n-ice to meet you!
The freezing drink helped, a tiny bit at the least, but didn’t fix the heat issue. The prince wasn’t fond of the damp, but he was beginning to pray to the gods for the rain’s return. At least being wet cooled him down some… Ugh. Even with the heat, the few moments of alone time were nice. He thought he felt a twinge of magic coming from the kitchen for a moment, something that wasn’t his, but of course that would not be true. It would just be cruel of Anatolius to not divulge that he had friends similar to themselves, and Anatolius was not a cruel man. Perhaps he was getting heat stroke, and beginning to hallucinate. That would be befitting, considering his apparent bad luck streak. The filthy intruder returned, complete with a sticky hand, and the elf sighed. He would mourn his short-lived sense of peace.
“No. I have been here many months now.” Johanás was not very good at keeping track of time, but the move occurred shortly before his birthday, and the oft-hidden sun was rising higher and staying longer… It had to have been at least a half of a solar year. “…Family, of a sort. More so than my blood, at the least.” Lars and Lisbet had always been there. Usually his kind were very hands-on in child rearing, often with the extended family and friends involved - but not so with royals. There were far too many responsibilities to handle to also bother with properly raising a child, especially one without a claim to the throne. Attendants were perfectly suited to take the place of true family, raised from an early age to serve the crown and the ones who live under its thumb. “I tend towards solitude, outside of my housemates and Anatolius.” My, she was nosy. Why all the questions? Could they not just wait in silence for the bull’s return?
Bringing her legs up and tucking them beneath her, sitting on her feet, Effie sat with her chin in one cupped hand and fixed the man with dark eyes, listening to his response. More so than before, she was certain that he was glamoured - it was the telltale haze around the ears, almost unnoticeable to most but easy enough to spot with a millennium of practice. It was difficult to focus on it, with the eye naturally wanting to flick elsewhere, but this was only another sign of glamouring in her experience. She had personally never had the time for glamours - what was life for, if not honesty? Besides, she had little herself to hide... Unlike Johanás, it seemed. Perhaps she should try and broach the subject! It was difficult to decide her route of enquiry whilst simultaneously juggling the conversation at hand.
You do not get along with your family? Not an uncommon experience, it seemed, amongst people on this island. Her own family of sorts had been very much welcoming upon her return home, but this did not detract from their role in her departure so long ago! I understand this feeling! It is often easier to make a new family, no? This is why I see Toli so often, and why I live with my best friend! The mere mention of Aspen made her smile grow all the wider, the corners of her eyes crinkling as though her face reflected her true age. She did love him, truly! And Toli too! Deciding this was a good time to begin her investigation, she added, I have made many more friends here, and perhaps you will too! It is so nice to have a community like this, no? When I lived in Italy, it was so hard to be comfortable around the people, but here it is so lovely!
