"It's so hard to find anyone with manners these days," she said. "People used to at least say hello before they started running off." Though, she supposed after a few thousand years, her reputation had gotten a bit more prominent among their supernatural community. Humans were at least still easy to mess with. They just saw her as a pretty little girl. "Well, I do quite enjoy kids. My little boy is just precious," she said. "But, I suppose it's different when you have your own children."
She sensed him entering the water, but she was unbothered. Many had tried to take her out, but she doubted Jiwon would be trying to do so. At least, not today. "Well, it wouldn't be any fun if you didn't," she said.
Zia batted her eyes open. It took her a few seconds, but she spotted him soon enough. There was something fascinating about the naiad form. They were practically water themselves. She was a bit jealous, but not enough to be mean about it. "You look even prettier. You should wear this one more often."
sure, jiwon had a child of his own - more than one, if you counted siwoo, which countless people over the years have made the mistake of doing - but he'd never think to liken the experience of being a parent to dealing with humans. he's not even the terribly paternal type, but it's more like... when you go somewhere and someone has a child that simply will not stop screaming, with no thought for others around and not enough common sense to self-soothe yet, rather than something precious.
besides, her little boy is hardly as little as she's describing. he doesn't know exactly how old zia is, nor does he know her child, but he knows she's far, far older than he himself is. her child most likely is as well; an amusing thought that he, at over seven hundred and fifty years old, is little more than a toddler in comparison to how long zia has lived. "maybe so. but your child is better behaved than most humans, i'm sure."
before the coup, he'd spent much of his time in the water. there's something meditative about it, whenever he could shed all pretense of being anything but what he was. it's harder to get out here, now that the dryads have done their best to oust him, but jiwon manages as best he can with visits every few days. he's almost envious of those who stay elsewhere, had even considered enticing the little advisor to give up his conveniently located well, once upon a time, but this river, this whole forest, really, is his birthright, and he cannot abandon it just because some trees have made it inconvenient for him.
jiwon hums, amused. "have we resorted to trading flatteries then?" footsteps approach from somewhere behind him, then quickly retreat. he doesn't have to look to know that they were scared away by zia, as they would be hard-pressed not only to see him, but to recognise him from the back. "i used to wear nothing but." a wistful sigh, then. "i spend too much time in town nowadays. i hardly think most of the inhabitants of hanjeong would be keen on receiving treatment from an invisible doctor, and i need to do something to fill my time."
perhaps the supernatural people of hanjeong may, but they're also less likely to seek out human medicine. though he does practice some natural healing methods, he finds that modern medicine tends to be trusted more on a broader scale. curious, how they won't trust an nymph healing method, but they'll trust a nymph to dole out their own.
