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Post by Satra on Aug 14, 2008 14:01:42 GMT -5
[Whenever you get around to it, Jenn. <3 ] Hadrian was excited and nervous. He'd had his twentieth birthday and going away party all in one just a few days ago. He'd never drank that much in his life... then again, he'd never seen his parents that wasted, either. And as happy for him as he knew his parents, Rhi, Bernard, Betsy, and Horace were, he was pretty sure the others who showed up gave a toast because the formerly destructive Club was leaving their Court. It was fine, because he was more than happy to leave. Heilyn had been curious about the Clubs' Court in the past, but decided it was best not to show up with her son, as it would not reflect well on him. It felt a little strange, being on his own. He'd spent a few days in the Capital by himself, but he always knew he had the Court to go back to.... it felt weird that he most likely will not be going back. He was led to the office of the Presiding King and left standing in front of it. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then knocked. |
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 14, 2008 14:17:38 GMT -5
Anoushka was terribly, terribly bored in the busy sense. She'd been doing work all day to make up for the fact that she'd spent most of the day before out on the grounds with the soldiers and her eyes felt as though they would melt out of her head if she had to read one more report that wasn't short and to the point... which of course they never were. Thirteen hours she'd been at it and even she had to admit that enough was enough. After this interview with a Jack-hopeful, she was going out to enjoy herself. Her personal work ethic may have demanded she put in more hours, but her personal sanity meter was tapping it on the head and getting ready to punch its lights out. Her head lifted from its slump on the desk when she heard the knock. "Enter," she called out simply, waiting to see what dragged itself in. She'd heard a little bit about this boy, the name having struck a bell. Bernard had mentioned him once or twice in passing as a child-of-note, a face card Club born to a Heart noble, and she'd been wondering if they would ever see him in their Court. She didn't know much else about him. |
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Post by Satra on Aug 14, 2008 14:54:59 GMT -5
The curtness of the answer didn't bother him at first. His mother often spoke that way to everyone without it meaning anything. He considered for a moment, as he opened the door, that this person was not his mother and it just might mean something... but then he remembered what Bernard had to say about her and dismissed it. He pushed the door open and walked into the room. He seemed friendly, but was not overly excited. He'd calmed down considerably as he got older, however, that didn't stop bits of giddiness from showing through.
"Good afternoon, Your Highness,"[/b][/color] he greeted her, closing the door gently behind him. Despite how polite he was attempting to be, he couldn't help but feel a bit self-satisfied. Here he was, in the Court of Clubs, having an audience with the Presiding King of Clubs! Take that, Nay-sayers!
"I'm ready to begin when you are."[/b][/color] He didn't bother with any 'i'm here for my title'. She already knew what he was there for, so why state the blatantly obvious?
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 14, 2008 15:24:04 GMT -5
The wolf watching him walk in and her eyebrows rose, pleasantly surprised. Canine, and at first she took him for a fellow wolf. A second glance made her eyes narrow and she gave him a more thorough once-over before saying anything. His muzzle and build weren't quite right for a wolf. He looked more like a smaller breed with some muscle. It was a subtle difference and she only noted it because of her familiarity with her own breed.
Cute young thing. The hair was eye-catching. He couldn't be much past the age of maturity from the freshness of his face, not to mention the eager expression and cheerfully to-the-point greeting. She grinned and rested her chin on one of her hands, bracing her elbow against the hard wood of her desk. "Good afternoon, young man. Hadrian, is it? I've heard a bit about you." Her grin changed to a smirk. She hadn't heard very much, but she was curious what might be 'out there' about him that she would come to know in the future. His reaction would be telling.
His readiness to get down to business was refreshing. "Since you seem so eager to begin, I vill ask you the qvestion that I ask everyvon. Vould you rather face a physical challenge, or a mental von?"
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Post by Satra on Aug 14, 2008 16:21:50 GMT -5
Bernard must have been joking when he said Lady Anoushka was older than him. She couldn't have been older than her late forties/early fifties. However, his eyes went wide unintentionally at the mention of being 'heard of'.
"O-ho... really now?"[/b][/color] he just couldn't quite stop the smirk from crossing his face, "Eheh, do you mind if I ask what exactly it is you heard about me?"[/b][/color] He really wanted to have a fresh start. He'd changed a lot from his youth, but hardly anyone had seen the changes he'd gone through... He would just despise it if that followed him here... the reputation he just couldn't seem to shed...
"I would prefer a physical one,"[/b][/color] he tail gave a single wag. It was what was relevant to what he wanted to do here, anyway. That, and maybe he could distract from the fact that he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 14, 2008 19:50:25 GMT -5
That was a good face, Anoushka had to admit, with the wide eyes and the mischievous smirk. It made him look even younger than she assumed he was. "Vell, of course I am avare that you vere something of a scandal, and I heard something about trouble vith the roses, but never got any details. Perhaps later you vill see fit to enlighten me. I can tell that there's plenty for me to dig up, so I can get your version or somevon else's."
He chose his path and she pulled up her other arm to steeple her fingers below her chin, looking at him and considering. She had met very, very few Solandrians in her time. They tended to be an inhospitable bunch. He was obviously raised outside of the cold and ice, however, and seemed friendly enough. Maybe she should scrap her original idea for a physical quest. It would have taken more time than she now felt like putting into it and would have done nothing but annoy her at this point. She continued to look thoughtful and remain quiet, trying to come up with another idea quickly.
...hmm. She suddenly perked up and grinned, teeth bared and gleaming. The expression made her look both younger than her actual age - late sixties - and far more intimidating. "How vell can you hold your liquor, boy?"
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Post by Satra on Aug 14, 2008 20:21:19 GMT -5
He couldn't help but laugh.
"Am I really so famous that I'm considered a 'scandal child' outside of the Heart's Court?"[/b][/color] his laughing quieted to a chuckle. He'd never considered it before. "I'm flattered. Mom actually gave birth to another scandal baby -- a King of Clubs -- a little while ago. I honestly think the only thing she's upset about is having more kids right when she thought she was done.
As for the roses... I'd be more than happy to tell you my version of the story."[/b][/color] Hell, no one in the Heart's Court had.
The question of his ability to hold liquor. Hell, with his parents?
"Relatively well, actually. My Father is the Solandrian and my Mother is from the Raemblen Bog. Neither of those regions have a legal drinking age, so they had no problems when I started expressing an interest in their drinks at a young age,"[/b][/color] he smirked, a little bit of that friendliness was replaced by a mischievous look, very much liking where this Quest was going "Why?"[/b][/color] As he aged, he really started looking more and more like his father. That toothy grin was just uncanny.
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 14, 2008 21:01:58 GMT -5
"A Club child to a titled Heart who actually acknowledged it? Yes, you're a 'scandal child'. No doubt this new Club vill only enhance your mother's 'reputation'." Anoushka snorted in silent sympathy at the woman, but that was what she got for having sex without either an assurance of sterility or an expectation of pregnancy. Thankfully, the wolf had acquired the former several decades back through circumstances she didn't like to think about very often.
She clapped her hands together once, loudly, when he answered her question. She wore a pleased expression. "Because if I have to spend another hour in this office, I think that I vill have to resort to drastic measures. I vould much rather run your qvest elsevhere, and since you're not going for the rank, just the title, all you have to do really is ingratiate yourself. Make me like you. Convince me that I von't end up putting a blade through your skull if I have to vork vith you for more than a few minutes."
Standing, she spun her chair out of the way and beckoned him to follow her down to the kitchens. She could have just raided her own private stash, but she didn't want to sacrifice the 'good stuff' for what she had a feeling was going to turn into a long haul. There, she procured four bottles of varying strengths, none of them weak, and two large cups. It was late enough in the afternoon that the small rose gardens Ader had installed would be shaded in part by the bulk of the palace and she led him to a spot where they could drink and converse in private.
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Post by Satra on Aug 14, 2008 21:34:43 GMT -5
Heh, well, I'd like to see the day when Heilyn of the Raemblen Bog cared about what people she didn't know, like, or care about thought of her.
"Well this new one doesn't look to be the hellion I was, so we'll see which one of us turns out to be more famous."[/b][/color] Well, she seemed better at getting away with things, anyway.
...heh, this woman was turning out to be just as interesting as Bernard made her out to be.
Convince me that I von't end up putting a blade through your skull if I have to vork vith you for more than a few minutes.
"What about after an hour or two, instead? Would I still get in after that?"[/b][/color] he snarked back before he had a chance to think. As much as the 'just be yourself and you will find your niche' mentality his mother raised him on made sense, a blade through his skull would generally kind of suck. He cleared his throat, hoping she would either appreciate or ignore his smartass joke. He followed the woman where she lead him, finally settling in the garden.
"This garden's really new, isn't it?"[/b][/color] he asked, looking it over and reaching for a drink. Oho, yes. He could do some marvelous things here. He looked down at the drinks she brought with them, mouth watering a little, hoping she would offer him one soon instead of just leaving the treat on his nose, so to speak.
[XD I loved some of the typos in this. Yay tired posting!]
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Post by The Jenn on Aug 19, 2008 21:44:02 GMT -5
Anoushka smirked at his answering snark but didn't reply, content to let him stew over her reaction. It was usually more fun to have people worry themselves into a tizzy if they were inclined to do so. That would tell her something about his personality as well.
Thankfully, he didn't seem to be hung up on things. "Yes, the gardens are qvite new, especially compared to the vones you are used to. They've been in place since His Majesty Aderlass took the throne, no longer." She opened the seals on two of the bottles, not at all concerned about how 'early' it was to be getting drunk. Evening would be thinking about falling in maybe an hour, but she'd been hard at work since early and felt quite confident that she deserved the break. Pouring a mix of both drinks into two containers, one a mug with a handle and the other a deep bowl, she held hers up in silent toast before throwing some of it back. A pleased intake of breath and subsequent hiss left her muzzle as it burned its way down. She didn't believe in starting light. Besides, this was meant to be a 'physical quest' of sorts. She wasn't going to pull punches.
"So tell me, Hadrian, vhat you expect to offer our Court? You don't exactly have the veight of experience on your side, though youthful vigor is often underestimated." She smirked and watched him out of the corner of her eye. Cute young thing. She had better restraint than that, though... sober, anyway.
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