Walking With Strangers [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

She hadn't spoken to the other woman since she had left the court of Hearts. A good deal had happened, and she wasn't entirely sure if the Queen would be willing to speak to her. It wasn't like they were that close to begin with. The barely knew each other in passing, though there was the time Xiven had kindly decided to listen to her rant.

Viola couldn't grasp why she did such a thing.

But she decided to test the waters. Of course, it just so happened that the Queen wasn't in her office. And Viola was left to her own devices. A small sigh escaped her as she slithered down the hallway, a bag was carefully placed on her antlers, since she had no shoulders to help her carry things. A few tiny flowers were sticking out of the pack, typical of the snake hybrid.

She hadn't slithered very far before she heard footsteps. She stopped and craned her neck around to see if it was the Queen she had been searching for.

That most certainly was not her. But it was a rather interesting man who she had never seen before....

[carcinoGeneticist]

Ah, lunch. It was getting to be a rather nice ritual between himself and his Queen, when they could both spare the time. He got the impression that Xiven herself valued the interactions. They were a good chance for them to sit down and discuss the issues at hand, but more than that...

Well, the blush still coloring his cheeks and the satisfied smile on his face spoke volumes about the activities that could happen during an hour of time spent alone with the woman. He wore the bruises and scratches proudly. After all, it was a Queen's right to do as she pleased with her Kings, was it not?

Apocalypse carried in his monstrous hands several folders of papers. Going outside sometimes carried unfortunate side effects, he was quickly finding, but Xiven was adjusting to his little... mutation. He had some time before his arms started to really hurt, so he figured he'd drop the stuff off on Xiven's desk, check on Linnea, and then go wrap his arms up. It was only the post-sex bliss that kept him in a good mood. Whenever he caught sight of his reflection, his own bloody shadow... It made him feel tense. He hated this. He hated the way his own body had changed, hated Marie for acting as the catalyst, Andrei for trying to help, Bernard for being too damn distracted to fix him.

But he had Xiven and Spekkio. Xiven didn't seem to mind too terribly, and Spekkio activelly liked the damn things. He didn't get it, but he wasn't about to complain.

When the man turned the corner to Xiven's office, he was lost in thought. Even if he hadn't been, he wasn't exactly expecting to see anyone standing outside of it. The man blinked, then walked down the hall. "Excuse me," he called out as soon as he'd gotten a little closer. "Her Majesty is attending a meeting. May I help you with anything?"

[Kari Muffin]

Oh goodness. Viola hadn't noticed his hands at first, not until he was closer. Her eyes widened briefly when he spoke. Oh. Oh dear. She hadn't expected him to speak to her.

The snake deer's ears flicked back for a moment before she gave him a carefully considered smile. "I'm sorry, Your Highness" she began bowing her head. He was a King, and he must have been titled. Perhaps he was the one in some of those stranger rumors? "I was just looking to deliver a book to Her Majesty. We haven't spoken in a long while so I decided to pay her a visit... Y-you wouldn't happen to know when she might be back, would you, Your Highness?"

A blush was clearly creeping across the hybrid's face. It slowly spread away from the red slash thanks to her Highland heritage. It was painfully obvious that she wasn't trying to stare awkwardly at the human man. He was certainly a lot more interesting than a good deal of the people she had ever seen.

[carcinoGeneticist]

As he closed the distance between them, Apocalypse had a chance to actually look at the strange woman. There was no missing that she was part snake, but something else. Antlers and ears? Curious, deer seemed likely, especially with the shape of her ears. Highland mix, undeniably, there was nothing else that could have that white base with the golden swirls and red slashes he saw. The green, though... That was interesting, almost out of place, and intrigued him.

Really, whatever she was - after all, the voice was decidedly feminine - she was pretty, and what almost made her prettiest was the marking on her chest. Red. Heart. Jack.

Could it get much better? In Apocalypse's mind, something clicked.

The game was on.

As he finally stopped walking, the man leaned against the doorway, inclining his head to the side as he looked down at her. She was nervous, that much was apparent, and a slow smile made its way across his face. "I'm afraid I have to apologize, it could be a while. Might not be until late tonight, in fact... From what I heard, Governors of pretty much any town in Morganberry are adverse to change, which is a problem when two towns decide to co-operate a milling process. Really, a messy business." he waved a hand idly, a motion that looked strange when the size of his limbs was taken into account. "Ah, but that doesn't interest you, does it?"

He ducked his head with a quiet laugh, a blush of his own making its way across his cheeks. "I can... get ahead of myself sometimes. It seems a pity to see you leave so soon so... Why don't you come with me to my office? Maybe I can give you some company until then." he shrugged, then gave her another small smile.

He just needed to see what worked best.

[Kari Muffin]

Viola looked worried for a moment. She had come at a bad time... Xiven wouldn't want to see her after a difficult meeting like that, surely. A frown briefly hung on her face as she listened to the man.

Her ears perked upwards as she watched him blush. Oh my, he really was quite a nice gentlemen even if his hands were awful awkward. That must have been an awful mutation. Not as awful as the ones she had seen in her own family but... anyway. She needed to focus.

The blush grew deeper at the suggestion. "W-well I...." what was she supposed to do? Refuse a noble's kind invitation? It wasn't like she had any place to go. Not to mention she wasn't going to bother Uncle Bernard or anything like that. "Are you sure you want the company of a complete stranger like me? I'm not much of a talker or anything...."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The frown was a bit of a bad sign, but Apocalypse didn't lose hope yet. After all, he was still early in the game. He had a lot of opportunities to make up for lost time. It seemed like he was doing well in that regard already, because the woman's ears were perking forward, and she was staring at him. All the glances at his hands made him feel self-conscious, and he decided to let that show, drawing his hands to his side and awkwardly resting one on his thigh, rubbing absently at his leg.

Fucking a, he hated these oven-mitts. It took all his will to keep from snarling, and if there wasn't something much more interesting in front of him, he probably would have. He managed to keep his absent smile in place.

"If you don't spend time with a stranger sometimes, how are you supposed to make new friends? Besides, I'd like to hear how you met Xiven." he said, then paused. "My name's... Pale. I'd offer you a hand, but I wouldn't want you to think I was threatening you or anything."

Two potential shots there. First off, she wouldn't have to feel awkward about trying to shake when she had no hands of her own. Not to mention she was spared from dealing personally with his own strange mutation. Another potential point - the name. He loved his name, but to this sweet stranger, it might come across as somehow odd. Apocalypse? Ffff. This would also save him the irritation of having her hear someone other than himself call him Pale and learn his nickname that way.

"Walk with me," he suggested, expression brightening. "My room isn't far from here. Tell me... Have you been to the Palace before?"

[Kari Muffin]

She blinked. He made a valid point on both subjects. She gave a snake equivalent of a shrug and smiled. "Aha, Well, my name is Viola," she responded a bit brighter than she had been previously. He seemed like an honestly good man, and she never could assume he was acting this way. The thought never crossed her mind, actually. Her ears flicked as she looked up at him.

Walking huh? All right, she might as well go with him. She had nothing to lose. Might as well suck up being shy and make a new friend. Her smile grew brighter at the thought of having friend of any sort.

Oh innocent Viola blinked at his question and gave him a very blank stare for a few moments. Of course he wouldn't know about that but it was always so strange to have someone ask that. "I grew up here. I'm actually the daughter of His Majesty Serafino and Gaston."

And then she noticed the bruises and scratches that the man wore. She gave a soft worried sound. "I'm sorry to pry, but are you all right? Some of those bruises look awful!"

[carcinoGeneticist]

"Viola," he echoed, closing his eyes and nodding, then giving her his most charming grin. Which was, of course, filled to the brim with teeth, but he couldn't help that, could he? "That's a beautiful name." then he blushed a little deeper and looked away, laughing and scratching the back of his head absently. "Ahhh, there I go again! I'm sorry, Miss Viola, sometimes my tongue gets the best of me."

The next thing she said actually took him by surprise, and he froze outside of his door, a hand on the doorknob as he frantically searched both his and Rhiannon's memories. There was nothing recent enough for him to worry about. Rhiannon had known of the girl, of course, but that had been... a very long time ago, and Rhiannon had been more interested in Viola's sister. He also learned that Hadrian had similar interests.

Hm. That was something he'd have to keep in mind, something that could potentially be of use. He took his hand away from the door and knelt in front of Viola, his head bowed low.

"I... I must say, it truly is an honor to meet you, Miss. I haven't been serving at the Court for long, and meeting someone who has such ties..." he looked back up at her, his eyes bright, his smile full. The man looked genuinely excited. Which, in a way, he was. He hadn't thought he'd ever meet either of Gaston's daughters, but here one of them was. "It's really an honor, and a privilege. Please, come in, make yourself comfortable."

Of course, when he was closer, she could see his injuries. That would be a fun one to explain.. He laughed, shrugging off her concern. "Please, don't worry about it. Sometimes her Majesty becomes... eager in her ministrations. It's true when they say a King plays many roles." he'd leave it at that, see how she reacted. After all, if the idea of him having multiple lovers upset him, there was no point in continuing.

[Kari Muffin]

He had quite a set of teeth, and quite a silver tongue. The snake hybrid blushed a bit at the compliment. There were very few people who had been kind enough to compliment her on such a thing. And all those people had been trust worthy. Maybe, just maybe she could make a friend?

Her eyes widened briefly as he spoke with such respect. Her blush grew deeper as it slowly spread to almost cover her entire face. No one had given her such respect before. After all it wasn't like she was the one that everyone respected. She had always been shy little Viola who sat in the shadow of her family. Daddy really was the only one who paid much attention to her, and treated her like a Princess.

This was nice.

She slithered inside the room, clearly cheerful as she went.

The comment about his bruising made her tilt her head. What... exactly did he mean by that? He didn't mean... that did he? "Oh... well then." She said as she looked around the room. "Oh but, thank you so much for inviting me to your office! It's quite lovely. I haven't been in the palace for so long, Your Highness, and it's changed quite a bit."

[carcinoGeneticist]

As the woman slithered into his room, Apocalypse stood and held the door open for her, then paused, watching to make sure she was settled before simply stepping away from the doorway, his claws sliding across the wood slowly. The door was still open slightly. That felt safe, for the time being. If things progressed - and really, the more he watched her, the more he was hoping he'd be able to get through that innocent layer and find out what the girl was like when the lights were off - it would be easy enough for him to close the door.

He crossed the room, then pulled out a chair, nodding to it and smiling at her. It was wide and flat, designed for those with animal forms, and would hopefully be comfortable even for someone with as unique a build as Viola. Then he slipped into his seat, resting a leg across his lap and leaning back, steepling his oversized digits as he watched her.

Dimly, he wondered what she would feel like, and it almost made him shiver.

"It serves well enough. Really, all the accommodations here are. My room's even nicer, though, which is good. Gives me someplace to look forward to coming back to at the end of the day." how many innuendos could he fit into a simple statement without being too forward? That would give him a good idea of exactly how innocent sweet little Viola was. "What was it like when you were here?"

It was probably a good thing that Gaston didn't live here anymore. Otherwise, he'd likely pulverize the man for thinking such impure thoughts about his sweet little daughter.

"So you knew Xiven from before... How did you meet her?" he leaned forward, expression one of open curiosity.