Obviously seeing the crowd begin to disperse a sharp, somewhat sour voice butted into their easy conversation as the Hawkwing from earlier made her opinion clear, "As if anyone could be jealous over a fake form like yours," she accused, as if forgetting that Ailanthus also fell under such scrutiny by that measure.
He was quick to speak that reminder, his voice showing his disinterest clearly if only she were listening for it, "Might I remind you, Wren, that this is not my original form either."
"I have seen your true form, Ailan. Like any good follower of Lord Virtus, you don't lie about what you are," her sharp gaze moved to Ash as she scowled at her, "I have seen the Starlight Unicorns, they do not always do so."
She wasn't wrong, Ash had noticed that the Starlight Unicorns did not always match things as one might expect. Then again, she was uncertain what was considered a true match-up since Ailanthus' proper form would be that of a bird and therefore wouldn't exactly have what she considered a normal match-up where fur color became skin tone and mane became hair.
She also knew that many of the Starborn hadn't followed the same match-up as she did either. Since Starlight Elves had such wide variance available to their skin tones, some took mane colors for skin tone and fur for hair instead.
He sighed roughly, "I am tired of this already, Wren. You do not interest me and, with the attitude you display, you never will. Insulting anyone I show the most minor amount of interest in will not change that. Despite your jealousy, I am not fool enough to pursue someone romantically when I barely know them personally."
"She certainly seems to think you're interested," the woman grumbled.
Ash rolled her eyes, not bothering to explain that it was at least in part a joke. They didn't know each other well enough to be interested in each other in more than a superficial way and bound races didn't deal in superficial attraction for actual partners. When you lived nearly forever and were able to alter a good deal about your looks, they swiftly came to mean nothing, after all.
Ailanthus shook his head, seeming disappointed, "It was nothing more than a joke, considering generally lovers enjoy festivals with just each other's company."
Seeming surprised, Wren stepped back a bit and then looked to Ash, "Does he speak the truth?"
"I mean," she said bluntly, "He's not uninteresting but we will both live for many thousands of years. It would take far more than a few small meetings to determine if either of us is interested in the other. Considering we will likely interact a fair bit, it is not impossible, but at this point I believe we are merely making jokes."
Ailanthus seemed curious about Ash's mention of more interacting between them, he spoke up, "Might I ask what business will bring us together in the future?"
Ash explained her curiosity that the bound races working together might work out better for the state of things. Beyond that, she wasn't about to leave the matter of the dungeons that were morphing entirely to others to deal with. Though she had promised Lord Sidus not to put herself in danger, she wanted to help where she could.
Ailanthus chuckled lightly and glanced towards Luna. The priestess had remained silent but didn't look particularly thrilled about the idea of Ash in dungeons, though she looked more resigned than anything else.
"It occurs to me that neither of you have likely been informed of the investigations ongoing right now," Ailan said simply, "Come with me and we'll talk."
He led the way into the depths of the temple, leaving Wren behind as he motioned them through a door she seemed reluctant to pass. Considering it led into the heart of the temple, it seemed a little strange.
Ailanthus explained shortly once the door swung shut, "Wren got in trouble some time ago, perhaps thirty years now, for attempting to sneak one of the tomes out of here. She has not returned since," he heaved a sigh, "It was also then that her attitude increasingly became a problem. She knows that the way she acts is not as Lord Virtus would want, but she continues to do so regardless."
Ash glanced towards the structure that made up the heart of the temple, curious as to what it looked like, but was immediately distracted by several notifications. Judging by the divine magic flooding the room, she was almost certain Lord Virtus himself was present.
The notification that held her attention and caused her to scowl at the god ever so slightly as she waved it away was rather simple. There was no lead-up, nothing special about it. It just told her that she had been granted a title, though it was not the dueling title he'd originally offered.
As her eyes focused on the Blazewing Lord before her she paused as two things immediately came to her attention. First was that, as usual, Luri was kneeling and second was that Ailanthus looked exactly like Lord Virtus. Every detail was the same save their stature. She felt a pang of jealousy mixed with uncertainty. She was crafted of Lord Sidus' magic just as Ailanthus was crafted of Lord Virtus' yet there was little resemblance between them. It made her wonder if, perhaps, she did not deserve her place as his child.
As if reading her thoughts and likely doing so at least to some degree, Lord Virtus spoke, "Don't look like that, child of the Lord of the Stars. My child resembles me strongly because he is crafted of almost entirely the same stuff as I was. You, though, are different. Your father came into being from the darkness that Lady Umbra holds domain over and his coat and hair both bear that mark strongly. You, though, you were born from your father's light and I think that shows just as strongly. I am not one of the elemental gods, child, my power is wholly derived from theirs while each of them only bears the marks of those that came before them."