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 Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 6:28 pm
She grimaced at the word and wished she had more to drink. "War, aye. At the Masque, the Wolf Prince gave up the goose and killed some guards." Since she wasn't sure if they had seen that part, she figured it wouldn't hurt to bring it up. "But," she added, lowering her voice and leaning a little more into the table. "I doona trust yer Queen, nor her association with that fae, Llyr. Just....somethin'....bothers me aboot that pairing. And so, I came up wit the idea of makin' our own little group o' Wardens, findin' those that don't quite trust the Queen either." When a passing serving wench set a few more mugs on their table, she nearly pounced on one. And still, she refused to look at Rob.
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Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 6:50 pm
"Don't trust the Queen, eh?" Ollie echoed thoughtfully. It was true that her sudden alliance with Llyr seemed odd, and like many men of the sea, neither of the Tiller brothers much trusted things that they couldn't explain. It made Ollie a bit of a walking contradiction with Taxes at his side, but being Chosen didn't make him any less wary of the magical and the spiritual. It was all still too new.
"But you're not set t'fight her with this group o' Wardens..." he added for clarification. Being out at sea half his life meant that he had little to do with the authorities on land and little opinion of them. Which was to say that he naturally held a natural mistrust of the Queen and all her guards, but nothing to the extent of actively disliking them.
On his part, Rob silently downed his drink and reached for another, watching Soibhan and listening to the conversation at hand. He could live with the fact that she refused to look at him. It was better for the both of them, perhaps. He could still feel her kiss on his lips and part of him just wanted more.
In the lull in activity, Taxes left Ollie's side of the table and wandered over to Rob, sniffing at his pants. They smelled comfortably salty like the sea, so she laid her head in his lap and looked up at him with those big silver eyes, as if trying to read the expression on his face. "Ah, go find your..." He wasn't sure what Ollie was in relation to the fawn. "Dad? I don't..." If Taxes was his "niece" then he supposed that was what Ollie was. But the fawn didn't leave and instead rubbed her face against his leg. He gave her a brief pat, which was all the affection he ever really gave her. But she seemed to understand that affection was simply not hardwired in her "uncle" as it was into her Chosen, and gave a happy bleat in return.
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Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 9:26 pm
"No, no, no! Not against the Queen. Jus' not under her. Fightin' the same war, but under our own rules, wit nothin' ta do wit the fae." She didn't think she could accurately explain her mistrust of Llyr, but having spoken with him, she hadn't gotten the feeling that he'd very much had his priorities on his own people. Helping out the human was merely a stepping stone to helping his own court and that of Summer. In that, the Wolf Prince was clearly a common enemy. "I be feelin' that this camaraderie between Llyr and the Queen is jus' one o' convenience. But the Wolf Prince is real, and he poses a real threat. Fer some reason or other, I've grown fond o' this country and its people. I doona care ta see them slaughtered." Her golden eyes flickered towards Taxes and, inevitably, towards Rob. He was looking at the little fawn with a guarded expression and she wondered what he was thinking. Worryin' aboot his thoughts will git ya in'a world o' trouble an' hurt, stupid girl.She knew it to be true, and yet she still felt the sadness slipping over her that maybe, just maybe....Rob was lost to her forever, before anything had truly even begun between them.
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 1:53 am
The fawn nestled her head back into Rob's lap with a contented sigh and for several long moments, he stared down at her, lost in thoughts of war and the idea that Taxes had been born for something much greater than the Amaranta and the sea. She would grow and then she would inevitably become embroiled in a world of evil and magic that neither of them knew truly how to fight. And death would lie in her wake, no doubt, as it would in the wake of countless others pitted in battle against these Wolves. It was a sobering thought.
"It's good country, this," he heard Ollie say. "An' good people for th'most part. They're worth fightin' for."
At that, Rob lifted his gaze and for a moment, caught Soibhan's eye. "Just don't you go gettin' yourself slaughtered," he put in, that watchful look lingering before sliding over to his brother. "This country has need of you yet. At least I do." And he might have been speaking to Ollie or to Soibhan or even both.
Ollie grinned. "Leastwise if I get m'self slaughtered, you'll be right there beside me, brother." They had both known that from the moment they'd heard Rajani say that a war was brewing, and perhaps even before that. There was no doubt in either brother's mind that if one of them should die, the other would be right behind him. There was no sense in thinking otherwise.
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Posted: Fri Jul 05, 2013 4:08 pm
"I've got no plans ta leave this world as yet," she said with vehemence, her smile wide and beautiful to see, because no longer was there any sadness in it. Being alive was the best kind of happiness, and wasting that liveliness on sorrow was a terrible crime. Lifting her mug high in the middle of the table, she looked between the two Tiller brothers. "I know yer world is the Amaranta, but will ya help me when ya find yerselves walkin' the roads o' Sunderland?" Soibhan asked, all seriousness now. Having the Tiller brothers by her side during the fight would be something she would trade for nothing, even if she and Rob could never get over this...thing of theirs. "Will ya fight with me?" Unbidden, her gaze fell to Taxes, the beautiful fawn that had a destiny far greater than any of theirs. She thought of Cadence, and Oberon, and Liadain, all of them with such differing personalities, but all of them with that fighting light in their eyes. Taxes had the same light.
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Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 3:33 am
"We're already brothers-'n-arms, if I remember rightly," Ollie answered, as serious as she but with a devilish smile on his face. They'd won a sweet victory when they'd fought together last. The memory was one he cherished and the thought of winning again, even if it was a much bigger battle than the last, was tempting. "I'd do anything for you, Soi, as I'd do anything for my brothers."
He lifted his mug to join hers, ready to commemorate a bond that had been in the making since the first time they had met. Ollie had no real opinions on the politics of those bound to the land, but loyalty was enough to convince him to fight one way or another. Whether or not the Queen was acting in the interest of her country was little concern of his, but knowing that others like himself were out there fighting... that meant much more. That was something real.
His gaze slid across the table to Rob, who sat with a hand around his mug of ale. Their eyes met, and the glint of battle shining in Ollie's eyes shone back at him in his brother's. This time, a determined grin spread slowly across Rob's face as well. He lifted his mug and brought it toward theirs. "Aye, an' if you get slaughtered, I'll be right there beside you," he promised.
Rob looked down at Taxes. "And you, lassie? Will you fight?" He didn't expect the fawn to understand, but in her curiosity, she reared up onto her hind legs and balanced her little front hooves carefully on the edge of Rob's chair. She craned her neck to investigate the table.
"That might be a yes," Rob decided.
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Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2013 11:27 am
Ollie's words bolstered her and she let out a happy laugh, eyeing Rob as he slowly brought his mug to theirs. Even Taxes looked ready to toast with them. Heartened by the brothers' willingness to help her, she felt warm and fired up inside, ready to do battle even now, though there was nothing around them to fight. "We'll not be dyin' on my watch, Tillers. We will survive, and we will win."She downed her drink and stood, holding a hand out to each of them. The ale had finally done its work and she felt pleasantly buzzed, full of energy, and with a driving need to dance. These two men who were willing to fight at her side were the first step in creating her little army. She would even go so far as to say that they were the first recruits. "Let's dance ta the future, boys!"Even if her future didn't include Rob intimately at her side, as long as he stood there in some facet, she would cherish his presence. And then a thought occurred to her. "What should I call this lil' venture? We're makin' a clan! Clans need names!" She tapped her chin, other hand on her hip. It would need to be something simple, that the Sunderlanders could truly get behind. Nothin' of her own tongue, and nothin' that screamed 'We are rebels!' "How about....The Fellowship?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:47 pm
"If we are, we're a fellowship o' fools," Ollie answered with a laugh. He downed his drink with pleasure and set the mug down with a thunk. "But that's a'right with me." He had never gone out of his way to pretend he was anything but a fool. Indeed, it seemed something to take pride in. They were all fools after all, every one.
"Dance, you say?" Ollie added. "Yes, methinks a dance is in order." He swept back his chair and grabbed Soibhan's hand and turned toward the space in front of the stage that could be called a dance floor. A fiddler had taken the stage and was playing a lively tune, much to the delight of inebriated patrons, and a crowd was already beginning to form.
"Come along, Robbie!" Ollie turned back to yell as he wove his way between people. "And bring my little lassie with you."
The little fawn was all too happy to oblige. She darted out from under the table in hot pursuit of Rob, hardly minding the crush of people on either side. She picked her way carefully through the tangle of legs, and though she did not know how to dance, she made a good effort, bouncing about enthusiastically behind her tall "uncle."
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Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2013 8:02 pm
The Fellowship. It was....quaint. People enjoyed quaint. And such a name seemed less treasonous than other options. As Ollie led her to the dance floor, she couldn't help but think about how this might all end. Would they even make a difference? In the long run, would all of their efforts be for naught? Would they fail?
When Taxes began to dance with them, she couldn't think about failure anymore. The fawn was the cutest thing she had ever seen, and something so ethereal as a Guardian couldn't possibly fail.
"Fellowship o' fools has a nice ring to it, but somehow, I doona think it'll stick!"
With a laugh, she began to dance, letting Ollie lead first, but when he passed her off to Rob, she didn't hesitate. She danced with him as if she hadn't seen the pain in his eyes, nor he the pain in her own. Whatever duty he felt he had to Caroline, she would leave him to it, even if it meant she would lose him forever. The Cause was more important than their stubborn, idiotic lust...
Even if someday, that lust turned into a song...
Of love.
FIN
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