during these types of engagements, tobari can just as easily disengage and occupy himself while rafayel takes care of what he needs to—but for this one, he stays at rafayel's side. his face remains carefully impassive and neutral. for all that he lacks his usual scowl, he also doesn't particularly smile. instead his sharp green eyes only look over everyone in the room with the same sentiment that he extends to every rich person: 'i'll wait for you to impress me.'
not with jewels and not with luxury. only with the same thing that rafayel used to win him over: real, genuine charity. falling short of that, all their painted faces blend together.
the exception is this man—alden. tobari lets rafayel do all the talking, doesn't introduce himself or draw much attention to his place as rafayel's partner. when rafayel steps slightly in front of him, his fingers give just the slightest squeeze on his arm, reassuring. he takes in all the oddities. a rare wine that probably costs more than his life's savings. a stray compliment. the blatant lie that tobari doesn't drink.
how strange. they walk away. tobari searches to hold onto rafayel's hand, just so that he can bring it up to his lips. he presses a kiss to the back of his knuckles and gives his verdict in hushed tones only for the two of them, plain and simple: ]
If it wasn't important, you wouldn't lie.
[ it's tobari's own policy on lies. which is to say... he understands and he trusts rafayel's judgment, whatever it is ]
[ there's a lot he feels bad for. the lies he tells in tobari's presence, all the secrets he's continued to keep, and even forcing him to come here and mingle with these people. not that all of them are even guilty, but he can tell there's a certain distance tobari keeps from everyone else in this venue, and he just has a complicated feeling when he sees it.
tobari was kind and should be surrounded by only nice and happy things. yet, he knows even desiring that for him was a little unrealistic.
maybe even a little hypocritical.
sometimes he wonders if anyone should be capable of hiding their intentions like this. then again, he supposed it's just another thing people have to learn on the surface. to survive, one must speak the language of their enemies, even if that language was punctuated by cruelty and greed.
he looks back at the bottle of wine they take away with special care, before he focuses back on tobari. he gives a weak sort of smile, as he grips tobari's fingers just a little tighter. ] Did I lie? I didn't notice. [ he at least tries to pretend to keep up with their usual banter, but he's already walking down the great hall, and turning to look at one of the paintings on the wall. if tobari looks closely at it, he can also see there's a familiar sparkle of color to the painting, resembling scales. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stop!!!!! eats it all up!!!
during these types of engagements, tobari can just as easily disengage and occupy himself while rafayel takes care of what he needs to—but for this one, he stays at rafayel's side. his face remains carefully impassive and neutral. for all that he lacks his usual scowl, he also doesn't particularly smile. instead his sharp green eyes only look over everyone in the room with the same sentiment that he extends to every rich person: 'i'll wait for you to impress me.'
not with jewels and not with luxury. only with the same thing that rafayel used to win him over: real, genuine charity. falling short of that, all their painted faces blend together.
the exception is this man—alden. tobari lets rafayel do all the talking, doesn't introduce himself or draw much attention to his place as rafayel's partner. when rafayel steps slightly in front of him, his fingers give just the slightest squeeze on his arm, reassuring. he takes in all the oddities. a rare wine that probably costs more than his life's savings. a stray compliment. the blatant lie that tobari doesn't drink.
how strange. they walk away. tobari searches to hold onto rafayel's hand, just so that he can bring it up to his lips. he presses a kiss to the back of his knuckles and gives his verdict in hushed tones only for the two of them, plain and simple: ]
If it wasn't important, you wouldn't lie.
[ it's tobari's own policy on lies. which is to say... he understands and he trusts rafayel's judgment, whatever it is ]
no subject
tobari was kind and should be surrounded by only nice and happy things. yet, he knows even desiring that for him was a little unrealistic.
maybe even a little hypocritical.
sometimes he wonders if anyone should be capable of hiding their intentions like this. then again, he supposed it's just another thing people have to learn on the surface. to survive, one must speak the language of their enemies, even if that language was punctuated by cruelty and greed.
he looks back at the bottle of wine they take away with special care, before he focuses back on tobari. he gives a weak sort of smile, as he grips tobari's fingers just a little tighter. ] Did I lie? I didn't notice. [ he at least tries to pretend to keep up with their usual banter, but he's already walking down the great hall, and turning to look at one of the paintings on the wall. if tobari looks closely at it, he can also see there's a familiar sparkle of color to the painting, resembling scales. ]