Characters: Fiorella & Graham Prompt: When Graham meets a friendly stray cat around the school campus he gets an unexpected surprise.
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2025 6:12 pm
The last month had been... Well, something. That was for damn sure. Hasan knew about Aithne. The botched middle of the night fire drill. History class. It was like the world was trying to tell her that life was easier as an animal. Which was why she had spent a decent amount of time exploring the school as a cat. Well, that was what Fiorella had settled on, at least. After trying her usual skins, she found it was far harder to get around the school as a deer or a mouse. The latter simply because it put everyone into a tizzy when they saw her. The former sending people into alarm trying to figure out how to get her outside. Cats were at least easy. They were common. The school had a mouser here and there - ones that had been less than pleasant when she'd tried her little mouse trips - making it even easier for her to fit right in.
When she'd finally gotten bored of seeing the same five sitting rooms and game rooms copied and pasted forty or fifty times, Fio had taken it upon herself to start exploring outside. Unfortunately, that still meant having to change in her room. The first attempt of leaving her clothes outside had resulted in someone stealing them. The staff had not appreciated a naked woman stalking through the halls to get to her room, reminding her that nudity was not nearly as acceptable here as she was used to.
There was a spot she had found on these trips. One that she quite liked. And she wasn't the only one. A white haired man from classes that hadn't stood out to her much at first also seemed to like her little spot. The very first time she'd noticed him, he'd been chuckling at her when she'd been trying to jump on some of the fish in the shallows. The little bastards were small and slippery, gliding away from her paws as she pounced on them. Or, really Fio had been attempting to pounce on them. Then she'd jumped out of her skin when a laugh had sounded behind her, making her back arch as she jumped into the air.
Now that she knew Graham - at some point he had introduced himself to her without realizing she was one of his classmates - Fio had started to enjoy his company. Sometimes he would pat her head and back, making her arch into the scritches. Other times he would talk to her. Which was why she'd come to their bench once again. He wasn't sitting yet, apparently she hadn't been that much earlier than him. Hopping up, she sat to stick one of her legs in the air and lick at the fur of her inner thigh before stretching. She'd learned young to actually act like the animals that she transformed into to disarm people into realizing what - or who - she was. Leveling her eyes on him, she flicked her tail. "Rrrrrrow!"
Then he seemed to stumble. Whether it was that he caught his foot on a rock, just tripped over himself, or what she didn't see. It didn't stop her from acting without a thought. Shedding her cat skin and letting it fall to the bench, she stepped up. Gently wrapping a hand around his upper arm, she helped steady Graham. "You okay, big guy?"
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ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ➢ nervous, attraction ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ➢ Utopia > exterior gardens ◆◆ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ➢ Charlene ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ➢ Xena, Violetta ᴀʟʟ ᴅʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ➢ even the damn gloves ◆◆ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴇᴀʀꜱ ➢ shadows in the garden
talking - thought
His last month went off with a rocky start. The history lesson that Professor Langalibelele put them through had its moments and they were not the ones he likely intended for him to experience. Oddly enough, despite the chaos of war that surrounded him and Chiara at the time, it brought some of his own inner chaos to a level of peace that he didn’t really know he needed let alone deserved. He pushed his tongue hard against the back of his teeth as he walked through the Academy gardens to his usual spot. There was also the turmoil among the Price siblings and how that played out. The effects of that meeting were going to last years, even decades no doubt. This day however was not bad so far. It didn’t have him leaping for a cancer stick like others could. In his hand was a brown paper bag with bits of bread. This routine of his started practically the night they all first came from Utopia. Maybe he always had them in Shahiti and paid them no mind, but this place had a way of siphoning out his emotions and using them to create nightmare fuel. The path ended at a lake that had a bench facing it, and plenty of ducks to go around. He was grateful that there were no type of geese. So far Utopia didn’t have any or he was fortunate enough to miss them when he went out there but if they were anything like the aggressive ones in Shahiti, he was going to have to find another spot.
As he approached, he spotted the feline that also frequented the area. A cat with thick smoky-white and ash-brown fur, and one of the fluffiest tails he had seen on one. Animals and pets were not his thing, and he felt sure about that as he had never had kept one by choice. Graham had his reasons, mostly ones that pertained to fur and mess that he was no fan of, but also there was a reason why animals were rarely seen around the royal properties, especially when a certain person was there. This individual also took a twisted joy in handling such types of “trespassers” personally. This cat, who was cleaning themselves and overall living their best life, was entertaining to say the least. He had thought to give it a name when he first met them but didn’t know onr that would fit. When they started after the fishes they could reach in a humorous manner, the name “Pounce-a-lot” came to mind. Pounce-a-lot was a friendly cat too, and one of the few he was willing to pet. They must have been pretty okay at it too if they continued to let him. He wasn’t an animal person, he didn’t know!
His train of thought came to a sudden halt as his foot found itself catching onto a rock, causing him to suddenly fall forward and to the ground. Graham felt the air being forced out of him and he reacted with a sharp gasp. With his eyes still closed he cursed internally as he knew that rock was there. It always was. He pushed himself up to his hands and knees while he caught his breath.
Next thing he knew, an arm was wrapping under his and he was being helped up. Pounce-a-lot was nowhere to be seen, and he did not recall seeing another person there. Were they in a tree or something? “You okay, big guy?” A woman’s voice asked. He stood to his feet and gave a nod of his head before responding, putting his hand on her shoulder for extra support. ”I- I had the wind knocked out of me but I’ll… survive… thank you…” He started but then trailed off as he looked at the woman for the first time. Her eyes were strikingly red and she had short, dark hair that framed her sweet-looking face. While her eyes caught his blue ones, it was the rest of her body that had him a bit wide-eyed with surprise. It wasn’t every day you came across a woman out and about as naked as the day she was born, and wearing it so damn attractively. He blinked at her and kept the rest of his face from reacting in a more disrespectful manner. ”It seems I’ve arrived way over dressed. Should I undress myself, then, Miss…?” he chuckled a little and realized he did not know her name. Usually he knew their name first before getting to know their body. Taking the hand from her shoulder, he held it out to her in greeting. ”I’m Graham. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2025 7:57 pm
”It seems I’ve arrived way over dressed. Should I undress myself, then, Miss…?”
Oh thank Isixochitl. The man she'd been being a cat for the last few weeks wasn't a prude. That was at least a green flag for him. From the look of his clothing she would have assumed that he would be downright offended being touched by her naked a**. Sure, his face had a blank wash over it, but it wasn't the worst way someone had looked at her when she came out of a skin in front of them. He was allowed to be just a little shocked to find out the cat he'd been hanging out with was actually a woman.
Helping him get righted, she found herself fretting over him. Maybe it was those last few weeks. Maybe it was the fact that his only reaction to her nudity was a mild joke. Part of her wanted to be overprotective of the gentleman. Brushing a speck of dust off of his shoulder, Fio dropped her hand into his extended one.
”I’m Graham. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Scratch that. He had no damn idea she was the cat. Her shoulders shook with the effort not to laugh. The bright smile that cracked over her lips? That she couldn't help.
"Fiorella." Her free hand dropped to invisible skirts, dipping into a short curtsy. Fio could almost hear her mother's shrill voice scolding her for 'meeting' a nobleman from another country bare as a babe. "Though I wouldn't say this is our first meeting." Her eyes darted back to the bench, her discarded fur in a heap where she'd left it. Looking back to Graham, the amusement on her face had drifted to teasing.
Her fingers slipped out of his grip as she picked up the discarded skin, letting it unfurl before her to block some of her body from view. It didn't cover much, she was a big girl and cats weren't exactly the biggest creatures. She assumed her implication would be obvious now that she was holding it before her. If not, it was about to be.
"I think you've been calling me..." Pretending to think about it for a moment, she finally continued. "Right, it was 'Pounce-a-Lot'. Cute, by the way." Mischief danced across her face as she continued. "I can put it back on if you'd be more comfortable that way."
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ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ➢ attracted, surprised, interested ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ➢ "there's a first time for everything..." ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ➢ Utopia > exterior gardens ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ➢ Fiorella ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ➢ no one ᴀʟʟ ᴅʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ➢ with the gloves
talking - thought
The woman could have easily just left him there to eat grass and dirt from the ground like a downed steer but it was because of her that he wasn’t. She was even addressing something on his shoulder and he turned his head down to see. Whoever this Nude Lovely was, she was amiable and had his attention.
But when her question was initially met with amusement from her, Graham’s brow arched and he looked at her. Was she laughing at him? He ran his tongue between his lips and teeth, checking for something that might have been caught in them but thankfully found nothing. Something on his face then? She gave her name after, which he repeated. ”Fiorella.” He bowed back to her and dropped his hands to his sides.
They met before? He could not believe that. With how she carried herself and her kind demeanor, he felt he would have remembered someone like Fiorella. All of this was initiating the beginnings of irritants in him but those feelings were quickly replaced by alarm for what his slightly new acquaintance had in her hands. That fur was immediately recognized as being the same color and looking texture to the feline he had been sharing the park for weeks with.
Blue eyes searched the surrounding area for the cat that he remembered seeing just earlier, cleaning itself. He lipped to himself. ”What the…”
”I think you’ve been calling me…” Graham watched her carefully, waiting for the rest of that sentence to drop. Thankfully, he thought, it did not go the direction he feared but instead her response made even less sense to him.”Right, it was ‘Pounce-a-Lot.’ Cute, by the way.”
The paused cogs in his head started turning again and now things were adding up. The lack of Pounce-a-Lot, the pelt of fur that resembled the aforementioned feline, not to mention Fiorella’s bare presence. Graham blinked his eyes in astoundment and leaned his head in closer to her. ”That was you the entire time...?” The entire time he had been watching her, petting her, talking to her, a lot of the things he could do, and she had been a human under the guise of a cat. There was no offense taken, and he didn’t feel an ounce of anger. It was a damn impressive skill in his opinion.
He shook his head and lifted a hand. As much as he enjoyed spending time with Fiorella in cat form, he was drawn now to her as a human. ”You don’t have to go through all that. I admire how you carry yourself. You have a fine figure.” He couldn’t help grinning as he spoke candidly. ”Care to sit a while with me?”
OOC:
Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2025 8:35 pm
For a moment she didn't think he would get it. Graham's eyes had started out blank. The mention of Pounce-a-Lot had a twitch of horror blooming in those blue eyes. Then that melted away to confusion. The fact that it only took him a beat or two to pick up with what she was putting down was honestly kind of impressive.
It wasn't exactly uncommon for people to be able to shift their bodies into something else. There were plenty of other animal shifters out there. It was, however, fairly uncommon to be able to shift into nearly as many animals as Fio could. And the fact that the skin in front of her and a joke could point him in the right direction - well, however obvious Fio might have thought it was, at least he was getting there eventually.
A small smile curled her lips as the way his question trailed off like it was almost unbelievable. "Sure was, honey." Careful fingers were now running through the fur of her animal skin. After all of the care she took with her skins, it would be a shame if shifting so suddenly damaged the pelt. Thankfully she couldn't find any damage, just a leaf stuck in the fur here and a a bit of dirt on the paws.
"Honestly? It makes getting through the halls easier. I'm not one to have servants fussing over me and they don't bother the cats. I did consider coming out here as a deer originally but..." Her words trailed off as she looked back up to Graham, giving him a wink. "Probably a good thing I picked a cat, huh?"
She had moved to folding the pelt, but his comment had a sly grin slipping over her lips. It also had her shifting her weight and looking up to give the white haired man her attention once more. "Damn right I do. We appreciate a man with good taste." She couldn't help but preen a bit at the compliment. Fio knew she was attractive. She'd seen how men looked at her. The problem was more so that back home most of them also knew she was a mother and didn't actually say anything to her.
Tucking her neatly folded skin under her arm, Fio couldn't have been more delighted with how this was going. Graham had exceeded her expectations so far, giving her no reason to want to leave. "I'd be more than happy to join you, but..." Her words trailed off playfully as she twisted to look at the bench. Looking back at Graham she left her eyes roll up over his body as if examining him. Then she was offering her elbow to him with a gleam in her eye. "I think you might need an escort to get there safely. I'm happy to assist."
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ᴄᴜʀʀᴇɴᴛ ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ➢ attracted, surprised, interested ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ➢ 'I'm in danger!' ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ➢ Utopia > exterior gardens ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ➢ Fiorella ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ➢ no one ᴀʟʟ ᴅʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ ➢ with the gloves
talking - thought
Fiorella confirmed she was the feline he befriended the entire time. It was an ability that was intriguing and outside of a Shahiti folk story here and there was little he could compare it to. Perhaps one of his own abilities, but transforming into something outside of their human composition was where the comparisons stopped. Graham watched as her fingers carefully stroked through the fur of the pelt. Before he could ask whether or not he’d see her again as a cat, she spoke of how she used the same ability to make it through Utopia. He made a nod. ”So I may still see you in the halls, then. I won't tell the servants.”
He lifted his eyebrows to go with his crooked grin. ”Yeah. I wouldn’t have been able to play with a deer. You do cats well. Is that the only ones you can be, or do you have more?” He wouldn’t have even thought to approach her or any other deer if they came around. As a cat, it was a different story. He knew her that way, and could know her outside of the fur and claws for the human woman she was.
Graham couldn’t stop the short wheeze of a laugh at Fiorella’s remark. She was more in on her own attractiveness than he was and not at all timid about it. He looked back to her, feeling some pride of his own with her mention of his taste. He did think his tastes were great and it said something as much about the woman who spoke it. ”You caught me. I like to think I do, and I know you have to get that a lot."
He watched as she turned around to look behind her and the back to him, slanting his head at how her red eyes moved up him. Graham gave her a look back, looking down and then up again with raised eyebrows, checking her checking him out. He intended on sitting and letting his mind drift away on nothing but the nature and sunshine out there, but the young woman had made such an appearance that he’d be a fool to not keep this going and refuse her escort. ”You might be right about that, and I can’t say no this or much else when you’re being so gracious, Lady Fiorella. Lead the way.” Graham curved his arm around her elbow, glanced down to them and then back to her. ”Anything that brings you out here besides the fish?”
OOC:
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 8:24 pm
Oh she liked this guy. He didn’t seem to bat an eyelash at the idea that she was roaming around the school grounds as an animal. If anything, Graham seemed to take it in stride. Like the gears in his mind were working to understand a power that Fiorella had not thought about beyond accepting it as a gift from Isixochitl, but not so much that it was taking him out of the moment. On some level it was inspiring, but also somewhat unnecessary. What use did he have understanding how her power worked? Unless, of course, there was some part of his powers that needed to understand it to disable it or mimic it.
It was hard to ignore the part of her that was itching to learn more about him.
Ignoring the gut feeling she would have indulged in during the war, her eyes flicked from the smile on his lips to his, a smile of her own on her face. ”Oh? You plan on learning to tell me apart from the other animals?” Her tone was coy, obviously flirting with him. Pulling her lower lip into her mouth, she bit her lip while trying to hold back a smile and looking up at Graham. After a moment, she let her lip out of her mouth with a pop. ”Where’s the fun if I told you? If you stick around maybe I’ll let you find out?”
The laugh she pulled out of him was infectious. So much so she ended up joining him with her own laugh. ”Even if I didn’t,” Which wasn’t to say she heard it every day or that she didn’t appreciate someone noticing how good she looked. ”I have to think that way to be able to stand here like I am dressed to the nines.” Giving him a little wink, Fio gestured down at herself as if to highlight her state of dress. Or, more accurately, her lack thereof.
As his hand came to rest on Fio’s arm, she tucked it into her side. Sure, it pushed him up against her assets, but she wasn’t particularly worried about it as she guided him forward towards the bench. Looking down, she made sure to guide him over the rock that had originally tripped him safely. ”My mother was the lady, sir. I am simply Fiorella.” Her eyes flicked back up, meeting his. ”Or Fio, if you prefer that.”
Leading him over to what she liked to think of as their bench, she held out a hand in a wordless offer for him to sit. Once he did, she joined him, sitting and looking ahead as her mind wandered. ”At first I just wanted to get to know the grounds.” Her eyes flicked to Graham, giving him a look that seemed teasing before casting back out over the water. ”It’s easier when less people think to bother you. But after a while it just became comfortable. I like the outdoors, and it’s colder here than I’m used to. The extra fur is nice. How about you?” Her focus shifted, looking him up and down once again. ”You’ve been out here looking moody as hell - which looks fine on you, by the way - most days. Out here trying to find a little slice of peace?”
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â€I have your feline form down already, don’t I?†His shot back teasingly. Now Graham didn’t know if he’d ever be able to identify all of Fiorella’s animal forms, but she did have a point. There was more amusement to be had if some of the discoveries were left for the future. He flicked his gaze from side to side, looking to their surroundings, before looking back at her with raised brows. There wasn’t anywhere else more interesting out there, her presence made sure of that. â€You’re quite the negotiator, aren’t you?â€
Her wink was matched with one of his own. He could feel how warm Fiorella’s body was around his arm as he followed her to the bench. She made no fuss about it, so there was even less of a reason for him to either. â€If you insist, Fiorella. I will just keep the ‘lady’ part tucked up in here.†His eyes looked up to indicate his head. She was, after all, a lady. A programmed mannerism this was, and one he couldn’t blame her for politely declining. He often felt too young to be addressed as a ‘Lord’ or ‘Grace’ by those that served him but had not been clever enough to find a suitable substitute for it. Graham looked over and back to her, baring a grin. â€It’s hard to pick just one, so I won’t. Were you named after your mom, then?â€
Graham gave a nod in thanks and took a seat on the bench beside her. Fiorella was kind to give him insight for why she was out there, with each sound piece earning not an argument from him. They had both had an interest in outdoors, as if it weren’t apparent enough given how and where they met. She spoke about being a cat on these grounds as he imagined the ducks must have felt. It was peaceful. Hearing her question, he looked in her direction. He’d seen her frolocking around the pond enough, so it was just as likely she was witness to him having a weighed look on his face. He couldn’t help but to gently snort a short laugh at the idea of it looking okay. â€It’s a nice get away from things I need a breather from and since I’m not anywhere near home it’d become a habit. For me it’s the opposite on weather, it’s not cold enough.â€
He parted his lips as a thought crossed his mind. Should he…? It wouldn’t hurt to do it this one time, would it? And it wasn’t like he was going to shout anything new he learned out on the rooftops or feed it into the rumor mill. Oh, why not. Her eyes were a lovely shade of red too. Graham focused his own on Fio’s and when the internal ringing kicked in, his lips twitched into a grin. â€That’s my little slice of peace. Now then, what do you desire to find from yours?â€
----- OOC:
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2025 7:31 pm
At his question, she smiled. "I would hope so. Only time will tell though, won't it?" It wouldn't be the last time she would wear this skin out, there would be plenty of chance for him to see her in the hallways. Fiorella often preferred getting to go around as an animal. There were less expectations. Most of the time people just wanted to pat her head and she just had to imitate how certain animals acted to pass for one. It was easier than the heels and dressing up and kissing a**. His next question having to do with exactly that. Offering him a little shrug, she decided to play it cool. "I like to think that I'm pretty decent. You'll have to let me know how I'm doing."
The little gesture at his head to signify that's where he would be keeping her official title earned him an eye roll and a laugh. "No, technically my mom is Lady Diana." Something wicked crossed over her face as she looked back over to him. "But if you ask her my manners are perfectly terrible and I'm not close to a proper lady. Which is fine by me. Saves me a whole lot of trouble with high society." She paused as if Fio were thinking something over before shooting Graham a conspiratorial look and quickly adding. "Most of the time, anyway."
At his comment about the weather a grimace crossed over Fiorella's face. "Colder than this?" She asked incredulously. As if the very idea of colder weather was simply beyond her. In a lot of ways, it was. Logically she knew of the kingdom of ice. She knew that ice meant cold. But this was also coming from someone who had grown up in a rain forest. Where the weather was humid and hot most of the time. This was the coldest she'd even been in her life. "And you're okay living like that?" The question came out as a laugh, something that wasn't entirely serious but underneath it all she did kind of mean it. The only way she could fathom being this okay with the cold was being from Hyouden, something that would make sense the more she looked over Graham. The man kind of looked like ice made human.
"A world without war. One my daughter doesn't need to fear growing up in."
Graham's blue eyes caught on Fiorella's. The lull of his voice suddenly so disarming that she didn't realize what was slipping between her lips until it hung heavy between them. Her eyes narrowed as she registered what she'd said to him. Then her body was moving, pulling him off of the bench so that she could twist his arm behind his back with one hand and shove his face into the seat they had just vacated with the other. "If you don't want me to make your pretty face bleed you better start talking. Now."
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He watched and listened to Fiorella as she spoke on her manners and high society and he gave her an understanding nod. “My mom would say the same about mine, but I can pull them out if I must.” Graham let out a sigh as he briefly thought about all the times he had to play that part. He squinted and flashed a sly grin back to her. “No disrespect to your mom but if this isn’t you being a proper lady, don’t start now because you’ve been nothing but interesting so far.”
She sounded shocked with his mention of it not being cold enough. It wasn’t the first time he’d gotten that kind of response. He couldn’t help but smile a little with her laugh. “Yeah, I may gripe a little when the time comes but it’s comfortable for me. It doesn't get as cold as Hyoden, but it gets cold. And there’s a lot of rain too.” Heat sources and layers were essential for those parts of the year where he was from, and without them he knew he’d likely sing a different tune. The way Fiorella was asking, not to mention her state of undress, had him thinking. “Is it hot where you’re from?”
Fio’s answer spilled out of her so easily and it was always oddly satisfying to watch it in action. Her desire was very admirable. The world had been in its current state of peace for over a year, but to Graham it was only a matter of time before everything caved in and something happened. But what made Lady Fiorella’s desire more surprising and nonetheless touching was the mention of her daughter. He didn’t expect that from her at all, and if that familiar way she was looking at him was an indication, she had no intention of saying it either.
Next thing Graham knew she was up and moving and his face was uncomfortably pressed up against the bench they were just sitting on. Most people usually stared at him in a stupor, stunned and without a suspicion that he was the one behind their sudden intimate confessions. But it was clear Fio was not like most people. He glowered into the wood and groaned from his throat while he only shifted his arm to try and make the bend it was being held in more tolerable.
“So you think I’m pretty?” A joke was lobbed her way with the hopes he could cut some of the tension, but it wasn’t lost on him he was on sketchy ground for using his ability on her and he actually didn’t want to make that worse. But also less importantly, he didn’t want his face to bleed.
“Fine.” Graham exhaled. “I can make people confess their desires. The secret things they crave the most.” It had always been a handy trick of his and even the simplest confessions, and the reactions that followed, had him inferring more from the person he was talking to. He could only guess at the reasons Fio might have been keeping her daughter secret, if she were. “But it’s not like I go and spread them around, especially ones involving kids. So it’s safe with me, okay?”
There was an annoyed strain in his tone. “How the hell did you know I did something anyways?”
His joke left her torn between tightening her grip and laughing. Instead she offered him narrowed eyes and an amused snort. She knew better than to talk. Silence was pressure. Silence begged to be filled. And she was right. Just as soon he was offering her what his ability was on a platter and a cheap promise not to use his knowledge against her. Even better, he was offering her a question that told her even more.
For a tense moment she was unsure if she should answer his question. But this time she didn't feel that same sort of compulsion... Leaving her wondering just how his ability worked. "Do you know what the first lesson in spycraft is? More than being inconspicuous?" It was offering more than she should, but it was also a kind of olive branch as she leaned over him to place her lips close to his ear. "We take secrets to the death, especially precious ones." And that was what Aithne was, her most precious secret. She would bend heaven and earth in the name of her daughter if she could.
Her grip tightened for a breath before she let him go. Resting a hand in the other, she pressed a thumb into her palm to rub out some of the mounting tension there. "I am choosing to take your word on it as this is a school for peace. But know that if anything - Fio paused, her eyes narrowing and finding Graham's to emphasize her point. "- anything happens to her, I will know who did it and I will make you pay for it dearly."
Stepping to the side, she settled herself on the bench once again. Leaning down, she picked up her cat skin before settling it in her lap to start brushing her fingers through the fur to get the dust and dirt out. Pasting a pleasant smile on her face, she scanned her eyes over him once again. A part of her was wondering how often he extracted secrets. If it was his role in the war before. It would have made sense. How she would have wished for a similar power when she was waiting hours and hours for people to talk about the important things or trying to parse what those important things were. The ease with which she would have gotten all of the information she wanted in the war was a staggering thought.
It almost pacified her, the way she knew she would also abuse such a skill if she had it. It made her smile feel easier, less forced. "Going back to what we were talking about, yes." The simple statement hung in the air for a moment, as if she were waiting to see what he would do. To see if Graham would join her in going back to their pleasantries and small talk.
"My little corner of the world is very hot, actually. Rainy too." Her hands stopped working the pelt as she leaned forward in thought. "I would have originally guessed Hyouden given the talk of how frigid your country is, but with such an ability?" If she could guess what country he was from maybe she could find something against him. Just a little speck of insurance beyond beating him bloody as insurance. "Phronesian then?"
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ lakeside bench ✿ Graham ✿cat
The joke garnered a snort and the corner of his lips twitched with the hint of a smile about it. Graham wasn’t quite out of the woods with Fio yet with the way he was still being handled so roughly by her. The sounds of nature filled the space their voices didn’t while he waited for an answer, and when she generously gave him one, his eyes shifted to the side she leaned into. Had the subject matter been different and had she not been as measured with her words, he would have tried his luck a second time with a sultry comment about how she whispered in his ear.
Graham stood up straight and worked out the arm she held his face hostage with once he was free. Her mention of spycraft was not what he anticipated hearing come out of her, but it spoke to the fact that if Fio were a spy, she was certainly adept at hiding in plain sight. It was interesting that one small word shed great light on a person. To her point, he met her gaze and considered her words. “I pray you never face those circumstances." He had uncovered her most precious thing and it rattled her something dreadful. There were no doubts about Fio making good on any word she put out there, but he hoped she never had to if it meant something happened to her daughter. Graham had no children to speak of but had a very good idea about how unbearable loss like that could be.
With his shirt straightened and smoothed out he sat back in the spot he was in before. So it seemed for Fio too and he watched as she started to work at the familiar cat skin with a smile. It was a striking thing sitting there, sharing a bench with her. Had they still been in a period of war, Graham wasn’t sure if they’d even be able to, not without knowing where she hailed from at least. To his knowledge, neither she nor her cat form had crossed his path before. His brows raised as she started to pick up where they left off.
There was a gentle shake of his head to confirm her suspicion. “Not quite, not that I mind the cold there.” It crossed his mind that he could invoke the same peacekeeping reason to claim a different kingdom as his own and deny even the correct guess. Can’t make him pay if she can’t find him, right? If Fio wanted to keep playing their guessing game, Graham was willing to continue too. She could come find him after all this Utopia nonsense was over if she wished. For a visit, for business, heck even to try and collect payment for a different offense. It just wouldn’t be for what he had zero interest in doing.
He blinked as he considered her second guess and held off answering right away. “Not Phronesian but I don’t see why someone with it couldn’t be from there.”
“As for you, Fiorella. Where to put you, where to put you…” Graham held a hand along his cheek and jaw as he looked at her and thought about the other kingdoms. His eyes narrowed curiously as he took in the color of hers and remembered the red poppies that bloomed across his home duchy. “Mars?” Not that such an eye color was exclusive to that region. It got hot there, he knew someone with similar eyes from there, and despite the lengthy alliance he didn’t know all of their representatives. If not Mars, he had a couple of other guesses and plenty of time to make them.
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Utopia - walking trail/pond ★ᴍʏ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ: Fiorella ★ᴍᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴꜱ: none ᴀʟʟ ᴅʀᴇꜱꜱᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ:sans gloves★ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:'*Boy did I step in it with her, haha*'
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