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Emma pursed her lips when she realized she'd been abandoned by all of the men, blushing a bit as the man insisted on walking along with herso he might get her lunch later on.
She agreed, but she wasn't going anywhere private with him, glancing at Denzell a moment as she walked along the different places with her arm gently linked with the man's as they explored the stalls and he showed her around the town. Dominic was quite easily swayed by this girl, walking along with her for a while before they disappeared from the main festivities. |
A ring. Denzell's eye caught it immediately when he saw it on display with some other jewelry. It was a simple band, but inscribed into the metal was a design of a flower. He could imagine Emma liking it. Girls liked jewelry... Quickly, he swiped it and moved along with the crowd. To avoid losing it, the man slipped it upon his smallest finger. Now his attention went back to looking for the girl's whereabouts. |
Emma was still with the man, playing at a game booth tossing little bean packs at bottles to knock them over, but she wasn't making many of them, forcing her to laugh out over it all.
The man had finally played a round and won her a plush, which she planned on giving to Danny later, it was a little plush dog. |
Denzell spotted the redhead and approached her carefully. With the man there, he was afraid he'd upset her again by disrupting the time they were spending with each other. "Ems?" |
"Ah! Denzell!" She smiled and waved at him, giving a giggle. "This is Tavri, he's been showing me around. Ah, Tavri... This is one of my traveling companions, Denzell. I've known him for quite a while now."
"What are you doing, Denzell? Are you having fun?" She questioned, smiling at him warmly--the old innocence back again. This was all just what she needed! |
He nodded and smiled in response, glad to see her broad, honest smile. "Yeah, there's...there's so much." He glanced at Tavri and assumed he'd talk to her and offer his reconciling present later, perhaps around dinner. Backing away awkwardly, Denzell left them alone to not ruin a good thing. |
Emma blinked when Denzell backed away but she didn't try to call him back, Tavri encouraging her to come along with him to have lunch at a nearby restaurant.
They parted a few hours later when Emma let it be known that she wanted to at least go back to find Denzell. She searched around for Denzell curiously once she was alone. She hoped he was doing well. |
Denzell couldn't remember the last time he felt this kind of fear. Amongst all of the joyful activities and laughter, he began to grow cold. It started as a slight chill up his spine and grew into sweat. He wasn't quite able to explain it. It was spontaneous and surprisingly frightening him. The people around him began to blur into one mass of moving color, slow and unrecognizable. Their voices and the sounds meshed into one. They weren't important. One man was. Far in the distance, he appeared, just for a moment. Green eyes. Slightly thick, wavy hair. A smirk dancing upon his full lips. A blank stare with a tinge of contempt. And in a blink, he was gone. Denzell kept staring at the spot he witnessed the man standing. It wasn't his dress. It wasn't his looks or behavior that caught his attention. He couldn't explain why he would even pay attention to him had it been for one small fact. The man covered his mouth. He was sure he had been the only one to see him. He was sure. And being alone at the moment was scaring him stupid. |
Denzell soon wouldn't be alone though. Emma's fingers gently touched his arm as she found him in the crowd, smiling up at him curiously. "Denzell? Denzell, do you want to go find some dinner?"
She called gently, wrapping an arm around one of his, her other still holding the small plush animal. She'd seen how he was looking again, she hoped he'd snap out of it. "Are you alright, Denzell?" Her fingers reached up to touch his cheek and then forehead, checking for a fever or any other signs of possible illness, obviously worried about him again. |
Denzell laid a hand over hers. He wouldn't upset her. He wouldn't let his own worries ruin her day and her mood. He pursed his lips, then exhaled deeply, trying to release all the pressure building within him. "M'hungry." He looked at her, his eyes still frightened, but he was gaining control of himself. |
She gently took hold of his hand a moment before shifting to link arms with him again. "Let's go get some dinner, Denzell. I'll pay for you, okay?" She smiled and tugged him along to a nearby place to get seated and order after looking over the menu.
Emma got water to start, not looking to get drunk again-not yet anyway. She smiled at Denzell after they'd ordered their meals, setting the toy Tavri had given her on the table so it wouldn't get lost. |
Denzell reached over and gently touched the toy's head. "This is cute," he said softly, his voice quivering. He made his request for food in the same, wavering voice. He wasn't hungry with panic instilled in him. With that image in his head, how could he eat? |
Emma looked worried again and she took his hand again, looking at him with furrowed brows. "Denzell... Are you alright? Please... talk to me."
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"Emma, I'm fine...don't worry about me..." He ran his fingers through his hair, exhaled and sat back in his chair. He put on a smile. |
Emma bit her lower lip a moment and sighed gently, smiling back a bit at Denzell. She wished he would open up more to her, something was bothering him... wouldn't it help to talk about what he was feeling?
Perhaps she was going to need that drink after all. When their food came, she asked for a drink as well and picked at her food a bit. "Are you enjoying it here at all, Denzell?" She asked softly, looking up after a moment. |
Denzell nodded, still playing the role. "Yeah, I'm fine."
His eyes went to the hairpin that adorned her hair and pouted some, staying silent about it. So the man had bought her one...In a way, he had symbolically replaced him. |
Emma noticed him looking at the hairpin and she smiled as she paused and reached to gently take the pin from her hair and she set it gently with the plush animal.
"Do you still have the one you gave me?" She questioned gently, brushing her hair out slowly before holding the other out for the one her friend had given her previously. |
The man watched her, curious about why she'd discard the hairpin. It was pretty the way it decorated her pretty head. It made him somewhat excited to know that she wanted the one he gave her back. Slowly, he felt up his jacket to retrieve it and return it to her.
"It's not as nice," he stammered. |
"It's special to me. I think it's very beautiful, Denzell." She retorted as she gently took it from his hand, slowly fixing it back in her red curls. Denzell's was sentimental to her, she found it more beautiful because he'd given it to her.
"When I gave it back to you... I regretted it, but... I guess I was hoping you'd come give it back. When you didn't, I didn't know what to do." She chuckled a bit, looking down at her drink before she took a small sip, setting it aside to eat a little bit. "What should we do after this? Do you want to go do anything, Denzell?" |
A smile touched his lips. He was glad she appreciated the trinket. He was so sure that after awhile, the girl would be amassed with gifts and this would be forgotten. But for now, he was glad.
"Would you like to just go for a walk and admire the view? I found...a really nice place." |
"Mm? Ah, that sounds wonderful, I would love to." She said as she casually finished her meal, drinking a little more of the alcohol before following it with a bit of water. Her cheeks were a little flushed but she wasn't wasted. She'd maybe drank half of her beverage.
"We can go whenever you're ready, Denzell." She said gently. |
He had watched her drink, growing concerned over whether she would be okay. "Will you be able to walk okay? We could go observe the view another day..."
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"I'm fine, Denzell. I'll just lean on you if I have to. Let's go! I want to see this place." Emma laughed a bit, getting up when they were all done there, picking up the other hairpin and the plush animal, not wanting to abandon them.
"Let's put this at the inn first, okay? Then we can go walk to this place you found." |
Denzell went along, heading up the stairs to their room. He was curious what had become of Arturo and Dominic, but did not voice his curiosity. Once everything was safely tucked away in the room, he offered his arm and led the way to the tower on the edge of town. He had wandered there out of boredom to scout out his companions. Where he had gotten the idea was unfamiliar to him.
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The young woman put them safely with her bags and took his arm gently when it was offered, leaning her head against his arm gently. "Mmm." She walked quietly with him, looking around at the people and things still going on, excited to see this place Denzell had discovered.
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