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Post by The Jenn on Dec 2, 2008 20:29:12 GMT -5
Donnie felt a pang of something unpleasant in her gut as Mia spoke. Were she the type, it may have put her off her food, but she most certainly was not the type to pass up a meal or get squeamish.
Good thing she wanted to jump right in and get her hands dirty. The situation sounded worse than she could have possibly anticipated. What was the Queen thinking, letting things go on like this? She would reserve judgment until she'd met the woman, but really. If your kingdom fell into such a state of disrepair, it spoke of more than misfortune - it spoke of poor management. This was exactly the kind of challenge she needed to be a part of, whether she'd anticipated it or not.
She kept her thoughts on the matter quiet, merely making a noise of sympathy somewhere in her throat for the ferret. For all that he was a male, he seemed to have a woman's head on his shoulders and she couldn't fault him for that. He also seemed to be giving her an honest rundown of the situation, which she greatly appreciated. "To summarize, your King is absent, one of your Jacks is absent, another's duties are relatively unknown, and you, your mother, and the Queen are left to run the rest of the kingdom yourselves?" That was... ridiculous.
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Post by Greenie on Dec 2, 2008 20:40:35 GMT -5
"Uhh.. yeah, actually, that sounds about right." He agreed, then took a large gulp of soup to cover his embarrassment at their situation. They were no court of Hearts. They didn't have several Queens, Kings, or even Jacks - they didn't even have enough to cover the essentials. Spades was running into a ditch, and there wasn't anything he could do about it. Mia didn't want the Queenship - nor did he feel qualified for it. He wanted to be a Queen, but had no desire to run the entire Court by himself. Nuh uh. Not going to happen. He preferred to place his own loyalties, versus having to worry about everyone's loyalties to him. "It's bad." He said simply.  Vessatha knew immediately when her son walked through the door, if only because Zether took half of the dessert table on a plate and hermit'd in the corner with it. She glanced over at the soup counter and was highly surprised to see someone she didn't recognize - you didn't waltz into Vessie's kitchen without knowing Vessie. It just wasn't possible. Therefore she was going to have to rectify the situation. The ferret glided over to their table, just managing to catch what seemed to be the end of a conversation on.. something being bad. Hmm. "Dysthymia, how nice of you to actually visit your mother more than once a year! I see you brought your child, and are even being nice enough to make him save some of the sweets for the rest of us!" She said with the utmost of sweet sarcasm, a look of pure snark on her face. Not bothering to wait for his reply, she turned to Donnie. "Hello there, new friend of my son whom I haven't been introduced to. I'm Vessatha and you're in my kitchen, but you're pretty so I'll let you have one of the cookies Zether hasn't digested yet."Dysthymia just rolled his eyes and went back to his soup, too tired to be pissy back at her.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 2, 2008 20:51:30 GMT -5
Working on digesting the information along with her soup, Donnie started at an unexpected voice to her left. Turning, she caught saw a tall, bipedal ferret who bore a strong resemblance to the man next to her. My, wasn't she a pretty thing? Her build just screamed 'lithe, limber ferret'.
She also didn't seem to have any issues with confidence. Good. If she was one of three people effectively running the palace, the wolverine would expect nothing less. Hopefully the Queen would match up to the pair of nobles she'd already met. "Vessatha, thank you for the greeting. And for the cookie. I'll make sure to snag the sweet before the boy inhales it." She took another quick spoonful of soup before wiping her mouth on a napkin and sitting up straighter. At least she didn't have to worry about cheese in the fur around her muzzle, and it was a lot easier to feel the stuff dripping down a hairless human face.
"I'm Donnie, a King-hopeful, and I'm here to work. Well, eat. And sleep. But after that, work. Your son has been appraising me of the mess I'm getting myself into. He also led me towards your delicious soup." These two seemed casual enough that she could be friendly in return, though certainly not off her guard.
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Post by Greenie on Dec 2, 2008 20:55:52 GMT -5
"You're quite welcome. Do that - the butterscotch are fresh, assuming there's any left. Zether!" She scolded to the boy, who looked sharply up at his name and had the grace to look sheepish. "At least have a sandwich, child!" The puppy reluctantly set his goodie tray down and went to make himself some nutrition.
"Eat and sleep? Eat up and sleep well tonight, if you're planning on King-ing, you won't get much. Suits knows this dunghead doesn't do enough of either. Doesn't help that the Esterberry he's holing up with has just as bad of habits.." She muttered, as Mia balefully glared up at her.
"Vessatha, she doesn't need to know the intimate details of my personal life. Do me a favor and shut up before I tell her about the weirdo you procreated with!" He retorted, then went to get a second helping of soup.
"All the luck to you!" Vessie said cheerfully to the human. "You'll need it, working with that trio. Have you met Lysaras yet..?" She asked doubfully. Donnie still seemed vaguely optimistic, which couldn't be possible if she'd met the Queen.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 2, 2008 21:05:45 GMT -5
"No...? No, I haven't Not yet. She'd already retired when I arrived." The way she said that made the hairs on Donnie's neck prickle a litle bit. Was she really that bad? What kind of Queen would she be dealing with? It made the uneasy feeling return to the pit of her stomach, but she didn't want it souring the soup she'd just gotten down and so she continued to ignore it.
"My gut doesn't usually let me skip meals, so don't worry about finding me half-starved or anything like that. It just isn't going to happen. As for sleep, we'll see." She could already tell that the next few nights were going to be rough.
Watching Mia huff towards the soup, she smirked a little bit. They seemed to have a 'comfortable' sort of mother-son relationship, if a little catty. At least she had him in line. With the stress they were apparently under, she could understand a bit of snappishness. "Esterberry? Not bad. I'd assumed, what with his son, but still. They're an interesting lot. Prissy as hell, but if you can get a few drinks in them then they're usually pretty funny. Not to mention easy on the eyes."
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Post by Greenie on Dec 2, 2008 21:11:48 GMT -5
"... Ah." Vessatha said shortly, then shrugged. "You'll understand when you do." The ferret said simply, then absently jabbed Mia in the back when he returned with more soup.
"In the event you forget to eat, I'll find you. I keep track of these things; can't have you all dying on me, afterall, then I'd have to do paperwork, and no one wants to go there. As for sleep.. I'm not a creeper, I don't go into people's bedrooms, so you're on your own there." She said with a snort.
"Then how do you know when I don't get any sleep?" Mia asked sarcastically.
"Because you don't leave your room for three days, don't eat and tend to lock Christopher out, so he comes and finds me, bright one." She paused to consider Donnie's comment. "I don't think I've ever seen him drunk. You should try that once, dear, see if it makes him be less of an ass. .. Then again.. I just want to see him drunk." She said and laughed. "I don't think he's cute - playing to the wrong field, there - but I can see where the attraction is." Vessatha nodded, and patted Mia on the head in an annoying fashion.
Mia slapped her hand off and turned to Donnie. "I suggest not telling her anything personal. Ever. Everyone will know within two days if you do."
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 2, 2008 21:18:14 GMT -5
"Good to know," Donnie remarked in a dry tone, then smirked again. They really were quite a pair. It had obviously passed down. She wondered if the pup would inherit some of the attitude.
Ahh, and was that the kind of hint she thought it was? The woman brightened a little bit. It always struck her as bizarre, the number of non-Yarrow women who preferred to mate with men. At least this would be a touch of 'normalcy' in an otherwise worrisome situation. "Well, I wouldn't exactly go after a male Esterberry, but the women can be awfully cute. All those speckles." She'd always thought spots were cute, one reason Sadie's copious Yarrow freckles had been such a hit.
Bitch. She didn't need to be thinking about that just then. "So, I'd asked before, but the conversation went down a different route. What should I very definitely not do during my first few days here?"
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Post by Greenie on Dec 2, 2008 21:23:59 GMT -5
"I'd have to agree, though I can't say I have any kind of realm preference. Pretty is pretty." Vessatha agreed with a nod, trying to imagine Christopher as a female; she quickly decided that was a route best not travelled.
Mia, thoroughly disgusted by his mother's lack of propriety around him, mentally gagged. "Can we not discuss your sexual preferences while I'm eating, mother? I know you have the privacy habits of a turtle, but seriously." He muttered, glad Zether was too far away to hear. The boy was a bit too young to overhear that kind of talk, especially from his grandmother.
"Ask Varestes what animal he is. Not that you'll see him to ask, but it's kind of a no-no," Mia said, then paused to think.
"Be nice to the gardeners. All of them. You never know when they're going to come up with some random fact that's going to get you out of a bind. I have no idea why, but.." Vessatha said, then shrugged. Sometimes she wondered if Lysaras had done something to them..
"Honestly, there's very few people around here. You could prance naked for hours and be lucky if you saw anyone, depending on what wing you were in." Mia said, then grinned. He'd never danced naked, but he'd tried other interesting things in the Court as a boy.
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Post by The Jenn on Dec 2, 2008 21:40:47 GMT -5
It was a no-no to ask the King what animal he was? What the hell kind of taboo was that? Did his features just mesh together so horribly that no one could tell what the mix was, or did he never take a form that let it show? Either possibility was bizarre. She'd take it to heart, though, if she ever saw the man.
"I'll certainly keep that in mind," she agreed with a snort, finishing off the last of her bowl and wiping her mouth one last time. If anything had escaped to drip on her clothes, she'd be pissed, but she didn't feel like checking just then. "As it stands, I don't have a room to sleep in or a place to put my bags. Would you be the person I needed to talk to about that, or is there someone else?"
Dancing naked through the halls. Heh. That would be a laugh. She assumed that biped form didn't count. "Is there much dancing in the palace, naked or otherwise? It seems like a pretty somber place." All the dark stone made the place feel gloomy. Granted, she knew the stone had been mined from a quarry near the base of the Villa, but she wasn't use to seeing so much of it all around her. She'd lived around the middle, where the stone started to lighten up a bit.
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Post by Greenie on Dec 2, 2008 21:47:27 GMT -5
"That would be me," Vessatha said promptly. "Once you finish we can go get you a key and a suite. Just don't tell Lysaras I gave it to you before you met with her, kay?" She smirked, her tail happily floating back and forth.
"Actually, when Varestes is around, he can often be found dancing. He made me dance for my Jack quest; he's quite good. Other than that? There's not much joy here in general, so any dancing is generally the doom-and-gloom kind." Vessie said, then shrugged. She thrived in doom-and-gloom personally, as did Mia, so it wasn't even noticeable for the pair, but for people accustomed to be surrounded by happyness..
.. well, they were in for a surprise.
"We cheer up occasionally," Mia put in, "But not often. Personally, I cheer up everytime I get the opportunity to throw something at Christopher, but I doubt that's what you meant, eh?"
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