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Post by Trebias on Mar 4, 2008 23:45:00 GMT -5
Nothing really broke through one's calm facade like seeing for the first time your friend's arm, minus all flesh on his hands. His jaw dropped in concern and his eyes widened in surprise. El new that the hand functioned, because Whip wouldn't have been able to use his namesake without it. How was it working without the muscle, and why wasn't there anything covering the bone?
"What have the physicians said?" El asked when he had enough composure to speak. Rai had exposure to some of the best physicians and medical minds in the Realms, as well as mystics and other manner of experts. That wealth of knowledge should shed some light on the condition. The question was, had Rai taken advantage of that, or had he hidden the condition due to any of his many issues? Elias found himself suspecting that his friend had kept it as quiet as possible for any number of reasons, ranging from pride to secrecy in order to keep a strong face in Court.
He slowly began to lose the shocked expression on his face, but the concern there was evident. Later he'd realize that it was no new news to the man, as he was taking pains to hide it. For now, though, it felt like it should be as new to Rai as it was to El.
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Post by Tigeress on Mar 5, 2008 13:34:29 GMT -5
The doe looked uncomfortable when Shinrai nodded to her as if to tell her to put away her weapon. Despite her own personal concerns, he was her Queen, err, might be, and she swiftly slid it back beneath the hair which had been in a tight bun, but was now rather tousled and messy looking. She should have really at least made herself look decent, but her anticipation had gotten the best of her and she'd wanted to make her presence known as soon as possible. The way the powerful stallion's eyes flicked from Elias to her made her think that even now, he was still evaluating her.
She had to hide a small grin at the thought, at least he would keep her sharp and on her toes. When he made a move to bring his arm up, her eyes fixed on the limb he presented, and she couldn't keep her eyes from going wide. Embarassed that she had done so, she quickly slipped that careful mask of nothingness over her feminine features. Though she would have been happy to know Elias couldn't hide his surprise or concern, either, but she couldn't see his expression from his backside.
Gods, hopefully he didn't have some kind of skin eating disease? That seemed unlikely, as the stallion must eat well living in the palace and all, and he wouldn't have been exposed to anyone filthy enough to carry such diseases. So, what then? Hmmm, no, surely not. She'd heard of a store in the town where one could buy... magical things, cursed more often than not. The price was said to be steep, and that's not including the actual money involved, but they were always worth it. What then, could the handsome Queen have received in exchange for something so very necessary to him like his own flesh?
The doe couldn't help but be curious, as one just getting an interest in magic, it was all so fascinating to her. She'd done some interesting things for power, such as inhaling an unmarked bag of dust, though that had been mostly an accident...
She didn't have much to say over what the canine had already asked, so she patiently waited for the response.
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Post by Kiki on Mar 5, 2008 15:22:50 GMT -5
Sera and Tigs receive 2 tokens each, to be redeemed in Ashwin's Shoppe.
This will automatically be added to your recorded totals in the shoppe.
Congratulations, and keep up the good RP!
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Post by seraaches on Mar 6, 2008 1:18:03 GMT -5
Rai's attention was now on Elias so only so small part in the back of his mind noticed when she did as he bid, though a slightly larger piece noted her own shocked expression. Well, he sighed inwardly, at least he knew that it meant he was doing a good job of keeping it hidden. She was swift to rearrange her features to not give away further shock, and Rai dismissed it for now. Well, he had now managed to kill two birds with one stone.
"The doctor wasn't able to ascertain the full nature of the problem," the stallion answered honestly, knowing that the canine would pick up on the subtext. Rai had only sought out one doctor so far and had certainly been doing his best to keep the condition hidden. "It might be a very strong curse." That said, he dropped his arm so the sleeve could fall back down to cover the appendage.
He considered the story closed and turned suddenly towards Sekhmet. "Recap the events of your Quest." His tone, if a touch brusque, could easily be attributed to their shock about his arm.
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Post by Trebias on Mar 6, 2008 1:35:01 GMT -5
Elias caught the subtext indeed. Rai said "doctor," meaning he was being secretive. "Alright, you're trying to keep this quiet. Is it spreading on you? All your secrecy won't come to anything if you die from it." It might be hard for the outsider to discern the the fact that El cared and was worried about his friend. He finally got hold of himself, and said, "Never mind, we can talk about this later." Subtext: in private.
El hid the smirk that wanted to surface at Rai's command to the doe. He was interested in her version of the story. She'd proven painfully honest up to this point, and the canine was curious to see how she would fare at court. Would she cover it as well as El himself had once needed to? More than anything, he wanted the version of the traps that she gave Rai: he was a jerk, and liked to hear stories of people getting messed up, really.
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Post by Tigeress on Mar 6, 2008 13:18:49 GMT -5
The doe started a bit when he turned his attention to her. His mood had shifted suddenly, and she sighed inwardly knowing it was probably because she'd allowed herself to show surprise at the revelation of his issue. Strangely enough, the arm didn't bother her, at all, it was actually just the question of what happened, why, and had it stopped that made her seem so shocked and uncertain. Not that the stallion would even think that, she could tell from his actions that it was a touchy subject and he had probably come to expect everyone to be repulsed by it.
"The trip up to Elias' cabin was eventful and uneventful, a few wandering groups of marsh-goers had tried to cause trouble but were easily frightened off by myself and Lawrence. We came upon two sets of traps, the first because I let caution and concern for my companion cloud my judgement, and was lead straight into a harmless pit by Elias himself. The second was along the path that Elias had been leading us away from, the shorter route, and involved Lawrence getting snared into the brances of a high up tree which was covered in sharp blades. The last seemed like more of a scare tactic and a test for myself, a shower of knives fell upon just myself, as I had warned Lawrence to keep his distance, and I was just able to jump out of the way." She stopped to stare at the back of the canine's head, fighting the blush that threatened to creep up her face and loosing slightly. "But was met with a harsh bamboo slap to the face." She almost wanted to laugh, it sounded so strange and humorous.
"After that, we made it easily to Elias' cabin, where he presented us with food and lodgings. My initial message was not well received, and so I tried my best to make myself useful in an attempt to gain some time to rethink a better approach. The next day, my approach was much better received than the first, I had offered him the use of any of my contacts, and the opportunity to make his form as it was if he truly disliked it. After a brief talk, he made it clear there was nothing I could offer him that you could not, but he appreciated my attempt. Lawrence then pulled out a message from you, and this seemed to change his mind." Oh how she had not wanted to admit that, but she knew she couldn't leave that part out. That was probably the most key factor in how things would go, and she was still beating herself up over not having been able to come up with something Shinrai himself couldn't offer and better.
She had attempted to highlight some of her greater moments throughout the quest in hopes that her quick thinking would maybe even or slightly outweigh the fact that that unfortunately helpful letter had been used...
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Post by seraaches on Mar 6, 2008 21:39:09 GMT -5
Grey-green eyes touched his friend's and there was a moment of pause before Shinrai let his gaze slip past to the guards standing by the door. "Lawrence."
"Y-yes, y-you Ma-majesty?"
"Is that how things occurred?"
The raccoon's eyes went wide and a hint of outrage lit them as he huffily answered, "Y-yes, your M-Majesty!" He was not pleased that the stallion might doubt the woman's word; this had been an exceedingly difficult Quest and he just bet the Queen knew it.
Amusement danced in the horse's gaze for a brief moment, though he didn't let it touch any further across his face. "You are dismissed, Lawrence, Samid."
The Morganberry opened the door for the raccoon who, unsurprisingly, seemed unwilling to leave. But they couldn't refuse a direct order and soon the pair had slipped out and quiet returned to the room. "If he's not hiding out there to see if you make it," the stallion said softly. "I'll eat my hat." The words, though seemingly directed to Sekhmet, were more rhetorical than anything and he let his gaze return to the doe. It almost seemed as though he had forgotten Elias was even in the room.
He tilted his head at her, gaze searching as though he had seen her for the first time. "Do you think my Quest unfair, your Excellence?"
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Post by Tigeress on Mar 6, 2008 22:28:58 GMT -5
The sudden shift in mood set her totally off balance and made her feel a bit uncomfortable. His words were almost... dangerous, threatening, not by what he said, but just by how he said it. She felt like a mouse before a snake suddenly, and her blood ran a little hot when he asked Lawrence to confirm her recollection of the events. Well, she knew it would happen, which was only part of why she'd told the complete truth and left nothing out that could bite her in the ass as being counted for dishonesty by avoidance.
Yet still it seemed he was getting ready to punish her. Her pulse sped and she resisted the urge to swallow her suddenly dry throat. This was the moment she'd been half expecting. "Unfair, your majesty? Not in the least. Challenging, but not unfair. There are bound to be many moments in my life, I anticipate, where my power and my connections simply won't be enough, especially when compared to you and yours." She bowed her head, obviously still trying to wrap her head around whether or not she was Actually meant to succeed on her own, or if that in itself had been a lesson to her. If it was not, well she would then allow herself the full dissapointment of not having offered more, more than she had to give, somehow.
She had stepped out behind the canine, but was still painfully aware of his presence. It was embarassing, knowing the... nature of Elias, he was probably enjoying every moment of listening to her visibly squirm under the Queen's challenging words. She managed to keep her body a temple of calm perfection, but now and again a light danced behind her eyes that spoke of her unease. She'd not been this nervous since... well, ever.
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Post by Trebias on Mar 6, 2008 23:03:40 GMT -5
Elias did his very best to keep from laughing at the recollection of hitting his traps, especially the bamboo rod he'd rigged up. Sometimes he really was glad that Whip made him import things like that for their business.
There was that painful honesty. El found himself analyzing, and hoped that she wasn't that honest with enemies. Hopefully this was an honesty bred from loyalty, or fear. Either would work for Rai as a ruler.
She seemed to be putting up a pretty good performance. A little stiff, maybe. That could come off as fear, or it could come off as rigid posture, depending on what the viewer wanted to see, mostly. He couldn't see her face, which would be the real teller. Lying with one's face is a difficult skill, but valuable once learned.
Well, he wasn't here to help anyone, except maybe for Whip. He looked between the two, interested in what the outcome would be.
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Post by seraaches on Mar 6, 2008 23:11:54 GMT -5
The stallion listened quietly, giving a small nod in recognition of her words, though not necessarily agreement. She looked tired and dishevelled and he really couldn't be surprised. It wasn't often that he would simply send people out into the Marsh and certainly not to his home there. He still seemed oblivious to El's presence.
"You very well may be the only one who thinks that way," he murmured quietly. Subtext implied that perhaps even he himself thought it wasn't the most fair of Quests.
"You," he continued, seemingly unaware that he'd even spoken though the man seemed far too aware of exactly wot he let others hear. "Have applied for a very difficult role; not something I'm willing to just dole out to the first applicant." Eyes and tone were both serious. "My position is not yet precarious, but someday it might be. There are a finite number of positions here, and as they fill up to cover the needs of this Court, their roles will become jealously guarded. We shall need to be ever vigilant that as more are drawn to our Court, they aren't drawn to the positions we hold."
His eyes were still thoughtful and he gave a sudden wave of his hand. "Go see Samid," he said suddenly, tone dismissive. "He will show you to your new rooms. Meet me tomorrow morning."
Upon her golden chest, a lovely K now replaced her previous rank.
"El," the Queen continued, eyes returning to the canine for the first time. "I would speak with you further."
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