Fable - Ask Through the Veil..

[Katja]

The rain had been relentless for three days straight, the heavy drops conducting the choir of greens amid earthy browns of the thick forest, but it was no longer such a soothing symphony. Katja had not been home in over a month, had not bathed in a warm bath nor slept on bed more comfortable than the pine needle carpet and spindly roots of the forest floor. The torrential rain had battered her little lean-to shelter for another night, and by the time the sun cast it's copper hues spilling across the ground, she was chewing angrily on what was the last of her ration of rye bread, resisting the urge to cry from the sleep deprivation and hunger.

She had to be close now, she felt as though she had scoured every inch of this forest in search of what she'd been sent to look for, and still the pendant around her neck had not so much as flickered. Perhaps Evander was wrong...There was nothing here.

With a growl she packed up her things once more, slung on her bow and continued on, trying her best to ignore the rain that defied the shelter of the canopy and drenched her through all over again.

-------​

"How will I know where to find it..If I can't see what I'm looking for?.." the young apprentice had asked the mage some weeks ago. The man had opened a box on his dresser and brought it to her, a blue stone pendant on a silver chain offered out for her, his dark eyes narrowing as he nodded insistently before she took it to study.

"This stone was brought here from their realm. Gifted by a fae to her mortal lover, so that he would always find his way back to her. I acquired it some time ago, but now I'm sure I've found where the wall is. When you are close, you'll know." he nodded, setting the box down and taking the trinket in his hands to shift aside her hair and fasten it around her neck. Katja fingered the rough jewel as she looked down at it.

--------
​

Several more hours she spent walking, her pale grey eyes scanning the canopy and floor, her fingers brushing against the gnarled tree trunks that she passed, searching for something, anything that seemed out of place. By sunset, she'd succumbed to her foul mood and thrown her pack down, flopping into a cradle of tree roots and snapping the pendant from around her neck to launch it across the small clearing. It thudded against the bark of an old oak and bounced to the floor..and started to glow.

Katja glared at it as though the thing was toying with her, as though it was a trick of the light or her tired mind taunting her, but after a few blinks she realised that it was definitely glowing a bright blue. She scrambled from the roots, crawling frantically to grab the pendant in a handful of mossy earth and held it up, staring wide-eyed at it. Rushing, she grabbed her pack and shoved on her bow, stumbling through the root-ribbed path, letting the pendant guide her. The light dimmed when she went one way, flickered when she went another, and glowed brighter and brighter as she walked toward the edge of a river where she stopped and frowned, staring across it.

The air in front of her face was...still. A void that seemed to move like a visible heat haze but, there was no heat. Her lips parted as she looked up, following the rippling, transparent surface of the wall she had been looking for, the pendant casting bright shafts of light through her fingers as she clutched at it. The girl swallowed and looked down at the river, lifting a foot up and through the veil, stepping slowly forward onto solid ground...

 

[Ariel]

It was not raining beyond the Veil. It was one of the many queer magicks that Ariel did not fully understand about the barrier. Whichever ancient faeries had erected the protective wards, if they had even been faeries, must have been very powerful it weather itself bent to different rules. Add to that a few enchantments for utter invisibility and an aura that mysteriously turned unwelcome visitors back the way they'd come, and you had a damn good gate.

Ariel didn't think about it too much, though. He didn't need to. Faeries could, by and large, move through it at will, and he was a frequent traveler.

His boots were soft on the ground as he walked and his lichen-green eyes picked out the shimmer of the barrier in the distance. A quiet upturn touched his lips as he prepared to step into the mortal domain.

It was always so interesting. They were always interesting. Faeries could be so boring. How many times could one look upon flawless beauty before it all blended together? How many conversations on matters encompassing centuries would he be forced to endure? No, he longed for the flaws, for the simple troubles and struggles of mortal lives, for minds as quick and sharp as knives that were cursed to flare out of existence so shortly.

He approached that wavering wall, thinking about where he might go first. It was so close now that the ripples dominated his vision, and he was about to step through when he collided with something solid.

It hadn’t been very heavy, and he stumbled only out of surprise, looking down to see...

Surprise turned to sly smile. “Pardon,” he said in a voice of cool satin. “Are you lost?” He offered a hand.

 

[Katja]

"Move quickly, Katja. When you find the wall, the stone will let you move through it, get in, do your job and get back out and whatever you do, make sure you are not seen, do not get caught.."

-------​

"Shit."

The girl stumbled back onto the dry ground with a wince as she landed, the stone thrown from her grasp in that brief mental pause of shock. It took her a moment to realise that what she had collided with was not a something, but a someone. Katja's brain stuttered, her eyes narrowing for a moment as they took in more light than she expected, every part of her on pause whilst her thoughts caught up.

"I'm sorry I.." she squinted up at the figure that loomed over her, hardly able to make out his face as he silhouetted the setting sun behind him. She stopped herself abruptly, her senses rushing back to her so violently that she felt a nauseating surge of adrenaline.

She had crossed the veil and that meant that he was not human. She realised that she had already been reaching for his offered hand and she quickly recoiled and rolled to her feet to turn, expecting to see the dreary forest behind her, though instead her grey eyes widened on the sight of rolling hills and snow-capped mountains in the distance.

Katja whirled back to face the male behind her and backed up a step, stray tresses of her wet, blonde hair stuck to her pale face and her dark clothes sodden with rain. Her fist clenched, realising that she'd dropped the pendant, but she didn't dare take her stormy gaze away from the tall figure as his face came into focus. He wasn't at all what she'd expected from her master's accounts of the Fae, and she realised in that moment that Evander could never have actually met one of them in his life. He had never mentioned anything of their beauty, and the male before her was without doubt the most stunning thing she'd ever laid her eyes upon. She was robbed of breath for a moment and it was difficult not to falter and blush furiously under that impish smile, but she forced herself to frown and regain composure, her fingers dancing close to the lower limb of her bow.

Her heart rattled hard against her ribs and she swallowed, trying to remember what words were as she stared at him like a cornered animal.. "No.." she answered with as much self assurance as she could muster. "Are you?" her chin lifted slightly and she squared her shoulders.

 

[Ariel]

He quirked an eyebrow. The was fire in this one, good. He swept her with his eyes, what manner of woman had stumbled into the wolves’ den this time? Her clothes could have been a hunter, they were drab and practical enough, and the bow gave good credence to that thought. She was soaking wet, though, meaning she had either been actively pursuing prey... or she wasn’t a very good hunter. She had either misjudged the weather or failed at building a shelter. And given the tenacity of her response to him, she certainly didn’t value caution.

He slowly withdrew his offered hand and resumed his lazy stance. Even leaning to one leg, he towered over her. “Do you know where you are?” He could see her breathing quicken, and he heard that furious heartbeat in her breast. He took one step forwards, then stopped as his eyes flicked to the arrows in her quiver. A short inhale brought the acrid strench of ash wood to his nose, and he raised his eyebrows when his gaze returned to her eyes. “Looks like you do.”

His own travel plans had long since vanished from his mind, fate had delivered him a much more interesting diversion. He took another lazy step towards her. “What do you plan to do with those?” His voice was light, lyrical even, as he teased Katja. Whether he was impressed or thought her incredibly foolish was difficult to tell.

(It was both.)

 

[Katja]

That it was dry on this side of the veil positively irked her. For weeks she'd been trawling the other side of the wall in search of a way through, and it only now occurred to her that it was most likely some form of deterrent. Fae magick battering away at her body and spirit both. She had seen no sign of life, no birds or rabbits to catch and eat, most probably their doing too.

Bastards.

Rivulets of water ran down her face, dripping from her chin, her hair and clothes and she glared at him as though he'd been the one responsible, though as irate as she looked, the second he took a step toward her she moved with synchronicity, maintaining the short distance between them. She shot a quick sideways glance to the arrows that peeked over her shoulder as he noted them, her fingers curling around her bow now, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

Another step from him was another step from her, a dance of distrust the to drum of her hammering heart. "Just...." she said sharply, her free hand reaching to graze over the white feather of an arrow, her eyes pinned warily on him.. "Stay there." she instructed hesitantly.. "And I won't need to do anything with them." she frowned, her hand trembling as it wavered over the arrows.

"I dropped something. Just let me pick it up, and I'll leave." And hopefully, avoid being caught next time.

 

[Ariel]

Such defiance, such spite in her eyes. This was far better than any errands he had in the mundane villages beyond! He raised his hands with open palms, and tilted his face into yet another gentle smile, this time with only a hint of smirk.

”Easy now, I mean you no harm,” his voice upturned like a dance through the soft breeze, and his teeth glinted white and perfect. The ash arrows were concerning, though he doubted that she had the speed or strength for them to be worthwhile. They were more curiosity than threat, and they gave fewer answers than the questions they raised.

She had clearly come here deliberately, being armed as she was, but how? Why? She didn’t look the type to covet riches, nor did she appear as a crazed adventurer eager to find mystical realms. She looked... frightened.

He made an obvious show of looking around the ground. “Well I’m sure we can-“

The jewel cut the words from his mouth. That was unexpected. He frowned, breaking his facade for a moment, and dropped his hands to his sides. He was silent as he took two long strides toward the fallen amulet, knelt, and picked it up.

He didn’t know exactly what it was, turning it through his fingers, but it was unmistakably faerie-made. Another beat of tense silence, and then his lazy smile returned. “This is quite a treasure you have. I can see why you were so desperate to have it back.” He turned and extended the item to her, his eyes only slightly below hers in his crouched stance.

He did not give her enough time to take it before pulling it back to him and standing, pacing a few steps. “Although, I do wonder how such a thing came to you?” He let the trinket slip through his fingers, suspending it by its chain and examining it under the cool and clouded sky. His eyes again swept her up and down. Stolen, likely.

 

[Katja]

'Easy now, I mean you no harm..'

Katja's brow furrowed and she snorted her obvious disbelief at his assurances, that charming smile of his making her jaw tighten. She didn't trust him for a moment, not after what she'd heard of the Fae. He'd sooner take over her mind and shove her in a cage to torture for his own amusement.

Her grey eyes followed him as he moved toward the glistening trinket Katja tensed, mentally screaming at herself for mentioning it at all, but she needed it to cross back into this realm. She wasn't even sure if she'd be able to return to her own without it..

She tried not to tremble as she foolishly reached out as he appeared to offer her the jewel, her hand swiping at thin air with a quiet growl. No no no no.. This could not have gone any worse.

"I need it back, please. I.. I'm only going to ask nicely once." she lifted her chin again. "It doesn't belong to me, and I promised to return it to the person who entrusted it into my care. That's what you people call a deal, right?.. Are you going to make me break a deal?" Katja had done her research, she only hoped it wasn't all a lot of nonsense.

There was panic in her gaze as she stared at him in mute plea, watching him pace and glancing to the stone every now and then as though gauging an opportunity to snatch it. If she didn't return to Evander with the things he'd instructed her to find, that would be bad enough.. If she returned to him empty handed having lost his only key to the fae realm, well, that was worse...

 

[Ariel]

He could smell the fear on her. It made her defiant words all the more impressive. He looked right at her stormy eyes as she spoke, and a smile that did not touch his lips sparkled in his eyes. She had to know her threats were empty.

"If the person who gave it to you was not a fae, then they almost certainly stole it themselves." He let the words linger just long enough to toy with Katja before his expression warmed.

"Relax, I won't make you break your word," he handed the necklace back to her as if it were nothing more than a simple piece of jewelry, though the weight of it in his hand was more than physical. "Of course, you'll need to make your way back across the wall which..." he trailed off and gave a pointed look to the rolling hills beyond, "...may not be so easy."

He put his hands in his pockets. "Why don't you put away that bow and come with me where it's dry and warm. You'll freeze to death out here before you get back on your own." He raised a hand to his heart, "I won't lay a finger on you against your will, you have my word."

 

[Katja]

Katja felt the colour drain from her face as it seemed the fae was about to keep the apparently stolen trinket, her eyes flitting between the necklace and his face, fully ready to tackle him to the ground for it if she had to. She had been about to launch into some uppity rant about thievery when he relented and handed it back to her, her hand shooting out to snatch it in case it were meant as a trick, and she clutched it in both hands against her chest as she stared back at him. She refrained from saying thank you by reminding herself that he had hindered rather than helped.

Her brow knit stubbornly at his offer and she glanced briefly behind her before her eyes settled on him again.. "I can handle the cold." she stated firmly. And she could, but the thought of trekking back into that miserable, unrelenting rain after wandering aimlessly in it for over a week straight made her shoulders slump. She couldn't go with him, she didn't trust him for a start, but his word, meant something. A promise from a fae's lips couldn't be broken, at least that's what she'd been told. Katja's body seemed to shiver it's own sudden protest, a trembling vote in favour of that warm and dry place that he spoke of.

She was so fucking tired. Her clothes and hair still dripped with the frigid rain that'd seemed to seep right into her bones. She could perhaps rest a while, find another opportunity to forage what Evander had sent her for and slip back through the wall..

Katja narrowed her eyes at him... "I keep the bow." she frowned. "If you keep to your word, then I've no need to use it." she arched a brow. "And I get to leave when I choose." she added quickly, trying to avoid some sort of trap.

 

[Ariel]

Ariel straightened, splaying his hands at his sides. "Of course! It is all up to you. I just wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I didn't at least offer and then stumbled over your frozen corpse tomorrow." He gave a smile somewhere in between a fox and a lion before slowly turning and beginning to walk deeper into the Winter Court's woods.

He kept his long strides slow so that the small human could keep up. He didn't need to look to see if she was following, he could hear her footsteps after all, and somehow he didn't think she'd use those ash arrows if she'd already agreed to come with him.

What an exciting day this had proven to be! Ariel was eager to hear all about this girl, especially how she had found her way into the court with a stolen fae artifact. Ah, but that could wait. The poor thing was frightened, best to get her warm and safe before indulging curiosities.

"You know, I could dry you off with a bit of magic, if you'd like," he offered over his shoulder. The walk wouldn't be overly long, but he personally wouldn't have wanted to slosh through wet boots for half an hour.

 

[Katja]

Evander would kill her if he knew what she was doing right now, but as afraid as she was, she couldn't abate her curiosity. It'd taken her so long to find the wall and she was more determined than ever not to return empty handed. Every step she took into the forest went against her better judgement, her steps heavy as some subconscious force tried to drag her back, to turn and run, that she was making a mistake.

She could handle herself.. She'd just look around, rest for a little while, and be on her way.

"No.. I'm fine." she answered firmly with clear distrust of his magic. Who knew what other horrible things he could do if she gave him such permission.

She scanned the thick forest, making sure not to take her gaze off of his back for long and keeping her distance behind him. Even if she hadn't been aware that she'd crossed the wall, this place was different. Everything seemed more vibrant, more beautiful. Her eyes catching the bright blue flowers that grew here and there by the tree roots.

Katja lifted her knee and tugged on her lace to untie it. She cleared her throat to let him know that she was stopping and set down her back before dropping to her knee next to one of the flowers. "What do you call this place?.." she asked a little more casually, unearthing the blue flower from the root as quickly and discreetly as she could and stowing it into her pack before tying the lace and standing back up to continue on..

 

[Ariel]

Ariel glanced over his shoulder and stood patiently while Katja knelt. He had expected her to decline his offer of warmth. Most mortal women were not so distrusting of him, but then again, most of them had not known he was a faerie, not immediately anyway. Considering most of human-faerie relations over the past... forever... he couldn't exactly blame Katja for her suspicions.

"Glimmerwood," he answered her question. "It's far enough south that the sun still shines for many hours each day, and when it hits the fresh snow, well," he shrugged. She was a clever girl, she could put the pieces together.

It didn't take long for the weaving evergreens to give way to a cabin, if such a description were worthy of the building. It was built from rough-hewn logs and timber, but it was much more elegant than one would have expected for the remote wilderness. The window frames arched and spiraled, and the inside was lit with a warmth that could be felt even upon approaching. A sturdy, handsome porch wrapped around the place and Ariel strode up and opened the heavy wooden door for Katja. "After you."

Inside was a lavish hunting lodge. Couches and armchairs of leather and fur had been set about sturdy wooden tables. A staircase curved up along the left wall to lead to a lofted set of bedrooms that encircled a great chandelier made of moose and elk antlers. Perhaps most enticing: a roaring firepit at the lodge's center.

"I stay here when I have business just over the border. It isn't much, but you are welcome to it."

 

[Katja]

"I get it.." she murmured with as much boredom as she could. In truth, Katja had never seen a forest as beautiful, though she wasn't about to admit it. She wasn't about to peel away the layers of apathy and aggravation that masked her fear, but also her excitement at having accomplished her task of stepping into another realm. On the surface, she'd be as calm as she possibly could be and she hoped to hell that he couldn't see through her.

Katja's brows lifted in silent intrigue of the cabin, her stoic expression pausing for a brief moment for her to gape before she forced herself to look disinterested once more. The place simply beckoned to her with that warmth she'd so craved for weeks, the sight so welcoming that she had to refrain from allowing tears to pool in her eyes as she beheld what was inside the door as he pushed it open. Her hesitation lasted only a moment before she stepped in, enveloped by warmth and soothed by the mood of coziness and comfort.

It was quite obvious that it hadn't been at all what she'd expected. She flinched slightly at his voice, as though she'd forgotten entirely that she wasn't alone, and she turned to frown at him with a light shake of her head. "Why?.." she asked, the question holding a little more bite than she'd intended. "Are you in the habit of inviting strangers into your home like this? I could be some sort of crazed murderer for all you know." she hugged her arms, and edged a little closer to the fire pit.

 

[Ariel]

Her reaction was more or less what he had expected. In the immortal realms living had a... different sort of standard, at least amongst the high fae. Judging from Katja's clothes and starved physique, he thought it a safe bet that she'd spent little time in such luxury. All that being said, Ariel could not have managed a place so lavish on his own.

"Oh, you are welcome to try and kill me in my sleep," he crooned, following her inside and shutting out the cold. "But this is not my home, more of a shared stopover when coming and going across the barrier." Several fae contributed to the lodge's upkeep, it just happened that Ariel traveled more than most.

He moved to the side of the large, open room where a cast-iron stove was set and placed a large brass kettle to boil. Where the water had come from was unclear. "As for why, I enjoy interesting company, and you are very interesting. But mostly it's that I am not in the habit of leaving people to die in the woods."

A few minutes passed and he brought back two delicate cups of warm, honey-gold tea. He took a seat by the fire, set one cup on the hearth, and offered the second to Katja. "Tea?"

 

[Katja]

Her gaze narrowed defiantly on him for a moment. She doubted, from what she'd heard at least, that fae would be very easy to kill. Now that she'd seen him, well, now the ash arrows made her feel a little more than foolish. Deer and such, she could hunt and kill, but something like him?...

"Interesting?.." she said the word aloud without meaning to, her tone incredulous whilst her expression was one of intrigue. She had stepped into a hidden world with creatures she hadn't imagined were more than myth and yet he found her interesting? "What gives you that idea?.." she asked bluntly.

Katja awkwardly shrugged herself out of her sodden jacket and hung it by the fire, her black shirt soaked through and clinging to her. Fucking rain. She supposed she should feel some sort of pride that she hadn't let it dissuade her from finding the wall, but she'd make sure to look pissed off about it, at least until she had dried off and the cold unlatched itself from her bones.

The offer of tea was so tempting that she had already begun to reach for it before realising what she was doing, and the quiet thanks died on her lips as she recoiled. "N-no. Thanks." she murmured and continued to will the heat to dry her quickly by the fire. She had never seen a cup of tea look so tantalisingly divine in all her life. The thought of drinking it all but made her toes curl in her dank boots, but she'd been warned against that too, and she'd heard what had apparently happened to humans who had accepted food or drink from fae hands.

"I'll just dry off and be out of your way..." she cleared her throat, untying her braid and letting the folded hair unravel into damp waves as she pulled her fingers through it.

 

[Ariel]

"Interesting?.. What gives you that idea?.."

He smiled to himself and set the tea down on the hearth in front of her, should she want it, before settling into a deep and soft couch nearby. "Most humans are interesting. If my days were as numbered as yours, if I were as fragile as you, I should think I'd lock myself out of harms way and scarcely see the sun. Yet, this seems to be a minority." He crossed his legs, resting a foot on the opposite knee, a picture of relaxation and comfort.

"You just keep... living. Despite all things, it seems." He turned his face to her and surveyed her in one quick, sweeping gaze. "You can't be more than twenty, and you've already found your way here. When I was twenty I... well, I wasn't quite so adventurous."

It was difficult to keep his eyes level with her face. Her clothing clung to her in a way that left little for his imagination, but he could tell she was thinner than she ought to have been.

"Do try the tea, it will warm your blood better than the fire."

"I'll just dry off and be out of your way..."

He didn't move a muscle as she undid her hair, but the freshly released aroma of cool rain came to him clearly.

"Oh believe me, you are quite welcome on my way, it is made brighter for your presence. Besides, it will be dark soon. Your bow may as well be a twig for all the good it will do you against the forest at night. No, you best stay here until sunrise."

He still had not lifted his eyes from her. How could he? Nothing in the garish hunting lodge held a candle to her. She was a bit rough around the edges, but it only added to the whole. He could hear her heart beating in her breast from the few feet distance between them. It was so very weak next to his own, but here she was all the same, determined that she should kill him before accepting a simple drink.

"Now, what is a young, mortal woman like yourself, with an ash weapon and a faerie necklace, hoping to achieve in the Winter Court?"

 

[Katja]

Katja's brow slowly furrowed as she listened to the fae explain to her why she intrigued him so. "I'm interesting because I'm alive, and not hiding in a cupboard..." she cleared her throat and looked down with a nod, a ghost of a smile playing on her lips for the briefest of moments as she fought the urge to laugh. She was interesting, because she was weak, and not yet dead despite braving the world.

Her lips parted to speak and she drew a breath, one that was intent on spilling out words all about how she'd come here, about Ivander and how long he'd been searching for the wall, but her mouth clamped shut as she realised. She shouldn't have been talking to him in the first place, and this was exactly why..

But then, he was being kind to her, offering her warmth and a safe place to rest, pouring her tea and paying her compliments.

Manipulative little weasel.

She looked around rather than at him as he insisted that she stay. It didn't feel like she had no choice, that if she wanted to storm out into the forest on her own he'd no doubt let her go..but she had no desire to test his warnings about whatever lurked in the shadows, nor did she want to go back into that retched rain.

Her jaw clenched, intent on staying shut as he asked the question she'd earlier had been about to answer, but rather than silence, it was met with a question of her own.. "Winter Court?.." her brow quirked.. "There are other courts, then?.." she questioned, settling back into her chair and swallowing the thirst from her throat as the scent of that tea wafted temptingly toward her.

 

[Ariel]

"I'm interesting because I'm alive, and not hiding in a cupboard..."

Levity danced in his expression. “Precisely.”

Upon her following question, Ariel’s eyes seemed to flash in the warm glow of the fire, and an almost impish smile spread across his pristine face. “Ah, so you are curious.” He leaned closer to her, still firmly seated on his own, but enough that he could make out the patterns in Katja’s eyes and closely trace the remaining beads of rain that dripped down her face.

”In the faerie world information is more valuable than gold. Are you asking me to divulge the secrets of my kind?” His tone was playful, a mockery of surprise intended to spur her questions forward. She was sharp to have latched onto the most useful part of his sentence, to insist on hiding her own motives from him. And... he had to admit that her continued taciturnity was only fueling his curiosities.

”Tell you what, I’ll make you a deal. You take a sip of that tea, and I’ll tell you about the courts.” It was clear she did not trust him, more credit to her intelligence, but how far would she go to sate her own inquiries? He knew the myths the humans told each other about faeries, about the dangers of accepting hospitality, food, and certainly bargains.

“And no,“ he continued, “it won’t turn you into a frog or erase your memories.”

 

[Katja]

Katja's eyes rolled in annoyance, her lips twisting at his amusement. How could she not be curious of this place? So far feigning her indifference had been like opening a gift box and refraining from looking inside even though you were certain that the gift was wonderful. But she was afraid to seem interested, afraid of speaking to him in the first place, of being here, of being trapped by some twisted words or apparently innocent cup of tea. She fully expected to be tricked in some way, as was their way, or so she'd been told.

The second he mentioned a deal she visibly bristled, her eyes raising from the floor.. "Forget it, I don't want your secrets so badly that I'd make a deal with a fae. By telling me two things that the tea won't do doesn't mean it couldn't do a whole host of other things to me." she frowned, her jaw clenching at the talk of memories...

Was that something they could do?..She bit on her lip so hard trying not to ask that it almost bled. "Can fae..do that? Alter memory?.." she asked quietly..

 

[Ariel]

It was uncommon for human women to be so resistant to Ariel's company and gifts. This was not arrogance, it was plain fact. Of course, very few human women had come into the fae realm of their own accord, very few came in armed, and it needed to be said that many of the women whose lives Ariel had touched had been unaware that he was fae at all.

This Katja was a glowing exception to the rules. Of the courts, Winter was one of the loosest in terms of laws and regulations. Still... faeries had an annoying love for boundaries, categories, and unbreakable bonds. Anything that threatened to circumvent such things was eye catching indeed.

Ariel began to suspect that his teasing might be going a bit too far. The poor thing was obviously frightened, and toying with her further would be no better than tormenting a cat with its hackles raised. So he leaned back in his seat and broke their eye contact, looking instead at the warm and comfortable fire. He brought a cup of tea to his own lips and sipped gingerly. He hadn't had a cup moments before.

"Some fae can," he answered. "But not me. It's actually quite difficult. Not to mention awfully rude in most cases."

He took another sip and looked back at her, but without any of the predatory glint his eyes had held before. "And you're smart to refuse my bargain. You're absolutely right, that tea could have any numbers of enchantments or curses." He smirked and shook his head, "but that one holds none. It is only tea, on my honor."

 

[Katja]

Katja blinked at him.. "Rude?.." she scoffed and her lips twisted as she tried to keep her laugh held in. "What a funny way to describe it." she grinned, and was unable to help but let a chuckle or two loose. Had he known about her family he might have understood why such a description of the act of altering one's memory was funny. It was not what she'd have called it..

She glanced over the cup in his hand, and turned to look at the steaming cup of tea sitting beside her. Something about his words this time convinced her. She wasn't sure if it was true, that fae couldn't lie, but he'd mentioned his honour and that seemed like something he wouldn't besmirch, and so she reached for the cup with a light nod. This was precisely what she had been told not to do.

Do not be seen - check.
Do not get caught - check.
Do not speak to anyone - check.
Do not eat or drink anything...check.

The little cup was warm in her palms and she lifted it to take in a breath of it. It smelled temptingly sweet, and she glanced up at him over the rim of the cup before giving in to her reservations and taking a sip. It was like no tea she'd ever tasted, and the warm honeyed liquid slipped pleasantly down her throat and seemed to warm her through to the bones.

"Oh.." she sighed out, and took another long sip, her eyes closing as she savoured the cosy warmth.. "Thank you.." she frowned as she lowered the cup into her lap, and froze as she realised what she'd said. Her face paled slightly.

One should never say thank you to a fae - check.

She really wasn't doing particularly well. "You..were crossing the wall, then?... Do your kind do that often?" she asked quickly.

 

[Ariel]

Ariel smiled, genuinely this time, as Katja finally took a sip of the tea. If he had brewed it correctly (he did) it should warm her through and through. At least she would not be dying of hypothermia this evening, so long as she changed into some dry clothes.

"You..were crossing the wall, then?... Do your kind do that often?"

”In general... no. At least not recently.” There had indeed been a reduction in travel between the realms in more recent decades. Some of that was likely political shifts in the fae courts, but a good part of it could be attributed to the human realms becoming volatile.

"I cross the barrier more than most." He did not feel a need to reveal to her just what he was doing so close to the border, even if she was able to guess. "It's tricky, even for fae, which is why I was doubly impressed and surprised to bump into you. Did your necklace help you across, or was it your own natural talents?"

A bit of a smirk now, as no human could possibly hope to find an opening in the barrier without some sort of fae assistance. Not unless they were supremely powerful and, based on what he'd seen, Katja did not fit that description. Fiesty, brave even, but not powerful.

 

[Katja]

She continued to drink as he spoke, her eyes fixed on him over the rim of her cup. Her shivering stopped almost immediately as the warmth spread through her and she sighed, her muscles relaxing a little more into the chair as her tension, at least physically, left her.

"Why?.." she asked and cleared her throat before clarifying. "Why do you cross more than most? It doesn't seem fair that you can cross to the human realm whenever you please and your world is hidden to us, no?.." she asked, a brow quirking as she lowered her cup to her lap.

Her lips twitched slightly and she looked down, her fingers toying with the pendant around her neck. "Just this.." she laughed under her breath. "It's taken years to figure out where we could reach the wall, and it took me another month to cross it. I'd just about given up.." she stopped herself, realising how loose her tongue had gotten and she frowned, settling the cup down on the table beside her.

 

[Ariel]

Words were dangerous things. A single syllable spoken out of turn could unravel dynasties, and Katja had just let quite a few slip through her tantalizing lips. We, years, given up, it painted a few more edges to the picture that Ariel had been cultivating in his mind ever since he collided with the wet, bedraggled creature.

"Fair hasn't a thing to do with it, we're just better at it," he shrugged. "It was our magic that erected the cursed thing, though, if the stories are to be believed. I suppose it makes sense it would come a bit more naturally." He paused to allow her another sip, and to contemplate the flames in the open hearth before them.

"I like your world," he answered, still looking at the fire. "It is... more real than here." He looked back, and it was almost as though his eyes had taken a piece of the fire with them, glittering in pale green embers. "It's why so many of you wish to leave."

He tried very, very hard not to look at the pendant around her neck. Aside from knowing that it was faerie-made, he had no idea what it was. That bothered him, as a human with a faerie artifact was far more dangerous than she knew.

Instead, he smiled, a real one that reached his glittering eyes. "But you didn't give up, did you? You made it here, and bravo to that." He looked at her for one more long moment. He found the closer he looked at her face, the easier it was to forget the necklace.

"It seems awfully unfair that you had to come here on your own, you must be tired." He stood gracefully and offered a hand to her. "Come, I will show you to your room."

 

[Katja]

Katja's lips twisted and a shoulder shrugged nonchalantly as she couldn't help but agree. It did make sense, and Fae, she knew, were far more powerful than most humans or elves could learn to be. From what she'd read it seemed that the magic was simply in their blood and connected to the world around them, a world far more magical than her own.

Her eyes rose to him as he complimented that world and her brow furrowed slightly. His gaze was too beautiful to hold and so she cast her own into her lap once more, her frown remaining as she considered his observation. "It's certainly cruel and cold, if that's what you mean..." she answered quietly.

She wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not as he complimented her perseverance and so she met his gaze, only to find he seemed quite serious. She chewed subtly on her lower lip rather than tell him she didn't really have much choice.

"Oh, I.." she stared up at him somewhat timidly as he stood and offered his hand and a room, her eyes shifting briefly toward the door.. Her muscles seemed to ache in protest at the very thought of leaving, thoughts of cold rain causing her shoulders to sag. She let a sigh tumble from her lips and looked back up at him, reaching hesitantly for his hand. She was tired.

"Alright.." she concluded in a breath and let him pull her to her feet. "Tha--" she cleared her throat and the word from her tongue.

"You said that so many of us wish to leave..." she quirked a brow. "What did you mean by that? Are there humans here?" she asked curiously.