"I can be, at times, but it is… nice. People are kinder when they are comfortable, and nowhere is more comfortable than here." He smiled at Levi. "Take you for example. We're having a lovely discussion here right now because we have time to unwind and simply talk about what we wish."
Levi smiled back. “This is very nice,” he agreed. For the first time in several hours, his muscles were completely relaxed. “It may be wishful thinking, and probably unlikely, but I can at least hope everyday I’m here will be like today.
Fiori's smile flickered a bit but he didn't let it drop. "Believe me Leviticus, I will do everything in my power to make it so. Better, even, so long as I have time to talk with Dion and his… associates."
“Thank you…” His smile softened more at the promise. “I never saw the associates’ faces, but I would recognize their voices very well. If you need help identifying them.”
"That would be much appreciated," Fiori said, pausing for a moment afterwards to think about his next request "Before I go rounding up any suspects for the case, could you tell me what happened? I don't mind if you're not comfortable or don't want to share right now, but knowing the specifics might help me figure out who did it and what they can be charged with."
Levi’d demeanor gradually sank the more memories flooded back to the front of his mind. His mouth teased a frown while he chewed on his inner lip. “Well, now’s as good of a time as ever, isn’t it?” He finally replied. “While…most of the details are still fresh in my mind.”
"Hey!" Fiori reached forward to take his hands, squeezing comfortingly. "I don't want you to do it if it's going to be too painful, okay? The last thing you should do is upset yourself over those gobdawi." His voice was still reassuring and light as he spat out the insult in his own language, too busy making his point to find a good equivalent.
He took this into consideration, looking down at their hands. It did make him feel better. “It’s fine. I don’t think I can talk about it, though. I would prefer to write it, so then I can find the right words.”
"I can do that. Do you want me to be with you while you write, or would you prefer it if I ran some errands and left you alone?" Fiori was watching him carefully, wanting to ensure that Levi was as comfortable as possible.
“I prefer thinking in solitude so… I would prefer to be left alone.” He requested. His expressions shifted ever so slightly with his thoughts, which ranged from diluted pain, to contemplation, but still generally relaxed.
"Alright. I'll walk you to my rooms, and then I'll go see if I can help Cadmus down in the kitchens." Fiori spoke carefully, waiting every few seconds to see Levi's reaction and make sure his suggestions went down well. "How long do you expect it to take?"
Levi nodded along to every suggestion. He had no qualms with any of them. In fact, the plan sounded quite agreeable. “No more than an hour,” he guessed, “Probably less, actually, but give me an hour.”
"Good." Fi smiled and let go of Levi's hands, pushing himself up out of the water and then shaking off like a dog when his hair started dripping water down the back of his nack. "Do you want me to bring you something up from the kitchens?"
Levi followed Fiori out of the water very shortly after, reaching his hand up to his hair to make sure the majority of the braids stayed in place. “Nothing more than a snack, I’m not very hungry. Oh! Those chocolate covered coffee beans.”
Fiori laughed, grabbing them both towels and having one over to Levi once he was out of the water. "Sombody has a sweet tooth. We have other chocolates, if you'd like something a little less bitter."
He wrapped the towel around himself, clasping the ends in front of his chest “I don’t mind the bitter of the coffee beans. But surprise me anyway. I won’t complain.”
Fiori laughed. "I know you won't. You're one of the most agreeable people I've ever met." He gathered up his clothes, not bothering to get dressed while his underthings still dripped water down his thighs. "Fresh clothes will be in the room to the left, yours will be wrapped in a black scarf with silver roses along the edges. I can wait out here for you to change."
“Oh, wonderful,” Ge looked over to the left. “I’ll be right back out, then.” He offered Fiori a grateful smile and began walking over to the room. He pulled the towel tighter around himself as the air seemed to get colder while he walked.
Fi quickly stripped out of his wet clothes when Levi left, wrapping the towel around his waist and making sure it wouldn't fall right of the second he started moving around. After a couple minutes of waiting, he figured Levi would be dressed enough for him to at least grab his clothes, even if he had to change in the baths.
Levi located his clothes rather quickly, and after patting himself dry with the towel, he pulled on the fresh outfit. He fixed the area around his shoulders where the clothes stuck to the places that were still damp. He was dressed within a few minutes, and went to meet Fiori out in the baths.
Fiori clapped him on the shoulder happily and walked into the clothing room. "You found your clothes! They look nice, do they fit right?" Tharis was an excellent tailor, but it was always good to be sure. Especially because Levi didn't seem like the type who would ask for new clothes without prompting.
“Yes, they fit well,” he replied, rolling his shoulders to gauge the fit. “They’ll fit even better after I’m completely dry, as well.” He held out his arms, looking at the fit of his sleeve cuffs as well. He smiled, satisfied as they reached his wrist bone. Neither higher nor lower.
Fiori nodded with a pleased smile."Good. Tharis made these ones to be… similar to yours from your homeland. We typically favor more loose clothing, but you wear things tighter so fit is more important. Are they comfortable?"
“Incredibly.” He nodded, “the style is very familiar to what I usually wear…without the coat of course. But I don’t think I’ll need that here.” He absent minded ly fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves. There was nothing wrong with them, he was just glad to be wearing something he was so used to.
"You could probably do without the sleeves too. You're lucky you came in in spring instead of summer, or you'd be boiling alive." Fi gave him a teasing smile, and then slipped into the other room to change. He came out a few minutes later with thee bundles of cloth under his arm. "More clothes for you, I'll carry them to the rom."
Oh, he almost forgot about the summer. Summers in Nord Widona were tolerable enough to be outside in no more than a light overcoat. Summers during the long trips he sometimes took with his family were barely bearable…he was certainly not looking forward to living her in the summer. Hopefully he would be able to leave by the time summer came. He looked up as Fiori returned “Perfect,” he grinned. “Looks like I’ll be set for quite some time.”
Fi nodded with a small smile. "You don't know the half of it. You'll have to wear something a bit more traditional to my kingdom for the beginning of festival season, but otherwise, you can wear whatever you want and I already know Tharis is going to prepare a full wardrobe for you."
“Oh, of course,” he smiled back. He didn’t know if he was looking forward to the festival season or not. From how Fiori explained it, it seemed enjoyable. He was perhaps still nervous about meeting his uncle, but unafraid. “What kind of traditional outfit would I have to wear?”
Fiori hummed consideringly, trying to recall what his uncle's slaves wore. "A scarf to shade yourself from the sun, silver bracers, and… looser clothing, I think. Tharis will have it sent, but I'm not really familiar with what anyone but royalty wears."
Levi nodded, imagining the outfit. “It sounds simple enough,” he replied. “Very different from our festival seasons attired, but our festival season is in the winter, so that makes sense.”