[META PRP] The Call of a Crow [ Al / Bhakti ] - FIN

[Indubitably]

What: An interrupted meal and meeting.

Where: Lord Yizhaq's Shyregoad Estate; Within the Outdoor Gardens.

When: March 15th, early evening.

Whom: Lord Yizhaq, his wife, Lady Bhakti, and Servos, Hayat  

[Indubitably]

Things were not going well, not in Shyregoad, not in the rest of Panymium. It was tense, at the estate, with preparations already beginning. The night prior, young Lord Yizhaq had spoken to the people and reaffirmed an alliance with them, even now, they still entered the walls of the fortress, lending a hand in the fortifications and transformation of the Estate.

Now, the nobleman, brow furrowed as he sipped his tea, looked over documents and plans with his wife. She was the domestic head of his household and would be working closely with the Head Steward to maintain order and organize provisions. Soon, his study would become a head of operations for these meetings, but for now, the pair took lunch in the front courtyard, overlooking a delivery being made to the great hall.

It was then that Hayat, hidden well within his collar, touched his neck, causing him to raise his gaze. It was met by the dead eyes of a digusting creature - a crow. Not a true predator amongst birds, and not one of song, Al felt his lip curl in distaste. It had a strong taint, one that was familiar, and a message in it's claws.

Standing, he touched Bhakti's shoulder to bid her to stay, and collected the note. Opening it, it began to glow at his touch -

"Grimm," a rough whisper, one that almost made him drop the note in defense. Instead, his fingers tightened.

"Yizhaq bin Saleh,
Why, such a young noble, and such rumors are flying around about him! How unbecoming, wouldn't you say? But it is no surprise, what with the falling of the Fellowship. There was such a grand time with the faction, wouldn't you say, during your father's time? I'm afraid it's the golden ages of the Mages no longer, and you've done nothing to save it from its sordid fate.

Too bad your loyalties lie in such a wrong place, Yizhaq, I would have liked to have you use your powers in such a greater light. Or will you prove yourself to the House and give your faith to a much greater power, to Obscuvos?"

As the note faded away, he smiled without pleasure, catching an image of a man, penning note after note, in a candlelit room. It was a challenge.

After a moment, he let his gaze shift to his wife.  

[Kaelyndra]

Bhakti had always been a very particular woman who was certain about a good number of facts. One of these would be that letters should not glow, and they certainly should not speak.

This letter, however, was, as sure as the small creature that crawled its way out from Al's clothing. Bhakti's eyes graced it for a moment before returning to the eerie beckon of illuminated letter. Really, why bother with writing at all, if it was meant to be spoken.

"What rumours?" Bhakti asked at first, looking her husband over with a skeptical eye. The rest was neither fact nor opinion, but speculation, and like all speculation, could be disregarded. Opinions left such a sour taste in her mouth.  

[Indubitably]

A shrug of muscular shoulders from the handsome man, and he rejoined his wife at the table, carefully removing the gloves that he'd been wearing to drop them onto the stone beneath their feet. One foot was placed on the pair, as if they might crawl away, and he took up his tea cup once more.

"I'm sure it was meant to send a chill up my spine, however, I'm unsure of the specifics." In fact, he was mostly irritated and bewildered. Of course, the letter could simply have referenced the propaganda about the mages and nobles, as a whole.

The important thing to note was that he could be found, quite easily. Sure, his estate was nothing kept secret, but the letter had found him directly. This was cause for concern, and yet, freeing. If one was simply a target, by existing, then why not step up?

"I will send out a call to those still loyal to the Fellowship. It would do well for the people to see those of my order doing good, here and now." A slight frown touched his mouth. "I'll leave the division of the wings to you, wife, but do keep the factions separate."

There would need to be established quarters for the business of the guard, the fellowship, the commoners, and those belonging to their House.  

[Kaelyndra]

It had certainly unsettled Bhakti, though not perhaps in the manner it had sought to. Her own feet shifted back, away from Al's, and the gloves that had been captured beneath his feet, the small black ribbons poking out here and there.

"Is it wise, to have so many people in one place?" Bhakti did not like the idea of people, many of them, so close to her husband. Those that she did not know, that had not grown up with loyalty to an estate or a knowledge of rules had a tendency to grow discontent with position. And as the letter so handsomely pointed out, power was a strong motivator for males.

Not surprising, then, that Yizhaq had never been terribly motivated by a quest for it.

The woman's lips pursed to a thin line for a moment, before she, too, had retrieved a cup of tea. The warmth would ease her senses. "I'll make a note of it," was her answer. Once this began, there would be no peace or quiet in the entirety of the estate.

No doubt many would bring their own servants and want to invoke their own rules on others. There would be mouths more mouths to feed, and then came the issue that they could not all possibly eat at once. That would need to be divided as well.

"We'll need to act quickly." A pause. This would be expensive. "After lunch?" If her husband thought she would let him not eat, he was wrong.  

[Indubitably]

"We will be cautious." He addressed her unspoken concern with equally ambiguous words. It was interesting, her worry for his secrets, and the way it echoed his falcon's concerns that one of those who would be welcomed within the walls would attempt to kill him. The servos' thoughts had been darkened in the aftershocks of Chauhn's attempt on Clurie's life.

The guard was numerous, and would be with all members of their household at all times. Of course, Yizhaq was not without his own protections.

Rank would be easily settled amongst members of the Fellowship, as not many of Yizhaq's rank were left. Unless Lady Estratus arrived, his words would count as orders. Among the social classes, he was still Lord of this Estate, and those on his grounds would answer to him. In times of war, and this was becoming a war, diplomacy had a role to play, but it was a small one.

He considered the missives he would need to send out, even as he obediantly began to eat his food. They would indeed act quickly. Tonight.