The Dresmondi had been an unknown entity residing in Arynn Frey for some years now, though Keion had yet to really form an opinion on them. He had not spoken to or met a single one of them as of yet, but he needed to. They were now a part of Arynn Frey, whether they or anyone else wanted them to be, and therefore the Blackwoods needed knowledge of them.

It was not hard to learn where one might find the Dresmondi hanging about, and that was how Keion ended up near the library that was in the midst of repair, meandering, listening, and watching.

Still standing on his back legs, Walnut straightened up, flattened his expression, and pressed both hands to his side. “Work is work,” He repeated to Nephys and Kester, shifting his weight side to side slightly as he spoke in an obvious impression of the man who was pulling on his jacket. The teasing only lasted another moment before he rolled his eyes and turned back to the tall Dresmondi. “Come on, Kaveri,” The river otter pleaded with him. “You gotta give me something to work with here! If you’re not careful, you’re gonna turn out like those two.” He gestured to his own human and the ram with his hands.

Kester, who had caught up to him, crossed her arms and looked down at him, unimpressed.

Thank you for the update, Nephys, She told the other dyr in lieu of acknowledging her own dyr’s antics. When Kaveri grabbed his bag and looked at her, Kester held his gaze as her eyes danced across his face. Knowledge of a person was not so easily discarded as friendship, so even now, after spending years orbiting each other like strangers, she could still read the nuances of his expression. It meant more to her than she could properly communicate that it had not slipped into an unintelligible drunken stupor since they had first reunited.

Walnut spoke up before Kester could answer Kaveri’s question. “It’s a surprise!”

Kester glanced at the river otter, who had turned to the ram. “Please, Nephys, can I ride on your—“ He was in the middle of asking the other dyr when he interrupted himself to share his human’s words with Kaveri, the mental tone change making the different speaker obvious. Apparently, it’s a surprise, Kaveri, but I think you’ll like it. Walnut, who was as talkative as Kester wasn’t, had a tendency toward such behaviors. “—back? My legs are tired.”

If the ram obliged, the otter would climb onto his back before the four of them set off down the street. The staircase in question wasn’t exceedingly far away, but it also wasn’t as close as Kaveri likely would have liked. In contrast to his human, who had long become accustomed to relying on her dyr to fill uncomfortable silences, Walnut kept up a near constant stream of chatter while they made their way there. As was typically the case when they were on the move, his attention jumped from one thing to the next, and so did his conversations.

“How long do you think it took them to lay down all these stones for a street?” He was in the middle of saying, having just watched Kester’s foot catch on a slightly raised cobblestone that caused her to stumble and swear in a loud exhale. If he was on Nephys’ back, he would shift to peer down at the cobblestones. “They don’t even have Earth dyrs to help them! Why would they go through all the effort when the ground is perfectly solid without a layer of rocks?” He turned to look at the taller of the two Dresmondi walking beside him. “I bet you would know, Kaveri, you’ve been doing construction. Well, carpentry, I guess, but they’re pretty similar, aren’t they?”

Kester paused and looked down at her dyr with narrowed eyes. Sometimes I don’t understand how we share the same soul, Walnut.

Keion's attention had snagged on a particular little group of Dresmondi and their animals. Dyrs, he reminded himself, is what the animals were called. He happened to be walking in their direction as they moved towards him, clearly in the midst of conversation, and yet not a single word was uttered amongst them. How oddly fascinating.

He continued towards them, intending to pass by and perhaps only offer a small smile when the female Dresmondi tripped over a raised stone, cursing out loud. Keion's eyebrows raised at the vulgarity but, realizing the opportunity presented to him, he threw out an arm as if to catch the young woman.

"Oh, are you alright? You must watch your feet around here, these roads have certainly seen better days." He offered the girl a shining smile before looking to the man with her, and at last at the ram with... and otter riding it? His smile faltered a bit though his eyes crinkled in amusement.

“Thank you, Nephys,” Walnut said, with some combination of good-humored exasperation and relief. “I’m glad someone here has a sense of humor.” He looked back at Kaveri and Kester before moving to climb onto the ram’s back, intentionally misinterpreting his bowed head. “You know it’s bad when Nephys is the one laughing, right?”

They walked, and Walnut carried on his mostly one-sided conversation until Kester stumbled on the cobblestone. She hadn’t been expecting the intervention from a random stranger, and it showed in her expression of surprise when her hands met an Arynnite’s arm instead of the air as she tried to regain her balance. Eyes went first to the stranger’s face, returning the smile with one of her own, before she apologetically let go in the next heartbeat and righted herself. Simultaneously, Kaveri made his presence known with a protectiveness born from a near-lifetime of friendship and primed by the recent events of their past. Turning, Kester put a hand on his arm, not quite pushing him back, and reassured him through Walnut, I’m fine, Kaveri.

When he took a step back and offered both gratitude and an apology, she looked back at the Arynnite and, with a smile, nodded the confirmation to his question. “Thank you,” She told him, and as always, her breathless voice was difficult to hear.

Figuring that would be the extent of their interaction, she gave the Arynnite one last smile before casting a glance at Kaveri and then back toward the dyrs. With a tilt of her head in the direction of the sea, she invited them, Shall we keep going?

Keion's sharp gaze missed nothing as it moved from the girl to the large male that immediately stepped forward, fist clenched at his side. It was but a moment before the same man stepped back again, giving the woman space once more. More silent communication, it seemed.

Keion's friendly smile never faltered as he dipped his head, "You're quite welcome, madam," before he looked back to the protector at her side. "Oh you are not disturbing me, far from it actually. I love seeing our newest residents enjoying our fine city as much as those of us who have lived here our whole lives."

It was not hard to figure out where they were off to, not as the girl silently communicated with her companion. He noted that, too. She seemed to mostly avoid speaking all together, and when she had thanked him he had barely heard her. But he didn't plan to let their conversation end there. "You have had an easy time integrating here, I hope?"

Kester figured wrong: that was not the extent of their interaction. Before they could make their leave, the stranger spoke up again, and common courtesy dictated that they turn to acknowledge him. Perhaps because she knew him so well, she could read the tension in Kaveri’s frame as he addressed the Arynnite, which she hopefully tempered with a nod of agreement and a smile should the stranger look toward her.

We may not be the only Dresmondi to have entered Elyusian, Kester pointed out. But how many others have you seen while you’ve been here? Their kind were few and far between this far north. The Arynnite was likely as curious about them as the rest of his people, just savvy enough to disguise his desire to gawk with politeness - newest residents enjoying their fine city and all that.

“Hey! Who’s that?” Walnut, who had turned back to see what the delay was, now offered the Arynnite a friendly wave. “Do you think he wants to come to the—” He abruptly cut himself off as he realized how close he came to spoiling the surprise “—come to the surprise with us?”

Kester glanced at the stranger who had so quickly struck up a conversation with the two refugees. Doesn’t seem like he wants to leave us alone.

“Well I want to keep going!” Walnut declared. “He can come with us if he wants!”

Kester eyed her dyr for a moment before looking back at Kaveri. Pretty sure that should be a group decision.

Not a stranger to reading body language, Keion was well aware of the tension lining the male Dresmondi's features, but of course there were so many reasons why he could be feeling that way, and Keion didn't really have the time to dissect all of those, so he chose to appear ignorant to it.

Smiling as if pleased by the man's answer, Keion bobbed his head in a nod, "I am very glad to hear it. Arynn Frey is a marvelous kingdom with much to offer for those that take advantage of it." His gaze flicked from the man to the woman, whom he offered a wink. Of course, he had expected this answer. Who would complain about someone if they were given refuge?

More silence stretched between them, and Keion began to feel a bit off kilter with the constant silent conversation that he was not allowed to be a part of. Blinking as if in surprise, he started, "Oh I haven't introduced myself, have I? I'm so sorry for my lack of manners. My name is Keion Blackwood." He reached out a hand, offering a handshake to both in turn.

Smiling, Kester nodded her apparent agreement with the man as he winked at her and sang the praises of his kingdom. Then, with an apology, he introduced himself.

Blackwood. Kester recognized the name as soon as Kaveri did, but before she could even nudge him about it, he had already commented on it to Keion. The Blackwood girl that he had told her about had asked oddly probing questions about the connection between a Dresmondi and their dyr, likely curious as to the nature of the way they shared a soul. Interrogations were not entirely uncommon in an isolated kingdom full of individuals who loved to learn, but Nephys had said that hers had made him uncomfortable. Kaveri might have been drunk and answered more than he should have, but Kester trusted the ram’s instincts as much as she trusted her own.

Even as she shook this Blackwood’s hand with another smile, a quiet suspicion began coiling in her gut as she waited for Keion’s answers to Kaveri’s questions. Did this Blackwood share the other Blackwood’s disconcerting interest?

It seemed to him that while he had been buried within his office, Calanthe had been incredibly busy keeping the Blackwood name alive on the streets of Elyusian. He was so surprised that the Dresmondi knew of her that it slipped through his careful mask, and he blinked once before recovering.

"Oh yes, that would be my niece, Calanthe." He smiled at the little group again, "No, it is not rude to ask about one's family. But I do hope Calanthe was respectful and welcoming to you both. She is quite young and has very little experience with the world outside of our city."

He remained smiling, waiting for the Dresmondi to hopefully fill in the blanks of what Calanthe had spoken to them about.