the firestarters always get the burns
and the good guys never get the girl
The mare at the border is first greeted by the one she seeks - of course it is not entirely coincidental that this is where she landed, knowing full well who is where at practically any given time; although she may not know for days ahead where and when she needs to go, she does know in the minutes before it happens, and for the purpose of finding someone, that is enough.
The boy is polite and kind, a feature she fears is not entirely welcomed by his stealer and his friends. Still, she returns with the same warm kindness - the closest thing he will have to his mother for a long time. She doesn’t know if it will be enough, or if it will last any second longer than her smile, but it is all she can do at the moment.
”Yes, Alcinder, my name is Ilma. You have a good memory.” His mother must have told him about her friends, just in case. Or perhaps his father had. This eastern land has not been visited by Oceane personally, since Castile had taken this trip himself and accompanied by another diplomat.
Two guardians appear; they look hostile but don’t move, and as Ilma knows they would attack if she made the wrong move, she moves not at all. A trickle of her own magic reaches out to the winged tobiano colt, to make him feel peaceful and more at ease if he lets it in, but not to anyone else, for the feeling is unknown and unnatural to them, and she is sure they would not react kindly to it. The wind catches her mane and tail as she studies the two flanking the boy, and the moon-coloured mare idly wonders how they think a single round and soft Andalusian mare, a threat. They’d kill her in an instant.
They’re not the only ones who seem upset by the presence of a diplomat on the border. Lie’s son arrives, the demon-kind, followed by the dragon-kind who stole the winged child. The first starts fishing for things that hadn’t even been on her mind to begin with, or maybe it is to test her, but it seems not to matter to them that she simply stands there waiting, that she announced herself like any visitor would, and that she patiently awaits the finalization of the dragon-stallion’s inspection.
She breathes out through her nostrils slowly before she addresses Draco. ”I’m fairly certain that your father can very well defend himself against me or attack me, if he deems it necessary.” She’s also pretty sure he wouldn’t want anyone else to do it for him as it might make him look weak - not to Ilma per say, as she knows better, but it is a matter of pride for the lion. And he already won - she’s already lost everything she once had in this region, and he got to rule everything he wanted. That he left it later was not her doing.
When the draconic stallion mentions a possibility of stealing, she nearly has to bite her inner lip; there are remarks far sharper quickly swallowed - but it was that habit of expressing herself that had somehow escalated her relationship with Litotes, and she does not think it would help her here. ”As a nomad, I could not steal him from you even after the half-year had passed; don’t accuse me of things that will never come to pass. Your… adopted, child is still in your land - in fact he did a pretty good job at guarding the border and asking a visitor like me for her name.” She’s not here to make changes to things that had happened by the rights and rules of the land. But she did feel a bit of a need to defend Alcinder - the boy had done nothing but get to know the lay of the land and greet a diplomat on the border, and any thoughts of her taking him away or him sneaking out are completely unjustified; but then, she knows the looks were deceiving, which is why she took the time to tell him that stealing was no option for her.
Her amber gaze flicks from one male to another, the warmth of it now gone from motherly to fiery, yet still, she does not move from her spot even though her muscles are itching against the upcoming strain. ”I came here as a diplomat with a proposition for your queen. Since I’m not allowed to visit, would someone please ask her if she can make time to speak to me here? Or anywhere else she thinks more appropriate?” Perhaps Ghaul would also be able to make a few decisions, but she expects his answer to be ‘no’ before she could open her mouth. And that, while the proposition itself could be very interesting for him.
@[Alcinder] your turn next
@[Anaxarete] or yours, idk if you wanted her to join so I’m just gonna tag you once