❛for♛.EVER（fated）• remake ─── open&acc

should we pm everyone and see if they're still down for rping?

♛ sure!	81.2%	[ 13 ]
♛ hnng...	18.8%	[ 3 ]
Total Votes:			[ 16 ]

[Artemyes]

knight of the earth kingdom x ● x knight of the earth kingdom x ● x knight of the earth kingdom

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

ＲＯＮＡＮx❂x ＢＥＩＲＮＥ

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

✬x LOCATION training grounds xxx ✬x MOOD neutral /uncertain xxx ✬x COMPANY n/a xxx

Despite the fact that he was not truly doing any training or practice of the sort, Ronan nevertheless found himself wandering the vicinity of the training grounds. In the short time since he had arrived, accompanying the royal siblings to his neutral territory, he had found some sort of wayward solace amidst the dummies and racks and rows of weapons. It was likely just the familiarity of it all; after all, it was rather easy to get lost in doing the same repetitive motions, more instinct than conscious thought by now.

Considering the worries that Ronan had initially had upon coming here, it was certainly a welcome distraction. It wasn't like he doubted his own abilities or anything like that, but or even that he doubted the inhabitants of the castle, but wasn't one knight for four Royals a bit sparse? In the end though, Ronan had relented, when his captain had told him that he would be the only one to journey with their royalty. He knew anyways, that he'd do whatever it took to watch over the four siblings to the best of his abilities, under whatever circumstances.

Absently patting one of the dummies, the straw that comprised it's 'body' trying its very best to spill out, he could not help but muse that maybe that'd be easier if he could maybe mind them from nearby. But then again too, there was an actual purpose to them all being here, and he knew that they needed - and probably wanted their own space. He wasn't quite sure that he liked the idea of these arranged marriages, but he was really of no importance or position to argue. He was just their guard, after all. To that extent though, none of the Royals really needed him around all the time either, and so after dinner, Ronan had wandered off to patrol the grounds. Or, something of that sort.

He exhaled a soft breath, fingers curling and uncurling slowly; his sword was still in it's hilt at his side, but he could imagine the heavy, sturdy, reliable weight of it. He didn't even need to close his eyes, to see the path that his blade would take if he decided to test the resilience of the dummy.

Suffice to say, in the end he caved, and Ronan shrugged off the stiff coat he wore above his tunic, pulling out his blade and testing it out once, then twice, before swiping at the dummy. The dummy swung precariously on it's perch, from only a few blows. It felt good, and the evening light was a nice backdrop to a round of practice.

He'd go check on his charges in a bit.



ooc: i hope this is okay ;;

[wendigone]

wait until the ( snow ) covers me up so ixxcxaxnxnxoxtxxmove.
i want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxxi want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxxi want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxx
xxwait until my clothes cling to my frame, wipe ( away ) your tear stains.
thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain

⊱ location • dining room > rose garden xxxx ⊱ party • none > kesari xxxx ⊱ thoughts • ugh > s**t you're hot




did she really have to stay here? to tell you the truth, she'd rather not be around a bunch of spawn from the kingdoms that love the idea of war, even if it was supposed to be a rather peaceful setting at the dinner table. okay, so maybe the fire kingdom siblings were attractive, maybe the light siblings weirded her out, and maybe the dark kingdom offspring... were there, but it didn't mean that she had to enjoy her time with them. as a matter of fact, the most communication shared was probably between her siblings and the earth kingdom buddies coming from kris herself, which was something she expected.

okay, so she was probably taught in the ways of being a well-mannered and refined princess by her father, and mother for the first ten years of her life, but it didn't mean a single damned thing when she wasn't in the true public of the world. just these guys, who probably didn't like her as much as she didn't like them. it was completely fine by her. however, with the few nudges by her siblings for her to not keep her elbows on the table and to not slouch in the face of the enemy, she managed to control her yearning for casual conversation, and not the whole business spiels.

well, at least the lovely dinner meeting ended without too much conversing on her part, which led her into standing up, giving a brief stretch, and taking a quick walk down to the bedrooms, and eventually, her own. she did stop in front of her room, with a perplexed expression crossing her features as she noted a folded envelope in the crack of the door. so, obviously, she unhitched it from its fixed placement, opened it right up, and almost caused the paper to freeze over. joy.

"fire prince? you gotta be kiddin' me." she muttered, taking a deep breath before stuffing the letter back inside, opening the door to her room, and placing the letter on a desk before heading out again. no way was she going to lie in that room with the knowledge she obtained right then and there, nope. kris was not even going to think about what her siblings were going to marry- and she swore, if kat's prince was a creepy son of a gun, there would be some words exchanged. she'd do anything for her little sister, honestly. all she had to do was ask for big sis to take care of someone, and she'd do it, no questions asked.

however, she did leave her personal room as soon as possible, taking a slow route around to the library (quickly noting that it was getting super busy, super fast), then through the hallways to the outside. oh, how the evening sun made a beautiful display across the sky, signalling the sunset of the day, and the eventual coming of the night. something inside of her knew that she wasn't about to get shuteye anytime soon, so might as well look through the gardens- specifically, the rose garden. something about the reds and whites gave her a sense of happiness, and she enjoyed them. yeah.

something else she enjoyed? the company of ladies. which was probably a good thing for her now, since there was the change of atmosphere, and the presence of another nearby was giving her many signs of turn back now. but, hey, why should she? it wasn't like they were about to attack each other, and besides, she could heal pretty fast if worst came to worst. taking the initiative, she continued to trek through the gardens, and so very thankful that the keepers weren't out and about. it'd so ruin her time with- whoever it was. soon enough, she turned the corner, and the brown hair of, yes, a lady, was in view. taking her chance, probably very rudely, she took the few steps and sat down on the top of the gate, hands grasped on the railing for support as she leaned forward a bit, trying to catch her face before saying anything-- oh, s**t, it was the fire princess. older one, not the green haired youngster.

"well, damn, you are certainly more attractive than the one i'm supposed to marry." she said rather bluntly, not even mentioning that she was supposed to be.. arranged.. with her brother. "is it hot out here, or is it just you?" trick question. kesari was obviously hot, being she was supposedly a dragon thing, but why the hell not. besides, did she really care about the whole kingdoms at war spiel? not really; that job of concern she left to her brother- the younger-but-older one, not the actual younger one. yeah. "so, you're kesari ezere, right?"





xxxx

E L D E Rxx I C Exx P R I N C E S S
[ K R Y S T A Lxx ❖xx W E I S S ]

[herba mystica]

xxxxxxxxbingu



bingu
Laurent felt his chest tighten as he heard the faint sound of breathing behind him as he continued on the search of the book that he could have sworn that he placed right beside the book that with the floral decorated spine. It was nothing but a book on botany, but it stuck out to him and it served as a marker, so Laurent placed the book beside it there. He wasn't going insane was he? Ah, he'd grown so attached to that book so much that it was bothering more so than it should have. Laurent continued to dismiss the breathing that he assumed to be behind him, but without realizing it he turned in a frantic search for the book. As he turned he came face to face with a certain... Dark Kingdom prince. Gods. Why was he so close?

Laurent quickly adjusted the glasses on his face. His nose flared a bit and he spoke almost silently through his breath. "Daimon. I didn't see you at dinner." He said the latter part a bit lower than the first. If Laurent didn't feel like he was starving all the time, then he probably would not have come either. But sadly Laurent's stomach begged and pleaded with him hourly for him to place something in it. Even as he searched for the book, the taste of lemon cake hazed his mind also. After his eyes adjusted a bit to the dark, Laurent briefly observed the male in front of him, returning Daimon's candid stare. Well Daimon looked no different than he did yesterday, so that's one thing. After realizing how long he'd just been standing there, he broke the stare off and lowered his head a bit before sliding past Daimon. "Excuse me." Laurent muttered before stopping again after a few steps.

Gods damn it.

Laurent got a good side-view of his own kin, Vika. He recognized the putrid smell of her perfume. A strong scent it was. Vika didn't know left from right in this castle, so it was obvious that she followed him here. What? Just what did she want from him? Never had he met someone so persistent on starting up useless conversations. Vika kissed a** like there was no tomorrow, and if Laurent was in any kind of good mood, then she would be the immediate rain on his fire. He watched as Vika walked off in the opposite direction then was completely out of sight. It was but moments late that yet another person slid by his sight, but no matter, he would be leaving soon. Laurent only had so much time until Vika realized where he was and would proceed to make a beeline towards him. He needed to use this time wisely.

Of all the people, why did these two feel the need to just read? Ah, could it be those "horse senses" kicking in? The book, the book, right. He was not leaving that library without that book. What was the name of it again? "Earth Kingdom... languages and dialects?" Laurent thought out loud as he scanned an area of books near him. He took small steps, enough to create some distance from Daimon, but not enough to make his in-comfort obvious.


Lady Of Broken Hearts


Xela1495


yiyayang

[ooc] n / a [/ooc]
current location ; library
with ; daimon - vika - unidentifiable person
f1ad82 (orange) c7d86b (green)

[yiyayang]

█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌

XXXXXXXXXXX▉ Fairytales ▅ Do ▃ Not ▅ Exist ▉

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"The darkness is closing in
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I can not seem to think, to know, to hear.
XXXXXXXXXXXXWhere are you. Where are you.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXWhat is there for me to do if I can not find you?"

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Amber hues followed the movements of the gray haired male approaching the training grounds. Surprise colored her expression noting his approach, but she was not his target. Instead he wandered the training grounds taking up a stance in front of one of the available dummies. Curiosity held her captured by the male wondering why he was not at the dinner with everyone else. It did not occur to her that he could possibly be a servant or a knight. Even if he was one or the other neither of those titles ever mattered Henri. In her eyes they were equal.

Henrietta had barely spared dinner a second thought. More than likely all of her siblings had attended dinner, but she believed none of them would be surprised to notice her absence. All of them were well aware of her independent spirit and the track her thoughts tended to wander down. Hunger did not ravage her stomach and instead she found herself wandering the grounds surrounding the castle. A knife and a piece of wood held her focus for the majority of the time. It was nice to find that for once since she had arrived at this castle there wasn't a risk of her running into anyone. At least that was what she had thought until now. Again her golden gaze traced the movements of the male noting his form. While his movements may have been few Henri had seen enough to know that he was experienced.

The gown she wore was a summer yellow hanging off of one shoulder. It was loose and comfortable and perfect for climbing trees which she had spent the afternoon doing until she found one that was comfortable enough to settle in for a while. Facing the training grounds she had continued to carve off pieces of wood until a fox began to form beneath her fingers. And now? Now her knife lay frozen against the wood while somewhere within her mind she debated revealing herself to the male or continuing on as she was. In the end curiosity won out. Placing the knife between her teeth she used one arm to hang onto the branch as she swung down from it landing softly in the grass. The blades tickled her barefeet, but she wouldn't have put on a pair of shoes for the world. She was more comfortable this way. Withdrawing the knife from between her teeth she approached the training grounds and the mysterious male somewhat cautiously.

"I am surprised you are not at dinner with everyone else," Henri called out softly continuing to work at the carving in her hands, but her eyes lay focused on the dummy and the male hacking away at it. "All work and no play can make for a dull day," Henrietta added with a soft laugh coming to a stop a few feet to his left still keeping a comfortable distance between them. "Would you possibly be interested in sparring with someone a bit more... lively than a dummy?" Henri challenged with a mischievous twinkle to her gaze. What did she have planned? Honestly, at the moment, nothing. But she was curious as to who this male was and why he was not inside with the rest. And if perhaps he would take her up on her offer. If she was lucky he may even think she was a servant avoiding her duties. It would be better than if he found her to be a princess and a lecture was to follow. Henri was not particularly fond of lectures.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

OOC: //

Artemyes

locaтιon ☛ Training grounds
ѕυrroυnded вy ☛ Ronan
нealтн ☛ 110%
тнoυgнтѕ ☛ How else can I spend my time?
Dress

▉ Just ▅ Reality ▃ And ▅ Death ▉

█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌

[Horse_Angel360]

~Like a hand grenade thrown in a hurricane
Spinning in chaos trying to escape the flames
Yesterday is gone
Faster than the blast of a car bomb*

Kesari Ezere
~First Fire Princess~

~When the scars heal the pain passes
As hope burns we rise from the ashes
Darkness fades away
And the light shines on a brave new day*

Kesari realized that she wasn't going to get anywhere with her book even though it was a good read. She just couldn't get caught up in it again, not with all that was on her mind. She probably ought to go see how her siblings were doing but she was comfortable and she didn't really feel like getting into drama. She set the book in her lap contemplating what she should do now. It was getting later perhaps she should head in before she was sought out - but no there was something she wanted to do. She wanted to shapeshift. The brunette knew she probably shouldn't but it had been so long.

She was startled out of her internal thoughts by the sound of someone approaching and settling down on the nearby gate. Emerald eyes blinked up to find the source of the noise - and possibly give a servant a scolding for bothering her - and surprised recognition flashed across the young woman's features at the sight of the woman perched on the gate. It was the oldest princess of the ice kingdom and honestly the last person Kesari had expected to find her out here in the garden. Then Krystal's words finally caught up to her shocked brain and a bright blush colored her cheeks.

"I'm sure that's not true. From what I've seen the princes are fine young men" She murmured, tilting her head. She didn't really have a good opinion formed of the other royalty though but she wasn't about to admit that. Kesari also didn't quite know how to react to a woman flirting with her. Sure she'd been flirted with by other men but it hadn't gone further than that and this was the first time that a woman had ever flirted with her. She wasn't sure whether she should feel flattered or be upset and that bothered her a bit. For the moment though she put it out of her mind. She could think on that later. "Besides how could I make a fair judgement when I don't know who your betrothed is?" she commented wondering why the ice princess was even talking to her. Their kingdoms were enemies they were the last people who should be speaking to each other. Yet here they were doing just that. Stranger things had happened she supposed. The young woman blinked and gave a slight smile as she realized Krystal had asked her name.

"Yes, I'm Kesari. You must be Krystal Weiss, correct? It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." That might be a slight stretch of the truth but they were here in hopes that these marriages would bring the war to and and and peace to their lands. That was a lot of hope to pin on marriages in her opinion but apparently that didn't matter much to the elders. Emerald eyes regarded the other woman with curiosity. She had never actually met any of the ice kingdom's royalty but she'd heard about them over the years from her soldiers and generals. It was apparent though that Krystal didn't think to highly of formality or manners but oddly it was rather entertaining and refreshing. Maybe they could at least get on cordial terms.

"Are you enjoying your stay here so far?" she asked mainly out of curiosity. It would be good to feel out how the other royalty were feeling about this who situation. Maybe she could form some alliances even if it was with the ice kingdom. With these marriages they'd be fools to try to start up the war again so maybe some trade and alliances were possible. She'd have to do a little digging and see if such things were possible and not just wishful thinking. But that would come later, she was far too curious about Krystal Weiss and why she was talking to her of all people.

Location: Rose Garden
Mood: Surprised and Curious
Company: Krystal Weiss

*Sound it off, this is our call
Rise and Revolution
It's our time to change it all
Rise and Revolution~

*Unite, and Fight
To make a better life
Everybody, one for all
Sound off, this is the call~

[Lady Of Broken Hearts]

𝕯𝖆𝖎𝖒𝖔𝖓 « 𝕾𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 » 𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖊
Dark Kingdom
First Prince

✠𝖑𝖔𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓: Library ✠𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖆𝖓𝖞:

seoulie

Laurent

Xela1495

Vika

yiyayang

Alazne

✠𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒: Humanoid/Demonic ✠𝕺𝕺𝕮: NA

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

Noticing Alazne's form from the corner of his eye he nodded quietly in reply to her retort,
lest he made Laurent aware of his presence.
It was amusing to see her stroll the library
as thought she was in a haste to get out of there quickly.
He made a mental note to go have the
satisfaction of commencing an argument with her later.
Last week he spoke to her,
the conversation took a turn for the better
and the battle that erupted from there
left him aching for more.

Of course, Daimon ignored her statement as she went away.
Logic was certainly the forte of the Fire princess.
But just as he was starting to argue with himself about the
way logic could become dull from time to time,
Laurent decided to turn before him.
"Daimon. I didn't see you at dinner,"
even when the light prince stated the later part
more quietly, he could still hear him clearly,
yet chose not to answer him.
Was it weird that he found the older prince
cute under his scrutinizing gaze?
At this distance he could clearly see the wheels turning in his head.
But having had known him long enough, Daimon
could only guess...was it dessert he was thinking off?
"Excuse me."

Daimon merely continue to stare at Laurent.
Until he noticed the way he twitched upon registering
the existence of one of his siblings in the room.
He lifted his gaze from his prey and landed a quick
look at the light princess, who he certainly noticed before but
didn't really paid attention to because Laurent was there.
Now however, he remembered that he was in a matter of speaking more or less
engaged to one of Laurent's sisters.

The question that the older prince stated outloud
made Daimon aware that such book was in fact
in the pile of books on his desk.
It was a thick book that was perfect enough to shield him from
others and so...the dark prince walked to his makeshift
cover and pulled the big book from under the pile without
making any object around fall apart.
In a sense, despite having the stereotype of being a
bloodthirsty demonic brute, he still possessed the elegance
to appear like a proper prince.
If he could be described in demonic terms,
he was more of an elegant murdering machine.
Rather than a tasteless foolish baboon.

"Delnal, you make it so easy...", to tease,
he finished the last part on his head.
A smirk quickly forming on his face as he had a hold on
the book he was looking for.
As he waited for Laurent to react, he wondered how
he would feel knowing they would someday
become brother's-in-law.
Was it even safe to mention the betrothal
knowing how much he hated his siblings?
On top of that, was it possible that...Daimon shut his
brain off at that moment. It was more entertaining
watching Laurent make a decision.
He had after all, the book he desperately wanted.
"...from food to Earth kingdom culture.
You tend to obsess over things pretty easily Delnal. "
Yes, Daimon at this point avoided mentioning Laurent's name.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

[herba mystica]

xxxxxxxxbingu



bingu
It was a while before Laurent heard Daimon finally speak up. His voice, that sardonic voice, was so familiar to Laurent's ears. The man rolled his eyes and mentally scoffed. Oh he made it easy? What was the point in trying with Daimon? Of course he had the damn book. Laurent turned to face him and his eyes slowly ran to the book he held in his bony hands. Ah, his finger nails were getting a bit long. Laurent tended to bicker with him about that. Too much complications came with long fingernails, so Laurent thought. His lips slightly parted wanting so desperately to contort as he heard Daimon's latter comment. Obsess? Was it just that tedious for him to have interest. And how dare he bring up the food. Laurent couldn't help that. His emerald gaze became bitter as he stared at the demon in front of him. "Daimon, please. You have no right to those words." His voice was low, but he placed emphasis on the other's first name.

If anyone knew something about obsession, it was that one right over there. "You are done with it. If so can you hand it to me." Laurent was of course, implying the book. His words sounded more like a command with they came out, more so than a request or a question. Laurent caught himself becoming irritated Daimon. Since when did he become so rancorous? The Light Prince found himself angry or peeved by a lot of things more often than not. Laurent knew it wouldn't be so easy as to request the book back. Things could never be simple and done with Daimon. He watched time, reminding himself that there was only so long he had before one: Vika found him, and two: the servants locked the doors to the kitchen.

He took a step forward and blatantly placed his hand out, awaiting to feel the texture of the book on the palm of his hands. Laurent raised his head and his eyes slightly softened in an attempt to get the reaction he wanted, but Daimon remained still. Slowly Laurent's hand returned to his sight. Abruptly the expression on his face reverted back to the dull one that it always was. "I suppose you aren't finished with it. Then... please inform me when you are." Laurent took in a breath, and submitted, coming to terms with Daimon's bullheadedness. He cleared his throat and adjusted the cuffs on his shirt before turning his gaze elsewhere.

Ugh. It was eating him up inside. Seeing Daimon with that smug on his face... with the book in his hand. What did he think he was being cute by doing that?


Lady Of Broken Hearts


yiyayang

[ooc] n / a [/ooc]
current location ; library
with ; daimon - vika - another unidentifiable person
f1ad82 (orange) c7d86b (green)

[Dangerosa]

It had been a week since he'd arrived. A week of trying to step up and represent the dark kingdom. He wouldn't be able to hide behind his older brother here. As much as he would love to stay unnoticed like he often was at home, every time he was forced to attend one of these group dinners, he felt as though the eyes of everyone was on him. Tonight more so than others. Daimon wasn't here. Why his brother would decide not to attend dinner at the scheduled time was beyond him, but Kyrian had done his best to stay confident and hide his stuttering. And that only meant that he would stay quiet and offer his usual monosyllabic responses when possible. If they wanted the confident Dark Prince they would have to get up and find him. Kyrian couldn't be happier when it was over and he quickly made his way out of the room, trying not to look as though he was in a rush. Maybe he would find his sister or Alazne later, but for now, he just wanted some time to himself, away from this crowd.

Reaching his room, he found a note wedged in the door and he sighed. Was this how they were going to announce the betrothals? With an impersonal note? Pulling it out and making his way into his room, Kyrian was already reading through it before the door had closed behind him. He was betrothed to Svaeti... the water princess if he wasn't mistaken. Kyrian hadn't really made an effort to get to know her, or anyone, during the first week he'd been here. He'd kept to himself and tried to make sure no one really noticed him, nothing more than a shadow. Well there was no avoiding his siblings, but he did the best he could to avoid drawing any attention to himself. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he looked out the window, searching for Umbaroth, his dragon, in the darkness. It wasn't a particularly easy task though. Umbra was as dark as the night sky and he could very well be crouching down there in the darkness and if he was still and had his eyes closed, he would only look like a dark mound on the grass. Kyrian didn't see anything that looked out of place on the field below, so he assumed his drake companion was probably out in the forest somewhere. And that would be his next stop.

Turning away from the window, he put the note down on the dresser and left his room once more. Maybe he would see if Noemi or Alazne were interested in enjoying the night with him. It was beautiful and he could use the fresh air after reading that news. Not that it was bad news in anyway. He just had been hoping the Elders had forgotten about the reason they were here. He certainly had tried to put it out of his mind. Back out in the hall once more, he decided to make a quick stop at the library to check for his siblings, before going to the training grounds to see if Azzy had managed to find someone to spar with at this time of night. He almost pitied whoever agreed to her offer; Alazne was an exceptionally talented fighter who, despite her rank, was always right there with her soldiers. In Kyrian's opinion that was an admirable quality. But then what did he really know about an area he had a tendency to avoid? It wasn't that he couldn't grasp the military concepts, but he often refrained from speaking up and voicing his opinion when invited to war meetings. Even if later those thoughts could have proved beneficial.

Once he arrived at the library, he found the room to be dark, but there was a quiet murmur of conversation which alerted him to the fact that he wasn't the only one in here. Wonderful. He'd been hoping to find someone in here... but not so many someones. Maybe he could make this quick. He avoided the softly glowing one, knowing that was obviously not one of the ladies he was looking for and continued until he saw Daimon with the light prince. The one who was always sneaking into the kitchen. Whatever his name was. Not wanting to speak in the presence of Prince Eatsalot, Kyrian simply offered a slight bow of his head in acknowledgement before continuing on his search. Once he was sure there was no one else in the library he would be out of here. But if the voices he heard were only those of his brother and the light prince he would be out of here with a book in hand. Maybe he could find something about the water kingdom or dragons. Ever since meeting Umbra he'd always wanted to learn as much as he could about dragons so he could better care for his. Azzy did help, especially since he couldn't understand his friend yet, despite the books he read saying that it should come naturally, but he supposed it would come in time. Maybe in a few years. Umbaroth was only five years old, still a babe as far as dragons were concerned.

Continuing through the stacks, he believed he saw a flash of familiar green hair and he smiled, following after the princess. Coming up behind her, he called to her, getting her attention and bowed. "I was w-w-wondering if you... ummmm... if you w-w-would like to go on a night ride with Umbra." The stuttering was so frustrating! He made sure to keep his voice down so the others wouldn't hear him, but the fact that they were in the library as well only made him feel more self-conscious of it. If they were alone, he was sure he'd be okay, but the light kingdom siblings only made it worse. At least he wasn't drawing out his esses this time.

tab tab tab tab With: Azzy. Laurent, Daimon and Vika nearby tab tab // tab tab Where: Library

[Artemyes]

knight of the earth kingdom x ● x knight of the earth kingdom x ● x knight of the earth kingdom

¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

ＲＯＮＡＮx❂x ＢＥＩＲＮＥ

▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄

✬x LOCATION training grounds xxx ✬x MOOD neutral /uncertain xxx ✬x COMPANY ??? (Henrietta) xxx

One strike, then another, and another - the dummy did nothing to resist or react to the blows, save for teetering about on it's perch. Ronan tried to envision that movement as an opponent's attempts to parry; in the end though, he knew that no true threat would ever be so simple to best. That wasn't the point of this anyways. He simply enjoyed the movements, the motions; the life he had lived with his guardian had not been kind. Rather, it'd been somewhat harsh; living outdoors, moving from place to place. He'd learned many things though, and this sword-training that he'd gone through with his guardian? Once he'd gotten the hang of it, it was - a comfort. It was familiar no matter where he went.

It was a bit silly to be thinking things like that right now, Ronan couldn't help but muse. He hadn't seen his guardian in forever, and he had more important things to think about now. Lost in his thoughts as he was, Ronan hadn't realized how he'd been quickening his pace, speeding up the blows. Abruptly, he swung his sword horizontally, getting so caught up that he placed a bit too much force with the swing, and it sliced a new rip into the dummy. Straw scattered in wisps and it slid him out of his reverie.

Just in time too it seemed, because there was another presence on the training grounds. Dropping his sword arm to his side but not releasing the grip he had on the blade, Ronan turned to find a young woman making her way towards him. She looked like she might have come from the trees rather than the castle itself. She seemed to be working away at something in her grasp, even as she drew nearer, making mention of dinner. He blinked, only now finally relaxing.

"...Ah. I'd already finished, so I thought it best to get out of the way," The help's meals were a lot more quick and to the point than those of the Royalties, who would be served various courses with their set times and all. Taking that, the fact that there were also plenty of servants and how they were constantly busy, Ronan had decided against linger about too long. He supposed though, that the same could be said of the young woman as well. Actually, she looked like she'd been outdoors much longer than he had. In the back of his mind as well, Ronan couldn't help but feel like he'd seen her somewhere this past week, but he couldn't quite place where. He could swear he had it on the tip of his tongue, but the woman's next comment whisked the thought away.

"It's not work, really," he answered with a small smile of his own, following her movements as she stepped off to the left of him. "Not - right now, at least. It's more.. of a habit." And Ronan really didn't think it was work; this was something he was good of, sure of , and so it was fun in it's own way.

Either way though, Ronan was a bit surprised that she offered to be his sparring partner. He wondered for a moment if she had slipped away from the castle to avoid duties or something of the sort. Deciding though, that that was really none of his business, Ronan offered her another little tentative smile this time. "That'd be nice." She had a bit of a look in her eye, though he supposed that there would really be no harm done in a quick spar.

But - just where had he seen her?

Snapping to attention, Ronan realized she probably needed a sword; it wouldn't be much of a fair match up if she just held that little knife of hers. "I'll - get you a sword," he said, snatching up his coat and turning on the heels of his boots to head for the nearest rack of swords. He tossed his coat to the side, giving all the blades a quick glance over - standard things, nothing fancy - he picked out the one that seemed an adequate length for her.

"Here," Ronan offered, presenting the sword hilt first to her, stepping back once she had accepted it. "...My name is Ronan by the way," he added a moment later, before stepping back to offer some space in preparation. "Whenever you're ready, just let me know,"

ooc: c:


yiyayang

[yiyayang]

█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌

XXXXXXXXXXX▉ Where ▅ Are ▃ You ▅ Going ▉

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX"To love is to destroy.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXTo be loved is to be destroyed.
XXXXXXXXXXXXT'would be an adventure if only one were destroyed,
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXBut with love there is never just one; it is all."

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

Normally the lighting would bother her, but considering she did not have plans on remaining within the library for a long period of time she didn't particularly care. It was easy to utilize her draconic eyesight to find her way amidst the shelves hunting for a particular title that would capture her attention. She had left Daimon and Laurent behind as well as the glowing female. Hunting through the titles she was searching for something regarding the air kingdom, but it didn't take much for her attention to drift. Part of her wondered where her siblings were at this time of night while the other half wondered if there was a book regarding exotic weaponry somewhere. More than likely there was, but hunting that down would take time. Brushing a strand of her lime green hair out of her eyes she bent down examining titles on a lower shelf. One of them had caught her interest in particular. Sliding the novel from the shelf she held it in her hands flipping it open to the front page; the beginning of the biography of a war general in the water kingdom. Interesting.

Having completely forgotten about trying to find a book regarding the Air Kingdom Alazne straightened idly searching for a book on exotic weapons. It was during this hunt that a hesitant voice behind her caught her attention. Turning a soft smile graced her features finding Kyrian standing there with an offer upon his lips. A ride hm? "Perhaps I will ride or I may choose to stretch my own wings," Azzy agreed gesturing that he could lead the way out. She was going to give up on her hunt for now and could always come back later. A ride with Kyrian would not be an offer she may receive everyday. Mostly their friendship had bloomed upon the fact when he found out she was a demi dragon and she found out he had a dragon in his possession. Curiosity was bound to follow when those facts had been laid out on the table. As thus she learned he cared for the black beast despite not having a bond that would be expected of the pair. The main issue was that Kyrian could not understand the creature. Eventually he would though, if he kept trying; Azzy was certain of it.

Following the younger prince out of the library Azzy paused behind Daimon and Laurent. Reaching around the taller dark prince she plucked the book from his fingers and handed it off to Laurent in passing. "Also rude Daimon," was the only comment she made as an explanation. A neutral expression was spared for both of the princes and she was moving on. Annoying Daimon was far more enjoyable if someone else that he was teasing ended up getting their way. Once more trailing after Kyrian a coy little smile danced along her lips upon their exit of the library. "Did you receive a letter as well?" Azzy asked curiously catching up to the prince to trail alongside him. "Also, is there anyone else you would like to invite?" she added. Part of her wondered if the prince had made any other friends since last they had seen one another in a more relaxed setting.

════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

OOC: //

seoulie

Lady of Broken Hearts

gataki91

locaтιon ☛ library || halls
ѕυrroυnded вy ☛ Daimon, Laurent, Vika >> Kyrian
нealтн ☛ 110%
тнoυgнтѕ ☛ Book... Music... Change, dragon ride?
cloтнeѕ ☛ What I am wearing

▉ Has ▅ It ▃ Ever ▅ Mattered ▉

█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌█║▌███ █▐│▐ ██ ║▌

[wendigone]

wait until the ( snow ) covers me up so ixxcxaxnxnxoxtxxmove.
i want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxxi want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxxi want you so muchxxxxbut i hate your gutsxxxx
xxwait until my clothes cling to my frame, wipe ( away ) your tear stains.
thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain thought you said you didn't feel pain

⊱ location • rose garden xxxx ⊱ party • kesari xxxx ⊱ thoughts • damn, she's still hot.




some things that she did were a bit distasteful, but most of those things were stashed under the words of 'parties in the kingdom'. anytime someone sent an invite to the palace, she likely took the envelope and brought it upstairs, making absolutely sure that it was her that went, and her alone. after all, it wouldn't be amusing if her dad went, or if kat tagged along for the ride. oh, poor kat- she had such a hard life, in kris's eyes, and she didn't deserve a single thing directed at her that was angry. of course, the eldest losing her mother at age ten was hard on her, but she gained a sister out of it all! that was the most important thing!

speaking of distasteful, though, her sexuality was something that she knew dad hated- after all, she had to be absolutely straight in order for some prince to waltz into her life and she'd fall head over heels for him. huh. as if that'd happen. not even this arranged marriage to- leonard ezere- was going to change her mind about her preference for the ladies, but on the other hand, his older sister was attractive and more her style, even if she was practically flat-out rejected at that very moment.

"hmph." the grunt was very unladylike, but she could honestly care less about first impressions, especially since she already used it up with those idiotic flirts. of course she was gonna get shot down, but it didn't mean she was about to give up anytime soon. that wouldn't be the kris weiss style, after all. "princes, sure, some of 'em are attractive. that doesn't mean i can't appreciate a princess' look, does it?" she made a valid point in avoiding the who the heckie is your soon enough husband question; that wouldn't give her any plus points in the other's books.

oh, and there was the dreaded first name curse. she visibly cringed at hearing her full name, her grasp on the gate tightening as she tried putting together a response. "kris. i prefer the name kris." okay, decent enough of a reply, she assumed, taking in a few deep breaths before putting on a smile, not even noticing her bangs falling over her right eye. well, she did after five seconds, whisking them behind her ear quickly. "nice to meet you, too." formalities? more like throw a brick in her face and disfigure her face. please.

"oh?" for a moment, she seemed to zone out, barely catching the question the other gave her. did she like the neutrality zone that was here? "it isn't incredible, honestly. far too warm for my liking; i can't even wear my scarf." yeah, she didn't have that piece of fabric around her neck, and she has it stashed away in her personal room, away from prying eyes and grabby fingers, probably from those air thugs. er. maybe they were thugs, she didn't know for certain. "the only thing that's keeping me sane are all the princesses, but i can't even get a moment with any of them." it was such a tragic tale, but we aren't really buying this.

why in the world was she even talking to someone of an enemy kingdom? after all, she could always hit up everin and talk to her, but it wasn't the same as risking the biscuit and casting a wink or two at someone who could burn her face off if they wanted to. there was something about that chance that excited her, and maybe that's why she started conversation with the very hot dragon lady. plus, she needed to know her in-laws sooner or later. might as well start with the older sister. "what about yourself? any princes you have your eye on? food been treating you well?"





xxxx

E L D E Rxx I C Exx P R I N C E S S
[ K R Y S T A Lxx ❖xx W E I S S ]

[miss reku]

▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ▇ ♔
xxxxxI'D L❤VE T↻ HEAR Y↻U SAY ANYTH!NG BUT S I L E N C E !!
xxxxxxxxxxyou're unaware that i'm so tired ✿ you're unaware that i'm so tired ✿ you're unaware that i'm so tired
xxx⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯
xxxxxxxAND I'VE TRIED SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND
xxxxxxxxxxx//////////// am I the ❛ONLY ONE❜ who C A R E S?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx♔◝ ═════════
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi xx can't xx let xx you xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . .
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi xx can't xx let xx you xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . .
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi xx can't xx let xx you xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . . xx d i s a p p e a r . . .




xxxxx♔▇ the library xx ♔▇ curious xx ♔▇ laurent, daimon

The library was becoming quite the lively place. It seemed the one place people sought out for peace and quiet was becoming the one place to go to find the exact opposite. If it weren't for the dim light, one would've thought it was the middle of the day! Not that the princess noticed much of it. When Vika got something into her head, it was hard for her to focus on much else. In this instance, it happened to be that her search for her proper research material prevented her from noticing any other people in the library.

The princess took her time strolling down the aisles, glowing fingers brushing over various titles. So far, her search had been fruitless; merely rows upon rows of bird books. Everything from migration patterns to various feather patterns to life cycles and more. Should Vika ever find herself with a feathered friend, at least she knew where to go for information on how to care for it. Perhaps any other day she'd have taken a peek inside one of those books, just to see, but her mission encompassed her mind thoroughly, and she was eager to complete it. She turned the corner, a soft, curious look on her face as she search for more books. What she found instead surprised her so much that her glow instantly faded and she disappeared completely.

The aisle ended only several feet from a tall, dark, imposing figure. His form had startled the princess so much that she once again lost control of her power. Who was he? Vika wasn't entirely sure she'd seen him before, although the lighting was poor enough where she wouldn't have known for sure either way anyway. Whoever he was, he was speaking to her brother. The air between the two was... odd. If Vika was more well-versed in such topics, she might've said it was even slightly flirtatious. But that wasn't right. Laurent was her brother, sure, and someone she admire very much. But to image him flirtatious with anyone, woman or man, was difficult. He tended to be so prickly with others. Or at least cold. Vika wondered what the two could be talking about. She knew she should probably make her presence known to them. Eavesdropping was wrong, she was well aware. But it was so rare to see her brother in conversation with anyone (probably because he insist on never being around her) that Vika couldn't help it; she kept herself invisible, hoping to hear more.


♔▇ ⊰ - - - - PRINCESS VIKA DELNAL
of the light kingdom

[Lady Of Broken Hearts]

𝕯𝖆𝖎𝖒𝖔𝖓 « 𝕾𝖔𝖚𝖑𝖇𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖉 » 𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖒𝖔𝖓𝖙𝖊
Dark Kingdom
First Prince

✠𝖑𝖔𝖈𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓: Library ✠𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖆𝖓𝖞:

seoulie

Laurent

Xela1495

Vika

yiyayang

Alazne

gataki91

Kyrian

✠𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒: Humanoid/Demonic ✠𝕺𝕺𝕮: NA

┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓

He couldn't help keeping the smirk plastered on his face.
Laurent was pretty much were he wanted him.
And the older prince was trying so hard to get what he
was looking for in a way that wouldn't engage him further.
Safe to say, it wasn't working.
As he was listening to Laurent's requests, he noticed a dark aura around.
Not soon after, a shadow passed by silently but politely as it bowed its head
in his direction. Daimon, once again remained quiet as he
subtlety shifted his stance to have a better look at his
younger brother.
For better or for worse, Daimon couldn't really be on the look out
for any of his siblings. The objective of their arrival
in neutral territory was so that each and every single individual
get to knew each other and eventually,
make the world a better place. Cliche.
He did wonder though, how his siblings were faring so far.
The younger prince was probably feeling out of his comfort zone
amidst the crowded environment. But secretly, he was glad that Kyrian's beloved pet dragon
was allowed to accompany him.

Daimon on the other hand, didn't feel uncomfortable or threaten in any way
by other royalty. Even when possible fights could break through due to the current
state of their kingdoms, and the stress from it could
make anyone explode at any moment.
Living with the enemy could break nerves.

"I suppose you aren't finished with it. Then... please inform me when you are."
Well, now this was interesting.
Laurent was quickly becoming irritated by his behavior.
He was about to react when a small hand
managed to get the infamous book out of his grasp.
"Also rude Daimon,"
Unexpected, and unwelcome. The fire princess
had a way of ruining his fun most of the time. Unless...
His thoughts were all over the place as he
watched the princess with Kyrian exiting the library.

He crossed his arms in defeat, and his
face returned to its neutral state. A bit annoyed by
the way Alazne thwarted his plans, he had no excuse now
to speak formally with Laurent. With the book in his hands.
But Daimon knew that his fun could only go so far.
No use in keeping the nonsense going when they were both grown adults.

Daimon's gaze landed on Laurent, waiting for the light prince to
act differently with him now that two of the three extra people
in the library were gone.
However, he wasn't expecting to have
any luck getting Laurent to speak to him like how they used to.
Knowing what they were now, the situation changed
drastically. But he still wanted to see if
he could maintain part of their now almost
nonexistence relationship back. But still.
One of Laurent's most unwanted siblings was present.

He sighed in exasperation, flipped some of his long black hair back over his shoulder,
took an elegant chair that happened to be nearby and sat on it.
Consequently, he took a relaxing pose on it
and placed his right elbow on one of the arms of the chair.
He rested his chin against that same right hand and,
his haunting eyes flicked red for a second before turning back.
From his place in the chair, he was situated just in the right spot that
faced the book aisle were Vika was currently standing on,
but that contained no visible princess.

Of course Daimon could not see her either,
but could perfectly well sensed her. And so, his stare remained locked
on the spot he suspected the light princess to be in.
"Laurent," he finally said his name with a more casual tone.
"would you mind if I were to...request the presence of your darling sister?" he paused a bit before
stating his question, knowing full well that
the request at hand would be one Laurent would flat out refuse.
Yet, Daimon did not even wait for his reply as he
kept his gaze from moving. He was quite curious at the moment.

"Why don't you come out were I can see you young one"
His commanding voice was clearly ordering her to take action, rather than suggesting
an option. His neutral face showed no emotion as he waited
for the princess to obey.
Anyone who served under the dark prince knew full well
the repercussions from disobeying him. Even more so, when he used
that serious commanding tone on others.

Daimon didn't even care that Laurent was right there,
he who knew also the power that his words had. Yet, Daimon
never used that tone once on Laurent. But at present, the demonic prince
was getting impatient after having had his previous fun cut short.
The light princess however, caught his attention for now, and he was
desperate to know who she was. Ready to dismiss or make a mental note depending
on the identity of the one in question.
Besides, he couldn't even turn back to Laurent knowing that
he would never open up with his sister standing not far from them.

┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

[Kaoru_abz]

Mᴏᴏᴅ: Curious // Agitated xxxxxxxxxxx Cᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ: Svaeti Kryiakos xxxxxxxxxxx Lᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Main Garden - Hedge Maze

• With subtle footsteps lightly tapping on the surface of a pebbled pathway, Odin scanned the uncharted territory with unyielding concern. The landscape was wide with an enormous amount of exploration potential, but where there was more land, there was more work involved in completing his role as an escort. His duty was that of a weary watchdog, but his boredom – or rather lack of proper entertainment – could not be satisfied through the role as a babysitter. It had been about a week in Aelea, and still each royal of the Water Kingdom appeared to have drifted farther apart. This, of course, made it difficult to become readily available incase danger somehow came into existence. If there was a threat, Odin would unfortunately be unable to provide complete protection to all of the Water Kingdom’s children. Thus, he had to make strategic decisions to appear in situations that could be vulnerable to an attack. His motivation? Gold. Being that of a bounty hunter, this particular employment opportunity to one kingdom contrasted with all of his previous hire arrangements. Usually, he was provided with freedom to complete his job at all costs in his terms; however, this story spun a different thread. He was given specific orders to address specific situations if any type of emergencies were to arise during their voyage. Honestly, it was infuriating being given orders, but the pay was well worth the irritation.
  
  Just ahead of him were the elevated, green walls that kept one of his valuable shipments well hidden. Although security was somewhat established at their destination, there was still the anticipation of angry royals biting and barking at one another out of pride for their individual kingdom. Assassins, rogues, pirates – oh my! And what were possibilities of a third party intervening with the marriage arrangements? Obviously, there were some disheartened entities living in the world that despised the idea of a union. It was perhaps unwise for Odin to get involved with such a predicament; it wasn’t his marriage or his problem. He was disconnected from the rage of war and had always been rather fixated on survival. Throughout life, the young man had to live off scraps and dwell in the slums before steadily finding a calling in the field of collecting bounties. Of course, his way of life wouldn’t necessarily be praised and noted as honorable, but it was better than becoming a meal for lurking vultures. It was either kill, or be killed; bounty hunting was a way to become something out of nothing.
  
  Although Odin has never personally held a grudge against the Water Kingdom’s brats for living a life of luxury, it was quite agitating to observe senseless drama unfold with the arrival at Aelea. From their gestures to their disobedience to stay together, it could be gained that the majority weren’t too pleased with their arrangement. Was the thought of marrying a stranger too hard to grasp? Unlimited wealth and power – and the only offset was to deal with a significant other that may be less desirable. Odin would gladly accept an arranged marriage if it meant he could live a life in luxury. After all, money does bring happiness – or at least in his book it does!
  
  Upon entering the hedge maze, Odin quickly caught the sound of water trickling into another pool of liquid right in the center of the labyrinth. How’d he know it was the center? It hadn’t been the first time he had stumbled across the enchanted, bushy web --- thing. In other words, it wasn’t the first time he had stalked Svaeti when she would decidedly disappear from the crowd of royals. Luckily for him, she just loved places that were far from prying eyes. It was Svaeti’s secret spot, and the noisy fountain just provided the proper guidance for those who wish to locate a lost lamb. “Are you so sure that you are completely safe from harm in this isolated area?” Odin spoke harshly, biting his tongue to adjust his tone to be more relaxed and respectful. “Your words are poison, lady Svaeti. I think you take me as a fool rather than an investment to your safety. I cannot deny that I am a little of both, but that may not be your exact perspective.” Resting his back against the entryway, Odin casually glanced at the illuminating stars overhead. He didn’t particularly care one way or another what the princess had thought of him; however, he felt rather protective of his pride as a temporary knight for the Water Kingdom. Oddly, through the journey of actually reaching Aelea, he felt a sense of accomplishment and attachment to his lengthy assignment, and although he did not need praise for his dealing with the resistance of all the royals, he did expect a level of reverence for his dedication. "If you do not mind me inquiring, why have you removed yourself from the castle when midnight swiftly approaches? Don't you think it is unwise to be roaming so late in the afternoon unattended?"