[Shenandoah]

Now that she was looking at him, he gave her a once-over, his frown still fairly worried. Titus opened his mouth and let his thoughts just fall out.

"You look dead tired. Are you all right?"

While not the most tactful way of edging into what could potentially become a personal conversation, Titus didn't believe in dancing around the subject before finally asking the question he wanted to ask. For most people, it was something of a major turn-off and are the type to ignore him blatantly. Others found it rude, but just ignored the rudeness or scolded him about a lack of manners. Yet there was the occasional person that found the directness refreshing and Titus wondered which category she'd fall under.

[Tadhana]

Kali blinked and blinked again. That wasn't what she expected to hear from the guy towering above her at all. She more expected him to bully her than to ask such a question as if he were her friend. She didn't have much regard for social etiquette or had any idea of what to do in situations like these, so she straightened herself up as much as she could in that beanbag and started to answer his question anyway.

"I'm okay..." she said softly with a note of weariness. She hesitated a bit and added, "Just tired from practice. Swimming practice." Why she was volunteering more information, albeit made up, to this stranger was beyond her. Ever curious, she ended what seemed to be a monologue to her with "Why?"

[Shenandoah]

His eyebrow shot up in a patented skeptical look. "Can't I take an interest in the health of the stranger I kept from getting run over, regardless of the fact the light changed an instant later?" Titus asked dryly, his brain-mouth filter still non-existent. He was saying whatever came to mind and while this time it didn't include swears, that didn't mean he'd forgo them the next time if he thought them.

He considered his options and dropped down next to her in the beanbag that he had chosen. Truthfully, he wasn't a fan of them, but it did allow for a better range of movement to get comfortable and the library could sanitize them better than upholstery as they were vinyl rather than fabric. And the only reason he chose to drop into the bag next to her was because for the moment, he wasn't interested in going back to the table he was previously occupying.

[Tadhana]

Kali looked at the redheaded stranger who just sat down next to her with confusion written all over her expression. Maybe he had her mixed up with somebody else since she had absolutely no recollection of that incident. But then again, she admitted to herself that she did have a lousy memory. Supposing that he might have seemed familiar, only hazy recollections came to mind as she thought more of it.

"I suppose you could..." she said slowly. Her brain was just too tired to second check her thoughts right now. "...but who are you again?" she finished with a deadpan expression.

[Shenandoah]

"I never introduced myself," Titus said as he cracked his book open again and turned it to the appropriate page. His eyes roamed the print before settling back where he'd left off. Absently, he replied to her. "I'm Titus Vulcan, though. You?"

((Short post! DX))

[Tadhana]

Kali stared at Titus for a while, taking in a very unreal picture (to her) of him peacefully reading a book before settling into her bean bag. Staring at the ceiling either deep in thought or just spacing out, she spoke as if she were miles away. "Kali Staynhal."

If Kali had a bit of manners, she would have added a 'Nice to meet you.' but she thought that it was best not to since she deemed it a mechanical and unnecessary routine. And she really hated routine. So, satisfied that what she had said so far was enough, she then proceeded to turn a little to her side, diverting her attention to the book she was holding open with her left hand and scanning the pages she was on before the brief interruption took place.

[[EDIT: OK, not so short post. x.x]]

[Shenandoah]

Titus froze upon hearing her name. Staynhal was a family of water mages. He turned to look at her. "You're a Staynhal?" he asked, his posture growing slightly rigid. "And you didn't recognize my name?" he blurted a second later as he spoke that line of thought, followed by another line. "Or did you recognize it and just didn't care?"

He wasn't sure which prospect was worse. If she didn't recognize his family name, she was either inattentive or mentally deficient. If she did and didn't care if he was a Vulcan and one of the up-and-coming within his family despite the matriarchal leanings of the Vulcan house, she would be fairly powerful and not worried about an attack.

Then again, he reminded himself, muttering lowly under his breath the words he thought: "Maybe she doesn't worry because we're in a public place, but that can't be it because water and fire will always react, even if it is in a place where others could see."

He weighed his options and came up confused. Titus had several choices: leave and not look back, force her to leave, or try to see what came of staying in her immediate vicinity. And that last choice had three potential outcomes: they tie up and fight, they potentially form an alliance (which was highly unlikely in his book), or nothing comes of it and they go their separate ways. Titus weighed his options... and decided to stick it out for a few minutes to see what happened.

[Tadhana]

Kali turned back to look at him with a blank look on her face. He seemed agitated to have heard her name. "What, does my family owe him money or something?" she thought. Is the name Vulcan supposed to mean something to her?

"Ah, of course." she muttered, a wry smile forming on her lips. She had heard her aunts and uncles mention the name often a few years ago behind closed doors at a family meeting that she was trying to eavesdrop on with her younger cousins. Something about a rivalry of sorts, was what they gathered. She never could really forget that particular event because of the punishment her strict aunt Victoria gave them when she caught them. What it meant to her, however, she did not know.

Being the youngest in the main branch of the Staynhal family and being the only one to not have reached 18, she has no full knowledge of the other mage families existing. This was decided so the Staynhal children would have had a happy and relatively normal childhood outside of their 'special training'. So, Kali had no other choice but to honestly say "I still have no idea what you're talking about, though."

[Shenandoah]

Titus looked up at her with a bemused look. This was entirely too good to be true! She had no preconcieved notions about the rivalries between their houses, their magic, and their very dispositions towards one another.

He figured he could win some points if he was to 'disclose' it to her. With that in mind, and a lingering look of bemusement twitching the corners of his mouth upwards, he spoke. "I guess I should tell you a bit, then, so you aren't talking to me without a clue... We're supposed to hate each other's guts. Your family and my family have been fighting against one another for ages on the simple principle your family uses water and mine uses fire."

Titus's eyes went out of focus as he began to ramble a bit, remembering his own lessons. "Our family is matriarchial. I can continue the family name, but none of my children will be considered legitimately heirs of the family's legacy. They will be a part of the branch families, if they are proven to have fire in their veins. The only way I could have a child part of the family legacy is to marry one of my very distant cousins." He shrugged. "It's happened before."

He turned his head and looked at the book before him, a pensive look on his face. "I'm personally gaining a bit of fame in my family. I'm an instigator, not to mention a hot-head, and have a good measure of power backing it up. And as a result, I'm fairly certain your family has spoken of me at one point or another."

Titus then looked up at her, a dark look on his face. "Not to mention, I wouldn't likely have saved you if I'd've known your family name. It wouldn't have been that big a deal to let you wander into traffic. That's the kind of emnity between our houses."

[Tadhana]

Kali didn't say a word, quietly observing him as he spoke of magic, and family rivalries. She couldn't believe such a thing would exist if it weren't for the proof of her own powers and the training she had to endure. Why didn't anybody in her family ever tell her? Surely, something like this was important!

She couldn't help but blush deeply at her ignorance of her own family's history as he talked on about his. She knew well enough about the branch families and her own family being the main branch. But then again, the only one that mattered in the family were the eldest son and the best mage, which often turned out to be the same person anyway. And given the size of her own family, nobody really gave much notice to her, the only exception being if she got into trouble.

She should be afraid of him, as she was sure that he was much more skilled in his magic than she was with hers despite the fact that water extinguishes fire. But if her aunt taught her one thing, it would be to never panic. It would be of no use to her if she did. He hadn't made a move to hurt her nor did he seem that he intended to. One never knew, of course, but she saw that as a good sign. Besides, he wouldn't be this open with her if he did see me as a threat or an enemy, she reasoned. She then waited until he finished talking, thinking of what to say. Better be honest, she supposed.

"Nope, never heard my family mention you." she said sheepishly as he finished. "Then again... I don't think they would have ever imagined me meeting you like this." she continued as she shrugged.

[Shenandoah]

Titus considered that with a frown. "Probably not," he mused aloud. After a moment, he snorted. "Your family is stupid to leave you in the dark, though. Not that they should turn you into mini-soldiers or whatever, but it is a parent's duty to inform their children of the dangers in life... at least when they hit puberty."

He gave her a considering look and then a slow, devious smile spread across his face. It was the kind of smile one would associate with someone that was plotting something. "You wanna be friends? I know ultimately my family would have problems with it, but it'd be fun to stick them one anyway and I'm sure you have your own issues with your family. We could screw with all their heads."

It would give her a chance to freak out her family when she mentioned her new friend. Send them panicking and worrying about the safety of her if they didn't want her barbecued by the 'enemy'. And his family would go one of two ways after flipping out. They'd either be angry and tell him to not see her again (which would ensure that he would, in fact, go see her if possible) or they'd be intrigued and ask him to continue the 'pseudo-friendship' for information (and thereby forcing him to rebel and ignore them still). Titus knew he'd likely do something his elders didn't like after they caught wind of the situation. In fact, if they were to tell him to pretend friendship to her in order to gain information, he'd probably be contrary for the hell of it. It would likely get him in trouble, but he didn't care.

[Tadhana]

Kali looked at him strangely. Was he for real? For someone who's supposed to be the enemy, he sure was being friendly. Maybe she was right in keeping her cool.

She didn't have much friends although a lot of people like her in school and she hardly gets any attention in her family save for her aunt's wrath and 'special training'. Of course she had her siblings as friends, but they're family. So having a friend, especially one who's a mage like her, would be something different for her. Of course, he might have ulterior motives, but she didn't care about those. Not at this moment, at least.

"Sure, why not?" she said with a small smile. 'Don't ask, don't tell' was one of the sayings she lives by. And knowing her family, they don't really care enough to ask.

[Shenandoah]

Titus flashed a grin right as his cellular phone went off at his hip. "Aw crap. There's Mom," he said, glancing at the display once he had fished the slender object out. "And she sent me a text message telling me I need to go over to my aunt's house this evening instead of home. We've all been invited to dinner."

He clicked out of the message and looked over at her. "You got a cell phone?" he asked.

[Tadhana]

Realizing that her grandma or mother might be calling her, Kali quickly rummaged around in her knapsack for her own cellphone. Finally grabbing its strap and pulling it out, she checked her phone for any missed calls or texts. "Yeah, here. Wait..."she said with a small grin.

Eleven missed calls? Crap. They all were from her mother. It must be really important if she even bothered calling her this much. There was only one text, however. "Go to grandma's as soon as you get this. Important. Text Ev or Var if you need a ride." she slowly read off her phone's display before texting back in the affirmative.

"I gotta go too. I think my mom's at grandma's." she said as she shrugged. She had to text either her cousin Evian or her brother Varun to get a ride to grandma's as it's a good hour going to her house on foot. Texting both of them with the intention of going with whoever replies first, she diverted her attention back to him and said "Here, I'll give you my number." as she made to enter her phone number on his phone.

[Shenandoah]

He paused for a long moment before maneuvering his screen to the address entry book. He handed it over to her at that moment. "It's an iPhone, so... virtual keyboard. Here." He handed it over to her to allow her to put the number in.

As he did this, he nimbly snatched her phone from his fingers. He entered his number into hers after a moment figuring out the configuration. He finished up the entry, conveniently leaving out his last name on the entry, and held it out to her. "And now you have mine."

[Tadhana]

She stared at the gadget in front of her like a foreign object before figuring out how to input her name and number. The latest technology was usually unknown to her. It took her a while and a little bit of poking, but she finally managed to do it in the end, putting in just her first name in the phonebook entry.

Handing his phone back to him as she took her own back, she flipped it open to see if any of her relations texted back. "I gotta go, it's my brother. He's just around the corner from here." she said. And without really waiting for a reply from him, she gathered up her all her things and left the library to meet her brother Varun.

---------- a few months later ----------

It was a few months since that day in the library and only a matter of a week to go until her 18th birthday. Her turning 18 was pretty much the event of the year for the whole Staynhal family which called for a grand family reunion. Preparations were already underway for her coming of age ritual.

She wasn't about to make a big deal of it as of yet. Let them worry about it for a week, it's their choice to make a huge celebration out of it. Life still went on as normally as life could allow.

During all that time, they still texted each other. How she managed to keep her family from knowing she had ties with a rather notorious Vulcan, she'll never know. Then again, she wasn't all that surprised. They don't ask, she doesn't tell.

But she felt that her aunt Victoria had an inkling of what's going on because her training was harder and more specialized than ever. Instead of the basic meditation and forming training, she was now more being focused on combat and healing magic. It was grueling, soulcrushing and absolutely draining. But somehow, she had grown sufficiently competent with her magic. Maybe all this training was in preparation of something, but for what?

It was evening as she stood at the river's edge a little outside of town, absolutely drenched and tired from training. Dipping her toes into the water, she sighed and tried to relax as she listened to the chirping of the crickets around her. Nowadays, she was just glad to have a moment to herself nowadays.


[[Super sorry, flu knocked me out the whole week. x.o]]