Lark and Matt's First Date

[Matt Shikara]

Dinner comes before nightfall. No one had told Lark exactly when it was, and if she'd found a servant to ask they would not have known the answer. Matt doesn't have set times he eats and now that he's constable he'll be even busier and have an even more hectic schedule. There was a bowel of fruit in the sitting area of her guest chambers though if she got too hungry before dinner came.

Matt comes and knocks on her door. He's not sure she'll even be inside. The day proved very busy indeed with a farm being destroyed by vampires, a little girl having gone missing, and the former constable found dead. And that's not all that was going on. Serenity is in a chaotic state, but that's why they came home. He's here to fix everything and an alliance with Telis will help.

He still has his hood up for now. Behind him in the hall are two servants. One with a tray of drinks and goblets and the other with a cart full of freshly cooked food. If Lark is indeed there and opens the door, the servants will immediately move into the room and start setting up dinner on a table she has near the window. They have brought with them even a freshly washed and pressed table cloth and a fresh vase of flowers for the center piece, but nothing so tall Matt and Lark will not be able to converse. They will set the table fully and even make sure Lark's chair is wiped out before leaving. They will not speak unless spoken to.

When the door is opened, Matt will bow at the waist, one arm crossing in front of him.

[Ambassador Lark]

Lark was busy with unpacking the last of her things when she heard the knock at the door to her room. She had changed form her traveling clothing into a gown a little more formal. Of course the styles here called for her to dress a little more conservative then what she was use to. She did not wish to make a bad impression on her first day in Serenity. A gown of deep lavender flowed about her legs as she made her way across the room to the door.

She had called out to the handmaid that she had brought with her to answer the door, but she was quick to dismiss her due to the mere fact that she was right there. It was foolish to call the woman merely to answer the door. Her hair was neatly drawn back and loosely braided so that the hair hung down her back to a point. A slender hand curled about the handle. A click heard and the door opened.

There upon the opposite side of the door stood the gent from the landing. She is surprised that he was meeting her here. She had figured that they would be dining perhaps at the local inn. But that was not to be the case, for here he stood. Two servants ushered pass her into the room, even upon protest from Lark, as she was unsure as to what was occurring. Her gaze would then return to Matt with a questioning look. “Am I to understand that we are to dine here his eve?” It was an obvious question. One she knew the answer by the presence of the servants and the food being set up.

[Matt Shikara]

“Yes, sorry for any inconvenience, but if we dine anywhere else I'd have to remain hidden and that just seems a little rude to me.”

Should I ask her to send her maids out, or trust them?

Just trust them, if word leaks about your appearance it can help spread fear when you start showing up in the crime circles. Nick responds.

Matt waits outside to be asked to enter the room. He thinks of the gatehouse as his house, but it's still rude to barge in on a lady.

You had the servants do it.

I deny.

[Ambassador Lark]

Lark stood looking at Matt as he stood just outside her door. A head of neatly piled red locks tilted from one side, the to the other as her gaze locked upon him. His choice of words was oddly spoken. It would seem that he wished to remain hidden from the rest of the city. His identity a secret, yet he trusted her, a complete strange with that knowledge.

She would step back and wave him inside. If they were to sup here the night she guessed that it was for the better. It was a lot more comfortable in her room. Large and spacious unlike any tavern that she had the opportunity to sup within. She turned to see the servants that Matt had brought with him at work. Setting the table in an elegant fashion. It was not long before everything set, and it was moments before dinner would be served.

“No, really its fine. I could use the quiet.” She told him as she stepped further back from the doorway in order to allow him to enter. Her gaze darted to the set table back to Matt. Who at this tome seemed to have retreated into his mind. He seemed to do that quite regularly.

Once he entered the room she would shut the door and make her way toward the set table. She would acknowledge any amount of chivalry that Matt displayed. Whether it was walking her to the table, as well as aiding her with her chair. If he did not she was more then capable of seating herself. Her hand moved toward the back of her gown. Drawing the extra fabric of her gown forward to aid in her movement and walking abilities.

There was little else to say, as Matt was still a stranger to her, as she was to him. She had put feelers out in order to figure the man out. Just as she was certain he was doing in return. She would sit down and wait for dinner to commence as well as food served.

[Matt Shikara]

Matt smiles warmly as she welcomes him into her room. He does indeed do so without speaking and that is partly due to the voices in his head and partly because he had nothing to say in those few seconds it took him to enter the room. He would move immediately over toward the table, though not in a rush. He has already picked out Lark's chair for her and waits near it to pull it out for her. He chose the side of the table to sit at that would not give anyone peeping into the window a look at his face, even though they're three stories up. There are still griffons out there and people along the walls. After Lark sits down and Matt helps scoot her chair closer to the table, he'd make his way to the other side and seat himself.

He looks up at the maids and pauses for a second, but then reaches up and lowers his hood. His long auburn hair is pulled back into a loose pony tail. He has black eyes that are so dark the pupils can not be distinguished from the irises. His skin is fair, but she already knew that from what she's been able to see of his chin and hands. He assumes that since her maids are still in the room they will do the serving of the food. He had been prepared to do it himself, but he noticed Lark was waiting to be served rather than helping herself so he follows suit.

“I hope the choices are alright. I brought a lot, but that's because I didn't know what you'd like, so I have nice selection of sea food and even that sea weed that your Telis farms grow. It's in the soup and in the noddles I think.”

[Ambassador Lark]

Lark had moved toward the table just behind Matt. Watching as he drew the chair out for her, then pushed it back in once she sat down. She would scoop her gown under her as she did so, fanning the handful of fabric out over the side of her chair, and to the ground. She would glance up at Matt and offer a polite smile of thanks. She would take the time to prepare herself for dinner as a napkin was unfolded and placed in her lap. Steeling a glance at matt as she did so. It was during this time that he saw to seating himself and removing his hood.

She had to admit she was a little taken back by his appearance. Long red hair, possibly a shade or two darker then her’s, while his eyes were very much darker. She didn’t mean to stare but there seemed to be something to look at now, besides the hood he donned. Perhaps she was a little put off by the hood and that he was trying to hide himself, one had to admit it was a little off putting. She didn’t know his reasons, just that he had them.

She would look to the bowl as it was placed before her. She smiled at the thought put into the meal before her. Sure it was soup, but he had at least taken the time to make something that was familiar to her, and possibly to make her transition here a little smoother then she would have otherwise predicted.

“Its lovely.” She told him as she plucked her spoon off the table and dug in.

[Matt Shikara]

Matt gets a little distracted, but covers this by pretending to just be waiting to be served himself. Nick has just seen a very lovely image of a lovely pirate without her clothing. Too bad that other man was in the way of the image. Then when Nick sees her stealing, Matt entertains notions of putting her in irons.

Their security sucks, you'd think they could afford a guardian.

Maybe they think everyone is supposed to assume they have one and not try anything?

Oh, like those idiots that have cameras that aren't turned on.

Matt smiles at Lark when she tells him it's lovely. He's done what he can to help her make the transition. His smile is warm and real. He partly smiles because of the company, partly because of images he's entertaining to himself of the pirate lady, and partly because of the fun conversations in his head with Nick. It also helps that Nick is in a good mood. The bad mood of one will affect the other.

“If you need anything, all you have to do is ask. All I have is at your disposal, My Lady.”

[Ambassador Lark]

There really wasn’t much for Lark to do then wait for dinner to be served. Her dark eyes drift away from Matt to one of her maids. She would smile out of politeness before seeing to placing or fixing the napkin in her lap. She didn’t expect much from this dinner. Though she had hoped for conversation at least.

Her travel to Serenity had been a long one. Especially in the company of two much younger handmaids that were obviously boy crazed. Lark had seen to studying the lay of the land. Brush upon on the laws of Serenity. There were many elements to the city, some good, and some not so good. She could ask Matt about them; he seemed to be the best one to get information from.

“Might I ask a question?” she asked, her hands curling neatly together in her lap. She would wait for his reply. Knowing that he had just told her that if she had need of anything, to just ask. This was just a little information. “What can you tell me about the crime element of the city. I was told little about it. But I feel there must be more to it.”

[Matt Shikara]

Matt isn't really sure how to answer her question. It's not a lack of desire to do so, it's just he didn't think about how crime might be different in Serenity than it is in Telis. It's the same crime found in any city housing humans so he hadn't considered how it's different to one who's not human. It's one of those things you expect everyone to know and don't stop to think about how to explain until someone asks, then you're not sure how to explain it. He's not sure how much detail he needs to go into and what she might already know and what she doesn't know.

“Well, there's murder, stealing, corruption, kidnapping, piracy. A lot of the crime is organized, though some of it is not. The guards are stretched thin and some of them may be taking bribes to look the other way. Is there anything in particular you were curious about?”

It is at the point in time someone decides to attack Nick. Random. Nick's anger quickly rises and he asks his friends to remind him not to kill the other man. They all start sending positive memories and images to him. They don't just share words in their minds, but thoughts, feelings, images, and memories as well. Nick and Matt have a stronger connection to each other than to the others.

Save yourself, I'm on a date. Matt smiles visually when he sends this thought to Nick, not thinking about how odd it might be to be smiling after telling Lark about the crime. But then a man often smiles when he looks at the face of a beautiful woman and as a siren she probably knows she's beautiful.

He lifts his glass and gestures it toward her as if he's toasting her beauty, and well, he is.

[Ambassador Lark]

Lark had not thought her question was oddly asked. She came from Telis. A City that was very prosperous. Of course there was crime by not as bad as other realms. In fact she was certain Telis’ level of crime was pretty well non-existent. Or so was told to her. She was of the ruling house and would know of such things being a problem. Her father was good at keeping everyone pretty much happy. Of course she didn’t expect for Matt or anyone else in Serenity to understand the way Telis ran its self.

As he explained the dark side of Serenity she simply sat and nodded. It wasn’t that she agreed to it, she was merely acknowledging it. “Is there nothing that you can do to ensue that these men, these so-called loyal men are stopped from taking brides?”

She knew it was not her place to ask such a question. In fact she just asked for the sake of asking. It wasn’t like briding lawman was unheard of. Her gaze deepened a little wondering if this was the line of questioning the Constable was hoping for. She bowed her head to the side as a hand reached to pick a piece of fruit from the table. “I’m sorry for the question. My father would address me at this time to explain that such conversation should be left off the dinner table.”

What she meant by that was that dinner was not the time to speak of politics. It was to indulge in good food and good company. When her gaze returned to his, he sat there smiling. “Is something the matter?” She would ask, only to extend a hand to her wine glass and raise it toward Matt. Toasting something, she just wasn’t sure what.

[Matt Shikara]

Matt was going to answer her question about stopping the men from taking bribes, but then she apologizes before he can give his answer. He agrees with her father though, that talk of crime and punishments for crimes is not good dinner conversation. He doesn't have pleasant plans for the criminals or for those that look the other way. MAGE would probably do worse, so in a way those men that takes bribes are lucky to only face his wrath.

His smile has already faded and the toast was finished before she spoke. Her words and topic have actually sobered his mood again since telling Nick to save himself and then ironically being saved by the pirates he was there to bully.

“We are both officials so such topics are not wrong for us to discuss, though crime and punishment isn't very appetizing.”