Home Late [Done]

[Nako]

Aleah totally sympathized with the fellow leveret's shudder. Many of the leverets felt that way; even the ones that had to deal with the cards on occasion. It always came with its dangers. Aleah had heard of rumors that Corvistownians would sometimes capture rabbits and perform experiments on them.. and hunters from several realms who knew of their existence would kill them and have their skins as trophies. Of course, these were probably wild rumors. The highland leveret found it prudent to heed them as warnings regardless.

"It is perhaps somewhat dangerous… especially for those who are ill informed before going out on an errand." Aleah said with a somewhat casual air. He all too keenly remembered finding that rare little Mid-range leveret terrified out of her mind at being amongst the cards. He gave a small, thoughtful nod at her mention of how such a job was fascinating. Well… perhaps. He wasn't sure to believe whether it was or wasn't, and it was a rather obvious puzzlement across his face. Perhaps if he delved more into the culture.. but no. That was dangerous. Cards could not be trusted.

His deep thought was interrupted by the question of honey. "Oh! No thank you; sugar wouldn't be such a good idea before sleep."

Still so very thoughtful, he finally gave a nod. "Fascinating… Perhaps. But I still look forward to the day the chore is no longer my own."

[Harpsdesire]

Alicia was somewhat impressed by how casual Aleah seemed about the dangers of going out among cards. Leverets were, on the whole, a rather timid, cowering bunch, taught from infancy to show proper fear and submission to their Jacks. Perhaps some of them had natural bravery of spirit, but few if any showed it-- it simply wasn't proper, and one had to be proper to really be safe.

"You seem to know what you're doing." She answered, "If I was ever to be sent out to the Card City, I would want to ask you for advice, first!" She nibbled her celery delicately, glancing up to see if Aleah approved of the food she had set in front of him.

She nodded when he refused the honey, carefully closing up the honey pot and replacing it before she returned to her place at the table. The poor thing did look so very tired... There was a slight sympathy in her expression as she met his eyes for a moment before looking away demurely.

He had a thoughtful expression that seemed to express a quiet, reflective nature. Alicia was a practical sort, a planner, a doer, so deep thinkers always struck her as appealing, although somewhat foreign. "Mm." She agreed. His statement about the chore could be a reference to the fact that he hoped that another leveret might assigned the undesirable task, but Alicia doubted that was what he meant. He certainly didn't do much to hide his ambitions, did he?

It wasn't always entirely wise to let it be known that you wished to improve your station within the warren, especially as a male. She was strangely fascinated by his courage, all thoughts of cards aside now. Was he not afraid of the Czar at all?

Timidly, and with sugared tones, she dared to ask, "Do you speak of... improving your station in life?" Self-improvement was a subject very dear to the highland leveret's heart, in any of the forms it took, and she felt a bit of a thrill to be speaking so, even to another leveret, even in the dead of night with no one to hear them.

[Nako]

Aleah could have done without the sympathetic look. So often the other leverets either though of him as weak or unfortunate. Funny how easy it was to forget that he could slice straight through a leveret if he wanted with those menacing claws. Well. Perhaps it was an exaggeration, but they -were- quite sharp and strong. He managed though, to maintain a smile despite the slight twinge to his pride. He's show them all soon.

Not soon enough though, in his opinion.

He'd absently bit into his celery out of politeness, reflecting her own motions when he noticed her doing the same. His mind though, was obviously on other things. "Hm, why yes. I do. It's a matter of survival for me. The Czar will not tolerate a male leveret for too long." And he very well shouldn't. It was almost an embarrassment. His natural weapons were far better suited for a Jack that would need them than on a leveret that needed nimble and dextrous paws for the tasks requested of them.


((lolol moar points yusplz Aleahpostspreeyay))

[Harpsdesire]

Alicia didn't seem to notice that she had slightly wounded a pride that was perhaps as great as her own. She smiled when he tasted the celery. Even though there wasn't any particular enthusiasm in his manner, it seemed the food was acceptable. Most Jacks were slow to praise a leveret for anything less than a truly extraordinary effort, so she didnt really expect anything more from Aleah.

She felt a little thrilled by the bold way he admitted his ambitions, it struck her as terribly brave, even if his reason was a practical one. Really, if fear for his life was prompting him to desire The Change, perhaps it had been indelicate of her to bring it up. "I see." She tried to smooth over the situation with a compliment. "Pardon me if this is dreadfully forward, but I think you'd make a very striking Jack."

There was no hint of insincerity in her tone. The male was pure highlander, and his dark mane and somewhat piercing eyes already looked more suited for one of higher status. He might have been a little thin, well, a lot thin, but with the natural weapons he bore he'd have an advantage in any fight for a Doe's affection. That was a most appealing quality in a man, she thought.

Her golden-eyed glance flicked to Aleah's face, bold as could be for the merest fraction of a second before she dipped her head again. Alicia thought she could trust this one, so she confided in dulcet tones, "I also think, sometimes, of improving my condition." There was a bit of something sad, longing, maybe, behind the carefully chosen words.

Her ambition would probably come as little surprise to him considering her cultivated mannerisms and the lush mane she sported-- it was often said that a female born with such adornment had a greater chance of becoming a doe upon maturity. She hadn't, as fate would have it, but there was still time. She was still quite young.

((YAY Jack-Aleah! So I guess you wish to finish up the leveret-ish threads? Or do you have until you get his actual Jack image?))

[Nako]

The compliment made him half wonder if she was being patronizing, but when his gaze flicked back to her face, there was no sign of such an emotion. His brows raised just slightly, mildly surprised by her compliment. He'd often been told his appearance was an acquired taste, his unhealthy appearance putting off what would have been striking appearance. It was times like this that Aleah suspected maybe his careful cultivation of a more Jacklike demeanor along with perhaps a more natural charm sealed the deal with most leverets and Does.

When it seemed the leveret was about to tell him something rather secret, he leaned in just slightly, a slow smile tugging across his face. "That, my dear…" And he said that last part as smoothly as he could, wiggling his brows in a way meant to be smarmy but perhaps came off just a touch humorous. "…Doesn't surprise me at all. If Ashta has ever given you difficulties it's probably because of that fact."

He couldn't help but smile but mention his mother. A known fact of course that Ashta was his mother, and that he was rather fond of the crazed Doe. Overtly mean or crass comments in the leveret rooms about her had resulted in the increasingly aggressive dark-haired leveret telling them off.

((Oh, I'm just wanting to tie up some loose ends and get some points before some Jackity Jack plots really get moving in a few days. His status doesn't come with an image in this situation so I'll need to get one in the future by other means. Which is fine with me; I'm just delighted to have the rank to be able to rp him as such. XD))

[Harpsdesire]

Aleah looked a little shocked by her words, which made the little leveret smile. Perhaps he didn't have much vanity to go with his Highland pride. He was a bit charming, wasn't he?

Alicia giggled sweetly at the eyebrow wiggle. She looked away shyly, as if a bit embarassed by the situation, but there was a small, somewhat contented smile on her face. His words seemed to imply that she would make a good doe, and to her that was high praise indeed. Alicia was quickly realizing that there was rather more than she had expected to the leveret. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"I've never had any... troubles with Miss Ashta." Mostly, this was because she tried to keep out of the Doe's way as much as she could. Something about the lovely Hisstor struck her as just a bit off in a way she didn't know how to classify or deal with. Of course, it would be rude to say so in front of Aleah, who was naturally fond of his mother-doe.

Luckily for Alicia, her submissive behavior was only amplified by the presence of the Doe known to be favored by Vikenti, and it seemed that so far Ashta had taken little notice of a mere leveret, no matter how well-groomed. Alicia hoped things would stay that way. If she was to become a Doe, she wanted it to be on her own terms.

[Nako]

She had been lucky.. but then again Ashta also had mellowed with age. The other Does were rarely as.. permanent as her. And the Czar… sometimes it was a touch too obvious of his unwavering fondness for his Doe. Their steady relationship was commendable at least, and often kept some strange harmony amongst the Does and leverets that had little choice but to accept the Doe's superiority.

He took one last sip of his drank and worked quickly on the remaining celery stalk, leaning back to look at Alicia for a moment before his thoughtful expression broke into a smile.

"Well. I should perhaps try to get some sleep. As should you. I take it you're used to getting slightly more than two hours of sleep a night."

He could probably talk longer, especially of the enticing idea of this girl considering her possible rank increase as a Doe... but he would be careful not to wear out the topic... let it linger on both their minds and perhaps revisit it later.

[Harpsdesire]

When Aleah smiled suddenly, it was a bit like the sun came out on his tired face. For someone who was rather accustomed to lack of sleep and life of general discomfort, he certainly seemed to be spirited. Alicia couldn't help but smile back.

As much as she would prefer to stay up and chat, the other rabbit was right. Every day was a busy one in a leveret's life, and she would hate to perform badly in her duties due to being overly tired. She sighed softly, wondering idly if this meant Aleah's sleep tonic was starting to work. Now that she was thinking about it, she was feeling a little sleepy herself... "We should." She agreed, looking up at him through her lashes, "It was pleasant talking you, and I'm sad to see the evening end. I'll join you for a midnight snack again any time."

If she was lucky, he'd take her up on her offer. If she was even luckier, he'd remember this night when he became a Jack.

((Finished? Loook at that snazzy foreshadowing we managed slightly after the fact, lol.))

[Nako]

((Bweeheehee X3 Yeah lets end this here. Seems an appropriate place without dragging it out.))