It seemed Rita confirmed Aelius’ suspicions by answering his rhetorically asked question. He suspected she would answer anyway, regardless of the nature pertaining to the question asked. It was the way of people, he had learned, of nearly all things with compasses guiding their morals: they wanted to hear their own motivations aloud, for themselves, for if they were spoken by another, pointed out, then they would not believe them. Simply, Aelius nodded, his milky eyes on the blushing Ithecal. She seemed shy and coy with him, as if a great deal of her vulnerabilities were being tapped by him. The scales on her back could not shelter the soft belly she was so readily exposing to him. However, he perhaps was led to believe otherwise. Perhaps her coyness was actually bravery; she admitted to wanting to lay with him while he was alive, or at least she preferred to.
A small breath of a laugh escaped his nose, breathed out as the smile across his face spread once more. Her words didn’t stem the tide of his own, as he possessed the mind to say exactly what was in his cranium. Another quiet came, this one a tad shorter as she mulled over her questions to ask him. In that silence she raised a hand to Flavia. The caracal cat lowered its guard, seeing as Aelius wasn’t guarded in the slightest, allowing the snake-woman to pet its furry hide. The caracal would’ve felt smooth underneath Rita’s palm, a coat kept clean and maintained by extensive care both on the animal’s part and its owner’s. Aelius was quite the caretaker when it came to his companions, Rita could perhaps see this in Flavia’s luxurious condition.
He watched carefully as Flavia accepted the Ithecal’s touch, his eyes glinting over with interest as Rita prompted him once more. ‘Friend’, she asked. In all honesty, Aelius was not one to consider another ‘friend’ in such a short time. As it were, they had just met and knew very little about one another. However, he wasn’t uncomfortable. Since his last friend seemingly abandoned him, up and left without as much as an explanation, never to be seen again, he was feeling vulnerable. There was only so much a feline companion could accomplish after all.
He nodded, accepting Rita’s offering of friendship wordlessly. Watching still, a sweet was offered to the feline. Flavia sniffed over the treat curiously but didn’t accept it into her mouth, instead she rubbed her jowls against the back and side of Rita’s extended hand and arm, seemingly marking her affectionately. It was an act of acceptance, the feline’s own feelings in tune to what its master felt for Rita, of which was actual acceptance.
Aelius slouched slightly as he sat atop the downed tree trunk and took a breath. “I was born in Viden on the 53rd of Ymiden in the year 692. My mother is a full-blooded human while my father is a pureblood Eidisi. Because of their meeting, I was born, but I mostly took after my mother, hence the seemingly normal skin and dark hair. My eyes, however, are obviously from my father,” he went, looking to the now curled up Ithecal. It was nice to see her settling in for his tale, listening in much the same respectful way as he did her.
“I attended primary school in Viden, and secondary school but was ahead of my peers by leagues. Because of this, I was able to take tests that allowed me to graduate ahead of my class. By the time I was fourteen I was taking classes in the Academy of Viden, usually reserved for those two years older than me, those who graduate on time with their peers. My father was a professor at the Academy and my mother, a researcher. It was where they originally met; my father says he was infatuated with my mother due to her intellect, something that I received from the both of them.
“When I turned eighteen I became an apprentice under my father, learning to teach as well. I was going to specialize in teaching mathematics though, whereas he chose to teach linguistics. However,” he paused, “I didn’t end up staying to become qualified as a teacher at the academy. When I was nineteen I was approached by a man offering me a future and an experience I didn’t believe I could refuse. It would rip me away from my studies in Viden, and my family as well. My father didn’t… look kindly upon that. I still chose to take the man up on his offer, to move here to Rynmere where I began studying something new and… unexplored. That was six years ago now and I haven’t looked back, nor have I really spoken to my father since then. I still write my mother from time to time when I stumble upon something interesting that I want to share, otherwise I have very little contact with them.”
Aelius grew quiet, realizing he said much more than he actually intended to. Like Rita, he was unknowingly comfortable. Usually reasons that escaped him frustrated him, but here, it wasn’t the case. He felt fine and okay here with her secluded in the forests. There were few he shared his history with. He felt a little sympathy for Rita though, having had told him an important piece of her own past. He felt nearly obliged to say something of near equal value, yet he did not feel as if his saga was as impactful as Rita’s.
A look of surprise came over the eyes Rita commented on. Due to the lightness of his skin the smallest glimmer of rouge could be seen flushing below his cheekbones. He didn’t exactly know how to reply to such an openly spoken compliment for it came at a seemingly improper place in their conversation. The pause remained though, much to his dismay, only filled by his quiet breathing and Rita’s further cementation of her kindly spoken words.
“I…,” he muttered, “thank you. No one has ever said that about them before.”
It was a truthfully spoken statement and he was truly taken aback. The only other person to comment positively on his eyes was his mother when he was younger, how she would say they were similar to the stars in the night sky. He was touched.
“May… may I ask why you came to Rynmere?” he wondered, hoping to get the conversation back on track.