{ log } waters black wood in snow dead of night how bright you glow

[cailisairgid]

'Informal' isn't a way that Nuala can typically be described, and by anyone else's standards she still isn't - but her gown and traveling coat make a slimmer silhouette than the elaborate skirts she usually favours, and her hair is pulled low in a chignon to be finished with her plain circlet in lieu of the bejewelled alternatives under lock in her

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[fallofasparr0w]

Doul has found himself a nice, slightly odd looking 'bungalow' perched on top of an abandoned missile silo. It's for everyone's benefit that his studies are conducted far, far below ground.

Tacked up on the front door, there's a clearly written sign that reads: 'Please, for your safety and mine, ring the bell and wait to be admitted. Thank you.'

[cailisairgid]

Lonán rings the bell; when Nuala goes indoors he'll take up a sentry's position, as he usually does when she goes on these 'little excursions'. It looks as though he wouldn't fit indoors, anyway.

They wait.

[fallofasparr0w]

Since he was expecting company, Doul wasn't down in the lab and so there's only a moment or two before he's at the door.

"Princess, a pleasure to see you, please, come in." He's honestly, openly pleased and might even smile. She might also notice that Doul no longer has wired clipped and embedded throughout his right arm.

[cailisairgid]

Something does strike her as different, and she catches sight of his arm and hand before she has too much time to wonder what it is. Still - it's more than a lack.

"I have been very much looking forward to visiting," she says, steping inside through the door. "It's wonderful to see you."

[fallofasparr0w]

His living quarters are small, neat, but lived in. The books that usually cover most stable, flat surfaces have been sorted, boxed, and shelved for her visit. There's a couch, a couple chairs, and a very small pseudo-kitchen.

"How have you been?" There's a tea set out on the low table and a collection of small plants on the windowsill.

[cailisairgid]

The quarters receive a cursory examination while Nuala removes her coat, before she seats herself by the tea and offers him a smile that skews slightly distracted. "Terribly busy," she confesses, as if the nature of it still feels new even as she's coming to be more settled into her roles and duties. "I can hardly imagine that it's been less than a year yet."

[fallofasparr0w]

"I like to think I've adjusted rather well in such a short time." If she'll let him, he'll hang her coat and then go about putting the kettle on. "I wasn't sure how well I'd adjust to the strangeness and solitude, but I find that it suits me."

[cailisairgid]

Of course she will, and watch him at the kettle, too. "I can't quite be surprised. It seems to me that it certainly would suit you, but we have differed before on what I see and what you yourself see."

Notably: Nuala usually has a point.

[fallofasparr0w]

"I'm not sure I want to know what others see me as. Although, like any man, I do wonder." He's not vain, but unless it serves a practical purpose, why bother? "I trust your judgment in this."

Over the last few months, Doul has found it easier to smile and it makes him look considerably younger.

[cailisairgid]

"As well you should," she says, mock tartly. The slow establishment of their friendship has suited her, and now she's far more comfortable with him than she was before; Nuala wouldn't admit out loud that her comfort level has gone up the more he's accepted himself as something other than human, but it has.

[fallofasparr0w]

"Yes, your highness, I am suitably chastised and learned the error of my ways." Shall he pour the tea?

"I must admit, I don't have any really pressing news to tell you, other than I bought far too much jam at the market and I enjoy your company." Moreover, it's Doul's experience that ladies often want out of their house and like an excuse to do so.

[cailisairgid]

Nuala, unlike these theoretical ladies, seems more than a little distracted - but all the same she's covering it well, and she appreciates Doul's company enough to have come and to make an effort to settle her thoughts and enjoy a purely social occasion. She's had few of those lately, and fewer still with Doul himself.

"Such fondness is pressing reason enough, I think! What sort of jam did you buy?"

[fallofasparr0w]

"I'd never heard of the fruit, so I picked them based on how well they'd match the wallpaper in here." This may or may not be true, but he has a couple little pots of red(ish) jam and one that's a nice, light green. "Please, feel free to help yourself."

[cailisairgid]

"Do you think I could take a jar?" Nuala asks, scrutinizing them with a little bit of eagerness. "My brother's fondness for sweet jams can sometimes get away from the both of us."

[fallofasparr0w]

"Of course. I have a few to spare." They may already be in a basket for her to take home. There might even be a couple small books from Bas-Lag in the basket as well.

[cailisairgid]

"Oh, wonderful." Nuada can expect to be fed nexus jam when she gets home, but in the meantime she focuses on trivial chat and not the infants at the castle or their kin outside it. "What is the fruit?"