New Accommodations [Closed]

[carcinoGeneticist]

As it happened, Ceren wasn't doing anything particularly important when the servant knocked at the door into her chambers. This wasn't a common occurance, to be sure, with paperwork coming in frequently, but for now it was quiet and restful. The letter was unfolded and scanned over quickly, then considered for a careful few minutes, one finger running absently across the length of her beak. She had never met the other King, only knew him by reputation, but was thankful for his presence... It seemed a small thing to meet with him and help him with the matter at hand.

First, though, she needed to track down her own daughter. The sparrow stood and glanced out the window, looking for that tell-tale flash of white-and-blue that marked either her father or her daughter - and there it was, rolling about in a patch of longer grass and dancing happily. Ceren chuckled to herself and went out to tell her daughter that there was a new member of the court who would be delighted to meet her.

Once the younger Lakelander had been gathered and informed of the goings-on, it didn't take long for them to reach Khushrenada's chambers. Kaiesha looked from her mother to the door, grinning widely all the while. "So... So there really is another kid here? For me to play with?"

Of course the girl would be excited. Since her sister had left for Yarrow, Kaiesha had been the only child in the court other than some young serving girls who were far too nervous to ever really play with the young Jack. Ceren nodded, smiled, and then knocked at the door.

[The Jenn]

"Who's outsmarting who?" Khushrenada asked with a touch of amusement in his voice. Watching her frolic and play was a pleasant enough sight, so long as she wasn't invading too much of his personal space in the process. "It looks like the furniture nearly got the best of me. But yes, I can call for some juice. Hopefully grape with a straw will satisfy." So long as it was fruity, she would probably drink it. Right?

He went to the door and called for another servant, having dearly missed the conveniences of the palace and its staff. Had it been something for himself, he probably would have meandered his way down to the kitchens and enjoyed the walk. As it was, he didn't want to leave the child alone in the room for too long.

A moment more and the drinks were delivered. He'd ordered himself a glass of cranberry juice, figuring it to be too tart for her young palette, and had just sat down to drink it when another knock sounded on the door. That was always the way of things, though. He stood once more and answered, his neutral expression turning to one of pleased surprised upon spying the Selkie King at his door. "Your Highness, I presume? A pleasant surprise. I hadn't expected your company so soon. Please, come in. And this young lady is...?" Thank the suits, another child!

[Lucca]

Mirriam grinned at him, still fluttering excitedly around. Their suite was fairly large, and there was planty of room to play. Eventually, of course, she would get bored and want to go exploring and find all those secrets in the palace. "Grape juice is yummy!" she proclaimed, and continued zipping around in the air until said juice arrived.

"Yay! Thank you sir!" she chirped happily, alighting on the end table again to sip at the drink. But her ears perked curiously as someone else was knocking on the door. She didn't get up though, not until she heard Mr. Birdy address whoever it was, and her eyes widened. She'd been taught the proper Court titles pretty early on, and she immediately darted forward, trying to look over Khushrenada's shoulder.

"Who is it?" she asked in an awed whisper. Was there really a KING at the door? That was exciting! But all she could really see past her current caretaker's form were that whoever was there was white, with blue markings...and was that a beak? Another bird then.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The man who opened the door was very properly cut, and Ceren had to nod inwardly. He looked to her exactly as a Diamond should - elegant, proper, and rather dashing to boot. If she looked upon men with even the slightest amount of favor, she would likely be rather attracted to him. Since that wasn't the case, however, she simply smiled and gave the man a small nod of approval.

"I had nothing in immediate need of my attention, so it only made sense to see what I could help you with.[/b]" she replied, brushing back a strand of light-blue hair. She glanced into the room when she heard something move, a curious expression entering her eyes for a moment. That would be the unofficial business, then? "This is my daughter, Kaiesha.[/b]"

The girl was staring into the door behind the man's shoulder at the flying thing that was there, eyes wide. She'd never seen a bat before, especially not a bat with horns! She hid behind her mother slightly, too shy to say anything, but continued to peer out at the other child as she was lead into the room.

[The Jenn]

Having a small bat flying around was something that the kite had yet to get used to. So close to his shoulder, it was impossible for the birds not to notice his new charge. "Very good to meet you, Miss Kaiesha," he said to the young Selkie ducked behind her mother. "I'm glad that both of you could come. Actually, I recently found a child myself and have possibly taken on the responsibility of caring for her, depending on whether or not I can locate her parents in the coming months. This is Mirriam."

He stepped slightly to the side so that both of them could get a good look at the young Avington bat hovering in the air. "Mirriam, this is Her Highness Ceren and her daughter, Miss Kaeisha. Please be polite. I'm guessing that she's lived in the palace for a lot longer than you have. She might be able to tell you one or two of its secrets."

Please, let them get along. It would be such a relief and give him much more time to work if the girl could be sent off to play for long period of time with an appropriate young friend. Maybe the influence of her rank would rub off on the young bat as well.

[Lucca]

Mirriam almost openly stared as the two visitors walked into the room. She'd never seen someone with those markings before...it was pretty! All the white and blue and the extra fluffiness they seemed to have. And this woman was a King and...and she had a daughter? Mirriam craned her neck a bit, noticing the smaller shape hiding behind her mother's leg. She offered a cheerful, friendly smile to this person.

"Hi!" she said happily as she was introduced, and her ears perked as she nodded at Mr. Birdy. She'd be polite, of course she would. But an eager smile spread across her muzzle as she heard about how this new child might know the secrets. Hopefully they weren't so secret she couldn't share! The little bat let herself drop to the floor to be closer to the other child. "Nice to meet you, Miss Kaeisha," she said, bowing her head slightly, and looking at Khushrenada out of the corner of her eye to make sure she was doing this right. Then, all the supposed formalities out of the way, she awkwardly walked a bit closer, her form not really made for travelling along the ground. "So how long have you lived here? How old are you? I just turned six! You must know so many secrets about the court can you show me them too?" Her eyes were alight with excitement. She really had no concept of the fact that it might scare shyer people off to be bombarded with so many questions.

[carcinoGeneticist]

As her mother spoke to the tall man, Kaiesha perked up, continuing to look around at the bat that was fluttering there. Her eyes were bright, and when she was spoken to she chirped happily, a slight flush covering her lightly-colored cheeks, clear even under the feathers. "Thank you," she responded demurely, warming up to the strange avian man rather quickly. He was male, sure, but at the same time he was ever so handsome and charming. "It's lovely to meet you as well. And you too, Miss Mirriam."

Ceren smiled slightly at her daughter, touching the girl's head and motioning back to the bat. "Why don't you show her around?[/b]" in reply, the half-sparrow chirped brightly, nodding.

"Follow me!" she said as the bat walked closer. She'd have to walk slowly, with the other girl's strange gait, but that was fine. She could cope with it, it was like walking with her family when they wore their animal forms. "I've lived here my whole life! Did you know His Majesty Theofilus is my granpapa? And Her Majesty Iria is my momma! I'm nine, so I'm old enough to show you around. There's a really cool garden in the back,"

As she watched them walk away, Ceren glanced after them, a small smile on her beak. Kaiesha could show the girl a thing or two. Then she turned her attention back to the King. "So, how did you end up with that interesting problem?[/b]"

[The Jenn]

Khushrenada caught the young bat's eye when she glanced over for approval and gave her the barest of nods. The child learned quickly, he had to admit. It was just a matter of remembering to tell her to do certain things... and not to do certain others. There was a reason he'd never had any. Such frustrating things. If he couldn't find word of the girl's parents, though, he might end up with one whether he wanted to or not. He could always turn her over to the care of someone else, but he wasn't sure if such a thing would be entirely appropriate. Damned complications.

As soon as the children had chattered at one another and departed, the kite gestured politely for the sparrow to enter his main room. Wouldn't do to leave her standing in the hallway. "Would you believe me if I told you that I just found her, wandering around lost in Avington with a large, flashing 'problem' sign above her head?' he asked with a sigh, closing the door and walking over to a piece of furniture that had not recently been used as a child's jungle gym. "I know that her name is Mirriam, she's six years old, she likes fruit, and she doesn't know where her mother is. Beyond that, she's unwilling to speak on the matter."

[Lucca]

Mirriam smiled widely as Kaisha agreed to show her around. This would be fun! She hadn't had a chance to explore yet, so there was still much of the place that she hadn't seen. She happily followed the other child as they left the room, leaving the adults to sit around and talk about boring stuff or...whatever adults did for fun.

Her eyes widened as Kaisha explained her heritage. "REALLY?" she gasped. "Does that make you a princess? That's so cool!" It would probably be obvious that other than the small crash course in royalty she'd been given from Knushrenada, she really was unaware of how the Courts worked. Her ears twitched up happily, looking around at the halls as she folowed Kaisha.

"A garden? I love gardens! Let's go there first," she cried excitedly, hoping that some fruit trees grew there. Or at least some pretty flowers or tall trees.

[carcinoGeneticist]

Ceren stepped into the room graciously, happy for the chance at conversation with another adult at the very least. Her daughter was her joy, but the girl had... quite the mouth on her, and a brain to match. She was clever. That, of course, meant that she was well aware of what was going on around her and wanted nearly constant clarification on the things that she observed. The sparrow didn't mind the questions, as it made her feel comfortable about the girl's future, but on the same token... It was exhausing.

She sat in the offered chair, her feathers fluffing slightly as she did. She watched the man as he spoke on how he'd found himself the guardian of such a strange child, curiosity bright in her blue eyes. Then she leaned back, scratching lightly at her chin with a navy talon.

"That is quite the situation indeed,[/b]" she commented softly, shaking her head slowly as she thought about it more. "It sounds like it's a good thing that you found her, though. She seems to be in well enough help, and if she's too much trouble I'm sure Kaiesha wouldn't mind helping you to keep her entertained.[/b]" a small smile flittered across her face, gone as quickly as it had come.

The hybrid child had a bounce to her step as she lead the way, beaming back at her newfound companion. "I... Hmm, I guess it kinda does, almost." she'd never really thought about it, simply accepting her place as the child of nobility unquestioningly. It was pretty cool, though, and she chirped delightedly. "Are you gonna live here now? Since my sister moved away, I haven't had anyone fun to play with... That would be so cool!"

She led them to a door that was open to the outside, a cool breeze flowing into the halls from it. Outside was a reasonably large and well-maintained garden rich with all varieties of flowering plants and fruit trees. In the distance, the lake could be seen clearly, catching the sunlight and glittering. Kaiesha looked at Mirriam, blue eyes curious. Wow.. She had a blue nose! And not only that, it was shaped like a leaf! Clearly impressed, the girl sat back on her haunches, giggling softly. "I like your nose, Miss Mirriam."