She was on her way to the Helios Knights Hall, as had now become customary in her daily routine. It was strangely fulfilling, the feeling of coming all the way here, greeting her fellow coven witches, checking the boards for any mission she could take, maybe even bring them a few baked goodies every once in a while. Her father was right; this made her feel like she was actually doing something for Sundial, even if she still wasn't qualified to go out and protect it from the monsters crawling about.

It was with this unmistakable sense of pride in what she did and what she stood for as a Helios Knight that she walked towards the beautiful gardens she knew all too well, admiring the many statues she'd seen time and time again on her way to the Hall. It was also with this same pride filling her lungs that she noticed someone admiring the grand structure. She decided to approach him.

Well, to be fair, she'd noticed the pair of witches that walked past him before she noticed the messy-haired boy. Lavender and Pansy, two bubbly young witches she'd gone out on missions once or twice with. She'd meant to call for them to wait for her, really, her eyes barely scanning the boy until she realized she'd never seen him around before.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she asks, leaning down so that she's level with his sitting form. Her face was so close to his ear that any other person would have thought to distance themselves, if only as a sign of respect towards the stranger. "It's supposed to be one of the oldest buildings in the entire city. It makes a lot of sense, considering how old-fashioned it looks. Still very pretty, though."

She smiles at him as if they knew each other for a long, long time. "Are you new here?"

Vera notices that the young man's slid over a bit farther on the bench, presumably to let her sit, herself. Although she wasn't initially planning on staying, she gathers the flowing hems of her skirt and takes the seat so graciously offered with all the ease that only an actual long-lasting friendship would incite. And, one would guess, the smile that he offered her in kind.

He confesses he's not new, and she reasons that he's probably not a Knight at all, judging from the moment's hesitation after which he speaks. "I'm Vera Lindt. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Matteo—Is it okay if I just call you Matteo? I don't very much like calling people by their last names; it doesn't feel very personal, you see." She takes his hand and shakes it gently, not as used to hand shakes as she is to curtseys and big hugs.

"Of course, that means you ought to call me by my given name, as well. I'm counting on you for that, Matteo."

Just when she thinks she can move on to the next topic she's most curious about, the familiar shape of a cat-sized rodent greets both witches by climbing the bench and taking a seat on top of Vera's skirt. She teasingly rolls her eyes at this. "And this is Fondue, my darling familiar."

More softly, in no more than a conspiratorial whisper, she adds, "He's an agouti, but I think he hasn't quite accepted the fact, considering he's so fond of sitting on my lap."

Introductions finally out of the way, Vera takes a moment to adjust on the bench so that she's facing him, rather than ahead at the scenery she almost knows by heart. She's noticed that, despite him sharing the reason behind his visit, he didn't quite mention what he was if not a Knight. "So tell me. Were you thinking of joining the Knights? Is that the kind of inspiration you were talking about?"

She can't help the smile that tugs at the corners of her lips when Matteo calls her by her name and finally relaxes. He acknowledges Fondue, too, at which the latter simply says, He doesn't know what an agouti is. Outwardly, it sounds more like a short screech, but the words are spoken in her mind, and they make Vera turn to her familiar in confusion. His bright, yellow irises stared back at her.

It was true that most did not know the species Fondue had settled his shape on, had never heard of it in their lives under most circumstances. But how did Fondue know that? Matteo hadn't shown any sign of it—Maybe it was Fondue's insecurities speaking?

Whichever the case, Vera considered clearing it up for the sake of her familiar's nerves was the best course of action, and added a quick, unassuming, "An agouti is a larger type of rodent, by the way. Fondue's actually on the smaller range of agoutis. They originate from Central America, if I'm not mistaken."

Her eyes widen at Matteo's own familiar's name. Bandersnatch wasn't, well, it wasn't a particularly popular name. If the children's stories her nanny used to tell her about were anything to go by, the name was meant to inspire fear. When she looks past Matteo, at the huge lizard lazily bathing in the sun by his feet while snoring, a giggle escapes her lips.

It really had an intimidating nickname, and its hide looked rough, and it was huge, but in that exact moment it was almost adorable.

Vera blinks rapidly at Matteo's response to her innocent inquiry. Oh, dear, she'd gone and said something insensitive again, hadn't she? You have, answered the ill-timed familiar. She's grateful when he changes topics himself, moving on to a topic possibly as intriguing as the last. "A tinker?" she asks, the green of her eyes twinkling in curiosity.

"Your offer is quite tempting, but I must admit I haven't much experience with machines..." She's almost bashful as she says this, but takes the business card offered to her gratefully, regardless. "My family is quite old-fashioned and does not look at the use of machines in a good light," she admits, and for a fraction of a second there's a light frown marring her face. "I will definitely keep you in mind if I ever get my hands on one, though."

Oh, but turning this into a sad conversation would not do. That was not what she was there for. "I imagine I will also need help figuring out how it even works," she adds, half-jokingly.

Vera stands up, stretching her arms as if she was about to go for a jog. A preposterous notion, given her attire. Instead, she turns back to Matteo. In an attempt at lifting the mood, he says, "Well, then, how about we take a walk around so I can show you the place, and add the worst—or perhaps best, it depends on your sensibilities—commentary you will have the chance to listen to?"

Vera nods thankfully at Matteo's offer, taking one final look at the piece of paper in her hands before tucking it neatly and safely in her navy coat's breast pocket. Breaking free from her family's limiting chains has been a process she started not too long ago, and although the prejudice against technology was never one of the themes she prioritized, she's glad to have someone willing to show her the ropes of this innovative field of study. She would probably drop by Jester's Den's headquarters soon enough, anyway, and could probably take advantage of this chance.

She's tilting her head at Matteo's apparent surprise at being able to tour around the place. "Of course it's okay," she reassures him. Why would it not be? It wasn't like the Helios Knights readily refused anyone entrance. "The gardens are open to the public, and the Hall itself—well, you've got me, right?" The girl is brushing off his concerns as if nothing, and is already linking her arm with his so that he has no escape route.

Then, she advances towards the first few statues, pointing at each one as she presents "Sylvia Yanus, and Killian Marjane. Two of the greatest alchemists known to witchcraft."

Vera's voice lowers when she mutters her next words, turning conspiratorial: "You know, I'm actually surprised neither of them tried to take the statues down. At first I thought it was because whoever sculpted them was a great fan, but I wonder if there isn't more to it." She stops to get a better look at her interlocutor, to establish eye contact. "Anyone who knows even the slightest bit of History of Alchemy knows that they couldn't stand each other in their later years."

The mention of Sun Café does not go unnoticed, but she allows some time to let it rest, and for her impromptu History lesson to sink in, before bringing it up again. "You're in Jester's Den, then?" she asks, trying to sound only as interested in the topic as etiquette required. She didn't want him to feel uncomfortable again, if she could help it. Then again, sating her curiosity was also of utmost importance, so promises were better off unmade.

She can feel a light tremor in Matteo's body when she takes his arm, but it's gone by the time she starts dragging him around the gardens for that tour of hers. Whether that's because he isn't nervous anymore or as a side effect of movement would be hard to tell, but Vera is more than happy to assume the former. And, at this, she lets out a little sigh of contentment.

"Honestly, I didn't know what they looked like."

Vera's lips are quirked up into a mischievous little smile as she says, "Oh, nobody does, really." She was going to skip on this part of her commentary, but since he was mentioning it, Vera ought to comply. "There are portraits of them in books and the like, all of them drawn post-mortem, but I believe this was the first big scale representation of them in life—and of course the public quite likes their heroes looking beautiful and dashing."

She glances at him out of the corner of her eye, gauging his reactions while still appreciating the sculpted beauty. Or keeping up the act that she was, at any rate. She'd been there so often, she hardly had anything new to note. Matteo, on the other hand, was the novelty in this place.

After a nod at his acceptance of being in Jester's Den, she takes a closer look at him. Matteo didn't quite fit the image she had in mind of Jester's Den witches, which she had so far found to be rather happy-go-lucky and full of merriment and the urge to prank. Of course, this image had morphed as she got to know more of them, but prejudices were hard to get rid of. "They are a very fun, warm bunch," she says, tentatively. Collectively, they really were, and the thought never failed to bring a smile to her face.

She can tell he's itching to move on with their tour, perhaps even distract her from her admittedly tactless questions, but she's having none of that. Allowing him some time to breathe as she leads him through the statues of countless famous witches, always accompanied with a funny fact: "Did you know that Marlo, the famous Transfiguration master, was once stuck in the form of a table while he wrote his book on how to transform one's self into an object?" or "Someone once charmed this statue to break into a full choreography of Irish folk dance. It was quite entertaining, but I wish they'd gone with something more outrageous," until at last they found themselves mere feet away from the Hall's entrance.

Perfect timing, really.

"Do you like it at the Jester's?"

Hearing that Matteo did indeed like his coven was great, but Vera couldn't help noting that he didn't mention anything about his aspirations inside it. Friendly and welcoming were adjectives one used to describe their fiancé's family, not to talk about one's own coven. Or, at least, that's what she believed, feeling as compromised with the Helios Knights' pledge to protect and make of Sundial a better place as the next vigilante wannabe.

"I see," she nods, smiling, although it's nowhere near as eager as before. "I'm glad to hear that."

There was room there, she was certain, room to convince him to switch covens. The mere thought of helping a fellow witch find the strength to pursue his true call in life was so exciting already.

"Okay, this is where the true tour starts." Her feet are standing still in front of the Hall's front doors, though they're itching to hurry inside. "Ready?" she asks, but makes no point of waiting for his answer. Of course he was ready to discover his future. To join it? Probably not yet. One step at a time, she told herself. She still had to figure out what had kept him from applying to the best coven in Sundial, after all.

They're crossing the beautifully carved double doors when the realization strikes her that she doesn't even know what Matteo's affinity is. "Tell me more about what you do. Is tinkering your full time job, or have you not completely given up the witch's way for tech? Surely not— What kind of machines do you usually fiddle with? What's the oddest thing you've had to fix?"

Oh, just imagine if he doesn't practice his affinity at all! How was she to drag him over to the Helios Knights if he was rusty with his magic! Sure, there was always his elemental magic, but she wondered if that would be quite enough. She had to make sure as soon as possible, so she could plan practice sessions accordingly, if they were needed.

"A sailor duck?" she repeats in disbelief. She turns to him, unaware of the fact they're still standing in the way, just in front of the open doors, and already there are a few annoyed grunts as Knights have to circle around them. "Surely you jest." She was sure of this, at least. Matteo had done little to give her the idea that he was a jester, but then again he was in Jester's Den, which made for quite the funny pun out of her sentence.

"Merlin, you're not joking. How? I can't even picture this contraption you speak of—Oh, how I wish I could have been there," she says dreamily, and for a moment it's pretty hard to tell she's never even touched a machine before, due to how crestfallen she seems at having missed it. "You must promise to call me next time something as odd makes its way to your shop."

Really, it isn't so much the miniature steamboat that excites her, but the fact that Matteo is so passionate about it he actually tries to make a living out of fixing things like it, out of tinkering, as he calls it. She wants to be as excited as he is about this one thing, at the very least.

She doesn't realize she's been preparing herself for Matteo's next question ever since he first mentioned his two jobs. A long sigh, a big puff of air. "I'm... a full-time Knight?" she tries, sheepishly. Inside her mind, others are her thoughts. She ought to be a big failure, if Matteo works not one but two jobs, and she's no more than a little witch attending Lux University, taking missions at the Helios Knights' Hall that would hardly pay off a fraction of her own rent, and being conceited by her father by allowing her to drop by the family business whenever she wanted to.

"Hmm..." she hums, pondering how to best answer him. Correction: how to best answer him without making herself sound as lame as she felt. "I'm studying still, and not actively looking for any jobs, but I do guess making chocolates counts as what I do for a living, even if I don't charge for it just yet. I don't lead a life quite as exciting as yours, as you can see." She tilts her head to a side, not quite content with her answer, but it was the closest her words could get to the truth.