His fingers found his lips and Raith gave a small chuckle as his thoughts drifted once again to the kiss he had shared with Alairia. It had been a bold move on his part; of that he was well aware, and yet he felt that when she had kissed his thumbs during his exploration of her face that she had given him the indication, if not permission, to act as he had.
Even now he could feel the pressure of her lips against his; the contours of her body pressed against his own as they embraced… and still it sent a shiver down the man’s spine to think of it… to think of her. In truth it had been Raith’s first kiss; then again it was the first time that any woman had remotely meant anything to the man at all. That was not to say that Raith had not been with a woman before; he had been with plenty in fact but any liaison he had had in the past was due to some benefit or other that could be gleaned due to seducing the woman in question - it had been, essentially in his mind, a business transaction and nothing more. If bedding a woman meant gaining knowledge and power then so be it - but he had never been intimate with them, never kissed them or embraced them, never truly enjoyed the act because he had not been fully involved in it as far as he had been concerned.
Ria was different… everything about her set his blood on fire and his heart racing - that simplest of kisses had almost broken the man and now it utterly consumed his mind.

Once more he had sent her an invitation to join him; there had been rumours of treasures scattered across an island in Canelux and it had been too interesting to pass up - and the opportunity to invite Alairia to join him and spend further quality time together… well how could he ignore the chance to walk the island with her?
Again his lack of sight infuriated him where she was concerned; he wanted to see her smile, he wanted to be able to look into her eyes and see the emotions there… never had such things infuriated him like they did now, never had he realised how much he was missing out on until he had found something that meant more to him than his mission to ruin his Mother’s life…

One of the curvaceous trees giggled as he brushed passed it, feeling a branch reach down to caress his face. Snarling at it the man swatted the branch away just as he had swatted the women away at the ball. He had no intention of letting these things touch him anymore than he’d had the intention of the women touching him; suddenly everything in his mind revolved around the alluring Elven woman who had stolen his heart… quite how she had done that he had no idea but she had.
The sound of water drew his attention and Raith followed it; standing on the edge of the ponds and feeling the breeze whip the spray from the falls up against his face. He would wait here for her; he knew she would come - not out of arrogance but because he knew she was as drawn to him as he was to her…

”So…is this a date? Am I crashing your date right now?” The tone from the young man was dripping with sarcasm and amusement. Lips were pulled into a wide smile that showed off the scar that tinted his upper lip from an injury as a child. The tall man draped his arm over the shoulders of his sister while putting his face in front of her’s while they walked along the cobblestone path. Gray eyes shone with delight as his sister’s hazel green eyes glared back up at him. There was a pout upon her face in response to the jibes that were made in her direction. Alairia had already tried several times to push her brother off of her, but there was no use considering the strength difference. After a while of walking she had given up and continued to plod on the path in hopes that Dae would become disinterested in her misery to his jokes; she had been wrong.

”You used to be a quiet child. It was pleasant. Can’t you go back to that? You are so sweet and quiet. Constantly thoughtful with your lack of speech. What happened to those lovely days?” Alairia felt as if a growl was stirring in her chest. Raith had sent her an invitation to check out the rumors of treasures scattered across the island of Horae. She had been wanting to go there before for the sake of finding some unconventional healing herbs. Books had been filled on the delights of the island and the wonderful sections that it contained. Alairia never took the chance to travel from the family shop in concern for the overflow that could happen. Dae was not around much to help with the actual healing as his talents had taken him somewhere else. The elf sister glared at Dae again. In one swift move she pushed against his side to duck from beneath him. A quick turn with a few hops on graceful feet gave her distance that made it too difficult for him to grab her again. Alairia pulled the bottom of her right eye down and proceeded to stick her tongue out at him.

Dae made a swipe to bring her back in his grasp, but he had been unsuccessful. He rolled his eyes until he merely laughed at her childish behavior. ”I realized that I was listened to more if I opened my mouth. Besides, someone should tell you when you are wrong with your remedies. I am better than you are.” This time he had to dodge backwards to avoid being hit by the staff Alairia had been carrying with her on their trip. The sibling pair began to engage in a small sparring match as they continued to make their progress down the path that would eventually lead to Raith.

The brother was worried for his sister considering how quickly her heart had become attached to this unknown element. At the Celestial Ball Dae had seen the blind man interact with his sister. The brother had kept his distance to allow observation. There was a darkness that surrounded the gentleman that could only be recognized by one that was born from that same darkness. Dae knew that Alairia could make her own decisions, but he was not about to let her go off alone on an adventure without supervision this time. If this was going to be serious, he wanted to get to know who was going to be courting his sister.

”Oh enough of this! You are going to embarrass me if this keeps up. Stay on your best behavior if you are truly going to stay along with us.” Her glare and stance made it clear that this was non-negotiable. Dae lifted his hands in surrender before crossing his heart with his finger. ”I promise. Seriously, Ria. I won’t do anything that would upset you. Lately I have felt uncomfortable with you being out alone. Raith shouldn’t mind a brother trying to make sure that his sister is safe. Besides, we may be able to find more things together to bring back to the shop.” Ria glared up at him again before tucking her staff on her back again in a movement to display that their spar was over. ”Fine.

The pair came around a bend that brought them to where Alairia was to meet Raith. At the sight of him, Alairia began to run towards him. She knew that he would be able to hear and smell her as she approached. Without a hindrance arms wrapped about his waist from behind to hold him tight in a hug. Face nuzzled into his side while moving to stand in front of him. ”You waited.” She didn’t care that her brother was walking slowly up to join them. He stood at a distance with a light smile on his face to see his sibling happy. ”Raith, this is my brother, Dae. He wanted to join today to meet you as well as help look for supplies for our apothecary run by our family.”

Dae held out his hand, and waited while Ria indicated for where Raith should reach. ”A pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Kneeling beside the pond Raith ran his fingertips through the cool water with a contented smile upon his face; relishing in the feel of it. Above the sound of the rushing water came the sound of banter that only siblings could have between one another and he raised an eyebrow; if their voices had not given them away then their scents certainly did.
He immediately recognised Alairia’s; nothing in this world could have masked that scent from the man nor confuse him as to its origin but he did not know the other one nor did he understand why there was another scent alongside his beloved Ria’s. Standing up slowly Raith raised an eyebrow, cocking his head to one side, listening all the more intently to the conversation being held between the two people coming down the path that he himself had taken mere moments before.

A dark and satisfied smile crossed his face as he heard Alairia’s voice and heard the anger behind it - a family member then, only family could incite such a tone, especially from the woman who had captured his heart, she was too gentle and kind to use such tones with anyone else.
Moments later he heard the hurried footsteps and the darkness fell from his expression to be replaced with genuine warmth and affection for he knew who ran to greet him on such nimble and agile feet. He felt her arms around his waist and he chuckled, large hands enveloping her’s and squeezing them slightly in response to her embrace, he felt her move and immediately pulled her against his body - relishing in the feeling of having her there once more as he bent to kiss her head, inhaling deeply and immersing himself in her scent once more.
”Of course I waited.” He replied with a slightly chuckle, one hand finding it’s way to caress her cheek lovingly as he turned his head to ‘look’ down upon her, his blind eyes behind his blindfold once more.
As Alairia introduced her brother there was the briefest of moments where Raith’s charming facade (genuine for Alairia at least) fell away. It was as quick as a blink but to anyone who was observant or quick enough the dark expression that lay behind the warmth would have been spotted.

Bowing slightly Raith took the offered hand with Alairia’s help and shook it, smiling at Dae. ”The pleasure is all mine; it is good to see that Alairia’s family care for her well being. I assume you wished to see what kind of man had attracted your sister’s attention?” He smiled, genuinely amused at the thought.
Had it been his own siblings Raith would not have been even slightly interested - his own family of misfits were hardly close…

She had followed the scent to this one man, she was sure that this, in fact, was the man she was looking for.

The murderer she would take revenge on.

It had been a time since Hacesh and Kirin had been murdered, at least Xyaban considered it murder, anyone else would think it was a favour to Hacesh. And Xyaban had come across that scent again, the one she hadn’t recognized after she found Hacesh and Kirin, the one that she had to assume was the one that killed them. It had taken Xy a while to follow that scent, she had nearly starved herself following it, to find the one that it belonged to.

Since finding him Xyaban had been trailing him at a long distance, sometimes a day away to keep herself hidden. She needed to get closer somehow and confirm that it was, maybe even hear him speaking of killing Hacesh and her baby. But how to get close? If he was able to take down Hacesh, then, what could she do against him?

So she followed and waited and stalked and watched.

Learning.

That brought her to the island, not the treasure, like she’d normally be after. Revenge was its own treasure for her now.

The trio so far had no idea that she was there, a ways off but watching from as far as she could without being seen. Two males and a female talking together, one of the males was the one she was tracking, she hadn’t seen the other male or the female until now. When the blind male and the female embraced and Xy scowled, lovers? Family? No, leverage, possible leverage. Ideas formed in Xy’s mind as she watched from the shadows the scene before her as they spoke.

A plan formed to get closer and she pulled a potion from a small magical gate she opened next to her. Picturing someone in her mind’s eyes Xyaban downed the potion and waited for it to take affect.

---

A yell of fear echoed from the forest not too far from where the trio was located, following the scream a barking and howling could be heard. From down the pathway a figure could be seen running towards the trio at an all out for a human, for that’s how he looked. ”Heeeelp!” He shouted when he spotted the three figured ahead and made a beeline for them.

Behind the thirty-ish looking male human was a demonic looking hound. Glowing eyes leaving a trail behind it as it loped after the human as if playing with its intended meal. The beast was heavy with muscle and a jaw full of razor-sharp claws. A row of spikes ran down its spine and long whip like tail, a long tongue hung lolled out of its gaping and drooling maw.

Coming up closet to the trio the young human tripped over something and came to a rolling stop in front of them. Meanwhile the beast, upon seeing the three figures, stopped a ways off as if rethinking its options with the new numbers stacked against it. It snarled at them but came no closer. ”What is that thing?!” The young man shouted, clearly panicked. After a moment’s consideration the demonic beast snarled and huffed before loping back into the trees to find easier prey.

The young human sighed heavily with relief before finally looking to the other three he was now close to. ”I, I am so happy I found you three out here!” He said excitedly. He carried no weapons on him what so ever, he didn’t belong in this forest. ”My name is Tyler, I came out here looking for the treasures people have been talkin’ about, but that… thing found me instead. Soooo, are you three looking for treasure as well? I still want to find some, but I don’t wanna run into that thing again.” He explained and looked between them, a bit nervous since they did look rather intimidating.

~Blind, handsome, same scent, it was him! He will pay!~

~Brother and sister by scent, but she and him are lovers, I think, they acted like it before. Good, I can use that.~

A self-satisfied grin spread across her lips as she neared Raith. Alairia was fairly certain that he had heard portions of the bickering between herself and her brother. She knew that Dae had the best of intentions, especially considering their history as a family. They and their mother had been through some true terrors in their lives. As a team they had been able to come out on the other side for the better. The half elf loved her brother dearly. At this moment, she wanted to throttle him for coming along on her date with Raith. This would be the first time she got to see him in a more casual setting that did not call for some sort of presentation.

As they made the last stretch towards the meeting place, she glanced up at Dae out of the corner of her eye. He had a smug look upon his face knowing that he was causing a problem. He meant his words of not wanting to create a true issue even though he was enjoying it as well. The brother watched as his sister ran towards the man that had captured her heart completely. He took his time to make it to the pair as they exchanged their greetings. Dae may have reservations about the relationship, but he could see how happy she was.

Alairia revealed in the chuckle that rippled deep in his chest. She was quite taken with the deepness of his voice and the way it made her feel safe in his presence. Her face pressed against his chest as they repositioned in an effort to enjoy the other’s company. Hazel eyes closed as she felt the kiss upon her head. The healer was used to the wolf response at the taking in of her scent. Considering her entire family was comprised of wolves, she had learned the rituals that made up the culture and essence of who they were. It also made her feel more like his when he continued to make an effort to memorize her scent. Unfortunately, Alairia did not have those same traits. Being half elf and half human did not leave much room for animalistic qualities. Her lineage did afford her to have an affinity with light magic which was quite helpful at the apothecary.

As his hand caressed her cheek she leaned into his touch to ‘look’ up into his blindfolded eyes. She missed the sight of the silver over his green gaze. There was no sight in them, but even so she felt seen. Lightly she traced the edge of his blindfold before turning her face towards Dae to introduce the men. Her brows knit momentarily as Dae’s expression looked off for just a moment. What she didn’t know was that her brother had caught the expression change on Raith’s features before he turned it back on.

Dae held in a laugh. The man before him truly was from the element of darkness and was putting himself in the light to be at Alairia. His sister represented all that was good and innocent in the world. And yet this blind creature was genuinely smitten with her despite the grand differences. The two exchanged a hand shake. ’To put it bluntly, yes,’ he responded with a laugh. ’I have a feeling you won’t be the kind to beat around the bush when it is unnecessary. You mean a great deal to my sister, and I wanted to see what kind of person you are. Nothing meant to be intrusive or impolite…but Alairia is quite special. I’m sure you already know this. I have seen men attempt to capture her attention before, but none have succeeded. Yet, here you are.’ Dae moved over to sit upon one of the larger rocks. He made sure that his steps were audible to give indication where his movements were. ’She is happy. Genuinely happy. It’s a grand thing to see.’

Alairia sighed with a smile as the words were finally coming together. Hopefully, Raith did not take offense. They had not spoken much about their families. It was almost as if he was avoiding the topic. She lightly squeezed his waist as she had wrapped her arm around him as well. Head leaned upon the side of his chest. The healer wanted to move forward with their search to get beyond the odd conversation. It was unfortunate that things were to go in a different direction.

In a fluid motion at a call out, Raith shifted Alairia behind him with hands and arms extended to shield her from sight. Dae was already upon his feet with hidden blades from his wrist flicked out in defense of the pair to his right. It took a moment for Alairia to realize what was going on since her training revolved around healing instead of offensive tactics. Head popped out from behind her protectors to see a man running towards them with great haste away from a giant beast chasing him. Staff quickly was put in her hands in a flourish in preparation for using protective spells to protect all of them in case.

Luck was with them as the creature decided not to take on the group as the man known as Tyler made it to them. Dae had a look of skeptic upon his face as he glanced back at Raith, sure that the other man would feel it too. Alairia on the other hand was far more trusting. She moved from behind her protector to see Tyler better. ”Are you alright? Maybe you should have something to drink after being chased like that. Do you have any injuries?” Her gaze began to scan over him in a healer analytics for any visual wounds.

He smiled warmly at Alairia as he felt her fingers brush against his blindfold - he was so used to putting it on that it had become almost second nature to him and yet he could almost feel her sadness at the fact that he was wearing it now. Without a second thought he reached behind his head with his free hand and undid it, pulling it away from his eyes and blinking (a natural habit even if it was utterly unnecessary) while he tucked it under his belt, while he might not wear it around Alairia he would still wear it when not in her presence at the very least. 

While his feeling towards Dae might not have been real his feelings towards Alairia were glaringly obvious; Dae was right to have his reservations where Raith was concerned - he had in fact murdered two people quite recently; while one could be classed as a mercy killing the other was an unprovoked attack on someone meant as a message for his Mother… though if Raith was honest even the murder of the Dragon wasn't entirely for 'good' reasons.Despite this his intentions with Alairia were, for once, entirely genuine and innocent - he cared for her deeply and while even he did not quite dare say the word he knew that emotion ran deep… finally there was someone in his life worth more than his revenge… Raith chuckled. "I prefer not to dance about; especially in certain situations such as this. Your sister is like no other person I have ever encountered, and in two hundred years you can imagine I have met a fair few people." He chuckled. His head tilted ever so slightly as Dae moved; a smirk upon his face as he realised the man was making his footfalls heavier for his benefit.
"You seem like someone who would appreciate some honesty; when I first met your sister I had every intention of charming my way into her life to use her for my own benefit just as I have many others - I am not ashamed of this, it is fact, so why do I tell you this? Because as you have said she is genuinely happy and in return she makes me genuinely happy, Ria is the first and only person I have met who means something to me and who I would give up everything I have worked for and planned for if she asked it of me. I see no point in lying to you, I may not be able to see but I can tell that you see through me just as easily as I can see through you." Raith said with a small, dark smile. "Why do I not hide these words in front of your sister you might ask? Because if you are to be with me Alairia in any form, and I hope that we will spend a great many more days with one another… a great many, then you must know that I am not a creature of light nor will I ever truly be but where you are concerned you have no reason to worry nor fear me." He said softly, turning his head down to 'look' at her as he brought her fingers up to his lips to kiss them tenderly. 

The moment was ruined when he heard the footfalls moments before the shout for help; there was no hesitation in Raith's movement as he pulled Alairia behind himself, arms out to shield her from whatever was heading their way, his left hand encased in a flowing black miasma as he called upon a curse, ready to protect her if the situation so required it. His unseeing gaze narrowed as he heard the man's words and the snarls of the beast - it was clear that it had halted in it's tracks but Raith was unsure why. Yes there was now four of them however by the sound of the creature's footfalls previously and the tone of it's voice it was surely big enough to be a formidable enemy for them all… He turned his head towards Alairia as she stepped around him but like Dae he was not comfortable with this man's presence in the slightest. 
As the creature loped away Raith cocked his head slightly, listening intently to the creature as it left as he drowned out Tyler's voice. Something didn't sit right with the man… but then again he had always been a suspicious sort… Keeping quiet he let Alairia lead, he had no intention of letting this man know what his intentions were whatsoever. 

[OOC: Gmod permission granted all around.]

The two males of the moved blinding fast to protect the female as the young ran closer with the beast following him. Both of them looked skeptical at Tyler, which was fine, but the young man was still more intent on getting away from the beast than these two men. At least the men might be rational, where as the best was just looking for a meal.

With the beast gone Tyler explained himself to the small group and smiled as the female came around her protector to ask him if he was ok. ”I’m ok, just tired, I think it was toying with me… maybe a few scrapes and bruises.” He looked himself over, ya, a couple of seeping nicks and cuts but nothing that needed attention. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your names?”” He questioned, just wondering who he was dealing with. The female answered and only gave her name, Alairia was the only one to give a reply, the males were silent. ”A pleasure, Alairia.” Tyler replied with a grin, just trying to be nice.

~I’ll get their names later then, not yet, wait, get them alone. Yes, that is the plan. Get them alone and then have some fun.~

”I dropped my backpack somewhere in the woods before that thing started to chase me.” He sighed and thought for a moment, now kind of ignoring the two males and focusing on Alairia. ”I don’t suppose you have the ability to make a magical gate or even teleport?” He asked sheepishly, to which he got a positive reply from Alairia. ”I, I’m not cut out for this sort of thing, lurking through the forest for treasure, I don’t even own a sword. If it’s not too much trouble, could you make a gate for me please back to Sularia for me?” He reached behind him and undid a small pouch that jingled some silver coins, not much, probably enough to buy him food for a day and he offered it to Alairia. ”Please? I can pay you for it.”

That settled she agreed to open a gate for him and in a flash the city was before him. ”Thank you again.” Tyler nodded to them all in turn and stepped through the gate back to the city.

---

Back in Sularia once the magical gate closed the young walked away from the area he stepped out to. Once a reasonable distance from the place, to make sure he hadn’t been followed he ducked into a side alley. There he opened his own magical gate and stepped through with a small grin.

---

Way out in the Highlands Tyler stepped out of the gate and into a large cave filled with treasures of all kinds. He closed his eyes and focused his magic and a moment later the potion’s affects were forced to stop.

Xyaban smiled as she stood there, new knowledge gained from that little trip. She had at least one name, three faces, two that she knew were relevant, one that could be a problem. She had Alairia’s scent now as well, her nose as good as any wolf’s. ”Now they shall pay, he will pay for what he has done.” Xyaban spoke to herself as she removed all of the human clothing she had been wearing, and found a place to lay naked among the treasures.

She smiled wicked as she laid back and closed her eyes and imagined all the fun and exciting ways she was going to torture them.

Dae turned his gaze away from the over-loving pair as they reunited. He was unsure why, but somehow the touches of his sister to the man’s blindfold seemed more intimate than one truly understood. The brother allowed his gaze to shift over the landscape while he gave the pair some time. In truth, he was surprised at how open Alairia was being with her feelings. She was a fairly innocent and sometimes naïve girl that was always an open book. Normally, she was shy to the point where most prospective suitors went away on their own from lack of progress. Dae was fairly certain on many occasions it had been on purpose to make them lose interest in her and not the family store. Alairia may be naïve, but yet she was quite tactful in her interactions.

His gaze turned just in time to see Raith remove his blindfold for the sake of Alairia’s wishes. Brow lifted as he saw her face brighten at the revealing of his features to her. Her fingers traced the outline of his eyes then down his jawline as if to memorize his face like he had done to her at the ball. Dae couldn’t help but sigh slightly at the concept that he had already lost. There would be no way to deter her from him now; not that he had planned to do so, but if he had been there would be no chance for him. ”You are old,” Dae laughed in response. He could only imagine the information that Alairia had not divulged about their lives. Few had the right to know what had happened to the Balatro family and the deep scars that they sustained in attempt to survive. Their mother had given that information to their soon to be stepfather, but that was really as far as it went. They had to be careful considering their stepfather’s twin brother had now made several attempts to disrupt the family with assassins. Now that Dae was older he had the ability to keep the family safe.

The sister watched as her brother moved to find himself a comfortable spot. A light smile was on her lips as she noticed Dae making his change in footsteps. At least he was already attempting to be cordial. Ria had already guessed what Raith was admitting to. Her face turned away from Dae and even Raith to push against Raith’s chest in an effort to hide the slight hurt. She had been cautious upon their first meeting and it was annoying to admit that her guard had not lasted against him. It did help to know that his guard had not been up for against her as well. ”I appreciate your honesty.” The response was simple from the brother. He watched as Raith kiss Alairia’s fingers. Though just a moment ago she had been hiding her face, she couldn’t keep from looking up at the man with adoration in her eyes. ”Well, if Alairia can get over your darkness, then I guess I really have no choice. You know that my sister is…well she is special. I have little right to ask you to not be of darkness if I cannot fulfill that requirement either. You and I have much more in common than I believe either of us realize.” Dae shook his head slightly with a chuckle at Ria as she blushed. ”But then again, I am fairly certain that Ria already knew that. All that I ask is that you protect her. Many will try to take advantage of that light that we will never obtain.”

Alairia waited for the ‘excitement’ to be over before coming from behind Raith’s protection. ”I am glad to hear that you are okay. My name is Alairia Balatro.” She smiled brightly at the man, though she could hear an annoyed grunt out of her brother who still refused to put his weapons away. There was a glare burrowing into the back of the new man’s head from Dae. Alairia frowned up at him as she continued to help Tyler. ”There is no need to pay since it is little for me to open a gate for you. Be careful.” The healer stood with staff in hand. A few incantations were recited and a flourish of hand to open the travel gate to Sularia as was asked. She waved good-bye to the man before turning back to Raith and Dae.

”That was a bit more exciting than anticipated. Why don’t we look for some herbs? That way I can have something to show for mother that will be good excuse for not inviting her on the trip. She was not too pleased with the idea of being left behind this morning. I think she is missing Kieran quite a bit with his travels.” Alairia lightly grabbed Raith’s arm to give him instruction to follow towards the pool of water. She had already sighted some of the blood lotus that was needed for her mana restorative potions. Letting go of her beloved, Alairia kneeled at the water’s edge to begin cutting the plants. They were carefully put within her herb bag, and noticed how Dae did not help. He continued to look about for any signs of anything else to come. There was little trust in the shade hybrid.

"I knew your sister was special from the moment she spoke to me." Raith chuckled; smiling down at the woman in his arms. In truth he did not quite know how to express what their relationship equated to - he did not quite wish to say lover as that implied he had taken her to bed and that he had not yet even contemplated but love came into it and he knew it even if he had yet to utter the word aloud. "She's a dangerous woman to be around, truth be told, a natural Enchantress though I doubt even you realised that Alairia." He smiled, fingers tracing her cheek gently. She had had him spell bound the moment she had allowed him to join her at the first ball; all plots and plans that he had originally had in his head had been cast aside as they had spoken and Raith had found himself lost in this woman's presence for the first time in his two centuries. 
"Have no fear; my shadows will only ever be directed at those who dare to hurt her." He promised to Dae with a nod of his head, holding Alairia closer to him so that she could feel his sincerity as much as hear it. 

The young man's presence disturbed him greatly; something about him did not sit right in Raith's mind nor did the creature's sudden change of heart. He had heard it's approach, had felt the vibrations of it's footfalls and even between the four of them the creature would have been able to deal some damage of that Raith was certain. He turned his head in Alairia's direction as she freely gave her name to the man; his blind eyes narrowing into a scowl; he had no intention of offering his name to this man and it appeared that neither did Dae. One more reason to respect Alairia's brother as far as Raith was concerned. 
As Dae and Raith made it blatantly obvious that they had no intention of conversing with Tyler they became redundant to the conversation - Raith was glad of this as it meant he could concentrate on the man's words without having to actually listen to them. They seemed genuine enough but there was something there… something that niggled at the back of Raith's mind and made him all the more wary of this man's presence… Yet no sooner had Tyler appeared then he was leaving their party; begging passage via Gate Travel from Alairia. Again Raith's sightless eyes narrowed as the man left them; the magic of the portal and the encounter leaving a bad taste in the man's mouth. 

"As you wish my Lady." Raith smiled; turning his attention back to her fully now that Tyler had left them. "I'm afraid I'm not going to be much use in looking for herbs but if you tell me what you look for I may well be able to scent them out at the very least."

As the two men spoke about the blonde woman, she did her best to hide her face away from the pair. A blush had heated her face, even as she could feel the sting in her chest from some of Raith’s words. She deeply appreciated his honesty; there were words that could be trusted. Alairia knew that Dae would also be pleased to know the truth and he could use that as an established relationship for the future. What could not be gotten over was the sudden arrival of someone in need. Dae could not believe such an instance happening out of nowhere. All instincts told him that it was fake to say the very least. His gaze shifted over to Raith to notice that his sentiments were reflected in his features and stance.

Alairia did not want to focus on such a nasty interaction considering this was supposed to be her date with Raith. Somehow everyone and anyone was becoming involved in a time that was to be just their’s. The healer clicked her tongue in annoyance while pulling Raith to follow her to the water’s edge. ”I already know that Dae is going to be of no use to me now that his attention is somewhere else. Why don’t you just go away now,” she spoke with great emphasis on the leaving towards her brother. She could hear his curt laugh from behind her, knowing that he was going to give in.

”As you wish, dear sister. I know when I’m not wanted. Enjoy your afternoon. Keep your senses about you.” That was directed towards the male, though Dae knew that it was an unnecessary statement to be made. It was clear that Raith was going to keep all his instincts on high alert to keep Ria safe from harm. The brother leaned over to look at his sister. A wink was given with a smile before he shoved his hands in his pockets to walk away.

”Finally!” Her tone was in jest, though she had to admit that getting Raith to herself was her end goal. ”Lean down.” Once his face was close enough to her, her hand reached up to cup his face to bring him in for a kiss. It was sweet kiss that desperately had been needed without an audience. Ria blushed heavily when letting him free of her grasp. There was a clearing of her throat before cutting another blood lotus from the water. ”They have a distinct scent about them, though it is sometimes hard with the water. I need a decent amount to make my next batch of mana restoration potions.” Carefully the lotus was lifted for the part wolf to catch a scent in order to mark his targets.

Alairia was unsure about how much time had passed as they continued to work at the water’s edge. She could not keep a smile from staying upon her lips. Just being beside him made her filled with joy. What made her jolt from her blind happiness was a flitter of something out of the corner of her eye. In a small flash, a creature landed upon Raith’s shoulder. Tail wrapped about his neck as if a possessive move. ”Raith…don’t move. You have yourself a little friend.”