Dawn of the Unconquered Sun (Part 8 of the Ignaius-Saga)

Company

So they were leaning into the cushions of a remarkably comfortable couch, waiting for the councilman to receive them. Suddenly Tanier noticed some giggling - and a second voice, equally excited, as it seemed, answering. As Tanier turned his head, he noticed two women, who had just arrived in the doorframe and looked over to them. The two were clearly either good friends or siblings, and the later was confirmed when one of them greeted them: "Father send his greetings. He was detained and will be late. He hope that you will be able to wait for him." The excitement indicated to Tanier that this may not be all, but he responded: "If he is not detained too long, we will happily wait. We have another invitation for the evening, but tis is still a few hours from now." He had barely finished when the girl continued: "May we keep you company? I am Kela and this is my sister Idri." Aside of the fact that it would have been rude, the king found the two of them quite charming. He had an idea what 'company' may entail eventually and wasn't sure how Variel would feel about the whole thing, but it was worth finding out. "We are pleased to meet you. I assume you already know that I am Tanier and this is Variel." As the girls had been rather informal he had decided to drop titles as well. "Yes, we do," Kela confirmed and her sister smirked. It looked like they had their roles firmly established. Kela sat down next to Tanier and Idri next to Variel, both with very little concern for personal space. Tanier was surprised - but not in a bad way - when now Idri started to ask a number of question, you would typically ask a guest: About what they had seen, how they had liked it and how it was different from their home country.

As innocent as Variel still somehow managed to look all the time, he was well aware of what seemed to be happening here. Subconsciously, he shifted just a little closer to Tanier, as he wasn't bold or rude enough to ask Idri to move over. He answered the questions directed at him with only necessary and polite details, and he sat more rigidly than any of the other three. He kept trying to tell himself that this was just Aurora, that it was how people acted. Of course, that wasn't entirely true; the women had introduced themselves with first names only, which
was about as informal as one could get as far as he knew.

When Tanier could feel Variel tense - not that he was surprised - he put his arm around him, knowing that this was usually the best way to relax him. He did it rather casually, as to not make it look like too strong a statement, but still. It was also a way to tell Variel that he was not abandoning him, just because a nice girl was flirting with him.

Actually both girls seemed smart enough to be obvious, but not insensitive, so when Variel seemed to be uncomfortable, Idri didn't push it. While Kela was already touching Tanier, Idri didn't push herself on Variel, but did a pretty good job in trying to win Variel over by being nice and demonstrating her interest in him through friendly conversation. Still Tanier decided it would probably be better for everyone involved, if he made something clear. When the conversation came to a pause, he remarked as casual as possible: "You will have to excuse Variel, he is not just shy, but also not into girls. This is really a pity," Tanier added, giving his most charming smile to Idri, "as he is really missing out on something by not letting you touch him."

Obviously he had hit the right tone, for both girls laughed goodnaturedly. 

Variel did relax a little when Tanier's arm went around him and opened up just a little to Idri's friendly conversation, though he still showed no interest in anything more. He relaxed further when Tanier cleared the air, and for a moment, he assumed that would be the end of it. But Idri  continued in the same cheerful tone as before: "I'll ask our brother then, if he likes to join us. I am pretty sure he is up to it, if he is not too busy at the moment." And then she addressed Variel directly: "Would you like me to ask him?" She was getting ready to get up, obviously rather expecting a positive response, but not assuming anything.

When Variel heard Idri's suggestion, he flinched slightly. Worry and indecision were visible on his face. He didn't exactly know what kind of man their brother was, if he'd even be attracted to him. His shyness of course played a huge part in his hesitation, though that went beyond saying. After a few moments, Variel looked up at Tanier with wide eyes that clearly read: "Help! What do I do?!"