Do you remember, remember;

Ioeth couldn’t quite tell whether Aleister’s words were intended as sarcasm or not, but at his invitation, they stepped inside, their gaze sweeping over the room, flicking towards the parts that seemed even more decrepit than before. A sagging ceiling, warped floorboards, a tendril of ivy finding its way through a crack. It was quite cold too, despite the dancing flames in the fireplace. 

“Reads minds, hm,” they repeated, raising an eyebrow. Somewhere outside, their mind was still in the shadows, following the other man. Almost regretfully, they pulled back, their awareness shifting back to their immediate surroundings.

When the woman spoke up, they turned their attention to her instead. They didn’t recognise her, but there was something in her voice, and perhaps her face, that tugged on a memory somewhere—something despite the inhuman eyes, the claws, the feathers that seemed to sprout from beneath her clothes.

Pursing their lips, they glanced from her to Aleister and back to her again. “Doubtlessly,” they said, a note of dryness in their melodic voice, a lopsided smile briefly curling the corner of their mouth. “I am Ioeth. This is Aleister.” They lifted a black claw to gesture towards the other mage, and then they fell silent, somewhat at a loss for what to say. “I suppose names don’t mean much,” they continued after a pause, “but they are at least safe to start with.”

They made their way over to the couch and the fireplace, not yet sitting down, but leaning against the backrest of one of the large chairs, turning towards Aleister. “I did,” they said, running their tongue along their teeth, sharp canines glinting in the firelight. “I—well, I came to apologise for that. I don’t know what it did to you, but…” they trailed off, looking him straight in the face. “Certainly something.”

Then they turned their gaze to the woman again. “And if I may ask… who are you?”