All the lights are flashing gold

“Because it shouldn't surprise you,” Sumayl murmured with a soft laugh, despite that he understood that her teasing question had been rhetorical. “Mostly because I'm still trouble,” There were some aspects of Sumayl's childhood personality that had changed as he grew up, but mostly that was the only thing that changed: he'd hit puberty and had grown up. He knew why he acted the way he had back then, which was basically the same reason that he acted the same way now, a year and handful of months later. He didn't want to be invisible, and fading into the background was one of the worst things imaginable, second to burning alive, of course. But definitely the worst thing on the less morbid scale of things. “I haven't changed much,” Sumayl reflected in a thoughtful tone. “I still take it as a personal challenge.” Which was astounding that he hadn't been kicked out of The Sunspire, though Sumayl got a little giddy at the thought that Jace was probably wishing that he would. Certainly, without Sumayl life would be better, and though the idea of being kicked out bothered him it wouldn't be the end of the world. Namely, the reason that the idea bothered him was a walking beside him. His affection towards Vienna was while not wholly surprising it was unexpected, especially that it went beyond the shallowness of physical attraction. It was sort of unnerving to the Ostrega that she had, somewhere along the line, became more than just a 'pretty face' to him. She had a gravitational sort of personality that pulled him in without his conscious realization. The embers of something were glowing, waiting patiently to be stoked to life. He wasn't sure what, and Sumayl wondered if it was something he wanted to pursue, or rather if he should. Though it was Vienna's opinion that mattered, Sumayl got the feeling that Jace's approval also held some weight ...if these affectionate feelings told him what he thought it was telling him. As it stood: Sumayl didn't expect much of anything from Jace.

Plus there was the definitive line of, too soon. Sumayl wanted to get to know Vienna. It was reckless to propose something when nothing was barely known about the other. In that respect, at least when it came to 'relationships' the Ostrega tended to be rather traditional. It was weird to be thinking about it, especially given that he had no definitive reason to think that she wanted, or would want the same thing that he did. Especially when he had previously admitted to being a playboy; but Sumayl had no reason to lie to her. Honesty was the best policy when you were trying to get to know someone. Sumayl supposed that the “dates” were specifically for getting to know each other, which was basically what they'd been doing since their trip to Wheeling Gull Isle. Which might have unofficially constituted these as “dates” under the guise of exploration trips ...but that was only if both parties agreed to it.

Sumayl had let his train of thought wander to the point that when Vienna spoke again, he'd nearly forgotten about what they'd been talking about in the first place, though the fact that they were talking about him came back fairly quickly. “Everything,” He confirmed with a mischievous laugh when she spoke that she took it as a challenge to find something he wasn't good at. “You have fun with that,” He murmured confidently, implying in the tone of his voice, though teasing, that she would have a hard time finding something that he wasn't good at. Of course, Sumayl wasn't perfect — he simply liked to pretend that he was. “Though fighting with my superiors isn't a good way to stay in the pack,” It just sucked that said superior also happened to be Vienna's brother which put Sumayl in between a rock and a hard place. Sumayl had no intentions of bad mouthing Jace to Vienna, out of respect for her, though Sumayl disagreed with the ebony man's abuse of power or what seemed like such to the Ostrega, at any rate. When Sumayl had mentioned protecting what he cared about, though it had been vague, and without a doubt included the pack as a whole (though he wondered if he was putting in a lot of effort for nothing) it had been somewhat specific as well. “I'm not sorry you swept me off my feet.” He some-what teased her. Sumayl was being as subtle as he could, gauging for her reactions, attempting to get a feel for what she thought of him without bluntly asking her outright.

Not that he was shy, by any means. More so that he didn't want to make a giant ass out of himself if his stirrings of feelings weren't returned.