"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
I walk restlessly along the Valley borders (stupid flaming wall of flame; if I wanted to be singed in my own damn home I'd ask Kushiel to visit), cursing my inability to act. Without Demian, alliances cannot officially be forged and plans cannot be put into motion. I feel stagnant. Worse, I am bored. And a bored Gallows is something no one wants.
My eyes flash dangerously, suddenly. A thought slinks its way into my brain, and a slow, wicked smile crosses my face. Impetuously, but with the confidence of self-righteousness, I stalk towards the usual meeting place. It's so pedestrian shrieking out a call to gather so I try for subtlety. With the ease of long practice I open my mind and drop a thought into the minds of my fellow Valley members.
Hello, darlings? We need to have a chat.
I wait, deceptively patient, as they gather. Fennick, of course because he is freaking everywhere, but others, too, arrive.
My first words are calm, steady and to the point. I don't wonder about the rightness of them. For the Valley there is nothing or us to choose but strength.
"I propose a mutiny. I have nothing against Demian personally, but he is no longer what the Valley needs."
I can't blame him terribly for going missing, life being what it is, but the Valley needs leadership and she needs strength. Now is not the time for an absent throne to be our cornerstone. I give the others a grim look.
"We need a leader right now. The Valley has been growing but our momentum is stalled without a responsible party to make decisions. Without someone to pull us together we are just so many half-assed ships in the night. I'm calling for a vote right now. Yes or no, will you oust the absent king?"
I give them a moment to ponder. For me, I need no more thought. The Valley is my love, and her I will serve first.
"If Demian is deposed, and you want me to serve you as Queen, I will. I'm not going to promise you flowers or rainbows or great victories in the coming months. You know me and you've seen me and I'll let that speak for itself. Whoever you choose, and it matters little as long as their heart beats with this place, make certain they would give their lives for our home."
Because if they wouldn't and they succeed the throne, death will find them in a much more interesting manner.
G A L L O W S We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.
Ooc: so basically, respond in character for yay or nay on ousting Demian and who you wish to be the monarch (it can just be a few lines if you like) and we will go from there. Majority rules on both counts. ;-) permission has been granted for this.
Fennick, was trying to do what he did best, and mind his own business. It was not easy. There were always things to do these days. Mostly, they were things that Fennick didn’t know how to handle. He’d learned to fake it, through trial and error he’d mastered the delicate balance of smiling broadly and nodding along even though half the time he had no idea what was going on.
He wasn’t aware that today was going to be one of those days.
This day he had set aside for sleeping, eating, and agonizing about the birth of his first child. That was bound to happen any day, and it set him on edge. It left him jittery and raw, with a strange urge to pluck out his feathers and hide. There was also joy though, a tiny panicked joy deep in his gut. He wondered if Hestia had grown sick of his worried glances and pinched expression.
There was enough emotion swirling in Fennick’s head that when Gallows whispered in his ear he nearly jumped out of his skin. He recovered quickly and scowled. No matter, he would just skin her when he found her. It didn’t take long. She was standing, obviously waiting for them, with a weird look on his face. Fennick groaned. That was never a good sign coming from Gallows. The large stallion stalked up to her, scowling mightily.
“What is it Gallows? What could possibly warrant —“ He cut off abruptly and listened to her speak, his gut twisting in his stomach. How is it possible that Fennick had already witnessed two mutinies? How did his always walk in right in the middle of them? He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to focus on the pounding in his head.
What did he want?
Fennick’s gut twisted again. All his life he had avoided making choices like this. All his life he had always preferred to hit something, rather than talk to it. In this moment, however, he was going to need to speak. For a long, terrible moment Fennick’s loyalty to Demian, the man who had given him everything, tangled with the truth of Gallows words. Finally, he took a breath.
“Lord save us all, but I vote for you, Gallows.” Fennick sighed again, trying to make himself believe that he had actually spoken those words. After another pause he continued, his tone growing harsh and stubborn.
“As long as you have vision. As long as you’ll make sure this is a time that they’ll remember.” Fennick, while he had little ambition for himself, had a lot of ambition for his home. He wanted it to be great, he wanted it to be powerful and safe for his child. In his head he added one last thing. He thought it, so just Gallows would hear.
“And as long as you keep me around to tell you when you’re running mad. Kind of like you are right now.” His lips quirked up into a smile. He and Gallows had their differences, but Fennick had confidence in her, as long as he was around to keep an eye on things.
It was a trend, wasn’t it? Rulers of the Valley coming and going. We just couldn’t seem to hold on to one long enough to make a difference. It seemed for the past few years, the Valley tried to build herself up – rustles of activity and plots and plans – but they soon fizzled out, death and decay.
The Valley residents, however, seemed to stay. They lurked in the shadows, quiet and waiting for the next storm to come. Eight couldn’t really blame them – he did the same. What worth is there in a kingdom without a ruler? Why slip off the shadows, when the entire kingdom was dredged in dark?
Eight lay quiet- that is, of course, until he saw little Gallows approach in his mind. The history of he and Gallows lay as far back as he could remember – she being the first queen he ever resided under. And perhaps, she will rise up again.
Eight smirks lightly in the dark – he knew what she was up to- even before he appeared silently from the air by her side- and so he knew he must attend her quaint little meeting.
Fennick too, arrived (which was no surprise, he had been everywhere lately) – and pledged his allegiance to Gallows. “Well, well, the Death Queen rises again, hm?” He nodded to Fennick and Gallows in a light greeting. “ I suppose you’ve pulled enough weight around here to climb back up on the throne again, yeah?” In truth, there was nothing he had against Damien – it was just that, as Gallows had stated, a country needed a ruler. And without one, no strong and fast decisions could be made. “I have no doubt you have the best intentions, Gallows. I am behind you.” Valley Ruler Part 3, commence.
∞
and now the storm is coming, the storm is coming in
11-06-2015, 10:55 PM (This post was last modified: 11-06-2015, 10:55 PM by Rhynn.)
she slept with wolves without fear
Goddamit he’d died quickly.
She storms back into the kingdom, more than a little disappointed that her first assignment for the queen had ended so early and with so little excitement. She’d wanted so much more. She’d been hoping for it to be some part of a bigger plot, of a plan to maybe even take over the kingdom … but it had only ended with the quiet king reportedly dying in the jaws of some animal on the beach.
Pity.
But her annoyance is forgotten soon after she crosses through the blasted flame border. She notices almost immediately that a very small group of horses has gathered, and her curiosity is instantly peaked. She slips up behind them and arrives just in time to hear the old winged mare (Gallows if she remembers correctly) propose a mutiny.
It appears she’s arrived at exactly the right moment.
She listens quietly, mind sifting through the new information. The mutiny itself does not particularly surprise her though. Demian has been absent for a while (even the little shadow mouse she had attached to him has not reported back in some time), and the kingdom has become stagnant. They need change.
The bay mare quickly offers herself as the next queen and the two stallions that have bothered to arrived quickly offer their support. No surprise there - Fennick and Gallows are the two most active members of the kingdom, and from what little she knows of Fennick, he does not strike her as the most confident of stallions. Not really much of the leading type, at this point in his life anyway. As for herself, she has no designs on the throne. She much prefers working from her shadows.
She grins, and inclines her head slightly. “I see no reason to disagree with your offer. Long live the queen.”
11-06-2015, 11:32 PM (This post was last modified: 11-06-2015, 11:32 PM by taz.)
For note: I made gallows and fennick queen/King two days ago but for some reason it didn't edit. And I redid it just now. So no reason for this with premed I felt it was appropriate and hadn't been able to get on to edit it.
all that we have amassed sits before us, shattered into ash
A coup, an uprising, a mutiny. Whatever you would like to call it—Cress doesn’t know the exact terms. It seems to be the way that the Valley is handed from king to queen and to and fro. Her father had seized the throne from the queen before him, and Eight had seized it from him. After a period of inactivity, Demian had stepped forth and taken the kingdom from Eight (or was it willingly given?). Now it is Demian’s turn to give up the throne, and who better to give it to than Gallows? She has been here as long as any of them and has worked hard to keep up a measure of activity. She deserves it more than any of them.
The golden girl jerks when Gallows’ telepathic call resounds in her mind, a tremble running from the tip of her nose down to the end of her long legs. She is too old to be frightened so easily (what is she, a child?) but the sudden invasion scares her, and she almost doesn’t respond… but it’s Gallows. It would be rude to ignore the woman who has done so much for Cress and for the Valley. She should at least see what the woman wants.
Gallows gets right down to business when she deems that enough have gathered, and though Cress is shocked by the reason for gathering them, she cannot speak out against the mare’s ideas. She is right—Demian has been around about as much as Cress lately (by that she means: not at all) and it’s true. He deserves to be king about as much as Cress would deserve to be queen. She doesn’t want to be queen—save that for the ambitious—but there is a point to what Gallows is saying.
But Cress cannot bring herself to speak up against the king that she adores so much. “Maybe he’ll come back to us,” she murmurs finally, trying her best to ignore the eyes that she knows are turning towards her. She is uncomfortable and scared and vulnerable and broken. Demian is gone. He is one of her only friends and he is gone; maybe she should leave, too. She swallows and glances up at Gallows—her second friend, the only other friend she has—and she knows that Gallows knows exactly what she is thinking, how much she is hurting. Gallows knows how she feels—the mare understands. She is more a mother figure to Cress than anything else, but Cress doesn’t want to think of her broken relationship with her mother anymore.
“You will make the Valley a wonderful queen, Gallows.”
She was beginning to understand the incredulous way the Valley members handled the last passing of the torch.
Thorunn was young then - and she was young now - but understood more. She saw the last leader make valiant claims and then fizzle into nothingness. She saw him build a wall that ultimately died. She saw the Valley limp along the same way they always did. It was disquieting for the young girl with her orange eyes and such hope and promise in her breasts. She just couldn't find the motivation or desire to help. She felt the weight of her responsibility bog her down. Father said she should rise to the occasion. Her mother and father both were powerful, singular creatures. And Thorunn? So far she'd managed to only utilize the Valley's resources and do little to bring any back.
Well, except the converting oxygen to carbon dioxide, though that's not something she was actively aware of.
She pledges nothing to a single leader, it's not her nature. Would father have voted? She's unsure. Instead, she tilts her head and looks toward the heart tree. It stood little more than a sapling, struggling for light and air. It was once so grand and so beautiful before the shift. Before mothers and father.
Before this all.
She makes the few steps to the tree then, pressing her nose against it. It's her show of solidarity with the kingdom. Her impassive lack of vote for a single creature, but instead for the entire kingdom. Her claim of the Valley.
with premed I felt it was appropriate and hadn't been able to get on to edit it.
