Caught by chance [Ended]

[Tigeress]

The woman had a million and one things on her mind as she walked down the hallway, nodding her head every now and again to the servants passing through. It was a busy time of day, and Sekhmet just wanted to get away from it all for a few hours. She had the day off, shockingly, and decided to spend it relaxing... or possibly brooding. Either or. She'd been attempting the former a lot and ending up at the latter much more often. At least she'd been able to keep her mind on work while she was needed.

However, in her absent-minded state, she came tight around a corner and roughly bumped into a woman she'd never seen before. Oh man, she still hadn't made hardly any time to go about and meet anyone else at the courts whom she may or may not be working with in the future. Really unusually anti-social of her. Stopping herself before she went careening into anyone else, she turned to the person she'd just roughly shoved with an apologetic smile. Hopefully she hadn't pissed the woman off too much.

"I'm sorry about that, I shouldn't have my head in the clouds while walking through the courts in the mid afternoon." She figured if the woman had been around for a while like her, she would have understood the semi-joke relating to how packed the entry halls were getting. Some days it was not at all unlike an office building. She really couldn't place the face of the female before her and mentally kicked herself when she saw the 'J' sitting on her chest. A titled royal and she had no idea who she was, hmmm.... well there was no better time to start remedying her lack of social connections than now.

"My name is Sekhmet, I'm currently one of the Kings under His Majesty Shinrai. I've never seen you around before." Her voice was full of interest and intrigue, it took very little for Sek to have to shove her nose right into something. No goosebumps came this time when she said his name either, just a slight mental flush of thoughts best kept to herself. She was getting better at that, at least.

[Satra]

[OOC: Hadrian is roughly 1 1/2 - 2 years old here]

The boy was a terror. Plain and simple. He'd learned to walk... now he was getting enough coordination to run...

Needless to say, this made the destructive little wretch even harder to deal with. She could catch up with him at a normal jog, but he was so low to the ground. Having to hunch down and scoop him up...wait... she had an Animal Form.... She shifted and grabbed him by the scuff of the neck. Shifting back, she wrapped her arms around him. He wriggled vigorously to escape the grasp, but to no avail...

Didn't stop the little bugger from trying, though.

Her mind wasn't was it used to be... all of her thoughts and energy divided among the kids, her Court duties, her somewhat confusing relationship with Seth... everything seemed to rush at her... a lot less was as coherent... wait, that syntax was bad... and what was Tinman clicking like tha--

She bumped right into someone. Hadrian, seeing his chance, jolted violently to try to free himself in her distraction. She wrestled with the boy as the woman talked.

"Yeah. Hi." she said quite shortly. Whether that curtness was at the woman or at her distraction of wrestling with the deceptively strong tyke, one would have a hard time knowing. The tove, however, greeted Sekmet quite warmly with much wriggling in the air in front of her and delicate chirps.

"Wait... what?" she looked up at Sekmet as soon as she got a good hold of Hadrian. How could this woman not know who she was? She was the Bog Dweller. The ambassador who brought back to the Court a Solandrian.

The Heart Noble with a Club for a son.

Had this woman really not seen her? Most were curious enough to get a look, at least. "I am Her Excellence Heilyn. This is my son, Hadrian, and the other annoying one is Tinman. Or Adeon. He responses to both." ...I've seen this woman before... but when...? Probably just a face I've seen around the Court...

[Tigeress]

As the woman wrestled with her son, Sekhmet waved a hand in front of the tove in means of welcome. They tended to like being aknowledged, and as he was being the most polite, of course she was going to respond to that. However, she sympathized with the woman trying to wrestle what appeared to possibly be her child, one that certainly didn't want to be held currently. She managed not to laugh or smile at the situation, knowing that this woman probably wouldn't find her own personal plight very amusing.

She seemed shocked that Sekhmet had never heard of her, and for once she was worried she'd gotten a little too far out of the loop. When she introduced herself however, Sekhmet breathed a sigh of relief. Oh she'd heard of the woman alright, but it was hard to tell who she was exactly in human form. They'd never actually met despite being in the courts at a relatively similar length of time. That was still somewhat embarassing, but she'd gotten rather wrapped up in trying to prove herself.

One slender eyebrow raised at the title she was given, as if it was particularily important that Sekhmet take notice she was a Jack. Either she was a titlehog, or Sekhmet really paid significantly lower attention to her own title than was normal. She'd certainly never introduced herself as 'her highness' before, just the thought made her a little dizzy and she understood entirely why Bernard often demanded people call him by his name. But not everyone was like that, and it was good to be proud of one's accomplishments. The woman seemed... bold, and straight to the point, she had a good presence about her.

The Morganberry woman smiled suddenly and extended a hand now that the woman had gotten control over her child again.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Heilyn. Tinman is very well mannered, I must say." She gave a grin to the chittering creature before eyeing the woman once more in a rather critical fashion. Had Shinrai met her yet? He was in the market for Jacks most likely, he had to be, now that he had three cemented Kings, it would be getting time to appoint some of her rank. But it wasn't her job to recruit for him, however if the girl was as interesting as she'd heard, she might put in a good word... better to be working with someone she enjoyed. Maybe it would give Gaston someone else to pick on, she was much too petite to be squeezed in the manner that Gaston squeezed women.

"Are you headed somewhere? If you're not too busy, it would be nice to talk. I'm curious as to your plans in the courts, and yourself in general, pardon my boldness. I know all too well word of mouth is hardly worth judging someone on." She snorted a bit indignantly at this and rolled her eyes almost playfully. Perhaps the female had heard talk of her, perhaps not, but it wouldn't surprise her. Sekhmet had been a juicy tidbit of gossip to rival Heilyn, until she came along and took the spotlight. The woman would have pouted if she wasn't honestly a bit relieved.

[Satra]

Tinman was an overly affectionate creature, having only discovered the wonders of having a Card owner when Master came along enticing him out of his old home with tasty magic and fruit he'd never encountered before. However, he loved everyone and everything that gave him attention, the little attention whore he was. At being acknowledged by the pink and red one, he squealed with delight and playfully accosted her hand. He chattered and chirped loudly as he wrapped himself around and rubbed against her hand. He was about to do the same to her face when Heilyn barked "Tinman!" in a sharp tone. He apologetically returned to her side, chirping pitifully for her forgiveness.

Heilyn's eyes narrowed subtly at the woman quirking her eyebrow at her. What was her problem? Hadrian's tail began to wag as the lady extended her hand. He knew what the gesture meant. It meant Mommy was going to let go with one hand. VICTORY WAS IN SIGHT. He looked up at her, tail wagging harder... only to come toa grinding halt of disappointment as Mommy only gave a curt nod. NO FUN. D8

"I was just retrieving the brat, so no. Nowhere in particular," one of her eyebrows rose as she looked at the woman with narrowed eyes. Her plans for the court? "I am an Ambassador to a relatively untapped region louse with magical discovery, not to mention the historical finds regarding the Third War before the Wall went up. My acting as a liaison is crucial to my home region to connect with the Outside. Both places can benefit greatly from one another, the Hearts Court being the first to do so as I am here." Her neutral expression slide into a smirk. She was feeling particularly snarky today. Yes, though you out rank me, my role is probably far more important than yours, thought the arrogant bitch.

"And what is it you do for the Court, Sekhmet?" she asked in a somewhat condescending tone.

Some rumors exist for a reason.

[Tigeress]

She was delighted by the affectionate little creature, twisting her fingers around to catch him in a petting motion now and again when he released them. She wondered why the woman was so stern with him, calling him back in such a fashion. Well, not all court royals were so accepting of random physical contact, but if it bothered her she would have said so. Oh well, not her creature and not her problem. When she extended her hand she noticed the child grinning all too excitedly in place and thought better of it just as the woman gave a nod.

Looked like she had a lot to deal with in that hyperactive little one. Sekhmet envied her and didn't at the same time, her children would never stay put like that, except for Tristian when he was younger. But that was all in the past, now they were far too old and equally as detached. The child's expression seemed to wilt with the knowledge that his mother was giving him no chance to escape and she grinned down at him almost apologetically. It must be dreadfully boring around the courts for such an adventurous kid, always with the 'you can't do this' and 'don't go in there', it was a strict place to be for those apt to get in trouble.

The woman seemed to think she would be the only one to ever play such a role, was she not aware that there were potentially many other equally as intriguing realms that had yet to be discovered? For now though, it was important that they held onto her, so she was correct to assume her importance. Though arrogance at her rank might not have been the wisest idea, there were Queens and Kings alike around that wouldn't think twice about knocking such attitudes down a notch. She wasn't one of those, however, it took a lot to bother Sekhmet in that way.

"Oh don't worry, I'm aware of all that. I more meant in terms of if you've given any thought to assisting any certain Queen during your time in the courts?" Now, there really truly wasn't much choice at the moment, but she knew of a few children who would be coming up to adulthood soon and then coming into their titles. She had no idea who Heilyn had talked to, perhaps she had befriended one of the children and was just waiting patiently. Or perhaps she was more than content to just be a liaison and keep herself distant from much of the inner politics. There would probably soon be a few people hungry for Shinrai's title, and a pair of loyal ears in the lower ranks would be most helpful. She decided to explain this a little.

"My role is... shifting currently. With the change of power comes new responsibilities. I suppose right now it is my main duty to ensure the stability of the courts by gaining public support for His Majesty Shinrai, and of course to be vigilant in case of any further assassination attempts. I've been hoping to find someone who could keep an ear out in the city when I'm not able to hear the word on the street, but help is hard to come by at the moment." She completely ignored the woman's tone, obviously it would be hard for an outsider the understand that a Queen had Kings and Jacks for a reason, they didn't sit around all day and twiddle their fingers and yell "Long live the Queen!". One might argue that her role was equally as important now, if not moreso, because without a ruling Queen of any kind? The court of Hearts was fresh meat to the dogs of chaos. Heilyn would have a hard time being a liason or anything else to a court that had been thrown on it's ass and left spinning so soon after the crisis that was Serafino's death. She shuddered to even think of it.

"It is difficult right now, especially with so many royals up in the air and on their own. Not to mention any other potential Queens are still young, so every bit of power we can procure for the court and His Majesty is a big thing. Bernard is especially thrilled about your arrival I hear, being the magic obsessed man that he is." She didn't know anything about his relationship with Heilyn other than he was happy to benefit from the knowledge she brought back, so there was no underlying hint-hint in her words, just casual conversation.

[Satra]

Tinman began to tease Hadrian by flying in and out of his reach. The boy wiggled and growled and snapped playfully at the Tove, neither of the males paying much attention or really caring that much for the conversation between the two women.

One of Heilyn's eyebrows rose. "Assisting any certain Queen?"

"Well, being in the Court of Hearts, I would think that would mean His Majesty Shinrai." Sekmet's thoughts of Heilyn thinking she thought she would be the only one to hold her position couldn't be more wrong than they were. She had stressed for the Bog Court to go back to the original plan of sending out four ambassadors to all the Courts, instead of just Heilyn.
And the thoughts of Heilyn's need of the Courts? Well, that would far too much reveal the nature of Heilyn's loyalties.

Her eyebrow remained elevated as Sekmet began telling Heilyn of her responsibility in the Court.

"Uh, huh," was the only response she could come up with. She'd heard far too much about His Majesty for this too be true. He was far too intelligent, far to paranoid to place that much trust in a single person, whether she be his first King or not. Hadrian made another attempt for freedom now that Heilyn was a touch distracted... only to be stopped once again by Heilyn's quick reaction time. Curses, foiled again! Tinman chirped in amusement of the boy's failure and continued harassing him.

Even though her eyebrow was still raised, her brow furrowed and her lip curled up at one side in obvious confusion. Usually Heilyn displayed nothing but the political poker face her adept father had taught her, but at this point, it couldn't be helped.

She had NO IDEA what this woman was talking about.

Royals up in the air? Yes, there was chaos with the sudden death of His Majesty Serafino, but everything had settled by then. Bernard was reappointed as the Presiding King, Pravus was stripped of his title but allowed to stay due to his mental condition, Gaston had simply shifted over to the new Queen, and Sekmet stayed where she was. The Jacks were completely unaffected. Gods know where that half-breed Corvie King went, but regardless. What exactly was up in the air, and who exactly was on their own? They were completely stable now (well, as stable as a political body could be)

"Yes, he is," she said rather flatly regarding her friend, wondering when in the hell she was going to get away from this woman and her mind-numbing presence.

[Tigeress]

She seemed to be a bit of a wild card, which was something Sekhmet hadn't expected from the air of complete self-importance she'd put on. Her ties to the court and her loyalties would probably be difficult to uncover, at first she'd seemed to cling to the idea that she played an incredibly important role, and then she gave off the impression that she didn't interract much with those who should have been playing an important role in her mission as liaison.

"It may seem like an obvious choice, but there are a few rather ambitious Queens coming into their positions soon, I wouldn't be surprised if they began to try and procure some important connections of their own. I have a feeling more than a few people are probably eager to sniff about the information you bring to the courts." She smiled at this, it wasn't hard to figure out, Heilyn offered new and interesting things, information and potential power that could really assist someone ambitious if tapped into. Though it would be hard for Anyone to get behind Shinrai's back and try to conn private information from the woman. She seemed rather, ah, stubborn.

"Have you met many of the other Kings or Jacks around?" Some of them made her uncomfortable, and they gave her a very 'up in the air' feeling. Simply because they dealt surprisingly little with His Majesty and yet still lingered in the courts. Pravus had his own little troupe of Jacks from what she'd heard, and she had met a rather unusual King named Severus who put Everyone on edge who knew anything about him in the courts. Perhaps he was one of the ones planning on making a jump in rank, but that wouldn't explain his distance from well.... everyone. She imagined Heilyn hadn't met him if she even knew about him, not many people apparently got the pleasure of his aquaintance.

"I'm not sure how much longer your child is going to tolerate staying in one place." She mused, raising an eye at the kid who almost always seemed to be deviously interested in her and his mother's every move. He reminded her of a few of her children in the younger years, perhaps they were all like that. Tinman had taken to harassing the poor hyperactive child and she couldn't hide a smirk at his antics.

"Might I ask how you came across Tinman? I thought only spades were allowed these familiars, though stranger things have happened." She knew of quite a few stranger things. Her lack of a heart was one. Shinrai's bone hand was another, though he was the one who found that strange, she had rather enjoyed the feel of it.

[Satra]

[Sorry I had a case of the fickle muses. P: ]

Come to think of it, it probably wouldn't suit her to be so rude to the first King of the now presiding Queen, especially when she'd been working on plans to approach Shinrai for Kingship.

She hated having to be respectful to people she didn't want to be.

"Unfortunately, all of my plans will be on hold until the children get a little older and don't need me as much," she ruffed Hadrian's mohawk, to which he responded by a rather noisy, playful growl and an attempt to chomp on her fingers. She let him, and he chewed contently on the hand she she activated her ignore pain ability to forgo the feeling of needle-like puppy teeth gnawing on her hand.

"I have met a several of the other titled nobles, some of which I am friends with, some of which," she thought of Severus, "I prefer to not be around. And of course, there are those I wish not to meet," she thought of Gaston and - now that her children here born and one was a Club and the other was of very low rank - Pravus. The women, however, ignored the comment made on her child. Oh, he'd tolerate it.

"I found him on my most recent exploit back to the Bog. He used to belong to a Spade, but the man never trained him properly, so he escaped. I found him, and he became mine. Suits other than Spade can have Momes and Toves, we just can't summon and dismiss them like they can."

[Tigeress]

[Hehe it happens <3]

Catching the sudden ease of tension that had been building in the woman, Sekhmet smiled. It was good to see the woman showing such self-control, it spoke well for her future in the courts. Not that she was juge, hury, and executioner by any means, but she was in position to be able to advise Shinrai of certain things.

"That is very admirable. I'm afraid I can't say I chose the same path, but my situation I expect was much different than yours. You are very lucky, he's a beautiful child." She must have been the only one in the palace who didn't have a set bias against any of the 'lesser' suits. Having grown up in around parents whose heads were perma-stuck in their high and mighty asses gave her a huge dislike for the whole thing altogether.

She laughed a little when the woman spoke of some of the royals she'd met, and nodded her head in understanding. "That is to be expected, I admit to getting the creeper vibe from a few I've met myself. Others need no explanation." It was by no means hush-hush that Pravus' title had been stripped and he was only left in the palace basically because of Fino's death and his loyalty to the late Queen. Most just said he was insane and left it at that. She avoided him like the plague, despite having Bernard's spell to fall back on. She didn't like to dangle the mouse in front of the cat, so to speak.

"Really? I've never seen anyone but a Spade with one before. I guess I don't get out enough." She smirked at this knowing all too well it was true and followed the Tove with her eyes, he really was a unique specimen. "It sounds like the Bog is every bit as interesting as talk has made it out to be. How old were you when you left and why did you come here? Pardon me if I'm prying at all." Although there was a significant amount of information becomming available to the court about the Bog, Sekhmet was interested in what it was like on a more... personal level. What it would be like to grow up there. Maybe the grass always seemed greener on the other side, but she had little interest in her homelands.

[Satra]

Heilyn blinked at the comment on her son.

"Thank you," she said, slightly shaken. It was hard, raising a Club in this environment, and it was a small relief to find someone who didn't care. There was a small handful or Hearts who were kind to him: Betsy, Horace, and Bernard for starters, but compared to all the glares she'd seen directed her way when she had the child with her, she knew it wouldn't be enough. In a way, she was glad Serafino kicked the bucket. She knew that His Majesty Shinrai was much more tolerable towards Clubs than His Late Majesty Serafino was. The child, quite frankly, was fat, but it was a survival trait for the Glacier, to compensate for the fur that hadn't had a chance to grow in yet. Heilyn always thought he, and Rhi, were beautiful, though. She shrugged.

"Not many who aren't Spades have a Mome or a Tove, not that I've seen anyway," thought she had to laugh. It was an odd, cruel laugh, displaying the "sister, you have no idea" thought in her head. The Bog? Interesting? To say the very least.

"If by interesting you mean 'thoroughly brutal', then yes, it is. Honestly, the Glacier gets far too much credit for being cold," she laughed. Cold? Honestly, there were more dangers than that available in this world.