Trespass is such an ugly word (Stephan, please)

[Hay'aan Benedict]

Timestamp: Early Pontius, Winter, Era XV Sunsrise

It was still early on in her time in Demios, and although Hay'aan had started to settle in she was not yet fully aware of demarcation of places and so on. So it was that on this brightening, as she stepped down on to the beach to draw, Hay'aan was, in fact, trespassing. Of course, she had no idea that she was doing so, and even if she did she would have held a belief (and a long conversation were the individual she was speaking to prepared for such!) that owning land was a ludicrous suggestion. How did one own a beach? The house that one lived in, yes, alright, she could see that. But an actual beach? It was insane as far as she was concerned.

But still, the young gypsy girl came down to the shores this brightening in a pair of loose red trousers and a red top which was crossed at her breastbone and so revealed a fair amount of midriff. Her trousers were made of a flowing material that should, in a fair world, have been completely transparent, but somehow they weren't. All fairness to the seamstress of the gypsy people.

Hay'aan had long black hair that fell down her back in a long straight line, reaching almost to the point that she could sit on it. This brightening she pulled out a parchment and some watercolour paints, a vial of water and she started painting. She had seen, whilst walking to work, a flower that she particularly wanted to paint, and she thought that watercolors would be the best way to produce the image.

So, the young woman sat, on the beach which she didn't own and painted, lost in her own world and happily working on the painting. She was quite content there and as she worked she kept looking up at the sun that was obviously rising against the ocean.

It wasn't quite what she wanted, but Hay'aan was discovering that she liked this medium, liked it a lot and that she was able to get effects that she wanted without too much hardship ~ certainly, the medium itself was often seen as "too hard" but she didn't see it as such. It was just one of those mediums that did not lend itself to the sort of strict rules that artists often bound themselves under.

[Stephan Woulofen]

It had been yet another evening of heavy drinking and Stephan awoke to the sound of the crashing ocean, by the volume of it he could tell that the tide was beginning to come in. Sprawled out on his bed he wore his loose black trousers that hung just as loose on his hips as they did the rest of his legs. They were purposely big, to allow freedom and comfort while still covering him properly enough. Shirtless his muscles flexed as he raised himself to his elbows, trying to remember what all had transpired last night for he did not remember coming to bed. Looking about his room he did not see a woman, nor any feminine attire laying around so he figured he had enjoyed an evening alone for once. Two bottles of hard liquor, one that laid on the floor and the other at the end of the bed, were clear identifiers how much he had drank last night. And yet, despite all of it, he was void of any headache or hangover of any kind.

Slowly sitting up further, against his better wishes, his ab muscles tightened to haul his body up. Shifting his position he slid them off the side of the bed, in the process knocking the empty bottle off of the bed. Standing slowly he raised his arms up into the air stretching his tired muscles, his well-toned body a magnificant sight for no one else to see this morning. As he lowered his arms he drew his one hand through his hair, scratching his head to relieve an itch, his thick black hair full of knots. Hearing another crash of waves he turned and slowly made his way, with no real hurry for he had no required tasks for the brightening, towards his opened balcony that overlooked the ocean. Drawing his body up to the edge of the balcony he leaned against the railing, placing his full weight upon it as he looked out on the water, the light resonating certainly not welcomed, but the heat felt so good.

After having to squint for a moment as his eyes adapted to the light Stephan found someone in the distance, sitting upon the sand with their back to him. Squinting again he found his interest immediately sparked as he realized it was a woman, one with quite the lengthy dark hair drawn down her back. He could not tell her features further than that from where he sat, nor exactly what she was wearing, quite different though it seemed, but his interest and curiousity would certainly need to be satisfied. Had she been his guest for the night? Smiling he tried to look back to his memories of the evening before but he could not put a woman in it. But, whatever the case the woman was trespassing, and surely she would need to be confronted for such a grave crime against a man's property. He smiled again, turning from the balcony and walking inside.

Should he put on a shirt? No, of course not. Should he grab a bottle of wine and two glasses? Definately.

Grabbing a bottle of fine elven wine, and two pricey glasses, Stephan walked down the stairs to the ground floor, and opened the backdoor and exitted. Slowly he made his way down the short path to the beach, the soft sand feeling very welcomed between his toes. Walking down the beach towards the water, and the woman who sat there, he noticed more and more about her as he grew closer. She had something by her side, and in her hand. Was she drawing? Attention was quickly lost to that as he noticed more features about her, she certainly had a body from what he could tell, tan skin, and she was indeed dressed differently than what he had seen in the city before. With the sound of the crashing waves it seemed she did not hear his approach and thus he was able to hover over her, able to see what she was doing, and able to get a very interesting look at her very womanly features. Interesting.

"That is quite a lovely drawing you have there. I certainly hope you drew that just now, upon my beach," he said, taking a step back and more to her side so she could turn her head his way to acknowledge him. He called it his beach, but his genuine smile made it seem that it mattered little she had trespassed. He enjoyed the perspective he got to study her, and the one she got looking back up at him, her eyes having to trail up his entire body to catch his eyes.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

It is in times like this that one must be graceful, she knew that. She knew that when a man simply appeared next to you, with all the stealth of a creature of the night, she knew that it was the mark of a woman to rise cooly and speak to him calmly.

Which must only mean that Hay'aan was not yet ready to be a grown-up, she would think later as she smiled at her reaction. Right now, however, his first words had her physically jumping. The fact that he was so close made her let out a squeal of shock and she jumped, her whole body actually moving. As she did, she knocked the water and spilled it and she pedalled backwards with her legs, an unconscious reaction to her fear.

And then she looked up at him... and he did seem very tall, Hay'aan considered, her eyes moving up to his face as she felt her heart pounding in her ears. By the Gods, she thought, but what was it was it people here? First of all the whirligig that had near enough decapitated her and now this... this... very tall and muscular man. That might mean her harm, Hay'aan considered and she looked around, quickly, nervously trying to work out her escape route should he be violent or aggressive.

Still, he didn't seem to be either violent or agressive and as he spoke he did so with a rather laconic voice that almost... only almost.. drawled. "I... oh Gods, you scared me... " she said, unnecessarily "I... good lords, the beaches here are cursed" she added, and then stood up gracefully enough, although she knew that it was too little, too late.

However, the human woman stood, looking down at the water which had spilled and the watercolour that floated in it "Oh... oh well, never mind. I can always do another" she said, smiling. Her cheeks were tinged with a flush of embarrassment, in truth, and she obviously found it hard to make eye contact with him, her eyes finding their way naturally to the ground.

"I... I'm Hay'aan" she said, and then a frown caught her expression and she looked at him "And... what do you mean, your beach? You own the sand and the sea?" she asked, looking as incredulous as she felt.

[Stephan Woulofen]

Truthfully, he had never even considered that she may had reacted as she had, but when she did he knew he should have certainly known better. In fact, he was fairly sure that something similiar had happened before, with another, in some place at some other time. But, what that occassion was he simply could not clearly remember. Whatever the case, the woman jumped, jerked forth from where she had sat so peacefully just a moment ago. He truly felt bad for it, especially since he had already seen where the water she had knocked over had landed. He had ruined the work she had been doing, disrupted her peaceful setting, and brought such fear on her face he could not help but to feel the need to make it up to her. Now, how he did that he had a few ideas, though they were all wild thoughts that were the most common of thoughts that travelled through his head on the greatest of occassions.

He held up his hands, the bottle in one, the two glasses in the other, signifying he did not mean her any harm. Granted, how could one really trust that at first when he had descended on her in such a way in the first place. She had scurried back, away from him, a good distance by the time she stopped and there was a decent enough distance between them for her to be able to less strain herself looking up at him. He always maintained a warm smile, despite how bad he felt for frightening her so, and ruining her painting items and such. However, although the situation had not turned out the way he immediately intended it to, he did take a great amount of time looking at her as she looked back. She had a very finely sculpted body, her midriff quite revealed to him allowing him a very sensual look at her as she now sat, and the rest of her features all just as appealing. She had a very lovely face as well, quite exotic in nature, which he did not place as being usual for this part of the Empire, or this island.

He smiled a bit wider as she finally spoke, speaking as how he had scared her, as she continued on to speak about a cursed nature of the beach. It certainly was not a cursed place, though himself, as another matter, might just as well be. "I do humbly apologize for the way I seemingly appeared out of nowhere and frightened you," he apologized as she took the moments to look at her watercolor that had been ruined and items a mess as well. "I apologize for that as well, fortunately I had been able to view the piece before its current state and I must say, it was beautiful, truly fascinating." Fortunately, it wasn't the only beautiful thing here, and unlike it, he would care much better for the work of art that now began to pull herself up from the sand.

Finding her gaze fall to the ground instead of up into his own eyes he watched her closely, knowing all too well he was dealing with yet another shy young lady. Why was it that seemed to be the only women around nowadays? Not that was a bad thing, he liked the challenge, at least on most occassions. Finally though, as she identified herself he found her look up at him, greeting her with a smile as she so greeted him. "And, I'm Tristan, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said, wooing her for the first real time, though his compliment of her artistic ability in the painting she had done was quite possibilly the first. As she continued and questioned him how his claim to ownership of the beach, expanding it to include the sea, he smiled and shook his head side to side. "I do not onw the sea, and only technically is this sand under my ownership. I own these lands as far as the eye can see, my home is just up there behind me," he said, turning to look at it to direct her gaze to the very large estate that stood on the hill overlooking the beach.

Turning back quickly he watched her, watching her expression as she took in the view of his large estate.

"But, it matters not that I found you upon the beach, I allow anyone to walk upon it, as they so wish, as if it was their own," he said, getting a clear impression from her question and her show of emotion in the face as to how she thought about the prospect he owned it and the sea. She did not like that fact, unlike many women who would have been very lured by the fact a man owned so much, which meant he was of such wealth. It did not impact her the same way, and through this, her attire, and her look the very well travelled man wondered just exactly where she was from, of what culture she was from. He knew gypsies very well for he had stayed in their camps many times during his travels when he was a much younger man, and knew aspects of their culture. Was this woman a gypsy? In Deimos?

"I was standing upon my balcony when I saw you sitting there painting, I really came to see your art, do you carry more pieces of your work that I might be able to see? I would certainly be interested in them, my home could really use some colorful artwork to adorn the walls." He smiled, genuinely in fact, for though he had much more intimate implications behind his real trip down to this beach to meet her, and desire to see more of her work, he really was interested in artwork and his home certainly did need a unique touch to it.

"Oh! I apologize, here I stand with a bottle of wine and two glasses and offered none of it? Would you care for a drink?" It was too early to invite her back to his place, to see his home of course and what drawing she would think would make it look much more nice and appealing.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

"I... it's my fault, really" she said, quietly as he apologised. "I... I just get so wrapped up in what I'm doing, in the art" she said, and shook her head when he apologised about the watercolor "Oh, that's no matter at all" she said, smiling at him genuinely as she spoke "It's an opportunity to do another one, a better one hopefully. Every time... just get a little bit better every time"

When he gave her his name she nodded and spoke it, commiting it to memory "Serale Tristan.. the same name as the Thane?" she said, whose name she had heard but she had not yet met. Apparently, she had been told, there was to be a party, a masquerade ball and the Thane was holding it. She was quite looking forward to that, and Viskyia had let her borrow a lovely dress for it, so she was quite excited.

She looked up at his house when he pointed to it and saw a large estate. One eyebrow raised as she saw the size of it and she looked back at him as she spoke "There must be a lot of people living there to need such a big house" she said, obviously quite genuine in her thoughts there. To consider that just one person would live in such a vast place was not something that would even cross her mind, in truth, and she grinned slightly as he said about not owning the ocean or, in truth, the sand "Well, it's very magnanimous of you to let people walk on your land. It would be a shame not to, Tristan, in truth, since it's so beautiful here that to deny it to people would be a crime"

When he said that he had joined her because of wanting some artwork, she looked and felt uncommonly pleased. But that, of course, was just her pride talking and she shook her head, slightly "I don't carry work with me, and I'm afraid I'm nowhere near good enough to have my work adorn any walls. I am going to get better though!" she said, her brown eyes looking straight at his, earnest in expression. "I will paint you a watercolour if you like, of course, and it would be my pleasure to do so, but I'm really not good enough for anything like a commission. Give me time, though, I will be. I'm practicing a lot and I'm going to be taking some classes soon.... so in a while, if you like, I'll call by your big house and show you some pieces that you might want?"

She had no thoughts in her head of charging anyone, it delighted her to paint and she could not imagine making a living out of doing something that she loved so much. So, she smiled at him and when he offered the wine she looked at him with a rather wide-eyed expression "I've never drunk wine whilst watching the suns rise!" she said, incredulously "But alright... would you like a painting? I won't be offended if you don't want one, but if you do, what is it you want?"

She looked up at him with wide brown eyes and waited for his reply.

[Stephan Woulofen]

Stephan held up his hand with the bottle for her to stop her from not accepting his apology, but she was surely a talkative young lady and continued on. Listening to her speak at such a feverish pace he smiled and just listened, adding to the inviting attitudes they were giving one another at this time. The conversation just continued on so well, with both conversing so friendly and so openly that it was if they had met before, and knew each other so well for a very long time now. He could never have expected to have met such a well spoken, beautiful, smart, and kind woman, who certainly had a talent not held by few beautiful women he had met before. However, the name thing, this was not the first time someone had tied his name to the Thane. Nodding his head he simply smiled, answering her question that indeed, his name was the same as the Thane.

As he had been watching her he smiled again as she raised her eyebrow at her obvious surprise and astonishment of its size, her comment only so much more humorous by the impression he had gotten from her, and who she might well be. "Unfortunately not, it is only just I, but it is always opened to many guests, new friends as well," he said, giving the impression he was inviting her inside, without doing so, if not now though, at a near future time most likely. His next words were clearly met to meet her own sentiment on the idea of owning such land, and joy that he was so open to allow people walk upon what was his by law, though not his by nature, as she so felt. "I concur with you on that, to deny this to anyone would be a grave crime indeed."

With the talk, as he so directed, going to her paintings, the reason of his coming to greet her, and his desire to have some, he knew that he was giving off a very good impression of himself, not that he hadn't already. But, the talk was of something she took pride in, loved most of all. "Oh, well that is a pity, but surely your work is good enough, for what I saw I would have paid you for it right now to have you place it upon my walls," he said with a smile as her brown eyes connected directly with his own blue eyes looking back into her own. "I would really enjoy a painting though, painted just for me. An artshow would be something I would be very interested in, a private viewing of your art before anyone else can get them before myself," he said with a bright smile, surely building on her pride, his assumption that obvious well-off buyers would be bidding to get their hands on her art.

As she sort of accepted his offer of wine, remarking there would be a first, Stephan lowered his head to open the bottle as she continued on, asking if he would like to have her paint something for him. He did not reply immediately as she watched him for he was pouring her a glass. Finally, he looked up and handed it to her, pouring himself then one as well. "Well, I would most certainly like for you to draw me a painting, or paintings at that. Let us have a seat and enjoy this wine while we discuss it...plus, I would like to know a bit more about my new friend, who is sharing wine with me during the sunrise." Smiling he slowly took a seat upon the sand, digging the bottle of wine into it so it could stand upright. Instead of sitting though he pretty much laid upon his side, laying propped up by his elbow as he was turned to face her. Raising the glass of wine to his lips he took a sip before continuing on.

"I am not sure exactly what I would like you to draw, maybe you have an idea? Or, maybe I could first give you a tour of my home and in that you could decide what painting would best fit my walls?" There it was, a request for her to paint for him, specifically from her own ideas or ideas gained by viewing his hope, but with the clear idea that she would need to accompany back to that large estate upon the hill eventually, after they enjoyed the sunrise together, further discussion, and a glass of wine or a few.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

"Piffle" she said, when he said that her work was good enough for sale "Your words are kind and your heart means well, but it is no more true than a man owning the ocean" she smiled at him, as much to show that she meant nothing bad by it "I am not ready yet to sell, but every painting teaches me something... even if it is only about how to place my water in relation to the painting itself" she motioned to the water that had spilled on the watercolour and shrugged, pleased that she had learnt that on a painting which was, by her standards, not very good.

"I do not have much in the way of art that I have already drawn, truth be known. I have either given it away or it has been concept work for the jewel crafting that I am learning" she said, apologetically. If there was any guile in this woman it was well hidden indeed "And as such a viewing would be a brief and rather painful experience. But I will happily come by when I have sufficient paintings to constitute a viewing and you may choose one that you like" she added, again with the clear idea that she could not really sell her work, so much as paint or draw for someone who wanted that done for them and then from there, just paint or draw for her own learning.

"I have no interest in making a living out of art work" she said, as though to explain to him why she was so negative to the idea of an artshow "I wish only to give people pleasure and to learn as I do so. I have no need for money and no interest in wealth. I would much rather paint for the love of painting and the pleasure of the people I give the paintings to!"

She sat with him and accepted the wine glass with a softly spoken "Thank you". When he said that he would like to know more of her, she smiled at him and said, quite seriously it seemed "My mother warned about telling my secrets to strangers on the beach, so I must defer in matters of sharing secrets. But my name is Hay'aan, I am apprenticed to Viskyia Crow in the Fire Isle Jewelry and I live at Stormwatch Manor with Viskyia and some of her other friends. What about you, Tristan? Why don't you tell me what your likes are? What your life has been and what you find passion and pleasure in, and then maybe I can paint you something that will give you pleasure each time you look upon it?"

That was, after all, her aim. To give pleasure to each person she gifted with a painting. Since that was her aim with Tristan, she would be able to draw better the picture for him if she was able to know a little of him. So she asked, quietly and calmly and with the air of a woman who did not judge others, but rather accepted them as people along a path.

[Stephan Woulofen]

He smiled, quite surprised by the wit of the woman to jest in such a manner. If only he could own the ocean though, even if he was scared to ever touch it. As she continued to speak, of there being no way her work was that good, good enough to sell, he listened very closely as she spoke of her love for art; in it, he learn quickly that she was quite the well-spoken woman, and very bright. She was certainly becoming a very interesting character, and with the continuing conversation he was learning more about her, more he was beginning to desire. He loved to surround himself in young and beautiful women, but women who were smart, skilled, and beautiful were something he desire most of all.

Nodding he listened to her closely, enjoying the conversation, and finding her position very noble, even if he did not see eye to eye with her. He would do something of such great skill and requiring so much time without seeking income for it. But, then again he could not draw, craft, or sing so his opinion mattered not. "That is very noble of you, very kind, to paint for someone just to make them happy. Not many are as good as you, but I assure you, I would never be able to take such gifts from you without something to return. Though, I suppose free wine does count as something," he said with a smile as they sat down and had begun to drink the wine and continue the conversation.

Again, she had said something witty, this time about sharing secrets, that made him laugh a bit. Fortunate for him he had removed the glass of wine from his lips and had not taken a sip or he would have surely not have been able to swallow for those moments. It wasn't as if it was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard, but coming from her it seemed so unusual, even if he knew by now her capable of being quite playful with her words. "Hay'aan is a very unique name, I have never heard such a name in these parts. It sounds familiar to a woman I met awhile ago, she was apart of a group of travellers I met just outside the Dolwood forest. Gypsies they were, a very friendly folk," he said, clearly believing now that she was of such a culture. Unlike most, he had a quite favorable opinion about them.

"I know Viskiya, I have commissioned her to complete a project for me," he said, before getting to the questions she had asked of him. "Well, I have travelled all over the lands of the Aelyrian Empire, and besides sharing a glass of wine on the beach with a beautiful and very friendly young lady, I enjoy being a patron of the arts. I have been many things, apart of a guild of adventurers, a Senator, and I have served a Emperor and Empress in my lifetime. Currently, I am an entrepreneur, retired as far as I am concerned as well," he said with a smile, and odd revelation considering he looked very young, no older than 25, at most 30 years of age. "I have served the most powerful people of these lands and the most needing of protection. I once served, as a civilian, to protect the city of Port Alyxandrya during a great war that befell the city and I saved many during it. Let's see, what else," he said with a smile, "I consider my horse to be my most trusted friend, he has been with me through everything and there is no other I would want to share it with other than he."

The two were so very different from one another, he led a life of service to powerful people, to government, and to war, a completely different path than the one she lived. And, by the show of it, she would find Stephan having already finished his first glass of wine, so quickly that it was an obvious sign that all he had seen, done, and witnessed weighed very heavily on his soul.

[Hay'aan Benedict]

"Oh, don't misunderstand me" she said, quietly and with a quick smile "I am not the natural charity-giver... the learning is as important to me as the giving of pleasure from my work. And truly, if I was unable to give pleasure, then I would be unable to learn, because what is pleasing to the eye is what I consider to be good, and what is displeasing, well that teaches me a whole lot more" she nodded and looked at Tristan with a smile. He was quite well put together, she considered and she flushed slightly at the thought. She had never had such thoughts before meeting with Klue, but her mind was so confused with thoughts of that young man that she found herself not really sure of her own mind in a way "But the free wine is a pleasant and wonderful gift, so you can be assured that there is reciprocal giving here, that being the case" she said, earnestly. She was a strange mixture of flippant and earnest, but that notwithstanding Hay'aan watched Tristan with an intense expression in her brown eyes.

He answered her question honestly and openly, although she considered that he told her very little of himself when he did. That was, of course, only fair, since she had chosen to tell him nothing at all of her own self. So she tilted her head to one side and looked at him "You do not seem to be old enough to have had such a wealth of experience" she said, quietly "Which must mean that you are a happy man. My mother told me that happy people are young at heart and so spend more time looking and feeling young" she chuckled slightly "I am not sure what she would say about horses being someone's best friend, however, I think that perhaps she would consider that quite strange... I certainly do. Animals as friends seems... rather odd to me. So tell me, Tristan, if you will, what is it that brings you to Demios? With such rich and powerful friends, you could be anywhere at all... so what brings you here?" she asked, looking askance at him.

Of his thoughts on her name, she said nothing, as she considered that this was the best policy. To say something might cause her to give away something that she did not wish to give away, so she simply continued the conversation as though he had not said. So, he had spent a lot of time around those who were powerful and rich. ... and he certainly loved animals "What does your horse look like?" she asked, considering carefully what she might paint for him.

[Stephan Woulofen]

Smiles continued and all was going very well. As she replied to his comments and such he listened closely with smiles always, with another sip of his refilled wine glass he was enjoying the conversation so much for it was not scripted. He had no clue what she was going to say next, and that was what made it so enjoyable. Nor did he know what was going to come next. Plus, her liberal use of the phrase of bringing pleasure and such, to him, and to others caused his eyes to freely take in her lovely features. He was truly sure she did not mean the phrase in the same aspects as he hoped she was, but most aspects did carry over to other events or experiences in life as well. And, in that he saw a very opened possibility as to having her entertain him in both art, and so much more in a near future occassion. But, that came second, or later, for now he was enjoying the conversation, the possibilities of having paintings drawn for him, and was surely loving the view and the fine drink.

He laughed as she spoke of his age, and how he did not look old enough to have done all he had, but quickly came to a halt, a emotionless face as she spoke of how he must have been happy. However, the mere end to his laugh would bear a slight witness to the happiness thing did not sit totally well with him. Yes, he could be happy, and yes, he was living well, but no, he was not truly happy. "Well, I suppose it is a bit strange, but when you travel so long, so far, relying on solely yourself and your horse it forms a pretty intense bond. I guess that still sounds a bit odd," he said with a bit of a laugh. "But,, though he may be an animal, he has acted more like a human than most men I know, he has saved my life plenty of times." As she continued on to talk about his reason for coming to Deimos he knew he had to lie a bit, though not so drastically.

"Well, I need some rest and relaxation. I've done far too much, far too quickly and needed a break to lay back, relax, enjoy life, and drink wine on the beach discussing lighthearted things with pretty ladies," he said with another smile as he raised the glass of wine to his lips and took a sip of it. "Well, I suppose showing you is better than telling, as he is stabled at my estate, but he is a very quick horse, of a deep dark brown though there are shades of a lighter brown the further back from his breast. He isn't all that tall but well muscled with a broad, but short back. I suppose showing him to you would give you a much better idea, I'm afraid I am not that well with descriptions."

"Enough about me though, what brought you to Deimos?"

[Hay'aan Benedict]

So he didn't count himself as happy, at least not completely, she thought, judging by his laughter and how it ended a little abruptly. She made a note of that but did not mention it again. She listened intently on his description of his horse and she smiled "I find the idea of an animal acting like a human a strange one. The people here have pets, I find, and it is amazing to me. Where I come from, animals are just that, animals. You might be fond of an animal, but you do not forget what it is or where it comes from. It is of nature. But that is just how we think back home ~ I like the way that many people here are very fond of their pets, thinking them almost sentient"

His description of what he needed to do on his break and relaxation had her laughing slightly, she chuckled as she looked at him "I do not think I am a pretty lady, but thank you for the compliment" she said, flushing slightly at his words. "I.. I would love to see your horse at some point, Tristan, but this morning I must paint. I will certainly see him, though, he sounds like a magnificent beast." she said, with a genuine and soft smile.

Then his question about what brought her to Demios and she looked back out to the water "The ocean." she said, quietly "I come from the deserts of Arakmat, and so I had never seen the ocean. It is an amazing sight, something that I do not think I will ever grow tired of or take for granted. I... " she looked over at him and smiled "And I am learning how to be a jewel crafter, at the Fire Isle. It is something that I have always wanted to do, it is my mothers' craft also. "

She looked at him and then motioned to the parchment and the watercolours "That is why I am learning as much as I can about art. I can see things in my head that will be beatiful pieces, but I can not yet put them on parchment, I don't have the skill. Really, though, I came to Demios to see the oceans, and I have! Also, I'm going to be going into the ocean soon with a friend of mine. He's built a submersible and we're going to take a voyage to the oceans depths. I can barely wait!" she said, grinning at him. When she spoke of this friend of hers, she flushed a little again, although she would have denied it had anyone accused her of it.

"Do you ever grow tired of the Ocean?" she asked, looking at him with curiosity "I imagine with everything that you've done, it must seem rather... dull. Is the quiet life working for you?"

[Stephan Woulofen]

As she continued to respond to his questions and he did hers a smile rarely left his face, and with his compliment he smiled a bit brighter as she blushed because of it. Though he far enjoyed bedding beautiful women more, making others happy, causing them to smile was right up there with it as well. Despite all he had done and all the pains he had brought to a few, though to those he loved most, he was still a good man that loved to bring joy and happiness to all he came upon. That was why he enjoyed this little conversation so much, plus the wine and setting all together made it all so very perfect. "Good, it is settled then, when you have a bit of free time not dedicated to painting I shall introduce you to him," he said with a smile, the whole introduction thing again coming off as a bit of personification for the beast giving him human qualities.

"I am certainly a fan of the finer things in life, that being art or whatever it may be. Jewelry is no different. I have always found it interesting, and jewels that have been crafted by skilled hands always make the best of gifts." Smiling he looked away for a moment realizing he was not wearing any jewelry this morning, the jewel he had given to Tenance in the care of his son, his adjoining one in his home. When she continued and brought up about going into the ocean, in a man's invention, Stephan turned and looked back at her oddly. The mere thought of going on the ocean made him sick, going under it was his worst of fears for it invovled the immediate thoughts invading his mind of drowning. "Under the ocean....?" He left it sounding like a question, but it really had not been intended so. He had seen her flush as she spoke of the man, he could see any woman flush no matter how little it may have been.

He laughed a bit before admitting a fact about himself, "I...actually have a big fear of large bodies of water. I like watching the birds fly above it and the sun set and rise behind it, and I like the sound of crashing waves, but I can not watch the ocean or sea. I know, why would I come to an island and live by the ocean with such a phobia, right? I can't answer that one," he said with a bit of a embarrassed chuckle. "I am not one for the quiet life, I must admit that even to myself, but for now I am enjoying it. I am sure in the near future I will again set out for new adventures, but for now I will stay," he said, knowing all too well his adventures may have been over for good once he turned himself in to his deceased wife's mother.

"Anyways, I suppose I am taking you away from your time to paint. I will say goodbye for now and let you to your hobby. If there is anything you need or if you would just like to pay me a visit, to see my horse or whatever else so interests you, my house is just up the beach. It was very nice meeting you, here, let me refill your glass. You can leave it in the sand when you leave if you wish," he said, taking her glass and filling it to the top before handing it back to her. Slowly getting up, sand falling off his well sculpted body, he gave her a smile and nod before walking off, back up the beach to his home.

OOC: If you'd like to visit the house you can continue the thread, or it can be continued by yourself to get experience points in painting practice like I know you said you wanted to do.