Transform. Transmute. Transfigure.

Col looked up from the piece of wood he'd been carving at for a few hours now and blinked at the female's question. Truth be told, they'd come a long way from when they'd first met. Originally he'd been contracted to build her cabin by her grandfather. Never had he thought they'd get to this point? But here they were. He'd stayed the night and they rose with the sun. He watched her do idle housework as he sat at her table and carved at a piece of wood he collected from her stockpile.

They'd sat in comfortable silence before her words broke that. She knew what he was and for the most part, he understood what it was that her grandfather did. That didn't mean it didn't make him any less nervous. He was sure that her grandfather had standards and was also sure that he probably didn't meet any of them at all. Setting the piece of wood down he shifted in his seat and opened his arms for her.

     THE dreamer was glad he was okay after days of searching for him. Even if he had his imaginations coming to life to assist him in the search, Hayden looked high and low for the other deep in the forest (as one of the humanoid creatures he imagined guided him to). But although relieved to find the older male, concern was still written all over his facade as he tried to assist him by holding his arm and carefully guiding him through the path the flower creatures did. “But you…you don’t look good, mister.” Innocent eyes looked up at him as they blinked, before he searched his bagpack for a bottle of water. He handed the cool bottle of water to him, when he tilted his head a little. “Night…mare? What do you…mean?”  

Chingu let his eyes follow the unfamiliar path far ahead of them as they trailed slowly through it. How interesting this child always was. So kind and warm and willing to help him through periods of time like this. But it made him nervous. Nervous that she might come back. Nervous that she might take the child... the man beside him. “I will be... alright... especially now that you are... here again,” he said softly, broken but trying his best to reformulate his thoughts into comprehensible sentences. He stopped when they did, slow gaze moving to follow their actions before smiling softly at the bottle being offered. He took it gratefully and just barely managed to open it, bringing it up to his lips with a shaking hand. 

Jina took a step away from the other. His energy was…strange to say the very least. It felt… strong? But she was very, very new to… all of… everything in this century, so she had no idea how to interepet what she sensed. Regardless, the young with huffed and lightly hit the other’s shoulder with a frown. “You are, very incorrect, for you information! I am far older than I look and I don’t even know the magic it would take to fake looking as I do! What a horrid thing to say, really”

Dmitri sat cross-legged atop the kitchen table simply eyeing the elven boy curiously. He'd heard it. the whisper on the wind that summoned him here though he was apologetic for not being able to find what it was the male had asked him to find. Delicate fingers toyed with the chains that wrapped around his ankle before green eyes rose to find them.

"Well... I haven't had much luck finding the tome I need to successfully perform this particular locating spell. It's in a language that is difficult for me to navigate and simply put... elves don't like to speak their secrets to non-elven mages..." he says lightly, letting the small charms on his anklet click together softly before he's leaning back against his hands.

plot: wren is helping smuggle a set of artifacts she is very excited about getting her hands on && is getting a bit impatient at this point.

wren ╳ ⋮  ———— THEY MIGHT BE thieves, but she figures they would at least have a sense of timing. she accepts that there might be a delay as scouts make sure she’s come alone && she hasn’t picked up a tail on the way ;; but two hours was starting to get ridiculous. not to mention that she finds herself a bit insulted that she’d leave herself so easy to follow. but she gets it: everyone has their quirks && she’d rather have a job well done than a job rushed.

still, the thin jacket she decided to wear is starting to let the cold seep through, as the air on the docks are rather unforgiving. as she lights the cigarette between her fingers, the warmth of the red ember sparking for just a second in the dark, she wonders if she’s been duped. or perhaps this is a trap. pensive, she takes a drag && stares at the creaky boards below her feet, she thinks—well that can’t be right. if only because she’s too smart.

there’s smoke billowing around her lips when she hears the boards creak as someone heads her way. she doesn’t look up though, doesn’t even seem to acknowledge them until they’re within speaking distance. && only then, does she raise her head, still flicking the cigarette between her fingers as she guardedly asks, “ can i help you? ” – [ 🏛️ ]

Kristoph had a way of being fashionably late to just about everything. He lived on his own timeline that was only propelled forward but his limitless hold on time itself. Was that an excuse to be tardy? No. Did he care in the least? Also no. This was simply what he did when he was bored. And what was today's prize? Well, perhaps it was an old family heirloom and the opportunity to finally meet this woman he'd been hearing so much about among whispered kisses.

The middle Ashton child was nothing like his siblings. He wasn't subtle about many things. He floated on a cloud of confidence and pride. He knew what he was. Chaos incarnate. Tonight it was no different. Tonight he'd taken in his time in getting dressed and preparing himself for this meeting. For this task at hand and once he was pleased with his appearance, he'd made his way to the docks. The meeting place of choice and where he would find what he was looking for.

Black leather hung loosely over his shoulders as quiet steps carried him from warehouse to warehouse. The smell of ocean and fish polluted the area in a way that forced his nose to wrinkle in distaste for the briefest of moments before the buildings broke and honey-colored orbs fell to the form of a person. He followed the delicate scent of tobacco smoke until he was within earshot of the female before stopping.

Warmed honey-colored eyes found hers and a small smile spread across his lips at her words.  "Now now Miss Aera. I was simply joking," he says as he slips his hands into the pockets of his jacket and shifting his gaze to the gallery space before them. It had only been a relatively short amount of time since he’d hired Aera’s company to help run some more logistically parts of his galleries now that it has started to pick up more traction in the art circuit.

"I always read your reports, though I know I don't need to. You are very thorough and I trust you to get done what needs to get done," he says with a small nod as he begins to walk. "I will ask that you make the preparations to speak to the press on my behalf unless Hanuel would rather do it instead. I have no desire to be in front of cameras or appease the media." he says easily, looking back at her expectantly. She was smart, responsible and the air around her was nice. Aera knew what she was doing and he was relieved to have someone like that to help manage his collection. 

"Please make sure that the dinner reservations for the European Artists at Mr. Lee's tonight have been taken care of. I promised them a proper Korean meal before their departure tomorrow morning." He says lightly as he begins to walk, eyeing the paintings now decorating his walls.

⸻ THE PRINCE SPOKE IN A MANNER THAT MADE HER SKIN CRAWL. She was sure her training also made her sound quite artificial but he just… it seemed as if he tried to make this whole thing more of a spectacle than it needed be. It annoyed her and the princess bit the inside of her cheek not to give any reaction. Were it up to her, she would kick him and his entire court out just for the way he spoke, as if they were in a theatre and not in her castle.

She needed to start moving, she needed silence and to occupy the male so that they would not need to continue speaking with each other. At least not like this. Formalities were tiresome on a normal day but it was doubly aggravating when Bokjoo was forced into empty pleasantries with a man she was shown to like a show cow. 

Her mouth fell agape and she looked at the male with widened eyes, only now noting the discolouration. She fell pale and then a furious crimson landed on her cheeks with embarrassment over not noticing the prince’s hurt before. She fell silent, frozen in place, feeling the heat radiating from her, desperately trying to collect her thoughts.

“I– I’m so sorry.” Her official tone was dropped for one filled with sincere remorse over what she had said. “I didn’t know, I foolishly didn’t look I–” She took a few steps and fell to her knees, bowing her head. “I didn’t mean to offend you. Forgive me, I am often very stupid and sometimes can… commit such acts.” She felt horrible. It was one thing to not enjoy the forced marriage but the young man did her no harm. And yet she still managed to just trample all over the poor man.

“I there… anything that interests you, prince? I… should not be burdened with choosing where we spend the afternoon as it seems I am ill-equipped to make such decisions…”

Elias was honestly surprised that he'd even made it this far. Word of his injury and his uselessness seemed to travel far and wide across barriers. Neighboring kingdoms barely wanted anything to do with a prince who couldn't possibly rule anything with disability. Had he earned it from battle perhaps it would have carried a different connotation? But unfortunately, it was not and he had soon become accustomed to the pleasantries of those who didn't want to insult his father by outright declining their interest in him. 

This was it. This was the moment he'd subconsciously been waiting for. Though he hadn't been anticipating pointing it out himself, perhaps it was better this way. His head tilted and snow-white hair, inherited from his mother's lineage, shifted slightly in response.  Here it was, the inevitable reaction to noticing, perhaps he would finally be excused. However, he blinked in silent surprise at her apology, though it was more so at the shift in the tone of her voice. 

He watched as she crossed the space and knelt before him, brows knit in confusion. "Please... Princess... don't... "started though couldn't get much more in as she continued to apologize. He was stunned. He'd never really had to deal with someone who sounded so honestly apologetic. Most others he'd met were bold and outright about their opinions and he, of course, had to simply laugh along. 

It took him a moment to stop his confusion from continuing to show before he was lightly kneeling before her and delicately reaching out to place a finger beneath her chin.  "Please... Lady Bokjoo... I don't deserve your apologies... you have done nothing wrong. It's not the first time and it most likely will not be the last, so please don't worry yourself so much." he says offering her small smile before he rose and held out his hand for her. 

"Who better than the lady of the house to show me the most exciting parts of her castle?... Perhaps... you would do me the honor of walking with me through the royal gardens?... I am allowed to maintain those of my own home and who knows... they do stretch out towards the shooting range... who's to say that we can't coincidently pass by?" he asks with a thoughtful hum. 

“A..aish.. The way you say that makes it sound like all witches are nasty old hags” Her cheeks puffed out just a little as she looked off to the side. “All of them can’t be like that, you know”

Rina watched Minzi, unable to look anywhere else. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing else in this world that mattered anymore. Her eyes dropped to their hands. The way Minzi held them made her heart ache; it was as though she was something fragile. Oh, if only Minzi knew. Rina wasn’t looking forward to telling her about all that had happened since she’d left.

Still, Minzi was right. Exhaling, Rina nodded, putting on a small smile. “Of course,” she murmured. “I’m sure everything is fine on the floor, but I should get back out there.” Rina squeezed Minzi’s hands and gave her a small smile. “Are you staying near by? My door is always open, you know.”

Maybe that was coming off as too eager, but Rina couldn’t be bothered to care. Her best friend had finally come back to her; her first love, in a sense. Rina couldn’t let her go now, not after so long apart.

It seemed as though they couldn't get their eyes off of each other and they couldn't really be blamed. So much time had passed. So many things had taken place during that time. But here they were looking at each other face to face. Minzi gave the warm hands within her own a gentle squeeze.

Minzi's smile mimicked Rina's and she gave a quiet not in response. "You are obviously important here," she says lightly, moving to stand up. "No, I'm actually staying just outside of town...and I can't say more than that.." she says apologetically. "But... I will take you up on that... especially now that you're so close." she says reassuringly as she helps the other up onto her feet.