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 Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 8:57 pm
The younger dragon blinked at the head maid. "Out there or where I was supposed to be?" she asked in an almost dumbfound manner before answering the question. "It was okay. Nice. Not too different from what I'm used to. Of course, the level of the youkai I fight in Arinas is higher, or this had to be some kind of joke. Nothing short of a slight mistake Kanak pointed out for me, change of battle techniques due to change of surroundings," she said with a shrug. Micoi seemed rather unmoved by the whole thing. More like it was something closer to real-life practice for her than a fight. The situation seriously couldn't be that bad over in Arinas, could it?
"So, well, why do you ask? I'm whole, inside out," she added with a cheerful smile. She was probably suspicious that more than perhaps Aiketh or Jett would complain to her for not staying indoors. "You, uh, don't have--" shaking her head she rephrased the line, "haven't had many 'actively fighting' royalties, have you?" she asked.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:05 pm
"Well..." Neith remembered her lessons many years ago about the previous rulers of Draqueen, and her thoughts briefly landed on the grandparents of their current king. "That's..." She wondered how to explain their situation. "We have had quite a few," she finally conceded, "but there has not been as much need for them to be so, ah, active recently as there was in the past. Lord Jett's reign aside, at least," Neith added, alluding to the multiple battles fought earlier in his time on the throne. "But I'm glad to hear that it was easy for you," she said with a smile, briefly touching Micoi's arm in a friendly fashion. "I rather expected you to somehow slip away, anyway." Her smile became something more like a conspirator's grin.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 9:37 pm
"Yeah..." Micoi laughed embarrassed, rubbing the back of her head. "Jett said," well, Kanak said he did, "he wanted me to go down into some sanctuary with Celia as a guard, but..." The dragon gave a one-shoulder shrug and a lopsided grin. She didn't know much about the Dragon Castle but a sanctuary didn't seem like much and she'd wanted to fight something for real. She was about to openly say that she enjoyed real battles and killing, because she didn't, but it had a certain rush to it that she couldn't deny. She put that one as Kanak's fault because it didn't seem very dragon-like but she couldn't help it. She'd lived with it too long and the opposite's race's recklessness was sticking to her like glue.
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 10:38 pm
She felt bad as she walked through the castle...Oddly, not for having killed the demons, but for tracking blood back into the castle; The one she had sliced in half had seen fit to spray its blood all over her. The Knight left crimson droplets and footprints behind her as she wandered back to her room...The report could wait, at least until she was in something that wasn't drenched in what had seemed like red rain at the time...
'Celia, are you alright?' Kahaku asked concernedly. She hadn't said much the whole way back...And truth be told, he also hadn't expected her to kill the demons, none the less in the uncommonly precise way she had...It worried him...Later, he would need to tell the others...It was probably starting to break down...
She looked up to him, seeing the distracted look in his eyes. "What are you thinking?"she asked, not really having any of her usual energy. After a moment, Celia turned away, not really waiting for and answer or answering him. The woman opened the door to her room, removing her shoes before walking carefully to avoid any demon blood falling on her books; Kahaku fluttered onto the dresser to watch what she might do a little nervously...She walked to the sink, and placed the sullied blade inside it, as well as the senbon/hair pins she had used. The rest, she simply tossed onto the counter as well as the hair clip. She wiped the weapons down with a damp cloth to avoid letting the silver be tainted. The knight then removed the outer portion of her outfit, throwing it in as well; she'd let it soak to try and get out some of the red...At least it was the black one, that might hide some of the stains...
Celia walked to the bathroom, and stepped into the shower...She wanted to get it out of her hair too. The knight washed up quickly, wrapped one towel around her and another around her freshly cleaned hair and stepped toward her closet. She took out another outfit, identical to the one she had been wearing save for the fact it was in a different color; white. The woman was glad she had made a second one. The towel from her hair came off, and she combed out the long strands. She got dressed in the clean outfit before she headed back to the sink to pick up her sword. The blade was dried before she sheathed it, and headed back through the rows of books. The knight was careful not to place her feet again on any of her earlier steps; she could clean the mess on her floor up later. With a look to Kahaku before he flew back to her shoulder, she stepped out into the hall to go make her report; it didn't matter that she didn't have shoes on, she wasn't planning on going outside right now...
'Really, Celia, talk to me...'said the Duel Dragon, wrapping himself around her shoulders as he usually did. It was clear that he was worried...He couldn't help but be nervous, not with the way she was acting. Normally she was much more...well, lively that this. She wasn't being her normal timid but bubbly self, she was just...There.
"Don't worry Kahaku. I'm alright,"she spoke softly, and a small smile crossed her lips. It seemed more like a shadow of her real one though, without much truth behind it. Regardless, she had almost made it to the War Room already, and now she was more than likely expected to give her report.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 3:30 pm
"Yes," Neith nodded, privately coming to the conclusion that this queen would need a different role than many of her predecessors had held when it came to battle... or even the ordinary affairs of state. "Actually, you should see it some time. I think you might find it interesting..." She shook her head, all too aware of the present. "I need to get back to work. Material came in today that I need to look through. Hopefully there will be something suitable for your dress in there, or I'll have to send out an order to the suppliers in Memphis. Chances are very good that I will send for you later tonight to help me with the final choice, so we'll have more time to talk then, Honey." The head maid gave a short, slightly distracted smile and went hurriedly back down the stairs to finish her work.
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Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2008 8:28 pm
"Dress? Dress for the wedding?" Micoi asked before nodding. "Okay, I'll see you then," she agreed and let the head maid leave, looking at her back as she walked away the same way she had come. Funny person, that woman... matter of fact, in a way, they were all rather funny in this place. Oh well. Micoi gave a shrug and began walking down that corridor in the direction she'd been headed before Neith stopped her.
There was something funny here, really. Just... or was it just the smell of the place? Was she ever going to get used to it? Geez. But, there certainly seemed to be something in the air and... she could smell it and was pretty sure it--
Turning a corner, Micoi came to a halt a few feet away from Celia. The queen-to-be blinked at the knight. It almost looked as though she'd frozen in place for a second or two there, as if unsure how to proceed due to something, but then the young woman raised her hand in greeting. "Celia. You look... white. And almost like you've seen a ghost or something. Did you enjoy pract-- I mean, the fight?" Right after finishing her question, it dawned on the lady that not everyone might enjoy fighting like she did and the knight certainly didn't seem like one of those who enjoyed a good bout.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 11:59 am
The Knight's eyes jumped up from the floor she had been rather dazedly staring at to the soon-to-be queen. In all honesty, Celia had simply assumed she would already have been inside the War Room, probably arguing with the Dragon Lord over her having been in the fight...But apparently the expected should have been to expect the unexpected with Micoi. She realized at that point that really, she hadn't actually said anything in response.
"Oh...um....Well, I got...some blood, on the other one..."she said, unintentionally letting her eyes drift back down to her outfit. She pulled them up after a second, and added "I guess I should be glad I made two of this one." She didn't sound glad. She didn't especially have any tone in her voice at the moment. She moved topics to the fight next, if a little unsteadily.
Before answering, she paused a second in thought...She couldn't help but notice her damp hair hitting the back of her knees as she moved her head...She kind of wished she had put it up, even though it was still wet. Regardless, she moved on, "I um...I...I didn't...mean to kill them..." Celia's voice was quiet. The Knight knew that Micoi had considered the small attack fun, or at least not difficult, but...Well, come to think of it, Celia had also not found it difficult. She had been trying to just get them to stop, so they could be brought in to question, but instead they had ended up lifeless bodies with almost no effort...One thing was sure, of the two of them she knew she hadn't enjoyed it...right?
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:18 pm
Micoi nodded as Celia explained her change of clothes, heaven knew the young dragon herself wasn't spotless... literally at that. "Hey, ease up, Celia," Micoi said with a careless grin. "They attacked. You kill them or they kill you. It's not harder than that. Plus," she added with a shrug, "they came here, it's only fair." The easiest way to look upon it, but not very deep or sorry. Did the queen-to-be take life that easil? And more importantly, did she take others' loves that easily? Just meet and part, shop and drop (so to speak)? "You on your way to the War Room?" Micoi asked, tiling her head.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 12:46 pm
"It isn't fair though. They came here for some reason...Its exactly like us going to Arinas for a reason. We didn't die, why should they?"She didn't mean it to come out quite the way it had, but...The knight had just sort of blurted it. The demons she had killed were trying to run off. It wasn't at all like Micoi said; they hadn't attacked her, she had attacked them.
With the next question, she nodded. "I have to make my report...Are you headed there too?" Knowing her, Micoi might be skipping it. At this point, Celia knew quite well that either she would or she wouldn't, and neither the Knight nor any of the other dragons could influence that decision in any way.
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 1:00 pm
Micoi blinked once at Celia, her face wearing the most neutral expression the knight probably had ever seen on the girl's face since she met her. Then she suddenly smiled cheerfully again as celia answered her other question. "Nah, I have no reason to be there so... you go," she said with a nod before starting up again.
As she walked passed Celia however, she gave the knight's shoulder a pat in the passing, not stopping as she spoke up again. Juding from the tone of voice, she was probably wearing a rather neutral, or was that indifferent even?, expression once again, but she was now beside, and soon behind and beyond Celia, so nothing could be said for sure. "And you know what? Had the circumstances been different and we not thought you were worth checking out at closer range, Kanak and I would have fought you." She was now a few steps behind Celia, calmly walking down the corridor. "And considering you'd just arrived in Arinas, you were injuried and none of you used to fighting there... you would probably all, or at least some of you, died." The queen-to-be, their queen-to-be, said it so casually, so... easily. Was killing, indiscriminately, so much a part of her being? Had being raised in Arinas, by a youkai of all things, been more negative than could be repaired?
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 5:31 pm
Honestly, the knight hadn't assumed that was the case...But she probably should have. Celia didn't say anything, but as she watched Micoi continue to walk away, she realized her fist was clenched around the hilt of her sword. Once she noticed it however, she quickly released the blade, wondering in all honesty how her fingers had closed around it in the first place without her knowing about it. The knight turned her gaze onto her fingernails; she had been wrapped so tightly upon it that the nail beds had turned white.
'Celia, maybe you should get some rest...'suggested the dragon worriedly. He saw the look of confusion on her face. She seemed to be changing all at once.
"No, I'm fine...Really. Besides...I have to give this report,"She said, shaking her hand out a little. She hurried away from the dragon queen to the War Room, really just wanting to get the report over and done with. Even she was starting to think things were just going strangely around here as of late...
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Posted: Sun Feb 17, 2008 6:09 pm
Huh. That was weird. Reyn shook his head and slowly opened the closet door, stepping out into the hallway again. He had been taking a rather roundabout path through the castle trying to avoid accidentally running into Micoi or Baran or... well, several people... when he had heard Micoi and Celia talking a bit in front of him and had darted into the nearest hiding spot he could find. He was not ready to talk to the queen-to-be again yet, and he was a bit ashamed of himself about that... but what could you do? He mentally shrugged it off. Well, that was that... and he had certainly overheard something interesting. But what to do with this information? He supposed he could tell Baran, but he was still admittedly a little bitter and was not sure he wanted to share so soon.
I suppose I should go look for him, Reyn rolled his eyes, starting off down the hall once more. It's probably something the others--by this he meant the upper crust of the Dragon Tribe--should know about. And if it's not, no harm, no foul, right? He hesitated in his stride, momentarily uncertain as to the morality of his actions, then shook his head and continued on his way. The door behind which he had been hiding while the two talked had not closed fully and he, already kicking himself for his actions since it was actually possible for them to see him as he moved to hide, had not wanted to draw further attention to himself by closing it. So it was that Reyn had been able to see their conversation... and Celia's peculiar actions at the end of it and now, as he went on his way once more, they circled in his mind. Not that he knew the Water Dragon Knight well--quite the opposite, actually--but that had been odd, right?
He sighed, turning down a flight of side stairs to head back down towards the more commonly frequented parts of the castle. Maybe he would have to tell Bran, after all.
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:07 am
"Ah," Liozu turned towards Baran with a smile, after having waved at the returning Ana. "I'd really appreciate it it you would," Liozu titled hishead down towards the basket he held in one hand and then glanced towards Ana and back to Baran and grasped him lightly on the shoulder.
"She does have her chores after all... I wouldn't want to keep her too long," Liozu's smile deepened into a telling grin before he turned to Ana.
"Ready? And thank you," he threw over his shoulder to Baran with a nod, laying a gentle hand in the small of Ana's back to usher her towards the gardens.
While she was still frustrated, Empress was starting to find it somewhat easier to act; she couldn't remember this being so hard, before, but she'd been locked up for long, and had had her own body a goodly while before that... Things like these were easily forgotten. It would, of course, have been easier still if the most vulnerable one to possession could have been someone antisocial...
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Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 7:38 pm
Ana felt as though in a daze as Liozu led her off, unable to hear much beside the rush of blood to her head. She could not help but think that she should not be feeling this... intensely. Then again, however, she had never been involved in a real romance before. Perhaps this was just the whirlwind people spoke of.
She did not speak as they walked and if he said anything to her, she did not hear him. Her whole body seemed to tingle as if with electricity and she was acutely aware of his touch on her back. Ana smiled as they entered the gardens; she could not help it anymore than she could help going with him.
Baran took care of Liozu's darna with ease and, whistling, walked out of the stables into the bright sunlight mere minutes later. The day seemed to stretch away before him, the battle strangely set in the past as if it had taken place days or weeks instead of minutes before.
"Hey." Reyn was waiting by the side of the path leading to the castle, looking uncharacteristically serious and concerned. "I saw something I think you should hear about..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 01, 2008 2:22 pm
Empress smirked as they walked, very satisfied with Ana's smiling, happy daze. She chose a spot that was semi-public; anyone who actually looked for them would be able to find them without too much trouble, but they wouldn't be out in the open or immediately visible. It was a nice spot beneath a huge tree and surrounded by flowering bushes of some sort.
"This is a good place, right?" Empress smiled and put the basket down, beckoning for Ana to sit down beside her, not actually waiting for any reply of approval from the girl.
"You're such a beautiful, pure thing, the sweetest I've ever seen, the sunlight is warm, the grass soft, and the food smells great, so before I forget, what kind of jewellery do you like best?" Empress' voice dropped to a slightly deeper note, softly purring out the compliments and descriptions of their surroundings, trailing a finger down the length of Ana's nose, ending with a smile. A smile that, if one were more well-versed in the ways of lust and love, was deeply possessive and predatory, if in a gentle way. If a cat could love a sparrow and cradle it in its paws without eating it (or perhaps it was just the moment before it did so), this was that sort of smile. Gentle, gentle... but oh-so-inevitably dangerous.
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