Twilight had started to fall, the purple hues of summer tinging the edge of the darkened horizon. Tallis had been out at the barn, where she often went when she could feel melancholy and anger joining together to tug at her heartstrings. Instead of inflicting her mental state on Cezar, she went out to turn it on the horses instead.

It was memories of her father that plagued her.

Magnon was a fraught figure, one that Tallis loved more in his absence than she ever had in life. He’d been cruel to her at times, and for that cruelty, she’d hated him as a girl. But now she understood: he had known he hated her, and accepted it as what was necessary for him to ensure her survival. It was a sacrifice he made entirely out of love—Tallis had just been too blind to see it. Now, Tallis was determined to make his sacrifice worth it.

But she hadn’t—not yet.

As she oiled the leather of her saddle, hot tears of frustration filled her eyes. What would her father think knowing that his charge to his daughter was yet unfulfilled? The Scorza were still out there, Tallis believed that down to her core, but then why could she not reach them? Would she ever?

Tallis worked the day away. The smell of hay and the warmth of the horses made her father feel close and eased the sting of regret and loss. By the time she put the horses up for the night, she’d settled into a more tolerable mood. Tallis went inside, stripped off her foul clothes, and bathed. She pinned her damp hair up with gold pins and rubbed herself with lavender oil, feeling renewed. Wearing a loose frock and a soft smile, Tallis was going in search of her husband when she heard the knock at the door. Her brow raised in surprise, but her feet went without hesitance to the door. Tallis feared no one. Anyone on the other side that proved troublesome she’d simply rot to the ground.

Tallis opened the door. In the low light, it was difficult to closely examine the faces of the two women that stood on the other side. The eyebrow that was already cocked was joined by her other in skeptical surprise.

“Can I help you?”

Myla’s only true reason for wanting to be in Lorendale had… gone especially down hill and left her rather with a bad taste in her mouth. Especially as her dreams that night (nightmares really) kept replaying the interaction. How he built her up only to strike her down with one god damn name: Oriana. She woke in a fit, practically wanting to blow the top of her and Elena’s room.

There honestly wasn’t a good reason for her to not do it, except the fact that Elena had reminded her of the Scorza’s. Bitter, with too many plotted ways to go back to the farm and cause havoc… too many plans on how to track down someone by first name only… she followed behind Elena in her newest disguise. Myla’s red hair still dark as night, the cloak thankfully not sticking out still in the cool air of Ver as they arrived on the door step.

Her eyes met Elena’s, before she hovered just behind her shoulder and glanced around them. Marking exits, marking possible threats, anything with sharp hazel eyes. It wasn’t until the door opened that she turned her focus inward, her own gift doing as it usually did, especially since they arrived in Lorendale and projecting a light armor that was almost undetectable under her and Elena’s dresses. “We are looking for old family friends, and wasn’t sure if we had the right estate.” She started, glancing towards Elena to finish.

They didn't have to wait long before the door was opened and Elena instantly picked up the scent of lavender. Such luxuries were things she desperately missed having now that they were in Dresmond. The small was relaxing and alluring all at once and made Elena want to step towards the woman. She, however, kept her feet firmly in place though she smiled as Myla greeted the rather beautiful dark haired woman.

"We're looking for the Scorza family, particularly Tallis Scorza and were told this was where to find her?" Was this woman Tallis? She assumed it was at least a likely possibility.

Old family friends.

Tallis’s features shifted. Her eyes narrowed as they scanned the faces of the women in the dark—not in malice but in interest. She’d never seen the short-haired woman before, but there was something vaguely familiar about the long-haired one. Not enough to make Tallis suspect that they were any friends she knew. It wasn’t until the short-haired woman spoke that Tallis’s eyes widened.

We’re looking for the Scorza family.

There were several possibilities that occurred to her in that moment, and none of them would be best resolved by sending the women away. Tallis stayed frozen in the entryway, her gaze now scrutinizing the women with greater intensity. After a moment, a pleasant smile pulled across her features.

“My, it’s a bit chilly this evening,” Tallis said pleasantly, “Why don’t you come inside and we’ll get you all sorted out?”

She stepped to the side, inviting them in.

Myla, the fox that she was, narrowed in on Tallis as she saw the shift in her. The familiar hum in her turning up just a bit as if she was preparing to be met with a fight at the door. But she remained quiet, studying her from the inside of her hood, standing still beside Elena.

And then they were invited inside, chill being the excuse as the door widened to give the women the space to move inside. Myla's lips quirked, and she would follow behind Elena into the home as a man came into view. "Unexpected guests," she corrected, her eyes scanning him before she moved to viewing the space around them. The doorways she could see, the paintings that decorated the walls as well as any windows that came into view.

Tallis might have felt it when Myla moved past her, the buzz she had barely been able to contain since leaving the Allemeade's farm. Nothing harmful, but like the air around Myla was charged with electricity that would make her hair stand on end and even make her stomach feel tingly. "We apologize for not sending word, but felt that it was better we just came on our own." She turned to make eye contact with the woman, letting her head tilt back just enough for her hood to fall further back on her head, exposing her face just a touch more to the light to allow them to see exactly who was hiding underneath. If this wasn't the Scorza's and then recognized her, well, Myla would just handle that then. No stress evident in her hazel gaze as the flicker of that red armor moved across her skin.

Elena could feel the energy around Myla and was curious about what might have caused it. However, she was too smart to know that now was not the time to inquire about it. In fact, it might simply be caution and curiosity for the people in this farmhouse. As they stepped inside Elena looked around briefly but was soon distracted as a man entered the room.

She had no possible name for this one but she could only assume, and hope, that there was more than one Scorza. "You see, our cousin Drystan told us where to find this farmhouse," she explained. If these were the people they were meant to find then the name would let at least Tallis know who they were and why they were here. If they weren't, then it could simply be waved off as having bad directions.

Tallis was similarly attuned to her twin; his moods, the way he moved through space, the tiny shifts in his tone of voice that hid messages like secret code. So of course, her head turned to him before he even spoke. Tallis suspected at first, but hearing Drystan’s name, she was sure. She’d told Cezar Scorza about it, of course, but enough time had passed that Tallis thought that Drystan, like Bryce, ha forgotten them. Now, that fear squashed, what had started as a soft smile now spread to a smile that would have lit up a room had it not been laced with such terrible mischief.

“I’d begun to worry that your cousin had forgotten us. That all of you had,” Tallis said with a tease, looking the Eldouir up and down, “But it is good to see that our wait is over.” Tallis confidently held her hand out to Elena first. “Tallis Scorza. My twin, Cezar.” She glanced over at her husband, her brother, eyes shining with stars.

So this was the one Drystan had spoke of meeting. "We don't exactly get out much." She said in response to Tallis as she spoke. Those hazel eyes still flickering around the room before landing completely on Cezar Scorza. It seemed that the two pairs would be balancing each other nicely, Tallis reaching for Elena to shake hands and Cezar remaining a bit further back but polite. It was only once they were inside that she reached up and lowered the hood off of her head. Red hair gone, a now fading black color from the fabric dyes, but uncovering the face of who she really was.

"Myla Eldouir. Though from what I've heard... my face has been seen here more recently." She had heard of the appearance that Remiel had talked of. That Myla Eldouir had appeared and sent a wild panic after a public address that had been released from the little puppet. "You have a lovely home Tallis and Cezar." So much better than places in Dresmond. So much more... Lorendale. Civilized. How she had missed it.

As everything was finally out in the open, Elena felt as though a breath of fresh air had moved through the room, allowing everyone to breathe a little more easily, if only for the fact that they had all confirmed who everyone was. As her hand clasped Tallis', the short black hair on her head began to elongate and turn back to her natural red and her facial features readjusted to that of her own. While they were safe inside, she might as well be a bit more forthcoming. "We're so pleased to meet you both," she said, moving her other hand to join the first, encircling Tallis' warmly as she smiled. "I'm Elena."

She kept hold of the Scorza woman's hand as she looked over to Myla with an excitement in her eyes before glancing over to Cezar and then back to Tallis. She brought their hands to her chest as if holding a special treasure against her heart. "We're so glad to finally be meeting you to face to face," she said before finally releasing Tallis and looking back over to Cezar. "Do you have any wine?" she asked, a bit of mischief in her own eyes.

Elena was beautiful. Both of them were.

Tallis was not an Eldouir sychophant; she did not worship the ground they walked on or intend on licking their boots. Her electric excitement was at meeting the only other family that they could claim as their equals. The only others who might help their cause rather than hinder it. Whose supremacy would be justified and not just a cruel clerical trick.

“Wine?” Tallis grinned, stepping closer to Elena as if drawn like a moth to a flame before she released her, “I think we can do a little better than that, can’t we? Please, sit—” Tallis was giddy, gesturing to the open adjacent parlor as she practically danced over to Cezar, “How about the cognac from father’s wake? I don’t believe it’s been touched since. Now is as good a time as any…” She took his hands in hers, “Don’t you think?”

There was a question in there beyond cognac. About timing and revelations, and whether the Scorza were ready.