Celadine Hills (Farmland)

Raynor sighed and shook his head. But he had an idea. "Jun, Enigma has informed me that during his travels, he once encountered a formidable enemy. This creature was a dragon, but unlike other dragons it exuded anti-magic. If such a creature were to come to the Expanse, how would you recommend we fight it?"

Enigma was not very good at lying it turned out. He would stumble a bit over his next words, and they didn't sound convincing.

"Uh.. Following? Uhm... yeah its following me, yep. It might be heading here now even."

Jun slammed her fists together. "If it means teaching that bastard a lesson we'll build you a goddamn fortress to live in! You'll get plenty of food and water, we can teach you how to farm, plenty of guards, but you can still have guests. Who knows? Maybe we can get you a special friend from the Ivy Clan..." It was Jun's turn to wink. "You can start a whole new life here. What do you say?!"

Raynor nodded, pleased. "I will send messengers to the neighboring villages, and we will begin construction immediately. Jun, you need not worry, return to your guests. Show them a good time. I will bear the responsibility for this endeavor. Enigma, follow me. You may need to go without sleep for a few more hours."

If Enigma would, they would head off to meet with some messengers and coordinate the building of Enigma's new house.

<Exit>

After ensuring that her eating utensils are properly stacked to give the poor sods tasked with cleaning up the feast a slightly easier time, Naoki takes her basket in one hand, Kate’s hand in the other, and follows her away from the feast area, toward the stone tower Jun indicated as having guest quarters within.

Listening to what Kate has to say, Naoki nods thoughtfully in acknowledgement. Quietly, she wonders what all could be accomplished if they could coalesce love and respect into some magical effect. That would certainly be something. However, Naoki doesn’t have much to add; The Tillers use all manners of magic to be as successful as they are, and that is ‘The Secret of the Land Tillers.’ There’s not any more Naoki has to say about it, really.

As attention is drawn to the basket, Naoki continues to nod. “I wasn’t expecting such generosity- especially with how we turned up unannounced. … We’re going to have to return at some point with a gift for the Celandines. …” Naoki trails off, considering what might be appropriate.

However, she only spends a moment in thought before continuing, “How was that for a birthday, though?” With this, Naoki playfully wraps her tail around Kate’s behind and flashes one of her trademark smirks. Between the bracelet, the quality time they spent together in the carriage, and dinner with The Celandines, Naoki is inclined to think that she did pretty well in terms of birthday festivities but is interested to see what Kate has to say about it all.

Kate brought her wrist up to look closer at the glistening sunmetal. Naoki's gift might be the most precious thing she had ever received, apart from her company, that is. "Yeah. I had a good time." The feeling of something hairy rubbing against her derriere elicited a familiar, quivering reaction. Clearly, even if her hands were occupied didn't mean she couldn't have her fun. Kate was about to return the favour hands-on, when...

Jun blinked in surprised. She might have ducked, or perhaps Resonance would have interceded to block the new weapon. Just the same she thought it was interesting, and appropriate, for one of the High Lady's most beloved companions to be armed. She didn't recall seeing the enchanted weapon before though. Odd.

Although disappointed at first, Jun perked up when she heard Kate mention breakfast, as if lingering insecurities of Kate being sick of her presence already evaporated instantly. "Eating breakfast together sounds great!" She said. "Ooh, I should cook for you guys. We can take it on the go. Trust me. You're gonna love my dad's project, and I really think you could help improve it. If it works it'll probably be the most successful, and adorable, non-magic farm we've ever created. But I'm not gonna spoil the surprise." She grinned.

In response to Naoki Jun says "Wha-? Oh." Her reinvigorated enthusiasm melts into a demure, somewhat puzzled smirk as Naoki wraps her prehensile tail around her wrists. "Uh, yah sure! I mean... guest quarters..." She allows herself to be dragged along, only passively mystified at how Naoki seemed to know where they were going. She occasionally shot a few confused glances towards Kate Green.

She was rather dense when it came to these things.

***

The stone tower's glyphic system was now emanating an ever so subtle red light. It was warm and comfortable. The stone hallway echoed with the chatter of a few late night villagers who decided that they could handle their farming responsibilities even while hungover. Their party walked right by a special room filled with medicinal plants. The door was partially closed, but a brief passing glance revealed several bags of herbs, a few rolls of bandages on wooden shelves, and a sweet, cinnamon-like scent. Finally they came to the end of the corridor, where a stone platform was waiting for them.

Jun guided them to stand on the platform. She waved her hand over a glyph on the wall, and the platform began to rise up. They would pass by several floors with relatively dark corridors, all bathed with the same subtle red glow. There was an exception: One floor was filled with brightly glowing wisps floating over several indoor plants (Jun was visibly disappointed; she wanted to show this floor to Kate Green).

Eventually they made it to a floor which could be surmised to be somewhere in the middle of the tower. It was completely dark and cold, save for an opening at the end of the corridor which allowed some moonlight in. Jun waved her hand over another glyph near the platform. This caused some slabs of stone to close over the opening, and a glowing light to fill the room. "I'm really glad we made friends with Gauldin. When I was little we had to take the stairs." She then walked them down the hall to a new door, one of several. "Yah, let's go with this one." The opening was a perfectly ordinary wooden door.

Naoki and green would find themselves inside a quaint, primitive looking living room. There was a fireplace (which Jun promptly lit with but a wave of her hand), some simple looking wooden furnishings covered in cotton or feather-based cushions and decorative tapestries, and a wooden shelf with a bunch of scrolls piled neatly on each level. Along the walls were more tapestries, some charts with some cryptic information about plants and animals, and a few pleasant paintings of natural landscapes. There were openings to the outdoors shielded by wooden covers on the far wall. Jun walked over and opened them up, revealing a pristine, cloudless sky filled with stars.

"I grew up in a place just like this, except with more toys and what-not." She said, somewhat distracted by the stars. A few seconds later she swiveled around and gestured to the side. "There's a bedroom in there. You can sleep on straw mats, soft mattresses, or hammocks, depending on what you prefer. Oh and there's a personal washroom off to the side. There's a magic-based water system so you can bathe, although it's traditional to just use a warm bucket and clean rags since it saves water and is more efficient. But hey you're royalty so don't hold back on our account. It's also quite clean and there's no umm... smell." She then leaned in and said in a hushed tone, "The, umm, waste, gets treated and then used in some of the fields."

She then sighed with relief. "Any questions?" She flipped her hair back with a pleased-with-herself smile.

(Presumably the Sun Marshalls would be similarly escorted by other villagers.)

As Jun takes the lead, Naoki is content to follow and does so quietly, without comment or protest. Though she is a bit drowsy- so much can be seen in her less-than-bouncing steps, she seems more than anything to have an air of contentment about her. After all, today has been an excellent day, filled with lovemaking, good food, gifts, and most importantly, Kate’s company throughout. Even though not too many words were shared directly, over the course of the day, there is, as Naoki has already recognized, simply something about Kate's presence that just really does it for her. It’s probably the whole love bit, she supposes.

Furthermore, the best bit, Naoki thinks- beyond what will hopefully become a bonus round with Jun, is that today has only been the first day of their trip, out of some indeterminate but hopefully somewhat large number. Silently, Naoki resolves that she really must pin Kate down in the strictly metaphorical sense for some conversation. Tomorrow, perhaps.

Regardless, before long, Naoki finds herself as the last to enter the guest quarters. It’s a neat enough little place, she supposes. Truthfully, she hadn’t been expecting too much, but the room has a certain sort of warm, coziness to it that appeals to Naoki- bonus points for the fireplace. Definitely preferable to the cold, garish gold of Le Palais des Ailes. Naoki simply hopes that the bedding arrangements are large enough for the three of them.

Closing the door behind her with a firm air of finality, Naoki looks on quietly as Kate approaches Jun. Knowing herself to only have one not-at-all-subtle setting when it comes to seduction and persuasion, Naoki opts to hang back for the moment, and wait to see how Jun takes to Kate’s advance before potentially involving herself. As such, Naoki simply stands, leaning back against the door with that same sort of contented smile on her face.

Kate's sole reaction to the chart being tossed to the bed was a dumbfounded stare. Was Jun actually this dense? Just... Shut up and let me seduce you. The thought passed, and was left unvocalised. Instead, the lips on her sweet little face curved slightly upwards as Jun's magic lit up the room with the luminous aura and the sweet aroma. Alright then. Kate was humoured by the fact that Jun had set up the trap where Kate was about to push her into.

Literally.

She moved in a couple predatory steps, and in a voice that was like birdsong, said "Sit" and tipped her lightly, to make her fall softly on the mattress. Kate followed before any adorably misunderstood observations could follow, sitting crosslegged onto her lap, locking her into the sweet trap. She wrapped her arms around her neck and inched closer. "Stay", she said. It was a new feeling to sit in someone's lap that wasn't Naoki. Of course, it was incomparable to her. Maybe it was unfair to her, seducing another person, but she usually didn't mind these things. Kate knew Naoki did these things on an almost daily basis. So she decided to enjoy herself for all that it was worth. 

I've got you now, Kate thought as she kissed her collarbone and neck. "You're not leaving here until you've received what we want to give you." Kate thought Jun might not feel completely comfortable yet, so she sent a barely noticeable signal to Naoki to offer her advanced persuasion techniques.