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Lukas looked at Fiel curiously, not exactly sure why he was here but he shrugged it off, it had been a long day, and honestly he just wanted to get it over with. "Hello" He said plainly. He crossed his arms lightly in front of him, trying not to come off as hostile or rude, but not sure what to do with his hands. His hair had fallen into his eyes again and he tried to subtly blow it out of his face, it didn't work very well.
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Fiel had to admit he was a bit caught-off-guard by the other prince's casual tone. This was the prince himself, right? He'd expected to meet someone more decorous, considering the size and fame of this kingdom. But he carefully covered his emotions and straightened smoothly, deciding to act as if nothing was odd about the situation.
"Greetings," he replied politely. "I am Prince Fiel, heir to Tarilon, and I come representing my mother, Queen Ewinna, regarding the proposal of an alliance between our two kingdoms. We Tarilonans send our good will and our finest gifts to your royal family, and we hope they find you well. Am I now speaking to Prince Lukas Foltar?" He added the last bit just to make sure, offering the young man a very, very slight smile.
Lukas tilted his head to the side, "Yes, I am Lukas." He said frowning slightly. "Pleasure to meet you Fiel" He faked a smile. Trying to remember what he knew about Tarilon. Which was pretty much nothing, "where did you say you were from?" He asked quietly. He lowered his arms to his sides and brushed his hair behind his ears so that it was out of his eyes. "Sorry if I am not all 'proper' and such, but it has been a trying day and I really do not feel like putting on a 'oh look I am princely and rich and proper' act," He sighed before smiling at himself and shaking his head "I should just shut up now"
Fiel blinked. This wasn't the proud, detached noble he'd been prepared for. He didn't have a rehearsed answer for Lukas with the other boy was speaking so plainly. But in a way, it was a relief to drop some of the act and stop pretending to be a perfect ambassador, just for a moment.
"It's all right," he said, in a less formal voice. "I've been traveling since dawn yesterday. I'm very tired too, so I understand. But it honestly is good to be here. You have a beautiful kingdom. As to your question, I'm from Tarilon. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't know the name—we've only just opened our borders this spring. We sent out messengers last month in all directions, but my mother is now sending me personally to a few places. Such as here, in Vernor." He spoke lightly, hoping to relax Lukas and start a proper conversation.
"Well, welcome to Vernor. I am uh hang on did I already welcome you? Anyway, you probably want to rest. And as I have decided I am done meeting women for today, uh I am really not good at this" Lukas muttered a few words to himself nervously. He stepped forward so that he was directly in front of Fiel. "I know of most kingdoms and places around, but I have not read much about Tarilon. We don't have much information on it. Perhaps you could tell me about it, I like to be informed about the world outside of my kingdom, after all my father does not let me help in the kingdom anyway" He shook his head, "I am talking to much"
Fiel smiled for real this time. Lukas reminded him of his sister back home, always more comfortable away from the spotlight. "I would be happy to tell you about my home," he replied pleasantly, "especially if you tell me about yours in return. As long as I'm not being an inconvenience, I would certainly enjoy a moment to sit and talk in peace. Do you perhaps have somewhere a little less….stately we can go?" He wanted to ask about the crying girl he'd seen a moment ago, but that seemed like a very nosy question so he resisted the temptation.
"we can go to the library, I mean I spend most of my time their, and not many others bother to enter it." Luka shrugged, turning around to lead Fiel to the library. "You are not an inconvenience, I have nothing more to do today. Most of my days are spent dealing with the possible suitors my father sends." He shook his head, "they all try to hard."
Fiel walked with him, listening carefully with his hands clasped behind his back. "Suitors? Ah….I suppose I'll have to worry about that in a year or so as well. I take it marriage isn't something you're interested in yet?"
Luka scoffed, "not to any of them, I am more into g- uh nevermind." He said as he opened the door to the library and walked towards a table, he sat in one of the chairs. Well he flopped into the chair, nearly knocking it over.
Fiel took in the library with a sweep of his gaze, admiring the tall windows and rows of old books. He sat gracefully in the chair next to Lukas, linking his fingers together around one knee. He hadn't quite caught the end of Lukas's sentence, but was beginning to see that the other prince mumbled a lot.
"Well," he began, "You asked about my home. We are an island to the north, surrounded by rough seas and harsh winter storms. The valleys beyond the mountain cliffs are quite sheltered, though. Our capital is at the center, on Mount Uarynn. Our main industry is fishing, then orchard farming. Our most advanced science is meteorology. We speak Taril at home, and nobles learn common languages such as this one. We have a relatively small population, but it is stable and healthy. I have eight brothers and sisters, and one mother, the queen. I was chosen as heir not by seniority but according to my capability and willingness to rule. I hope I can fulfill my duties, but sometimes I feel too inexperienced to—" He cut himself off, embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Now I'm the one speaking to much. The most important thing to know about Tarionans is that we are not human, although we appear to be. Were you aware of that at all?"
Luka blinked, "not human? No I didn't now that, honestly I don't think I knew your kingdom even existed" He leaned back in his chair, thinking. "Your home sounds beautiful though" He said softly. He reached behind him and pulled a book from the shelve, it had no title and when he opened it, it was full of notes. His journal of sorts, where he wrote things he learnt that were not in the books around him. He started writing things down on an empty page.
Fiel watched him write. "Thank-you. I've never traveled anywhere beyond its borders until now. But yes…we're not human. Tarilonans are a race that evolved to live high in the mountains, in places no one else can access. So, in short….we can fly. That's how I got here, across the sea." He dipped his head ruefully. "I know it probably makes no sense, but we have wings. We can simply hide them when we don't need them. We have some magic too, but that's used for other purposes."
Lukas looked at Fiel, "you have wings? Can I see?" He asked practically jumping up and down in his seat, he had never been able to talk to someone that was not human. And to see the proof would be..excellent to him. He realized his childish demenor and blushed slightly, he cleared his throat. "Anyway."
Fiel was a bit taken aback by Lukas's sudden enthusiasm, but he seemed well-intended. "All right, I don't mind showing you. They're not that exciting to me, but I understand if you've never seen one of us before."
He stood and stepped to a more open part of the room, turning to face Lukas. Smoothly, he unfolded his wings, and they seemed to appear out of thin air, stretching far out on either side. Even only half-open, they were huge, brushing against the chairs and bookshelves. The feathers were the same glossy black as his hair, and shone warmly in the light from the windows. The three longest feathers on the tip of each wing were a creamy white, barred in black. Fiel revealed his tail feathers as well, which reached almost to his ankles. He felt like he was taking up way too much space now, and cleared his throat self-consciously. "There. See? My family has strong wings, all of us. One of my older brothers has wings even larger than mine."
Lukas stood up and walked over to Fiel without thinking, he gently ran his hand over Fiel's wings. "wow" he muttered. He was trensfixed by the wings. He noticed that he was only a few inches away from Fiel and took a step back. "Uh, sorry."
Fiel blinked rapidly and also moved back a tiny bit without meaning to. "Um…..that's all right." He tried to think of something more to say. "They carry me easily enough, but there is a cost. I need a lot of energy to fly, and that means a specialized diet. They also generate a lot of heat, so warmer southern parts of the world are hard to spend much time in. And of course, they can be rather in-the-way sometimes." He adjusted the cuffs of his jacket awkwardly. "Is there anything else you wanted to know?"
"um," Lukas tried to remember if he had any other questions, but his mind came up blank. "I don't think so, but uh thanks for showing me your wings, they are…beautiful" He smiled slightly, before spinning on his heel and walking back to the table, which he then sat on. "um, what's next?"
Fiel studied the chair he'd been sitting in before. There was no way to use it with his wings and tail out, so he pulled over a tall stool and sat on that instead. "Well…..I suppose I'd like to know more about your kingdom, and you yourself of course. If our people do form an alliance, it will help to be on good terms already, I think." He was still not sure what to make of Lukas, but so far his excitement and honesty were disarming. "What is your family like? What is good and bad about your home? Do you have any hobbies? If I may ask, obviously."
Luka sighed, not really liking to talk about his life, but it was only fair, "My family consists of me, my mother, and my father. Good, that we have a lot of people in our village, and books. I like to read and study. Sorry I don't really like talking about myself that much." He said awkwardly, fidgeting with his sleeve.
"Oh." Fiel looked down. "I see…..We can change the subject if you'd like. I don't mean to pry, I know this isn't any of my business, really." He looked around for something else to talk about. "Actually, I don't suppose you have anything to drink? Maybe something to eat as well? It has been a long journey…"
"Oh yeah, I should probably have asked if you wanted anything," Lukas said standing up and walking towards the door, "Let's go to the kitchen, I can go for a snack as well" He said happy that the subject had changed. Though he felt bad that Fiel told him about Tarlion, but Lukas had not told Fiel much about his home. Perhaps he could show him instead, that might work better.
Fiel nodded, folding away his wings completely so they vanished. "All right, that sounds nice." He followed Lukas, wondering if all the kingdoms around here were this casual with guests. He didn't mind, honestly. It made him less nervous. "What kinds of food do you have here? I saw quite a few farms and fields on my way, so you must have a good climate for agriculture."
"uh food? Honestly I don't pay attention but uh, we have..food?" He said nervously as they made it to the kitchen. He walked in and picked up an apple out of a box full of them and took a bite, the servants in the kitchen mostly ignored he was their, a few nodding to him. For him it was normal for the servants and cooks to take his presence as a normal thing. "I think we grow most average foods, but we have many towns under our rule who send food to trade with." He shrugged.
Fiel was actually impressed by the variety of foods he saw in the kitchen. He was used to seafood and fruit mostly, with seasonal nuts and berries and maybe other kinds of wild game on special occasions. Here he found meat from livestock, eggs, vegetables, breads and cakes, spices—some that he'd never seen before. He took an apple as well, copying Lukas, and tried not to stare in wonder. "You're very lucky to have a good trade system. I can't wait to tell my family when I get home about all this, they'll never believe it."
"Huh..it's a normal thing" Lukas shrugged, "what kinds of foods do you have?" He asked casually, wondering why the foods around them were strange to Fiel.