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Post by Vyn on Jul 11, 2010 12:34:51 GMT -5
Poe nodded and reflected Xiven's smile upon her own beak. "That was exactly my sentiments on the matter. For though I'm proud of dear Parzi for being so ambitious, I see very little of him and rarely know how to locate him. Imre, though, he's always nearby. It's funny how those things work."
The Queen's next question obviously caught Poe off guard though she shook her head quickly to soothe the woman's concern. "Not rude at all, Your Majesty, but a good question. So good, in fact, I'm not entirely sure how to answer." She laughed softly, sweetly, and tilted her head in thought. "I'm afraid, ultimately, that I am a Torquehelm through and through. There is something poetic about my region that holds me captive, though one day I do dream of seeing more of the regions. This has been such an eye-opening trip, so many different customs and mannerisms. In time, I would love to see more."
Hopefully she hadn't rambled too much, and even then she felt a little foolish.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jul 12, 2010 21:26:49 GMT -5
Ah well. That idea was almost completely out of the window. She really wished she had something to sip at so she wouldn't feel so awkward. But at least Poe was giving her an honest answer.
"I hope you do consider traveling the realms seriously. I've found that Torquehelm, though poetic, has an abysmal way of sucking the aspirations out of people. Do hold on to your dreams." She paused when she heard the knock on the door. Apparently the tea was prepared far faster than she had expected. Maybe someone had gotten to the kitchen when they saw Poe coming to her office?
The servant came in with the tea, pouring a cup for each of them. The scent was a faint one, though it was pleasant. The servant left after giving them both a polite bow. Xiven took a sip of the tea before resuming her train of thought.
"And if you're ever interested in making quite a bit of money before you go on a trip, please stop by. I think you'd be perfect for a job that I have... I just don't particularly trust anyone who doesn't have a kind temperament with it." She took another long sip of her tea. "I hope you like this blend, it's not particularly powerful as when my mother makes it, but it's a Torquehelm blend."
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Post by Vyn on Jul 13, 2010 9:37:35 GMT -5
Xiven's concerns made a lot of sense and, to a degree, they were true. It did suck the aspirations out of some, but Poe had come a long way from the mopey girl she had been. She'd become quite popular in the tiny little town she called home and her tavern loved her a great deal. But she'd never pursued her dreams of becoming anything more than that. She was content to sing. Maybe if she had more ambition she could have pursued her dream like Sage had. After all, it must be so much harder on lovely Sage as a Tulgey trying to gain renown.
"You make a very eloquent point, it is so easy to let go of your dreams. Or to settle with a lesser one."
Poe watched in mild interest as the servant came in and set their tea and, just as promptly, bowed and was gone. How nice it must be, to only need to ring a bell and to have servants flocking from all areas to serve you. Poe wasn't sure if she could handle that much pampering.
Though it was faint, Poe recognized the aroma instantly and the small hint of tension in her small frame melted away with a single sip. Faint, but otherwise perfect. "Thank you very much, Xiven." Or should she be thanking the servant? Hmm. But Poe's thoughts were lead away by The Queen words. A job? Poe couldn't think of a better way to repay her Majesty. "I will most certainly take you up on your offer, Your Majesty." Maybe this was the start she needed.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Jul 13, 2010 19:28:24 GMT -5
Xiven didn't expect the bird to accept her offer off the bat. So when she did the cat gracelessly choked on her tea.
So much for being well put together. The woman coughed and sputter to try to clear her windpipe from the feeling to something trickling down it. It took her a few minutes to actually gather her sense as she set the partially spilled cup down.
"Sorry about that," she said as she grabbed a small cloth napkin off of the tea tray to dab up the mess she made. This was embarrassing, but sometimes the illusion that she was larger than life liked to take a vacation.
"Howareyou with children then? There are quite a few running around and not many people I trust with them. All the people who have watched out for them have either quit, or have other duties to attend to."
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Post by Vyn on Oct 24, 2010 19:14:39 GMT -5
Poe dipped her head politely as The Queen sputtered on her tea, trying her very hardest not to giggle though the tiniest hint of smile brushed against her beak. Once she had cleaned up the small spin and regained herself, Poe peeked her head back up and smiled sweetly. "It's no problem."
The question at hand encouraged a bright smile to make itself known across her beak, so vibrantly so that even the feline would be well aware of it despite the awkwardness of such expressions around a beak. "Oh! I love children." The finch fluffed up and let out a soft chirp. "I don't have any of my own, but I do so enjoy them. I've watched my friends' children from time to time as the need arises and I've always been told I do a good job." Poe, admittedly, had heard of the large amount of children within the Court though she didn't know exactly how many resided there at the moment.
Then again, the Hearts were always a bit amorous from what Poe had overhead.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Oct 26, 2010 15:20:45 GMT -5
Xiven was rarely laughed at, and she was grateful for the bird's restraint. Though she imagined one of her children would have giggled at the result of her spitting tea. At least it was because of a delightful surprise. Having someone to help with the children was something they desperately needed. And Xiven didn't particularly trust some of the people who had offered to help.
And Fluffy could only do so much.
"I have to warn you some of my children are rather... special. One of my sons is blind, and one of my daughters has a rather interesting mutation. I would like to introduce you to both of them before you make a decision to take the job. It's only fair to know what you're getting into before accepting." Hopefully it wouldn't phase the bird. She was so sweet and she couldn't imagine her reaction to Kamina's hookah or Othello's mist. As normal as Xiven was her children were far from it.
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Post by Vyn on Oct 26, 2010 17:10:42 GMT -5
Interesting mutations? Poe's mind instantly flashed to her dear brother and the... horrific.. things that had become of him and those... children, if she could dare to call them that. They shouldn't have been alive and yet Imre fawned over them as if they were divine angels. No mutations, no matter how strange, could compare to the horror that they were but, in the situation she held now, Poe was suddenly very glad to have seen them. It would lessen the intensity of whatever strangeness may come her way in the next few minutes and ensure that, no matter what she saw, Poe wouldn't be overly shocked in the company of The Queen.
Thank you Imre. If for nothing else than for that.
"I'm acquainted with strange mutations." Poe smiled sweetly and was pleased that she could answer with the utmost honesty, "I'd be more than happy to meet your children."
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Post by Kari Muffin on Oct 27, 2010 14:00:58 GMT -5
Xiven was skeptical. Then again if she had known about Imre and his monster children she would have understood that Poe was completely serious. Perhaps the could arrange a little meeting today so she could be introduced to the children. That way it would be like a band aide being ripped off, and no one would get their hopes up. Xiven opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of the door swinging open interrupted her. Her brow furrowed. People normally like to knock on her door out of respect for her and their lives. Her eyes narrowed as she waited for the person to actually enter the room. Kamina had been puttering around. There was nothing unusual about that. When she was high the world was a wonderfully amazing place, and the mundane seemed fantastic. When she was somewhere in between high and sober things were just confusing. And when she was sober, however brief it was, she either found herself in a bizarre place or she actually attempted to do something "meaningful." Today she had been poking around in the library during the early morning. (Despite the librarian's protest to someone smoking excessively being near books, she was left alone after she ignored them log enough.) She had found a book that might help her. She thought. She couldn't really tell. It used big words that were far out of her vocabulary range. So she carefully picked up the book in her mouth and wandered. She eventually came to her mother's office after many detours. Pushed the door open, setting the slobber covered book down. "Mom I---" she began only to find that there was someone else in the room with her mother. Oh. Crap. "Hi person!" Yeah. That was convincing. Well that was convenient, wasn't it? "Poe, this is my daughter Kamina. I apologize for her lack of manners, she probably just got the time wrong."
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Post by Vyn on Oct 27, 2010 17:32:41 GMT -5
It was not overly surprising to Poe when the door opened suddenly and a child's head popped through the entry way. Children, after all, were not very tactful when searching for their parents regardless of time or their parent's prior engagements. The hookah, however, was more than enough to warrant surprise and Poe had to be quick to keep from staring unduly.
Despite a slight pause, Poe was able to recover quickly with a small smile and a sweet chirp. "Hello Kamina, I'm Poe. It's a pleasure to meet you."
If this was, indeed, the child with the 'interesting mutation' than Xiven's description would have been very apt. If not... well, then Poe was a little hesitant to imagine what else The Queen of Hearts could produce. She was a beautiful child, though, wasn't she? A lovely mix of regions and the smoke that wafted from her Hookah really was heavenly though it made her body ache in longing for her opium den.
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Post by Kari Muffin on Oct 27, 2010 19:59:56 GMT -5
Most of the time Xiven's children were well behaved around guests. Well... it depended on the set of children. Sometimes she wanted to smack herself for having so many "accidents."
Kamina's ears pulled back slightly at the greeting. She tried to regain some composure, not that she had that much to begin with. She pawed the book forward and closed the door before actually responding to the avian.
"It's nice to meet you Miss Poe," She said as her tail curled. Her expression was one of curiosity. She normally wasn't sober when she was introduced to people. It was nice to be somewhere in the realm of "sane." She glanced to her mother wondering if she could ask a question or not. She hadn't met a Torque outside of family before....
"Uh... I wanted to ask you something Mommy. I found a book about spells involving poisons..." She nudged the book again with her paw. Mommy knew a lot about poisons, and maybe it would help her with her bog gasses. It was worth a shot right? "But if you're busy with Miss Poe I can leave."
Xiven sighed. It was a rare occasion to see her daughter so lucid, she didn't want to lose this moment. "Well, we are busy, I wanted you to meet Poe to begin with... and I wanted her to meet Othello. Would you mind if we go and visit him and see if we can talk about the book along the way?" She looked to the bird. "Would that be all right with you?"
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