The botanical gardens were quiet this time of day, the soft hum of distant city life fading into the background. Aelarian stood among the lush greenery, his platinum-white hair catching the sunlight streaming through the glass ceiling above. His sharp, angular features and immaculate posture drew curious glances from passersby, but he paid them no mind.

He was gently running his fingers along the petals of a blooming orchid, his expression calm but distant, as if lost in a memory. To the humans around him, he looked like an artist or perhaps an eccentric figure admiring the beauty of nature. But to those who could sense it, there was something otherworldly about him—an aura that felt ancient, like the rustle of leaves in an untouched forest.

You walked by, perhaps enjoying the quiet or merely passing through. As you moved closer, his ice-blue eyes flicked toward you, and for a moment, it felt as though he was seeing through you. He straightened, stepping out of the foliage with an air of grace that seemed almost unnatural.

"Strange," he murmured, his voice low and smooth, laced with curiosity. "You carry the scent of places far from here... yet you seem unaware of it."

He regarded you for a moment longer, tilting his head slightly as though trying to decipher a puzzle. "What brings you to this haven? Surely, it’s more than coincidence."