Koldan, Sin and the Doomed Ship

  She giggles.

  Sin: "I don't see it, if it is :)"
  Koldan Illarion: "This is one of the first things I bought, around four years ago. Haven't used it until now. :)"
  Sin: "Well I'm very glad you get an occasion to use it, finally. I'm the first one to see it 'in use'!"

  Koldan Illarion takes Sin's hand and twirls her around gracefully.

  Sin: "Weee!"

  Sin puts her arm under Koldan's.

  Sin: "Shall we? It's a short walk from here."
  Koldan Illarion: "Of course!"

Promenade

  Sin walks with Koldan between the trees, at the sound of the relaxing jazz music coming from well hidden speakers around the path.

  Sin: "I did not see you didn't have shoes... I don't know why but I find this even more elegant. :3"
  Koldan Illarion: Hah. Well, I'm glad you feel that way. Proprietor might feel differently about it.

  Sin giggles.

  "Maybe. I find this cute ;-)"

  After a moment spent looking at Koldan with a smile on her face, Sin takes a look at the signs and points on their right.

  "This way."

Sin stops on the middle of a bridge that is on the way to the restaurant.

  Sin: "Thanks for coming tonight. I'm really happy sharing this moment with you."
  Koldan Illarion: "My pleasure, Sin. I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. Thank you for inviting me."

  Sin looks back at Koldan, a neverending smile on her face. It seems impossible to make her more happy than she is now. She holds Koldan's arm tighter and pursues the walk in direction of the next building.

Sin: "The custom says that the man should enter the place first. After you, Koldan. :)"
Kolda Illarion: "Who am I to violate tradition. Some cocktails to get us started? :)"
Sin: "Definitely."

Cheers

Koldan Illarion brushes off a seat and gestures to it dramatically, taking your coat.

  "What'll the lady have? I'm interested in your drink preference, now that I think about it."

  Sin lets Koldan take her coat.

  "Thank you, valet."

  She giggles and sits on the stool gently prepared by the wolf.

  Koldan Illarion: "Now is that VAL-et or val-AY? I always wondered. Somehow I suspect it's only val-AY when they're parking your car."

  She blushes.

  Sin: "Well... I don't know... I didn't even know there were two pronounciations."
  Koldan Illarion: "Well. I suspect it's probably French in origin, and however they pronounce it is probably the right way."

  He grins, all teeth, and gently clinks his glass into hers.

  Sin: "Cheers!" 

  She takes a sip of her margarita.

"Well you're going to be disapointed. They pronounce it without intonation."

  Koldan swirls his oversized martini around in its especially large glass, then keeps the olive in the glass with his teeth as he takes a sip.

  Koldan Illarion: "Somehow I suspected they would."
  Sin: "Now THAT is a comically tiny glass. :)"

  Sin laughs softly as Koldan skillfully drinks the martini without swallowing the olive. Then laughs when she realizes how small the glass is compared to his hands.

"You'll need 5 of them to make you a single drink!"

  He grins out of one side of his muzzle at her while he sets the half-empty glass down.

  "That's all right. Unlike most times when I go out, I don't need to drink to be entertained. I just focus on my fantastic company."

  He looks around the room, then returns his attention to you, leaning in intimately.

  "I've never been terribly comfortable in social situations, Sin. Thank you for being so lovely and distracting me so I can ease into it a bit."

  She still smiles, sparkles in her golden eyes, a kind of mystic energy flowing in them.

  "You have nothing to be blamed for. This is perfect."

  She reaches to his paw with her hand.

  "I figured you would prefer a quiet place for us to enjoy."

She takes another sip, blushing a little at the same time.

  Sin: "I must admit I prefer it this way, too."
  Koldan Illarion: "I wonder if you'd care to try a little dancing later. :) I promise to keep my feet off your hooves."
  Sin: "That would be a lovely thing to do, Koldan. Yes, I'd like to :) I am sorry if I rushed you", she says with a little hesitation in her voice. "I really needed to see you tonight..."

  She finishes her Margarita, the ice cubes tinting in the glass as she drinks the last drops. Koldan reaches out to take your hand.

  "I've gotten some drinks into you before dinner - if I'm lucky I might get to see a demoness when she's tipsy."

  He bumps the back of your hand with a cold nose, his equivalent of kissing it, before twining his fingers in yours.

  "You didn't rush me at all. I'm glad we finally got to do this. Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

  Sin tries to hide her wince and partially succeeds.

  "You... you may reach your goal, Koldan. I have a hard time refusing what you offer me..."

  She looks at her empty glass, fakes a shocked expression, raises an eyebrow and stares at you.

  "I think it's time to fill our bellies, isn't it? :)"

  He stands up, avoiding the flower arrangement hanging from the ceiling, and offers his paw to help Sin up.

  "I agree. And my nose already tells me that we'll find the dining area upstairs. Will you do me the honor of accompanying me?"

  Sin gladly takes his han... paw and stands up, holding it tight as if he was about to leave and she wanted him to stay.

  "So many neat words in your snout, Koldan. The honor is for me, handsome wolf."

Carte

  They walk hand in paw to the elevator. Koldan carefully pokes a button with his claw. Sin watches, amused, how Koldan operates the elevator. She cannot refrain from giggling. After they walk in the restaurant, he will insist on pulling a chair out for her himself after the Maître d'Hôtel shows them the tables.

  He points at a table located near a window with a view on the ocean.

  Sin: "Shall this table be ours, then!"

  The Maître d'Hôtel nods, leading the way to the white covered round wooden table, and before he pulls a chair for Sin, Koldan does it. She smiles again (when did she stop smiling tonight?), lands a kiss on Koldan's cheek, and sits down comfortably. She thanks the garçon as he gives a menu to both of them. Koldan sits down a little less comfortably, having chosen this table simply because it's...bigger. He's satisfied the chair isn't going to break, then clears his throat and straightens the rose on his lapel.

  Sin opens the menu but doesn't look at it yet... she gazes at the wolf, still impressed by his outfit, uncomfortably excited by how handsome he looked.

  "Even if your rose was upside down, your hair a mess and you didn't wear a shirt, you would still look beautiful to me..."

  Koldan seems a bit flustered at that, really, and straightens his pocket accessory even more. No rose was ever arranged straighter upon a lapel.

  "That means a lot, coming from a beautiful woman. It means even more, when that beautiful woman is you."

  She blushes deeply this time, and since there was no way to hide her shyness this time, simply looks at her glass of water as if it suddenly was of a high importance.

  "Thank you Koldan. You're the sweetest..."

  She holds her phrase in the air, her mind wandering somewhere else for a moment.

  Sin: "Shall we order something to drink? o:-)"
  Koldan Illarion:  "Seems like a logical place to start. house wine, maybe?"

  He flips open the wine list and peers at it, holding it in his claws.

  "That sounds good to me. Wine, humm...."

  She licks her lips.

  "Do you realize it has been 3 months already?"

  He blinks and looks up from the list, meeting your gaze.

  Koldan Illarion: "Since we met? Hmmm. It hasn't seemed that long at all."
  Sin: "No."

  She browses the wine choices with a finger.

  "Funny how time can compress when in good company... Aha!"

She points at one specific wine.

  Sin: "What about the Burgundy? I like red wines with a meal...."
  Koldan Illarion: "Got yourself a deal. Crémant de Bourgogne? I find the consistency interesting."

  Sin giggles.

  "Well that's more a champagne than wine, but... anything would do, as long as we spend time together, Koldan."

 Koldan decided against the first option and goes with a pinot noir instead. Sometimes, the reliable standbys were the best. When the music seems right and the mood slips into a relaxed calm, with candlelight illuminating Sin's admirable skin, he asks:

  Koldan Illarion: "Is there a reason you had tonight as a deadline? Made it sound like you had some major engagements later."
  Sin: "I..."

  She hesitated long enough that it showed it was difficult for her to talk about it.

  "I am going to..."

  At this exact moment, the garçon appeared and asked about the order.

Red... or white?

  "A bottle of Pinot Noir to share, yes, please."

  She looked at the wolf.

  "Did you decide on the appetizer or a main course already or should we ask for more time?"

  She seemed to be relieved that the garçon came at that moment. Not that she didn't want to talk about it with the person close to her heart, but not... now. Not before starting on the food, at least.

  Koldan perks his ears up, as if remembering something.

  "Right. I decided when you mentioned coming here that I was going to try escargot for the first time. Care to join me in this culinary adventure? I make a point to eat just about anything at least once."

  He seemed genuinely excited about the idea, as if eating something for the first time was a milestone.

  "We can try something more...conventional if you don't dig on snails. I suggest prosciutto as an emergency backup."

  She smiles widely at her companion.

  "No, please. This is a wonderful idea. What a better moment than now to try this typical French plate? Let me join you in this adventure."

  She looked as happy as he was, rolling the hairs on the right side of her face around her finger.

  "Pinot Noir and snails... that is surely going to be an interesting combination!"

  She giggled, more happy than ever. Koldan quirks a brow, thinking.

  "Hnn. Is white wine better with snails, then? I didn't know if they were on the red meat or fish side of things..."

  He was plainly lost in the world of wines that were not sold in a box at the grocery store, but struggled valiantly on. Sin giggled more.

  "Ooooh, you know, it takes some time to learn how to match wines with food, so do not worry. It feels a lot more genuine like this, coming from the heart."

She puts her hand on his.

  "Yes, white wine works better with snails, because the meat is white and not that strong."

She looks back at the garçon.

  "Actually, get a bottle of Riesling."

  She didn't look a single moment angry or sad. Happy and amused, that was what she was showing. The garçon left after a nod, understanding they would order the main course later.

Love... ?

  "So, Koldan. We never talked about our loves. What is your current situation? I am... curious. :)"

  He pauses for a while, more from figuring out how to begin than from a reluctance to discuss it. Finally, he begins by noting:

  "German wine for snails. Really cosmopolitan of us. My current situation? I haven't been in a long-term relationship for...close to nine months?"

  His paw flexes as if he's about to count off on his fingers, but he refrains.

  "I suppose I hadn't been in the mood for such things afterward. A chance encounter here and there. Hence the place where you met me."

  He grins, fang poking out of his lip on one side of his muzzle.

  Koldan Illarion: "I think everyone goes through simplification periods in their love life like that. Recovery period."
  Sin: "Absolutely. You need some time to breath when your love falls apart."

  She was sad to know he had to go through this not so long ago.

  "What... happened? If you want to talk about it, obviously. I won't ask you if you don't want to :)"

  She had another genuine smile.

  "Have you considered trying again?"

  Her face took an almost imperceptible red tint.

  "Absenteeism, mostly. I simply haven't seen her for months, and I'm not sure where she went. No angry breakup or anything like that. I'm not sure which is better, though. Sometimes closure is just what you need, I guess. Even if it's not that fun at the time."

  His nose twitches as the snails arrive. They smelled surprisingly savory, for gastropods.

  "As far as trying again? Always. I don't give up easily."

  Sin takes the glass of wine in her hand and cheers with Koldan.

  "Enjoy."

  She took a sip, appreciating the dry wine in its entirety, very fruity and refreshing.

  "Trying to get her back or... trying something new?"

  She ate a snail that really looked yummy. This one didn't run fast enough.

  "Trying something new. Just because it didn't work out once doesn't mean everything else has to follow."

  He familiarizes himself with the small snail fork, the tongs, all the accoutrements of snail eating. Taking a big whiff of herbed butter, he spears one and works at it in its little receptacle.

  Koldan Illarion: "Man. Eating these takes more equipment than a lacrosse team."
  Sin: "It is true I have been inconsiderate of your ability to move such small tools... you must be used to much larger things."

  She giggles in a silly way. You could not see it, but her tail was wrapped around one of the table legs and it was crushing it. Her unconscious way of showing her stress.

  "We should have ordered the Tchernobylian snails... they come much larger... and sometimes with two shells."

  She laughed.

  "Is it normal that you always make me smile, Koldan?"

  She was half serious, half silly. But something was tickling her hard in her heart.

  He finally gets a morself snail meat transfixed and places it on his tongue, chewing thoughtfully.

  "I guess it's normal for us."

  The jokes catches up with him.

  "The problem with those snails is that you find their shells empty, because they were declared Exclusion Zones."

  Sin laughs heartily.

  "True! Now the question is do you get more meat with the empty and bigger ones or with the smaller and non-empty ones?"

  She winked.

  "I'd have to say you are more satisifed by conventional snails. However, the Chernobyl variety did have a really awesome series of video games made about them called S.N.AI.L.E.R. And now I'm just getting silly."

  Sin laughs even louder and when she successfully stops (with difficulty), she raises her glass of Riesling and cheers with you.

  "To us!"

  She takes a sip, mesmerized by your eyes, then mumbles, still looking at them.

  "...to us..."

  Koldan returns the toast, being careful as he usually is with glasses, since they don't work as well with canine lips.

  "To us. I hope we have a lot more toasts to the two of us, just like this one."

  He drains his glass.

  "Good call on the Riesling. Now that I've tasted it, I can see that red would have totally drowned it."

  Sin looks at the wolf from above the glass while drinking. Her tail was almost breaking that leg in half. Her eyes glowed more intensely as she finished its content and its freshness delighted her. She kept the empty glass there, playing with it and grinning, as if she was expecting Koldan to ask her something. She put the glass back on the table, opened the mouth in a 'o', but stayed silent.

  He waves a paw at the demoness, then points at her teasingly.

  Koldan Illarion: "Don't worry, I'm not letting you off that easily. Now it's time for me to fire that question right back at you. How's your love life looking these days, Sin? I imagine dating in Hell gets complicated fast. And now you have two worlds to pick from."
  Sin: "Well, technically it's true, but you would be disappointed by the emptiness of Hell right now. It actually has been pretty empty for as long as I remember..."

  She tries to remember before the blackout but obviously fails.

  "So I prefer spending my time in this world. Would you be surprised if I told you I never had a long-time relationship? Maybe because I never found anyone that was worth more than a one night stand."

  She was embarrassed just to mention that to Koldan.

  "But maybe... maybe? (if only?) It's going to change."

  The wood started to crack and she realized how tense she was. She relaxed, unwrapping her tail from the table leg. Koldan glances to the side, noticing her deathgrip on the table leg now that he can hear the wood grain cracking, and smiles.

  "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

  He finishes his last serving of snail, having mastered the diminutive tongs by now, and leans forward.

  "Sin, a single night with you would be more desire than most beings cram into an entire lifetime. If Hell made you the woman you are today, then I'm definitely glad Hell exists."

  She blushed deeply, looking at her empty plate. If you could see fumes coming out from her head, it would have not surprised her. She talked with a very little voice.

  "Thank you."

  She was still looking at her empty plate.

  "I'm definitely glad my path led me to you, too..."

  Her question, that she was about to ask, was the biggest leap of faith she had made in her life.

  "Would you... would you..."

  She was stuttering. She raised the face, finally fixating on your blue eyes with her golden ones.

  "Would you like to become my... partner?"

  She was burning from everywhere. A sensation she had not felt for...ever. Was she realizing what she was asking? No. Who cared?

  "Wwwweeee... wwweeeee... wwee have shared so many nice moments together."

  She continued with an excited voice.

  "And we still need to investigate that 'Persephone' you mentioned!"

  As if it had an importance in her request. Silly her. But she felt something was linking them in a way she had never felt before. Never. She was about to cry.

Depart

  Koldan lays down his utensils, ears perking at her question. His blue eyes took on an almost puppylike gleam.

  "Sin. I'd love to be with you. I think about you, and dream about you, and we have so much to do together. For one thing ,you've got to teach me how to order wine worth a damn. And yes...Persephone. If I'm going to find who she is again, I want to do it with you."

  He reaches across the table to put his large paw over her hand, stroking the back of it with his fingerpads.

  "I'd call this a happy occasion, kiddo. No need for waterworks."

  He smiled. Perhaps the Gene Autrey was putting him in a stereotypically gangster mood.



  She puts her other hand on her mouth, gasping as she had received the most beautiful gift she could think of. The sensation of your paw on her hand --- that she turned upside down for the palms to touch... Two small tears were running on her cheeks. And she laughed when you imitated a gangster.

  "A demoness..."

  She sobbed.

  "...a demoness marrying a wolf gangster... what an awkward pair."

  She looked really happy about this "awkward pair".

  Sin: "I... don't know what to say... I'm the happiest living demoness..."
  Koldan Illarion: "Hah. Not so much the gangster part. They don't make Thompsons big enough for me to hold. Or violin cases, for that matter."

  He adds his other paw to the equation, holding your hands firmly in his as he leans forward over the table to lock gazes with you.

  "You flatter me, madame, getting so flustered and worked up over a question like that. I'd have to be an idiot to not sprain my neck nodding yes!"

  She gazes back at him, her eyes wide opened as a puppy would look at himself for the first time in a mirror. She bends forward.

  "It isn't an easy question to ask.... I feared the refusal so much."

  And before you have a chance to answer, she kisses you on the lips, at the end of the snout, where she had a chance to reach you. She was holding your hand tight, and her tail was back around that table leg, but not because of stress this time.

  "It was an easy question to answer, Sin. But now I have a hard one for you...what would you like to order for dinner?"

  His nose was working, like it always did around good smells, reacting to the aromas wafting in from the kitchen.

  Koldan Illarion: "Also, I'm sort of jealous of the whole prehensile tail thing. Mine doesn't do that."
  Sin: "Well..."

  She giggled as she wiped her tears from her face.

  "...it can be a curse, too. As soon as someone grabs it..."

  She blushed. You knew what happened.

  "Someone told me I was like Sangoku. I don't know what that means."

  As the garçon takes the plate from the table, she orders her next meal.

  "I will go with the porterhouse. Medium rare."

  She turned to Koldan, smiling.... again.

  "What about my furry half? :3"

  He grins broadly.

  "That's my girl. I knew I'd picked a woman who loves her meat. Nothing sexier than a carnivore. I was going to order the same, and I'm sticking to my guns...I like my meat on the wet side, though. As rare as you can legally let me."

  He nods to the monsieur and returns to looking his new mate in her eyes. It felt natural, as if they had always been together and had just now thought to make it official.

  Sin's eyes were a perfect confirmation of that natural feeling. They were serene and confident.

  "I like when there is blood in my plate."

  It was strange to see her talk like that, dressed up with this black gown.

  "It's just the taste... I love it."

  She smiled for a few seconds, still under the strong spell of Koldan's acceptance, but her traits became more serious, at a point where she almost looked academical.

  "I had something else to tell you."

   The waiter was walking to their table, two plates with gorgeous pieces of meat.

  Koldan is only momentarily distracted by his plate, his mouth opening slightly to allow deep smelling as he takes in the complex aroma of the meat. But his eyes soon snap back to hers, his predatory instincts overcome by her hold over him.

  "Well. If it's as good as the first thing you had to tell me, we're in for one fantastic night."

  Sin winces again and this time doesn't try to hide it.

  "Unfortunately... no."

  She was still wincing.

  "I even feel worse now that I know that she left you without warning 9 months ago..."

  She stops eating, contemplating her meat that she suddenly didn't want to eat anymore.

  "I'm... leaving."

  She knew it was weird to say that right after asking Koldan to share his life with her.

  "But not forever. One month and one week., exactly. I'm leaving tomorrow."

  She looks at the blue eyes, very worried of what she was about to see.

  "But... I'll be there from time to time. Not on the same hours, you know? Eight hours of difference. And since we have this... advantageous connection between our spirits... I'll still be able to send you messages."

  She has a sad smile.

  Sin: "And I will."
  Koldan Illarion: "Eight hours, hmmm? That sounds like Hell time. I can guess where you'll be."

  He lets his paws continue toying with your hands, stroking the length of your fingers with his claws.

  "I'm not worried, Sin. You're worth waiting - and yearning - for. And every time I get to see you, it will make me happy."

  She can't stop a tear to run down her cheek even with Koldan's reassuring words.

  "I just don't want you to... think you're not important to me."

  She had a shiver, because of your fur caressing her hand gently. Her ears twitched slightly.

  "I also didn't want you to think it was merely a trick to imprison you in any way. I did not make our relationship official yet because... I wanted you to know that before. I respect your freedom. It's extremely important to me."

  She smiled shyly.

  "But if you still want to make it official..."

  A wider smile.

  Koldan digs in his pocket for a tissue that is, oddly, appropriately sized for him, and uses it to dab at the moistened corner of your cheek.

  "I don't think any of that. I know you better than to think you're manipulative."

  The corners of his muzzle were starting to fatigue from smiling so much tonight, and he didn't mind in the least.

  "Can you give me a little time to see if I can contact Vespur and tell her? We haven't spoken in a long time, but it might be better to hear it from me first than to get some sort of automatic notice."

  He takes a look at his handiwork, dabs at your face again gently when another tear rolls down.

  Koldan Illarion: "Please don't take that as any kind of reluctance on my part. Things between me and her have just been in limbo for a long time, and we should have ended it officially a long time ago."
  Sin: "No, I understand completely... sincerely."

  She sobbed and smiled at the same time, as weird as it looked.

  "Actually, I find this very honest and nice from you. This is also why I love you Koldan. You are a respectable gentleman."

  The garçon approached the couple but stepped back when he saw it maybe wasn't the best time.
  Sin: "As you said you would for me, I will wait for you, too. It's a simple thing to do if that lets you move on from a... ghost, if I may say. I don't mean to offend you."

  Koldan Illarion: "Thank you. :) I'm glad you understand. And that being said...it's 4AM and despite wanting to stay up with you until the sun rises, I'm about to pass out. :) I assume you're going to be busy tomorrow with your flight. But please, when you get a chance to talk, do let me know. :)"
  Sin: "Well... Indeed. I was supposed to take care of things but I did not. Guess I had something more important to do :-)"

  She marks a small pause.

  Sin: "I will, absolutely. A month without talking to you would be too hard I think anyway. :-) And... thank you for staying awake so late. I knew you were, and... I wanted to thank you."
  Koldan Illarion: "In the interim, I will do some homework on wine. :) I hope to talk to you soon."
  Sin: "I hope to talk to you soon Koldan, too... Give me some news on Vespur. I hope everything will go well."

  Sin goes around the table, leans on you, hugs you and kisses you at the same time.

  Sin: "I wish I could stay here..."
  Koldan Illarion: "I'm sure it will. Just want to give the courtesy. :) I do too. You've made me very happy. Good night, beautiful. It's been a great evening!"
  Sin: "Good night, my love. It's been a fantastic night."