Some random earth village (Yukina)

Damon walked around the village with a bright smile. Today he found a great stash of treasure in a nearby cave. Looks like a good set of jewelry and coins. He only took a handful to town just to see what the locals would price them at. He actually kept a talisman he found in the cave around his neck for good luck. The only problem was he didn't want the wrong people to know he had the jewels.

Providing medical aid to the less fortunate villages of the Earth Kingdom was becoming a normality, as of late, for Xia. Her dream was to open up infirmaries across the board one day, and volunteering with a local team -- a team that wandered throughout the kingdom -- was pleasing enough for the time being. They made for brilliant insight as she observed their technique with limited resources, with the raven haired royal learning much as they underwent unique procedures. However, people weren't always bleeding or harmed. With a grace and posture beyond comparison, she practically waltzed about, looking for something to occupy herself -- that is, until an unexpected rock hindering her step caused her to stumble into another boulder. Well, boulder as in a menacingly sturdy stranger. How unlady like.

Damon caught the stranger not paying attention by both of her shoulders. He chuckled a bit as he caught her. "Here you go. Better watch where you are going." He smiled as she picked herself out of his hands and he wiped his dirty hands on his pants and held out his right one. "Names Damon."

Xia's blue eyes widened as she found herself caught in the arms of a man, registering the clumsy occurrence and its outcome. With chills abruptly shooting up her spine, she could already feel the goosebumps rise on her porcelain skin, causing her to promptly free from her instigator's grasp. "T..-T-Tha.. Y-Yeah," she stammered, with a subtle blush of crimson falling on her cheeks. Ordinarily, speaking came naturally to her, but given the circumstance, she was already less than polished. In a weak attempt to regain her composure, she straightened her posture once more after dusting off her garments. "Xia," she blurted for the sake of common courtesy, quickly taking his hand, giving it one shake, and then promptly letting go.

He chuckled even more as she shyly stammered her words. Completely oblivious to the fact she was nervous. He smiled for a bit before catching himself and pulled out a emerald ring. "Hey do you know how much this is worth?" The ring practically made a green glow in the sun. The golden band had intricate designs signifying an ancient artifact of a lost civilization or tribe.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she avoided the gaze of the other. Blatantly anxious, she considered fleeing from the vicinity, and most likely would've should he hadn't presented jewelry before her. Because of his wordless actions, she was stunned frozen as she considered the possibility of a proposal. It was a common occurrence for the raven haired royal, although the moment he released his inquiry, a deep sigh fell from Xia's lips. It was easier to examine an artifact than decline someone's confession. She felt more at ease as she answered, "M-My brother's more of an expert in archaeology, but.." With a pause, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow to question, "..where did you find this?"

Damon turned his back to the girl with his hood falling off his soft looking face. With a wave of his arm he said "I found this waaaaay over there in a cave. I have more on me like this necklace." He then turned back to the girl and pointed to the talisman on his neck. He also dropped his bag and a few more rings and jewels came out. At this point he was making a complete fool of himself, but these findings were incredible!

Xia cocked her head subtly as she averted her eyes in the direction of his hand. She didn't recognize the area -- granted, she wasn't familiar with the vicinity at all -- and felt as though she couldn't provide much insight with such little to go on. Because boredom, as well as curiosity, killed the cat, the raven haired royal sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck as she stammered, "Y-Y..You should take me there. I-I mean.. w-well, it'd give me a better sense of the origin. Depending the look of the excavation site, we could determine the rarity of the items given the depth -- e-er.. w-well, I guess since you got it from a cave, it'd be above ground.. unless it was a karst, ahh.." Upon recognizing she was rambling, she abruptly shut her mouth and shook her head rapidly, "I-I.. It's fine. You s-should ask a professional!"

Damon picked up all the treasure that he so clumsily dropped and lightly grabbed the woman by the hands. He practically dragged her with him without saying anything and being so awkward. About twenty minutes out of town they reached the mouth of the cave and damon grabbed something from his backpack. It was a pair of metal claws that he strapped to his hands. He looked at Xia and said "Here hang onto my back the drop is kinda large." Once she grabbed his back he dropped into the cave which was a 70 foot drop. His claws dragged along the walls and you could see where he did it before as well. It was very dark but Damon was used to such dark places.

Once on the ground you could see many different ores and minerals scattered across the roof of the cave. Many jewels glistened of eachother and Damon just smiled. It was a beauty underground. Seeing wasn't a problem for Damon but out of common courtisey he pulled out a torch and lit it by striking it against the ground. The room lit up to what looked to be a shrine of some sorts.

Needless to say, she hadn't expected him to so willingly take her on the "adventure." It almost baffled her how a stranger could be so carefree with their actions and the like. Unlike her -- a princess who thought twice, thrice, and even four times, on occasion, about what she would say considering her status -- the stranger, Damon, seemed to go with the wind, taking everything at ease. Such a persona almost irritated, reminding her of her heedless brothers, but she was promptly pulled from her thoughts the moment she was being spoken too. "E-Eh?!" Xia exclaimed with a blatantly confused expression, "Y-You can't be serious --.."

With a gulp, touching a stranger undoubtedly made for some hesitance. However, she slowly crawled onto his back like a child, before releasing a prolonged squeak upon the fall. She latched onto his back as they dropped, trusting in his decision wholeheartedly as she no longer had a choice, although trembling as she practically clawed her nails into his skin. With another squeak, her face darkened to be almost as red as a rose once she leaped from his back and quickly took a few steps away from him. With an expression that looked on the verge of tears in comparison to Damon's, she was irked by how he was merely smiling, but softened her countenance as she gazed at the treasure.

"Y-You.." She furrowed her brows, "y-you're a lunatic." And with that, she regained her regal composure and began to start deeper in the cavern, doing her utmost to suppress her anxiety and unsurety about the whole, unearthly ordeal.