Beqanna
our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Printable Version

+- Beqanna (https://beqanna.com/forum)
+-- Forum: OOC (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=24)
+--- Forum: Archive (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=81)
+---- Forum: Lands (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=98)
+----- Forum: Tephra (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=85)
+------ Forum: Ischia (https://beqanna.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=87)
+------ Thread: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL (/showthread.php?tid=25166)

Pages: 1 2

our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - larke - 10-15-2019

our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories

Larke feels nerves skitter along the edges of her vision as she moves toward the beach.

She has never even been present at a meeting like this, let alone been someone who called them, and she finds that her youth feels like a vice around her throat. Her mouth is dry and for a second, she can or do nothing at all. She just stands there with a slight sea breeze tugging at the flowers and her mane. She closes her sage green eyes and lets it trace the elegant lines of her face—and she smiles.

When she feels that she is capable of it, she shifts her weight and then calls for anyone who may hear. It is a soft, low sound, throaty, and does not betray the anxiety that flutters in her stomach.

She has no idea who, or what, will come.

No idea what she will face.

But she finds herself looking for the purple mare who had agreed to stand next to her in the next coming age of Ischia. It would be a calming voice to have her now, but until she arrives, Larke merely stands there, feeling the relief of the ocean area coming off the tide and letting it soothe her nerves.

When they arrive, she finally addresses them, steady but so painfully young.

“Hello,” she greets, looking at each who arrive one-by-one. “My name is Larke, and some of you may have heard of the events that bring me here.” She shifts, uncomfortable, but continues. “My father is Vulgaris of Tephra who has asked me to help lead Ischia as a territory. As I am clearly a stranger,” here, her smile is apologetic, shy, “I have asked Eva to lead alongside me.” She gestures to the mare.

A frown crosses her delicate features for a moment but washes it away.

“I would very much like to get to know you all.”

This, said quieter.

Larke



Please wait for @[Eva] to reply first. <3

RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Eva - 10-20-2019

your waves are pulling me under
i'm caught in your riptide
She feels a knot tightening in her throat. A rush of anxiety fills her head with thoughts she knows she should not be thinking. Now was not the time she should be considering or even finding a reason to avoid what she was going to be doing today.

Her golden gaze drifts to the ocean. Calming waves crash against the shore of the sea. For a moment, Eva considers making a break for the water. Running away from it all and not facing the path she has decided to go down. It sounded all too good, especially right now.

A soft call catches her attention. The nereid turns to look towards down the beach from where it comes. In the distance she sees Larke, the kind soul she liked very much on their first meeting. The mare who asked her to co-lead. The same mare she was going to be changing everything she had just recently agreed to.

Eva looks back once more to the waves that crash in front of her along the beach. She considers her recent idea again, but her heart pulls her in a different direction this time. There was no going back now. This was her chance to make things right for the Island. She had a responsibility to the residents and her home first.

Turning away from the view of the open-wide ocean, Eva makes her way down to where Larke is waiting for everyone to gather. A soft smile curves her lips slightly. She tries to put on a welcoming face as she comes closer to those who are gathering around for the meeting. It was hard for her to contain her emotions. Her eyes give it away easily, her mind is filled with anxious thoughts, but her heart is filled with confidence and assurance as she takes her place next to Larke.

She glances to the mare for a moment. The nereid wants to say something to her, but she is lost for words and Larke is already opening the meeting and welcoming all of those that have come. Eva blinks and moves her attention to those that have gathered. She looks across the crowd, considering each and everyone of them. Those that are family, friends, and newcomers calling Ischia their home now.

The nereid listens carefully as Larke continues. Her heart drops at the mention of the grey mare naming her co-leader of Ischia. A heavy feeling of guilt fills her, but she knows she cannot change her mind now. Eva will not let herself carry a feeling of regret without doing what her heart says is right to do. It is for the island, she thinks to remind herself of why she is here and doing this.

“Welcome family and friends, new and old,” she greets once Larke is done speaking. “I am sure many of you have felt confused. Perhaps even uncertain about the changes that have been made within our home.” She pauses for a moment, feeling her heart beating heavily against her chest. “Perhaps some of you have felt deeper concerns for the changes that have been made by those that do not call Ischia their home. Regardless, it is not for anyone else but those that call the Island their home to make their choice on who leads them.”

Eva glances to Larke for a moment with an apologetic smile. She knows this is the first time Larke will be hearing such a thing. Part of her wishes she hadn’t done it like this, but Eva knows it was the right thing to do. It was the Island who should decide who rules them, not the Kingdom who never asked them.

Focusing back on those that came to the meeting. “It is your choice to decide the future of your home. Choose someone who will lead Ischia to be fruitful. Choose someone who will protect the interest of Ischia. Choose someone you can trust to look after all of you.” Eva then falls silent. Her gaze glances across the residents of Ischia. Waiting for anyone to speak up and share their thoughts on what she has brought to the table.
Eva
lady of ischia


RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Aquaria - 10-20-2019

This was it, the moment they'd known was coming. At the center of their conflict stood two mares, Eva and the unknown Larke. The pale sea mare considers the girl, because girl she didn't seem any older than a girl, and listened to her own version of the events that lead them all here. 

So she was a princess, born of the Vulgaris and placed here at his will. The scale-and-fin woman listened and disliked what she heard. Her own father have her pretty shells when he was thinking of her. Not an entire, already populated island. 

The absolute arrogance of such an action galled her, but it was not the girl standing here she blamed. Larke appeared for all the world, a sweet and dutiful child. If she was here, it did not seem to be for want of power. That was good. 

It also showed commendable self awareness when she acknowledged her own ignorance of those who lived here already. A sweet girl, a nice girl, and if the situation were different Aquaria knew she'd love to know her. Larke seemed to carry many traits apparently absent in her sire. It didn't change her mind. 

Eva looked as nervous as Larke, and with good reason. This was risking everything. They both knew it, and she had meant what she'd said before. The violet nereid would not be facing this alone. Come hell or high water (preferably the high water), Aquaria would stand by her through it all. That started here on this shore. 

Stepping forward, she lifted her fin crowned head to address both of the horses before the herd. She was afraid too. But this was not the time to show it. Instead she spoke, loud and confident enough to be heard by all. "Larke. Welcome to our island. I am Aquaria, and I stand by Eva today." She paused to smile reassuringly at the seashell adorned lady. "I welcome you because that is what Ischia stands for. I have no problem with you living here and enjoying what the islands have to offer. But I don't know you. You don't know us or the island. And your father did not ask if we wanted or needed a new leader. As he has decided my sister was due replacement and she stepped down gracefully, I nominate her adoptive daughter and my fellow Ischian, Eva, as our rightful leader." 

Her beryl-dark eyes shone in the light, stance solid but at ease. Vulgaris wanted to keep it in the family? Very well. He ought to understand her own feelings perfectly well then.

RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - vulgaris - 10-21-2019

V u l g a r i S
He knows very little of his traveling companion and he doesn’t seem keen to share details of himself as they walk in silence. He hears the tall witch chuckle at the sand caught in the feathering around his hooves but he makes no comment of it. Maleficar seems to enjoy the way the waves try to sway him left and right with each step but Vulgaris is focused entirely on the destination ahead of them. His daughter is taking her first steps as a leader and he’s eager to observe them, just as he was the day she was born. It warms his heart to see her grow up, even if it is bittersweet.

The serpent king keeps his distance at first, watching her with his brow furrowing in concern as she speaks. Territory? He casts his sage green gaze over to Maleficar, who only shrugs in response. But then Eva speaks and his smile fades to a disappointed frown. Somehow, he knew things would not go according to plan, but he sits back long enough to watch events unfold a little longer. His daughter had trusted the people of Ischia and tried to make her own decisions, but it had come to bite her. He wishes she would have asked for his council before proceeding.

He laughs when they begin to call for a vote and he steps forward at last, the black witch lingering back to only observe. Mal chews at the inside of his lip and maintains his silence.

“Larke, you are my kindest child, and that is precisely why I want you to be my heir. But your heart gives its trust freely,” he says, kissing her brow softly. “One day, when you are queen, your herdlands may try to become a territory as well. But they must ask for your blessing first.”

He pauses, hoping she understands her mistake while he keeps his expression kind and patient for her. She wanted to give them a chance and he loved her for it, truthfully. Then, he turns to look at the Ischians and his face grows stern, carved from stone with little to offer them.

“Your request to become a territory is heard, and it is denied. Your request for a vote of leadership is also heard, and likewise denied. Larke will remain sole leader of Ischia. Now, there will be no second in command. There will only be subjects,” he says before casting his gaze back to Maleficar. But the witch only shrugs once more, content to not see violence break out.

“Consider this a warning. Larke is young, beautiful, and kind. Her rule here will be delightful. Try to take advantage of her again and your next ruler will be the opposite.”

He knows trouble is brewing on the horizon and he would prefer not to add fuel to the fire. They will have to be united to face the storm that is to come.
In this shook-up, twisted world, I'm gradually growing transparent and vanishing
Don’t look for me; don't look at me


RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Adria - 10-21-2019

-Adria-

What she’d done was for the future. Ischia belonged to those who would fight for it, not those who dreamt of a family and quiet hours by the sea. When Vulgaris had come, Adria had seen Larke and known that this place was for her - not her father, King he might be. She had felt a little trepidation about stepping out into the shallows, leaving her island behind and Sande with her father, but had known that in the end this place would do well in the hands of Eva and Aquaria.

She’d expected things to go fine, which is why she hadn’t left the outer depths entirely just yet.

Only fools believed in fairytales.

Her golden-yellow eyes flashed open underwater, and for the first time in many months Adria surfaced to stride up on the shore of what had once been her herdland. She felt the heat from the jungle as it misted over her still-scaly hide, and heard the rising temperature of the conversation when first Aquaria, then Vulgaris stepped in. Especially that laugh.

That laugh did not sit well in her thoughts as the coral-pink nereid glided out into their small gathering. “Tèlman fache!” She smiled and tsk’d, warmed at the sight of her daughter and sister alongside those children of Tephra’s new King. “Treat Larke like a woman grown. Not a puppet.” Adria seemed sad, concerned for the wellbeing of a possible leader who could not think or act for herself. “And a herd cannot subsist on puppets either, mwen ta panse.”

Her steps, casual and nearly silent as they drew Adria close between one pale seahorse and the other purple one, stopped when all three grouped together.

“You keep Ischia a herd? That seems well. Both Eva and Aquaria have rights then; to challenge your daughters leadership on the field of their choosing - and if it were my choice,” The water-mare paused, ears flicking back, “not someone else’s - specifically I would choose this land. If Larke is willing to fight for what she wants, and if she is the ruler you claim her to be, then she should not fear facing one of us in our home.”

To stand united is to earn the respect of ones allies, not demand it.

Oh my love, don't forsake me; Take what the water gave me



RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - larke - 10-21-2019

I said our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories

Larke does not, cannot, expect what happens next.

Her face lights up when she sees Eva approaching, her heart warmed by the memory of their first encounter—by the gentleness of the nereid and her warm acceptance of her timid offer. So it is with a sharp and painful inhalation that she realizes what the other mare is saying. Her head swims as she tries to process the sudden shift in the other mare and, for the first time in her life, the gentle healer has to come to terms with the idea of betrayal. With the idea that others do not always mean what they say.

Confusion crosses her young features, crumpling her brow, as she turns her head to the other aquatic creature who joins them. This time, when the understanding settles like a stone in her chest, the confusion is gone. Instead, her kind face remains impassive—a shield, perhaps, for the gentle, timid girl within her who curls inward, aching and pained. This, she is able to hide, at least. This, she holds far and away.

When her father arrives to the debacle that she has caused, she lifts her face to him, apology in her gaze. She closes her eyes as he brushes a kiss against her brow and then remains quiet, listening as he steps forward—every inch the King that she has always known him to be. His tone is forceful, strong, and while she herself would never choose such a route, she knows that his ability to make tough decisions is what has kept her family safe these past few years and what would continue to keep them safe.

And, finally, a frown as the last to join them arrives.

Her velvet lips pull downward as her sage green eyes consider the woman.

“You must be Adria,” she thinks, remembering the stories her mother has told her—preparing her for her time in diplomacy, giving her whatever lessons she could. For a second, she wonders if she will lose her nerve. If she will fold as she so desperately wishes to. Instead, she thinks of her mother and wonders what Leliana would do. Her kind, gentle mother had worn a crown. Navigated worse than this and did it without completely turning her back on the truth of what lives in her heart. The thought buoys her.

“I am not a puppet,” her voice is soft but firm and she steps forward after brushing her nose over her father’s shoulder. “You all seem to understand the importance of family. Of making decisions that are in the best interest of your home. My father is doing no different—he is following the laws of the land in an attempt to keep the West united and safe as times become turbulent.” She shakes her head slightly.

“I am young but I knew that, despite his good intentions, such things would be difficult. Would be disliked. Which is why I extended my offer to Eva to rule alongside me. To make such a transition a peaceful one. To unite us instead of dividing us. To cross the borders and join our lands together."

Her gaze slides to the nereid, calm and unaccusing.

“Such a request was accepted. It was said it would be an honor.”

A shrug, delicate, as she does her best to ignore the rapid pounding of her heart. “Instead, upon our very first gathering, this happens—this exact thing that I was trying to avoid. That I wanted to stop.” She swallows, looking back to Adria. “My father is following the same laws that benefited you so long ago when you came to my mother asking her to displace the current leader of Ischia to place you at its helm.” She thanks her stars that she remembers such lessons. “I suppose then it was acceptable.”

Another shake of her head, trying to clear her thoughts.

“I am sorry if you believe that fighting is the only way to show that you are a leader. I do not fear you, or the other women here, but I will not spill more blood. I wish you were not so thirsty for it.”

Larke


RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Jakub - 10-21-2019

He had remained tangled into the island's edge, vines draped over and around his large horns from his recent trip through the jungle in search of Adria once more. It had been months since the dispute over her land had started and she had gracefully but unwillingly walked away. He had missed her every single day, had searched for her every moment he did not find himself patrolling Tephra's borders.

He had heard the whispers of conflict showing her ugly head between the kingdoms. Had heard from Wolfbane's own mouth that he would stand beside Loess. Had watched Vulgaris welcome the soulless man into Leli's garden.

Conflict riddled his body, it's claws reaching from Beqanna's ground infesting his mind. It had been a battle, as of late, to keep his mouth shut, to keep his thoughts to himself. Leli had handed her crown over to her husband, an act he was not sure centered more around her personal feelings then the good of Tephra. He would not blame her if this was the case, but how could one ignore the whispers of stories of his now King.

He had not been fond of him since the first he had laid eyes on him during the party in Hyaline. A possessive presence next to Leliana. A new man, but all his sharp and blunt edges on view for all to see.

Jakub's midnight eyes watch the King join the party he had chosen to stay away from, for he was not a resident of this island. His voice was not needed. His ears strain to hear as his eyes darted to the King's stranger companion, crinkling in curiosity but for only a minute. Vulgaris presses his kingly presence into the crowd that had accumulated, denied. A denied herd, a denied congregation of "subjects". The hairs on Jakub's back prickle in disgust at Vulgaris' words, and his ears pin to his head. Arrogant, entitled prick. he thought.

Had he not learned from Beqanna's past, from his own past, from Leli's past? Since when has unity came from forcing your "subjects" to do anything they did not wish to do? He didn't honestly think that anything good would come from ripping Ischia's leader, a good and trusted leader, away from her residence did he?

As Jakub went to move from the palms and vines that had hid him away he is stopped mid step as Adria pulled herself from the sea. The vermillion beauty a force to be reckoned with moved to join the crowd. He watched in awe as she said her piece. Even stripped of her leadership she held herself with all the integrity of Ischia's leader. He listened as she said her peace, standing tall between her friends and family, standing tall on her island. A half grin pulled at Jakub's mouth, pride swelling in his chest for the nereid woman.

It was then while Larke spoke her peace that he pulled himself away from the jungle's welcoming edge, ripping vines from their homes as he went. Is that the same ideals you will be sticking to once chaos breaks loose between and amongst the rest of Beqanna? his voice barreled from his throat in pleasing tenor tones. When Loess, Pangea, Taiga, Nerine, and even Tephra finally make their moves upon and against each other? his gaze moved from Larke to her father. I remember not long ago when Tephra burned, have you forgotten? When Leliana had tried to put a stop to a man forcing others to bend to his will without their consent. Denying them their basic rights of freedom. his black, midnight gaze steeled against Vulgaris. The muscles pulled tight in his face as he continued, I think it's only right that if you expect your subjects to kneel to your decisions and your decisions alone you tell them what is happening outside of their sanctuary. When Tephra burned it was Adria and these individuals before you that had came to our shores to help take our residence to safety that had gathered on our beaches, running from the same man that gave me these scars, the same man that you recently held court with in Leli's garden, your old friend. The same guy who confessed his loyalty to Loess above all other.

Jakub's body had gone rigid in the anger and frustration he had held onto since the war, since Adria's title had been ripped away, since the improvised meeting he had stumbled into at the edge of Tephra between Vulgaris, Leli, and Wolfbane. His nostrils flared as he pulled himself to his full height. You strip a good leader from her title so that your own blood can reign over a land she knows nothing about. And when others oppose your decision instead of letting things resolve themselves you resign to intimidation and threats? You talk of unity, but there is no unity in coercion, do not act so surprised by their retaliation. Jakub's eyes do not falter from Vulgaris.

JAKUB

and out he came, holding his brothers heel



Word vomit but... he's sooo conflicted
In short: Jakub is pissed that Adrias (his major crush babe) title was stripped away by Vulgaris simply because he could do it and all the tension amongst Beqanna has been eating at him. Hes never been a big fan of Vulgaris and now he wants to tell him how it is.

RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Ivar - 10-22-2019

For the most part, Ivar has ignored the nereids. He knows they’ve taken over the main island and that they’ve got some sort of women-centric society, but little more than that. After Isobell had joined him on his north eastern island, ther had been a vacuum of power in Ischia, and the nereids and their kin had filled it. Better them than the Brotherhood, he has always thought. The kelpie’s not been especially successful at luring them north, but enough have born him appropriately aquatic children that he has at least a minor interest in keeping them around.

The sound of a summons reaches him where he drifts out in the sea. At first, he is not more inclined to answer it than any other day, at least until he recalls the time of year. It is easy to forget when autumn happens here in the tropics, but the idea of a gathering of women is too alluring to resists, and he drifts closer to the distant shore.

There’s a rather alarming number of men present – three – and Ivar scowls in their general direction. One smells strongly of Adria, and Ivar glances at the coral nereid, his golden eyes displeased. She’d really chosen steak over seafood?

Well, there is no accounting for taste, Ivar supposes.

”Do you live here?” He asks the black stallion pointedly, but his eyes flick to the dapple and the silvery bay as well. His question is rhetorical; Ivar has lived in this sea for a decade, and they smell of other lands. There is clearly tension in the air. Ivar had arrived just as the horned male had said something about coercion and retaliation. He doesn’t actually care what had been said, only that he’s already disappointed that what he’d hoped would be an estrogen-fest is instead full of sharp glares and far too many other men.

He looks over the others gathered. Adria (whom he smiles at brightly in memory of her attempt to minimize his possession of his island and eventual acceptance), to a par of nereids – one purple, one pearl – and then a pretty little dapple mare he thinks might look quite nice on his island. None of his own women are here – which is good; they know their place – and though he glances once more with displeasure at the assembled men, he supposes that at least this summons has made him aware of three new potential conquests.

RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Eva - 10-22-2019

your waves are pulling me under
i'm caught in your riptide
Within her heart, she had hoped with every part of it, more than ever, that everything would go smoothly. She wanted to give the residents of the Island a choice. To give them the fairness they all deserved to have—a chance to decide the future of their own home. In her heart, she knew it was the right choice to make. A choice she knew that could change everything for her and the Island itself.

Aquaria stepped forward when the violet mare called for a vote. The fin-nereid nominates Eva as the rightful leader to lead Ischia. She is humble by such a nomination, but she does not express her honorable feelings visibly. Aquaria was only the first speak.

However, she should have known better it would not go smoothly. It was not as simple as it had played out in her mind. There had always been a small amount of doubt in her thoughts. Perhaps she should have listened to her mind more than her heart. How could she though? The nereid had always been told to follow her heart, and that is what she did in these moments of uncertainty.

A laugh erupts through the crowd by a single, heavily built stallion who steps forward. Her ears flicker forward at the sound of his voice—she already knows that this is Vulgaris, the king of Tephra she has never met. An expression of disappointment crosses her finely chiseled features. Her warm gaze turns hard as she listens to what Vulgaris has to say.

She should have known better.

She should have expected it.

Anger begins to boil deep inside of her as Vulgaris addresses the residents of the Island. It is obvious there is little concern from the serpent king about those she loves and cares about deeply. He expected all of them to bend the knee and be obedient. Eva would not though, and she knew the rest of Ischia would not either. He wanted to be united, but this was not the right way.

They would never unite under someone like him.

Her long tail flicks with anger. The disappointment from her features turn to irritation, leaving no trace of her charming and peaceful innate being. “You have never given us a voice.” She states flatly as tones of anger ring through her words. “You came into our home without a second thought or care.” She would not be threatened by the serpent king on the very shores of her home. He did not care for the Island and its people like she did—they would not just be subjects. “Would you not do the same if someone came to your home like you have come to ours?” However, the appearance of Adria changed everything for her. Her feelings of irritation fade quickly, and warmth fills her orange-gold eyes instantly. Despite all that has happened to her mother, she still comes to protect and represent the Island.

She is surprised by the challenge that Adria puts forward. The nereids were not a force to be reckon with, especially in their own home. However, Eva did not want to go down this path. She did not want there to be division. But if it came down to standing up for what she believed in, then so be it.

Larke, so quiet during this time, finally speaks up. Her gaze turns softer as she turns to look at the young grey mare. Her heart aches for what she has done when she mentions their conversation. It had been an honor—but her heart knew it was not the right way to go. “I am truly sorry, Larke,” she says when the grey mare finishes speaking. A regretful expression begins to touch her features, revealing her true feelings on the matter. “But I could not go through with what my heart was telling me afterwards. Ischia is not a steppingstone for you to become queen if you are truly the next heir. The Island is more than that. Those that call Ischia their home has a right to decide who will lead them, not someone who has never asked our opinion on the matter.” She glances to Vulgaris for a moment and then back to Larke. “I cannot unite with someone who expects us to just be silent and obedient with every decision they make. I cannot stand with someone who does not care to listen and hear our voice. And if that is what Tephra has become than I want nothing to do with it, and neither will Ischia.”

Her gaze then moves to the unfamiliar black stallion. She places him to be within Tephra by the matching scent Vulgaris and Mal carry. At his words, an appearance of confusion flickers through her facial features. There is overwhelming amount of anger boiling out of the black stallion. Perhaps something that has been there all along but no longer can be held within—it had been a ticking bomb. She is shocked by the remaining bits of what he says, and finally looks towards Vulgaris to see what he says to say about it all. There was trouble adrift in Tephra as well.

Another one arrives, though he smells of Ischia and the depths of the sea. Even the rising tension of their conversation has reached the very bottom of the ocean. The purple nereid considers the blue and gold stallion for a moment before turning her attention back to Vulgaris.
Eva
lady of ischia


RE: our hearts know deeper seasons than our memories; ALL - Aquaria - 10-22-2019

There is a crowd gathering, more horses than she had ever seen in one place. It is a collective of split loyalties, and she knows what side she stands on. Despite the grim atmosphere, her heart still leaps to see her sister join the fray. Adria, as beautiful as ever and with more poise than Aquaria can believe is possible. It's with glowing pride that she listens to the coral mare's retort. How small Larke looked beside her. How ineffective. 

Little Larke's sire, on the other hoof, is anything but small. His words cut like glass against them, and any hope she had of fair treatment is quickly dashed. Others say their pieces, and she is proud of Eva for her solidarity. Of all of them, this was perhaps the hardest on the violet mare. Her heart was tender and bright still, and it was horrifying to see it discarded so carelessly. 

Larke herself had proven disappointing. She was in a very literal sense, a child. Who had been dropped here with little to no guidance as far as the nereid could tell. She seemed only to hear what her father wanted her to. 

This was to be the new queen some day? Aquaria could hardly imagine it. Her entire body shook with the coiled energy this meeting held. If Vulgaris had wanted his kingdom behind him in whatever trouble he foresaw, this was likely the exact wrong way to get it. Who here aside his own cronies would lift a hair to help him now. Who here would answer any call or command given? 

But she had to laugh. Just a little. All they wanted was peace and basic rights. Denied. And yet Larke wanted her family painted the villans. Pure irony, and it wasn't lost on the pearl mare. Smiling weakly at her sisters, she shook her head again in wonder. 

"Vulgaris, your own daughter is the only one who made mention of our land becoming a territory. We have been content as a herdland, because that is what we are. Family with no interest in your wars. And Larke," she turned to the dapple girl, who's heart seemed to have hardened remarkably fast. "We did not come here seeking blood. We came here seeking the right to choose. You and your father deny us this simple thing, so don't feel surprised that we might look for another way. This is not leadership, it is tyranny, and I pity whatever's left of the kingdom by the time you reach the throne." 

It was acidic, that last bit, but she has yet to learn her sister's skill with tact. And the anger that bubbled beneath her skin demanded an outlet. However this ended, it was clear her kin would not take it laying down.