<div class="floatleft">(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/0/04/Tai.png)</div><strong>Character Name PC:</strong>Tai Stardel'est (http://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=193964.msg9427018#msg9427018)<br/><strong>Year/House:</strong>Ombrelune, 2nd year<br/><strong>Relationship Status:</strong>Single - though no one's really sure<br/><strong>Wearing:</strong>khaki trousers, tropical print shirt, robe worn open over both<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Carriage from Bordeaux/joined carriages<br/><strong>Date:</strong>September 1st<br/><strong>Tagging:</strong>Mina, mentioning Akiko, Open<br/><hr/>When Mina said she needed to talk to him, it certainly wasn't obvious to Tai what was on her mind and so he was taken completely by surprise  by her admission not to mention her claim that the same could be said for Aki. For a moment she would see something she had never seen before, his handsome face beset with a stunned expression as his eyes flickered from her to Aki down the carriage still in her seat then back to Mina. He wasn't often caught off guard, and when he was, he was generally quite adept at hiding it but this was unprecedented. About a hundred things ran through his mind but he couldn't settle on one of them long enough to speak and then as if on cue, the booth before him opened up. he held up a finger as if to say 'hold that thought' and ducked inside to get changed.<br/><br/>Despite buying the extra time, no immediate response came to him. He was the sort who had a lot of acquaintances and few friends, and Mina was one of them. It would be a real loss to lose her friendship -- and logically, she would be a near perfect girlfriend. She was beautiful and fun, interesting enough to hold his attention but not a drama queen who would become tiresome and demanding. He couldn't say he hadn't thought about kissing her before...of course he had but he was at the age where he thought about kissing a lot of girls. As for Akiko...he wouldn't have believed such a thing of her if it hadn't come from Mina but Mina knew her sister better than anyone and if she said it was so, chances are it was. Suddenly the way she had withdrawn from him just moments before seemed different when he thought about it now -- had there been something in her eyes that he had missed? And how did he feel about that?<br/><br/>He had no clearer answer when he was done changing. He stepped outside only to find that Mina had since gone in and so he found himself waiting for her, stealing the occasional glance back at her sister as he did so. When she emerged again he smiled and reached out for her hand to bring it up to his lips in a light kiss.<br/><br/>"Never do that again, you nearly gave me a heart attack," he teased, not even really sure what he was going to say until it was coming out of his mouth. "First, you and sister are far too lovely for me, let me acknowledge that immediately. I care about you a great deal, Mina...I'd really like to kiss you right now but the thing is...I think I might like to kiss Aki too. What you've posed to me, it seems like I can't make a choice here without hurting someone I don't wish to hurt so you can imagine I'm feeling a bit stymied. Do you need an answer right away? Will you hate me if it's something I need to consider?"<br/>