Northrend."
She shrugs,"'E came home, wuddn' expectin' 'im to. 'S all on paper though. Like, if we e'er found someone we're jus' gunna get uh divorce or wut e'er."
Dorien runs a hand through his hair and sighs. "Ah. But he's not in the family, is he?"
"Nah." She shakes her head.
"Fine, fine. I'll just throw this out there, but," Dorien looks around, making sure there isn't anyone around to hear this, and the reaction to it. He looks back at Mandy and focuses on her. "Would you like to marry someone in the family. It's convient."
She shrugs,"Well, yeah, tha's th' idea I got now. I mean, if I e'er find ennyone, ya know?" She grins over at him.
Dorien points to himself.
She blinks. Then laughs. Then, suddenly stops and looks at blinks at him again. "....yer serious."
"Not entirely." He shakes his head. "But the offer is there."
She sighs,"Oh." Then frowns lightly. She peers at him curiously,"Why?"
He waves his hand. "Do I need a reason?"
"Well, yeah, I mean, 's fuckin' gettin' married, ya know?" She tilts her head at him.
He runs a hand through his hair. "Well, see it from a business perspective." Dorien pauses, looking off to the side, before focusing back on Mandy. "It's convenient. We know each other fairly well, we don't love each other, so that won't get in the way and make us stupid. We're both in the family, and well..." He shrugs, there are a few other things but he won't go on about those.
Her shoulders slump,"I... was kinda 'opin...." Her voice trails off and she sighs, shutting up, and looks out at the water yet again. Then closes her eyes,"Et ain' a bad idea."
"Hoping what?"
"...nothin'. Don' worry 'bout et."
"What?"
She opens her eyes and frowns at him,"Don' -worry- 'bout et."
"Well too late, you were hoping for something, so what is it?"
She sighs and shrugs,"Nothin'. I was jus' bein' stupid again. Wut's with this idea uh yer's?"
Dorien rolls his eyes. "Well, we'd only be married on paper, I suppose, but at least it'd be in the family. I'm under no impression that you like me enough to consider loving me, since I am older than you." He huffs, looking away for a moment. "We can see others, if we so choose."
"...I.... guess so." She frowns,"Yer no' that old or wut e'er, I jus' like jokin' with ya. I mean, et ain' gotta lot t' do with shit." she shrugs,"But, yeah. Wut if one of us... finds someone, or wut e'er? I mean... would this be... it?"
"What? The way we are acting now? Would that be what makes up our marriage?"
"I guess? I dunno! Jus' sayin', wut if one uh us, like, finds someone else or wut e'er. We sayin' if we get hitch tha's it? 'S like a permanent thing? An'... I mean, I guess I can put up with jus' bein' like we are or wut e'er." She frowns, looking confused.
"Uhm. You know, I didn't think that far. Here..." He pulls out a notepad from inside his shirt, along with a pencil. "Let's see..." He writes down 'Marriage' at the top of a clean sheet of paper. "Do you want it to be permanent? I mean, you can go around and see other people if you want, I don't expect you to stick with me seriously."
She peers curiously at the sheet of paper,"Well, I mean, WHY ya wanna be married? I mean, with me et was jus' t' get outta being forced int' th' guard an' shit." She looks up at Dorien.
"Do I need a reason?" He looks awkward.
She shrugs,"I mean... wut. Ya jus' wanna be able t' say tha' yer married? I mean, I dunno. Do ya wan' us t' ACT 'married' or wut e'er in front uh people or... wut?"
Dorien huffs, looking off to the side. "I don't want to get married, but told someone I would get married at some point and have a kid. Someone in the family seemed the safest."
"......but.....ya can't 'ave kids in the family." She frowns, looking at him, brow furrowing some.
"We can't?"
She shakes her head,"Like, ya gotta give 'em up until 'ere adults or wut e'er. If ya do 'ave 'em."
"If they know."
She STARES at him,"I'd be th' size uh a FUCKIN' COW. Kinda 'ard t' miss."
"Well, maybe if you gained more weight it would be harder to notice, and anyway Mandy, you won't be as big as a cow, they're much larger than you."
She wrinkles her nose. "Close 'nuff. An' I CAN'T. I been TRYIN'. I'm, like, 's jus' 'ow I am." She sighs,"An'... I dunno if I could give et up."
"You've been trying to have a kid? Or..." He waves his hand. "Didn't Aleyna send her kid off to live with family? That should be safe enough for it."
She deadpans,"I only got one family o'er than ya guys and tha's m' dad. An' 'e's a pirate. An' no I ain' been tryin' t' 'ave a kid."
"Then what did you mean by 'I been tryin'?" He raises and eyebrow at her.
She rolls her eyes,"Been tryin' t' gain weight. I don' like bein' built like uh stick." She nibbles her lips, shoulders hunching a bit more.
"Oh, ha, sorry. I should have understood that." He waves a hand around his head, as if that'd explain why he didn't. "Could try and keep it, I mean... They can't keep track of all the people and possible children."
She shudders and shakes her head,"An' risk gettin' punished? I don' fuckin' think so. But, tha' th' only reason ya wanna get married? Is fer a kid?"
"I don't want to get married." He states again, firmly. "I don't want to, but I told someone I would."
"Oh." She tightens her arms on her legs a little,"Ya know, mebbie it wouldn' be all th' bad, right?" Then sighs,"...ya got enny family? Like, outside uh th' family?"
"They died up in Lordaeron when the Scourge came," he says as he shakes his head.
"Oh, uh.... wut 'bout friends no' in th' family?"
"Errr, I can't think of... Well, a few, actually."
She goes quiet for a few moments before saying,"...would they take care uh et?"
Dorien looks thoughtful. "I'll have to ask, to be honest."
"Well, uhhh... ask 'em."
"I will, then what...? What's that mean, if you're asking me to ask them?"
She shrugs,"I, ah... yeah. I'll 'elp ya out." She bites her lip, then looks over at him.
"Do you really want to do this, Mandy? I mean... It's pretty open, but it's only if you want to do it."
He starts to smile awkwardly, but then shakes his head. No, this isn't the place to smile. "Only if you want to."
She looks away again,"Wut else am I gunna do? Wait fer someone t' actually join th' family tha' gives a damn 'bout stickin' with me like tha'? Wut's th' chances uh tha' 'appenin', really."
Dorien shrugs. "No idea, to be honest, but should someone appear like that, feel free to go with them." He nods, smiling at her. "Hopefully he'll be more your age, and you can live happily ever after."
"....fairytales don' come true, Dori." She rolls her eyes a little,"So, uh... with this thing, then. Et somethin' ya'd wanna try to make actually... ya know... -work-? Or jus'... leave et on paper?" She looks over and tilts her head at him.
"I don't want to get married," he repeats again. "But I suppose I can try if you really want to have something of a fairytale."
She bites her lip,"I... I don' wanna... I dunno. If ya don' want, to, I mean.... n-ne'er mind." She stares out at the water.
"Talk Mandy. That's how relationships work."
She sighs,"I don' wanna make ya miserable." Her tone is flat.
"You aren't going to make me miserable. The question is, am I going to do that to you?"
"Well yeah, if I get knocked up. I mean, geeze, ya e'er really THINK 'bout tha'?" she laughs.
She shakes her head, not even really believing that she's SAYING that.
"Then we don't have to do this." Dorien stands up, brushing off his pants with one hand and stows away his notebook and book with the other. "I don't want to make you miserable over my own goals."
She rolls her eyes and stands up,"'S only gunna be fer nine months, Dori. I can get through tha'."
"Are you sure you want to though? That's the main thing."
She shrugs,"Sure."
She grins a little,"Give m' somethin' t' do besides listenin' in on people behind their backs and stabbin' shit. Gets old after a while."
Dorien looks awkward for a bit, staring at the water. "Okay... So you're sure."
She nods,"Y-yeah. Ya... 'ere's someone ya could trust t' watch th' kid, right?"
"If I can't find someone to, we won't go through with it." He nods. "If you don't mind that."
She shakes her head,"I don' mind." She looks over at him, and smirks a little,"Got enny names in mind?"
Dorien looks down at her. "No. I really wasn't thinking that far ahead." "... Do you?"
She looks out at the water and smiles,"Feldspar." There's a bit of a silly tone to the suggestion. She might be joking.
"Light, no. A normal name, please."
She laughs a little,"Samantha?"
"Or George."
"George... No. Samantha doesn't seem too bad for a girl's name." He sits back down again. "Uhh, do you have anyone you want to name a child after?"
She sits back down too, shaking her head,"Nah. Unless, mebbie m' Pops. 'E's always been good t' me after 'e's found me. 'Is name is...." she pauses, frowning. Then goes on to say,"John. Or Flynt." "Fuck, 'e'll pro'lly wanna meet ya."
"John or Flynt? You don't know?"
"Heh. D'pends if 'e's someplace 'e's wanted or no'."
Dorien's face goes blank at the mention of Mandy's father. Oh shit, right, you're supposed to do that.
"John Flynt Mydral... What's you last name?"
"Arixan."
"John Flynt Mydral-Arixan." He shrugs. "It works well enough."
She wrinkles her nose,"I don' like both last names on et. Sounds better with yer's." She bites her lip,"I mean, 'e's gunna be yer kid, ennyway." She frowns a bit.
"Right, I forgot." He hunches over slightly. "Still sure you want to do this?"
She nods,"Y-yeah." She smirks over at him,"...you?"
"I'm the one who asked." How vague.
She rolls her eyes,"Well, ya could change yer mind!"
"True enough, but only if you don't want to."
She shakes her head,"Nah, once I decide somethin' 'm kinda really stubborn 'bout et." she grins.
"Even if it causes you to be more or less out of commission?"
She shrugs,"I could use uh break."
"Only when you're ready."
She nods,"Yah. When ya find someone, come get me and we can go get th' paperwork done. Gunna 'ave t' annul th' one with wut's-'is-face." she frowns, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully.
"I don't see why you haven't done it already, how long has it been since you were drafted?"
She thinks for a moment, head tilting to the side,"...eight years? An' some uh th' tax breaks are nice."
"Oh, right. Tax breaks, that's probably a good reason."
She nods,"Yeah, an', I mean, why go through th' paperwork an' shit if ya don' gotta?"
Dorien shrugs. "True enough. Ah well, I hope I'm better looking than the other guy." He smiles.
She curls her lips in and looks at Dorien, tilting her head this way and that, before grinning a bit and giving a little nod,"Actually, yeah."
And she nods down at his....legs...area,"An' ya got both legs. Tha' 'elps, too." She laughs.
"... What?"
"Oh, uh, th' guy 'm hitched t', 'e's missin' a leg. I made 'im a new one, but maintenance on et is a bitch. "
"Oh. Well, that's good. Are you sure you want to do this?"
She laughs,"Yes!" "'Ey, I gotta idea 'bout th' whole once 's done thingy. If yer a'ite with et. We can, ya know, try t' make et work fer a little while, an' if et don', then we just do what ya said b'fore, like, jus' keep et on paper. No big pressure or ennythin'."
Dorien watches her for a moment. "... Sure." He nods after a moment, more certain this time. "Sure, if you want to. I can do that."
She smiles,"Cool." then nibbles her lip again,"We talkin' t' ennyone 'bout this? I remember Campyun sayin' tha' 'e'ad t' get someone's blessin' in th' family or somethin' like tha'."
"Do we? Er. Both of my parents are dead, so that'd only leave yours."
"Oh, uh no' THAT family..." She frowns lightly,"Like, Kamil family."
"Oh, OH, uh. I don't know. Do we? I've never been married or really thought about it a lot until now."
"I, uh, think we might. Can always ask or somethin'."
"So, uh, we botherin' with uh weddin' or ennythin' or we jus' gettin' papers signed?"
"Do you want to have a wedding?"
She nibbles her lip, narrowing her eyes again. Her gaze meets the grass as she thinks. A sandal is slipped off and she prods a patch of grass with a toe,"I... dunno. Ne'er really thought 'bout et."
"Well, you can continue to think, I really don't care either way." Dorien shrugs, and looks off to the side. "I'm not one for large parties."
She sighs,"Yeah, people kinda suck. Don' know many b'side th' family ennyway. Mebbie be better if we jus' kept things quieter. We gunna live t'ge'er?" Mandy looks up at him.
He looks down at her. "... Uh." That's all he offers. It's rather obvious he wasn't expecting her to agree.
She blinks at him,"Wut."
".. I don't know, do you want to?"
"I really haven't, uh, planned this far."
She shrugs,"Be cheaper splittin' rent. Guess we're plannin' now, huh?" She grins.
"I guess. Uh. Sure, it's better than splitting rent." He looks off to the side, before focusing back on Mandy. "Anything else?"
She shrugs,"Dunno. 'Ave ennythin' t' ask?" She tilts her head at him.
"N-no, not really. I wasn't planning this far." He shrugs, staring at his feet.
She nods,"A'ite, well, yeah, guess I'll be 'round if ya need ennythin'. Lemmie know if ya find someone, a'ite?" She gets up, stretching her hands up above her head, her back and shoulders popping.
Dorien just watches her a bit, before looking away. "Right. I'll go ask around and see if there's anyone willing."
She nods, letting her arms drop and swing at her sides. "Yeah. Someone ya trust. 'F I'm gunna be bakin' this thing, I don' wan' et goin' t' just anybody."
He nods, looking awkward again. "True enough. Are you sure that you want to do this?"
She rolls her eyes,"Yer gunna be askin' tha' right up until I miss a month, ain' ya?"
"No, I'm making sure NOW you're okay."
She laughs lightly,"Yeah, 'm fine. I wouldn' agree t' this if I wuddn'. Got no problem tellin' people t' piss off."
"Still..." He frowns, before shaking his head. "Okay, I'll stop asking you if you mind this."
She grins, then sighs and steps up to him. She hesitates a moment before reaching out and trying to take one of his hands, an awkward gesture bridging the space between them. If she gets it she gives it a squeeze and looks up at him. "'M fine."
"Maybe I shouldn't bother. I doubt I'd make a good husband." He smiles awkwardly.
She gives her eyes a little roll, grinning back,"Well, we both know I'm gunna be one hell uh a wife, right? Heh..." She lets his hand go, biting her lip.
He shrugs, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He doesn't know what else to say.
She shifts uneasily on her feet, looking back toward the city, then back at him,"So, ah, enjoy yer book, yeah? An', yah. Lemmie know if ya find someone."
Dorien nods, and smiles. "Right. See you around Mandy, uh... Don't be a stranger."
She smiles back at him,"Yeah, ya neither." And she turns, heading back into the city.
Dorien, double checking she's a good distance away, starts to hit himself in the face with his book.