Fools Can Be Kings [Xenon]

[Blue]

The sunlight coming through the big glass windows in the hallway warmed Calanthe as she padded along. Xiven was busy with the mountains of paperwork in her office, so the canine decided to take a walk so The Queen could have some peace and quiet. It was different exploring the Court on her own, since what she had already seen had been with Xiven by her side.

Soon, Cal came upon a very large door. Putting her ear up to it, she could hear what sounded like fighting going on behind it. She'd heard from Xiven that there was sparring room somewhere in the Court, so maybe this was it? Curious, she nosed her way through the door.

Looking around, she finally noticed a pair of people grappling with each other inside the vast room. One was a very pale man, and his lack of a shirt made his various scars quite visible. The other, a woman, was also shirtless (and bound around her chest thankfully), but the scar of hers that Cal could see prominently was the one across her face. Such a pretty face too...

They seemed to stop, and for a second, the Yarrow woman wondered why. Then she noticed that their collective gaze was focusing in on her. "Oops." she thought to herself. Instead of continuing to stand there awkwardly, she began to move closer to the door as she called to the pair. "Sorry! I didn't mean to intrude. I let my curiosity get the better of me. I'll just be going now..." Cal blushed slightly as embarrassment began to set in.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Sometimes, the bright point of Apocalypse's day was the chances he'd get to unwind in the sparring room. He didn't usually care who he sparred with; there was just something extremely liberating about moving until his muscles ached and screamed. It also had the lovely effect of helping him to actually enjoy sitting down to work on his mountains of paperwork.

Rhiannon wasn't his preferred sparring partner just because of their mental link, but when it was the middle of a stressful day he'd take anything over just sitting on his ass and frustrating himself more about things outside of his control. So they sparred together, practicing offensive and defensive maneuvers against each other, well aware that they would never manage to surprise the other with a surprise attack or a feint. That was fine. Apocalypse could work on those issues another day. For now, he'd be content just to leave the hall sweaty and tired.

When the door slipped open, man and woman were clinging to each other, each bracing themselves in an effort to gain ground on the other. Rhiannon would push and Apocalypse would push right back. In terms of sheer size, he had the clear advantage, but she... She had the strength of a Weapon. He didn't notice that someone had slipped into the room until his foot lost purchase and Rhiannon managed to shove him back a foot, almost overbalancing him. He laughed at her, then froze when he realized they were being watched.

Two sets of eyes, one orange and one yellow, turned to stare at the Yarrow. Apocalypse felt himself tense slightly, and Rhiannon was quick to pick up on his discomfort. Yarrow, canine, Diamond. Everything matched. This must have been the woman that his Queen was spending so much of her time with.

"Were you looking for something?" The man asked, his tone rather rigid.

[Blue]

Just as she was about to head out the door, the man called out to her. Ears perking up, she turned back around to face the pair. His tone stung a little, but she shrugged it off. After all, she was a Diamond in the Court of Hearts. Deciding not to be rude and shout across the room at them again, she walked forward to close the gap between them.

As she did this, she looked more intently at the man and woman. The man was clearly a King of Hearts, the bright red markings vivid on his bare chest. But the woman...she had nothing. Suddenly, a bit of information that Xiven had divulged to her came to her mind. Stopping about 5 feet away, she realized this must be her King, Apocalypse, and his Weapon, Rhiannon. Xiven hadn't said much about them, but no one else could be the one she called "Pale" but the man in front of her.

His fiery eyes bore into hers as she looked up at him to answer his question. "I wasn't looking for anything in particular, Your Highness. Just...wandering around. Again, I apologize for interrupting." She bowed to him, because after all, he was royalty. "My name is Calanthe, Your Highness. I'm here visiting Her Majesty, Xiven. May you be her King, Apocalypse?"

[carcinoGeneticist]

The canine was staring at them with a curious expression, and Apocalypse was only too aware of the way her eyes lingered at his breast, taking the marking there into consideration. His eyes followed hers to Rhiannon's, the empty expanse of skin there giving away quite a lot about both of them to someone who was familiar with Xiven, he was sure. Something in his expression tightened, his face slowly pulling into a grin that those who knew him would recognize as showing too many teeth.

He had to be polite.

With all the tension in the air between himself and Xiven as of late, he couldn't risk starting something with a woman she was by all accounts quite fond of. After all, he had other lovers. It was only fair that she should have some as well, wasn't it? A nagging thought in the back of the man's head proclaimed, quite clearly, that none of his lovers gave Xiven asthma attacks or sneezing fits. As the canine drew closer, Rhiannon took a step closer to him, lightly resting her hand against his arm, almost a warning that he needed to keep himself under control.

I know, Rhi. "I figured as much. After all, as common as Yarrows might be in the Diamond court, it's not every day I see one here." He was smiling as he said it, his tone maintaining a light and cheerful quality that betrayed none of his inner turmoil. "That I am. It's quite the pleasure to finally meet you, Miss. I hope that you've had a good visit thus far."

[Blue]

As polite as Apocalypse was, when he flashed his sharp, toothy grin at her, Calanthe couldn't help but shy away a little. That kind of smile looked so very intimidating. Keeping her cool, she focused on what he said to her. She noticed that Rhiannon had also moved closer to the King. Was something indeed wrong with her being there? Maybe it was because she hadn't acknowledged her yet? Quickly remedying that, Cal spoke after Apocalypse was finished.

"I have enjoyed my time here so far. It's really been a pleasant experience. However, before I say anything further, I'd also like to introduce myself to you, Miss Rhiannon. Xiven has told me a bit about you as well, and it's an honor to meet you in person." She bowed to the Weapon too, to cover her bases. She didn't want to piss off her new acquaintances, especially since they had such high standings in the Court.

Straightening up again, she looked at the pair, and smiled. This seemed to be going well so far.

[carcinoGeneticist]

To one as practiced as Apocalypse was with reading the more subtle facial expressions, the slight flicker of nerves in regards to his smile did not go unnoticed. It didn't bother him, however. It just made him feel a little bit better about the situation, though really... It wasn't by much. Just looking at her, he could remember the pain. He could remember the fear. The more he remembered it, the harder it got for him to maintain his pleasant mask.

At his side, his fist clenched. Rhiannon moved in, blocking the woman's view of that, giving a crooked little half-smile in response. "Has she, now?[/b]" The weapon replied easily, glancing up at her summoner with a raised eyebrow. Then she nudged him with her elbow. "Well, that's funny. I never figured I'd account for much next to Pale. I'm just his weapon, after all, and he's her King." How much had Xiven told the woman? Hopefully it wasn't much.

The corner of the man's mouth twitched, straining to keep its pleasant expression. "I'm sure she knows that, Rhi," he said softly, never taking his eyes off the Yarrow. He took another deep breath, willing his body to relax again. "She and Xiven are rather close... Aren't you, Miss?"

The question in that statement was rather empty. Rhiannon knew. Apocalypse knew. He knew better than anyone exactly how far his Queen had gone with the pretty canine. He could almost say that he knew about it intimately. "Anyway, I appreciate that you've wandered in my direction. At least I know not to try and sleep with my Queen for a few days." His smiled widened. It didn't meet his eyes.

[Blue]

Everything that Rhiannon just spouted at her was exactly the extent of what she knew of the female; that she was Apocalypse's Weapon, and not much more. "Actually, that's all that Xiven has said about you. She mentioned that you, Apocalypse, are her King and you, Rhiannon, are his Weapon. I believe she also mentioned that you are a scythe. That's all." If there was anything else Xiven had told her about these two, it wasn't coming to mind at the moment.

Her thoughts were interrupted though, at the King's next comment. Her eyes looked straight at his face. Seemed like he knew what had happened between the Queen and herself. With much determination, she fought the urge to blush, and in the end, was able to keep her composure. "The Queen has been constantly kind to me during my visits here, so it seems only natural that we remain close. Especially since I don't know many other people here at the Court of Hearts. Except Peaches, who was the person who originally brought me here in the first place. If not for her, I would never have come here at all. And I'm so very glad she did," she said with another bright smile.

Calanthe could feel herself beginning to get upset, but she worked her Diamond charm to it's fullest potential to mask her underlying feelings. She wouldn't let this man get to her.

[carcinoGeneticist]

In response to the woman's statements, Rhiannon gave a small nod, then glanced back at Apocalypse. She was utterly at a loss as to what she should do. A part of her wanted to stay on the outside, in a physical body, in case things got out of hand between the pair. On her summoner's side, at least, the tension was thick enough that she was fairly certain she could cut it with her blade. There was always a possibility that she could help more internally, however, trying to mend his enraged emotions before they even got an opportunity to manifest on his face or in his posture.

As she considered it, Apocalypse's eyes were kept steady on the Yarrow, blinking very rarely. His pupils had narrowed to mere slits.

She was speaking idle jabber, for the most part. Words that sounded nice but really meant very little. Of course Xiven was nice to her. She was sleeping with the woman. If she'd invited her back, then that meant that his Queen was likely rather fond of her, something that made the man tense all over again. The mention of Peaches was almost too much, and it took all of the King's self control to keep from sneering openly. Peaches. "Watch out for her," he replied in a good-natured tone, raising his eyebrows. "She'll make you fuck people you hate if you get on her bad side and essentially turn you into a rapist. Oops. I wasn't supposed to talk about that, was I?"

He glanced back at Rhiannon, still grinning widely. His underlying feelings were creeping out into the open, and with the addition of Xiven's mother into the equation, he was angrier now than he'd been before. Of course she'd had something to do with this. She's probably realized the effect that sleeping with a Yarrow would have on Xiven's body and, in turn, on his own.

"I'm exhausted, Pale," Rhiannon broke in, resting a hand on his shoulder and giving him an imploring look. "I think I'll leave the two of you to it. Miss Calanthe, it was a pleasure to meet you." She smiled openly at the canine, then her form shifted to a weapon - a scythe indeed. A rather large scythe, in fact. Apocalypse held it for a moment, continuing to watch the Yarrow. His smile had vanished.

"Do you know why I can't say I'm fond of you?" He finally asked, the weapon simply vanishing, leaving his hands hanging loosely at his sides.

[Blue]

She was at a loss for words. What he said didn't make any sense to her at all. The feline had never done anything wrong to her, but instead the complete opposite. Whatever she'd done to him, he probably deserved it. His façade was beginning to slip, and she could see it as his eyes narrowed and his grin widened. The King of Hearts in front of her was slowly showing his true colors.

Her fur began to puff out slightly as she prepared to defend the Jack of Hearts who wasn't present to do so herself. Cal stepped forward so she was a few feet closer, so her words would have more impact. "I don't know, nor do I care, what Peaches has done to you in the past. I'll admit I was wary when I first met her in the Gardens, but that feeling is gone. So, until she does something to hurt me personally, I will consider her a friend. Too bad you had to get on her bad side."

It felt good to get that out in the open. Not like he seemed to listen to what she said. Rhiannon clearly sensed the growing tension and did not want to get caught in the middle of it. The canine watched the woman transform into a rather large scythe, and then disappear altogether. At least she'd been polite to Cal.

Well, obviously he wasn't fond of her. That was painfully clear. And Calanthe was aware that is was most likely because she had had sex with his Queen. Letting a sigh escape, she turned her head up and looked the man in the face. "I can only think it's because I slept with Xiven. However, I don't see why that bothers you all that much. These large halls are filled with whispers, and some are of your own sexual escapades, Your Highness. I've learned that much in the short time I've been here."

[carcinoGeneticist]

The idea that someone would bother to defend Peaches - it almost made the King want to laugh. He did, in fact, but it was a harsh sound with very little actual mirth in it. When he looked down at the woman, there was a harshness in his eyes, something sharp and angry and barely contained. He shifted a little bit closer, his lips finally closing over his teeth and then curling into a rather thin smile. "See to it that you don't let your guard down around her, miss. If you aren't careful, you could wake up in bed with someone you might not have expected."

Beyond that, there wasn't a lot to say. Even the memory of the woman's spell made the King shiver uncomfortably, a reminder of an unclean feeling he was sure he'd never be able to fully forget. Slowly, his smile faded completely, his face slipping into a mask of calm.

All but his eyes. Those remained sharp, angry.

The more Calanthe spoke, in fact, the more angry Apocalypse's eyes became. He stood just a little straighter, a subconscious attempt at increasing his height and making him appear almost more imposing. All the while, he didn't blink, just continued to watch the woman as his Weapon vanished and she then began to speak. She looked him in the eye, too, and he wondered for a moment how long she'd be able to keep that up.

The things she said just made his anger hotter, more difficult to ignore. Even with Rhiannon in his mind, trying to soothe him, he knew he was quickly reaching his boiling point. He could keep this in control enough that he wouldn't feel any backlash, he was sure. He just couldn't lay a finger on her, was all. He didn't need to to do what he wanted to do, and that was make her feel as much pain as she'd forced him to feel. Rather abruptly, his smile returned. "You stupid bitch," he said with a laugh, his grin broadening. "Are you really so ignorant as to think I'd have a problem with Xiven sharing her bed with someone else? Like you said - that would be foolish and hypocritical of me. No, it would also imply that you're the only other lover she has, which is far from the truth."

The man took another step forward, his lip curling in a rather cruel sneer. "No... It's because you're a Yarrow. Have you really gone through your entire life without knowing about the Incompatibility? If you and Xiven had been upfront with me - then it wouldn't have been a problem. No, instead I had a rash all over my penis. For a week."