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Post by The Jenn on Jan 11, 2010 0:55:51 GMT -5
Thyme didn't realize how close she'd come to offending the man, her mind only on her sister and Rose's often precarious social interactions. Her tail tucked in even tighter as the smells permeating her chair threatened to distract her. Things like this were why she didn't like sitting down anywhere besides her room. Because people had sex everywhere. Her sister might laugh, but it was annoying and unfair and uncomfortable.
Yes. Uncomfortable. She understood that feeling oddly well. "It takes a special sort of person to like Rose. I'm one of them, but, well... I guess everyone in our family is 'special' in a less than complimentary way somehow. She's actually my favorite sister. We get along very well. But I know why she rubs a lot of people the wrong way. She never got on well with our aunt."
And she impregnated the King of Hearts on their first meeting. Way to go, Rose. Joe would beat her upside the heat if she knew, probably. Especially since he wasn't a Highlander.
Maybe only because he wasn't a Highlander. Guh.
She nibbled at a sandwich when they came in, satisfied with the ham, and then moved onto tea. Trust them to have a Highland blend in the palace of Hearts. A good one, too. Mmm. She sipped and ate for a moment while she listened, a bite pausing halfway to her mouth as he finished. "You... met our parents? Really? I'm honestly very surprised. They're very reclusive, especially our mother. One of my most vivid childhood memories is of her throwing a fit when a pair of travelers had to stay at our house overnight after our father invited them inside. I suppose if you brought a grandchild, though, she would be fine. But Mom and Dad certainly don't represent the rest of us. I went to live with my aunt in the Highlands when I was fourteen." She didn't know much about her mother's off days. Rose hadn't seen fit to tell her yet. But she knew that the meeting would have to be pretty strange.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 11, 2010 1:35:32 GMT -5
Special sort of person. That seemed like a bit of an understatement, but he didn't want to judge. They were sisters. That could mean a lot. Beyond that, he had no idea how weird or normal her other siblings might have been. Maybe Rosemary was just the least fucked-up of the others, so she was favorite by default? Not that it really mattered, Thyme just seemed so... sane. Not only that, but she was titled nobility. That... did count for something, didn't it?
One could never be sure. Apocalypse poked at the offending sandwich with his claw, staring at the indentation left behind in the bread. "Perhaps I would like her more if we had met under different circumstances. I can't really say for sure." He grimaced slightly. "I just... I want Linnea to be happy. It's..."
His voice tapered off, and then he smiled. Fuck that line of discussion, he didn't really want to get into it and he was sure that Thyme really didn't want or need to know about his own issues with raising a daughter he had never been sure he'd really be able to love. He was doing alright, but there was still that lingering doubt. Her parents and their weird were more than enough to distract him from that, and hopefully it would draw her attention away as well.
"I don't think she wanted to bring me with, honestly," he said, then took another bite of the dissatisfying sandwich. "She's a Squirrel, as is your Mother... Rosemary wanted her to meet her granddaughter, which I understand, but I think I made myself quite troublesome by refusing to let her go anywhere without me. I just... I don't know her well enough to trust her alone, in the Wood, with my only daughter. I'm terrified that... Hnn."
Again, his voice tapered off. God damn, he kept edging into territory that seemed dangerously close to offending the other King and then stopping himself mid-word. He probably sounded like quite the tard. He stuffed the last of the sandwich into his mouth, dull orange eyes flicking up to the woman to watch her closely. Stupid, Apocalypse. Really stupid.
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Post by The Jenn on Jan 11, 2010 2:09:33 GMT -5
These really were good sandwiches. Thyme went from ham to basil and cream cheese, sipping at the tea to clear her palette between bites. Yum. She didn't notice the King poking at his, paying more attention to not spilling her tea and not laughing at his words. If this didn't prove he was a person like the rest of them, she wasn't sure what would.
Rose was a good 'equalizer' like that.
"Your Highness, our family is complicated. I'm sorry that you were thrown into it without warning, you and your daughter. Sometimes I think there should be an instruction manual included just for our bunch. And Mom needs warning signs. And... personally? I wouldn't trust a child of mine to the Wood either. It's incredibly dangerous. You just... you don't even know. Rose doesn't think about things sometimes."
From herb to cheddar. Mmm. She downed another sandwich and fiddled with her cup for a moment. There were eyes on her from across the room and they were honestly pretty uncomfortable. People said that Tulgey eyes were eerie. Not so.
"I can promise you that I have no ill intentions towards your daughter. I don't want to take her anywhere, I don't want to influence her poorly, and I don't want to have a say in raising her. I just want to meet her. Family's an odd enough thing with us that I don't want it to rub off more than it has to. But all the same, Rose is the first of us to have any children and it's something kind of special to me. I may never have children of my own, so I at least want to meet hers."
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 11, 2010 2:32:56 GMT -5
At least someone was enjoying the sandwiches, even if the last bite of the stupid fucking cucumber went down like a mouthful of disgusting, slimy, and slightly bitter rocks. He'd have a talking to with someone in the kitchens later. Cucumber could be good, provided it came with loads of cream cheese and had its skins peeled off. The next one he picked up, he was much more careful about it - making sure he could smell meat before taking a small bite.
Salami. It was an improvement, though not much of one. Apocalypse liked his meat unsullied, for the most part, with weird and unidentifiable stuff. At least this was slightly more palatable, even if he was finding himself growing less and less hungry as time went on, even if he wasn't really eating. Bodies behaved oddly under stress. "It's not your fault. There's no need at all for you to apologize." He paused, then sighed and shook his head slowly. It had the unfortunate effect of tossing his hair in his face, and he brushed it back as best he could with the back of one hand. "...But I feel at least somewhat more justified, now. I'm sure I'm being overprotective in some regards, but in others, I don't know if there is such a thing when it comes to the Wood."
Even he felt a little nervous when he stepped into that place. It had made for an awesome story, one that had gotten him laid on at least one occasion, but he just couldn't imagine sending Rosemary there, alone, with an infant. He didn't care that she'd grown up there. She didn't look Tulgey to his eyes.
The sudden rush of words from Thyme caught Apocalypse somewhat off-guard, and he blinked at her, midway through using his oddly pointed teeth to scissor through a rather stringy piece of salami. He chewed it slowly as he watched her, considering her words. Then he smiled at her, those eyes of his going oddly soft. "I understand. I hadn't thought I would - could - have children before I had her. It took me a little by surprise. I'm just afraid that one day, I'll let Rosemary take her to visit some family in - fuck if I know, ah, pardon the phrase - backwater Golfam and I'll never see her - either of them - again." At least now he was getting the words out, even if he was losing some of the formality. This wasn't Court business, so he didn't have to feel too guilty about it. "Again, if I knew more about her, maybe this wouldn't be a fear, but... I don't know. Like I said, I'm afraid. I'm glad that you took the time to come by and meet her rather than just sitting back. I'm not trying to keep her away from her family."
Well, maybe he was, a little. But this one seemed normal enough that maybe - just maybe - he could relax on that issue.
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Post by The Jenn on Jan 11, 2010 14:16:34 GMT -5
Watching him eat with those teeth in a human face gave Thyme a tiny shiver down her spine. She'd watched her parents eat in that form often enough that she knew what it was supposed to look like. The sight was only more disconcerting with bits of lunch meat clinging to his teeth. She glanced to the side until he'd finished.
"If it's any consolation, our family's fairly limited. I don't know where Rose has friends, but the only family we have lives in the Wood, the Highlands, Corvistowne, and the Courts. Rose, Parsley, Sage, me... our parents... and Aunt Josephine. And I know where to find them all. If anything of the sort happens, you can bother me in Clubs and I'll help you find her." Because she honestly couldn't promise that Rose wouldn't abscond with his - their - child and run off. She certainly hoped her sister wouldn't do something like that, but there was no telling until it happened all of a sudden.
And you know, at least he cared. That was heartening. "I actually hadn't known that I was an aunt until about a month ago. Apparently she'd told our parents and forgotten that she hadn't told me, since I normally know things like this before them. I might have come sooner otherwise. I won't be too long, either, since we hope to reach our aunt's house before nightfall and I'm going to have to find Rose after this." Or before, if it turned out that she was already with her daughter.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 19, 2010 21:59:32 GMT -5
By the time he'd finished that sandwich, Apocalypse didn't reach for another. Things just weren't going well enough to try again - he was sure he'd get something really weird this time, like mayonnaise and avocado or something similarly disgusting. Lightly wiping his claws off on a napkin, the man sat back in his seat, regarding Thyme with mild curiosity. She was making an effort to put his mind at ease, which really, he quite appreciated.
"Thank you." He said, softly. There was a soft honesty in his voice as he spoke, and he glanced towards the floor once more. "I do appreciate it. I would like Linnea to have at least some interaction with her other parent, and with the rest of her family. I keep telling myself that it's natural to worry like this." He lightly ran a hand through his hair, then shook his head.
Then he shrugged, lightly, leaning forward to rest his chin in his palm. "I can't say I've entirely been the most helpful in those regards, either. There was a lot of animosity surrounding this whole pregnancy for a very long time. I can't say I'm entirely over it, but I think I'm getting there. One step at a time. It would have been nice to have spoken to you sooner, though, I have to admit." He grinned crookedly at her, giving her another half-shrug. Then he sat back, resting his hands on his knees for a second before standing. "Ah, of course. I didn't mean to keep you for so long. If you'll follow me, I'll lead you to the nursery."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 20, 2010 23:50:07 GMT -5
He hated this place. He hated this place and the people in it more than anything before. Leaving was impossible though. Even if he could get past the pressing nightmarish need he was fairly certain the Queen of Hearts wouldn't let him walk away so easily. So he was stuck. And now he was playing errand boy. Great. Conway stopped outside the front of the King's office. From what he could hear there was actually someone else in there with him. Perhaps that was the meeting that Xiven had been speaking of? He wasn't particularly paying attention to what the woman was saying. He sighed and leaned against the wall. He would just wait until whoever it was came out. He didn't exactly want to have to deal with Apocalypse more than necessary, and Her Majesty hadn't told her to interrupt the man if he was clearly busy. Little did the man know that someone he was familiar with was behind that door. |
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Post by The Jenn on Jan 23, 2010 8:40:17 GMT -5
Creepy teeth or not, he wasn't awful. And he seemed like he would take very good care of Rose's daughter while she was out flitting across the realms, which was a relief. What did Mom make of having a little squirrel grandchild, she wondered? Probably wanted to dress her up and put her in a chair for tea. Bleh.
"Of course. It was good to hear another side of the story," she said with a small smile. Then she stood, brushing her tail down with the back of her hand as she did so. The fronds were picking up the rose smell heavily in this place, though not quite so much in his office as it was elsewhere, and she wasn't looking forward to having her senses dunked in the fragrant perfume again.
She stepped outside the office and paused, taken aback by the malnourished man waiting outside. Good lord, was he ill? On his deathbed? She could see all of his ribs in stark relief. And what a strange color, although that interested her more than anything else about him. Non-region-specific colorations were... something of an interest of hers.
There would have been no spark of recognition if it hadn't been for her fronds. Even over the floral scent of the palace, the swampy smell of the man in the office, she could smell something... familiar. Something from her youth. A wolf. Pausing, she turned to face him fully and stared at his face. The young girl in her remembered.
So many things were 'off'. So many changes. So many alarm bells. But now that she'd smelled him, she could see it in his face. Her childhood friend. One of the only friends she'd had, alone in Aunt Josephine's house with old servants and pet Aces and rarely any company she could interact with.
"Conway?"
((What marking does he have on his chest right now? *curious*))
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jan 23, 2010 18:27:30 GMT -5
Conway didn't move when the door was open. His eyes just glanced in the direction as he continued to lean against the wall. He tried his beast not to make his nose wrinkle when the Highlander walked out of the room.
He didn't really recognize her. He hadn't been around when she had her accident with a month, so he had still assumed she was just as she always was. So when the woman stopped he could feel his muscles tighten.
And then she said his name.
His heart nearly stopped, his eyes widening in mild terror. Everything clicked entirely too fast as he pressed his body against the wall even harder. What was he supposed to do? This was that girl... Thyme wasn't it? Why was she here? How was he supposed to react? Could he deny who he was?
Shit.
This was not the hole he wanted to be in right now.
"Hi?" he said after a few more moments of panicked awkward silence.
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Post by carcinoGeneticist on Jan 23, 2010 18:42:30 GMT -5
As much as the man disliked having the damn Joker around, as much as he hated his company, Apocalypse had learned a lot about him during the last few months. It would have been impossible for him not to. As Thyme investigated the rather changed Hisstor, the King found himself shrinking away, eying the pair of them somewhat warily. Something was going on between them, that was obvious to tell, but he just didn't know what. That made him nervous.
But what was even worse was just being around the damn Joker. He put on a pleasant face when there were other people around. He told Xiven he was fine. He did what he needed to do to keep that fucking curse from injuring both of them. But...
He was still more frightened than he could say. His mouth set in a solid line, his eyes narrowing. She knew him? Part of him wondered if she would take him away. The rest of him was having a small panic attack, but he didn't let it show. This would be the first real test of Xiven's conditioning the man, and he just needed to have some faith in that. "Ah, you've met?" He interjected, recognizing Conway's own freak-out. He forced himself to smile. "Conway came to us recently. He's been working for Her Majesty and myself." His head spun. Hopefully, that would be enough.
Then he turned his attention fully on the man. "Is it... time already?" He asked, trying to keep vague. In the last few weeks, there had only been one reason Conway had come to him of his own will. Maybe this time it had something to do with Xiven. Please. It needed to be Xiven.
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