thehauntedfrequency | fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[his brow ridge raises a bit.] Vacation? [what the hell are those. it's weird enough as it is! he's on a mission entirely divorced from the end of the world or his own personal cause...this is rare for him, okay?] Is that the angle we're taking?

Exactly! If even we think of our trip as a leisurely thing, then people will be even less likely to realize we’re up to something.

[It’s quite practical when you think about it, not at all just an excuse for Emery to fuck around.]

[we. right.

together. perceived...together.

that hamster wheel's finally turning, giving him cause to properly flush.]

Y-yeah. That should...work. Probably.

[Emery quietly admires that flush and slips his hand into Zel’s.]

So, did you want to look around town before we leave?

[he notices the handhold via reflection before sensing the pressure on his palm and it makes him blink a couple times.

look around...hand-in-hand? that's awfully attention-grabby, isn't it?

or...is it? in a town where people have cow tails or are very very tiny...

he scratches at his cheek with his free hand.]

Is there something I should be looking for? [that he wouldn't be able to see elsewhere.]

[Emery shrugs.]

Nothing in particular. We’ll need to get proper fishing gear at some point just for our cover story, but I think we’ll be able to rent some when we get to Zennor Lake. [And no sense hauling all that stuff all the way from here to there if they don’t have to.] But I thought you might be curious.

[He could gawk at all the tiny winged people and their dovecote-like houses like some kind of boorish tourist!]

[thought he might be curious? why would he think that? besides being in a whole new world. does he think he's a nerd or something??

...he is a nerd, though.]

I...I guess if there's an archive or something around here, then maybe...

[Yes. Emery thinks Zel is a very cute nerd, and accordingly he grins up at him.]

We won’t know until we take a look, will we?

[he looks past him, his mouth pulling in that way it does when he's trying to avoid reacting to something he wants to react to.]

...Okay. For a little bit. But if we waste too much of the day, that'd put you behind, right?

Eh. I suppose.

[Pffft, Zel says that like Emery’s job is important or something! Alright, so maybe if Emery dawdles too much Merry Morgan will be able to pull off whatever it is she’s up to and they’ll have missed their window of opportunity to gather information, and then Emery might be in trouble with his boss but. But!

But he really prefers fooling around with his boyfriend over doing his job.]

We’ll multitask, then! Look for an archive, and look for transportation to the next town.

[the carefree Lina energy of it all... Zel looks skyward with an unspoken question on that before accepting any nudging or pulling to get himself moving back toward town proper, mindfully averting his focus toward that inn and it's damn solarium.

something something wandering montage, expecting more oddities and hesitating to really poke his nose anywhere without being properly goaded to. what's really the novelty is letting himself be led around by the hand: mulling about a town with travel companions is one thing, but not like this! usually he'd be grudgingly tailing behind one hothead or the other, you know?

...is this a date?? Zel glances at reflections in windows in bewilderment as that question pops up to mind.]

[If this were really a Lina moment then Zel would be being dragged back to that inn for a ten course meal. Fortunately it is not a Lina moment! It may or may not be a date, however; Emery isn’t really thinking about it anywhere near as much as Zel is, just happy to be here with Zel.

Although it’s a Poor Provincial Town in many respects, the village isn’t entirely without interest. It’s almost ludicrously picturesque, with plenty of flowers and greenery, not to mention the whimsical architecture.

Shopping-wise, there’s a curiosity shop that sells enchanted items, in case Zel has ever wanted a set of cutlery that sings and dances. (This set is on an extreme discount; it appears to have been in the shop for a while.) (Emery is delighted by the set but not enough to actually buy it.)

There’s also things that are actually useful, ranging from everyday items like teapots that will always keep your tea warm and lamps that will light up without need for a candle, and things that might be of interest to adventurers, such as a dagger that spells can be channeled through for greater effect. However those are all fuck-off expensive and way out of their current budget, and the curiosity shop has to be left behind.

A proper archive cannot be located but there does turn out to be a book shop. The bookseller isn’t the sort who appreciates customers that browse without buying, so Emery takes it upon himself to distract the man with idle chatter so that Zel can peruse the collection of fae realm books in relative peace.

The whole time, Emery keeps things relatively proper… Sure, he’s usually holding Zel’s hand or arm, but nowhere more untoward than that. Theoretically this could be totally platonic handholding! Hopefully Zel is not dumb enough to conclude that, because come on.]

[no. no singing cutlery. no talking inanimate objects in general, for personal reasons.

he appreciates the support in keeping the book vendor off his back while he peruses...perhaps there'd be a chance to properly sit down and tear through a whole lot of them in a day or two...

but if they're going on a lake, there's a risk of books getting ruined before he can even dig in. hm. HM.

he'll just take note of titles of interest for later and leave empty-handed this time.]

...All set.

[Emery gives a quick glance at the lack of books Zel is carrying and breezily bids farewell to the bookshop owner and escorts Zel out. As they’re on the way out, he asks:]

Have fun?

[Emery’s tone is light but he is watching Zel very carefully when he asks. Books seemed like a pretty safe bet for something Zel would enjoy and he’s hoping it at least got some of the sting out from the soup incident earlier. He’d rather hate it if Zel’s primary impression of a fae realm town was “that terrible place where something embarrassing happened to me.”]

[to be fair, the terrible place where something embarrassing happened isn't a monolith: he can be horribly embarrassed most anywhere regardless of realm; he makes it so easy. that won't be the lasting impression of anything unless he faceplants hard enough to leave a lasting impression somewhere on it!

that aside:] Mn. There's a few things I'd want to try and check on later, if there's a chance afterward... No sense picking anything up and risk it getting lost in the middle of what you're here to do.

[Ah-ha! So Zel is interested in coming back here. Emery will take that as a win, and accordingly grins. It means that Zel doesn’t totally hate it here!]

Sounds sensible. We’ll have plenty of time for this later.

[...As long as the Field Lord doesn’t give Emery another assignment right after this one, anyway.]

So I talked to the bookseller a bit about the roads around here, and the northwest road leads to a city on the bank of the Ganaranth. Nobody in town’s heading that way anytime soon so we won’t be able to hitch a ride out of town, but once we’re in the city it should be easy to find a ship headed up the river.

So unless there's horses or a cart to rent, we're walking? [or flying?

...actually...

Zel glances upward, curious to see if it was normal at all to see any flying about. aside from size or creature-features, he hadn't noticed any magical use at all. would flying even be magical in this realm?]

[Beside the tiny winged people Zelgadis has already seen, there’s not much to see in the sky aside from clouds and a distant flock of birds. Maybe there just isn’t much reason to head up?

Emery, meanwhile, blithely continues on.]

‘fraid so~ But you can tell me all about the books you were looking at while we travel.

[They could probably do that just as well on horseback as on foot, but whatever.]

[he blinks, feeling a little put on-the-spot. is it so strange that he's being asked about his interests without ulterior motive? come on, Zel.]

I wanted to get a sense of how historical records are handled, how folk stories are recounted...to get an idea of what's considered worthy of record at all. It's always different, country to country...even if some of the writing conventions are the same.

[nerd.]

[Emery’s ulterior motive is that he loves Zel and wants to know more about Zel’s nerdy interests.]

Really? [Emery considers himself pretty well-read, but he hasn’t noticed that before- but he also hasn’t been travelling as long as Zel has.] Let me guess, people favour whatever version of things makes their country look best?

That-- [he nods.] --and what makes the things they love or hate look better or worse. It's very hard to find completely objective accounts on anything. Like reading about Seyruun from their documents versus Atlas City's. [actually...he kind of wants to read what the fey realm thinks of that famed holy city now.]

[Emery gives a little laugh and slips an arm into Zel's as they meander towards the road out of town.] And like what Avalon and Elphyne have to say about one another, I'd bet.

[Not that... he's actually read a lot about either fae city, but still. He's heard a decent amount of fairy gossip!]

[he nods.]

But...that's all plans for later, isn't it. [he tilts his head a little, peering at him.] I'm following your lead first, remember? [or is the heel-dragging intentional?]

That's right! I'm the boss here. [And Emery just blithely continues to smile, elucidating absolutely nothing.]

[he squints briefly, wondering if it'd be right to needle for better insight or if that was too...smothery of a thing to do. honestly? he's usually the one on the receiving end of nosiness, and it's hard to say at any given point whether he prefers someone be too nosy or to just make assumptions and see where those chips fall. it often depends on how one person or the other expresses care - Lina was always more about action, whereas Amelia loves a chance for a good motivational speech, for example. him, though...?

maybe simply being present and aware is enough.

...he hopes so.]

Well, boss, there's still daylight left. Are we picking through town for any supplies you want or are you interested in putting our backs to it already?

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lbr we all missed emery

IT'S TRUEEEe

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