Aria's eyes widened slightly for a moment before her entire attitude and posture softened and she chuckled, running a hand through her hair. The man currently seemed blunt, no-nonsense. Of course, it could just be the situation, but either way it amused her. More than that, he was correct and had strong points to his argument. "I apologize, Scholar. You said before that you worked with exiled Fae, so you know that we can be finicky, and stressed when feeling as though we owe favors to others. I should not act as I have been. It is a pleasure to meet you."<br/><br/>She heard the end of his chiding and, for a rare moment, her mind was focused, fixated on a single point. "Tea is best with a lot of sugar," she replied absently as she debated with herself on the later point.<br/><br/>It was on the tip of her tongue, and she was fighting to swallow it down again. Here it was, a person asking what she needed in order to hide from the courts. She could feel the marks on her back, residue from the spell that bound her wings and her magic. Aria spent so long learning how to ignore them, but they were clear in her mind. She wanted them so badly, and they would help. She would not be as defenseless. She would look the part of a faerie instead of a nymph. Nymphs were exiles, either born or made. Many of their wings were clipped, impossible to get back. She was exiled for political reasons, so hers were simply bound. Faeries were court, and she knew how to imitate the different courts. The only ones who would know what she looked like were not the ones that would be searching, were she needed. If the Summer King himself came after her, there would be little she could do to hide forever but he was above that and would send his underlings instead. And they would't know who she was compared to who she could convince them she was. Her heart ached wanting this. But it was so much to ask.<br/><br/>"I need..." Aria tried to quickly think of something else that would be helpful. She tried latching on to the idea of a way of changing her appearance but when the time came the first words to come out of her mouth were: "I need my wings unbound." She was at least pleased that she didn't sound desperate or as off balance as she felt. Instead it was smooth, simply answering his question.<br/><br/>Now that it was out there, though, she didn't want to go on.  "A non magical way of changing myself to look and act like another race would also be helpful. Or a safe place," She added those reluctantly, torn on how she hoped he would reply. She wanted her wings so badly, could use them to deceive the courts if she ran into them. But dispelling something like that was complicated magic that had to be more powerful than the original caster or smart enough to find a way to skirt around that. It was a lot to ask of anyone, and meant that Aria would owe Phoenix more than she cared to admit, since he was the one paying with his hair for this opportunity. The other two would not be as helpful, but would still help and would possible be easier.<br/><br/>(((Hahaha! Beautiful! Great minds think alike, I suppose.)))<br/><br/>{Thank you! That was another one of those that I couldn't help adding in. ;) }