Common Ground and Common Bonds [Closed]

[Hilana Chenzira]

74 Glade, Year 123

[Closed - Raithen, Lykos]

There was always so much to do. Lots of learning about her demigod guest, practicing, training, working, cooking, baking... There were preparations to make - she knew that within the week they would be going to investigate the Western Tower, much to Lia’s and Lykos’ great disapproval, but at least she wouldn’t be going alone. As talented a mage as Æros was, all of this could have perhaps been avoided by going to the authorities rather than going to investigate it themselves and getting some assistance... But that was too late now, and all they could do was move forward and see what could be done towards getting the vengeance Æros needed in order to get his body back.

Preparations were made, plenty of potions and draughts had been brewed and stocked up on. Her medical kit with her tools had also been refreshed. With luck she wouldn’t need it, but if she did, well, she was prepared. In the meantime, she was making an effort to get meals stocked up and prepared for for Lykos while she was gone. She didn’t know how long it would be - maybe a day, maybe more than that... but in any event, she was making sure that there was plenty prepared for him. The servii were perfectly capable of cooking, and they did what was to Lia a perfectly adequate job, but considering Lykos’ preference for Hilana’s cooking, the girl had stocked up for him. Lia had promised that she would supervise the finishing up of the food that was marinated and wrapped and set up in the coolers and cabinets from the recipes the girl had written down for the servants of the Citadel to finish up the meals, and Lia could at least do the final taste-testing.

But she also knew that Raithen was overdue for a visit soon, and that also led to massive amounts of food being made. Her lover sought her out for the comforts of home, and she knew between the winged warrior and the wolfish demigod, that there was a lot of food to be made. By now, the slaves knew to just leave the whirlwind of a girl to it. That night’s menu had involved essentially a whole pig that had been cooked low and slow for nearly the last day, roasted and basted in its own juices, the skin crispy and the meat succulent. Tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and chickpeas were tossed into a salad and topped with sharp crumbles of cheese. Potatoes were roasted and seasoned with spices, lemon, and oils. Crispy hand-pies filled with mixed wild greens and gooey cheeses were stacked high, fritters with goat cheese filled more than one bowl. Eggplants had been roasted and topped with herbs, yogurt, and walnuts. Dessert had plenty, too: Hilana made an apple upside-down cake that was drizzled with honey syrup and topped with toasted nuts, and she had also made melopita - cheese and honey pie that seemed to be a cake in and of itself. She had also elected to make a batch of rolled cookies that had received a dusting of powdered sugar, making them as white as the driven snow and just as likely to melt on the tongue.

They had a nice open space with which to enjoy the evening, with furniture, tables, and chairs set up for dining and lounging. In hopes of Raithen making it for dinner, Hilana had decided to delay the meal - she’d made sure that Lykos had snacks, but she just wanted to wait a bit longer in case her partner showed up. Lia was contentedly embroidering fabric that had been stretched tight on a hoop and worked with coloured thread, happy enough to wait while Hilana relaxed with her snakes draped on her. Her elder sister wore skirts of plum purple with gold stitching with a matching top, where Hilana’s cheerful red and gold dyed skirts were everywhere with the extra fabric, with the large, hand-held mirror resting on a table to give Raithen an entrance point to the Citadel. Warded though it was, she’d at least approached Sentinel Phocion about making sure his winged brother could get through with the portals.

[Raithen]

Raithen had found time, here and there, to make use of his new, runic, ability with mirrors to contact his family, as well as a few friends, Finn, Hilana, others. It helped him feel less isolated, for, though the Neptori culture was welcome, he still had difficulty with the language and oft times it was easier not to speak or try and interact than it was to mine and struggle his way through the most basic of communication.

He had garnered that a lot was going on in Hilana's life but the specifics of what had changed was not at all clear to him as yet. He figured they could have a nice long chat, sharing what they'd each been up to in the last months when he got leave to visit her. He had suggested a day that he might be able to come, but the whims of Avaerys were oft changing. Thankfully, in this case, they did not change and, in a flash the Avialae appeared in the semi-familiar environs of the Red Rock Citadel. The large main room of ones assigned to his lover within the fortress seemed to be sufficed with scents his brain knew but which were, at the moment, too numerous to partition into specific.

He turned, a grin on his face, looking for where Hilana might be but the expression quickly tempered into a more reserved and polite expression when he realized that, unlike the last time he had 'popped in' they were not alone.

Clearing his throat softly to alert those in the room to his presence he said,

"Salve, Hilana. Is this not a good time? I can try another day." That he would be able to try any day soon was by no means assured but he didn't want to make any of her other guests uncomfortable. His eyes ran over the woman and the man, trained by his mother to notice details while appearing bland and friendly. He wasn't even doing it intentionally, it was a habit burned into him. The woman looked enough like his host to be a relation and he knew that Hilana had a variety of those, sisters, aunts, cousins, so there was no telling what level of blood they were without asking. The new woman was doing needlework, another implication that she was in some way family, entailed to relax in Hilana's home but also wanting to be useful in a way one there purely as a guest might not be comfortable doing.

The man decidedly did not look at all like his host. He was foreign without doubt, pale, with dark hair and beard and a wide, muscular frame. He looked, for all the world like a hired caravan guard, come down out of the north for a change of scenery or fleeing some local trouble. Raithen had met a fair number of such men from various regions but could not put a guess as to why Hilana might hire a guard. No, the man must be also a guest. Perhaps he was her relative's... husband? That seemed unlikely considering the tight way her family controlled the marriages of their daughters but stranger things had happened.

For all he really knew the man was another friend, client, or lover (or all three) of Hilana's just as Raithen was. Turning in a slow circle he offered a polite nod of his head and a greeting to each of the unexpected others before turning back to his lover and raising a brow in gentle question.

[Rickter]

Common Ground and Common Bonds
Glade 74th, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

Lykos had been invited to join in another one of Lana's famous dinners, an offer he obviously could not refuse, though he had been told to maybe expect another to join them. Given how busy his life had been the past fortnight, he was getting accustomed to meeting new people left and right. Hell. Since his awakening, he's had done nothing but meet interesting people, from the group that initially found him to the Sentinels and the higher officials they truly served. With that said, he had learned much about himself and a good amount of Solunarian culture, enough to embrace the constant feasts which seemed a recurring trend in his personal research.

Learning that the dinner itself would have to wait, he remained optimistic that their guest would arrive in due time, of course, it was just like Lana to make snacks which would tide him over in the meantime. Being utterly appreciative as he was, the wolf had to try hard not to dote on the lady when he was given cutlets of a roast. Clearly she'd thought ahead when she prepared the juicy pig that smelled delectable from the table, leading Lykos to graze on them steadily as he sat somewhere in between both Hilana and Athalia.

While it wasn't as fancy as what he'd worn the other day, the fact he seemed to greatly enjoy the breath of fresh air wasn't lost on the servii. So they had provided him with several clothes that allowed his arms and torso to breathe, as well as light trousers that did the same for his legs. Wearing a finely woven vest over a pair of baggy cloth trousers, he munched on his snack until he heard the fizzle of aether in the room. His ears picked up the pop of magic before someone had magically warped into the room, arriving with gusto as the wolf's eyes fell upon a sight that quickly intrigued him.

A man with wings. Somehow, the instant his blue eyes fell on them, Lykos mistook the highlights of yellow for another color. That led him to eye the man with sheer awe for a second, before he realized a sudden pain that throttled inside his chest. Strange. That lump of lead in his heart suddenly grew heavier, even though he had never met this man in his life before. Was it because he possessed those wings? Lykos couldn't tell if there was anything familiar about either him or the wings he carried, nonetheless, he quickly clenched a jaw to swallow down the meat he chewed hard.

"Salve sir," He briskly greeted when the new arrival asked if it were a bad time, "please stick around! Any friend of Lana is a friend of mine." He politely urged when the Avialae considered leaving, his expression softer now that he gave the man a friendly smile. Lykos may not have had any idea who he was at all, but that didn't stop the wolf from wanting to learn more about him. Especially since Hilana was connected to him somehow, and of course, anything involved with that woman fascinated the wolf to no end.

He didn't think it best to rush into introductions though, since he was only a guest here as well, and Lana seemed the best to lead into such social situations. Therefore, he glanced at Lia before turning to watch Lana next, the smile still present as he waited on queue for his part of the introduction.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Hilana got up when Raithen appeared, and while she didn’t throw herself at him as she knew it always took a bit for him to get reacquainted with himself following such a jump, her eyes and smile were as bright as the Scepter in the sky above. “No, no. We’ve been waiting for you,” she beamed up at her lover, her arms going around him and under his wings, standing on tiptoe to claim a kiss from her Avialae, her skirts swishing around their legs. When the kiss broke, she stepped to the side so she could introduce him to the other pair who were joining them for the meal. Tiaz was leaving Hilana’s shoulders in order to seek Raithen’s, having recognized her partner and decided he wanted in on some of the affection, his tongue flickering as he sought out the broad shoulders for his new perch.

“Raithen, this is Lia, my cousin,” Hilana would explain the whole situation regarding her Void-sister to him later when they had some time to themselves. Lia already knew the deal, but she, too, rose, setting aside her embroidery hoop and curtsied to him before smiling up at him. If she hadn’t seen this with her own eyes, she would never have thought that her baby sister’s partner was Solunarian royalty. But Hilana had explained to both her and Lykos that the formal titles were not necessary. Raithen did not care to use them in an intimate situation like this unless he had to, and this was not one of the times.

“Salve, Raithen,” the older Vastiana did have a lot of similarities to her ‘cousin’, though her hair was only to her mid-back and lacked the curls to it that Hilana had. “Welcome, it is a pleasure to meet you.” It took a lot not to use his formal title, but Hilana had more experience with the House of Phaedryn than she did, and she was apparently well familiar with the Avialae. More than his brothers and sister, but perhaps to be expected.

“And this is Lykos,” Hilana extended her hand in the northerner’s direction. “He’s a dear friend from Kalzasi, and he’s staying here in the Citadel for the time being.” This was going to involve more explanations, but she knew her lover would take them as they came when she was able to deliver them. She was also just glad that the swelling and bruising on her arm had gone down days ago, else the golden Prince might well have wondered about it. That was going to be a wild story in and of itself, and considering he had had some concerns about her going to the Shadowlands... All of which she’d tell him when he’d had a bit to drink just to make it go down a bit smoother.

“Are you ready for dinner? We’ve held it for you,” her fingers found Raithen’s to squeeze them, and at the same time, checking out the conditions of his wings and how well her seawater-proof feather oil was working for him.

[Raithen]

"Oh." He said, in response to the knowledge that the little party had been awaiting his arrival, making the single syllable sound both politely surprised and a flattered at once. A part of him was shifting from his private face to his public one, though he was trying not to let it he knew that he wouldn't fully relax until he knew the people involved significantly better, or was alone with Hilana.

And Tiaz.

He couldn't help a quiet laugh as the snake pushed its way from its mistress to his own shoulders as they embraced, nosing his way across and then settling himself in full ownership of his new perch. When the physical greeting pulled apart enough for introductions he nodded again to the new Vastian woman. Lia was pretty, similarly to how Hilana was, but not identically. Her more tempered personality was obvious in contrast to her vibrant cousin's.

"The pleasure is mine." He murmured, bowing his head over one of Lia's hands; not quite kissing it, but the implication was there. The court rules of the Solunarian Court were complicated and while all of the myriad meanings of his gesture might not have been known to those present, the idea was still there. It was a respectful greeting without any suggestion of personal or social intimacy. The brilliant smile he flashed her when he stood straight again was not flirting, but it was significantly more open than one might expect of a man of his class to a woman of hers.

When they turned to the other male guest and Raithen received an enthusiastic greeting he put out his arm, grasping the strangers in a greeting that was common among mercenaries. He did not know the man's station, but it felt right somewhere inside him and he was a being as much of instinct as of training.

Answering the greeting first he said,

"I feel the same way, any friend of Hilana's is someone I would know better." When he heard the Vastiana's introduction he added,

"Of Kalzasi?" Then offered a simple greeting in accented Synskrit, a look of mixed pride and embarrassment flashing over his face as he smiled and continued, returning to Common, "Forgive me, I don't know the language well, but I have tried to learn what I could of it, considering."

He nodded to his wings as he spoke the last word, wondering if he might learn more from the Northerner.

[Rickter]

In a way Lykos felt pleased to see Hilana act in such a way toward someone in the manner she did, seeing a packmate of his suddenly happy and energetic on a different level venerated new enthusiasm within him. He could already tell that from the way she acted toward Raithen, and how he did to her in turn, were both indicators that this man would be a welcome addition to the Pack in turn. Although, strangely enough, it didn't just delight the wolf to see his packmate express such happy sentiments.

The affections between her and her partner stirred something else entirely. Lykos thought it might've been envy, or perhaps jealousy, but that wasn't quite what he noticed at the heart of the emotion. It was a sense of loneliness. A part of him that still felt missing something entirely, deprived of a similar sense of love and devotion he might've felt in his life prior. Regardless, the wolf hid all this beneath a warm and friendly smile, knowing that it was just an emotion lingering in that lump of 'lead' he felt within his heart.

Time heals all wounds after all, and while his mind may no longer remember, what his heart might've would eventually fade one day. Or so he hoped. It had been easier to handle the grief that welled inside it since that night out in the desert, but even so, the wolf had to bear in mind the influence his heart had over everything else. Doing his best to keep up with the story which Lana was sharing, Lykos figured that in time, she would elaborate the situation a bit better to Raithen once he was ready. It was probably for the best, for even in the short time he'd known her, the wolf already feared and dreaded what the poor girl oft wrought unto herself.

Genuinely though, Raithen's warm reception to him led the wolf to beam a generous smile. In truth though, there still lingered a sense of blank confusion when Lykos heard the name Kalzasi. Probably because while it was the only discernible 'home' he could think of, any memory of it still evaded him no matter how hard he tried. "Yoi tsuitachi to you as well." He reciprocated the greeting with an earnest bow, respectful as the first time he greeted the Exalted Prince the other day.

"To be honest, I'm not even sure how I know it so well, given that I..." Oh, crap! Was Hilana going to break him into that too steadily? The moment of pause led him to awkwardly grin a bit, if only to slightly blush bashfully when he finished the admittance. "Well, it's a bit of a long story but let's just say I have no memory of home." Though he immediately began to wonder if Raithen knew what it was like there, and if there were anything more about it he could tell Lykos when they finally began to eat.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Introductions made, that went about as smoothly as Hilana had expected it to. She hadn’t been concerned in the first place, and she could tell Raithen more about why Lykos didn’t exactly remember about his past. And that would be something, considering his concern when she had told him she intended to attempt the Shadowlands. That had been a walk in a beautiful area, when all was said and done, compared to what she, Æros, and Lykos had found when they had met up at the Crystal Tree a few weeks prior. She could only imagine Raithen’s take on that one, but considering he did serve His Divine Radiance, maybe he already knew. Either way, she would find out. Lia inclined her head respectfully when he had bowed over her hand, stepping back to make room for Lykos and the enthusiastic greeting between two men that understood each other on a deeper level.

Tiaz was all too happy up there on the Avialae’s shoulders, enjoying his warmth and brassy, tanned skin. His tongue flickered as his head nosed along Raithen’s jaw before settling down, as if he was smug in that position now. Lia left her embroidery behind for the moment as they left the sitting room and headed for the table that had been prepared. The halls were decorated for company, all of it far grander than Hilana’s cozy apartment. As it was largely just the three of them most evenings, though there was the occasional guest when someone stopped by, or if Æros took a host, there was no need for the banquet-style tables that had been set up a few days ago when Arvaelyn had come to the Citadel to tour it. But the table was set and ready for four, with a number of different types of drinks on hand. Wines, ales, meads, harder liquor... Lia smiled up at Lykos, found his hand, and squeezed it as they followed Hilana and Raithen. She could only imagine how he was feeling - which was something Hilana had in the back of her mind, too. “He’s right, it is a long story, and we’ll have to tell you about it,” she told her mate, nudging him towards the table while the Vastiana would pour drinks for everyone before returning to the table. He was going to need a drink for that tale, but then again, they all could use one.

Or several.

“Raithen has been living abroad of home for the last few months,” Hilana explained to Lykos and Lia. “How has it been going with the Neptori? Neptori are sea elves, elves that live in the water, mostly.” She wanted to know once she sat down. The food loaded the table, what with how much had been gathered there, and there would definitely be plenty of leftovers afterwards - for Lykos to snack on over the next few days, and for Raithen to take back with him. He had shown her the little children who were fascinated by some of the food, and that meant that she endeavoured to make more. She was pleased to see that his wings looked to be in good shape - that the salt water-proof feather oils were doing their job. All same, she had more feather oil for him, and if they were able to spend the night together, she would happily groom his wings and apply it for him.

But for now, good friends, good food, and a meal shared. Very little could have made her happier.

[Raithen]

While Raithen would listen if told, one of the things that had been instilled in him early was that prying was not something that was done. That ways to extract information that were not prying had also been instilled in him did not mean he intended, in this instance, to employ those skills. He was among friends, or at least friend and friends of said friend. Tiaz shifted, giving him a little squeeze that made him smile and amend his own thought, he was among friends.

Following the group exodus from one unfamiliar room into another he settled himself down where instructed. His eyes moved from one person to the next as they spoke. He had grinned openly when his hesitant Synskrit greeting had been returned, as always, wearing his feelings on his sleeve for all to see. Neither of the two who were new to him had been mentioned by Hilana before while she had spoken to Raithan extensively about her life and family, which made him suspect there were more tales than one associated with the connections. These he might ask about, but not in a public setting.

As the food was passed around and plates were filled his eyes roamed over Lykos. A mystery was one thing, but a man whose home was a mystery to himself was a greater one and there was something about him, something familiar yet distant... The man seemed open to talking about himself, but Hilana brushed the topic away, so Raithen attempted to be content with waiting.

When he was asked about how things were going on his own mysterious adventure, his mouth was, of course, full, so it took him a moment to chew and swallow before he could answer.

"As well as they were the last time I was able to get away. The language is difficult, particularly since only half of it is verbal. I miss so much even when I understand the words, or if I recognize the gestures the words aren't ones I know. It's like living with half my brain tied behind my back." He laughed at the metaphor but his frustration was real and it came across in his tone.

The food was excellent, as always, and there was enough of it that he didn't have to worry about how much he took. Since his personal connection as Avaerys' cup-bearer had begun he'd found that he rarely remained sated for long, a near-to-constant hunger gnawing at his insides. This was not aided by the fact that his use of Traversion seemed to empty him of however much energy what he had eaten had given him. Nor was the fact that the Neptori, while generous, were also resource-poor help the situation. He always felt bad for taking more than anyone else did on an island where there was just enough to go around.

"' 'Lana..." He moaned as bit into a slice of roasted pork that was literally dripping with juices and fat.

[Rickter]

While Lykos wasn't one to really read too much or deeply into things, there was admittedly something good in the way Hilana's pheromones reacted once the initial meeting had passed. As a wolf, he could often determine how others might feel or what type of mood they might be in, only because of the acute sense of smell his nose possessed in any form. Hers was a delicate fragrance undertoning the natural earthen spices that oft clung to her, which led Lykos to faintly smile in turn once he understood the gravity of her comfort.

She had wanted things to go well between him and Raithen, who didn't smell of the North as the wolf had hoped, but rather of sea salt and brine with aetheric undertones. Likely because of the fact he'd only just arrived with magic not so long ago, even so, the wolf had quite a few more scents to discern before he could comprehend the messages the man's body was telling him. It didn't help that the 'danger noodle' that Lana was so fond of soon crowned him around the shoulders, as the pheromones of snakes and reptiles always slightly threw off his sense of smell.

Once he felt Lia's warm hand wrap snugly into his he looked to her, less distracted by his nose now that she had pulled his attention. They were due to eat now that their guest had arrived, which was a plus for him, given the passion Lykos had for food in general. Long stories or not, he felt that Lana was going to work into it eventually. Albeit, Lykos himself didn't wish to push too far into it on his own terms, understanding that the younger sister had a way of approaching these sorts of situations. She was better than he was, that much he could admit, as the wolf felt he would've plainly approached the subject with simplicity in mind.

Then again she had attachments compared to him, another thing he had to remind himself of in times like this. Seeing all the food and drink available though, it quickly became apparent what Lykos favored in particular. There had been a rather hefty chunk of that roasted pig cut away, and placed firmly on the center of his plate before he focused on the rest of what was available. The potatoes beheld a spicy aroma to their profile that he also couldn't ignore, so after a single heaping scoop of those, he then proceeded to get a bit of a smaller helping of the salad in turn. The wolf wasn't sure what he preferred in terms of beverage, therefore, decided that ale had been the safer pick out of the bunch.

It wouldn't dull his senses immediately like the wine or hard liquor would, which in turn, would balance out with the hefty meal that had been prepped. "Everything looks delicious as always, Lana." He complimented with a hearty grin, nearly chuckling softly to the girl before he listened to the part on Raithen. Neptori hadn't been a name he felt familiar with, although, from the sound of it the Avialae lived an interesting life already. The idea of a winged man trying to swim was a puzzling one for the wolf, as he couldn't help but wonder if Raithen truly lived beneath the sea or just close to it.

"I can understand that feeling a bit." Lykos ruminated on with an actual chuckle this time, having spent the past week learning Vastian, on top of alternating with his native tongue as well, it often felt like his mind was split in two different directions at times. Though, that was also because of how vacant his memory was, and how much he still yearned to discover something more about his past. He took a generous bite out of the chunk of pork he had, and savored every bit of the delicious juices that sent his taste buds into a splendor. He heard Lana's partner utter her name almost out of pure reverence, likely because he too reveled in such marvel that was the woman's cooking.

Truthfully, the lady could cook like a damn goddess at that. The wolf thought to maybe carry out the conversation still, but honestly, with such wonderful food before him, it felt rude not to. Plus, he wanted to follow Lana's lead now more than ever, seeing as how she was the one wanting to gradually share things with Raithen before long. All the same, after he'd taken several more bites, Lykos took a moderate swig of his ale with an expectant glance to Lia in turn.

[Hilana Chenzira]

She could sympathize with Raithen, but she rather thought that he had managed to improve his grasp on the Neptori language over the time that he had been there. She was rather pleased with his progress, and Hilana was proud of him for keeping at it. It wasn’t easy to learn a new language and a new culture, communicating in halves and pieces, especially if one wasn’t of a mind towards languages. Some were better at it than others, but the brain could be trained. Who knew? Maybe his childhood meant he took to languages more easily from the training and education he received than not; the Vastiana didn’t know.

When Raithen and Lykos had taken their first plate, Hilana and Lia helped themselves. The elder sister was a more delicate eater than Hilana, but the younger one was the Vastiana who was constantly on the go and constantly moving. “It’s cooked well. We started it this morning,” she was beaming. She was always pleased when someone enjoyed her food - Lykos’ affirmations and Raithen’s always tickled her, and she cut into her own. It had been a good sized beast on the spit, and the hours of tending to it had been well worth it. The pay-off was considerable. Like the Rathari, when her Avialae mate expended more energy and aether, he was starving, and she took making sure they were filled up and wanting for nothing quite seriously.

“Gratias,” she turned that beaming smile at Lykos. “Thank you as well for your help with it. And you really do, don’t you?” She was sympathetic to the analogy that they used. Strange languages she could understand, but having her memories ripped from her, and from everyone that knew of her, was something else entirely. “Do you remember when you visited after Tertium, and I mentioned that we had gone into the Great Darkness to look at it, and found the Crystal Tree?” she asked Raithen. She hadn’t given him as much detail as she had given Finn, but then again, Finn had gotten assaulted with information overload by asking her to give him all the details. If she attempted that with her Lux, it was going to make something shut down in him and she didn’t want to do that, not when he had just gotten here and was able to relax and enjoy himself in good company.

“And how we came across a Void-demon and claimed that whip from it?” She cut into her pork. “That’s where I found Lykos, and Lia. And they came back with me. I am quite certain that we met Lykos outside of it before I was pulled into the Void, and I met Lia inside of it... Lia’s name is actually Athalia... and she... isn’t really my cousin. She’s... well, I think she is who Athalia might have been had we not had the big fight we did long ago, but we did have that fight and Lia found herself in the Void as well,” she explained to Raithen, trying to keep from complicating it. “But we’re using her nickname, Lia, and a cover story of being my cousin rather than my elder sister as a way to keep things a bit... less sticky. Because the other Athalia is still here in Tertium with her family.” If anything, Lia was the other Athalia, but Hilana was not about to say it that way.

“Lykos saved both of us with some amazing Negation skills, and probably much more... at the cost of his memories and everyone’s memory of him. Myshala took them, we think,” she knew that this was a bit of a bomb to drop on him, but close as she was with him, she’d rather that he be in the know than not. Further, Raithen was pretty adept at sensing omissions, and now that he had some food in front of him and food for thought, she could let him chew on both and see what he came up with.

“Tiaz is very comfortable with you, isn’t he?” Lia offered, seeing how Hilana’s larger python was perfectly happy on Raithen’s shoulders and wings, having settled down comfortably there and was apparently quite disinclined towards moving. “Do you have snakes of your own?” Hilana only grinned into her glass at that, her eyes starting to dance.