Ariasparda nodded, and watched as Suni appeared… Suni didn’t say anything as her eyes scanned Aria first and then Rorrin … then Thor … this other guy. With red eyes, Aria turned about… Sniffling, she took a step back and then glanced around again. Where. Where to go now…?
Rorrin stopped and looked Suni over. A frown pressed at the corners of his mouth. “Come with me?” he asked her in a soft voice. She nodded in reply, but never said a word as she fell into step beside him.
His turned to Aria, who still seemed distressed and he ducked his head. “Thank you again,” he said, his voice still low and subdued. To Thor, he turned around and commented, “Thormil, I’ll knock your teeth out later.”
Thor turned from his own conversation with Memmon, “I guess –” he paused just to smirk at Rorrin in reply.
He led her off the property and towards the old corrals. When he felt they had enough privacy, he turned back — suddenly — and faced her. His shoulders collapsed as if wearing the weight of the city. She stopped, looking a little startled as she took a step back. He took a breath and exhaled, swiping a hand across the back of his neck. “I’m … sorry. For being so difficult. And that you don’t understand me. I–I’ma fool, I know.” He kept his head down while he spoke, but even so, it was difficult to hide his pained expression.
Suni gave Rory a deeply troubled, worried look. For a moment, it seemed she might turn and bolt. He sighed and shook his head down at her. Lifting his chin, he peered into her mismatched eyes. “I don’t ever want to be the reason you’re upset again… That hurt worse than whatever I got into my head …”
Her eyes narrowed on him and she rasped, her voice cracking. “You are a fool,” she whispered angrily. “If you haven’t figured out yet I’d abandon an audience with a king and risk losing my head to spend a few moments alone with you, then you’re not just a fool, you’re brain dead.”
Rorrin flinched at her words and he lowered his head. Even so he kept his eyes on hers, looking more worried now than anything else. “I am…” He said meekly. Dropping his head then, he trembled slightly under his armor. After a moment, he drew a ragged breath. “I j–..I don’t..
Suni settled her hands on her hips. “I had some jerk of a priest behind me hurling insults at me, the barkeep, and the young kid wet behind his ears. And, I had Gary and his fur-lined friend in front of me explaining their guerrilla song and dance tactics on our friends the alleged thieves. You walk in, take two seconds to assess the scene. See what? Light only knows. Do you come in, make your presence known — oh, as you vowed you would do, I might add — and excuse us so we could spend the time together? No.”
Defensively, he replied, “And yet you didn’t light them all on fire or give anyone goat feet…”
Suni flashed her teeth, looking hurt. “Gavan asked me to leave the priest to him. No one else deserved to be mistreated. Do you know how alone I felt when you left me there the way you did?”
His head rocked from side to side as he sighed and reached out for her. “As alone as I felt when I left…?” He asked quietly, tipping his head back to regard her with a soft expression. “I see a giant shirtless man in front of you..Caught a few words. I’m sorry for assuming the worst, that’s the way my mind works.”
She didn’t resist his contact, but she shook her head up at him, clearly struggling to keep her emotions in check. “Not a man; a worgen. And yes, he was fishing for compliments, but how many times and in how many ways do I have to say it to you until you hear what I’ve said?”
Rorrin’s jaw flexed and his teeth ground together. The scraping of them was audible between the couple, he stopped to set his jaw before his eyes met with hers. “You don’t have to keep saying it,” He told her. “I know it…I don’t know…why…I’m so difficult…I’m trying….” He trailed off and shook his head.
Suni set her own jaw and straightened her back. She lifted her left hand arrow-straight out from her side, her miscolored eyes locked with his. Tears slipped down her cheeks freely as she spoke, telling him, “If you’re going to leave me, then you do it now and you do it once. I can’t live with the heartbreak and anguish of you doing so daily for the rest of my life. I don’t have that kind of strength. I will say it one more time, Rorrin Cenric Marsh. YOU are MY partner in this lifetime and maybe the next — if I don’t knock you on your ass in this one — I’m not perfect, but I have absolutely NO reason to stand here and pledge my heart, soul, or life to you, and then march off with someone whom hasn’t spent a fraction of the time or devotion, knowing and caring about me as you do.”
They were all there listening, of course. Thor snuck behind them, paying no mind to the crinkle of heavy mail. He ducked into the bushes, which aided in drawing attention from the three sparring in the nearby corral. Hal snuck up under the wagon and hid on his belly, waiting to hear the outcome.
Rorrin gave her a look of genuine shock as he stood there and absorbed what she is saying. His bottom jaw hung agape as he stared; it was if she’d just slapped the shit out of him. He recollected himself with a shake of his head, his brows furrowing together as he whispered out hoarsely. “I’m not leavin’…I wouldn’t ever do that. I have…one problem though…” He trailed off and reached down to retrieve the box Aria had handed him earlier. His eyes locked onto Suni’s as he spoke, pushing it at her and frowning. “I don’t want to just be your partner..I want to be your husband.” His voice dropped again and his face turned a bright shade of red, but he didn’t take his eyes off of hers.
Suni froze. Whatever she’d intended to say hung at the tip of her tongue as his words sank into her mind. Her gaze locked with Rorrin’s. “Yes,” she said to him, without hesitation. Behind them, the small crowd erupted into excitement. Thor jumped from the brush, giving Rory two thumbs up as Suni nodded at Rory and said again, “Yes.” Hal whooped from under the wagon while Scani whooped from within the corral where she sparred. Suni heard Kahn as he cheered.
Rorrin just stood there grinning stupidly. Shocked and surprised, or maybe just in shock, he rocked his head from side to side as he looked down at Suni. A laugh erupted from him as he turned back to grin at Thormil and Hal. Suddenly, and without warning, he stepped in and scooped Suni up, planting a kiss against her lips. Unable to resist the opportunity, Thor dropped a firecracker behind them that exploded into a halo of bright orange-red hearts.
Suni’s eyed the box in Rorrin’s grip, leaning slightly to look at Thor before she glanced back at Rorrin to ask, “May I see it?”
Rorrin dropped his head and swallowed, tugging the small wooden box back and opening it to reveal the ring to her. Inside it sat an intricate piece of jewelry crafted from twisted bands of titanium and elementium. A faint smile crossed his face as he studied both of the gems that he’d had set upon the top. “Forest emerald and primordial ruby..” He muttered to her, the bright crimson of the ruby standing out like blood against the coloring of the band and the mossy green of the emerald grew darker or lighter depending on the light it caught. “That fella did an alright job. Aria too at gettin’ your size..I thought she was goin’ t’blow it..” He paused and looked back up at her, his smile wavering a bit. “You like it I hope..?” He asked quietly though now he looked doubtful. “I-I could have gone with one of those big Azerothian diamonds…I liked these better though..” His eyes sought hers before drifting back to the ring and he frowned again.
Suni waited until he settled down before she dropped her gaze to the ring in his grasp. Stepping forward, she leaned to examine it. She’d held her breath as he explained, and now she let it go, listening to it seep from her chest. Her next breath was still shallow, but she lifted her chin as she drew it in and looked up at Rorrin. “I don’t need an Azerothian diamond. Just as I told Aria. I explained to her that rings can interfe –oh … Rory.” She reached for the ring then, her fingertip trembling as she touched the stones and traced them. Her eyes were flooded with emotion as she looked back up at him.
“It’s beautiful.”
