Marshall let his eyes follow her hand as if he was noticing the beige fabric only now. It was the perfect time to ask about the bandages.
"Could that be an injury from one of your endeavors?"
"Ah, this?" Aria didn't seem to mind his question, chuckling nostalgically as she leaned back. "You could say I paid for a ruby in blood."
She untied one of the bandages, revealing scars almost identical to Gi Gaia's. Marshall suppressed his surprise. Two Jewel Imps!
"These scars will be a lifelong reminder of the precious beauty in my possession," the woman relished in the memory.
Marshall watched her tie the rolled the bandage back around her hand before noting, "I have to say, stealing a ruby takes some guts."
"A strong enough desire will give you the guts to do anything to satisfy it," she remarked with a smirk. "But enough about this. I want to hear what you've been collecting."
He twirled his glass with a humble gaze. "I must admit I'm nowhere near as daring. I collect stones people may call meaningless. Labradorite, for example. It's a fascinating mineral, but not worth a lot," he remarked, taking another sip.
"Labradorite? Huh. You and Gaia would have a lot to talk about," Aria mumbled, not particularly happy about it.
Right on the target! Marshall turned to face her properly, keeping his excitement reeled in. "Gaia? Do you have another friend who also collects stones? Perhaps we should all get drinks someday."
Aria shook her head with a somewhat dissatisfied pout. "That won't work. She's long gone, traveling sects. There have been an increase in illegal travelers these days. My friend's one of them. Crazy, if you ask me."
Marshall nodded along, agreeing to pull more information out of her, "Absolutely insane... What could be worth such dangerous travels?"
"Bijou Temple, for example. It's something anyone with a lick of interest in crystals would want to see. And, apparently, it's mission for one," Aria muttered, gulping down her drink with a bitter undertone.
It seemed that everyone who had crossed paths with Gi Gaia had some sort of bitterness left behind.
Nonetheless, now that Marshall had found out what he needed to, he could return.
"Well, this conversation has been pleasant, but I'm afraid I must go. I'm meeting a friend outside," he mentioned, standing up.
Marshall's legs felt a bit soft. His eyes flitted to the clear cup. Perhaps he shouldn't have finished the drink on empty stomach, but he had to keep up with the easygoing act. It wasn't like he had done it for pleasure.
Although, he couldn't deny that the drink tasted pretty nice. He would've brought Wyn there if they had more time.
"Going already?" Aria asked, her tone carrying a tinge of disappointed. "In that case... Drop by Marigold Plaza on the solstice night. I'll be there all night long."
Marshall nodded despite knowing that by that time, the small group of illegal travelers would already be entering Lou.
"Thanks for the drink," he gave her one last friendly smile and walked up the stairs, feeling somewhat dazed. His cheeks felt heated as if the sun had burnt them, and his muscles felt more relaxed.
"Great, great, great," he murmured to himself as the door creaked shut behind him, the sunflower waving goodbye. With uplifted strides, he walked over to the nearest bench, where Elysia was sitting.
"We can go back now. I got all I needed to know," Marshall announced.
Elysia rose from her seat, her eyebrows rising higher. "What did you hear?"
"A firm confirmation!" Marshall exclaimed, his voice coming out a bit too loud.
"You seem excited," she mentioned, laughing along his smug snickers.
The disciple shrugged theatrically, setting off back to the apothecary's house. "I was right about Gi Gaia's destination! Can't wait until Wyn hears about it!"
Elysia scratched her head with an amused snort. "Does proving Chioni Wyn wrong make you so happy that you got a drink to celebrate?"
"I didn't get a drink myself. I was wooed," Marshall shamelessly declared.
She stifled a laugh, but it was clear she wasn't taking him seriously. "Wooed? By whom?"
"Why do you sound so doubtful?" he shot a theatrically offended look at Elysia. "I'm charming, you know."
The shameless remark earned him a wheeze and a smack on the back. "Sure, you are. Women must fall for your charms like flies. Haha!"
"Eh-hey! Don't mock me!" Marshall retorted, purposefully steering her into a lantern pole.
Elysia stumbled and let out a yelp of surprise, gripping his arm to support herself. "Excuse you!"
Marshall raised his free arm, feigning innocence. "Me? I didn't do anything."
"Playing dumb doesn't suit you," she teased.
"Oh, please, I can pull anything off!"
"Just keep walking, you drunkard."
"Who are you calling a drunkard? I'm not the one stumbling into poles!"
❄ ❄ ❄
While Marshall and Elysia were out, Sun Hayden went to snoop through the kitchen cabinets until he stumbled across some tea.
Azzie seemed unbothered as the blond disciple made himself at home, boiling the water for the tea. Wyn stood by the counter, opposite from them.
Sun Hayden had been talking about something nonstop, but then suddenly disappeared for a longer while, arguably bored with having Wyn as a conversation partner. He even missed the moment Azzie brought over a bunch of treats—cookies with nuts, plain biscuits and crisps.
She poured a cup for Wyn, offering it to him with a subtle smile.
"Thank you..." Wyn paused, unsure how to refer to her. Azzie sounded like a nickname, so he thought it would not have been appropriate to call her that.
Noticing his hesitation, she told him her full name, "Azalea."
"Azalea. Pleasure to meet you," Wyn bowed his head, accepting the cup.
"And you are...?" she watched him with an inquisitive gaze.
"Wyn."
"Heh. You must be winning in life a lot," Azalea joked.
The snow deity arched a brow, puzzled as to what she meant by that.
"Wyn, win, winning," she elaborated with a wave of hand. "It's a play of words."
Wyn nodded with an understanding hum, but was at a loss of what to say in return. Instead, he sipped the tea in silence.
Azalea shifted from foot to foot, her eyes tracing a circle on the table. It appeared she was searching for something to talk about.
Normally, people at home would leave the snow deity alone after receiving a dry response. But Liangdu folk seemed to have a stronger desire to socialize. Wyn was not fit for that.
"So... you're from Sky Oriels?" Azalea finally asked.
"Correct."
"Yeah... I could tell," she mumbled.
Sun Hayden barged in before Wyn could reply. "Aw, I knew you wouldn't leave us to starve!" he exclaimed, jumping towards the plate of cookies that began disappearing at the speed of light.
"Hey, hey! Leave some for others!" Azalea smacked the blond disciple's away, but he managed to get a third cookie in hand, holding the first in his teeth and the second in his other hand.
Wyn glanced at the curtains covering the windows, then at the door, wondering how much longer it would take for Marshall and Gi Elysia to return. They were taking quite a while.
Not even ten minutes later, the hall leading to the kitchen filled with laughter and chatter, a a party of two people disrupting the calm.
"Wynnie!" Marshall pointed at him, squinting smugly. "I got the proof you wanted!"