To Wine And Dine Someone Divine

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Levitating a tray was one thing; any Mind of an appropriate age could do that.

Levitating a tray while making sure it balanced cheese, rose tea, fresh bread, wine, glasses, and small bowls of cherries, cream and strawberries, was another matter entirely. Everything had to be perfectly horizontal or the whole damn opera fell apart. Locke ended up levitating the tray and balancing it on the hand that carried a small book of poetry. It looked ridiculous. True, he could have just carried the tray with both hands, but he was even more worried about losing the load that way because his hands were shaking.

At least he made it to Diamond's door without incident. Now he just had to knock. After a moment of debate on how to do that without spilling anything, Locke set the tray on the floor, tucked the book into his belt, knocked, and hurriedly picked up the tray again.

[Kender Bard]

Diamond opened the door to her suit. She had a dreamy look in her eye, distracted, as though she had just come out of a nice reverie. The sight of Locke, and the gift he bore, was enough to snap her back into the present reality. "Locke!" She blushed at the squeak she'd made, then hastened to hold the door open for him and rush around her room, tidying. "What a pleasant surprise! You'll forgive me the mess of my quarters, won't you? I didn't expect you. Which I guess is what makes it a surprise." She realized she was yammering and quieted down as she gathered a couple books lying around and dumped them in a corner, then swept a pile of jewelry off a table and deposited it out of sight.

[Deleted]

(OOC: XD Was Diamond thinking of naughty stuff, or am I just a perv?)

"No, don't worry about it," Locke chuckled as he set the tray on the newly cleared table. "I could forgive you anything," he said honestly, and pulled the book from his belt. The spine had been digging into his hip. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to see you lately," he apologized, unloading the tray. "Teleportation is really only the best way to get around in this place, so I'm being called on a lot. How have you been holding up?"

[Kender Bard]

(( You're not far off.))

She flashed him a warm, and happy smile. "Oh, it's wonderful here! It brings back so many memories, all of them good ones. Some of the Queen's handmaidens have been keeping me company, and the servants as well. They've been bringing me bits of jewelry to appraise for them." She giggled. "It's so wonderful to put my old skills to use. How have you been?" She approached him, hesitated a moment, then pecked his cheek. "You haven't been overtaxing yourself, have you?"

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"Not really," Locke admitted. "I got a nosebleed this morning, but that's it," he said proudly. "I'm glad you've been able to keep busy. I was afraid you'd be bored while I was running around like a crazy prairie cockerel," he finished with a chuckle. "Would you like some wine or this rose tea?" The Mind paused. "I do hope you're peckish," he said sheepishly. "I didn't think to call and ask before I did this."

[Kender Bard]

Diamond laughed merrily and replied, "I am famished. Given the selection of things to eat, I believe I'll have a modest amount of wine, thank you. What gave you the notion to come calling on me with such a lovely gift?"

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"I just wanted to," Locke said simply, slicing bread and cheese, pouring the cream over the cherries and strawberries. He wasn't going to tell his sweetheart he'd gotten the idea from that book. No sir. Not even Taed would be able to drag that out of him.

He served them both a glass of wine before putting the bottle aside. He was not about to over-imbibe this time; he did not want a repeat of what had happened in Ilyamen a year ago. The hangover would not be worth it, and most importantly, Locke did not want to get drunk in front of Diamond.

It would be damn embarrassing, to say the very least.

Locke handed his sweetheart one of the glasses and clinked the rim of his against hers before having a swallow of the light, sweet, crisp beverage. As wines went, it was delightful.

[Kender Bard]

Diamond took a dainty sip and closed her eyes in pleasure, enjoying the quality of the drink. "This is good stuff," she giggled. "And such an interesting array of foods." She glanced at Locke coyly and smiled. "Are you trying to set the mood for something?" She winked.

[Deleted]

Unfortunately, the lovely young lady said that just as Locke was taking another drink, and it resulted in a "Blorph!" noise as he nearly got some wine up his nose from choking. Damn, had Diamond read that book too? "N-No," he sputtered, blushing furiously, and that was the truth. "I-I just thought it would be nice- a-a-and besides, it's a little.... soon.... for that," he added a bit lamely.

Quickly Locke finished his glassful and poured another. If their conversation kept going down that road, he was going to need just this one more.

"Um.... Would you like the cherries or strawberries for dessert?"

[Kender Bard]

Diamond covered her mouth daintily and giggled, blushing furiously. "Oh, Locke, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to discomfort you. Sometimes you're more chivalry than man, not that it's a bad thing. The world could do with more chivalry, don't you think? Yes, I'd love some cherries."

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"Thank you," Locke mumbled, and passed over the bowl of cherries, having some bread and cheese for himself. Food would help keep him sober if the bottle started looking more tempting than it was. "So, uh...." He foundered for a different subject to speak of. "How do you appraise jewelry anyway?"

[Kender Bard]

Diamond rearranged the pillows of her seat, so that she could lay back and languish as she enjoyed her treat - both the food and the eye candy set before her. She admired Locke a moment, smiled, then answered him. "There is a special lens we use. It makes little things look very big; we call it an eyepiece. Anyway, you look for flaws in the gems used in jewelry. If there are cracks, how the light catches it, so forth and so on. You also keep a sharp out for what is real and what is merely glass. Glass is worth nothing." She blushed. "Boring stuff."

[Deleted]

"Glass in windows is worth something," Locke quipped, also taking a seat. "If you could, would you want your own jeweling business, or something else entirely?" he questioned. "It looked as though you were becoming a proficient weaver in Reave." He plucked a strawberry from the bowl and popped it in his mouth, smiling at the taste.

[Kender Bard]

Diamond frowned thoughtfully as she devoured another cherry, rolling the pit around in her mouth before spitting it out. "I don't know. I think I'd like to keep to my family's business. Not only would it honor their memory, but it's in my blood. Weaving was just something I had to do because... it was necessary. What about you? Are you a courier out of choice or obligation?"

[Deleted]

"Choice," Locke said immediately. "Helping people is what I do. This just happens to give me some job security. Where was your father's store? I don't remember if you've ever told me."

Just sitting and talking with his sweetheart was as relaxing as a full-body massage. Locke started slouching, smiling in contentment.