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Post by Ledaal Xao on Nov 17, 2015 12:53:31 GMT
"If you don't start flaring your heel when you throw that punch you'll be staying up in the barracks all night until you do it right." Xao said as he walked the line for the last time, "That's better. Good. Good. Excellent."
He walked to a squad leader and nodded. "See that they finish their written reports and have them on my desk before morning. I have some business to attend to." Xao said to the tall woman.
"Sir." Came the clipped response with simultaneously salute.
With a quick proud step he walked away and grabbed his coat before turning to head home. The streets passed quickly as the air aspect Dragon blood walked the quick route home. He largely ignored passersby with little more than a glance for weapons or such. His black boots still bright from the polish he had applied himself the night before. A large nearly mountain like barbarian of a man passed by with a girl far smaller and despite the odd contrast seemed pleasant. He wouldn't have seen that in the realm very often.
He made excellent time, though not quite as adept as his charming wife, he was seldom if ever late. He opened the door himself 5.3 minutes early and went straight to his rooms to clean up and put on clean clothes. He was not the least bit surprised to find clothes chosen, cleaned, and laid out for him when he walked out of his bath chambers.
A suit and vest, that wasn't what he had expected but he donned the finery and tied his hair back with a strip of light blue cloth. His face a mask of contentment, he walked out to meet his wife in the dining room. Hopefully he wasn't forgetting anything. Though he was sure she would let him know in no uncertain terms if he had.
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Post by Hafren Coriah on Nov 19, 2015 18:59:28 GMT
It seemed that Coriah had no complaints - she paused only long enough to adjust Xao's collar before floating across the room and into her seat. Just on time, or close enough that it didn't matter - the servants were bringing dinner in.
She'd changed into something somewhat less formal than Xao, and made a small note to say something to whoever had mistaken her instructions for 'Nexus casual-formal wear' for 'Sijan formal-casualwear', because she'd specifically bought that suit in the event that Xao had to attend a funeral or other formal, somber event. Not that - to her eternal annoyance - anyone in this frozen wasteland had the slightest idea what fashion was. Especially not Xao, who had not chosen his clothes and could not be expected to know the difference. Coriah favored him with a polite smile. Not his fault. Not his fault. Don't say anything, it isn't his fault. It isn't worth bringing up. Not his fault.
Coriah laced her fingers together and gave Xao a curious - and somewhat indecipherable - look. "So. Rice pilaf with red beans, a spicy curry in the fashion of Chiaroscuro, and grilled halibut in a bed of fresh vegetables. Red wine from Cherak, with a stern pedigree and hints of plum." She listed, though he could likely see. There was something wrong with the table, and Coriah didn't know what it was, but perhaps by jovially describing the meal they were about to eat, Xao might notice or give some clue and she could figure it out... giving the impression that she'd known all along. A rare, enjoyable thing when one was married to an Intelligence Officer. "I hope everything strikes you as enjoyable, husband." Especially the dress with the low cleavage, which WAS entirely appropriate for a semi-formal dinner with one's spouse and not the sort of thing to be worn to the burial of a family member, which could not be said of everyone present. No, stop dwelling. It isn't-
Looking harried and almost a little afraid, one of the younger house servants bustled in with a fresh cup of coffee and poured Coriah a glass before making herself scarce. What had been missing was now here. What a relief. Coriah raised her glass with an internal sigh, cooling it carefully. When one gear in a machine was missing, the rest tended to go a little haywire.
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Post by Ledaal Xao on Nov 23, 2015 9:56:22 GMT
His dark eyes reflected the smile that spread across his lips as he looked at his lovely wife. Her flawless skin and shining eyes only overshadowed by her winning smile and display of excellent...feminine assets. He looked at the table and noted all the dishes as Courage listed them but her cup of coffee was missing.
"Everything is lovely." he said moving to take his seat as his wife did.
He was nearly at ease until the thin skin around her eyes tensed slightly. Few would have noticed and fewer still would think it meant anything but Xao knew better. She was annoyed. He calmly sat and looked over everything to offer a smile before he turned his head and fixed her with a half squint.
"What's wrong?" he said grinning, "something is wrong. What is it?"
The girl had just filled the coffee cup but that wasn't it. He looked around then to her dress and his....
"These are the wrong clothes, aren't they?" he said almost as if it were a game he loved to play. In fact, it may have been his favorite.
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Post by Hafren Coriah on Dec 3, 2015 21:02:22 GMT
She might have known. Xao had been beside her longer than anyone else. Besides that, being married to an intelligence officer meant that one had to get accustomed to certain behaviors. Deductive reasoning and being 'read' were among those behaviors. It wasn't as though Coriah made a habit of hiding her emotions in practically any capacity, perhaps only when actively attempting to have a smooth and enjoyable night with the one person who would be spared a scathing correction for being out of line in some way. Raising a thin and perfectly tended eyebrow, the Earth Aspect sipped her coffee and set it aside, listening to him ask what was wrong.
He enjoyed this game. She'd known for some time. Coriah folded her arms on the table and watched him work through the clues available to him, her face a passive mask that gave little away. When he quickly arrived upon the solution, Coriah rewarded Xao's deductions with a small smirk. That he was now at least AWARE of the blunder was a small relief, though it didn't spare her the indignity of having planned a romantic dinner for a man who looked as though he'd arrived to mourn it. "They are." She confirmed, resting her chin on her knuckles, eyes half-lidded. That was the entire point of eye-shadow, after all. "I will have to speak with the help. You've come to the table dressed in what I would have you wear to a funeral."
What Coriah did not add was that he looked ridiculous. If only she would notice the difference and see him in said outfit, it was debatable whether her own overly-keen sensibilities were to blame. Oh no, wait; Coriah was the one who was in the right, here. Everyone else was wrong. She shifted her hand to her cheek and smiled softly, tilting her head to one side."...you look ridiculous, Xao."
Coriah liked to imagine that she could hear the shiver going up the spine of the maid who'd laid out the wrong outfit. If she wasn't nervous, word would spread soon. She would be rendered rightly nervous in short order in either case, because Coriah intended to have words with her before very long.
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Post by Ledaal Xao on Dec 6, 2015 11:01:35 GMT
In most cases he would have been upset at the diner being less enjoyable due to the wrong clothes, but as he sat there he found that of all the things that could be wrong, this was at least salvageable. He offered a pleasant smile and looked at Coriah's lovely eyes. He carefully lifted his glass of whatever she had deemed most appropriate for him at dinner and took a sip. It was not coffee. That was expected, but it wasn't a liquor either. So, she wasn't trying to get him drunk right away. Either she wanted him conscious or she had plans for after the meal.
"I could remove the vest and coat if you like." he said as he sipped his drink. "But no matter what I do, I'll never compare to your beauty this evening. What in creation did I do to gain a wife with beauty, intelligence and the most efficient work ethic of everyone I've met?"
Sure he had applied the compliments a little thicker than he could have. Maybe it even made him look a little soft on her. However, as with all of the most effective lines, it helped that he believed it. She was beautiful, even for an exalted, and as far as intellectual capacity, she exceeded many. Her work ethic? Unrivalled.
He sat forward in his seat and placed his chin on his palm as he simply looked at her from across the table. His large brown eyes set in his lightly tanned face. His smile almost suggesting he knew something more than he actually did. He couldn't remember the last time he had been upset with her or their marriage. That was something few could claim. He would have to treat her somehow after, if she didn't have an itinerary preventing it.
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Post by Hafren Coriah on Dec 11, 2015 7:22:35 GMT
Civil dinner with her husband or not, Coriah couldn't help her eyes from rolling around in her head. "Laying it on a little thick tonight, aren't we?" She asked dryly. "Xao, you've been saccharine since this morning - if I didn't know you had little time for such nonsense, I'd think you up to something." Sure, it was nice and all that he was calling her pretty or whatever, but she already knew she was a cut above just about everyone else around, present company and Dragon-Blooded commanding officers being the exception.
Nursing her cup, Coriah sat back and slowly folded one leg over the other - eyes focused across the table on her husband. She did not have the eye for subtlety and subtext that he did, and she never would, so trying to pick apart his day and mood by the twitch of his lips or set of his clothes was a wasted endeavor. What she could glean from him, was due mostly to having known him for years. Coriah's own eyes were usually focused outward and forward, on things that needed her hand to be guided, or similar things. But that wasn't to say that she was at all blind.
"In fact, I think you may be up to something, after all." Coriah noted quietly, lowering her chin and raising an eyebrow - if she'd had her glasses on, she'd be peering over them right now, no doubt. As it stood, Xao would have to settle for brown eyes behind chestnut bangs, scrutinizing him carefully. Her tone changed suddenly, as Coriah offered an uncharacteristically friendly smile and set her mug aside. "Tell me something I don't know about you, husband." She 'requested' brightly, leaning on the table, indicating her curiosity.
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Post by Ledaal Xao on Jan 1, 2016 9:43:42 GMT
Her eyes, sharp as ever, peered from behind her chestnut bangs as she looked at him from across the table. The gentle sounds of the north wind outside reminded him of why she had chosen a fire aspect manse for their home. Was he up to something? Perhaps, but then it wasn't always cloak and daggers with him. It truth, he simply lacked the words to properly compliment what had turned out to be a vastly superior woman than the one he had expected. Was she a little hard to deal with? Not when you didn't mind letting her control the things that satisfied her. However, there was something he needed to discuss.
"I may need to go on a mission." he said as he back and adjusted his napkin on his lap. "but I'd rather not spoil dinner with discussing it."
He picked up his glass of wine that was really brought about two minutes early. And she's rubbing off on me Regardless he sipped his wine and looked at her seriously for once.
"As for something you don't know." he took another sip and sat down his glass. He leaned forward again resting his forearms on the edge of the table. "I had hopes of being a musician before we met and I became heir to my parents fortune."
He looked back, his black hair tied back from his face. "How about you, my love. Tell me something I don't know about you."
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