Welcome to Gaia! ::

The preparations were made as the day had broken. Several days prior, a messenger hawk had landed at her bedroom window, message in tow, describing the arrivals of a certain Lord Yizhaq bin Saleh and his accompanying apprentice, Chauhn, with a Plague in tow.

Fireplaces were lit, candle centerpieces had their flames flicker gently, and all of the doors and windows were closed with the purple and gold embroidered curtains drawn to keep in all of the warmth and none of the light. Two figures rested within the shadows, one sitting at the far end of a lengthy wooden table surrounded by chairs while the other stood at their side, hands behind their back. A candelabra dangled above the center of the table, still as could be.

This very same room was used some months ago to initiate another Augur, as would be happening here again today, but perhaps this time there would also be a Mage who could become a Seer. Perhaps her own Apprentice Augur would one day make it to that rank, but political business had been staving off any improvement in that regard.

A knock came from the door furthest from her, and the Lady Estratus lifted her head to utter a calm "Enter," as she straightened herself up to be more professional. Her attire was the same "business" as always; a white buttoned overshirt, black pinstripe vest, pinstripe black pants and polished black boots with chaps. The silvery chain laying across her pale forehead was as present as ever, the onyx stone dangling in front of her thin Aperture.

Taking a moment to push black bangs away from her orange eyes -- the only true color on the woman -- Lady Estratus waved a hand of greeting and beckoning towards the young Lord and his apprentice, taking note of the wonderfully dark bird perched atop his shoulder.

"Sit," she instructed, not rising to greet them.

Beside her, her companion shifted, eying the both of them. He held an intimidating air as Lord Yizhaq entered, swirled eyes watching the grim bird perched so delicately on his shoulder. Decayed... the thought pushed through his mind a moment, but before he could dwell on it much longer, he was greeted and offered a bow of his head to the man. As his companion entered, however, the fresher scent of decay and the only faintly familiar one of ash greeted him.

"We will be expecting visitors in the next few days; a young Lord and his apprentice. A Grimm." This was all she had told him of the matter, not the identity of the Lord, nor his own status as a Grimm, but certainly nothing about the apprentice. The blond hair came into view, the recognizable silhouette. He had changed, been cleaned up, but Sloane's eyes and gut knew all to well.

He could not speak, could not greet the boy, not when attempting to be professional and his Lady had already reprimanded him previously of not bringing the boy back to the North Base with him to become an Augur outright. Still, he bowed his head lower to his dear Chauhn, a thin, long smile curling its way across his face, though he took care to show no teeth.

Not yet.

"I heard only the briefest explanation as to this visit, Lord Saleh, to what do I owe the pleasure?" her words were spoken clearly, concisely, and utterly devoid of feeling. More deadpan than a cadaver, really. This was likely why she held such command; no emotions to get in the way of decisions needing to be made by an unbiased source.

Al felt her mouth twitch slightly in the beginnings of a smile, briefly reassuring Chauhn with a gesture before turning her attention to its proper place; Lady Estratus. The boy had been an excellent addition to her staff, he was loyal, bright, and kind-hearted. He seemed keen on learning and she appreciated his natural intelligence, despite his lack of any sort of formal education.

They had met by chance, and she, not being one to ignore the sight of a dirty, malnourished youth, had fed and clothed him. She'd needed a confidant, and his skittish, quiet behavior benefited her, telling him of the Fellowship and her travels. It was then that he had brightened, confided in return, and she had found herself in the company of a Grimm. Shortly thereafter, Hayat had hatched, proving herself to be an extraordinary being herself.

She had heard a great deal of Sir Sloane, from her father and from Chauhn, and knew him to be a protector, despite his fierce appearance. Perhaps it was for that reason that she remained intimidated.

Hayat, of course, turned her blazing gaze to him, tilting her head briefly in interest. She was odd, yet dear to Al. The culmination of her efforts. Shifting, the bird clenched and relaxed her talons, waiting.

"I act on behalf of the Fellowship and your wishes, Lady Estratus, as well as my own interest, as we have met but once before. It is known that we seek the plagues and their Grimms for more humane reasons than others, and to that affect, I have taken young Chauhn into my care. He wishes the protection of the Fellowship." A pause, and Al briefly glanced at the falcon on her shoulder. "And I, as well, have become a Grimm."

With the quiet reassurance from his Lord, Chauhn quieted and settled into the seat, reminding himself every couple of moments to keep his spine and shoulders straight from the slump he was so inclined to doing. Proper posture was a sore endeavor on Chauhn's part, who was used to the most uncomfortable and unkind positions that a little body like his could get away slumping into. He knew that such posture would earn a frown from Al, so, quite obviously, he forced his shoulders and spine straight whenever he found himself slouching into a comfortable curl.

He didn't quite know what to think of the silence in the room, the overwhelming heaviness of it all. The quiet of the room was heavy with a kind of severity, a kind of seriousness that weighed heavily on his head and he longed to slink out of the room into more comfortable and welcoming hallways. In actuality, Chauhn longed more to rush over to Sloane and detail to him his adventures, thank him for rescuing him and exposing to him the trials of his time at the Council. He very well caught the movements on Sloane's face, and he could tell that he was just as anxious as he to move and speak and greet with merry salutations.

As the stern conversation passed back and forth between his Lord Saleh and the stone-cold Lady, Chauhn kept himself quiet and in his seat, his hands folded politely in his lap. Every so often, he would have to shush and silence his curious Plague.

"Whossat?" Clurie asked, leaning out from Chauhn's collar to point beyond Lady Sage towards her Plague, "He smells like me, but not like me."

Chauhn, nervous about being reprimanded, cupped his hands around his collar, putting his Plague into a makeshift den, "Clurie, ah sai' 'hush'," he whispered, "We 'ave t'be quiet. We can talk afterwards. But shh! Please, fer me, Clurie."

"I want to know, though," pressed Clurie as he wiggled against his brother's hands. He gave a cough, expelling a small cloud of ash that layered the inside of Chauhn's hands. He was released as Chauhn removed his hands to wipe them on a hankerchief Al had given him just for that occasion, and it was at that moment that Clurie scrambled onto his shoulder. He could see better from there and it was from that vantage point that he gave a big curious smile at the sword Plague. "What's your name?" he asked pointedly at Sloane. But before he could say much more than that, Clurie found him scooped up from Chauhn's shoulder by a pair of hands and stuffed back into the page's collar.

"Clurie! Ah won't tell ye t'hush again, Alrigh'? Chauhn said hurriedly in as quiet of a whisper as he could manage. This time he didn't search for reassurance from Al or from Lady Estratus. He simply bowed his head and kept quiet, his hands over his chest keeping Clurie in place.

After the first outburst from the good Lord's assistant's Plague, Lady Estratus did not cast him another glance. Her finger tapped lightly a few times on the wooden table as the boy and his "brother" bickered mutely though her eyes were on Yizhaq's all the while.

Sloane's were not.

Nodding after the confirmation of their living quarters, she retrieved a small quill and dipped it within the ink well, scribbling a few notes on the parchment. The document was not official and she would be giving it to Jin-Ho later for proper writing and so that he made several copies. That taken care of, her attention returned to Lord Yizhaq and his Plague. Amidst the black, her markings appeared like starlight and the corner of her eyebrow piqued almost curiously. "Hayat," she repeated softly as she came to a stand. Arms tucked behind her, she stepped forward and examined the bird. Well trained indeed.

"Was she born as such?" with so little interaction concerning animate Plagues, it was no wonder information on them within the Fellowship was limited. At this moment, she would be drinking in as much knowledge as possible and that would be where this falcon, this Hayat, would truly come in handy. Further down, Sage's curiosity was piqued and she wondered what sort of Plague this bird would become. Hopefully one of the Mages would succeed where she had failed with Sloane. Hopefully one of them would raise a Plague with the ability to negate the Death.

Her gaze faltered as Lord Yizhaq addressed the boy, following towards them. It was no particular problem for them to interject, but it was irritating; business before pleasure, and if the Lord's assistant couldn't keep his Plague quiet, some Grimm he would turn out to be.

At the same time, Sloane felt a shower of relief wash over him as the boy's caretaker allowed the noise. His body relaxed, armor clinking slightly in the process, and with a single look to his Lady he stepped towards Chauhn and Clurie. She was not happy with this, but if Sloane could keep the two at ease and quiet so as not to interrupt the two other Grimm's, so much the better. Kneeling down, he rested a hand on the table and smiled up at Chauhn, then to Clurie. "Hello, Clurie, I am Sloane," he inclined his head into a bow, "It brings me great joy to see your brother again, and in better health." Carefully, he reached a hand up and ruffled Chauhn's hat, making a mess of his hair.

Raising her hand tentatively, Lady Estratus tested the same tactic that Lord Yizhaq had used with the bird; a small clicking sound from her mouth and she nodded to Hayat. A test, but with many right and wrong answers. She was not worried if Hayat did not respond and land on her arm; that either meant she was far too loyal to her Lord to go to anyone else and was exceedingly well trained because of it or she was lacking in mental faculties and the same was for if she did respond. Either way, the bird had an odd, wise look about her, as though she knew and understood far more than she was letting on. "A very handsome bird, Yizhaq. My congratulations on such a fine Plague." Perhaps she would be regaled with the more intricate details of Hayat's existence, deathly interested as she was.

[[Posting for Indu while she's at the airport 8D]]

To say that Clurie was excited to have his playful observation twisted and thrown back at him to reflect his own qualities was a vast understatement. His cheeks glowed white hot for a few moments while he clenched his little fists with joy. If he had eyes, he would've had a hard time keeping them in his own head, they would've been so big and swollen with admiration. He had only seen a full grown Plague once before, and that was Adal. Although the experience had been brief on his part, for he was barely conscious for the encounter, he had developed the supposition that the older Plagues were legends to be told by firesides. Meeting one, even clinging to his slippery arm now, had little Clurie's heart in a tizzy.

"Real tales, sir?" cried the Phasmas in unrestrained glee, "REAL tales and stories and legends and stories! Just the three of us, oh, I am merry!"

Chauhn happened to be in rather the same frame of mind. When he felt the embrace returned, he also felt, for a brief moment, a kind of faraway fuzziness that he hadn't felt in his gut since his older brother had long since passed away and gone, even before that, to when he actually stooped down and picked him up, carried him about on his hip while planning the evening's meal. That moment that Sloane returned the squeeze of arms, Chauhn was transported quite firmly into that memory, even if for a moment. He could even hear infant Clurie wailing in the back ground in the midst of his sister's lullabies. But as soon as the moment snapped into place, it was gone. He leaned back away and smiled at him, his face aglow with a wide urchin's smile.

"Ah just know we'll be safe 'ere," Chauhn agreed, his grip tightning gently on Sloane's arm. It was in the middle of this agreement, which Clurie babbling away, that Lady Estratus, tossed a brief statement to Sloane. It was short, curt at best, but the effect that it had on Sloane was contagious. Also grinning as widely as the sword Plague, Chauhn lifted up out of his seat, leaving Clurie to cling on Sloane's arm.

Stepping within the Lady's view, Chauhn folded his hands before him and let them arc down as he gave a deep bow to Sage. He hung like that for a moment before he braved to speak his gratitude, "Ahm ever grateful, Lady Estratus, for lettin' m'brother Clurie 'n' ah stay here as a part of the Fellowship. We'll work 'ard! We'll work as 'ard as any other, ah promise you that, and that's an honest promise, mum! An honest promise, that, from Clurie 'n' ah both."

Already, that felt like too much to say. With a glance towards Lord Yizhaq, as if seeking approval, Chauhn straightened up on his spine and slunk back to Sloane. As soon as he made it back to the Plague's side, he couldn't help but let the infectious smile reign again. He was most excited for a day with Sloane, because, up until that point, Chauhn had yet to feel a relationship with someone where he had a feeling of equal ground. Not in the sense of status, or even in the sense of age, but in the sense of...Well, plainly put, friendship.

It was a beginning of an age of peace for the Clemmings brothers.