Griffin had been halfway through a cinnamon-sugar beignet when he caught the comment.
Not intentionally. The market was crowded enough that conversations bled together in a constant hum of bargaining, laughter, and music drifting from somewhere deeper in the square. Still, the remark managed to cut through the noise.
"Hard to believe markets like this became a rare event instead of the norm for us."
A snort escaped him before he could stop it.
"Tell me about it."
Balancing a paper plate in one hand and an iced coffee in the other, Griffin slid into the empty chair across from Arynn without much ceremony. Like a man who had never once worried about whether he was invited somewhere.
"Couple years ago, my biggest concern at a market was whether somebody was overcharging me for peaches." He shook his head, taking another bite of the beignet. "Now every time I see a crowd gathering, I spend the first thirty seconds wondering if we're about to get attacked by cultists, dragons, rogue witches, angry ghosts, or some horrifying combination of all four."
His grin flashed easy and crooked.
"Honestly? The fact that today appears to just be people buying vegetables feels suspicious."
The wolf leaned back in his chair, stretching one arm across the backrest as his gaze swept over the bustling square. Families moved between stalls. Fae merchants haggled with humans. Children darted through the crowd with sticky fingers and pockets full of sweets.
For a moment, the sight softened something in his expression.
"Nice, though." His voice dropped slightly. "Feels normal."
A beat passed before he glanced back toward Arynn, finally studying him properly.
"You look like you've got about six different things chewing holes through your brain right now." Griffin lifted his coffee in a casual salute. "Which means either you're planning a crime, hiding a crime, or avoiding a conversation."
His grin returned immediately.
"My money's on the conversation."
Arynn winced slightly. "Ooh, no don't ever talk like that. I really don't want to jinx things and start getting actual ghosts or spirits involved in this. Trust me - as someone that frequently interacts with the spirits on certain levels, we really don't want to upset them. They can be incredibly testy when they want to be." Arynn quickly shook his head and chuckled a few times.
"I get you though. It's taken a bit to get used to this way of exchanging goods with one another. I wonder just how primitive we must seem to some of these fairies." He mused for a moment. The witch cut a sidelong glance at the male as he turned to study him and offered his analysis.
"Uh, guilty." Another soft laughing escaped him, but he shook his head. "Not planning a crime though - or hiding one. So, you're good. Nice guess." He sighed once.












