tampered | Log; ongoing

Log; ongoing

When; February 25th, afternoon.
Rating; PG-ish.
Characters; Solomon Goldsmith (

favoritetraitor) and Saya Otonashi (

hematophagy).
Summary; Solomon is determined to get Saya to trust him, but she is more than a little reluctant.
Log;
Saya was waiting. To be perfectly honest, she was regretting agreeing to meet Solomon. The last time she'd seen him in person, he'd saved her from James. In fact, he'd allowed James to fall thousands of feet into the earth simply to save her. Yes, he'd said he loved her and would always be on her side, but she'd brushed that off as a rouse. He was trying to get her to join Diva, or maybe even leading her into a trap to get her killed.

But if it were that simple, would he really kill his brother to do so?

And then, the was the strange things he'd been speaking of. Wounds? Arriving here before she'd waken up? The wounds she'd received from James were minor at best, and she hadn't been knocked unconscious. What in the world was he talking about?

Saya tightened her grip on her sword. Regardless of his true intentions, all it would take was a small cut, just enough to get her blood into his bloodstream. Perhaps she couldn't kill him permanently, but at the very least she could make him a bit more wary about tricking her in the future.

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She looked as beautiful as always.

Shifting the bouquet of flowers more comfortably in his arms, he reached up in an almost nervous human gesture to run his fingers through his hair. It was ridiculous how after all this time and all the things he had done in his life, that he could so easily be brought back to such a mortal state.

Love. Not the kind of adoring worship that had stirred his blood around Diva. No, this was something quite different.

Gliding through the crowd milling about outside the zoo's gates, Solomon's zeroed in on his target. “Saya...” He smiled widely, warmth pouring through his heart to be so close to her once again. “I'm so glad to see you...”

She was surprised to see the bouquet of flowers, and even more surprised to see his warm smile. "Solomon," she replied softly, tightening her grip on her sword slightly.

Honestly, Saya could sense no malice in his voice or actions. In fact, it was exactly the opposite. It could be a trap, she reminded herself. It would be easy for him to gain my trust here only to break it when we found our way home.

She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the chevalier, despite her misgivings. He looked so... Vunerable.

"What did you want to speak about?"

Always the suspicion. Not that he could blame her...

“Can't we have a pleasant day together without worrying about things?” His eyes softened, as he held out his gift, the first of many he hoped to give to her. “These are for you. Although, they pale in comparison to your beauty. I hope the color is to your liking. Red to match your eyes...” He paused, hoping she should be pleased. “... it was the best they had to offer.”

He gazed towards the ornate metal gate that led into the zoo. “For today, let's forget about everything else and explore the wonders of this new city together.”

Saya took the flowers almost reluctantly. She couldn't deny that they were beautiful, but taking his gifts and compliments seemed like a betrayal to her duty. "Well, I..." This was all reminding her of the dance at that school in Vietnam. Back then, she'd enjoyed his company. In fact, if things had been different - if he were not Diva's chevalier - she may have even fallen for him. "Thank you," she added, very softly.

But things were not different, she reminded herself. Saya shifted uncomfortably, turning her attention to the gates of the zoo as well. There would be no harm in going with him. She was armed, and she doubted he would try anything in such a public place. "All right," she muttered.

Everything was going fairly well if Solomon had to say so himself. The sword was a bit of an overreaction... but as long as she was agreeing to be with him, he saw no need to make an issue of it. Perhaps on their next date, she'd see fit to leave it behind...

“Ah yes, but before we go, I'd be remiss if I didn't glance at your wrist, Saya. It will take but a moment...” But that led to another minor difficulty... for one hand held the flowers, and the other one (the previously injured one) held her sword tightly by its handle. "Why don't you set the flowers down for a moment while I examine you?"

Solomon held out his hand and waited for her to respond. Deja vous... hadn't he gone through similar motions at the dance when they met? The memory made his heart flutter slightly, and he smiled happily, reciting those very same words from long ago. “Give me your hand...”

Edited 2009-02-28 10:09 (UTC)

Date? This was certainly not a date, at least to Saya. But she couldn't understand him. Why would he do all this simply to trick her? He'd betrayed his brothers and Diva on more than one occasion, and he'd always given her truthful information...

Could it all really be a complicated trick?

As soon as he asked to see her hand, she hesitated. It would be simple for him hurt her in any number of ways if she did so. But then again, the zoo was teeming with people, and Solomon and the other chevaliers had never seemed the type to call unneeded attention to themselves.

But still, she considered for a long moment before putting the flowers down on the ledge behind her, always keeping her eyes on him. Then, she hesitantly reached out her hand.

He blinked at her outstretched hand, surprised that she'd offer him the wrong hand. “... I... meant your sword hand, Saya.” He smiled softly, amused that she'd misunderstood. Laughing quietly, he knelt down in front of her as he explained. “I thought it'd be better to have you put down the flowers and switch your weapon to the other hand, than to ask for you to give up your sword.”

Still, there was something on the edge of his consciousness that concerned him. Something was off... if only he could put his finger on it.

When he'd taken her to his apartment, before they were swept into this strange place... he'd taken great care to examine her body for any damage. Her wrist had been fractured, ripped and bloody from his brother's talons. Her throat bruised from where he cut off her air supply... if he'd gotten there a moment later...

But had he missed something? Perhaps head trauma, that left her confused...

Cursing silently to himself, he gazed up at the silky black locks of her hair. Worry starting to seep into his thoughts.

Saya found herself blushing despite herself, and she quickly switched her sword to her other hand and offered him the correct wrist. After all, she could still fight with her non-dominant hand, and there wasn't much he could do while he was kneeling. And honestly, she was beginning to doubt that he intended to harm her at all. She couldn't even count the number of times he'd saved her life.

"I wasn't hurt," she told him softly. "Only a few bruises from when James grabbed me, and they healed already."

“... James? Saya, dear. James wasn't there.” This was worrying...

Taking her hand in his, he gingerly flexed the joint, feeling for any residual damage. His eyes darted to her large red eyes, looking for any sign of discomfort, but she showed no evidence that his actions were hurting her. “Hm... well, this is looking like it's healed up nicely.” His fingers glided along the soft flesh of her wrist, turning her arm so that he could check for any bruising.

Nothing. But with a queen's accelerated healing, this was as it should be...

Reluctantly, he lowered her hand and let it slide out of his... the impulse to touch her was not an easy thing to ignore. But he was her doctor right now, and the last thing he wanted was to lose whatever tenuous grasp he had on her trust.

“But, I am concerned...” Standing, he stepped back to give her a little breathing room. “You don't remember Amshel grabbing you?”

She watched him carefully, keeping an eye out for any movements that could possibly be malicious. But there were none. In fact, his touch was gentle, almost tender. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't confused.

"Amshel? I... Amshel wasn't there. You said it yourself. You told us that Amshel had tricked you and taken Diva to New York."

Hadn't someone told her something about people being brought here from the same worlds, but from different times? Was this what they'd meant?

"Solomon," she said softly, switching her sword back to her dominant hand again. "I don't understand. You know I must kill Diva, but you're helping me..."

How puzzling... Could it really be true that she was missing such an expanse of time?

Standing, he placed a couple fingers under her chin and gently guided her head up so he could see more clearly in her eyes. Her russet colored eyes caught the sun's light, making her pupils constrict with the sudden exposure. Still, he frowned, unhappy that things weren't explaining themselves more clearly.

Idly, he replied to her, as his impromptu examination continued. “Mm... of course, I'm helping you. And I shall consider to do so. You are my priority now.” Her skin carried a healthy flush of color, breathing seemingly normal, even the pulse along her throat beat strongly under her skin.

“Saya, have you felt lightheaded, dizzy, or disoriented lately?” He paused, eyes glancing around them for a moment. “I mean, other than the disorientation of being here...”

She immediately flinched at the touch, though she managed to force herself to relax. She gave him long enough to examine her eyes, then pulled away gently. "I've been fine. Just..." Saya sighed softly. If he'd been meaning to kill her, he would have done so already, wouldn't he? And anyway, someone had told her that there was no permanent way to be killed in the city, anyway.

"Just a bit tired. And..." She was cut off by the rather loud sound of her stomach growling, and she winced. "And hungry, I suppose," she added softly.

"Tired?" He let her pull away, though it pained him that she still shied away from his touch. It wasn't always that way... hadn't he felt the chemistry between them when he danced with her in his arms?

"Well, we can take it easy today if you like. Perhaps find a nice sit down restaurant someplace close-by." It would be a good opportunity for her to get to know him better, to see that they were good for each other, without any interferences.

"Yes. I'm not sure why..." Of course she was sure why. She just... Couldn't fall asleep here. What would she do without Hagi to help her? "It must just be the stress. I'll be fine, Solomon."

Her resolve was quickly breaking down. She was finding it harder and harder to think up reasons why he might be ready to betray her, and so she nodded weakly. "All right. That would be... Nice."

At least she was being somewhat cooperative. Things were looking up... Still, from all his time with Diva, he could recognize certain signs. Her energy levels seemed taxed, which to a normal human wouldn't have been any big deal, but with the length of time that had passed since he'd met Saya... it was only a matter of time.

"Stress? Possibly." He smiled gently at her, and before she could protest, he swept up the flowers in one hand, and slid his arm in hers to lead her through the crowd. "Saya" he spoke casually, "Have you been feeling more tired lately?"

She sighed, untangling her arm from his gently. Whether she trusted him had nothing to do with the fact that she barely knew him, and all of this touching made her feel awkward. "Yes. Probably just... Stress," she responded, struggling to keep from scolding herself for lying.

Saya bit her lip, letting her gaze wander away from the chevalier. She would do whatever it took not to fall asleep here. Even if time didn't pass in her world, she couldn't handle waiting another thirty years.

He sighed slightly as she withdrew from his arm. Such an innocent thing, and she wasn't even able to tolerate it? "... there was a time when you didn't mind my touch."

He smiled pleasantly. "You're making it hard for me to be a gentleman..."

He wasn't used to rejection of any kind. Women usually flocked to him, staring after him, vying for his attention. Not that he cared. Their attention meant nothing to him whatsoever.

He tried to remind himself that with Saya it might take time... patience... after all, she'd lost so many of her memories. And being guarded by humans hadn't helped. They'd lied to her, kept her in the dark as to her true heritage.

Patience. That was the key.

Motioning with his now free hand, he gestured to a small restaurant just down the street. It was cozy. Nestled amongst other buildings, the fragrant scent of fine cuisine drifting through it's open doors. "Please, this way..."

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Log; ongoing

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