Mission Accomplished

It was obvious. Glaring. How no-one else had caught onto It, felt it in the very air, was beyond him. It was in their eyes; her light, loving blue and his…yellow…serpentine…alright, the eye analogy didn’t quite work in their situation yet it mattered not. It was obvious.

Anila had walked into the tavern and sat at the bar. Not the tables like a soldier or merchant might. Not in one of the ever in demand shadowy corners. The bar at lunch time. This implied the woman knew she was somewhat important – the bar was where you could easily be seen and, of course, had the best service – yet she wasn’t out to make it obvious by requesting a private dining room. Either wealth merchant or nobility, she had to be. That and her clothing and speech were very finely crafted. It was all in the poise.

Skah had slithered into the tavern and told Anila to get away from the fop she was force-feeding. Not for the fop’s safety. Just because she ‘might catch something’. This implied the naga, half reddish-gold snake and half rather dashing man, was also of high status. The fop was a well dressed, vain looking slip of a man who almost glowed in his own self-worth; not a lower-class figure. The naga was important and quite happy to let it show.

Two nobles, one who knew when to hold back and another who didn’t. That alone made the set-up perfect. Alex sat at the bar near Anila’s abandoned plate, watching her argue with the naga. She’d lashed out at the sparkling fop after he insulted the cook and waitress, Sue, and from the little Alex could overhear of her and the naga’s conversation she was insisting she was quite capable of handling herself, thank you very much. They matched well in looks too, Alex mused, taking a quiet sip of his drink. Anila’s fair complexion set off bronze highlights in Skah’s scales. Alex himself was blond: thin, short for his age and unlikely to grow any more, he’d been described more than once as the ideal figure for angels, choir-boys, pages and other such delicate figures lacking in masculinity. His hands were dainty and smooth with neatly trimmed fingernails gilding their tops. His eyelashes were dark and long. If you mistook him for a girl you certainly wouldn’t be the first to make the mistake; he could even sing like a girl, if the mood took him.

Green eyes watched as Anila stormed away from Skah and returned to finish her lunch. Fluco fillet was an uncommon choice around these parts as the birds largely came from the western mega-city of Argonia. They weren’t that fond of Argonia here. They wouldn’t eat their woolly birds unless they had to. Skah had slunk after her and was using the opportunity to pilfer pieces from her plate. She didn’t do much to stop him, Alex noted, enjoying his latest dose of voyeurism. They would argue often, these two, yet it was unlikely to ever be that serious. Skah seemed the type to win via dirty tactics, anyway.

Questions about himself were quickly answered of deflected. It wasn’t that Alex was ashamed or angst-ridden about his past, there were just so many things more important right now. Anila’s relationship status, for example. The blonde woman’s hand batted at Skah’s absently in another unsuccessful attempt to keep her lunch as she told Alex that they were travelling to Argonia together for business purposes. Skah stole her mug instead, obviously used to more attention than what he was getting. This particular movement got him what he wanted.

“Skah, it’s alcoholic. You’re not used to that and you know it.”

“You imply I’m a simpleton. Besides, why on earth would I stoop to sharing a mug, in a common ale-house at that, when I could easily buy my own?”

He left the mug. Anila smiled to herself and took a sip. Alex had a plan.

-

It was dinner time and Anila was no-where in sight. Alex was still perched at the bar where they’d left him, taking notes furiously. He didn’t plan just for tonight, oh no. Alex planned to make an entire three month plan for the to-be couple. It was rather simple, really. A night out here, a gift here. Skah would be doing more of the gift-giving, Anila would be favours and the occasional, timid kiss or cuddle. There’d be declarations of undying love by the end of the first month and from there on, whoo, that was out of his field. Not that his advice would be much good, he scowled, a nasty blot of ink sprawling free of his pen as he pushed it down especially hard. The clichés gleaned from romance novels might not work with these two, unless they were the type that became sentimental after falling in love.

Skah slithered up to the bar and demanded the best of whatever they were serving, immediately. Unable to contain a quiet chuckle, Alex scratched out the word ‘sentimental’. Somehow the naga didn’t seem the type to get all mushy with flowers and chocolates. Perhaps he was the rough type? If that were the case -

“Haven’t you got a home to go to?” The Naga asked with a primly raised brow. It was presumed the question was rhetorical because he didn’t seem all that interested however Alex might reply. Instead he was looking at the bar stools. It took the blond a minute to realise just why Skah was scrutinising them; the man didn’t have legs, he had a tail. That made sitting on anything rather difficult. With what sounded like an irritated sigh, Skah simply knotted tail about with practised ease to prop himself up to the correct height. Shrugging a little to himself, Alex indicated for the waitress to bring him another drink before sliding it to the naga. Skah stopped its slide more out of instinct than gratitude. The look he gave Alex was somewhat scathing.

“You think I cannot afford my own drinks?”

“Nothing of the sort. I just heard you hadn’t tried before and got you something on the weaker side.” Now, let’s see if male pride extends to the naga as well.

“Of course it’s weaker.” Aha, there was the blow to the ego. Skah’s tone was snappy, irate. Still, the naga picked up the mug delicately, as if it might bite him with some commoner disease, before taking a tiny sip. Burying his nose in his own mug, Alex pretended not to notice the slight wrinkles of distaste that crept onto Skah’s face. His forked tongue lapped in and out gingerly for a moment before he noticed Alex’s subtle looks. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just wondering if you liked it.”

“It’s alright for a commoner’s brew.” A noble sniff, his nose in the air. “I prefer things with a little finer pallet, finer fruit and certainly not this dry.”

“Still too strong for you, eh?”

“Of course not!” And he took a generous gulp, managing to school his features into what could be called a poker-face. Alex’s lip twitched, hinting at a smirk.

“I’ll get you another.” The drink was passed and Skah, looking dubious, pushed his first, 

empty mug to the back of the counter. He was halfway through his first sip when Alex decided to make his move.

“So…travelling with that Anila, mm? Can’t be too unpleasant with her to look at.” A little baser than Alex usually aimed for yet it seemed to hit the mark.

“It has nothing to do with you.” Skah snapped, his yellow eyes darkening with what Alex decided to interpret as jealousy. “What do you want with her?”

“Nothing, nothing.” With a wave of his delicate hand, Alex tried to diffuse the new-found anger in the other man. “Just saying you might want to watch her. Lots of not-so-nice guys hang around in these places, after all. She’s a pretty girl.”

“Eh…she’s easy enough on the eyes, I suppose.” Came the grudging response, though Alex could see the consideration on Skah’s face as he took another long drink. Alex motioned for another drink.

“Y'know... I... think... hic Yer... hot.” Skah’s normally regal tone had slipped a few notches, punctuated with hiccups and obviously under the influence. Oh no, Alex wasn’t watching from the door, not at all.

“Skah, you’re drunk.” Curt and completely sober – she’d only had one drink, Alex had noticed, only finishing half of that after she saw Skah’s mental state – Anila’s hand lay against Skah’s back as she attempted to direct him back to their shared rooms. Shared rooms. Another mark in their favour. “I told you not to drink that so don’t blame me for your hangover tomorrow.”

“M'not... drunk... sides... mmmmm.” Whatever Skah had to say was too incoherent to make out, either to Anila or Alex. He couldn’t see Anila’s face from here but Alex saw her shoulders move in a heavy sigh, pressing Skah a little harder.

“Lets just get you to bed.”

The naga’s next movement was too fast, too unexpected from him that Anila obviously had no time to react. The inn’s room doors were protected from the elements by a balcony and it was under this that Skah shoved Anila, nothing gentle in his actions. They were out of Alex’s sight now and by the time the boy had skittered across to hide in the shadows, Skah’s forked tongue out of sight down Anila’s mouth. It wasn’t a romantic thing to watch; if anything it was almost desperate. Anila, on the other hand, appeared to have frozen up. His breath caught as he watched, Alex beginning to wonder if he’d made some great misjudgement, and it was after thirty long seconds that the blonde woman relaxed, one arm creeping around Skah’s neck. Alex sighed in relief. For a second there he’d thought –

But there was no time for thinking. Skah had broken the kiss and, with a rather devilish smirk, yanked Anila clean away from the wall and towards their rooms. There wasn’t much Anila could do about the matter – alcohol had imbued Skah with super strength – yet the silly little smile on her lips led one to wonder if she really minded.

The square of light from their doorway vanished as they shut themselves away from the night. Left in the dark, Alex chuckled to himself, pleased. So much for his three month plan. Mission accomplished.

AN: Happy Birthday, Joejoe, yet again! Now this was what I was meant to give him, and I'm more happy with it than the other one. It's a pretty random piece, I know, but what of mine isn't?