• Memory • Once upon a shipyard...

[Elijah Ki'Ouj]

23rd Ymiden, Arc 709

The hot sun beat down on Elijah's bare back as he carried the two large planks of wood over the hot sand towards the stone platform where the sloop he had been working on stood. The hull was complete and the mast already in place he was now beginning on the deck. His sandals blocked hot sand from the sensitive souls of his feet, however, pieces did still manage to jump their way up between his toes. They were like small hot sparks bouncing against his skin, certainly not soothing when they got stuck burning his toes. A freshly rolled cigarette was perched behind his ear, ready for him to smoke when he was on a break. Smoking was something he did every now and then to relieve stress.

When he reached the newly built boat he leaned the two large planks up against it and began the climb aboard. He hopped up and grabbed tightly to the rim of the hull, pulling himself with a little struggle up and over onto the small part of deck he had already made so he could work on the rest with ease. Then he took a hold of the two planks and using all his weight and strength pulled them up and over the edge, squatting down to force the wood to raise like it was in a hinge. He grunted as he did so, his head still aching somewhat form the drinking that had took place the trial before. Even after more than a hundred arcs he had not found a cure for hangovers.

He rubbed his forehead and made sure the planks were stable before he took the cigarette from his ear and a tinderbox from one of the many pockets on his shorts. He lit the cigarette with little issue and began to puff on the tobacco filled paper. He leaned over the edge of the boat and looked out over the shipyard and small beach at the other's building. Biqaj were scattered all over, hammering, carving and sawing, the sound was easy on the ears for Elijah. The sound of people working was calming for his aching head, if only there was some way to have a great time and avoid the damned headache that followed.

If anyone would know it was likely that immortal in charge of booze. What was her name again? He could not quite recall. He had heard of her in a bar once, some rowdy men were making a toast in her honour. Of course Elijah had gotten rather drunk after that and forgotten her name. "Well, whatever your name is woman, thanks for the booze but perhaps you could give us a cure for this?" He pointed at his head before shaking it and seating himself on the edge of the hull with his legs hanging over the edge.

Elijah returned his gaze to a young looking Biqaj and what he assumed to be his father working on a sloop too. The one he was making was a simple one, requested by a fisherman but theirs seemed like it was much more important to them. They were assembling it with great care and as father and son, much like he had done in his younger years. He remembered the old days then, the time he had spent with his father, the man who had great wishes for him. If his father could see him now he would likely be disappointed and though it pained Elijah to think so he was happy and that was what mattered.

With a short time watching Elijah realised he knew the older man. Traek was his name if Elijah remembered rightly. It was hard to tell with his advanced age, so many names had passed through his mind he struggled to keep track of them all. He especially found it difficult when it came to filtering out those who were dead and those who were alive. Elijah was still not completely sure why he had such a long life, before his father died he had told him that his mother was not a normal woman and that he was special. He had never quite figured out what he meant by that and so couldn't quite contemplate what it was that had granted him his long life. He finished his smoke and cast the stub into the sand as he dropped down from the boat, bending his knees as he landed. It was time to say hello.

"Morning! How are you doing this fine day? It is Traek right?" He smiled at the older man and wondered if he would recognise him and the fact eh was still as young looking as when they had most likely first met years ago. "And who's this young man then?" Elijah, only appearing to be mid twenties so odd to call the boy young, held out his hand in greeting toward the teenager. He was sure he had not met the son before but the father was familiar, even if it was unlikely he really recognised him.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

The morning skies and thick summer air had promised rain but no relief had come yet from the heat. The two Biqaj shipwrights had been at work since first light, even going so far as to sneak from their sleeping house together before breakfast as if they had somewhere more scandalous than just the shipyard to go. Traek was still a young enough man (in his late forties) to enjoy the thrill of shirking normal responsibilities just to spend a day working on something more sentimental with his own son, and the eldest Vy’Ryn was hardly old enough to feel any guilt over doing something for himself instead of for a paying customer.

This was his last ship to build, after all—thank U’frek for that good fortune, for the youth felt that he’d more than paid his dues to the unspoken gods of lumber and toil.

This vessel was his own.

And he was restless to sail it.

The two had been sharing fond but embarrassing memories of a few sailing trips gone by before Elijah’s approach, and nostalgic smiles still hung on their sawdust-speckled faces. Traek looked down from over the gunnel of the sloop where he had been sanding the deck and offered the other man a wave. His greying blonde hair was pulled up and away, but if the Biqaj had any uncomfortable feelings or suspicions about their visitor and his strange agelessness given he was supposedly older than Pash’s father himself, his expression hardly gave away nothing in the shallows of Traek’s warm smile. There were things one just didn’t talk about, things not necessary to bring up, unless they were brought up to you. That was just the kind of practical man Pash’s father was,

“Hello there, Elijah. It’s been quite a few seasons, though I never forget a face.” His gaze shifted to the young man who was his son, “Come now, in all these arcs you haven’t met my eldest? This is Pash.”

”Good morning.” The youth replied in his turn, leaning over the rails of his nearly finished sloop, elbows against raw wood and already-calloused fingers curling together in the open air. His gaze washed over the man who couldn’t possibly be older than his father, but he kept his incredulous thoughts from his curious expression, ”It’s too hot morning to be stuck on a deck on the beach already, eh?”

Pash barely contained his enthusiasm, for he was itching to be on the waves.

”You’ve got your hands full alone over there. You should find yourself an apprentice.” Traek teased the older Biqaj, perhaps the only hint of his own interest in the other man’s peculiarities expressed in a subtle jibe, ”I’m about to lose mine, so maybe we’ll have to look together. Pash’s 18th arc was a few days ago, and he’s made up his mind to leave the shipyard.”

There may have been undertones of disappointment in his father’s voice, but Traek had already made peace with their mutual decision. He held no malice toward his son, aware that he was his own person who had to find his own way, even if that meant out of the family business and probably far out to sea. Pash was a wild, creative thing that he couldn’t nail to the shipyards if he wanted to—the young man needed his freedom.

”Don’t listen to him another trill,” The youth smirked coyly, ”He’ll be glad to be rid of me. I’m no shipwright, just a shipwright’s son. Hopefully, I’ll keep this poor sloop together for more than a trial or two when we’re finished.”

[Elijah Ki'Ouj]

Elijah smiled, somewhat surprised to hear that Traek actually recognised him. It had certainly been more than seasons it was more likely arcs since they last met, thinking on how the man had aged since their last encounter. It was definitely arcs, there was no doubt about it. "Oh yea, it has been quite some time old friend." Elijah put his hands on his hips as he examined the sloop they were building. "I don't believe I have or maybe I did and just don't remember, I see a lot of faces in my mind." Elijah looked to the youngster who seemed excited to, like he could not wait to be out of this old shipyard. His comment made that clear that he wished to be out on the ocean and free.

"Certainly mate, the sea would be much more enjoyable, that's for sure." His body glistened due to the sweat that covered it. This made it look like it was actual bronze metal in the sun. An apprentice was a funny thought, as if Elijah could ever be a teacher. No, he was far too irresponsible for that and he knew it. "I like to work on the boats alone, that way if anything goes wrong I can only blame myself." Elijah ran a hand across the hull of the nearly complete sloop and smiled as he listened to the father and son speak about one another.

He remembered the time he had spent with his own father in this shipyard, working on boats and joking with each other. Elijah had always known his father was missing the wife he once had and would never speak of his mother but still he was always proud of Elijah. The poor man did his very best to keep Elijah out of trouble but he just liked the thrill too much. "Come now Traek, we are Biqaj and a Biqaj will always follow their dreams. We can't expect the boy to stifle them now can we." Elijah looked up at the ageing man and let out a chuckle, amused at his own wisdom. For a man who was irresponsible and spent his life being a wild and irresponsible fool he had his moments of wisdom, he supposed it came with the age.

"And you Pash, well don't forget to thank your father for everything. When he is gone you will regret it otherwise, I know I sure would have regretted it." Elijah forces a smile as he thought about his father, he had been by his side when he passed. He had held his hand and told him how much he loved the old man and seen the life drain from him. That was a memory that would haunt him forever. "Besides making sure you show your appreciation follow your dreams, you are Biqaj, let that wanderlust take you on the winds of Idalos and see its vast beauty." He returned to looking over the boat and examining the fruit of the two's labouring.

He stepped back and ran his fingers through his curls as he bit his lip. "This is a mighty fine sloop you've made here, you better make sure you keep it together for more than two trial." Elijah laughed as he looked at the boy and had forgotten all about the aching in his head. As always he forgot about the consequences of his drinking quickly and was probably why he suggested his next move. "I would take you out tonight Pash, you're a man now and I am sure you would enjoy a nice brew right?" He looked to Traek too in case there was any look of disapproval.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Arcs or seasons, it obviously made no difference to Traek, who was familiar enough with the shipyards to know who was doing what down to the last inch of sailcloth. He was passionate about his work, which may have been where his eldest inherited his strong sense of creative direction, even if Pash did not all inherit his father’s skill at the same form of craftsmanship. What the older Biqaj didn't pay attention to, however, were the kinds of personal details that were perhaps more obvious to Elijah, who had lived Traek’s entire lifetime unchanged. Given the brief time he'd known the other man in comparison to Elijah’s lifespan meant that Pash’s father simply didn't make the aging association he should have—he was perhaps instead too distracted by other details around him, despite having watched members of his own family age and pass away.

Pash was ignorant on both accounts. If he'd met the other man in passing, he couldn’t currently remember, though that was unusual for the youth who was often so preoccupied with people and his involvement with them to the point of distraction. Truth be told, he didn't yet have enough time under his hull to even consider the peculiarities of the older shipwright’s existence, though he surely would be interested could he have possibly known.

“I don't begrudge the boy his passions.” Traek responded to Elijah’s admonishment about dreams and following them, “I just don't see them as quite practical for living well.”

He said that with a genuine (if not somewhat wry) smile, admitting in the undertones that it genuinely bewildered him how anyone could make enough nel with an instrument in their hands instead of a hammer and some nails. He understood creativity, considering his lovely wife, Ilynn was a weaver and a seamstress, but even her work had a purpose. While the Biqaj shipwright could agree that everyone needed to have some play in their lives, he just couldn’t wrap his mind around making play a permanent form of work.

This was, of course, the true difference in viewpoint between Traek and his eldest son, though the man did not disagree with Elijah, either. One couldn’t stifle a dream without expecting a backlash, and so the youth’s father had slowly let go to watch Pash blossom in his skills and as a person. U’frek had granted their people their glorious freedoms, and farbeit from himself to even attempt to take away what an Immortal had so uniquely given. He had other children and nieces and nephews; he did not want for help in his business one body. He just also knew that once they were finished with this particular sloop, it would be quite some time before he saw a particular face again.

“There’s much to see beyond Ne’Haer, and I intend to see as much of it as all the Immortals allow me to in my time.” Pash spoke boldly for himself, though his lagoon blue eyes shifted from the older man to his old man instead. He smiled, adding, “This ship, my Muse, if you want, will be just fine, I’m sure. For trials and seasons and arcs to come. I’ve had a good teacher on how to take care of her as well as how to sail her.”

Traek laughed then, shaking his head at the flattery from his son and turning to lean back over the gunnel to grin down at Elijah, “Go on—take Pash now. For as long as you’d like. He’s hardly under my roof anymore as it is, being a man of his own mind as he should be. He’s obviously been out in this Ymiden heat for far too long.”

[Elijah Ki'Ouj]

Elijah was happy to see the two men getting one, father and son but not only that they were friends. He and his father had shared a similar bond and Elijah couldn't help but feel like he was looking again at a younger version of himself. Pash sounded much like his young self, adventurous and a dreamer. In the end he was unable to achieve anything meaningful with his long life but perhaps this boy could learn from his mistakes. "That is an admirable dream lad but the immortals do not decide how much of the world you will see. You do." Elijah had lived long enough to know that people chose their own destinies, it was not decided by those almighty beings that wandered the world.

"Keep the sloop together and see as much of the world as you can, just don't forget about how you got there. Make sure you come back and visit your father." Elijah was still looking happy as he watched the two who had clearly poured both heart and soul into making this vessel. They had clearly wanted nothing more than to make a boat that would serve the boat well. "Muse huh? That would make a good name for this beauty." He patted his callused hand against the side and stepped back as the father spoke.

He had allowed the son to come with Elijah, not the most sensible decision yet then again his son was a man now. Elijah nodded and stepped back, waiting for the boy to come down and join him. "Don't worry Traek, I will make sure he gets back in one piece. Though I can't promise he will be standing." Elijah let out a hearty laugh, he knew the Biqaj and they were friendly folk, they could take a joke like that. Although it was as much a joke as truth, who knew if the young lad could hold his liquor.

Once Pash was down and off the sloop and ready to head out Elijah would jog over and grab his shirt off the saw-horse next to the sloop he was working on and guide the boy towards the exit. "So you drink often Pash?" Elijah began questions to make the walk less awkward for them. He was good at small talk, he had been doing it for arcs upon arcs after all. If he had lived over 100 arcs and still struggled with small talk that would have been embarrassing. "You got a girl waiting for you back home? I sure liked girls when I was your age, always found them more, how to put it, pleasing. Yea, more pleasing than fellas to be around." Elijah smiled at the memories of his youth, exploring the new and unexpected. He missed those times when he could feel surprised at seeing something.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Traek wasn’t too worried—Pash’s musical hobby-turned-career-choice usually had him in taverns far more often than his father would like—at least this time, he wasn’t going by himself or dragging one of his siblings or cousins to go with him. The shipwright smirked and waved his hand in dismissal of Elijah’s promise, laughing in return, [color=#a0b4aa“Oh, well, it wouldn’t be the first time … but I’ll hold you to getting him home, at least. Not everyone promises me that.”[/color]

Pash only rolled his eyes as he hauled himself over the gunnel and leapt onto the well-packed sandy ground of the shipyard’s work area, aware that his father had only recently begrudgingly come to accept that his eldest had little interest in the same choice of career as a craftsman of ships. His creativity lay elsewhere, and while music ran in his family, the young Biqaj did not quite have his grandfather’s sense of responsibility yet … if he’d ever get it at all.

“I mean, sometimes, sure.” The youth followed the older man and rolled his shoulders at the first question, reaching up to run already calloused hands through his sun-kissed hair to untie it and re-tie it back after all morning in the heat. He grinned slowly, having realized that Elijah had a sense of humor and could be played with, “You’ll have to tell me how you define often, however. I’ve been playing music around the taverns in Ne’Haer and even as far as Bayward for a few arcs now, and it’s somewhat easier to get along with the crowd after a few drinks. I won’t leave you to head to into a storm alone after only one pint, if that’s what you’re asking.”

Pash laughed almost shyly at the older Biqaj’s next question, lagoon blue eyes looking to his feet and then the cloudless sky and anywhere but the other man’s face, “Uh, no. Not at the moment, anyway.” The aspiring musician didn’t necessarily feel bound by quantity so much as quality, and he enjoyed whatever trouble he could get into, really, though he’d never weighed one gender over another so much as looked for that spark of a muse his creative, curious self seemed to ardently seek out as inspiring nourishment, “Do I have to have just one … at a time, that is?”

The tall youth smirked then, not wanting to pry so much as just be his inquisitive self, ”And you? Do you have a wife and family? I’ve never seen you bring any kids around—my da’s always thought keeping me around the shipyard will keep me out of trouble.”

OOC

Thanks for being patient with me! Sorry I was slow to reply.

[Elijah Ki'Ouj]

Elijah chuckled and bumped the young Biqaj on the shoulder, a broad smile on his face. "That is a good enough answer for me lad. Gotta picture a tavern like the ocean, it is a font of vast and almost never ending fun and possibility." Elijah moved his arms in a motion as if he were revealing something, shaking his head as he considered really just how much the youngster could really handle. He remembered being young, the wish to boast was always a risk back then for him and he could not tell if that were the case with Pash.

"Really, no girl back home, how on earth do you find inspiration for you music then?" He laughed again, already enjoying the company of the youth. It made him feel young again and that was all he could ask for. His rich hazel eyes inspected the currently lagoon blue eyes of the other, searching them for a sign of something, not sure quite what though. Pash's next question forced a smirk across the old man's face and he shook his head joyfully.

It appeared this musician may be a man after his own taste, if that taste was for women at least. "Certainly not, in fact I would advice you not to take only one partner, you don't want to get bored after all." Elijah brushed some more saw dust from his hands and lead the boatbuilder's son along the road, looking for the nearest place for them to rest their sorry arses and drink. "Monogamy is overrated, you will find that with time if you are anything like me." Elijah spotted a tavern up ahead and pointed the boy in its direction.

A question about him left the lips of the Biqaj and Elijah shook his head. "Nope, I like to browse the selection. If a tavern is the ocean the woman are the fish and their is no harm in a little catch and release my friend." He carefully pushed Pash down into an outside seat before disappearing inside and collecting two ciders for them. He returned carrying them, still smiling as he could not wait to get it down him. "Start off nice and easy shall we, just a cider." He handed the tankard to Pash and sat himself in the seat opposite.

"So then mate, what is your first destination once that sloop of yours is ready?" He leaned forward onto the table, his forearms along its rim. He awaited the answer of his new friend with a genuine curiosity.

Off Topic

Sorry this one was so delayed, I guess we both ended up having some stuff take all our time away!

[Pash Raj'oriq]

“Inspiration’s lots of places," Pash laughed, chagrined by the much older man’s position on commitment and relationships. His parents had been together nearly twenty arcs and still seemed quite happy with each other, five children (himself the eldest) later. He didn’t mind disagreeing, but found the perspective interesting none the less, far too young in his own experience to consider settling an option for himself. There was too much he hadn’t seen and hadn’t done yet, but that didn’t mean it was completely off his navigational charts. Elijah had clearly sailed a different course, and it was the younger Biqaj’s nature to wonder about the why too much for his own good, “...and sure, aye, of course I’ve definitely been inspired by a pretty girl or two, but honestly, the opposite is also true. Sometimes someone can be distracting. It’s a balance I’ve not found, but I’m not really complaining.”

The aspiring minstrel rolled his tanned, tired shoulders in a shrug, willing to sit at the older man’s bidding, listening with an amused expression even though he was also watching, observant and far too keen on looking past the surface of people. Truth be told, everyone was an inspiration to Pash, there really wasn’t a negative or positive relationship or situation that didn’t somehow feed his insatiable hunger for experiences in general. Everything ended up fuel for his fiery curiosity, sometimes more like a candle burning at both ends than a lantern protected by glass from the wind. He thanked the older Biqaj for his drink with a nod and a broad smile.

“So, you’ve tried monogamy before and found it not to your liking?”

The younger man’s words were coy, but perhaps he was diving too deep, too soon. His eyes were a brilliant emerald from behind the rim of the cider Elijah had so kindly delivered him. “Because you shouldn’t be marking my charts if you don’t know the course.”

It wasn’t chiding. It wasn’t joking, either. Pash’s curiosity was, for the most part, innocent.

“Not to say I disagree, so don’t get me wrong … there’s plenty of selection, and I’m definitely enjoying the catching. And the releasing.” He smirked at his own somewhat dirty pun, quickly realizing he should be drinking instead of talking before he got his poetic self in too much trouble already. So he paused and took a swig of his cider, exhaling with satisfaction through his teeth, deciding the best current would be to steer into another topic of conversation,

“Where? I’m not sure, yet, actually. I mean, I’ve been to Bayward a few times and back, but I’m thinking further. I’ve only been on my own at sea a handful of trials at a time. Rharne, maybe? Andaris? Etzos? Ha, I’m pretty open to suggestion—” Pash did many things without entirely thinking them through, too caught up in the experience to worry. Music was not one of those things, but travel felt like it suddenly, “—have you been to any interesting places you think I should see?”

OOC

No worries. I'm clearly not the swiftest sloop in the sea right now. Bad puns and nosey questions. LOOK OUT. Sorry, not sorry.<3

[Elijah Ki'Ouj]

"They can't distract you if they aren't around for long mate." Elijah's smile was somewhat wicked as he retrieved the drinks for the two of them, happy to have the cool alcohol filling his stomach once again. There was nothing better on a warm day than cold cider.

Had he tried monogamy, well sort of. He had never actually committed to it though, he had been in relationships that lasted a couple of weeks but he had never wanted more than that so in a way he had experienced it for a little while. "Kinda. Not for long periods of time because like I said, monogamy is not something I enjoyed or that worked for me." Elijah scratched his beard and looked at the youngster. "Try it yourself I suppose, you can make your own evaluation of it." There were a few other reasons why monogamy was unpractical for Elijah too but those were for another day.

Elijah took a gulp of his drink and chuckled at Pash as he spoke of enjoying the catch and release himself. "Good lad, you are young still, and you plan to travel and I can assure you being stuck on a sloop with only one woman for a period of time like that might drive you mad." Placing the drink on the table he leaned back in the chair and rested his hands behind his head.

"Oh good old Bayward, that place, as ugly as it is, has its own very charming women. I always found it odd how such a hideous town could breed such fine specimens." Elijah though back to some of the beauties he had laid with back then and smiled, what good memories he had. "As for any suggestions on where you could travel, well, I am not the person to ask. Ne'haer and all the territories around it have been my home, furthest I ever went was Rhakros and that was only once. Not much of an explorer me, maybe in the future I will get bored of this place who knows." He knew he had a long future ahead of him so he would always have time to travel if he wished.

Still he felt bad with his lack of suggestions. "I always thought if I was going to travel I would head east to Rharne, the home of Ilaren, booze and beautiful women. I think I would enjoy it there." Elijah winked at the young Biqaj and looked around him. "You ever go there I expect a letter telling me about it okay?" Elijah smiled and then returned to looking around the bar.

"So Pash, any girls around striking your interest?" Elijah had spied out a pair over by the bar, a red headed woman and a brunette. They were quite the enticing discovery for the mortalborn, a voice he had somehow developed over time in his head urging him to approach them.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

“Monogamy kind of implies a long time, mind you. So, you’re saying a trial or two is all you can stand someone for? See, I can’t do that. That’s just not me.” Pash teased. He couldn’t help himself. He wasn’t biased either way, not yet certainly in his short life, but he was also too interested in the feelings and thoughts of others to leave well enough alone. The younger Biqaj again thought of his parents, mentally comparing them to the man next to him, so curious about what made the differences and why. Upbringing, perhaps. Personality, obviously. His personal experiences within his family were different, and yet, much like Elijah, he’d felt and experienced the alluring nature of variety. It was a strange struggle, and one he did not at all know the answer to. He figured that, for himself at least, time would tell.

Already, he’d felt the pressure from his parents, from family, to make the obvious choice, to settle down, to find a wife. By next arc, he would be the age Traek was when he was born, first of his siblings. He certainly didn’t feel in a position to marry or commit, let alone to produce and raise offspring. The very thought bordered on the terrifying, nauseating even. He had no interest in giving up any of his so-called bad habits, let alone settling down. No, he had places to see and things to do.

As another shipwright, Pash was most surprised when Elijah admitted to never traveling. The way he spoke, the way he seemed to move about the world in a way that seemed older than his appearance, struck the younger Biqaj as well-traveled. The other man felt as though he had been places and seen things and done things that should be stories of distant places, but were, apparently, just of Ne’Haer and its surroundings. This truly caught the aspiring musician off guard, and if his expression of surprise and bright emerald hue of his eyes gave him away, so be it,

“Ah, Ilaren, aye.” He sighed wistfully at even saying the Immortal’s name, admitting by the tone of voice he found her very existence alluring. It was true: her city was first on his map for the very reasons the older Biqaj discussed. Just to feel that much closer to her appealed to Pash in strange ways; the experience had captured his imagination,“I’d be happy to send you a letter once I get to Rharne. It’ll be cheaper than sending you local alcohol, for sure.”

He grinned then, finishing off his cider and setting the empty mug on the table between them, fingers lingering on the condensation,

“The problem is I want to see everywhere. I don’t think it would matter who I traveled with, so long as I got to go somewhere with them. I can’t spend my life here—there’s too much to see.” And do. And feel. And taste. And so on. And so forth. The youth’s curiosity was a hunger, insatiable and needy, though his hedonism was not simply sexual in nature so much as it was self-serving and totally dependent on experiences of any and every kind. He’d justified so many of his decisions as a need for inspiration, somehow telling himself that the inspiration he sought musically was fed by the experiences he found himself in, instead of recognizing them as two very separate things.

“Women? Here? I—” He hadn’t been looking, caught up in Elijah and what stories he could get out of him. Pash smirked, chagrined that the other Biqaj had perhaps spent their entire conversation hunting for pretty females while he bantered on about life and living it. Lagoon blue eyes swept the tavern before following Elijah’s gaze, “—don’t sail too far from shore, old man. A few arcs on me’s fine by me, though. I don’t mind that.”

Pash grin turned from sly to wicked, taunting the man who was more his elder than he even knew or probably could understand. It wasn’t as visible as perhaps it should have been, but the younger man didn’t really give it too much thought. Shifting in his seat, he made to move, fingers sliding over the tabletop to rest on his thighs as if he was about to stand. Pash then gave the other Biqaj a baiting look, his tone coy and still poking fun at their age difference,

“They’re alright, aye. Your taste is far better than my cousin Torim’s, that’s for damn sure. Do you want me to go tell them it’s my uncle’s birthtrial and they should come drink with us?”