[FOF] Phantom feelings

Parties were above loved by the druid. If not for the grand display of foods to try- then for the buzz that gave him enough fuel to keep his demanding brain going. People to meet, places to be- Charlie enjoyed the constant stream of stimuli- though many others could argue it'd made him rather detached for much of the evening as his focus could not remain on a single moment , rather shifting from one on to another instead. Most of the people het met, things he thought, saw,  seemed to fade into a larger crowd of thousands, fun and exciting, like running through a field of flowers.  Never ending, ever going- untill ultimately Charlie ran out of energy to deal with it all, crashing onto it all- scaving his knees. Wishing for a more comfortable calming place to rest instead of on the ground surrounded by all the bright colours and loud noises,

Luckily, some flowers seemed to hold his attention longer than others. Some he had seen many times previously, and one of them them he hoped to see at every party he went to. As kids they had been introduced to one and other- back then he had still been a royal baby, and she a governers daughter. Though that she still was, unlike him. Charlie smiled upon seeing hern within the crowd of party-goers, a single prawn held within his hands. One he most likely had forgotten about since placing his gaze onto her. "Anaïre!" the druid called out for her, his smile bright and wide, excited to see his party buddy of old. Back in the day, when parties had been boring and clrealy directed at adults, the two of them had kept eachother company. A habit that proofed rock solid as it still stood strong to this day. Atleast- when they both attened a festival or party that was.

"Hey" he greeted her once more after having approached her through the crowds "Thank Lythrana I found you- i was starting to think this party would just be a lot of old people talkng to me about people i don't know and my dad" he continued, brushing his arm past his forehead. Only now spotting the prawn skewer he still had in his hand. Luckily it did not stroke past his skin. What a nice surpise! But-  It had been true, parties like these often came with a lot of his fathers, grandfathers, old friends reconsiling in the olden days of which Charlie knew nothing about. Though admitedly he did enjoy listening to some of them as it in somehow seemed to keep his late father close to him. However, the sorrows he rather soothe with a bite of his prawny treat. "Oh have you tried these yet by the way? They're so good"

+ Anaïre

It was pretty funny to see her bow, though ofcourse not because she did so funny. But more so because it felt quite unlike her to her friend. Ana was quite unlike many other nobles around her, the adventurous type rather than the fine dining type- a quality of hers that had reeled in the druid in the first place. Charlie had always had a habit of seeking out fun rather than attending boring same olds same olds, and the two of them had gotten along like that from day one of meeting each other. Even if she was far braver than him when it came down to it but sush.

Charlie chuckled when she greeted him after excusing himself from the women she was talking with, seemingly relieved to be away from there. And for once, Charlie could feel somewhat like a hero, or needed at least. Important to someone tonight. Though when she addressed fathers his smile shortly stiffened, though he knew he had it coming with the way he spoke of his late father before. It was only natural for her to respond this way, it would be sad to cause drama over it. Charlie never liked drama. So he just smiled and let the conversation flow on into talking of food whilst enjoying good food. Laughing at her statement with an honesty like no other. " No but really" he added, a bright smile at his face.

It was not proper for them to touch, he knew this, but forgive a boy for forgetting when talking with a friend, whose shoulder he softly pushed back a little playfully. " Pfff do not get me started Ana" he mused happily. His job really was as boring as the conversations with older people were around here. But then with a lot of added paperwork, running around and getting yelled at. "It's so boring, and stressful at the same time" he explained with a sigh " The other day, I had to run up and down stairs like, 6 times. And then I had to sit through 4 meetings about recourse management or something" those were the worst really. The meetings. People counted on him to write along with what was said but most of the time he was busy keeping his brain from combusting on the spot. " But I am glad I have the job at least, I mean I have to be, my cousin gave it to me so" And Ezriel was kind to him at least. Giving him all he needed to stay afloat. " And I get to spend time with him which is fun' he added, ending on a positive note to keep there conversation fun at least.

"'But, enough about work, we're at a party right?" he pushed their talk further, smiling at the elf in joy. " How are you? And Snow? I can not wait to see her again! Did you bring her with you up north or do we have to arrange a trip for me to Silvercrest?" Not a bad idea actually- a vacation. But somewhere he knew the council would not see it that way. Though come to think of it, perhaps a lot of them would love for the paperwork to be actually need in his absence for once.