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Post by Circe on Mar 5, 2021 18:53:05 GMT -6
"You'll survive." Catherine assured the other as she set the bucket down for her horse to drink from. It wasn't ideal, but it would do for now. Soon enough the horses would be stabled in a barn or paddock. "Look at this like one of your mastery remedial, or whatever one calls it." She added with a dismissive wave of her hand as she bent down to pick the bucket back up.
In some ways this was payback for all of the times that Tyrus had over stepped and over reached, the year would be punishing physically and mentally, but it would not be cruel. Catherine would very likely be sharing in the same duties and same responsibilities as Tyrus, neither one would be treated any less or more than the other. Fairness was one thing that could be counted on, and given that the population they were among was relatively peaceful, there was little to be concerned with.
"Besides, it isn't any worse than the hell you put me through, and don't worry there are sheep here too."
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Post by demikara on Mar 5, 2021 19:08:22 GMT -6
"Centuries from now, you'll be bringing up the sheep." He was going to live centuries now after all, even if the idea was still very much a foreign one. the mage sighed and forced himself to relax. Eventually she'd get over the sheep thing. "And I fully expect it to be hell. It's going to have to be if we have any hope of surviving the fight." They'd be in serious trouble otherwise and they both knew it. Grigore was powerful. If he managed to break through either of their shielding it was game over. He had seen the other puppet other people before and had no desire to be made into a toy by the current wrongful king of the dragon court.
He would be king in one year's time, and it would be back in the proper family line.
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Post by Circe on Mar 5, 2021 19:52:36 GMT -6
"That's a very long time from now, even for me." Catherine stated. It hadn't been the sheep that bothered her, it had been Tyrus who had been bothered by the sheep. He never seemed to quite understand that she had been brought up on an estate, and while didn't have much of a hand in things, sheep were a common sight up in the northern reaches of the kingdom. They provided much needed and necessary items in the form of wool, milk for cheese, and meat.
"As of right now, I have a chance of surviving. You do not." She corrected him. Tyrus it seemed was still coming to grips with the whole vampire situation, and while Catherine was too in her own way, it hadn't been easy for either one.
Catherine who had grown up in the light of the kingdom of the seelie fae, had found the darkness of the Dragon Court a stark and disturbing departure. Even with what she knew and had experienced with the unseelie off and on, which was part and parcel for the legacy she had been brought up to. The last few years had been a hell in which she was not eager to find herself in again, and if that meant being rid of Grigore once and for all, then that's what it would have to be.
"Xiaolian is right, you think and act like a human still. You're playing with the immortals now, time to wise up."
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Post by Circe on Mar 6, 2021 19:10:21 GMT -6
"Your not here to learn illusionary magic Tyrus, so I don't much care how shitty you are at it. We're all terrible at something, but that isn't why we're here. We're here so you can learn how to manage something other than a rote spell." Catherine replied. Why wasn't he getting anything through his thick skull that the circumstances were serious, and that he needed to learn how to manage more than just being a magical bull in a China shop. Fine control would be necessary, as would jugling multiple forms of magic at once, something that even she often struggled with.
"Now either you can learn something, or we can go home. It doesn't make much difference to me." She added as she picked up the reins of her horse again and started walking again.
Catherine had a vauge idea of where she was going, it had been some time since she'd been to the village though. After a few turns, and finally asking someone where she was in a broken version of the local dialect, she finally led them to a small stone house.
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Post by demikara on Mar 6, 2021 19:25:39 GMT -6
"I am well aware that's not what I'm here to learn. And I don't know how to think and act like an immortal." It wasn't like he had been one for very long at all. He took the reins of his horse and followed after Catherine. The small stone house wasn't particularly impressive, but it looked nice enough. "I am well aware we're here largely so I can not get killed. I'm going to do my best to learn swiftly." And well. He fully intended on doing his best too and putting his all in it. "But I assure you, I can do more than just rote spells." He was a mage dammit and sometimes he though she forgot what that meant. Yes he knew plenty of spells but much of his greater magic wasn't rote spells at all. Not that she had seen his greater magic, not truly. So he supposed she was right to be confused.
Did he really think the spell he used on his hair was rote magic though? That would be an insanely complicated spell. Hair was tricky as hell when it came to magic. That had could do so much with his was more of a flex than she probably realized.
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Post by Circe on Mar 6, 2021 19:58:42 GMT -6
Catherine just shook her head as Tyrus spoke, he still hadn't grasped the gravity of the situation. But she supposed that even after a year of everything they had gone through, that the stubborn mage and fledgling was still resisting in some ways. It had felt like she had been pushing a rope, and a very resistant one at that for the past year. If they were both honest, they had likely been equally at fault in their poor management of the cards they had been dealt.
It didn't take long before the two were approached by a man roughly Catherine's own height with dark blue hair and pale skin with runic lines etched in. He was dressed simply in a white wool tunic belted at the waist, trousers with a pair of boots that appeared to have been well loved over the span of their life. "Catherine, its good to see you again my friend! It has been entirely too long!" He said with a smile as he greeted the other with a brief, friendly embrace.
"Indeed it has, Gaerlen. We appreciate your hospitality and willingness with this matter. This is my friend I told you about in my letters." She replied, returning his smile with one of her own. "Tyrus, this is Gaerlen. His family have agreed to assist us."
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Post by demikara on Mar 6, 2021 20:07:48 GMT -6
"It's nice to meet you Gaerlen." He could manage that much at least. He very carefully didn't thank the other for what he was doing. He seemed to know Catherine fairly well though. He didn't know how anyone who had greeted her with a hug before, other than, perhaps, her currently taboo to speak of nephew. Who would likely be taboo to speak of for a very long time. Tyrus wasn't sure what he would do about Brandon, when it came down to it, but he'd have to make some sort of permanent decision, wouldn't he? Well, he had time to think of the best way to handle the odd little serial killer. He doubted that the man had stopped after all. Serial killers really only did when they were caught and dealt with.
He caught enough to figure out that she had thanked him for his help, though without saying thank you. But he could never remember the words on his own. At least he spoke some fae and wouldn't be completely lost. And they did say immersion was the best way to learn a language, so there was that.
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Post by Circe on Mar 6, 2021 20:50:26 GMT -6
Brandon was something that quickly became a subject that Catherine wouldn't talk about with anyone. It didn't help that for the most part she was a relatively private person, preferring to strictly to keep public and personal lives separate. Unfortunately there was little choice in this matter lately, and as soon as she could, she would be leaving the court in Tyrus's theoretically capable hands. She looked forward to the day when she wouldn't constantly be summoned to the court for one thing or another.
Gaerlen looked at Tyrus for a moment, squinting at him as if to try and bring things into focus better. He nodded and then turned his attention back to Catherine. "What happened to your hair? You match the Novori now, not fae." He commented gesturing curiously to her stark white hair.
Coloring slightly and reaching self conciously where her hair was set in thick braided coil and held securely at the nape of her neck with a plain wooden hair pin, Catherine couldn't think of anything to say. "It's complicated." She answered hastily. It was clear that there was a fair level of familiarity between the two, but nothing past the sort of deep friendship that came with time.
"Come, come. We'll discuss it all over tea." Gaerlen said with a nod and motioned for the two to follow him inside.
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Post by demikara on Mar 6, 2021 20:55:29 GMT -6
A friend, from what he caught, but not on up to date on the happenings of Catherine's life. This may be a bit unpleasant than. It depended on how he took what happened, Tyrus supposed, or if Catherine even divulged it. He followed Gaerlen inside and looked around curiously at the place he would presumeably be staying for the next year. It seemed nice enough. Better than Molly's place at least. Different than Catherine's. There were plenty of different types of fae homes though. It wasn't nearly as cookie cutter as a great deal of apartments and homes in Dallas, where the floor plan might be identical to your neighbors and to everyone else in the neighborhood as well.
"Can I help with the tea?" He might as well make himself useful after all, and he knew how to make tea.
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Post by Circe on Mar 6, 2021 21:11:25 GMT -6
Gaerlen looked at Tyrus again as he tried to decide how to answer the question. "No, you are guests for now." He finally said, speaking in an accented version of common English. It was clear that this man had spent time outside the immediate village, and spoke more than just the local language.
As Gaerlen bustled about making the tea, and Catherine took a seat at a table nearby divesting herself of cloak, gloves and any additional extra layers. The table was a sturdy thing, having been scrubbed clean with salt, water, and sand. The house itself was simple, warm, and comfortable. Various dried herbs and vegetables hung from the rafters, and a pot of something sat bubbling away over a brick hearth.
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Post by demikara on Mar 6, 2021 21:18:35 GMT -6
Well, he spoke english and that was something of a relief. He took a seat at the table instead, removing his out layers given the warmth of the fire. They weren't needed here. The fire itself was a comforting thing. Having a heating system was nice yes, but nothing really beat the warmth of a fire. And this one came with a pot of something that smelled good, whatever it was. Dinner, he supposed. The entire place was nice enough and he was glad they were at the end of their journey. He wasn't looking forward to the trip back, assuming they rode the horses back. They may just leave them here, but he was under the impression horses were expensive, so that didn't make a ton of sense to him.
He'd leave the logistics up to Catherine. She was in charge here. He was, curiously, about to be in charge of the Dragon Court, assuming they could get him up to snuff. If not, well. He had an up to date will and that would have to do.
Facing the spectre of his death was not something he much enjoyed though.
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Post by Circe on Mar 7, 2021 18:31:34 GMT -6
Catherine wouldn't have said she was in charge at all, but someone had to take the iniative or they'd be stuck under Grigore's thumb for the next century if not longer. Tyrus was too paralyzed by choice, not to mention inexperienced to be able to see his way through the fog of the last year. Catherine had her own issues, but hadn't trusted Grigore from the beginning and would have sooner seen him dead than the reigning king of the Dragon Court. She would be the first to say that she wasn't raised to be a princess, and had no place in the court or as the heir to the throne; no matter who said otherwise.
"Now.. tell me all, and I will offer my perspective." Gaerlen said setting down a pot full of fragrant black tea between them, and what looked like a plate full of honey soaked cakes. He spoke common English, but it wasn't nearly as good as Catherine's. It seemed clunky and unpracticed, and there was the constant internal diaologue to remember what the equivalent word was.
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Post by demikara on Mar 7, 2021 18:48:47 GMT -6
"I suppose the most pressing thing is I need to increase my psionic abilities." He said quietly. "Because the current ruler of the vampire court in Dallas has powerful psionic abilities and we intend on taking him down. I would take his place." He hesitated a moment. "I haven't been practicing my skills with my psionic magic. And right now I'm outclassed. He's a class 5, and powerful. And I know he's more skilled than me, and that if I want the throne, if I want back to a civilized court, then I need to get stronger fast. As it is now, my shields can't keep him out." Not to mention all the other pitfalls that came with fighting a psionic.
He poured himself a cup of the tea and sipped at it. "Grigore is a mad man. He's endangering the entire unseen with his policies and running the court I grew up in into the ground. He can't continue to be the ruler. It's destabilizing Dallas."
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Post by Circe on Mar 7, 2021 20:01:13 GMT -6
The man thought again for a moment as he poured tea out into small clay cups, and slid the plate across the table closer towards the two. "I see Aduin's bees have been generous this year." Catherine remarked before helping herself to one of the honey cakes.
She would never admit how tempting it currently was to simply send Tyrus back by himself, and to stay where people like the Council or Grigore couldn't reach her. Undoubtedly there would be hell to pay on all fronts with her impromptu decision to disappear, but she would deal with it all later. If anything it had given them the time to think clearly and plan, even if that plan wasn't yet expected to survive contact with its enemy.
"Yes, his bees have indeed! The gods saw fit to bless us with much this year for which we are thankful." Gaerlen agreed with an easy nod before turning his attention back to Tyrus. It sounded like a serious problem indeed, and he had never known Catherine to cry wolf before. Too often he had known her to wait until the problem was near unsolveable, she had always been a stubborn one. "And you wish to learn from Novori so you can defeat madman?" He asked Tyrus point blank. He had suspected as much, given the details that Catherine had alluded to in her initial letters. But it was always worth while to hear it directly.
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Post by demikara on Mar 7, 2021 20:08:54 GMT -6
"Yes." He was firm on that at least. "Please. Catherine seems to think this is our best chance. And I believe her." How could he not? She knew more about psionics than he did by far. "Staying in the fae realm gives us safety, but I can't abandon the court like this. Not long term." He needed to be there, needed to return to the court he had been raised in and needed to save it from Grigore. It all sounded ridiculous, but it was his life right now.
He needed novori help in order to help his court. In order to help Dallas return to some level of sanity for the vampire court. He needed help period. "I don't have a lot to offer you. But I am skilled with magic." He could trade his magic skills if it came down to it. Tyrus took one of the honey cakes and nibbled it, uncertain. He didn't know if his offer of payment would offend somehow, but he hoped it wouldn't.
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