Cleansed in Lethe Waters [Closed]

[Burrito Bunny]

"Well, that's good!" Mikayla gave her words of encouragement to Aemilia wiht a smile. "That might very well work!" She truly hoped that it would help her friend achieve her goals, though it wouldn't be surprising if some flaw came up with it. That's what usually happened, thus why Aemilia was still searching.


Mikayla rolled her eyes as Alcina insisted taking the path of joining the army through 'normal means', her thoughts about Aemilia's problems being pushed asides temporarily. "Nonsense," she said, looking directly at Alcina. "There's no reason you shouldn't meet Consul Nevsky. He's probably looking for people like you! Why make him search through waves of incoming recruits for excellence if you can just make him see you tomorrow?"


Mikayla then diverted her attention to Aemilia, smiling as she tried to pull together a plan in her head and ignoring Alcina's frustration. "A simple introduction won't do, well it...it's too basic, too much like everyone else. She won't stand out that way. Hmmm," Her eyes drifted aimlessly, lost in thought.


"Perhaps Alcina could give a discrete demonstration of her strength before the graduation ceremony begins that the Consuls can't help but see? We wouldn't want it to be too obvious that we were trying to get their attention, and we would have to do it before she is whisked away for the ceremony. If the Consuls arrive too late then we could try to do it after the ceremony is finished." Mikayla said thoughtfully.


"The question is, what exactly would a be good demonstration of her skill?" Mikayla asked, clearly slipping back into her thoughts, trying to come up with an answer.


*******


"You know it," Kayden agreed readily. He would never turn down the casino, even though it caused many to question him and his judgment. He was well aware that his habit of gambling was something that made some political figures dismiss him, but Kayden was confident that Victor would keep his spot under his command secure. The Consul seemed to understand him in ways that others didn't, and Kayden could only be grateful for that.


"Good," Kayden had been hoping that Corbin wouldn't have to go to the graduation ceremonies that were sure to be taking place soon. It would be too much time wasted on pointless things. It didn't matter anyway since Corbin didn't have to attend.


"Good luck with that," Kayden said, referring to Corbin's thesis and studies. "Did you enjoy any of your classes?" Kayden then asked, interested in what may have gone on in his absence.


With his darts Kayden managed to close his 20 off as he struck it a third time with his last throw. He hissed word of congratulations to himself as he relaxed, waiting for Corbin's turn to be over.


*******


Brooke perked up a bit at the prospect of meeting Consul Nevsky someday. It was certainly something she would like to do. She was well aware of the fact that connections were important when it came to politics, and Brooke knew that making those connections was not a strong point of her's. Her circle of friends was more comparable to a dot consisting of only herself. Brooke liked it that way though: when there was no one too close to you there's no one you have to worry about betraying your trust. Yet, she wanted to have true power someday, and for that she would have to at least pretend to get some allies.


The petit girl nodded, accepting Tricia's description of the Consul to be true. He sounded like a good leader, though Brooke reminded herself that no one was entirely what they seemed. The man probably had a hidden agenda. Regardless, Consul Nevsky was undoubtedly a successful politician and therefore someone Brooke would do well to take tips from.


"Yeah, I would like to meet him some day," She voiced her thoughts to Tricia, "Perhaps, in the future, I will find an occasion to become aquatinted with him." Brooke smiled to herself, hoping that day would come to pass. As it was she was too unimportant to catch the Consul's attention on her own, but some day she hoped to be powerful enough to matter.


********


"Of course," Lillian agreed. The request was entirely reasonable: should she turn him down Victor would undoubtedly search for someone else he deemed fit to stick in command, but he would need to know if the search was needed before hand.


"When exactly are you hoping to depart to take the North, assuming everything goes well with getting approval?" She then asked. It hadn't really been discussed during the meal earlier, but now it seemed a bit more important. After all, Lillian would have to make quite possibly one of her most important decisions in her life by then. Her choice would definitely change her future, though the question still was for the better or the worse. The amount of time Lillian had to decide her fate probably wouldn't change much, but she was asking for ease of mind.


Briefly Lillian wondered how Atticus and Seth would react to her becoming Proconsul of the North. Seth would probably seethe quietly at the missed opportunity for power, for he probably wanted to rule the land himself. That's just how Seth was, always volunteering himself into command. On the other hand, Lillian wasn't sure how Atticus would react. She knew his views on the two Consuls, but never before had she been in command of anything political before. She decided she would have to discover his reaction if she chose to become Proconsul.

 

[Lucyfer]

Aemilia’s smile had softened under Mikayla’s encouraging words. If nothing else, Mikayla was good at making her feel hopeful, and so she moved with that feeling into the thoughts of how to get Alcina noticed.


“A feat of strength, hm.” It didn’t need to be discrete. In fact, the more that saw it, the better, in Aemilia’s opinion.


Alcina’s anxiety rose as Aemilia seemed to go through her mental calculations, silent, always silent. It would work; it usually did. However, she didn’t really want to partake in it. “I wonder how difficult it would be to spook a horse.”


“RABBIT!” When Alcina was distressed or happy, she utilized nicknames. They were quicker to sign, and Aemilia was ‘rabbit’. Her last name meant it, in French, Aemilia had told her. She associated herself with those clever creatures who avoided the jaws of wolves.


“You’re right, someone might get hurt if we don’t time things right. Still, it has to be something he won’t miss, and something heroic. A stampeding horse would work if we could direct it, but,” a frown. She wasn’t sure she could do that. She could spook one, but direct it? No. It would go where it pleased. “What else? I suppose a fallen pillar or tree….”


“Why is it always destructive with you?” Alcina visibly sighed.


“Well, that’s easy. We don’t have time for you to build something. Destruction is also chaotic. People look to it. Nevsky would look.”


~***~


Corbin all but cackled at Kayden’s question when it came his way, and Kayden was going to take his turn. “I hate them. They’re repetitive.” He wasn’t taking any classes for credit then, after all. He was just serving as TA. All of his ‘credits’ for the term were in research for his supposed thesis. “And the students,” he put a hand to his head as he shook it.


“Some aren’t bad, but most,” he shot a look to the table, where Alcina seemed outraged about something and Aemilia seemed rather relaxed. Mikayla just looked anxious, but she so often did, stuck in a mediating role so frequently. “Beauty’s a nightmare, Beast isn’t so bad. Quiet,” he joked, doubting Kayden truly understood that ‘Beast’ was mute. Not yet, anyway. “Mikayla’s the best of them, but you won’t be seeing her,” he took his darts as Kayden returned, finally hitting the twenties. “She's not interested in the military. One of the few who gets my jokes in class.”


It was why he found her more tolerable. Others gave him blank stares, but Mikayla was at least aware of many of the things he said. So was Aemilia; that just didn't matter. "I think she wants to be a poet or something," he wasn't sure, actually. He was just guessing. "Because, you know, that's what this world needs." The sarcasm was heavy.


Then again, perhaps it was. It certainly didn't need more warmongers, but he'd never say that to Kayden.


~***~


Tricia had to ask, as the girl perked at the idea of meeting the consul, “Is your family in the senate?” Tricia was supposed to have them all memorized, but she didn’t. “If so, perhaps you could sit in one day and meet him. Convince the usual member to sit it out and take their place.”


It wasn’t as if it mattered all that much. As much as Tricia hated to admit it, she saw some of the inner machinations. There were four that ruled the senate—Victor, Seth, Atticus, and Lillian. Victor had bemoaned the machinations of Atticus, but other than that, he rarely worried over how things would go. He knew how to bribe people, and he knew how to make them fall in line.


It was corrupt, Tricia knew, but hearing it from his lips—hearing his plan to set things right—she believed he was doing it to truly protect people from the noble class. Someone who wanted the people to be well taken care of, to eat lobster like everyone else.


~***~


‘Guess.’


It was what Consul Nevsky wanted to say to the woman at his side, but he just let that playful smile dance on his lips. He gave her a straight answer, rather than a lie. “Monday is when the Senate sets. Monday is when Seth should have the idea introduced. I would see it passed that same day, but certainly in the week. I have already written ahead to my troops and my veterans.”


Victor was always overconfident. “They should be prepared to move already, so there will not be much time organizing. I know the path already to take to pick them all up on the way upwards. Some will already have made camps along the borders of the north.” Written off as protection for the north, rather than as preparations for war. “So, I would have an answer Monday.” That was the earliest things would move. The latest was Friday, but everyone should always be ready early.


He was. He tried to be, anyway.