11-01-2019, 10:10 PM
That Lilli has questions is no surprise; Lepis had expected as much. Curiosity is as vital in diplomacy as politeness, after all. One must explore each option, consider the impact of every word. When the chestnut mare inquires about the offering of a weaker treaty when an alliance could have been forged, Lepis’ navy mouth twists into a smile, and it is as much for the careful way that Lilliana chooses her words as for the pointed question. She pauses for a moment to consider her own reply, and while her mouth does twist pensively, her blue-grey gaze upon Lilliana is not displeased, merely thoughtful.
”When Bane and I first came here, I promised that no Taigan would be asked to fight if they did not wish it.”It occurs to the Comtesse, even as she says it, that perhaps an alliance might carry different weight in different lands; might mean something else wherever it is that Lilliana has come to them from. ”And an alliance means pledging them to fight, so rather than ask each resident of the woods about each land” - she says this with enough wryness to convey that it is not a task she would enjoy, despite the amusement remaining in her tone - ”I’ve instead chosen to offer treaties and friendships, with no undue burden on Taiga.”
That is one reason, and her mind flits across another that she does not consider speaking aloud. However fond the dun pegasus suspects she might become of Lilliana in the future, the chestnut mare is still very much an unknown, and it would be beyond foolish to share a glimpse into the vast depths of Lepis’ ambition. She does not share that these friendly relations which do not bind Taiga in any way are proof that Lepis means peace; that Taiga is strong but utterly unthreatening. They are seeds of evidence planted in the lands of Beqanna, seeds that will someday grow to a harvest ripe for her own hand.
Still, thinking of that second reason brings to mind the third, and she adds just after Lilliana asks about the novelty of leadership: ”That is something,” she agrees with a nod, ”But they’ve wrested their new leadership from Tephra much the same way Taiga was taken from Nerine. The queen - our queen - would likely take any new alliances we built as further threats to her leadership.” Lepis thinks that perhaps she understands, that perhaps Heartfire clings to the title of Queen because she does not know what she is without it. It is not far from her own sentiment, after all. But, Lepis has told herself, surely in Heartfire’s position she could recognize strength and growth in a territory she ruled, surely she would be able to allow them the chance to spread their fledging wings even if she were not willing to turn over the nest to them. Surely she would.
”She’s already promised to destroy me,” Lepis adds with a smile that does not match the words she speaks. It is proud, almost, as though she finds the threat a compliment. And she does - that Heartfire resorted to threats had cemented the Comtesse’s resolutions. Someone so willing to shed blood, so quick to turn to violence? They have no place upon a throne. The removal of Aten from Taiga had been entirely different, of course; Lepis had been utterly sure what his choice would be before he’d even been given it.
”And I’d rather let Taiga’s reputation of strength and peace speak for me, even if it means we must tiptoe around Nerine for a while to build it.” That is something of her second reason, the pegasus realizes, and wonders if perhaps she has said to much. No, she decides, the proud pronouncement of Heartfire’s threat had been truthful, and that it has shaped her decisions regarding foreign policy is equally honest. Let them call her ‘warmonger’, Lepis thinks with a soft smile to herself, and let the lies turn to ash in their mouths. Bane will be proud of what she has accomplished when he returns, the Comtesse thinks, as sure of his eventual return as she is of her successes in his absence.
@[lilliana]
i wrote this on my phone so please turn all the twigs to taiga if you read this before i can spell check in the morning haha
”When Bane and I first came here, I promised that no Taigan would be asked to fight if they did not wish it.”It occurs to the Comtesse, even as she says it, that perhaps an alliance might carry different weight in different lands; might mean something else wherever it is that Lilliana has come to them from. ”And an alliance means pledging them to fight, so rather than ask each resident of the woods about each land” - she says this with enough wryness to convey that it is not a task she would enjoy, despite the amusement remaining in her tone - ”I’ve instead chosen to offer treaties and friendships, with no undue burden on Taiga.”
That is one reason, and her mind flits across another that she does not consider speaking aloud. However fond the dun pegasus suspects she might become of Lilliana in the future, the chestnut mare is still very much an unknown, and it would be beyond foolish to share a glimpse into the vast depths of Lepis’ ambition. She does not share that these friendly relations which do not bind Taiga in any way are proof that Lepis means peace; that Taiga is strong but utterly unthreatening. They are seeds of evidence planted in the lands of Beqanna, seeds that will someday grow to a harvest ripe for her own hand.
Still, thinking of that second reason brings to mind the third, and she adds just after Lilliana asks about the novelty of leadership: ”That is something,” she agrees with a nod, ”But they’ve wrested their new leadership from Tephra much the same way Taiga was taken from Nerine. The queen - our queen - would likely take any new alliances we built as further threats to her leadership.” Lepis thinks that perhaps she understands, that perhaps Heartfire clings to the title of Queen because she does not know what she is without it. It is not far from her own sentiment, after all. But, Lepis has told herself, surely in Heartfire’s position she could recognize strength and growth in a territory she ruled, surely she would be able to allow them the chance to spread their fledging wings even if she were not willing to turn over the nest to them. Surely she would.
”She’s already promised to destroy me,” Lepis adds with a smile that does not match the words she speaks. It is proud, almost, as though she finds the threat a compliment. And she does - that Heartfire resorted to threats had cemented the Comtesse’s resolutions. Someone so willing to shed blood, so quick to turn to violence? They have no place upon a throne. The removal of Aten from Taiga had been entirely different, of course; Lepis had been utterly sure what his choice would be before he’d even been given it.
”And I’d rather let Taiga’s reputation of strength and peace speak for me, even if it means we must tiptoe around Nerine for a while to build it.” That is something of her second reason, the pegasus realizes, and wonders if perhaps she has said to much. No, she decides, the proud pronouncement of Heartfire’s threat had been truthful, and that it has shaped her decisions regarding foreign policy is equally honest. Let them call her ‘warmonger’, Lepis thinks with a soft smile to herself, and let the lies turn to ash in their mouths. Bane will be proud of what she has accomplished when he returns, the Comtesse thinks, as sure of his eventual return as she is of her successes in his absence.
@[lilliana]
i wrote this on my phone so please turn all the twigs to taiga if you read this before i can spell check in the morning haha
