[PRP] Exotic Fare (Sephiros & Shou)// COMPLETE

[Azure Desiderium]

Who; Nadyris + Allegro & co.
When; Early afternoon
Where; About the good ol' town
~

This was honestly a most disconcerting predicament. Nadyris was a creature of few comforts, he had to be. Though he had 'settled down' for the moment here, it didn't mean that he intended to actually live hereabouts. Especially if he had a job. His job, after all, oft took him to the more dangerous regions, this new flat of his just served as a home base, a place to camp and be comfortable, as it were, betwixt his lengthy missions. Maybe he should just take up that bodyguard offer that had been proposed a week or so back. He was considering it, after all.

But all that took a place on the back burner next to this current, very pressing need. He needed to go shopping. Grocery shopping to be precise. It was something that he had never been overly good at, really scatterbrained on the topic of recipes and 'staple foods' which left him at picking anything that looked particularly tasty. Which was what he was doing right now. He adored browsing, the outdoors, and the smell of fresh foods. Which meant that he was tugged out into the brilliance of the afternoon sun to the crowded and social gathering that was the local market. It only happened once a month or so, and was a big to-do that was mostly for farmers...so though produce and meats were the most commonly found articles for purchase, there were always the baked goods and sweets that held the most tempting aromas as well.

So here he was. Out shopping, dressed neatly, albeit casual, appearing as unoffensive as his eye patch and scars allowed for. The trouble being...he didn't have the first inkling of where he should start. Honestly he should have come up with the brilliant plan of making Kai shop for the purposes of kitchen stocking before he'd left the house and wound up amidst stalls of overeager food vendors, ambling along with his hands in his pockets like some stray dog that was trying not to get kicked in the ribs.  

[Olivia Solace]

Wandering the open market was the Lightner family. They were expecting guests in the next few days and has decided to go out shopping for the meals in which Hayden had decided upon cooking. The father if three held a basket in his arms with the various foods he had bought while browsing the market while two out of his three boys ambled about him, peeking and prodding the local fare or bothering the vendors. Overly curious children indulging in their overly curious ways.

The last child, who had distanced himself slightly from the rest of the family had been watching Nadyris with his glowy orange eyes. The little sunshine dust, Allegro, had picked the scarred man out of the group of people for some reason and was watching him quite intently, as if there was something about him that he couldn't help but notice.

The child looked to his family, than back to Nadyris. He wanted to go over and look at the man, to figure out why exactly he was being drawn to this individual. He was getting his feelings again, the one he would get when he was near a child or teen like himself. In his own mind he thought that maybe this man as was like him, except an adult and not a child.

Quickly deciding that getting in trouble was a consequence worth this mild exploration, Allegro walked off from Hayden and the boys, quietly making his way over to Nadyris. He walked up to him while the man was distracted and stood there, starring at him intently, sizing up the feeling Allegro was getting from him.  

[Azure Desiderium]

There was someone staring at him. He knew the signs, the way his inner alarms went off and the hairs on the back of his neck tended to stand on end. It was a distinctly unnerving feeling, like being a stranger in one's own skin...and this gaze wasn't simply passing curiosity, like most gave an oddball such as himself. Halting in place and shifting the bag on his shoulder self-consciously, he glanced around...and it only took him a few seconds to spy the child, the little blond thing with amber eyes that apparently had never been told how rude it was to stare. Sighing heavily, he flitted gaze away to make a passing deduction of the crowd around him. Well no one was alarmed by a missing kid. Yet. It was only a matter of time he was sure.

Looks like it was up to him after all. "Hey..." He'd never been all that good with kids, and an opening line for someone half his height utterly failed him. The boy was well-dressed, however, so his parents probably wouldn't have let him stray far by himself, unless, of course, he was one of those brats that could talk his way into anything, and even then nothing was safe. That would be stupidity incarnate. Fidgeting, Nadyris ran a hand through deep green tresses, which true to form slid right back into place. "Did you...want something...?" Oh please please don't be lost...the last thing 'Dyris wanted to do was escort some kid all over town, and yet if the kid was lost, then he'd have to, unless he could foist him off on some unwitting do-gooder.  

[Olivia Solace]

Allegro crooked a head at him idly as Nadyris spoke to him. He could still feel the presence on the man, but it was faint. Perhaps the one who was like him had been with him and had gone? It was the only thing he could think of, otherwise he'd feel this tugging sensation much stronger than he was presently.

"I feel like I know you from somewhere." Allegro said, "But I have never seen you before, so I'm not sure."

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Allegro glowed a bit brighter than usual. You couldn't tell because of the daylight, but he was. There was something warm around, and he could feel it resonating, heating him as he heated it.  

[Azure Desiderium]

...well that was an odd thing to say upon meeting someone. Mind, this child did seem a little peculiar. Tilting his head to one side, he eyed the other up and down in a scrutinizing fashion. Nadyris, after all, made his living half on his ability to judge people...whilst he could discern no danger from the lad, well...he knew better than to ride with that gut-given tidbit. Just where had this little bugger come from anyway? Wrinkling his nose, he fought the urge to ask the boy if his parents were around, but he knew that to a child that could be grandly insulting. Or worse. Nadyris had been an orphan after all, and that was a most touchy subject, not that crocodile tears hadn't gotten him sympathy and sweets from more than one mothering soul, but still...it hadn't been all fake.

"Ah...can't say as I'm getting the same impression." He replied mildly, "Perhaps you know someone like me?" Not that he thought there were too many of those out there, Nadyris himself was a most singular individual, after all. Geeze, how many one-eyed, scarred up, has-been mercenaries could there be in the world? Wait...he didn't really want to know. Ah hell, he was so not good with kids, and at this point he couldn't foresee a way out of this conversation. The little blond would probably ask him a lot of pointless questions, none of which he likely knew the answer too...hey...what was...

He more sensed what was going on than actually saw it, in the odd way the wind can tickle your ears when it ghosts by, without you ever really understanding what did it. Paranoid, he too shifted, as though expecting an attack from behind. Then, he realized there was a sudden warmth coming from beneath his hand, where it rested atop the bag that rested comfortably over his hip. 'Heynow, what was the agreement about no funny business?' With his luck, the bottle had finally decided to explode in a crowded area.  

[Olivia Solace]

Allegro looked up from Nadyris to his bag. The sensation of familiarity he had faintly felt earlier was much stronger now that the bottle had reacted. The golden haired child smiled, looking back up to Nadyris and his one good eye, "I knew I felt someone familiar! You have a bottle, right? I was a bottle once too!"

It probably alarmed Nadyris to hear a child identify that he had a bottle that he had not voluntarily spoke of by any means. More so, when that child was saying he was once a bottle too and that it had felt familiar. It all sounded preposterous when you said it aloud, or even in your head. Children sprouting from bottles, magic children at that. Who could believe such things?

"Can I see it?" Allegro asked, looking down at Nadyris's bag. He was excited. He had never seen someone like him who wasn't already a child or teenager. It was a rare opportunity to actually say 'I knew you before you were born!', like mothers often do to their children.  

[Azure Desiderium]

All right, slow down, too much vague information to process in far too short a time. Just gawking at the child for a moment with his good eye, Nadyris then shook his head and adjusted the bag rather self-consciously, wondering if this kid came equipped with x-ray vision or some sort of psychic sense. Whatever the case was, it was damn disconcerting that's what it was...and a little creepy. Nadyris didn't do well with creepy. Slimy, suspenseful, scary and gory he could do, but just plain out unexplained creepy had always been one of his downfalls. If the boy hadn't been so cute then he might have been paling like a tween girl in her first horror movie. Ah godsdarnit.

"Y-you were a bottle?" Hold that thought. The kid was just saying that he had come from a bottle, and if a kid could come from a bottle, it stood to reason that it would be a magic bottle. And guess what one mercenary just so happened to have on his person? Yup. Magic bottle. Almost facepalming in exasperation, he resisted pulling at his hair in imminent frustration. Did that mean that he'd picked up a bottled mystical embryo of some kind? Because that just took on a whole different level of freaky. Ok. Bottled spirit, let's go with bottled spirit, 'Dyris, that's a lot less weird. "Ah god...uhm..."

Wait what was he asking? Hoisting the strap of the bag from his shoulder, he grimaced, supposing it couldn't hurt to show the kid, since he already knew it was there. "I guess you can...the bottle is kinda in a box though, it tends to...burn things." Pausing a moment, still trying to wrap his mind about the theoretical situation here, he had to form words rather carefully. "So uh...you came from a bottle...so you can sense other bottles...?" One question at a time please, 'Dyris.  

[Olivia Solace]

Allegro quickly went to take the bottle from its box, wincing a small bit as he held it. The bottle itself was hot, but not hot enough to burn him. It actually felt rather nice to Allegro to be holding the bottle. As far as Allegro knew, this bottle was the most like him out of any of the other Dusts in which he had met. He smiled once again, looking into the bottle inquisitively, watching the ashes jostle around slightly as little flames spouted up every now and again.

"Huh?" Allegro looked back up as he caught the end of Nadyris's question, and nodded, "I get this feeling like I know them and feel drawn to go over to them. That's why I came over here, I thought you were like me."

Allegro grew brighter as the bottle grew brighter. From some people's perspective he was starting to look like a blind spot, or a glare off of a glass or metal surface.  

[Azure Desiderium]

And the bottle actually seemed to like Allegro, a fact with utterly confounded Nadyris, considering the fact that his hand was still tender from his first encounter with the firey orb's cantankerous nature. He was also still grumbly about the scorchmarks in the countertop. Well, perhaps if it could make friends...or rather if he/she could make friends, he amended himself, he would be less...er...explosive. Ah gods, 'Dyris do not think about anything exploding please. Right now he was still trying to process the fact that the bottle was going to make a kid...and Nadyris was completely unprepared to be a father. And just what was Kai going to think!? Well, Kai would probably react...somewhat better than 'Dyris, but that was because he was a bit more stable individual, and had less reasons to watch his back. Gods...

Having to hold back his initial impulse to snatch the bottle back from the other, 'lest it break, he had to remind himself that this kid was likely one of the last people in the world who would be careless with the flaming bauble. "Well then...you probably do..." He murmured, "And it looks as though he's taken to you better than he took to me, anyway." Nadyris couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a kid born from one of these bottles...it again bordered on disconcerting, that imagining. Then again perhaps it came with the territory.

It was also impossible to fail noticing that Allegro was glowing by now. "You both are...brightening...do you mind if I ask what was in your bottle?" All he'd seen before his bottle had set itself aflame was ashes. Ashes equaled fire, well that was a logical conclusion...perhaps if he knew what had been in Allegro's bottle, then he'd have some idea what the result would be when his emerged. Shuddering, he shook his head...should NOT be thinking parenthood thoughts. He hadn't asked for this!  

[Olivia Solace]

"My bottle?" Allegro said, wondering to himself for a moment. Hayden hadn't exactly told him what was in his bottle, if Hayden himself even knew at all. All he really knew from his time as a bottle was the feelings he got, and what Cante and Benjamin had told him. What Cante and Benjamin had told him!

"Well, Daddy hadn't told me much about that, but my brothers did! They said that when I was in my bottle I made everything really warm in the house and would get really bright, like the sun!" Allegro smiled, looking down into the bottle some more.

Allegro was so excited to have met another one like him that had not become a child yet, it was like knowing a baby before they were born. It was a weird kind of happiness. "I don't know your name yet and I'm sure when you get to be a kid like me you'll tell me, but I hope we can be really good friends."  

[Azure Desiderium]

Sunshine? Well how could someone put sunshine in a bottle, now really? Then again, how could bottles seem to be alive and make kids and all of this other fiddle-faddle. It all sounded distinctly far-fetched to Nadyris, but the proof was standing right here in front of him in all its diminutive glowing glory. And it was swiftly giving him a headache, the kind that would only go away with some babying and lots of hydration. Oh he really needed to sit down and think about all of this. Most things didn't unsettle the mercenary, but the idea of imminent fatherhood? Now that was headache-worthy. Dammit all...

"Ah well..." Watching the two together, he would have found the scene almost touching, even if Allegro was talking to a bottle, if Nadyris' mind hadn't been racing ahead of itself, falling down stairs and otherwise doing things that were likely detrimental to the mercenary as a whole. Now the child was speaking of family, brothers, father...which meant that they were likely somewhere nearby. Hnn. "Well perhaps...when he grows, I can bring him for a visit, if your father doesn't have a problem with it." Ack! He was not already discussing playdates for the child that he didn't want!!! All the same, it seemed as though he would have to...to take care of whatever came out of the bottle! And he'd already assigned it a gender, even if it was the wrong one. Oh boy are you in over your head this time, Nadyris.

Oh! Oh wow, he didn't even know the name of this kid and he was getting revelations from him! "I'm Nadyris, by the way...what's your name?" Deep breath, run hands through your hair, all is well, dammit, all had better be well.  

[Olivia Solace]

"I'm sure Daddy would be thrilled to have company over," Allegro said with a smiled, before realizing that this whole time he had forgotten to introduce himself to the man before him. Tucking the fiery bottle safely underneath his arm so that he could properly introduce himself, he extended a hand to Nadyris, "My name is Allegro Samuel Lightner. My father's name is Hayden Lightner, he's a piano teacher."

Allegro had never had any problem referring to Hayden as his father. At the beginning he had been addressing Hayden as 'Mister' but this did not jive well with Hayden, as he wanted the child to feel as much apart of their family as if he was flesh and blood, so it quickly went from 'Yes Sir' to 'Yes Daddy'.  

[Azure Desiderium]

Lightner. He tucked the name away for later, with his contacts as a mercenary, he was sure he could look them up later. And he would, because for all the kid had creeped him out, it wasn't because Allegro himself was odd (all right, well he was odd, but not the bad kind of odd). And...once he did have a child, then he'd need to know others just like him. Hell, he was actually starting to accept this, as terrifying as that particular inkling was. Then again, it wasn't as though he and Kai could have kids, so perhaps this was some kind of a sign. From Fate mind, as he wasn't religious in almost, well, any sense of the word. So as long as...Kai was ok with it, then there was no reason to find the bottle a new home, not that he thought the bottle would let him, not after the kitchen stunt or the uncanny way it had of following him.

Nadyris took Allegro's hand and nodded, somehow mustering a half-hearted smile to scarred features. "It's...nice to meet you, Allegro. Even if I didn't expect the news you brought me...I'd no idea...that..." He gestured to the bottle under the blond's arm, "...well that I was going to have a child to look after in the near future." Better to be prepared than not at all, if the fire meant the bottle was alive, then he was almost quaking in his durable leather boots as to what might happen when the kid took form.  

[Olivia Solace]

"Daddy didn't know he was going to get a kid either," Allegro said, pulling back his hand after introductions were done, and holding the fiery bottle within them once more. As Allegro recalled, he was actually supposed to be a shiny trinket present for his brother's mom, bless her rested soul. When he first learned that it had pained him to know that his coming into existence caused Hayden so much trouble in the end, but he was gladdened by the happiness he now brought to the single father.

"I was actually supposed to be a-" Allegro found himself being cut off by the familiar sound of Hayden's voice. Turning his head, he saw Hayden some ways away, waving his arms in a silly manner in attempts to flag Allegro over, while calling out his name. It looked like it was time for Allegro to go, which made the sunshine Dust's heart sink just a little.

"My Dad's calling me," Allegro explained, cradling the fiery bottle in his hands. He didn't want to leave his new friend, and his new friend's soon-to-be parent. He was having a nice time talking to Nadyris and holding the bottle. He hoped that next time he saw them both, his bottle friend would be a child like him, so hey could play with Cante and Benjamin.

Pulling in some of the warm sunlight from the sky, Allegro made himself glow a little brighter and warmer for the bottle in his hands. A gesture of sorts for the bottle, as Allegro's way of telling it that they'd meet again, and soon he had hoped. He placed the bottle back into the box in which Nadyris kept it in, but did not close the lid, and handed it back to the scarred man.

"I don't think that the bottle feels good about being locked up so much, I know I didn't like it," Allegro said thoughtfully, remembering the feeling he had when he was shoved into the dark place by Hayden before Hayden fully understood what was going on. He gave a smile to Nadyris and a silly little bow, "It was nice meeting you. I hope you have a good rest of the day."

And with that, Allegro parted the two, taking off towards the father who was calling him so insistently. Holding his little top-hat to his head, the little bits of metal on his person clicking together in almost a rhythmic melody of innocence.