Regal Bryant did not miss hints, even when those hints seemed, on the part of the source, to be quite unintentional. After his little chat with Raine, he accepted a mission, and the next morning found him leaving on the pretense of business to comb Altamira for a homeless, little kitty. Oh, he had a feeling he knew what her initial reaction would be. If he knew her as well as he liked to think, she would refuse to acknowledge any attachment to the animal, even berate him for taking this initiative. But she had been the one who suggested he get one, hadn't she?

He returned later that afternoon with a small box in his hands. It had holes poked all over it, and naturally, it confused his guest. She eyed it, then him. "…Do I want to know?"

He chuckled, setting the box down on he coffee table. From within, there was a tiny, high-pitched, "Mrew?" At once, Raine's expression shifted, and she stared as Regal lifted out a small, grey tabby kitten. It fit easily in the palm of his hand, sitting there, blinking wide-eyed around the room. Again, it mewed at the woman. "I took your advice," he informed her, not entirely without mirth. "Little one, meet your new mommy."

As he deposited the cat in Raine's lap, she lifted an eyebrow. "Her new what?"

Vaguely amused, he lifted his hand in apology. "Just a figure of speech. I meant nothing by it."

She pursed her lips and picked up the curious kitten, who had been falling all over herself trying to walk across the half-elf's lap. Standing, she handed the blinking creature back to him. "You got yourself a cat. Congratulations. Now, you get to take care of it. This is your adventure. If you expect me to take responsibility for this animal, you are sadly mistaken, Bryant. I'm washing my hands of this. If you want a pet, more power to you, but do me a favor and leave me out of it."

With that, he watched her pick up her book and disappear up the stairs, his head tilted slightly. Awfully defensive… Had he touched a nerve without meaning to? Regal looked down at the kitten in his hands, their expressions quite similar. But he would give Raine some time; he had a feeling she would warm up to the new house guest. Call it a hunch.

And, as predicted, this had been a good idea, indeed. He had a few of them, it seemed, and watching Raine's interactions with the tiny fluffball over the next several days, he grew increasingly certain that this was one of them. She had said that she wanted nothing to do with the kitten, and yet whose book was being obscured by tufts of soft, striped fur whenever he walked into the room? Whose foot was playing the sparring partner to a fiesty feline when she thought he wasn't looking? Oh, no. She didn't want anything at all to do with it. Regal couldn't help but smile to himself now and then as he watched. He wasn't quite sure why it made him so happy to see her happiness, but then, she was his friend, and he was doing all he could to help her. Besides, in the time she'd been there, he had grown fond of her, and quite attached to her presence. In a purely platonic sense, of course. ...Of course...

"...You are doing it again, Bryant."

Regal blinked, startled from his reverie. At once, his head tilted ever so slightly to the side, and his expression relaxed into that same playful humoring with which he always regarded her. "Doing what?" he chuckled softly, tapping the edge of a thin stack of papers against the coffee table to align them. She was curled up in the corner of the sofa - as long as he wasn't on it, apparently, she was happy to use it - while he had taken a seat on the other side of the table to sort through a bit of company business. Between Raine and her book, a little, furry head popped into view to blink wide eyes that had yet to turn from blue at him. The kitten mewed as though to echo the sentiments of the half-elf whom she had adopted as her own.

"Staring at me. You do it a lot, and it's rather disturbing. You look like a love-stricken, day-dreaming schoolboy. What-" She was cut off as her purring, little friend butted her head up against her mouth. Pulling a bit of a face, she used one hand to scoop her up and deposit her on the floor. "Ahem. What, pray tell, is so fascinating about my face?"

Regal set his papers aside neatly and smiled slightly at the cat now waddling toward him, disgruntled. He reached down to pick her up and place her in his lap gently, before lifting his gaze to meet Raine's again. "I would imagine that a woman as beautiful as you are would be quite accustomed to that by now," he mused, mostly in jest. And, predictably, the half-elf rolled her eyes. "My apologies." This he added more seriously with a slight dip of his head. "I was simply lost in thought. I did not realize that I was staring at you."

Raine eyed him for a moment. "...You are a very strange man, Bryant." She shook her head and returned to her book. "But then, I suppose a man like you would be accustomed to hearing that by now." There was a soft rustle as she turned the page. The duke, however, had found himself dangling the ribbon that had once bound a stack of papers together, in order to amuse the kitten - and keep her from chewing on the ends of his hair, as the little creature was inclined to do.

At her remark, he chuckled again. "That I am, in no small part because of you, these days." When he glanced up to find her quizzical gaze locked on him once more, he released the ribbon and allowed his little companion to start gnawing on it triumphantly. "Aside from the many times you have told me so, many people here have felt obligated to tell me just what they think of my having you here. A criminal, in my own home, treated as an honored guest? And while some are too afraid to mention it, the boldest gossips have let it be known to the world just how improper it is for a bachelor such as myself to live alone with a young woman." His tone communicated quite clearly that he paid these accusations and rumors no mind. They were both more mature than that. Regal Bryant did not make advances by any stretch of the term, and Raine Sage - even as "Flare" - would not allow advances. Martel be with anyone who tried. And as for the idea of his trusting a criminal... While it was true that she had committed theft, she had harmed no one; none of those onlookers knew her as he knew her; and her well-being, mentally, emotionally, and physically, came before a disgruntled nobleman with an enormous chip on his shoulder in Regal's list of priorities.

"Well," she replied dryly as she went back to her pages, "they're right, strictly speaking. What did you expect? You're an immensely influential man, under near-constant scrutiny. Everything you do will be analyzed, not only locally, but across the political world. I do not envy you your position." At last, Raine marked her place and set the book aside. She rubbed her eyes, stretching. "But you had to know that, starting out."

He offered a slight, weary nod. He had known. Caring one way or another, however, was a different story. "If I put any stock in what other people thought of me on such a political level, I would be as shallow and miserable as the rest of the court. There is enough to worry about - and too much to enjoy - in life."

"You don't share the attitude of the court. You have a brain. That's refreshing. I had heard that you were different, and I do agree with the general consensus that you are completely insane, but.." She studied him for a few seconds. "That might not be all bad in this society."

The president quirked another little smile. "Thank you," he told her, sincerely. From Raine, he considered that a high compliment. She had no memory of him, or her brother, or anything after her childhood, but... She was still Raine. He could not have been more thankful for that. She had not lost herself, and that would make restoring what she had lost that much easier. That, and he was quite certain that he would have missed her personality. Abrasive as she was, she was...charming, in her own way. And her bluntness, her tendancy to seem cold and detached when in truth she was quite the opposite... It was all what made her who she was. To look at that face and not be able to associate it with books, sharp wit, strong will, and all things historical, would have been a trial for his heart, indeed.

Silence fell on the two of them for a few minutes. The kitten in Regal's lap had managed to tangle herself up in the ribbon before wearing out and flopping over entirely. He shook his head at it and scratched the soft head with two fingers. She had been right; while he had adopted a cat mostly because of her own expressed interest in one, he couldn't deny that he, too, was glad for it. Just a kitten, and already it seemed a promising companion. His eyes wandered back up toward Raine, who stared, as she did so often, through the window with that distant expression, and he wondered. If - when - she returned to normal, and she inevitably left Altamira...what of the kitten? Hmh...

Regal shook himself out of the odd thoughts. He wasn't even quite sure where they had been going, though the thought of her departure left a restless feeling in the pit of his stomach. He justified that with the idea that he was simply going to miss having someone around again, to speak with, and cook for. That was it. All the more reason, he supposed with an inward chuckle, that he should have this cat. This cat...who eally needed a name.

He looked back down at the snoozing hairball. Perhaps he hadn't named it himself, because he was waiting for her to do it. Why? He wasn't sure. She had, after all, made it quite plain that the kitten was his responsibility, even if she had been feeding- and spending time with it, too. It was his pet, so, logically, he should name it. But he was still reluctant.

"She still needs a name." At long last, he broke the silence with this suggestion, for all that he had told himself he wouldn't.

"So name her," came Raine's disinterested reply. "She's your pain in the neck, not mine."

His eyes half-closed in a mischievous expression, and on impulse, he quipped, "Sometimes, I wonder if that's not something you two have in common." It was more playful than he usually ventured to be, but somehow, it just seemed to fit the moment. And while he at once inwardly flinched, expecting to get one of Professor Sage's famous glares, she surprised him once more with a soft, "Heh." One eyebrow lifted. Well, at least he hadn't offended her. Ironic. Out of the entire reunification group, he was certain that the two of them would be voted most serious, and yet, here they were, ready and able to tease one another. Mildly, yes, but still. Oh, if the others saw them now...

The duke watched her for a moment longer. The tiny, wry smirk that had formed slowly faded, replaced by that same thoughtful, detached expression. He had no doubt that her pre-Altamira days occupied that incredible mind, and from the looks of it, they were dismal musings. He did wish he could help... Regal blinked. Perhaps he could, indeed. "Flare," he prodded. He was getting better at censoring himself, even if he did think- and speak of her privately as Raine. It was his way of refusing to accept that she would never recover - but there was no need to provoke her, and calling her by name did just that.

She flicked her violet gaze back at him, saying nothing, but indicating that she was listening. He took it as an invitation to continue.

"After dinner, would you like to take a walk?"

This piqued her interest, certainly. Her brow rose. "Letting me off my leash?" she asked dryly. "Or is this your tasteless version of a pickup line?"

He gave her the slightest chuckle. "Neither," he replied in good humor. A little more seriously, even gently, he added, "I simply thought you might like the chance to get out again. You haven't left here since our little trip to the Lezareno main building, and I imagine it must get quite dull with only these four walls and myself for company." Diplomatic to the very last.

To his delight – though that in itself startled him more than her reply – she accepted, and after a carefully crafted meal, they were off. The kitten was shut away with food and water in a room, so she didn't hurt herself or get into anything while they were gone. The evening was warm and clear, hazy pink scattered everywhere as the sun sank below the horizon. It was a perfect night for a stroll; he was glad.

For a while, they walked in silence at a slow, leisurely pace. His hands were linked behind his back, and she kept her distance from him, as usual. They ended up heading down along the winding beaches, deserted save for the most stubborn tourists, and as the comfortable breeze tousled their hair and clothes, he glanced back to find her staring off toward the horizon. Every time she took on that sad, distant air, he found himself frowning slightly; wishing she would talk to him about it. He wanted to help.

"…Flare?" Regal finally prodded, after respecting the silence for a few more minutes. "Are you alright?" He didn't have to speak very loud for her to hear him, and his tone itself was soft, as well. They had their share of conversation now that she had settled in a bit and gotten used to him, but this dreaminess she often slipped into unnerved him.

"Yes." Of course, a monosyllabic reply. A shutdown of his concern. He sighed inwardly. But as he racked his brain to think of another way to approach her, they came upon something washed onto a stretch of the beach hardly anyone used. It was most of a good sized, wooden basin. Lifting an eyebrow, he tilted his head. …That was odd.

It hadn't escaped Raine's notice, either – perhaps because he had inadvertently stopped walking when he saw it. She blinked, drifting slowly after him while he approached. Regal crouched, examining it. "…It looks like a—"

"Washtub," she murmured, almost too quietly to hear.

When he looked over his shoulder, he found her hanging back, staring at the basin. Slowly, he rose to his feet again and turned his scrutiny from the object on the beach, to the odd expression she wore.

"Thoda…"

"What about it?" he pressed, gently. His pulse quickened a little in anticipation. She had visited the Thoda Geyser on the Journey of Regeneration. Maybe, just maybe, this lucky piece of glorified driftwood had sparked something in her memory.

"The Geyser… There…there is something about the Geyser… The only way to get there, though, was…" She seemed unable to bring herself to continue. Her expression concerned him; she looked…afraid. But he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.

"The only way to get there was in something like this," he finished for her, indicating the basin behind him. "You experienced that firsthand, if I understand correctly. On the Journey of Regeneration, you went to the Geyser, to the Temple of Water. Do you remember?" He took a step toward her, cautiously. "To release the Seal, and then later to form a pact with Undine…"

Her eyes never left that basin, even as he came closer. "A unicorn…"

"Yes. You sought Undine's help to reach a unicorn at Lake Umancy. Why? Tell me why you needed to contact the unicorn." He was trying to keep his voice level and calm, but it was proving difficult. He wanted her to come back. She was making progress… "Come on. Think." Please… He took her gently by the shoulders. "Think, Raine."

Unfortunately, his actions were counterproductive, it seemed. As soon as he'd touched her, and said her name, she shook herself out of the spell, and then out of his grip. "Don't call me that," she ordered, her voice gravelly. She had been afraid, and she still was.

"I'm sorry…"

"I want to go back." It was not a request, that much was certain as she turned her back to him and started off, her arms wrapped almost defensively around her middle.

Regal watched her for a moment, cursing himself mentally. He had been so sure… She had remembered something. But she had resisted it. It had unnerved her. And why shouldn't it? This was all entirely new to her. Everything she had once believed was being uprooted right before her eyes.

I'm sorry, Raine. But I won't let you go that easily. You need to know… You need to come back.