Fantastical Beasts and How To Imagine Them

Another beautiful day. The sun was out bright and shining. It was relatively warm for Eisleyn standards anyway. The town of Laikda was, for once, having a relatively peaceful week. Randomly, a noble by the name of Solana Ardor had appeared close to a week ago and had been tirelessly slaughtering any threats to the village itself. The only compensation she required was resting in their hot springs and getting free meals.

And by resting, she meant literally. The girl had dragged in a cot and tended to sleep there.

Currently though...She could was at the tavern. It was a small place, though there was an increase in visitors once the roads to town suddenly became much safer. Solana was humming to herself, her fingers lightly drumming on the table as she seemingly stared off into the distance. There was food enough for several people at her table, though no one else was there.

In truth, she was expecting people here today. She didn't know how many, as she had balled up several of her request papers and let the wind carry them off the mountain. She was told that literally no one would answer if she did such a thing. After a solid week of waiting, she decided to send out a few messengers and post papers on the board in town.

It read: The Ardor family requests brave volunteers to track down a fantastical beast that has taken up residence in a cave system near Laikda. Its very presence may be a constant threat to the people of the town, both physically and emotionally. Brave volunteers will be rewarded with headpats, verbal compliments, a sum of 5,000 denars each, and a deep sense of accomplishment, though that is probably more on the individual. Still, be more confident in yourselves, you're doing a great job.

- Love, Solana Ardor

PS - I think it's either a dragon or just a really REALLY big lizard. It says mean things and breaths fire. Though that may have been me.

PPS - Meet me in the tavern, food and friendship will be provided.

The only real issue, she thought, was that people might pass by it simply because of her family name. The ardors were known to be completely insane, though she never understood why. She was quite proud of her penmanship in the letter though, her sister would be proud too if she had seen it. She often proofread her letters at the estate and would chastise her for being too informal. She did great this time though!

If one would enter and look around, they would mostly recognize the crest on her cloak first things first. Looking closer, the'd notice that, despite the fact that it was quite warm in the tavern thanks to a roaring fire, her breath could still be seen whenever the girl would exhale. She seemed to be lost in her own little world though, and would most likely not notice them until they approached.

Solana Ardor

It had been years since Aster had last heard any mention of that name, and while she held all her contempt towards the Ardor family lineage, she couldn't do the same for Solana.

Walking up the snowy slope in her fur cloak and snow shoes, she never did learn what had happened to her. Some said Solana had gotten ill to the point of being bedridden. Others, that she had been betrothed to some haughty Saoirsian. Others still, that she had died in a snow sliding accident.

Whatever the case, the fact the person was calling themselves Solana was enough to catch Aster's interest. She didn't know how much of it to believe, if she were honest. The 5,000 denar reward? Talk about a fantastical beast in the icy caves of Laikda? She could easily see it as a ploy of the princess in order to catch undesirables.

"It is DEFINITELY a trap," Mansha had insisted, but Aster promised she would be careful.

Reaching the tavern, she paused at the door and touched her weapons. A sword stayed sheathed at one side, and in her coat, she had a sidearm ready. She could never be too careful, after all. Entering, she started scanning around.

Where are you... she would think as she looked around.

Heinrich didn't give a damn about no headpats or verbal compliments, and he always felt a strong sense of accomplishment. But5,000 dinars? Well, that was enough to get him to throw on his winter clothes and hitch his wagon straight towards everyone's favorite failed state. After he'd made sure that his mule was put up somewhere relatively warm and out the elements he stepped inside the inn. A heavy dusting of white was on his head and shoulders and he took of his hat with gloved hands and dusted it off and then tipped his hat to the two ladies there.

"Good day! I hope it finds you well!" This frozen-over corpse of a kingdom, fished out of the icy river. Ran by a mad princess and filled to the brim with useless, broke bastards. "I'd come in regards to the job? I'm a hunter by trade! Heinrich Mills, of Addlemarrow!"

He smiled bright as a summer day in a place that wasn't all winter and misery.

There were many things Fēowertīne wanted. A good night's rest again, more time to read Nigon's journal, another day with Heinrich's family. But all of those were out of the question; her order was to follow Heinrich, to find if his Answer was the one her master wanted, an order she must prioritize above all other things. She was, of course, torn; though she wanted the departed Nigon to have been right, to not have died senselessly for nothing, any Answer gained from Heinrich Mills could have would surely be disastrous. This, of course, left her one goal.

She would use him to find another Answer. If he proved valuable, then her master would do what she needed to, but in the mean time, she was sure that, colorful cast she'd met in his presence, she could find another that would be better. And so, here Fēowertīne was, trapped in a cold that instinctively caused her to tremble from the thought of her illness that night, following Heinrich on his search for blood money. Luckily, she'd had time to buy proper clothes this time, and was bundled up as snug as a bug. Gloves, boots, even a heavy winter cloak... yes, this was certainly ideal. Nothing ornate, her eye was all for utility, not fashion.

Regardless, here she was, standing next to Heinrich, her skin crawling from that smile of his and expression blank as she held her thick book in front of her.

'Maybe I'll get lucky and his face'll freeze on that expression.' Yeah, and maybe I'm a Stahlmin airship captain.

Solana, at first, didn't react to Heinrich's presence. Whatever she was looking at was keeping her attention rather easily. Slowly though, she'd blink, shake her head and look towards Heinrich and Feo. Suddenly, a bright smile spread across her face. "Hello! Good to meet you and you." She looked between the two happily as she spoke. "The job has waited for you, please, sit!" She gestured towards the chairs, scooting out hers just a bit. If they'd sit, they'd notice the air around them grow just a bit warmer. "A hunter from Aldmerrow! Hey, is it true what they say?" And she left it at that as she turned to Feo. "And a blank face from outside. How can you manage such an expression? It's nice to meet you both though!" She looked between the two excitedly. "I'm Solana Ardor, seventh daughter of the now ash and bearer of the Phoenix's flame." She puffed out in pride for a moment before folding her hands on the table and leaning in slightly.

"I'd like to wait just a bit longer fo-." Her eyes were glancing around the room idly. She cut herself off as they trailed across something shocking. Suddenly, she rose from her chair, slamming the table hard as her eye widened. A ghost!" She exclaimed, a smile on her face despite her shock. Oddly enough, the other people in the bar didn't seem to react much to her outburst. It was a good bet that this kind of thing was a common occurrence. She was looking straight at Aster. "Stars become ghosts!" She exclaimed again. She looked down at her two new companions, then back at Aster, distress written on her face. She hopped back and forth on her feet as she was trying to make a decision. Suddenly, she slammed a bag of 500 denars on the table. "Stay please, I must see to a flower."

She quickly trotted over to Aster, stopping short and regarding her. Steam was beginning to rise off of her skin as she looked her up and down. "The flower has only bloomed. Or has the star grown brighter?" Her panicked joy suddenly came crashing down as a far away look came to her eyes. "A ghost is a ghost still." She sighed sadly, reaching out with a single finger. She poked Aster's shoulder. Solana stiffened slightly, clearly not expecting this result. Suddenly her hands were on Aster, grabbing her shoulder, poking her neck, grabbing her cheek, tugging on her ear. This would continue for a few seconds before she stopped, a deep frown taking over her features.

"Aster?"

It took a moment for Aster to find anyone resembling Solana, mostly because the area was slightly crowded. That was a given in certain taverns, especially when what everyone simply wanted to do was stay out of the cold. However, another person came in and greeted her, a sturdy man and his petite companion who looked rather worse for wear. She would have responded to him, but her eyes quickly fell onto the other person he addressed.

Flowing hair the color of fire, warm and smooth dark skin, deep ruby eyes...

For a moment, Aster stared in disbelief. Bright and cheery, the young woman looked exactly like her childhood friend...and yet nothing like her. Solana was...older now. Well, duh, that was a given, but it was hard to really picture her friend look so mature--beautiful even. Other things caught her attention, as well. There were the tattoos, of course. She didn't know too much about how tattoos worked in her family, but they were there now, and she wondered if Solana had gotten them willingly.

Aster knew she herself looked far different than when she was the tiny daughter of a duchess, but seeing Solana was still shocking...and saddening. Aster, in all her fixation on Solana and her features, barely rendered Solana moving over to her, greeting her and then poking her.

She blinked.

"Solana...?" she murmured.

Solana then went on to start doing other things like grabbing her shoulder and stretching her cheeks. The latter was enough to snap Aster out of her daze, and she gripped Solana's hands to stop them.

"Ack...hey...quit it," she said.

She'd then look at Heinrich who was just a few steps away from her. "Um...sir, can you tell her to stop? I'm pretty sure I'm not ghost."

Was it true what they said about hunters in Addlemarrow?

"Every word of it, M'lady, especially the part you can't believe!" He said cheerfully, and decided to have a seat as she requested. He didn't really regard Feo and was more interested in watching this redheaded eccentric that had brought them there.

Half of what she was saying was nonsense and she was prodding and invading the personal space of the third party in this conversation. He was tempted to just say he was passing though and write her off as just as mad and useless as this accursed place's frost-cursed princess.

Ah, but hten the bag of denars came down. Cash opened all doors after all. Somehow the bag had disappeared and it was almost worth having to come this way. He nodded. "It's just as the lady Aster says. She's no apparition. Now, if we could get down to talk business? I'd be much obliged."

Heinrich's shadow followed him, standing behind him and not responding to the comment about her face. If this woman had seen half the things she'd seen this week, they'd be on the same boat. ... Or maybe not, as she began speaking in riddles and rhyme before insisting that there was a ghost in the room, poking and prodding away at the other girl who'd apparently joined for this. Was... this normal for the rich? Did wealth destabilize the mental capacities?

Her straight mouth's corners dipped downwards as she remained silent, observing for now.

Eventually, her prodding stopped. Heinrich's words made her turn briefly. There was an incredibly shocked expression on her face. Quietly she turned around, Aster would see tears forming in her eyes as Solana regarded her old friend. "I've seen the ghost of a flower for so long...I never thought I'd see the flower herself." Suddenly, she pulled Aster into a tight hug. "My hearts been pierced by smiles. A warm pain, I think." She muttered. Aster would quickly notice just how hot to the touch Solana was. The longer the hug went on, the seemingly hotter it got.

Suddenly though, Solana pulled back, there was a small clarity in her eyes as she looked into Aster's. "I was told you were killed. I couldn't even do anything...Aster, I've missed you so much."

Heinrich's voice made her turn and blink. "Business and friendship can be one in the same I think, but a moment was being had." She glanced back towards Aster, the clarity now gone. "The moment ran off though." Hesitantly, Solana reached out and took hold of her hand. "Maybe I can find it, for now, help me find a dragon." She would lightly tug on the girl's arm, trying to lead her to a seat before sitting down herself.

"Now business." She tilted her head. "The paper should've told you everything you needed to know, I think." She looked upwards a moment, either deep in thought or distracted. "Before we begin. Politeness is in order." Her eye drifted down to Feo. "Are you nameless, silent, or shy?" She leaned forward, a pleasant smile appearing on her face. "Don't let your voice hide, you are among friends!"

Aster stiffened as Solana pulled her into a warm embrace. Like...a literally warm embrace. Aster could feel the warmth between the two and it seemed to be getting hotter. At this point, Aster was still pretty stunned, enough to not return Solana's embrace right away.

"I...I missed you too..." she said, sincere but also hesitant.

She didn't know what it was exactly that was making it hard for her to just hug her tight and cry alongside her. Maybe it was the fact they were in a public place and two people were staring. Maybe it was because of what happened after the princess started taking charge.

Whatever the case, Aster pulled away, noting that Heinrich was talking business. Blushing from the heat and the embrace she and Solana just shared, Aster nodded her head.

"I...agree. We should perhaps focus on the task at hand," she said. And then more quietly to Solana, "We can talk later about it. I promise."

Solana did eventually start talking details--a dragon in the cave. This much Aster already knew, but she wanted to probe that a bit more. Before she had the chance, however, Solana quickly bounced to introductions. The redhead's attention quickly went to Feo which made Aster arch an eyebrow.

Why indeed was a kid following Heinrich around. To this, she had to look at Heinrich.

"Is she...going to be going with us?" she asked. "Not that I mind but, she does look on the young side?"