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Post by Haldir of Lorien on Oct 3, 2008 22:29:04 GMT -5
Haldir noticed the smile on her face. The soldier in him was using all his self dicipline to not burst out laughing, but there might have been a twinkle in Haldir's dark blue eyes. "It was nothing, Mademoiselle Rinoa. I am happy to see you safe. I hope you enjoy your stay in Paris." He would have said much more. That he wanted to get to know her better. He liked her sense of humor. It could be fun to meet her again. But after all his problems with the ladies, Haldir thought that no lady wanted anything to do with him. Not even for friendship. ((Haldir would definitely fall for that ))
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Post by Rinoa Heartilly on Oct 3, 2008 23:24:54 GMT -5
Haldir was smiling, too!
In... Well. In a rather repressed way, much like that of most military people she had encountered. At first Rinoa drew a parallel to Seifer, but her ex-boyfriend (it was probably safe to call him that, after she'd gotten possessed by a sorceress directly at his hands), but Seifer was a bit too passionate overall. Instead, she found herself thinking of Quistis, the solemn, prodigal blonde woman who she wished she had gotten to make better friends with.
Come to think of it, she didn't have much luck with the yellow-haired at all. Other than Zell, who everyone got to like after a bit of a rocky start, Haldir was the only blond who hadn't been mean to her or just distant. And she couldn't concentrate on cracking everyone's shell like the massive undertaking she'd been through with Squall.
She wondered if Squall was worried about her back at Balamb Garden.
Rinoa shook her head a little as her bangs fell into her eyes, then resorted to blowing the black strands away from her face under the pretext of a quick sigh. If nothing else, she was relieved that Haldir was relatively easy to talk to.
"Well, there has to be something I can do for you, Haldir! Um..." She looked around for the innkeeper and saw no one in a great hurry to assist them, so she went on. "Do you live in Paris?"
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Post by Haldir of Lorien on Oct 3, 2008 23:43:28 GMT -5
Haldir looked at Rinoa. She was a sweet young girl. Way too young for him, he strictly reminded himself. But she seemed to be lonely. And she was new here. He decided he would help her out if he could.
Haldir smiled gently when she asked if there was something she could do for him in return. He only shook his head. He was glad to help. His gentlemanly instincts couldn't allow him to leave a frightened young woman all alone in Paris.*
"I live in the Elven Kingdom of Lorien, where I also work. But I am in Paris on occasions. Buying supplies and things like that."
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Post by Brandi on Oct 4, 2008 7:43:16 GMT -5
*Brandi hurried down the stairs, the towel still over her shoulder from nursing Bebe. She had managed to rebutton her dress completely before approaching them.*
"Good day. Can I help you?" *She asked politely, if a bit hurried, having just raced down to meet them.*
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Post by Rinoa Heartilly on Oct 4, 2008 18:42:43 GMT -5
As the innkeeper bustled in looking disheveled in an unmistakably motherish way, Rinoa tactfully ignored the towel and smiled, making sure to keep eye contact. "Hello, ma'am!" She shook her bangs out of her face, as the shift had caused them to fall into her eyes again. "I would like to reserve a room for one, please."
She could figure out where Lorien was later. For now, Rinoa just kept a mental note on it.
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Post by Brandi on Oct 5, 2008 7:03:42 GMT -5
*Brandi glanced to Haldir for only a moment, wondering why he was here in her inn and not back with his troops. Wasn't he over that emo thing yet?*
"Of course, miss." *She answered the woman with a warm smile.*
"Would you like the room by the night or the week?"
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Post by Rinoa Heartilly on Oct 5, 2008 11:52:36 GMT -5
Well, she definitely wasn't going to stay here for just a day, unless destiny decided to be weird like that. Rinoa then remembered that she didn't know how much money she had on her and checked an armwarmer for the slim wallet she kept in there. To her surprise, she found it packed full of unfamiliar paper bills. Thank goodness she recognized the numbers, though.
"By the week, I guess. How much would that cost me?"
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Post by Brandi on Oct 5, 2008 14:41:38 GMT -5
"Three hundred francs." *Brandi answered. It was so strange to have paying customers.*
"Will that be all right?" *She asked gently.*
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Post by Rinoa Heartilly on Oct 6, 2008 12:31:03 GMT -5
"Hmm..." Rinoa carefully picked out three of the one-hundred franc bills and handed them to the innkeeper. "Yes! That sounds perfectly fine. Here you are!"
I'll count how many francs I have later, Rinoa thought as she put the wallet back into her armwarmer. For now she simply turned back to her new blond friend, who had been waiting patiently. "Well, Haldir, I guess you're going back to Lorien now that I've found a place to stay...?"
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Post by Haldir of Lorien on Oct 6, 2008 12:34:41 GMT -5
*Haldir smiled warmly. He knew how it felt to be alone in the world.*
"I intended to see you safe until you found somewhere to stay. You might want to check in and get things in order? If not, I have some time to spend before I have to return to my troops."
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Post by Brandi on Oct 6, 2008 14:31:28 GMT -5
*Brandi took the money, careful to bite her tongue on anything else she might have to say, sliding the girl a room key.*
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Post by Rinoa Heartilly on Oct 7, 2008 0:06:54 GMT -5
The key went into Rinoa's other armwarmer, for now. She'd have to think of and possibly make a better place to put small heavy things later. Rinoa also thought about asking why she'd seen a fleeting expression of disapproval on Brandi's face directed at Haldir (who seemed like quite the gentleman) but decided it was better not to ask.
"Thank you very much, ma'am. I don't have any things with me, so... if it's not too much to ask I'd just like to see where my room is and check in. Then I'll be off." She turned to Haldir and then said regretfully: "Er... Haldir, I'm not sure exactly how much spare time you have, but I plan to be out finagling my way around the city until at least sunset, which is probably too long for you. But I'm sure I'll be all right."
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Post by Haldir of Lorien on Oct 7, 2008 0:22:35 GMT -5
*Haldir calmly looked at Brandi, as if to reassure her that the young lady would be safe in his presence. He quietly wondered why anyone would look at him like that. The only woman he had ever loved, was Queen Tearbird. When she died, he had been heartbroken. For a short while he had thought he could learn to love the russian Princess Anastasia, but that hadn't worked out. He was starting to wonder if he would ever love again, the way he had loved Tearbird. He doubted it.
He smiled and his mind returned to the present. He was still a gentleman, and since he had found the young woman so lost in the Opera House, he felt responsible for her safety. Paris was not safe these days. There were rumors about young women being abducted by Persians... Haldir intended to stay with Rinoa and protect her until she decided to return to her room.*
"There are quite a few good things by being the leader of the army, Rinoa. My job takes me everywhere, and I can decide myself when I want to return. My country is not at war at the moment, and this gives me the freedom to come and go as I please. Thus, I will be at your disposal until you decide you want to return to your room."
*He did not mention the abduction of the young women, as he didn't want to frighten her.*
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Post by Brandi on Oct 7, 2008 7:34:53 GMT -5
((It's not like Brandi looked at him with disgust. She just had a thought, but didn't say it.))
"Of course. It's just upstairs on the left. Bathroom's at the end of the hall."
*She smiled politely.*
"Food's served at 9, noon and 6. You're always welcome. Just let me know if there's anything else."
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Post by Haldir of Lorien on Oct 7, 2008 8:28:19 GMT -5
((I know. Haldir is a bit wary of young girls. He believes that no woman will want him as a husband. So normally he stays away from them, except when they need his protection.)) *Haldir smiled to Rinoa.* "If you don't want to go out alone, I can wait for you here while you check in to your room, and we could go out together. It is not safe for young ladies to wander alone in the night." *Darn it! That last sentence sounded much worse than he intended it to be. He was not used to speaking to women. Tearbird knew, and accepted him the way he was. Anastasia had more temper, and they had some hefty arguments before she left. Now he was on his own, and perhaps that was for the best, he tried to comfort himself.*
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