[Kiril]

It was a bright and sunny day in New Alexshire, with people bustling about, getting their lunches, preparing for meetings, and so on. On a random bench on a sidewalk, an anonymous teenage couple was seated very closely together, lip-locked as if they never had to breathe. At this moment, a cloud of smoke started forming, and with a ‘poof’, a particular Zanaryan appeared.

After staying in Zanarya for over a year, teleporting such a distance was refreshing. There was that feeling of being there, but not there, and having to find where to go and not forgetting to take all his parts with him, but he liked challenges. Anyway, nothing went wrong, as expected. Waiting as the smoke disappeared, Kiril realized the presence of the coughing couple, who had been unfortunate enough to inhale the byproducts of teleporting. The Therian couple looked barely past a decade old…so young to be kissing each other like that. “Pardon the smoke,” he said, and winked wickedly at the speechless boy. The girl glared indignantly at him. Shrugging, he left the two to resume their date.

Kiril walked around a few blocks, entering and leaving stores with the goal of merely touring the city. Eventually, he found a café whose entrance was shaded by a striped canopy. Smelling the aroma of freshly baked goods, Kiril walked through the open doors and took a seat at a table near the window. He glanced toward the counter and caught the eye of one of the waitresses, who nodded her head toward him as if she knew he was there and that she'd take his order soon. He leaned back into his chair and waited.

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[Dazadi]

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Dazadi wasn't interested in visiting the cafe again. It was too busy and noisy, even at the tables outside, for her to be comfortable there, and she wasn't a big food enthusiast to begin with (peaches aside). She was only in Alexshire to begin with because there'd been reports of a gytrash stealing babies. Utterly ridiculous. If a gytrash was stealing babies, then Daz had no sympathy for the mothers who, she thought, should be more vigilant.

But, since it was her job to ensure the overall safety of the realms, she figured it was her job to check out the rumours.

Boring, boring, boring.

She was down the alley behind the cafe checking out the rubbish bins for signs of scavenging when she felt a sizzle of energy that she hadn't felt in months. Her head snapped up, blue eyes sparkling with interest. Boredom swiftly forgotten, she grinned and worked her way to the front entrance, where she stood to one side scanning the faces of the customers inside.

He was easy to spot, that shock of white hair standing out against the other patrons. Daz was surprised to realise how much she'd missed him. All they'd ever really done was squabble like children, but in retrospect, Daz had to admit he'd been as close to family as she could ever get outside of Kade, Wolf and Olly.

She almost turned around and left right there as the realisation sunk in and a wave of depression swept over her. That she could liken Kiril, a guy she'd barely been able to tolerate while he was around, to family stuck in her craw.

Instead, she pushed inside and moved to stand at his table, her arms akimbo and a hip cocked jauntily, her tone and expression one big grin. “Lounging around and stuffing your face, just like always.”

[Kiril]

An aura of power sidled into the building and planted itself beside Kiril to greet him. Dazadi never had a way with greetings. Still, he knew from her expression that she was happy to see him.

He smirked back at her. “Didn’t waste a moment to say hello, did you? I didn’t know you missed my devilishly handsome features that much.” Back against his chair and arms still crossed, Kiril lightly kicked the chair in front of him as an invitation for the anyeli to sit with him.

Daz was one of the very few in Elysia who had the guts to rally insults with him, and he’d missed their usual banter. Other than family, everybody else in Zanarya treated him too seriously, which was one of the reasons why he thought to take a break and come to Elysia, now that he had time. It was great to no longer be Naharar. While he enjoyed the power and responsibility, he’d gotten tired of politics and paperwork over the century. Now he was on vacation, and he was going to do what vacationers did best: loiter around, enjoy food, and meet people.

“I prefer to enjoy my life, unlike some. How’s life treating you? And Xanth? Are you on another job?” Of all the aides, Daz had always been the workaholic.

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[Dazadi]

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Daz snorted. His narcissism had never failed to astound her, but she supposed there was something to it given how many times she'd heard him kelpieing about being called away from a girl. Zanaryans were odd like that and Daz had always imagined him lying back on a chaise longue with a harem of girls hand-feeding him. Insanely jealous, she was not. Although a bit of TLC might have been nice once or twice.

“I just came to investigate the stink.” She would have giggled at her own joke if she were the giggling type. Zanaryans his age didn't stink any more than she did.

As it was, she plucked out the chair he'd kicked, flipped it around and sat with her arms resting on the back, ignoring the disapproving frown a woman sent her way. What did they think, that chair-sitting was easy with wings like hers? Sheesh.

“I never could figure on how you can enjoy life when you aren't actually doing anything. It's no wonder your demons won't let us visit their realm if your so-called leadership's anything to go by - they don't want us to know everything's falling apart.” Despite her disliking for people in general, Daz didn't actually think poorly of Zanaryans as a whole. She thought they were stuck-up xenophobes but figured they had a bad rap through no fault of their own, so she could sympathise to a degree that they'd shunned other societies. She just got a kick out of pushing Kiril's buttons.

Waving off his query as uninteresting, she glowered. “Is this all you've done since you left, then, Kiki?” She never had forgiven him for that stupid nickname, so reminding him probably wasn't the best idea, but she couldn't resist the poke.

[Kiril]

“I just came to investigate the stink.”

“Mmm, like dung beetles to cow manure,” he murmured. Demons smelled when they were young. It was an unavoidable trait that was probably integrated into their DNA by Xanth just for kicks. And here the anyeli was using it for a really poor attempt of a joke. Well, if he was going to be the butt of her joke, she was going down with him.

He thought she’d update him on her troubles as the only Aide, or complain about Wolf’s latest antics---Xanth knows how troublesome that kid could be. But instead, she let him have it in terms of criticism. Kiril fought back a frown. He’d learnt decades ago that it was helpful and important to listen to people’s opinions, and that no matter how hard you try, there will always be people who are dissatisfied with you. But here, Dazadi was criticizing what she barely knew.

He maintained the slight smile as she glowered at him, but his eyes were cold. From her heated glare, he wasn’t sure if she was merely pushing his buttons or actually trying to pick a fight, and her metaphorical hands were straying dangerously close to the button that said “Do Not Push”.

Leading the realm had been like raising six children who wanted different things, were rarely willing to compromise, and were prone to fist-fights. Almost every day of his reign, when he was in Zanarya, had focused on alleviating problems between different nations and trying to improve the realm overall. If his hair hadn’t been white already, he was sure they would be by now. What she’d said struck a nerve, though. For all his years of leadership, the nations were still aggressive toward each other and were still vehemently opposed to Elysian ideas.

The Zanaryan government was so fragile that a handful of malicious rumors may as well push the realm into anarchy again. Aware that there may be many ears in the café, Kiril opted for a brief response, and a change of topic. “I’m sorry if that’s the impression I gave you, but I assure you that I have done a lot to benefit Zanarya. I’d invite you over to show you how happily we’re getting along, but I’m afraid they might take your appearance as an anyeli invasion.”

Ironically, an anyeli invasion might just be the push required to unite the nations. Banishing the thought, Kiril turned toward the approaching waitress to order a strawberry cheesecake, and then returned his attention to the anyeli. “I’m tired of playing politics, and you probably are too.” He’d been called more embarrassing pet names in public during his lifetime, so he was fine with Kiki. Daz, on the other hand...well he’d see. It was only fair to poke back.

“So tell me, DeedeeBee, what happened to Nymphadora and Namiko?” He didn’t bother asking about the bird boy; from their previous encounter at the Dragon’s Brew, Kiril could guess why the Therian quit being an aide. Despite their differences, they’d all worked for Xanth and believed in protecting Elysia. While he met with them only on occasions, the bonds were there, and he was truly concerned about all of them.

((Russ: IF you're reading this, I dunno what happened at the Dragon’s Brew, ‘cause we never finished the RP. I've PMed you to work out the details.

Emma: As always, if anything in this post needs to be edited, please PM me to let me know. I made up a lot of things. ^__^;)

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[Dazadi]

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[d=black]((OOC:[/d] It's all awesome and in keeping with Zanaryan history, so no edits necessary. ^^ You might have to contact Russ yourself, though, I dunno if he's reading this.[d=black]))[/d]

Daz snickered, then glowered when she realised what he meant. She probably deserved it, though, so she rolled her eyes and let him have it, double-checking the table in front of him to see if he had anything she could pilfer.

“I’m sorry if that’s the impression I gave you, but I assure you that I have done a lot to benefit Zanarya.”

Daz was mildly concerned that he'd actually taken what she'd said to heart. She was surprised he hadn't made a similar comeback, actually. Her stint at the reigns had earned her little more than a spot at the Top 10 Insanees list; she certainly hadn't helped matters any. Oh, sure, maybe in the beginning when she'd still believed in the cause, but that was further back than her memory extended. The Council probably only kept her in office because her 'lack of attention' put the power with them for a chance.

That Kiril hadn't even mentioned that stalled what she'd hoped would be a highly energising little spat.

“I’d invite you over to show you how happily we’re getting along, but I’m afraid they might take your appearance as an anyeli invasion.”

“Hey, now, don't give us any ideas.” Knowing just how accustomed to war her people had become, she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't start looking beyond their own borders now that their internal sparring was "over". It was a sobering thought.

As sobering as Daz could get, anyway. And Kiril touched too close to home when he spoke of politics, too. She'd had been tired of it all her first day in office. She couldn't remember anymore why she'd kept the job instead of returning to the battlefield where she'd belonged, but she supposed it was the same reason she still worked for Xanth.

She sighed and scowled as he made the old nickname even worse. “You're no fun anymore, Kikikachee.” Okay, so original, she was not. She still found it pretty funny.

“Neh, who the hell knows? The Nymph ran off with some god or a dog or... eh. Namiko...” Here, she was fuzzy and shrugged to prove it. “Turned around one day, wasn't there.” Another lackadaisical shrug showed how much she'd missed the big guy.

“Have you ordered yet?” She hadn't been hungry when she came in and was only peckish now, but if Kiril ordered something she liked, he could stand to lose half of it.

To the waitress, who she hadn't really noticed before, she said, “I'll have whatever he's having.”

“So that'll be two cheesecake?”

“No,” Daz refuted with a wicked grin. “I'll have whatever he's having.” No way Kiril would let her pilfer from his plate, but there were those buttons again, and she couldn't resist.

[Kiril]

“You’re no fun anymore, Kikikachee.”

Kiril smiled smugly, knowing that Daz was running out of good comebacks. Seriously, Kikikachee? At any rate, he was having fun parrying her words.

Hearing about the other Aides, Kiril could only nod. Nymphadora’s affairs would explain why Chenoan got so drunk in the bar that day. But what could birdboy have done? His rival was a god. As for Namiko’s disappearance, Kiril was barely surprised. Given the dragon’s history, returning to Elysia had probably triggered a handful of memories and reopened his wounds. “Eh, at least they’re where they want to be.” Kiril shrugged, and he wondered how Xanth was coping with such sudden loss, and if anything else has changed.

As Daz turned to the waitress to make her order, or not-order, Kiril raised an eyebrow. The day he watched her steal his food would be the day he dyed his hair, and Kiril was very particular on keeping his hair natural. A wicked thought popped in his mind, and he acted upon it. Leering at her, he said, “Well if you want this to be a date so badly, I suppose we can eat off the same plate and feed each other…”

He let the moment drag on...

Ergh, the image would’ve sent shivers down anybody’s spine. He glanced toward the unfortunate waitress, who was smiling as if she wanted to leave the table very soon. “I was kidding. We’ll have two cheesecakes.” As the waitress fled, Kiril smirked sardonically at the anyeli.

“Nana Marinus is throwing a party in Dardanos tonight for her feanaro’s birthday. Wanna come? We’ll be there for only a while.” He clasped his hands, placed them on the table, and leaned forward conspiratorially. “After that, we can drop by Xanth’s menagerie and raise some hell before she realizes I’m here.”

((OOC: Nana Marinus is a NPC I created at random. She’s some hotshot anyeli who has acted in many recent Elysian horror films.))

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[Dazadi]

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Kiril's shrug pretty much summed up the amount of interest Daz could drum up over the other Aides' disappearances. Well, that and mild irritation that she'd been left holding the bag.

Ahhh, but he didn't disappoint, and as he ruffled her feathers she was forced to realise more than ever just how much she'd missed him and their verbal tussles. Things hadn't been so bad while Kade was around to spar and spat with but, now that he was gone, there was a gaping hole she used to fill with battles and squabbles. Her fight with Big Red and his puke-coloured dragon (if said dragon playing voyeur could be called combat) had done her a world of good, as had dropping that kid at the palace the other day. She was alive again, rejuvenated.

And that life sparkled behind her eyes as she grinned across the table at Kiril, batting her eyelashes at him. She couldn't keep the ruse up long before she exploded with mirth, giggling madly at first him then the poor waitress who fled the table like the nine hounds of hell were yapping at her heels.

Sobering almost instantly as Kiril mentioned, at length, some party or other, Daz blinked. “Who?” She pulled a face, childishly. She'd never been one for social gatherings and figured anyone who'd throw a party for their pet pretty much deserved to be gutted.

But she had to admit, as she leaned forward to meet his conspiratorial whisper with a wicked look of her own, that the idea of making mischief for Xanth held a lot of appeal.

“It's about time Xanth got off her butt,” she agreed. Besides, what better way to celebrate the demon's return?

Returning with apparent reluctance, the waitress set two plates, each with a slice of cheesecake and a fork, on the table with a clatter. Daz didn't bother to look up and thank her, but she was aware of the girl hovering, Waiting for payment.

Arching her eyebrows, Daz grinned and batted her eyelashes again.

“Get that, Kiki. There's a good boy.”

[Kiril]

When the blue-haired angel actually batted her eyelashes at him, Kiril thought that Zanarya had froze over. But then she exploded into laughter, and he remembered that the woman occasionally knew how to joke around. It was the liveliest he’d seen her since their encounter so far, and he was glad of the improvement in her mood.

Kiril wasn’t sure if she would enjoy the party in Dardanos, but he figured it wouldn’t hurt to invite her. If she was interested enough to go, he’d even suggest her to bring Kade along. But not Wolf. That would be awkward for the kid in all sorts of levels.

“Who?”

If he were any less refined, Kiril’s jaw would have dropped. “Nana Marinus,” he deadpanned, unable to believe that Dazadi didn’t know the name. “She was the female lead in “Raincheck.” Oh come on, you must have heard of that! She won a ton of film awards from that last year. And, ” he added with a smirk, “She’s one of the hottest women in Elysia…”

Apparently, Daz cared more for terrorizing Xanth’s pets than going to a party. And admittedly, Kiril also looked forward to seeing the deity and perhaps her pet imp dragon. “Alright then. Tonight we storm the temple.” He smirked and spoke casually, as if they were merely planning an evening stroll or something equally peaceful.

The cheesecake arrived. After a quick mutter of thanks, Kiril pounced on a plate to bring it close. As he stuck a fork into the cake and came away with one of the corners, he realized that the waitress was still waiting for payment. He set down the cake and reached into his back pocket where he kept his wallet. Shrugging as he handed over the xanthos, he said in a resigned tone, “What can I say?” He waggled his eyebrows at his snack companion, “She’s a gold digger, and I’m stuck with her.”

The server took the money and after a curt ‘thank you’, hurried to another table.

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[Dazadi]

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Dazadi continued to look at Kiril, her expression utterly blank as he listed the woman's many virtues. She only possessed a television because of Wolf, and if she'd ever sat to watch it, she couldn't for the life of her remember doing so, and certainly not intentionally.

“She’s one of the hottest women in Elysia…”

Well, now they were getting to the crux of it. She couldn't say she was all that surprised he was interested in the woman if she was attractive. He'd never been exactly subtle about his women, after all, but she was surprised he wanted to drag her along to a party if his intention was to sleaze up to the woman. She wasn't great material as a wingman and was too damned likely to get them thrown out.

Giving him a one-shouldered shrug as she tucked into her cheesecake, she envisioned the look on Xanth's face when she saw the mess they'd made. It was tricky plotting dastardly deeds against a woman who could pretty much see everything, but Daz had spent so much time plotting against the woman with no intention of actually following through so it wasn't anything unusual.

“She’s a gold digger, and I’m stuck with her.”

Daz grinned. “All the ding-dang day.” She wondered how much of his cash he was willing to part with on her behalf, and decided to spend the day pushing that particular boundary with glee. She might still be on Xanth's pay-roll and never wanted for anything - largely because she never wanted anything, anyway - whereas he probably had a much smaller income than her, but he'd shown weakness now and they'd been semi-rivals too damned long for her to pass that up.

She supposed she ought to ask more after Kiril's family and life in the past year, but she couldn't be bothered. If he wanted to talk about any of it, her not asking him probably wouldn't stop him. “You know, though,” she mused as the thought occurred to her mid-bite. “Purple Head probably already knows you're here...” In which case, why wasn't this already a Power Convention?

Unless she was planning to ambush them...

[Kiril]

Even as he spoke about the actress, Kiril could tell that Daz wasn’t interested. Actually, if she’d shown excitement about the party, hell would’ve frozen over. He shrugged as she shrugged, and put the subject aside. If Daz didn’t raise the subject later, they’d skip the partying and save Nana the trouble---the anyeli’s temper was a liability anywhere and was prone to spontaneous explosions.

Kiril tucked the wallet into his pocket and reached for his cheesecake, oblivious to Daz’s plotting. Digging in with a fork, he came away with part of the corner and put it into his mouth, savoring the rich flavor. As cheesecakes go, this was very tasty.

“You know, though, Purple Head probably already knows you‘re here…”

Kiril continued to chew his cake and eventually swallowed it. The thought had occurred in his mind even while he was walking through New Alexandria. From what he knew, Xanth was just about omniscient. He just figured that she was too busy to bother with his return, or was waiting for him to go to her.

A thought very much like Daz’s came to focus in Kiril’s mind. The fork made a tinging noise as he jabbed it through the cake and on the plate. He smirked, and replied, “Well shoot. Maybe she’s here.” He glanced around surreptitiously, half expecting to see a purple butterfly resting upon the ceiling or the windowsill.

It was only a quick glance, and the demon didn’t notice anything out of order. Perhaps she was oblivious to their plans, in which case it was good for them. Or perhaps the deity had heard their plot, and was already setting traps at home. The thought of traps didn’t faze Kiril, though. Sure there might be swinging axes and columns of purple fire, but Kiril liked fire.

Grinning sardonically, he said, “The old fairy queen can’t scare us…I’m still in if you are.” If there weren’t any traps now, he’d be a very disappointed demon.

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[Xanth]

“Well shoot. Maybe she’s here.”

A few tables over, a young woman snickered. Xanth was here, just not in any of the forms she usually took. While her hair was still blonde, the waist-length curls were run through with streaks of red and blue. She wore a dark red long-sleeved T-shirt under a black short-sleeved tee that bore a flaming skull on the front, and a short black draft punk skirt that had black-and-white checkered ruffles around the hem. Striped stockings and big black biker boots with lots of silver completed the outfit, serving to draw a lot of startled glances and make her stand out, but ultimately hide her real identity. She had never appeared in such a fashion before, always preferring the more feminine end of the colour spectrum, but she found she enjoyed the alternative style as a change from the norm.

Not least, she doubted either Dazadi or Kiril would think to look for her in this form, which gave her time to plan. Of course, she could simply have spied on them from her temple, but doing so would have been much less fun than spying on them scant feet away without them realising it. She could also cause great mischief from here and had a front-row seat to the action.

So the young woman's lips twitched with amusement as the pair plotted their pranks, and waved a finger surreptitiously towards Kiril's plate. From its hiding place on the curtain pole directly above the Aides' table, an imp dove out and down. Its tiny hands clapped together as it poised midair, aiming its little grey body for a soft landing in Kiril's cheesecake.

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[Dazadi]

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Even though Kiril had bought her her very own slice, Dazadi was more interested in his, not because she thought it was any better than her own, but because she knew eating from his plate would annoy him.

Taking up her fork, she leaned forward with an evil grin, her fork poised to take away a chunk big enough to cause problems with chewing. Before she could steal anything, though, his cheesecake exploded.

Her hand was spattered along with a lot of the tabletop surrounding his plate. Daz blinked, wondering for a second if she'd censored him off enough for him to destroy his dessert rather than let her even try to steal it, but that made no sense. Even Kiril wasn't dumb enough to cut off his nose to spite his face.

As she reached out with her other hand to wipe the mess off her sleeve and skin, she heard a series of squeaks that very much sounded like "Tada!" Eyebrows lifting into her hairline, Daz peered at the little grey body that had suddenly appeared; lying back in the mess he'd made of Kiril's cheesecake, the imp was lazily picking out handfuls to stuff in its face.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, Daz glanced around the cafe. “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

[Kiril]

From Daz’s previous exchange with the waitress, Kiril already expected that Daz would try to steal his cake. It was just one of those things she’d do. So as she sprouted that evil grin and leaned forward with her fork, he rolled his eyes and started pulling his cake away.

Imagine his surprise when the cake in question exploded. His first reaction was to narrow his eyes at the anyeli, wondering if skotadi powers extended to exploding things. But then he heard a squelching sound and realized that a grey humanoid was taking a bath in the cake, the expression on its face an epitome of smugness.

““What the hell…“” Kiril glared at it before wiping the cake from his hand and arm, peeved that in his attempt to thwart the anyeli, he’d failed to notice the imp. It had come out of nowhere…He should’ve known that he’d draw Xanth’s attention the moment he said her name. She was as vain as a cat when it came to hearing what people were saying about her.

As Daz scanned the café, Kiril licked the remaining cakecrumb from the back of his hand. The imp was still in the cake, finishing it crumb by crumb. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he heard his snack companion say. He probably was, but he didn’t mention it. Seeing how the anyeli's attention was diverted from the table, Kiril smirked and lunged with his fork for Daz's cake, and hopefully came away with a piece of it. He’d munch on it while prepping for Xanth’s second attack. The deity was most definitely in the room.

His gaze travelled to the imp and he pinched his fingers around the sides of its head. When he’d seen it, he’d considered scorching its tail before sending it to the Scorpion Desert, where it would learn to regret its actions. But now…

The demon chuckled the thought away, though it was an amusing one. “This can’t be Xanth. Looking ugly isn’t her style.”

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[Xanth]

Xanth let loose with a peal of laughter that she only half-heartedly covered by looking in the opposite direction. All she had asked of the imp was to make a nuisance of itself, with a suggestion for ruining Kiril's cheesecake since he seemed to be enjoying it. Everything else had been the imp's own idea, and Xanth could not help but find the triumphant flourish as it lay there amid the sweet goo all the more amusing for its being a surprise.

She must remember never to underestimate the population of imps within her temple. She rarely did such anyway, but this was more than enough evidence of their wicked intelligence to make her far more careful in the future.

Kiril's reaction was equally amusing, and Xanth could not help but give another chuckle as he plucked the culprit from his cheesecake. He had obviously underestimated her. Did he honestly think she would dive into a mound of cheesecake herself when she had so many others willing to do it for her?

Alas, she was done with them for now. She would let them stew in their own irreverent juices, picking at each other while she plotted far more amusing traps for them.

In the wink of an eye, she - and the imp, a mound of cheesecake almost as large as himself clutched against him - disappeared in a muted poof of purple smoke.

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[Dazadi]

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The peal of laughter drew Dazadi's suspicious stare but even as she glanced over her shoulder to study the oddly coloured woman, she wasn't completely paying attention. If she had, she might have realised the woman was Xanth, but she was so used to the self-proclaimed deity's favourite forms that she didn't even consider this might be another.

If she'd stopped to think about that, she might have made a joke about Xanth's trickery becoming stale. It did seem in the centuries that she'd been an Aide, Purple Head had become more and more repetitive, lazy even. But, Daz being Daz, she paid no mind to this side-tracking thought and turned back to Kiril to smirk as he cleaned up the mess. There was always something about seeing him - someone who always struck her as suave and sophisticated - mussed up. She loved seeing him taken down a peg or two.

Eyeing the imp he plucked out of the mush, Daz grunted. “Not purple enough,” she agreed. Although she supposed Xanth might have gone incognito, but in Dazadi's experience the woman just couldn't have resisted rubbing their noses into her "secret" identity.

Hearing a familiar, muted poof behind her, Daz glanced over her shoulder to realise the strangely dressed woman was gone. “Hah! I knew it!” Okay, so she hadn't actually recognised the truth when she'd been staring at it, but damned if she'd let Kiril know that.

“Well,” she grumbled as she turned back to see the imp was gone too. “Imp's out of the bag.” Scrunching up her nose because she knew her idea was probably all kinds of masochistic, she grinned. “Wanna go raid a temple?”

[Kiril]

Kiril liked imps. Years ago he’d spend almost a whole day each month just sitting at the Fae Tree and listening to the little bugs talking about their latest escapades. They were fiendishly creative monsters, but they also inspired Kiril at times. He almost admired them, which is why he didn’t squish the imp’s head <i>too</i> much as it squirmed in his hand and attempted to snatch another chunk of cheesecake.

Remembering that there had been a burst of laughter earlier, Kiril looked around to scan for guilty looking people. Sure enough, as he glanced around the café, various pairs of eyes looked hastily away from him. But those people were only guilty of watching an unfortunate soul lose his cheesecake. Xanth could be among any of them. Suddenly, the imp jerked out of Kiril’s hands with a <i>poof</i>, and a girl in the crowd disappeared. That person was the last that Kiril would have suspected to be Xanth, and he blinked with surprise. Xanth…in something other than bright and girly-looking…? For once, the goddess had chosen a proper disguise. He shook his head and smiled.

“Hah! I knew it! Well, Imp's out of the bag.”

“Mhm, yeah...” Kiril said as he turned toward the table and ruefully wiped his fingers clean. Even if she had known, what could they have done? Throw cake at the goddess?

...Hm.

“Wanna go raid a temple?”

His lip quirked upward, and his grin grew into a wicked smirk that rivaled Dazadi’s. The smoke of teleportation was already hovering over their heads when he said, “Hell yeah.”

There was no chance in hell that they were going to make it through the temple unscathed, but he'd missed this kind of fun for too long and was willing to be reckless for once. He could teleport the both of them, so as the smoke closed over the table and wrenched them away, he reached toward the anyeli with one hand and her cheesecake with the other.

poof.