catch me

// seen you smile in a secret language

“So we’re making a rage room, right, and Charlie and I had to go and grab some smolder blooms from here for it.” She explains, because she remembers explaining the basics of the rage room, but the blossoms are exactly where her mind is right now as she loops her arm through Fox’s and they drift in toward Frey’s Breath (a place of which harbors a lot of better memories for her than the Crust does).

“I’ll have to show you them but I was thinking maybe we could include it in the flowers for the wedding? They’re so pretty.” She asks, her iceberg gaze peering up at him happily and contently (glued to his side), before she turns her attention to the surrounding area in case she spots any lilies.

Thankfully, the place is less stifling as an Ancient, and with having the portal to get to their destination quicker, the Harpy is very pleased with everything thus far.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

"So you have said," Fox says, his words edged with a smile. Gods know that in the right mood the hunter would probably find such a room very useful, but he can't deny that he'd laughed at the idea when Kiada had first presented the decision. But given how well the Grounds has been doing lately - bonfire, portal, barrier against the void for the Inner Quarter - who is he to say that a rage room isn't an adequate addition?

Still, he's caught on to the real subject of conversation - the smolder blooms - and raises his eyebrows as they duck through the stony passageways and into Frey's Breath. "You know I trust your judgement, so if that's what you want, it's what we'll get. If you see any while we're up here, though, point them out."

Closing his eyes for a second as they're engulfed by the heat and the humid air, it still takes Fox by surprise, how much he can enjoy something as simple as a change in temperature. It's true that Longheat in the Grounds is hardly cold, but up here in The Climb, the fire that coats his bones is second to none. "So you said we are looking for a lily?" he asks belatedly. It isn't what he's usually asked to hunt, but he'll accept it.

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

She knows that it entirely would depend on the mood for her lover, just how much use he may get out of such a room. For herself? She falls into the same category – because any bloodthirstiness, any craving of power or dominion over another person had long since vanished since she’d left Helovia and even the Rift. And the version of her now, reborn not once but twice, she simply loves too much to actively seek dark urges of her former lives.

She still likes to play at times, though.

Ducking along with Fox, despite not having to given her height in comparison, Frey’s Breath greets them with warmth and comfort and his agreement has her snickering a little – because she knew he’d say that, but had still wanted to run by it with him anyway. “I will.” She promises, even as she tucks herself a touch closer to the hunter. “It has the added benefit of burning anyone who’s not Ancient.” She bounces her dark brows playfully before she reluctantly pulls away from remaining latched on Fox’s arm to take his hand instead, turning her attention to the pools around them.

“A lily, yeah. If we can find one. They’re pretty rare, but they’ll help with healing the regions that are all… grossly purple.” Her nose wrinkles at the thought before she shakes her head out of it, dark hair falling around her shoulders as she continues to try and spot anything of interest.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

"Is that a benefit?" Fox wonders with a gentle furrowing of his brows. "The majority of the people attending our wedding aren't likely to be Ancient, are they?" Chuckling to himself and leaning in to press a kiss to the top of Kiada's head, he wonders whether having the smolder blooms form part of the harpy's bouquet is probably a better idea than including them in any general decor. Just in case of fires, and all.

Releasing her with just as much reluctance as she lets him go, the hunter rolls his shoulders before getting to lily-hunting, ducking through the steam and trying to peer towards the edges of the pools. "Ah, I see." Smirking and nodding to her. "You can't have any of these lilies in the wedding decorations then, I take it?" He doesn't know how rare pretty rare is, but he imagines the odds aren't great.

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

“It is!” She insists around a giggle, until he mentions that the majority in attendance won’t be ancient and it’s a fact she has thought about, but there’s a touch more devious of a reasoning for why she does want to include them. “It would be for my bouquet, mostly. And any other decor we don’t want anyone stealing.” Nuzzling him back as he presses the kiss to the top of her head, she pulls away from him with a Cheshire grin and a bounce of her brows.

Attempting to look around the steaming edge of the hot springs, she comes up empty on her initial sweep. But her chime of laughter echoes in the cavern as she shakes her head and looks over at Fox with a beaming smile, bright against the din of the springs. “I mean, I could… I’d just probably get a stern talking to.” By Deimos and the other demigods, she imagines.

And she’s not really interested in that when she could be swept away in Fox’s strong arms that night. “Have you met Charlie?” She asks suddenly, curiously.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

"Oh, I see," Fox says through a deep chuckle, his voice somewhat distant where he's disappeared into the steam to try and hunt out some of these strange, rare lilies. "Are you planning on ferrying some of the decor home?" he wonders, given how worried she seems to be about it getting stolen. The hunter doesn't object to having to walk through a garland of flowers to get into the house, granted, but he imagines it will be a bitch to get back to the cottage.

Appearing once more at Kiada's side after having little luck in finding anything, he offers her a mischievous smile. "You could hide it in with the other flowers and present it as a surprise afterwards," he suggests. "Though that would imply we'd found one, and I don't see anything other than the water and the steam."

As for Charlie, he shakes his head softly and slips an arm back around the harpy, drawing her close against his side. "I haven't had the pleasure yet, no. What do you make of her?"

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

“Obviously.” Kiada drawls through a tone far flatter than it should be – as if there were any other option that would prevent her from bringing some of the wedding décor home. But, Fox shouldn’t worry about it too much. She isn’t taking that many things back. Just the bouquet to keep and maaaaybe a table topper or two. Easy to stuff in a bag and bring back, right?

Either way, Fox returns from his vanishing act in the mist and she beams at him to see his mischievous smile and the idea that accompanies it. “Damn. That’s okay though. I guess it’s better to not have to worry about it, huh?” She asks with a soft laugh, contently slipping back under his arm to press up against him and wind her arms around his middle to stay just as tucked in, especially as they talk about Charlie. “She’s great. She’s helped with a couple of things already for the wedding and she’s very excited about all of it.” She admits with a laugh, shaking her head slightly before she peers up at him from where she’s tucked into his side, bright iceberg gaze focusing on his face. “She asked about you recently, so I wasn’t sure if she’d managed to stumble across you yet.” Fox did have a tendency to be elusive sometimes – something Kiada knew to being one of the perks of being a monster hunter. It was better to find the monster before having the monster find you.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

Bouncing his eyebrows at Kia - despite her inner thoughts and their practicalities, he has a feeling that, on the day, there might be more than a table topper or two in a bag for him to cart back to the cottage. Not that he will begrudge his fiance - then wife, he realises with a quiet thrill - anything she desires, and his arm slips comfortably back around her as she slides back against his side.

"Mm, that's true. I don't need the anxiety that comes with that kind of responsibility." He smirks, despite being one of the most straight laced Ancients in the grounds. Had they found a lily, it would undoubtedly have been in safe hands until the moment it was given to one of the demigods. But still - it is nice not to have to worry about right now, given where they are and whose company he shares.

"Oh?" he says of Charlie, his smile growing warmer. "As a priestess I imagine she has quite a few ideas of her own?" Given that he's content to go with the flow, that might make for a dangerous combination when it comes to the little Ancient. "I haven't been in the Inner Quarter for a while," he admits; monsters don't tend to lurk around the civilised areas unless things have already gone very wrong, after all. "Should I go to the Temple to introduce myself, do you think?"

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

“No, you don’t.” Kia agrees with a soft hum of a laugh, peering up at him from his side, wholly enamored and in love as her iceberg gaze scans the panes of his handsome face. “So maybe we’re lucky we didn’t find one?” She bounces her brows playfully before she settles as they continue to walk and she starts to explain about Charlie, all while her hand snakes up and under his shirt against his back to let her warm hand flatten against the small of his lower back.

“She definitely does.” Kiada agrees with a crooked smile, before she straightens up to nuzzle her cheek against his upper arm. “You could. I’d just prepare yourself for the potential of lots of squealing and excitement.” Snickering, Kiada pulls away slightly, enough to make sure she doesn’t trip over a slick rock that protrudes along the outside of the springs. “Is there anyone you want to invite?” She asks, distracted for a moment, realizing that she’d been so overwhelmed with thinking about everyone on her side to invite, if Fox would have anyone of his own to add to the list.

It's a thought that makes things a touch somber for her, if she’s being honest, because she knows enough of his history with his own family to know that he's the only one left.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

"I won't admit it to anyone we speak to, because obviously finding these things is really important, but... yes. I'll say it's lucky we didn't across one today." Smiling a kiss against Kiada's brow, it's as he straightens back up that he feels her warm fingers spread against his lower back, his tail flicking affectionately and curling around her as if to keep her by his side where she belongs.

Squealing and excitement is quite different to the sorts of things Fox usually has to prepare himself to face, and though he knows Kia is quite serious, it doesn't stop the quiet laugh from escaping his lips. "Right. I'll bring along some cotton to stuff in my ears, and maybe introduce myself from a safe distance at first," he decides, letting his gaze move back out across the hot springs to admire the rolling steam before she speaks again, taking him by surprise.

"...No, I don't think so," he admits with a gentle shake of his head. "Anyone I would invite, I think you already have covered." Mainly Deimos, in truth; Fox has a few acquaintances, but no one he really considers close enough to him to merit an invite to his wedding. In that way, he supposes, he's still as much a loner as he ever was. "Does that mean I ought to get out more?"

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

Letting the soft laugh escape her, the Harpy nestles into the kiss to her brow that melts everything away – the slight subtle disappointment at missing out on the lily for all the good it might do. At least the rest of the time here is less complex, less… mission focused. She can devote her attention to their wedding and to short, blonde priestesses in attendance, and the sadder thought of just how lonely Fox had been before he’d literally stumbled into her life.

Just how lonely she had been before setting eyes on him, too.

“I think that’s a good plan.” Kiada murmurs, nestled into his side where she belongs, letting his laugh warm her bones even more than the heat from the hot springs ever could. She needs all the warmth she can get as she inadvertently takes him by surprise, nodding to hear that she’d already gotten it all covered. And when he tries for a joke, well, the Harpy doesn’t entirely take it that way.

She twists to face him, looping her arms around his neck to pull him in against her in a warm hug. “Only if you want to. If you don’t, then who cares?” There’s seriousness in her tone, especially as she pulls back from the hug to press her forehead to his, overtly affectionate (perhaps because she can relate to having lost everyone prior to the life she’d built here in Caido. She’d lost everyone else she knew from the Rift beforehand.) “We also need to figure out when we’re getting married. Does Mister Sinclair have a seasonal preference?” She changes the subject before the two of them can dwell on it too long, her fingertips toying with his hair at the nape of his neck as she pulls back to let her iceberg gaze scan him, allowing her body expression to be nothing but love and delight once again with the prospect of marriage, injected with a bit of her usual humor.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

Surprised to find himself half stumbling into Kiada's embrace, Fox nonetheless melts into it, his arms slipping around her in turn so he might hug her back, savouring the simple touch that had been such a rarity for him not all too long ago. "Work tends to keep me busy. It probably can't hurt to show my face a little more in the Inner Quarter, though," he admits with a crooked smile, hazel eyes slipping shut as she withdraws and touches her forehead against his own.

"I'll start with Charlie, however ambitious that might be," he decides, chuckling; either the exuberant priestess will get along with him famously, or he'll return home socially exhausted and happy to continue life as mostly a loner. Drawing her up and against his chest as she glances up at him once more, Fox tilts his head and offers her a slightly bashful grin.

"Once I would have said any season apart from Deepfrost, but with the bonfire... I really don't have a preference," he says, unsurprisingly enough. "Does the future Mrs Sinclair have a preference?" It still gives him a small thrill to think about that, as if unsure whether it's real.

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu

// seen you smile in a secret language

Oh, it had been the goal to get him to stumble into her embrace – it means she has a chance to wind her arms around him tighter to keep him upright along her. Affectionate to a degree that she didn’t think was possible again, she peers up at him, iceberg eyes lovesick in how they scan his handsome face. “Maybe we should go have date nights in the Inner Quarter and get dinner once a week?” If meeting people organically seemed a little too much with how often Fox found himself fighting monsters out in the wilds.

Either way, content to have him start with Charlie – she isn’t sure whether that’s a good idea or not, given his usual proclivities to easy quiet meetings – the Harpy nods before she’s drawn up against his chest more and she eagerly presses up against him without a second thought. On the subject of seasons, though, while playful her tone is, she doesn’t expect him to return the teasing (she should, in reality, but anywayyy…)

Her cheeks flare red to hear what her new name will be, a blush of rare occurrence overcoming her features as her tail curls in delight to hear it. “My birthday’s in Flowerbirth, so I’d be okay with that or Longheat. Deepfrost still seems cold and even though I was born in the mountains I’d rather our day be longer than the short ones we’re seeing now. What do you think?” While yes, the hours of the day were all the same, Deepfrost brought days that darkened earlier, that meant for nighttime adventures and curling up indoors.

Maybe she wants more figurative time in the day to show him off, to love him in front of anyone who looked their way. To boldly, selfishly, claim time and time again that he’s mine.

KIADA

love i know just like the ocean //

totally sniped from odd ilu

'Cause with my mid-youth crisis all said and done

"Beautiful and clever," Fox whispers, smiling boyishly down at her and nodding his head. "I think I can manage that. It gives me an excuse to meet you from work, too, make sure you're being treated the way you should." His wink is playful and unserious; he knows more than most that Kiada is capable of taking care of herself and then some, but if a fiance can't offer to clobber idiots on his love's behalf, what good is he?

The pretty flush to her cheeks is as unexpected as it is delightful, Fox leaning in to press a few kisses there as if to cement it in his memory, and he's still grinning like a fool as she gives her consideration on their wedding date. (Again, not words he ever thought he'd use in the context of himself). "My birthday is in Deepfrost, so maybe we can use that as an excuse to make the season warmer," he suggests; not that Fox has ever really celebrated his birthday, unsurprisingly.

"If you'd like the longest day possible, Longheat is the obvious choice. But we could always set a date at the end of Flowerbirth as the best of both worlds...?"

FOX

I need to be youthfully felt, 'cause God I never felt young

totally sniped from odd ilu