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Post by Trebias on Mar 13, 2008 12:27:28 GMT -5
 Elias looked around the office. Except for the rather luxuriant furnishings, which he rather expected to see in A Queen's quarters, it could very easily belong to Rai's office back in the Marsh. He was still orderly and organized. Shoot, that's probably at least part of what allowed him to grow into such a big tour guide business despite just the two of them doing all the word. El had a good memory, but not as much of a head for business, and Whip fit that void remarkably well. He could sniff out a business lead like a fox in a hen house, and he kept all the information documented and easy to reach. Hopefully he was doing the same thing with politics here. When they were shut nice and privately in the office, El cut to the chase. "What's so important that you have to send so many people to fetch me, Whip? I understand you not jeopardizing your position here to come on an excursion to get me, but it would have saved a lot of time if you'd sent that letter in the first place. How long has Veldamir been dead? Is the new Queen better?" A few questions at a time would be best. |
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Post by seraaches on Mar 14, 2008 21:08:31 GMT -5
"He's been dead long enough," Rai answered quietly, but that wasn't the important point, so the man pushed on, ignoring the rest of it to answer the first question. "I've needed you here." Badly. Terribly badly. The stallion gave a low sigh, moving around his desk to sit down and lean back in his chair. "The kids are out of control, El," he said and the underlying anguish in his words was evident to his long time friend. "I think it's Mnem's influence, but... they need someone more level-headed that's around more often. They have a suicidal bat as a nanny, for light's sake."Troubling as the kiddoes were, however, it was unlikely that the stallion would have sent so many political messengers for his need of a teacher fo rhis children.
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Post by Trebias on Mar 14, 2008 21:29:16 GMT -5
El was skeptical, to say the least. "You've made trips with the kids in tow to ask me this before. Don't think I've forgotten your little stunt out in the Marsh, by the way. So you'll have to forgive me if I have trouble believing that one of the highest ranked Cards has trouble coming up with childcare."
He was silent a moment in reflection, a rare occurence that would have to become much more common if he was going to be around the Courts again. He hadn't raised a fool. The messengers were a message in their own right. He could have sent the letter by post, or with a shipment from that sparrow, was it Theofilus? Something like that. He wondered how things were going with his lady friend, and in general. Seemed like a nice enough bird, if a little stiff. But most people seemed stiff to Elias.
El slowly began to piece together what sort of message Rai might have been sending him. He'd sent cards that matched him in rank at first, probably did some of the same work for the Hearts that he used to do for the Clubs. Then that ram who he decked. That was fun. Finally, a Jack, and only because he made that a quest for her.
There were no politics between Elias and Shinrai, though that might have to change at some point, at least to the public. So there was no message about El's worth in Rai's eyes conveyed in the rank of the early messengers. Was Rai short on supporters? It was possible. The doe Sekhmet seemed to have some skills, but that was with a sword, and she was a Heart, so honestly, that was negligible.
"You trying to surround yourself with friends, Whip?" El cocked an eye at the horse somewhat knowingly. "I think we're going to have to have a long refresher course on how the Courts sit."
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Post by seraaches on Mar 15, 2008 1:00:07 GMT -5
Rai sent Elias a wry, somewot pained grin and in that look was the evidence of just how badly it -did- hurt him to have no normal children. He'd had such bright hopes and dreams when he'd learned of Mnem's pregnancy, even when she'd been trying to kill him whenever he came by. He'd been excited about being a father, especially since he didn't know his own. He was going to be an important part of their lives, helping to shape them into wonderful adults.
And now, his brood was half grown and most of them hated him and he couldn't seem to hold any sort of positive influence over any of them. He felt his heart twinge again and looked away to try and hide the gambit of emotions that ran through him.
Well, politics were definitely better than emotional muck. "Veldmair's been replaced by Aderlass; he's a friend of mine, no worries. You need to meet each other. The Queen of Diamonds is now Theofilus; remember that Selkie Lakes sparrow you tried to scare to death? He was a Nine. And now The Queen of Diamonds."
He wanted to say 'how the mighty have fallen', but it really should go the other way.
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Post by Trebias on Mar 15, 2008 1:23:26 GMT -5
That Aderlass must be something to take out the big bad bull. Or tricky. Elias was pleased that he didn't sputter at the news that not only was Theo a Queen, he was THE Queen.
"I didn't think that bird had it in him to kill someone for that spot. Interesting. Good thing I haven't tried to call him randomly. That would be really funny, though," he muttered.
He quickly called himself back to the topic at hand. "So what's our status here? I'll work here as your baby-sitter, or nanny, or whatever. If anyone asks, we can say something about how they need a Club's endurance to keep up with them full time. Anyone who knows the kids will believe that easily enough.
"What I'm worried about is your power base. How many other Queens are there? That doe you sent after me wasn't bad, but I think she might get chewed up and spit out by the Courts without some guidance or powerful friends. Do you have any other supporters here?" He decided to slow down. The Equine didn't need a lecture, although his willingness to accept advice was one of his best qualities. He wondered where that doe came from in the first place. Why had she thrown her lot in with Rai instead of with Queen Serafino? It rang a little oddly.
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Post by seraaches on Mar 15, 2008 1:33:46 GMT -5
The Heart's ears perked up slightly at El's muttering and he sent the other man a questioning look before pushing on in their discussion now. There'd be plenty of time later to try and pump that information out of his friend; the important thing now was to get them on the same page.
"For now, I'm the only other Queen in the Court. Serafino has almost a full load of Kings, however, and Sekhmet is my first." That could almost be enough of an answer about why Sek didn't go through Fino; the Queen of Hearts needed to be discriminating about who he chose to take up those last two slots. Still, Rai's hesitation in his words gave El an obvious clue that it wasn't the only reason.
It took a moment before the equine continued softly. "Sekhmet has had some sort of issue in the Courts already. She was raped by Pravus. No reprisals." There wasn't much more the stallion knew about the incident, but it was likely to tell El as much as it had told him about her political stability right now. He'd gambled by accepting her.
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Post by Trebias on Mar 15, 2008 1:52:37 GMT -5
El hadn't been sure what he'd been expecting. He had expected something more along the lines of her calling Serafino's wings "bits and pieces" or something of that nature. That told some troubling tales of her.
"Did she even do anything about this?" El asked. "Nobody was punished, which could mean a lot of things, but most of those are bad, and if she didn't try anything, then it's open season on her. I hope she's got some powerful magic or something else to offer. You didn't fill her up with another brood of kids, did you?" It would be entirely plausible, El thought.
"I wonder if I shouldn't try and gather some information. I can plausibly say that I'm trying to catch up since I've been isolated for so long. Maybe I can get a feel for the political climate here as it concerns us. I'll see if anyone's willing to talk about the doe, too. What else have we got?" He was actually enjoying this a little. He had missed the city, as much as he liked his cabin back in the Marsh. Maybe he'd pay a visit to the Court of Clubs and see how things were looking over there.
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Post by seraaches on Mar 15, 2008 2:02:54 GMT -5
Rai gave a small shrug, showing his own concern about it as well. Especially in the Court of Hearts, it implied an almost unnatural weakness. He gave an annoyed snort, however, about the kid prod. "If she's pregnant," he said disapprovingly. "It wasn't from me." He paused for a long moment. "Not that I wouldn't consider it." His next snort was amused at that thought.
He pushed on, however, before the canine could mock him further; that was one thing that he had missed even as he didn't look forward to it. There was a natural comradiery between them now, hardly surprising with a glance to their past.
"It might be wise for you to poke around some," the equine said quietly. "Samid will guarantee she returns straight to her rooms and with how tired she and Larry appear, you should be free to snoop for a bit. Just be careful. The people here won't kindly suffer an uppity Club."
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Post by Trebias on Mar 15, 2008 2:11:10 GMT -5
El snorted. He might consider it if he didn't think the doe would try to use that to manipulate him. That, and she apparently had issues. Elias does not DO crazy.
He had been prepared to Rai's assessment of other Hearts' reaction to him asking questions. It didn't make things easy, but it had to be done anyway, and Rai couldn't justify asking those sorts of questions, that was for sure.
"Well, they can't all be bad. Who do I need to try and talk to and who should I avoid?" If he could start there, that might help. "Some of the cooks might be a little more forthcoming for me, but I don't know how much they'd know. What do you suggest, Whip?" Hopefully Rai had some contacts that they could trust to fill him in on the latest happenings without trying to stab his face.
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Post by seraaches on Mar 20, 2008 22:28:13 GMT -5
Rai gave a small sigh at Elias' question. It wasn't unexpected, but it also wasn't something he really wanted to answer. People to avoid, let's see.
"If you see a man with a showing spine, that's Pravus. Avoid him. Obviously Queen Serafino is not a good person to run into." Rai put a hand against his forehead and massaged briefly at the bridge of his nose, trying to convince himself the action would offset his oncoming headache. It hadn't worked yet; oddly the stress headaches did not want to be so easily put off. "Really, El, you'll probably be better off avoiding most of the Face Cards. There aren't many I would trust with a Club, much less a lower-ranked Club."
The problem was that Rai just didn't really know much of the rest of the Court. He had his duties and they tended to keep him rather isolated from even Queen Serafino's Kings. He worked with The Queen of Hearts and his own business.
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