"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
This is the first time that he has simply spent time in the Dale. Lounging around with nothing on his mind, and nothing to keep him from enjoying the beauty of the land. Sheba hangs languid in the trees above his head. a tempting fate for a cat. She was becoming quiet as the seasons pass, her zest for life taming as she begins to realize that she has seen all that the world has to offer.
Instead of tugging her tail as he is apt to do when it flicks irritatingly close. He simply creens his neck to the ground tasting the dried greenery. Winter was coming, and his coat was showing it, melting into a thick black matt. No longer glossy and full of luster, it hangs from his body in thick down. It was time to tuck his wings away, to hunker down and remove himself from the frigid feilds in search of new recruits. These were the months that he spent with his herd building relationships, and confidences.
Besra had taken annitiative, and began to talk of joining the Dale, this he couldn't be more pleased about. His chest puffed with pride at just the thought of her and how well she had calculated her moves. Even at the cost of her desires. Vakarian too had mentioned something of the kingdoms, Zaravich already a part of the Dale used his lands just as he intended. For comfort away from home. This he thought upon and mulled it over in in his mind. Yes indeed his herd was proving to be strong. The three of them had appeared to be getting along, and anitiating contact amongst themselves, outside of his probbing.
He smiles to himself before he pulls back to the current state. Now it was time to turn his attention to the kingdom. Maybe he could build strength within its borders as well as outside of it. As much as the herdland was a part of the Dale it was still the kingdom itself that he was dedicated to. He puzzles for a moment. Maybe annitiating some games with the Falls and Amazons would work... he had a few ideas but he wasn't sure if they would be approved of. He would need to seek out Ramiel and Weir to hash the idea's out.
Well there goes his leasurely day, once again he was ready to start moving and find the leaders and his friends in the kingdom. Work just never seemed to end for him. But Phaedrus wasn't one to complain, no the business kept him happy, gave him purpose and a reason to press on.
Ea was accustomed to being underestimated, but had foolishly expected that to change when she became Queen. She knew that she was coming into a kingdom with an established king - a beloved one at that. Perhaps her somewhat icy demeanor made her less approachable by those in the Dale. Regardless, when she heard Phaedrus’s call for Ramiel and Weir, she knew she had to assert herself. She was just as smart and capable, if not more so, than the stallions and frankly, Phaedrus’s call for them and not her has set her off.
She moves towards the large black and blue stallion in her usual manner - head held high, walking with purpose. Importance. He is much larger physically than she is, but she is not easily intimidated. Inwardly, Ea is furious at this perceived slight but outwardly, she is calm. She is the first to reach him.
“Phaedrus, nice to officially meet you,” she says coolly, with a stiff smile. “You must have forgotten to call me. Is there anything I can help you with while we wait for the others to arrive?” The silver queen’s voice is relaxed, despite her naturally tense body language. Surely the others would arrive at any minute - both Ramiel and Weir were always reliable and quick to respond. Good leaders. But silently she wished that they wouldn’t, that she would be able to prove herself as more than just Ramiel's queen.
Phaedrus is war through and through, each step a purpose, full of muscle and a ever starving need to move forward. That is what he is doing when the newly found queen aproaches him. He had not let out a sound from his throat, he had simply began to lumber through the trees seeking out the stallions. Assuming that she was nearby and had come by him in passing he nods to her in greeting. Everything about him ebbing of formality, this was one thing that never seemed to change about him, even when he relaxed.
Nice to meet you as well Ea. A genuinely gentle smile crosses his lips. Then she continues. Before this he realizes that he had never made an attempt to seek her out and introduce himself to her. But then he didn't bother with such things for the most part. His duties always taking precidence. I hardly ever seek out or call on anyone in the kingdom, I apologize if it came across as rude. but its not until he takes a second to muse over what was happening that it hits him as to what her question was. Others? Is there a kingdom meeting? This one has him puzzling and completely turned around with confusion. What all had he missed in his absense. He shakes his head loosing himself in thought, chastising himself for not having the copasity to be everywhere and help out more.
Why he would be irked by her presence (if he could ever be honest with himself) was that in all honesty the search for the king and Phaedrus' best friend Weir was to avoid mares, and hope to catch up with his friends, as he had not seen, nor crossed paths with them in over two years.
In last two years he had been busy enough even the thought of relaxing had not been one to cross his mind. In desire to give himself an excuse as to why he was seeking out his friends he had decided to ask them some questions. At least in that way he would still be productive and getting a few leasurely moments in their company. The lack of male presence in his life was beginning to wear thin, so many females, the males seemed more scarse then finding a tiger in the desert.
Still he does not begrudge her. Yet he couldn't say that he looked up to her, trusted her, or respected her as of yet. As a warrior he wasn't fully accepting of anyone until they proved themselves worthy of what they claimed. Ramiel had earned his respect and trust when the king had charged into battle along side his brethern. Weir had earned his respect and trust when he had coordinated his attacks with Phaedrus and Ramiel. Besra had won his respect and trust when she took initiative and pulled the band of mares together. Roma had also earned his respect when she chose to trust him with her safety, even after he fully admitted to having no proof that he would be a good leader for her. The only one he looked up to though was Ramiel, the man had proved to be a great and wise leader. Something that he hoped one day to be able to be able to call himself. He knew that he was not wise, or great. Not yet, but everyday he watched, and learned, hoping that he too would be worthy of the respect and trust others put in him.
Lost in his thoughts, Phaedrus remains standing there. His eyes unfocused, and dark with the weight of what he was thinking on. Finally he shakes out his mane and comes back to the present. Absently he mulls over something in his head, the words slipping out of his mouth in low mutters. I wonder where we stand with the Tundra? Or the Deserts for that matter?
She eases the longer she is around him. Despite her best efforts to remain impartial, unemotional, she is still her mother’s daughter – fire-girl, quick to burn when she feels threatened. Phaedrus doesn’t threaten her physically: he is obviously a hard worker, kind-hearted and loyal. But he does threaten her authority, make her feel as though she hasn’t earned her crown. Perhaps she hasn’t. She’s never recruited for the kingdom, never fought any battles in their honor. But this is what she was trained for, her entire life – this is what her mother molded her into. This is all she knows. But it is obvious he doesn’t slight her purposely. He just seems oblivious.
He is absent in front of her, lost in thought, and she stands still, watching him. Phaedrus mumbles something about the Tundra and the Desert, and this piques her interest. If there is one thing Ea knows, it’s diplomatic relations between the kingdoms. She knows the Dale’s only true alliances are with the Jungle – Ea’s first home and the home of Ramiel’s sister Joscelin – and the Falls, a historically purely neutral kingdom. She knows of the Desert king, Vanquish – he’s been a longstanding member of the kingdom, both as a king and an advisor, and he is relatively predictable. Ea likes this predictability. It makes it easy for their kingdoms to work together, just like the ease of working with the Jungle and the Falls. She is far less familiar, however, with the Tundra king.
“Do you know much about the kingdoms, Phaedrus? And their relationships with other kingdoms?” She knows he is a part of the peace caste, but she also imagines that he spends more energy protecting the kingdom and cultivating his own herd. There is nothing wrong with that; he does a good job and keeps himself busy. “Vanquish has been with the Deserts for a very long time. Most of us know and understand him. He is very loyal to those he builds relationships with. A good king, in my opinion.” Although Ea knows of the king, she is unsure of where their kingdom lies with him. She is sure he is aligned with the Jungle, perhaps the Gates as well, despite the Gates’ alliance with the Valley. It is worth investigating. “I’ll admit I don’t know much about the Tundra. Is this something you’re interested in? Would you like to join me in visiting a few kingdoms?”
ea
now you're staring at a queen.
sorry I'm awful and don't know how to read! I could've sworn he actually called for them, lmao
He nods his head to her, the quiet of the day beginning to develop a deeper sense of peace. Though some could probably look upon him and believe that his inner clock was a tad slow… at best. Maybe it was, maybe he had taken one to many knocks on the head. A bit, I try to keep up. I’m a little behind since the war. He shifts uneasily; a sense of embarrassment makes his head dip a little lower than normal.
When she talks a little bit more he offers a smile. I would be honored. Weir and Ramiel had not made an appearance. Phaedrus made the assumption that at this point they were too busy with other matters. His lips thin in a frustrated line. How was he supposed to figure these things out without their input? When would you like to start? His feathery mane lifts in the breeze and he finds he must blink to keep the hairs from getting into his eyes. The dry roughness of the strands irritating to his pupils until his eyes appear to be moist. At this he shakes out his mane tossing the forelock to the side so that no longer tickles his sensitive face.
His thoughts take a turn while he takes small pause to think over the words he would use. Then he is speaking once more. What would you think if I organized a string of games for the alliances to participate in along with our own caste members? Maybe the winner from the peace caste and the winner from the warrior caste could win something to encourage participation? He waits a little bit longer. Nervous that he was doing the wrong thing by talking to the queen rather than Ramiel directly, never fully sure for the protocol in how talking about these things are. What he did have an idea for was how these games should go, but if he was taking a wrong turn with the authority, and the authority that he was talking to he was worried he would make a fool of himself.
He continues after a bit of discussion with the logistics of how these things would proceed. Maybe for the peace caste in their first round, they can be paired by twos, and whoever guesses the answer to the riddles that they present each other correctly advances to the next round? Then for the second round, where there could be a debate set up, each presenting an argument for their point of view on it, and present how they feel it would be best solved the ones that are the most articulate, and convincing will advance to the final round where they can make an attempted steal from kingdoms outside of their alliances. Of course these are just ideas. Again he waits for a response, and their continued debate before he continues with the warrior cast. for the warrior caste it could include something to the effect of first round being one of mocks, where they are paired and battle the successful ones again moving to the second round. In the second round they could be presented with a war, and an idea of who would be included in their army along with their opposition’s army. Using the information provided they must come up with a battle strategy for their army to win the war, again the ones with effective strategies would advance. The final round being one that they each state what they believe their army caste needs to improve on the most. Including why they believe this, how they think that they the issue could be solved. The winners would be the ones with the most accumulated points over the course of these trials. Well if that wasn’t the most he had ever said in his life he was sure he would fall over dead.
His gaze shifts to the ground worried that his ideas were as stupid as they sounded to himself. It was a lot to think on, and a lot to bother with. Probably too much he admitted to himself.
i'll carry this flag, to the grave if i must
OOC: No worries gives them personality, and is fun to work with <3
Sleep keeps him under longer than normal this day.
For a man accustomed to shrugging off dreams and pulling on responsibilities like a thick coat, it is a nice change. Not one he can indulge in often, but one he does now. Ea had long ago left his side. He’d heard her in the early hours of dawn, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep and preparing to make herself useful. He should have done the same, too, but his eyes dropped too quickly for him to catch them, to hold onto the wakeful state that his queen had found so easily.
When he finally does stir from his slumber, the sun is creeping close to the middle of the sky. Ramiel blinks at it, disoriented and amazed that he could stay under so long – especially when the first rays of the day were his alarm. He is not surprised to see that Sela is absent, however. Surely, the boisterous girl playing and wreaking havoc elsewhere is answer enough for his ability to catch extra sleep. A smile worms its way across his lips then. If he ever needed motivation to be awake for every moment he could, it was his silvered daughter. The ghost-king sets off to find her, eager to start his day, albeit late.
The Dale is as majestic as it always is, even under the harsh glare of the mid-day sun. There are hardly any shadows at this hour, and it makes everything stand out all the more for it. Every tree rises pointedly into the air without the softening effect of darkness around it. The river, too, glistens sharply – like a million mirrors shattered. He will always look to the winding curve of the water first, his favorite part of the kingdom. Today is no different, and he is heading for a refreshing drink when the voices catch his ears.
They are familiar ones, so he does not worry or hurry to intervene. But still, Ramiel would be completely out of character not to assess the happenings within his home. He meanders his way towards the pair, his focus not entirely on the conversation sounding just out of earshot. It is good for Ea to find her own voice when it comes to ruling the Dale. Maybe he should leave her to her own devices. Maybe she will resent him for stepping in now, late into the words they exchange. But he reminds himself that they are a team, and an extra pair of ears long familiar with the weight of the crown between them is never a negative.
“Good morning Phaedrus, Ea,” the greeting is out of his mouth before he realizes what he’s saying. He looks up unconsciously, sheepishly, before leveling his gaze to the pair. They don’t need to know that he’s only woken; he wonders if Ea will hold her tongue or if it will be too difficult for her not to have the chance to reprimand him instead. He wagers it will be the latter. “I only heard the tail-end of your conversation, but it sounded both inspired and smart. We were meant to hold a competition with the Amazons years ago, but… war put a damper on many plans.” His golden eyes find Phaedrus’ own. The blue and black man was there beside him fighting in the Chamber. He knows more than most how the war affected them all; Ramiel respects the soldier more than most for choosing to stick it out with them.
“Those all sound like good systems for each caste should we have a tournament. We are currently allied with the Jungle and Falls, as you both know.” Ramiel’s gaze finds Ea’s and Phaedrus’ in turn. “For their support in the war, I’d like to add the Deserts to that list. Perhaps the two of you could visit them and propose an alliance and an invitation to the games? As well as a visit to our other allies for a similar invitation?” He smiles easily, waiting to hear their answers. “I also like the idea of inviting the non-caste members for socializing purposes. We need to build relationships as much as strengthening our ties to the other kingdoms.” After, he looks to Ea exclusively. He hopes she doesn’t think he is undermining her power; he is certain they will “talk” about it later. “It would be a good chance for you to represent the Dale as its new queen, as well.”
Ea
gives them personality, and is fun to work with <3
