Corrin

“I think it’s two aisles further down. But, I could be wrong.” Talia shrugged, it was only her second or third time in the shop. Day dreaming about buying books and having a library like her father had once had but, better. Even though she knew better. Knew that her current lot in life wasn’t going to change. Despite the fact that she was now attempting to live.

“I don’t actually work here but, the selections pretty good. From what I’ve seen.” 

“Yeah? I’m hoping you are right. Wandering around aimlessly unable to find something as simple as a book is a little wasteful.” he said with a small sigh, though a smile to her. “Thank you for your help.” It wasn’t too often he ran into women with a collar who actually wanted to talk too much. Most of them seemed to want to avoid anyone without a collar. Which was understandable given that they weren’t exactly treated well overall. 

“Oh I’m sorry for assuming. But you spend time here often?” he asked curiously. 

x

Each person had their own skill, for Azhor it was his tattoo art and art in general. He mostly did this because he could do this on his own as being near people made him want to feed all the time and even a demon like him didn’t always feel like it, but he’d have to anyway since that’s what his kind did, slaves to their need to feed at any given time. He gave the waiter a nod to bring the other drink as well to make sure they put it on his tab. “Do I look disturbed?” He chuckled. “You’re not disturbing me, I’m just doodling, the actual design will be done much later. So what is it you do?” He asked curiously. “I’m Azhor by the way.” 

Corrin sometimes wondered why he had chosen a job in a kitchen to bake, when the act itself made him miss his mother horribly. He couldn’t smell sugar without thinking of her, or baked bread for that matter. In his own way he liked to think that it was a way to honor her and honor her memory. Since she, his father, his brother and his older sister was dead, and his youngest sister missing, he was only left with the memories of the people he loved. His family all gone. The males question prompted a smile. “No you do not.” he had to admit. “So its just an early phase of the process then? I work as a baker for the bakery not far from here. And I help my superior guard our territory, the Riverlands.” 

“Yeah…that can get tough from time to time” She shrugged and put her heels aside o the ground before walking down to the edge of the river and sitting down

Smilimg bashfully and smilr at him “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do, no brooding alowed. She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Giggling she looked over her shoulder at him “Survival instint, you could say” She said with a smirk before turning her gaze back to the front, to make sure they were pn the right path. Once they were deeper into the forest she made them turn a few times and let out a happy spund when they stopped at the little lake she had seen “Tah dah” she sang a little, a grin on her face.

“I guess like, I’m so used to everyone being out for themselves a concept like that is wasted on us?” she offered, the blonde giving a soft sigh at the thought of it. “Oh, I’m Seren. It’s good to meet you, man” she smiled, finding the other oddly charming and rather sweet? “I guess for me when I eat it’s all about the sweet stuff, though you have gotta have tried bacon right? Because bacon is super great. I love just ordering a side plate of it to snack on. I say if you haven’t you need to give it a shot” she rambled. 

“Its all very odd to us. Our kind doesn’t have the concept of traitors, certainly not slaves. But I do understand getting a certain response over and over and coming to expect it no matter who you face.” Corrin said, nodding slowly. It did make sense that the ones with collars would expect a certain treatment after getting a standard one from most who by law outranked them. “You too Seren.” he smiled back,hoping he could offer her something other than what she was used to. “Bacon? No, I can’t say that I have had that. Is there a place that offers both sweet stuff and bacon though? It sounds too good for me to keep missing out on.” he couldn’t help but chuckle, liking that she was talkative. It made him less reserved than he normally was. 

Callie let out a soft breath of relief when he assured her she hadn’t done wrong by her people and she nodded, “Thank you, Corrin. And…I know. What..and who we lost will always be a part of us. I just hope the grief doesn’t become all-consuming for some.” Torryn was one she was worried about, but she didn’t want to crowd the fae either or force her to move on. She deserved to feel her grief and upset as much as everyone else- for as long as she needed to. The next words from the man made her pause and she rose her brows at him, surprise coloring her face even as a smile tugged onto her lips. “He might?” She echoed, curiosity tinging her voice. “And exactly. I actually wanted to do something for them soon. In our territory. A….–not a cemetery. But a place of remembrance. A memorial of sorts, in their honor. Would you be willing to give me your inputs and help me with it if my ideas come to fruition?” After all, when it came to personal loss, Corrin faced it even worse than she did.

Corrin felt bad still, despite the fact that he had cleared it up, he loathed simply the the thought of making his queen feel anything of the negative sort based on his words. She was their light in the darkness, their beacon of hope. And if she didn’t know that then he would tell her so every day he saw her. “I know for myself, and for others, you are our beacon of light and hope. And naturally they will always be a part of us, but we still have much to live for. Some may need more time than others. Everyone heals differently.” he was quite certain of that, having seen how other fae had fared with the transition form the forrest to the city in the wake of all that had happened. Most, those who had not lost too much, seemed to be doing very well. Like all fae should they trusted and believed in their queen and would follow her along with their hive, anywhere. Their unity was what made the fae so strong, that he had always known. Seeing her smile made it easier for Corrin to smile as well. He cleared his throat a little shy about expression his emotions. “Ahm yes. Vered.” he said in explanation, though it wasn’t much of one at all. “That sounds lovely my queen. Of course I’ll help, I’d much like that.” He nodded, his serious tone back. Maybe that would give him, and others, some closure? 

Snorting at his request he shook his head “And why not? Did you had a bad run with one of them?” He asked, walking around the town with his best friend “Tell me what would you like to do?”

Corrin rolled his eyes a little at Kheelan. “Lets just say I’ve seen them in action, and the powers they can use, even on us, puts me on edge.” he replied, albeit he was being honest about what he had observed. While zuch intimacy could be great fun, Corrin was not a champion of anything that gave another creature power over him, or the opportunity to deceive him. “I was thinking we should find something good to drink? Maybe try out some new food?” he suggested. 

She smiled shyly when he fixed her hair and as soon as he gave the okay she left her drink on the table near them and took his hand, not really thinking anything throught “I saw a spot into the forest while coming here, is not too far but we’d still be left alone so you can relax a bit” She said, taking her heels off with her free hand while they walked.

x

His eyes left the paper when he heard the words that sounded. “Thank you. This is nothing though, just a little doodling whatever is on my mind. Thought you might be a waiter, I wasn’t looking though.” He mused as this wasn’t a slave of any kind, he’d send them to get his coffee if he was one no matter of they worked here or not. Holding up his hand, he signaled an actual waiter. “Coffee, black.” He said with a nod, before looking up to the guy that had complimented his work. “You want anything?” Azhor asked as he put his pencil down for now.

Corrin had never had the talent for expressing his mind with a pencil or a brush. Nor had he given it much of a try as a knife was put in his hand, and combat lessons came along. Though one might say he showed some artistic skill trough his cake decorations. Using molding chocolate or fondant or frosting to make colorful things that made the customers want to taste the baked goods. But that was nothing compared to what this man could do. “Its a show of skill, which I would say is certainly something. In a different place I might have been.” he smiled a little at that, no stranger to serving when the wait staff at work were shorthanded. He was about to apologize for interrupting, when the other asked if he wanted anything. “Yes, ahm thank you.” he said to the artist, taking a seat before turning to the waiter. “The same.” Looking back to the dark haired male, he still felt as if he should make sure it was alright. “Are you sure I’m not disturbing you?”  

She was about to thank him when he mentioned losing all his family, all she wanted was to hug him console him? “I-I’m really sorry for your lost, now I understand why it is so hard for you to find joy in all this” she said looking around “Would you prefer to be somewhere quiet?” She asked with a soft smile.

Corrin fought against the emotions that came up whenever he had to speak about his family. It was like poking a wild bear that had been hibernating, being faced with crazed anger and despair he could hardly contain. “Thank you, thats kind of you. Yes well.. I’m trying.” he admitted, trying to move his focus to her to get out of his own head, slightly curious in response to her question. “I would. Do you know of some place like that where we could go?” he asked back, gently reaching out to place a lock of her hair behind her ear which had covered her face. 

“I mean that definitely sets you out from others, most people in this place are just looking to throw around their power where they can” she shrugged, then moved to sit herself down, groaning to herself and rubbing her eyes. “Well, thats a bonus for sure- It’s good we’re not strangers” she said after a moment. “Uh, well anywhere that isn’t the diner that I’m probably meant to be working at right now. Tell me, what do you like to eat?” she offered, having never been one to take care of herself too much when it came to food.

“Most here aren’t fae. We don’t treat others with disrespect, no matter the difference in power. We’re both trained and raised to work together, cohesively, towards our common goal. Which.. well its probably an odd concept for anyone else.” He shrugged a bit, though his tone was filled with surety and a certain pride for how his kind operated and how they were taught to see the world around them. “I’m Corrin.” he offered, another step towards not being strangers. “I’m sure you know which others is good then? Me? Greens, clean meat. Nothing too spicy.” he said, unsure if that information would be helpful. He was a picky eater, not one to put processed food into his body too often, only for celebrations. He liked staying healthy. 

“I know.” Callie replied softly, looking down at her gown, at herself…”I hope I don’t come off as frivolous. To you….to our people, to this whole city. I just..thought that with all the grief, and all the darkness…maybe there could be a little attempt at some light.” She shrugged as she explained herself, letting out a soft little sigh. This was all going to be harder than she ever thought possible. As Corrin continued speaking then, Calliope chose to cling to his words, to focus on them, and as he said he was actually finding some joy, she smiled. “Good. I’m glad you are. You deserve a reprieve. Some pocket of good. I hope whatever it is, stays with you for quite some time.” The little smile stayed on her face as he spoke and she hummed, nodding, “I fear it may always be difficult. But…yes. We’re alive. We shouldn’t take it for granted.” 

Corrin was shaking his head long before she was done talking, an apologetic expression on his features. He hadn’t meant to suggest that she was making light of their hardships. He knew she would never do that. “No my queen, you do not. You’re doing what all great leaders must, looking to the future. And you have the open mind many of us will be thankful for. There should be light as well. Its just very subjective, you know, how we all process our grief and when we’re ready to move on from the past. Thats all I meant.” he said, wanting to reassure her that he hadn’t meant anything else by it. And the rest of what he said, he did mean. Vered brought him light in the darkness. Seeing his hive try for happiness brought him joy. “Thank you. So do you. And if I’m lucky, he might.” Corrin smiled at that, reminded that he needed to look for his roommate afterwards. “In some way or another. They’d want us to recover and keep living. We honor their memories by cherishing what we have.” 

“Oh nice, can’t say that I’ve met one of you guys up close before. I had a fae tell me to get out of the woods once, but they were in a tree. At least I’m pretty sure thats what they said, I didn’t speak their language” she hummed, keeping herself balanced as best as she could. At his offer she looked at him curiously “You’d offer that to a complete stranger? People will try and take advantage of you if you’re that nice in this city” she admitted “But if the offers still good, I can accept that, because I probably should eat at some point today.”

“We’re quite protective of our woods. Nature is ours to protect and nurture. But unlike some species we aren’t violent or harmful to others unless we have to be. And we don’t enjoy that kind of power.” Corrin said, thinking of the many individuals he had seen about the city, or the demons he had met during his short time here. Some seemed to thrive on the pain of others, and he found that disgusting. “You’re not a complete stranger when I’ve spent quite some time helping you. But you might be right..” he shrugged a bit. If he was too nice then he’d rather be taken advantage of one time too many than not. “Then lets get you something to eat. Where do you want to go?”