The Meeting (Private)

[Aerin Vaettir]

Aerin, having greatly underestimated Benny’s clumsiness, nearly collided with Namari’s back as the dragon landed, the elf having hardly prepared for the impact, despite the warning. But it ended well enough, and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the dragon’s annoyed huff. It seemed a smooth landing was something Benny really wanted to learn.

Aerin waited as Namari dismounted, then he sighed, realizing he’d have to struggle with his own dismount. He shifted in the saddle, turning and slowly moving to slide out. When Namari asked if he needed a hand he gave a short laugh.

“No, but if you have a new leg laying about I’d appreciate that instead,” He said, wincing in pain.

“A joke! You really must be in a good mood!” Elle called, pushing herself from the carriage. Aerin, so startled at hearing his twin’s voice, lost his grip and slipped off the dragon, landing on his back on the ground.

“Elle!?” He cried, sitting up, surprised. What on earth was she doing here? She was the last person he expected to be here upon return.

“Wow, that was smooth.” Elle laughed, walking up to her brother and helping him to his feet.

“Uh…” Aerin said, before shaking off his surprise. “Namari, this is my sister, Luella. Elle this is Namari.” He introduced the two females, feeling dazed for multiple reasons. Elle giggled at her brother, placing the crown of flowers on his head before turning to Namari.

“Nice to meet you! I hope you’re more welcoming than your knight here. You’d think I was a sneaky assassin the way he looked at me when I showed up.” She said, giving Walter a wink. She felt bad for the knight who escorted her here though. He insisted she wait at the gardens, but she worked some flirty charm and he brought her here to wait for Aerin’s return. She had a notion he’d be in deep trouble after that.

[Namari Lovelle]

Walter flushed pink at the wink, folding his arms across his chest with a rather curt look across his face. Namari smiled, her head tilting to the side.
"Walter's been known to overact, my apologies," Namari smiled, chuckling ever so slightly.

Walter scoffed; he did not overreact. Besides, she was here, wasn't she?
With much persuasion on her part of course.

"Aerin spoke quite a bit of you," the Queen commented, looking back and forth between the two. It was odd; Namari herself had never met twins. It was funny to see. How someone could look so similar, and yet look like their own gender. Namari could not lie that it was amusing.

Benny lay down, pawing at the ground underneath him. Giving out another huff. So much for a soft landing.

"Not to sound rude," Namari began, an eyebrow raised, "But is everything alright? I just hope you did not come out here for something urgent."
She would have hated to take Aerin away from something going on. And perhaps not to others, but certainly to Namari the thought of someone searching for someone in the deeper parts of the forest, and even persuading a Knight to let them through seemed like a lot of work for just visiting.

But Namari also did not know Luella.

[Aerin Vaettir]

“That’s alright. I found it cute.” Elle said, smirking at Walter, clearly enjoying the color on his cheeks. Aerin would have rolled his eyes if the action was worth his time as a blind man. Elle looked back to the queen, smiling.

“Urgent? Maybe, but nothing so bad.” She said, before looking Namari up and down. She eyed the queen a moment before smirking. “You’re rather pretty!”

“Elle…” Aerin said warningly, already knowing where this was going.

“Should I describe her?” Elle asked Aerin.

“No, please don’t.”

“Why not? I’d do her justice.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

“It’s because you already got up close and personal on the dragon, isn’t it?” Aerin flushed, and Elle giggled.

“Gods Elle, why did you come?” Aerin asked, quickly hoping to steer her attention elsewhere. Elle clapped her hands together.

“Father wrote! He officially named you his heir!” She said happily. Aerin paused. Wait, what? His father named him the heir?

“He did? I thought he made it clear I wouldn’t inherit anything if I pursued magic.” Aerin said slowly. Elle rolled her eyes, waving the idea away, two actions Aerin couldn’t see.

“Oh please, he’s all talk. Mother talked to him in any case. You’re set to inherit everything! The farm, the mansion, the summer home, all the money and accounts, his seat on the Council, and all that. He set aside a dowry for me, and I get whatever mother wishes to leave me, but otherwise he figures you’ll do right by me.” Elle said, beaming happily at her brother. Aerin remained silent a moment, looking thoughtful. Elle let him process the news and turned back to Namari. “Aerin didn’t mention you were Queen. Here,” She said, taking off her own crown of flowers and placing it on Namari’s head. “my gift to you for spoiling my brother.”

[Namari Lovelle]

Walter's head slowly turned from Namari, to Aerin, a blank look on his face. Not only was Walter fairly protective of the women in his life; but he was also friends with Steele. Namari's lover. Though he relaxed more, knowing that if Aerin had indeed touched Namari in... inappropriate ways, Steele would surely deal with it.

Namari paid no attention to the talk of her appearance. It was amusing, to her admittance, that Aerin was desperately trying to get her to stop. It sounded like something her own sister would do to her.

But slowly her mouth stopped smiling. Not out of unhappiness, but out of shock. Had Aerin mentioned anything about being rich? She could not remember. But the look of surprise on her face slowly turned into a look of joy.

"Congratulations Aerin!" Namari laughed, placing a hand on her hip as she grinned. Walter continued to stare; rich or not he was still fairly frustrated now. Even at only the implication of touching.

Her head turned to Elle once more, the smile still on her face. And as the crown of flowers fell upon her head, covering the string band that represented her own crown, she chuckled.
"It was my pleasure. I was actually just telling Aerin how he and you should come visit Benny whenever you'd like. I think the beast would enjoy the company."

Walter made a noise of slight distress, highly weary about these twins. A blind man who was rich, a manipulative woman who charmed and flirted. But Namari ignored him.

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle blinked, surprised at Namari’s offer it seemed. “Really? You’d do that for Aerin?” She said, looking honestly touched. She looked at Aerin, who still seemed deep in thought. “I really appreciate that! It’s about time Aerin actually left his shop and talked to people who aren’t always dying.” She said.

“My customers are not always dying.” Aerin said, being drawn from his thoughts. He was still reeling about inheriting everything from his father. They had bitter arguments about Aerin’s desire to learn magic. His father had finally learned to accept that Aerin wanted to learn, but he claimed he wouldn’t give Aerin anything if he did.

“Plus, I think it’s good that he hangs around a pretty girl.” Elle added, ignoring her brother.

“Oh, Lord. Elle, hush.” Aerin said, suppressing another blush. Elle smirked at her twin.

“It’s my job to embarrass you, remember?” She said, before looking between Namari and Aerin. She eyed her brother’s colored cheeks and after a moment her eyes widened.

“Oh.” She said.

“No, shush.” Aerin said, looking a bit panicked.

“Oh!” Elle said, a grin on her face. She laughed when Aerin shooed her away, she stepping over to Namari’s other side. “Gorgeous dragon you have Namari!” She said, smirking at Aerin’s scowling, red face. “He’s quite the sight. I also find your angry knight rather pretty too.” She said. Aerin sighed, covering his face with a hand, shaking his head. What did he do to deserve this?

[Namari Lovelle]

Namari was a rather ignorant woman when it came o attraction; after all, she had Steele. She hardly thought about even the idea of someone else liking her, or enjoying her appearance. So the remarks went right over her head.
She chuckled at the comments about Benny and Walter, however, and quickly joked, "Well he is free. I'm sure he wouldn't mind the company."

Walter huffed, his head turning to look at Namari in bewilderment. Namari ignored the tempered Knight's gaze.

The Queen instead went on to speak more about the beast whom still looked dissappointed about his landing.
"I actually found him as an egg," she began, moving two steps over to brush at the golden dragon's fur. Benny seemed to forget about the hard landing, and looked up at Namari with a purr.
"Just a few years ago. Raised him myself."

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle laughed at Namari’s joke, glancing over at Walter. He seemed more huffy over this topic than Aerin was! It was hilarious! But she supposed she should stop torturing her brother and the knight. Walter seemed like Aerin, you only had so many passes before they truly got angry.

“Free? A charmer like him? No!” She giggled. Aerin couldn’t help but feel bad for Walter, even though the man wasn’t exactly the most friendly towards him. But it wasn’t like Aerin could fault him for that.

“Found an egg? Wonder where his parents went off to?” Elle said, stepping up to Benny and extending a hand to him, much like she would a strange dog. “Pretty thing though. I’m surprised I don’t see him flying about more often.”

[Namari Lovelle]

Walter shook his head ever so slightly in defeat. One thing was for sure; he did not want to ever be in the same room as Namari and Elle again. The two seemed to already have a bond for teasing the people around them.

"For a dragon, he's pretty good at hiding himself... though, you'd probably hear him before you saw him."
Namari grinned wide as the dragon perked up his ears and blinked, before ignoring the statement as if it weren't true and standing up. Benny scratched at his ear, before nudging Aerin's hand, urging the blind elf to pet him.
"You might see him flying around more often now, though. If I get the chance to take him out."

"Do you two need a ride back to the city?" the Queen said suddenly, as she looked back at the carriage quickly. "There's room. I would hate to leave either of you walking."
Especially Aerin, not only a guest of the Queen's but someone with a bad leg.

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle smiled as Benny nudged at Aerin, wanting her twin’s attention. Attention which Aerin was more than happy to give, judging from the smile that lit up his face as he stroked Benny’s head. Elle looked around, noting that Lenore was roosting comfortably in a nearby tree, watching the four humanoids interact. It was sort of weird, getting Aerin out here around all this nature. He was usually happiest locked away in his office. But she hadn’t seen him smile like this in a long while, and here he was out in the breeze and sunlight. The twins did seem like polar opposites, but when you get right down to it, Aerin had plenty in common with her and the other elves back home. He wasn’t as different as they made him out to be.

“I hope you do get the chance, though I guess being Queen means you’re busy quite a lot. I hope you aren’t as big of a workaholic as Aerin or you two will never see each other. And I like the idea of Aerin having a friend here,” Elle said. Aerin, who ordinarily would have something to say to this, ignored his sister in favor of petting Benny.

Elle walked up to give Benny a fond stroke herself before looking back to Namari. “I don’t mind walking. I walked all the way here. I suppose I should, since I’m wearing one of my nice dresses. I wanted to make some sort of good impression,” She said, looking back down to the white dress, absently readjusting the golden corset.

“Which one is that?” Aerin asked.

“Mother’s dress. The white one.”

“Oh. I always liked that one on her.”

“Speaking of family…” Elle said, glancing a bit nervously at Aerin before taking a few steps back to stand next to Namari. “…you had a good day right? Nothing could ruin it?”

“Yes, I had a wonderful day!” Aerin said happily, grinning. Elle winced a bit before taking a breath and speaking.

“Good…cause I got another letter…and it was from Uncle Vlad…and he sort of wants to visit us soon,” She said, tensing a bit when Aerin’s smile immediately disappeared. His hands paused in their petting, and he became very still for a moment.

“What?” He asked, his voice flat. Elle stepped a bit behind Namari now, peeking at her brother from behind Namari’s shoulder.

“He said he wanted to congratulate you,” She said in a tiny voice, “And that he wanted to try to make amends…”

An annoyed look fell across Aerin’s face, and he turned away from the others a moment. Great. Uncle Vladimir would be dropping by. That was probably the only thing in the world that could have ruined his mood. He reached up and gently touched Benny on the nose, feeling the dragon breathe on his hand, before sighing and facing Namari. He gave a polite bow to her, a little smile on his face.

“Namari, thank you for today. I hope to do this again with you someday soon. As for the ride, I appreciate your offer and I’ll accept. I suppose if I want to visit Benny more often I’ll have to get used to carriage rides,” He said, smiling, no trace of his earlier annoyance. Elle eyed him a moment before looking down. She knew Aerin better, and she knew he was all kinds of pissed now. This was going to be a bit rocky when their uncle showed up. Maybe having a friend would help soothe Aerin.

[Namari Lovelle]

That had peaked Namari's interests. Though she prevented herself from seeming interested, Aerin's reaction to his uncle did not seem the best. Make amends. Had this Uncle Vlad done something to Aerin?

Of course, having family troubles herself Namari did not pry. Only close friends knew why she had left her old home in the first place. To dwell into Aerin's own past would just be too rude.

Benny on the other hand seemed in slight distress at Aerin's sudden frustration. The dragon tilted his head, ears slumping slightly as the elf touched his nose. Before he removed his hand Benny gave a small lick of reassurance.

"Sounds good then!" Namari hummed, trying to keep the mood as light as possible, just as Aerin was doing. Whether his heir of happiness was a ruse or not, the Queen did not know.

She moved over to Benny, rubbing at the dragon's restless head. He purred, and she turned to look at Elle.
"It was lovely meeting you," she smiled warmly, raising her hand to shake Elle's. Under his breath, Walter muttered, "Not really."

Not hearing him, Namari continued. "Please fee free, both of you, to come up and visit Benny any time you'd like. I think Benny's taken quite a liking to you, Aerin."
It seemed to be true, as the dragon looked at Aerin with glittering eyes. Similar to Namari, but different. He sparked the young dragon's interest.

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle ignored Walter and his mumblings, though she didn’t take offense to it. He didn’t seem like the kind of person to warm up to strangers, which she supposed was natural for a knight that protected the queen. As long as he treated Aerin well she didn’t really care. It wasn’t like it would be the female twin would be the one seeing Namari.

“And lovely to meet you!” Elle replied, shaking Namari’s hand, smiling widely. She liked Namari a lot. She was a grounded woman, and she hoped Aerin could forge a friendship with her, if nothing more. Elle didn’t think that’d be too big of a problem though.

“Well, I’ve certainly taken a liking to him too. I’ll have to be sure to visit soon,” Aerin said, smiling, and this smile was more genuine than the last. He liked the idea of visiting a dragon whenever he liked. He knew where he’d be going whenever he needed fresh air or a place to think.

“Yes, get out of that dark, depressing cave you call a shop,” Elle remarked.

“My shop is not a cave, nor is it depressing,” Aerin retorted, absently petting Benny again.

Elle rolled her eyes before looking to Namari. “It is dark though. When night falls he doesn’t light any candles or lamps. He just walks around at night working in the dark. It scared the hell out of me once when I came over.”

“Well, I’m blind, I have no use for lights,” Aerin said, before turning a bit to the side, “Lenore!”

Lenore perked and looked around, before fluttering down to where Aerin’s cane lay. She gave a call, and Aerin flicked his wrist, using his levitation magic to lift the cane up and to him. He caught it gracefully before leaning on it, getting his weight off his bad leg. Elle walked over to the carriage and opened the door, peering in.

“Well, royalty certainly travels well,” She said, remarking at the nice quality of the carriage. It was even better than their carriage back home.

[Namari Lovelle]

"We can't exactly have the Queen's carriage falling apart in bandit territory now can we?" Walter said as he stood beside the door, leaning against the carriage. Making sure she didn't steal anything.
It was in bad taste of Walter to think badly of these people; after all, if he had just met them on the street he would think nothing of it all.

But the man's duties as a Knight interfered with his way of thinking.

"Walter, be polite," Namari spoke, shaking her head. The demon only shrugged.
"I was just tellin' the truth."

The Queen dismissed his words as she looked at Aerin.
"We all set and ready to go?"

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle looked at Walter as he walked over and leaned against the carriage. She had the feeling he came over for some other reason than an attempt at being social, but she wasn’t sure what. She looked back into the carriage again before stepping aside.

“That is true. It looks more comfortable to travel in than ours, too,” she said, placing a hand on her hip. She turned to look at the horses that would draw the carriage, and she smiled, stepping up to one of them. She reached out to stroke its nose, and suddenly she missed the farm back home. She’d have to go back to visit or something, though she and Aerin hadn’t been gone from home very long.

Aerin sighed, giving Benny a final pet. He didn’t want to go, he could spend all day here with Benny, but it was time. Namari was probably busy, and Aerin had things in his shop to do.

“Yes, all set. After you, Your Highness,” Aerin said, smirking a bit at Namari, teasing her for her earlier fear about revealing her identity. “I’ll see you again soon, Benny.” He turned from the dragon, Lenore shifting into her human form and standing by Aerin’s side, grasping one of his sleeves. Aerin paused before reaching out to pat Lenore’s naked shoulders, then lifted an eyebrow.

“Lenore, where did you put my jacket?” he asked, remembering that he gave the raven his jacket to cover herself. Elle glanced around, not seeing any article of clothing laying about anywhere.

“Nevermore,” came Lenore's reply, she grinning to herself. Aerin sighed. Well, he supposed he’d have to get a new one after this. Oh well, it wasn’t like he was short on money.

[Namari Lovelle]

Namari couldn't help but chuckle; at both Aerin and Lenore. Aerin for his small comment about 'after you'. There was no need for that, she had to think to herself. Even if they were going by status, Aerin was in fact an heir to... well, she didn't know what exactly. Something important if he was getting a mansion and a summer home.

But Lenore losing his jacket was a bit of icing on the cake, as Aerin sighed. Perhaps this happened to him often, Lenore losing his things. Namari hoped the jacket would turn up eventually.

"I hope to see you again sometime, Luella," she spoke with a warm smile before hopping into the carriage, Walter following directly after. The demon did not want to be teased by the elf woman anymore.

Benny stared as the two got into the carriage, head ever so slightly tilted, before laying on the ground and stretching his legs. Waiting for the beings to leave so that he might rest.

"You need to work on your people skills," the Queen murmured to her knight, whom sat across from her as he had before. He scoffed.
"And you need to learn not to trust everything that moves."

[Aerin Vaettir]

Elle smiled brightly at the queen, nodding when Namari spoke her farewell. “I’m sure we’ll see more of each other. Be good to my brother!” She waved before bending to slip out of her shoes. The grass felt cool and nice beneath her feet.

“Are you not riding with us?” Aerin asked.

“No, it’d be too cramped in there for my taste.”

“Carriages are always too cramped.”

“Well I understand how you feel. I’m going to walk back. This is such a pretty garden, and I want to enjoy it a little.”

“Well, be careful.” Aerin stepped up to the carriage, Lenore hopping in to assist him. The twins exchanged a brief and temporary goodbye before Elle began walking back, holding the dainty shoes. Aerin got into the carriage and sat down, this time sitting next to Walter. Once the male elf was settled, Lenore lifted his hand and gently bit on his fingers with her sharp teeth.

“I can’t give you a treat. You lost my jacket,” Aerin said, eyebrow raised. Lenore let him go, a comical look of shock on her face, as if she hadn’t considered this before. She pouted before shifting back into her raven form and settling herself on Aerin’s lap. Aerin reached down to stroke her under her beak, where she gurgled her strange, happy sound softly. Aerin smiled, though it was brief, and it was replaced by a slightly troubled look that he wasn’t aware he was showing. Vlad was coming? Coming soon? This was a disaster waiting to happen. Aerin loathed the man, and he was actually going to come here to Avaleur for Aerin, of all people. To congratulate him? It didn’t seem likely, especially considering that Valdimir made sure to steer clear of Aerin as often as possible, and the fact that he was the one who would have inherited Aerin’s father’s estate. This wasn’t going to be good.