"Room to your satisfaction?"

A startled yelp filled the echo-prone hallway. Purple and green fabric whipped around, enveloping the Monster Mage greeted a bit too sudden for her liking. Her aura swept over her surprised greeter, almost knocking off a wide-brimmed, cone-like hat by both flinching arms and aura.

"Do forgive, Monster Mage," rolled out underneath the wide-brimmed hat as it bent down in a bow. "It was not my intention to scare you like this!"

"Like this?" dripped from Cter's startled tongue, but luckily the echo from the human's apology was loud enough for her comment to go unheard. She breathed in sharply through her nose and patted flat the wrinkles that came about her surprise. Her neck craned back as the bowed-down cone of the wide-brimmed hat tilted like a spear held towards her chin from its bow. "It's fine," she said to the shadowed face underneath the brim. "Just caught me with my head somewhere else." After swallowing the last of her startle she extended her…

Her…

Her human hand, she decided but not with a lot of conviction to her choice. Really, it was a coin toss which hand she should have chosen. Her monster hand would have been representative of why she was at Noitaidarr Castle and her mission there. To show that she had complete confidence in the monsters and their cause. That the monsters were in the right, and that she had no doubt about it.

On the other hand though, literally, the right hand was the greeting hand, and that it was Cter's human hand was only coincidence, really. To boot, shaking with her human hand was good to ease tensions and to be on the same page as the human she greeted, perhaps even on the right sentence, as Sir Gerson put it. To show that despite Cter having dedicated her soul and heart to the monsters she still respected humanity and was willing to cooperate to solve the issue raised for the trial. Furthermore–

"Yes?"

Cter blinked back from her thoughts to her right, human hand being shaken with slight confusion, as if slowing down from an initially enthusiastic handshake. She could not see the face of the human underneath the hat, but knew the expression she must have kept. Cter knew fully well that it was a she. The voice and just general demeanor was enough to clue the Monster Mage in on the fact. Same with the human's aura, which had a very tender and heartfelt sensation to it. A very pleasant aura, all in all.

"Your robe," the human said with a tone that indicated that she was repeating herself. An accompanying nod had the top of the human's cone bending forward slightly. "It is a Xoff-made robe, isn't it?"

"Yes," replied Cter with a wider smile and a pulse through her right arm that sped up the handshake to a more normal pace again. The pulse didn't last long, as she used her Xoff-made robe as an excuse to disengage from the handshake and tuck straighter her robe as green and emerald-like as…

"Oh..."

As the human's hat and clothes.

"You have the same!" Cter exclaimed without holding back her pleasant surprise. "How honored I am to be wearing something so native to the Xoffian culture." Yes, that was good. Not too much praise for something the human was most likely obliged to wear, but just enough to show Cter's appreciation of Xoff. The fact that she was not wearing the cone-shaped hat with the wide brim which had followed with Cter's robe perhaps was not for the better though. With the human's relatively strong aura it was clear that Cter was speaking to the Royal Mage at Noitaidarr Castle, meaning that the hat was apart of the mage attire in Xoff.

"It fits you very well, Monster Mage," the human concurred with an open motion over Cter with her sleeved hand. A rather small and timid motion, strangely enough. The tone of the human's voice heralded a more sweeping motion that would have had the robe's fabric retreat up the magical sleeve, but such wasn't the case.

It could just as well be that Cter was a bit on edge and saw suspicious because she was looking for it, but still, something about the motion had her believe that the human was hiding something up her sleeve. "I remember the smile of the tailor when he was given the commission. He was honored to make mine to show the world his expert craftsmanship, and that his work reached across to the monsters enough to order one for a Monster Mage as well had his heart overwhelmed with joy."

The human tugged at her green robe's edges. "Tis slightly difficult to have it be properly washed though, don't you agree?"

Cter wasn't the one washing it, but Fang Shuey's woes she had heard. "So I've been told, yes." She did not feel it anymore since she had walked the shrunk fabric loose again to fit her comfortably once more. "It's a wonderful material though."

With a preemptive crane back of her neck, the human nodded. "That it is, Monster Mage. It is woven from silk worms cultivated in the garden here at Noitaidarr Castle with magical means so that the silk worms are not harmed. Traditional methods of harvesting lead to a high risk of death of the silk worms, so magical means are employed to make sure enough silk is harvested. We do not keep the silk worms alive when there is not a commission for the castle tailor though, as they require a lot of attention to produce the finest quality unrivaled anywhere else."

"...That so?" flubbed from the Monster Mage with eyes widened and head nodding sporadically. She knew that her robe was expensive, but not expensive enough to warrant breeding silk worms for the sole purpose of making it! How much did Jarasevo Castle pay for it? Yes, she was a Monster Mage, but still… "Then ain't I doubly honored to be wearing it then."

A more secure nod bounced the top of the hat cone. "Quite." The human took a step to the side so that her gesture down the white hallway wasn't awkward to do with her naked hand. "Speaking of the garden, would you like to join me for a walk? It is ever so pleasant this time of year."

Cter glanced down the hallway the opposite way, thinking. "Perhaps I can join you later once I find some free time?" she suggested instead. The human was motioning away from where the other Monster Mages as well as Sir Gerson and Priestess Frioke were. They were supposed to meet up as soon as possible, but not too soon as to be rude to the host. They were guests, but they were guests up on their toes. It wasn't a vacation why the Royal Councilors representing the monsters were at Noitaidarr Castle, after all. They had been welcomed with opened arms, but the risk still were that they might be leaving with those open arms closing in around them.

Wandering off with the human, who had to be the Royal Mage of the castle due to her outfit and aura, without saying anything to the others was just a stupid idea.

"You're wise in being suspicious," was said from underneath the wide brim glistening its emerald shine on the surrounding white walls and ceiling. On the patterned floor the green mixed with the cyan mosaic around the step the Royal Mage took towards Cter. "If anything I suspected your suspicion, for otherwise you wouldn't have been a Monster Mage had you not been keen enough, I suspect about your suspicion, no?"

Cter's raised eyebrow turned before the rest of her could. Her braid her raised eyebrow pushed aside, causing it to slip off Cter's Xoff-green shoulder like a length of limp rope.

"I do beg your pardon," added the Royal Mage with a small bow of her wide brim, "while I am familiar with the common tongue I am not fully familiar enough for to be knowing of more than just a few common synonyms. I was raised far away from the capital, you see."

The raised eyebrow sank down. "You're doing just fine," Cter assured with a shrug. However, she could tell that the Royal Mage was being modest with not being familiar with the common tongue. "I can understand you. Would have reacted the same had it been a native speaker." She wasn't gonna try her hand or tongue at saying something in the native Xoff language spoken more in the far-away counties.

It sounded horrible when she tried it in her own bed at Jarasevo Castle, so it would have been atrocious spoken with a long echo inside of Noitaidarr Castle. "But yes," to go back at the matter at hand, "I do beg your pardon in return, Royal Mage. You're..." No, not her. "I am not sure how much mingling is wise when...well..." Cter didn't have to say more, she felt.

What she felt was different to what the Royal Mage felt though. Her aura was different, like a white wine compared to Cter's red. Like Fang Shuey's position compared to her personality. "It is suspicion that is responsible for you being here to begin with, isn't it not, Monster Mage?" There was slight movement of the Royal Mage's sleeved arm, but again not enough for Cter to see what and why she was hiding it. "It is a suspicion that I share too. It is a suspicion that I have a morbid curiosity in looking forwards to."

That so?

"If you ask the other Royal Councilors about it, this chance will not happen again. We will not be able to speak mage to mage like we can now. My side does not know, nor does yours about us talking. This meeting shouldn't happen since it upsets the unbiased nature of the upcoming trial and makes it unfair. However, a fair confrontation is not one you've prepared enough for."

This Royal Mage…

Where was she going with all of it?

"Unfair how?" Cter let her curiosity ask. "Unfair how and to whom?" Her magical sleeve she made sure was on top and in view as she crossed both her arms along with her question. Cter let the magic from underneath her sleeve glow into the inert lines to give a sense of it being active for her. She did it to entice the mage to mage talk that the Royal Mage was inferring.

And entice it did.

"Spiraling," was exhaled from underneath the wide brim like the most quiet of gusts. "A spiraling sleeve fueling magic of the Monster Mage's own making." The Royal Mage wanted to reach out, but yet again she halted herself just before her own magical sleeve could come into view. With Cter flexing her magic and aura she came to notice that she could not feel any deep details about the Royal Mage's aura similar to how she could with the Royal Mage at Fenkeep Castle.

"They are quite a spectacle to observe, Cter." The Royal Mage was suppressing her aura from both her sleeve and from her soul. It was hollow, like its core had been scooped out and hidden somewhere else. "Please accept my congratulations of your endeavors, even if it has been a while for you."

Cter mirrored the bow with her head, but she did not mirror the smile she could feel the Royal Mage putting on within the shadow of her hat.

Yet nothing deeper she could feel from the Royal Mage. As if the Royal Mage didn't...allow Cter to?

She could have been smiling out of joy that she saw a beautiful butterfly earlier just as well. It could have been a smile that she dragged because she remembered a funny joke all of a sudden. Cter could only see and feel the emotion, but not the underlying reason for that emotion. The Royal Mage was hiding why her soul projected her emotions.

And very well to boot.

"You seem a bit...bothered, Monster Mage?"

The enunciation skimmed just between knowing and not knowing, which must have been deliberate. Even so, the Royal Mage did not stop Cter from trying. She only continued to indulge in how the spiraling line on Cter's arm glowed with such an intricate pattern. Not even observing to learn anything or to find an angle of some sort.

Just...observing.

Or was it because Cter could not feel and sense at the real reason the Royal Mage was observing Cter?

"Yes, bit bothered," she could feel her tongue slick with poison yet did not stop it. "Bit bothered about not being able to read someone's true intentions." Her crossed arms tightened, and her brow hardened. "Not in the sense that I can't read to my soul's content whenever I want, but that for one that introduces herself so friendly you use so much of your magic to hide said true intentions."

"Correct." The Royal Mage didn't disagree, but neither did she agree. She just acknowledged that it was true with nothing of her own added to it. "The aura is a fascinating consequence of magic, isn't it?" The perfect balance between a rhetorical and actual question had Cter grinding one tooth against another. "Throughout history, the largest steps we have taken have been in terms of communication. We began by speaking to another, sharing ideas and point of views so that we could communicate into small gatherings and villages with our fellow humans. We began with sharing words."

Words well-chosen, Cter suspected.

"Passing down from generation to generation the lessons the older one learned so that the younger ones could learn new ones."

"A legacy of sorts?" Cter quipped. "A legacy of knowledge extending a human's life both through the lesson they can pass down, but also the age of their young?"

"If you want. Not exactly how I would have put it, but then again I'm not as in-tune with my monster side as you are."

The aforementioned in-tuned monster side pushed Cter's eyebrow up. "That meaning?"

"Well, monsters communicate differently, don't they?" the Royal Mage shrugged out. "You communicate differently, don't you?" She weaved her hand in the air as if collecting a cloud. "This? Your aura? That which you arguably communicate more with than you do with your mouth and tongue?"

Cter's monster side tucked her head to the side with eyes narrowed at the wide-brimmed hat which the Royal Mage tucked down a bit more over her head.

"Monster have, since time beyond record, been able to communicate much more...intricate than humans. It is through their soul, through their magic and aura, that they have been able to keep peace among themselves. All the recorded wars in this world have been between humans, be it within or between countries. In fact, one of the biggest reasons as to why Hjearta and Xoff are so peaceful despite sharing borders is because of Monster Country. Further beyond the great mountains surrounding Hjearta and the great sea that Xoff's beaches slowly descend into there rages wars between humans. Hell, the reason Hjearta and Xoff still have armies is because there are human countries beyond us two human countries. At least, that's what the honorable and venerable Sir Gerson insists on."

Again…Cter could not tell whether or not there was disdain or thankfulness in either the Royal Mage's voice or her aura. It had Cter grinding her canines on both sides of her mouth instead of just one. "Pray," she managed to say without too much anger seeping out, "wouldn't we two be able to talk more...freely, as you so thoughtfully intrigued with, by letting us two communicate in the more intricate manner?"

The Royal Mage was clearly enjoying the way Cter angled her doubting head. "More intricate does not necessarily mean more detailed."

Said doubtful head angled further, tensing Cter's neck enough to have her face grimace with slight pain. "It does," she corrected the Royal Mage while massaging out the pain in her neck. "Intricate does mean more detailed."

"Oh..." Even with the surprised reaction the Royal Mage still managed to hide her aura. "Intricate..." She muttered something in the Xoffian tongue under her breath, giving Cter time to massage in deep some healing magic in her neck to get the last pain out of it. While she had the time with the Royal Mage trying out different words to find a suitable one, Cter again prodded to try and get deeper into the hidden part of the Royal Mage's aura.

...But to no avail.

"More intimate?"

"Um..."

"Instead of more intricate," the Royal Mage cleared up. The brim of her hat lowered with her brow in disappointment. "Would that work with the point I am trying to make?"

If Cter knew exactly which point it was she was trying to make, probably. "Which would be?"

"Monsters, with their more intimate communication, meet things at face value more often than not. What they see is what they see, because they are used to knowing it all. They do not need to read another because they are used to their aura reading it for them." The Royal Mage tugged her brim down as it began to lean up due to her enthusiasm in sharing with Cter.

"And that is first nature to them. It is so tied with how they see the world that it is extremely difficult for a monster to tell when a human is lying to them. When a human is manipulating and leading along by the nose, snout, beak, muzzle, and so on, the monster will most often than not follow along." A naked finger was raised high. "More often than most often though, the human don't even need to lead along the monster due to the unspoken fear monsters have against humans."

The quick nod which Cter could not read added a third pair of grinding teeth.

"Isn't that fascinating, Monster Mage?"

And a forth pair when she could not tell if the tone was sarcastically high or not.

"Could it be that when you became a Monster Mage, in a way rejecting your humanity, there began a shift in how you talked to others? Monsters and others opening up to you because they could read your strong aura and feel confident within it that you had the answers? If not the answers, then a pair of ears that they could trust in hearing them clearly exactly what they wanted to say?" Emerald-green arms lifted up wide, but not enough to expose the magical sleeve. "Even I feel compelled to talk to you more because I want to witness your reaction, Cter. Your aura is comforting. It's strong and experienced, with experiences that no one else have, be it human, mage, or monster."

Fifth pair due to the nature of the compliment coming into question for Cter.

"Could it be nature of hope? Could it be that when a monster feels comfortable enough to know that the other will hear them clearly they talk more? Talk more and write more? Trust in the less efficient, and more detached from the soul? Monsters raised by humans are better at reading faces and hidden intentions than monsters raised by monsters, and vice versa with humans raised by monsters."

While the Royal Mage paused for breath, Cter took a step back.

"You are suspicious of me because this is the first time in years you are not completely in the know in a conversation, Cter," pointed the Royal Mage with two of her naked fingers. "This is the first time since you became a Monster Mage that the world isn't your oyster. It is the first time that it is a shut clam for you."

The fingers were…

Not confronting though.

Cter could...tell?

Which had a smile flash within the shadow cast by the wide brim.

"You've forgotten," said the Royal Mage while retracting her pointed fingers into her robe's arm again. "You've forgotten what it means to be human by being monster. Ironically because you've gained a position above others by becoming more monster. This is what you're planning to bring to the table when representing the monsters? Representing them too much? Trusting in your abilities to read the intentions of others and understand them well enough to trust in the values their faces shine on you?"

A pause swept between the two mages.

"You're holding your breath because you don't know if I'm gonna burst into laughter and tell you that it was all just a jest or not."

Heavy brows sunk deep over the forest-green eyes. "Who are you?"

"Heh," chuckled the Royal Mage while she grabbed a hold of the rim of her hat. "Guess you are gonna ask and get an answer elsewhere should I not give it to you." She tugged the hat down, hiding herself behind it. "And if I refrain to tell you I don't get the satisfaction of feeling the change in your aura."

As the wide brim descended down the face that had been so meticulously hidden, long and dark hair came into view accented by wide and deep streaks of gray that turned to one or two splotches. Wrinkles followed underneath the moved-aside fringe on chestnut skin that looked to be fighting the wrinkles quite well. Deep purple flicked briefly into view as the Royal Mage blinked against the immense brightness of the white hallway that her wide brim had hidden from her. "Aouf..." After a few seconds of rubbing her eyes, the Royal Mage met Cter's forest-green windows with her own deep-purple ones. "This isn't what you wanted to see though, is it?"

It took but a quick punch in the air for the right, emerald-green arm to retreat and for the hidden sleeve to come into full view.

But for Cter's eyes.

"No..."

And her aura.

"It can't be..."

Both stunned in disbelief.

"Let me speak this in a language you're the most familiar with, Cter."

The hidden sleeve was lifted in front of the Royal Mage's tanned face, fingers spread wide, blending in besides the deep, intricate lines of her sleeve.

"I am Rasliela, Royal Mage and General of Noitaidarr!"

Lines that Cter recognized.

"Granddaughter of King Kheydan!"

The same as her colleagues wore.

"The self-exiled Boss Monster King of Xoff!"