tick, tick, tock [c]

The day he was going to be leaving for Labrynna with the wayward other royals had been fast approaching. Oron had been the one that was initially approached about finding them in the first place so now he did feel a bit of an obligation to try and help them navigate the sheer nonsense that was nobility and royalty... Because Oron was especially aware of how silly it all could be sometimes. Of course, there was going to be some monster battles to contend with it seemed. Given that the local trouble has quieted down a bit, some practical combat would serve as a way of keeping himself sharp in Oron's mind. Of course, he did need to keep himself distracted from that... Disturbing anonymous letter he received somewhat recently too. There was something else that also needed to be done at some point regarding his little... 'Gift' too. Marianne was going to be staying behind in the Kingdom as expected, though Oron needed to make sure that nobody was going to try anything while he was gone... While he would've liked to bring Lowain with him, Oron decided he should stay behind for the extra protection. Aurora would be accompanying him and... It was a bit out of his control when it came to her. As long as it wasn't into the castle itself, she followed him almost everywhere!

Oron had been looking over some extra paperwork and making sure he had everything he was bringing with him in order. He'd be changing into more 'proper' attire when the day arrived, but he already had something picked out and fitted ahead of time... When Praxis arrived at the room, Lowain had just walked out and said a silly greeting towards them before disappearing to do... Lowain things. As in trying to investigate who that letter came from for Oron... Oron looked towards Praxis, who had taken on a bit of a different appearance than what he normally saw out of them. Even the voice was shifted somewhat accordingly, but the source was still undeniable... Not like he would complain or anything, though. Praxis was still Praxis. "Praxis." Oron said in return to his own name being announced with a nod of his head. "Changing it up a bit I see... So you've heard the news already then? Damn... I thought I'd be the one to get to tell you about it." Oron himself almost wanted to pout, but he supposed THIS kind of news was going to spread fast even if they tried to keep it contained... Oh yeah! Oron had almost forgotten that Ehtolos would be traveling with him to Labrynna too. "I'm only going to be gone for around two weeks at the maximum I believe? And you should know by now that overkill is how we do things... Makes it more fun that way. I originally intended to go alone, but Ehtolos is actually pretty acquainted with poor Joshua already so he found his way onto the plans." Though, Oron was indeed doing some princely diplomacy for the trip on top of going to vent some frustrations on a bunch of mindless monsters.

... Would there be room for any more on the trip? Decisions, decisions.

They were told? Told?? Praxis craned their neck to look at him with that same scrunched up nose. A pillow that had been under their neck had been thrown his way. "I was at the tea party afterwards, I talked to the Arkwright child in front of you! Your mind was just in the ocean for most of the duration." Their scolding probably did not have much of an effect with that pout on their lips. Calling someone a child when acting like that..

The fairy rolled onto their belly, a hand propping up their chin to stare at him. This Royal Family, they swore... overkill was their signature and they wondered just how soon it would cause chaos.

"If the silver son is going and they are more familiar with him, would it not be wise to keep you here? With you, the blonds, and Revyn all going - that is four of the seven! Almost all of the kingdoms courage out of the kingdom..."

"And what am I to do!" There it was. The personal aspect of it that added another layer to their complaints. "These Twili and their creatures have kept the fountain search on delay and the castle is boring when you are gone - and the other holders will not be available eitherrrr."

A silky pillow smacked the red prince in the face and flopped onto his lap. Oron paused for a brief moment and then started laughing after the brief bit of 'scolding' from Praxis. It was indeed rather silly to witness when one of his closer new companions had a funny pout on their face the whole time... And also because they threw a pillow at Oron. It was a bit... 'Childish', but also amusing. "I know, I know. I was just messing with you." Well, they weren't wrong about his headspace during that whole ordeal. He kind of lost track of everything once it all started getting out of hand. And then there was a giant gathering of people afterwards... Completely out of whatever comfort zone Oron had. Granted, seeing Praxis did offer some actual comfort given how... Chaotic his mind was getting lately.

Oron held onto the pillow and lightly squeezed it... Well. He wasn't entirely sure HOW close Etholos actually was to Josh. Of all the royalty, Leon was probably the one he was actually closest to... But... Oron almost instinctively wanted to sigh. Leon wasn't exactly available nowadays... Oron missed him, but that was beside the point. Oron glanced down at his right hand, the currently ever-present symbol of the Triforce still there and sometimes the triangle that symbolized Courage faintly glowed. Were the situation more dire, they would've had a better point, but they did get to the final point that made Oron realize what they were ACTUALLY here for. "..." Well. It was one thing to hear that he'd be missed by family like Marianne, but it was another to hear it from someone who had no such connection to him. Oron's cheeks reddened slightly. Was he really that fun to be around? Well, may as well try to not disappoint then. "Heh. You could've just said you'd miss me. You seem to have some free time. Are you unable to join us on the trip? Things have been oddly stable since the successful expedition into the Sky Province... No signs of another attack. No new 'Curtains' springing up somewhere else. I think you'd have a bit of fun." Probably more fun than Oron himself was going to have... Minus fighting the monsters of course.

Oron started to laugh more at their reaction. This wasn't really planned in the slightest, but it certainly was brightening Oron's mood already. At the very least, there was a hint that they didn't take that much offense to it by their tone... And the fact that another pillow didn't belt him in the face. Not that the pillows hurt anyways. They were designed for maximum comfort! "Hey. It's as you once said about the hair and eyes." Oron chuckled out once his laughter died down a bit.

Admittedly, there was a slight frown on Oron's face when they said they wouldn't have much reason to join the trip, but he wasn't going to press the matter much further if they already declined. They weren't necessarily wrong, but the extra company was always fun regardless. Try to develop such a purpose... Well. It would keep them from progressing their goal during this brief lull so it would probably be better to take advantage of it rather than run off to an entirely different country... They said so themselves after all.

Oron tilted his head. Mechanical sketches...? "You mean like drawings? Or paintings...? Well. Now that you've asked, I can't just NOT grab something to bring back." Oron chuckled. He did already have a plan to grab a souvenir, but now he had further motivation to do so... Lowain would get something too. As a treat. Oron then leaned forward. "It probably will be short lived unfortunately, but we have already been making plans for the next course of action... Which may hopefully be what finally brings this hell to an end... You may finally get all the free time in the world to... Get that needle in the haystack." Oron seemed a bit gloomy, but he did immediately bring it back with a joke at the end regarding how the phrase is actually said.

Oron tapped his chin. "... Oh! Snapshots. Of course. I'm rather certain Phoebe will take plenty of those, but I could try to take a few myself." ... Oron was rather certain it wouldn't be that difficult to procure a Picto Box of his own for such a journey. He had the convenienta means of carrying basically everything around after all. He still sometimes forgot about some things that Praxis wouldn't be aware of...

Oron could definitely understand the frustration of being left in a state where one couldn't do much... If he couldn't fight or even do some paperwork at the bare minimum then he'd effectively be useless. At least Praxis has been able to make some efforts to slowly overcome their current predicament. It made Oron curious of what they may truly be capable of once they get past those hoops.

Oron tilted his head and did slowly move closer when beckoned to. Oron had to stifle his laughter at the sight of the pout when he said the correct phrase they tried to say a moment ago. After all, they were at least trying to say something more serious there and Oron wanted to listen. His eyes seemed to shine when they said that they were going to offer their aid in the near-future. Perhaps there was some concern for their safety, but things were going to go well... Oron knew it...

"If you think you'll be up for it, then you know I'm very happy to have you by our side. As for your offer there... Well... I don't think I'll be able to be much of a travel partner, but I can still try to help you. Not like I sit here every waking and even sleeping moment of my life despite how it seems sometimes." Oron chuckled awkwardly. The days definitely felt very long sometimes, but that's the life he signed up for. The life he arguably was always meant to lead no matter who had the crown... He obviously never saw himself having it after all. Despite... What he received recently...

Oron looked slightly confused again. "My... Puppy man?" He had to think for a moment who that could be referring to... Were they talking about...? "Uh. You mean Lowain? He's an old friend of mine actually... He's just always been... Extra when doing his job. Mari isn't going to be going with us so I requested that he stay behind. Not that she can't defend herself, but his magic is utterly baffling in terms of its strength. Can't hurt to double down in case something goes wrong while a lot of us are gone. Aurora likely will be coming with me, though... I'm not sure I could get her to stay even if I asked her to." Oron chuckled a bit. Oron then tapped his chin. Get a picture of himself...? What a novel idea! Not that he was really planning on hanging any portraits of himself around anywhere...

A dramatic sigh came from the fairy before a few words that made Oron's cheeks flush slightly. Oron wasn't even entirely sure what to say to them. An assurance of his validity as a partner of some sort and being fine with their paths crossing through whatever means or actually making time for a journey. Well. If Marianne could make time for some shenanigans, then obviously he could. Now was just an awkward time to be royalty in Hyrule. "I..." An 'open fountain' policy, huh? Oron snickered a bit when they grinned after saying that. They did already have a destination in mind of where to go next, though.

Oron cleared his throat. "You don't need to wait on me to say something there. Of course I'll make time if I have any to spare. As for your trip to the Domain... You're certainly bound to find at least one amongst them. The might of Nayru tends to be strongest among the Zora after all for... Obvious reasons." Oron tried to think of who the strongest Nayru magic user he knew of was... But he was drawing a bit of a blank there. Ursula did know some obviously, but it wasn't her specialty.

"As for fishing... I'm pretty sure they partake in that a lot themselves actually. Maybe you could ask to join one for fishing. I'd like to hope they wouldn't get the wrong idea..." Oron chuckled awkwardly.

Oron paused and then started laughing. That was the absolute opposite of how Lowain actually was. It was more poor timing as he tended to be leaving after reporting to Oron about something... Or being an 'epic, dark protector' by keeping an eye on things from the shadows using his truly amazing control over Demise magic. Alas, even he was stumped a bit regarding Oron's 'magic predicament'. "It might just be poor timing. He's normally finishing up with reporting to me about such and such whenever you pop in. He's actually very outgoing... Perhaps excessively so sometimes." Oron stifled his laughter to speak. Maybe Lowain was purposefully leaving them alone? A true mystery for the ages...

Alas, such was the consequence when one didn't want to worry about using multiple characters at once! Perhaps it was a bit excessively cautious, but one could never be too sure sometimes. On the matter of the actual trip... "Well... I should have at least some time for that hopefully... That monster problem may rear its ugly head, though... Or multiple heads." This was being optimistic, right?

A trip exclusively for fun, though... "Well. You certainly give me something to look forward to then. You are right that nothing is better than going places directly." Oron grinned. "And fishing can be fun once you get the hang of it. Even a bit... Relaxing." Well. Depending on what one was trying to get out of the act of fishing anyways, but details!

"I assure you he knows already...! Better than anyone arguably." Whatever did Oron talk about with the eccentric Sheikah who was both an old friend and a Royal Guard? Nobody will ever know... For now. The fairy then stood up and walked up to Oron... And pinched his cheek. "Ack...! Why would I do that...!?" Oron had no intention of moping! He was moreover just expecting there'd be a lot of fighting to do when they got there. Or some other problems they'd all need to help with. Maybe. It was hard to tell what was going on in that chaotic mess called his mind sometimes.

In regards to reckless action... Oron would ideally want to ensure something like that wouldn't happen again, but given what happened more recently when he merely saw an entrance directly into what Josh referred to as the Palace of Twilight... He very well might've been lost if he didn't pass out from exhaustion. That desire for vengeance that continued to eat away at him... Of course, they were going to be in Labrynna, whose problems had nothing to do with what was going on in Hyrule so maybe he actually would be perfectly fine if the frenzy of battle didn't get too exciting. "Well... Um. I'll certainly try." After all. He had to be here when it was finally time to finish off Raalk and the last of his ghoulish underlings... And Oron was going to do it personally.

Then maybe his mind will finally be somewhat at ease again.

... Of course. Oron didn't just want to survive solely for the sake of revenge... His family needed him... The most unlikely companion in front of him... Uh... They were holding his cheek after pinching it. That just now seemed to register for Oron. "Uh... Uhhh... A-Anyways..."