'Why?'

It was a lot to take in...

Scarlet, formally Amari Ciel L'Olfsden, was an Ar'Tuel. That much she knew, but now... now she had so much more knowledge it was near overwhelming. Ar'Tuel... an ancient race born from the flow of mana itself. With a sole purpose to spread life throughout the lands, that much, she already knew - but now - now she had so much more knowledge. Amari was an elder, one of the ruling beings. Her job was to teach and guide the newborns, and to keep them away from the sway of corruption.

Oh how times had changed.

Eons passed, countless lifetimes of wandering Althanas to end up the broken and corrupted soul she was now.

Scarlet.

Scarlet wished she had the knowledge of her past way back when she first encountered Ulroke, there would have been a vast shift in the dynamic of their relationship, still... better late than never, now she had the knowledge of an ancient race, and its language thanks to Madisons strange new Archivist abilities. That knowledge was power.

She grinned, not even minding the long walk back toward Knifes Edge. The bitter cold barely bothered her, it nipped at her skin but she didn't feel it in her bones and remained largely unaffected, despite the lack of clothing she wore, having nothing more than a flowing Crimson dress on.

Her boots crunched in the freshly falling snow, an ever evident reminder that Salvar was still cursed, Scarlet sighed, her heated breath visible. She could see the outskirts of the city dotted along the horizon, and something else...

Scarlet paused, furrowing her brows. It looked like a child, waist deep in the snow. "Well, well, well." She said to herself as she approached the small figure from behind. "Are you lost, little child?" Her question was foreboding, her tone uncaring.

Mmm, snow…

With a sigh of contentment, Fenn reached forward and scooped another fistful of fallen flurries into his hand. They were summarily dumped onto the slowly-growing mound that had swallowed up his legs. By now, he was nearly half-buried in the stuff, and he figured he would sit here until he completely covered himself. The little Fae nearly forgot how much he liked it here. Corone didn’t snow so frequently, nor so deeply.

Fenn seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Salvar. On one hand, each trek into these lands usually lead to terrible things happening to him. Kidnapping, almost-death at the hands of a dragon, accidental murder, and the Sway were all previous hazards. On the other hand, boundless snow. Feeling entirely in his element made up for everything else. Probably.

Technically, he was supposed to be on his way north of the Scavian mountains, not lazing about in blankets of blissful white. Fenn had an old not-friend he was going to have to visit. There were questions to be answered.

But, fuck that for the moment.

His questions weren’t life-or-death pressing (right now), and Daugi needed a few hour’s break. Snow was great, but slogging one’s way through mounds of it wore down an animal more accustomed to prairies. The great wolf snored in a snowdrift a few paces away. Her dark fur made good contrast against the snow.

“Are you lost, little child?"

Lost? Fenn was never lost. With a snort, he glanced over his shoulder to greet the lady who-

Amari?

Fenn’s mouth opened and closed like a fish. A rather surprised fish.

It had been a very long time since the two had met. Last it happened, they were in that one beach-mansion-place with Vince. Even so, she was unmistakable to him.

Fenn wasn’t certain how long it had been, but it had evidently been too long, with much to catch up on. Amari looked much sicker now than she had last time. He thought Vince had promised to make her better? Stark black cracks marred her skin, as if she were made of nothing more than crumbling porcelain, and the green and gold flecks had faded from her eyes. Now they were just red. She wore so little for a human out here! Wasn’t she cold?

Her voice was new too. Confidence mixed with indifference. Something about it didn't seem quite right, but it was Amari all the same.

Fenn popped out of his sculpted snow mound with an excited squeak. Without any other greeting, he wrapped his arms around his old in a tight, frigid hug. It looked like she really could use one. What exactly had happened to her?

It was unexpected to see the Fae. Last she had seen him, he left her with Vincent. Convinced the stubborn and awful man would 'help' her. When all he did was spout insults toward her before throwing her halfway across the world.The tiny fae's grip caused frost to form on Scarlet's body, but it had little to no effect on her. She was virtually immune to the cold weather.

Scarlet's calculating gaze lifted from the Fae who was nuzzling into her toward the dog he kept as a pet. It kept its distance from her, ears flat against its furry head. Good. It wouldn't be a bother. It'd serve a useful purpose later, but for now. She'd leave the beast be.

"It's been some time...Fenn..." Her hands crackled as an ominous red glow spurt forth from them they hovered over the child, ready to rip him to pieces. She stopped short. No... just doing away with him wasn't right. He would learn no lessons. Seth had been right in one thing, Scarlet relied on physical pain to quell her adversaries, there was so much more she could do. Fenn needed to learn what the world was like, he was far too innocent, too oblivious. Wrapped up in the whole 'good vs evil' thing. When neither such thing existed. She'd open his eyes, she'd show him what the world was truly like.

Her lips twisted into a small grin as the light disappeared from her hands, they gently landed on Fenn's head. She ran her fingers back and forth through his hair. "I've missed you Fenn. We have so, so much to discuss. Don't you think?" Her hand fell from his head and snaked up under his chin, lifting it so she could stare into his large, green eyes. They stared up at her with mild curiosity, relief and acceptance. He gave her a small nod. Amari's grin widened.

"Good. Good..." She purred as she let go of him. "There's a small abandoned house, not too far from here, let's go there. I can start a fire for us, of course -" She paused as she glanced over her shoulder at him. "For light. Not for warmth, I know how you dislike it." She held her arms out wide, "and as you can see, Fennick. The cold doesn't bother me."