[table][row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/VgbuqO2.png[/img][/cell][cell][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240522/49791553b35fa05b88864f9127dc2df9.png[/img][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][sub]Location: Outside Eye of the Beholder[/sub][/cell][/row][/table]Through knee-deep snow, Eris clutched her notes as if they were a lifeline, trying her best to move swiftly. Her legs grew heavy, each step an effort as her days of sleeplessness became more apparent. She grit her teeth, silently cursing the snow under her breath. There was no joy in it anymore, only frustration. A week of snow—[i]three feet of snow[/i]—was far too much for this Aurelian woman. She was barely taller than the snow she was trying to get through! How could Lunarian’s live like this?! She huffed with each strained step, lifting her boots clear of the snow only to have them sink right back in, the cold seeping into her bones. For a moment, she wondered if Ashe would be able to make shoes out of fire as well. 

When she finally reached the point where the guards had cleared the snow from the path, she felt a moment of relief. She stumbled onto it, her boots sinking into the hard-packed snow beneath. She took only a few seconds to catch her breath before rushing off toward the tavern again, picking up speed much easier this time. The guards continued their work, barely looking up to greet her as she rushed past, and she didn't bother to acknowledge them either. She only had one mission—find the Prince.

Nearing the tavern, Eris scanned the growing crowd of people, her heart racing as she searched for the Prince. The smell of the food made her stomach growl, reminding her that she hadn't eaten much for the last week. As she searched the crowd, she wondered for a moment why she even brought her notes with her; she could have shown them to the Prince later. He would believe her without them, wouldn't he? But she shook the thought away, clutching the papers tighter.

Suddenly, she spotted a blonde-haired man in the distance. Her heart leapt. He was facing away, but the height and the build... it had to be him! Without hesitation, Eris broke into a full sprint. 

[color=B1E4FC]“Prince! Prince Fly—Wah-AAHH!”[/color]

The snow beneath her feet was slippery, and before she realized it, her foot hit a patch of ice. Her arms flailed wildly in a desperate attempt to regain her balance, but she stumbled sideways, colliding with one of the three blonde-haired women [sub][Katherine [@SpicyMeatball]][/sub] and stepping on some poor creature’s tail in the process. [sub][Ranni [@Queen Arya]][/sub]

Eris squeaked as she bounced off the taller, more sturdy, blonde woman, losing her balance entirely. Stumbling backward, she fell butt-first into a snowdrift, her fire-woven coat instantly melting the snow underneath her. Water seeped into her dress, but worse—her notes went flying in all directions. Panicked, she scrambled onto her knees, desperately gathering the scattered pages before the snow or water could completely ruin them.

[color=B1E4FC]"I-I’m [i]so[/i] sorry!"[/color] she gasped, utterly frazzled, as she snatched up each precious page. Her hands trembled from both embarrassment and anxiety, desperate to salvage her work. In the back of her mind, she could almost hear her brother laughing and see the way he’d cross his arms and shake his head. Classic Eris. Always messing things up. Except this time, the fate of the world could very well rest in her clumsy hands.

When she finally looked up, her heart sank as she locked eyes with the blonde man she had mistaken for the Prince. He wasn't the Prince at all! The man’s blue eyes stared down at her, different from the Prince’s familiar green. Her face turned a deep shade of red, embarrassment flooding her senses.

[color=B1E4FC]"Oh, I... I thought...I.."[/color] Eris stammered, words failing her. [color=B1E4FC]“I’m so sorry.”[/color] She repeated, her cheeks flush as she scrambled to her feet, clutching the slightly damp notes to her chest and scanning the group of strangers. 

As she tried to formulate words to fully explain herself, her eyes met a familiar figure—Sya, the cyclops woman who ran the tavern. Relief momentarily surged through her. Sya had always been kind to Eris, despite being a blight-born, and Eris had grown to be rather fond of her over the last two months. 

[color=B1E4FC]“Sya! Have you se—”[/color] Eris froze, her breath catching in her throat as her gaze drifted down. Instead of legs, Sya had…. a snake's tail?! A cold shiver ran across Eris’ entire body as she took in the sight. Glimmering, blue scaled, and far too large for comfort. She let out a small squeak in shock, taking an instinctive step back. Was she having a nightmare?

Eris’ phobia of snakes hit her like a brick wall, her skin crawling at the sight of Sya’s new reptilian form. Snakes. She hated snakes. Why, of all things, did it have to be snakes?

[color=B1E4FC]“I—uh...”[/color] she began to back away slowly, aiming herself for the door to the tavern. [color=B1E4FC]“I-I’m sorry, I think I… I must be going.”[/color] she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper, eyes glued to the snake tail. She let out a nervous laugh, backing away from the group with trembling hands.

As she continued stepping backward, her backside suddenly came in contact with something solid. She flinched, spinning around quickly. Expecting to see the tavern door, her eyes widened in shock—it wasn’t the door. She had bumped into a brown-haired man, who had been just about to enter the tavern, but now she had startled him. [sub][Nathaniel [@Echotech71]][/sub] Her face burned brighter than ever, feeling utterly mortified over the last five minutes. 

[color=B1E4FC]"Oh! I—I'm so sorry!"[/color] Eris said again, her words coming out in a rush. Desperately, she hoped he would just go inside so she could follow him in, away from the awkward stares of the crowd and the unsettling presence of Sya’s tail. And, most importantly, hopefully the Prince was inside too. 

[hr]

[sub][b]Interactions:[/b] Gadez [@Dezuel], Katherine [@SpicyMeatball], Ranni [@Queen Arya], Sya [@PrinceAlexus], Nathaniel [@Echotech71][/sub]