He shook his head again, a sigh leaving his mouth as he cast Tadpole another suspicious look. "Yes, but I would vastly prefer not to have to replace anything. Especially anything damaged by such a creature as this one." he replied, still studying Tadpole for a long, slightly tense moment.
"You'll learn to love him," Will states, a final tone in his voice as they finally approach the breakfast room. Will can already smell the delightful scents wafting through the air, a luxury he never got to experience in his dreary cottage back home. Don't get him wrong, he loves his parents dearly, but they weren't quite the best at remembering to cook warm meals–the both of them were far too engrossed in their work to notice their hunger, Will was often too lost in his own thoughts to remind them. Well, a family who forgets to eat together will always laugh about it later. They always did over a cold bowl of greens and bread.
(hnnnn sorryy)
"Will I." Kaz replied dryly, shaking his head slightly. He led Will into the dining room, where, as always, Marie was already seated and enjoying her meal. Her expression immediately flattened at the sight of the two of them, gaze flicking to the little creature in Will's arms.
(took you long enough smh)
As Will enters and finds Marie, he tips his chin up slightly. Tadpole chitters and snuggles into the crook of Will's neck. Do dragons eat? Well, everything has to eat–the question is what. He'll have to consult the library after breakfast on anything dragon related. He takes his usual seat beside Kazimir and looks over his options laid across the table.
(hdsbjh fight me)
Kaz nudged a few options towards Will, keeping an eye on the food on the table. Most of it would be safe for human consumption, but there were a few that he carefully moved away from Will, not wanting the human to suffer the consequences of ingesting Fae food. Sure, the effects of some were not permanent, but it still would not end well for Will to eat it.
William is grateful for Kaz's efforts to keep him alive and not dreadfully sick with Fae Food. However, Will is a stubborn human being and he should be able to know what will and won't kill him when ingested. There has to be a book at the library for that. He sets Tadpole down in the adjacent seat and takes a bite from a toast-looking pastry. It's slathered in some sort of fruity butter-jam thing. He doesn't know what it is, but it certainly isn't terrible. He takes a second bite and then reaches for his cup of lavender tea, sparing a brief glance to Marie in the process.
(ighjhbdg the Grems)
Kaz was also keeping an eye on Marie. The Fae queen seemed to be steadily ignoring the two, though it was a frosty, freezing, angry sort of silence. It was uncomfortable and cold, and tense. Like ice or glass that would shatter before it would ever, ever fade away naturally. Kaz made no real attempt to break it, or the silence.
(they truly enjoy bamboozling akhdjsk)
With breakfast fairly uneventful (save for Marie's occasional death glare), Will moves on to an even more uneventful day. Like the last few, he spends his time holed up in the library with new literature in his lap. Eloise stops by for a pleasant mid-afternoon chat before she's off to do whatever her duties as an advisor's daughter are. The Martyr doesn't see Kazimir all day. After breakfast they went their separate ways with a promise to meet up for dinner. Tadpole follows at William's heels wherever he goes, looking up at the man either wide eyes and as close to a smile as a baby dragon can get.
With the sun nearing the horizon, Will packs his books up and heads out from the library. He knows exactly what food a baby green dragon needs to eat. If the chef doesn't have it, Will will tell Kazimir to order it.
([insert Mushu gif here "I liiiiiiive"])
(also what do we want to do with like,, some of our plans for various things we wanted to happen (like the attack on the palace)?)
Kaz took care of his duties for the day, but his mind was on Will most of the time. His Martyr was here, finally. It had felt like he had been waiting this entire lifetime to finally have him back, and…here he was. Here he was, and they would be able to get to know each other all over again. Love each other again, at least for a little while.
Will takes his place near the head of the table and overlooks the selection for dinner. He looks to the empty seat to his left–the head of the table where Kazimir belongs. The food, while smells divine, is something Will knows he shouldn't touch until he has a fae to tell him if it'll explode his internal organs or not. He looks to the door, slightly straightening when Kazimir comes into sight. "Evening," he greets, reaching for his usual lavender tea. "How was your day?"
Kaz flashed a quick smile, though that smile, like all his expressions, was not free of that danger that hung about him like a cloud. "Boring." he replied, sitting down and pouring himself a drink. He nudged a few foods towards Will, pulling others to the side in a nonverbal signal that those were not safe for the young man beside him. "And how was yours?" he knew that Will spent most days in the library or in the gardens, and that he had made friends with one of the nobleman's daughters, but that did not mean he necessarily knew exactly what Will was doing during the day.
"Informational," William responds, reaching for the biscuit-looking pastry just across from him. He'll have many days ahead of him just like this, gathering information about the new world around him. Maybe he'll be able to figure out why he's appearing in different places early in the morning. At least this morning brought him upon Tadpole, the most innocent and adorable creature to ever live. "I discovered what baby dragons need to eat and you don't have any of the proper foods prepared." He sends Kazimir A Look without any real heat behind it.
Kaz laughed quietly. "How was I supposed to know, when you did not send me any information? And I am sure that there is something on this table that he can eat, if you really are that upset about it." he gestured with one hand to the food spread on the table. There was various cooked meats, fruits, spreads, all sorts of things. Surely, at the very least, Tadpole would be able to eat some of the meat. Kaz honestly was not sure what baby dragons were meant to eat; he had never had to care for one, and had never particularly cared, in any case. They were wild creatures, and took care of themselves.
"I don't know, you're the fae. Can't believe you make me do all the work around here." Will mockingly shakes his head. He has to look through a few dishes in order to find the one he had been searching for. Nearly as big as his arm, Will has to drag a large hunk of meat over to the seat next to him where Tadpole had made himself comfortable. The dragon chirps and immediately begins devouring the entire thing. Will watches bemusedly before turning back to Kazimir. "Do you happen to have figured out why I keep waking up in places I shouldn't be waking up?"
Kaz raised an eyebrow at the size of the meat in comparison to Tadpole. "That meat is almost the same size that he is, are you sure that he can eat that whole thing?" he asked, then shrugged his shoulders and looked over to Will. "I have not, no. I believe our best course of action would be to have you examined by one of the magic specialists. Perhaps it has something to do with our status as…" he trailed off, knowing that Will would know what he meant, and not wanting to elaborate further. There was no reason to. He meant their status as Fates. But then, this would be a strange side effect. It had never happened before, why would it happen now?
"Don't underestimate my dragon," Will snips. He turns back to his food to hide his smile. He doesn't eat much, just enough to feel content. Anything more will make him queasy. He chews thoughtfully, taking his time with as he thinks of a proper response. "It could be," he answers. "But that doesn't explain anything. Why now? Why not previously?" In other lives, he wants to say, but not with potential eavesdroppers anywhere.
Sighing, Will takes another few bites and pours himself some more lavender tea–his favorite tea. "Maybe it'll stop." Maybe it won't. "Do you think it could be an outside force? A curse of sorts?" Will isn't sure who could possibly curse him. He's been there for a week at most and he certainly hasn't made any enemies. There's been people who give him a second look, baffled that the king could possibly choose a below-average human such as himself.
Kaz ate at a steady, measured pace, keeping an eye on Will as the other man spoke. "I am not sure why it would be happening now and not previously." he replied, frowning just a little as he tried to think of a reasoning for why this could be happening. "It could be an outside force, though who and why I am not sure." he tapped his fork handle with a finger thoughtfully, his red eyes flickering as he cocked his head. "You have not been here long enough to make any enemies."
Will shrugs, unsure of really what to believe. He doubts that it's something to do with their status as Fates. New things like sudden teleportation don't just happen without some drastic event. Maybe it could be… a different life. One that could break the cycle–No. Will knows better than to get his hopes up with wishful thinking. This has to be an outside force that somehow has something out for Will.
The man shrugs, finishing the last bit of his food before pushing his plate away. He looks over to Tadpole, the baby dragon still gnawing on a large chunk of meat. "Do you have anything that could potentially find magic? A spell or something that could find a source?" Being from a small village that exiled any sort of magic, Will doesn't know the first thing that could possibly serve as a tool to help him.
"Yes, we do. We can go there after we finish." Kaz replied, following Will's gaze to where the dragon was devouring the hunk of meat. He watched Tadpole for a long moment, eyes narrowing slightly, then looked to the Martyr again. "We will have you examined to see if the reason for this can be found. You are, as far as I am aware, a normal human. There is no reason that this should be happening right now."
A normal human. Yeah. Right. A normal human trapped as a Fate, cursed to be killed in every lifetime, forced to find the Snake. "Yeah," Will says quietly, finishing his tea and setting it down on the saucer with an uncomfortably loud clink. "We'll go as soon as we're done eating." Not really wanting to think about anything else, Will turns all of his attention to the dragon at his right. A good half of the meat is gone and Tadpole is busying himself with gnawing on the blunted end of a bone. It was probably a femur, taking its shape and size into account.
"Good boy," Will coos, running the back of his fingers alone Tadpole's scaly spine. The dragon chitters happily, dropping the bone in favor of turning to meet Will's strokes.
Kaz eyed the dragon warily, still not sure he liked that Will had taken this little creature in. Sure, for now it was only a tiny thing smaller than Kaz's forearm, but what happened when it grew? When it became a giant, scaly creature that could eat a man in two bites? Would Will still think it as adorable then?
Would he or Will even be alive at that point? He exhaled faintly, not wanting to dwell on that thought for too long. Who knew how long they had left now, how long the two would live like this before someone tried to kill the other, before death came knocking at their doors.
They finish dinner up in a relatively quiet air. William stands and gestures for Tadpole to follow. The dragon, long done with his meal, obediently sits at Will's ankles. The man's face twists slightly. It's odd for a dragon of all things to be this obedient. Of course, his mind jumps to the worst. Tadpole the poor little whelpling could've been kidnapped, abused, tricked, given a false sense of love–Or not. The dragon could just be completely attached to Will ever since they found each other in the tall branches of the tree.
"Are we ready?" Will asks, turning to Kazimir. He has to wonder what type of magical prowess someone could have to track the curse plaguing him. Would Will be required to give blood? Give an oath? Some other form of freaky Fae magic that will tie him here forever? Gods. He needs to stop thinking.
Kaz nodded at the question, standing from the table with a soft sigh. "We are." he replied. "Come with me." the process should not be too hard or grueling. To be fair, he was not sure what precisely would need to happen, but he couldn't imagine it would be anything too invasive. And he would be there to protect Will if need be, though again, he doubted that there would truly be anything to protect him from. Not in this circumstance.
Will follows Kaz out of the dining room, Tadpole scurrying after him. The Martyr would love to hold the little dragon, but his arms have gotten tired and Will curses his weak constitution and impossibility to gain muscle for it. As they make their way through the endless halls, William tries to busy himself from thinking too much about a potential hex on his soul. He studies the curtains, the stained glass, the pattern in the floors–Anything he can look at. It's the better alternative to thinking.
Really, he shouldn't be this nervous. Whatever's been plaguing him hasn't been malevolent. It's just annoying, waking up in different areas of the castle instead of beside Kazimir. There's also the possibility of it growing worse. Who knows how long it will be until Will wakes up atop of the roof and accidentally falls to his death. It wouldn't be the first time he died hitting the ground, but he certainly doesn't want to experience the pain of that again.
Eventually, they wind up in front of a heavy door, left just barely ajar.
Kaz pushed the door open without a worry. "Canthus?" he said, raising an eyebrow as he looked around the room. It looked like a stereotypical wizard's room; cluttered with books and other magical supplies, notes scattered about the place, and light filtering dimly through a curtain.
A tall fae came around a corner, blinking in surprise at the emperor and the human with him, eyes flicking to the little dragon for just a moment. "Your majesty, what a surprise." they bowed, straightening up after a moment. "What can I do for you today?"
"My…concubine here has been disappearing at night and waking up in different places than he went to sleep in. We know he is not sleepwalking, as I am a light sleeper and would awaken were he simply getting up. He has awoken in the library and in the gardens, with no idea how he got there." Kaz explained. "We were hoping you would be able to discover why it is happening."