An Inn on the Road to Selevea [DragonSong]

[MadEmperor]

"We actually only met about a week ago," Grav answered, "so it's not like we've told each other everything."

He plopped down into a chair and winced. "Ow. Must be sore from all the dragon riding. That's a thing, right? Like being saddle sore?"

[DragonSong]

Kit whuffed at him and rolled his shoulders and wings in a dragonish shrug. "Probably? I know Kia can get sore from a few days dragonback. You, uh..." He hesitated, head cocked. "You sure that's...all it is?"

Eyeing him with concern, Aneas added, "Yes, any other effects?"

[MadEmperor]

Grav scoffed away their concern. "Really, guys, I'm fine. I feel great, even."

He scratched his shoulders this time. "Itchy though."

[DragonSong]

Kit nudged his nose into the back of Grav's head with a low, irritated growl--the dragon's way of saying that he didn't really believe the swordsman was as unconcerned as he claimed--but he didn't press him further.

Aneas, for his part, seemed willing enough to let the subject lie. He looked around the veranda and gave a soft, almost wistful sigh. "I know it's dangerous...but this place really is beautiful," he noted quietly, gesturing to the autumn colors of the forest around them. "It's...peaceful, here."

As if on cue, a door slammed from somewhere further in the faerie prince's manor. Footsteps--one set quick and sharp and loud, the other nearly inaudible in comparison--echoed out to the group.

Kit raised his head. "Uh-oh."

[MadEmperor]

Grav was glad for the reprieve from the questions. He knew something was off about him that day, he just wasn't ready or even awake enough to delve into what, exactly, that meant. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't tell a convincing lie to save his life. Except, perhaps, to an idiot.

"Welp..." He hopped to his feet, anxious to get going. "Say goodbye to paradise. Our dear not-a-princess-damnit sounds piiiiiissed."

[DragonSong]

Aneas blinked, looking a little nervous. "She certainly does."

It was at that moment that Kiara slammed out onto the veranda, sending colorful autumn leaves spinning away in the gust of wind she caused from how forcefully she opened the door, her father striding down the hall behind her in a way that in a less ethereal creature might have been described as "chasing".

"Fucking fae bullshit," Kiara snarled, stomping across the space to stand at the edge of the veranda, where she was apparently somewhat stranded. She spun around, glaring in a way that was almost a dare.

Someone had dressed her--and it must have been someone, because the young woman who favored the same shirt and tunic three days in a row certainly wouldn't have chosen it--in a deep green gown with threads of gold picked out through the fabric. The dress's sleeves tied at her shoulders, baring most of her arms, with gossamer strips of fabric connecting to the gold bracelets on her wrist. The neckline could most politely have been described as "plunging", and the skirt clung to her figure with every move she made. It seemed the faerie court was not overly concerned with the concept of modesty. Her hair had even been done up in a series of elaborate braids--also threaded with gold--and ties that kept the curls high off the back of her neck, and with the low swoop across her shoulder blades from the back of the dress, her normally-covered tattoo was on full display.

"You are overreacting." Aeolthaine informed her calmly as he reached the veranda.

"Overreacting?!" she screeched. "You're goddsdamned lucky I kept it together until we got back!"

[MadEmperor]

Grav's inner goblin jumped up and down in delight, urging the swordsman to crack a joke or laugh at Kiara's discomfort. Luckily, the rest of his mental round table shot the instinct down. It, of course, swore dire hijinks, but that was tomorrow-Grav's problem. Today, he'd support his friend.

Besides, he preferred his bowels un-disembed.

"Now, now, I don't know who thought--" He motioned the to the damsel in this dress. "--this was a good idea. But let's just... dial it back, alright?"

[DragonSong]

"Listen to your friend," Aeolthaine said sagely. "Just take a breath, and—"

That was as far as he got before a he had to duck a delicate gold slipper zooming directly at his face with all the lethal accuracy of a girl who was quite good with throwing knives. When he straightened back up, he was blinking rapidly.

Kiara was already going for her other shoe, hopping awkwardly on one foot.

"Oh goodness." Aneas gaped. "Ser Kiara, perhaps—"

"Don't you start with me!" She whirled on him, shoe raised, and the young lord yelped and ducked under the breakfast table.

[MadEmperor]

"Whoah, hey!" Grav interjected, hands raised in placation. "We're on your side."

"Were you ambushed by about something or is it just the pretty pretty princess dress?" he asked, fighting back an ill-timed smirk.

You play a dangerous game, brain goblin.

[DragonSong]

"You--!"

Kit had to smack his tail down in between the two of them to keep Kiara from launching herself at Grav. "Kia!" he exclaimed, just the barest hint of amusement in his own voice. He had no idea what had set her off, but the end result was unfortunately entertaining.

Kiara snapped her glare to him, then finally seemed to pause. She took a breath, then another, then slowly lowered her shoe-armed hand to her side and dropped the slipper.

Both Aneas and Aeolthaine seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Send us back." She didn't look at her father, but the words were clearly meant for him. "I went to your audience. That was the deal. Now send us back."

She gestured for Aneas and Grav to move in closer to herself and Kit, acting for all the world as though she hadn't just thrown a--nearly--royal fit.

[MadEmperor]

Grav joined her, but in such a position as to jump behind Kit in the event Kiara went off again. "Sorry about the--err... dress crack. I... don't always know when to shut my mouth," he apologized sheepishly.

Aneas had the same idea as the swordsman but was far better at being subtle about it. Nobles should not be seen to be afraid... well, not by the same people twice and not by another blue blood.

[DragonSong]

"I will get you for that later," Kiara informed Grav when he apologized. With all three of them clustered around the dragon, she finally looked to her father and folded her arms, eyes steely. "Well?"

Aeolthaine sighed. "Please, Firefly--"

"Don't." She swallowed. "Don't call me that."

He paused, then dipped his head in acquiescence. "Please. Just think about the king's offer."

She scoffed and tossed her head, looking away from him. "I've got three cycles of the moon, yeah? I'm sure the king will be waiting for his answer."

Aeolthaine opened his mouth, paused, then closed it again. He nodded. "Very well." He raised his hands toward them, then warned Aneas and Grav, "This may feel...unsettling."

The words were just barely out of his mouth when the world twisted and warped around them, and for the briefest moment it was as though all the air had been sucked from their lungs. The Autumn Court blurred around them, and Kit curled in tight around the three humans, eyes shut.

Then it was over, and they were standing on a grassy hillside overlooking the road to Arca.

[MadEmperor]

Grav was about to ask what the prince meant by that, when he got his answer. Upon the mortal world coming into focus, he took a deep breath and shuddered. That hadn't been pleasant, but, all in all, not that--

"Oh Gods..." He turned green and rushed to lean behind a large rock and heave. There, thankfully, wasn't enough food in his stomach to matter.

Returning, he said, "Let's... get going. I'm starving, and those rations just aren't doing it for me."

[DragonSong]

Aneas gave a low groan that might have been agreement or might have just been lingering illness from being tossed between realms of existence. Even Kiara was looking a little pale--though in all honesty that might have been from her rather trying morning more than the trip itself.

"Kitten, you mind waiting for us outside the city?" she asked, stepping around in front of the dragon and reaching up to cup his muzzle. He nodded and crooned, nuzzling her cheek before stepping back to get some room for takeoff.

"You three go on. Aneas's parents have probably heard about his "kidnapping" by now."

"Oh, Kia." Aneas blinked. "I hadn't even thought of that."

[MadEmperor]

Grav winced. While he had thought about it before then, it had slipped his mind that their situation was so delicate. One wrong move, and they could be imprisoned, no matter what Aneas said.

"You should probably do the talking when it comes to that. "I don't trust my tongue not to get me clapped in irons," he told the nobleman as they set out on their final trek to the city gates.

Even during the approach, he knew that the city itself was going to blow his mind. Even Selevea paled in comparison to the grandeur that lied ahead of them. When they finally crossed into the city, Grav's jaw went slack.

"It's so... big and... clean. I didn't know cities could be clean."

[DragonSong]

Kiara chuckled, and even Aneas smiled a bit. "This is the seat of magic in Serendipty," the nobleman said, steps lightening as they entered the city. "It is...spectacular."

He paused, glancing at the two of them, then frowned in thought.

"Ser Kiara, you look...well." He cleared his throat, the tips of his ears going a bit red as he looked her up and down. "You look quite respectable, if a bit...flashy. I don't believe my parents would think you the villain who whisked me away from our estate." He looked to Grav, head nodding from side to side. "Perhaps my parents will have something you can borrow..."

[MadEmperor]

Aneas' critique of his appearance made him feel uncomfortable, like all the times he had ever felt he was being looked down on. "Why? What's wrong with my trusty blues?" he asked, lifting up one flap of his coat to examine it, "Oh. Right. The manticore blood. Still, nothing a good wash and a bit of magic won't fix."

[DragonSong]

"Well, er, yes, I suppose..." Aneas trailed off awkwardly, his manners clearly preventing him from saying anything else. Though, even with two days of travel rumpling his clothes, they still fairly clearly advertised his status—and Kiara was still stuck in her "pretty pretty princess dress" (though she was now barefoot). They certainly made a statement.

The statement Grav's clothes made was somewhere along the lines of "I have spent several days in the wild while potential killing things".

Kiara huffed and hooked her arm through Grav's. "Oh, shove off, Aneas. I doubt your family will be much worried about what we're wearing once we explain the situation."

"Ah. Yes. Of course. This way, our townhouse is in the garden quarter."

[MadEmperor]

Grav sighed in relief that the subject of his attire had passed. He wouldn't even know what to do with himself in anything remotely fancy. Though, he wouldn't throw his shoes.

The young adventurer was unusually quiet as they walked to the garden quarter. He never even made eye contact, worried they would see through to how scared he really was about what was happening to him. The worst part was how good, how powerful he felt. He was faster, stronger, more alert to every one of his senses, and quite possibly was healing faster.

[DragonSong]

Aneas seemed quite comfortable giving them a tour as they approached his family's townhouse, but neither Kiara nor Grav seemed to be really listening. For most of the walk Kiara was glaring at the ground, turning over her meeting with her grandfather—and occasionally wincing as she trod on a sharp stone in the road.

After a while though, she seemed to notice something was off with Grav. Arm still linked through his, she gave him a little squeeze to get his attention and said softly, "Hey. Y'alright, mate?"