Kayeni swallowed a spoonful of some soup that she vaguely could tell was nice, but wasn't really paying attention to it at all more than figuring out a reply.

"Yes, that sounds about right." He wasn't wrong. She'd struck a deal to leave each other alone, she'd found a way to escape the castle for a little while, and ye here she was at the dining table with the most powerful person in the realm and his son - which, like it or not, she would still be forced to marry.

He did seem a bit different to... what he had been earlier, though. That Kayeni did notice.

She shrugged her soulders. Really, what did they expect from her? Her calm, idle mask didn't crack under the scrutiny of the king, and she reached over to some dish - she honestly couldn't tell what it was, but it looked interesting with some sort of red sauce over it, took some and bit into it a second before realizing the red sauce thing was spice. And it wasn't just a bit, either. In fact, it was a lot more than a bit.

Thank god the King and his advisors were locked into their own conversation, and that none of them had focused on her as she quietly struggled to chew and swallow. Holy crap, how did they live? Just one bite and Kayeni was slightly struggling. Breathe in. Breathe out. It's fine. Vaguely, she remembered to keep chewing, as if that would help, and act as if nothing was wrong. Yeah. Not like she had just taken more spice than she probably had in her entire life, was it? Now she thought about it, didn't they specifically warn her that some of the foods were going to be spicier than she had ever tasted?

... Yeah. They did. And now here she was, eating the food far slower than she usually did, attempting to swallow what felt like a ball of chilli and desperately hoping no-one noticed.

Internally beginning to realize she was taking far too long, she mentally grit her teeth and swallowed it. One small swallow of what felt like spice times one million. How did anyone here survive on that? Dimly aware her cheeks had most definitely heated while eating that, she took a few spoonfuls of the thankfully not-spicy soup before looking back up to see what the conversation was on now.

Never again. Jeez. That could have gone very, very badly.

Björn Ansgar | 25 | Male | Crown Prince of Valvorhm

Bjorn chuckled internally to himself, watching as his warning on the food went completely down the drain with Kayeni and her humouress attempt at eating one of the dishes even he struggled with personally at times.

His gaze flickered back to his meal as he took a bite, an attempt to kill the laughter threatening to burst from his lips before he drew any attention. His shoulders were slightly hunched over, shaking ever so slightly with silent chuckles before he decided perhaps, for one night, he'd try and be... nice.

The word alone made him want to shudder and cringe as his icy gaze fixed on Kayeni again. Pushing aside the last of his reluctance, he nudged one of the jewel encrusted cups towards her, the white liquid inside sloshing a bit from the movement.

He cast a small glance down at it, before looking back up at her. A silent gesture to drink it.

He returned back to eating as he left her to make her choice on if she would listen this time, or continue to choose her own fate as she had just moments before.

Judging by the slowly dying sounds of the others voices, he felt as though dinner was about to come to an end.

Thank the gods for that. Any longer and he think he'd get a tooth ache from how bloody kind he was having to act to this lot.

Red equaled inedible for food here, and Kayeni was careful to avoid anything red. Even minutely red had her skirting around it like the plague.

The issue was, most things on the table were red in some form. And she was not trying that again - oh no she seriously wasn't. She wasn't going to have steam pouring out of her ears, figuratively or literally.

So Kayeni's fare at the lavishly laid table was confined to a non-red soup thing, some... noodle thing... and some meat thing that wasn't like anything she'd eaten before.

Bottom line, she had no goddamned clue what she was eating.

That was the point where Bjorn pushed over a cup of white... something. Kayeni glanced up a him in suprize, but he'd already turned back to his food (which was very red) and left her to her own devices. Which was non-spicy food... and a cup of white something.

She wasn't having the greatest dinner so far. Over two thirds of he dishes on the table were inedible to her, she'd already had to choke down the literal fire of hell, and now... white liquid.

Cautiously raising the cup to her nose, she took a delicate sniff. As discreetly as she could, however - while she didn't want to be sniffing the cup, the last thing she wanted to happen was to drink some inebriant and end up higher than the moon on her first night here. God knows what could happen in this hellhole of a sulfur wastteland to her-

- in all due respect, it really already was happening to her. But her slight sniff revealed no strong hint of inebriant or any toxicity. Which now came part two - did she trust Bjorn to not have spiked it discreetly?

The answer was a flat no. But she could hardly put it down and reject it now, could she? So, sip it was.

Looking around briefly - the advisors and the King were either absorbed into their food or chating quietly, and Bjorn was either not caring about what she was doing or being a very good actor - she hesitantly took a small sip.

In all honesty, she was half-expecting him to have passed him something that was spiked. Maybe spicy as all get-out like what she'd eaten earlier, or somehing that'd make her throw up. It wasn't that this time, though; suprizingly, somewhat milky and sweet.

Not spicy, though. Although spice in drink was something she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

She cast a suprized - and honestly also somewhat grateful - look at Bjorn. Out of all things, she hadn't actually expected Bjorn to... be nice. They'd already agreed to stay out of each other's way as much as possible, and yet here he was, actually being nice for a change. Not that she'd seen much of him, though.

Kayeni's suprize did linger, however, as she turned back to finishing the meal and drink. She didn't know what to make of that small but meaningful gesture that Bjorn had just shown her over the dinner table.

Björn Ansgar | 25 | Male | Crown Prince of Valvorhm

It irked him.

How Kayeni struggled to eat some of the food that had been laid out on the table before everyone.

But it wasn't her that was the issue in his eyes.

His free hand drummed a little on the table as his icy gaze scanned over the dishes.

'...one...two...three...five... Five.'

His eyes narrowed as he realized despite his earlier request demand to the kitchen earlier had been met with the bare minimum. As soon as the thought came he quickly shut it down.

Why did it matter?

It didn't. It shouldn't...

He had warned her and done all he could to help. Whether it was so she wouldn't bite his ear off later about it or because of genuine concern or whatever it was he felt towards her, he certainly couldn't tell.

The uncertainty in his own emotions only seemed to heighten and add to his growing frustrations with the day.

He took a moment as his drumming fingers stopped, lifting his fork as he took another bite of a very heavily spiced and seasoned slice of meat, his expression relaxing ever so slightly as he chewed.

His gaze had been avoiding hers since he had nudged over the jewel encrusted cup. He knew it was strange of him to offer her something to try help with the spiciness of their cuisine.

It was something his mother had taught him from a young age when he was building a tolerance for the spices that Valvorhm produced and used in almost everything. He was fond of those memories.

They certainly hadn't been grand at the time, when his taste buds felt like they were being scorched by the sun itself, but his mother's gentle smile and calm words as she offered him milk was something he'd never forget.

His fingers reached out and gripped his own cup as he took the smallest discreet sip he could manage, trying his best to finish his meal quickly so he could be done with any further company for the rest of the night.

He could hear his father speaking with the others, his voice deep and rumbling, yet Björn couldn't make out any words as his gaze finally met Kayeni's.

Her softened look of gratitude and surprise caught him a little off guard as he stilled for a split second, his raising hand stilling mid air as he opened his mouth before closing it again. He could feel heat rising from his neck, and decided he'd rather not try and figure out if it was the food or a momentary slip up in his defenses.

"...Tch. What? Got eyes for Christmas or something Princess...?" He snarkily commented, trying to deflect and cover up his act of kindness with his usual gruffness. His eyes remained fixed on her own as his narrowed, his mouth opening again as he took a much not needed aggressive bite of his food, his expression turning to a soft, half assed scowl.

Just for a moment, she saw it. She saw... something different in Bjorn before his idiot behaviour came into fore.

It was brief, only a flicker... but she was sure she'd seen something. The question was what had she seen, and if she could ever get it again, or if she was deluding herself.

Likely the latter. But who knew?

Choosing not to reply to his comment, she looked back down at her non-spicy food and the milky drink that she'd been given. Where it came from, she had no idea. But it helped.

Deliberaely not looking at him anymore, she picked up her utensils once more, eating like a proper lady would - small bites, mouth closed, nothing too fast. Not that she'd do othewise - she'd been trained to even eat like this, and why would she have done anything different?

Anything different like... what Bjorn seemed to be doing, she could see out the corner of her eye. Who seemed to be doing the exact antithesis of what she was doing.

She didn't know one was even allowed to eat like that in court.

Taking a small sip of the soup, she concluded that despite being almost one day down, she still had no goddamned clue what to make of the prince that she'd been betrothed to as the price for her kingdom. Mainly insufferrable idiot, but the price of one princess for an entire kingdom? That was doable for her.

Still, he was mainly insufferrable jerk, but... she could have sworn there was something else in there. Something that she'd glimped briefly before itt got shut down. What that what was, though, she didn't know.

She slowly finished the meat on her plate as she... "finished her meal". Or a least, that was what she was pretending to do. She wasn't looking at the person across to her like she'd sometimes do at the dinner table, so... why not tune into a conversation and see if she could catch anyhing nice?

Unfortunately, the King was talking to his advisor about... the appointment of some official in a province that was probably so far away from Galcolia that she'd only heard it in passing. A completely unimportant state. Bo-ring.

The courtiers on the left were talking about the amount of egg in one of the dishes that she hadn't touched. Bo-ring.

And a conversation happening further down the table was something about... the amount of torches in the hallways. Like she cared about that in this castle where she'd probably always feel like a foreigner.

So all she had left was her meal, the remnants milkish liquid in her cup, the smell of sulfur, the heat - gods, why was it so hot, even at night? - and the prince opposite her. Which she was so definitely not going to talk to if all he could muster was a sassy remark.

And, apparently, dinner was already beginning to wind down, judging from the sounds around her. Thank gods.

She finished the drink that Bjorn had given her, then decided that... she might as well follow the crowd and leave too.

Wiping her mouth discreely with the corner of the napkin, then placing it to the right of her empty plate - a signal to whoever came to clean up that she was done - she smiled graciously at the King before pushing back her chair and making her way out.

Gods, it was hot. Her Galcolian wear probably hadn't been the best idea either - suiable for practically the opposite of what they had here - and she just needed some fresh air. Or whatever they had as a sulfuric equivalent - the room just felt far too hot with so many people and the night air still being hot.

She really wasn't used to this unrelentless heat. Maybe she could get the castle seamstress to edit her clothes slightly to make them somewhat less insulating? Because bottom line, it was getting rather hot. not unbearable yet, but still rather hot nonetheless.

Björn Ansgar | 25 | Male | Crown Prince of Valvorhm

Björns eyes followed after Kayeni as she exited the room, his gaze narrowing slightly. He had wanted to ask about the mark, to figure out just what she had been up to. But he knew he couldn't bring it up without his father growing suspicious since according to the two of them, they had been in each other's company for the evening before dinner. Hurriedly, he shoveled the last of his food into his mouth, wanting the dinner to be well and truly over.

How his bed was just calling for him to return to it and sleep. The stone floor had done little for his back after his dilemma in tipping his chair earlier, the tension and achy pain still making itself known as he stood up from the table, giving a brief nod to Falthyr before exiting the room too.

As much as he'd *love* nothing more than to go and bug Kayeni, he simply couldn't find the energy in him to carry on his behaviour. Not tonight at least.

He made his way back through the many winding corridors of the castle, casting a fleeting glance out the window to the volcano that loomed over them, radiating such a powerful heat that he'd only grown accustomed to thanks to constantly being near it. It was all he'd ever known.

Hearing off the Galcolians homeland... of snow and ice, cold that could pierce right through ones body, it was hard for him to fathom. Cold wasn't anything he'd felt before. He wondered what it would feel like... would it be intense? Instant or slow? Would it hurt? Would it be pleasant...?

His head gave a soft ache as he clearly thought too hard on the meaningless question on his mind.

He placed his hand upon the iron door to his private quarters, pausing for a moment.

Pausing...

Why... was he pausing?

No... Hesitation. He was hesitating.

Björns brows furrowed as he took a last look at the slowly fading daylight. Maybe, just maybe... a hunting trip could prove to lift his spirits? Yeah! That's exactly what he'd do, he thought as he pulled his hand back away from the door, making his way down yet another corridor with more pep in his step than before, wearing his excitement clear as day on his gave as his eyes almost glowed.

He found himself in his trophy room, finding a few of his hunting items as he readied himself for a short evening out, a small satchel with some traps, ropes and some baits. He carefully removed his bow from the stand on the wall, tilting it as he investigated the condition, before placing it over his shoulders, slipping on his quiver too before he made his way out of the castle and into the hot volcanic wasteland of his home.

Kayeni emerged onto the balcony, inwardly expecting to breathe in clear air like she'd been accustomed to.

All she got was a lungful of sulfuric air that made her cough a couple of times, and not fresh air at all. God damn it, how did these Valvhorks survive living in this hellhole of a place? It hadn't been the first time she'd wondered today alone.

After only a couple of seconds out on the balcony, she could already tell it was pointless out here. Granted, it might have been slightly cooler than the dining hall, but holy it was still hot.

Even in her wolf form it was still hot. The heat just never escaped.

... in her wolf form? That gave Kayeni an idea. What would be the harm in going out and padding around for an hour or so? It'd get me out of the heat, at least, and into the slightly less hot, humid forest.

Walking back to her room, she encountered a few people on the way - most of whom looked like advisors, if she was being honest - and all of whom cast quite approving glances at her. While none of them stopped her, as she made her way (at least, she thought she was) to the quarters she'd been assigned, she couldn't evade any of their glances.

Outwardly, she smiled back at all of them and pretended not to hear as they begun to whisper behind her back about how she was and what a perfect choice it had been on their part to ask for her as the price for peace.

Not that they'd been winning by much. Their armies couldn't stand the cold, but equally, the Galcolians were vastly outnumbered. Father had thought that it was better to sue for peace rather than wait for the spring thaws and letting them overpower them.

Clearly, the Valvhorks had had a different idea. But she made none of that known outwardly, even as she walked serenely along and pretended not to hear their whisperings about her.

"What a good choice it was." She'd taken the entire flak for her kingdom, and she'd taken it willingly if it meant that the Valvorkhs wouldn't invade once the spring thaws came around.

"Her manners." She'd been an ill-mannered child. In this court of thorns, however? She was manners queen.

"Her posture." Little did they know that was partly her pride at refusing to give in to these people.

"She... even eats like a princess." If that was meant to be a rumoured compliment, she didn't want to be on the end of that one. Then again, compared to the prince they'd been used to...

"A beautiful little princess. She's practically exactly what the King had been looking for." At that comment, she wanted to scream.

By the time she'd gotten to her quarters, she was even hotter (if that could even be a thing), and full of quiet and hidden pent-up energy at all the comments she "hadn't heard". Fluidly going over to the window, she didn't bother with the doorstop this time. Instead - being careful not to let the window win this time around - she tugged the stiff window open, being careful it didn't swing out and hit her.

Well, it did anyway as she opened it and a gust of wind pushed he windowframe right into her.

Bang.

She really needed to get out of here. The stupid, stupid windowframe was honestly pushing her to the end of her fuse, and believe me when she said she had quie a long one indeed.

This whole day had just been... something else entirely. Not what she'd been expecting from the Valvorkh court. Just... she just couldn't.

A wolf form jumped out of the window and into the bushes below he window without a sound, aiming for the slightly less hot forest that she knew was out there somewhere.

Björn Ansgar | 25 | Male | Crown Prince of Valvorhm

Each step seemed to feel lighter and lighter as Björn traveled further and further away from the imposing silhouette of his castle home that was now disappearing into the distance. Away from home, away from his father, his responsibilities, and God forbid...

His thoughts hesitated for a moment, as if he was struggling to pick any one word to describe the interesting character that was the Princess Kayeni.

He eventually settled for a simple huff as he shook his head, extending his hand to the brush of the forest as he pushed aside branches and prickly leaves, listening to the satisfying crunch of the crisp volcanic ground beneath his feet.

It wasn't much longer until his footsteps were practically unheard of as the volcanic gravelly ground gave way to lush, vibrant green grass. The air even seemed to be more bearable than the sulfuric oxygen back towards the volcanoes.

He took a brief glance down at his small journal, the sketches of the landscape scribbled upon the parchment, dotted with bold X's showing him the way to a new area he had yet to explore. Perhaps today could still show up for him.

He could find a hearty sized boar to return back to the castle with, hand it to the kitchen to create into jerkey. But then again, he had a few already within his trophy room, their heads or tusks on display. Maybe something else would be more beneficial or exciting?

Maybe he'd finally find his golden drake he'd been obsessing over for so long? Or something else carnivorous?

The not knowing was killing him beautifully as his heart beat with anticipation as to what the forest might offer to him this fine evening hunt.

His icy pale eyes scanned over the shifting shadows of the trees as the setting sun cast its warm glow on the forest, each brush of a tree branch drawing his attention as he began to hone his focus to his surroundings, keeping a keen eye out for any hints of life.

Perhaps fresh tracks... a broken branch... some snagged fur... or... well, better yet, a creature itself in the living flesh would be a pretty damn good find too.

Björn smiled softly to himself, his body relaxing despite the rising tension from his excitement for all the unknowns he couldn't figure out himself. The thrill of the hunt being exactly what he needed as a pick me up.

The forest was just as nice as it had been a couple of hours ago. The evening light slanting across the landscape, it gave her a lot more shadows to work with as she darted between the trees.

Free. Properly free again. God, that sulfuric smell was horrid.

Trotting through the ground that was actually not covered with sulfur, and through bushes that were actually green - not whatever hideous things they had at the castle - and that weren’t gray and/or shredded… she could almost feel comfortable here.

If only it still wasn’t so freaking hot. She’d need time to adjust to this relentless heat - even at night, it seemed, the heat never subsided.

Such were her thoughts that she wasn’t entirely too careful as she flitted through the undergrowth. In her defense, she’d never needed to - she was safe in Galcolia, where there were explicit laws against hunting certain animals. So she wasn’t entirely that careful - making faint brushes against the grass as she trotted by, not bothering to cover her tracks or make a minimum of noise.

Why should she bother?

She simply padded on, nose sometimes in the air, scenting things, sometimes just looking around curiously - there wasn’t a true aim as to what she was looking for other than just curiously internally mapping out the area. From what she’d seen, there weren’t many other animals out here - the sulfuric smell lingered faintly, even from this distance - and she was… not really doing that much. Simply enjoying herself, being out of that stupid castle and being able to remind herself that she wasn’t trapped, could leave, and reveled in her own somewhat-freedom from the oppressiveness of the castle.

If only she remembered that the hunters here weren’t under the same restrictions.