Following the days after C'Leena's excursion with Nephele into the dreamscape, things have been calm and 'normal'. C'Leena's definition of normal has definitely shifted since arriving here, but spending the days with her fiancé have been nothing but calm. The pair wander the streets, talking about little nothings here and there and occasionally making some poor financial choices.

This is directly following one of those poor financial choices. C'Leena is sat outside in the street, waiting for Nephele to return from some sort of stall that interested her. The streets are largely empty in the afternoon, so C'Leena can clearly see Nephele talking with a shop keep through a window, but her attention for once is somewhere else. Perched on her forearm like she's some kind of bird handler is what she initially described as a 'lightning phoenix'.

Now, apparently it was actually called an Arcuila, which she has never heard of before, even in earth mythology. Granted, she doesn't know much about earth mythology, but it really does look like a lightning phoenix. And with a very, very poor example of judgement, she bought it. Him. She doesn't have a name yet but she's working on it.

The Arcuila looks to be in the form of an Eagle, matching it's size, shape and general appearance rather well. The only things really showing that it's not as it seems are the identical aquamarine eyes it has, and the blue tinted feather tips. Currently, she's just sitting on a bench, both wondering about names and how exactly she's going to explain this one to Nephele. The last poor decision she made was with those dumbass shells a few days ago, and Nephele damn near killed her with the look in her eye.

"..You got any ideas, mate?" She asks the bird. She is met with a cocked head and a soft, almost questioning call. "Dude I don't know either. Alright, second question: How do I explain this," She motions between herself and the bird. It looks down, then back up to C'Leena. "..To Nephele?"

Once again, she is met with a cocked head, but instead of a call, it gently beats its wings, giving C'Leena the bird equivalent of a shrug. Now, C'Leena might just be associating things to this bird that in actuality, have nothing to do with it's intentions, but she doesn't care at this point.

And then the dreaded thing happens. Nephele seems to have completed her transaction and is preparing to return to C'Leena, and a small ember of panic lights in her mind. C'Leena looks back to the bird, "Okay, you gotta use your dazzling appearance to awe her, alright?"

The bird appears to understand this, and after quickly turning around on her arm, it extends it's wings, stands just a little taller and indeed does try it's best to look as impressive as possible. The thought that this rather big bird might have an even larger ego appears in her mind, and C'Leena can't help but grin, extremely amused by the thought. An egotistical lightning bird. That will be entertaining.

The days passed by naturally enough, peaceful and relaxing as Nephele and C’Leena took their time in the Crescent Isles. Usually they would have moved on within a few short days, but they were taking their time seeing the sights and indeed making financial decisions that they would end up regretting. (Except for they never regretted a single purchase; Nephele has been waiting for the guilt to sink in for months.)

It's why it shouldn't have surprised her what greeted her when she turned back around from the stall she was at. At the moment she was looking at something made of glass beads, similar to the ones that her old monk teachers wore around their necks and hands. Prayer beads, except for these ones were used for many purposes, including cosmetic. Nephele found a small ringlet of pearly white glass beads, clearly not the real thing, but she bought them anyway. It fits snug against her neck, and Nephele placed down a handful of solars in gratitude, waving goodbye to the stall keeper.

When she turned around and saw C’Leena, a few things went through her mind. C’Leena looked ridiculously guilty. The reasoning wasn't hard to guess, as she looked over to see perched on her arm…ohh. Please tell me she didn't... All excitement to show C’Leena her recent purchase dissolved as the single most disapproving expression made its way onto Nephele's face. It was one C’Leena saw for the first time when she bought a counterfeit magic shell, but this time it was made just a little bit worse because this time, C’Leena had bought something alive.

Her steps toward her fiancé were slow, like a mother walking towards her child after they broke something while they try and scramble for an excuse. Her arms were crossed and her brow was pinched, giving C’Leena a blank look. Her gaze then went to… the arcuila. It didn't take much time for her to identify what it was, as she had heard many rumors and stories in her youth about these. She had never seen one in person, exceedingly rare, but Nephele took one glance at the feathers around its mouth and immediately saw from the fleshy skin beneath that it was a baby. A baby. Her eyes narrowed further still.

The problem with Nephele, as C’Leena had learned, is that she never quite got mad. However, it was clear that her disappointment was immeasurable.

“…” She said nothing for several seconds, taking a deep breath through her nose. Nephele then asked quietly, voice steady. “C’Leena. Care to explain why you have a baby arcuila on your arm?”

She was looking at the creature, not at all holding any venom towards any of the individuals she was in front of. She loved animals, and she noticed its attempts to look bigger. That didn't mean anything though when C’Leena impulsively bought something that she definitely, definitely had never taken care of before Charon. Did she have to start using a lead to rein her in?

Nephele wasn't much shorter than C’Leena, but something about her was unmistakably assisting and making her look slightly more intimidating. Maybe it was the stare and stance, maybe it was the unabridged reality of the situation that C’Leena had bought a magical animal then she probably didn't even research. Who knows? Either way, Nephele was standing there, staring at C’Leena as she wondered what on earth she could come up with this time.

Cyran visited the Crescent Isles to visit his extended family as often as he could - despite his busy schedule he still wanted to make sure he took the time to visit the Tsukinaga household and keep them informed on their daughter’s comings and goings. With his own busy schedule those visits were few and far in between, and considering the distance between the Ash Lands and the Crescent Isles, but it was important to him to make sure that Cirice’s parents got updates in her and knew she was safe. And after the events with the cult…

Well, he figured he was long overdue to pay a visit to the people who had welcomed him as family.

He’d spent the first few days of his trip in Shingetsu, catching up with Seto and Lyleth… noticeably glossing over the unsavory parts. He knew it wasn’t right to keep what he’d learned of the infernal origin of Cirice’s powers, but Cyran didn’t want to alarm them just yet. Not when there was still so much he didn’t know, and so much he wanted to be able to fix on his own. Another worry on his plate. Perhaps he just needed to get away from people, and spend some time forcing himself to relax. The next leg of his vacation he’d spent on one of the islands, doing some research in Starlight City and yielding no results. After a few straight days of nothing but worrying, all of these nebulous feelings he couldn’t quantify and certainly could not ease, he decided to wander aimlessly though a nearby marketplace. At the very least, he would go shopping for trinkets for his kids and Del. Little, innocuous things - pieces of jewelry, some talismans and protection charms for Cirice and Thalia, and a little wooden puzzle he thought Del would enjoy.

After a few hours of shopping, and a significant amount of solars lighter, Cyran found himself on the other side of the marketplace, hungry and exhausted. He was about ready to make his way to the inn he was staying at when a tall figure made him do a double take.

Wait a minute… is that C’leena?

It had been a while since he’d last seen her - since they parted ways in Dragon’s cradle after a disastrous spar gone wrong and a journey through her Dreamscape. He hadn’t heard much from her since, and had no idea how her engagement had gone, but considering she was happily chatting away with a blue nymph with a put out expression on her face, Cyran could only hope things had gone well. But they looked like they were in the middle of a private conversation… perhaps it was best if he left well enough alone.

But he did want to give them his best, especially when he didn’t know if he’d get the chance to again…

An internal battle raged in the assassin’s mind, a war between social niceties and the desire not to be an intrusion on what looked like a mild, one-sided disagreement. Eventually, his desire to give C’leena a hug and make sure she was doing well won over - and to give her the charm he’d picked up for her as well - and Cyran breezed his way through the crowd. The closer he got, the easier it was for him to see what the source of the argument was. Where in the world had C’leena gotten her hands on an arcuila? And why did she have one?

Cyran cleared his throat, shifting his shopping bags from one arm to another as he made his way closer to the pair.

“Erm… pardon me, I hope I’m not interrupting anything. I just thought I’d pop over and say hello… if you two are in the middle of something, though, I’ll leave you be.”

Oh, the dreaded disappointment. Truly the bane of C'Leena's existence, she would much prefer Nephele to be outright angry with her, but this just hits different, and not in a good way. The slow walk, the blank look and extended beat of silence all threatened to shrivel C'Leena into a ball.

Now, she's unsure where this came from, but a mixture of confidence and defiance surged within her, and C'Leena stood up, looking Nephele in the eye as she said something that may end in her death and nobody finding the body. C'Leena looked Nephele up and down, seemingly searching for something before coming up empty. "I don't see you with an arcuila." The second the words fell out of her mouth, she knew she has dug her own grave. Rose would be losing her collective shit at this interaction, C'Leena thought to herself.

"Okay okay, before you gut me like a fish, I know there should have been steps to this, but it's not every day that I can say that a lightning bird has my eyes. PLUS, I'm not completely inept when it comes to birdcare! I had a friend who had a cockatiel at their place. Don't think about the logistics between a cockatiel and a bald eagle made out of lightning.

"Yes, I should have definitely discussed this with you, BUT I only got the fella like, five minutes ago. If this is something you don't want to deal with, I can go walk the fella back in easy as. I think. It's possible the dude vanished cause it looked like one of those mystery stores that vanish after you leave, but I dunno."

It's now that a set of footsteps catches her attention, and upon looking over, she sees an awfully familiar face. "Oh what the fuck-" C'Leena says out loud, not looking upset, but just extremely surprised, both at Cyran being here and his impeccable timing. "Fucken Cyran! How've you been mate? Oh shit hold on, where the fuck do I put you..?" C'Leena looks around quickly, trying to find a place to put the arcuila down, but instead the bird just takes off and perches on a nearby sign, no more than ten feet away. "Fuck it, that works."

C'Leena nods at the birds choice of perch, and re-centers her attention on Cyran, quickly and with no hesitation going in to wrap him up in a hug. She does mind his various groceries and doesn't linger in the embrace for too long. "Nah, fucken good to see you again man. OH SHIT, Nephele, this is Cyran - the bloke who taught me that dreamwalker spell we used a few nights ago. Also the guy who helped me through that PTSD episode thing, which I still owe you for, by the way. Don't you dare dispute that."

To be honest, C'Leena has turned to using Cyran as a way to distract Nephele from the lightning bird she bought. C'Leena looks back over to Nephele, finally noticing the beads around her neck. Now, her ADHD has been an ongoing problem since arriving in Charon, and it shows no signs of calming down. Right now, however? Her brain is trying to have 3 trains of thought all at once. "Oh shit, those are pretty! Suits you really well, petal."

Nephele wasn't expecting C’Leena’s response, evidently. Her eyebrows flew up as soon as C’Leena tried for sass, and she shifted her weight onto her hip as she looked up at her fiancé. She wasn't deterred, but there was surprise there, slowly smoothening out. “Oh really now? Is that how we're playing it then?”

She listened to C’Leena's explanation, and the entire time Nephele is listening, she marvels in the fact that C’Leena had absolutely no limits when it came to her curiosity (and that she made it to her age without being accidentally killing herself buying something funky). Usually she would applaud that, but Nephele was strangely passionate for magical items and creatures, especially on the market. She couldn't really be blamed for the disappointment either; twice in what, a week maybe?
It seemed that whatever explanation she was willing to slightly forgive C’Leena for was trampled as soon as she described the kind of person who had sold it to her, Nephele’s eyes going wide at the blatantly sketchy description. She was about to say something, likely something that would have dialed up her disappointment to exasperation, until C’Leena looked over and addressed someone near them. Looking over, Nephele blinked at the unfamiliar face, her ear twitching as soon as she heard the name.

Whatever scolding she was about to say died in her throat, mouth falling open in a silent gasp as she took in Cyran appearance and demeanor. It was strange; like meeting Rose, seeing Cyran in the flesh after hearing so much about him was jarring. (The added difference was that… well, he wasn't dead, but it was still just as surprising.) As she is introduced, Nephele's expression turns happy and giddy.

“You’re Cyran?” Nephele takes a step forward, her eyes sparkling with a million stars. She bows her head in greeting, opting to be professional and formal first off. That's ditched swiftly, taking a step forward and Cyran got another tight hug, her skin ice cold like frozen water. “It's an honor to meet you, C’Leena has told me so much about you, I appreciate it so much. Thank you for taking care of her when I couldn't.”

There was a part of her that wanted to positively drown this almost complete stranger in gratitude and thanks, but she restrained herself. Social cues were hard, but anyone could see that Cyran was awkward, so she spared him… for now.

Hearing C’Leena address her, Nephele looks over, a small, too sugary smile on her face is she runs a finger over the beads. “Ah, I got it from the vendor over there. They’re very pretty… though I suppose not as pretty as the arcuila, hmm?” It's obvious that she's messing with her, and that she would probably be messing with her about this for a while. So long as C’Leena made atrocious financial decisions, Nephele was going to hold it over her head. She did like the arcuila, but a conversation was in order. Her face screamed "we'll talk later".
“And what brings you into town, Cyran?” Nephele asks now, pretending that she hadn't said what she said. “I don't recall C’Leena telling me you're whereabouts or occupation, do you travel for work?”

Apparently, they were still not acknowledging the arcuila as C’leena set it down in favor of wrapping Cyran in a hug that the elven man returned, letting go of the bags on his arms and allowing them to hover in the air for a moment while he gave the young medic his full attention.^[1] The embrace was brief, but a genuine one - when C’leena pulled away, Cyran picked the bags up smoothly, as if nothing had happened.

“I’ve been as well as can be, I suppose.” Cyran responded with a shrug, too happy at this fortunate circumstance to dwell on everything that was decidedly not well. More than anything, he was relieved to see that she looked good. She looked happy. He was under no impression that C’leena was made of brittle glass and broken parts, but it was difficult for him to witness the breakdown he’d seen and ignore what had happened. C’leena was new to this world, and needed a support system beyond her girlfriend while she worked on healing. He couldn’t lie and say he hadn’t been worried about her the past few months. Admittedly, Cyran wanted to reach out, but they’d parted ways without really remembering to exchange any kind of contact information.

“And yourself? You look like you’re doing well.” He asked, glancing between C’leena and the nymph that matched the drawing of Nephele that the medic had shown him when they first met in Dragon’s cradle - an unspoken inquiry on his lips for C’leena. “Where are my manners? My name is Cyran - I’m a friend of C’leena’s. She’s told me a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nephele.”

He held a hand out for the young nymph to shake.

Imagine his surprise when he was pulled in for a firm, kindly hug instead.

Cyran blinked, taken aback by the warm reception and the excitement from C’leena. To be honest he’d still not been entirely certain that C’leena hadn’t left that day lamenting the weird, nosey man she’d met in the woods. He returned the hug, his skin almost as cold as Nephele’s own.

“Oh, C’leena, there’s no need to talk about owing me or anything…” He murmured awkwardly, still caught in Nephele’s embrace. “I was happy to help, it’s what any decent person would do. I’m just relieved you weren’t alone when it happened, my goodness.”

As Nephele pulled away, the two chatted happily about the trinkets they’d picked out at the marketplace, and - well, Petal was probably just the softest thing he’d ever heard C’leena utter, adoration dripping from her voice. If he’d thought she was lovestruck when she spoke about her partner back in the woods, seeing the two of them together was a different thing entirely. Nephele did seem rather put out about the Arcuila, though, if the pointed tone she adopted when speaking about the bird was any indication.

Ah. So that was what the scuffle was about.

He had to hide a bit of laughter behind his hand as Nephele breezily changed the subject, turning her attention to him.

“My occupation?” He smiled, falling back on the usual story. “I’m a hunter, though I also own an orphanage in Darkveil. Two jobs, really - the former necessitates I travel often. Though I’m down here visiting some family right now, not chasing down a beast.” He held up the bags in his arms. “Hence the shopping for gifts. Oh - that reminds me, I’ve got something for you as well, C’leena, so this is a fortunate coincidence.”

He started shuffling through the goods, making polite small talk with Nephele while he looked. Though his movements seemed distracted, he was genuinely engaged in what he was asking, and in learning the answer. “And what about you? I know C’leena’s a bit of a medic-turned-visitor to our world, but I didn’t get to learn much about what you do. Or, uh, both of you, really. What brings you to the Crescent Isles?”

---

1. Telekinesis

Now, it wasn't rocket science to see that Cyran's response to how he has been was both a neutral answer and something he is unwilling to dwell on. Clocking it and noting it down in her head (which she is likely to forget), she moves on from the subject.

It was incredible to see Cyran again, and in truth, she really was happier than she has been in quite some time. Nowadays, she's most often seen with a smile, no matter how soft and it looks almost foreign when she doesn't have one. Even under the withering glare and aura of disappointment from Nephele, she is in very good spirits.

"Doing pretty damn good I'd say. Both a lot and not much has changed - I actually did propose and this lunatic said Yes for whatever reason. Look!" Suddenly her excitement skyrockets as she's been handed a chance to rave about this on a silver platter. She gently takes Nepheles left hand and raises it, showing the ring on her finger, as well as C'Leena's own. "That was a few weeks ago now I believe. A lot has happened recently and my perception of time has kind of skewed. But yeah like I told you, I proposed at the top of the old church in Eclipse City! It was.. frankly poetic how well it turned out."

She drops Nepheles hand after placing a quick kiss on the back of it, and happily bears witness to the hug that Nephele promised not all that long ago. The surprise written on Cyrans face is brilliant and she doesn't hide her amusement, lightly chuckling to herself. Her amused look takes on a look that is usually reserved for her old argumentative patients back on earth once Cyran tries to dispute the fact that C'Leena owes him. "Suck it up, buttercup. I owe you and there is jack and shit you can do about it."

Her look is host to a flicker of a concoction of emotions. Anxiety, fear, and even a little embarrassment when Cyran mentions the possibility of her having that episode alone. The mix of emotions is gone almost immediately, and after a beat of silence she addresses it. "Yeah, no. That would have uh.. I don't even know, nor do I want to." The urge to thank him for the umpteenth time is a hard urge to repress, but she does, opting for a kind smile instead.

Nepheles all too sweet smile and her jab at her poor decision is rewarded with a look of her own. Once again pulling out one of the tactics from her temporarily suspended career as a prosthetist, this one was generally reserved for those who suggested dumb shit to her to 'improve her work'. While it's original use was not fitting, the look, with some modifications to make it less mean and in a more teasing way work just fine in this scenario.

She also catches Cyran's stifled laughter out the corner of her eye, and she points an accusing finger in his direction "Shush, you. I can almost guarantee you and Del have been in a similar predicament." Now, her memory may not be the best, but she will have a hard time forgetting the frankly adorable crappy little drawing of Del that Cyran made in the dirt. "How are you two, by the way? I don't believe you spoke about her much last we met."

"No shit?" She says in surprise, hearing that Cyran owns an orphanage. She had a few friends that were living out of orphanages on Earth since having a kid was just too expensive for most families. To say that they were treated poorly was an understatement, but C'Leena has a feeling that Cyran is doing what he can to help them. He doesn't seem overly financially focused, at least with that establishment.

That surprise is only strengthened when Cyran says he has something for her. "..Huh? You do? Why?" Even in her featureless aquamarine eyes, it's clear that they are filled with confusion and curiosity. She is left to wonder and dwell on what that could be as Cyran addresses Nephele. Looking over at the Arcuila, it too looks curious as it looks down at Cyran with a cocked head. To get a better look into his bag, the Arcuila effortlessly hops off it's perch and lands on Cyrans shoulder, looking very intently into the bag to see what's in there.

"Oh shit, nono-" C'Leena says, watching the bird land on Cyran. It's grip doesn't seem tight so it shouldn't be digging it's talons into Cyran's shoulder, but it still cannot be at all comfortable. C'Leena whistles lightly, more out of instinct and knowing that bird handlers on the internet whistle at their hawks and whatnot as a call to return. Surprisingly enough, it works as the Arcuila hops off Cyran and onto C'Leena's arm. To say she's surprised it worked would be yet another understatement. "Oh! Very good." She gives the Lightning Chicken a pat, but it's attention is still arrested by the bag, curious like C'Leena.

Nephele looked between her fiancé and her friend, her smile turning soft and genuine. Her hands were clasped behind her back, glancing between the two, her gaze lingering on C’Leena a few seconds longer than necessary. She hardly ever saw C’Leena interact with anyone outside of herself or random people and the like on the road, which usually didn’t end positively. It was nice, to see C’Leena at so much ease, making friends while she was in Charon. If it were Nephele…honestly, she didn’t know.

C’Leena holding her hand up to show off their rings made her shy away for a second, her ears drooping and her cheeks turning navy blue in general timidity. Still, Nephele was proud of her decision and if she had to change anything, it would be that she didn’t cry too much so she could see the beauty of C’Leena’s hopeful eyes for a little longer that night. It still felt unreal to this day. Unable to properly respond in any playful way, Nephele uses her unoccupied hand to poke her in the side.

Once they moved on from that topic, Nephele squeezed C’Leena’s hand carefully at the mention of the incident, listening to Cyran. She suspected nothing and less, seemingly as though she honestly wouldn’t be judgmental of anything he possibly said. “I see. A hunter and owner of an orphanage…very polar interests, I must say.

As for myself, I’m a simple wanderer. I didn’t do much of anything but walk from place to place until I met C’Leena…now I drag her with me, more or less. I was partially raised here after leaving the Land of Wonder, and I learned to fight here, so I decided to show where I’m from.” Nephele conveniently left out the part about her being the monk equivalent of dishonorably discharged, but she had decided that was a tale for another day. She did raise a her eyebrows at the mention of Cyran and another person, Del. “Oh, are you a married man, Cyran?”

To Cyran, her cadence sounds like she’s always thinking aloud, the vocal equivalent of air-headedness. Her face then lights up on behalf of C’Leena, hearing that he had a gift for her. A part of her was elated that her fiancé was held to such a regard by the moon elf that he offered her a gift.

It seemed like she wasn’t the only one, as the arcuila had swooped down to land on Cyran’s shoulder as soon as he began shuffling through his bags. Nephele blinked in surprise, and that surprise morphed into masked amusement when it switched to C’Leena’s arm. She regarded the creature, arms lightly crossed as she watched it as its curiosity narrowed on the bag. It was still a baby, so it had time to learn. Still, it clearly needed discipline. Still, she couldn’t disrupt the surprised expression on C’Leena’s face if she wanted to, so she conceded with a soft giggle.

Cyran clapped his hands together in excitement and joy when C’leena suddenly grabbed Nephele’s hand and showed off the engagement rings that both wore. He’d had no doubt that Nephele might say yes, but seeing the excitement and young love on both of their faces still put his mind at ease. The reminder that C’leena was not wandering the world alone. “I told you she’d say yes. My warmest congratulations to the both of you.” There was almost a teasing lilt to his voice - faint, but with the humor of a father asking, see, was that so bad?

The teasing immediately turned to mortification as C’leena insisted that she would, in fact, find a way to pay Cyran back in some way. He paled, shaking his head as Nephele pulled away from the hug. “Seriously, there’s no need to do anything… I’m happy to help. I don’t want or expect anything in return.” He mumbled, expression turning sheepish. “If anything, you can, um, pay me back by having a wonderful wedding, how does that sound?”

He certainly hoped they would. And Nephele was a perfectly sweet young lady, one who seemed rather humble in regards to her own exploits. From the way she held herself, Cyran doubted she was just a simple wanderer, but there was an airy quality about her that complemented C’leena’s stark stubbornness well. Even as the two of them went back and forth about the bird, Cyran could see that Nephele was good for C’leena - and though he didn’t know the nymph well yet, that the opposite was true as well. He blinked as C’leena turned the accusation to him, trying to recall if either one of them had ever been in the same predicament.

“Um… not really, that I can recall,” He thought, sifting through his memories of their time together. “Del is a really practical person, and all of my spare funds go towards the orphanage and the forge. Though sometimes I do being injured birds home that I find and Del tries not to scold me because we don’t have any room for more…”

He paused when Nephele asked about his relationship status.

“Married?” If it was possible for a moon elf’s face to turn as red as a strawberry, Cyran managed it in that moment. He twisted the ring on his finger idly, a habit he didn’t even seem to notice. “No, I’m not married. We did go on a date though, quite recently. I heard that you two ran afoul of those cultists up in Darkveil, and - well, some of them got to her too. We managed to escape together, and everything is okay for now, but I kind of just realized that… well, there’s no point in beating around the bush. We went to a gallery together. We’re both rattled by the event, but we’re doing alright.”

While he spoke, he was still digging through his bag, his own words thoughtful as he thought about Del. “I’m sorry I don’t have something for you too, Nephele - I wasn’t certain if I would be meeting you any time soon and I thought it would be weird, and the last thing I’d want is to make you uncomfortable. But I’ll make up for it in a wedding gift, if you don’t mind of course… ah! Here it is.”

He pulled out a small charm from one of the bags - a light blue cloth inscribed with what looked like a blend of ancient elvish runes and Crescent Islander script, with a small bell tied at the end. He held it out to C’leena, a small, excited smile on his face.

“I usually buy trinkets for my family while I’m out on my travels, but I met a shaman in one of the stalls nearby who custom-inscribed one for you. The runes are supposed to help promote healing, peace, and guided meditation. I thought it might help with some of your forms.” He wasn’t sure if C’leena would ever be able to recover full, sensitive feeling in her prosthetics, but he wanted to help her however he could.

As he stood there, the arcuila perched on his shoulder, forcing C’leena to panic and try to call the small creature back. Cyran smiled, reaching into his pocket with his free hand for a bag of treats. “Hello there, little one. Would you like something to eat?” He offered the small treat to the animal, now perched on C’leena’s shoulder but still watching his things. He wasn’t particularly startled by the bird’s sudden movements. He held a soft spot for birds, even little ancient primordial creatures that could shock you.

"Yes, yes you did," C'Leena confirmed, still smiling ear to ear. It hasn't been that long since the proposal, but normally the thrill of it would have died down by now, but for C'Leena, it's simply morphed into a passive awe and excitement. "I had faith, but it's still nerve-wracking. I appreciate the support, though."

Now, C'Leena was raised with very present parental figures, and her own father was very much the type to use that look that Cyran is using now. Despite the featureless eyes, the eyeroll and soft tsk are blatantly obvious to what they refer to. "Yeah, no wonder you own an orphanage. You got that particular look down pat, bud."

With Cyran firmly rejecting any payback, C'Leena raises her hands in feign surrender. "Yeah yeah, alright mate, don't need to worry about that." Now, C'Leena over the years has gotten pretty decent at technically telling the truth. Cyran doesn't need to worry about it, yes. Doesn't mean it wont happen, however, AND she never said it wont happen. Whether Cyran will catch that or not is up for debate, but he's being paid back whether he likes it or not.

Hearing that he brings in injured birds is awfully adorable for such a rugged guy. It vaguely reminds her of a biker that she knew as a family friend back on earth who was this massive, intimidating fella with a bigass beard, but he was the sweetest guy anybody could know. C'Leena gave him a chocolate once and he giggled like a little kid about it. I wonder how he's doing she thinks to herself.

C'Leena couldn't help but giggle when Cyran went beet-red. Although C'Leena's amusement turned into mild concern when Cyran spoke about some event that rattled them both. "I'm glad you two are doing alright. You just let me know if you need anything from us, mkay? I have no idea how we'll keep in contact - how would that work? Phones don't exist here, we don't have an address.." C'Leena furrowed her brow and began mumbling about how Cyran could contact them, which quickly became illegible to all but her.

C'Leena is snapped out of her mind when she hears a faint bell jingling, and a piece of cloth with a bell is handed to her. She takes it, confused at first but as Cyran explains what it is, C'Leena began treating it less like fabric and more like fragile glass as she looked at the trinket handed to her. "Custom.. What?" She is confused as to why Cyran would give this to her in a 'you didn't have to' way. She's never been one to believe in stuff like this, but with magic being everywhere, she has no idea if it actually would help with those things.

Once she got over the confusion, the sentimentality behind the gift catches up to her and hits her hard. Outwardly, she looks to be staring at the cloth blankly, but internally she's fighting for her damn life. She really doesn't want to get emotional in public, and after a moment, she finally says something. "You.. Motherfucker. Not in public you ass." She leans her head back and takes a deep breath, finally winning the war of whether she will start sobbing or not. "Um.. Thank you, Cyran. This means a lot."

The Arcuila cocked its head to the side, looking at the fabric, almost confused. The second that Cyran offered it something to eat, it's attention zeroed in on Cyran and his hand, and immediately leaped back to Cyran. Judging by Cyran's lack of a reaction from the Arcuila landing on him initially, C'Leena is more comfortable with letting it do that. It does look very excited about the food, however as it keeps lightly cawing and even lightly bouncing on Cyran's shoulder, almost in a way to tell him to hurry the fuck up.

“Hm, there are messenger birds and the like that can be used,” Nephele recalled at the mention of further communication, tapping her chin in thought, remaining mostly quiet as she listened to them talk (and pocketed a few things to ask about later).

A large part of her was unsure as to how to socialize with anyone outside of C’Leena, so for the most part she let the two of them lead the conversation, her eyes flitting between the two quietly. Still, she was willing to learn, and she felt like she owed Cyran quite a bit for helping her fiancé. Nephele was never going to say this aloud, if Cyran’s reaction to C’Leena’s gratitude said anything, but the moon elf could bet that in the future, the couple would be in his corner.

Especially seeing what C’Leena was gifted, a charm that went towards C'Leena's specific needs. Nephele’s gaze softened exponentially at the sight of Cyran giving her fiancé such a thoughtful gift, a peculiar expression crossing her face like she was trying to hold back her own swell of emotions. One would think that she was given the gift herself. Being with C’Leena had unlocked her love of physical affection, but to the fey, gift giving was the holy grail of love languages. Her heart soared even more seeing C’Leena’s struggle to keep her tears of gratitude in, a small shooting star cutting through her eyes.

Nephele, overwhelmed on her fiance’s behalf, lets out a shaky, happy sigh. She’s almost tempted to hug Cyran again, her hands twitching, but she swiftly clasped them behind her back. Nephele rocked back and forth on her heels and watches the arcuila look for food from the moon elf, amused but trying to pretend she was still against it. “Gods, it’s already getting so spoiled.” Nephele sighed, looking at C’Leena. “Dearest, did the merchant at least tell you how to care for it before you bought it? Please tell me they at least told you how old it was, because it looks very young.”

C’leena let out a huff that sounded decidedly unsurprised when Cyran mentioned he ran an orphanage on the side. He immediately blushed, one of his ears flicking in embarrassment at C’leena’s offhand comment that he very much did look the type of person to run an orphanage. It didn’t sound like an insult… still. When one was the kind of person who put as much effort into drawing as little attention to himself as possible, any attention or observation from others felt shameful somehow. With one free hand he ran his fingers through his hair, a bit bashful. “Look the type? What do you mean by that? I- it’s not a bad thing, is it?” It was probably better that neither young woman knew the true nature of his profession - that the Specter currently stood in front of them, getting all out of sorts over what was most likely a compliment.

At least she’d dropped the subject of paying him back, for now - or so she claimed. Cyran gratefully allowed the subject to change back to Del, and how the both of them were doing. It would become rapidly obvious to both that age was not a deciding factor in young love, as Cyran was hopelessly, silently smitten - though it had to do, in part, with the fact that he’d not truly experienced what real, romantic love was in all of his centuries. The truth was that though Cyran was likely the human equivalent of a man in his forties, one with a lot of life experience under his belt, he was feeling something new and exciting. Something that made him feel younger and lighter than his years and the weight they carried.

“I’ll tell her you said hi. I think you’d like each other.” Both a stubborn streak a mile wide. “As for how to communicate with us…” He produced a slip of paper between his fingertips, handing it to C’leena. “Here is the address to my orphanage, Shade’s Valley.” He brightened at Nephele’s mention of a messenger bird before turning back to the arcuila. “Arcuila are decently intelligent creatures… I’m sure I could always send my return mail back with this one.” Here, he stopped to offer another treat. “And if that’s not possible, you can always send your mail by post. My apprentices are adept at tracking people down, they’ll deliver you my replies without fail.” He shrugged, as if to say, you know - hunters.

As he handed her the rune, Cyran didn’t expect for her to start swearing under her breath. Was she calling him a motherfucker? Had she not liked it? Had he overstepped his bounds? The assassin’s worrywart tendencies started kicking into overdrive, until he heard her take a shuddering breath and realized that she must have liked it. The nervous tension in Cyran’s shoulders uncoiled, shaking his head. “No need to thank me. I just… I know that it’s probably been a bit jarring, here in a place where you’ve been separated from the people you once knew. I just want to make sure you know that you’re not alone, you have support and friends here in this world.” That last part was spoken casually as he fed the little darling prancing impatiently on his shoulder one of the crickets from his pouch.

He turned to Nephele as he spoke, still running his fingers over the bird’s plume and supplying more snacks when necessary. “I wish I could help, but my experience extends to Corvids and backyard birds, not creatures of myth. I’m sure you could find animal handlers like falconers and the like to help you get a handle on caring for it and training it. But this one looks to be a baby, still.” He cleared his throat. “I’ve fought adult arcuila in the past.”

You know that feeling you get when you get a hunch that someone didn't quite understand what you meant? C'Leena was getting that right now as Cyran looked awfully flustered. "Look the - Nah, the look you just gave me. The look of 'I told you so'. You got it down to an artform, mate. Nah, the orphanage stuff is noble as hell, man. On earth, orphanages aren't exactly well renown for being.. Good places. Profit centered, mostly. I doubt you do shit like that, though. Makes me happy." She smiles warmly not doubting her beliefs for a moment.

"Shit, I'd love to meet her. What does she do?" Cyran didn't speak much about Del when they last met, the extent being a drawing of her general appearance in the dirt and a dopey smile from Cyran along with it. It was a moment that made her wonder if thats how she looked when she raved about Nephele. Probably. Wouldn't be at all surprising. Who wouldn't rave about their fiancé?

As they were talking, and Cyran was feeding the goblin on his shoulder, the Arcuila does indeed look absolutely spoiled. C'Leena chuckles as Nepheles remark, and proceeds to answer her question. "Yes, yes he did. Gave me this along with the brat." A familiar rift opens in the air as she reaches in and pulls out a book. It's more of the size of a diary, and not all thick, but it's definitely more than she was expecting for care instructions. "Yeah, it's relatively young. They're a pretty close relative to the Phoenix and have similar lifespans, but this fella is I think the guy said a few months old."

C'Leena opens the book and flicks through a couple of pages. Apparently she saw something and processed it a few pages later as her expression turned very surprised as she flicked back. "..direct lightning strike.. Isn't a fucking lightning strike something like, three hundred million volts? Does this sound right to you, lil mate? You go get struck by lightning routinely?" The Arcuila in question looks up at C'Leena as it swallows yet another cricket. It takes a second, and eventually responding with what sounds concerningly like an affirmative.. noise. C'Leena knows that crows caw, but the hell does a hawk make? They scream? This wasn't a scream, it was far more gentle than a scream, so it's not that. Something she'll have to ponder later.

C'Leena takes the note, looks at it for a moment before handing it to Nephele. The thought of using the Arcuila as a messenger bird concerns her for a moment, since her perception of pet birds is 'if they're out of your sight for more than five minutes, they're as good as gone', what with the dumbass parrots that people keep. However, she's more inclined to believe Cyran, seeing as he has.. probably far more experience than any human ever, if he's as long lived as he seems. He's never said how old he is, but theres a look in his eye that just screams 'incredibly old'.

Now, the trinket even after C'Leena recovered from her momentary instability still means a lot. C'Leena is looking at Cyran with the warmest of gazes and the kindest of smiles before she turns to Nephele and shows it to Nephele. Her smile turns from warm to joyful as she says "Look, look! What does it feel like? I'm not about to rub it on what skin I do have - that would be really weird. It looks almost velvety?" Softly to Nephele. It's not common for C'Leena to ask what something feels like, but it's not unheard of, either. Things she can't exactly figure out the feeling of by looking, such as different fabrics would generally be relegated to Nephele to describe for her.

As she speaks to Nephele, there is a subtle change in her accent as it becomes clear exactly how much time C'Leena has spent with her. It doesn't require a careful ear to pick up some of Nepheles accent in her own. Some vowels that would generally be softer with an Australian accent are instead a bit harder.

Nephele has an accent that heavily resembles Greek, so over the months, C'Leena has been picking up some things from her, and vice versa. Turning back to Cyran after gushing over the trinket for a hot minute, she speaks in a warm tone. "No, this means a lot to me, Cyran. Thank you."

Once the Arcuila hears that Cyran has fought an adult Arcuila, it looks over and somehow looks mildly offended, and after taking the final cricket from Cyran, it hops off Cyran and onto Nephele, bridging the gap with a single wing-beat. It settles for a moment before relaxing, seemingly enjoying the coolness of Nepheles body temperature. "..How does it understand? Little shit looked offended somehow." C'Leena is looking at the bird in question with curious, but amused eyes as a light grin breaks across her face. Never thought I'd see an offended bird, but here we are. God damn.

Nephele is mostly watching the arcuila, but her ears are hyper-trained on the conversation. She giggles at Cyran’s tone to being complimented in a very C’Leena way, and she nods in agreement, dragging her eyes away from the bird to smile at the moon elf. “You have a very specific presence to you, Cyran. It makes sense that you have such an occupation, I’m willing to wager the children absolutely adore you.”

She fell quiet for a bit after that, though it wasn’t out of discomfort. Nephele actually thrived in silence, and was completely content listening and adding on little hums of affirmation or giggles every now and again to show she was engaged. Then again, she didn’t even need that much; Nephele had the energy of a very curious animal, not fully approaching things directly but happy to be included. Nephele took note of this Del person, Cyran’s partner, and hummed in thought. Her memory was a formidable thing; once she heard a name, face, or voice it was in her mind forever.

Nephele looked at the book, unphased by the rift opening and gently taking it from C’Leena’s hands when she’s done reading it to flip through it. She mumbles a soft word of thanks on impulse, trying to read it with her slowly broadening knowledge of the Common script. Nephele was so used to C’Leena’s doctor’s scrawl that she was surprised she didn’t have to squint to decipher it, her eyes going wide as she looks at C’Leena.

“It’s a lightning arcuila, so it isn’t awfully surprising.” Nephele said, sighing as she hands the book back, taking the note from C’Leena with a thankful nod. Any exasperation that was attempting to form was dampened by C’Leena’s excitement, and she wasn’t against it at all. Without hesitation, Nephele reaches out to touch the fabric of the rune, her gaze softening as she runs a finger across it and the runic embroidery. She hummed in affirmation. “Mm, velvety and sleek. Very good material and the runes are beautiful…embroidered with extreme care, with the hands of one with talent and passion for the craft. I know it isn’t my gift, but thank you, Cyran. I know you’ll push it away, but if you are ever in duress, you may call on me. You are an invaluable friend.”

It’s said with complete earnestness, her gaze grateful and very serious. This was Nephele’s very flowery saying that she owed Cyran for everything he’d done thusfar, even if he’d never done anything for her directly. To Nephele, C’Leena was her everything, so a favor or gift unto her fiancé was everything to the fey woman.

Turning back to the arcuila, Nephele pocketed the note and hummed. “They’re quite intelligent, as most magical creatures are. Their understanding of us fluctuates, but this one must have been awfully socialized before you bought him. Not enough to develop manners apparently, but…” Nephele mused, curious now. She wondered why someone was so willing to give such a powerful creature away, and her eyes went to Cyran at the mention of fighting some adults. “Have you really? I suppose that’s part of your occupation as a hunter, yes?”

“Oh.” Cyran had to stifle a small laugh at C’leena’s description of him. He supposed he couldn’t deny it… he had taken care of enough kids that the sort of no-nonsense look came naturally to him. Though he wasn’t much of a stern parent, honestly. When it came down to it, Cyran was a big softie who couldn’t deny his kids anything. He flushed under the couple’s praise, though. “No, I could never do something like that. I opened the orphanage because there are too many kids in Darkveil that need a roof over their head and love. I just want to help provide them with a new home, when they no longer have their old one. You two are welcome to visit, if you’d like.”

Honestly, his orphanage was one of his few business ventures he was proud of. It was a bit of an oxymoron, one aspect of his business being in ending lives while the other was in trying to save them. One begetting the other, feeding money between places wherever needed. Cyran did not hate what he did. It was a necessary evil. But it still felt good to build something he was proud of.

He nodded in understanding. “A few months sounds about right.” He replied, all too familiar with the power and lightning that an arcuila possessed. It was… not entirely pretty. He’d been lucky he was quick and hard to catch when he’d fought them with Veliky all those months ago. He tried to keep his focus on the bird and not pry on their private moment, C’leena asking Nephele to describe the material for her. He knew, of course, about C’leena’s condition. It still broke his heart to hear her so vulnerable, asking for help where she’d been denied even the barest sensations.

Nephele describing the artifact with such love and care, so that C’leena would know exactly how soft the material was, only reaffirmed for Cyran that C’leena was in good hands with her fiancée. Not that he ever doubted that the two cared for one another, or that Nephele was a kind person from how much C’leena gushed over her. But seeing it in person was reassuring for the old man. As Nephele thanked him, Cyran offered her a smile, suppressing a laugh that she’d so accurately placed he would not be so willing to accept thanks. But he inclined his head towards her all the same. The two might have only met each other now, but they were bound by a mutual link, one they both wanted greatly to protect in whatever way they could. That meant that Nephele, too, was a treasured friend to him.

“And you may call on me as well, should you ever need an old man’s help.” He promised. “You two are always welcome in my home, should you need a place to stay, or protection. Charon is not the safest these days.”

A melancholic look passed over his face before he smoothed his features out, turning his attention to the arcuila. Nephele’s description sounded about right. They were more than just magical birds, but manifestations of the element and as whimsical and ever changing as the storm. But this one seemed well trained.

“I have.” He answered. “A few months back a friend of mine and I were traveling through the cradle when an unnaturally aggressive pair attacked us from the sky. They seemed to have been disturbed by the volcano ash from Mount Drakolt. We took care of them as quickly as possible, but we were lucky to be competent enough to dispatch them. If it had been anyone else… well, I suppose that’s why the Winged Expeditionary Force was formed. To protect the common people from unknowable threats. This little fellow seems rather sweet, though.”

He then resumed petting the bird’s plume, almost embarrassingly smitten with the elegant creature.