Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-25828117-20191018075609/@comment-7262318-20191021015736

Shrava watched the party go on for just a moment longer before deciding her time would be better spent elsewhere. She made for the stairs, but she was stopped by someone putting a hand on her shoulder. She wheeled around and hissed, but stopped when she saw it was just Garran.

"Where you goin?" He asked her.

"Away from this nonsense," She replied.

"You sure? I mean... you looked like you wanted to come mingle..."

"This One has more pressing matters to attend to than dancing around like a fool. Shrava would think after Tenmaru, you would all be sick of parties."

"This is just a birthday party," Garran rolled his eyes. "Come on... I saw you eyeing that cake."

In truth, the cake did look very good. She had not eaten a tasty meal in quite a while, and Helian did know his way around the kitchen. The smell was actually hitting her from here, permeating through the smell of sweaty sailors and mead. Perhaps she could allow herself to sneak out there and sample just a taste of it.

"... No," She finally decided. "No this one will be fine here..."

Garran frowned. "Shrava, look, I... you know you don't have to be alone."

"It's a little late for that opportunity, don't you think?"

"Ain't nothin' ever too late. Things just get there when they get there..." Garran grinned. "Come on... I can show you how to dance."

Shrava snorted at that. "You? The lead-footed orc, teaching someone how to dance?"

"I guaran-goddamn-tee you, that I know more than you do," He chuckled.

Shrava glanced down at the hand that Garran had extended out to her, She really didn't want to dance, but she also did not want to leave her Orc friend hanging.

Friend...

That was a very foreign word to Shrava. She had no use for friends anymore. In her life, she had had two. One of them was very brief, and left with her new paladin toy shortly after. The other she knew most of her adult life, and stabbed her in the back as soon as he saw the opportunity. But she supposed that after spending almost a month now talking to Garran, learning about his origins and joking and laughing with him, he would be considered a friend wouldn't he?

And in truth, it scared her a bit. To put her trust back into someone and not treat them as if they were ready to claw her throat out the moment her back was turned. She would be putting her guards down again, and that was something that she had spent the previous 8 months convincing herself to never do again.

Yet, here she stood, with a soul that... connected with her. That saw something in her beyond the calloused hatred and her extreme solutions. Someone that was simple. Genuine. Did not hide things from her and did not cower in the face of her unbridled fury. Someone who understood her. And someone who she understood.

"... Very well," Shrava took his hand. "Only if This One is allowed to eat afterwards."

"Deal," Garran smirked, taking her out to to the dance floor among the other sailors and group members who were currently dancing.

"Here... put your hand on my shoulder," Garran spoke. Shrava nodded and did so, and Garran put his free hand around the mid part of her back. She tensed up a little.

"Now... very simple. All you gotta do is follow my feet and just... step with me," He said. He took a step back. "Now just move forward and follow, yeah?"

"This One... guesses," She said. She kept her head down and glared intently at her feet, following along as Garran moved his feet around in a box-like pattern. After an awkward, clunky start, she started getting into a rhythm and folllowed Garrans moves. Just like that, the remorseless and hate-fueled wraith was dancing along with all the others.

"... Where did you learn to dance?" Shrava snickered.

"Ah, I picked it up here and there... few huntin' parties I've been on had dance parties after a big take..."

"And they wished to dance with you?"

"Sorta... most of them were dares. But I learned along the way," He shrugged.

She laughed. "A dancing archer... this one thinks you're more Breton than Orc."

"Heh... wish my wrinkled hide would have gotten that message," He grinned.

Shrava laughed and danced on with her friend. Though she wasn't very good and he was not much better, they were enjoying themselves. Shrava looked up at him and just smiled. It was an odd sensation, to find enjoyment in this simple affair. Enjoyment for her usually only came after melting the skull of one of Delusul's men, but this...

This was a much better alternative.