Ah, Hearth Day. Typically a boring, disgusting holiday for those who have people they want to cherish. It’s never been something Perrath has been particularly interested in, and even now, he doesn’t really care about it. What tends to be more fun on this holiday is watching those brave enough to admit their romantic feelings be rejected, especially in public. To see someone crushed so thoroughly from the inside out brings him no small amount of joy.

Today, he dampers that glee though. After their bout with bandits and the infuriating encounter with that not-kin Xalmond, the silent warrior Akari tagged along with him. Honestly, he welcomes the company though he struggles to admit it. There are people Perrath would deign as worthy companions. Akari proved his capability in battle and appears to be blessed by the very same goddess, so yes, he is good company.

There has been something odd recently though. Perrath’s connection to his goddess’s magic feels weak. Being that Lunala is the goddess governing the moon and the dark domain of magic, he figured a good place to start would be Stargazer Village in the Luna Valley. Normally, he quite likes the area. The open skies make for a good place to participate in the village’s namesake. However, he does not quite like the number of buffoons gathered here to celebrate an idiotic holiday.

Just as he’s starting to consider what kind of sneaky antics he could get away with or even rope Akari into willingly, he spots a familiar snow-haired dragoness amongst the tourists in the twilight evening. It’s been quite some time since he’s seen her, and for some reason, he feels inclined to check in and see how she’s faring. It’s probably because she’s dragonkin and nothing beyond that.

“Interesting,” Perrath murmurs. “Akari, I believe I see an old companion of mine. I should like to introduce the two of you.” Then Perrath in all his armor strolls through the crowd, towering over them, and approaches the dragoness. “Einheria!” he calls, a warm tone in his voice. “What a surprise to find you in Stargazer Village.”

Of all the things within this world that Einheria had been deprived of in the heart of her father's mountain home, festivals are quickly solidifying themselves as one of her favorites.

It is not as if she never knew of them before-- oh, she's read endlessly of holidays and festivals, of the things people will celebrate and the ways they will do so, from the floral festivals of springtime across the continent to the more minuscule, personal holidays ascribed to other religions and cultures. They had always been one of the things she yearned for, really-- both fairy tale and fact spoke so softly of them, the vivid illustrations contained within the pages of her books vibrant with life and color and the radiance of joy. But such things were impossible to bring home from adventures-- her father could not bring her the warmth of festival food or the vivacity of decorations, of celebration, and so Einheria had made herself be content with imagination.

But now she stands beneath the shining tapestry of curious stars sprawled over Stargazer Village, the decorations for Hearth Day haloed in milk-white starlight, and that foreign joy she once craved so desperately burns bright as a lantern in her heart.

This is the sort of celebration meant to be enjoyed with others-- she knows that much, yes, has gleaned it from hearsay and the sight of couples and families wandering the streets, contentment with each other's presences settling warmly across their faces. And yet, it is... not as though she knows anyone here, not as though she could go running to someone on such short notice, and her father is--

...her father is somewhere she cannot reach him, and so she must be content to enjoy the day alone.

Einheria is just about to start making her way through the square to find what festival fare she can, her thoughts are scattered by a familiar, gravelly voice calling her name-- she perks instantly, whipping around to find the source, only for her gaze to land upon a certain draconic figure all in steely black.

"Oh!" she practically chirps, her whole face luminous with surprise and delight in equal parts, lavender eyes shining with excitement over the sight of someone familiar, over being the reason for warmth in another's voice. "Sir Perrath! I hardly expected to encounter you here-- oh, but it is wonderful to see you...!"

She pauses, then, her excitement twisting into curiosity as her gaze shifts to fall upon the young man standing by Perrath's side-- his eyes are dark as black ice, his hair like fallen snow, his expression illegible. He has not spoken a single word since they approached, either, lips drawn in a thin line-- oh, he does seem the timid sort...

"And who might this be?" Einheria opts to ask, keeping her expression warm and friendly as she turns to acknowledge the stranger. "I do not believe we have met before. My name is Einheria-- Sir Perrath is a dear companion of mine."

When Akari had agreed to tag along with Perrath, there hadn’t been much rhyme or reason to his decision. The truth was, though Akari had a very particular goal in mind for his journeying, he had… admittedly little idea of where to start. Following the scant trail of clues left to him the night his life changed had brought him to more than one dead end in the previous months. Which left him… Unmoored, as it was, floating in the vast sea of the world with no clear current to follow.

And then, there came Perrath. Perhaps a bit of an egoist, but knowledgable and confident in a way that Akari simply wasn’t. It was easy to follow Perrath’s lead, not that he really gave you much of a choice otherwise. When faced with the decision of wandering aimlessly or following Perrath to somewhere new, Akari had decided to take a chance on the dragon.

He had worried at first that his quiet- silent really, demeanor might grate on the other man over time, but Perrath hardly seemed put off by Akari’s quiet presence by his side. In fact, he seemed to take it in stride, often speaking enough for the both of them while still taking care to pause when Akari had something to add in his writings.

It was… Pleasant. A dangerous kind of pleasant that Akari could get used to. He had met so many like that as of late, hadn’t he…? Though he is careful to keep his mind from wandering… too far off his chosen path.

But despite Perrath’s comparative exuberant personality when placed side by side with Akari, the young man still wasn’t quite expecting to be joyfully introduced to someone new in this place. A friend of Perrath’s. Akari is equally surprised to realize this friend of Perrath’s appears closer to human than dragon. For some reason he had imagined Perrath keeping closer company with his own kind, but then again, he accepted Akari by his side readily enough, so perhaps that was narrow minded of Akari to believe…

The girl seems… Excited. Sweet in her demeanor. It sticks at something in Akari’s ribs with a painful stab. This was exactly the kind of person Hizuki would have loved to meet. A girl her own age, with just as much energy…

But he has little time to dwell on that sweet ache when the girl, Einheria, is asking for his name. Akari- Akari flounders. He opens his mouth and closes it shortly after, before looking to Perrath, and then to Einheria again. He almost moves to sign- But, no, his mind catches up with his panic soon enough and he reaches for the notepad secured to his waist to write out a quick greeting which he presents to their new companion.

‘Hello. I am Akari.’

A certain amount of warmth swells in Perrath’s chest seeing the delight in Einheria’s eyes. It could be because he is equally pleased to see her, though that begs the question of why. Perhaps it is because this expression matches the one he wishes to see on the faces of adoring fans once he reaches the peak of his glory. Yes, that must be it.

“It is an excellent surprise to see you here as well, Miss Einheria,” he says with a genuine smile on his face. “Oh, and this?” Perrath steps aside to reveal Akari much like a curtain being drawn away at a show, his arms wide as a presentation. “Well, I shall let him introduce himself!” He can’t help a playful chuckle watching the man fumble around for a moment.

Once Akari scribbles on his pages, Perrath looks to Einheria. “He has the unfortunate curse of silence, but he has been teaching me the language of hand gestures. I suspect this will be quite helpful in many ways. Do you know that language, perhaps? It would save him from needing to write, but I don’t get the feeling that Akari minds much either way.”

Looking between his two companions for a moment, another thought comes to Perrath. “Ah, right, so what brings you to Stargazer Village? Have you plans for a date or whatever it is that the shorter lived folk do on this holiday? Shall I vet them for you? Perhaps I shall, to ensure they mean no harm, of course!” In his declaration, he looks surprisingly regal, a fitting image of a paladin, much unlike his behavior around a certain red lizardfolk.

There is a quiet, carefully subdued curiosity that flickers in Einheria’s eyes as she watches Akari in the wake of her introduction– a sense of understanding, of kindredness wells up within her as she watches the young man’s lips part and quickly close, seemingly swept up in a bubble of uncertainty, of panic. Oh, Einheria understands this well; for all her practice, all her careful dedication to bettering her communication, she cannot help the way a stranger steals her voice from her throat, scatters her words to the winds like petals in a poem, sends her reeling, picking up the pieces of herself with all the haste she can muster.

But then she watches the way the young man reaches for a small notepad at his waist, watches him scrawl his name across the pages and turn it to her, and a completely different kind of understanding dawns on her.

Oh. Ohhh.

Spending centuries of your life confined away from the world with only literature as your company teaches you little, but there is still knowledge to be found there. Einheria has read of muteness, of the quite literal inability to speak– oh, before she and her father had fallen asleep for goodness knows how long, she had even been reading a bit about a language developed entirely devoid of words…! What an embittering thing, now, to know that may have come in handy now! Oh, those damned humans, that damned wizard– hell shall have no fury like her when she gets her answers…!

…ah. Now is not the time for rage. It is the time for introductions, and politeness, and reunions with dear friends– she must not forget that.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Akari,” she says, dipping into a polite curtsy in response to the young man’s introduction, eyes sparkling all the while. “A companion of Sir Perrath’s is a dear companion of mine.”

She straightens her posture quickly, looking to Perrath as he explains Akari’s unfortunate situation– she does know bits and pieces of the language Perrath had mentioned, but perhaps not quite enough. Oh, but it is at least worth mentioning.

“Ah, I should know enough to maintain a partial conversation,” she says. “Alas, I was… robbed of my opportunity to learn more some time ago. Oh, but there is no time like the present– I shall do my best to absorb what I can.”

Einheria shoots another bright smile toward Akari, hoping that the young man feels at least some semblance of comfort in her presence. The last thing she wants to do is make him feel unwelcome, or as though she is intruding upon his time with Sir Perrath, or worse– oh, goodness, that would just be awful…! Certainly they would mention it if she was being a bother, though, would they not…?

She’s snapped from her anxious bubble by Perrath’s musing aloud, and she looks to the other dragon with perhaps a mote of confusion.

“Ah, a date? Oh, no, I have nothing like that– I was… actually curious about the decorations, more than anything. I have never experienced this holiday before. Father never told me about it.”

Though little shows on his face, relief colors Akari’s eyes when Perrath explains his ‘condition’ to their new companion. Explaining things for himself tended to be… Awkward, to say the least. Often leading to questions he had no desire to answer, or people treating him as some sort of… oddity.


But there is none of that judgement or derision from Perrath nor from Einheria. Instead, she quickly accepts the situation and laments her scant knowledge of sign language. Though Akari is pleasantly surprised that she knows any at all. He stashes his notebook away, just for a moment, so his hands are free to form some simple signs, often the first anyone learns.


‘Hello, I am Akari,’ The side of his thumb softly traces the curve of the marking over his left eye down to his cheek while the rest of his fingers hold a relaxed position, the sign he had come up with alongside Hizuki to represent him. ‘It is nice to meet you.’ He continues, his expression and gestures subtly more open than they were a moment ago. The gentle, barely there smile accentuating the genuine warmth of his words. It was nice to meet a friend of Perrath’s.


He does not sign much more than that, instead opting to once again pick up his notebook and pencil so that their larger, scalier companion is not left behind in the conversation, and so Einheria does not feel any pressure to keep up with him. Even if she knew a few signs, he was still fluent, and keeping up with that could be… A bit much, he was aware.


His curiosity is piqued when Einheria then admits to not knowing much of the holiday, despite Perrath’s seeming………. Worry? Worry that she would be here on some kind of date. He scribbles out a small explanation, though his own knowledge of such festivals was limited at best.


‘It is called Hearth Day. A romantic festival, mainly, but also one spent with family and friends, I believe.’

Perrath appreciates that Einheria is understanding of Akari’s condition without either of them having to further explain it. In all honesty, he has not pressed Akari for any details himself because to him, it is likely not caused by rather just something that he must live with. The dragon will judge people for things within their control, not outside of it.

“I find that I have gotten quite good at understanding the language of hands,” he says. “So, if you ever find yourself unable to communicate, I will gladly assist.” This would all, of course, be much easier if Perrath were able to communicate with people telepathically, an ability some dragons develop in their aged years, but he has not yet realized that power. Perhaps one day he shall and can hear Akari’s voice for the first time.

Somehow, the dragon paladin finds relief in the fact that Einheria does not have plans for a date, not because he does not think her capable, but more that he was recently thinking so lowly of those who choose to celebrate a holiday such as this, and he would hate to take back the words he thought. He would, however, do it for the sake of her pride above his own, which… Is an interesting feeling for him to juggle. No matter. Dragons are to be protected, and dragons are stronger when together.

“Well, since I find that none of us are interested in romancing anyone in the vicinity at this present time, we could, perhaps, participate in these festivities as friends and companions,” he finally says after musing on it for a moment. “Perhaps a picnic to watch the moon rise this evening and watch the stars from the very hills this village is famous for?” Picnics sound like something people would do or appreciate, not that Perrath has ever actually gone on a picnic before, it’s just something he’s heard about.

As soon as Akari moves to tuck his notebook away, Einheria’s vision quickly hones in on the position of his hands, the way they move; there is a fluidity to his gestures unlike any she has ever seen before, a grace to the motion of his fingers, a comfort to the movements. She cannot help but watch with a sparkle in her eyes, mesmerized by how naturally the unspoken language comes to him, with all the ease the common word pours from her own tongue with.

It is the kind of mastery she could not hope to have– not yet, at least, with her painfully faint grasp of the language. She merely knows the basest of words, the mere necessities for greetings, for a brief encounter; the idea of weaving a whole conversation with flutters of her fingers and the motions of her hands alone is beyond her for now. And yet, as she stops to properly parse the words that Akari wordlessly speaks to her, she cannot help but realize how terribly rude it is to merely stare at him, even if she could pass it off as attentiveness; she knows better than to sit in silence when someone is talking to her!

‘Hello,’ she signs back, the motions of her hands significantly less practiced– for all her dexterity with a weapon, all the dancer’s grace she possesses in day-to-day life, she lacks the proper familiarity with the words she weaves, the means of making them her own. ‘It is nice to meet you.’

Einheria lowers her hands after that, clasping them together politely in front of her, offering Akari as warm of a smile as she can manage. She prays none of her anxiety bleeds through, that her lack of confidence makes no mark on her face– the last thing she wishes to do is bring the mood down so terribly.

Mercifully, if any unease does show on her face, neither Perrath nor Akari catch it– or at least, neither of them mention it. Sir Perrath even suggests… celebrating this warm holiday together, as companions, a concept that makes Einheria’s eyes go wide, lips parting around a word she cannot manage to get out.

It is… a wondrous feeling, truly, to have her company requested. To be wished for, wanted– to have a means of making up for the harrowing absence she can feel more and more with every moment.

She does not hesitate to nod.

“You would truly want such a thing?” she asks, just to be sure– just in case Sir Perrath only wished to extend the invitation to Akari, and she is wrongfully intruding. “It sounds lovely, Sir Perrath.”

“Perhaps a picnic to watch the moon rise this evening and watch the stars from the very hills this village is famous for?”

Ah… Akari feels… Stricken, for a moment.

His mother would have never suggested such a thing, but oh, his sister loved to find new ways for them all to spend time together. She had a knack for finding new, scenic spots all around their tiny village and would delight in dragging their small family out to spend hours together with snacks and idle chatter… Most of the chatter, of course, coming from his sister herself. But his quiet hands and his mother’s dry remarks would often join in chorus with her.

…Hizuki would have loved this holiday, wouldn’t she…? A whole celebration of love? She would have adored the concept alone. Of course she would have…

Akari stares down at his notepad, half ready to scribble out an apology and a quick farewell, but something stops him from doing so.

Perrath was a very kind man. Someone that Akari looked up to, he wouldn’t want to disappoint the man. And Einheria seemed kindly as well. It would surely be rude to dismiss the idea when they both seemed interested. And…

And surely Hizuki would scold him for it. If she could.

'A picnic sounds nice.' He writes down instead. 'Shall we find food to bring with us? I am not good at cooking.'

Perrath doesn’t notice either of his companions seemingly struck by his suggestion to spend the evening together. In fact, when Einheria questions him to confirm, one brow ridge cocks above the other. “Of course. Miss Einheria, I do not suggest to do things I do not wish to do.” There is honesty in his words – mostly. Perrath doesn’t particularly enjoy going out of his way to help people most of the time, and he won’t if there is little or no gain personally from doing so. In this case, there is personal gain in the form of spending time with some of the few people he can truly stand to be in the presence of in this world.

“Yes, let’s find something that suits us all,” he says, looking to Akari. “I’m not exactly sure either of your preferences, but I’m sure someone in this village has something even remotely adequate for our tastes. Come along. We have more than enough coin from our last job to feast should we wish.”

And with that, the dragon turns on his claws and walks to the market with a purpose, giving little care to those he barrels over or who stumble in his wake. His tail drags along the ground behind him like the trail of white left by the rudder of a ship. Of course, he gathers information on what his two companions would like after a quick perusal around to see what is on offer before he beelines for the preferred stalls. Few do little to stand in his way when the large dragon man sets himself in the front of lines to make his order, and when he’s done, he has a basket full of goods and a blanket.

Where he got the basket and blanket remain a mystery as none of the stalls had these for sale, yet he still acquired them in some way.

“Night is approaching! Let us find the softest grass upon which to sit.”