Saddened by his first exchanges with real people in years, the diminutive man began to make his way out of town with a sombre expression on his face. The confusion of years not knowing how he'd ended up on that frozen cage of a planet, followed by the realization that maybe his old self was even worse than he previously imagined was soul-crushing to him. Had so much time had passed that everything and everyone he’d once known turned to dust in his absence?

What could have prompted his untimely end? He asked himself that question, unwilling to ask the beautiful young lady for a proper answer. If she'd been this hateful towards him, maybe he deserved what he got.

Suddenly, he came across another member of his race; a woman, pale skin, eyes missing visible pupils much like his own.. She went about her business, not paying him much notice except for a friendly smile and nod as she crossed the street perpendicular to the one he was on. His heart skipped a beat as he was suddenly reminded that he was not the only one of his kind on this particular planet. Not only that, but he was reminded of the ones he cared for before his passing.

He began to consider the worst scenario. He had no enemies in the past, but he knew full well that he hadn't been his best self in the years previous to his departure from this realm. He'd spent years pondering his actions in isolation, which caused a significant change in his character. He indeed had a knack for making difficult situations even worse for himself. Perhaps it could be considered even something of a talent in odd musings. He held a hand to his chest, pulling on his shirt, feeling as if his pumping heart might break out of his chest as he observed the woman go around with a spring in her step, as many of their kind did.

He looked down for a second, pondering the recent developments. His mouth hung slightly open as tears began to run across his cheeks. The pain was almost too much to bear, his fears and anxiety making a decade in exile seem like a small punishment by comparison. After a few seconds, he pulled himself out of his well of self-pity and used his shirt to wipe away what remained of the tears. Struggling to pull in air through his now congested nostrils, he looked around to attempt to discern if anyone had been staring at him too much. Finding no such thing - and certainly not his stalker, whom he was far too distracted to notice -, he determined himself move on, taking confident steps towards a location just outside of the town to which he was magically drawn. His tail followed from a safe distance.

Not even five minutes since he'd passed the last building that belonged to the town, the man reached a shrine-like monument built with ancient, sturdy stone. It must have stood there for centuries before his time, and would endure centuries more after his passing. The man had felt a strange feeling as he approached the monument, and frowned as if he expected something different. He examined the runed stones that seemed most prominent and found that they lay dormant and unattended for many years, overgrowth taking over the top of the stones and partially covered with leaves. This was highly unusual, and he began to ponder what might have caused such a useful and important object to fall into disrepair. He wasn't one to act rashly anymore, so he definitely wouldn't use the gateway right away. Again touching one hand to his chin and the other to an elbow, he cast gazes all around him which didn't help all that much in establishing a logic to the situation at hand.

Freya, seeing his pondering gesture, decided it was time to reveal herself. She was intrigued as to what the man knew of this structure that even she knew nothing about. She tapped her knuckle to one of the rocks on the outer structure to announce her presence and the man turned around to face her, confused as to who could have followed him but at ease with the situation. He smiled softly as his eyes adjusted to the relative brightness that shone through the treetops, himself standing in the light whereas she stood in the shadow, and he took notice of who she was. To him, this was a pleasant turn of events that endorsed a more positive outlook of himself in his head.

"I... Don't imagine you came here to the same place as me by chance, have you, my dear?" He asked with a playful tone.

She was visibly irritated by his cheeky question. It should be obvious why she was following him: to watch and make sure he didn't do anything catastrophic. But he either didn't know or didn't care.

"H-h... The nerve..!" She stuttered, whispering to herself.

She glanced sideways and sighed, collecting herself before offering a proper answer. She looked at him dead in his smooth emerald lamps and affirmed: "I'm here to find out what you're trying to do. Why are you here?".

He turned around again, pointing an open palm at the ruins.

"I was just trying to leave. It seems, however, that my fastest means of travel has been taken from me. Do you happen to know anything about the why?" He asked her, turning back to face her with a serious expression.

She seemed confused by his words. As far as she was concerned, these ruins were just a site for ancient rituals and nought else.

"What do you mean? This place is... Nothing. It does nothing. It's just a bunch of rocks. Means of travel...?" She replied, whispering the last bit.

This confirmed one of his theories. This made him bring a hand to his forehead, already considering alternatives to his plan. There were too many variables involved and he would take a safer route. He sighed deeply and kept his peace. Freya seemed irritated by his silence and inquired: "Tell me what's going on.".

He looked back at her with concern and trying not to reveal too much or make too many assumptions, he replied: "This is a gateway. We used these constantly back in my times to travel long distances, but it's been locked. I can unlock it, but there's probably a reason as to why this was done. I'm assuming you were never taught about these because they were secured before you even knew a thing about magic. Very few people can do something like this, and I know most of them. This…” - he paused, ominously - “... isn't a coincidence."

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"Then they just didn't want you going around at your leisure if you ever came back." She replied without giving it too much thought.

"Why would they, when I can just as easily break the seal? Think, girl. There's another reason. And not knowing it, I admit, terrifies me." He said in turn.

Her violet eyes grew wide hearing this. If he meant what he said, this indeed signalled that her newly-founded fears might be closer to being a reality than she'd be comfortable with.

"I-I... What?" She said, her thoughts racing to her mouth faster than she could hold herself back. He looked at her with a genuine fear of what these signs entailed. Pacing around for a few moments, he reviewed his plans and found most of them wanting. All odds were against him and he'd find it difficult to discern the truth by himself. At the realization of that fact, he suddenly stopped and turned his head toward the girl, who seemed far more confused now than ever. He smiled gently at her and she tilted her head sideways, unsure of why he looked at her that way. For a second she thought he might have devious plans for her, and took a defensive step back.

"You, my dear, seem to be my only hope of figuring out this mystery." He stated with a calm and gentle voice. "Although misguided, you seem to be pure of heart and intent. And you could use some more training." He said staring at the miniaturized spear strapped to her back.

She furrowed her brows, still wary of his words and intentions. He seemed exceedingly frightening to her but somehow trustworthy. She kept most of her complaints to herself, focusing on what was written between the lines: "You're suggesting I come with you? Have you any idea how insane that sounds?" She said with a mocking tone to her voice. "I was raised to fight you, hellspawn."

He giggled at that last word. "Hellspawn? Is that some kind of new slur for nepenthi? My lord, I might have been mistaken about you." He replied.

Her face lit up red at the very notion of his remark. "N-no! I-I'm not... I just meant you, in particular! Nepenthe are cute and precious and I would never refer to them that way!" She attempted to defend herself.

He waved her worries away with a hand, now laughing out loud at her reaction. "Oh, please! I was only joking. No need to be so flustered. You're fine, young lady."

She was visibly bothered by her assumed mishap. When he revealed the true nature of his speech, she let out a relieved sigh, shaking her head sideways. "I wish you wouldn't play around with these things. It only makes you less agreeable." She stated.

He raised his eyebrows along with his shoulders, shrugging. "I suppose so. Old habits die hard. I apologize." He replied, not feeling too guilty, beginning to enjoy Freya's company. "So? You'll come with me?" He continued soon after, crossing his arms and placing his body in what he considered to be a 'cool pose'. She was sceptical of his posture, understanding the intent but feeling as if it made him look like even more of a child than his kin already did in general.

She sighed deeply, resigning to her fate. If she was to learn more about these things that had been seemingly kept from her by design, she had no option but to follow that which upset the balance in the first place. If he ever turned his back on her with malicious intentions revealed, she thought, she could use that as an opportunity to bring him down.

"Fine. But first I must know your plan, hellspawn." She replied.

He opened a wide, toothy smile at her. "Call me by my name, then I will." He said, eager to hear the word come out from a real voice box, not a mechanical one. For the first time in years.

She sighed and parted her lips, but what followed even as she flexed her tongue and pushed air out of her lungs was nothing but silence. Knitting her brows together, she coughed to check her throat for any phlegm that might be impeding her speech. There was nothing, so she tried again. Again, not a sound came from her mouth. She was startled by this, and the man also realized that something was wrong.

After a brief period of confusion, the expression on his face turned into one of anger. "Robbed of my name, I see. Very well. It'll be mine again but until then..." He stopped to ponder what would be the second-best thing. "How was it, again? Clara taught me. Mor... Morgenstern? Yes. Call me Morgen."

The woman still struggled to understand how she was unable to vocalize the man's name. It was at the tip of her tongue and she knew it well, but the air from her lungs came out stale only for that one word. It had never happened before in the countless times she'd discussed the subject of this man with her tutors in the past. She nodded at his steadfast affirmation of identity and said his name back to him, followed by an inevitable question: "Morgen. Why am I unable to say your name?"

"Because it's a title that's lost its meaning. It seems I've much to do to repair it." He replied.

She was stumped by this. He thought it might be wise to elaborate. "It's not my true name, either. But it's one that was bestowed upon me as it holds power and a particular cosmic meaning. You've likely heard of others with similar designations, no?" He asked, giving her a first lesson in the arcane she seemed to sorely need.

She shook her head sideways, oblivious to the concept. He sighed, realizing he had much more to teach her than he previously thought. "Whoever taught you obviously kept some very important information out of your hands. Stick with me and I'll catch you up to speed, lady...?" He left room for her name.

"Freya. Freya Bjørg." She promptly replied. A shiver ran across his spine and a devilish smile took over his expression as he heard it.

He giggled silently with his mouth closed and turned around to the ruins once more. She was left wondering: "What's so funny?".

"Beautiful name. Poetic, even." He replied, now aware precisely of where to go first in his quest for answers.

"Lindblum is not too far away from here, is it?" He asked, rhetorically.

“A bit, I suppose. A couple weeks travel by foot, depending on the size of one's legs.” She jabbed at him.

He giggled at that, rewinding to the countless hours spent walking a frozen wasteland with no clear goal. At least now he knew where he was going. "We're not walking. With this much magic available there are far more interesting ways to get about." He said, glancing sideways at her with a malicious smile. She felt a chill run down her spine, knowing nothing good would come of this.