Old Flames Come About [Lagi/Merrze]

Waiting patiently outside of the palace gates, Lagi folded his arms and leaned up against the wall. He already requested to meet with Merrze, who was surprisingly queen of her own country. It's been so long, they were no longer kids anymore. Both of them have gotten older. He wondered if she changed?

*Huff*

Dropping the small bag, Lagi looked through it in order to ensure that his gift was still intact, he hoped that she would like it.

The guards were probably eyeing Lagi, but he was on his best behavior. He wasn't just some sort of rouge natural disaster anymore that did whatever he wanted, he had his own representation and reputation. Tartarus was just starting out, so instead of barging in, he wanted to show self-control. Besides, people would ask for the same in any other country, even themselves.

"Fuck..why am I so nervous..."

It was unnerving to him.

The Empress of Meridia was dress-downed for the day, her kids were parting from her besides her growing Merlin would walk beside her. The boy was growing into a fine teenager, though his head mostly seemed to be filled with magic. She had a visitor, she had many but it was rare that they happened to be a visitor from the past.

Her hair was loose, the curls had grown much longer and now bounced on the side of her head to her shoulders as a wall of white and red-streaked vines. A red sleeveless dress of silk would wrap around her top in a cross pattern stopping across her knees leading into a taper so that the lion's tail could move freely. She had only a few gold bracelets and matching sandals with emeralds embedded into them.

"We're going to meet an old friend of mine, he knows what it's like to rule, long ago I stood in his palace and now he stands in the nation I built up. We didn't part on best terms when we first separated but he helped set me on this path" Merrze would explain talking to her son.

The walk was not far, at least not for them as they've become accustomed to it. "Well Ma I think It'll be good for me to meet him, I need to move out in the world anyways. Especially if I'm going to travel to Magnostadt in a few months" her would remind his mother before they would have to end their conversation.

"You're right, well remind me and we can get started on that transfer soon and see if we can get you sent there, for now, let's go meet Lagi El Nagi" the mother fanalis would say before they turned the corner.

It took a moment for her to take his appearance in, he was definitely different looking from the last time she saw him. Sure she was as well, but one could never really anticipate how someone changes. Once she had taken in the changes she would warmly say "I hope you enjoyed the walk through my jungle of a capital, try any of the hanging fruit?" she would joke. Merrze continued "It's good to see you Lagi, I don't know where to start besides its good to see you, this is my eldest son and second child, his name is Merlin."

"Why did you even believe it was me? Using the name of a supposed dead man and entertaining it. But I guess news and the like doesn't reach over, or something that was assumed has less of importance on the world to reach the ears of others. But as you can see, I live, but I don't use that name openly for obvious reasons. " Looking at the kid, Lagi smiled, or he tried to. He felt a little weird, seeing Merrze all grown up and with children of your own. "Your children are beautiful, you've done well for yourself by securing such a lovely nation to rule as empress. I see nothing but smiles and I walked your streets for an hour or so, no poverty. I won't use the words perfectly, but if there are any issues this country was experiencing, it's not blatantly obvious. However, every founding country goes through the honeymoon phase, so maybe there's nothing. "


Looking to merlin, Lagi offered a handshake.

"It's nice to meet you, merlin. Since your mother trusts you enough to use my real name around you, I'm your mom's old boyfriend haha... you can tease her for that if you want. I actually have a son that's around the same age as you. Hopefully, you two can get along."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I might have to get to know your son as well, connect east to west" Merlin would say with a meek but confident smile. He wasn't sure what kind of man Lagi was, she had heard things for sure but the Rukh around him stirred strangely. Either way, he made sure to give a strong handshake in return despite lacking any real strength.

He could've made a joke about how his mom had a lot of old boyfriends, he had a feeling that might not have been appropriate considering their old connection. He also wanted to comment how since he was born he'd already seen the nation deal with their fair share of disaster but this was meant to be a sweet moment, not a correcting one.

"Well if we're gonna entertain should we go inside the palace or should we maybe explore. I don't wanna cramp your style too much but this is my plans for the day unless you're gonna try and shove me off to my studies" he would say playfully as he walked by them both. He held his staff in his hands, the chain slacked in his grip. He was always up for playing around with magic but they might've wanted him to behave and be a bit more social.

"Every nation has its' own troubles, especially when you run an empire, but I have my ears all around. I will say though I haven't heard much about your son. I would love for our kids to get together some time. mostly because they all have so much energy. I wonder if I seemed that same way in my youth. The only thing changing faster than my body as I grow is my mind, I feel as if the Merrze I was years ago is more than a separate me, but a separate lifetime." she said with that long stare in her eye. She snapped back to the moment to discuss with Lagi and Merlin.

She did enjoy her palace, she even remembered when Lagi had shown her around the Reim palace. It would be fun to offer a bit of a tour of her home. "We could go in if you like, return the favor you gave me so long ago. Or are you looking to hit the town and learn what the capital of Meridia has to offer?" she posed, her long hair wooshed aside as she moved forward with a strong gait. She would pat her son on the bag giving the young man a hug. She was proud of her family, of her nation.

"Well, playing hookey is sometimes for the best. Some of the best ideas tend to come when people aren't being so practical about their methods to achieve it. But it really is up to you to decide what kind of magician you are. " They seemed to be open with either Showing Lagi inside or outside of the castle. Since Lagi didn't really know the city all that well, he figured that a tour of the city would be for the best. He didn't want any rumors to come about as to why he was here, to making his actions and movements public would do good on Merrze at the very least.

"We should do something different. Since I did the castle last time, you can do the town. If you are anything like how I used to be, wandering the town like this was always a good showing of faith to the people that showed how I was willing to connect with them and that it wasn't beneath me to walk among them from time to time. But I am curious about how this place is described by its very own ruler."

"I'm glad you remembered," Merrze would say with a smile. Continuing she would elate "I'm a lot busier these days but if I'm not with my kids, or in the gardens, I spend plenty of time on the streets. The cities are quite interesting, as you may have noticed the buildings climb these sky-touching trees. The city is divided into rings, the one closest to the center and us right now is where the market is. There are all kinds of places to visit there, after that is housing and then some businesses and so forth with maintaining the nation's day to day operations. With cities popping up all over in fair Meridia it's become a hub between traders."

As she rambled on Merrze would guide the way in for them. Done the great stone path they would find themselves under the great canopy as they walked past the violet gardens, into the three-ring city.

Just like any starting adventure she was sure what the best way to start the day off was. She looked at her son, giving him a wink as he was likely to guess where she was going to take them.

Merrze would guide the two of them up to a great spiral staircase of pine and oak. The steps lead up about 15m into the air towards a different section of the terrace but there seemed to be a great bustle up there.

"I hope you're hungry, the best way to start any day out is with a snack. This place has opened up has some foods I think you'd like. I hope you have a sweet tooth too, we have desserts made from sugarcane native to Meridia, Reiman Baklava, along with some special sweets that will take your mind and body to a different place."

The Empress led the way not just with confidence, but with a hungry stomach as well.

Merlin kept quiet for the first part of their quick trek. Knowing his mother, there was a big chance she was going to take them to some type of eating establishment. There were dozens upon dozens of food stalls and restaurants in the ring in which they began to explore. He could only guess which one his mom would pick. She was partial to pork, fried foods, and fresh fruits often but with the growing bellies of the people there was also innovation on the different types of things to snack upon while browsing throughout other shops. He wasn't always a big fan of crowds, but he couldn't deny the joy that gushed through the crowd.

There were plenty of smiles, and as they moved upward there were even more voices clamoring. "Wait a sec... Merlin would say as he began to think, signs of their local began to pop out to him.

Based on the path they were taking, there was only one place they could potentially be going to. The rows of roses on the roads led to a place that opened within the past month. Lavender Smoke, a bakery and barbecue where the guests could "vibe out". It wasn't his type of crowd for sure most days, but the food they had here was undeniably yummy.

"Wow you must plan on having more than a light snack if you chose to come here, you know I'll have to get some fried pork skewers and glazed hazelnut bread at least, and with the dry season approaching they might have some chilled banana milk" he would say with a minor bit of excitement.

While he wasn't the strongest, he was a growing boy and the appetite he held in was growing as well. He would turn towards their guest, the young man giving him an honest smile and say "I hope you brought your game when they see a fresh customer they can't help but get you to try everything you just slightly glance at but don't worry they treat everyone good."

This was a bit of a doozy, could Lagi still draw upon an appetite for regular things? He was part dragon now so the act of consuming food that was fit for humans shouldn't be too difficult. He still liked blood, that's for sure. However, instead of eating certain things bloody or going about his "usual routine" as he does in Tartarus, he figured that he should at least hold the same manners as his friend and live as she does.

"So.... ahh... maybe it's too soon. Maybe I don't have the right to ask, but your husband. What kind of man is he? The man that's chosen by the empress that you had your child with? Or, do you have a harem?" Maybe Lagi was curious about him? He couldn't help but to want to compare himself to the kind of man that Merrze ended up with him. Looking at the age of Merlin, so much time has passed. However, Lagi did hope that the time that did pass, was full of love and affection.

"I know this is your city and I don't mind paying using your currency. I still use Huang my currency, but if you have your own, I'll do the conversions so that at the very least, I'm respecting your customs and the stance of power. As for food, and meat first, I'd probably go for sweets later on. Show me the specialties of meals in your country, drinks too. I'd love to sample them and hear all about you and your son's adventures."