A Mage like few others

Rowan's one ear twitched, and he looks up. His brows creased as he tries to recall anything that wasn't... too embarrassing for his dear old friend. "Oh."

Rowan searched in the front of his outfit before pulling out an ornate looking pendant. The gem inside a pale yellow with a golden trim around it. "Zefri made this for me a long time ago. The, um, the sun is far brighter than what I'm used to back home. I've gotten sick a few times... But this makes it much easier to handle. I tend to hide it in more crowded places, but, I always keep it with me."

Seemingly reading her mind, Zefri answered without being asked. "No, he's not vampiric."

The quizzical look on Amber changed to... Another quizzical look, which Zefri also pre-empted. "He's not a felinombra either." Amber nodded casually and seemed to accept that answer. Zefri meanwhile...

He glanced at the pendant, his eyes quinting in... Confusion? He had no memory of ever making such an item for Rowan. Not that Zefri couldn't make such a thing. The Nightshade enchantment was a rare-but-simple effect to artifice, but giving one to Rowan specifically? He was stretching his mind to recall.

But just as Zefri seemed to know Amber's questions, so too did she clock on to his confusion. "I'd be surprised if you did remember." Amber remarked casually. "Can you name a single friend who you haven't given at least one magical artefact? Heck, I'm pretty sure you've given some enemies magical trinkets."

"I mean..." Zefri put on a bashful grin before turning back to Rowan. "I remember the training sparkle-wand from my... misguided attempts at magical tuition."

Amber just chuckles while shaking her head, before sipping at her coffee. "That is something he has gotten better at, Rowan. Zefri's learned... Learning that just because you can solve any problem with magic, doesn't mean you have to."

How cute!

Rowan's eyes weren't glued to the tiny creature Though. They soon looked toward Zefri, and then toward Amber as she spoke. He smiles, though shily, and bows his head. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Amber." His attention falling toward Silver, which he bows his head to as well. "And you too, Silver." He isn't put off by the comment from before. It was a cat's nature to like fish after all. In fact, Rowan lets go of his cup to search through his pouches. It wasn't much, but he had a few dried fish steaks with him that he didn't mind sharing. He pulled them and motioned them to Silver before setting them on the table.

"Here you go. I like fish too."

Rowan's attention is back on Amber soon after.

"I dinna ken who ye arh, bu' yeh be mah new bestest frein'."

Zefri laughed a little at Silver's response. "You're his new best friend." He sort-of translated. "Don't ask me where the accent comes from, I've never figured it out myself."

"Sounds kind of gnomish to me." Amber added her two cents as she tapped two fingers on the table. The kettle from earlier revved up and waddled over to pour out some more hot, brown liquid into a cup. "Maybe a more rural gnomish though, given how strong it is."

She took a sip from her drink as Rowan spoke of Zefri's loose lips, but smiled into her drink. "Well, if he's spilling the tea about me, only fair in return. I'd love to hear some of the stories you have about him!"

Though, even then Rowan didn't understand. He knew that. Well, for the most part he did. Rowan perked up as Zefri left, giving a smile and a wave, well, as much as a smile as he could offer. Rowan was just still confused by that statement. What was he supposed to gain from that? He genuinely didn't know. He knew love was more complicated then fairy tales made it seem. And what did Zefri mean by, finding love? It technically found him, hadn't it?

There was no anger in Rowan's thoughts, just deep confusion, and perhaps a little frustration that he didn't understand, that transferred over into his expression. Was, it because Rowan felt jealous? ....

Rowan's ears drooped, and he lightly tapped at the tea cup again.

The more notable of the duo however, was the shorter of the two. It was like looking at a common housecat -grey fur with a white belly- but said housecat was standing bipedal and had been scaled up to just over 3 feet tall. The cat in question had immediately clocked Rowan and seemed to be having something of an existential crisis, judging by the sheer confusion on the cat's face.

The other one was possibly mundane by comparison: A red-headed human woman in her late-20s, wearing a forest-green coat. Unlike her feline companion, her face was a smile and accompanied by a nod.

"Rowan, this is Amber" he indicated towards the human, "And this is Silver." he indicated towards the bipedal cat, before Zefri pulled a face at realising Silver's state. "... ... Yeah, I don't think he's ever met a Zora -or half Zora- before, and his fish-obsessed mind is trying to connect the dots in a way the ends with 'do not eat'."

Those were certainly not traits that Zefri had lost. Toned down? Maybe. But the smile on his face and the butterflies in his stomach as he talked about his love life, one would easily be forgiven for thinking Zefri was completely oblivious to Rowan's own jealousy...

Zefri took a moment to let the magical kettle pour his drink. Even though mere seconds ago it had poured tea for Rowan, the unmistakable scent of cocoa wafted over. Zefri took a sip his chocolatey drink then he posited philosophy.

"Y'know, I do want to make something clear. This wasn't love at first sight, there wasn't any fate or destiny or pre-ordained hand at work. There wasn't even certainty it would work. We had our doubts, we both had demons in the closets and we were well aware it might not work out between us, but we decided 'it's worth it if it does work'... So we put in the work."

He gives a pointed look towards Rowan. It was that look that anyone familiar with him knows (and probably loathes), that moment behind the curtain of eccentricity and pseudo-madness where an immortal genius mind clicks into place. With that look, Zefri spoke over his mug of hot chocolatey milk.

"You have to go find love, y'know. It won't find you." Was he speaking rhetorically, or was this targeted at Rowan? "And more importantly, whatever you envisage love as? It's never that."

Before Rowan even got to reply to that piece of philosophy, the jingling of a bell could be heard, and Zefri perked up. Suspicious, or coincidence?

"Oh, that'll either be Amber and Silver... Oooor I forgot to flip the 'back in 30' sign over. Give me a moment would you?"

For his part, Zefri was unbothered by the kettle (which, given how he probably built it, isn't a surprise). Instead, Zefri smiled at Rowan's compliments for his wife, "It's more like I'm sticking by her honestly." Given how infatuated he was, it was an easy situation to envisage. "I mean, she's the one with the dramatic origin story of betrayal and intrigue."

He didn't even bother waiting for Rowan to ask what that was about, Zefri immediately launched into the tale, so happy he was talking about her. "Amber's power-hungry mother wanted her to marry some nobleman's son who's nearly 20 years her senior, but her brother and uncles snuck her to a temple in the city, while her father looked the other way.

When mother dearleast found out, Amber got enough warning to join up with the next person who vaguely looked like an adventurer. Which was me." He took a moment to accept the cup that the magical kettle brought over to him, the other one being slid on a coaster in front of Rowan.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Zefri sighed, seemingly more torn up than Rowan was. Even if it was newer news to him, Zefri was never one to treat death lightly. "But at least you and Erow are getting along better..."

A contemplative look crossed his eyes half-way up the stairs, before he reminded himself that yes, Erow was Rowan's dark side / living shadow. That was something of a theme in Hyrulean worlds, right?

As Rowan gave his own bullet-point summary of the past few years, Zefri lead him up to the private quarters right above the shop. It was a cosy little set up; a combined sitting room, kitchen and dining room with a couple doors leading to other rooms and another set of stairs leading upward. Zefri clicked his fingers and whistled a quick little ditty and at his command, two chairs at the quaint dining table pulled themselves out, while the stove flicked itself on and began heating up a kettle.

Zefri was marvelling his little magical tricks when Rowan asked about his spouse, and he quickly turned back, sat down and positively beamed.

"Oh I hope you're comfy, because I can and will talk about her all day." He smiled, "Her name's Amber and she's from the same reality I'm from, which is a first for me." He nodded to himself and leaned back in his chair.

"She's amazing in every way imaginable. She's kind, passionate and loving, but with incredible strength of will and determination. I-I-I..." Zefri waves his hands around, trying to articulate what he's thinking before stopping himself from overthinking it. "You always hear married couples say things like 'they're my partner' and 'my other half'... And well, it turns out they say that for a reason. I love her so much, and the 8 years I've known her? I cannot imagine how I got as far as I did beforehand. She's out at the market right now, but if you can stay long enough, you'll meet her... and Silver, my familiar who's with her right now."

"Sure, sure!" Zefri beamed, clapping his hands together and returning to the floor. "A lot has been going on, so to summarise everything... I lost my teacher job and became a business owner full-time. I found my missing familiar, I got married aaaaaaand..."

The grin on Zefri's face suddenly developed an... Edge. A dark edge as he said the next thing. "Oh, and I laid some personal demons to rest." He tried very hard to sound nonchalant about that, but the emotion that creeped into those pointed corners of his grin, the flash of grim finality in his voice, the dangerous glare in his eyes; glaring not at Rowan, but a memory that was an unwelcome guest.

But the dark tone in Zefri passed by very quickly, enough that someone unfamiliar with him -or just not very observant- would have not even noticed it. The smiles and beams were back.

Although...with everything going on nowadays, food was becoming scarce. Working out in the open fields was more and more of a risk. And with all the refugees...Annalise had no issue with them, and had practically been giving food away for free to assist them. But all of that food wouldn't last long...

Zefri pulled from the inside of his coat a small pouch and started pulling out various coins, with a large portion of them being strangely shaped and designed. A traditional Baldurian Gold coin was a curved square, with a canine head on one side and 3 towers on the other. But the coins the wizard was sifting through came in all shapes and designs; circles and diamonds, stamped with dragon heads, cups and wands, none of it recognisable as legal tender.

And Zefri seemed to know that, as he hummed under his breath "Baldur's Gate... Baldur's Gate." Before finally pulling out 30 gold coins.

Seems that she really is passionate about farming....

The wizard mentally shook his head to prevent the joy of a job loved was replaced by sour memories and focused back on the conversation. "No matter the lands, no matter the weather, you'll always find folk working the land to provide for others. It's a job that needs to be done, and my applause to those who do it." He gave the woman a smile.

"Ah, I apologize, but I'm afraid I can't do any magic tricks." The woman shook her head, holding out her hands in decline.

She exhaled, blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes.

Zefri paused his strange reactions to the woman's statements, placing a hand on his chin and seemingly deep in thought. His mood has already calmed down from his weird, despairing reaction to an almost serence chill.

"... ... Hmm. I feel like I'd find it easier to know how to apply fire magic to farming... If I knew how farming worked.

"Ah, I apologize, but I'm afraid I can't do any magic tricks." The woman shook her head, holding out her hands in decline.

The whole reason he'd approached the young, blue-haired half elf behind her farmer's stall was because he could sense the magic in her blood, that metallic twinge of sorcery in her. He had hoped to spark an interesting conversation about magic... But to be shut down so thoroughly?

Zefri had to sit down at the mere thought of someone preferring farming to magic. He was a man who had prided himself not on his talent for magic, but his sheer adoration of the magical, mystical and fantastical... Okay, everyone had their preferences, sure... But still, it was a shock to his system, even if he tried with limited to success to hide the fact.

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Categories:

Raw power.

Formal Training.

Combat experience.

Willingness to kill.