all you have is your fire - diplomats

[Talulah]

The gathering swells to a rather large number when Tiphon and Elysteria fall in next to the mother and son.  It is unusual to be surrounded by so many bodies (unusual in their historically quiet home, anyway) but the silver diplomat feels completely at ease.  The fact that the Dale has struggled with numbers is no secret.  In the past, it was all-too-common for the kingdom to be taken over for that simple fact alone.  Fortunately, their current members are inherently, wholly loyal beings who would sooner find the beach than another place to call their own. There is something about the mountains that spoke of their forever-ness, something hidden under the river’s surface that they are always desperate to grasp, no matter how often the water slips away.  Talulah will trade a life of near-silence to have the privilege of such mysteries – she wouldn’t have it any other way.  But she welcomes the crowds sometimes, the chance to flex her mind and use her skills so they both remained sharp.  If it is possible, Ramiel is even less fazed by the size of the group than his dam.  The two year-old has always enjoyed watching others, picking up on the nuances of their individual speech and movement.  Besides his little meadow jaunt with Joscelin, though, he hasn’t been able to analyze so many horses at once.  His craving for knowledge and information makes this meeting an ideal opportunity.  He smiles widely when Kreios seems to remember him just as he had remembered the titan – how could he forget those curling horns?  Ramiel wonders if the red and white stallion has had a chance to use them since their first meeting, but he stops himself short of actually asking.  There is a time and a place for small talk, he is learning, and a diplomatic meeting is probably neither of those. Once everyone has exchanged names and pleasantries, the more serious discussion begins.  Talulah had thought the Deserts might be here to propose an alliance (an extension of the friendly relationship the two places have enjoyed in the last decade, at least) and she is surprised when they choose not to.  This would be the optimal setting, after all, with the Dale’s top diplomats and monarch present.  Instead, Queen Camrynn asks them to join the Deserts’ newly-conceived competition.  It’s an intriguing idea.  But when she mentions that non-mythicals are not allowed to participate, the metal mare’s eyes slide to her son.  She knows that he is without traits, a fact that had left him feeling like an outsider in his own home.  By the time that the exercise rolls around, he will almost be old enough to participate – and he will certainly want to, she knows.  She turns back towards the black queen. “That sounds like something our members would enjoy and benefit from.”  It’s not an acceptance to the invitation, per se.  She leaves that up to Tiphon. Ramiel catches his mother’s sidelong look, understanding the significance of its timing.  She doesn’t know, though, that he has since developed new abilities.  He had been from hell and back – in time and space – to find something that their dark god was desperate to reclaim.  It had been a boon and a curse all at once, but for his efforts, he no longer was apart from the mythicals that fill his home.  Camrynn eyes him last, and he shifts under the weight of her gaze.  Blooming, that’s one word for it.  The young man feels like she knows, but how?  He bows his head politely, anyway.  “Thank you.”  He looks at both of his parents once, feeling guilty that this stranger knew him better to his core than they did – for now, at least.  “Every day is more enlightening than the one before it.”   t a l u l a h lady of the Dale

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