It'd been a week or two since his ride with Raskreia; Karias was in high spirits. He'd bought a bouquet of roses, so if Rozaria had truly been flirting with him like Raskreia had said she was, he'd ask her out. He wasn't able to make his move at the ball a few days ago, so he'd vowed to seek her out afterwards. Now, to locate her… perhaps Raskreia would know where she was.
Raskreia was with Claudia, the two women in each other's arms under the shade of a tree in the eastern gardens. They were speaking quietly to each other but separated the moment they sensed someone nearing. Schooling her expression, Raskreia calmed once seeing that it was simply Karias, and laid a hand on Claudia's shoulder to calm her too.
Seeing Raskreia, Karias was overjoyed- "How's it going sis?"
"Fine." Her eyes went to the roses in his hand while Claudia stared at him in confusion. She was mouthing the word sister to herself and Raskreia glanced at her, amused, before continuing, "Going to Rozaria?"
"Yes, do you know where she is?" Something about romance always had him feeling good.
"Up in the astronomy tower or in Knight Mergas' office with Ludis." She didn't really know what Rozaria and Ludis did up in the tower, but they were always holing themselves up in there. She could call Rozaria if need be and she did so often enough; a courtship wasn't something she deemed important enough for that though.
"Thanks, Sis, I'll head to the astronomy tower then. Have a good day ladies." He bowed slightly before heading on his way. It didn't take long for him to reach the tower. He climbed it slowly, looking for Rozaria.
The stairs spiralled up and up and up. Though there were doors and hallways on other floors, the magic in the air grew stronger the higher one went. It was enough to make Karias' feathers tingle despite not being summoned, and it was obvious that Rozaria would be at the top, skilled magician that she was.
Finally reaching the end of the staircase, Karias made sure he looked presentable before entering the room that Rozaria was sure to be in. "It's lovely to see you again, Rozaria," he said, announcing his presence.
As he did, three pairs of eyes stared at him, Rozaria and a death spirit glancing between him and Ludis who was pinned down by them. After a few moments of silence, she finally spoke, "Nice to see you too. Hi."
"Would you like me to come back another time?" he asked, taking in the scene before him.
"Ah. Nah it's fine." Rozaria let go and the spirit did so as well, fluttering behind her and peeking out to look at him.
Ludis got up, embarrassed. "We were just messing around."
"I see." Undeterred, Karias got down on one knee and presented the roses to Rozaria. "These are for you, please accept them as a sign of my affection."
The spirit's expression became scandalized and his bare feet finally touched the ground. "In front of me? Really?" His words garnered him a smack on his head from Ludis, and he pouted.
Rozaria on the other hand simply chuckled. Though it was obvious she wasn't insulted, she didn't move to take the roses either. "Affection? Really? We've talked maybe thrice and that's not nearly enough time." It's not like she wasn't interested, she simply wanted him to slow down.
"My apologies, I tend to get a little over excited sometimes." He would have to think this through more if he was going to court Rozaria properly.
"Don't worry about it. For now..." she hummed thoughtfully, then grinned. "Lusar! Put Karias to the test, will you? I want to see how far he's willing to go."
The death spirit perked up, floating again. "Okay~"
"A test?" Karias didn't mind. "What kind of test?"
Lusar just smiled. "You're a seraph aren't you? I can smell a human lineage so half borne? Come here!" He moved over to the large window that was thrown open.
"Yes, yes, I am." Karias answered, walking over to where Lusar was standing. Reaching the window, he stared down at the ground below. "What do you want me to do?"
With a mischievous smile, he leapt out, causing Ludis to sigh. "He wants you to catch him."
What!?... Karias leapt out after him as his wings materialised and managed to catch him halfway down the tower. "You could've told me what you wanted before you jumped."
That just made him giggle. "Ah but Ria's letting me test you so I make the rules. You pass on flying and reflexes but-" Lusar pushed himself out of his arms, floating alongside him- "not thinking. Ludis helped so that's cheating."
"It's not cheating if your test is stupid anyway!" Ludis shouted from above. Rozaria simply laughed. Though she hadn't heard what the two were saying, Ludis made it clear enough. It was quite nice to have an angel like him around.
"I see, is that a good thing?" Karias asked, wondering if that meant he wasn't suitable. Lusar had said he'd partially failed the test.
"More tests! There's loads more I need to check to see if you're good enough for Ria! You might be a lil dumb but that's fine. Mother Astra loves us all equally so if you have anything to make up for it you can court her."
Dumb? That took him back a little but Karias nodded anyway. He'd prove he was worthy of courting Rozaria. "Very well, what's your next test?"
"Uh." Lusar's face went blank. "Wait! You guys worship fire or whatever right? Do you do that too?"
"Ah, no, I believe only in our All Mother's Grace, is that a problem?"
"Ugh." He scrunched up his face, starting to float upside down. "Mother Astra doesn't fit into this equation well... So, okay! Ludis you test him!"
Ludis sighed at his words but nodded. "Then both of you, come back up."
Karias wasn't sure what was going on, still he headed up to the top of the tower, ready to take part in whatever test Ludis had planned.
Lusar dragged Rozaria away the moment he landed, insistent on Ludis' tests being secret. All three of them knew that it was really just because he wasn't actually going to test Karias though. After all, Lusar hadn't really been doing that either, Rozaria had simply given him the chance to be close to a handsome man to feel up his muscles.
Pulling over two seats around the table he had been pinned down on before, Ludis sat down. "You can sit, and put your wings away if you want." Seeing them made him want to transform too, but he couldn't. His true form was too large to fit in here.
"Alright," Karias replied, hiding his wings away and sitting in a chair opposite Ludis. "What's the next test?" he asked. It must be something important if Rozaria and Lusar left the room for it.
"There is no next test." Unlike Lusar he didn't really have an intense desire for touching someone who was here to court an entirely different person. He really did need to have a conversation with him.
"What? Didn't Lusar say there were more tests to come?" Karias was slightly confused, but if Ludis said there weren't any more tests then he had no reason to doubt him.
"They were just messing around. He wasn't even testing you in the first place, that's just how he is."
"Oh, so that's what that was." Karias laughed nervously He couldn't believe he fell for something like that. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?"
Ludis shrugged. "Nothing about your courting attempt. That's none of my business, though Rozaria is right. You should get to know her before trying to do this."
"Yes, I intend to. I was merely trying to get her attention." He smiled. No one could deny he hadn't succeeded in that.
"You got more of Lusar's attention," Ludis said, amused. But then, that was just because he was easily led on. "How did it feel to stretch your wings?"
Karias blushed a little at that. Still, Rozaria must've noticed him, right? "It felt really good, I don't get to fly as often as I'd like, except during practise. I'd prefer to not have them hidden at all."
Smiling, Ludis poured them some tea. "It's not like you have to. They take up some space but not enough to be too much of a nuisance. You'll probably just get stared at a bit."
"I'm not sure Rozaria would want the extra attention." He himself didn't have any problem with others staring at him; he rather enjoyed being the centre of attention.
"She doesn't really care. Ria does what she wants whenever she wants." And anyway- "You're lucky that you can walk around with your wings out. Take advantage of it."
"When you put it like that, I don't have any reason not to, I'll take them out again when I leave here." Karias smiled, perhaps that would get Rozaria to notice him more.
Ludis sipped at his tea- "That's good. How's your father been?"
"He's been well. He's busy with a lot of things these days, but he does make time for me when I ask to see him. Why do you ask?"
"Uh, small talk?" Ludis shrugged. "I don't really want to deal with Lusar right now." He'd be all smitten going on about Karias and that hurt.
"That's fine, I do enjoy talking." Karias smiled, "If you don't mind me asking, why were you being held down by Lusar and Rozaria when I walked in earlier?"
That brought a bright blush to his cheeks. "They wanted to see if my strength from my true form carried over to this human form."
"I see, and does it carry over?" Karias asked, he was curious as well now that Ludis mentioned it.
"...No." And both of them had made jokes about it, some much more embarrassing than others.
"I'm sorry, it must be hard for you without your strength." Karias knew that he would struggle if he didn't have his.
"It's fine. There aren't really that many places where I can turn into a giant feathered wheel that's also on fire so I'm used to it." Ludis didn't have any interest in destroying anything, and- "My swordsmanship is decent enough that I won't need to either. If we really do need to, mother and I go to Astra, or back home to Laupland."
"Let me know if you ever need help with anything where physical strength is required." Karias smiled. He wasn't as strong as some of his kind, but he did train and practise a lot.
Did he think not being stronger than a spirit somehow meant he was weak? Even Rozaria was pretty strong so even without Lusar he wouldn't have had the easiest time getting up. But still- "Sure."
Karias nodded. "I won't let you down. Anytime you need my help, I'll be there." He would look after his friends and make sure they didn't come to any harm. "How're you doing? In general?"
"Pretty good actually. Mother and I have been going through the laws for the prime minister to see whether any need amendments."
"I see… sounds difficult." Karias knew he'd never have the patience for something like that.
Ludis chuckled, amused. "Not when you know them inside out."
They continued to speak for a while over tea, simply relaxing. It was nice not to have to look after Rozaria and Lusar causing trouble for once, perhaps he needed to spend his time with Karias more. Mother Astra knew he desperately needed the calm.