Re: Reza, Shane, and Zania
It was a disappointment to know his rival was a witch but not terribly surprising considering this place was supposedly full of them. Shane grinned when Reza pulled him toward Zania and his first impression of her was that she didn't really belong in this place either, not with those fiery red dreadlocks. They'd already cleared Zania and her brother with the others so he wasn't terribly put off at the mention of her - as long as Reza didn't start involving more witches, but he could kind of see why he'd approached Zania in the first place. Looks could be deceiving, but nothing about her screamed she worked with institutions like AIR. As they got closer and caught her attention he let Reza do the introductions and gave her a cheeky little wave.
Zania seemed to have just finished up talking to someone, and Reza didn’t want to be rude, so he hoped she wasn’t headed for the restroom or anything. He beamed at her, proud in probably a silly way that he’d managed to pick the right witch, who already had connections to people in their AIR circle. Plus, she was a fire and Shane was fire and he wanted to see how they got along. “Zania, hello,” Reza greeted warmly. He nodded between the two of them. “This is my boyfriend Shane. Shane, this is Zania. Obviously.” Reza let out an amused little huff. Even if they hadn’t already spoken, she was the only woman in the room he would’ve pegged as a ‘Zania,’ so it was obvious on more than one level.
Zania had been making the rounds, catching up on local gossip, when she spotted Reza. She’d seen him from afar, his colors marking him as a witch among the crowd, and the man he was with already fascinated her. It was like she could see the flames in his aura, reds and oranges and yellows among the white. A pyrokinetic, just like Reza had said. Her mind searched for his name, but she couldn’t remember. Zania grinned as she walked up to them, glad that Reza provided a proper introduction, filling in the gap in her memory. “Reza! I wasn’t expecting to see you tonight,” she said, hugging him on impulse. She was a touchy person and even more so when she’d been drinking. Her attention turned to Shane. “It’s so good to meet you. Reza told me all about you. Well, not everything. Just some big, important things.”
Shane grimaced briefly at the way she phrased it because yes, Reza had divulged some pretty personal things when he took it upon himself to confide in a random witch. It still baffled him but he wasn't upset about it anymore - so long as Reza didn't make a habit of it! Zania was already in the know, he just hoped she wasn't some crazy double agent. For now he decided the big important thing was just the fire they seemed to share, it was easier to talk to her if he didn't think about how she knew he'd been kidnapped and experimented on as a child. "Yeah I hear we have some pretty awesome things in common," he drawled, his easy smile back in place, tinted with some amusement at the subtle surprise in Reza's expression at the impromptu hug.
Reza had been mildly startled by the hug, but returned it anyway, chuckling a bit. He cringed a little inside at Zania’s wording. It wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t aware of the fight that Reza’s indiscretion had caused, but it still sucked to be reminded of it. He was grateful that Shane just let it go and brought up the good part first. Maybe the two of them could bond over fire and forget the weirdness of how this all had started. He smiled and glanced between the two of them, biting his tongue on some corny ‘is it hot in here?’ jokes.