Small and Interesting Adventures [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Xiven couldn't help but laugh at canine's response to her mother. It was good to know that someone besides her actually sort of like the woman. Sometimes Xiven couldn't help but wonder. Her mother was a handful, but not many people actually got to see her normal and caring side of Peaches. Then again for a few years of Xiven's life she had pretended she was adopted.

"Make yourself comfortable," Xiven said as she brushed out her fur. "You should be fine on your own in the palace, but if you need someone to show you around my mother should be in her office. If she's not you can catch a lovely.... person named Ashley. They should be able to help you."

Xiven couldn't help but feel giddy despite everything. "I'll see if I can arrange something special for dinner." She said cheerfully before finally slipping out of the room. She had quite a bit of work to do, and if she was going to have dinner with Cal, comfortably she would have to work diligently to get done what needed to be done.

[Blue]

Cal thought about her options for a minute. It would be nice to see Peaches again, but it would be interesting to see what else the Palace had to offer. "I think I'm just going to talk a walk around by myself and see what I discover before dinner with you tonight. Good luck with your work!" she called out after Xiven as she slipped out of the door.

The canine set to cleaning herself up before she walked out of the room. She wondered if anyone knew about what had happened between her and the Queen, but she quickly put that thought out of her mind. It was simply impossible that news like that would be known around the Palace already. Or was it?

As Cal walked along, lost in thought, she almost tripped on someone. Thankfully, she noticed the bright yellow fur just in time, and stopped abruptly before causing any damage. What caught her eye next was something she'd never seen before. "Are those extra arms and hands? That's...different." Realizing that she was staring at the poor child, she quickly regained her composure.

"I'm sorry, dear! I didn't mean to almost trip over you like that. I sincerely apologize. My name is Calanthe, and I'm a visitor here. What is your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Kari Muffin]

The little yellow cat had been wandering around the palace, mostly to avoid the pile of homework he had received from his Esterberry tutor. The stupid bird had decided that he needed a bit of extra reading since he seemed to struggle with history. Honestly, he just thought it was boring. Who honestly cared about some rich dead Highlander?

On a whim he had decided to visit his mother. And she wasn't in her office like she usually was. So Maybe she was in her bedroom? It was worth a shot. Of course he didn't get very far before he was practically trampled by a Yarrow.

There had already been plenty of rumors about her mother and a Yarrow. Nothing about them being intimate, just simply rumors about his mother meeting a Yarrow.

And Xander didn't like it. He didn't like his mother having relationships with people other than his father, so this... this was just unacceptable. He gave the woman a slow smile and bow of his head. "It's fine. And it's nice to meet you Miss Calanthe. I'm Xander.... I haven't seen you around here before. What brings you to the palace?"

[Blue]

The canine picked up on some sort of undertone in Xander's voice and body language when he responded to her. Was that a bit of dislike she sensed? She brushed it off for the time being. Cal certainly didn't want this young boy to have a bad first impression of her.

"I was actually brought here first by Her Excellence Peaches just a couple of weeks ago. We met back in my home realm of the Yarrow Gardens. She hired me to come here to design a floral arrangement for Her Majesty, Xiven, since I am a florist by profession. I enjoyed my time here so much, that I felt compelled to return to the Court yesterday in order to spend some more time here."

Phew. That was a bit long winded, but hopefully it was short enough for Xander to get the gist of things. Maybe now she could find out a bit more about him? She wondered who's child he was. He seemed rather young, possibly in his early teenage years. He could be anyone's, really, at that age.

"So, what do you do around here, Xander? Do you have any brothers or sisters to keep you company here in the Palace?" There. That seemed like a good couple of questions to start off with. Nothing terribly personal quite yet. Hopefully he had a better reaction to her this time around.

[Kari Muffin]

Xander watched the woman with a blank expression as she spoke.

He didn't like her.

He didn't like her at all. Why was his mother with such a naive woman? Every word that came out of her mouth was just oozing with innocence and ignorance. His tail trashed rather violently as he forced his face to remain blank. A florist. His mother had rather horrible taste didn't she?

"I have quite a few siblings, actually. I'm sure Her Majesty has spoken about them." He gave the Yarrow a charming smile. "Perhaps you would like to see what I do around here, herm? I was just about to go to my room and collect my weapons. Wouldn't you like to see a Heart spar?"

Maybe if she played along he could lock her in a closet or something. Mom would have his head but it would be worth it. And honestly she seemed like she would fall for something like that.

[Blue]

As she spoke, Cal could tell that Xander was getting annoyed with her. This boy in front of her was slowly going from being on her good to side to being on her bad one. After meeting Sascha, she began giving younger males a chance to prove they weren't stupid men just yet. But, clearly, none of Xiven's pleasant personality traits had passed onto this particular child of hers.

Well, if he wanted to play 'nice', then she would play along. Certainly two could play this game.

"Ah, I did not realize you were one of Xiven's children! She had told me about all of you, but not in great detail. It truly is an honor then to get to finally meet you."

Oh, she was going to lay the sweetness on as thick as possible.

Weapons? Well, Xiven had mentioned that she sparred every so often, so it would seem that Xander was following in his mother's footsteps. But what sort of intention did he have by wanting to take her to the sparring room? She couldn't be too sure at this point. Maybe she should lead him off that path then...just in case.

"Maybe we could meet up at the sparring room? Your mother has shown me around the Palace a bit, so I have an idea of where it is. I was thinking of possibly heading to the kitchens first, to see if I could get something to eat. I wouldn't want to hold you up, Xander."

There. That should do it. If he showed any disappointment towards her reply, then it was quite possible he had been plotting something. He may think she was stupid, but that obviously wasn't the case. She'd get the boy to show his true colors one way or another.

[Kari Muffin]

Xander smiled, he wasn't going to let this woman win. And not her of all people. She hardly deserved someone as amazing as his mother. His fur would have stood on end if he wasn't able to calm himself down. Where did she get off calling his mother by just her name? She was just a six of diamonds.

He was going to show this bitch a thing or two.

"I think it's a bad idea to go to the kitchen at this time. They're preparing for dinner right now, and you wouldn't want to get stepped on. Not everyone is so kind to strangers in the palace." He gave her a charming smile. "I can go with you though. I'm rather close friends with one of the kitchen staff and they'd be willing to help you out I'm sure."

He wasn't going to let her out of his sight. Not yet.

[Nathalia]

Shivering Worm: This tiny, fuzzy, green worm is locked into a small glass case the size of a Human's palm. It shivers constantly and mewls softly in the night. What does it do...?

~Nathalia

[Blue]

This boy was definitely up to something. Maybe he just didn't like her all that much, and that was fine with her. The feeling was certainly mutual at this point.

"You know, you're quite right. I can just wait until I have dinner with your mother then. I wouldn't want to bother anyone down in the kitchens during a busy time like this."

Now that that was out of the way, how was going to get rid of this brat? Maybe she should just continue to play nice. She didn't want Xander to report back to Xiven with any bad things to say about her. That would not be good. Not at all.

Maybe you could show me around some more? Actually, since I'm not going to the kitchens anymore, I'd be more than happy to accompany you as you collect your weapons for sparring. If the offer is still there, that is."

This would be the last straw with her. If Xander did anything funny, he'd officially be on her bad side. No second chances for this yellow fuzzball.

[Kari Muffin]

Xander's ears pulled back as the woman spoke. So she was suddenly playing along? What was she plotting? The tip of his tail twitched in aggravation. Why did his mother have to sleep with so many people that weren't his father? First that Bog douche bag now a dense as a rock Yarrow.

His mother had horrible taste in lovers.

But the last time he had voice his opinion about it he'd gotten verbally bitch slapped.

"All right, We can go sparring the--" Xander cut himself off, his eyes going wide. "Actually, I'm sorry. I forgot that I have to take my brother somewhere. You'll have to forgive me for revoking that invitation. I hope you find your way around the palace without having much trouble. If you do, I'm sure one of the servants would be willing to help someone as nice as you."

He gave the woman a bright force smile before turning around and hurrying off in the opposite direction.