There is a certain release Litotes feels in the face of Ilma. Check after check from the Cove is what he has come to expect, and he thinks he may have been anxious to get their discussion over with. Relief does not mean comfort, though, and her too-kind gaze unsettles him.
The lion-man purses his lips at the mention of “training.” His relationship with Dawn complicates their interactions in so many deeper ways than diplomats in training making mistakes. They share children, and because of that bond they are connected for at least the next few years. Her accusations did not come as diplomacy, they were personal. The entire interaction did not feel as if it were strictly business. If he is to be honest with Ilma, he will tell her that Dawn is a fine diplomat caught between weak and capricious mentors.
It is quite a pity, he thinks. She already has what it takes to make a fine queen.
The dry Pangean breeze blows between the two as Lie opts to remain quiet, golden eyes calm and considering. The Queen speaks yet another piece, the same vague and hard to believe line Dawn offered him. An imperceptible twitch of his eyelid is the only tell that he wants to roll his eyes. Once again, he cannot find a single way it would make sense for the Cove to request his services. Litotes is not exactly the . . . kindest individual - no, time has sharpened his gentility into a fierce protection. Asking him to return would have been a wild card he seriously doubts.
The Archon stands readily in his stoic silence. His mane and tail floating in the wind are the only pieces of him that move.
Ilma continues in that same peaceful, apologetic tone. The cremello cannot help but to feel every single word that comes out of her mouth is insincere. How many times will the East lie to him? And how many of them so desperately wish to live in Kagerus’ legacy? Their idea of a sanctuary is not nearly as moral as they may believe: remaining neutral in the face of other’s pain is as cold as they believe the Archon to be.
It is unfortunate that Litotes may have turned into one of the very opinionated monsters they fear.
“I do wonder, Ilma,” he begins, chewing on her apology, “why the East had time to send someone to me only after I challenged? And, actually - while we are on that topic - why did I hear nothing at all from the East in regards to my unjust dethroning until Dawn questioned me like an enemy? I also wonder if apologies have been extended to Kensa for the accusations she faced during my sentence.”
This is the man he is now: suspicious, calculating, and unforgiving. Lie’s gaze is void of emotion as he stares down his Queen.
“You cannot make up for what Kagerus did. An entire nation turned its back on me when I tried to bite the head off of a war and now you face me with these base niceties,” he spits, lips curling in distaste.
“My business with Pangea is just that: mine. I do not have to like you, Ilma, and I do not have to accept your apology. My loyalties lie with my family - all of my family,” he pauses and emphasizes, thinking of Isilme and Austra still in the Cove. “I love them. I bear them no ill will. And as for you, and the eventual rule, let’s just say I am no nationalist.”
@[Ilma]
The lion-man purses his lips at the mention of “training.” His relationship with Dawn complicates their interactions in so many deeper ways than diplomats in training making mistakes. They share children, and because of that bond they are connected for at least the next few years. Her accusations did not come as diplomacy, they were personal. The entire interaction did not feel as if it were strictly business. If he is to be honest with Ilma, he will tell her that Dawn is a fine diplomat caught between weak and capricious mentors.
It is quite a pity, he thinks. She already has what it takes to make a fine queen.
The dry Pangean breeze blows between the two as Lie opts to remain quiet, golden eyes calm and considering. The Queen speaks yet another piece, the same vague and hard to believe line Dawn offered him. An imperceptible twitch of his eyelid is the only tell that he wants to roll his eyes. Once again, he cannot find a single way it would make sense for the Cove to request his services. Litotes is not exactly the . . . kindest individual - no, time has sharpened his gentility into a fierce protection. Asking him to return would have been a wild card he seriously doubts.
The Archon stands readily in his stoic silence. His mane and tail floating in the wind are the only pieces of him that move.
Ilma continues in that same peaceful, apologetic tone. The cremello cannot help but to feel every single word that comes out of her mouth is insincere. How many times will the East lie to him? And how many of them so desperately wish to live in Kagerus’ legacy? Their idea of a sanctuary is not nearly as moral as they may believe: remaining neutral in the face of other’s pain is as cold as they believe the Archon to be.
It is unfortunate that Litotes may have turned into one of the very opinionated monsters they fear.
“I do wonder, Ilma,” he begins, chewing on her apology, “why the East had time to send someone to me only after I challenged? And, actually - while we are on that topic - why did I hear nothing at all from the East in regards to my unjust dethroning until Dawn questioned me like an enemy? I also wonder if apologies have been extended to Kensa for the accusations she faced during my sentence.”
This is the man he is now: suspicious, calculating, and unforgiving. Lie’s gaze is void of emotion as he stares down his Queen.
“You cannot make up for what Kagerus did. An entire nation turned its back on me when I tried to bite the head off of a war and now you face me with these base niceties,” he spits, lips curling in distaste.
“My business with Pangea is just that: mine. I do not have to like you, Ilma, and I do not have to accept your apology. My loyalties lie with my family - all of my family,” he pauses and emphasizes, thinking of Isilme and Austra still in the Cove. “I love them. I bear them no ill will. And as for you, and the eventual rule, let’s just say I am no nationalist.”
@[Ilma]
