Bowyn tried to pull his façade back up, he needed to make sure nothing about his words or expression would give him away to whoever he was to dance with next. He followed the enchanted paper the dance’s host had supplied but as he approached, he could feel Boreas becoming uneasy. The merlin’s talons dug further into him than was necessary to simply perch. He glanced at the bird sensing its stress and locked eyes with Boreas. Bowyn and the bird both shared a weariness of strangers, and he couldn’t be sure if this particular stranger made the bird uneasy or simply his own stress at the whole affair.
“It’s fine, we can handle this. The last one wasn’t so bad right?” He told Boreas, words he barely believed himself but he tried to believe them. Boreas always had a talent for knowing when he was lying. He moved his eyes towards his new dance partner, a type of winged demihuman often referred to as Angels.
“Look she’s a bird Demihuman, bet you two have a lot in common.” He added though the bird seemed unconvinced.
“Some birds eat other birds.” Boreas reminded him.
”A fair point but I don’t believe we have much choice in the matter so behave and I won’t let the bird-lady eat you.” He whispered to the bird before making the rest of his way towards the winged woman. Boreas complied, staying impassive on the fairy’s shoulder though his eyes still kept a close watch on the stranger. While Bowyn certainly didn’t have any trust in the stranger he did write the merlin’s concern off as just not liking other birds. Once in front of the Angel he bowed as was customary and offered his hand out for the dance.
“Good evening, may I have this dance.” He asked, offering a friendly but insincere smile.
Azriel had been scanning the crowd as she slowly made her way through it, looking for any curious figures though she knew it wasn’t likely to spot a rebel that easily or a human. She also took a moment to see who Darius had been paired with as well, purely out of curiosity and to just note where the human ended up. Her attention was caught as she heard someone speak to her and she looked at the man before her. She eyed him and the bird on his shoulder only for a moment before grinning at them. Now this was a curious person, but not because she suspected him to be a rebel or anything. No it was more of the fact that he was a winter fairy.
”Yes you may.” She responded as she dipped down into a curtsy while taking his hand as he’d offered.
”I suppose introductions are in order. I’m Azriel and I must say it is a delight to see one of your kind here tonight. It’s not often one is graced by the presence of a winter fairy. Perhaps your presence is a sign of a good omen?” She kept a playful smile on her face as the music began.
Bowyn struggled to stifle a laugh at being referred to as a good omen, that was one he’d certainly never heard before. Instead of meeting her words with outright laughter he flashed a smile of genuine amusement. It was still strange to think of his kind as the rarity they were to the rest of Avalia and the notion of anyone being ‘graced by his presence’ was damn near comical to him. The dance itself was simple enough, it didn’t take much to keep up with the steps and the slow pace. The real trick was how to maneuver the conversation, what to reveal and what to keep hidden and that was the task he kept his mind focused on. He stuck with what he’d decided earlier, to stick with half truths rather than outright lies, as they were harder to detect, and easier to keep track of. Even when sticking only to part of the truth, his tone was easily more sincere and lacked the hint of stress found in a lie.
“A good omen? That’s a new one, what sort of portents do you hope I bring? Perhaps some relief from the near sweltering heat in Roshmi? I am beginning to understand why my kind rarely stray this far south.” Bowyn made a casual and light hearted joke, generally when conversing with boring people the weather was a safe topic. Then again, Azriel, both in attire and composure, struck him as anything but boring.
“I’m Bowyn, and it’s really my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Azriel. I must say, excluding my companion here, you have the most elegant wings I’ve ever seen.” He added, in an attempt to shift the conversation towards her. Most people preferred to talk about themselves anyhow and that made figuring them out much easier. What Bowyn lacked in social skill he easily made up for with his knowledge of birds. There was little a bird took more pride in than its feathers and especially its wings. He could only assume that such pride extended towards the Avian demi’s as well.
”Oh most definitely relief from this horrid heat we have.” Azriel responded to his joke, giving him her own amused smile. So far this fairy was proving to be quite intriguing indeed. He seemed to have a quick wit to him and a humor that she appreciated. He didn’t seem to be anything like the forest fairies that she and Umber had encountered not too long ago. Perhaps the cold of the north made them not so soft as their southern brethren. His next comment caught her a bit off guard and she couldn’t contain a giggle as she eyed the bird on his shoulder for a brief second.
”Well don’t you know how to charm an angel. Thank you for the compliment, I am quite proud of these wings. Your own wings are quite intriguing to me, however. So intricate and pretty looking, yet they also seem like they’d be quite fragile. How on earth do you keep them from harm?” She asked with a small smirk, genuinely curious about the subject.
“That’s an easy one, though they are sturdier than they look, I keep my wings and myself far away from harm.” Bowyn replied, although his grin faded as he realized that was no longer the truth. Her innocent question sent his mind spiraling towards dark thoughts. He had certainly considered the possibility, or rather the extreme likelihood, that his recent foray into foolishness would get him killed. That he could almost handle but the possibility of hurting his wings and then to go on without flight was a fate he had not considered. That seemed worse than death, to live only on the ground and never fly, never have that true sense of freedom one only felt in the skies.
“Could you imagine, to lose flight?” Bowyn shuddered at the thought,
“I think I’d rather die.” He tried to keep his mind from continuing down such a dark path, but couldn’t help but wonder. Would he give that up? To end Aeryn’s undead existence, surely, for that cause, he’d even gladly trade places and take on her fate. But to help Torvi and Belle, would he be willing to sacrifice something like his wings. Flight and magic were the things he valued most, even when he had nothing, he had those to make life bearable. He had to stop himself from thinking on this further, this was not where his mind should be, so he forced himself to focus first on the steps of the dance, then on Azriel.
“Apologies, such dark topics have no place here. Tell me have you been to the floating city? I hear it’s the most beautiful place in all of Avalia.” He continued, attempting to turn the conversation towards something more pleasant, with a forced smile and a sick churning in his stomach.
”Sadly I can say I can imagine losing flight.” Azriel said with a small sigh as she ruffled her wings a little bit, the memory still fresh in her mind.
”You see when I was a little girl I experienced the cruelties of this world. I was enslaved by terrible people and when I made one little mistake they beat me horribly, broke my wings, and left me in the middle of nowhere to die. I would have died even if it weren’t for one person who found me, took pity on me, and showed me a small amount of kindness by nursing me back to health and mending my wings. But for a long time I couldn’t fly, having to relearn the skill over time.” She explained, a strange sadness filling her as she remembered it all. She’d eventually gotten her revenge for the atrocity dealt to her, but the memory still hurt even to this day. She was glad when the subject changed and she chuckled a little at his question.
”Why yes I have been there. It is quite a beautiful city, but it’s filled with quite a pompous race. They might even rival the light elves!” She said jokingly with a smirk, hoping to maybe even make him laugh a little bit.
Bowyn was more than a bit surprised by Azriel’s first response, not because the cruelty of others ever shocked him but at how she could share such things with a stranger. To share his darkest moments was something he could rarely do even when he had friends other than Boreas. To be so open with a stranger, to show another any sign of weakness, was a strange form of trust that he rarely offered anyone, but it seemed she had extended a small amount of trust to him. It was jarring enough to lower his guard, someone who would allow themselves to be vulnerable in such a way did not seem like an enemy to him. If anything, he found her to be one of the more likable creatures from his own world, and the realization that they shared a similar opinion on elves only made him relax further. Certainly not enough that he thought her a rebel, for she seemed neither foolish nor naive, and he had no plans to share what Cora had told him with anyone but Torvi and Belle either way. But as things stood, Azriel was someone he would gladly share a drink with, if he ever had time again for pleasantries.
It was her comment on Elves though, that genuinely made him laugh, forgetting for a moment that he had shown up here with fake elf friends and sharing his own jab.
“That is a surprise, I wasn’t aware anyone could rival the arrogance of elves. I am always shocked to see them out in public, can’t imagine what it took for them to pry themselves away from a mirror.” He said with a grin. He was more than a bit surprised at his own disappointment as the music began to fade signaling the forced dancing was coming to an end. He had begun to suspect that the only other people he found tolerable were the humans not from his world. However, his interaction with Azriel was beginning to make him second guess his belief that everyone in Avalia could be so easily written off as not worth his time.
“I don’t say this to many people, because I have believed for a long time that most people are garbage, but it has truly been a pleasure to meet you. It is rare these days to find good company, and it seems I lucked out, having met an Angel without any elven attitude. May you always fly free Azriel, and may you know a kinder world.” Bowyn spoke, his smile easy and sincere now, and his words no longer mere half-truths, but genuine.
The sound of his laughter surprisingly made Azriel genuinely smile. Why had she never truly taken the time before to converse with others? She’d now had two very enjoyable conversations tonight and it had her questioning some things. How strange, perhaps she would ponder this at a later date as she unfortunately wouldn’t have the time after this dance.
”Truly the pleasure has been mine Bowyn. I had written off so many in this world that I never thought to take the time to really speak with another. You have shown me that perhaps it’s beneficial to do so sometimes. So I must thank you for that. I do hope that we run into each other again in the future and can have another pleasant conversation like this.” She said as the music came to an end and she stepped away from him, dipping into a curtsy once more.
”Keep those wings protected, my friend, as I’d love to share a flight with you in the future.” And with that she turned to leave the dance, feeling strangely happy as she made her way over to get herself a drink and stand off the side of the dance floor. While she’d enjoyed her dances, that was quite enough dancing for her tonight. Now she needed to stand back and observe the event in front of her.
