The Night Reverie

[♥Dementia♥]

Ixtab was eagerly chomping down the bread, and she'd finished almost half a whole loaf so far. Kekewey was mauling yet another fish, ripping the meat with his fangs. Ixtab swallowed hard when she heard Faylen coming back, and when he appeared she smiled happily. "Thank you for allowing us to eat your food," she said graciously. "I will repay you when I can," she promised. She started chewing another bite while Kekewey mewed happily about his fish, thanking Faylen in his own kitty-way. "Perhaps if I can make Tomb Robber try outs that will help my funds pick up a bit?" she said, hopeful she could gain a new position.

Ixtab took her glass as she finished speaking about the possibility of a new job. She nodded, and mumbled, "Thank you," before downing her wine just a bit slower than Faylen had. Ooh, a fire, Ixtab thought to herself. That should make things almost perfect. She smiled outwardly while thinking these things inwardly. Perhaps this guy isn't too bad after all...He seems very nice... Ixtab trusted slowly, though she tried to at least appear to be trusting even if she had her secret reservations about people in general. Life hadn't been the kindest to her. She knew not everyone was good.

Ixtab listened intently to Faylen while devouring her bread. "Hmm, I suppose you're right. Perhaps we're really all the same and we just wish we were different?" she queried. Ixtab blushed. She wasn't sure how to respond to a compliment about her presence. As could be expected, most people didn't exactly feel comfortable having a thief around - even if she wasn't one of the bad kind of thieves. "Um...Thank you," she said slowly, adding, "You're not so bad yourself." She winked and laughed a soft laugh. "Kekewey is extremely hard to thieve with at times. He has quite the appetite for someone so small. Wanna trade pets?" she said this, obviously teasing. Kekewey had been her constant companion for years, and she would never really consider giving him up. "I don't mind talking. And I really do appreciate the food. Especially for Kekewey. I'm used to being hungry, but I like to make sure he doesn't have to go without." Ixtab was a very caring Sphinx, and this could be seen subtly in her speech but she didn't like to directly show her care for others. She'd found that had gotten her trouble. A memory of her childhood hit her suddenly, quite hard. She furrowed her eyebrow, shaking her head a bit before recovering from the flashback. She hoped Faylen wouldn't ask about it, or that perhaps he just wouldn't notice at all.

[Nephthys]

Faylen shrugged, "It's not a problem. Just seeing you fed is payment enough. Honestly, you looked so starved when I met you I wasn't sure if you were going to make it through the night!" He cast a glance at the thief and her cat as they ate, before turning his attention back to the hypnotic flames. "When I'm not seeking vengeance I am... trying to do good. Even if I fail at it. Sometimes people are surprised when they hear that." Faylen left the fire for a moment to grab a fish and a spit to roast it on. He watched Ixtab curiously as she spoke with his dark eyes.

"Or maybe we all want to be the same, leading us to be painfully aware of our own differences and insecurities and believing that we're the only ones who have them." Faylen smirked a little to himself. This was an interesting conversation, but he liked it. Well, he would have liked any conversation at this point, admittedly. He had been alone for so long.
When Ixtab suggested that they switched pets, Faylen chuckled once. "I, err... don't think so. That cat looks like he could eat me out of house and home if given the chance. At least Arcadia eats seeds occasionally." He shook his head and chuckled again. This was amazing, to just be joking like this with someone. He'd really only invited Ixtab over out of a sense of duty - or so he'd thought - and now it was turning out to be... well, just something pleasant for a change. Faylen had seen his fair share of ugliness lately.

He then watched as Ixtab went on about how she liked to make sure that Kekewey was always fed enough, before he noticed - or perhaps imagined - a twinge of pain in her eyes. "Is something... wrong?" He inquired gently. "No hang on, let me guess... food was scarce when you were a cub as well, so-" He stopped himself, mentally yelling at himself for doing that as he realised this might not be something she wanted to talk about. "Sorry," He apologized hurriedly. "Making assumptions about people, that's... kind of all part of the job for me. I need to stop doing that when it isn't... one hundred percent necessary." Feeling a little embarrassed he impaled his fish on his spit without waiting any longer, and walked away towards the fire where he could sit and focus on roasting it.

[♥Dementia♥]

Ixtab relaxed a bit, enjoying watching the flames dance. "I would've found a way to make it through the night," she said matter-of-factly. "I always do." She listened intently to Faylen, staring into his eyes. "Well, I think you succeeded at doing good by feeding Kekewey and I." Kekewey mewed, carrying a fish over beside the fire to sit by his beloved owner. He gnawed happily on the fish, and he was enjoying the heat the fire was letting off. Ixtab petted the little cat absentmindedly.

Ixtab considered for a moment. "Hmm, perhaps. That would make things less difficult, but also far less interesting," she said, swishing her tail. She enjoyed Fallen's company, and she studied him curiously. She'd never met anyone quite like him. "Kekewey can definitely eat....and eat and eat," she said with a hearty laugh, turning her gaze back to the flames and they danced before her and Faylen. "He eats more than I do sometimes."

She immediately got quiet and her guard switched back on full force when Faylen tried to ask her what was wrong. She frowned visibly. "No, that's not exactly right," she said with a bit of a huff - she wasn't trying to come off irritated, but she didn't like to talk about her past with anyone including her own husband. Fallen's apology only eased her guard down a small smidgeon. "Not even my husband knows all there is to know about me, and I do prefer not to talk about it...not with anyone," she said this more sadly than angrily. Ixtab had unknowingly, without thinking let Faylen in on the fact that she was married. She didn't talk about that much either - at least never intentionally. More when it just came up, but it had seemed an appropriate comment.

[Nephthys]

Faylen regarded Ixtab with interest. "Of course you would, you're intelligent. I meant that more as a figure of speech really. But in any case, I thought I should do something to prevent you from starving unnecessarily. When people get starving, desperate, they can make rash decisions that they later regret. But I'm sure you know that." Faylen then looked towards Kekewey who was still eating. "Well, I'm glad to have helped you both." then he switched his attention to their other topic.

"Perhaps we should hope it isn't that then. I always prefer things to be interesting." He gazed into Ixtab's eyes then as if to imply that he was also finding her company interesting, and therefore enjoyable. He chuckled a little when she mentioned Kekewey's enthusiasm for food. "Yes... I suppose since he doesn't have to participate in conversation with us, that leaves him with more time to use his mouth for eating."

Faylen shrugged and had a bite of fish before speaking. "We don't have to go there if you don't want to. I suppose I'm just curious and... not always the best at being tactful, so I'm sorry. I think when I saw you looking upset for a moment there, I just wanted to know what was wrong, so I could know if I could do anything to help." He paused suddenly, wondering why he cared so much about this girl already. There was something about her, but he wasn't sure what. All he knew was that somehow, he wanted to help protect her from the world where ever possible. He stared into the flames thoughtfully. "And your husband... it's not my place to judge your marriage, but normally married women don't look as hungry and desperate as you did this evening. I mean, you don't have to tell me anything about that either. I suppose I just hope he's looking out for you enough." Faylen had another bite of fish and chewed thoughtfully. Perhaps he wasn't the best at socialising, he hadn't done it for a while after all. But he hoped that even if he put his foot in it at times, Ixtab would still realise that he had no bad intentions towards her.
"It's good that you have secrets. It shows that you're discerning in who to give information to. Or it shows that whatever secret it is, is too painful to contemplate. For myself, it's the latter. Let's just say I have a secret regarding the origin of Arcadia's name, and all my life previous to meeting her actually."