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 Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:14 pm
__________________________________________________________________________________________  ~Marnie~
Marnie sent the tempest dragon on ahead to see if it could find Jonathan faster. She'd tried the kitched, where the servants were still for the most part dining on their own dinners.
After she was rushed, somewhat hastily, out of there, after being reassured that Jonathan had finished early and gone to serve Lady Dragana's parents in the main drawing room while they took after dinner drinks with their guests.
Unfortunately she'd failed to get the exact location of said room, and thus had taken to wandering from one to the other, - so long as it seemed adequately large. So far she'd found a library (definite return trip), a sitting room, some sort of den( - with far too many stuffed animal heads on the wall for her liking) and a somewhat out of place broom closet. Though she supposed with a house this big, there must be many a broom closet in unexpected places. She almost expected a team of maids to be stationed in different parts of the house, put into use when that particular wing was being used and settling in for the long haul when it wasn't.
She smiled slightly at her ridiculous thoughts while she opened another door. To be fair the fact that she'd stumbled onto Toki and an unknown girl settled in to wait only surprised her for a moment or two. Then she remembered her manners and said hello.
"Mister Toki! Hello again." She said stepping into the room. "I expect you're waiting for the Bear whisperer." She turned and held out a hand to the new comer, though she did wonder about what condition it would be returned in. "Hello, nice to meet you, I'm Marnie Drayce" This girl was surely from the Bear clan. No doubt. Though her being with Toki raised many a question. It was safe to assume the girl was next in line to be Astrayl's latest in the series of whisperer in training victims; but one really shoudn't assume.
Plus Marnie always liked rooting for an underdog, and it would be nice to have another female whisperer in training, even if all they were allowed to do in future was disagree over things.
The tempest dragon chose that moment to float on in behind Marnie to report with a flick of it's head that Jonathan would be going nowhere soon. It seemed rather put off with having been exposed to Dragana's parents, and Marnie made a mental note to ask about them later.
Still the dragon's antics were rather funny, it curled in a fast swirl as if to shake something off it's scales and went up to lay on the small chandelier for a rest and to look at the new people.
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Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2012 7:52 pm
 Ren looked the girl over, noting that she didn't really look too strong physically, but the fact that she shared the Drayce name meant she was the Dragon Whisperer's apprentice. And looks could be deceiving. She shrugged slightly and took the proffered hand, shaking it firmly but not tight enough to hurt the girl. "Ren Algernon," she said with a smile. The sight of a tempest dragon floating into the room made her grin widen. She loved seeing the other Whisperers' spirits because they were so varied. The young bear spirit that always accompanied Ren nudged her hip as if in agreement. "Nice to meetcha."
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:12 pm
  Cruel dark clouds loom just above the bow
and the torrential rains begin to fall Lightning and thunder hack up the sky with blazing blades
As dragons fight to win the night
Dɼagaɲa Єadgyσ Dɼaycє Dragana smiled sweetly at her new fiance. She was fairly certain he didn't know what he was getting into, and that was the way she wanted it. "It is far too late for you to return home, so I invite you to spend the night here. I will have servants prepare a room for you, but in the meantime, our betrothal should be announced to my parents. Please, come with me."With that, she turned and left the room, her mind formulating new plans. The wedding would have to be held soon, but not so soon that people would wonder if there had been an indiscretion of some sort that needed covering up. Dragana thought that her mother might enjoy being in charge of planning the affair, and it would keep the woman occupied during the winter. There was the sharing of information about each family's politics to determine as well, and she needed time to review everything she knew in great detail. It didn't take them long to find Dragana's parents, who were holding light conversation with their guests. She graciously introduced Astrayl as the Bear Whisperer and begged their indulgence while she stole her parents away for a short while. Her parents acquiesced, her father grudgingly, her mother curiously, and the guests said good night before heading off to bed. "Dragana, darling, what is so important that you must dismiss guests?" Her mother looked at Astrayl a bit fearfully, but otherwise remained the perfect picture of a well-bred woman. The resemblance between Dragana and her mother was extraordinary, the only differences being the lines of worry etched into the older woman's face. Her father only glowered at Astrayl, though his eyes held a hint of fear too. The Bear Whisperer had a reputation for violence, though Dragana thought most of the rumors were exaggerated, and his presence could be intimidating at times. Lord Drayce didn't say anything, merely waiting for Dragana to explain herself. Her parents had learned long ago that the Dragon Whisperer did not obey any law but her own, and that she was no longer an obedient, servile daughter. Dragana was the most powerful Drayce in the family, and everyone knew it. "Astrayl has asked for my hand in marriage and I have accepted."At first, both parents were silent. Then her father spoke. "Absolutely not. I will not have another Whisperer as a son-in-law ordering me about in addition to you."Her mother placed a hand on her father's arm, and said in a half-warning, half-pleading tone, "Darling, think of all the suitors Dragana has turned down. This could be good for our family, and she only grows older with each passing day."Before her father could say anything else, Dragana said coolly, "The decision of who I marry is ultimately mine, father. I have accepted Astrayl's proposal with the future of both our clans in mind. It is pointless to argue because in the end, I will win. So do stop being an idiot and accept what is."Her father scowled at Dragana, then abruptly rose and left the room rather rudely. Her mother flushed at this, and hurriedly said, "Lord Astrayl, please don't mind him. He simply doesn't want to let go of his little girl, that's all!" It was a complete lie. Dragana's father wanted nothing more than to be rid of the Whisperer who held the reins of control in the family. Mother hates being embarrassed like that. It'll make her angry with Father and put her on my side.Dragana let her mouth curve upward in a small smile, and said, "We can discuss things in more detail in the morning, mother. I would be most grateful if I could rely on you for advice on planning the wedding."As she'd predicted, her mother lit up at the mention of wedding planning and beamed. "Of course, darling. I was just thinking of retiring, myself."Jonathan was called in and given orders to have a room made up for Astrayl while her mother left the room. "Shall I have rooms made up for our other guests as well, Lady Dragana?"She frowned, not aware that there were more guests. Had they just arrived? "What other guests?"Jonathan blinked, a sign of surprise, though he was far too disciplined to let it show through his bland, neutral mask. "A Mister Toki and a Miss Ren Algernon, both from the Bear clan. Mister Toki said he was here on business as well as to deliver a message."Dragana's eyebrow twitched downward for a fraction of a moment before she indicated that rooms be prepared for them as well. Why hadn't the two Bear clan members simply arrived with Astrayl? "Let us go see your secretary, then, Astrayl, shall we?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 10:26 pm
When Dragana mentioned her parent's his body froze for a minute but relaxed as quickly. He was not used to meeting other, now he was meeting two new people that were going to be his parents-in-law. Hopefully they would be kind to Astrayl, or at least forgive him for asking Dragana to marry him before receiving their condolences.
With some reluctance, Astrayl followed his fiance to a large sitting. It was the perfect place to hold a meeting for business. Walls were large, shelves full of books, and some documents lying around. The meeting her parents were having were probably about the trade that is going to happen between the clans. So when Dragana excused the guest, more like shoved them out, he felt a little nervous and rude. He did not mean to interrupt their conversation.
None the less her parents followed her, the father was keeping a close eye on Astrayl. He didn't seem to like him to much, maybe it was just because of his violent reputation. In the past Astrayl was none to be extremely cruel to his enemies, but these where in his apprentice days. It wasn't long till Astrayl decided to stop trying to have such senseless violence. That was hard because as the Whisperer, a person gets irritated so much that they just have to let loose.
Her father kept a close eye on him and when Dragana mentioned the marriage, his eyes got even fiercer. Hopefully he would be smart enough not to try anything. Father-in-law or not, Astrayl would still defend himself.
When her father spoke of being ordered around it gave Astrayl some insight into the Dragon Clan. 'So I was right. The Dragon Whisperer even has power over the heads of the family who are considered royalty in these parts. Thats a lot of power for one person. It make me wonder how she handles it all.' Then his eyes turned back to her father. 'This man seems annoying though. My father was no saint either but once he hears of his sons marriage he should be ecstatic.
Dragana's mother seemed kind, but her smile also seemed fake. She was wearing a rather large mask that hid her consciousness. The type of woman that is interested in her social status and how she looks to others was Astrayl's least favorite type. 'Though, she was kind enough to apologize on behalf of Dragana's father. She may not be too bad, even if she is trying to hold onto all her make-up.' He nodded in response to the apology that the Dragan's mother gave him. "Its fine, I would be surprised too if a man of my reputation came to ask my daughter's hand in marriage. Then again I don't have any kids. "
Then the conversation after his apology flew over the top of his head. The wedding was to be orchestrated by Dragana's mother? For some reason Astrayl didn't find that comforting on his side. The high priest probably wanted to hold a traditional wedding of the bear clan. Well they will have to accept the wishes of his fiance, after all it was their idea.
After the woman left a butler, whose name was Jonathan, walked in. He looked like the type to remain extremely loyal to his master. That type of person is both useful and dangerous. When he mentioned Toki he sighed and bit but when he mentioned Ren, Astrayl only wondered. 'Maybe she came to ask about being my apprentice again. Well, the last one did die, and Ren does have good physique.' He looked at Dragana and smiled. "Let's"
He took Dragana's arm with his and walked to the waiting room. Their Toki was looking over his documents and Ren was meeting the dragon apprentice. "Well Toki it is good to see you, and you brought Ren. Why?" Toki looked at Astrayl then to Dragana, then back to Astrayl. "Well Astrayl, you usually leave me to decide your next apprentices so I decided that Ren is perfect. She has plenty of spiritual awareness and her body is in top condition among her generation." Astrayl looked at Ren with his own eyes. Toki was right, her body was built for martial arts and already she had a small spirit ally. Astrayl looked at Dragan. "Sorry for being rude but this is my cousin Ren, she is also my new apprentice." He smiled then looked at Ren. "Ren this is Dragana, the dragon whisperer and my fiance." Toki had a look of shock that made him almost drop his papers.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2012 11:31 pm
Looking Dragana over, Ren wasn't too surprised when Astrayl introduced the Dragon Whisperer as his fiancee. At least, she wasn't as surprised as Toki. "Don't drop your paperwork, Toki," Ren muttered. "I said I'd come along to clean up my cousin's mess, not yours." Of course, that last remark was in jest. "A pleasure to meet you, Mistress Dragana," she smiled, offering her hand for the woman to shake in greeting. She could be polite when the occasion called for it, and that was more often then Astrayl was. "I look forward to getting to know the woman my cousin has chosen as his fiancee."
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:31 am
Cruel dark clouds loom just above the bow
and the torrential rains begin to fall Lightning and thunder hack up the sky with blazing blades
As dragons fight to win the night
Dɼagaɲa Єadgyσ Dɼaycє ((Nice read on Dragana's mom, ichibi. That's exactly what she is.)) Dragana was startled when Astrayl took her arm in his, but did not pull away. That would have been un-fiance-like behavior, and poor manners besides. When they reached the waiting room, she took in the secretary, the strong young woman, and her apprentice with a single glance. A second glance revealed the tempest dragon curled up in the tiny chandelier. It winked at her cheekily from up there, and flicked its tail in amusement. She nodded as introductions were made and suppressed a smile when the secretary nearly dropped his papers in shock. When the newly appointed Bear apprentice held out her hand, Dragana took it and shook it firmly. "The pleasure is mine, Miss Algernon. Welcome to my home. Rooms are being prepared for you, and someone will be along shortly to show you to them. Mister Toki, I understand you needed to speak with Astrayl, so please make yourselves comfortable and I'll go see about having something brought to you. Would anyone like anything to eat?"As she spoke, she gave the little tempest dragon a look that it understood perfectly, and it slipped down from the chandelier in order to undulate over and come to a rest about Marnie's shoulders. Then Dragana gave Marnie a look that meant "Come with me without making me say something". Even if Astrayl was her new fiance, she still didn't want to leave such obvious spies in the room while the Bears discussed business. There were far more subtle ways to watch and eavesdrop if she wanted to. Dragons, after all, took pleasure in being cleverer and sneakier than everyone else.
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2012 2:29 pm
__________________________________________________________________________________________ ~Marnie~
Marnie got the message loud and clear and quickly spoke up. "Ah, cousin, allow me to help you. You can tell me all about your news. How did your parents take it?" At this part Marnie and Dragana had already been mostly out the door but her grin was hard to miss, as it had been waiting to burst out since Toki had dropped his papers.
Marnie had also decided she rather liked Ren so far. Hopefully she'd manage to keep up with Astrayl for awhile, though she had a sudden thought.
"Cousin...." ...she paused. "The new bear whisperer must ...overcome the other to gain control of the bear clan correct?" ..she only paused enough to take in a short breath before continuing. "Which means we've just met a person who would greatly wish to ...eliminate Astrayl. Or the person he will have to ...similarly ...get rid of." she went thoughtful, she didn't like either of those possibilities, though knew she had no say on clan politics.
"Couldn't either possibility be risky if it were determined while a dragon whisperer were involved with the bear clan?" Marnie looked over to her cousin and quickly decided she was thinking waaaaay to far ahead.
"Ah, nevermind it's not really my business." she rubbed the side of her neck in and awkward acknowledgement of a total lack of timing. Today was supposed to be happy after all.
"So...." she brought her hand back down and a smaller more controlled version of the grin came back "How did your parents take it?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 8:25 pm
Astrayl smiled at his fiance as she walked out of the room with her apprentice following close behind. 'Smart, I think this marriage won't be so bad. She doens't seem like someone to try and be controlling unless it would be important.' He looked back to the other two in the room and had a smirk on his face. "Good to see you again Ren. Been a bit." He then looked at Toki.
Toki gathered himself again then laid out his papers on the table. "Sir we have reports of more bandits near the west side of the clan. We think that they are the ones who have been stealing our resources." Astrayl thought this over in his mind. 'If this report was right then this issue could be solved simply. But nothing is ever this simple.' He looked back at Toki. "How do the elders want to handle it?" Toki looked through his papers and pulled out a small scroll. "They wish to leave them alone, they think that the loss of resources is due to the abundance of soldiers we have produced lately." Astrayl smirked again. 'What fools, I can see through their lies even on paper. Those bandits were probably placed there by them. I am willing to bet this is the minister of finances idea. He has always been the one who hated me the most. He is probably trying to make me lose favor with the rest of the clan.' This wasn't a very big issue for Astrayl, the elders have tried to do this countless times. Assassins, poison, sometimes even armies. It didn't matter much to Astrayl, he just wanted to have fun in the end. "Toki, tell the elders that I can take care of it." He looked back at Ren. "Well Ren it looks like your my apprentice now. I hope you survive." He started to walk towards the doors that led outside of the waiting room. "For now you will start your training with a simple lifting exercise. Tomorrow morning I want you to carry a boulder the size of yourself to the front doors." He looked out a window to a small bed of rocks a couple miles away. "You should find one over their."
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Posted: Sun Jan 29, 2012 9:55 pm
Ren smirked in response to Astrayl's comment about how long it'd been since they'd last seen each other. "Sure has. Despite the fact I live in the same building as you." She listened to the report Toki gave and stored all the information away in her brain for the future. She rolled her eyes at Astrayl's command for the start of her training under him. "As you wish, cuz," she smirked. Her spirit companion nudged her hip, giving a sort of smile. "Yeah, Nita, I know. He's underestimating us, big time."((Hey, would anyone mind making a second character to interact with my Whisperer character? I don't want to just leave her hanging...))
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Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2012 7:39 pm
(Marnie reduced to chopped liver status!!?? XD What about this mysterious Jonathan?? __________________________________________________________________________________________ ~Marnie~
Marnie decided to shut up, as Dragana seemed inclined to be silent. She sent the tempest dragon a look which it ignored seemingly content on lounging on her shoulders as she walked. It's presence may have had no physical form but it still managed to cool her shoulders and give her a sense of security.
"Where did all your friends go anyway?" she asked - quietly. Another question ignored by her serpentine friend. Though Marnie got the sense it had figured out her manipulating bit from before and refused to answer her on priciple because his friends were still out spying.
The thought cheered her up again and she heppily followed her cousin along the seemingly never ending passageway. Which reminded her
"Ah! I never did find Jonathan..."
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Irako of the Desert Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:37 pm
Cruel dark clouds loom just above the bow
and the torrential rains begin to fall Lightning and thunder hack up the sky with blazing blades
As dragons fight to win the night
Dɼagaɲa Єadgyσ Dɼaycє ((I think she meant the Wolf Whisperer. SKBC, it's ok to do expository posts that reveal aspects of character. ichibi, Zetao, and I all do it. Roleplaying doesn't have to be just one character reacting to another character. When everybody does that, the roleplay dies fairly quickly. By the way, Jonathan is an immortal flying spaghetti monster. Who does windows. And works as a barista at Starbucks on weekends. With ninjas. >=D)) Dragana answered Marnie's second question first. "At this point, I believe Mother is just glad that a man is still willing to take me to wife. Father is less than pleased with the idea, but he's too intelligent to actually challenge two Whisperers." Her voice was amused as she walked towards the kitchens, but soon, silence reigned again. Dragana was thinking about Marnie's first question, trying to run through the possible implications. The girl had a point, and she was impressed by Marnie's insight. She would make an excellent Whisperer eventually. Finally, she responded with a question. "Let me ask you this. Why do you not simply incapacitate me and take my position as Dragon Whisperer?"While the observation had been impressive, Marnie still lacked the experience to follow the idea all the way through. Dragana wanted her to think hard and realize why it would not be a problem for a while. The newly-appointed Bear apprentice had to be strong, both physically and mentally. Algernons differed from Drayces by having many children born with the talent to look into the Spirit world. The Drayce clan had it easy when it came to selecting an apprentice. The dragon spirits would flock to one person in the land and eventually, the current Whisperer would be asked to look in on a crazy relative and determine what was wrong. It was how she'd been discovered by her disgusting uncle, and it was how she'd found Marnie. Bear apprentices, though, had to prove themselves to be the strongest before becoming Whisperer, and that meant defeating the current Whisperer, who was naturally held the title of strongest Algernon anyway.
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:01 pm
((I know, Irako, but I'd rather interact with another. Especially since, believe me, it gets boring having a character going around her perfect estate and only interacting with her servants.))
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 3:49 pm
(Woah,...Jonathan does windows?? ) __________________________________________________________________________________________ ~Marnie~
It took Marnie a split second for her to understand Dragana's point, and even then she felt she should answer the question.
"Ah well.." she said starting off slowly and turning a bit pink at having not thought it through all the way.
"For one thing, I'm a very nice person. Or I like to think I am." she amended not wanting to sound vain.
"And there's a multitude of other reasons really."
She stopped to think of just a few. "For one I'm still only 17 - even if I were capable of over taking you right now, my childhood -so to speak- would be over." She shook her head, as if to perish the thought.
" Then there's the fact that although I am smart, I don't know everything and am very inexperienced in Whisperer dealings, which I guess is the whole reason for an apprenticeship anyway. It's a lot of responsibility." She paused to take a breath.."Then, of course, there's always the Dragons. They don't all know me, and if they were forced to pick sides the great majority would choose you. Which would mean my automatic loss anyways." she shrugged and the tempest dragon on her shoulder gave her a pat on the back with it's tail.
She also thought the general population would follow the way of the dragons and choose her more experienced cousin as well. Not to mention she so was not ready to be the target of the next round of whisperer suitors. Now that thought was shudder worthy.
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:38 pm
Astrayl's face cringed as he smiled. His face had a look of pure enjoyment on his face for Ren seemed to be taking him lightly as well, he already knew that this was going to be fun. "Ren, don't forget that when you bring the boulder, run around the Drayce estate a couple times. Get your heart pumping a bit. After that, I want you to find a level spot and do a one armed hand stand on the boulder, there you will meditate and try to connect with the spirits around you. Call upon more then that one bear cub. That will be your morning exercise while we are here." This girl seemed able, and that workout was light.
Astrayl then decided to walk in the same direction as his fiance. He looked back one ore time at Ren. "Get some rest, you are my apprentice now. Once morning is over, we get to the hard stuff. I have a bunch of things to teach you. Also, everyday you will spar against me. I hope you are prepared for what you signed up for." After that he left the room.
Astrayl found the Drayce whisperer and apprentice in front of what looked like the kitchen. This house was a maze to Astrayl. He preferred a more eastern household, tatami mats, paper doors, kimonos. Then again he proposed to Dragana so he was going to have to get used to this different interior.
When Astrayl found the two Drayce family members they seemed to be having a discussion so he slowed his pace down. He had hopes that they would finish their conversation before he made it there.
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 8:48 pm
Ren listened as Astrayl listed off some more exercises for her to do and shrugged. She was definitely able to do what he'd asked, and she'd do it right then and there if he hadn't told her to get some rest. "So, could I get some help finding the room I was told they set up for me?" she said to no one in particular once Astrayl left.
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