After her brother's wedding, Tira offered to walk Kur back to the castle. Unsurprisingly, he accepted.
She was not at all surprised he had shown up. She was well aware of the elven man's obsession with pairing people up. And that one of his favorite pairings had always been her own brother and Vixen. His third favorite pairing of potential partners in fact. There was no way he would have missed the actual wedding.
It also explained why he was in such a good mood. He always was when one of the people he rooted for got together.
A soft smile accentuated his handsome face. She let out a sigh to herself. It did not really bother her too much that he was like this, but she did wish it had not quite rubbed off so much on herself. But she was the person he always talked to about who he wanted to see get together – excepting his favorite pairing(that one he never talked about). And the way his eyes sparkled – it was hard not to get influenced when the wizard had that starry look to him.
It was to the point she even shared his favorite pairings – though not quite in the same order. Her brother was her second favorite. Though that might be because of her fondness for both of them. Her third favorite, Kur's second, she did not know quite as well, having only known them for about a year or so. Had it actually been a year?
Her friend was being awfully quiet. Tira wondered what he was thinking, and looked at his face. Oh. His thoughts had turned to himself and his own hopes and dreams of personal love. She had gotten way more used to that look on his face than she cared to admit. He really should just say something. There was no way she would refuse him.
The look spurred her to say something, "Kur, at some point you really should start trying to get your own love interest in order, instead of just watching other people all the time…"
"Ah!" She must have startled him because he jumped a little, "What's wrong with wanting to see other people happy?"
"Nothing. Just you know, since you love someone, you should tell her. You can still pair other people off in your head. Just, you know, don't give up on your own love before you even try."
"But… I like the way it is now." Kur glanced away, "If she said no to letting me court her, I would be crushed… So, just staying like this is-"
"See. That is what I am saying. And really, Kur? So long as this girl is not going after another man, then she should at least consider you. You're a handsome, sweet, powerful wizard. A bit shy, but that doesn't negate the fact that you, my friend, are what is considered a 'good catch.'"
His smile turned a lot shier at her compliments. Then he tilted his head as if thinking, "Perhaps, but… well, you say that…. but if I was interested in you – not that I am – what would you really think?"
Tira managed not to laugh at his altogether more obvious than he thought question. She just smiled at him, "The sweetest man I know that isn't related to me? Sure, sounds wonderful."
"Alright… maybe you're right…" He fell silent and Tira figured that that was it for today. Hopefully he would take the hint though, or at least that it would boost his confidence.
They parted ways at the castle gates and she headed home. It felt a bit empty with Lowks gone, but she was glad for his sake.