The Celestial Ball was wonderful and full of joy and laughter. Alairia was one of the many that were among those that were full of life while celebrating the years end. She had snuck away from her family to allow them some time to themselves as well as to collect herself. Pale skin was flush on her cheeks from the laughter shared with her brother. Dae had loosened up much in recent time that Ria was well to take advantage of in order to cultivate an even closer relationship with him. The blonde half elf pushed some of her hair back into place since it had pulled loose from the large bun that sat at the nape of her neck. She moved through the crowd to find a quiet place to take a rest from the festivities.

The young woman found herself a small alcove beneath one of the beautiful pillars where a bench was hidden for those like herself. Alairia gather her white dress in hand to sit upon the bench and tuck her legs to the side. Oddly enough the position was comfortable and helped rest her legs further. The golden cuffs at her neck and forearms shone slightly in the light that made it from the main area of the entrance of the Hall. Hazel eyes took in the sights of gorgeous gowns and well-tailored suits. She smiled lightly while watching men and women clutch to each other as if this was their only opportunity to spend with one another.

She thought about how things had changed greatly in the most recent of times and how she had changed along with that. Old magicks from her previous home had altered her and her brother in many ways. It was still unnerving to think of what else could become of them with the effects of Lord Raktor still blossoming. Shaking her head to push away the thoughts, the woman moved her hand to conjure an apple. Only now did she realize that she had not eaten much that day as the preparation for the ball had taken most of her concentration. Taking a bite, she continued to ‘people’ watch. Their interactions were heartwarming. This notion only gave her more reason to not rejoin her family at the moment. Her mother and mate had been separated for a time and needed space to revel in one another’s company. She enjoyed watching their love grow, and Kieran was a good man that did well by her and Dae. He cared about them deeply and was sure to show it like any stepfather would.

Ria leaned back against the cool wall to eat her apple in silence to enjoy her rest, though knowing she would need to get back to the party soon.

Raith's Outfit 
Raith's collar/blindfold 

A ball; open to all. 

He had been on this world for barely a day when he had heard the news of the event and made his plans to attend. After all, surely his mother would be in attendance. 

Had the word been spoken it would have been spat from his tongue as though poison had been ingested. He resented the woman, he despised and loathed her very existence and, in fact, his own. He was strong and powerful in his own way; as 'luck' would have it he was magically proficient in a way his sisters could probably never hope to be - but they were not broken like he was, he would have given his magic up for the chance to say that. 

Unlike many of those in attendance he had no need for a mask given he wore a blindfold over his dead, soulless eyes. He did not hide them because they were ugly; despite his blindness they were in fact an enchanting colour of icy blue that seemed to glow beneath his dark lashes, shimmering silver in some lights as though molten metal ran through them. No he covered his eyes purely because he had no use for them; they saw nothing and this way it saved countless inane questions about whether or not he was truly blind - Raith saw in other ways, his eyes might have been useless but he could 'see' enough of the world around him to feign normality. 

Long black hair fell over his shoulders, beneath the ornate golden collar that circled around his head like a halo. The handsome man easily passed as an Elven Lord; part of his 'deformity' as he saw it was his inability to shift into either form inherited by his mother and father, unlike his sisters. The youngest of the triplets and the one whose birth had been most difficult he still believed that he and his mother should have died in childbirth; that had been their destiny until the Goddess of Death had interfered, his mother had not argued the case, instead letting the foul Goddess taint her son during his birth and cursing him not only to being blind but also to never be able to transform into the other side of himself like his siblings could. Where they could transform from Elf to Wolf to Dragon with ease he was trapped in this single form, trapped without his sight and denied his heritage… he should have died with his mother, that was how it was meant to be and they had been robbed of that! 

Never mind. He was here now. To put that right. 

The woman would not recognise her son now - he had been an angry child when she had vanished from their home; years had passed on Myna where mere days or weeks had passed on Revaliir, the Gods from their homeworld had seen fit to send them to the world in close quarter to one another both in time and destination. He would not destroy her just yet; let her build a life here while he regained the strength he had lost in the transition - there was plenty of time to let her settle into this world so that he might tear it all away from her… she would be begging him to end it all when he was finished with her and only when she was on her knees would he end their suffering… together as it should have been. 

A figure, alone. Raith tilted his head slightly as though to hear better and a small smile crossed his face where before there had been no emotion at all. Time to use all those lessons in etiquette his mother had taught him as a child - he could be sweet and charming when he wanted to be, not everyone offended his existence at least and he could feel her presence within the Hall… but he had no intention of attracting her attention for the moment. It was time to integrate himself into this world so that he might learn all he could about his mother's connections here, that way he could tear them apart when the time came. 

Striding confidently across the Hall; gold and red coat flowing behind him, the man came to stop beside one of the pillars that sat either side of the bench, fingertips barely grazing the surface of the stone as he smiled warmly to the woman - he could smell her scent as clear as day, sometimes being blind had its advantages… "Greetings to you my Lady; I hope you do not mind the intrusion but this seemed as good a place as any to stay out of the way." He spoke softly; his words silken and honey like as they left his tongue, bowing low to the woman as he said them. "Raith, at your service my Lady."

The music had changed to a more upbeat tempo that led to her toe bobbing up and down as her legs were crossed at the knee. Alairia was quite pleased at the opportunity that was afforded her to be out in public. Often she was the one left at the shop to handle the day to day activities while the others had to handle the home visits or collect the supplies. This meant that she did not get much opportunity to see the variety of the world. She could not remember the original land that she had come from that her mother spoke of on rare occasion. The young woman knew the pain that was brought to Teu whenever the topic would come up. Ria did her best to avoid it the best possible or direct the conversation to something else to help. Unfortunately, as Teu and the family’s shop became more well-known there were more interested in their past.

She began to hum along with the music chorus line once the apple was finished. With nothing to use for cleaning her hands, she carefully began to lick the tips of her fingers of the last of the juice from the fruit. It was not the most elegant of options, but she was quite pleased with the little hidden spot away from the crowd. Hazel eyes began to take in those that were in her vicinity. It had gotten warmer as more guests had found their way to the festivities. As it became more crowded the young healer wondered if it was a better idea to find her brother to be safe.

The decision was taken from her as a rather attractive young man made his way over to her hidden spot. Alairia straightened up her back and placed her hands gracefully on her lap as all ladies should. Finally the blindfold wrapped over his eyes ignited the knowledge in her mind that he was unable to see. This made it all the more impressive that he was making his way through the crowd with no assistance or stick that she had helped recently blind people use for their positioning. She took in his form and it was quite pleasing though curious. His movements were graceful. It was as if he knew where he was even without the use of his eyes. Hand rested lightly upon pillar near her bench that indicated he knew just exactly where he was. Alairia was extremely intrigued now.

A similarly warm smile was returned to the gentleman with a slight bow of her head. ”You are more than welcome, sir, to my hiding spot. I can assure you that you are the first to come to my little oasis; you will find good rest here,” she replied with a soft laugh. Her eyes watched him carefully as he moved with fascination. Intention was not to be rude, but one of study. Normally, it was she that helped those when they first lost their sight. It was rare for her to see acclamation after the initial onset of blindness. He seemed to be doing so well, and knew it would come off as rude if she asked his tricks to handling his condition. ”It is a pleasure to meet you sir. I am Alairia Balatro, or Ria if it so pleases you. You are welcome to share my bench if you need rest.” She was proud of herself for keeping herself composed in a social interaction that did not involve a healing or selling something in the shop. There was hope for her yet.

Oh how easy it was to charm the innocent. Raith had forgotten what it was truly like to act the gentleman as he was now; so used to his solitude he had become accustomed to having only his hatred as a companion he had not truly conversed with others, until of course he had approached the Pantheon in order to strike his deal with them. He loathed them almost as much as he loathed his mother; Deities were little more than insolent children fulfilling their own narcissistic desires, if they had not been instrumental in his arrival to Revaliir he would have found a way to hunt all of them down. It had taken some research to discover that that was the very reason for his mother's sudden disappearance - that the Gods of Myna had feared her wrath, their trepidation had got the better of them now that she was called Godslayer and they had banished her from their world lest her vengeful hand turn toward them. It was the one thing that Raith would ever claim he and his mother had in common - their hatred of the Gods of his mother's homeworld; he shared her distaste for their attitude and he agreed wholeheartedly with her that they should be brought to their knees… he might not be able to transform but he was still strong enough to give them something to fear, it was why they had not hesitated in taking his offer and sent him to Revaliir to pursue his mother with no hope of return to Myna. 

"Wonderful, though I hope that I am not intruding on your peace if that is the case." Raith offered sincerely, bowing to Alairia once more. "I am new to this world and when I heard that there was a ball to which all were invited I thought what better way to learn of my new home than here? After all if the invitation is open to everyone it would make sense to walk amongst them and learn from the citizens in that respect would it not?" He continued, flicking his coat out so that he could sit down beside her; turning his blindfolded gaze in Alairia's direction as he tilted his head to one side slightly and smiled at her again. "Your name is beautiful, if I might say so Lady Ria." He spoke softly, placing a title before her name to show his respect despite the familiarity of the nickname she had offered.  

He took a moment 'looking' around the hall before he leaned over to whisper to Alairia. "My affliction must of course be obvious to you; it is not hard to figure out in terms of how I dress, but do you know what advantage there is to having no sight?" He asked her gently, turning his attention fully to her once more. "Sight is the one sense that can truly deceive you. Oh yes you can mishear things, of course, but when you cannot see your hearing is improved so that is less likely and more often that not a person will mishear because of what they saw when hearing a thing - it is one's eyes that lead us down the incorrect path in that sense. Being blind I hear all that there is to hear in it's sincerity - even a lie can be found as a truth when you can hear the intonation correctly. A scent cannot be misled and a touch…" He gently reached out and took her hand in his own, smiling as he ran his fingertips over her own, feeling the slight stickiness that remained on her soft skin. "My Lady has eaten an apple mere moments before my arrival, sadly with no bowl of water to wash your fingers a little of it's sweet juice remains." He tilted his head slightly. "Eyes lie, would you like to see as I do? Not permanently of course, no no I would not deny anyone their sight, how would you like to 'see' the ball as I do now?" He asked.

Alairia pulled her ankles tighter against one another as they were crossed beneath her dress. She felt a hidden voice inside telling her to be cautious of the newcomer, all the while she was intrigued with him. The young woman let her hazel gaze drop to the floor for a moment in order to collect herself. Few had taken to conversation with her that was not wrapped around the healing arts. There were some who found themselves smitten with the young healer when they were in the shop. Small gifts would find their way to the work counters for her, but nothing actually serious. None of them would have a conversation that would make her think of anything but the work before her. Now, there was a gentleman that was striking up an arbitrary dialogue and her first thought was of his vision.

”No. No, not at all!” she sputtered out rather too quickly. Cheeks flared up a blush that she was thankful that he could not see. Ears perked up at his way of explaining his arrival to the ball. ”New to this world? That is an interesting way to describe yourself…unless you literally are from another place beside Revaliir. I don’t hear that often.” She shifted slightly to ensure that he had enough room to sit down comfortably. If he was from DaeLuin like she was, it would have been an odd coincidence and twist of fate that he had arrived as she once had when she was young. More instances of that were happening lately, and Alairia was hoping that more of her mother’s family would arrive. The potential for her own biological family to arrive was deeply held in her heart.

Her attention snapped back to the man beside her and another blush colored her cheeks. ”Thank you, my mother did a wonderful job in selecting it for me. My mother that raised me, she’s my adoptive mother. I never got to meet my biological mother…but Teu kept my given name.” Hands grasped the edge of the bench beneath her and clenched it tightly. The young woman was unsure why she was giving such personal information over to a stranger. She rarely talked about herself.

The hair stood up on the back of her neck as he took her hand; unsure if it was a defensive feeling or one of embarrassment of the closeness that was now happening. Alairia relaxed her hand in his as his fingers lightly played over her own. The healer held back an uncertain swallow of nerves. She did her best to not let her hand shake against his light touch. Alairia was unsure why it made her nervous and a little exhilarated at the same time. Despite all her experience in touching strangers there was no preparation for this. ”I did just finish an apple,” she half-laughed. Fascination now overtook caution as she managed to edge closer to him. The warmth that radiated off the man could be felt against her side. ”Yes, I would like to,” she replied simply. There was a touch of intrigue and innocence to her voice. Chance was that he was taking advantage of her, but Ria did not care at that moment. It could have been his graceful tone, or his handsome features. Or it could have been that she needed something to distract her from the loneliness that had started to take her over.

A shift in the air and the sound of her dress against the bench caused Raith to cock his head to one side; he wondered if he had upset her in some fashion but he was unsure, he would have to listen for her tone - that would be a better indication of how she felt about him in that moment.

He chuckled at her swift response and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. ”Despite my ability to walk around unaided my blindness is obvious Lady Ria; you don’t have to worry about offending me on that score, I tend to wear my blindfold to skip unnecessary awkwardness from others when they work out that I am not truly looking at them.” He smiled warmly. ”Yes. I was technically born on DaeLuin though my parents took me to my mother’s homeworld when I was very young; she vanished from our home quite some time ago but I never stopped looking for her. I found out from the Gods of our world that they had banished her here; they are unkind you see, and so I asked to be sent here also. And here I am.” He smiled.

Raith nodded. ”That is good of her; many would not have done so but it’s wonderful to think she would not take away that which your mother gave you.” So many left behind, so many abandoned by their mothers. He wondered silently if Alairia was meant to have died alongside her mother just as he was meant to.

He smiled softly as he heard her laugh and felt her move closer to him on the bench; the young man cocked his head to one side slightly. The sound of Alairia’s voice was soothing, like the whisper of a summer’s breeze through willow trees, conjuring the scent of honeysuckle blooming in the springtime. ”Here.” He smiled, unclipping the blindfold from around his eyes, handing it over to her - unseeing eyes staring straight through her as though he could see into her soul. He was the spitting image of his mother with his dark hair and emerald green eyes - though his affliction was more obvious now… the emptiness in his gaze and the shimmering silver film across them that took away some of the vibrant defiance that she was known for. ”It will help to block out the world.”[/] He added softly.

”Now let your other senses take over, let yourself take in every sound and scent. Can you smell the peppery slightly fruity scent to the left? Someone is drinking red wine. To the right can you hear the footsteps of the dancers? One close by has a limp on their left side, you can hear them step heavily on it with every first beat meaning it is their left foot and probably their leading leg. What else can you hear?”

Features softened at the realization of Raith’s cock of his head. She was beginning to observe the way he took in the world without the ability of sight. Alairia did not often have the opportunity to watch those with disability after the healing, but watching the gentleman beside her was intriguing. The young woman would never admit that there was already an interest in him starting to grow. Another flush of her cheeks heated as he smiled at her, though this time she was able to keep a calm. He was a charming man and she was fairly certain he knew it.

Alairia pressed her lips together hard at the mention of DaeLuin. How were this many coming together from the old homeland? She gripped the bench under her legs a little tighter. Hazel gaze glanced around the room to see if she could catch sight of her mother and brother. Neither were in view, so she looked back to Raith. Brows knit together in concern at his story. He had been through a bit even though he could be on a smile…even if it was just an act. ”Well, I am glad that you reached our shores safely. DaeLuin is my mother homeland. My family and myself were brought to Revaliir for our safety. We were some of the lucky few before the Void hit.” She took a small breath before smiling at him genuinely. ”Welcome to Revaliir, sir Raith. I wish you many safe and wonderful journeys in these lands.”

Interest was greatly peaked as he mentioned her having the ability to feel what it was to be without sight. Alairia and her skills were dependent on her ability to see all around her. Healing needed the use of all her senses. The lack of even one would be detrimental to her skills. She knew that his emerald eyes could not see her, and yet Alairia looked right back into them almost mesmerized. There was a silver film across the eyes that told of the disease that lay there quietly. It took a moment for her to bring herself back to his attention of the blindfold. Ria gently slipped the fabric from his grasp to put it over her eyes. The fabric smelled heavily of the owner’s scent that subconsciously made her smile.

With the blindfold in place, she turned her head slowly from side to side as if experimenting that it was on properly. The outside world was dark, and yet as a few moments went past it became louder. As he began to describe the smells Alairia began to pick them up. She remained silent while allowing her senses to tell her what was going on around the pair. The smile on her lips quivered as it grew on his face. There was an entire world that she felt to be missing out on with the use of her legs. Raith could experience the world in a different way.

”I can smell the new roast being brought out for the guests. We will need to grab some of that soon,” she mentioned with a light chuckle. Ria barely noticed that she said ‘we.’ ”The dancers are picking up the beat to the new song that is starting. It is lively, but their feet seem unsure.” Alairia went quiet again to listen to her surroundings. Having the larger pointed ears helped her hearing, which did help her keep up with her family as they were diowolves and heightened senses. ”Oh! Her hand reached out quickly to touch his hand with surprise. ”Someone was just slapped across the face! Angry tones, though I can’t pick up the words of the young woman. Oh…I’m not going to listen to that,” she finally said with a little guilty laugh. ”You experience the world like this all the time. Does it ever feel overwhelming with all your senses being more sensitive?”

He smiled soflty. “Well it appears you and I have that in common at least. I suppose my family were lucky in the fact that my mother took us to her birthworld long before the Void hit DaeLuin; though I am saddened to hear that the place of my birth no longer exists.” Was he really? His tone seemed genuine enough and the expression on his face seemed solemn enough to confirm that his words were genuine. She hesitated - reflecting on the loss of her home and the near death experience she had shared with her family perhaps? Who had saved her he wondered. Smiling he nodded his head to her. “My thanks Lady Ria; and may many of my days be filled with the delightful conversation of yourself.” He added cheerfully.

Turning his head slightly he listened as Alairia began to speak of what she could hear and smell around them. He had never really shared this with anyone before; had never really had anyone take an interest in how he viewed the world, not in such a genuine manner as Ria had at least - most others asked out of pity and it was always more obvious that they took no true interest in how he got through life, not really.
He chuckled as she caught the scent of the roast. “I have to admit it does smell rather exquisite and I had not realised I was hungry until now.”

As she reached out and took his hand Raith genuinely smiled; what was it about this girl… he had never felt this comfortable around a woman before, in fact he had never been comfortable around anyone before not even his own family! And yet… when Alairia’s first reaction was to grasp his hand in her excitement at all the new things she could pick up on it made him… happy.
He turned his attention to what she had picked up on and let out a sincere laugh. “It would appear someone may have been caught with a roving eye.” He snorted, turning his attention to her once more rather than listening any further to the ranting of the angry woman.

Again her question was pure and meant honestly; it was a question that had never been asked of him before so he really had not considered it much. “More so when I was younger and found it difficult to tune out the unnecessary background noise. My lineage already makes me fairly sensitive as it is but the lack of sight heightened that ten fold. When I was a child I was prone to headaches and angry outbursts because I was so frustrated that no one could understand that I heard everything. Others think there is such a thing as silence, but I have never experienced true silence, even when no one is speaking there is always some sound or other - the wind, birds or other beings and there is never a moment where I cannot smell something.
Over my years I’ve learnt how to filter things out, how to interpret them and in turn use them so that I can move about freely and without the need for someone to lead me. I was determined to be no one’s burden, on occasion I have been questioned as to whether or not I was truly blind because I could fool people quite well but as you can see it is merely about learning to ‘see’ in another way.”