[Alain]

Thallominas 12th, 10012 XA
Late Morning | Slightly Cloudy Skies | Mild Temperature

Dramatis Personae (possibly subject to change, including Alvanon):

Ionia Essytia
Ionia's Clerk (Trent?)
Kiel Taskel
Alain-Gaston Moreaux
Clara Moreaux
Festus Bache

♪

Spoiler

♫

For what must have been the third time of the morning, Alain withheld the urge to groan. There was simply no way he would make it through this day sane, as he listened to the very same babbling he remembered from over a month ago. He couldn't help but wonder when he might actually want to listen to it again, but couldn't find such a time. Alain was sure that to lock Kiel in a single room alone for centuries would undoubtedly be the worst punishment for the man; Being locked in a room alone with him for those centuries, however, would be perhaps the cruelest form of torture he could imagine.

Alain wasn't sure why, until a short lived consideration, but a group had been selected to go to Calcia after a request for aid came from the small village. Calcia was a small village located on the River Cora, not entirely remote, but enough so that it tended to not attract the wrong kind of attention under normal circumstances. After all of Elysia shook under a massive quake, however, people some politely named "opportunists" began to increase ever annoyingly in activity. Most smaller city-states were having enough trouble keeping order in their own areas, yet Alexandria stayed strong, partially due to it's nature as a portal nexus. Calcia itself being on a river with a fair amount of farmland managed to draw said opportunists to the area, unfortunately. Being a good vacation area didn't help them, either, although rumour had it that the village had ruffians doing the stealing themselves for attention.

As for why the specific group had been chosen, Alain had to think that through. First off, there were, in fact, two Red Wardens deployed to the area, which didn't just seem to be an asinine concept, it flat out was. Both Red Wardens were considerably famous, one of which a member of The Vanguard, as it was now called. The group was famous for keeping peace with another realm that was known to be harsh, but most were hardly trained soldiers. The other Red Warden was an Aurumus Dracovarian named Festus, who not only managed to keep peace while The Vanguard was active, but also captured several gangs that were notorious for robbing honest warehouses of supplies.

Despite that, a contingency of guards would've been a better choice against lawless bandits. There was, of course, the noisy Dracovarian from the League of Protectors, who'd also been a member of The Vanguard, but Alain had to wonder if the Alexandrian Guard just wanted to be rid of him for a time. Last, but certainly not least, the infamous Clara Moreaux, a supposed contingency by herself, by reputation, who also happened to be Alain's wife. Or just another problem. Ultimately, they were all just sent out to spread order simply by existence. After all, no one in their right mind in the entire region would cause trouble when so many famous—or infamous—people had gathered.

Alain had to admit he felt the same as the Alexandrian Guard, if his suspicions were true, even if Clara seemed to greatly enjoy the company—or eye candy. Kiel's good looks were another admission that Alain had to give way.

Currently, though, Festus was dealing with the city mayor, and as he was certainly more than capable of handling any transactions and inquiry, the other three of their cheery band were left with a meeting place both Festus and Clara seemed familiar with—The Riverside Apothecary. Overall, the place had stood against the quake nicely, though Alain noticed a few telltale signs of some pricey repairs. For one, a windowsill's shaped was slightly off, likely replaced and refitted with new glass recently. Alain noted that the roof above the door, patched once or twice before the quake already, had certainly seen even more work afterward as old wounds reopened, so to speak. Alain, ignoring the chatter behind him, turned the door handle.

A head raised as soon as the door opened.

“Hey there, how can I help you?” a voice asked, though Alain could barely hear the voice as Kiel and Clara got excited over...something. He could've sworn Clara mentioning tea.

Alain quickly realized that the owner of the voice was a store clerk. The clerk had wide dark eyes, brown hair, and a finely shaped nose, and as soon as Alain saw him—her, he wasn't sure, he found himself at the dilemma of possibly offending the clerk. Deciding it didn't matter either way, in usual arrogant fashion of an aged Dracovarian, Alain made his choice.

"Three orders of tea, lass. One with an extra bit of sugar would be great."

---

Spoiler

I tried not to make this horribly long (it's only 700 or so words, so not as large as some of my other posts lately), and also left out the necessary details regarding the shop and the village itself so Joy could still have creative liberty of a location she created, including how the interior looks now. Lemme know if either of you desire any changes. I also skirted around the issue of whether it was in Alexandrian jurisdiction, although it can still be mentioned as we go on since—if it were—there'd be the matter of a tax or the like.

[Ionia]

Even without mind-reading abilities, the sidhe clerk recognized the confusion in the 'vari's face. 'Is the clerk a girl?' 'What's in the shelves?' 'Do I really have the speckled cheefle flu?' Okay those were all guesses, but Trent recognized confusion when he saw it. Xanth curse his pretty-face genes. Perhaps one day, he could get Nia mad enough to break his nose. But then he'd be mistaken for a broken-nosed girl.

“Guessed wrong, sir, although I know you tried,” he quipped with a smile as he swiveled off of a high stool. The warden uniform was recognizable, although not immediately. Those types didn't usually visit a small village like Calcia. Kicking a box closer under the counter as if it was in the way, Trent opened a shelf that smelled of everything herbal and leafy. “I'll get the water started, but first. Would you prefer babana tea? Blue willow? Or just a regular blend?”
...

The Calcia she'd returned to was not quite the one that she had left. Most noticeable were the cracks in the road that extended from the village into the fields. Several buildings in the village had taken some sort of damage as well, from cracked windows to caved-in walls. The quake had spread from Alexshire through Espur, as if the goddess herself was mad at the world. Many Calcians, however, speculated whether Xanth was around at all. Afterall, the demure shrine of Xanth in the corner of the market had been reduced to rubble, inciting gossip among some Calcians that the quake had really been the work of Danae.

Village life changed considerably as well. While most villagers carried on with their lives in farming, crafting, and fishing, there were considerably many new faces in the neighborhoods. Some had been displaced from their crumbling homes in New Alexandria, others sought supplies, and a small stream of merchants now flowed to Calcia as the substitute market for their wares. Really though, the only strangers that Nia worried about were the shifty-eyed ones that were clearly up to no good. Some shops and homes became victims of those vagrants. Even the apothecary had a few incidents with shop-lifters, although the last one had quickly learned his lesson (much to Nia's delight). As she and Nikodemos descended upon the ground, Nia caught sight of a figure loitering near the side fence of Coriander's Inn. He probably meant nothing, thought Nia, even as she sent a cautionary scowl his way. Don't you dare try anything. She wasn't usually protective of her neighbors, but all these strangers were making her grouchy. The man's wide-brimmed hat tipped toward the ground when they made eye contact, and that was that.

With the pegasus comfortably secured in his enclosure, Nia unlocked the back door of her home and strode into the kitchen. As she poured a cup of water and drank, her eyebrows lifted at the sound of very familiar chatter at the storefront. The voice was incessant, over-energized, and was instantly recognizable. She thought she wouldn't hear the voice again since Acantha, since she and Kiel had never traded numbers...cup in hand, she made her way into the hallway that led into the apothecary. Seeing the red-eyed 'vari, Nia's lips quirked into a wry smile. They just keep meeting in the most unlikely of places. And oh, he brought the warden too.

((The music is a nice touch! Calcia is within Alexshire's jurisdiction, and I haven't really fleshed it out so feel free to add things as you see fit. ))

[Kiel]

“And, like, so then Zeph was all, like, "rawr" and the Malaki were all like, "wah" and then it was all, like, "KABOOM!"” Lowering his voice on the "rawr" and raising it on the "wah", Kiel yanked his hands out in an explodey motion on the "KABOOM". Like, Clara was listening to him even though she'd been there for some of what he was telling her and, like, okay, so he was kind of exaggerating a teeny bit, but he couldn't help it, okay? Actual events were so confusing in his head, his brain was kinda making stuff up to fit what he could understand.

“So then—wah! They've got blue willow!” Kiel dashed over to the shelf where a jar, clearly labelled, caught his attention. “Grams totally adores this stuff, like, for sers. Ah! And babana! Oooh, what's Prince Charming? Dude! Ew, Oh-Em-Ex that's disgusting. Why's there a beak in here? Dude, it's huge! Wah!” As he spoke, Kiel hopped and zipped from one shelf to another, like, totally forgetting that he was meant to be all protectory and guardy and stuff. On the last "Wah!" he pointed an accusatory finger at a stash of stymphy feathers, remembering, like, all too well how they'd sliced up his backpack. Well, like, not those ones exactly, but, like, it had taken him forever to stitch up the holes, you know?

“Alain. Alain! You gotta arrest those things, man, for sers.”

He was readily distracted when he glanced aside and caught a glimpse of a woman who brought his eyes skipping back for a second peek. Then his face lit up. He totally didn't think about how she was there and stuff. “Nia! Nia! They've got babana!”

[Alain]

While thankful for the addition from Kiel, as Alain wasn't exactly a tea connoisseur—various types of alcohol, maybe, but not tea—and as such wasn't sure of the difference between the choices, he still wasn't set on deciding for the others in such ignorance. As Kiel began to scamper off to gawk at the merchandise. Alain muttered a quick apology to Trent as Kiel wandered. Alain kept his eyes on Kiel, partially under a silent agreement with him and Clara that they would keep an eye on their supposed "guard"—who they were supposed to babysit, he supposed. He just prayed Kiel wouldn't touch anything.

"We'll have three orders of babana tea." he declared to Trent. "And sorry about the misunderstanding."

"Actually, the old man here might want some blue willow," Clara piped in, "He hasn't been quite up to par with those ancient joints, lately."

Alain gave his best world weary sigh. "Yes, unfortunately I forgot my cane to--"

Without missing a beat, Kiel interrupted the pair as he looked with vested interest over some more illegitimate items.

“Alain. Alain! You gotta arrest those things, man, for sers.”

Gods help me, he thought. As soon as he turned to examine the items in question, he had to admit the Rutilius was actually correct in regards to whether some of the items were legal. Alain looked concerned as he noticed windfur fur, as Clara had been mentioning how much she wanted one as a pet, but more dangerously there were also stymphalian feathers, along with various venoms on sale. Alain stood brooding as Clara kept tabs on Kiel, who'd rushed off not moments after mentioning the arrest of the store's stock. Honestly, he hardly believed the shop was up to no good, given these items were in plain sight. Most who intended for such sales wouldn't be so bold as to place illegal items for sale, but perhaps as a trophy. Alain didn't care either way, as he certainly wasn't as pushy as Festus, although he kept it in mind that the wrong sort could be using such supplies on their victims.

A tug on his arm—or rather, his Warden's silly cape, for which he couldn't say he ever appreciated, gave him excuse to brush the issue under the rug. Clara had motioned towards a familiar figure and Alain put on a smile clearly made for public appearance.

"Long time no see. I certainly didn't expect to see yet another of The Vanguard out in the country." Alain said, though not really thinking at all about such pleasantries in as much as that Ionia had come in from the back. "I take it you work here?"

---

Spoiler

We'll have Alain liking Kiel yet! We just need to find the biggest, scariest target and let Kiel take it on. Then again, Alain being Alain, well...

[Ionia]

Never has Nia seen a customer become so excited over tea. Rarely did she hear this much noise in her store, either. By now, she'd developed a sort of grudging fondness for Kiel and his limitless energy, so she merely let him run about as she sipped her drink in large gulps. He'd notice her eventually, probably. Leaning a shoulder on the doorframe that separated the shop from the rest of her and Trent's home, she nodded in greeting at Trent as the sidhe strode into the kitchen to prepare the 'vari's tea. Her attention drifted from the noisy 'vari to the other two 'vari. She wouldn't have expected to see the magistrate here with Kiel. Their personalities were so...different. What would bring a red warden into Calcia, anyway?

“Alain, Alain! You gotta arrest those things, man, for sers.”
Xanth damnit, were they here for an inspection? If so, she was ready to disagree with all of it. None of the stuff out here was illegal per say. One had to know what to do with it, first. Taking Trent's place behind the counter, Nia glanced downward at a tattered book before closing it. It was a work in progress between herself and Raph, and some Elysians may object at the contents.

“Yes, we've got babana,” she smiled wryly at Kiel. “Alain, hey. I would say the likewise about you,” she greeted the magistrate politely. She opted out of responding to the second question, as the answer was clear enough by her presence behind the counter. Eyeing the magistrate's uniform, she continued, “What brings the wardens to Calcia?”

[Alain]

Alain, despite being a "mind reader", certainly didn't need to be one to notice that the trio's presence set Ionia on edge. Unfortunately, it tended to be that way any time Alain went someplace wearing his Red Warden's uniform, and no matter how often he noticed that feeling, he never really "got used to it." In this setting, all he wanted was to relax, and possibly get more information from an actual local—rather than a mayor who would be far more likely to be hiding something. Ionia's display of merchandise was certainly testament to her honesty, at least.

The Red Warden shrugged casually before answering her question. "A bit of work, but mostly wandering about the countryside. We're just checking out rumors and a few tip offs." Alain withheld a bitter comment regarding that it was more for appearance than actual work. A Dracovarian may have all the time in the world, but that didn't mean he or she enjoyed wasting it. There was also the fact that they were looking for criminal activity in Calcia, specifically, but Alain didn't want an observant passerby possibly catching the conversation.

"Our talkative friend here keeps the more unsightly sort from bothering us, and since nothing serious has came up yet, I can't say that it's the worst vacation I've been sent on. Although, we do have one more for our group," Alain said, glancing about the room. He was looking for a possible fourth chair as he realized that this was more a store than cafe, condemning himself for assuming the small cottage was such. If there was one downside to living in the city for decades, it was that one became to accustomed to having everything conveniently sized for many people.

Of course, the fact that his voice would probably be audible for anyone nearby the cottage was another matter entirely. Alain was used to the constant chatter of many voices adding a sense of privacy to one's conversation. To add insult to injury, he also could've sworn he felt Clara grinning at how much of a "city man" he was being, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of looking. "Well, it doesn't matter, I suppose, as he'll likely be out for a bit anyway."

[Kiel]

Like, probably lucky for Ionia (though Kiel didn't know it), he didn't actually think the stuff was illegal. He remembered the sharpness of the feathers and thought they ought to be, though. Like, but it was hard keeping track of all the laws and stuff, especially out here in the boonies. Like, but that's what Alain was for, you know?

“Ehehehehe, it's 'cause I'm so awesome.” Kiel flexed his biceps as Alain proclaimed him their defender. Which he totally was, but it was kinda awesome being recognised as such. Like, he'd played bodyguard a bunch of times but somehow felt like he was judged lacking, so it was cool to not be dissed for doing a wailing job of it or something.

But that's as far as his interest in the conversation went, so he hopped over to the counter and poked at a jar that had, like, “Nia, Nia, what the heck is this stuff? It looks like jelly or, like, an elemental that's gone all gooey or something. You don't sell lems, right? Like, 'cause, hey, hey, do you sell lems?” His eyes lit up at the prospect. Not, like, at the idea of her letting one die in a jar or something, but, like, an actual, real live elemental. 'cause, like, you know. “They're so cool, man, for sers. Unless they're fires, I guess. Then they're probably crazy hot or something.”

Then, completely unaware of Alain's internal thoughts and forgetting that their real job was meant to be all, like, hush-hush or something, he hopped back towards the Skotados and said in a total stage whisper, “Like, do you know any crooks around here, man? We're looking for, like, I dunno, what's that guy again?”

[Ionia]

Nia believed that the Red Wardens, or even the Alexandrian Guard, was unnecessary for Calcia. The town was small enough that most citizens knew each other from a first or second degree, and they could deal with their problems without outside help, thankyouverymuch. Admittedly, the recent quake had ushered many New Alexandrians into Calcia, so the Guard's presence wasn't too bad. Nia just hoped that the city would be sorted out soon so that they would all be gone. Her eyebrows lifted slightly as Alain mentioned rumors and tip-offs. She wouldn't be surprised if they already heard about the bandits stopping refugees around the town's borders. People gossiped, especially in the market.

“We don't have any more seats,” Nia mentioned as she saw Alain eye the short table. They'd gotten the table and stools for free when their previous neighbor moved to Kyriake, else the set wouldn't have even been there. The table was more of a worktable for Trent than anything else, since the shop wasn't intended as a hanging-out place. Well, the fourth guest wouldn't arrive for a while, so they should be done with tea by then. Glancing from Alain to the female 'vari who was grinning at the warden, Nia wondered briefly about the two's relation ship before--

“Nia, Nia, what the heck is this stuff?”

Eyes flitting to the shelf, Nia suppressed a sigh when she saw Kiel poke at a jar and exclaim at the jelly gooey thing moving within. Some things in the store weren't meant to be poked at—they were lucky that the tepua pods were out of Kiel's sight. “That's Trent's mix of Goldjelly Aloe Vera. Unfortunately, we haven't stocked elementals for a while.” Those things were too much of a pain in the ass to track and bottle. At the mention of crooks again, Nia curiously glanced from Kiel to Alain to the woman. The guards wouldn't be around asking for random crooks unless they had someone specific in mind. “Who did you say you were looking for?”

[Alain]

Alain withheld a sigh at the lack of tact on both ends. Were there actually elementals in stock, Alain was sure Kiel would have just so happened to knock them over. Or create some other sort of mess for him to clean up. Whispering more would've attracted the wrong kind of attention through a window, so Alain tried to set an example for using their best "inside" voices.

"Not just one mere person, but news of several specific persons, although I'll leave it at that." Alain said repressively. Although telepathy wasn't quite like having a map of your area, he could feel minds in the nearby area. "As you might well know, gang activity increased while we were in Acantha, and a small town like this would be a prime target for robbers and bandits."

Under normal circumstances, in a large city, these minds would be more difficult to locate and pinpoint. However, in the small town of Calcia, he could pinpoint their distance from his current location with ease. Unfortunately, being in the open also meant exposing himself to chatter from multiple sources, as well. In this case, Alain felt as though people were gathering outside, sometimes in pairs or threes. Some were merely the local grapevine, however, he felt something amiss as he probed around, leaving him on edge since he had entered the town. It didn't help that they were forced to be recognized on the spot, either, as Alain always preferred a stealthy approach. Truthfully, Alain was being cautious merely out of habit, as two Red Wardens entering the area made it unlikely that they'd gone unnoticed.

Of course, stirring up the "pot" by dropping names wouldn't be the greatest idea of all time. Alain was considering at least letting one name loose when a familiar voice entered his head.

"I'm going to be there in a few minutes. The mayor didn't prove to be much help, but someone has been following me since I just left. I will be leading him to the shop, so we can draw him out there."

"Fantastic. And your choice in tea?" Alain related glibly.

"Right...babana would be fine." Festus whispered, ignoring Alain's mental tone.

Figuring that Ionia would recognize the somewhat glazed look of a telepath's eye as they communicated with another elsewhere, Alain related the order to her. "Our friend told me that babana would be fine for him, too. We might be staying for a bit, if that is fine with you."

[Kiel]

“Aw.” Kiel pouted in a singsong voice. “That sucks, it sucks!” Like, but his disappointment didn't last long, you know. He hopped a couple of steps closer to Nia and, like, plonked his head on her shoulder so he could cop a feel of her wings. “Dude, man, your feathers are so soft, for sers. Like, can I have one? Can I? Can I? Pleeeeeease.”

But then, like, Alain was being all explain. “Festus is on his way? Like, ask him to pick up one of those pasty things we saw at the bakery on the way here, okay? I'm starving, man, for sers.” For a while after Acantha, he'd stopped using the term 'starving' so lightly, but, like, he was soooooo hungry, man. “No, wait, two. No, wait, three, 'cause I gotta take one back for Shane or she'll totally gnaw my foot off, man, and I kinda need it. Need it, okay? For, like, jogging, and running away from monsters and, like, didja see anyone like that, Nia? Like, any trouble in the village? Like, it doesn't have to be the gang Alain just mentioned, though, 'cause we're kinda here on general patrol, showing a face and all that. Like, the Thirteen figure it'll help keep the peace or something, but I dunno, man, I kinda think they'll just wait until we're gone.”

[Ionia]

Several specific persons could mean anything. Merchants travelled in groups, and so did refugees, priests, and bandits. She'd bumped into all of the above in the past week. While it came to no surprise that Alain would mention bandits, Kiel had mentioned some guy in particular—someone that Alain seemed too wary to name. Well, she understood Alain's discretion, and she'd rather not get involved in the wardens' business anyway. Thank goodness the group was just here for tea.

Noticing that the magistrate had adopted a faraway-gaze, Nia left him to his mind. “Kiel, you'd better not--” break anything, she would have said, except he was suddenly hugging her. Staggering as the taller rutilus leaned on her shoulder, Nia yelped when his hand petted at her wings. “Xanth damnit! Don't touch the feathers.” Folding her wings tight though they'd become ruffled from her shock, Nia lifted an elbow to create distance between herself and Kiel. Like many anyeli, Nia did not like having her wings touched, partially because it could mean something intimate. Same with the feather-giving. But of course the scatterbrain didn't know that! She'd tolerated the villagers in Vynett, but Kiel was no child of Acantha. Patting Kiel's shoulder for him to make room, Nia nodded at Alain. “Your group can stay, but we close at 6.”

Leaving Kiel with his babble about Festus, Nia peeked into the kitchen, where she found Trent pouring tea into a tray of cups. “We have one more order of babana.”

“Did you just yelp?” he whispered, to which he only received a glare that meant shut up.

She'd returned in time for Kiel's talk about peace and patrolling, and suddenly the warden's presence in Calcia seemed a lot less benign. Eyes reflecting her concern for Calcia, she asked, “They're waiting until you're gone to do...what?” To continue their shady dealings, or was the gang up to something worse?

The shopdoor swung open to reveal a man dressed in the wardens' uniform. As his blue eyes focused toward Alain, Nia realized that this Festus was---surprise surprise---yet another 'vari. Four and counting...

[Alain]

While Alain was not entirely without empathy, he still shrugged in a callous manner at Ionia's words, rather than placate her. “That is what we are here to find out. Otherwise, there wouldn't be much point to having telepaths to begin with.”

Praying Kiel wouldn't make too much of a scene, Alain turned to regard Festus.

“I wouldn't suppose you found anything of interest along your trip...”

Never one to leave a task unattended, Festus left the question to be answered last. “Good afternoon, Madam. And no, nothing more than names, I'm afraid.”

'I should also inform you that you are certainly welcome to try your hand at the matter. You may understand their unfocused thoughts better than I, given your previous activites.'

Not a moment after sending the telepathic message, Festus continued speaking to Kiel, asking him about any possible souvenirs. Alain wished to keep up with the game of straight faced politeness, but he didn't really have much talent for it, and hoped none might pay attention to the twitch of his eyebrows as he considered the matter. Festus either was told about Alain prior to the assignment, or he spent way too much time prying into the minds of others unaware. It certainly wasn't too uncommon a hobby for a telepath, and one Alain couldn't admit total innocence to. Alain made sure to take note of that, though, as some Wardens who “played it straight” were only so at face value.

Regardless, he had a task to tend to. As Festus claimed, Alain found little difficulty locating Festus's shadow, who was just approaching the shop's vicinity. Telepathy could be strange in such a way, as either one could simply fail to enter another's thoughts, or sometimes just didn't understand the thoughts themselves. To Alain's fortune, he could easily understand the spy—who he immediately identified as a Therian through the way the spy regarded himself mentally. Alain kept tabs on the man as he tried to juggle between waiting to discover what form the Therian had taken, and appearing inconspicous as he tried to follow the conversation about him.

[Kiel]

Okay, so, like, note to self: Don't touch Nia's wings or, like, ask her for feathers or anything 'cause she got kinda grouchy and kinda mean. He'd totally remember that, like, right? Or, like, probably not. At least she wasn't so mad she stopped talking to him altogether, although he thought for sers she was when she stalked into the back room.

“Huh? Who do what now? Oh, wahahahaha, like, I just mean.” He shrugged, glomping a jar of something squishy to his chest so he could peer through the viscose fluid at, like, what even was that? Nia's store was, like, crazy cool, man, for sers. “Like, in general, you know? If there are crooks around here or something, they're not going to be all, like, breaking the law and stuff while there're uniforms around, you know? Like, the other day, like, Festus!”

Sloshing the heavy jar onto the counter he'd got it from, Kiel hopped toward the other telepath, scanning the Peteulanus for the requested snacks. “Didja get the pasties? Didja get 'em? Man, for sers, I'm so hungrryyyyyyy.” The taller man shook his head, though. “Alainnnnnn, why dincha tell the dude to get the pasties, man? My belly's gonna claw out and eat meeeee.” He hugged his tummy, which growled for, like, totally good measure or something, but Alain had that far-off look that made him think the dude either wasn't listening or, like, well. Wasn't listening 'cause he was far away or something. Mentally, you know? Like, poking around in someone else's brain or something.

“Nia, Nia. You got anything, like, eatable, man, for sers? Ooh, hey, lookit the birdy!” He pointed at the window where a tiny bird was perched. It was brown with a blue breast and looked crazy pretty, like something out of the Fae. “What the heck is it doing way out here, you know?” Kiel hopped closer, but the bird startled and flittered off. “Awwwww. Maybe it's hungry. Like me. Nia, you got any food, man? I'll totally pay and stuff, but I ate all my snacks on the way here and I'm so hungry, like, for sers.”

[Ionia]

She nodded briefly in reponse to Festus's greeting before letting the 'varis talk business as they waited for tea. Wings tucking closer to her back, the skotadi strode behind the counter area and crouched to examine the supplies on the bottom two shelves. Ugh, things had not been sorted for a while.

Something thumped loudly on the counter, but at least nothing shattered. Wishing that Kiel would demonstrate a little more care in her store full of glass jars and stuff, Nia placed a palm flat on the shelf to push to a standing position. To her surprise, right upon the windowsill was a bird that was so out of place, even Kiel found it to be strange. “No, we don't get those around here...” With its brown and blue coloring and the long fanned tail, the bird seemed more like a creature of the Fae or Yondollar forests than anything along the River Cora. As nearly everyone glanced toward the bird, the small thing lifted its wings and took flight. Nia's eyes became sharp with suspicion, and she glanced toward the other windows for any other signs of movement. The bird might just have traveled too far from home. However something that uncommon usually meant therian, and therians made her wary.

Too quickly, her attention was drawn toward Kiel again, and Nia's lips quirked with a wry smile. Kiel was always hungry. “Just 'cause you're you, go grab something from the kitchen.”

She tilted her head toward the doorway, where Trent appeared bearing a tray of tea. “Two babana and two earl grey.”

Perhaps she was hearing things, but something scraped lightly against the clay tiles upon the roof. Leaving Trent with their guests, Nia made her way past the kitchen and into the backyard. Maybe she was paranoid, or maybe someone was here to pay the wardens a visit. But dammit, if someone was out there, he or she had better not be one of Faolan's—not with the wardens around! As she thought of that shady vlareon, shadows churned within her wings.