[this is probably the nicest Eris Vanserra has ever been to anyone]
Mortal lands were terribly dreadful, all of them, even the ones that possessed magic. This place seemed to be no different. There were shining points of power here and there, of course, but when the High Lord let himself focus on the purely material plane around him, he wanted very much to go directly home and forget this place entirely. Or, even better, to burn it all and leave nothing but the dance of embers and ashes in his wake.
Still. Someone in this miserable place had called out loudly enough that their cry was heard in the fae realm, echoing through Eris's dreams. Whatever, or whoever, had cried out, he intended to find them.
It seemed he had arrived here in autumn--a cold autumn after a long summer that must have been very dry. The lands sang all around him, all of it kindling, ready to burst into flame with the slightest breath. The temptation was sweet to the fae, addictive. Would it be so very wrong to burn this world to ashes? Perhaps there was some sort of guardian here who might pose a threat... and after all, it was easier to find a needle in a haystack if one simply burned away all of the hay; the needle would melt, but the metal would remain.
He drifted along, silent and graceful, ignoring most of the people he passed. Their eyes were on him, of course--humans had an admirable instinct for recognizing a venomous snake when they saw one, or a wildfire about to burst out of containment--but none of them were the reason he was here. No, whoever it was, whatever it was, he would have to do some searching yet... But, suddenly, an interesting human caught his attention. A lovely young warrior of some sort, his energy sparkling with magic--and even more so, shining with sincerity. There was a decent soul in there, and it shone like a beacon, with a fire all its own.
Eris took Garrett by the chin, gently as could be, and gazed into his eyes for a moment before kissing him tenderly on the lips.
"Well met, young warrior," he murmured, before turning to head on his way.
If one had asked how exactly Garrett had expected his day to go, he'd have said nothing out of the ordinary. Aurowith was far within the borders of Vern and was rarely in any kind of risk. Besides, they had the Oracle on their side as well; something not even the neighboring kingdoms could claim. Still, as Knight Paramount he shouldn't have let his guard down, knowing that the safety of all those within Aurowith was his main priority.
Somehow, though, it had still happened.
Maybe his father had simply raised a fool, but Garrett had taken a moment's pause to speak with Alex, relaxed as he left a hand resting on the pommel of his sword. Alex's youngest sister had been ill that winter and was still struggling to recover and he had wanted to check in with his friend about her. Even if she had better access to the healing mages than those born to the wrong bloodlines, there was never a guarantee that one would pull through after such a hard sickness. So he'd been quite glad to hear that she was nearly back to her baseline to prior the illness; it would make this coming winter much easier to bare.
"Garrett…" There was a bit of stress in his fellow mage's voice when Alex said his name and it had the Knight Paramount's brows knitting slightly and the easy smile on his face growing suddenly tense.
"I'm not sure why, but there's an elf that seems really focused on you…" Alex gestured with a subtle jerk of his jaw as he spoke.
"Okay… Probably just another lost envoy." Drawing in a deep breath, Garrett plastered on his Knight's smile, the one that hid everything behind a veneer of politeness that let him keep his thoughts to himself, before turning.
He had been ready to offer a greeting and a bow, the manners well trained into him at this point, but he hadn't been ready for the elf to touch him. While he heard Alex's gasp when he was touched, Garrett hadn't really processed it. No, his mind had gone as blank as if he'd been struck by a freezing spell when the sharp featured elf closed the distance between them and… kissed him.
Heart pounding in his chest, rabbiting so fast he barely felt like he could breathe, Garrett blinked stupidly at the man when he pulled back. What the hell just happened? He'd… he'd been kissed. Not his first kiss, not technically, not when Melisandre had already kissed him back when they'd not even made it to double digits, but certainly the first to make him feel like this.
Shaking himself mentally, the Knight Paramount cleared his throat and gave a tight bow, making sure not to bow as deeply as he once had; it wouldn't do to let someone think that he was showing foreign dignitaries more respect than the nobles of Vern. "Well met, Traveler, but within Vern I might caution against touching and especially kissing someone without first gaining permission. Some might take offense."
The Sunblade mage scoffed lightly from beside him, "No shit!"
"Alex..." His friend's sharp words, even as under his breath as the noble born mage had tried to make them, had the knight turning to give him a pointed look even as he smiled awkwardly, panicked at him. When he spoke, his voice was tight, the tension his uniform hid in his body layered his words instead. "Not everyone has grown up here in Vern, we cannot expect them to know everything anymore than we expect an infant to know how to eat with a spoon."
The knight's nose wrinkled slightly as he tried to keep his mounting anxiety under control and he turned back to the elf that had... had...
"Apologies, can I help you find someone? Or something perhaps? I am the Knight Paramount here in Aurowith and will offer any aid I can, friend."
