with restrained madness,

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In  contrast,  Darío  felt  like  he  should  just  go  back  to  his  chambers.

Preoccupied  with  thoughts  of  the  future  ahead,  the  celebration  felt  trivial  and  a  waste  of  resources.  But  hey,  he  was  a  nobody  to  Summer’s  court⸻why  would  his  opinion  matter?  He  wasn’t  about  to  insult  the  Summer’s  rulers  over  something  so  unimportant.

Lost  inside  his  mind,  the  healer  wasn’t  ready  for  the  girl’s  question,  and  had  to  check  if  it  was  him  she  was  talking  to.

not at her husband, of course.

"I don't think I ever will. But, iced water & an occasional chilled drink helps battling it. All these pools of cold water in our rooms are also meant to help. They don't seem very... safe to lounge in, but when the heat becomes too unbearable they prove rather tempting. Naturally, they say the sea is the best source of refreshment. I can't say I'm thrilled over it. The Sedra is much more beautiful & less... crowded." she handed a drink to Darío. "I take it you're not adjusting well?"

He  thought  of  the  pools,  he  then  thought  of  the  sea.  Neither  called  for  him.  It  clearly  took  another  kind  of  creature  to  adapt  to  that  infernal  climate⸻the  sun  too  bright,  the  heat  too  burdensome.  The  thing  was,  those  kinds  of  problems  were  inherently  too  unimportant.  A  stone  in  the  inside  of  a  shoe  kind  of  unimportant.  And  yet,  he  felt  as  if  it  clouded  his  mind.

“It’s  bothersome.”

Darío  looked  at  his  wife  as  he  reached  that  conclusion,  and  his  drink,  thanking  her  with  a  nod.

“then you need to get started,” ulka says, nudging the map maker in the side. the day general was in high spirits, breathless from having nearly danced her very feet off. her boots are beginning to feel a smidge too tight but her heart swells with such excitement, ulka can’t seem to care. “the only benefit to the seasonal courts is how bright a fire burns in the dark. makes leaping over the flames feel even more thrilling.”

So  breathless  she  seemed,  Patime  felt  the  impulse  to  look  at  her  general,  diverting  attention  from  her  own   plate  to  the  fae;  a  merry  chuckle  went  out  at  the  sight.

She  tasted  what  tentatively  could  be  her  favorite  dish  from  among  the  portions  she  served  herself;  satisfied,  she  kept  looking  around  for  something  to  fill  that  last  empty  space  on  her  plate.  There  seemed  to  be  none  that  called  her  attention.  Yet.

“Oh,  I  don’t  think  there’s  enough  time  in  a  day,  unfortunately,”  she  replied,  giving  her  companion  a  sweet  smile.  She  didn't  mind  missing  out  on  things,  regardless  of  her  desire  to  witness  everything  that  went  on  in  that  place  or  the  attitude  she  carried  in  that  exact  moment.  For  how  often  could  she  witness  a  solstice  in  a  court  other  than  Day?  Considering  that  it  was  her  first  time  in  over  three  hundred  years,  the  chances  were…  tightly  close  to  one. 

her head hits an angle, chocolate curls bouncing as the high healer relaxes her joints back to standing - having just braced herself for impact. iphigenia'd meant to escape the raccous celebrations in the square, overwhelmed with enough fun for one day.

she'd not expected the ill-coordinated gaean putting her to work.

"i don't suppose you're inebriated, are you? i know they say you can sweat the liquor out, but you may pass out from the heat first."

Now  more  striking  than  the  waterfall,  Santino  looked  at  his  companion  with  doubt  washing  over  his  face,  as  if  he  had  not  understood  any  of  the  words  the  healer  had  addressed  to  him. 

"It’s  possible  to  sweat  out  the  drunkness  in  the  hot  springs?  I  didn’t  know!  This  fae  I  talked  to  didn’t  mention  it⸻what  was  she  called?"  He  pondered  the  name  of  the  fae  who  had  sold  him  the  idea  of  that  place  over  the  course  of  a  simple  conversation;  the sole  reason  he  was  there.  He  nodded,  satisfied  with  that  newly  acquired  knowledge  about  hot  springs,  which  made  the  second  fact  a  bit  confusing.  "So…  does  it  work  or  not?  It  sounds  dangerous  to  pass  out  in  the  hot  water.  I  hear  you  can  float  better,  though." 

“It's  terrifyingly  beautiful...”  He  nodded,  still  mesmerized  by  the  water  falling  like  a  veil  over  the  cliff.  “I  mean,  terribly.”  It  was  different,  was  it?  This  time  he  fixed  his  gaze  on  the  one  who  accompanied  him,  stiff  in  place,  as  if  he  had  just  admitted  something  meant  to  be  kept  secret.  “Didn't  you  come  for  a  bath?  In  the  hot  springs?” 

aurion remembered very well her first time in this place. she remembered the unbearable heat of the pools, and the distant laughter of a figure that has lost its face in her memory with the passing of time. perhaps, that same fleeting memory was what made her save all mockery for another time.

instead, a small, wistful grin appeared on her lips.

He  wiped  the  sweat  from  his  forehead  with  the  back  of  his  hand,  and  continued  walking.  This  time,  with  his  gaze  right  where  his  feet  were  stepping.  A  silly  laugh  emerged,  because... aha,  that's  exactly  what  he  was  planning.

To  bathe. 

In  the  hot  Summer’s  weather.

“How  much  longer?”  With  his  ankle  buckling  once  again,  he  needed  to  know.  He  looked  like  a  fish  out  of  water.  But,  content  with  the  doubt  out  of  his  system,  he  continued  with  the  thread  of  conversation.  “I  didn't  consider the  heat,”  he  admitted,  resuming  his  earlier  stupid  chuckle.  "The  fae  who  told  me  I  should  come  didn't  mention  it⸻What  if  it magically  feels cooler?  A  Summer  secret."  Now  he  was  trying  to  convince  himself. 

it was annoying.

Still, he snickered at the words. "Yes & no. The springs are here, but not the hot ones. They're in the area behind the waterfall. Just a minute trek through the bottleneck entrance over there." he pointed at the jagged opening in the rock - it had been wide enough for two fae to pass through without squeezing their way in. "It is fantastic, but not solely for the view. It's good for the health, as well."

Good  for  the  health.  That  sounded  like  a  positive  thing,  even  if  it  wasn't  specifically  the  argument  that  made  him  venture  to  that  place.  Puzzledly  he  stood  looking  over  there,  where  the  other  fae  pointed  to  the  entrance  to  the  hot  springs⸻would  it  be  worth  it?  Wouldn’t  it?

“And...  to get  to  the  hot  springs...”  he  began,  now  taking  clumsy  steps  closer  to  the  border,  “do  we  really  have  to  go  under...  the  waterfall?”  With  a  doubtful  grimace,  he  narrowed  his  eyes,  as  if  with  that  gesture  he  could  study  the  situation  and  decide  if  there  was  another  way  to  do  it  besides  the  one  he  had  understood  the  other  fae  to  mean.  “What's  behind  it?  Just  water  or...?”

He  let  out  a  silly  laugh.  New  stones  in  the  water,  what  a  good  metaphor.  Just  what  was  crossing  their path.

"I'm  not  cut  out  for  these  environments.  But,  you  know,  you  have  to  take  breaks  and  find...  inspiration,  or...  what  do  they  say?"  How  far  from  a  poet  Santino  was..  And  another  goofy  chuckle  he  blurted  out,  satisfied  with  that  witticism,  however  incomplete  and  unoriginal  it  was.  Perfectly  comfortable  in  his  mediocrity. 

“How  boring,”  he  then  commented  in  a  sigh,  crossing  his  arms.  "I  mean,  don't  get  me  wrong.  It’s…  beautiful.  It  really  is.  And  I'd  still  like  to  get  into  the  hot  springs,  but⸻wasn't  there  one  without  the  waterfall?" 

He  raised  his  gaze  to  where  the  veil  of  water  began,  falling  gracefully  and  coolly,  knowing  it  was  striking.  Immense  ⸻too  immense⸻  before  his  eyes. 

slender fingers delicately crown the other fae, hair just tickling the tips of her fingers. the million bell ringlet peppered with whispers of petunias and cosmos, made precious by her own hands, create a halo of colour against the loveliness of their locks. it’d been an hour or so of labouring at the table, helene’s own crown gone crooked as she hunched over her work, laughing along with the other children she’d been seated with.

“oh, i’ve outdone myself!” helene declares proudly, pleased with the outcome. “the little ones and i have been toiling in the sun all day! which i consider a fair trade as you look lovely as ever the almighty ruler of the solstice.”

solstice flower crown station.

Move?  He  didn’t  dare,  as  if  a  hummingbird  had  gotten  close  to  him  and  he  didn't  want  to  scare  it  away.  Although,  realistically,  who  could  Santino  possibly  scare?  He  opened  his  mouth  to  say  something,  anything,  but  all  that  came  out  was  a  stupid  chuckle.  He  wanted  to  use  his  hands  in  some  way,  but...  his  own  crown  was  irreparably  hideous  in  comparison,  and⸻touch  the  one  on  his  head?  Not  an  option.  He  didn't  want  to  ruin  it.  So  he  waved,  smoothed  his  shirt⸻whatever.

At  least  he  could  blame  the  sun  for  the  faint  color  on  his  face.

"i'm curious, patime. have you observed everything this area has to offer for you to sketch a new map?" the high priestess takes a seat opposite of the malakim, taking a sip of the sweet brew. something bitter wouldn't have truly fit a day without storms. "i imagine there's been much to explore even within the barrier, yes?"

She  checked  the  notes  and  drawings  in  her  personal  notebook.  How  could  she  translate  her  own  scribbles  and  words  into  her  own  version  of  Summer’s  map?  She  didn’t  seem  so  sure.  But  Patime  strung  the  lines  together  in  her  mind  and  nodded,  finally  semi-convinced  of  her  own  conclusions.

A  nod  could  have  also  worked  as  a  reply.

"Everything?  Oh,  how  I  wish."  Now,  her  gaze  fell  on  this  new  companion,  giving  her  a  smile  so  bright  it  could  challenge  the  sun.  "There's…  a  lot.  Too  much.  I'd  need  to  be  here  for  more  than  a  few  weeks…  A  few  months,  I’d  say.  But  I've  been  studying  some  pre-existing  maps,  and  I  managed  to  visit  some  areas,  and..."  she  stopped  herself,  a  giggle  leaving  her  lips.  "I  think  I'll  go  crazy  before  I  make  any  real  progress,  if  we’re  being  honest  here."

She  tested  the  red  ink  of  her  pen  into  her  notebook,  and  with  perfect  precision,  marked  a  few  points  on  the  mostly  blank  sheet  of  paper.

"this piece here --- we'll need it thicker for the base. we want enough space for the gunpowder to release, but without the pieces of the shell exploding everywhere." zacarías flicks his gaze to the other cut pieces of iron from his apprentice, finger pointing to the closest one. "oh, this one is perfect. three more pieces this size, then we'll connect them. then we'll need to make" --- a withheld sigh --- "a hundred more bases for the fireworks."

The  apprentice  had  his  eyes  on  the  pieces,  his  brow  furrowed.  Suddenly,  silently,  his  right  hand  landed  on  that  muscle  in  his  neck  that  always  itched  when  the  gears  in  his  brain  overworked.  “Three  more  pieces  of  this  size...”  he  repeated,  going  from  confusion  to  happiness  with  just  one  word:  Perfect. 

It  was  short-lived.