A couple of weeks have passed since Rædnael visited Heks.

Despite her good intentions, he couldn't bring himself to seek out the contact she gave him. Mostly he was just afraid to leave the house, fighting this feeling of someone waiting outside to nab him. His muscles were sore for days after coming back home. Glancing to the teleportation circle etched to the wall next to his door, he thanked his past self for investing the time and energy in making it. Having to walk across the entire district during morning rush after being chased around the night before, he surely would've collapsed halfway there.

But even after recovering physically, after his body was done protesting every single movement he made, Rædnael still couldn't gather the strength or power of will to leave his house unless absolutely necessary.

"At least you guys don't ask for much," the halfling leaned over the windowsill, bottle in hand to water his array of pots and planters, making for a makeshift garden of a variety of plants he had collected over the years - some bought, most picked up from outdoor gardens.

Being able to make just enough money to keep his shoddy apartment and feed himself, there wasn't much he could do to spruce it up, make it look like less of a storage unit with a kitchenette. He couldn't remember when he started to collect the planters. They might have even been there when he moved in, empty and barren. But it was something to keep him occupied when nothing else did the trick. For a while he couldn't get anything to grow, knowing nothing about tending to plants other than watering them. Everything he planted kept withering and ended up dying, that he almost gave up on it entirely.

That was until he picked up what he thought was a random budding stem, liking the idea of potentially being surprised by what may come out of the buds. If he managed not to kill them first. For a while it seemed as futile of an effort as the rest, until the buds started opening, and Rædnael was greeted with the vibrant bloom of daylily flowers.

"And you're still the prettiest thing I've ever grown," Rædnael smiled fondly at the plants, reaching over to gently caress the red petals, before moving to feel the leaves of the other plants, now knowing to sense if they're getting to dry or if they're hydrated enough, to not drown them. "You really are a resilient little thing, like they said. No wonder you're plastered on everything in Las Flores," he sighed, his tail slowly waving behind him in contentment. He was certain that he would've lost his mind to anxiety if he didn't have this peaceful little patch to tend to.

If it wasn't for those small moments of peace, especially in the morning, when he would stay by his window and watch the wind ruffle through the leaves and petals, rustling gently in the silence of the morning. Rædnael closed his eyes to enjoy the serene moment, until a bright light flashed and danced over his eyelids. Blinking and squinting at the light, he saw a bright patch reflecting off something behind him as a few meandering sun rays beamed through to his room, bouncing off the glass embedded in the disguise artifact he got from Heks.

Somehow...it suddenly looked a lot more alluring, with the rainbow colors refracting off it.

His eyes wandered from the shiny artifact to the bare walls surrounding him, made only slightly nicer by the already-graying coat of color that was applied to them by the previous tenant, that he worked diligently to keep from chipping, cracking or getting moldy – a much cheaper option than fixing defects. He felt a twinge in his heart, thinking of how in the years he's been living there he couldn't get as much as a framed picture to hang for a pop of color. Even the old marbled tiling on the floor was a drab shade of gray.

He had to do something about it. Even if he didn't move out of this place, he'd settle with at least making it nicer. And to afford that, he had to be able to get a steady job rather than count on some odd, potentially illegal gigs.

Pursing his lips, Rædnael turned away from the window and walked to the hanging artifact, taking it off the wall and watching his own reflection in the glass in the middle of it. So close to already looking like a human, but not enough.

He looked around, quickly closing all windows and drawing all curtains shut, for the first time seeing that the glass and the gems around it had a faint glow to them, that seemed to increase the more he stared into it. He knew that each gem signified a use of the spell, so he had to be smart about it, or this kind-hearted gesture would go to waste.

Rædnael took a deep breath and closed his eyes, holding the artifact face up in his open palms, reaching deep within him to draw out an incantation in a language no longer spoken in the human world by many, pushing aside the stinging feeling knowing that other exiles and halflings have enough innate magic within them to simply will an artifact like that into working.

He wasn't sure how it's supposed to feel, but found it to be pleasantly warm, like being wrapped in a soft, protective blanket perfectly fitted to his body, while also not feeling restrictive, shifting along with his movements until he couldn't feel it anymore. Rædnael opened his eyes to the sound of something shattering in his hands, seeing one of the gems on the artifact turned to dust in his hands. Getting a better look at them, he noticed that his claws down to the tips of his fingers looked translucent under the glow of the artifact. Hurrying to the bathroom and turning on the lights, the halfling was startled at first to not see his own face looking back, not expecting the spell to work on reflections, too.

While he didn't look different enough for it to be a jarring sight, it would definitely be enough to throw other humans off, and ideally not draw any attention to himself in the first place. His face looked softer and somewhat rounder now, his eyes a dark shade of blue with completely round pupils, and his horns were gone. When putting his hands up to the mirror, his claws were completely gone as well, rather than appearing translucent, as he saw them himself. "Amazing..." he whispered to himself, finding that even his own voice was slightly different.

Leaning closer to the mirror to examine his new features, his face fell as a thought crossed his mind. Was this what his father looked like when he met his mother? When she fell for a disguised demon and eventually had a surprise little spawn? Or did the spell have him take after his human ancestry more? Not knowing what his parents look like or how the spell chooses his disguised appearance, it all seemed equally plausible.

Rædnael pursed his lips and shook his head, as if to shake the thoughts away. He looked back up and opened his mouth, making sure his fangs are also masked, and lifting his shirt to see that his tail is gone, too, while it was really wrapped around his own waist, to make sure it won't bump into anything.

"Well...time is of the essence. Better not waste it."

The day was bright and the shadows were dark. Patrols were scarce in these hours, so Rædnael could sneak into the mixed district. Thanks to a public outcry by those who sought fair treatment for exiles, the demon district wasn't fenced or had any form of border control, to not antagonize the exiles further.

The kindness of these strangers that were perhaps long dead by now sure played in his favor, allowing him a quick pass to the other district by just managing to avoid patrols and other demons. Although other exiles could sense he's merely disguised, he'd rather not get stopped for questions or have possible witnesses. There weren't a whole lot of them, either, most either already being at work at this time of morning, or oversleeping in their own houses.

Feeling that his luck may just be starting to turn, Rædnael soon found himself in the mixed district, nearly blinded by the difference. While the demon district looked mostly old and dilapidated, the mixed district had a much more modern feel to it, with brighter fronts on the building, more glass windows that reflected light around. Even the people around seemed to have been dressed in brighter, newer colors. Both humans and non-disguised exiles alike. Rædnael had to keep himself from staring like a stunned tourist to blend in and not look suspicious. If he draws even the little bit of attention to himself that'll constitute an ID check, he'd be done for. Hopefully Heks' contact could forge him a proper human ID, until he gets all of his official permits.

Heks' instructions had him get to the city's center first and navigate from there, but once he arrived the halfling simply couldn't hold back his awe, taken by his feet to a large flower garden in the plaza, as if caught under a different kind of spell, taken by the brilliant colors of the rows of flowers, with a ring of daylilies in the middle around a statue of a uniformed human posed in a heroic position. The plaque read "Captain Loyd Rosso, The Spirit of Survival".

Rædnael bit his bottom lip, feeling a tightness in his chest with knowing exactly who this was and why humans put him on a pedestal...but at the same time he couldn't deny the craftsmanship of the metal statue, admiring how well maintained it was and how detailed the face and clothes on it were.

He was so taken with the appeal of this statue and the beauty of everything around, that he didn't even notice a familiar face approaching him.