Sloane took the bottle, scanning it for a moment before uncorking and draining the tonic. She didn't hide her grimace at the taste, but didn't dwell on it as she called an inn worker over, "Well, lucky you. The breakfast here is some good shit." She continued to nurse her coffee, and after Kanu placed his meal order, she asked for another mug of coffee.

Once the waitress was gone, Sloane turned to Kanu, looking at him over the top of her mug, "So. We still on for today?"

A grin spread across Kanu's lips as Sloane grimaced at the foul tasting tonic. Sure, it tasted like dog shit, but it was pretty damn good at clearing his head and getting rid of any of the poison remaining in his system. He just hoped it worked for Sloane too. Kanu looked up at the waitress, flashed her a charming smile, then placed his order, asking for two, large cups of coffee and a breakfast meal of three waffles, and at least ten pieces of bacon and a good lot of scrambled eggs.

Kanu turned to face Sloane once he was done ordering, resting his cheek aginst his hand, his purple eyes flashing as she spoke. "As long as you're still up for it then yea. I'm leaving today anyways, now where the hell do you need to get to exactly? I really hope it's not that far from the capital, because if it is, then we're going to be travelling together for a while Princess." Kanu wasn't teasing, and he looked rather serious.

The problem was, his realm was an entirely different dimension than the one they were currently in. Hell wasn't some stupid place in the core of the world they were on at the moment. No, his home world could only be accessed through portals. Half of his realm was entirely uninhabitable, and the half that was habitable was still very dangerous. With the added addition of the current civil war, Sloane's people had chosen possibly the worst time to get poisoned.

That was besides the point though. There were a limited number of portals between the two realms, and the nearest ones on Earth were closer to the capital than those further away. If Sloane needed to get somewhere far away from his capital, then they'd have to stay on earth a bit longer in order to get to the proper portal.

"I believe it is on the hot-side of your kingdom. The man I need to meet with is named Askada - he employs some people on earth to get ingredients for his own potions. One of them," Sloane shrugged, although there was a dangerous light in her eyes, "Had loose lips. So I know he is located in the Grylands."

Sloane took a sip of her coffee, letting Kanu decide what he would do with that information. For all the stuff she knew, Sloane did not, in fact, know the layout of Hell. She'd been there a scant few times, but not enough to know the layout.

"I've been to his old shop once or twice, but he moved out of the..." Sloane pressed her lips together, "Well, he moved out of his old shop, which was closer to the capitol."

At the name Askada, Kanu visibly winced, looking away from Sloane as she continued explaining where exactly the man was located. It got worse with every word she spoke, and he was suddenly rethinking taking her to his kingdom. Not seriously of course, but this little mission was turning out to be tougher than he had originally anticipated. Luckily, they would still be going through the portal he'd originally wanted to go through, but that was about as good as it got.

His food arrived just as Sloane finished, and he drank half of his coffee before finally replying. "You couldn't have chosen literally any other person or place in the entirety of the fucking realm huh?" Kanu sighed, his eyes sliding from his bacon to Sloane's face. Luck really never was on his side. "Well, we won't have to travel far in this realm, we'll be able to enter a portal not too far from here. The trek in my realm will be a lot longer than I originally anticipated. The Grylands is practically covered in the war, and we'll have to take the long way around to avoid all that shit. And no, we won't be getting anywhere near the fighting, not because I don't think you're capable of taking care of yourself, but because the last thing the war needs is the Princess of the Heavens adding more fuel to the fire." Kanu ran a hand through his black hair as he mapped out a route in his head.

They'd still be able to enter his realm through Kronrik, they could gather supplies there then set off for his sister's cabin, since it was on the way and was quite possily the safest place they could rest after a week of walking. "I will admit, we're gonna have to get used to each other Sloane, we're gonna be together for a long ass time."

Perhaps Askada was in the most inconvenient location possible, but he had the ingredients to fix what was wrong in the Heavens. Sloane was willing to take risks and spend time with Kanu in order to save her kingdom, but more importantly...

Sloane let herself shrug, and spoke in a soft tone that did not fit her at all, "I have to do this. My best friend - he's really my brother - is ill. He was the first to fall ill, and I..." Sloane sighed, running a hand over her face. Her headache had nothing to do with the ale from the previous night, "I am afraid for him, Kanu. It isn't... it isn't looking like he is going to make it."

Sloane's raw and open expression suddenly closed off, her walking coming back up, as if remembering where she was and who she was talking to, "I will do anything to save him."

Perhaps Askada was in the most inconvenient location possible, but he had the ingredients to fix what was wrong in the Heavens. Sloane was willing to take risks and spend time with Kanu in order to save her kingdom, but more importantly...

Sloane let herself shrug, and spoke in a soft tone that did not fit her at all, "I have to do this. My best friend - he's really my brother - is ill. He was the first to fall ill, and I..." Sloane sighed, running a hand over her face. Her headache had nothing to do with the ale from the previous night, "I am afraid for him, Kanu. It isn't... it isn't looking like he is going to make it."

Sloane's raw and open expression suddenly closed off, her walking coming back up, as if remembering where she was and who she was talking to, "I will do anything to save him."

Double 0.0))

~~

At Sloane's raw expression, Kanu immediately looked away, giving her a moment to gather herself out of respect for her more than anything else. He knew how she was, how she didn't want to be seen as weak even though everyone had some weakness. It seemed that the two were similar in their weaknesses. Rue's face flashed in his mind and his doubts about the mission were immediately thrown out the window. He'd do anything for his little sister, the only being in the entirety of all three kingdoms that he trusted with his heart and secrets. Kanu didn't know what he'd do if she was dying, probably go insane. Sloane was dealing with those same emotions, and, knowing how he'd feel if he were in her position, he immediately nodded.

"I know you will," Kanu quickly replied, taking a sip of his coffee. Kanu finally turned to face Sloane again, his eyes meeting hers as he tried to convey that he couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling, but he'd help her because he knew that in the same situation, he'd be going insane. "We'll get the cure from Askada, and we'll hurry too. I know of a short cut, it's not particularly safe, but I think with our combined prowess we'll be fine." Kanu winked, shooting Sloane one of his signature mischevious grins, though he still held a rather serious air to him.

Sloane still needed a minute or two to collect herself back up again - package all of those leaky emotions back into their box, which was protected under layers of walls and borders.

Still, she nodded, draining the rest of her mug as Kanu's breakfast came, and as both were given large mugs of piping hot coffee. When Kanu was around halfway done with his meal, Sloane finally spoke, "Yes. We will be fine," Sloane wasn't one to say thank you, so she didn't, "I am going to pack a bag of supplies. Also - what are the chances that Gryphem would be able to get into Hell?" Sloane found it unlikely that he'd be able to get in - griffins weren't quite a species native to Hell - and she'd want to tell him she was leaving before just vanishing.

Sloane would, however, most definitely be taking Bulla with. Although the little dragon was mostly harmless, she had extreme temperature tolerance, and was sharp as a whip.

The two had gone on many of adventures together.

Kanu immediately began gorging himself on the beautiful breakfast platter in front of him, giving Sloane time to recover. He knew that she didn't like being seen as anything other than strong and cold, which he could understand. So Kanu pretended that the food had him entranced, but he was honestly just waiting for Sloane to catch back up.

After taking a swig of his coffee while Sloane spoke, Kanu paused in his devouring of his breakfast. He sat there for a moment, trying to do the math in his head. Technically, since they would be on the border of the two extremes of his realm most of the time, the weather wouldn't be as extreme as normal. Technically, if his intel was correct, the Heavens' climate wasn't too far off from the border of the two extremes in his realm.

"Well technically he could. We'll be traveling mostly on the border between frigid temperatures and unbearable heat, it's the most Earth like temperatures we have. We won't be venturing too far into either climate, so he should be okay. Flying might be a bit difficult for him though, the weather is... much different there than it is here." Technically, Kanu's realm was a completely different planet. It wasn't like his people made that information known, though they didn't particularly hide it either, but it meant that everything about his home was different than this one. There were even some places that even his own people had yet to explore because the climate was uninhabitable. Hell was an odd world.

i can't remember if i ever said that her wings were torn off (so if i did: disregard) , but she HAS been a fairy this whole time so: emerge wings. i also think that hardly anyone knows this, bc like, she is never seen w wings out

--

Sloane pressed her lips together thoughtfully, "Well, although I prefer riding him, I can still get around on my own. I'd rather not risk him, and keeping him out of sight would be a pain."

She would just have to fly on her own. Sloane was a fairy, after all: she did have wings. She just simply preferred riding Gryphem. He could fly faster and for much longer distances, as well as carry cargo, plus, with folks not knowing she could fly, it was a further advantage for her in a fight.

That being said, Sloane flew on her own quite often - just in the private. Her wings were an easy part of her. It might take a while to learn how to navigate Hell, but she would manage.