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[Sirus]

Harlan waited for Cat to continue, but as the silence lengthened he became uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

: "So...was your mother impressed?"

[Twinwolf]

Catherine didn't seem to be concerned, really.

"...Ah, sorry - was just trying to recall, it was a few years ago she told me this story.

So yes - an unfinished tome is not a good thing to shove into your bag. Before the binding is finished, it's not very safe - the spell isn't properly in the tome, and is prone to casting without rhyme or reason.

The man, he rushes off to my mother's house. As he arrives, he rummages around his bag for the gift he'd meant to give her. She's just getting to the door, and there's a loud... what sound does my fire make? It's like that. 'Fwoosh' or something. That sound." she takes a sip of her drink. "She gets to the door, and the man is there - having made the spell cast on him by accident, and on fire."

[Sirus]

: "Well. I'm sure there are worse ways to make a first impression. I can't think of any off the top of my head though..." The thief took a swig of his drink, then chuckled. "On the bright side, at least he'd be able to honestly tell his friends that he had a 'hot date'."

[Twinwolf]

Catherine... laughed a bit at that? Probably not something expected from the normally stoic mage.

"That's a way to put it. Now, my mother's parents were regretting their pick at this point, but they had made the agreement - they felt like they had to go through with it. Mother, for her part, rushed to get water to put it out before it seriously burned him. And then once the fire was out, she laughed in his face, for the obvious reasons.

They did go out the one time - Mother felt her parents hovering over their shoulders at that point. Because mother's life isn't a quirky romance novel, they didn't end up together. They just didn't click like that. They did hit it off by talking about their shared annoyance of intrusive parents, and they did end up friends - he's been around the house quite often, in fact, visiting Mother. Father occasionally leaves a bucket of water in the doorway, 'just in case', after he was told that story." she does the air quotes thing at "just in case", and then takes a drink as she finishes.

[Sirus]

Harlan, unfortunately, had been sipping his drink during that last line. He coughed, sputtered, and very nearly choked as surprised laughter and alcohol conspired to drown him. After a moment his throat cleared up, but the thief kept chuckling.

: "Oh, that's good. Your father sounds like a barrel of laughs."

: "That was a pretty good story. I feel like I should return the favor, somehow. Anything you'd like to know in particular?"

[Twinwolf]

Catherine sipped at her drink and considered the question.

"Well, I've told you a story about my family. Do you have a funny story about Harold or something? I've heard brothers tend to have that sort of thing with each other."

[Sirus]

: "Oh sure, lots of stories about Harold. Some of them are even appropriate for conversation." Harlan polished off his glass and lifted it in the air, signalling for another round.

: "Alright. There was this one time, back in Ixion, when Harold started to realize that girls existed. I think he was 14 or 15 at the time. Anyway, he got it into his head to try and flirt with one of the most popular girls in our district. Palla, or Pella, or something. She was a good three years older than him and was used to...well, a certain level of quality in her would-be suitors. With me so far?"

[Powder Miner]

After what was probably a longer-than-average time for trying on clothes (taking armor on and off is a time-consuming affair!) Senija came out of the fitting rooms wearing a smile and a dress that was relatively simple (the orange fabric not being especially fancy), but still rather cute, and which also bared her shoulders.
:"Eheh... What do you think, Harold?"

[Twinwolf]

"Harold aimed high. Sounds like he at least had some self confidence."

[Solymr]

Harold took a deep breath when he saw Senija coming out of the room. Taking a few long seconds to look at her up and down, Harold finally declared his judgement.

: You look... amazing. Goes really well with your tan. Do you like it?

[Powder Miner]

Senija couldn't help but be tickled pink by his comment, though she managed to keep from being a blushing mess this time around.
:"Eheh, welllll, I actually like this dress! It's not all super fancy or anything so I don't think it'd be tripping me up or anything, and while I'm not usually a dress person... I think I can keep this on for a little while for you."

[Solymr]

: Just for me? I'm honored.

Harold shot a smile at Senija before turning to the tailor to discuss the price. After a brief exchange of words Harold paid up and turned back to her.

: Seems like that jacket will have to wait. Well, at least you got a really nice dress. What do you want to do now?

[Sirus]

: "Oh, he certainly had self-confidence. That was about all he had, unfortunately."

: "Anyway, on the big day he goes to the alleyway where Palla and her friends liked to hang out. I was following along sneaky-like, partly because I wanted to see how he'd do but mostly for his protection. Palla had a boyfriend at the time, see, and Harold wasn't much of a fighter. I'm sure you've noticed that even nowadays he prefers magic to muscle. Well, back then he didn't even have magic to fall back on. If Palla or any of her companions started getting rough, he'd probably need help."

"So my kid brother, this scrawny and awkward thing just going through a growth spurt, he marches straight up to Palla and just...starts flirting with her. He actually started out okay; compliments, quoting a bit of poetry comparing her to a summer's day, that sort of thing. It got Palla and her friends giggling, anyway, though I think she just thought it was funny and wasn't actually smitten. Like I said before, she was hard to please. But since things were going well, I started thinking that maybe he'd get out of it in one piece."

: "That's...when things went wrong. Harold bows so low that he nearly falls over and he says 'My dearest and most fair lady, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner this evening?' This just got Palla and the rest laughing even harder; I think they thought it was still an act. Harold seemed to get nervous, because then he asks 'Or maybe tomorrow? How about Saturday? I'm free any day'."

"At this point, the girls figured out that Harold was serious. The other girls just started laughing more...meanly, I guess, while Palla told him 'No!' I think most guys would have given up at this point, but Harold was kinda stupid. Plenty of book-smarts, but he was terrible at dealing with other people. Especially pretty girls. I say this, because I want you to understand that I am completely, 100% serious when I tell you what he did next."

With his second drink having just arrived, Harlan takes a moment to wet his parched throat. He wasn't used to talking quite this much. He also, shrewdly, wanted to see if Cat could guess where he was headed.

[Powder Miner]

She put her hand on her chin for a moment.
:"Hmmmm, you know what, I don't actually know! I didn't really spend a lot of time in towns besides the one I grew up in, being a mountain girl and all, and I've definitely never actually done anything with anyone in a city this size. Hmmm... what do you think we should do, Harold?"

[Twinwolf]

Catherine didn't bother trying to guess - she took a quick gulp of her drink and then gestured that Harlan continue. From the set up, it would probably be best if she didn't have her mouth full for this.