Kieran shrugged. "I don't know…" He trailed off as the man looked up, and saw him. He looked away quickly. Oh god oh god oh god please dont have recognized me please. He thought in a panicked way.
The man walked over to the edge of the dance floor, watching them curiously.
"Kieran." Elara murmured, in a voice low enough that only he could hear her. "Stop lookin' at him." She shouldn't have been able to see him, to know he had moved, but she did. It wasn't all that improbable actually, as she was using her magic subtly in a trick she had picked up years ago. "D'ya need t' leave?"
Kieran refocused on her after a moment, swallowing. "I'm okay." He replied. "Besides, I'm supposed to stay with you." I'll be fine I'll be fine I'll be fine. Just…ignore him. I don't see him he doesn't see me, right?
"I can go with ya, if you're that insistent on stayin' by me." Elara said, rolling her eyes at the one-trackedness of his mind. It didn't take a genius to tell he was getting antsy, and if there was one thing she knew, it was that staying in the direct line of sight of someone with that familiarity wasn't the best for anyone. "Jus' let me know, 'kay?"
Kieran nodded. "Okay." He replied, eyes darting to the man, then away again. Name, his name. What was his name? He thought. Started with a J…Jalaan. Jalaan Izbar. He swallowed, and tried to keep his focus on Elara.
Elara sighed, taking his hands in hers once more and getting back into the music in an attempt to at least distract him somewhat. If he focused on keeping up with her, he would stop looking back at the man. She hoped. She hummed along to the music, making sure Kieran's back was never to the man for too long.
Kieran focused on keeping up with her, though he couldn't help how much his eyes darted. An emotion that he couldn't quite identify had snaked through him, coiling inside him and stayed, tightly wound and ready to explode. Fear. He realized. Fear…for the first time in years.
Elara, for some reason, almost wanted to go punch the man in the throat. Well, that was kind of a lie. She knew the reason. She detested slavers and anything close, and friends of them were just as bad. You can't just punch him without reason. Reason to everyone else, at least. Just stick keep the Thari dancing.
After a few more minutes, the man approached them. He tapped Elara on the shoulder. "May I have this dance, miss?" It was obvious he was addressing her, and he didn't seem to take any notice of Kieran.
Kieran swallowed, eyes flickering slightly.
Elara blinked as someone tapped her shoulder, turning to face the man Kieran seemed so afraid of. She didn't smile, just a kept a politely neutral look on her face as she glanced up at Kieran. "Do you mind if he cuts in? You could go rest your feet back at the table." She said, raising an eyebrow at Kieran. Her accent, curiously, had disappeared completely.
The man turned to look at Kieran, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh." He said slowly.
Kieran stiffened slightly. "Of course." He replied, heading back to the table. Maybe he didn't recognize you. Maybe he didn't. He just wanted a dance.
Just before Kieran turned away, Elara winked, subtle and quick enough that the other man wouldn't notice. Then she turned to him, holding out her hand for him to take so they could begin dancing. "Can I ask for your name, sir? I always like to know the men I'm dancing with that far at least." Polite, amicable, and the perfect lady. She even curtsied slightly, as though she had become the upstanding noble her father and his advisors wanted her to be, out of the blue.
"Jalaan Izbar, miss." Jalaan replied, giving her a small bow. "And would you do me the honor of knowing yours?" He took her hand, beginning to dance with her. He looked and behaved like a perfect gentleman. He was in his thirties, approximately.
Kieran sat down, but kept an eagle eye on them.
"Elena Vainsay." Elara answered easily, smiling slightly at him as they danced. She knew better than to give out her actual name. Between why she was away from her city, who she was, and who this man was, giving her real name would spell trouble, most likely. "It's a pleasure to meet you, mister Izbar."
Jalaan inclined his head slightly. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Vainsay." He said, continuing to dance with her. He had pale brown hair, and green eyes, with the tan of a man who was outside quite a lot.
Kieran shifted, watching them carefully. Don't ask about me. Don't…just dance and leave. He thought, hoping that that was what Jalaan would do.
"So, what is it that brings you to this city? I don't recall ever seeing you around here, and I am sure I would remember a man such as you." Though the words themselves were most definitely an insult in Elara's mind, she spoke them with all the sweetness of a compliment, and a touch of casual flirtiness.
Jalaan smiled lightly. "Oh, just business. I came here to look around, see if this would be a good place to set up shop." He replied. "It's a bustling city; good spot for business. I just need to find a place, now."
Kieran tapped his fingers on his pant leg to hide the slight shake his right hand had developed.
"A friend of mine was just telling me about how the prices of the houses on the Eastern side of the city just dropped." Elara offered, using a small bit of truth. Declan had, in fact, mentioned that in his last letter to her. "And I hear they have a wonderful view of the waterfront. I would love to wake each morning to the ocean, wouldn't you?" Just stay calm, and either he will leave, or we will, soon. Though Kieran couldn't hear her, she still directed the thought at him, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her.
Jalaan dipped his head in a nod. "I shall check it out. Thank you." He said. "And what are you doing in this city?" He asked curiously, looking at her.
Kieran fidgeted slightly, biting onto his lower lip slightly. Please just leave, Jalaan. Please.
"A leisure trip, of sorts." Elara answered, looking off at the band for a moment with a smile. "I start college as soon as the new year commences, so I convinced my father to lend me a small bit of money, emptied my own savings, and set out. I want to see a bit of the world before I return to classrooms and work. My father wasn't too hap-" Her ankle bent suddenly, sending her stumbling into Jalaan and barely managing to keep from falling as she held onto his arm. "Oh, dear! I am so sorry, sir!"
Jalaan nodded, and caught her gently. "Sounds like a good time, miss Vainsay." He smiled. "It's perfectly alright." He said with a soft chuckle. "So you're here for leisure?" He returned to their topic of conversation. "Is the slave for protection, to run errands, or to warm the bed? Forgive my bluntness. I have met that one before, is all, and am curious as to how he got from Ishar to here."
Only a slave technically. For now. Elara released him, testing her ankle and visibly wincing as as she put weight on it. "Protection. That was my father's one condition, that I bring along someone for protection." She said, swaying slightly to the music and motioning back to Kieran. "So he hired, or I guess bought-" The word tasted like poison. "-a Thari."
Jalaan nodded. "The Thari are very versatile. He made a good choice. Although…" His eyes flicked to Kieran. "I wonder at his choice. Kieran Echeverria always had a bit of a mouth to him. Talked back more." He shook his head. "Of course, that was three years ago. Maybe he has outgrown that behavior." He looked at her. "I hope he hasn't been too much trouble?"
"Oh no, he really has been wonderful." Elara said, smiling. She looked back from Kieran to Jalaan, her fingers itching to break his nose or take out his eye, or maybe both. But her smile and friendly demeanor never wavered. Though her ankle did hurt like a bitch. "It's always nice to have a companion who can keep up with you, and he hasn't let me down. I'm sure he wouldn't in a pinch, either."
Jalaan nodded. "Mm. I see." He replied. "Well, that's good. Maybe he's better for his owners, too. I was never his owner, just a friend of his owner. I rented him a few times." He shrugged slightly. The song was beginning to draw to a close now, and he started steering them to the edge of the crowd, so that when it was over, they could part ways.
Kieran was quiet, watching them carefully.