Stage Fright [Pre-Auction RP] [Tobais Corbin]

[Dhara]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Dhara: : She, as usual, was not paying attention. Her precious violin was clutched to her chest with her arms wrapped securely around the case. Her lute, as always, was strapped to her back, the strap running cross body. She was currently trying to get the tangle of curls out of her eyes, the blue and purple streaks making it hard to see. She'd just managed to blow a strand from her eyes, but not in time to stop her from bumping in to someone.

Tobais: Tobais oofs as he is run into and drops the cheese he was gazing at as someone bumps into him hard. He shakes his head and steadies the person how bumped him and only ends up steadying an arm and a violin case that was clutched where he thought she would be. He looks up at the adorable woman that had run into him than down at the cheese he was holding that had been trampled in the confusion "Uhh...are you okay?" He asks simply letting go and brushing himself off.

Dhara: She looked up and gave a rueful smile, prying a hand free to shove her hair from her eyes. "Yes. Are you? I'm sorry, sometimes I am like the bull in a china shop." She laughed softly, then looked at the ruined cheese. "Dang, I interrupted your snack. I'm really sorry."

Tobais: "It’s…okay" He says ruefully and tears his gaze away from the cheese to look back at her "im fine, thanks, i was not really paying much attention either" He says flashing her a simple smile as he runs a hand through his dark hair. "Umm...I’m Tobais" He says extending a hand.

Dhara: "Oh! Dhara." She slid one delicate hand in to his and smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Tobias. Are you here for the auction?"

Tobais: He closes his hand firmly around hers and immediately curses himself for doings so. In the few moments his hand touched hers it appears all her strength for a fraction of a second the contact was like a black void, however it passed when the man removed his hand from hers and quickly stuffed it into his pocket "Uhhh, yeah, yeah I am, I’m for sale" He says looking away "I was told it was a great way to meet a few folks around the city"

Dhara: Her smile faltered a bit and she squeezed her eyes shut, feeling dizzy and slightly ill. She clutched her violin tighter and when he released her hand, she shook her head to clear the dizziness from her head. She blinked again and peered up at him, her smile and the color to her face slowly returning. "Sorry, must be nerves. I'm for sale to. For the same reason. And a little extra money."

Tobais: He nods and offers a genuine smile "Who would have thought to meet someone backstage, nobody seems to talk too much of anyone back here" He says turning around and moving to the side a bit to make room for her as he gazed over the cheese spread they had put out back stage with longing eyes.

Dhara: She looked over the spread and picked up a piece of mozzarella, then looked over the room as she nibbled on it. "Maybe it's nerves? Or shyness? I've been here for a bit and I've only met a couple people. How long have you been here?"

Tobais: He watches her closely as she eats the cheese and swallows heavily before looking away ""Who can say, here, I have been here at the auction for a day or two, in the city for a bit longer than that" He says taking a small steel flask out of his pocket and drinks of it deeply as he looks over the flask at her enjoying the cheese. He shakes his head and drinks a bit more deeply from the flask before closing it and going to tuck it away.

Dhara: She was watching him from the corner of her eye and laughed softly when he drank from the flask. "Nervous eh? Little bit of liquid courage?" She was teasing him, even as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. It was different when she was performing and could lose herself in the music. Then she had nerves of steel. But this? This was making her heart race and her palms sweat.

Tobais: He looks her over and smiles "Yeah, but from the looks of it you’re not doing too wonderful yourself Dhara" He says with a forced smile. "Aren’t you a music maker? You otta be used to this" He says motioning to her violin and lute

Dhara: "I am so nervous." She laughed and pushed her hair back again. "I mean, it's different when I'm playing my music, you know? It's like armor. But this? This is just... BAM! Putting myself out there!" She laughed and shook her head.

Tobais: He nods and laughs along "It is tough, standing up there being judged by everyone, saying how much they will pay for you" He says turning around away from the food and looking over the people "Anything fun you put down on your card?"

Dhara: She pressed her lips together and shook her head. "Not really. There's not much to say about me."

Tobais: "There is something to say about everyone..." He says a bit more harshly than he had intended, he however slowly looked away and shook his head "Come on, nothing? Oh well, than you just go and make life interesting"

Dhara: She chuckled and looked up at him, then scanned the room again. "Well, I travel. A lot. And I pay my way with music. I'm on my fourth passport."

Tobais: "Really?" He says smiling "I can’t say I ever appreciated music as much as I should, I was always fluttering about worrying about stupid stuff. A...friend of mine did" He says his mood darkening a bit.

Dhara: "My mom taught me, and of course my father got me professional lessons." She chuckled, noticing his darker mood. "Lost them? Your friend I mean?"

Tobais: He nods slowly and leans heavily against the table behind him, one of the spotlights that they were testing backstage flashed across him for a moment and in that moment he looked...dead, both inside and out. However it passes and he pushes himself off the table and looks at her "But there is nothing worth mulling over the past"

Dhara: "Maybe." She said thoughtfully, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "But then again, the past kind of makes us who we are you know?"

Tobais: He smiles "That’s a pretty nice way of thinking about it" He gives her a genuine smile and pulls his thick jacket around him tighter before shifting .

Dhara: "Well, when you travel as much as I do, or even live the way I do, you see a lot of things. But that's ok. I wouldn't give it up for anything."

[TobaisCorbin (DELETED 5748)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Tobais: He nods and fidgets "At least you have been in front of large crowds before, I’ve never done this sort of thing, im a nobody" He says looking at the entrance to the actual stage "Do you got any tips to not lose it up there?"

Dhara: She gave him a gentle hip check and laughed. "Well people say to picture every one naked, but that always makes me laugh like crazy. Just remember to breathe, for one thing. Slow deep breaths. And don't let your eyes linger, keep them moving about, it helps because you're always focusing on new things."

Tobais: He nods and bumps his own hips against hers in return "I’ll remember that, thanks" He says motioning to some chairs a bit further away from the crowds "Ya wana go sit down?" He asks fidgeting a bit and looking over at the mob of people backstage again.

Dhara: "Sure. I'm not sure what we're supposed to be doing." She laughed and led him to the group of chairs. She took her loot off her back and managed to fit it in her lap with her violin.

Tobais: He sits heavily into one of the chair and takes out a small notepad and scribbles a few things down on it. "They didn’t really say what to do just, wait here backstage, i guess they are just gonna come get us when they need us, what kind of buyer are you hoping for?" He asks tucking away the notepad and returning his gaze to her.

Dhara: Her nose crinkled and she gave a small shrug. "I don't know? I kinda hope it will be someone I know, but at the same time someone I've never met. Some one interesting. And someone who realizes I won't be a um... you know..." She turned pink, bringing out the freckles across her cheeks.

Tobais: "You don’t want someone who is buying you for...intimate reasons?" He offers seeing her discomfort at the subject. "I think i want to meet someone brand new, but I don’t want them to be some musclebound creeper *** hold guy, i want someone actually interesting, mostly because I'm not very" He says with a good natured laugh.

Dhara: "Well I think you are. And yes, exactly that. I mean I'm not naive, I know it happens. It's totally natural and I'm cool with that. But that's not why I'm doing this."

Tobais: "well did you put that on your card?" He asks shifting in his chair a bit as he casts a small glance to the food table again "If you put it on the car the Lancaster's enforce your owner to act within those bounds, it was on the whole entry pamphlet thing they gave me"

Dhara: "Oh yeah I know. And I did. Which might shoot me in the foot, but I don't really care."

Tobais: "How will it end up backfiring? Look at you, your adorable you will get plenty of bids" He says pointedly "I’ve heard talk that some people hire folks at the auction to do little more than stand around and make their place look nice" he chuckles "Although that does sound a bit boring, I hope whoever buys me has some kind of plan in mind, I haven’t really come up with anything"

Dhara: She laughed, blushing even more. "Thank you. And I hope my musical talents are enough. But some people want more than that. As for you... well I'm sure you'll do fine. I mean really, you're new and unknown so I bet that you'll get major bids."

Tobais: "Naaa, all those kinds of bids go to the hotcake members of the auctions" Motions to a person or two standing around "I hear some of them even get up into the hundred k range...I mean seriously what are they doing that makes them go for that much" He laughs and shrugs "if I knew I would be rich, that’s for sure"

Dhara: She laughed and tipped her head. "Maybe, but then again, a lot of those people could excel in the standing around and making things look good department. It's like they just came from Milan or something."

Tobais: He laughs heartily and nods "I never understood how some of those people look…absolutely perfect like they do, some of the people just…they don’t look they even remotely come from this anything, or any realm even connected to it ya know?" He says with a sigh "It’s both beautiful and a pretty fair bit disturbing"

Dhara: She chuckled softly and eyed some of the stunning participants. "I've got freckles, and I'm short, and stick thing and my hair... don't even get me started." She laughed and shook her head, then waved a tiny hand at the gathered. "And they are all glossy and sleek and perfect. Kinda makes me jealous in a way."

Tobais: He nods and looks them over "I mean, it’s hard to explain, they are beautiful, more than that even but it’s almost like...it’s not really them, like it can’t be" He says pointing at one such female "Like their skin is some kind of plastic or…sheen of cloth with a picture, ya know"

Dhara: She nodded and ran a hand over her long curls. "Maybe it's just really good cosmetics?"

Tobais: "I dunno, it seems like more than that" he says looking at the woman in question one more time before shaking his head and shrugging. Before reaching forward and pushing hair behind one of her ears "I prefer women that actually look like they were a person at one point in their life" He says with a roll of his eyes.

Dhara: She flinched when he got close, a reflexive habit, but she didn't pull away. "Well I can tell you that I look more like a chia pet than a person in the morning." She smiled at him warmly. "There does seem to be an usual amount of the supernaturally beautiful in this place."

Tobais: He gives her a bit of a strange look "a…chia pet?" he asks with a comical smile "It can’t honestly be that bad can it?" He says running a hand through his own hair ensuring it was behaving.

Dhara: "A chia pet!" She said with a laugh, holding her hands a foot to either side of her head. "It's terrible! All poofy and tangled. Looks kinda like cotton candy with me as the stick."

Tobais: He lets out a laugh and wave her off "Oh man, that sounds like a sight to see, I don’t think my hair is anywhere near long enough for that sort of thing, i barely run a hand through my hair and it looks the same way all day" He says with a shrug "Not that I'm complaining" He sits back upright, having unbalanced himself from his chair in his humor 'What flavor cotton candy are you then?" He asks shaking his head.

[Dhara]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Dhara: She snickered and shook her head. "Even this takes hours and it's still a little fluffy." She pursed her lips in thought, then her nose crinkled as she laughed. "Um... the sugary flavor? I know they flavor it but really it just tastes like sugar to me."

Tobais: "That reminds me of someone I used to know" He says looking at nothing thoughtfully "Her name was crystal, i knew her years ago, she had gorgeous hair, long too, all the way down to her bum, but first thing in the morning, goodness!" He says shaking his head "I swear a bear made a nest in that mane one night"

Dhara: "Uh-huh. Even if I flat iron it, the next morning it looks like I sat outside in a category five tornado!" She snickered softly and rolled her eyes. "And of course, the hair dye lends certain credence to the cotton candy thing."

Tobais: He nods and chuckles "I don’t know how you women can deal with it, it’s like having a damned child you have to babysit all the time" He says pulling his hoodie tighter around himself "I don’t even know how to braid, someone tried to get me to one time and i think it took her a couple hours to untangle her hair"

Dhara: She held her fingers up like a cross. "Stay away from my hair!" She teased him, then scooped the entire mass over her shoulder. "Look, it's like this..." She separated the bright locks in to three sections. "You start like this and then just weave." She showed him as best as she could, weaving the three strands around each other in a loose braid. "See? Super easy."

Tobais: He watches closely only half getting what she was saying before shaking his head and giving up "Yeah, sure. I will totally remember that" He says with a yawn "we got a couple hours before they call us onstage, want to go for a walk, I don’t really like crowds" He says shifting his eyes nervously at the gathered people

Dhara: She combed her fingers through her hair and the braid came free. At his words, she popped out of the chair and pulled her lute strap over her shoulder, settling the instrument against her back. "Sounds good to me, I could use some fresh air."

Tobais: He nods and walks to one of the back exits and pushes open the door, he holds it open for her before following out. He shoves his hands once more into his pockets and gazes up at the night sky before his heavy steps take him slowly down the sidewalk. After a few steps in silence he looks over "Do you carry those everywhere with you?" He asks nodding to the two instruments she cling to.
Dhara: She shivered in the cold and held tightly to her violin case. "Indeed I do. I don't have very many possessions and these are two of the singularly most precious items I own. I'd just die if anything happened to them."

Tobais: He nods and sighs a bit "I lost most of my stuff in a fire a couple years back, nobody was hurt but, it still took quite a bit, so I don’t got much myself. I guess I’ve always valued people over things to be honest" He points out as he turns and walks into a park that was nearby, he keeps to the very center of the sidewalks as well

Dhara: She balanced along the curb, her tiny feet landing one directly in front of the other as she played at using a balance beam. "I think that's a good thing really. I mean c'mon, you can't take it with you when you die after all."

Tobais: "I guess that’s all in how you view things..." He says dryly "I mean, look at the beliefs of Egypt, the believed that if you were entombed with it, you could very much take it with you to the afterlife and continue to use it, there are also the rumors of vampires, they are dead yet a great many of the have possessions of their own" He continue "Across multiple cultures across the globe there is the belief that if you value something enough in life, part of your spirit binds to an object and it is as much a part of you as you are"

Dhara: "Well I certainly can't argue that. I swear when I die I will haunt these instruments and whoever gets them." She chuckled softly and looked over at him. "I suppose though, I mean in China there was this emperor who had an entire army... fake I mean. Bronze. But they were entombed with him to defend him in the afterlife."

Tobais: "Haunting something is not as easy as you may thing" He says factually as he watches the grass die a short time after he walks passed, he however quickly looks away so she does not notice. "It requires immeasurable amounts of spiritual energy"

Dhara: "How do you know? Have you haunted anything?" She snickered and gently pushed his arm. "Sometimes I wonder if it's real. The afterlife I mean. I know there's things out there... but... I don't know."

Tobais: He knew what he wanted to say…he desperately knew what he wanted to say he would say 'It is, it is real, I have seen it with my own two eyes, I have peered passed the veil of death and even made the fool error of attempting to bring one back, and have paid for it with a price so dearly more than life or death. I have viewed things that no mortal eye is meant to behold and felt the whispers of the dead in the dark of the night and seen their rage…their unspeakable rage against the living. Drop your curiosity where it may lie here and remain as you are, so blissfully unaware of the true nature of death…for death is infinite...and yet such an end’ However he simply flashed her a smile and shrugs "Who knows"

Dhara: "Well Miss Cleo certainly didn't." She joked, referring to a television psychic from years ago.

Tobais: "Im sure you will find out with time, we all do one way or another" He says sitting down at one of the benches and watching the night of the city closely, a car driving slowly with its headlights flickering unhappily hummed past, he held its gaze for quite some time

Dhara: She bumped his shoulder again, on purpose this time, as she climbed on to the bench and sat on the back of it. "Oh I'm sure. We all die after all. Someday I'll find out what's on the other side of the fence."

Tobais: "I pray you don’t" He mutters just a tiny bit too loudly clearly not meaning to be heard. He doesn’t however seem to notice and continues his gaze out over the park

Dhara: She gave him an odd look, head tilting to the side. "Well no one is immortal you know. Everyone has to die at some point."

[TobaisCorbin (DELETED 5748)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Tobais: "Oh, believe me i know that all too well dear, everything dies, and no matter how hard you try, you can’t get it back" He says looking in the direction of an old cemetery that was not terribly far away, a shadow hanging over the man like a wet blanket

Dhara: She followed his gaze and then nudged his shoulder. "Hey, no getting depressed. You've gotta learn to let things go. Memories are forever, people and objects are temporary."

Tobais: He chuckles and pushes her back "Yeah yeah, I don’t need to be told of by midget cotton candy" He says with a chuckle as he looks back and stands up stretching restlessly and works out his shoulder

Dhara: She laughed softly and rolled her expressive amber eyes. "I am not a midget, Giangantor." She snickered and hopped off the bench, then grabbed his sleeve. "C'mon lets walk around the block."

Tobais: He pats her on the head standing up to his full six and a half foot size and laughs before he is pulled along by the small human. He follows close as she had not released his sleeve, he did however not overly mind

Dhara: She laughed with him and finally released his sleeve when she couldn't see the graveyard. "Do you ever wonder if this is as good as it gets? Or is there something more? Something bigger?"

Tobais: "There is always something bigger, it may not always be what you expected but, there is always something much bigger" He says patting her on the back with his newly freed arm "That is first hand experience little one"

Dhara: "Little?!" She yelped and pushed him playfully. "I am not little! Maybe in height but at least I have some age behind me." She snickered softly.

Tobais: He laughed and nodded "Okay, okay, calm down" He says batting her hand off "I’m sorry I’m sorry, no reason to freak out"

Dhara: She laughed and shook her head, looking up at him and blowing a lock of hair from her eyes. "You need to learn to lighten up."

Tobais: He cocks his head and moves to fix the stray lock of hair again "What do you mean? I am plenty light, I am oodles of fun" He says huffing a bit before rolling his eyes and letting out a chuckle, not able to say that with a straight face

Dhara: She laughed again and shook her head. "See what I mean? You can't even be serious about having a sense of humor. I hope whoever buys you isn't expecting the life of the party." She teased him again.

Tobais: "Oh please you said yourself, all you have to offer is music, how boring can you get" He chides and gives her another playful shove, accidentally pushing a mite too hard. "See if anyone buys you at all"

Dhara: She stumbled and caught herself by grabbing his sleeve, nearly taking him with her. "Well that's true. However, it's not like all I play are sonatas and concertos." She nodded and hip checked him. "Besides, being all... worldly and exotic might help to, you know." She said, calling attention to the unique accent that colored her words from a child hood spent in two very different countries.

Tobais: "The most sultry accent in the world is nothing without something to talk about Dhara" He points out as he looks around at where they were walking, he had never been in this part of the city before and rather liked exploring the new area

Dhara: "This is very true." She pursed her lips and then sighed, her bubbliness disappearing. "What if some super smart intellectual wins and all I can do is stare with my mouth open like a fish out of water? I don't have the highest of educations."

Tobais: "That’s simple, you take that race chance to learn everything you can from them, generally very smart people enjoy teaching folks about what they know" He says motioning with his hands while he speaks "So it stands to reason, if you are bought by someone really smart, like a scholar or a mage, you can learn from them"

Dhara: "A mage?" She said with a laugh, stopping in her tracks to look up at him. "I think you've played to many video games."

Tobais: He nods and curses himself for his slip of the tongue "Sorry, i think my head is in the clouds today" He says with a chuckle and shrugs "I mean like, a professor or something" He says fidgeting slightly

Dhara: "It's a big night. Nothing wrong with being a little nervous. I'm kind of flighty myself." She tucked her hair back again. "Sometimes I think should cut all this off. Make it easier."

Tobais: He tucks a stray hair behind her ear for her and shrugs "That is up to you but I personally like long hair, always have" He says looking it over "I think it looks very good on you gals" He says with a shrug before returning his gaze to where they were walking and takes a turn

Dhara: She smiled up at him and followed him as they turned the corner. She kinda liked the way he kept tucking her hair back. "So, Tobias. Tell me more about you?"

Tobais: "Me? What do ya wanna know?" He says keeping a mental track of where they were going, or at least trying to as they wander the streets, he stops at a corner to watch another car slowly roll by "There is not a great deal to tell, I’ve lived a pretty simple life up until these last few years" He says looking over the empty streets bathed in the streetlights and laps, it was so beautiful at night, he never noticed it before, or was that...what he was.

Dhara: "Well how did you end up here? Or have you lived here all your life? And if you have? What's that like? Staying in one place I mean?" She gave him a rueful smile and glanced up at the stars. "Sorry I get on a streak some times."

Tobais: He holds up a hand to show her it was fine and thought for a moment or two 'i lived around the area for quite some time, haven’t really traveled much, but unfortunately the person...my ex…friend" He hesitates "Passed on, and I haven’t really been able to move around much after that, everything was going downhill until i met the person im living with now, she is such a sweetheart, like a mother really. It’s hard to imagine being without her anymore" He says with a smile "More recently though I’ve been trying to get back out into the world, try to meet a few folks and pull myself out of this grave I dug for myself, so to speak"

[Dhara]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Dhara: She nodded a little, toying with a lock of hair. "Sometimes it's hard to move on when something like that happens. But good for you for putting yourself out there."

Tobais: He shrugs and nods 'Well, a few folks said it would be a good idea, so i just sort of went with it and joined them" he says noticing her playing with her hair like she was and finding it quite adorable. He however does not allow his eyes to linger, he could not think of normal human women like that anymore, not with his touch. He decided to simply continue with his story "So more recently I’ve gotten really into history and the like, researching ancient cultures and the rich history of the city"

Dhara: She pursed her lips and grinned. "Hey maybe you can teach me? I sort of wandered in to this city and I don't know anything about it." She chuckled. "I just kind of wander in to a place and wander back out again without learning anything about it."

Tobais: "Sure" He says with a slight yawn and he stops again to let a car pass as it stops at a light. He works out his shoulder again, more out of habit than anything else as he stares across the cityscape 'What did you want to know? There is a lot of it so I don’t really know a good starting point"
Dhara: "Well for now I'll settle for the time? We should probably be getting back you know?" She paused by his side and watched him. "Tired? It's early yet."

Tobais: He shakes his head "No, im fine, but your right we otta be getting back, we don’t know if they are going to do any more checks on us merchandise" He chides as he turns around and brushes against her as he starts back the other way turning back to wait for her "Do you know anyone in the city really?"

Dhara: She nudged him when she got to his side again. "One or two. Most consistently is my friend Myk. Everyone else I've met seems to have vanished in to thin air."

Tobais: He nods "Yes, I’ve noticed folk have a way of doing that in this city" He says noticing the nudge and suppressing a smile as they walk. "It’s a shame when you lost folks like that" He says thinking back to a few he met from time to time that had all but vanished. "Well there is always new folks, just looking forward to meeting new people"

Dhara: "Maybe. But in a way it highlights why I've never had friends you know? Or even stayed anywhere long enough. I mean, what's the point if they just disappear?"

Tobais: "Do you regret the time you spent with them? Was the time you gave to them something you would want back if you had the chance?" He says cryptically as he continues their walk, bumping her in the side with his hip as they turn a corner but once again doing it a tiny bit too hard and reaching his hand out to catch hers in a flash. However when he grabs it that odd feeling comes back, but only for a moment or two before his hand is whipped away and tucked away inside his coat

Dhara: She yelped and laughed when he caught her, the dizziness came and went just as quickly, but she grabbed his sleeve for extra balance. "Well no, of course not. I mean it's always a learning experience, right? But it’s easier when you know you're only going to be somewhere temporarily."

[TobaisCorbin (DELETED 5748)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Tobais: "If it was not a bad experience it was time well spent and you are better for it than it matters not how long you knew them, only that you have" He says looking off across the park they were passing again. "Take that time and add it to your beloved memories and move on, such is how things work"

Dhara: She laughed and nudged him. "Now you sound like me. I guess it's nice to know you heard my advice." She grinned up at him and let go of his sleeve.

Tobais: He looks down when she does but looks away quickly as the approach the door they had used earlier to depart "What can i say, it was good advice" He opens it for her and holds it until she gets in "Worth quoting" He follows her in should she enter and walks back to his earlier chair, setting in it he takes out that same small notebook from earlier and scribbles a few things down in it.

Dhara: She followed him in after thanking him for opening the door for her and rejoined him at their chairs. "If you don't mind me asking, what's with the notebook?"

Tobais: "I like you but i do mind" He says closing it and tucking it away inside his coat pointedly "Just make this simple and please don’t ask" He tucks the odd looking pen away as well and sighs a bit "Nothing person, hope you understand"

Dhara: She frowned at the way he answered her, just a slight down turn of her lips. She only hoped the way she heard him and the way he meant it were totally different things. "Right." She said quietly, scanning the crowd, she gave a soft sigh. "Well, I think I'm going to go freshen up before things get started. See if my hair will cooperate in any way."

Tobais: "I’ll see you after the auctions sometime, and, thanks for hanging out, we should do it again soon" He says standing up and pulling her into a careful hug before letting her go "good luck on your bids"

Dhara: She was surprised by the hug, but returned it, giving him a bit of a tight squeeze. "It was fun, and I totally agree." She smiled up at him as she stepped back. "Good luck. I'll try and stand near you so I can trip you... er... I mean... keep you from being nervous." She gave him a wink before wandering off.