Fantasy Vampire Corps of Eldergaard

[jones573]

Gigi flinched slightly at the mention of Crane, but otherwise remained impassive. She was fairly used to the ire of other people.

"I am willing to sacrifice lives, because they are already on the line," Gigi replied. She stamped down any bitter tone in her voice- It wasn't going to have any effect on Alyx besides encourage her to be even more bitter in return. "Do you really think Cyn and Rose are any safer in Allaria? Where people are dying of disease and starvation, and we cannot get food or medicine to them? Where Eldergaardian forces advance closer and closer to our population center, and cut down villagers and squadrons in their way?"

She sighed.

"Your midshipman is Eldergaardian military personnel of the relatively willing, human variety. She is my enemy. And just because you do not think you have anything to fear from her, doesn't mean she isn't the enemy of your people too," Gigi said plainly.

"I just don't understand what you hope to gain by fighting their war. When the fighting is done, they will just let you and your brother- Cyril, was it?- and the other commanders and fledglings go free? That you can somehow return to normal and they will never impose on you again?"

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx snorted. "Oh, so they're going to die anyway, might as well kill them? Silver, and humans accuse us of being monsters. That's poor logic and you know it."

Alyx rolled her eyes. Oh please. As if this were not the most common argument she dealt with. Her usual rebuttal would not work here, but Georgiana seemed to view the world in black and white. "Must be nice, being able to so easily classify people into 'enemy' and 'friend'. What a charmed life you lead."

At Georgiana's next statement, Alyx actually laughed--a harsh mirthless laugh. She probably deserved the jab about Cyril after mentioning Crane, so she didn't bristle too much. "So, what? I should defect and fight your war? I think we can at least agree to not pretend I care about your people or you care about my people."

She leaned back in her chair, a grim smirk pulling at her mouth. "But I'd rather you not make a total fool of yourself tomorrow as I don't want second-hand embarrassment, so let's get one thing straight. I have absolutely nothing to gain fighting in this war."

 

[jones573]

Patience was a virtue, Gigi reminded herself.

That wasn't what she had meant at all, and she suspected Alyx knew it- She had no intention to 'kill' anyone, or contribute to their death. But she risked more lives by doing nothing than by doing something.

Patience was a virtue, even if it was one that Alyx seemed intent on running dry. The commander was vaguely reminiscent of Lucille in the stubborn set of her jaw, Gigi mused.

She nodded at Alyx's declaration that she had nothing to gain in the war.

"So then," she asked gently, "What do you have to lose from not fighting?"

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx chuckled. "There, now you're asking the right questions. Still, we come back to the original problem of me not trusting you to not use that knowledge against me."

She smiled. "But surely you're not stupid--well, other than jumping out of a moving airship that was quite a few thousand feet in the air, but I digress. Surely you've figured out that I'm not the sort of person who just sacrifices her freedom, her family, and her future to fight in a war from which she gains nothing? Really, princess, do I have to spell it out for you?"

Alyx let out a very tired sigh, all her snooty condescension falling away. "But, really, Princess Georgiana, do I have anything to gain from this conversation? Even if I told you about the few last things you and these clans are stripping from me, what will that do? You aren't going to change your plans for an alliance. Jorgenson will catch up to me eventually, and I'll be executed for treason unless Astrid can figure out a way to get me out of it." She chuckled darkly. "If I'm fortunate, I'll be executed and I won't live to see what your alliance causes."

Alyx knew she didn't actually want to die before she had a chance to try to stop what was about to happen, but she was feeling a tad morose.

 

[jones573]

"I want to... Offer something to the clans. I would like for it to be as helpful an offering as possible, and to mitigate damage. I thought- Here is someone with unique insight, who will have no issue being honest with me. Someone who might be able to make a contribution of value. I rather thought we both had a lot to gain from this conversation," Gigi said tightly, her patience obviously at its end. If Alyx wanted to be angry- Fine. Gigi would respond in kind.

"But it seems we are both wrong- I am stupid, and you have nothing to contribute," Gigi replied shortly. "I could have just wasted my time trying to surrender to the Supreme General again instead of this pointless exercise," she said with annoyance, waving her hand in dismissal. "I won't keep you any longer- I'm sure you are eager to complain about me to your... human," she sneered, biting back the 'master' she wanted to say instead. "I have actual work I need to be doing, if I am going to help either of our peoples."

Since you obviously won't.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx arched her eyebrow. Oh, Princess Georgiana was laying it on thick. What would have given anyone the idea Alyx would be honest about anything? And please, "unique insight"? It might have been laughable if Alyx hadn't seriously considered just telling her.

Her "human" was probably dead asleep by now, but Alyx had gotten hung up on something else entirely that she missed the pause that indicated the princess had meant it as a jab.

"Oh, calm your sparking," Alyx said without thinking and then groaned. She had been trying to hard to think like Maksim. She hated when he said that. Alyx shook that from her mind. "Hold on. Take a few steps back. What do you mean 'surrender again'?"

Alyx tilted her head, eyeing Georgiana with suspicion. "No, you're just saying that. Allaria didn't surrender. The war would have stopped. You're lying," she decided. "I want proof. When was this?"

 

[jones573]

"Well, we've tried to surrender," Gigi said irritably. "But our terms are always rejected- We've offered the conquered land, some of the yet-unconquered land, a sizable amount of money," she listed. "And the Supreme General hasn't seen fit to set her own terms- Wait," she said, realizing where Alyx's confusion came from.

"Ah," she said. "Of course they don't tell you those sorts of things. Why would they?"

She sighed.

"The first official offer of surrender was... 7 months ago?" Before Fredrick had died. "Most recent was a little under two months ago. But we had been making overtures that we would accept defeat for a while now."

 

[Reynarda]

"No, no, no," Alyx said, lurching to her feet. She began to pace. "Why wouldn't she accept surrender?"

She paused and rounded on Georgiana. "Seven months? Two months? I've had fledglings die in the past seven months!"

Alyx resumed her pacing. "This doesn't make sense, why wouldn't she accept? The whole point of war is to win!"

She dragged her hands over her hair, her fingers catching in the braid Astrid had woven. Surely Astrid didn't know? She wouldn't keep something like that from her--no, she couldn't keep something like that to herself. Astrid was good at keeping secrets, but not from Alyx. There was the thing they never talked about, but it wasn't a secret exactly. Astrid wouldn't be okay with this--no, surely. She had a strong moral compass.

Alyx turned again. "Why wouldn't she accept? What would she have to gain? They promised us!"

Eyes going wide, she clapped a hand over her mouth, but a strangled cry still escaped. "She's drawing it out to weaken the clans! To make sure we're all too beaten down to mount any sort of resistance. This is never... going to... end."

Alyx wanted to crouch down and have a panic attack, but she couldn't--not in front of the princess. She could feel it mounting in her chest, but she fought it back. She could break down later in a broom closet or something.

Alyx leaned on the back of the chair she had been sitting in to steady herself and rubbed between her eyes. "The Supreme General and the rest of the generals made a magically binding pact with the clans that they would return us--their children, the commanders--once the war was over, lost or won." She took a long, shuddering breath. "Your alliance will result in my cousins--other commanders--being put on the front lines to die. They may execute our fledglings, the squadrons, in front of us to break our morale, but they will definitely figure out a way to kill my brother--who is ten, by the way--and who knows what else. They'll go after known troublemakers--myself, for instance--and move out from there hoping to beat the clans back. But, of course, none of the clans in the alliance will have children in the military--or, if they do, they have decided to sacrifice them. So, the military will just kill off all my cohort and bring on the commanders they've been training for the past year or so. So, yes, your plan would hurt other clans who care about the lives of their children, but that hardly matters, anyway. None of us are making it out of this war alive."

Alyx took a long breath before drawing herself up and looking Georgiana in the eye. "I won't fight your alliance but only on one condition." She paused. "You take Leo back to Allaria with you. I can't save anyone else, but maybe I can save him."

 

[jones573]

Well... That had gotten a reaction. Maybe not the one she was expecting or hoping for, but certainly more than the stone-face she'd been getting previously. Gigi had been about to get up and change so she could head back to the lab, but she settled back down to watch Alyx process.

"Hmm," Gigi said. A magically binding pact? That was interesting. "That would certainly explain the Supreme General's reluctance to accept our surrender." There was something she wanted, more than just the Allarian farmlands she'd conquered.

It was somewhat... Disturbing, to watch someone as stoic as Alyx spiral into a panic- Well, it wasn't really a panic in an obvious way. But if this had been Isadora, Gigi would have identified it as one, and reacted accordingly. Somehow she doubted an offer of handkerchief and a long hug would go over well in this situation.

At least she could address what seemed to be a pressing concern.

"Leo is welcome to return to Allaria with me," she said gently. "But... He may not find it an appealing prospect. To most Allarians, vampires have been myths- Until they have suddenly become very-real monsters, mindlessly carrying out unspeakable violence," she said truthfully. If his nature was known, he would be shunned. At the very least.

And considering other factors... Well, Gigi wasn't going to drag him back against his will.

"I don't like the term 'alliance' to refer to why I'm here," Gigi admitted slowly. "Because in my experience, an alliance involves an exchange of troops or money or trade, or all three, some now and maybe more in the future. There are flags hung and official ceremonies and announcements made to the world at large. If I could have my way, no one besides those involved would ever need to know what has been discussed."

Of course, now the crews of both the Dragon and the Griffon knew she had been traveling in their lands, so complete secrecy could no longer be achieved. But there were still ways to cover their tracks.

"I have been researching how magic and the body interact for awhile now," she said. "Things that seem immutable under the laws of magic, become more malleable through the scope of science. So I want to help the vampires... Bend the rules a bit. Ideally," she added, "In ways that don't result in your superiors immediately deciding you are more trouble than you are worth, and condemning you to the front lines as soon as possible."

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx's breathing rate was already that of an average human at rest--which for a vampire, was not healthy--but it hitched up a notch when Georgiana pointed out Leo might not want to go with her to Allaria. He would probably want to stay with her, but Alyx refused to let him throw his life away over sentiment. She waved her hand with very little actual coordination. "No, he has a brother there--he'll watch over him. I'll talk to him--convince him to go. And you thought I was human for a while, he'll be fine. He'll be fine."

She could feel her eyes burning and the room was starting to shift in unnatural ways. Nearby, a glowstone cracked. She needed to get out of here quickly if she was going to have any dignity intact at the end of this.

"I hardly see... how terminology matters in light of this, princess," Alyx said, her words coming out far less evenly than she would have liked. She had tilted her head downward and was wishing that Astrid had not braided back a lot of the hair that would normally cover her face. She rested her forehead on her hand and begged her sight to stop darkening around the edges.

Alyx tried to focus on what Georgiana was saying, but when that became impossible, she focused on counting backwards by threes. "The generals'll put up with a lot," Alyx said, not liking how her speech sounded at all. Where had she been going with that? "Let me think about it, okay? Maybe I can... provide some insight for you."

She swallowed, though her throat felt thick, and pushed herself upright. She bowed at the appropriate level for an elder, but it was mostly to hide how pale she had become. "Thank you for your honesty. But I won't take more of your time. You have a lot of people to charm tomorrow, and I'm sure you could use the rest."

Without looking at Georgiana, Alyx spun and marched out of the room. She closed the door behind her and leaned on it, clapping a hand over her mouth before she could start screaming.

"Alyx?" Astrid had gotten a little nervous when Alyx had been gone for longer than she had expected and had decided to stand outside their room just in case. And since Alyx looked like someone had just told her they murdered her fledglings for fun, Astrid was glad she had. Seeing that Alyx was about to give up what little control she still held, Astrid crossed the distance between them in several large strides. "What happened? What did she do to you?"

Alyx collapsed, and Astrid caught her. Her commander's breathing was fast even by human standards, and Astrid cursed. She had only ever seen a vampire have a panic attack one other time, and it was after Admiral Jorgenson informed Alyx they had Cyril, so she had better straighten up and start turning Allarian prisoners. But they hadn't been friends then, and Astrid hadn't known what to do. Things had changed.

Astrid glanced at the door to the princess's room. She would break Georgiana's pretty little nose in the morning. Right now she had more important things to do.

Astrid scooped Alyx up, murmuring soothing words as she hurried back to their room. She would have dealt with it in the hall, but she doubted Alyx would want one of the Salazar clan stumbling across them. She got the door open and was careful not to bang around since Leo had passed out on his bed earlier. Alyx tried to slow her breathing in the attempt to not wake Leo, but Astrid figured it hardly mattered. She sat on her bed and shifted around until both she and Alyx were comfortable.

"I got you," Astrid whispered in the dim light as her hyperventilating gave way to shaking. "It's okay Alyx. It's okay to cry. I've got you, you're safe."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo had always been a pretty light sleeper. Oftentimes he’d pretend to sleep through disturbances so that people wouldn’t feel bad for waking him, but this time he jolted up the second that he heard Alyx and Astrid enter the room.

His eyes widened as he saw the state that his sire was in, and he scrambled over to her bed, before realizing that he didn’t actually know how to comfort somebody. He sat there worriedly, his hands poised in midair as though he were going to reach for her, but never making the final move forwards.

“What- what happened? Are you ok?” He asked, trying to sound at least in control but unable to keep the obvious worry from his voice.

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid chuckled at Leo's hesitation. Wrapping an arm behind his back, she pulled him into a group hug. "Oh get in here," she said with a sigh. "She'll be okay. She's safe, and she can listen to our heartbeats. Alyx, breathe with us, okay?"

Astrid was right--now that she was being held by two people who cared about her, Alyx could focus on her breathing. She tried to time her breaths with Astrid's, and once they had slowed enough, with Leo's. After several shuddering breaths, Alyx whispered, "Sorry."

Astrid flicked her forehead. "How many times do we have to go over this? Crying is a normal human--okay, you know what I mean--emotion. Emotions are part of life, so never apologize for them." She handed Alyx a handkerchief. "They are perfectly valid. Stop giving me that look. Do you remember that time when we joined Admiral Jorgenson and the rest of the fleet for that major battle against a much larger fleet and I was so freaked out that I was going to get you all killed that I threw up all over my study? Repeatedly."

Alyx nodded.

"You were cleaning up maps for hours. Was that a valid response?"

Alyx nodded, scowling.

"Did it make me any less strong or damage your opinion of me?"

Alyx shook her head.

"Extend the same grace to yourself. You had a very stressful few days, and this doesn't make you any less strong or damage our opinion of you."

"No, it's not that," Alyx said. Well, the past few days probably primed her for the very-embarrassing breakdown.

"Do Leo and I need to break Princess Georgiana's nose?" Astrid asked, only partly joking.

"No," Alyx said with a breathy laugh. "It's not her fault."

Astrid frowned. "You've got that look on your face like you're going to keep it to yourself. You know it's going to eat at you."

Alyx wanted to stay curled against Astrid and Leo and just fall asleep there and sleep for several years, and then she could wake up, and everything would be fixed. But that wasn't reality, and she wasn't sure if she could sleep anyway. She wriggled out of Astrid's grasp and scooted to the end of the bed so she could look at them both. She took a long deep breath. "I'm not going to appose the alliance."

To Astrid's credit, she just blinked and nodded. "Okay. Why?"

"Because opposing it will accomplish absolutely nothing," Alyx said, her voice rising slightly. "But maybe it can help the clans, I don't know. Nothing will change for the squadrons--all my cousins and young cousins are just going to die anyway. But, I got a favor from the princess, so at least..." Her eyes drifted to Leo for a second before she squeezed them shut and shook her head. "At least I can do something."

"Hold up, back up for a second," Astrid said. This did not sound like Alyx at all. How long had she been spiraling down that she would have just given up? "They're all going to die? What are you talking about?"

Alyx took a deep breath. "The Allarians tried to surrender seven months ago. The Supreme General refused. They tried again two months ago."

About ten different things flickered across Astrid's face, shock, confusion, denial, and betrayal chief among them. She lurched to her feet and strode into the center of the room. "What?!"

Alyx let out a choked sob. "I thought you might have known."

Astrid turned. "Alyxzandra, do you really think I could have kept something like this from you? I blurted that I had made out with Jorgenson's first officer behind the Tilted Tankard in the middle of you talking strategy--you didn't hear that," she added as an aside to Leo. "Do you really think I could pretend I didn't know about something like this?!"

Alyx drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. "I don't know--I'm obviously not thinking clearly."

"You're fine, I'd have been worried, too." Astrid shook her head, and, with her hands on her hips, started pacing. "Seven months? We've had soldiers die in the past seven months. We just got shot out of the sky! We could have died! This war could have been over! We could have gone home! My dad and I could have taken our gliders out."

Astrid shook her head. "No, there's got to be some explanation--some reason. My mom isn't a warmongerer." With her back to Alyx, she added, "I can feel that look and I'm ignoring it. We started this because we were starving. If we had the resources we needed, why didn't we stop? What would she have to gain?"

Astrid turned and looked at Alyx. "You think you know why. You said something about the clans--" She gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "No, she wouldn't--my mom wouldn't do that."

"Then why didn't she accept?" Alyx asked quietly.

Astrid shook her head. "I don't know. I'll scry her in the morning and ask."

"Astrid."

Astrid rolled her eyes. "I'll ward against tracking. This isn't my first time being sneaky, you know. I believe you Alyx, but I have to hear it form the dragon's mouth. And we're just guessing. She'll tell me why if I ask. I catch her at breakfast tomorrow with my dad."

“And what will you do if she is just trying to damage the clans?” Alyx asked softly.

“Cross that bridge when we come to it,” Astrid said, mostly because she didn’t know what to do. If her mother was just trying to damage the clans in dragging the war out, that was wrong. Astrid would have to figure out a way to get her mother to see that.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo jolted a bit as he was pulled into the hug, but he was very quiet and relaxed after a moment. He was still very worried about her, but once she started to calm down he felt better.

That was shattered when Alyx made her revelation. His eyes widened and his breath hitched, though he kept it under control.

“It makes sense,” he said slowly, his voice low. “Allaria has higher numbers, but they don’t have the resources to sustain this war much longer. We occupy a good deal of the most fertile farmland, and from what I’ve heard, the western border along the coast is ours as well. Most of their imports come from the western sea, and with those ports seized, Eldergaard is at a very clear advantage. I thought it strange, really, that things had gone on this long already.”

He’d noticed the difference in soldiers, too. Going from noblemen of higher families to middle class men and then to farmers who were fighting just to fill squads and make up numbers. He hadn’t seen anyone he’d recognized in several months. He had no idea how many of his acquaintances were even still alive.

He frowned at Astrid’s announcement that she was going to just ask her mother. His mouth pulled into a tight line.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” He asked slowly. “I don’t dare to make assumptions about your family, but... if this is true, it’s something she kept hidden on purpose. It could be very useful information to keep close.”

 

[Reynarda]

Astrid nodded, confirming what Leo was saying. "I had just assumed the Allarians were being stubborn."

At Leo's question, Alyx nodded. "He has a point, Astrid."

Astrid was squeezing her eyes closed and shaking her head. "No, listen. I have to ask her about it. Because she may be the Supreme General, but she's also my mom. Because if this is what's going on, it's not right. It's not right to drag out the war to hurt the clans after we promised to send everyone home." She paused. "And if this is what the Supreme General is doing, I can't just sit around and let it happen."

Alyx's breath caught, and Astrid shot her a small smile. "Don't gasp at me. If you'd thought I would let this happen to you, you wouldn't have told me."

Astrid took a deep breath. "But I have to hear it from her, not some Allarian princess who could be screwing with our heads for all I know." Astrid sincerely doubted it was a lie, but surely there was some better answer than because she wanted to destroy the clans. "And if I ask her point blank at breakfast, she'll answer me honestly. I'll just say I heard it from some Allarian or something. I'm her daughter. She reads my reports."

"She doesn't read any other captain's reports," Alyx explained to Leo. "Astrid is very proud of this."

"She says that's what lieutenants are for: reading and distilling reports." Astrid let out a long sigh. "But that will be done tomorrow. Tonight, we're all exhausted and we have a long day ahead of us. So let's rest. Everything will look better in the morning."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Leo was a bit surprised but astrid’s reaction. He knew she cared for her family a lot and had a fair bit of loyalty to her mother, so to hear that she would side with the clans was reassuring.

It made him feel a lot better. It also gave him a lot to think about. He’d have to have a conversation with Rose later, to see what he thought and how things were really going in Allaria.

But for now they were right, and they needed to sleep. He gave Alyx a quick squeeze, then went to go back to his own bed before he paused. He and Alyx were both on the slighter side, and the bed was not overly small. He thought for a moment, then laid down.

“We can cuddle together tonight,” he decided. “It might make you feel better.”

 

[jones573]

Gigi had only intended to go and work in the lab for a few hours, but... Professor Robins had woken from her nap (the woman still kept the most atrocious sleep schedule) and started looking at what Gigi had been up to and they'd fallen into their old rhythm too easily. Except with much higher stakes, and without Crane to fuss at them to do things like eat and go to bed.

By the time she returned to her room, she had just under two hours left to sleep and she collapsed on the bed to make the most of it. She'd dragged herself out of it too soon after that, and set about making herself presentable after scarfing down the food that had been left for her. She would have been a bit creeped out that someone had come into her room while she slept, but it was delicious, so.

She'd borrowed some makeup from Delilah and used it to conceal the shadows under her eyes, and redid her braid so it started on one side at the top of her head and added more hair as she went down and across, and let the tail hang loose instead of tucking it into a bun- No, she decided. She looked older with a bun. More mature. So she coiled it to one side and pinned it in place with small golden suns. She wore tan breeches with a golden stripe down the side, and the detached capelet from her formal coat over a white blouse. She was clearly Allarian, but not military.

She rapped twice on Rose and Cyn's door, though not too loudly. She had no interest in alerting the occupants of the next room to her presence- She still wasn't really sure if last night's conversation with Alyx had gone well or not, and she had no desire to be yelled at about it.

"You should have been delivered some new clothes," she said, because the vampire she'd asked to bring some had seemed very eager to accommodate. "Once you've dressed- Aim for... Nice, but not gaudy," she advised, "I'd like to bring Hyacinth to meet Professor Robins."

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx was glad for Leo's offer, though she would never admit it. So, grumbling about how he didn't have to do that, she had ditched her boots and button-down (Astrid had shed her pants, but Alyx was not doing that), and curled up next to Leo. Her thoughts slowed much faster than she thought they would, but the weight of her fledgling curled against her and the steady sound of his slow heartbeat soothed her panic. Besides, it brought up the fond--though stressful--memory of Leo's Turning, and she fell asleep thinking of that instead of the future.

She didn't sleep well, but she didn't sleep fitfully, either. She woke to the sound of Astrid moving about and sighed. She and Leo were still a tangle of arms and legs, so she tugged his hair affectionately and disentangled herself.

Astrid was pacing and chewing on bread at the same time. She had put pants back on, at least, but she was still in just a tank top. Alyx was also in a tank top, so she decided that hardly mattered.

"There's food and blood there," Astrid said, waving at a tray that had been set on a table by the door. "And clothes. You two got nicer clothes than I did."

Alyx picked up one of the coats and inspected it. It was a traditional vampire coat with a standing collar and would fall just past her hips. It was a little more casual than she preferred for something like this, but it was black with royal blue decorative stitching around the collar and cuffs. She chuckled. "Did they have someone up all night embroidering? These are my clan colors," she explained to Leo. "And look, yours is lighter blue. That's traditional, for yours to be lighter. There's a shirt for you, too. Lucia is really trying to make sure I don't tell anyone about Hendryk."

"Ok, should I scry my parents now or wait until you two go to your politics thing?" Astrid asked. "Because I honestly might throw up if I wait much longer."

"Drink something! Don't keep eating!"

"I'm a nervous eater, you know that."

"And here I thought you just were always snacking," Alyx said with a snicker. She was trying so desperately to act normal, but it was hard.

"Shut-up and drink your blood."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Rose, as usual, awoke at the slightest rapping on their door, and he sat upright immediately like a spring. Cyn was still sleeping soundly, and Rose rolled his eyes as he slipped out of bed and went over to pull on his ear and wake him. Cyn squeaked, because he HATED when people did that, but it had always worked, so.

"You're going to meet the professor," Rose instructed, eyeing the pile of clothes set out on the chair in the corner of the room. He looked through them while Cyn rubbed blearily at his eyes, choosing a high collared shirt and coat with the Allarian colours. There was a bit of gold embroidery along the cuffs of the sleeves, but it was far from overstated, and the fabric was nice. There was a coat and shirt for Rose as well, though he only put on the blue button-down and the dress trousers they'd provided.

Cyn grumbled unintelligably as he groped around on his nightstand for a comb, then squeaked when he realized his hair was still in little braids. He had crashed pretty much as soon as Leo took him to his room the night before, and he groaned as he got up to look in the mirror. He didn't look specifically hung over, though he did have a headache. His hair was a mess, and he undid the braids, pulling his hair loose so it was a big curly mess. He struggled to pull the comb through it, wincing and hissing when he hit a particularly tight snag, and Rose turned back to the door.

"He'll be with you in just a moment," he said, and Cyn cursed as he finally managed to get the worst of the tangles out. He pulled his hair back and tied it, not bothering with the loose or fancy hairstyle he'd done the night before. If he was going to meet a professor, he needed to be practical, and loose hair in a lab was a terrible idea. He went and brushed his teeth, being careful of his clothes, and then headed to the door. Rose caught his elbow before he reached it, giving him a once-over before he nodded in approval.

Satisfied, Cyn slipped out to see Gigi, trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"'M sorry 'bout... I mean, I apologize about last night," he said, making a conscious effort to drop his accent and speak with the more proper, common dialect used among nobles. His words still had a bit of a twang to them, but he had to at least make an effort to speak properly, if he was going to be meeting with important people later that day. "I didn't mean to drink that much."

There was a hint of red on his cheeks as he said it, and he couldn't quite meet her eyes.




Leo groaned as Alyx tugged on his hair, though he did latch onto the pillow instead of her when she moved him.

He did look up when she mentioned the coat, because he wasn't actually asleep, but that didn't mean he really wanted to get up just yet.

"Hmm... It's weird to wear something other than red and black," he mused. He didn't often have time to dress down out of uniform or anywhere to really go that would require it, so his wardrobe over the past year had been pretty limited. He didn't get up to inspect it right away, but after he figured he'd dawdled enough he got out of bed and pulled the shirt on first. It was nice, a pale blue that offset the darker colour of the coat well. He eyed everything curiously, because there was one thing missing that he was used to.

"Is there a cravat?" he asked, because it was odd to go to formal meetings without one. Or was it not considered important anymore? That was fine, too.

He had to fix his hair before he let anybody outside the room even look at him, but he did feel a lot better in the new clothes. They were crisp, and they didn't move as well as the military uniform, but that in itself was kind of nice. It was different.

"How formal are these talks going to be?" he asked as he pulled his hair out of the monstrosity he'd put it in the night before and combed it out. He'd washed it yesterday, so he figured it'd be fine if he went without washing it in the morning. "Should I leave y hair loose? I don't see the point in flexing on them anymore."

 

[jones573]

"That's all right," Gigi told Cyn with a smile. "I wasn't expecting it to be... So much stronger than we are used to. I should have asked for some water for all of us," she admitted. She was surprised she didn't have more of a headache herself, but she'd always been able to handle her alcohol- Or maybe the hangover headache was simply being drown out by the tired-headache.

"I'm glad to hear that was the cause of your... Unwellness," she said as she began to lead the way. At this point, she knew where she was going. "And not something more severe. I know I have put you through quite a bit recently, so if you are feeling ill- for any reason- please feel free to return to your room and rest," she said kindly, but then followed it up with, "As I don't think your particular expertise will be immediately needed."

"It's likely that today- maybe tomorrow, too, or even a few days after- I will spend with the clans, discussing what Allaria can offer them," she told Cyn. "You are your brother are welcome to sit in on these discussions, but you are not required," she continued. "Once we have decided which option- or options to pursue- Professor Robins and I will need to be hard at work to make it happen. Neither of us have much background in mechanics or engineering, though, so I anticipate we will need your assistance to determine best deployment methods," she explained, as though she had perfect confidence Cyn was following her explanation despite having never heard it before.

She opened the door to Robin's laboratory, and led the way inside.

"Ah, we meet again," Delilah told Cyn. She looked much cleaner than she had the night before, and swapped out her work smock for something with far fewer suspicious stains.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx chuckled. "Yes, it is weird. I've been walking around in such dark colors for so long."

"You always wore black before," Astrid pointed out, because Cyril wore mostly black as well. She had sat herself in the chair and was eating the meat they had been brought.

"With blue accents," Alyx protested. "I do like my commander's coat, though."

The vampires' military uniforms had been designed by the Pheona clan, who were renowned for their skills with cloth--which was odd, considering their clan magic was fire magic. The coats had everything a vampire could possibly want--a high collar, plenty of silver stitching, a decent length, and were very easy to move in. Alyx and planned to keep the two coats the military had given her because she liked them so much.

Alyx could tell her hair was sticking up at odd angles, so she slipped into the bathroom and wet it. She pulled on the shirt and then the coat, then switched out the pants. The pockets weren't as big as her military pants, but oh well. She tied her scarf around her hips, and shifted her collar a little so that the edges flared slightly out.

"No cravat," Alyx said, coming out of the bathroom. "Unless you want one. It's okay to be a little... provocative at these sorts of things."

Astrid had been about to put fruit in her mouth but stopped. "Did you just use the word 'provocative' to describe you showing off the hollow of your throat."

"Well, it's sort of like a display of power or confidence, so it could provoke--"

"Oh, that makes more sense. I thought you meant like... sexy or something." Astrid said, eating the rest of the fruit.

Alyx rolled her eyes. "Please, they are all old and married probably. Anyway, uh... it's not super formal. It's mostly just to introduce the clans present and get the gist of the not-alliance."

"'Not-alliance'?" Astrid asked, drinking the goat's milk the clan had brought--she had not had milk in forever.

"Oh, when I was trying not to have a panic attack, the princess was telling me why it wasn't an alliance--her reasoning was stupid. Something about fanfare or some such. I wasn't listening too closely, to be honest." Alyx waved her hand and picked up the bottle--which was much smaller than the bottle from the previous night--and sniffed it.

"Goat's blood," she sighed. But, blood was blood, so she tipped it back and drank some of it. Then she passed it to Leo. Normally she would have insisted he drink first, but he had had human blood the night before, so he was probably less hungry than she was.

"Anyway, you can wear your hair down if you want to. I'm going to leave mine down." Alyx said, scrunching her hair slightly so it wouldn't dry flat.

"I hope you two didn't want any food," Astrid said, eyeing the empty plates. "I stress-ate it all."

Alyx shook her head in fond amusement. "Are we about ready? I wanted to see if I could get a glance at who all is a part of this before we walk into the proverbial griffin's den."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn followed Gigi, nodding his head. He hadn't thought that he would be needed for discussions anyways, so he wasn't offended or anything to be cut out. His job had been to keep the ship in the air, primarily, so anything more than that was news to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he reassured her. "I'm pretty hardy, so you don't have to worry about me or anything."

It had been a bit tougher than he was used to, but overall he was fine. Rose and Camellia put up with worse than this all the time, so he certainly didn’t have the right to complain. He still had all his limbs, and he didn’t think the cut on his side would scar too badly. He’d have to change the bandages soon, though he had done so when he washed the day before.

“Deployment methods?” He asked curiously, because he didn’t know exactly what she was referring to. “Uh, if my knowledge can help, I’d be glad to, though I’m not entirely certain what you’re trying to deploy.”

A weapon, maybe. He had some experience with that sort of thing, but he didn’t really like it.

He looked up at Delilah with wide eyes, because it was a fair bit embarrassing to see her after the stunt he’d pulled last night.

“N-nice to properly meet you, ma’am,” he said, then paused. “Professor? Whichever you prefer.”



Leo looked at Alyx and grimaced.

“My father liked lavender,” he said, his tone a clear indication of how he felt about that. “For international events, we always dressed in Allarian colours, but for regular parties, we had to wear lavender. At least it wasn’t chartreuse, but still. The blue and black is nice.”

He thought for a moment about whether he should go with the cravat anyways, then shook his head.

“I think I’ve been provocative enough for one visit,” he decided, then grinned. “And I’m already sexy, so.”

He eyed his hair in the mirror before deciding that simple was best, and took the bottle of blood and downed it.

“Ok, yeah, I’m good. You can talk to your parents after we leave, Astrid, that might be best.”

 

[jones573]

"Either is fine," Delilah said with a sharp grin. "Though I reckon I did have to put a bit more work in for the second, so let's go with that one," she decided. "Good to see you recovered from the drink and the... Rough terrain."

"I don't entirely know myself," Gigi said, regarding what they were trying to deploy. They'd made progress last night, but not that much.

"You wanna see what I've got for assorted machinery," Delilah asked, gesturing to the next room over.

"Have you had breakfast yet," Gigi interrupted, as that seemed a bit more pressing.

 

[Reynarda]

Alyx wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Those are horrible colors."

"You think any colors that are lighter than dark are horrible," Astrid said.

"That's not it, peach just does not go with your skin tone."

Astrid would have insisted that that shirt had looked great on her and it was a pity she hadn't bought it, but then Leo had to go and say he was sexy.

"Maybe I shouldn't take you. You'll distract all the elders," Alyx said dryly.

The milk Astrid was drinking almost came back out her nose. As Alyx pulled open the door, Astrid toasted them with her empty milk bottle. "You two have fun doing politics. Don't do anything Alyx would do."

"Give your mom my love," Alyx shot back.

"Oh, I intend to!"

Alyx shook her head and lead the way down the hall. She was worried about Astrid--she had been trying to play it off, but she was very anxious about her upcoming conversation with her parents--but she was also worried about the upcoming meeting. She did not have the patience for politics. But, she supposed, it really didn't matter. All she really had to do was uphold her end of the bargain she had made with the princess. But that shouldn't be too hard. She hardly cared anymore. There really wasn't much point.

Alyx took a deep breath. "I don't know who all is coming, or I'd prep you," she confessed. "Probably the separatist clans like Killian and Unarah. Killian's head elder is Sabine, and Unarah's is Urszula, but I don't know if they'll bring their heirs--probably. Keep an ear out for their titles, but if you're unsure or get lost, just copy me. Oh, and maybe--"

"Niece?" a masculine voice called.

He had barely finished the single syllable when Alyx grabbed Leo and spun them so that they were facing the way they had come and Leo was slightly behind her. She activated a small field of energy in front of them just in case.

"Elder Sebastian!" she said, sounding far more surprised than happy to see him. She bowed quickly so that it was more of a quick bob than anything.

The vampire before them was slightly over average height with a slim build and had his brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail to keep it out of his amber eyes. He looked to be in his early thirties but was over a decade older. He smiled and inclined his head. "I am surprised to see you here, my dear niece. Last we'd heard, you'd been assigned to some captain."

"I was," Alyx said, easing slightly now that the shock had passed. "But I took a slight detour."

"Have you seen my little brother lately? He never writes and we miss him." Sebastian's expression was the picture of sadness, but his tone was emotionless.

"No," Alyx said before he had even finished. It was such a reflex that she would probably say she hadn't seen him in years even if Maksim were standing right next to her. But she needed to get right off that topic before he caught her in a lie. Her energy field would only do so much against someone as good with spirit magic as Sebastian.

"Is Elder Dominik with you?" she asked, leaning to the side as if his taller brother were hiding behind him.

Sebastian's smile sharpened. That was the easiest way to get his focus off of something, and Alyx had no regrets. She would never try something like that with Dominik as he was unpredictable and had the shortest temper of anyone she knew, but Sebastian at least had some decorum. Which was why he was there, instead of Dominik. "I'm afraid my elder brother was indisposed."

"He's taken a new lover, then?" Alyx asked because she was entirely incapable of not digging at Clan Grivvin.

Sebastian chuckled darkly. "He has. And how is little Cyril? Still in the capitol?"

"He's becoming quite good with his magic," she said easily.

Sebastian made a show of noticing Leo. "Ah! This must be one of your war fledglings."

Alyx stepped only slightly to the side, still remaining partly between Leo and Sebastian. "Yes, this is my fledgling, Leo. Leo, this is Sebastian, Elder of Clan Grivvin, Younger Brother of Head Elder Dominik."

The last title was not strictly necessary, but it would annoy Sebastian. Which it did. His smile twitched. Alyx tried to keep the smugness off her face.

Sebastian nodded to Leo. "And Elder Brother to Maksim, whom I'm sure you've met. Our clans are not only close in the physical sense, but also in the abstract sense, young nephew. I am glad to have met you. What a fortuitous turn of events."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Cyn did turn a bit red then, and he bit his lip to keep from going on about how Henryk /deserved/ what Leo did to him, and more. But Leo clearly wanted to pretend nothing happened, so.

He perked up at the mention of machinery, and he was already in the room before Gigi could even finish her comment about breakfast. He was looking around in obvious delight, inspecting pieces without touching them so as not to be rude, but occasionally his hands would hover nearby with the urge to pick something up and examine it properly.

"Oh, some o' this stuff's 'mpossible to find anymore!" He exclaimed in excitement, his dialect slipping back to less professional. "'ts a whole treasure trove in 'ere. I might 'ven be able to fix Rose's hand with some o' this."



Leo grinned proudly.

"I'm a distraction everywhere I go, I'm afraid. I can't escape it," he said lightly, then waved as they headed out. He listened to Alyx's explanation, noting the names in case he needed to remember them at any point to impress somebody.

He squeaked when Alyx shoved him behind her, then eyed the newcomer with carefully masked suspicion. He recognized the familial resemblance to Maksim, and also remembered Alyx describing clan Grivin as 'a trash fire', so he was wary. He did bow, though, trying to remember the exact angle at which to bow to an elder. He was an elder, right? That was what she'd said. But not the head elder. That had a different rule, didn't it? It wasn't as though Alyx had really shown him a lot of respect, so he figured he would be fine.

"Yes, we have met in the past," he said, keeping it as brief as possible as he smiled politely. No hand-shake, right? His hand had twitched at his side because that was a habit that he had mostly shaken but the atmosphere here was different, and it had crept back up on him. He had absolutely no idea what Sebastian meant by close in the abstract sense. He paused for a second, thinking it over. Alyx had spoken about her fiance's family being terrible. If Grivin was a trash fire, and they were close in an abstract sense, then...

His eyes did not widen, because he was not that bad at hiding his reactions, but the corner of his mouth did tick up a bit. Astrid likely would not have put /those/ together, though he had no proof and it was only a hunch.

"It is good to meet you, Elder Sebastian," he said politely, keeping his amusement out of his voice and off his face.

 

[jones573]

Gigi smiled slightly, glad that at least someone was excited about something for once.

"Is there another way to access this room," Gigi asked, and Delilah grunted. She locked up her lab whenever she wasn't in it, but there was really no reason to protect the contents of the machinery room- To most people in Eldergaard, it was just a bunch of junk.

Delilah crossed the room and pulled on a large chain, which opened a door from the cavern of machinery to the exterior hallway. She returned to her lab momentarily and came back with a folder of papers, locking the door behind her.

"Here," she told Gigi, and they traded the folder for the makeup compact. Gigi was pleased to see that certain research results were no longer included among the papers.

"We're expected in the main hall in a little under 20 minutes," Gigi said, checking her timepiece. "If you'd like to join us for the talks, I'd suggest you eat something first- I've no idea how long they'll go," she advised Cyn.