Aspirations of Bander Care [Finished]

[seraaches]

Even after Paisley began on his food, the stallion was still watching the pair of males wandering about the room. Their fierceness even towards each other amused the man greatly and only the feline’s long and rather involved questions pulled the horse’s attention from the pair long enough for him to re-notice the food. It did smell delicious, and he’d had quite the walk to get here. He thought over the questions, taking a moment to begin eating himself.

”I have two other places of residence,” the stallion admitted. ”He would only come to my other rooms in the Capital in the case of an emergency, but there is a possibility of him accompanying me out to the Marsh. When I go home, it tends to be for extended lengths of time and I doubt I would rest easily that far and long from him.” He’d already be minimizing his business in the City to day trips so he wouldn’t have to leave the young Bander alone for very long. ”As for the Queen… he seems well enough pleased with my performance that he allowed me this trip as well as his recommendation.” He paused, rolling his fork briefly in his fingers as he debated about wot else to tell the man. His ambition was hardly a secret, but the stallion naturally tried to keep his plans close to his chest. ”I don’t plan to remain over long beneath our Queen’s… kind thumb,” Rai finally said. ”I will become a Queen in my own right and thus have a bit more independence than I’m currently granted.”

[The Jenn]

At the concluding words, Paisley leaned back in his chair and smirked like a fiend. His hands folded in his lap, legs crossed, and his long, lean tail curled back and forth against the carpet, making a soft swishing noise that only failed to attract the banders' notice because they'd been disciplined for going after it before. He looked rather like a cat that had just been granted a tasty treat.

"So you aspire for Queenhood, then... and in the Court, no less! A titled Queen. My, but I do get some interesting characters calling at my humble home from time to time." He leaned forward a bit, slitted feline eyes narrowing in interest. "I am not far from my own title, you see, and so the subject interests me greatly. I acquired my Kinghood not long before His Majesty came to power, in fact. Our initial meeting did not, perhaps, occur on the best of terms. We were both young and quite stupid. I'm not sure much has changed."

Smirking and shaking his head, the King opted for another sip of tea before he continued. "A home in the Capital does not sound amiss, especially if you have a life outside of the Court nonsense. The Marsh... as I assume you refer to Josiggy and not that odious swamp that some people actually refer to as habitable, that is also acceptable. Very well. Do you have any plans regarding your future bander in terms of fighting, racing, breeding, showing... anything besides pet ownership?"

[seraaches]

The stallion’s ears flicked forward, zeroing in on the feline as he filed away this information as well. He would argue about how interesting he himself might be, but it was certainly interesting to know that Paisley was ranking up. It would never occur to the stallion to –not- rank up, though his business partner had no interest in such ambition. Of course, as far as Rai could tell, Elias was a different kind of beast in virtually all manners of reference.

”Congratulations on your eventual ranking,” the stallion offered lightly, hiding his thoughts behind the praise. He would not endeavour to guess at how much either Serafino or Paisley may or may not have changed. Especially not the fearsome Queen of Hearts.

Outside of the Court nonsense, Shinrai had a lot of other nonsense, which was part of his reluctance to bring the beautiful creature out into it. With his vague memory of crazed banders and ‘alcohol poisoning’, he didn’t want to chance letting Mnem or Minh near the creature. He brought his errant thoughts back into line. ”Showing or racing might be fun and both of these seem naturals at fights.” He couldn’t stop an amused smirk at the pair. ”And, of course, breeding is a near definite. Sultana is a beautiful female…”

[The Jenn]

"Ahh, Sultana," Paisley agreed with a sigh, face showing a moment's wistfulness before returning to its previous aplomb. His tail lashed harder before calming. "She is truly an exceptional femme. I very much regret letting her out of my breeding program, especially to that... exceptionally talented man." He nearly chewed on the words, spitting them out with a sneer. "I would have kept her to myself, except that was his third visit in search of the 'right' bander and he caught sight of her in the litter before I could separate her safely from her mother. Trust him to pick her, the bast- ah, the... perceptive reptile."

His fur seemed a bit out of place and he discreetly smoothed the back of his neck where his hackles had risen. The memory was obviously not a pleasing one. "But yes. If you have your eye on one of her children, either of these boys would be quite suitable. They're from a separate line, so inbreeding would be minimal, and the colors would mesh beautifully. All of the banders I breed, of course, are of exceptional ability. That doesn't even bear mentioning."

One of the young males, the blue, managed to climb his way up the curtains while they spoke and clung to the rail at the top. When he realized he couldn't get down easily, he started a sneezing fit that had his brother staring up at him intently. The feline took note and made a face, standing to retrieve the wayward creature and bring him back to the table, setting him on his lap despite coughed protests. "Out of pure curiosity, which of them did you have your eye on?"

[seraaches]

Shinrai could well appreciate Paisley’s displeasure at losing the beautiful female; Rai’s own interest had been set aflame at the mere sight of the red bander. To have owned her and then lost her likely would have been more than he could bear. Fortunately, however, he did not have to deal with such emotional turmoil. Their careful sidesteps around outright insulting the Queen of Hearts amused Rai greatly, though he had no inclination towards being more blatant or more forgiving for the eccentric ruler of the Court of Hearts.

It was a relief to know that a breeding with Sultana upon the male’s maturity was possible especially since Queen Serafino’s agreement had been partially based upon that very eventuality. He gave a small, thoughtful nod to Paisley’s words.

The stallion’s ears tilted towards the kit stuck up the curtains, amused by the adventurous spirit the young creature had. At the question, however, his eyes swept back to the blue bander before up to Paisley’s face. ”My attention has been captured by that handsome blue,” he admitted easily, tilting his head back with forced lightness. ”Though I will bend to your expert opinion to a fitting match.”

[The Jenn]

Paisley held the kit aloft by his middle, staring into black eyes that stared mutinously back at him. The boy was evidently Not Pleased with his presumed confinement and wriggled, wanting to rejoin his brother in play, exploration, and confrontation. "This one's a handful," the breeder said, amusement evident in his voice, before weighing the creature experimentally and reaching out over the table, kit in hand.

Then he plopped the creature on Rai's lap and sat back, eyes narrowed and watching closely. The purple male had evidently given up his brother for lost and squirmed his way under a large armoire. The blue male froze on this strange new creature, claws extending slightly and digging into green fur for balance before he sneezed, and sneezed again. He didn't seem quite sure what to do, whether to attack or jump away.

"Get him to settle and perhaps we can discuss price," the feline said, tail flicking as he watched the scene closely.

[seraaches]

Shinrai froze for a moment, hands reflexively closing gently on the bundle of blue fur, though he was careful to do most of the pinning with his right hand, keeping the bone gauntlet from inadvertently scratching the kit. His almost innate need to be dignified pretty much dissipated in the face of the baffled little kit. Rai tucked the creature beneath his right arm as he’d seen Paisley carrying the pair earlier and began to tsk and murmur softly to the blue male.

”Well, well, little man,” he crooned quietly, ears tilting towards the creature. ”Quite alone and caught now, aren’t you?” Ironically or not, the bander seemed interested in the strange voice from the strange man and gave a little cough in reply. Shinrai chuckled deep in his chest, greatly amused by the response. He carfully extended his left hand, more concerned with the gauntlet than any predisposition on the bander’s part to bite. It was actually a bit easier to scratch gently with one of the curved claws of the gauntlet, and he did so though only with a very careful eye to be certain the little bander didn’t jerk. The kit soon became interested in sniffing the odd ornamentation and Rai held it still to le the bander do so.

If the stallion hadn’t been enamoured before, he would certainly be now.

[The Jenn]

Eyes on the scene before him, Paisley reached forward for another cooked fish, nibbling thoughtfully. The care in that touch was obvious, and the visible melting... that had been one of the only reasons Sultana ever left his house with that annoying man, the affection he could see in an otherwise entirely distasteful crimson gaze. It was mirrored in his own eyes sometimes and he could see the beginnings of it here, that adoration for the species in general and this one in particular. It was far too easy to become attached.

Care and affection had been the last criteria he required before considering Shinrai to be a 'suitable' candidate. Despite what others might say of him, he never sold kits to anyone who was less than devoted to the species. He sat back and finished the fish, licking at his paw before regaining the equine's attention.

"Yes, I see. Very well. You are more fit than I had initially expected, perhaps, and you have a ready-made chew toy for when he becomes slightly less distracted by your newness. Entertaining. Now... for the matter of price." He leveled a flat stare at the other King, his own gaze completely uncompromising. "I hope His Most Excellent Majesty informed you of my prices and prepared you to spend a great deal of whatever amount you have saved up. It would be most unfortunate if he sent you out here with insufficient funds. The price will not waver by so much as a pewter."

[seraaches]

The stallion glanced briefly towards the other man, uncertain if he should be flattered or insulted by the first comment, though he finally settled on simply amused. Any negative emotion towards Paisley would be thoroughly tempered by the little kit under his arm. The beautiful blue male was, again, well worth swallowing some potentially insulting statements for, and he’d certainly heard worse in the Court of Hearts. After all, he’d stepped into his role as a King of the Courts with considerably less information than he cared to admit.

Shinrai snorted softly at the opening discussion of prices. ”Price was, indeed, one of the things His Most Excellent Majesty warned me of,” the horse replied easily. Price and his dislike of Lord Paisley, though the Marshdweller knew there was no reason to bring that up here. Not only was it a bad reminder, but the feline seemed more than aware of Queen Serafino’s aversion even as he shared it. Certainly no point in bringing it up. The stallion was trying to brace himself for the high cost, though he knew that the little male was worth any price. He waited for the cat’s quote, face a careful, easy-going blank; he would not show a reaction to the price, even if, as he was beginning to suspect, it would greatly outweigh any of his previous purchases, including those of the land for his tour guide business.

[The Jenn]

Steepling his clawed fingers, the feline looked over them to examine the equine and his careful, protective hold of the brilliantly blue male. "If you want him... it will cost you thirty tokens. I'm sure you're aware of the market value of that particular currency and how very much it costs to convert. Give it to me now and you may take him home with you today, after spending the night in my home. Later, and I cannot guarantee that someone else will not come and snap him up. It is no secret to the community that I have a new litter and there have already been several inquiries besides His Majesty's as to their status. As of this moment, both are available."

His stare was challenging and expectant. If there was as much attachment as he already saw building, there would only be one acceptable choice for the other King. He hoped the man was not misleading him.