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| Lately, Covet has thought a lot about death.
No, not his own. Well - partially. See, many MANY years ago he wandered upon a mare that could speak to death. She could see death. And Covet, a curious young man, wanted to know when his death would be. She prophesied a long, long time in the future. To a heartbroken, failed king this answer was unacceptable. He wanted nothing more than to die in the snowy Tundra shortly after Sage did. He didn't care about Aranea having a father, he didn't care for anything. He wanted only his own end.
And now Aranea is gone. He's given up hope the orange eyed child will meet him here in the Valley, in her land. Instead, he's found other friends. Old friends. Eight and Librette and Vampyric. The world has a funny way of coming full circle and landed on Covet like a house on the wicked witch. It occurs to him, then, that his legacy will end with her. No heirs. No children of worth, except Aranea. And she was sterile.
His line, he realized, ended with him.
Was it a lack of acceptable mate? He only had one child with Sage. All other mates he found wanting. Of all the women in his life Librette and Myrina were the only ones of worth. Myrina disappeared into the night - Librette stood just a few feet in front of him.
And breeding season was soon.
"Librette," he greets through the dark shadows, knowing she's alone. "You look..." he pauses, though not as a stallion that is overwhelmed would. More a seedy liar searching for a semi romantic gesture. It's his corsage on prom night, with the only intention of getting some afterwards. "...clean today." Yes, clean. She does.
| Covet
got a long list of ex lovers they’ll tell you i’m insane |
As a child you would wait, and watch from far away.
But you always knew you'd be the one to work while they all play.
Here she is, minding her own business.
Unlike Covet, she couldn't give two shits about her line. Even when she'd been queen having an heir was about the furthest thing from her mind. She doesn't like children. She knows she's terrible with children. And therefore, she tends to avoid children. Although since her latest return, they seem to seek her out – much as she would (really) rather they not.
When he first approaches her, stepping from the shadows to melt toward her, she doesn't understand his intentions. Perhaps she should be able to tell from the way he says her name. Perhaps there should be something in his presence that alerts her to what he's got on his mind. But when it comes to this kind of thing, she's still really quite the innocent.
And so she looks toward him as he calls her name, thinking absolutely nothing of it.
She's about to greet him in return when he surprises her into silence by speaking again. She frowns slightly in confusion as he starts to comment on her appearance. Clean. She can't help looking herself over – he's right, she is remarkably clean. Her wings especially look spotless. It's not easy in summer to keep them entirely free of debris, especially if she's not flying regularly. Grass and moss and such can build up if one is not careful.
She absolutely isn’t sure what to say. And so she does what she always does when she's in doubt.
"…thanks?" she says, but her tones are more confused than exasperated as a more savvy woman might be. She's keen on not offending him here, as she knows that he's an important asset to the Valley.
She's said thank you. Now it's time for the hard part.
"You're looking very...orange eyed today." She gets the words out awkwardly, obviously searching for something to say before she speaks. She pauses, wishing she'd been able to find something better, but deciding that she's already said it, she might as well go with it. "They're a lovely shade of…hot pumpkin."
Don't weep for me LIBRETTEBecause this will be the labor of my love.
Image copyright FFFiiiAA
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| Despite what some would say, Covet has a mild sense of humor. He's aware that he's awkward, that Librette is awkward, and that the two of them are an unlikely pair. They both contribute so much to the Valley and through the years have helped Beqanna become what it is. He knows that he's tip toeing on some broken class with the proposal he has for her, especially given their history.
Covet, however, doesn't care.
A slight smile tugs at the corner of his lips at her reply. Of course, his orange eyes - his defining feature. Everything else about him is plain and ugly and unremarkable. He doesn't have her great wings, he doesn't have anything like she does. The Valley never brought him back to life. No one handed him anything.
"Thanks," he responds, the humor evident in his voice. "I have a ... proposition for you." He hesitates momentarily. "I only ask because everyone else is worthless. Truly." He stops himself from a mini tirade against the Amazons and women who don't understand their place. Librette is the exception, not the rule. He knows telling her that in more detail would end poorly.
"I need an heir. Aranea is long gone, and the rest of my children are worthless. Because their dams were all worthless." He remembers their child from before and wonders if it still lives, or if Librette left it in a ditch somewhere. He considers briefly that she might do such a thing again.
| Covet
got a long list of ex lovers they’ll tell you i’m insane |
As a child you would wait, and watch from far away.
But you always knew you'd be the one to work while they all play.
Because she's Librette, it takes her a fair bit of time to even have an inkling of where he might be going with his proposition.
When he first mentions it, she tilts her head, listening and considering. She knows how quiet the kingdom has been, and so she figures it must be something diplomatic, some kind of intrigue. But when he speaks of the others being worthless, and she finally connects the dots to his failed attempts at flattery earlier, her expression begins to slide a little bit. She starts to know what's coming, and she is absolutely certain that she has no idea how to respond.
He speaks of Aranea, he speaks of heirs, and she knows she doesn't care about heirs. She knows she doesn't need them (has she ever needed any of her children?) She's never yet left them in any ditches, thank you very much, but she absolutely leaves them to fend for themselves. It's character building and it's what her own parents did for her and well, it's damn convenient. You don't get to be one of the few worthy mares in Covet's life without being really busy.
"You shouldn't say that," she mumbles, her brain too caught up in processing his request, in comprehending the idea of a child to even consider that she shouldn't be talking about this. "It's not nice to call others worthless." her voice is absentminded, almost as though she's talking to herself, so thoroughly is her mind occupied elsewhere.
She doesn't want any more children. God knows, every time she's had one thus far in her life, it's ended poorly for her. Well, if not poorly, at least not well. When Librette gets pregnant, no one profits. But at the same time, she has known Covet for so long, and they work together so closely, that she has absolutely no grounds whatsoever to deny him. And she knows it.
This is the story of her life: consent by awkwardness.
"Okay." she says, and her eyes suddenly meet his. "I accept your…proposal."She flicks her tail across her chestnut haunches. "But only because you're not worthless too."
She wonders if their children will have orange eyes. Concord didn't. Or at least she thinks he didn't. He didn't really live very long – Chernobyl is very deadly when he feels like it. She wonders what kind of a father Covet will be, what their child will look like.
Heh. Child. Singular. Little does she know.
Don't weep for me LIBRETTEBecause this will be the labor of my love.
Image copyright FFFiiiAA
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