"Woah woah woah. What about just signing a regular ...thing? You know what I mean, a treaty or something like that?"

In a small room stood the three remaining forest royals; a twenty four year old man with thick black hair that looked wild despite any attempts to tame it, an older man bearing a strong resemblance, and very frail old woman who sat knitting quietly. "....We're in no position for that sort of measure." The savage-looking king crossed his arms. "Familial ties are strong and there is no time."

"Dad. This isn't medieval times or whatever." His eyes were brown with golden hues. Motto of the Brook. He had a stocky build like his father; standing five feet and six inches tall with a powerful physique. Staggering back from a sudden rush of flames, Motto countered with an air-burst. Both men ceased when the tree-castle's ivy wound itself around them tight enough to prevent movement. "Motto." The old woman's tiny hand touched his. "This is our only chance to salvage what is left. The forest has already stopped talking to us....but it still speaks to you. Doesn't it?" The young man said nothing, but scowled and lowered his head. "Don't worry so much about whether or not she'll accept you."

"WHAT?" Motto had been released by the vines and stared incredulous at his grandmother. "Accept me?! I'm not worried about that. What the heck would you make you think that? Ha ha, that's crazy, Abe. Pshhh I'm fine. I got this." The two elders exchanged looks. "Good." His father grunted. "When the time and place is set, you will be there."

"Yeah." Motto stepped onto a branchy balcony. Beads of sweat were forming on his brow. "No problem."

Congratulations!

Kudos on the Marriage!

You got yourself a looker!

He ain't the ugliest thing!

Ayy, stop by Lio's on Fifth, we got some gifts!


Light dimly stretched toward the windows of a room high above the city. Nothing save for the sound of the occasional mouse click filled the room as a young woman stared transfixed by her laptop. Her eyes scanned with burning focus as she looked at the emails and messages being sent to her by various family members. Her jaw had tightened and her hand tightly balled a fistful of her white silk sheets as she scrolled through the messages. Of course her Father wouldn't spend time sending little congratulations over this, he was the one setting it up after all and he knew she wouldn't be a fan.

A small, reluctant tap against the glass door of the patio and the woman's eyes darted upward. Her hand moved with blinding speed to shut the laptop, and slid it away. With a snap of her fingers the lamps on either side of bed eased into a warm orange light.

"un- ****ing believable!" she shouted down over the balcony as the figure slowly opened the glass door. It turned to gently close the door behind it before making it's way towards the stairs to the woman's massive bed.

"Actually, I should expect this from Ikathka Real himself. He thinks it's cool to just do.... this without asking me? You'd think-" her words caught in her throat as she watched the figure move.

The creature silently made it up the stairs before stiffly sitting at the foot of the bed. It opened a sharp-toothed mouth to speak before collapsing into cloud of oily black mist. When the mists had cleared, all that was left behind was a small defeated looking blackbird at the foot of her bed. All the rage and disgust that had been building in the girl dropped out of her in that instant.

"Jin, sweetie, It's okay," The woman said as she made her way to the foot of the bed "This is not your fault! You couldn't have known that Dad was going to do this,". Without waiting for a response, she scooped the small bird into her hands and brought it toward her chest. The little creature gave a small shudder before letting out a small noise; something between a sob and a chirp.

"I should've done more," his sweet small voice came out as a whisper "Your dad wouldn't have gone this far if I had just worked harder, made more progress, more territories, he would've finally trusted us, we could've told him. I-" another shudder and the boy was silent.

"Jin" the woman said with low even tone "I need you to look at me, Jin"

Despite the little bird's distress it did as it was told and peered up at the woman.

"Do I look angry at you, sweetie?" she cooed. The boy looked down and shook his head.

"No, Ma'am, Lady Ikathka, but I believe you should be,"

"No." She said sternly "This is Jota Ikathka's fault, and nothing you did was going to make him not be a pain in my ass." the anger that she had been containing bubbled up just for moment as she spat that name. She made her way back to the head of her bed and sat the bird down on a pillow "Now all we can do is fix this mess before it becomes a problem for us." she reopened the laptop and scrolled a bit to find an image. Oily black fog enveloped the bird and small black cat emerged to peer at the screen from the side. She brought up an image of an upbeat looking young man with sunny bright features and she tapped a manicured finger against the screen.

"You see this man?" she said as if she were speaking to a child "I need you to locate him and tell him something from me,"

The cat seemed transfixed by the man's image for a moment before swiveling his attention to his Lady "Yes, ma'am?" he squeaked.

The woman scratched the cat behind it's ear as she spoke eliciting a stream of soft purrs "Tell him, that his 'new Wife' would like to meet with him tomorrow morning at the Donna Cafe in Central Square mall. There are some things we need to talk about."

The cat stopped it's purring just long enough to respond "should I scare him a bit?"

The woman let out a small chuckle "I think you should! But not too badly, killing the boy might make things much worse for us,"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The moon was high in the sky by the time of his arrival. Jin beat large heavy wings as he made his way down to perch on the balcony of an Elemental Estate, being just loud enough to be heard by anyone in the adjacent room. He settled down before murky black tendrils enveloped him once more and a young man with piercing snake-eyes peered through the opening into a bedroom. Profane whispers filling the air around him as he reached his mind out toward the man he sought.

The Ikathka have a message for you.

That night Motto poured himself into pushups. He had successfully put off thinking about his situation for a long time now, easy to do when hidden away in the otherwise untouched wilderness. Over twenty years ago when s**t hit the fan with the Takers, the Elemental family retreated into the woods. Motto knew little else until his twelfth birthday when he embarked on his awakening; taking him all over the world. His magic was dangerously strong. He honed it and even dared to face off with a Taker...needless to say it didn't go well.

Despite the horrifying set-back, Motto's talent slowly returned after years in his forest castle. This whole marriage thing freaked him out for a bunch of reasons: The Takers were growing in number and getting ballsy. He was in legit danger and the confidence he had as a kid had never really come back. Plus holy s**t getting married. Sure he was a Prince but Motto was clueless when it came to formalities of any kind let alone royal stuff. And now he was to be wed with a Princess.

A shiver of excitement ran through and the raven-haired man paused in his exercises. Panting, he stared at the floor and imagined kissing a hot girl in a puffy dress with a tiara. Instead of reveling in the thought, Motto tensed and shut his eyes. That hot Princess needed actual protection and a dude who knew how to do royal stuff too. He chose to focus on protecting and upping his magic game.

A sudden shift in the room's atmosphere caused Motto's eyes to fly open. He wasn't alone. On his feet in an instant, the Elemental Prince took a defensive stance. There was a dude with friggin snake eyes just chillin'. Motto's already spiky hair stood on end as the ominous whispers filled his ears.

The Ikathka have a message for you.



"Wait what?" Motto blinked and lowered his guard a little. "The Ikathka? The hell dude! You didn't have to come at me like that..what is it?" Irritated, the man relaxed and mopped the sweat off his face with a nearby tee-shirt. It occurred to him that this might be how the other kingdom rolled, and Motto's attitude brightened. "You..hungry or anything?"

Internally, Jin flinched, but his outward appearance reflected nothing. He wasn't taken aback by the man's words but by his presence. His stature wasn't anything but average and his appearance nothing of great note, but something about his.... being.

It was...
intense.
passionate.
strong.

Jin did all he could manage to shut his mind off to that presence, the whispers fading as he did so. He pulled a visible frown and took a step forward, his form easily towering over the man. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could manage any words the Prince spoke once more.

"You..hungry or anything?" he asked. It was as if he had a house guest and not a large winged devil at his door. That presence flooded toward Jin once more, warmer now. Pleasant even. Not the response he'd expected.

"N-no I- um, " his deep rumbling voice cracked for just a moment. Black tendrils, like ink twisting about in water cascaded off of Jin's body. Something like embarrassment flashed in the demon's features just for a moment and he took a step backward before he regained his composure.

"Lady Ikathka requests Motto of The Brook's presence at Donna Cafe in Central Square mall". He pointed an inky black clawed finger at the man, the whispers refilled the silence and intensified; a crescendo of voices increasing in urgency and sending tremors through the room. An image, a location, a time. All were placed directly into Motto's mind. The whispers continued, louder than screams as the flood of information was sent. It was deafening for just a moment and then. Silence. The creature placed his arm down, still blankly eyeing the man.

It would be unwise for Motto of the Brook to be late. The creature's lips did not move this time. It's gravelly, alien voice filled Motto's head and echoed loudly. Without waiting for a response, the creature slipped from the balcony and plummeted hard before launching into the air on large black feathered wings. Its body trailing those black wisps as it went.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A tiny blackbird fluttered down onto the penthouse patio and tapped a beak at the glass door before slipping in. It gave a small shake of its feathers before making its way toward the bottom of the stairs.

"You look guiltier than usual," the woman called down. The little bird started at the sound of her voice and slipped into cat form as it made its way up the stairs.

"How'd it go?" she inquired. She had still been deep in her messages but her focus had shifted to the small black cat.

"I-it went well! mhm, yup, message delivered, all good!" his small voice squeaked. He'd hopped onto the bed and taken seat at the foot of the bed.

"If you killed him, I need you to tell me, Jin," she said wearily

"He's not dead!" the boy nearly shouted, his ears flattened against his head and he looked away from the woman regretfully "He's just- I don't know, Ma'am. He's strange,"

"Most rich boys are weirdos," she said flatly, her gaze had returned to her laptop and she began typing something "Who needs to develop a personality when you've got money, right?" she added with a chuckle.

"Not like that, Ma'am" Jin said quietly "I couldn't concentrate when I got near him! It felt like he was... I don't know. It wasn't painful, just uncomfortable. I felt like I couldn't breathe! And he offered me food?" the little cat curled itself up before lying down "Even his sweat was strange! Can't get the scent of it out of my nose,". The flickering of his ears and thrashing of his tail were clear indications that he was pretty wound up about it all. The woman cracked a small smirk before closing her laptop and kicking the covers up.

"We can talk about it in the morning," she said, Jin could clearly hear that sly knowing tone in his lady's voice, and even if he wanted to know more, he wasn't going to press it.

"Good night ma'am,"

"Lady Ikathka requests Motto of The Brook's presence at Donna Cafe in Central Square mall".

Motto visibly crumbled before the dark creature as the frightening sensations overwhelmed him. Grunting, he covered his ears and inhaled a deep breath to expel into a defensive gust. Information came to his mind in a flash, astonishing the Elemental into withdrawing his attack. He’d never experienced magic like that before and it worried him. That snake eye dude was on a whole other level. Motto stood paralyzed in the thing’s presence, wide-eyed and certain of his demise. It got into his mind.

It would be unwise for Motto of the Brook to be late.

Motto backed away, tripping over a book and falling onto his butt. With a panicked, boyish sound he put up an arm to protect himself but the threat was already gone. For several minutes Motto sat there breathing heavily with a hand clutching at his heart. That was straight up terrifying. With sudden grunt, he reached for a pen and scribbled on the nearest bit a paper: “Donna Cafe. Central..Square..Mall.”

“S***.. what time?” Motto ran to his balcony and cupped his hands and yelled. “WHAT TIME??”

The Prince ran a shaking hand through his hair and grabbed a fresh tee-shirt. Stuffing his wallet into his back pocket, Motto dashed out of his chamber and out of the tree castle. He reached the Donna Cafe just before sunrise and let his back rest against the window while catching his breath. Eighty Kilometers. It was by no means the longest distance he’d ever covered in one go, but it was still enough to significantly wear him out. There was grime on his face and a bit of a scratch from a rock incident. His tee-shirt was sticky but he knew better than to take it off. Royal stuff to deal with. Had to be proper.. On time. ..

Motto slid to sit on the sidewalk and dozed off.

The woman sat cross-legged in the back seat and looked out of the darkened windows of her black car. Despite it being early morning, the sky was dark and there was a cold stiff breeze. Even with a tint on the windows, she could tell there was a storm in the air. People were still going about as always, but with much more urgency to get to their destination and out of the incoming bad weather. The woman picked up a small charcoal leather clutch from beside her and retrieved a tiny vial from a side pocket. The vial was filled entirely with a swirling black fluid. It trailed over itself in shiny rheoscopic swirls, like a small black tempest in a bottle, as she turned it over in her hand. She admired the patterns for just a while longer before the car came to a halt. Without prompting, she placed the vial back in her clutch, slipped the strap over her wrist and opened her door. The chauffeur stood hand outstretched to open the door with a defeated look on his wrinkled face, as if he were used to this. He sat back in his drivers seat with a sigh and a wipe at his brow.

"Still too slow," she said flatly as she stood out of the car and shut the door behind her "I might be a while so get lost for a while," she shouted back before making her way toward the cafe entrance. She stopped short of the entrance to see a grimy looking his majesty sleeping on the sidewalk. She looked blankly at the sad scene for a moment before turning to walk into the cafe. A smooth tone played as the door opened and the warm fragrance of coffee and spices wafted outward.

"Eyy! My little marfallina!" a small old man in a striped button up, green khaki shorts and brown sandals swiftly covered the floor with arms wide as he swooped in to hug the bride to be "I heard the good news, mija! Un marito real! Felices!" he chuckled and patted the girl on the back before moving to the side. He placed his hand up onto her shoulder and guided her toward the front, it took all she had not to scowl.

"Thank you, Jorge. Where is Donna?" she quickly redirected the conversation.

"Sai que she's in the back, mija," his loud voice cut through the all the noise in the cafe "Vai,mija! She's got something for you!"

"She makes me anymore cakes and I'm not gonna fit in a wedding dress," she called back as she made her way to the back room "Oh! and Jorge?" she turned on her heel and called back toward him " hay un ragazzo fuori. Traigalo al trasero?".

"wha?" the old man scratched a hand through his silvery head of hair before walking to the front to investigate. Sure enough, there was a sloppy passed out man right there. He scrunched his nose up at the scent and the image in general before running back in to get a pot.

SPLASH! a full pot of ice water was sent cascading over the slumped over man "Eyy!" the old man shouted "you stinkin' up my storefront! Go around back and take the stairs down."

_________________

Son of the Beast and the Leech | +

-King of the men that you truly fear most
-Quite a greedy guest, and not a gracious host
-Claiming souls for my father's land
-Preparing for war is my father's plan
-Revealing desires; dirty and unique
-Committing horrors mortals can't speak
-Ire to the man with a life full of hatred
-Blood from your veins, what you held most sacred.

-Sustain. Empower what you find unholy.
-Bleed. Feed who really needs you wholly.
-Salvation turned her back,
~Even when I sought her
- But Life is my wife and Death is her daughter
- Time goes by but I never grow old
- Happily,
-I watch your Skin. Turn. To Mold.
- Every time around another fleeting time of pleasure
-"Together.... we'll be-
Together-
Forever"
- but then you die, life fallen like a tiny feather
- just a bout of rain from a bad day of weather.
- Every time I feed I concede to my need............ -Unfinished

~Son of the Beast and the Leech

SPLASH! Motto jolted up and glared at the older man who looked responsible for the cold water.

"you stinkin' up my storefront! Go around back and take the stairs down."

Motto wasn’t sure what to make of the instructions. Did the man send everyone that way or just dudes who accidentally fell asleep outside his cafe? His confusion was plain to see. Jorge’s features stretched with agitation as he enunciated slowly for the culo, “She. is. waiting.”

The younger man’s eyes widened with sudden realization and he turned and ran. “S*** s*** s***.” Motto muttered while clearing a stack of crates and squeezing past a startled baker. HE WAS LATE. “Stairs stairs.” He located them and thundered down into the back room still dripping yet.

He yanked open a door to enter what looked like a nice little apartment and came to a halt. There was a woman sitting there reading and it was probably her house. Thinking he took the wrong set of stairs, Motto blurted an apology before shutting the door quickly and dashing back the way he came. A minute later, there was a soft knock at the door before the Elemental Prince opened it again.

As far as he could tell, no one was there besides the mocha-skinned woman. Squaring his shoulders, Motto turned to face her after shutting the door and strode to where she was. He stopped four feet from the lady and bowed at the waist. “Your Highness of Ikathka , I am Motto of the Brook. Heir to the Elemental Domain.” Rising, a mild blush could now be seen on his face as well as a twitch of his jaw. Motto’s hair was partially flattened against his head from the spontaneous ice bath and droplets of water continued to roll down his neck into the half drenched tee-shirt he wore. Somehow the grime from his journey remained; an awkward smear on his forehead and the scratch on his cheek. Although he governed his eyes reasonably well, Motto noted her clothes and figure. Her scent he hadn’t fully made out yet, but it didn’t matter much. She was hotter than he imagined except there was no tiara or pink stuff. “I am ..at your service..” He added in his best attempt at royal speak.

She had already seen him in pictures and videos. She'd already seen the disheveled state he'd been in at the front of the store. But something about watching him messily bumble about, rivulets of water dribbling from his head onto the floor, all caught her off guard. She took a moment to scan him over as he stiffly bowed and relayed information she already knew.

“Your Highness of Ikathka , I am Motto of the Brook. Heir to the Elemental Domain.” he said as if he'd read it from a cue card before following it with a less rehearsed "I am ..at your service.."

Her eyes had returned to her book and she carefully marked her place before closing the book and placing it on the table in front of her. She uncrossed her legs and stood up to look at the man who was meant to be the solution to all of the territory struggles, stalemates, and corrupted governments. Even without the raised wedges of her ankle boots, she'd still be looking down at his, scratched, dirty, flushed face. The odor coming off the man mixed with her cherry blossom perfume into a hideous assault on the sense. Once the wave of nausea passed, rage bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

"Isabella's fine," she said coolly. Her voice was young and a touch low, more fitting for a girl who wears converse and checked flannel than a girl in macabre dark toned sweaters and scarves. She made a motion as if to outstretch a hand, but decided against it and instead pointed at a nearby closed door.

"The bathroom's over there and the room right there should have some spare clothes, we can talk once you've cleaned up," her words were professional and unemotional and, without waiting for a response, she made her way toward the stairs. She needed to cool off for a minute.

Motto considered himself decent at reading people, but the Ikathka Princess was a total mystery. Was is it just circumstances messing with him or was she reeeeeaally good at masking her intentions? Whatever the case was, she was taller. Dammit. Didn’t matter though. Still super hot. Cherry blossoms were her thing apparently, but he was more interested in her hair.

"Isabella's fine."

“Oh.” He was lame and it sucked.

His hand twitched to move and meet hers but it was feint! Dammit she was playing games with him. Motto’s mouth fell open at the implied command to bathe and dress like a child or something. Isabella was already walking away.



“Sure thing.” He wasn’t amused. Unable to think of anything cool, Motto strode into the bathroom with his fists balled up. As expected, it was fancy and artsy in there. He undressed and stepped into the shower; his angered expression switching to confused. “HOW DOES THIS WOR--S***!” A little too fancy. Motto didn’t see any way to start the water but he’d triggered it somehow. Fortunately for him, the water’s temperature was ideal and his surprised melted into bliss. Turning, the raven let the pressured stream wash over his shoulders before rolling his head back to have his hair soaked.

Although his shower was brief, it was a luxurious one. Motto wanted to enjoy it longer but it felt weird and rude and it was freaking him out a little that he was supposed to marry that girl. He remembered to wear the towel around his waist before walking out and glanced around at the main area before heading into the second room Isabella pointed out. If there was nothing hindering him, the Prince would dress in the first pants he found and the white button down shirt seemed like a good idea. A jacket had been on the same hanger as the pants, but it was too formal. OR WAS IT? Motto hesitated before the mirror, but quickly shook his head and grabbed a pair of boots he assumed it was ok to borrow.

He didn’t need the stinkin’ jacket.

Refreshed and a little ticked off, Motto walked out into the main area and would continue up the stairs he’d seen her take if she wasn’t waiting for him.

The door swung open and a red-haired slip of a woman carrying a massive tray of food shuffled quickly down the steps, almost barrelling into the man trying to come up them. Isabella followed close behind exchanging words with the woman in another language. The fiery-haired woman flitted her hand at the man to shoo him back down the steps, deftly balancing the monstrous tray in one hand for a moment as she descended down the steps.

"Now mija, I don't wanna hear any more of it," the woman's voice was loud and near scolding but somehow carried no malice "If it weren't for you, this place wouldn't even exist!" She placed the large tray on the living room coffee table and turned to face Isabella who'd been keeping pace closely behind her "you can keep whatever you want here: questa uomo aqui, gatos, enanos, cuantos demoni que vuole. Long as they don't come up into my kitchen, 'sta benne," she finished, snapping her gaze to the man with hard eyes before making her way back up the stairs.

Isabella wordlessly made her way to the table and set the television to the news and dropped the volume all the way down before making herself comfortable in an armchair directly facing the short edge of the coffee table. She leaned forward and unceremoniously grabbed a plump strawberry from the bowl of fruit. She took no time to consider it before biting it clean in half. She looked toward Motto as she chewed before motioning her hand toward the large tray. She chased the fruit with a gulp of water from a tall clear glass.

"Donna, always goes overboard with the food, help yourself" now that she had actually focused her attention on him, she could see that he cleaned up decently. Still looked like a kid in a summer suit but not too bad. His body filled out the clothes nicely, though he was a bit broad for the shirt. The outfit was a bit out of place for the weather today too. Images of thunderclouds and on site coverage of dark rolling clouds flashed on the screen for a while. Apparently the storm was going to be pretty big.

Motto looked up to see the duo and promptly back pedaled down the stairs. Out of his element and slightly intimidated, he stood a few paces back from the foot of the stairs and looked on as his bride-to-be descended. She moved with grace he decided. And her hair was absolutely rockin’. Motto inhaled the scent of it as she passed him by and wondered at his predicament. Was this actually happening and yikes he wasn’t in her league at all. Then again, so what?

A pair of sharp eyes met with his and Motto snapped out of it. Whoever the red-headed woman was, she was intense and dammit she looked away just before he offered a proper smile. Motto turned his attention back to the Princess just as she plucked up a strawberry. Her relaxed manner was a welcome sight and the Elemental seated himself at the table’s opposite end to face her. Motto ignored the television completely and helped himself to the entire wedge of brie; eating it in three bites and nodding with an appreciative grunt.

“So..” He was still chewing but Motto had swallowed enough for his words to be intelligible, “What did you want to talk about ?” A handful of whole strawberries went into his mouth next. He was almost always hungry as a result of his physical and magical traits. Motto’s chewing slowed and his eyes flashed with uncertainty. “You did want to talk, ..right?”

She had a sneaking suspicion that the man would be a talking with his mouth full kind of guy. This she was okay with; not dignified and definitely not going to fit in at a formal party, but ravenous was a good quality. She was patient, sipping water and taking occasional bites of some sort of green wrap before wiping her mouth with a napkin and sitting up in her seat.
"It only makes sense for us to get to know each other, considering our parents decided we need to spend the rest of our lives together for the advancement of their plots," she rattled this off with a mock dismissive nature. A slip of irritation added a small edge to her voice that she hadn't meant to have. She could tell the man was already a bit intimidated by the situation and she pulled back the fire in her tone.

"Not that we'd make a bad looking couple, but an advantageous marriage isn't very romantic... especially when it isn't to my advantage" she chuckled and took a quick sip before standing up, leisurely walking over to the bar at the kitchenette and picking up her charcoal colored leather bag. She pulled a small vial filled with swirling black fluid from her bag and admired it for a moment.

"Tell me, Motto" her tone was kind enough but professional. An interrogation was about to take place "What have your parents told you about this situation?"

So she wanted to get to know him. Huh. He could deal with that. Motto relaxed even more and helped himself to several pastries that were calling his name. The sweet confections owned him for a moment but he stopped chewing at the trace of hostility in Isabella’s tone. Sounded like she felt the same way about this whole wedlock thing.

The Princess’s next words confused him; Motto wasn’t sure if she was complimenting him or insulting him... or both. She wanted romance or something. That was understandable. Most girls did as far as he knew. But what the hell about not being to her advantage? It sounded snobby just like he expected..great.

"Tell me, Motto. What have your parents told you about this situation?"

He finished wiping his own mouth and continued to hold the napkin. “The usual. Our kingdom is fading, there aren’t any guardians left, I’m the sole blah blah blah. It’s being blown way out of proportion.” It was clear that Motto didn’t enjoy the topic, but he finished with an easy smile and assuring tone.

“Why? What are the Ikathka saying?” His head tilted with curiosity. The fact that she was playing around with a sketchy vial of black stuff didn’t phase him. He’d seen plenty of weird stuff and this was totally chill.

She could see red as the man spoke about the situation. There was burning rage in her gaze as her light brown eyes shifted from the vial to the man who just "blah blah'd" this situation. From what she could gather, his family was in as desperate situation as she expected to sign a pact with the Ikathka. She took a moment to remind herself that they were both being manipulated here and him not being aware of the gravity of the situation would probably make this marriage business easier on him.

"Maybe I should fill you in on a few things" she stated calmly "Word is that this pact and family merge are a bit more binding than I'd care for. My contacts have informed me of a blood geas that's been woven into the wording of the pact signing," She considered continuing but, with how clueless this kid was, she felt compelled to explain what this meant. She slowly strode over to him and delicately sat down on the large couch near his armchair "This spell is a powerful form of magic that compels the targets to do as directed unquestionably. Long story short, Jota Ikathka plans to make fodder of your territory, but that's just a small part of the spell. The Ikathka are a large family with countless footholds in various countries, and sometimes that big of a family can have insurgents. I'm going to guess that the vows at our wedding will bind us and our families more than just symbolically but in a way that makes conflicting interests a thing of the past. It would compel all Ikathka and it's associates to work toward the benefit of the family alone; it would make a literal puppet master out of Jota,"

She looked at a small scratch on Motto's face. It wasn't bleeding but it was a bit unsightly, without asking she reached to put a hand on his cheek and run a thumb over it. A small white crackle trailed over his face and the mark that had been there disappeared as if it had simply been wiped away. She smiled warmly, satisfied with her work, before grabbing a small slice of toasted ciabatta and taking a bite.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of being a puppet. And, if you're interested, I think I might have a plan that would benefit both of us,"

Motto listened carefully as she re-joined him at the table.

“...magic that compels the targets to do as directed unquestionably..”

His eyes hardened. The possibilities of insurgents went completely over his head and the Prince didn’t even hear the rest of Isabella’s words. Compelled to do as directed. That was bad. Motto folded his hands and leaned his chin against them. Something needed to be done and soon. He wouldn’t be made into a slave and who the heck would do that to their own daughter? The world was a darker place than he liked..all the more reason to stick to his forests and mountains. A light sensation on his cheek caused him to start and pull away. Before he could react, Motto’s skin experienced a brief tenderness where she had touched him. A light gasp escaped his throat and she was smiling.

What was that all about? It sorta came out of nowhere.

Motto shifted to sit up a little taller and felt his tension return at the word “puppet.”

“A plan? Mm.” A firm nod. “Tell me.” Motto was troubled by the new information and eager to escape his fate. The whole marriage thing just got ominous, but the Elemental heir was able to adapt quickly. Old magic was strong but not impossible to quell.

Before Motto could even finish speaking, Isabella uncapped the filled vial. The inky black fluid floated upward. Black snaking tendrils languidly made their way out and floated with intention toward the couch cushion next to Isabella. The tendrils coalesced into a thick cloud and began to take shape. A pair of golden cat eyes peered through the smoggy darkness. Its pupils dilate to paper thin slits as they pass over the Prince and his body takes form as a small black kitten. The kitten's tail bent and coiled slowly before it sat on its haunches and turned to look up at Isabella. Isabella had already busied her self with closing the vial back up.

"I believe you two have already met" Isabella's smile turned to a smirk at her comment. The small kitten popped up and bounced, pouncing forward playfully on the couch and looking back up the prince as if mocking him for his past fear.

"It's nice to see you again, Sir!" a bright little voice chirped out of the kitten "I-i'm sorry if I scared you too much last night," his voice didn't betray much remorse about his actions.

"He was slumped outside covered in dirt, Jin," Isabella added plainly "What time did you tell him to get here?"

"I said 8 o Clock! Like you told me!" the little kitten's ears perked and his tail flopped to the side as he turned to look at Isabella "Right?" he shifted to look at the Prince.

"Regardless, he's here now and he's agreed to help us out, Which makes this much easier" Isabella motioned from Jin to Motto and the kitten seemed to intuitively understand. He dropped down to the floor and bounded up the arm of Motto's seat before sitting back down and looking at the Prince with an excited expression on his face. His eye's pupils had widened into big black orbs.

"You've been kitnapped!" he chirped

"Kidnapped" Isabella corrected

"Right!" he added just as excitedly

"Considering how both sides of the pact believe they're the greater benefactors, it'll take a bit of time for either side to get suspicious of the other," she talked as she stood back up, made her way back over to her bag at the kitchenette table and placed the vial back in her bag. She turned her attention back toward Motto, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter top as she did so "In fact, I have a few things planned to ensure that suspicion is shifted," she was looking at the screen. Coverage of a significant storm was taking place at the moment and something was running through her mind.

"For now, you can stay here, but later tonight, you and me have somewhere we need to go,"

Black swirling mist took to the air and Motto gripped the armchair. He was in trouble. The Prince rose quickly and leapt backward; placing himself between the chair and the snake eyed thing. Motto’s movement was too fast for a normal person to discern, his agility wasn’t entirely human after all.

"It's nice to see you again, Sir! I-i'm sorry if I scared you too much last night."

“.....you..” Motto hadn’t really formed a complete thought. He remained in his combat stance and blinked several times as the Princess addressed the kitten.

"I said 8 o Clock! Like you told me! Right?”

“Dude.” Motto relaxed and scowled at the creature while returning to his seat.

"You've been kitnapped!"

“What?”

"Kidnapped"

“....”

"Right!"

Motto’s gaze fixed on the Princess while she explained her reasoning, his agitation became more and more noticeable until at last he got to his feet.

"For now, you can stay here, but later tonight, you and me have somewhere we need to go."

“Hold on. Just.. hold on a second. I get what you’re saying. I do. But ...this is ...hardcore. Not that I have a problem with that but this could make things worse, Isabella.” Motto moved to where she stood and faced her while resting his hands on his hips. He appeared to be thinking hard. “Instead of starting a war of our kingdoms, why not blame a common enemy?” Motto searched her eyes for signs of understanding. “You know who I’m talking about.” If things went south with her plan, his people were in real danger.

For the first time in his life, the stakes were clear and Motto quaked inside himself at how vulnerable the Elementals had become. Rather than focus on the painful truth, he opted to keep things generalized.

“Listen, your plan isn’t bad and I’m sure there’s a lot more involved.” He shifted his feet and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m grateful.” The situation weighed heavily and Motto’s face reflected it. “But Princess let’s do this with the full consequences in mind, not just you and me escaping.” He had more to say, but it could wait. Right now the engagement was sort of a big deal.

"oh he can think!" the kitten piped up before chuckling. Isabella was too surprised by the fact that he had actually been considering anything that she didn't even catch Jin's comment. Just for a moment she thought she might've underestimated Motto as some dimwitted kid. Even under the stress of the situation he was capable of picking up on her plot. Then he missed the target. Still, she was impressed that he'd come to the same conclusion as her. Maybe she should give him credit? It might do something to get him that much more into the plan. Motto had made his way over to her and was searching her gaze for some understanding. Isabella was sure he was trying to give her a knowing gaze, but his eyes were more intense and pleading.

She closed her eyes and let out a resigned sigh "fine, you're right," she lifted a phone to her face and started to scroll through her contacts "but the Ikathka's don't have clear cut enemies like your family may and us targeting your mortal enemy might look like a ploy," she placed her phone back in her back before turning to look at Motto again. Jin had silently made himself comfortable at Isabella's feet. Protective as always.

"And if the family we frame starts looking around and pointing fingers, we'll have three groups on our tail. Unless someone gets tipped off about where you've gone," she took a seat on one of the stools behind her and looked at Motto expectantly "So, pick a family, but pick wisely,"

“Wa- well..” Motto’s poise faltered. She made a good point about being too obvious. Dammit. He wasn’t good at this stuff. Frowning, he rubbed the back of his neck. “It doesn’t feel right to choose. Innocent people could suffer…” A new idea came and he looked up with sudden clarity. “I’ll do it. It’s the only way.” Stepping forward into the Princess’s space, Motto’s demeanor had completely changed. A confident smile full of serious intensity.

“I’m kidnapping you.”

Isabella's eyes widened and her mouth opened as if to say something. Instead, a cold laugh escaped her lips. She didn't need to verify that it wasn't a joke, this boy had already showcased the extent of his critical thinking abilities and this seemed at about his level. "so let me get this straight," her tone was derisive " You don't want our family's to go to war right? Because here's what this sounds like: the Elementals have made a fool of Jota Ikathka by gaining his trust and then kidnapping his daughter in order to do God knows what, gain leverage? That's a war tactic,"

A pillar of Inky black tendrils climbed upward between the two of them and coalesced into the form of a slightly shorter but equally stocky raven haired boy with deep tan skin and eyes slanted nearly shut "hehe, 'scuse me" Jin said jovially. Despite the kind, cheery expression, his message and the physically force exuding from him was clear.

"Jin," Isabella started.

"Yes ma'am," Jin' voice was raspy and light, as if he were always whispering. His gaze never moved away from the man in front of him.

"How likely would the Wilds get involved in something like this?" she asked wearily. Still his gaze didn't move from the man, his body was like a smiling statue as he stood between them.

Little black ringlets of translucent mist trailed down the boy's body as he stood there in silence for a moment "only if contract holders or patrons were involved"

"Good to know," Isabella said slowly, her voice trailing off "That'll be all, Jin," without another word, the boy melted down into a small black cat and bounded back onto the arm of the couch.

"If perhaps you had been desperate enough to make a contract in the Wilds for some greater power, they could see this marriage as a conflict of interest, considering the power the geas would have over you, It wouldn't take much for a Demon or Fey to take your mind and have you try to capture me, the only issue is making that believable,"

"Ooh! ooh! I could-" Isabella shot Jin a look before he could even finish what he was saying "You could... find a Mystic Fey that requires some small quirk of him. Small." she said each word slowly as if she were warning the kitten. The kitten's head was low and his ears were pulled back.