A Guild of Moonlit Shadows (A KOTLC FanFic)

~15~ The Gods Love their Pranks, Don't They?

"Nice to meet you sir." Ruy shook his hand, trying to keep his accent out of his voice completely.

"Oh, you don't need to call me sir. Grady is fine, it's not like you're getting matched to my children or anything."

Oh, gods above. This was his punishment. Karma was coming back to Ruy all in this very moment; the gods were screwing with him.

Ruy awkwardly laughed. This felt wrong. Normally, Sophie would introduce him to her parents, they would sit down for an awkward dinner, and then he would mope to Sophie about how he fucked it up, and her parents hate him, and nothing ever goes smoothly. The good old-fashioned way.

"Yeah, that would be crazy." Ruy stated, a bit too low for his taste. Vatarians had lower voices and accents naturally; it had to be a conscious decision to talk differently.

"You look mighty familiar. Have we met?" Grady asked. The only time Ruy has been seen without an addler on is after the battle of Foxfire, and he had massive wings, pointed ears, and canines then.

"No, I don't think so."

"Huh, I could've sworn I've seen you before. So, you here to get matched?"

"Just here to register. What about you?"

"Council stuff. They want to get an offical list of unmatchable couples and bad matches."

And that explains why Hathem and Dom are here. Ruy had only heard through the grapevine that the Matchmakers were the reason they left the Lost Cities.

"I see." Ruy muttered. He wasn't faking the distaste in his voice. He hated this place with a passion.

"I know, this whole match making thing is cruel. I've never been a fan of it." Grady sighed. He looked over the seas of nervous teens looking to register.

"I remember bringing my daughter here. I wasn't happy about it, it was a reminder that she was growing up. And I never got the chance to bring my second one here."

Ruy looked at Grady, clenching his jaw a bit, "I'm sorry."

Grady looked at him and smiled, shaking his head, "My second is okay, she is just off doing hero work somewhere else. She left the Lost Cities in order to help people. I'm really proud of her. And even if she did stay, I don't think she would exactly be happy about getting registered and matched. Just wasn't her style."

Ruy smiled a bit. He wasn't wrong. Sophie would probably take one step in here and start clawing at the walls to leave.

Ruy knew the answer, but he asked anyway, "What are they like?"

Grady sighed, leaning back in his chair, "Well, my oldest was very... how do I describe her? Graceful and happy. Every step Jolie took seemed to brighten the room. She looked a lot like her mom. My second daughter, we adopted her. She is much more reserved then Jolie was. Quiet and intelligent, but had so much running through her mind. She left when she was only 16, can you believe that?"

Grady scoffed a bit, smiling nonetheless, "Granted, we didn't exactly allow her to leave, but it is not like she listened. Rebellious and proud." Grady laughed, "They were kinda opposite, now that I'm looking back. But they look a lot alike. Though I know she is busy, maybe I can get in contact with my youngest. Have a family dinner like when she was younger. Maybe she can invite her family as well." He was muttering more to himself near the end of it, forgetting that Ruy was there.

"They sound like wonderful people." Ruy answered.

"Yeah, I just hope my second hasn't gotten herself into more trouble. She always gets herself in the stickiest of situations."