Staring at Kaede progresses. "Any thoughts?"

"A few, but I'm going to wait until you're either too freaked out or no longer freaked out to discuss them."

Cynthia frowns. "I'm fine? Like, seriously, I want the door open."

"I know."

Staring, then Cynthia rolls her head backward, then sighs. "I'm not freaked out at all, I have no idea what you want me to do, just keep working or whatever and tell me if you need me I guess. I'll say if I think of anything or see something or or or or so on."

"I don't think you can help me at the moment, actually. This door requires a key, I'm pretty sure, and I'm trying to figure out whether it'll be easiest to make a key or just make the door think I did."

"Alright, already found the keyhole and now are deciding how to lock pick it... Lemme know if you need me! I'll be... Doing nothing. Sounds good."

Cynthia leans against the wall near the tunnel entrance. She turns on her fire blessing to make and maintain a little faux-campfire to make the room more pleasant a temperature.

"Sorry," he sighs. "Metamancy tends to take a while."

Cynthia walks over and punches Kaede in the shoulder. "Stop being an asshole just because I'm a bit stupid."

He grins. "You're not stupid! And I wasn't a butthole."

"I'm perfectly okay with calling myself stupid with interacting with people."

"Hmm, perhaps. But it does tend to take a while." He looks up at her from the corner of his eye. "Not about to go run screaming to the mountains?"

"And what, go back to the stuck-up traditionalists? I thiiiink I'm fine with this, as long as you don't just steal it all for yourself. Or, you know, bury me here."

"But I'm all corrupted by Vinkar and stuff."

"Not" punch "appreciating" punch "the" punch "jokes!" punch. She isn't hitting that hard, but still.

He laughs nonetheless. "They're not jokes! Or well they kinda are but. Why are you not worried about being corrupted? Are you an," he gasps dramatically, "atheist?"

"Nobody would sit down and explain it to me, so I learned it all from the book. Have to say, really dull book and I don't like the fan club."

...he cracks up.

She shrugs, and moves back to sit on the edge of the tunnel. "I already said I'm fine with Metamancers, why not just let me use them to open doors and stuff officer, why am I back in jail for a simple question officer... I mean, you're good and all."

"Yes. I am. And I am an atheist, so I'm pretty sure I'd be decapitated even if I did not also happen to be the king's disappeared child."

"Oh, are we sharing all our deepest secrets? This one time, when I was six, I stole a candy bar." Smiles.

He continues grinning and watching the door.

"Oh, yeah, when I was nine, I think, I flipped out and threw a chair at someone. I don't even remember why, I just did." She shrugs, deciding that's enough poor attempts at making fun of Kaede. She's prepared to wait a bit.

"I wasn't actually joking at all, at that last part."

"Oh. You're a disappeared king? Well, I don't think I can even begin to think of how people would normally treat you, so I'm not going to try anything different, yay."