He followed her along the wall until it ended, exposing them to the sprawling and busy city. His eyes wandered, naturally comparing it to Ziad. The citizens still dressed to cover their limbs, but it wasn't to protect from the harsh sunlight and heat, but the chill in the air carried from the ocean.
Ocean. He felt himself straightening, trying to spot the body of water. No luck, they were too caught up in the closely packed homes.

Which were also very different from Ziad.
In the desert oasis, the homes were made of sun bleached mud, sandstone, or limestone. Where the monochromatic city blended into the desert sand, Cordon's structures seemed to be in competition over who could stand out the most vividly. Blues, turquoises, pinks, yellows, violets, the full spectrum of the rainbow. Ruli squinted at it, not used to so much obnoxious colors.

As Kire asked about Yaryn's people, and other elves, he glanced at her, then around to make sure no one was near enough to eaves drop. "Yes." He said vaguely. "Its a long story." He added, clearly having no interest in explaining in more detail in public.
"Limber." He decided. "It would be the most crucial. We can speak with a botanist about seeds later. And no boots." He added, insisting. "Its a waste of coin, I would rather go without, anyway."

The smells of this place was an assault. Not like Ziad, where death and decay coated everything. Or the caves, where the air was stale, but subtle. Here, he could smell everything. Spices, salt, sweat, ale, meat, flowers, fish, and the list went on. He rubbed his nose before pulling his keffiyeh from his pocket to wrap around his face and mute the aroma of the port.

“Hm. Will hear that story another time then,” Kire said, catching the hint. Envy might be a better storyteller anyway, she thought, wondering why she still bothered getting a real conversation out of him. She sighed, looking about at how festive the Cordon homes were. It made her feel all the more alone here, in his company, and all the more upset at the stark contrast between the ghetto they had just come from and the barebones dwelling in the mountains, and all this rich life.

And the smells—despite herself, Kire wished they had time to at least eat some of their food. Gods, Kire, you’re a bottomless pit, she thought, already imagining her cousins ribbing her about her appetite. “Fine. Lumber, no boots. Your feet will be complaining soon, though.” She followed Ruli, quiet, deciding to just leave him to his thoughts, focusing instead on taking in as much of Cordon as she could see while on their errands.

Something about all the colorful trappings reminded her of preparations for festivities. She caught sight of some people only just hanging up ornaments outside their homes, and some taverns and inns cleaning house. Hmm. Curious. She looked at her companion, saw that he had covered his face. Was he afraid of being recognized, or was it all too much for him? “I don’t suppose you have any idea what they’re getting ready for,” Kire remarked, not expecting an answer. Perhaps they could chat up the person they would be buying from about this.

For their transactions, Kire decided to let Ruli take the lead. She wasn’t good at haggling, anyway, though she could perhaps offer some rudimentary advice on the lumber they would be purchasing. She wasn’t even sure how, exactly, commerce operated here.

He glanced toward her once more when she said she'd hear the story later. Nosy woman. "We'll see." Was his only comment about his feet.
As they walked along, his eyes remained moving, out of habit to look for any sign of trouble, and, admittedly, to take it all in. They were preparing for something, banners, paper lanterns, posting colourful signs outside their shop doors declaring discounts, deals, and sales. It was busier than Ziad ever was. In the desert, people kept mostly to the shade, albeit impossible during the midday hour, only wandering the streets if necessary. They never idled and gawked, not unless they were used to the heat, as he was, and could stand it.
Here, people wandered at slow speeds in numerous groups, arms linked with female companions, pointing at windows as they passed before deciding to amble inside for a look.

As busy as it was, it was almost relaxing. No one bustled by in a hurry. No one shooed customers from the doorways because they had too many people inside and it was growing too warm inside.

Ruli furrowed his brow, curious. "Hm." He said thoughtfully. "I see signs for sales, and one back there mentioned a feast. So. Feast?" He wondered. As they passed by another shop, its bright pink paper advertised "Cordon's Heart Festival; Flowers sold here for your true love!"
He reached out and nudged Kire with the back of his hand before pointing. "Heart Festival." He informed her. "I'm not sure what that is, though. Ziad never held festivals. But if there's free food somewhere?" He turned toward her; whether or not he was smiling was lost behind his face cover.

Trying not to get too off course before achieving what they'd come for, Ruli and Kire wandered down the street together, and he struggled to keep his eyes forward to avoid being sidetracked. He paused to ask a shop keeper for hints as to where they could purchase lumber, and were directed toward the docks. Looking upward, Ruli could see dark clouds in the distant, but thought little of it.
And then, as they rounded a corner, they saw the ocean.

Ruli stopped dead in his tracks, staring ahead. It spread out before them, a soft grey-green that went on and on until it ended on the horizon, disappearing in the dark clouds above it. He pulled his face cover down, exposing his face, and he inhaled. Fish, salt, algae, so much out of one body of water. It looked so calm, yet so vicious and dangerous, both beckoning and warning him. He moved again, moving to the side of the wooden walkway upon which they stood, to peer downward. It lapped the shore, foaming white and leaving streaks along the shore.

"I've never been out of the desert." Ruli clarified for the nosy woman. "This is the first time I've seen any body of water besides that oasis. I─" He faltered, staring. "Its huge."

Kire held back a quip about him pointing out the obvious, though when he pointed to the written sign, she had to squint. The writing looked familiar, but too foreign for her to understand. She was thankful he at least read it out loud. “Heart festival? Wait, Ziad never had festivals? Huh.” Kire glanced at him, wondering what he thought of all this. “It’s a celebration, so, yes, lots of food. I’m used to festivals either celebrating a seasonal harvest of some sort, being thankful for a plentiful period. Or, an occasion important to the rulers of the land, or an offering to their patron god. Lots of wine, lots of dancing, parades, sometimes even travelling performers. It’s quite fun.”

While Ruli was asking for directions, Kire was concentrating on trying to ignore all the smells of grilled seafood, sweet wine, and strong coffee. The petulant part of her wanted to leave Ruli alone so she could explore, but she firmly, if not a little sadly, reminded herself that she had volunteered herself for the task. She walked alongside him, letting him lead the way, until they rounded the corner and he changed into a totally different person. Kire looked out at the ocean, smiling, then glanced sidelong at her companion. She was quiet, unaware of the smile still tugging at the corners of her mouth, before she looked away and out at the water.

“It’s impressive, isn’t it?” she finally said, crossing her arms. “I mean, you might get sick of all that expanse when you’re stuck on a ship for days, but otherwise, it’s quite a thing to behold, hm?” She let him soak in the sight, deciding to not interrupt until he was ready to move on with their task; she could definitely understand his awe. And though she’d been to the sea many times over the past half year, she was still rather fond of the seaside.

"You've been on a boat?" Ruli asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the water to gaze at her. It was clear he was itching for details, but thought better than to ask. With another pausing glance at the sea, he started walking again, though his pace was slower and with less purpose. He took advantage of the extra time to ogle ahead. "I've never even fresh fish. Not salt water fish, anyway. Some manage to find their way into Ziad, but."
Mentioning Ziad, even in memory, sent him into silence again.

They walked along the docks, the ground falling from beneath the platform until they walked over the water itself. Ruli glanced down uneasily now and then, his gaze mostly on the sea beyond and the boat and warehouse at the crossroads of the walkway. Large, muscular men went back and forth into the warehouse, carrying armloads of crates, wood, and wagons full of what Ruli assumed to be raw ore.

"There's something that I really want to ask. That just doesn't make sense to me." He said softly, his blue eyes darker, reflecting the stormy waters. He had his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers. He made fists for warmth, knuckles brushing the rocks he apparently still carried. The sea might be lovely to gaze upon, but it was damned cold here. "You celebrate a plentiful harvest by eating in abundance?" Ruli asked, glancing toward her. "Why? It seems absolutely wasteful."

Up ahead, the warehouse foreman spotted their approach; foremost the armed woman, and turned to head them off. "Can I help you two?" He asked, his voice burly enough to out-man his horribly messy beard. "We don't allow tourists near here. Dangerous, you see."
"As you can see, the lady knows how to handle danger." Ruli said blankly. The foreman eyed Kire again, his gaze lingering on her scarred eye. "We're here to buy."
The foreman shrugged indifferently. "Don't sell to tourists, neither." He said matter-of-fact.
"We'll buy in bulk." Ruli said, ignoring his rejection.
The foreman laughed, and Ruli's frown deepened. "What, you going t'stroll out of the city with boat load of wood tucked beneath your arms?"
"Why does it matter how we leave with it?" Ruli asked sharply. "So long as we pay you for it, the rest shouldn't matter."
"You show me the coin, and I'll consider the offer." He said, looking Ruli up and down. "You don't look like you got a copper to your name, lad. Your boots don't even fit. Now." He turned his ruddy face toward Kire and grinned. He had one gold tooth, while the rest were yellow and rotting. "Let me see that blade your pretty lady has, and I might be a little more attentive."

Kire’s face cringed for a moment. “Yes, I’ve been on boats, small and big. By now I’ve been in them often enough that I should be less seasick, but—eh. My sea legs are still shaky.” She watched the curiosity and enthusiasm in his eyes fade at the mention of Ziad, and despite whatever annoyance she felt towards him, the moment was disheartening to see. "Fresh fish is quite good," she commented, hoping to at least momentarily distract him from the memory of the ruins, "but it depends on the quality. There are places that eat fish raw, seasoned with just vinegar or pickled ginger. I've never tried, though."

She watched his hesitating pace over the walkway, making sure he wasn’t going to trip. She smirked at his question, turning her attention to the warehouse ahead. “That’s the whole point. You eat your fill because you can afford to do so now. It’s not like we consume every root and grain until there’s nothing left; we set aside what we will need in the future, then we take advantage of the extra bounty. We have guests, we share our crop with our neighbors, we thank the powers-that-be. We know what scarcity looks like; by mid-autumn we would have been prepared for the harder winter months. So, large festivals usually happen during the warmer seasons.”

Up ahead, she saw the gruff man cut them off, and her stern look returned, prepared for resistance. She hadn’t expected Cordon to be warm and welcoming at all, despite the liveliness they had just observed. Kire frowned at the man as he and Ruli spoke, then smirked when he showed interest in her sword. “My lord wants to see my blade?” she asked, before she unsheathed it, the tip pointed at the man’s unruly beard. “Do you like it?” she said, smirk gone. “You could perhaps tell it is very well made, and I won’t trade it even for the whole of your warehouse with your mother thrown in with it. Now, if you would kindly be open to other offers, I will settle for some lumber for this, instead.” Her other hand fished out one of the coins she had kept close with her. “I’m sure you and my associate here would be able to strike a good deal without loss of limb, yes?” She tickled the beard with the point of her sword as she spoke.

He regretted the decision immediately, Ruli noted with amusement. Kire brandished her sword at the foreman and he straightened, trying to look taller while also subtly trying to lean back. He leered at Kire, looking very much like he wanted not only to refuse to sell, but to toss her into the sea and hope she drowned.
Until she flashed the gold coin.
He raised his eyebrows, trying to see it, almost reaching for it until Kire's sword tickled his beard.

Exhaling, Ruli reached out a hand for the coin Kire held, then held it aloft for the man to see. If he reached for it, he'd have to lean into the point of her blade. "See?" Ruli said, tapping it on the blade, which made the foreman flinch. "Solid coin. And, it may not be your currency, but you could melt four of these coins down and get five of yours. I think that makes our coin more valuable, right?" He glanced over his shoulder to Kire.

Greed painted the foreman's face as he spied the coin Ruli handed back to Kire, his eyes following it as it disappeared. "Fine." He snapped, annoyed. "We'll let you buy. But I want a dozen gold."
"We'll pay you in gold, but we intend to inspect what we're purchasing, and you'll get enough coin to cover what we choose. No more. I think thats reasonable."
"I want extra." The foreman demanded. "For the harassment."
"If we harass you, we'll be sure to pay a fee for it." Ruli said icily. "But as of yet, all that's happened is the lady has offered to show you the sword you expressed interest in. Too bad its not to your liking. I guess that means she can put it away?" The foreman nodded eagerly.

Kire smirked at the foreman, entertained at the sight of fear and greed fighting over his expression. Once it was clear that the foreman had finally taken stock of the situation and figured out what was in his best interest, Kire smiled sweetly and sheathed her sword. “Thank you for your kindness,” she replied. The man, grumbling under his breath, beckoned them to follow him into the warehouse, indicating with gestures to his men inside to direct them to their supplies. Kire smiled in earnest this time and set to work, inspecting the lumber with Ruli, asking questions of the foreman’s laborers, letting Ruli look things over and make decisions. He knew the people of Ziad, he would better know what Envy and their refugees would need.

She was about to ask them what was in the other section of the warehouse, having peeked inside and seen more wood and furniture when the foreman’s voice boomed at them. “Hey now. Don’t you be takin’ all the good ones!” the foreman huffed. “I said only the ones in here, not those. Those over there, they’re not to be touched.”
“And why not?” Kire asked, hands on her hips. “Not even for—”
“None a’your hagglin’. We’re selling the best of the lumber to the men of Lord Itallo.”
“Who?”
The man looked like he wanted to tear out his beard. “Bleedin’ tourists. The head of the Council!”
“Alright, alright, fear not, my good man, we won’t take all your lumber,” Kire said, rolling her eyes. “But we might be open to giving you a bit more coin, after all. Do you have a wagon we could borrow?” Kire flashed him one of her sweeter smiles, though it took a bit more convincing and negotiating for him to finally agree. “Well. Not bad!” Kire said, feeling rather chipper as she watched the foreman bark at his men to load up the borrowed wagon. There was less grumbling, now that the gold was in his hands. “What’s next?”

By the time the wagon was out of their sight, the foreman had inspected and counted the coin thrice already. The tourists have gotten crazier and crazier every year, but at least they had the coin. “Oy, ‘e’s here! Lord Itallo’s man!”
“About bloody time,” the foreman muttered, though his gold-sweetened grin was still on his face. “Show him up.”
A young, well-dressed man, accompanied by guards of the Council, walked towards the warehouse. His dark brown hair was slicked back neatly, his collar high and stiff, giving him a rather severe look for someone who appeared to be just in his twenties. “Lord Itallo is grateful for your service,” he said, smiling. “You have the goods?”
The foreman flashed him the biggest smile his cheeks could muster and bowed a little; if he had any qualms about giving obeisance to someone half his age, he didn’t show it. “Anything for the good lord and his trusted men—err—”
“Gavin. Just Gavin,” the young man replied, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Ruli circulated with Kire, using his limited knowledge on the wood they had used before in Ziad that had served well to judge which supplies they'd take. He'd chosen a bunch of straight wooden beams of different thickness that they could cut and size to their liking to used for whatever they'd like. He chose a saw and hammer, nails and fittings they could grab at a smiths another time.

He turned his head as Kire asked about a back room full of furniture set aside for some Lord Itallo. Ruli rolled his eyes. Privileged nobles. He kept quiet as she haggled them a wagon, and he went to work helping the men load up what they had. They didn't need the wagon for too much time. Only long enough to wheel the lumber out of sight so they could take it back to the mountains.
That would be draining, Ruli realized as they piled more and more on. Kire's small handful of coins and their threats had gotten them far more than he thought they would.

"Next. Smiths?" Ruli suggested. "Nails. Fittings. Anything else we think might be useful. Then find a botanist? Or, if we're too tired after that, we could return tomorrow." He suggested. "Maybe we should take what we have back first, just so we don't over exert ourselves and need to leave it here."
He glanced toward Kire warily. "How does your traveling work, by the way? It winded you in Ziad. It takes energy?"

“Hmm .” Kire thought it over as they drove the wagon back through the city. “I think we need to take these back first, yes. I don’t like the idea of leaving behind what we bought.” At his other question, Kire paused thoughtfully, a part of her wishing she could recall all of Daryll’s rambling theories. “Hm. Yes. It takes so much. Traveling between worlds takes a huge amount of energy, especially. And it’s not like that shadow-walking thing you can do, where you’re whole and moving through it. Every time I open a portal, it unmakes and remakes me. It’s like walking through a tornado.” She frowned, both at recalling the sensation of her portals and at her attempt at explaining it.

“The power that I have draws energy from the latent potential in my dragon-blood, the same place that gives me that superhuman strength. And when I get severely injured, it helps speed things up, or keep me alive. If I use up my power for one of these things, it limits my use of the others and taxes me. So, hopefully, we don’t get into any brawls while we’re here, hm?” she added with a smirk, glancing at him. She paused again. “You said you’ve never been outside the desert. Aren’t you freezing?”

He frowned in thought as she explained, mildly horrified by the idea of being pulled apart and put back together everytime so traveled. If Shadow-Walking was like that, or painful, which he assumed it wasn't , he imagined he would never do it.
The Kartaians would, but they were sadistic bastards.

"Yes." He said briskly. "I can't feel my hands." He shrugged his shoulders, as his hands were stuff back into his pockets, balled into fists. And while the majority of his face was covered once more, his eyes were watering from the chilly wind.
At the very least, his feet were warm, stuffed into the non-small boots.

"Shadow-walking," Ruli began, figuring he could explain in exchange. "is uh." Fuck. Envy always explained it better. "Shadows are connected. They're all the same. Its using a sort of back door to an in-between realm to step from one to another. When I do it, it doesn't take much energy, but a lot of focus, and strength. Not quite the same as yours. I am physically dragging you or whatever I am holding along. The heavier the burden, the harder it is. Like trying to sprint uphill."

Kire listened to him explain shadow-walking and nodded along. It made sense. It was probably also why she could open portals up in mid-air, while they could not. Focus and strength. The two methods had their own brand of difficulty. “What would happen if you let go of someone mid-way? Gods.” Kire grimaced at the thought, though she was also morbidly curious. She had wondered that about her own portals, herself, and was thankful she hadn’t yet found out the answer from first-hand experience.

She glanced at him again, specifically his hands stuck in his pockets. “Hm.” She looked away, her gaze scanning the busy streets, looking for something, making a mental note to pass by this way again later when they return the wagon. “If you find yourself here with spare time, I do suggest you go on sunset. You might like the view,” she said, gesturing at the direction of the ocean behind them. “I know I would. While stuffing my face with festival food.”

The jovial sounds and heady smells from the festival preparations were muted once they had reached the other side of the wall later. Kire took a few deep breaths, stretched her arms and rolled her shoulders, then proceeded to unload the wagon. “Three trips,” she said, thinking out loud, “at least for my way. After that, I may have to rely on your shadow-walking, but we’ll see. I’m also a little afraid of what happens to these in transit, so first trip’s to test it out.” She was balancing several planks on one shoulder, holding on tight with both arms. After taking a few more deep breaths, Kire disappeared in a blue flash.

She reappeared several minutes later. “Probably should have picked a more spacious place to pop back into,” she muttered, taking on the next batch and not wanting to explain her rather clumsy re-entry. More prepared for what to expect this time, she was able to transport the other two batches she had earlier calculated. By her third return to the wagon, she was feeling lightheaded but otherwise still able to move. “Can we drive the wagon back down that same street? There’s something I wanted to look at.”

There it is. The aroma was unmistakable. Kire practically hopped off the wagon in front of a coffeehouse. “Two mugs, please,” she said to the lady who greeted her, “and if you have it, sugar and cream for the second one. Give the first to my companion over here.” She flashed the coin. “If you’re selling the beans, or could point me in the direction of your merchant, that would be splendid.”

He opened, then closed his mouth, thinking her question over. "I've actually never seen it. But I can't imagine its good." He said vaguely. If he lingered too long in place, it grew really uncomfortable. Like what he drowning would feel like under intense water pressure. So if someone who couldn't get out were left in the shadows, he imagined the pressure would pommel them until they crumbled.
He'd also only ever seen someone leave a part of their body behind once, a lifetime ago. It had been a horrible sight. They hadn't lived long.

When she suggested going on sunset, he glanced at her in confusion. What did that mean? But then she gestured to the ocean, and he glanced in the direction. It wasn't visible anymore, but he understood. He'd heard many people talk about oceanside sunsets to know it would be worth it to see.
He made no comment about the food. Even he was tempted. It smelled horribly delicious, and in a crowd, there was always the potential to get your hands on food while someone wasn't looking.

"Take it outside into the woods, near where we left." Ruli suggested as Kire stretched and spoke to herself. "You may hit a tree or something, but its better than a person." He watched her pick up an armload. "And try not to break anything." He added for good measure, sitting on the wagon in the meantime.
When she came back and was clearly finished, he stood, motioning for her to rest for a moment while he took his own batch. Having never carried anything of the sort, even Ruli was nervous. He held the lumber across his body, the vertically, trying to decide which would be more comfortable.
After the first trip, he decided vertical it was, even if it still wasn't comfortable. He placed it next to Kire's pile in the mountains, and returned to repeat the task.

When they finished, the wagon empty, he took a moment to lean on the side of the wagon as she asked about taking a specific street. Ruli only grunted in response. He couldn't imagine what she wanted to look at. Truthfully, he wouldn't mind looking at the water again. Or at some of the food carts.
But she led him to coffee. By the Gods, maybe she wasn't so thick afterall. Ruli approached and took his cup eagerly, wrapping his hands around it for the warmth as he held it under his nose. "I miss coffee." He admitted to no one in particular. The vendor eyed them curiously; from his clothing to Kire's sword. He poured both sugar and cream into Kire's coffee, furrowing his brow when Kire mentioned not once, but twice to add more sugar.

As they drank, he bent behind his wagon to fill a small canvas bag with coffee beans. Ruli sipped his coffee, unable to complain about the purchase. Having slept through the day for months and suddenly trying to stay awake during was not an easy task, and this would help. "And tobacco?" He asked the vendor, who shook his head. "Any idea where we can buy tobacco?"
It wasn't a far walk. Once they'd paid for their coffee and the beans, they strolled along lazily. Ruli held his cup close, unhappy that it was cooling so fast in the cold, late winter air. Ruli fished into his tunic, fishing into a hidden pocket to withdraw a few coins to pay for a sizeable box of loose tobacco and paper. Once it was tucked under his arm, he turned around, draining the last of his coffee.

"Now, botanist, or we can try to get our hands on food." He suggested, his eyes roaming the crowded street.

Kire couldn’t help but grin when Ruli admitted to missing coffee. She sipped hers slowly, not wanting to be done with it too quickly. While they were still able to have a steady supply of coffee back home, wherever home was for the particular time period, they’d had to ration it. That meant there would be several mornings of watered-down coffee, to help stretch their stores. The continent had been unstable after the throne was usurped, and that meant there were certain luxuries that became harder to obtain, especially when they’d needed to be more mobile.

“Which one of you smokes?” she asked as they strolled towards the vendor. “My cousin, she’s a healer, and she would smoke like a chimney. She’d even use some herbs for it, too. It’s—interesting,” she said with a smirk. “Food, maybe. And we could ask around about botanists while we’re at it.” She drained her own mug. “There’s one place we passed that was grilling fish and squid, we could—”

Kire dropped her mug. She turned, drawing her sword halfway out the scabbard, her eyes wide in alarm. What was that? The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, and she looked at the crowd, down the busy streets. She knew that feeling. Like Ikegai’s magic, but different. Gemini. It was only a second, a whiff of iron in the air, but it was gone. Kire’s hand never left her sword-hilt, even when she realized she couldn’t catch the feeling anymore and instead noticed the people looking warily in her direction.

"Envy." Ruli answered simply. "He may scold me for spending coin on it, but it's the one thing he does for himself." That, and he had permission from Ysaryn, who had given him the coin to begin with.
He turned toward her. "What sort of herbs?" He wondered aloud. Herbs that made you hallucinate or relax, there were only so many recreational herbs to smoke.
Unless she combined them. That would be an interesting was to enjoy the night.

He pursed his lips as she mentioned grilled fish and squid (whatever squid was), as his experience with grilled fish in Ziad hadn't always been the best. But he figured it would be tastier here. When Kire cut herself off, he turned to gaze curiously at her. "What?" He asked, looking around. She looked alarmed, her hand on her sword, but he could see nothing out of the ordinary.

"Kire?" He asked, stepping toward her, looking about. Instead, his eyes fell on a pawn shop, and he raised his eyebrows. He would need a ring for her enchantment. Maybe he could find one there.

"One stop first." He said, leaving her to stroll inside. It reeked of musk and body odor. The wraith-like man behind the counter eyed them curiously, his attention on Kire's blade. When Ruli asked to see the rings, the man had the nerve to assume something and smirked as he bent to retrieve a tray.
"Pick one that fits." Ruli said over his shoulder to Kire. "Nothing fancy."
"How romantic." The vendor said, and Ruli grunted in annoyance.

Kire returned the sword to its scabbard, but she still held it tight. She could have sworn she had sensed Gemini magic, but there was no longer any trace she could follow, as if she had imagined it all. That didn't reassure her. Months ago she had been like that, overly sensitive to the presence of Gemini blood-magic, to the point of sensing in everywhere. Kire rubbed her face. She didn't like that she wasn't sure.

Ruli seemed to have spotted something else, though. Running around the city like a madwoman chasing after phantoms wasn't going to be productive. She would have to look into it later. Huffing, Kire walked after him, still visibly on edge even as they entered a rather dank establishment. Pawnshop, it looked like.

Confused, she didn't immediately catch onto why Ruli was buying her jewelry, then remembered him mentioning that he needed this for the enchantment. She put on a smile as a front, and went over to pick. "Isn't he just thoughtful?" she said to the man rolling her eyes. She found a band, silver with no stone, and she made a show of admiring it. The man raised an eyebrow at her. "Does he look like he'll spend anymore for me? He's too miserly; look at his boots," she 'complained' with a sigh. Then, something occured to her.

"Do you sell gems like rubies, quartzes, carnelians?" She smiled. "Not that we can purchase now. But for the future. Take them to a nice jeweler and all that when we could. finally afford it."
The man, who looked like he found the two customers a tad too strange, shrugged. "Not of late, but there should be soon; the Lord's mines usually are a good source. The work had halted for a time, some mishap or other, but they've gone back to work recently."
"Ah. I'll keep that it mind." It wasn't particularly conclusive; she knew many lords and ladies who had mines that supplied a large part of their wealth. She still couldn't shake the feeling she had earlier.

She was silent even after they had left. "I thought I felt-- something familiar," she said after a long pause. "Similar to the traces of Ikegai's magic. But I didn't get a good enough sense of it to know whether or not it was just me being paranoid." She sighed, frowning.

Ruli gave her an un-amused look as she inspected the silver band, which only deepened when she called him cheap and insulted his appearance. Miserly indeed. Technically he was homeless, and all the coin he had on him was given to him be an elf that this man wouldn't have allowed into his shop.
Still, he bit back several sharp retorts as he paid for the ring, taking it from Kire and shoving it into his pocket for later.

As they left the shop and went back into the frigid street, Ruli shoved his hands back into his pockets for warmth, head bowed. He glanced sidelong at her, raising an eyebrow. "So, do you think he's here?" He asked her, trying to follow her train of thought. "Was it the man behind the counter? Cause he gave me the creeps, but I think that's just a vibe he gives."

Their goal now was food, and Ruli wandered toward where the crowds seemed to be flocking, the aroma of the many varieties of food coming from that direction. He slowed as they reached the edge of the swarm of hungry patrons, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably. His mind automatically went to the chaos that would be inevitable if something were to frighten them all; trampling, screaming, selfish people shoving others down to clear a path. If Kire sensed Ikegai's magic here, if she was here, that could very well happen. He shivered, and not just from the cold.

“The man in the shop was definitely making my skin crawl,” Kire put in, “but this is different. And—I’m not—it might be Ikegai, it might not be him.” She crossed her arms as they walked, lapsing into silence, still trying to sense any lingering auras that could have caused the alarms in her head to go off. “He studied, or stole, much of the magic he knows under my enemies back home. So they’d share some signature traits. It felt like that.” Kire gestured with a hand, frustrated even as she explained. “But you know the feeling of waking up so suddenly your nightmare bleeds into the daytime, just for a moment?” She must sound a little mad, but he already looked at her as a madwoman anyway. “So far, though, nobody seems to have recognized my face. They might not be here. Maybe it’s something else.”

Food first, then. “Or maybe I’m just hungry,” she muttered, a feeble attempt at levity. “There.” She found the place she had been looking for and went straight for it. “Do you have any soup? Two bowls, thank you kindly,” she asked after ordering three sticks of skewered fish and squid for herself while waiting for Ruli to decide what he wanted to try. The moment they got a place to sit down, which was really just some repurposed wooden crates for chairs and tables outside the establishment, Kire tore into her meal. When the bowl of soup arrived, she took a few sips almost immediately, burning her tongue a little bit. Gods, that was good. “I hope Ysaryn finds a nice place like this for her own people,” she murmured halfway through her meal. “And for the people of Ziad, too.”

When another set of patrons took up places near them, Kire listened in on their chatter. Mostly talking about the festival, what they had been looking forward to. When one of them mentioned Lord Itallo, Kire listened more closely. The festival was a celebration of love, from what she could hear, and this Lord Itallo was preparing for his wedding, which will become the main event for this year. “Some exotic beauty, I hear,” the other patron mentioned. It’s always ‘some exotic beauty’, Kire thought, shaking her head a little.

He continued to eye her warily between nervous glances over the crowd. He didn't ask the question he wanted to ask, though it danced on his tongue in an aftertaste of plums and ash. Akuma. He even thought the name with a heavy weight of dread in in abdomen. As she made a joke about being hungry, he grunted at her in response.
"That, or you're just looking for h-him." He almost said her. A projection, as he looked from face to face looking for that that face. He was glad when she jet off to order food for them, and he asked for the same that she'd ordered and went to join her at their table, turning the skewer in his hand to inspect it. It smelled far better than the fish in Ziad, at least.

He pulled his keffieh down and opened his mouth to grip a chunk of meat, revealing his teeth. While Envy's were all pointed like fangs, and Ysaryn had a canine-like smile, Ruli's teeth appeared normal until he exposed his molars. The outer edges were ever so slightly longer and sharper, and they curved back slightly, in a way that violently suggested that if he bit down, he wasn't letting go. Chewing, he made a face, but shrugged. "Texture is strange, but the taste is, well. Grease. It tastes like grease." He commented, moving on to the fish, which, in his opinion, was much better.

As Kire burnt her tongue, he glanced at her, expression nearly lightening in amusement as he let his cool a minute more. "Idealy," Ruli said absently. "I think a lake would be ideal. Or river, so we could set up turbines." He stared outward into the crowd, thinking. "The issue is, while we're trying to find a home for Envy and those who resided with him, the rest of Ziad is looking for a home, too, and I doubt they'd easily coexist. Plus we have the throne-less princess among them, who is no doubt expecting her desert kingdom back." He curled his lip at the mere thought of her as he took another bite of his skewer. "You've had to have been all over hunting this mage, anywhere you travel been close enough to that that we could get to? I'm sure Envy's asked already, but wouldn't hurt." He glanced around again. "I'm supposed to ask sailors, but its not an easy topic to approach."

Kire watched him eat, staring, fascinated, at his teeth. Elves were one thing, but Ruli looked to be human except for those teeth. And the shadow-walking. Was he part elf? Or were there just some people who had features like his? Knowing he wasn’t particularly keen to answer her personal questions, she kept her wondering to herself. She almost laughed when he made a face at the squid. “You might like it better in a stew. I didn’t think I’d like it, what with the black ink mixed in with the sauce and all, but it was surprisingly delicious. Especially when you have squid full of eggs.” Kire’s eyes unfocused for a bit, like she was already imagining eating the stew. Clearing her throat, she pointed at the squid he had left untouched. “If you’re not going to finish that, can I have it?”

She sipped on the rest of the hot soup as he spoke, nodding when he talked about the difficulties of finding homes for the two groups. At his comment about a throne-less princess, Kire stopped and raised a brow at his expression. “Is it all princesses that you don’t like, or just this one?” She smirked a little over her bowl. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised. Royalty can be very stubborn. Especially when you take their seat of power away. I’m sure she’s stewing over that.” She finished sipping from her bowl and set it down before speaking again. “But if she knows what’s good for her people, a halfway decent leader should know when to cut their losses. A year more of mountain-dwelling as a refugee and let’s see if she hasn’t sorted her priorities out by then.”

She rested her chin on her hand, fingers drumming against her cheek as she thought it over. “Not in this worl—place, no. But back home, yes. Like me, I trust majority of my people wouldn’t have heard of the existence of elves of any sort, save for fairy-tales. There are communities here and there of people who, ah, don’t come from Amria, so it’s not unheard-of. It’s a long story. Point is, there are plenty of places like that back home. Transport, however, is going to be tricky, as you can imagine.” She huffed. “And on top of that, when I’m back home, I have to worry about my own set of refugees and exiles, myself. It will take time, and a lot of planning.”