John
"There are limits to what a single person can do alone, Wisteria. Even Scipio failed in the end with eleven of the ages strongest demigods. I'm just a man. I've learned that." He said, coming to a stop as they passed a small graveyard. It held the graves of noble families, attached to the backside of a nobles manor. He gazed at the tombstones, wondering if Scipio or any of the other Eleven had tombstone, if they'd bothered to give him one. 

"I'd be a fool to not want your help, Wisteria." His voice even when speaking quietly, seemed to get caught in the wind and carried to her ears. Gloved fingers raised up and curled around the wrought iron gate that closed off the lords property, his silver eyes almost seeming... Grey. A mortal color, less impressive, more human. 

"Wisterias have a very delicate scent, you know. I catch it on you, sometimes. You want something more out of life than just fighting and wandering the earth. Join me, give me a chance to chase my dream- and I'll help you reach yours if I can help it." He turned his head to look at her, grey eyes still sharp and his handsome face looking almost... Weary. Still he smiled, warm like spring, a flash of white like the first spot of the moon on the horizon.
Terry
"I suppose you are right in that." The woman agreed, not having much to fight back with. Being who she was, Wisteria knew the finite time and energy that mortal beings had. How quick it was to snuff out a life, watch time pass you by. Meet someone stronger than you in mere moments after climbing your way to the top. Even those of gods and demigods were not free from feeling weakness.

Her people's history made that very clear.

She looked to the gated boundary that lead to the plains of the dead; headstones lining one another like a perfectly sorted bookshelf of fabled figures. Who these people were or what they did were unknown to the dragon, but even from where she stood the signs of time were evident from the moss that collected on their stones, the faded engravings and the roots that clung to the grounds. The sight of Noctis staring off into that abyss of the death and finality left her silent, watching as his eyes stormed from their vibrant silver like the light of the moon to a dulled and broken grey. Like a weapon having long since lost it's purpose.

"You want me to give you a chance?" She questioned, letting the idea roll off her tongue. Why was she giving it a thought? Normally she would just brush it off. She'd spent enough time with Noctis before. There was on reason to do so again. And with even more people. That spelled disaster if her secret got out. It was too dangerous. She should just dismiss his request and leave...

Something resonated in her chest still. It was small, nearly insignificant to notice, but it was there. The opportunity to reach her own dream. Was she desperate to find an answer? Or just out of options?

*He can't help me with what I want. But...*

She locked eyes with him as he smiled to her. Genuine once more. 

The dark-haired woman sighed, the cold air easing her tired muscles. "Fine. I'll join, but it's temporary." She walked closer to him, closing the gap between them more so than he probably ever expected. Reaching out with a scarred hand, she moved to catch a still damp lock of his hair and flicked it out of his face. "No tricks. No complaining. No begging to keep me around if I don't want to. If i decide to leave, you can't chase after me. Got it?"
John
As she got closer, his mind seemed to fire off alarm bells. Suddenly, he was standing in the center of a cavern. A beautiful woman approached with a relieved look on her face, her face smudged with dirt. As she got close, she reached out to him, wanting to hold him- that's what he'd thought. Then there'd been the pain, and then a flurry of magic and then his entire being had been struck with enough magic energy to eviserate him. Only a last second shield of his own magic had saved him. 

The vision of Emi and her betrayal lasted only a second, and when she reached out to move away his wet hair that had started to freeze slightly in the freezing Forstead weather, he almost seemed relieved. As if he'd been worried she might bite his head off. There was something about her, when that fierce look wasn't in her eye that made her look... Beautiful? She'd always been attractive, Noctis noticed attractiveness even in people others thought were ugly. That was another of his gifts, he found beauty everywhere. Even people who'd been born with twisted backs or wretched skin, he could see the beauty in their eyes, their voices, their nose shape- and he could always sense a persons core. 

Noctis' idea of beauty was not as shallow as it might seem, it was the opposite, he was a child of the god of beauty, of the concept that had existed since the creation of the universe. 

Still she looked beautiful, perhaps it was that determined look, maybe it was that he was so wretched now that her agreeing to help him was enough. His hand almost came up to touch hers, but it dropped before it even rose past his hip. 

Whatever it was, he banished the observation from his head before she somehow read his mind and ripped the eyes from his skull. 

"It's an accord then. Besides, even if I did, you'd just burn down my ship and it really was quite expensive." He said with a grin, that Cheshire look back and the grey slowly returning to silver as he recollected his thoughts. "Shall we get going t

Hen? I should check on the crew and ensure no one's gotten into too much trouble."
Terry
A smirk rose to her lips at Noctis's quip. "That is true. Piss me off enough and I wouldn't be too sad to burn it down." She took a step back from the human, giving the two some space as Noctis thought up their next plan. It was still somethign she was just getting used to. She didn't normally team up with people. Multiple people was out of the question.

She only hoped this wouldn't be a mistake.

"We should, but first you owe me a drink and food. You're plans to woo just about every woman in this town back at the inn left me unable to enjoy anything. You owe me for that first, and then we'll go." She told Noctis. Her tone gave little leeway to letting him dismiss it.
John
"Very well! I'm quite hungry myself. Let's go and share a meal together, some peace and quiet would be nice I think." He said, and he once again continued to stride down the street. With a deep exhale, he activated his enhancement once again and removed sight and taste, and enhanced his sense of smell threefold. Breathing in deeply, he let a flurry of scents flood into his head. He sifted through them, searching, searching. 

"Aha!" He said, locking the scent down and it's rough location before letting his magic go. "This way my lovely Wisteria." He said, and he hooked a right to lead them deeper into the city. He'd smelled a sweet and savory scent, a place selling meat pies and pastries, and a touch of vanilla infused mead. Likely a restraunt made to serve nobles. Pricey perchance but not so much that he'd balk at the cost.
Terry
For as quiet and calming as the moment had been, it was soon swept away by that typical charisma of Noctis's personality. At times she found it strange from how he could bounce back from being melancholic to that of a energetic showman, but perhaps that supported the strength of his character.

An amber gem avoided eye contact at his complementary speech. Calling someone lovely felt like it lost a bit of meaning when that very same was complimenting a group of women moments ago to swindle money.

Trusting him was going to take a bit. He was good at talking his way into and out of trouble.

Following a few steps behind the excited beauty, the dragon titled her head around a.Corner to spot the place Noctis had found from smell alone. A little shop selling various foods and drinks to warm it's customers from the cold. It wasn't as loud and closed off as the inn earlier, but it was quiet enough that the mood wouldn't be ruined. They could just... Talk?

She wasn't that much of a good conversationalist. Noctis would probably do all the talking.

"This is fine." She said, walking to the stall and browsing its wares. She turned to look over her shoulder to her newly made crew mate. "Don't worry about payment. I'll cover it. To owe you for dumping the ale on you."
Marilyn
N; "So you do have *Some* Courtesy in you yet." Noctis said with a chuckle. At the door they were greeted by a redheaded young man with heavy amounts of freckles and wide shoulders. He straightened when he saw them coming, his eyes wide as he looked from the heavily scarred woman with an eye color that no human should have and the most handsome man he'd ever seen. The look of both jealousy and puzzlement on his face was evident, but he pulled himself together enough to say. 

"Welcome to Pillas Pies. Two, is it? We have our balcony table open for a gold if you'd like, it's quite high up and has a good view of the mountains and Vaelic City." He said, and Noctis couldn't help himself. He pulled a gold coin out and passed it to him. 

"We will take that one then." He said, a light twinkling in his silver eyes. As a child of Masculo, beautiful sights and a good view were a particular weakness of his. They were led over to a pulley powered elevator, and once at the top they found... A single table on a balcony, with a candle and a rose in the middle, covered with a white table cloth and two plates with cutlery. It was obviously a romantic spot. 

The area was kept warm he noted with a light application of fire magic that warded off cold winds. With a laugh, he glanced at Wisteria to catch her reaction and then swept forward to pull a seat out for her to sit down. 

"Well we couldn't ask for better now could we?"
Terry
An eye followed the hand of Noctis as he pulled a golden coin from his person, handing it to the human that ran the establishment. The dragon ignored the look he gave them for a split second. He'd looked at her and then at Noctis, most likely taking note of their odd pairing and their appearances. Humans had that strange fascination about hem. To judge others on looks first before speech and action. Did he think they were that strange of customers?

*If he looks at my scar again, I'm going to say something.*

Noctis probably was enjoying himself. He did always love getting attention. Whether good or bad, it seemingly didn't matter.

 She never understood him sometimes. The man seemingly carved from marvel she stood beside had an odd fascination with beauty and the looks of those around him. It came up every now and then when they traveled together previously. Beautiful people, locations, flowers or clothes. Just about anything he seemed to find a reason to indulge in it.

Perhaps it was to make up for all the time he'd seemingly lost in that ravine.
She still didn't know all the details.

The two went upwards to this fabled spot; a balcony reserved for what appeared to be close individuals. It was closed off, decorated in a more pristine fashion. A perfect view, a blooming flower of blood red that set in a vase at the center of the table. It was a perfect picture setting for people who wanted alone time.

Heading to their table, Noctis' playful banter at their accommodations made Wisteria raise a brow at him, taking the gesture as she sat down. "You would have spared no expense regardless. For a man who's quick to find money for his expeditions, you seem to find it awfully easy to use it one fleeting things simply because people call it beautiful."
John
"Fleeting? What about this is fleeting, Wisteria?" He always seemed to say her name as if he wore letting it dance upon his tongue, his silvered surface a perfect dance floor for the union of her name and his voice. He gestured out to the view of the city, the massive towers and tall buildings made to house all variety of people, especially giants. The buildings made specifically for them were towering spectacles of craftsmanship, huge doors and blazing bonfires for torchlight. 

The clouds above head created a beautiful dark canvas, the steepled roofs covered in snow were white pinpricks of life in the vast expanse of dark houses where some families had begun to sleep. He gazed out at the view they had with a look of excitement- and then only a hint of melancholy. This had not existed in his time, Forstead had been just a vast expanse of wilderness that housed the bones of his mortal mother. How would she have seen this place, what would she have thought of it? Of all things she would have liked Wisteria, a powerful woman like her? His mother would have clambered for them to be wed and her with child right away, she'd always spoken of Noctis meeting a strong woman one day. He could almost laugh. 

"So.." He said, turning to look at her. "You don't get why I like 'pretty' things? Well it's because it's who I am, and what I want. The sun rises on the earth and it's pretty- that light gives life to plants and trees which grow tall, those are pretty. Those beautiful plants feed the beasts and make their coats full and shiny, which are pretty. Beasts feed and clothe people, children- all the races of Aeterna, which is beautiful. Life is made up of pretty things, Wisteria. I want the world to stay a place that's pretty." He looked her in the eye as she spoke, taking in the shape of the amber orb, of the scars that made an intricate pattern on her face and body, it too was beautiful in its way, streaks of skin that had paved way beneath the flames of magic. Yet it was ugl

Y as well, ugly because he knew of the pain that she must have felt to have survived those scars. 

"I'm willing to spend some money to see something like this, it's not fleeting. I'll remember this view for a long time to come, I hope you will too."
Terry
She gazed out into the city as Noctis did, seeing the little nooks and crannies that the world had to offer. The buildings stood tall like mountains, the fires of bonefire's dousing the shadows in hues of orange and reds; it's heat tickling the skin. Something so strong you could even feel it from where they sat.

But it wasn't just the city. It was nature itself. The dark sky cloudy, but painted so softly with colors of gray and white. The moon's light peeked from behind them, bathing parts of the town below in rays of moonlight and made the freshly fallen snow sparkle like diamond dust.

Even that small flower at their table. A rose by itself was nothing but a flower, but it too held many things as Noctis listed off his own reasons. Life, color, beauty. Even the thorns which could cut those foolish enough to reach for it and not be careful were magnificent int heir own way.

Even after roaming Aeterna for the hundreds of years she had, truly understanding the world was still something new to her. It took her nearly until the end of her teen hood to understand the importance that beings had. That they were more than just small insects to be stepped on. That humans, elves, dwarves, giants, and so many more had lives. They lived, breathed, thought.

Power in beings so small. So easy to end the lives of. Only as a human did she see that.
Perhaps it would need to be as a human once more that she could figure out Noctis's line of thinking.

Would that take another hundred years? Maybe more?

Reaching out to the rose, the bewitched dragon plucked it from it's place and brought it closer to her. It's subtle scent was pleasant, yet so quick to disappear amongst the smells of food and snow around them.

Coming and going, yet her mind still remembered the scent.

She stared back at Noctis, reaching out the flower to him. "It won't be that hard. You're not an easy person to forget." Whether that was a compliment or not was up to Noctis.

Deep down though, some part of Wisteria almost made her smile at the comment. It probably boosted her companion's ego.
John
"I wish that were true." He whispered as he took the rose from her, and he smiled. It was a... Well, it would be hard to tell. The smile was not happy, but his carefully constructed mask made it hard to discern what it meant. 

Within the closed doors of his heart, he wept. His life had been snuffed out, time had marched on without him as if he'd never existed. Time had shifted and he'd ended up as nothing but the shadow of a whisper. No mention of his name in the histories, he'd drowned in the blood Scipio enemies and still time and his friends and his own legacy had abandoned him. No riches, no family, no heirs and no loves to mourn him. For all his beauty, all his strength, all his power- he might as well have died alone and unwanted, unmissed. 

He stared back at her and there was silence between them as silver eyes lingered on an amber one. Clearing his throat as they looked into each other, the server arrived. He leapt at the intrusion and was quick to reassemble that perfect mask. He ordered a rather large meal, larger than someone of his lean frame would seem to be able to contain alongside a full bottle of wine. Wisteria would have learned that Noctis had a ravenous appetite on their journeys and that he always seemed to lose all decorum when eating, usually using his hands and eating as fast as he could, as if someone near by might steal the food from his very fingers. 

Once they'd ordered, the server left them with a bottle of red wine and glasses and was gone once more, leaving them alone.
Terry
"It is true." She normally wouldn't explain herself further. There was no reason to. Little did she ever spend time with others. Just her own kin. Noctis at one point. Stranger she crossed paths with, enemies, people with faces, voices, lives she rarely had time to get to know. Others things on her mind. Goals she had to set out for herself. Keep herself hidden.

But the way Noctis fell silent, it caught her attention. He had those moments back then too. He spent weeks trying to adjust to everything. That his whole world was gone. That he had been asleep and the people he knew, the lands he could name by memory, whatever life he had before, was all but gone now. A man frozen in time now awoken and having to swallow the bitterness that time waited for no one. Even for someone as charismatic, beautiful, and determined as he was. There were days he just sat in his inn room and contemplated what to do. Walked in a sorry state trying to devise his next move. Come to terms with everything as he tried to train his body and absorb all the new information she gave him. More questions led to answers and those too only brought more sorrow to the man.

It was more subtle now. Less obvious, but the way his expression shifted reminded her of those days. They felt so long ago, yet that smile held no meaning just as it had the first time they'd met and she'd told him the sad reality of his situation.

Perhaps just knowing all of that was enough for the dragon known as Ifrit to understand that Noctis rule was not someone easily forgotten.

"Time is out of all beings control. Not even one of the gods can stop time from passing mortal beings. Your life, whatever it was before is gone, but you've made yourself a new one here. Surely you've made new memories. Met people. You have a face few would dare to forget and a personality that sticks to the mind. Whether good or bad." She pointed out with a shake of her head. "If you wished to make a name for yourself, simply do it. Let all of Aeterna know who Noctis Camille is and perhaps that will fill the hole in your heart."

She held her tongue, the sounds of people arriving leaving her unwilling to speak further. The scents and sights of foods came to the balcony, placed in front of them as a feast for kings. As quickly as the staff arrived, they had left and the two were left alone in their little world once more.

Wisteria reached for the wine, inspecting it for a moment before pulling the cork from the bottleneck. She poured the dark liquid into the glasses for them both, taking her own and staring at the pool of sweet nectar. It almost looked like blood.

A quick sip of her wine, Wisteria turned to look back to the snow covered city. "Would that make what happened to you any better? If you made it so nobody could forget you this time?"
John
He *Had* Met new people. Valac was almost a blank slate and was determined to grow. Sylvar was a pirate with his own interests and Noctis suspected that there was a decent man beneath it all. 

Then there was Esme, the witch of twilight, who... Well he did not know if he was infatuated, in love or just idolized the concept of her. She embodied something in the world that he found beautiful, but Eliza in her own twisted way did too with her serene and terrifying grace that he'd lived his life in for so long, and again Wisteria embodied yet another, that of power, strength and determination. 

Yes he'd met people, but... Did they trust him, did he trust *Them?* It was an exhausting thought. 

"That is the goal, my darling Wisteria." He said, grinning at her. "History forgot me once- never again." He leaned across the table as he sipped his wine, gazing intently at her face. "I don't know if it would, but I know it's the only idea I have that might do it, so I have no choice but to chase that dream." Taking in her visage, he leaned back and began to eat. Quickly scarfing down the meats, potatoes and hot soup, looking contented and rather more bright than he had the whole night being able to just stuff his face in peace. 

Still even as he ate he wondered what Wisteria had, what she was roaming for, why she collected spells when she was strong enough already, what about her made her tick? He wanted to know her, to understand her, to see how every dream and memory and thought made up the wildfire and sweet flower that he had sitting across from him now.
Terry
"Then don't half ass it and make it a reality." She shot back, words of encouragement or simply that of a warning only Noctis could determine. 

Maybe it was something she was trying to tell herself. She still had much to figure out.

She lulled the glass of wine in her hand, watching her table mate begin his devouring of the feast he'd paid for. It appeared even after the time spent apart, not too many things changed about Noctis. His appetite for one was a marvel in of itself.

*Maybe he's making up for not eating for an odd number of years.*

"If the women in the inn could see you now, I wonder if they'd think you gorging on food was that of a blessed moment from the gods." She joked, reaching over to a small plate of sweet rolls. 

She took a bite, enjoying the softness of the bread and the spice the cinnamon had on it's surface. A small, but content smile on her usually serious face. Rare was it to find many sweet things that were not overpriced or extremely hard to find in Weyian. Being out in her travels gave her few good things. Sweets had been one of those that she enjoyed the most. Made her relax and simply enjoy the moment.
John
"You've got a beautiful smile." Noctis observed, sitting back in his chair as he set the empty plate down. The majority of his appetite came from his massively increased metabolism, stemming from his enhanced body and natural functions that kept him in pristine shape. He'd finished eating by the time she'd finished her roll, and somehow didn't have a crumb or a stain on himself. He was now gazing out of the city, once again lost to time. 

"Thank you for having dinner with me. It's been a while since I've let myself stop and do this." Spoken softly, he was stilling looking away from her at the many towering buildings and white specks of snow. If for nothing else perhaps he'd run into Wisteria because he'd needed to remember why he was alive, why he had not frozen to death within the mountains, buried in snow- nothing more than a skeleton to be found one day by intrepid explorers. 

After a moment he closed his eyes and played out Wisterias smile. It was the same kind of smile Esme had given Sweet Tooth. 

*Careful Noctis...* A soft voice warned him, and the image of her smile shattered like glass, and he withdrew from the admiration he felt and opened his eyes again.
Terry
"It's nothing special. Just a smile." A quick reply as she finished her food, she had another sip of their wine and ate some grapes still left over from Noctis's feeding frenzy. "I suppose I haven't done something like this in a long time either. The chance to have a quiet moment is rare and few in some people's lives."

Sharing a meal with others at all was almost a celebration in her eyes.
Being by herself ensured her safety and secret be kept under lock and key, but did little to quell the loneliness that had settled itself in her life. Dragons were perfectly fine living by their lonesome. Companionship was rarely needed. But perhaps walking among people for so long had changed something for her. 

The close groups of friends. Families that passed by in the streets. Those who could hold conversations and insert themselves in others lives so easily. It was a gift the living beings who lived much less than she had and it affected her in subtle ways. Made her miss her mother, dislike the emptiness in the room when she slept, the silence that at times felt heavy.

It had been a long time since she felt... Content? Was that the right word? Complacent? Happy? She could not place the emotion or the feeling, but felt the heaviness in her chest lighten just a bit. A warmth coating her skin that wasn't from own draconic abilities.

*I'm probably overthinking things.*

The last time she'd ever done something like this *Was* With Noctis some odd years ago. What did he say before? That their meeting was fate?

She let the silence of their little space play out, nothing but the sounds of the town below being there beside them. Watching the snow fall from the sky, Wisteria looked to Noctis who appeared lost in his thoughts; eyes closed to everything and his mind open to something only he knew.

"Noctis, what are your thoughts on dragons?" A sudden and strange topic change, and yet Wisteria's tone was as calm as it was serious in it's delivery. "You told me when we first met that you hated them. Is that still true now?"
John
The question was a jarring one, unexpected and yet something in her voice told him it was a serious question. When he'd died, the dragons were a terrifying people of war, a few more powerful than the demigods, some as weak as beasts. Dragons had been his downfall, Dragon fire had scorched his skin and nearly killed. The last thing he'd seen had been the amber eyes of a dragon before waking up to the amber eyes of a human. The irony of it was sour on his tongue. He would have, should have spit out a venomous yes for everything that they'd done to him, but a couple of years of being awake, learning of their histories... He'd been ready to raze them to extinction, to dedicate himself to their annihilation- until he'd rediscovered that they were people like everyone else. Until he realized that to the other races of Aeterna the demigods must have looked the same way. The answer that came from his lips surprised him. 

"I think they're just as beautiful as the rays of the sun on the mountaintops, as terrible in their might as the slow rolling fires of Lestos, as elegant as the verdant trees of Velaris." He said softly, his fingers curling against the railing of the balcony as he replayed his 'death' again and again in his mind. Under his immense strength the wood splintered and cracked, but he didn't seem to notice. 

"Their fire hurts, Wisteria. It seared away my flesh and my last memory was terrible agony for thousands of years. Through their schemes my life was ripped away and the kingdom of peace that I'd sold my soul to forge became a pit of despair and agony for the weak. I hate the dragons who let their pride and their hate ruin my precious Aeterna," He said, his silver eyes slowly shifting to the same shade of amber that Wisterias held. 

"But would I give their children hellfire and damnation for it? Would I throw rocks at a murderers child even if they served everyday to feed the village? Could I hate the demigods who's children now hold large estates built of

F the back off of weak mortals?" He asks, and he releases his grip. 

"No. No it's not true, Wisteria. All the races have sinned, just because one in particular bested me does not mean that I should hate their kind. They are mighty and magnificent, it's a shame they've been banished to Weylian. If my dream can come true, it will be offered to them just as much as it would be offered to a human or an elf." He admitted, looking as surprised to say that as she was likely to be to hear it.
Terry
Wisteria stayed quiet the entire time as she listened to Noctis' response. A part of her wondered what his thoughts were after all this time. After having to adjust to a new world and make a new life for himself. What had changed about him or stayed the same.

His hate for dragons int he past had been evident. He'd first thought it a cruel joke that his demise was due to whatever schemes they'd made and was shocked when she told him of their reign and eventual downfall. He'd missed every important conflict that could get him the revenge he seemed so early in his awakening; left with little choice but to accept what had occurred while he had been in that ravine and sort through his emotions.

Beauty. He still held onto that outlook. Beauty in everything, no matter how wonderful or bleak. Life, death, love, hate, passion, priced, envy. Even just looking out at the world held some meaning for him to gleam and take notice of.

Perhaps that way of thinking had helped him to cool off a little and see things from another perspective.

It was strange to hear him speak in such a way now. From what she noticed, humans so rarely changed. It took much time for them to understand, to learn, to confront their mistakes and change. Yet for a man who had lost everything, he spoke of who he'd once saw as enemies as a people to help with open arms if he could.

A part of her was happy yo hear his words, but a part of her also felt it was too good to be true.

"It's all talk if it doesn't happen. You're going to have to work for it." She said, looking tot he demigod. "But your words have merit. Maybe there is a chance for that to happen."

She closed her eye, thinking of it all.

*Maybe this was fate after all.*

"With such a big task, I'm assuming myself and whomever I'm working with are going to be put to work?"
John
"Of course you are love." He said in a passive voice, the mindset of someone who had commanded troops before. Noctis believed that a leader needed to work twice as hard to be competent, so no matter how much he asked of the crew he'd always ensure he was doing more. "For now we collect money and resources, I build my network through the nine realms. After that, my goal is to head to the Eternal City to seek out some answers." 

Seemingly restless he got up and sat on the railing that wasn't damaged, only a few feet from where Wisteria sat eating with his legs dangling out over open air. A cold wind swept forward and caused his raven wet hair to shift, having dried now that they were in the heat. It amazingly didn't seem to have gotten sticky or matted with the substances of the mead, it looked almost as if she'd never dumped anything on him. 

"I'll feel a lot of comfort having you traveling with me for a while. Would you like me to tell you of your new party, oh sweet flower?" He asked, looking over his shoulder at her and studying her face. He did like her face, and seemed to like it more the more they spoke. 

Before when they'd traveled together she'd always had a sort of cold reserve to her, even if she was altruistic to others. Now though he felt as if he was getting peaks into the cracks of her armor, and the blazing inferno inside was anything but hideous.
Terry
Sweet flower. Surely he called her that due to her name. Or the name that Noctis knew her by.

*That's not my name.*

She bit her lip, the wine she'd tasted earlier still left on her tongue now becoming bitter at the thoughts drifting in her mind. Instead she focused on what Noctis thought of as a good plan. Gaining money and supplies, reach the Eternal City. If he was of need of money that badly, she had troves of gold and jewels stashed away in a cave far from. Money and other trinkets she'd collected over the hundreds of years traveling. She didn't understand the peoples' concept of using money, so she had little use to use it; instead merely collecting dust in wealthy piles. If she just told him that, would that make the journey any less easier?

She'd hold off on that for now. He'd most likely question how she attained it and there was little time right now to think of a convincing enough answer.

Watching her companion move to sit on the railing of their balcony view, a slight tilt of the head was gestured at his apparent joy that she'd be coming along and to the prospect of telling her what kind of people she was now going to be stuck with.

She reached for another sweet roll, biting into in the hopes the sugar would dilute the bitterness that clung to her senses and met Noctis's gaze as he peered over his shoulder; coyly awaiting her answer like a jester awaiting to give his punchline.

"You seem eager enough. Tell me who else you roped into this expedition of yours. You didn't bribe them, did you? Or did you use your wiles to sweep them off your feet and whisk them away?"