[RP]Warning Sign(Elidae & Regina)

[amicableAggressor]

(Warning sign, warning sign
I hear it but I pay it no mind
Hear my voice, hear my voice
It's saying something and it's not very nice)

Regina was leaning on the buzzer of a troll she had never visited before. Truthfully, she didn't really visit trolls. They came to her. But right now she wasn't feeling patient. It had only been two nights since she talked with Aandes, two nights she had spent trying to make up her mind.

To her annoyance, she hadn't been able to. So she had gone back in her memory, and the official citizen records, and found the address she had been looking for. And now she was here. Switching from one elbow to the other, she continued to rest her weight on the doorbell, waiting impatiently for a reply.

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

The buzzer buzzed like buzzers do, but the persistent buzz alarmed the current resident. Elidae quickened her pace as she made her way to her front door. Clearly, whoever stood behind it needed her urgently, though she knew she wasn't expecting any company. It swung open with the yellowblood greeting with amiable enthusiasm.

"Hello, yes, I- Re-Regina!" Elidae bumbled, then put her hands up in surprise and then finally said breathlessly, "Hi!" The yellowblood couldn't help but take a a quick glance past her unusual guest to see if she had company with her. It was just her? Regardless, Elidae blinked and smiled stupidly at Regina, using the door frame to keep herself from wobbling.

"How's it goin'?" There was probably a million and one questions Elidae could have asked the empress of Alternia- such as "What brings you to New Hemisect?" or "What brings you to New Hemisect, specifically at my doorstep to repeatedly ring my buzzer?" But the most basic and casual question seemed to sputter off her tongue and left an immediate frond-in-mouth sinking feeling in her gut.

"I'm sorry- where are my manners? Would you like to come in?" Elidae swung open the door entirely and gestured inside her hive.


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"Yo. That's Empress Marian to you." Not stepping through the door, Regina stared evenly at Elidae. Her usually persistent expression of sly good humour was gone, and in it's place was blankness. Taking a step back, she turned her head slightly to beckon the yellowblood forwards. "I dunno where they are, but maybe you can find them - we're goin' for a little walk. Get your stuff and come with me."

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

The corners of her mouth wavered and her eyes glazed over. "My apologies, Empress." She bowed her head slightly, avoiding eye contact.

Find who? Tentatively, Elidae returned inside to retrieve her things. She hesitated on her shears, but... She slung them over her shoulder. Leaving her informality at the door, Elidae wordlessly locked it and faced the queen straighter. Opening her mouth automatically to question, she shut it and swallowed hard. Placing the mask of a smile, Elidae nodded her head signalling she was ready to go.


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"So." They had been walking in silence for a bit now - despite whatever Elidae might have attempted, her chatter would have resulted in similar shut-downs. There wasn't an immediate, obvious direction - at least none Regina was voicing. They did stick to empty streets, the empress being in no mood to have to deal with other trolls. When she finally spoke, they were walking alongside the borders of a rather joyless park.
"Been in touch with Kursha Vidari lately?"

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

Elidae certainly tried to keep a lighthearted vibe, but she soon realized it was best to remain quiet unless spoken to. The empty streets and silence felt a bit ominous and had her tightly wound. After a while, the empress finally spoke.

"Kursha?" Elidae echoed, turning her head slightly. An even greater uneasy feeling began to surface. "I saw him a few weeks ago." She said with honesty, unsure how helpful that could really be. However, there was a moment of thought before she said a little softer, "He's been really quiet and I haven't heard from him since..." After establishing their moirallegiance. She understood he had some responsibilities and was a busy troll, just as she was, but there had been a long moment of silence on his end despite the numerous letters she had sent him.

Her stomach sank and her palms began to sweat. Elidae turned to Regina with poorly concealed concern. "Is he okay?" 'is he in trouble?'


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"See, that's a really good question. Like, if you put it philosophically or whatever - is he ok? Physically? Maybe. I haven't seen him in a while, so who knows what bits he mighta got chopped off. Mentally? Geez. That's a ******** bundle to unpack." Still walking, she turned her head to watch a flickering street lamp as they drew closer to it, then passed under. Thoughts niggled at her brain. She had never talked to this troll before, and usually the thought of being so blunt and rude off the bat was anathema to her. You charmed people. You were charming. Especially people that you were going to rely on. Especially lowbloods.

But anyone who was close to Kursha would be used to a little abrasiveness. Couldn't they? Regina saw how he was with his peers. This yellowblood could surely handle it. Maybe she'd see that what Regina was looking for was the truth, not tact. "You're his moirail right? Didja know him before he hooked himself up to my ship? How well do you really know the guy. Honestly here." Turning her face to Elidae for a moment, she allowed a small amount of her frustrated state of mind to show in a scowl. "Cuz I wanna be sure I'm not just making up his personality in my own head."

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

As the empress spoke openly and- different than she imagined, Elidae stared with a fixated expression, eyes wide and eyebrows raised as she gave her full and utmost attention. There was something confounded about seeing the troll you saw everywhere known for being captivating, cool, and collected- sounding so utterly frustrated. ... and maybe confused? Gee, Kursha, whatya do?

Actually, Elidae wasn't all that surprised.

"Wh-wha...? I think- think I know him pretty well. At least more than most trolls? Or all maybe." After a lighthearted laugh that contrasted the serious conversation and eerily empty street, she scratched the back of her head and pressed her lips together into a knowing smile. "He's... difficult, that's for sure! There's a lot about him that is hard to see or understand, I guess. I can't even figure him out sometimes." Moving her gaze to the park, she appeared contemplative, a foreign expression for the usually bubbly yellowblood.

"I try, though. He's very resistant. You just have to keep trying. And then he'll come to you willingly." She sighed.

Elidae turned her head toward the empress, this time a little chipper. "I can tell you all about what I know about him if you would like!" Her smile slowly reached her eyes. She would have asked what he had done to attract her attention and vexation and cause her to reach her out, but the yellowblood sincerely had a hard time imagining it would be a pleasant conversation. Maybe she could redeem him a little before then.


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"Oh he came to me willingly from the start." Regina pursed her lips, then looked over at the yellowblood again. "It was for business tho, not y'know." Despite everything, she waggled her eyebrows. The frustration was there, but it was hard to repress her true nature for too long. "Pleasure."

Watching the other girl's face for a reaction, she reached behind herself with one hand, pressing her knuckles into the small of her back as she straightened her posture. "How 'bout you tell me about yourself, first? You got your hip tied to a pretty prominent figure in my little army, maybe I'll be seeing more of you in the future." If there was a future that involves Kursha to any given extent.

Either way, it was no use her learning what Elidae thought about Kursha if she didn't know how Elidae thought about everyone. She needed to be able to filter the reality out of another troll's weighted and biased opinions. It wasn't a dismissal of the yellowblood's personality, she would have done it with anyone else in the same situation. Show me how you work, then I can really understand what you mean.

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

Elidae covered her mouth to stifle a giggle in response to the empress' eyebrow waggle, though a blush crept to her cheeks. Oops.

"Me?" She laughed again, but it quickly died down to a genuinely surprised, quizzical look. Her head tilted. "Oh! You're, like- totally serious. Uhhhh-" Tapping her fingers on her pursed lips, she looked up in thought. How to talk about yourself to the literal ruler of your entire planet and not make yourself sound dumb or uninteresting. Hm. Panic.

"I... I guess it's difficult to describe myself." She laughed sheepishly, "I mean, I'm just a hairdresser. I work at a place in NHC. I sometimes like to do crafts. I like to look at the bright side of things? And try new things. I eat my vegetables..." Oof.

"But we met once, ya know! At bloodfest! I had the pinata to smash!" She grinned a goofy smile as she mimed a baseball bat, pretending to take a swing at the air before them, clicking her tongue to signify a hit. Ah, well. It seemed silly to mention that at this point. She kicked a lone pebble in front of her boots. "I mean I guess I don't really expect you to remember that. I'm sure you've got so much on your thinkpan..."

Suddenly, she snapped her finger and the enthusiasm returned. "Oh! And I do plan on joining that army of yours! But also to, ya know." Elidae looked away and smiled. Keep an eye on someone.


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"Mmmmmmmm, pinata you say?" Regina made a face - she hadn't participated in Bloodfest for a few years now. It was too annoying to deal with so many people's 'oh-s**t-the-monarch-i-just-crapped-myself' expressions at once, she inevitably felt like picking fights. "Sorry, I'm pretty good with faces, but I ain't that good. Hairdressing though...?" Regina had always cut her own hair, on habit. You didn't find too many salons on the bottom of the seafloor.

"It sounds like your idea of fun ain't going around shooting at people then. I guess if you did that'd kinda defeat the point of moirails, huh?" She lapsed into silence again, hands behind her back. "So miss hairdresser, d'you know about his turncoat past?"

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

Her pace slowed and her hands tightened nervously.

"Yes." She answered simply. "We talked about it only once." She looked to her out of the corner of her eye from the ground, her expression uncharacteristically somber. Thinking about this information made Elidae feel uneasy, despite coming to terms with knowing the extent of her moirail's past. There was no reason to be dishonest with the queen, but she felt unsure how far her answer should go. Anything Elidae knew wasn't new to her.

"He told me about his involvement with the rebel faction when he was younger, but had gone to you with information to come back. It-It was a good decision, though." Right?


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

"Oh I can't say good. I don't know what 'good' means to you, do I? Betrayin' the trust of all your pals and all that. But I'm thankful for it." She shot Elidae a side eye, considering. Elidae said she knew all about Kursha - all Regina knew was the face he put in front of her. Hopefully whatever the yellowblood knew wasn't too unflattering. "I like your pal a lot, I like how he does things, I like where I think he comes from. I'd like to image that's how I'd turn out to be, if I wasn't who I am. Ya feeling me?" She exhaled. "So I really don't wanna feel like I gotta cull him."

blackbird cake

 

[blackbird cake]

Here it was.

She stopped walking.

"Cull... him?" She asked as if she didn't understand what that meant, but her pusher dropped in an instead and she could feel her throat tightening. She swallowed hard. "I don't - I don't understand. Did he do something?"


amicableAggressor

 

[amicableAggressor]

Regina kept walking for two more paces, before realising the yellowblood had stopped. Sucking on her teeth, she turned to take the other girl's expression in properly. "Well I mean, when your empress says 'hey buddy could you not do this exact thing? i'm real serious about it' and you go do it ...." She shrugged. Now her expression and voice were calm, though her eyes were flat. When it came down to it, Regina wasn't thrilled to be having to say this. Damn you Vidari, why'd you have to go and set off this chain of events? You short-sighted p***k. "I'd like to think this is a one off thing, but he's got a history. What if he goes behind my back when it's something that really matters?"

blackbird cake