08-24-2018, 05:25 PM
I'm not certain why she assumes I hadn't considered the way my steal attempt might seem. Perhaps she sees my young face, and thinks that I am reckless, or assumes that Loess lacking traditional political alliances must also be lacking traditional intelligence. Neither is the case, but those and a dozen other possibilities run through my mind as Ilma speaks. And speaks. And speaks. The lecture she'd begun earlier seems destined to continue, yet as she instructs me in things I learned as a weanling I keep a straight face, one ear pricked as though I am genuinely interested.
"Your kingdom turned a single steal into a threat of war." Even if we had intended to keep her for a year, their reaction had been extreme. Now, they turn the tables, and I am left marveling at the irony. If attempting to steal Ilma had been an act of war, what then is her theft of me? Surely it is an equal act, and yet Ilma still blathers on as though I am the fool.
At last she says something I agree with. While I doubt it's going to end well for Hyaline, a sanctuary is useless if it is not safe.
I tell her that I am not moving, that I want to talk where we are. Somehow she interprets that as refusal to speak to her, which brings a frown to crease the blue webbing of my forehead. I don't have time to respond before she is turning away, and I while I've no intention of following her, I do wonder if perhaps she is heading somewhere warmer.
"If you leave me here, I'm going back to Loess." I say flatly. I don't step forward, but I do move away from the boulder, the better to stretch the joint where feathers meet flesh. "Your queens' threats of war were empty, but they were real. Loess will take them seriously. Stealing me after threatening us? Are you sure you're ready for what keeping me a captive will entail? " The way I phrase the words might have meant political repercussions, silly things like verbal warnings and veiled threats. Yet as I say them, I stretch my wings out, a casual reminder that I am not grounded, and that a year is a long time to keep someone without a cage.
"You should let me return." I say as I re-situate my wings against my sides. It is too cold to remain unprotected for long, and their purpose has been served. "You'd wanted to know what you could offer us..." I let the sentence trail suggestively. This hadn't been my original intent, but I know that I must play the cards I hold and not those I wish I had.
@[Ilma]
"Your kingdom turned a single steal into a threat of war." Even if we had intended to keep her for a year, their reaction had been extreme. Now, they turn the tables, and I am left marveling at the irony. If attempting to steal Ilma had been an act of war, what then is her theft of me? Surely it is an equal act, and yet Ilma still blathers on as though I am the fool.
At last she says something I agree with. While I doubt it's going to end well for Hyaline, a sanctuary is useless if it is not safe.
I tell her that I am not moving, that I want to talk where we are. Somehow she interprets that as refusal to speak to her, which brings a frown to crease the blue webbing of my forehead. I don't have time to respond before she is turning away, and I while I've no intention of following her, I do wonder if perhaps she is heading somewhere warmer.
"If you leave me here, I'm going back to Loess." I say flatly. I don't step forward, but I do move away from the boulder, the better to stretch the joint where feathers meet flesh. "Your queens' threats of war were empty, but they were real. Loess will take them seriously. Stealing me after threatening us? Are you sure you're ready for what keeping me a captive will entail? " The way I phrase the words might have meant political repercussions, silly things like verbal warnings and veiled threats. Yet as I say them, I stretch my wings out, a casual reminder that I am not grounded, and that a year is a long time to keep someone without a cage.
"You should let me return." I say as I re-situate my wings against my sides. It is too cold to remain unprotected for long, and their purpose has been served. "You'd wanted to know what you could offer us..." I let the sentence trail suggestively. This hadn't been my original intent, but I know that I must play the cards I hold and not those I wish I had.
@[Ilma]
