Meeting of the Ancients (me, Duchess, Pm to join)

Daedalus sighed, as yet another potential lead turned into a dead end. He looked around the city of Frankfurt as the sun set, the markings of dusk apparent on all the buildings. He contemplated flying over to the Dragon's Den to have a drink, but it would take him too long to leave the city and assume his true form. Instead he found on of the many local pubs and sat down in the corner of the outdoor garden. He flagged down the waitress and ordered the local specialty, a hard apple cider. Like all German liquor, it follows the purity laws and is still some of the best you can get. Daedalus watched the people go by as he waited for his drink, his eyes showing the distance in both age and worlds to the common folks.

Within the pub's walls, another monster had perched herself at the bar, blonde hair spiked at the back and grey eyes wandering curiously. Her skin had tanned over the passed weeks in town, as being outside and in the sun was preferable to hiding away in caves that were being elusive. She'd largely remained human, cycling control between the three consciences, and was currently dominated by the serpentine.

It was evident mainly in the attire, a short summer gown with a vaguely plunging neckline. The goat was largely conservative, and the lioness largely casual. The serpent, however, reveled in her exposed skin and tans, heat and comfort that fueled her energy. Besides... The attention she garnered was rather amusing as well, and she'd probably been called upon multiple times with less than savory offers, but that was, quite honestly, the fun of it.

A flicker of the tongue sent the soul perception in motion, and her gaze shifted towards the patio, eyes slitting for a moment before she tapped on the bar, paid the tab, and stepped outside with a glass of scotch. Her steps were deliberate, wedges striking the ground but somehow not beyond normal sound, but she took to the seat beside him. Spinning the chair, she faced him dead on, leaning forward with on hand on her scotch at the table and the other on the arm of his chair.

"Bird?" She said, the question clear as day but the her eyes all-knowing.

Daedalus saw the stranger approach, though who didn't, for she had gathered glances from almost everyone in and around the pub. He did not think anything of it until she walked past the exist and came to his area. When she so openly called him a bird, his own suspicions were confirmed. He let his own eyes slip into what his kind referred to as the other sight, and saw the shifting complexity of his visitor's. Her soul stayed predominately green and scaly, but would change completely to a golden or dirty white before reverting. He let his vision return normal as he met her gaze and answered her question with his own. "Child of Echnida?"

The smirk that spread across her face was the clearest indication of deception that she could possibly have offered. "Ah, so I am right." She leaned back at that, crossing her legs and swirling the scotch in her glass as she watched him. "Not a fire bird, though, I sense... how... unusual." A quick sip of the drink and she set it back down, foot idly kicking at the air. "And do you know what it is that I am?"

His eyebrows's arched in surprise, being used to having to explain his 'situation', and not simply having it so calmly deduced. "So you can sense even that." He relaxed control around the hand that rested on the table, causing ice to spiderweb out from his palm. "No, I am very far from fire. Though you, on the other hand, are not. You are the snake and the lion and the goat, yes? Though I believe it is the snake with whom I speak."

"Yesssss," she said, allowing a hint of a hiss to fill her voice, flicking her tongue out as she sensed his soul behind the guise. "An original chimera, in fact. Now, you..." Her hand moved from the table, lifting the scotch to her lips as she eyed the magic with distaste. "What are you, I wonder, I wonder..."

"And you will continue to, for I cannot answer." He took a small swig of his cider, the drink no longer hot as his grip cooled the liquid. "I can tell you I was born a Φοίνιξ, and that my flames cooled, but as to why or how, I know not." He had slipped into the original Greek for his kind, a small habit, though one he knew she would understand.

Her lip twitched up just slightly at the familiar tongue, and she smiled, leaning back and relaxing. "So, you are, in fact, Greek. It is good to find another from my homeland." She looked about, unsure, if only for that moment, of whether or not staying in the current location was in their best interest. "Have you met others?"

Daedalus followed the chimera's eyes as she looked at the surroundings of the beergarten. Despite their exotic looks and her unusual entrance, the surrounding peoples attention was on their own business. This thankfully wasn't America, though a simple language change would have sufficed there. "Not like me. I have heard of a bird of lightning, but that has been nothing but rumors."

"Lightning?" She asked, looking at him curiously, seeming not to believe him even in the face of improbable reality. "Where on Gaia did you hear that from?"

He leaned in closer, his voice quieting with a serious tone. "A tavern here, an old hermit on a mountain there, a superstition of a small tribe. It is not the thunderbird of the America's, but a like a phoenix, made of electricity, old, and hard to kill. but" he sat upright again, the tension of his speech fading away, "it was nothing. A mere rumor. The only credibility is the distance between the stories, and only small variation to detail."

"Aren't we only stories?" She straightened as much she could, swirling the remainder of her scotch before downing it. "Is that what brought you here?" Her eyes flicked towards the main area again, waiting just a moment longer to turn back to him. "Chasing myths?"

Daedalus nodded in agreement, signaling down the waiter as she finished her drink and his own was almost dry. After ordering another round, he returned to teh conversation, and her question. "In a way, for everyone knows of the famed chimera, and phoenix's are a symbol of life and rebirth. But yes, I am. Or more importantly a particular Lore Master."

"Lore Master?" Her inquiry alone seemed more telling than one would have expected her to have let on, but it was immensely likely that such was exactly the point. The masked vessel's eyes slit for a moment, and she looked to the sky curiously, watching and waiting. "And do you know who that might be, or where?"

With a wave of his hand, he pointed down one of the side streets leading away from the plaza. "He run's a curiosity shop in the area. Well versed in lore and myths of all societies. And while he will not know more of history and culture than you or I, he may know of some tidbit or other that would explain why my fire cooled and died."

"More than died," she said, recalling the light display he'd shown earlier. "You're more of a curiousty than most people would ever expect." Her eyes went back to his, watching and waiting. "A curiousty shop, though...? That's not.. very inconspicuous."

"And yet, at the same time, it is. Everyone knows they are there, yet they are overlook." The waiter came back with the second round, and he took his hard cider, downing a third before continuing. "Hide in plain sight yes? Like what we do."

"Only he doesn't have to actually hide himself." Xenia said, standing up and smoothing out her outfit. "In plain site... and yet completely hidden..." A shrug followed, eyes distant as she looked about her, stretching her soul erception out to try to see what all she could detect in the area.

Daedalus followed suite, standing and fixing his own clothes, albeit more slowly and purposefully. He gave a nod to the waiter, who proceeded to get his tab. "Who do you look for?"

Her eyes searched him curiously, an almost mighty gaze to them. "Sometimes, it's more about running away." She glanced about, tongue flicking out suddenly and retracting. "And sometimes, it's about finding family before someone else does."

"I understand. I have not been home in almost eight hundred years." After paying the waiter with the returned tab, he then gestured toward the small winding street where the curiosity shop was located. "You are invited to join me."

There was a pause, but she nodded, and the waiter sped off without a word to bring the check back, only to be handed a far-too-large bill and told to keep it. Saying nothing, Xenia stepped beside him, back slung cross-body, hand holding it carefully. "I've been back to the homeland several times. Home is something entirely different."

"That is true, but I have grown too cold to be near others. I have learned to suppress it as a human, but only just." He nodded to the now empty table, the ice still visible. "You know what happens when I loose focus." With one last look around he started to move off slowly toward the curiosity shop.

She nodded, making a mental note to try to remain primarily as the goat in his presence, though switching now could very easily prove difficult. "It's interesting, really --- I wouldn't expect a phoenix to lack control of the flame. It appears that it's not merely cooling you."

ooc:
I'm just gunna leave this here...

Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights wrote:

“How cruel, your veins are full of ice-water and mine are boiling.”