Though his face remains unknown, it’s the voice that calls out to him that solidifies the stranger’s familiarity to Watanuki; causing the shopkeeper’s mismatched eyes to widen ever so slightly. His crimson gaze, the structure of his softened expression– they’re things he’s never seen before, and yet the outline of blue which grows from the bottom of his jaw can only solidify the fact that the shopkeeper knows this person.
It’s certainly been some time, hasn’t it?
“The exarch..” the title of the one before him escapes his lips as a smile soon forms on his features, his voice surprised yet contented. “Likewise, it’s wonderful to see you again as well. Please forgive me for not recognizing you right away.”
“Your goals are the same as mine– I’ve heard the sights of the island from above are incredible, so I would be more than happy to join you. It seems we are fated to enjoy each other’s company with a beautiful backdrop on more than one occasion, hm?”
SO HIS PRESUMPTIONS HAD BEEN accurate, even if it was only a process of elimination for those whom came here, many seeking merely to observe while others to explore the deepening knowledge it may proffer. betwixt them, at least as it were, he feels a slight kinship in such things, causing a smile to lift upon his lips at the beckoning of forgiveness. ❝ There is naught to forgive, my friend. ‘Tis the first you’ve seen beneath the cowl, thus ‘twould be rather inconsiderate of me to think it fair to hold you to such recognition, ❞ he replies, turning to glance over at the spiraling staircase before back to his companion.
❝ So it is. Some may even say it no coincidence in this tapestry of fate which we weave merely by existing, ❞ he adds, lifting a small picnic basket within his grasp. ❝ Though my own interests are for study---purveying the lay of the land, bluntly put---there will be no need for worry on the front of food. I packed more than enough for two. Well, shall we begin the ascent, then? ❞