Lingering Senses [Open]

[attr="class","ren"]&& I HEAR YOU SAY THAT ONLY A FOOL GIVES IT AWAY

No matter how hard she had scrubbed her skin clean, Ulyn still felt she reeked of blood. A battle had unexpectedly broken out early and she had been there as Theo, brilliant white hair tinged pink after hours of sitting with blood soaking into the fine strands as his hands dipped and wove in body after body - resetting bones manually while healing them back together and staving off blood loss. Once he'd been cleared to leave, he'd rushed out, cleaned up, and headed here. A warm bath in the capital had done her well, but not enough. She swore she could still smell it on her hands, in her hair.. perhaps it just filled her nose, her mind, the death-free air here unable to shock her nose out of the phantom smells.

Three days had been spent on the battlefield when she had been cleared to leave home only for four - without any magic to speak of, as far as her mother and anyone in contact with Ulyn knew, the travel home would be slow and tedious. Horse and carriage most likely. Ulyn was not one to spend money on luxury things like airships [she would absolutely not be caught dead as Ulyn on one of the less expensive, barely flying ones], so she supposed this would just have to do. It would take time for the traveling facility she had rented a coach, rider and bodyguard accompany to be ready, which meant the city was hers. As much as she wanted to explore as herself, Ulyn had decided after returning to the Inn that it would be better to explore the city with her remaining time as Theo.

She dressed the part, removing a set of clothing she specifically hid in her luggage for 'Theo', quickly. There was no time to lose when there was an entire city to explore. Ulyn had been in the capital before but rarely had the free time to explore anything beyond an inn and the government buildings she'd been called to in the past.

Theo had the luxury of wandering where he wanted, and she was going to embrace that.

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Stepping out into the city again, Theo's steps brought him from one store to another, lovely cerulean eyes window shopping various goods. Bicycles, plush toys, beautifully hand-crafted dolls with curled brown locks that Ulyn would have been enchanted by as a child. Bakeries full of warm breads, many leaning more towards sweet than savory. Bookshops so overflowing with misc items that its goods poured into the street, stacked on boxes and wheeled carts.

The heels of his boots clicked on the finely cobbled street and he eventually found himself walking along a river, dazzling blue in the daylight. One lightly tanned hand slid along the railing that blocked people from accidentally falling in, warmed by the sunlight of the day. Ulyn had chosen short hair today, his normally long hair tied cleanly with a bow replaced today with a flowing locks that ended just above his shoulders, curling messily around his face. Ekiv'saji had so much more to its beauty than his mountainous homes ever would. In the spring and summer they had some life, though any fresh earthy tones were always muted in contrast to the vibrant red-brown earth here. Even the greens were a lush green, whereas the mountain had only dark pine and nigh-sickly shades of almost-black leaves on the few trees that managed to survive the harsh climate.

Red was the only colour the city seemed to lack, so when Theo's eyes landed upon the small frame of a young man sitting quietly on a bench nearby, he was surprised. The man seemed.. confused, perhaps even concerned, and Theo worried that he had come too far from the busy shopping district and into a more private district. "Hello there, sir." Theo's tone was light, soft. Where Ulyn would have passed by the sitting figure with little more than a gold glance and upward tilt of her chin, Theo was warm. He was not as shy as she, so much more comfortable in his skin and lacking the specific etiquette that rigidly turned her from literally everyone. "It's nice to see another enjoying the pleasant warmth the day has brought us." Theo smiled then, not yet aware the other's eyes could not see the expression.

He paused not too far way, where they could comfortably exchange words without Theo being too close for a stranger.