Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, |
It seemed Audrey had been pulled away by one of her many admirers -- unsurprising, really, that even with a date and a sister to to play guard-dog, some gentlemen would not be deterred -- leaving Darius to stand alone and look, to Ari’s eyes, a little awkward despite the drink in his hand. They hadn’t really spoken since the successful reintroduction of Aud to society, but she remembered him, of course, and she had a notion that Aud might be fairly serious about him. Might as well make her own attempt to build a friendly relationship -- the way she saw it, he was a more likely candidate for friendship than Divina Marcos, of all unfortunate people for Audrey to have taken up with. Besides, they had been partners in crime, of a sort, hadn’t they? It was these thoughts that had her approaching him, holding out her appetizer plate. “Cheese puff?” She smiled, sympathetic, and added, “You look a bit like a fish out of water.” The question left him pausing for a moment, a quick glance around allowed for an easy spotting of the woman much smaller than him making the offer. A hand rose, taking the food. “Heh,” Darius’ other hand came up to scrub over the back of his head before falling to rub at his neck. “That obvious, huh?” The smile offered was a bit nervous at best, but it was what he had in this moment. A roll of one shoulder would be a vague attempt at getting comfortable in the suit jacket that was - perhaps - just a bit too tight. “You come to these things often?” It might have sounded like a pick up line, but right now, the white mage was far too concerned with just not making a fool of himself to even notice. As she’d thought, the food and conversation gave him something to focus on; he even smiled, even if the smile was uncertain. “Only a little obvious,” she assured him, even if it was a lie. He looked properly dashing, but the way he carried himself said everything. Still, most people probably wouldn’t look past a tall, handsome man in a decent suit to analyze the discomfort lingering just under the surface, especially not in a crowd as eclectic as this one. “As often as I can manage,” she told him, deciding to ignore the possible undertones of the question. No doubt he was just trying to make conversation. “Though usually, I watch from there.” She gestured towards the dais where the orchestra was seated. “Damn, Ma would be ashamed.” It was a vague almost, but not quite, joke. Darius was pretty certain his mother wanted him to go marry some rich woman that he’d never have to worry about. Memories about a good man needing a good woman cropped up again briefly, but honestly, half the time he could never be 100% certain precisely what she was classifying as a good woman now-a-days. Though, the thought of venturing into a conversation about if she’d heard of his relations with Audrey had seemed like the worst idea ever. Really, who the hell wanted to have that talk with their parent? “Have fun with ‘em?” The last word came out a bit clipped, though the question was sincere enough. Maybe if he could figure out how people got to enjoy fluttering around things like this, he’d find himself a way to relax and enjoy it. His gaze trailed off in the direction she gestured. “Watch, huh?” A note of the location was made, maybe if Darius got dragged off to more stuff like this, he’d have to keep an eye out for her. “Get hired for this sorta thing a lot?” Thankfully, this conversation was easy, and it helped deter some of the cougars from trying to hang off his arm. Man, how Audrey could stand this he hadn’t a clue. |