How I met Kira

I'd been in Sigil for about a month, and had started establishing my business. I was living in a small apartment at the time, though I'd started making enough money to be looking to move up in the world. Sean and I had become fast friends, and I spent most of my idle time with him when one or the other of us wasn't out of town. We'd gone to a party that one of his more prosperous customers was throwing, a tiefling woman who alwasy disturbed me a bit. We were both well into a bottle of some good wine that was being served, and despite the plentiful food, were both starting to get a bit tipsy. Sean's a good sort, but when he and I start drinking, it sometimes turns into something of a contest to see who passes out first. This was turning into that kind of night. Not a bad thing, but I was feeling the urge to do some more socailizing than I would have gotten to had we gone that way.

So I asked Sean if he knew anyone else there. He looked around and said he knew a few of the other guests, though he didn't think there'd be anyone who would be of particular business interest to me. He started pointing people out, giving me briefs on them, but at that point I more or less lost my train of thought, and didn't hear what he was saying. The reason for this was an incredibly beautiful woman standing across the courtyard, laughing at something.

Now I suppose I should qualify that a bit. She wasn't the kind of beauty that you would expect to find in some harem, some primped and pampered princess, or some kind of classic beauty who would have artists scrambling to paint or sculpt her likeness. The artists would fail to capture what made her so incredible. She had about her a kind of infectious vitality that even across the room made me want to move. She was slender, athletic, a hair taller than me, with a sparkle in her eyes, and rich dark blue hair.

Well, Sean noticed me staring, glanced over his shoulder, and made a disgusted noise. That's when I realized I'd been caught. He told me not to bother, that she wouldn't be interested. He said her name was Kira, and that she was either an "Ice queen" or not interested in men. That and apparently, she'd gotten the better of him in some recent business arrangements. Kira was a merchant, sometimes dealing in similar goods to Sean, though it seemed that she dealt in a broader spectrum of goods than him. I like Sean, but sometimes he's thick, and takes things too personally.

Despite what Sean had said, I told him I had to go give it a shot. I got myself straightened out as much as I could, stood up, and sauntered over. I know I was still a bit tipsy, but I didn't feel it at that point. It was like walking over to her cleared the vapors from my brain. She was wearing a simple brown leather vest over a green shirt, and form fitting pants.

When she noticed me, she smiled at me. The closest I can get to it is to say that her smile took that vitality and added a dazzling glow. I was literally stunned, and must have been smiling back, because before long the smile turned to a wicked grin as she excused herself from her conversation and walked over to me. She introduced herself as Kira Deem, and told me that she'd been waiting for me to come over and introduce myself.

I stammered out my name, and she chuckled, then asked why I was wasting my time with Sean. Well, dazzling as she was, I was somewhat taken aback. Sean is my friend after all, and I tend to defend my friends, especially with someone I've just met. She was quick enough to notice my shock, and appologised, saying she'd never really been impressed with him, but didn't really know him that well.

Despite being somewhat cooler than I had been, we still had a good time. She was quick witted and very good company. We did end up dancing, though that night didn't really go any farther than that. I think Sean was amazed when he saw us on the dance floor, and didn't hold a grudge for my leaving him on his own. On the contrary, he took the opportunity to find some companionship of his own. I didn't hear from him for a couple of days after that, so it must have been very pleasant. Needless to say, I've found Kira's company to be very pleasant on more than one occasion since as well. I also don't think she's ever had the same hair color any two times I've seen her.