The Tourney at Ashford

Davelyn lay on his bed, staring at the canopy of the pavilion in thought. He hummed a tune from Dorne while he thought of the times he'd sit and listen to musicians in the palace. He felt at peace a bit. Today had been a pretty good day for him.

"Erm... Dav?" came an unsure voice from outside. "Warryn here."

"Come on in Warryn." The voice sounds lazy a bit, but he sits up in his bed as the Wydman heir enters. Bowing for a proper greeting. "What's up?" His tone is relaxed and friendly.

"Hope I'm not bothering, was just curious if you have a few moments to talk?" He asked as he moved in, taking a look around.

"Even if I were busy I'd make time for you Warryn," he replies with a smile, before popping back down on his bed. "Have a seat, get comfortable." He didn't point to any place in particular, but there was plenty of space on the bed to sit next to him, and it was much closer than the two chairs stuffed in a corner by a table. He needed room for his exercises.

Warryn looked around, sighed and then moved to the bed, sitting down next to Dav. "How are things with Kaliya?" he started without a preamble.

"We had a lovely lunch early this afternoon. I invited her to join me near the shore of the river," he says with a nod. "Thanks for asking. I hope that you've had some good fortune since we spoke yesterday as well. How about it?" Davelyn doesn't seem to mind Warryn being there next to him at all. Quite comfortable with it in fact.

"Oh? I'm quite happy to hear. Hope things are progressing well." He smiled at his friend. "Well.... something happened. I'm still figuring out what. I met with Lady Cassana Algood."

"Oh? She's a lovely young lady. I was speaking a bit with her in the market a short while ago. What happened?" He smiles happily for Warryn.

Warryn shrugged. "I'm just.... I'm not good at this Dav. She was talking circles around me. She's pretty, and witty... but, well." He shrugged. "I'm not sure what to do."

"Well... I can't say I'm good at it either," he says with a smile. "I am following two simple ideas in my own quest for Kaliya's heart: patience and understanding. There is no point in trying to present yourself as something you are not. If she cannot see you for the wonderful man you are then it's unlikely that she deserves you. But if you cannot bring yourself to take the time to understand her, would you be able to say that you deserve her? Take the time to know her, let her talk words around her, trust her words at face value, and forgive anything she might say that upsets you. If she says things that are misleading then it may be to protect herself from being hurt or her from hurting you."

"But that is my way, and I am new to this so you may want other opinions as well."

Davelyn Sand wrote:"Well... I can't say I'm good at it either," he says with a smile. "I am following two simple ideas in my own quest for Kaliya's heart: patience and understanding. There is no point in trying to present yourself as something you are not. If she cannot see you for the wonderful man you are then it's unlikely that she deserves you. But if you cannot bring yourself to take the time to understand her, would you be able to say that you deserve her? Take the time to know her, let her talk words around her, trust her words at face value, and forgive anything she might say that upsets you. If she says things that are misleading then it may be to protect herself from being hurt or her from hurting you."

"But that is my way, and I am new to this so you may want other opinions as well."

Warryn listened, and leaned back on the bed. "Mhm... perhaps you're right. My wife, she was... well, it was a political marriage. We didn't really court per say." He smiled sadly. "And when I was younger... well, maidens were a secondary concern after glory." He looked up at the tent ceiling. "So, I should meet her more, you think?" He asked curiously.

"I would suggest that, yes. You do not have long here at the tourney. Afterwards, speaking with her would be far more difficult. I had a picnic with Kaliya today, down by the Cockleswent. Everybody has to eat, perhaps try having a meal with her somewhere quiet so that you can hear each other, but somewhere public so that neither feels uncomfortable with the surroundings?"

"Public and quiet? Hrm..." Warryn thought hard. "That excludes a few locations..." He sighed. "See, this is why I stick to jousting. That stuff is easy."

"I couldn't agree more. I've just found that there are certain things that are comfortable. You could go to the river, the meadows, the forest, or on the edge of the market tents where there are fewer people," he suggests. "But if you'd prefer more people around or more privacy then go for that. I promise you I don't have all the answers... I likely have fewer than most. Wherever you'd be comfortable, and you think she'd be comfortable. Or just ask her."