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 Posted: Sun Jan 12, 2014 3:54 pm
 The idea had been running through her mind for a very long time now. Ever since Tonestue had been adopted by Retinadeath, she had known that she would never be a soldier. She didn't like fighting. She didn't like conflict. She could stomach the scene of blood and carnage on a physical level, and could deal with it with patience and a calm demeanor, but she did not like causing harm herself. Not because she was squeamish, but because she would rather do good in life. She'd been brought up to be a nanny, and that was what she was, like it or not. That had left her as one of the lowest-ranking members of the herd: a dark courtier.
Life wasn't all bad as a member of the court. Mostly because she had on her side a powerful weapon: she was the adopted daughter of Death General Retinadeath. Those few who were not kin to her through the short-tempered lyra could expect trouble from Retinadeath should she be harmed. It was a powerful sword...but as much as Tonestue loved her inconstant mother, she didn't want to live her entire life under Retinadeath's wing. She wanted power of her own. That was the way of the Shadow Herd--not violence, not crime, but the thirst for power, and the ability to get what you wanted for the price you were willing to pay. Tonestue knew what she wanted: rank. Rank that would outlast family connections an secure her a place where she wasn't just an afterthought on everyone's mind. She didn't mind her reputation as a softy--she liked that people thought of her as a kind-hearted soul, it was just so useful--but if she was honest with herself, she wanted people to leave her alone not because she was the Death General's daughter, but because she was Tonestue, and you Do Not Mess With Tonestue.
That meant being a Chaos Duchess. And to be a Chaos Duchess, you went through the queen, not your mother. For someone whose whole life in the herd had revolved around one of the herd lieutenants, meeting, for the first time, the mare whom her mother had instilled loyalty to at a very young age was...intimidating. But Tonestue had to do this--she had to swallow her fear and move forward with her life. With that in mind, the pregnant arcturus stepped into the entrance of the queen's reception area. "Your majesty, may I speak with you?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:56 pm
 The day promised snow. While Queen Blodeuwedd of the infamous Shadow Herd was in favor of weather that could spread misery and mayhem on a generalized level, she was not personally fond of being out in unpleasant weather. Unless it made an impending gory battle dramatic and spectacular. Or at least memorable. This, being a quiet winter's day at home after the solstice, qualified as one on which Blodeuwedd just curled up in a little den she'd made for herself under the twisting, warped branches to keep the snow off herself, her new idiot mate, and any little ones she might have that winter still young enough to need her immediate and direct attention. Lacking pregnancy and the company of her egotistical idiot, the den just felt slightly oversized.
Most of the rest of the herd was preoccupied with the recent termination of Death General Retinadeath's latest pregnancy, mostly trying not to annoy the offspring or parents. The other parent in the equation, Fire Duke of Chaos Plamen von Hoelle, was being his usual mischievous self, but it was something of a fixture in life in the Shadow Herd, that as big an aggravation as Plamen could be, he took special care in aggravating his lover Retinadeath to the point where she'd beat him to a pulp and still mate with him. How exactly such a masochistic nutjob had maintained his position as the single greatest troublemaker who was loose in the herd, even Blodeuwedd didn't know, but it was worthy of respect.
The Queen picked up the steps of hooves crunching and plowing through the snows beyond the den. Lifting her skull-helmed head with its blank eyes that only looked blind, she perceived the approaching Arcturus mare. Well, well, well. If it wasn't Retinadeath's adopted daughter, Tonestue. Blod didn't personally know the mare at all, but she'd gathered that, even though the quiet mare had gone the route of a Dark Courtier, a bloodless path, the Arcturus still had the total respect and love of the highly insecure and mentally unstable Death General, and even acted as nanny to Retinadeath's offspring. She was pregnant with her own foals now, but Blod suspected that wouldn't impede the quiet Arcturus. "Greetings, Dark Courtier Tonestue? What would you speak of with me on this wintry day?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 25, 2014 11:47 am
Tonestue felt that the royal area lacked a certain...gravitas. It really needed to be bigger. A proper reception hall. Idly, she put that in the back of her mind as something to muse on. Insulting the decorating was a very bad way to start her career. She didn't dare do it. Instead, she bowed her head to show respect to her leader. When she dared to lift her head to look upon Queen Blodeuwedd, she did not look her in those milky, sighted eyes. Instead, she kept her gaze focused on the queen's bone mask. It wasn't that the queen's eyes were unsightly--quite the contrary, Tonestue considered them to be beautiful. In fact, everything about Blodeuwedd was beautiful--the golden mane, the cascade of maple leaves, the majestic magenta, those hooked stripes--but to look the queen in the eye when the two of them did not know each other, and had not yet built up a relationship as Retinadeath had, well, that could be seen as disrespectful. Respect was the image she wanted to convey here. Of course, it was a narrow knife's edge she walked here--"respect" was a thin line between "fear" and "fawning." Neither were her goal. First impressions are important, and she wanted to make a very favorable one indeed.
"Great Queen, I have been raised in the Shadow Herd since I was very young. Although my mother is your most loyal warrior, I favor instead the path of..." Here she hesitated. How to put it in a way that reflected her own views without sounding insulting towards her family? "...persuasion. As you know, I am a dark courtier, but I aspire to greater heights. How might I prove to you my loyalty and worthiness to hold the position of a Duchess of Chaos?" There. She'd said it. She'd put it out in the open, and now was the time to see how the queen reacted. She hoped Blodeuwedd wouldn't laugh. She hoped she wouldn't be insulting. She hoped she wouldn't get in trouble for this, though to be honest, she couldn't really see how she might get in trouble for it. Oh well. Time to see what would be done.
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Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 3:13 pm
Blod returned the gesture with a slight nod of her head. A personal favorite of Plamen and Retinadeath, her chiefest of loyal minions and herd members, deserved treating with care. Nevermind that Plamen only seemed to care for Retinadeath and not cheesing Blod off, and Retinadeath had few enough among her offspring, adopted or otherwise, whom she loved so much as she was supposed to care for Tonestue.
The neat, highly formal and polite bow; the intricate, reverent wording; the desire to please; these all spoke highly for Tonestue as a Duchess of Chaos. Sure, from what Blod had heard, Tonestue wasn't much one for chaos. But at some point, the Shadow had to keep the offspring alive and coming, and for that alone, Tonestue deserved some kind of recognition.
No laugh was forthcoming at the response, only a smile. "Given those who speak favorably of you and the impression you yourself give me, I am inclined to name you a Chaos Duchess, Dark Courtier Tonestue, the first female to hold the title, and second to hold the title at all. What would your domain be? And would you have any special services you might render?" she asked, knowing that Tonestue's chief value came from being a nanny extroardinaire and beloved daughter of Retinadeath.
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2014 5:13 pm
The arcturus's heart sang in overwhelming joy, but she didn't dare let such childish behavior show. It would not behoove the Chaos Duchess to act so silly. No. Dignity. Gravitas. Maturity. That was the image Tonestue sought to portray. She allowed herself to give the queen a grateful smile and another deeply respectful bow of the head. "My queen, I would be honored without measure to serve you and the Shadow as the Chaos Duchess of Earthquakes and as a healer." It was something she'd had plenty of practice with, between Cranium and Cataracta, and one she expected to have much more of. "To keep our herd's warriors strong and healthy to fight your battles would be my goal in my new capacity in your court. With your approval, I would be a support for our army and any diplomats that might travel to strange and distant lands."elfstar89 I technically haven't gotten the opportunity to RP her using her healing abilities xP I'll probably have to take care of that in several self-RPs this summer.
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Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 12:06 pm
Blod nodded formally. Earthquakes, eh? That was certainly different from Plamen's Fire, and each suited their personalities quite neatly. As a bonus, Blod was already quite impressed. She had never expected to meet so gracious and courtly a Dark Courtier in the Shadow, and for that alone, it was tempting to raise her. Blod had a sudden feeling that she was going to like having Tonestue around in the court.
And as a healer, too....
"Very well," she said. She hadn't heard that Tonestue had much practice healing, but Arcturai were naturals in the field. It was quite reasonable to expect that Tonestue could fix that in a hurry. And healers would be quite nice to keep the army and court in functioning order. "I dub thee, Lady Tonestue, Chaos Duchess of Earthquakes, Chief Healer of the Shadow." She touched her horn to Tonestue's forehead in formality, before giving a slight nod. "Now, I trust you have healing to practice in the training grounds?" she suggested politely. Time to let the newest Chaos Duchess tackle her office with gusto.Geyser Eelborn I think we can wrap this one up, too. owo
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Posted: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:55 am
Tonestue felt a warm glow within her with the touch of her queen's horn against her head. She'd done it. She had successfully negotiated her way to Chaos Duchess. And now...now, the real work began. "I thank you, Shadow Queen," she said. "I hope to serve thee and thy herd with loyalty faith." She bowed down low to the queen and turned away towards the practice grounds.
Now, the real work began.
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