Timaeus had always been terrible with putting names to faces. It just wasn't a strong suit of his, though he'd never admit it. It was embarrassing for the young lord to constantly start off nearly conversation asking for the person's name even if they had already met before. It was almost a weakness in his eyes. A silly one, but a weakness nonetheless, especially since Timaeus now found himself knee-deep in the politics of Colchis. He needed to know the names of so many different men ranging from young greenlings poised to become barons before hades claimed them as one of his own to what he could only politely refer to as "the ancient ones." Those men had to be hardest, their bent backs and wrinkly faces made them all blur together in Timaeus's mind and yet as retired officers (for the most part) they demanded the most respect from the younger lads like himself. It was somewhat difficult to not get a dirty stare if Timaeus couldn't even refer to them to their full name.

He should have known Lazaros though. He should have remembered him from the moment he saw him. After all, the man practically saved his skin from that snake's den all those years ago. That was an experience one couldn't easily forget, that's for sure.

So, as soon as he heard the man's voice, Timaeus's eyes widened in obvious recognition. "Wait, Lazaros?" He said almost dumbly as his mind began to finally began to catch up with him and the pieces finally began to slide into place. "Oh gods, how long has it been? What, eight years?" He laughed as his mind drifted to that adventure they had partaken in all those years ago in the forests of Lyncea. He cringed a little at the hazy memory. The details may be fuzzy to Timaeus, but he could still clearly remember how fool-hardy he had been as a greenling with a shiny new title. How the others didn't send him home after the whole cave incident, he'll never know, but he commended their patience with him. There was no way he would have been as tolerant if had been him in the same position.

Now suddenly realizing that eight years was quite a long time and not everyone could chalk up their mistakes to a bad memory, he awkwardly said, "It's me, Timaeus." He paused for a moment waiting to see if the older man would recognize the name, but of course, it was a common one. Lazaros would probably need more to connecting the sixteen-year-old boy with the twenty-four-year-old man. "Of Valaoritis." He hastily added. Surely, the added mention of his family name would jog the other man's memory, if it hadn't been already.

The young baron wondered what was going through the heir's mind as he took in the sight of Timaeus who had changed drastically since their bear hunt. He had to. So much had happened since then that Timaeus just couldn't be the same greenling anymore. His curly unkempt hair was now tamed and was swept back to be kept under control. The stubble he had been oh so proud of had filled out along with his frame. He was nowhere near the stature of Lazaros or Vangelis, but now Timaeus was a bit of a tank in his own right. He was also much more subdued. He wouldn't be rushing ahead into a cave with an injured commander anymore and if Laz looked close enough, perhaps he might be able to make out the heavy grief lingering in his gaze. Oh, that sixteen-year-old was long gone, forced out by events beyond his control -- and his imagination.

Timaeus was vaguely aware that Laz had at least a younger brother. He could only pray that the boy would never find himself in the same position Tim did.

Trying to push thoughts of the past away, Tim turned back to what Lazaros had originally said before either of them realized that they were not in fact strangers. "Of course it wouldn't," Timaeus said with a light laugh, "The crowded city is nothing like the open ocean, wouldn't you agree?" Timaeus grinned as he recalled his own memories of the open water as he, Adrestus, and Sokari traveled from place to place, working wherever someone was willing to hire three sellswords for just long enough for them to purchase a place on a boat to travel somewhere else. Oh, those had been the days, when he was free. Why did it have to end so soon?

"I haven't heard a word of you in so long, though I see your father in the Senate. Where have you been hiding Lazaros?" He said cheekily, letting that adventurous spark in him that never did quite die come out as he eagerly awaited some sort of what the heir had been doing since they had last met.