Re: Hope Falls

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 May - 22:00

"I will leave, as you wish, once we have sat down and you tell me why he has left - why you are both so upset." Florence passed her to pick a teapot from the side, pouring them both a fresh cup. "This is a matter of friendship, not of you being Queen. Please, sit."

"I would have seen something so serious. I would have seen it."

"A Madra? Uhm.. what do you say.." He grimaced, lowering his hand and waving it with flat palm at around the height of his pet. "Company? Compul- No. Ack. Do- Dog?"

Phoenix Sat 20 May - 22:07

“What makes you think the Fates aren’t fucking with me after everything else they’ve put Conan and I through?”

“But I am, The Queen. His Queen. Your Queen. I have kept this Kingdom from falling apart for near enough a millennia. I have sacrificed everything for the crown, for the castle, for all of them. I have had no civil wars, no coups, no one demanding my head. Mild unrest but that is all and it has always been remedied and I will not be spoken to as of me not bending to jumped up tribal leaders will topple the fucking Kingdom! He has not always been by my side, there was a time before him, and if he keeps on acting as if I do not know what I am doing then there will be a time after him!” Isolde seethed, clenching her teeth. “And I am very much tired of you never doing as you are told. I am aware your age makes you nothing more than an infant in the mind but you insist you are treated like an adult so I expect you to behave like one of our elders and do as you are damn told!”

“You lost your dog?”

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 May - 22:18

"He loves you, as you love him." Florence spoke slowly, words tentative as she let out a slow breath. Jnphased by the telling off, she walked over to offer her the cup of tea - the chamomile leaves rising from it. "He was your cousins husband, your advisor, your friend and then your love. Those are.. many things, and he is still all of those all at once - like you are to him. It will get complicated sometimes. It will get complicated often. He is the one person who has never projected anything but loyalty to you though, and faith in you. People make mistakes."

"Yes! Yes. Lost."

"If they hated you as much as it feels like they would then they would have let you die. They never would have sent Kenna." Karina frowned, pushing the door open to enter the room. "You are having normally motherly fears, this is nothing to do with the Fates."

Phoenix Sat 20 May - 22:27

“He has no faith in me if he doesn’t think I know what I’m doing. If he thinks that so many of my choices are wrong. He wanted this. A role. He knew what marrying me would come with - and he proposed, he went through with the wedding. He could’ve just been Prince consort - spending his days in leisure. But he wanted to be in charge of things, he wanted responsibilities and now he is acting as if he can do this better than I can. Does he want the roles reversed? Does he want me to begin acting as the dutiful consort?”

“Did you let it off the lead and it didn’t come back? Have you not called for it?”

“She’s so grounded when she gets home.” Dagmar swallowed thickly.

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 May - 22:37

"Only he can answer those questions, though that is as unrealistic as pigs flying now isn't it? It sounded like he was... drastically out of order, yes, but it doesn't sound like anything intentional. I don't think there is a need to make him leave you. He will return in a few hours with a cool head and some hybrid of flowers he has created - as he often does. All will be fine. You love one another, and you deserve love."

"Le- lead? No, no Madra doesn't have a rope. She is meant to li- listen. I call, she doesn't come. Can you jelo me look?" Tadgh questioned, not waiting for a response before bursting into a description; "this high... liath like... like your stones you use for homes. She likes shadows, the heat makes her codlatach, there is no waking her."

"Until she is an adult." Karina suggested with a laugh, picking bits and pieces up until her fingers brushed against a pebble taken from a nearby beach. Shoulders tensing as she became still, gaze vacant.

Phoenix Sat 20 May - 22:44

“All will not be fine. I know I’m your human lands fairytales are prevalent but love doesn’t solve it all, Florence. He thinks he would be a better ruler than I. He doubts my judgments. I shall not forget.”

“So… a big, grey dog that likes shadows. Does she make noise? A bark or… anything?”

“You see something? What is it?”

((Night))

**BestNameEva** Sat 20 May - 22:54

"I don't think love solves it all." Florence denied, reaching across to squeeze her arm gently. "It is wise to not forget, to forgive though - if this has all been a big miscommunication - that is what love is needed for. The choice is yours, and only you know how you feel. I'm here, though, for you."

"Aesira... a boy with strange hair - multi-tonal. They are talking, I can't hear what they are..." Karina choked on her words, goosebumps appearing on her skin. "A grey flash.. stone sculptures. Wings. A horse - a- the sound the horse made before Magnus' window fell through."

"Sound? Oh, glór yes. High pitched, like... like..." Tadgh waved his finger around in a circle as he tried to buy himself time. His teeth baring a moment later as his breathing changed, his chest heaving differently to before and breathe whistling through small gaps of his teeth - though no sound that would have been audible to Aesira escaping. "Like that. She sounds like that."

Phoenix Mon 22 May - 20:04

“Is she going to get attacked by one of the beasts?!”

“I don’t need you to be here for me I need you to know your place.”

“There was no sound…” Aesira furrowed her brows.

**BestNameEva** Mon 22 May - 20:19

"I was yelling, and.. and she is louder than that!" Tadgh frowned, a bounce in his as he closed the distance between them. Pulling her hair back so he could squint at her ears; "Oh... what happened to your clustiau? Has someone..." He lifted his free hand up to mimick a saw to the top of his own ears. That, at a closer distance, were slightly pointed.

"No, no I- I don't think so. They seem... relaxed."

Florence swallowed thickly, pulling her lips back in a wounded expression. "Everytime I start to feel... you were kind to me when you needed my visions, then after I saved you, now you need my child. I must start learning."

The next day..

"He was found just outside the city wall, on the edge of the forest." Devika spoke solemnly, her gaze steady as she stared at a stream of sunlight just above Conan's shoulder - unable to look her King in the face in case her eyes betrayed her attempts of formality. In front of her, upon a table, a dark cloth lay over a body. Lightly, Devika pushed the traditional white cover out of sight to hide the bloodstains upon it. "Jacob Nyren, one of the men he commanded, said they were meeting there to catch up when he found hi- Ah, no."

Conan froze where he was, fingertips still grazing against the fabric that he had gone to remove. Raising a questioning eyebrow.

"I- I apologise your Majesty but I - I don't recommend anyone to look. Not his wife, not - not even you." Devika whispered. "He - There is not much of Emmett Aster beneath that cover. I - I was only able to know it was him because of his wedding ring. I feel as if - I feel it would be disrespectful, that it would cause harm too, for anyone to see."

Phoenix Fri 9 Jun - 22:24

“He left at dawn, Karina said he, Jacob and a few of the other guards off duty today were going to hunt. She wasn’t expecting him back until later on this evening.” Dagmar murmured as she glanced over Conans shoulder, paling at the blood on the sheet.

“Nothing in that forest where he was hunting could do that. There’s nothing bigger than a hog in there at this time of year.” Lucian rubbed his jaw, swallowing thickly. “If he’s been shredded that screams Wolf. There’s no full moon for a week which narrows it down to one of those bastards that can always shift - we round them up. We round the dogs up and begin questioning until one confesses.”

“It’s not usual for predators to be in the woods this time of year but we cannot rule it out. The occasional Griffin has been found around here, especially since the earthquake a few years ago where their natural lands were disrupted. Rounding up all the Wolves will cause rioting. We don’t need that right now.” Dagmar snapped, shaking her head. “Karina’s life is going to be torn apart as it is - never mind adding the rest.”

**BestNameEva** Fri 9 Jun - 22:38

"You must convince her that not seeing the body is for the best, and you must not allow her to." Devika told Dagmar, and then Conan though she still refused to look at any of them properly, merely inclining her head to direct her words. Her shoulders slumping when Conan's hand moved off of the fabric. "I have seen a wolf kill, and this doesn't... a wolf would not be able to do this extent of damage. I haven't seen anything so strong. A - a Griffin? The size would make sense, the strength but.. this doesn't look avian either."

"We must see him, Devika. How am I to determine what the cause was without seeing the injuries? How am I to keep the Kingdom safe? My children safe?" Conan's voice remained low as a he spoke, curling his fingers in to form a knuckle.

"With all due respect, Your Highness, but me and my girls have all seen and are in agreement. You trust us to do our jobs, yes? So you must heed my advice. Your Kingdom need you of sound mind. You do not need to see the... lump of meat... beneath that cover."

Phoenix Fri 9 Jun - 22:43

“Is there any way at all to make him look - look better?” Lucian asked, a small pause as he contemplated his words. “I know Kari, she’s a stubborn one. She’ll have you across the room in a heap if you try stopping her see his body. She won’t believe it’s true unless she sees for herself. Who else knows he is dead?”

“We’ve both been overcome at seeing how some bodies remained on battlefields before, and those were of strangers trying to harm us. I cannot imagine what seeing a friend in that way would do Conan… I think Devika is right.” Dagmar took her partners hand in her own.

**BestNameEva** Fri 9 Jun - 22:57

"Perhaps if you know how to create a face once more, it is not even a reconstruction. Quite possibly if you can meld bones together, create replacement organs and find missing -" Devika began, chest heaving with a breath. Finally lifting haunted eyes up, the normal spark in them dim, to meet Lucian's, "It is not a recognisable body. What is beneath this blanket is not Karina's husband. It is.. meat. A eaten carcass. She can not see it, none of you should see it."

"A friend. A -" Conan shook his head, pulling his hand away from Dagmar's as he stepped towards Devika. "If it does not look like a body than how are you certain it is his? A ring is not good enough - this could be set up to cause harm, to upset and weaken us. Emmett may be.. in some cell somewhere. It is easy to plant a ring."

Phoenix Fri 9 Jun - 23:22

“Back then soldiers got identifying tattoos when they first joined all those years ago. When the Wolves were shredding everyone. It could well have faded now - and I don’t even know if there’s enough left of him but… his initials will be behind his left ear and on the skin between his right ring finger and middle. Is there - are those parts there for you to check?”

“Has anyone told Karina yet? Who else knows he is dead?”

**BestNameEva** Fri 9 Jun - 23:32

"'Not on the ear, there is no ear. There is no..." Devika pulled her lips in as she allowed herself to stop speaking. Moving with a slow caution to roll the material up enough to coax only half of Emmett's hand into sight, taking a step back to allow Conan space. "A few of his men may know, my girls too though they wouldn't utter a word. I assumed you would wish to tell Karina, Dagmar."

Conan remained deathly silent as he stepped forward, the muscles in his shoulders shuddering to a tense as he touched the hand of the deceased. Delicately prying the fingers apart from one another to investigate.

Phoenix Fri 9 Jun - 23:39

“Not something I would wish to tell anyone… but I would rather she hear from me than anyone else who may have less compassion or tact.” Dagmar glanced down at her hands before taking a deep breath. “I’ll go deliver the news. Conan - the twins will be with Aesira and Cass for their lessons. Speak to their tutors and keep them all isolated until Kari can talk to them herself? They don’t need to be hearing anything either.” She added softly, squeezing his shoulder gently before heading out of the room.

“You keep talking about us not seeing this - I’m sorry you had to.” Lucian gave Devika a sympathetic look, tone gentle.

**BestNameEva** Fri 9 Jun - 23:54

Conan let out a slow breath, squeezing Emmett's fingers before leaving the room himself.

"When the war finished, and Karina and I returned home with the children, he expressed how he felt about missing so much and I - I told him that he'd have the rest of their lives now." Devika whispered, once the silence had become too deafening for her to withstand any longer, words coated with sorrow. "Time was already stolen from them, from all of them as a family and it - those poor children."

Karina was hunched in front of one of the worktop in hers and Emmett's quarter, tapping her fingertips against the oak as she stared at various piles of papers, toys half-made by the children, and her own knick-knacks that lay on the floor beyond it.

Phoenix Sat 10 Jun - 0:04

“Kari?” Dagmar knocked once on the door to their rooms before opening and entering, gently closing the door behind her. Taking a moment to centre herself before entering the room properly.

Lucian shook his head, taking a few steps forward and gently folding Devika into his arms, smoothing her hair down.

**BestNameEva** Sat 10 Jun - 0:12

Devika took in a sharp breath of surprise, slowly lifting her arms up to curl around his torso, her pressure festher-touch light on his back. "Stay within the city walls until whatever caused this has been found? Please."

"Dagmar, come in." Karina called. "Excuse the mess of everything, I am trying to reorganise whilst I have this place to myself and you know what the first step of doing that is."

Phoenix Sat 10 Jun - 0:15

“Only if you promise me the same?”

“Hey… come sit?” Dagmar moved to stand by the couch, gently patting the cushion before sitting down herself. “Just for a minute? I need to talk…”

**BestNameEva** Sat 10 Jun - 0:27

"Have the twins irritated Aesira again?" Karina's fave twitched with mild irritation as she slipped into the seat beside her. "I will speak to them again. They are still struggling to read people's faces. I've told Emmett I'm concerned but he seems to think that I am just over worrying."

Devika nodded, ducking her head to rest her cheek against his shoulder. "I tried. I - I tried to fix him enough for her to be able to say goodbye. There just wasn't enough skin an- and structure left, and it's harder to work when the person isn't alive and - I tried."

(( Night night ))

Phoenix Sat 10 Jun - 0:35

“I know you will have done.” Lucian assured softly. “You did all you could, we can’t do more than that. Let’s get you out of here mm? Get you some of that tea.”

“No. No” Dagmar shook her head, reaching over and taking Karina’s hands. “I’ve had this conversation thousands of times but… but it’s never been this hard.” She said, voice wavering. “Kari you - you know I’d never lie to you, or tell you anything but the truth. And I wouldn’t be coming here with this if I wasn’t certain.” She took a deep breath. “Emmett’s friend who he was hunting with found his body this morning by the woods. He’s gone Karina… i - I’m so sorry.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 10 Jun - 6:50

"Found his-" Karina's face distorted into confusion, crinkling up small as she studied Dagmar's face. It only taking a few moments before throwing her head back with loud laughter; "Oh, oh that is a ridiculous one! Who put you up to this, mm?" Skowly she pushed herself to her feet, leaning down to begin to pick up one of the children's toys she had yet to place in a specific section. "Anyway... I have told Emmett that I'm concerned about them not developing emotionally as they should be, he insists that that are fine but of they are still annoying Aesira and can't tell - well, that is proof isn't it? That I need to work with them more emotionally. When he comes home I'll let him no my fears aren't dumbfounded. Thank you, Dagmar, this had really helped."

"You would rather stay with me and not run to Karina?" Devika spoke without malice. "I have no doubt you'll be worried for her."

Phoenix Sat 10 Jun - 8:41

Dagmar just shook her head, squeezing Karina’s hand gently once more. “I’m so sorry… there’s nothing else I can say. Nothing I can say to make this not hurt…”

“Of course I’m worried for her. But I’m the last person she’ll want to see right now. And I know she’s in good hands with her friend, her sisters. I’m more concerned about who’s looking after you. I’ve seen similar to what you’re describing when we’ve come across shipwrecks. Half eaten bodies floating around near the surf, unidentifiable. And it’s grim enough when you don’t know who that person used to be.”

**BestNameEva** Sat 10 Jun - 10:28

"No, no this is a joke. This- it has to..." Karina's voice faltered then, becoming stuck in her throat as the news sunk in. "I need to see him. Where is he? I need to go to him." .

"It wasn't a wolf, Lucian. I - I wish it was a wolf, this wouldn't be half as terrifying if those looked mild enough to be werewolf injuries."

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