Event Private A Breath of Fresh Festival Air

Felen waited patiently as Zora prepared her seat and sat down. He wouldn't sit until she was situated. Though he didnt hesitate to relax into his own chair once she was seated. His hands carefully avoiding brushing against her clothes for fear of transferring any grease from the food.

He glanced at a nice looking timepiece on a chain. A pocket watch, though it had been converted slightly so it held elven markings that glowed faintly instead of the usual numerals. "I believe we only have a few minutes to wait. Is there anything you need before it starts?" His tone was calm and reassuring as he asked, knowing she had been hesitant to be out like this. The crowd itself could have been weighing on her, though he hoped it wasnt too bad.

As quietly as he could while still being understood he leaned in to whisper, "if at any point you wish to leave just squeeze my arm. No questions asked I'll get us out of here."

She commented on the number of people. Given the difficulty there had been in convincing Zora to come out today Felen interpreted that as a warning sign that she was uneasy. Crowds in general tended to raise anxiety in most people anyway, and she had enough going on as it was.

Rather than call too much attention to the issue he decided to try making a joke to break the tense thoughts up. "I could request Polgid to come join us. I think that would convince a few people to give us some space. The people seated behind us though might have a less enjoyable view though," he smiled. And made no attempt to actually summon Polgid to them. No, it was a joke.

"But I'm sure the show will be fantastic, there are many extremely talented people here on the island-," he cut off as there was a sound from the stage. A quartet was walking up, though perhaps they would have been better described as a chorus, for each of the performers had multiple heads. Some kind of hydra- people. A family of their relatively similar markings and range of heights were indicative.

Well... she had seemed to be cheered up at at least for a little bit. Felen was glad to see she was enjoying the event right up until Celeste began. Because she was singing to a large audience instead of a more in-person use of the language Felen did not immediately begin to understand the French. He was just about to ask Zoraida to whisper to him in French a bit so he could activate his omnilingualism but one look at her and he tensed up.

She was visibly upset. He caught enough words, and could read the tone of the song enough, to tell vaguely what her aunt was trying to do. And that it definitely wasn't working. Immediately he looped his "good" arm around Zora and tucked his demon arm down below them. There wasn't a ton of shadow there but there seemed to be just barely enough. The black claws dipped into the darkness and Felen and his employer were sucked into it. Their bodies once more took on that almost airy quality as they slipped through the very shadows themselves.

The original intent had been to return her to the hotel room at any sign of trouble. And he still could do that with very little effort. But in the moment he made the call to alter their destination a little. In Felen's mind, if they retreated to the hotel room immediately Zoraida might not be willing to leave the room again for a significant period of time. Back to square one. Or perhaps even further behind, as she would link the discomfort of this day with going out in public in general. Had she explicitly ordered a return to the hotel he would have ignored his gut and complied, but she had opened it up to any destination.

So instead they returned to corporeal form not in the hotel, not under any rood or behind any walls. They found themselves by a small stream in the woods, exiting the shadows where a large, old tree had grown enough to create a small shelter within its roots. A pocket of serene shadows.

Felen braced himself to help steady Zora, remembering how she had been a little unsteady from the travel earlier. "I hope that wasn't too forward of me Ms. Del Bosque. It seemed urgent enough to warrant action first and obtaining permission second," he explained and apologized as he loosened his arm from around her.

Felen never claimed to be the smartest, but he was relatively good at paying attention. He'd worked for Ms. Del Bosque for quite some time now- enough to get a bit of a sense for the kinds of things she might enjoy. And... well, he'd been lucky to guess right that this place would be a decent choice.

He stayed at her side until she relaxed and stepped away to remove her shoes, deciding that was an appropriate moment to step back himself to give her some space. He found a large tangle of roots to sit on and casually observe as her demeanor switched from terrified and overwhelmed to... at peace? Or as close to that as she was able at the moment. It let him smile genuinely. And relax himself.

"When i'm not busy I take walks sometimes. My people maybe aren't as nature focused as other elves i've read about here but I can appreciate the quiet beauty of this place. And it helps that, as far as I can tell, no sunlight finds its way beneath that tree so it's always accessible through my shadow striding."

He made no attempt to remove his own shoes or otherwise enjoy it to the extent she was but that didn't mean he was unhappy. "May I be blunt Ms. Del Bosque?" He paused, though he had a pretty good idea she wouldn't mind.

"Ms. Del Bosque, you've been hiding from life. I'll stand by and protect you as best I can in that hotel room for as long as you need- you know that. But wasting away there won't do anyone any good. If you need to come out here to re-learn what's important, or just to start living in the world again then I don't mind bringing you back here every day," he began as he clasped his hands behind his back. Keeping some space between himself and Zora.

"You're far too beautiful and intelligent a woman to give up now. I'm not asking you to get over your pain or move on immediately like I gather that song must have been intended to tell you. But please, don't keep shutting yourself off. Feel how the life here feels. Breathe it in. And then try to argue whether it's better in that hotel room."

The emotional speech wasn't quite characteristic of Felen, at least not from the experience Zora would have had with him- and he'd been around her a lot. But it was absolute and genuine concern for her well-being. And he knew if it was taken poorly he'd potentially be out of a job. And a purpose, really.