Chase and Poppy quietly walked alongside each other through the busy streets of Seh Jenah, as they passed an armor shop by the name of Lennox's Armor and Protection, Chase remembered the events of the other day when the potion shopkeeper had outed Poppy as a Dragon...
Sure enough, Poppy had the same thought on her mind as her eyes naturally fixated on the Potion shop that sat several blocks down at the end of the road they were currently on.
"You want to go back?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow at Poppy as his eyes studied her under the sunset.
Poppy stood beneath the lantern glow on the sunsetting kingdom in a flowing crimson gown and layered kirtle, her long ivory braids cascading over her shoulders like woven moonlight against blood-red silk. That same scar that ran along her cheek only sharpened the intense curiosity of her crimson eyes, and Chase- Well... Put simply, could only say that he was stunned in natural response at Poppy's appearance.
"What?" Poppy asked in confusion, tilting her head and raising her thin ivory brow in response to Chase's staring.
"Huh?" Chase looked away and stared at the sky with a blank expression.
In all honesty, Chase was just as confused as she was.
Although the two had shared some strangely intimate moments, Chase had failed to think of Poppy as anything more than a close friend which whom he had shared a lot of very personal and traumatizing experiences with...
However, Chase had realized just how much times had changed since school... As he couldn't help but stare at her whenever she wasn't looking, which felt extremely uncomfortable within his own mind.
He felt that what was happening was some strange worry or intuition, when in reality it had been neither...
'Am I? No... I'm not.' he thought, shaking his head and casually leading Poppy to the potion shop.
"Are you okay?" Poppy asked, tapping his shoulder as they walked.
Chase's heart skipped a beat and for a second he felt as if he was back under the gazes of the countless Coliseum spectators...
"Yep! Yeah! Great! Why? What's up?" Chase frantically scrambled over his own words like an idiot faced with spoken words for the first time in their short lifespan.
Poppy put a hand over her mouth and giggled, as the purse around her arm jingled and rattled with its leather strap dangling against itself.
"That! Are you sure you are getting enough sleep?" Poppy said between quiet laughter.
"Yes... No, I am very much not getting any sleep, but I don't get how that has anything to do with... Well... Anything really." Chase said blankly, noticing that the shop was approaching and sure enough... Smoke was flowing out from several open windows.
The two were silent for the most of the walk, but just as they were about to reach the doors of the shop... Poppy spoke up.
"Do you believe that I am actually related to a dragon?" She asked, her face showing more emotion than he had ever seen it show.
"Well... If you are asking if it changes my thoughts about you, then no not really... If that is actually what you are worried about, but as to if I believe you are part dragon or not... It doesn't really concern me, but we can go in and find out if you want..." Chase said every word with deep thought and intention, purposefully dancing around the topic of her father and the truth that Chase does indeed know him and Poppy's true lineage.
When Chase turned around to look at Poppy's reaction... He did not expect that a devilish grin would greet him from behind.
"You think about me?" She asked, putting her finger on the corner of her lips.
Chase frowned before turning around and lazily opening the shop doors as smoke bellowed out from within, and the two made short hesitations before eventually steeling themselves and stepping in through the cloud of smoke...
The same hunched over shopkeeper was standing over a large cauldron, holding a large metal spoon in his right hand and several lit matches in his left...
"What the hell?" Chase called out with wide eyes as the shopkeeper threw all three of his lit matches into the already smoking pot.
Sure enough...
An explosion rung the ears of both Chase and Poppy's as well as shattered every single window within the shop.
...
"So, you want to find out who your Father is?" The old man asked, scratching the base of his long and white chin hairs.
The three were seated at a small cafe-styled circular table, each with their own one person sofa to themselves.
Poppy and Chase were treated with tea and cookies as they sat beside each other while facing the old man who's name they had still not been given.
Poppy leaned forward, placing her teacup on the table and forcing a smile.
"May we know your name sir, it grows kind of difficult to continue calling you by shopkeeper... And annoying..." The last part was a low whisper that only Chase could hear, but it wasn't hard to tell that she didn't have much liking towards the old man who had convinced her to swallow a room full of smoke.
"Ah..." The man took a sip of his own tea... His long beard getting caught up in the cup, but he didn't seem to really care as he set the tea down with a welcoming smile that didn't really match the now stained white beard...
Chase may or may not have made a face of disgust for a short moment before the man spoke again.
"Hector... Hector of House Lavender... Pleased to make the acquaintances of you both..."