The soft chime of a bell was the first to greet him as he entered the café, followed by a sweet voice welcoming him. At the host's stand stood Thompson, Conri's closest friend, with his soft plump cheeks and sing song like voice, it was a perfect fit for him to be the host. Despite being human, he was full of charisma that made everyone feel right at home. 

"I see you took my advice and touched up your roots," Conri proudly replied while cleaning his glasses, a habit he picked up whenever he reverted to his human-self. "Did we stick with bubblegum pink?"

Thompson rolled his eyes as he drew himself from the host stand and closer for Conri to get a better look at his pink wavy hair. It was combed to perfection. 

"I'm NOT sorry to report that its actually strawberry pink." smirking triumphantly with his response "Anna thought it look good and I have to strongly agree. I do look good; she is an expert after all."

"Anna is five and enjoys anything pink." Conri retorted and immediately ran his hand through Thompson's hair, returning it to its original messy fluff like state. 

Thompson was left with his jaw dramatically dropped. "I can not believe you just did THAT!" 

Playfully shouldering past Conri, his wider frame rushing to the back of house to his employee locker. Conri enjoyed his job and it was mostly because of his coworkers and the free coffee, but mostly his coworkers. He made his way to the back, passing the seating areas and noting that the chairs were already set, the tables cleaned, the curtain to the bay windows had been drawn and the speakers echoed softly with instrumental tunes. Taking in the ambience of his safe space before entering the noisier backrooms where he'd find Thompson fixing his hair and possibly plotting revenge. 

"There! There is the culprit!" Thompson shouted, thrusting his comb accusingly in Conri's direction as he entered. 

Eli's tired sunken eyes gave glance then a shrug before returning to their school books, their straight blond hair was tied back in a bun to avoid disrupting their focus. The dwarf chef, Gwendolyn, didn't take her attention away from the tables of prep she'd been working on since the early morning. Her gruff voice was her only indication that she was paying some attention. 

"Ah! Good Morning Conri, just a moment and we'll go over this morning's specials."  

"Good Morning Mrs. Oz," As Conri buttoned up his vest, he turned to Thompson whose hair was just about back to how it was before. "Tell Anna she picked a great color, strawberry goes well with your complexion." 

Shoving his comb back into his bag, Thompson smiled victoriously and took the win. He was always beaming with pride when he got to talk about his step-daughter. Everyone on the team had met Annabelle, she prefers Anna, since her and her mother, Elena, come by quite often. Conri was happy that his friend found love and though it took sometime for others to get use to the idea since there are always some who cling to old ideals of human and fae relationships. Elena being a dryad and former TV star turned producer, it was a bit of a shock to the public when she started dating a short round average human. Then unlike most humans who try and become mages by attending the academy, like Eli, Thompson had no desire to study the arcane. He favored Psychology and usually did night classes at one of the local community colleges. 

Eli  represented the other half of the human population that chose to seek out the arcane arts. The process was never easy, but not quite impossible. Eli spends a lot of his time studying and was a quick learner which helped him stay afloat. Conri watched his mouth move silently as he read and repeated a hand movement several times to himself. It reminded Conri of the pictures in the introduction book he borrowed from the academy's counselor, the text itself wasn't easy to ready and yet Eli seemed to fly through paragraphs. It was made slightly more difficult to read Eli's silent lips as Thompson and Gwendolyn started reviewing the specials aloud. 

Conri's eyes went to Eli's palm that now cradled a dandelion puff like sphere of light just bright enough to brighten the corner of his book. It followed Eli's palm as he flexed his wrist, giving no indication that it could be easily snuffed out. It steadied itself as Eli continued silently reading as Conri approached, peering over the side to stare at the pages. It must have been distracting enough as Eli's light soon dispersed, its particles drifting to the ceiling and floor of the room. 

"Sorry!" He began watching the light disappear. "I was just curious about which passage you were reading."

Eli pointed to the paragraph, not really looking at Conri, but at his hand where his light once formed.

"Its really cool how much you've accomplished! Just looking at the text gives me a bit of a headache." Conri joked as he looked at the text. "I can't even begin to guess which word meant light."

"Yea, its not the easiest," Eli responded softly. "The ancient language itself still feels very alive, so it takes much longer to grasp let alone get a proper incantation." 

Conri continued looking at the words on the page as Eli explained "Are you saying that the letters could change at any given moment and ruin whatever arcane a mage is trying to use?" 

Eli blinked and stared up in thought as Conri continued his examination; the faded ink held its shape and yet each time Conri reached the end of a supposed sentence, something shifted. It could've been miniscule or drastic and pressure started building behind his eyes trying to focus. He couldn't read any of it, but the ink was changing.  

"Possibly." Eli's words cut through the struggle and when Conri blinked, everything seemed to be what it once was. "We learn that intent and focus are highly needed, but I suppose its a possibility that it could happen. I'm not sure what its like for others, but I imagine Fae have their own interpretation of the ancient language that allows them a unique way to translate and in turn utilize it in spell crafting."

The idea of a living language that was constantly rewriting itself was infuriating. It would make sense that most Fae have their own diction and phonic styles when utilizing magic, but having to keep up with ancient letters sounded impossible. It is drastically different than just speaking a new language because it sounded like some natural connection or harmony needed to accompany it. He remembered the counselor telling him that arcana is ever adapting and thus requires a give and take, but would a life time of headaches from studying really be worth it? 

"What about those who don't study or speak the language, aren't there people already like that?" Conri asked, finally taking his attention away from the book. "Like devils?"

Eli gave a small sigh and closed his book, returning it to his locker. 

"Absolutely, we're taught that lineages can impact magical talent, but as generations pass, the pure, raw origins begins to get watered down." Eli sounded like he had recited this lesson from his class many a time. "Then each species had to adapt and make their own sort of guide or cheat sheet."

The more he listened, the more Conri felt his chest tighten, his shoulders try to clench together and his mind begin to relive the past. It frustrated him even further as he kept seeing two faces flash in his mind, arguing with frightening growling words followed by those with deep sadden emotions.

"I never uh, considered that sort of thing." He managed to respond. "Cheat sheets and what not."

Eli shrugged and turned in the direction of Gwendolyn, Thompson greeting Val, all gathering around menus. 

"I suppose it can be seen as juvenile, but its just how we all adapt. Though some still prefer the get powerful quick scheme." Eli's voice was stern now as if to reiterate that he was not one for those kinds of schemes. "It does set my mind at ease to know that certain ones are being handle by the proper folks in office." Smiling toward Conri, gesturing with a free hand towards the group. 

Nodding as he followed, finally feeling the opportunity for a long exhale, Conri dropped the subject.