Tidal Florette - A Painted Soul I

Favian - 36

It's been an hour since Raelyn rushed into the palace's library in a panic. His private guard had reported to him that somehow Sapha and Yumi vacated the palace from one of the towers. Considering there is no sign of a pair of over-ambitious bodies lying on the roof, it wouldn't appear they escaped from attempting to climb out. Not to mention the only opening would be through the tower's sunroof, which shows no sign of damage to the bars. Raelyn questioned his guards to no end to ensure they hadn't fallen asleep. The younger of the two, Elio, swears he stood at the entry to the tower's stairs waiting for Yumi to return when he heard the door to Sapha's room slam and assumed Yumi would soon descend the stairs disappointed with rejection.

It would seem these two have taken to encouraging Yumi's questionable romantic pursuits. Favian hadn't bothered to address Yumi's apparent interest in their colleague, assuming it could be left alone as a private matter. As both of them are adults, he was sure they could work things out on their own and when Sapha inevitably turned the poor thing down he would have some poetry musing over heartbreak to help her get over it. Now that they appear to have run off together... Maybe I failed to read Sapha's stance on the matter... Seemed too reserved for a bundle of emotion like Yumi...

Favian realizes it was rather foolish to assume he could accurately gauge a romantic situation. Never experiencing a relationship for himself and finding little interest in the thought of intimacy, all he really knows comes out of literature and the memories of his fathers. Neither of his parents were physically affectionate, they bonded over shared emotion; which has become Favian's wish for any sort of dedicated relationship he may find in the future. Maybe all the signs were there that they'd run off together... That's all that makes sense at this point... How they got past the guard I'll never know, but if they were just going to explore then why would they vanish like this?

The guards did explain that Yumi expressed discomfort over the empress requiring her to be accompanied with a private escort. Raelyn chose to overlook exploring their method of escape and move forward with finding where the two could have gone into the city. Now, Favian and Raelyn stand on the palace steps scanning the streets with uncertainty for where to search first. "You're certain they won't be able to escape the city?"

Raelyn nods as his eyes are narrowed trying to look through the crowds. "Every exit through the dune barrier has enough guards that have already been informed. Without knowing how they escaped the tower we can't be certain... But at least there are eyes looking out for them now. Can you think of any reason they might be looking to flee the city?"

Favian shakes his head. "We know Sapha hasn't seemed entirely loyal to the Dawnthrone... But why would she bother taking Yumi along if she was just leaving to go her own way?"

Raelyn chuckles. "Have you looked at Yumi? Could you really blame the mercenary for running off with some precious loot?"

Favian smirks. "I wouldn't really know..."

Raelyn raises an eyebrow. "Really? Have a particular type?"

Favian shrugs. "Not women... Shouldn't we get started?"

Raelyn smiles, covers his eyes, waves his hand around before pointing down a random street. "Unless you have a better idea for narrowing this down, we could start that way."

"Where would two young women head first?"

Raelyn grumbles. "I knew a couple girls back when I was a kid that sometimes talked about the fashion of the capital... Like it'd be nice to get a break from the temple garb they made us wear."

It's hard to imagine Raelyn came from enrollment for the temple handmaidens... Anyone is aware of it, his story is legendary at this point, but it's still strange. "I'm not sure those two would be the sort of girls to go looking for that."