"Ok Belen, it's now or never. It's simple–all you gotta do is walk in, tell him what you want and give him an offer before he throws you out." He didn't mean to brag, but the half-fey brunet thought he was pretty good when it came to convincing people to see his side of things. Most people wouldn't be able to say they managed to bargain with the queen of the White Court and live to tell about it–especially when she was angry. Having her granddaughter as your girlfriend helped, or made things worse depending on the situation. It'd been more than half a year since his little brother had pulled out all the stops in the most fairy-tale engagement ever, and unfortunately Tempest was impressed. As much as he loved Cyril, that twin of his inadvertently raised the stakes much higher than he liked them to be. All this time he'd been racking his brains, trying to figure out how to one-up something like that. If he tried to go on a larger scale, that'd be no good. And he couldn't use the same methods either. That'd be cheap, and there was no way he'd be able to live with himself if he gave his girlfriend something second-best. In true Kyrie fashion, you either go all out or didn't go at all; there is no in between. Belen wanted to wow her and make it the most memorable proposal she'd ever have. And there laid the problem…

Tempest was a genius for a field of work that was full of ingenuity. If you could imagine it, she'd probably seen it or somebody else had made it. So as you can see, finding something unique in of itself was enough to make Belen pull his hair. Then…it happened. In the dead of the night when he was sneakily doing research for inspiration, he got an idea that was crazy awesome. Instead of finding the perfect ring, what if he made it? But he had to make sure it was a secret, and he definitely couldn't let anybody Tempest knew work on the idea. Sorting through his sleep-deprived brain, he remembered the first time he had saw her. Dragonfire was in her blood, and watching a girl your age suplex a fully grown dragon can give any boy the chills. As a call back to her grandma and the fire she used in her forge, what better gift than to make a ring with different types of magical fire in the solitaire?

With a shortlist of 'ingredients' and a general idea in his head, he wrote up some plans on how he'd get the stuff and how they would be a part of the ring. First, he'd need a container to hold magical energy. Flames produced through magical means had a tendency to be unstable or uncontrollable, sometimes both. The phoenix's flames didn't last long but thanks to the wonders of alchemy, you could keep them from dissipating until they were used. Out of the six colors of fire he needed, hellfire and phoenix fire were the easiest to get, so he'd pick those up last. Most alchemists and artificers would place a steep price on their services, and sometimes they didn't even have time to spare. That narrowed down his options on who he could ask for a commission. And again, the whole point was to make sure it was a complete surprise until he made the big reveal.

Now he was standing outside of a shop in the Black District, steeling himself for whatever Efrain might throw at him. Efrain wasn't the most agreeable of people to ask favors from, but he preferred to mind his own business so it'd be unlikely that he'd tell Tempest. They key here was to know how much he could be bothered until negotiations fell apart. And luckily enough, Belen had a bargaining chip. Putting on a natural smile, he quickly opened the door and started talking as soon as he crossed over the threshold. "Hey Efrain, if you're free can I ask you for a small fav-" With a gasp, he ducked as a scalpel flew over his head.

As soon as he heard the door open, he shot a glance at someone who wasn't supposed to be here at this very moment. By now Efrain had learned to memorize the sound of footsteps, and could identify who had traipsed in by that detail alone. If it was Juniper, her mother, his mother, or his older sister–they would be fine. But when the footfalls told it was neither, immediately the knife flew from his hands and embedded itself into the wooden frame of the door. His cold grey eyes glared at the older boy who was now prone on the floor. "Get out. Don't make me repeat myself." That was not a request; it was an order. As he readied another, Belen started waving his arms around in a panic. "Wait wait wait wait–I can explain!" Raising his arm with ammo in hand, the apothecary cut him off. "NOT INTERESTED. GOODBYE." Hurling a second scalpel, it narrowly missed Belen as the brunet rolled out of the way. "I'LL GET YOU SOMETHING I SWEAR! I MEAN JUNI–I'LL GET JUNI SOMETHING FOR YOU!" His hand stopped as it was reaching for a third projectile. "Keep talking, or else I'll give you two throws for the price of one."

Scrambling to his feet with hands raised, words started running out of his mouth. "So I just need a magical container…thing to hold magical flames. Y'know, like wisps and phoenix feathers? I'll get Juniper some souvenirs when I head over to see your sister in Namibia. There's this big elephant graveyard place near where Sirona's statue was, and it's a big necromancer hotspot." There was a moment of silence as the Rosenite contemplated his offer. Even if it wasn't explicitly something she could use, a trinket from a place known for its necromancers would definitely catch her fancy. "Deal. I'll make your enchanted vessel, but you better not come back with something cheap like a shrunken head. I expect something unique and interesting." There was a sigh of relief from Belen, to which Efrain replied: "Now leave! Don't come back until it's been three days, I can't work with people running around interrupting me." The brunet bolted, and sweet silence settled back over the shop once more. 

The item in question wasn't too difficult to craft, but he had to ensure it could contain potentially volatile energies without collapsing or bursting. Grabbing the nearest thing that seemed suitable, Efrain began to etch runic symbols into the wood of a lantern and filled them with a thin layer of molten silver. Reinforcing the wood and body with protective enchantments, the container was finished. He didn't actually need three days to make it, but if he told Belen that then he'd never get a moment's peace. It was better to tell him when to come pick it up than have him come in unannounced whenever he wanted. 

He narrowly avoided getting aimed at like a dart board again, but a deal was a deal. Belen would have to find a way to keep himself busy during the wait, and since he couldn't leave just yet–he might as well start collecting the phoenix feathers and hellfire. While the dark-haired surly boy was busy making the magic lantern, he spent his time shopping around in the Afthonia Bazaar. Putting on a headscarf and some prop clothes, he tried to pass as a tourist from some other city as he made his rounds looking for the perfect purchase. There was another reason why he was breaking from his usual habits; the last thing he wanted would be to have a chance run-in with Tempest or somebody from her family while he was busy searching. Alchemical reagents were common stock for top-tier crafters like her. And naturally he knew that they didn't come cheap. Haggling for these would be out of the question, since these were imported goods. While he could ask his mom for them…it didn't feel the same as going out and picking the best yourself. Besides, he was already prepared to pay a hefty sum to get this ring made. Spending a little more to go the extra mile wouldn't hurt. You didn't skimp when it came to engagement rings–or wedding rings for that matter.

Eventually three days passed, and he had discreetly bought a few pieces of hellfire and a handful of phoenix feathers. He originally didn't plan to buy more than two, but he bought extra just in case there was an accident during the infusion process. He'd have to be especially careful with the other components he'd be collecting, since he wouldn't be able to run and buy more off the market. On the morning of the third day, Belen debated whether he should go in or wait until noon. Chrys' little brother wasn't exactly a people person, and either way he wouldn't be happy to see him. He'd probably be less angry if he got his payment upfront instead of waiting for it, but the half-fey was running out of time. The quicker he got the rest of the magical flames, the quicker he could move on to the next and most important step–the forging. 

Putting a protection spell on before going through the door, he braced himself for any incoming projectiles that'd be coming his way. To his surprise, there weren't any. Efrain was sitting at the counter, leaning on his arm with a book open next to him. His cold steely eyes glanced up and he could visibly see the corner of his mouth twitch in annoyance. "Here. It's done. Take it and go. And don't forget to bring back what you promised–or else that's the last favor you'll be getting from me!" Reaching below the counter the apothecary set a seemingly ordinary metal lantern atop. "Thanks, you're a lifesaver! I'll bring back Juni's present, I promise!" The younger boy rolled his eyes. "Cut the flattery and get out of my sight." The brunet boy nodded furiously, taking his magically reinforced container before backing out the front door. Once he was out of earshot, he took a good look at what he was given. At a first glance it looked no different from a typical lantern, but when you held it up to the sunlight, thin tracings in silver were etched across the metal. When it came to enchantments, Efrain knew his stuff–so it'd definitely do the job.

"Yes, finally! Now let's see where I need to go first… Fairy fire and will o' wisps aren't too difficult to get in the wild, so that leaves me with the two mystery components. I wonder if I could snag a sample of some dragon fire to fill in one of those two? There's that place where dragons live down south in Onnen right? Maybe I'll ask Chrys and see if she knows anything about magical sources of fire." First stop, Namibia!