Was dropping into the seat across from the white knight unceremoniously without first asking if he could, a good idea? As it turned out, no. No, it was not.
In Cricket's effort to look casual his knees bumped the table leg, jiggling the knight's teacup and sloshing liquid onto the table. The knight, who was just moving to pick up his cup, lifted eyes as golden as the first rays of the sun on a mid-summer morning, to glare coldly at Cricket.
"Hi," Cricket said, going for smooth as he leaned forward to press one elbow onto the table, chin resting in hand, and missed entirely. He yelped, scrambling back into his seat to keep from toppling to the floor. When he'd gotten himself situated again, he shot the knight a crooked, dimpled grin. "Umm... Hi. I'm Prince Cricket Akio Yue."
The knight looked him up and down, measuring Cricket's worth in the quick motion. He found Cricket wanting, if the annoyed press of his lips was anything to go by. Instead of responding, he grabbed a napkin to sop up the mess, and poured himself another cup of tea.
"So... That could have gone better." Cricket cleared his throat, feeling awkward. He looked over to see if Ignacia was having better luck, and sent a silent 'thank you' to the Lady Selene that Ignacia was too wrapped up in her own conversation to see Cricket making an ass of himself. "Anyway, like I said, I'm prince Cricket Akio Yue."
"I heard you," the knight said, lifting his gaze to fix Cricket with another annoyed expression.
"Right umm... I could... I can order you another pot?" He nodded to the tea pot, folding his hands carefully into his lap to keep from knocking anything else over. If Uncle could see him, Cricket was sure he'd have something to say about the mess he'd made of things already.
"No need."
"Oh." Cricket frowned. His fingers fiddled with the end of his long braid, needing something to keep him distracted under the other man's scrutiny. "You know, it's common practice when someone introduces themselves to introduce yourself."
The man's face remained the same, fixed in that expression of mild annoyance. Cricket couldn't tell if he was considering giving his name, or not. Maybe he was trying to figure out if introducing himself would make Cricket go away or keep talking. Cricket fought the urge to fidget more under that penetrating stare.
"And your name is?" Cricket tried again, holding his hand out to the man.
Those golden eyes flicked down to Cricket's outstretched hand, but he didn't even twitch to take it. He stared long enough that Cricket let out an awkward laugh, letting his hand fall to the table.
"Yoshi," the knight finally said, his voice soft but stilted, like he had to force the word out.
"Yoshi?" Cricket asked. He dragged his hand back to his side of the table, and into his lap.
Yoshi nodded.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Yoshi." Cricket smiled brightly again.
Yoshi didn't return the sentiment; he just sipped his tea.
"So, um...you're from Helio right?" Cricket's own eyes fell to the sun crest sewn with gold thread into the Yoshi's white cloak.
"Yes."
Cricket perked up a little more. He leaned forward to brace his elbows on the table, letting his eyes move over Yoshi quickly. Yoshi had been inspecting him too, why not return the favor? Besides, Cricket needed more information. Knights from Helio didn't just meander around Lunette for the fun of it. Yoshi's cloak was nice, lined in soft fabric, but light enough for the summer months. He had to have left Helio recently then. The sword resting on his hip was well maintained, the grip freshly polished. Combine that with the upright posture, and the steady look Yoshi was giving to a prince...
"You must be really high up in the ranks," Cricket concluded, rejecting the urge to pat himself on the back for the conclusion.
Yoshi just looked at him blandly.
"What's a white knight from Helio's ranks doing so far from the mountains? I mean Tochtli is no hop skip and a jump. Or were you heading to the capital to see me?" Cricket couldn't help the teasing smirk that pulled at his cheeks. He wanted to, he did, but he couldn't.
Something twitched on Yoshi's face, but before Cricket could catch if it'd been a pull of his lips, a raising brow, or a wrinkled nose, it was gone again. "No."
"No? To which bit?"
Yoshi stared some more, but didn't say anything else.
"Well, you're in luck, then aren't you? Because I seem to have come out to meet you instead?"
"Nonsense." Yoshi broke his stare to flag down a waitress. "More tea."
She nodded, and scurried away.
"Nonsense? Which bit was nonsense?" Cricket puffed out his cheeks, pouting. This would have worked, on anyone else. But Yoshi was immovable. He simply poured the last of the tea into his cup, and waited for Cricket to be through his tantrum. Which was very annoying. Cricket deflated, letting the air out of his cheeks in a huff. "Fine, not to see me. Then why are you here?"
"To help," Yoshi said simply.
"Oh, that's brilliant! Me too! Ignacia and I are here to help too. Have you heard the same reports we've heard about the town disappearing? We think it must be some kind of curse, but we can't figure out on what yet. Is it on a person? Or is it on the whole town? Or is it just a cursed object? Honestly, I hope it's not an object because finding it could take forever. And I have at least another oh...twenty odd towns suffering from curse magic I should probably see to. Although I doubt Anstice will send us to them all. She'll probably just send us to the most imminent threats."
Yoshi let him babble. When the new pot was brought, he poured a cup for Cricket and shoved it into his hand.
"Thanks." Cricket blinked down at the cup for a moment, as if confused, and then took a slow sip.
"I'm not in Tochtli to help," Yoshi clarified.
"No?"
Yoshi shook his head.
"But what about the town disappearing?"
"I had not heard of that."
"Then why are you here?"
"To rest."
Cricket nodded, pulling the journal from his satchel again, and setting his tea carefully aside so he could write this down. "So, you were on your way to somewhere else? Where?"
"There are reports of a dragon in Ilkay."
"Really? Oh, great stardust, that's not good. We haven't had a dragon in...at least five decades." Cricket frowned, writing that down as well. They would need to head to Ilkay next. Or maybe they should go now? Which was more dangerous a disappearing town or a dragon? No. If Anstice had thought the dragon was more dangerous they'd have been sent there. She wouldn't neglect something like that. Unless she hadn't heard? "You haven't noticed anything strange around here?"
Yoshi's eyes flicked down to the journal, then back up to Cricket, then back down. He seemed to be deciding something, and when he'd made up his mind, he pursed his lips just a little. "I will handle it."
"Excuse me?" Cricket's hand stopped where it was scratching words that only he'd be able to decipher into the page.
"I will handle it," Yoshi repeated, tone calm, and measured.
"No. You won't." Cricket clenched the pencil in his hand tighter, his mouth pressing into a hard line. "I am here to take care of my people. If you'd like to help, that'd be great. But you aren't handling this, not on your own. Not in my kingdom."
"I will handle it." Yoshi left no room for argument, he stood from his chair. "You would get in the way."
"Get in the... Get in the way?! Look here, I am the prince, and—"
Yoshi walked to the door without giving Cricket a backward glance.
"Hey! You come back here!" Cricket stood abruptly as well, his chair scraping hard against the floor. Everyone looked at him; Cricket felt their eyes like heat on the back of his neck. But he wasn't done yet. He followed behind Yoshi out into the street. "You can't just end an argument by walking away from me!"
"Were we arguing?" Yoshi asked. Mild. Calm. Annoying.
"Yes! Yes, we were!"
Yoshi stopped and turned around to face Cricket. "I work alone."
"Not this time you don't. This is my kingdom, and I'm here to help my people. I appreciate your concern, but if you're going to do anything it is aid me." Cricket stood up taller, puffing out his chest.
"Aid you?" Was that incredulity in his tone? It sounded like it was, but Cricket opted to ignore it.
"Yes. Aid me."
"You will only get in the way." It didn't sound like Yoshi was saying it to be hurtful, but merely stating the facts as he saw them, and it chafed far more than Cricket would like to admit.
"I will not."
"You will."
"I will not."
"You will."
"Cricky!" Ignacia called. Cricket turned to her, only just then realizing that he'd been chasing Yoshi through the streets. Ignacia was out of breath, looking a little frazzled. "Oh, thank Selene, I thought I'd lost you. You said we had to stick together. Remember?"
"I remember. I was just..." Cricket turned back around to motion to Yoshi, but the knight was gone. He growled, stomping his foot.
"You were just?"
"We are not done, white knight!" Cricket called after the man, his fists shaking at his sides. "Not by a long shot!"
"What's going on Cricket?" Ignacia asked, worry pinching her brows together.
"Nothing." Cricket forced the word passed a tongue that wanted to scream. "Let's finish up our lunch and get on with questioning. Someone other than that impossible, rigid, ridiculous, white knight has to know something."
Ignacia nodded, but the wrinkle between her brows was still there. They returned to their table in the private room, and Cricket wrote down everything Yoshi had told him. Silent rage made his handwriting even worse than normal, but he could still read it, so it was fine.
"What did your messenger say?" he asked when he was finally able to breathe through his nose without exhaling like an irate bull.
"Not much. He said he was sent here by a lord some towns over in search of healing herbs from the local witch. She's apparently very well known. What about your knight?"
"He was of very little use, unfortunately." Cricket grabbed a roll from the still too-full table and tore it with his teeth. "He's from Helio, and was just passing through on his way to deal with a dragon in Ilkay."
"A dragon?"
Cricket nodded, chewing hard enough to grind his teeth. He wasn't even sure why he was so angry. He'd come up against plenty of arrogant people in his time, and they didn't usually set him off that way.
"Should we maybe head that way instead? I mean if it's a dragon..." She frowned, holding out her hand to him. "Show me the map."
He pulled it from the satchel and handed it to her before stuffing the last third of the roll into his mouth.
"Ilkay would be a half a day's ride. We could get there and deal with that before coming back here." Her fingers traced the route they could take.
All they needed to do was cross the river and they'd be halfway there. But... But that would leave Tochtli to Yoshi. The idea of leaving this problem to the haughty white knight felt like losing to Cricket. And he was not about to lose to some puffed up, vain—
"Cricket. Hello?" Ignacia waved her hand in front of his face. "What's going on with you?"
Cricket sucked in a breath, squeezing his eyes shut. He found his center again, shaking off what Yoshi had said to him. "I'm sorry. What were you saying?"
"I said, we could make it there and back in three days. You could go on and I could keep investigating here."
"No. Anstice sent us here. She knows what she's doing. We stay here." He shook his head.
"Let's call her and check in? Maybe the dragon is new. If it is, that should take precedent over this. I mean this isn't hurting anyone."
"That we know of."
"That we know of," Ignacia agreed.
"We'll call Anstice and see if any news has come from Ilkay. After we see the witch." Cricket held his hand out for the map, and Ignacia rolled it up again before handing it back. "I'd rather get a better handle on this first."
Ignacia nodded. Her eyes were flicking over his face, searching. But she didn't ask, and so long as she didn't, Cricket wasn't going to tell her. Because there were more important things to worry about than how Yoshi's words had rubbed Cricket raw, exposing insecurities he'd buried deep under hours of sparring, lessons in diplomacy, and so many books on strategy. Tochtli needed a prince with a clear head, and so Cricket cleared his. Then pulled the watch from where he'd hooked it to the outside of his bag.
"It's only two. We still have plenty of time," he said tucking it back inside, letting the chain dangle for easy access. "Let's ask the innkeeper where the witch is."
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