“I see.” Kire recalled what she had seen from the memory he showed her, as well as the visions that had flashed right after that. She crossed her arms. “I’d usually get them after you use the Touch. I got a lot of them after that time with Ikegai, before Gavin revived me. I would get them now and then at random, not too often, and sometimes in my dreams. I’ve gotten used to them by now; it’s not the strangest thing to happen to me.”

She glanced at him. “Usually they involved the two of us somewhere we’ve definitely not been to together. The first ‘flash’ I saw showed me something like you, me, and a blue house. Second one was us with Dara. One of the visions showed you baking something in the Palace kitchens, so I know that definitely didn’t happen.” She shrugged. “I thought it was just a consequence of me coming into contact with your magic and being from another world. Like a weird magical allergy,” she added, wrinkling her nose.

He frowned deeply, puzzled, making a note to ask Envy about this, too. "Huh." Ruli hummed, before unfolding his arms. "Well. Let me know if you get another? I find myself curious."

Turning, he put his hand on his doorknob, glancing at her arm. "Two days. Dinner tomorrow?" He asked, gaze back onto her face. "Goodnight, Empress. Go fix that arm."

Slipping into his room, door shut behind him, he was glad to find his linens had been changed and were warm and dry. He moved to the bed, kicked off the boots, and fell into it.

“Will do,” she said, turning to her door, before glancing back at him. She smiled, nodding. “Dinner tomorrow,” she repeated. “Goodnight, Ruli.” She stepped inside, closed the door, and stood there for a moment, looking at her window. “…huh.” She glanced at the leftmost wall, picturing the room, and its occupant, next to hers. A soft smile tugged at her lips. How about that. Kire changed into warmer sleeping clothes and climbed into bed, asleep within minutes.

Elva woke Kire a few hours before dawn to reapply more medicine. Anticipating that she would need to use the Ring to open portals again, the healer wanted to help the recovery process along. “I’ll tell Narda to wake you an hour after sunrise,” she whispered, to which Kire just nodded, already back asleep as soon as Elva headed for the door. Kire fell back into a deep sleep, then woke again when Narda came by just as Elva had said. Kire inspected her arm, which was looking better: less tender than it did yesterday, with some proper color returning to her forearm, and less painful movement from her joints. The scarring had improved somewhat, with the worst of it confined to her right hand.

After a proper bath, where Kire tried to go as fast as she could while being careful with rinsing her injured arm, she rejoined Narda, wearing clean travelling clothes. Elva inspected the arm again, applying a new layer of ointment, and wrapping it in fresh gauze. Kire almost strapped on a sword belt, but the lack of sword at her hip rankled her. “Tell Ruli I’ll be back for him,” Kire said to Elva. “Oh—and if we’re going to push through with Daryll’s idea, maybe you, Daryll, and Ruli could work out the materials we’d need? Just so they don’t have to scrape everything together themselves in two days.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” Elva said, teasing, and Kire pinched her. “Ow! Stop that. I said yes!”
“Now, how well do you feel about using a portal now?” Narda asked, raising a brow.
Kire paused, then gestured for them to step back. “Guess we’ll see, huh?” She flexed both hands, taking a deep breath. Upon her mental command, the Ring flashed blue, and a portal appeared a few paces away from her. Kire grunted, feeling the headache flare up, but closed it again, satisfied. “It works. I won’t be doing heavy lifting today, but it works.” She extended her left hand to Narda.

They reappeared in the Wyvern military camp, north of the battlefield. At the sight of her the soldiers bowed and gave way, with some immediately going back to look for Edward. “Will you be coming back here after returning Ruli?” Narda asked as they were led to the main tent.
Kire shook her head. “I might stay at Uvano for the day—that’s what they named their city,” she said, clarifying. “It’s Elvish. Monster? ‘Something ugly’, roughly. I’ll ask Ed. In any case, I’ll most likely be there until dinner. Don’t want to overtax the portal use anyway.”
“Why dinner—ohhh.” Narda grinned slyly at Kire, who pointedly ignored her. As soon as they saw Ed, Kire grinned, and the two of them embraced.

“Glad to see you on your feet,” Ed said, before holding her at arm’s length, frowning with concern at her arm.
“Consequence of using the portal yesterday.”
Kire and Narda explained to Ed what had happened, as well as the discussion they had with Daryll, Elva, and Ruli last night in preparation for the war council. “That—sounds mad enough to actually work. I’m hardly a sorcerer or mage or alchemist, so I would defer to them, but I’d need to hear more about this in depth when they’re around,” Ed admitted.
“Meanwhile, I’ll bring Myka and the Wench crew,” Narda assured. “They’d jump at a chance like this, I know.”
Ed nodded. “You’re off soon, then right?” he asked Kire, waving a soldier over. “We found this yesterday, by the way.” The soldier, Kire vaguely recognized, was one of the twenty she had pulled back from the front, and in her hands, sans scabbard, was her sword.
Kire grinned. “A good omen, I think,” she said, thanking the soldier as she took it.

While Kire and Nard were gone, Elva was smoking her pipe in her library, leaving the door to the infirmary ajar, having given instructions for her attendants to direct Ruli inside once he’d woken. “Morning to you,” she greeted, once he’d joined her. “Kire and Nard will be back soon, no doubt relaying instructions for the convening of the war council to Ed and their officers.” She had parchment and writing implements ready. “She told me to ask you if you would need help gathering materials for the wards and such. Weaponry and armor, as you’ve seen, we’ve already got. Daryll has his alchemy chamber, and contacts for ingredients, and my own stores are, if I may brag a little, considerable.” She grinned. “Can’t promise we could find the exact materials if they’re specific to your world, but we have two days to find out.”

Kire returned not long after, with a mug of coffee and her sword at her hip. “Morning,” she greeted. “Just let me finish this and I’ll be good to go.”

Ruli woke, burrowed under the blankets, the pillow tossed off the bed, his leg left hanging over the edge of the mattress. He decided at once that he liked the beds here, though only for now and then. Had he a mattress this soft in Úvano, he'd never wake up in time for his messhall breakfast. Nor would he get anything done, and he'd wind up much softer than he was now.
He struggled to get up, his back stiff, but no more sore than last night. Ruli rubbed his face, stretched and bent, before he rose and shuffled out of the room.

To be led to Elva. "Morning." He greeted in return, looking around and wondering why he'd been delivered here. If it was his turn for a lecture. As the mistress of the house explained that Kire and Narda had left, but would be back, he nodded, grinning as she complimented her supplies. "Sure. A-are you able to read my language? I know Kire isn't able to. If not, I can tell you what I know I will have trouble finding, and you can write it down? And, may I request some coffee?"

He sat himself in a chair, and once he held a warm cup against his palms, Ruli thought over his list once more and began listing what he could use help in gathering. Most of it was sure to be found in either world. The natural portions; rocks, herbs, ash, and so forth. The rest, he discussed with Elva in part, trying to relay the exact specifications before deciding which he'd rather grab in his world. A few items he didn't bother listing, like the tools he used. He was in the process of double checking the quantity with Elva when Kire reappeared, and Ruli looked her way. In response, he lifted his own mug of coffee, gesturing for her to sit and drink. "Hows the arm?" He asked, looking it over. He was glad to see most of the burn had healed, only her hand bore the worst of it, now.

“Better. I’ll still be punching with my left for another day maybe, but I can move it better now,” Kire said after a sip of coffee. She spotted Elva writing down a list. “Did you mention that you have a different alphabet from ours, even for the same language? It’s so peculiar.”
“It came up,” Elva replied. “We’ll finish up here while you nurse your mug, then.”
Kire nodded, and was quiet, half-listening to the two talk about their list while her mind drifted to the report Ed had given about the aftermath of the battle. By the time she had finished her cup, she was so deep in her own thoughts that it took Elva two attempts to call her attention. “Huh?”
“We’re done, dear,” Elva replied, an amused grin on her face. “Time for you to go, then? When will you return?”
“Tomorrow, maybe,” Kire replied.
“Ah. Don’t strain yourselves too much then,” Elva commented, and Kire raised a brow, wondering if she meant anything behind that statement. Elva merely smiled and waved them off. “Go get ready to leave.”

“Okay.” Like with Narda, Kire didn’t hold onto Ruli just yet. “Test run first.” She raised her hand, and a moment later a portal opened. The headache wasn’t as bad as it had been in her first try that morning. “All good,” she said, taking his hand with her left.
They emerged in the cave, and Kire immediately looked around, bracing herself for an attack from a very irate elf. “If I made a big deal out of my injury, will she go easy on me?” Kire whispered. “Or do I turn you into a human shield?”

Ruli sipped his drink while Elva and Kire spoke, finishing the last of their supply list before Kire was brought out of her well of thoughts. He set down his mug carefully and got to his feet. "Do you mind if I borrow the clothing? I'll bring them back." He promised, not really feeling like changing just yet. "And, if you'd allow it, I would appreciate the recipe for the ointment your healers used. Ours has a horrible scent and doesn't work quite that well. I'll offer something in trade."

But, as Kire tested her portal, Ruli tucked his arms against himself, suddenly feeling extremely cautious. "You're not going to leave half of me behind, are you?" He asked cautiously. When she reassured him, he tentatively reached out for her hand, but he still shut his eyes as she pulled him through.

Once he knew they were in the caves, and in one piece, he breathed. He let Kire go, rotating his shoulders to stretch. "Oh, no, you're dead. I'm going to go talk to Envy, and get out of the line of fi-"
"Ruli!"
Envy appeared, his hand on the wall, following the path of the cave to find the two nearby. "What, by the Gods, happened! Wards were screeching, Gavin came running, and ... Kire?" Envy inhaled, catching her scent. "Well, now Gavin's mention of blue makes sense." He folded his arms, waiting. Clearing his throat, Ruli glanced toward Kire. You can explain that. "I'm going to find Ysaryn, see if I can't talk her down from murder to maim." He teased before disappearing.

Kire was surprised to find that Envy was the first to meet them. “Wait—uh, alright.” She stood awkwardly for a moment in front of the Kartaian, gauging his mood, before she stepped closer. “Where can we talk?”
Following him, Kire thought through what needed explaining first. “We were in the middle of a battle,” she began, and then she went on to explain the rest: how the Gemini had tried a last-ditch effort to turn the tide of battle and buy time for their allied lords to attempt a retreat, how she had stretched herself to her limit to get Narda and her soldiers to safety, resulting in the injury to her right hand and her sudden, unintended jump to his world and back with Ruli in tow. She left out the explanation behind why her portal had directed her to Ruli, hoping the elf would accept that it was merely an accident with the portal.
“We’re gathering for a war council in two days’ time, and last night my cousins and Ruli had talked about a strategy to retake the Capital.” Kire paused, looking around. “Might be best to explain the whole thing when Ruli, Ysaryn, and Gavin are here, but it involves laying down a whole ward around the Palace grounds to negate the Gemini magic within. Ruli had suggested both my blood and Gavin’s would be needed, but we figured it would be prudent to ask you about it first.”

Kire looked up at the Kartaian. “I know that’s a lot. I’m sorry for suddenly laying all this on all of you after six months of absence. It’s been a rather rough time.”
“Oy!” Gavin called, rushing towards them. “I felt the wards and—Kire?”
Kire nodded in greeting. “In the flesh.”
“Ah. Guess that explains the ‘who’ part of the mystery,” he said, scratching his head. “I guess this means Ruli’s here somewhere, eh?”
“Mmhmm.” She glanced at Envy again. “Can he join us when we discuss the details?”
Gavin cocked his head, curious.

Envy tilted his head as Ruli all but fled, his face then turning toward Kire. As she asked, he tilted his head to beckon her, leading her along the system. The large circular chamber he'd claimed as his own was much less sparse, and he directed himself around the furniture to the large, wide chair sitting against the far side. Around it were two smaller, backless seats, for conversations just as this or, more often then not, Gavin's lessons.
Inviting her to sit, Envy leaned back and listen, his expression blank, though his clouded eyes shifted now and then at her explanation. He could smell the ointment on her arm, and could smell the scent of a semi-familiar tobacco smoke in her hair. And Ruli's flatbread. Envy pursed his lips, but offered no reaction other than that.

Until she mentioned Ruli and Daryll's theory, and the potential need for Gavin's blood. Envy stiffen, nostril's flaring slightly in annoyance, but was spared from immediately shooting her down by the appearance of Gavin. It was short lived, though, and Envy sighed. "He may, but you may not ask him for anything." Envy said firmly. "I will hear no argument on the matter."

He went quiet, mind moving, until Ruli and Ysaryn arrived. She wore something akin to a robe, the fabric asymmetrical and wrapped around her so it fell to one side, her leather pants and tunic beneath revealed. "Kirai." Ysaryn greeted, her eyes on the woman. There was a dangerous smile on her lips, a huntress's smirk. Ruli raised his arm to give Kire the 'OK' symbol over Ysaryn's head.
"What were you thinking?" Envy snapped at him, and both Ysaryn and Ruli went still, eyes wide. Though the former relaxed first, suddenly looking entertained. "Suggesting blood magic? And the use of his blood?"
Ruli cleared his throat. "Just to warn you, Ed has been teaching Kire elvish."
Ysaryn's gaze flit to Kire, her predatory grin returning. "Ooooh! So, do you understand?" She asked, delighted.
"It is not for her benefit, but his." Envy continued over Ysaryn. "This is foolish, even for you."
Ruli glanced around to Kire, then shrugged.
"Rulitus informs me I am to have own swords?" Ysaryn asked, stepping up to Kire to gently grasp her elbow, lifting her right arm for inspection. "And a battle in for to shed blood?"

Kire could see the objection in Envy’s expression and that he was about to put it into words, had known it was coming. She hadn’t been completely sold on the idea of using Gavin’s blood, herself, and had she been in Envy’s position, she would have said the same thing.
Gavin frowned when both of them went quiet, then huffed, crossing his arms when neither explained. “What’s going on? What’re you lookin’ at me like that for?”
He stopped when Ruli and Ysaryn arrived, and he made his way inside to sit, his annoyance not enough to trump his curiosity.

Kire gave a small smile to Ysaryn, spotting the gesture Ruli made. “Chieftess,” she greeted back. The expression on her face told Kire the elf was practically ready to jump into battle now if she had to. But her smile disappeared as Envy snapped. Though her own spoken Elvish was still rough and clumsy, she could follow the conversation decently. She cringed a bit when Ruli pointed out she could understand, suddenly quite relieved she hadn’t told Envy about the circumstances behind her accidental summoning of him. She looked at Ysaryn, nodding. “I follow,” she said, hoping she got the pronunciation right.
“Well I don’t,” Gavin put in, annoyed. “Can I add Elvish to my lessons, then?” Kire reached over to pat his back, which only made him grumble.
Kire listened to Envy berate Ruli, not daring to interrupt, while Gavin rested his chin on his hands, narrowing his eyes at them, knowing full well they were keeping him out of the loop about something that likely involved him.

Kire was at least glad for Ysaryn’s distraction. “Two swords. And a battle,” she promised, then grinned a bit wider. “You’ll see Myka and the girls again. And Ed misses you. He tries to be sly about it, but I can tell.”
“So what happened?” Gavin put in, a little impatient. “After that one went ‘poof’?” he asked, thumb pointed at Ruli.
Kire glanced at him, a little amused. “Alright. From the top, then.” She told him and Ysaryn what she had told Envy about the portal accident and elaborated on the plan to stealthily set up a ward around the Palace grounds, leaving out the detail about blood. But as she talked about the ward gambit, she could see the look in Gavin’s eyes, like the wheels in his mind were turning, thinking over the implications of it even without her bringing it up. She knew he had cast wards and learned runes as Ikegai’s mage-slave; there was no way he didn’t know what that entailed.

“That’s—a really big ward, you know,” the lad said cautiously.
“I know,” Kire said, then turned to the others. “Two days to prepare. My cousins are helping with the materials. The war council convenes after that.”
Gavin, expression guarded, watched Envy, waiting to see if the Kartaian would say anything about the matter.

Upon Kire's answer, Ysaryn grinned wider, winking at the woman before she looked back to Envy, paying attention to the larger elf berate the blond. Her eyes roamed Kire's burn, and as the Empress explained how she'd gotten it, Ysaryn hissed through her teeth. She recalled the headache she'd gotten when misusing her own transportation magic, and decided a burn was a decent punishment, considering the many alternatives.
"Ed is just as sly as you are, I think." Ysaryn said teasingly, circling Kire and meeting her gaze mischievously.

Envy, at the endo of it all, still looked cross, and knew just as well as Kire did that Gavin was sorting it out. He was no fool, the young man. "Gavin." Envy. "I am not one to forbid you. But I think it is wrong that it would be asked." He turned his face toward Kire, as if to repeat this to her without words. "Find another source."

"Envy," Ruli said cautiously. "Its really not your choice, its Gavin's."
"He is under my care." Envy snapped, and Ruli shrank again. "I will not have that sort of magic in my city."
Ruli turned to Kire again. In his city. His eyes fell on Ysaryn and the robe she wore. "We return tomorrow?" He asked Kire. "Gives you time to prepare, and enough time, perhaps, for us to find an alternate solution."

Kire grinned with a blush when Ysaryn circled her and replied, not daring to comment on that in front of the upset Kartaian and add to his irritation. Which, from the look of things, wasn’t going away anytime soon, both to her dismay and to Gavin’s. They watched the exchange between him and Ruli, and it was clear he wouldn’t budge on the matter. Gavin sighed, while Kire spoke. “Understood. Another source, then.” Gavin said nothing; while he didn’t look upset, he definitely didn’t look like he was leaving the matter be.

“Tomorrow,” Kire affirmed. “In any case, our main job at the war council is to plan everything. There will be time to make further preparations after that, though it would be best if most of it will be available by then.” She was already thinking over the alternatives. The captured armies and their lords would have valuable information, and that might include the whereabouts of the Gemini and their kin. Or perhaps her blood would be powerful enough for it.

“Can I talk to Envy for a bit?” Gavin asked the others. “Just us?”
Kire looked from Gavin to Envy. “Well—alright. You’ll be preparing as well, I suppose,” she said to Ysaryn. “Ruli told me you’re responsible for naming your city,” she said as they stepped out. “I don’t know whether to tell you ‘well done’ or not,” she said with a chuckle. Then, to Ruli, "Do you need help with gathering your supplies?"

Gavin waited “I don’t need to give my blood,” Gavin began, “I don’t need to be near any blood. But I can help them.” He paused again, gauging his mentor’s reaction. “I know the Gemini runes, I have an idea how they think. From—from him.” Even just thinking about Ikegai’s name made him shudder. “My mind is just as valuable here as my blood. Even if just for planning.”

Tomorrow. And dinner, tonight. Ruli grinned at her, then turn and strolled out of the caves, muttering a "Nope." behind him as Kire asked if he required help. Ysaryn linked her arm with Kire's left one and walked with her, tugging her away from Gavin and Envy. "Play nice." She warned to Gavin before leading Kire out into the morning sunlight.

Behind them, Envy tilted his head, listening to Gavin as spoke. His lips pressed thin, and he drummed his fingers on his knee in thought. "You are correct." Envy said. "You are valuable, Gavin. But not because of your bloodline. Just because you breathe. Because your heart beats. I do not want anyone drawing your hand in a fight that is not yours."
He inhaled, calming. "However, nor will I hold you back, as Ruli is correct. This is your choice." Envy's tone announced his displeasure at the fact. Were Gavin a few years younger, not a legal adult, by either world's standards, he could keep him safe.

"Crossing into Amria to join Kire and her allies will not be easy. You are Gemini. How Narda reacted to you will be repeated tenfold, and in a few cases, with less mercy, I fear. Even if her allies realize the value of you, so to, will her enemies. Your head will have a bounty on it." Envy's large hands clenched and unclenched anxiously. "Ruli will make you a charm to hide you, and you will remain close to him at all times. Those are my terms if you insist on joining her in her war. If anything or anyone should move against you, he must be near enough to protect you." He hissed softly. "But I will repeat, I don't like the idea, and if anyone bullies you or pressures you into anything, they will face my wrath. I don't care who they are."

Outside, Ysaryn was pointing out all the changes that had taken over the city; the growing plants, the livestock, the fisheries, the repairs. "And you are to say 'well done, yes. Name is quite nice. Informationin-, er. Informative." She smirked. "How many Gem-en-i are in your fight? Is it hard to catch another and drain him? Or does Rulitus suggest simply asking Gavin in Amria?" Ysaryn reached out to tug on a large frond, watching as it waved once she released it.

Gavin looked at Envy as he listened. He took a deep breath when his mentor reminded him of what Narda had done, and of what others will do if he showed himself in Amria.
"I'm good with those terms. And I won't let them force or pressure me into anything. I won't be forced again." His pursed his lips for a moment before he continued. "I would have crossed over to her world at some point," he said after a pause, his tone careful of upsetting Envy further. "Though yeah, in the middle of a war isn't great." He looked at Envy, whom he had come to love like a father now these past nine months. He'd never known what it was like, having someone care for you the way a parent would, and he wished he could ignore the restless curiosity for Amria that had lain dormant in his heart for months.

He paused, thinking over his next words, not sure if he should bring this up. "Honestly--part of me also kinda wants to see these people pay. If getting her home back from them means stopping them from getting more power, for making more gates and sending more people like Ik-- like him to other places, other worlds, I'd want to help." He looked down at Envy's hand on his knee and reached out, laying his own hand softly on it. "But, no matter what, this is the place I call home," he said, sincere. "Even if it's named after the most irritating princess alive," he added with a grin, hoping to lighten the mood, if only a little.

--

"Alright. For what you've done with the city, and the ridiculous name, I'll say Well done--." Kire grinned at Ysaryn looking over the changes as she pointed them out. "This place has really come alive. It's lovely."

But she went serious again as Ysaryn asked her questions. "We'll need to hunt one down," she said. "Though I'm as open to that as much as asking Gavin again in Amria. Which is to say, not overwhelmingly." She sighed.

"I'm afraid Envy's going to like me less after this. Feels a bit like disappointing your own father, almost," Kire said, frowning. "I should have thought this whole thing with Gavin through better. Or at least not bring it up in front of him like this, gods. I think I'm just--I see the end of this war so close, just over the horizon, and I'm at the point where I'd do anything to reach it now. He may be Gemini, but he's also just a boy." Kire frowned again, then sighed and gave a small smile. "Sorry for being a wet blanket."

Envy sighed again, shaking his head. "Vengeance is often the guiding hand behind war when it shouldn't be." He turned his hand over to grasp Gavin's smaller one, placing his other hand over both. "I want you to keep an eye open. This is a good learning experience for you. I know you have seen it before, in being enslaved by him, but being in the middle of a war is a different perspective. I-"
Another sigh, and Envy silenced himself. "I'm worried. That's all. I'm rambling." He patted Gavin's hand gently. "I suppose I can pardon you from your lessons while you're gone." With a rub of his hand over his face, he gestured north. "Go inform Ruli. He'll have to make your charm before you go."

~

"Along time ago," Ysaryn said, leading Kire down another set of stairs, down toward the beach. "one of our chief drive our people to fight against men. He had an idea to win, and it cost many lives, but more of Cordon. The slums, not always so failing." Ysaryn turned to glance as Kire as their feet hit the sand. "War so quickly falls from 'what will you do' to 'what have you done'. It is not know enough before it is too late."

The lazy moving water crawled toward them, hissed, and retreated, as if it, too, knew of the violence that would rain on them soon. Ysaryn studied the water, then the clouds that were nothing more than a smudge on the horizon. "This council. We are to be allowed?" She wondered, turning to Kire again.

Gavin felt the warmth from Envy's hands as he listened. When the elf said he was rambling from worry, he grinned. "I'll keep my eyes open. And I'll be careful." He said nothing about Envy's comment about vengeance. He had a point, but that didn't get rid of his need to get back at these blood mages for unleashing Ikegai upon him, Ziad, and Cordon. Just as the prospect of great danger didn't get rid of his curiosity over Amria. "I'll go find him, then. And when I get back, more lessons!" He called from over his shoulder as he headed out.

Climbing up to Ruli's house, he briefly spotted Ysaryn and Kire in the distance. He made a mental note to bring his Amrian knife along for the trip before hurrying up, admittedly excited despite his fears. He knocked on Ruli's door as he caught his breath. "Envy says you'll need to make a charm for me. One of his conditions," he said.

--

Kire walked arm in arm with Ysaryn, listening to her as she watched her step. "That's true. It's happened so often, and yet, I still ask myself how I could have known better, done better. The burden of leadership, eh?" She sighed, watching the water as it advanced and receded on the beach.

"Yes. You're not just allowed, you're invited." Kire smiled. "My officers can't exactly object to me," she added with a smirk. "You and Ruli--perhaps Gavin too, should he come with us. Word of warning though, there may be a lot of talk." She looked back out at the water again. "One of these days, hopefully after we retake the Capital, I should go for a swim around here." She bent, unlaced her boots, and pulled them off. Upright again, she carried her boots with her left hand while walking along the edge of the water, letting the incoming waves wet her feet.

"Its open." Ruli called, before turning to spot not Kire, but Gavin. "Is that right?" Ruli asked, assuming at once Envy had given Gavin his blessing to join them. "What sort? Ah, yeah, that'll be easy enough. Go find me a stone. No bigger than a coin." He instructed, turning to dig into another little drawer.
When Gavin returned, Ruli extended his hand for the stone, inspecting it. "Want to help?" He wondered, looking Gavin over. "Let's see what you've learned. Grab the engraving kit there." Ruli invited before sitting at his little table.

~

"I have the fortune to still look up to my Father, and am not yet chieftess." Ysaryn shrugged, shuffling her foot in the sand.
"Talk is fine. May be harder to follow if they decide to speak on natural tongue." She gasped suddenly and turned to grin at Kire. "So! You learn elvish, yes? Mmm, yes, is a nice language. Like honey wine on the tongue." With a smirk, she nudged Kire's healthy arm with her elbow. "So you to whisper sugar things to Rulitus?" Ysaryn teased.

Gavin grinned wide when Ruli asked if he wanted to help, stepping inside before he even verbalized an answer. Chuckling at himself, he took the engraving kit and sat by the table. “He’s not happy about it, mind,” he clarified. “And he says I should stick with you for safety. I don’t mind that if you don’t.” He pushed these thoughts aside for now, though, and concentrated on working on the charm with Ruli.

--

“It is a beautiful language. Difficult to learn. But I hope you don’t mind my saying that I still love cursing in my own language,” Kire grinned, then her mouth dropped open at Ysaryn’s teasing. She swatted at the elf’s arm with her left and dropping her boots in the sand. “I didn’t learn it for that! I—it’s not like that!” Which wasn’t entirely true. Kire blushed, pouting, standing ankle-deep in the water but feeling suddenly warm nonetheless. But having no other retort, she sighed, shoulders sagging. “I don’t know. It’s like fumbling in the dark. But—I suppose that’s not entirely a bad thing, figuring things out between us.” She looked out at the sea, hands in her pockets. “Of all the people…I just had to be attracted to the most complicated man on earth. Just my luck.” Still, she had a smile as she said that.

--

Gavin and Ruli finished the charm by a little past noon. Hungry, Gavin stepped outside, stretching, heading for the elves’ mess hall to tell Envy the charm was done. Kire was there, too, but only briefly, wanting to take a plate of food and eat by the seaside. Knowing what lay ahead—the war council, the verdict on the traitor lords, and their siege of the Capital—she wanted to take as much idle time as possible before her return to all that. Afterwards, Gavin went to finish as many errands around the city as he could, both so he didn’t leave any unfinished business behind and to make up for his decision to leave. Kire, meanwhile, went to see the house she’d stayed at and saw that it had been repaired. She took a brief nap, waking up in the late afternoon to explore the rest of Úvano, still quite amused by the name.

Ysaryn chuckled deeply. "I still prefer to swear in mine, as well." She admitted. "Much easier. Too much thinking in different language, I just want to swear." She shrugged, listening as Kire tried to explain what was happening between her and Ruli. "Ah." She raised her shoulders. "I tried. With Rulitus, you know. Good warrior, good magic, but I do not want a warrior I have to convince. If he is figuring out with you, then he tries, yes? Is not luck. Is , uh. The word? Allure?" She asked, switching the language.

She bet and scooped up a piece of shell, turning it in her fingers to see the sun shine on its iridescent face. "Ask." Ysaryn suggested. "It makes him uncomfortable, but sometimes he answers." She laughed. "Well, mostly. Sometimes he just looks afraid. Either way, good."

~

The day moved on far too fast. Before he knew it, lunch had passed, and he handed Gavin the charm to show as proof, confirming that he really didn't mind keeping an eye on Gavin. His company was pleasant enough, and Ruli knew Envy would be worried. He went joined the others in the elven side for the mess hall, wanting to avoid any of his usual patrons demanding meals if they caught him in his usual haunt. He chatted with Envy, repeating his promise to keep an eye on Gavin, and discussin quietly the gist of the plan to request any advice or input.

When the sun began to set on the one side of the cliffs, Ruli wandered out to hunt Kire down, locating her easy enough. The elves always kept an eye on any none-elves in their side of the city, though no longer with hostility. They admitted they'd seen her wander through briefly, before she'd ducked through to the other side. There, she was giving herself a tour of the city, Ruli trotting down the steps in her direction.
"Am I interrupting?" He asked pointlessly, his sudden appearance startling a chicken, which squawked loudly before it fluttered across a flower bed. "Getting late. Any chance you're hungry?" Ruli came to the step on which she stood, looking her over. He'd changed out of the thicker clothing he'd borrowed from Elva's home, and was back in his lighter linen, his feet once again bare. "Did you decide on Pokos or a homecooked meal?"

Kire turned to him right before he spoke, then laughed a little at the startled chicken. “I’m nearly always hungry,” she said with a grin. “But yes. I’m good with having dinner now.” She tilted her head in thought. “As much as I’d like to try more of your cooking, I figured you might need to sit back for a while and let someone else cook. And going somewhere else for dinner means nobody else would badger either of us, if you want more privacy,” she added with a shrug.

With a shrug, he accepted her answer, admittedly having no meal planned if he cooked here. And hiding such a task from Envy wouldn't be easy. Someone would notice their absence, and come looking, and while he wasn't sure they exactly had anything to hide, blatantly ignoring the Kartaian in his own home seemed cruel.
Privacy seemed both a bit much and exactly what they needed.

He extended his hand, offering it for her to take, and when she'd had a good hold, he took a step down the stairs-
-onto white sand.

The humidity swarmed around them, the bright white palm trees that reached high over head provided a shade that did little to quell the heat. Stretched out before them was a long, lazily curving beach covered in the same soft white sand, small shells, and brilliant green seaweed. Along the edge of the beach, where it met the bright green and lush jungle, and then, immediately, roughly made buildings of an assortment of materials found nearby.
He grinned. "Pokos." Releasing Kire's hand, Ruli tilted his head to invite her toward the town, moving through the brush to follow the side of a plaster building painted a dark shade of red. "This was one of the places we considered, but we were worried about exposure. Envy, I mean." He said, gesturing to the street they came across. The sky above it was criss crossed in clotheslines displaying drying laundry of all shapes and sizes, muted patterns a patterns Envy would proudly wear. Across from them was a building, also of plaster, but painted a deep green, with windows made out of the bottoms of glass bottles arranged in several small diamond shapes. Ruli directed her to this one, opening the door.

Inside was crowded with tables and chairs, a few patrons sitting randomly throughout, all quiet and minding their own meals. The majority of the noise came from the kitchen, where a large man with no shirt shouted and hollered, presumably over plates and ingredients. "Pokos." Ruli repeated, before guiding her to a table. The air smelled of strong spices, fish, and coconut, the steam and smoke from the kitchens dancing over head, turning the ceiling a thick grey colour.
A thin woman surfed through the tables gracefully, eyeing them both curiously. She was small, appearing no older than Gavin, but her eyes made her look much older. As did the machete strapped to her hip. "What you want?"
"Two specials, two coconut teas." Ruli ordered, and the woman simply turned and strolled away again. "I'm pretty sure this is where pirates hang out." Ruli whispered to Kire.