Amazing cover image made by Shreya_VA <3
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Lavern takes another irritated bite of venison while his eyes glance around anxiously. The great doors remain closed, telling him the meeting is still going on in there. He looks around and sees Naomi in a corner talking to M'Rhys and Ethel, carelessly laughing as Ethel says something.
What he'd give to be that calm right now. It's not the fact that he wishes his family situation was better, because that's not entirely true. He doesn't regret who he had become on his own. Leaving home was the first good decision of his life. No way would he be happy as another pompous Dev like his father and sister.
It's more so the festering anger he feels stirring in his heart. Each time one of these nobles tries to talk to him, asking him why he left the luxury of Arkala. Each hour that passes with nothing happening, making him feel trapped here. The time passing with those doors remaining closed. All of it makes him feel the beast fight to emerge.
The last thing you want to do to an anxious werewolf is make him feel trapped. He really doesn't think it would do anyone any favors to start a bloodbath because he couldn't stand the sight of white and gold any longer. Though it would undoubtedly get him killed, he admits at least it would be entertaining to watch these Devs scatter like the rats they are.
Unable to sit still for a second longer, he takes one last bite of venison before walking out of his anti-social corner to look for his friends. He knows Naomi is with M'Rhys and Ethel, but he can't seem to find Nesosa anywhere.
With a shrug, he approaches Naomi in the corner.
She's still laughing about whatever joke Ethel said. Maybe it wasn't even a joke and she just said something dumb which got her to laugh. Who knows. But her laughing lessens once Lavern taps her shoulder.
Naomi turns around and smiles. "Hey, you actually decided to quit sulking and join us?" she asks with snark. He growls and glares at her.
"When can we leave?" he mutters.
M'Rhys sighs. "Remember, we must stay until the meeting has been concluded. M'Rhys is certain it will not be too much longer," the Tus'Felnis says.
Lavern groans and crosses his arms before leaning his back against the pearly white wall. "It's been two hours. How do we know they didn't just go in there and get poisoned at the table or something, and we're just waiting around for dead people to come back," he spats.
Ethel nods in agreement. "That's what I'm telling you! Ghosts!" She looks at Naomi and M'Rhys as though she had just proven some huge point to them.
Naomi rolls her eyes and keeps her attention on Lavern. "You know, I think someone would notice if all the leaders of the continent suddenly 'drank the Kool-Aid'. Like M'Rhys said, it shouldn't be too much longer," she says.
Lavern narrows his eyes at her and she slightly shrinks back when she sees that his pupils suddenly narrow into piercing slivers, and the gold color of his eyes seems to flash brighter.
She stifles a gasp and moves closer to him, quickly turning his face away from the others. "Lavern..." she warns in a low voice.
He tries to decipher what caused her sudden change in demeanor, when he realizes and closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath as he opens them again to see her smile as his pupils return to normal.
"Better. Now, why don't you just stay with us until the meeting is over? Maybe we can help take your mind off all this," Naomi says and pats him on the back.
He sighs and nods. "Fine..." He looks around again. "Speaking of sticking together, where's Nesosa?"
"Oh, she went to fuck your mom," Ethel says as she starts eating a cracker that they have no clue where she got it from.
Lavern scoffs and frowns at her. "Funny," he deadpans.
On cue, he suddenly finds an arm thrown over his shoulder as Nesosa appears from behind him, swaying and seemingly lost in a daze.
"Lav... Yer mom is th' best," she says breathily with a laugh.
Lavern jumps away from her and growls, lowering his head into his hands. "Dammit, Nesosa! You couldn't control yourself for just one night?!" he snaps.
Nesosa shrugs. "Hey, ye ken ah hate wearing pants. Ah just found a fun wey tae git out of thaim," she says. Her confidence is infuriating, but at least she's done complaining. Probably because she isn't even wearing her pants anymore, just a white and gold robe that Lavern recognizes as one of his mother's.
He grumbles and takes another deep breath. "You know what... Fine. Fine, I don't care what you do, so long as you don't bother me... Let's just wait for this stupid meeting to be over so we can go already," he says slowly as he tries to calm himself down again after Naomi reminded him of his eyes.
They wait a few more minutes before, thank Mazenya, the large doors to the meeting room push open. As the various leaders walk out, they see that only a few of them look satisfied with whatever happened in there. Mainly Castien, but also a man who Naomi doesn't recognize.
Nesosa glares at him with a low growl, only slightly thankful he doesn't notice her.
Naomi tilts her head. "Who's that guy?" she asks. Nesosa huffs.
"Tormund Sor'Mylare... Leader of th' Mylare Tribe of Kilead..." She reaches up over her shoulder, then remembers that she was forced to leave her greatsword back at the inn before coming here. Instead, she crosses her arms.
Naomi nods slowly as she thinks she understands. "Isn't that one of the tribes you were at war with? Which tribe were you from again... Kirix, wasn't it?" she asks. Nesosa nods without looking away from the tribe leader.
"Aye..." she mutters through grit teeth. Luckily, Tormund leaves the house before he's able to either take notice of Nesosa, or she can start a fight with him.
Naomi pulls her attention back and smiles as she sees Lyf walking over to them, but they don't seem as confident as before. They seem bothered, guilty.
They reach the group but don't look at anyone but Lavern with a mournful gaze. "Lavern... I... I'm so sorry," they say in almost a whisper.
Lavern groans and shrugs. "The meeting's over now. No need to be sorry now that we can leave," he says, but Lyf shakes their head and looks down.
"No... I mean... I'm sorry for—"
"Ah, Lavern! There you are," Castien says confidently as he steps around Lyf to grab his son by his shoulder. Lavern growls and tugs his arm free, then glares at his father and just waits for whatever bullshit he has to say, though he is beyond tempted to just walk away before even giving him a chance to speak.
"Castien..." Lyf growls, but Castien pays them no mind.
Ana walks over and stands at her father's side, waiting like an obedient puppy.
Castien smiles and returns his hand to Lavern's shoulder. "Come. I need to speak to you and Ana about something rather... important." He tries leading Lavern away, but he pulls his arm back again and scoffs.
"No. I don't have to listen to anything you have to say. I'm leaving—"
"Lavern, go with him..." Lyf says quietly and meets his eyes.
He looks between them and his father and growls as he realizes he doesn't seem to have a choice in the matter. "Fine. Just make it quick," he states. Castien smiles again and puts his hand on Lavern's back to start guiding him to the stairs with Ana following.
After they're gone, Naomi sighs and turns back to Lyf to ask what's going on, but they seem to have already left with Ethel and M'Rhys. How and why did they vanish so quickly? She brushes the thought aside and looks over to her left for Nesosa, but she seems to have vanished too. What the hell? Did everyone seriously scatter once Castien showed up?
And why wasn't she invited?
She looks for Malachi and Nisha next. Malachi is over by the fountain talking to the queen of Balmoral who they met over a week ago. Not wanting to interrupt whatever they're talking about, she starts looking for Nisha; her only hope at killing her boredom and confusion. Maybe she can explain what the hell's going on.
But Nisha seems to have vanished as well. Strange, considering the fact that Nisha didn't even come over to talk to them when Lyf did. Naomi thought she would have sought her out right away.
She looks around, having to remember that Nisha isn't wearing her leather armor, and that she was forced to dress fancy for the party. No matter how hard anyone tried, no one could get the Tus'Felnis into a dress. Naomi even has the claw marks to prove it. Instead, she settled for black trousers, a dark brown bodice, and a green blouse that hangs off her shoulders.
After a minute of searching, she notices someone else. Not Nisha, but another woman with brown hair in an elegant dark blue dress. Naomi doesn't know why she caught her attention. Maybe it's just the fact that this woman is noticeably attractive. Whatever the case, she watches this woman walk over to the main doors to the house, which are open ajar to the night. She walks out, which is when Naomi decides to follow. She was in the meeting, so maybe she knows where Nisha went.
But as Naomi reaches the doors, she sees Nisha standing over by the carriages, leaning against one with the symbol of Ecrin on the door. Naomi hadn't noticed when that got here.
The woman approaches Nisha with a smirk. The Tus'Felnis glares at her and her ears lower.
"What are you doing here, Sara?" she asks sharply.
Sarabeth chuckles and holds up her hands. "Exactly what I said. Athemar was unable to attend, so he sent me to take his place. Since I am, after all, his favorite agent," she says as she brings her hands back down to cross them behind her back.
"Yeah, and I wonder why that is." Nisha's tail twitches irritably.
Sarabeth sighs, but never loses her smile. "Loyalty can get you a long way, Moraan. Though it doesn't surprise me that you don't understand that."
Nisha snickers spitefully. "Please. You don't know a damn thing about loyalty," she snaps.
The woman shrugs, unbothered. "So I've been told," she says. "But I at least remain loyal to the Grand Master and his quest. There is nothing I will not do to see this mission through to the end," she says and places her hand over her heart.
Nisha huffs and deepens her glare. "How noble of you. Dedication like that is something I would expect from Athemar himself, but instead I get it from you." She shakes her head. "You may be good at lying to everyone, but you can't lie to me. I may not know the whole truth, but I know enough to know that while you love to play the role of Athemar's loyal pet, you haven't been entirely honest with him either," she says as she pushes off from the carriage. Sarabeth studies her through narrowed eyes, trying to piece together what the Tus'Felnis is getting at.
"What, exactly, are you implying?" she asks.
Nisha crosses her arms and glances around before stepping closer and lowering her voice so that only Blackwell can hear.
"I know about the fragment," she states.
Sara's smile slightly falters and she glares at her. "What are you talking about?"
"You know, the fragment. The one that broke," Nisha's ears lower more and her tail swishes angrily, stirring up the dust on the pavement. It seems to take Sara a moment to register the implications behind what the Tus'Felnis is saying, when her smile fades completely and her eyes seem to darken.
"...He sought you out," she breathes out. "You... healed him, didn't you?"
Nisha lowers her arms and clenches her fists. Some unpleasant emotions stir in her stomach, but her anger covers it all up. She refuses to appear weak in front of this woman, who is only a few years older than her. At least in appearance. She knows someone who has used an Adaliaen Blood Elixir when she sees one. Only unlike Athemar and Malachi, her reasons were likely far from noble.
Nisha breathes steadily as she suppresses her bubbling rage. "...Those people are innocent, Sara. You and Athemar have got it all wrong... They're not trying to des—"
"Save it, cat. You have the gall to accuse me of dishonesty towards the Grand Master, when you have been keeping this from him. You let them go... Where?" Sara snaps.
Nisha crosses her arms again. "Like hell I'd tell you," she hisses.
Sara chuckles and steps closer to Nisha, close enough that Nisha is backed against the carriage. Blackwell stares into her eyes, and neither of them say anything for a moment, when Sara simply sighs and leans back.
"Whiteridge... I see." She nods to herself and bites her lip.
Nisha lets out a silent gasp and brings her hand to the side of her head, mentally cursing herself and the woman before her. "Please... don't hurt them."
"Don't worry. I am far too busy at the Divine Temple to bother keeping up the wild goose chase. Instead, I will leave their fate to... chance. Now, however, I shall take my leave. Exer'Valan will be taking place tomorrow, and I need my rest before the show. But first, I must send word to the Grand Master to inform him of the recent... 'events'." She steps back.
"Unfortunate that we have no choice but to leave that insufferable bard alive," she mumbles.
Nisha's tail flicks irritably again. "Well, I'm deeply sorry for the inconvenience."
Sara chuckles once more and sighs as she prepares to leave. "Before I go... A word of friendly advice," she glances down at Nisha's shoulder. "You might want to use those powers of yours to take care of that bruise, Lady Moraan," she snides with a small wink before stepping to the side and entering the coach.
The driver leads the carriage away and it rolls down the road and out of sight.
Nisha takes a deep breath and clenches and unclenches her fists. Snapping her back to reality, she feels a tap on her shoulder. She jumps with a gasp and whips around, only to see Naomi.
"Hey Nisha, you okay...?" she asks.
Nisha clears her throat and forces herself to nod. "Yeah... yeah, I'm okay. I'm just... exhausted... Sorry." She looks away.
Naomi looks off in the direction the carriage left. "What was all that about?" she asks as she looks back at Nisha. The Tus'Felnis tenses.
"It's... It's nothing. Don't worry about it," she accidentally snaps.
Naomi tilts her head. "Nisha?"
Nisha takes another deep breath and crosses her arms. "Let's just go wait for the others..." She brushes past Naomi and starts making her way back into the house with her head down. With a sigh, Naomi follows.
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He thought just being home felt strange, but now being back in his old room, sitting on his old bed while watching his father pace back and forth in front of him and his older sister, it throws him back a bit. It all just feels so familiar. So... wrong.
But usually when his father used to do this, it was because something was wrong. Like when he found out that Lavern was the one who put electric eels in the fountain downstairs just before a party. But this time, his father seems almost content. Maybe even excited about something.
Ana, however. She looks as though she is trying to match their father's demeanor. Keyword trying. But Lavern is good at reading people, and he knows someone who is nervous when he sees one. But still, she waits eagerly for their father to explain the situation.
Castien stops pacing in front of them and smiles down, mainly at Lavern. He readjusts his tie before crossing his hands behind his back. "Lavern, I know you must be eager to run off with your new little... friends. But before that, your sister and I have wonderful news," he starts. Lavern frowns, crosses his arms, and leans his back against the dark, polished wooden post of the canopy bed, but he waits for him to continue.
"I'm sure you will be delighted to know that I am in a position to be given the title of king of Arkala. This will go a long way towards spreading the Dev'Alrich name. But you know all the previous strides I've made to get us where we are were the fruits of my own labor," he continues, eliciting a bitter scoff from his son.
"Yeah... the results of giving orders to cheap labor workers was definitely your strenuous efforts..." he mutters, making no attempt at keeping the comment to himself. Normally, saying things like that would result in making his father angry, which used to scare the shit out of him when he was younger, but not anymore. For some reason though, instead of getting angry, his father chuckles and shrugs.
"True. And funny you bring up the topic of gaining success for our family through the efforts of others. This time, it is within our family itself to achieve something great," Castien says. Lavern hates that confident face more than anything right now.
Castien goes on before Lavern gets the chance to add any more snarky remarks. "The votes turned out to be tied, but there is one vote that will decide the winning candidate. The vote of Kilead. I know how you have always been in this family's shadow, Lavern, but now you can finally do something worthwhile for our name and legacy," he says and glances between his son and daughter.
Ana bites her lip and looks down for a second before looking back up at Castien with a blank expression. Whatever's going on, he can tell that she knows what this is about.
Lavern glares at their father. "I think you've misread the room. Because, if I could have any other name, it damn well wouldn't be 'Dev'Alrich'. I don't give two shits about any of this," he states.
"Good to know. Because the way in which you will help this family is by competing in Exer'Valan." Castien holds his head high, watching with cocky intent as he sees Lavern's reaction.
The boy's eyes widen and he sits up straight for a second. Exer'Valan... When he was a kid, the idea sounded cool. The idea of battling to the death for whatever cause they were supporting. But after all the years he's spent away from his home and family, he's come to really understand what death really entails. There's nothing he can firmly say he would be willing to fight and die for, and politics sure as hell aren't even remotely on his list of things that might be worth the effort.
But then he remembers that there is no choice in the matter. He's been chosen, so he has to comply. If not, his forfeit would be considered an act of treason. Something tells him it's not his father's side he will be defending. No way in hell would Lyf have chosen him to represent his father. If that were the case, he would decide that committing treason wouldn't be so bad.
"So, I've got no choice but to fight in Exer'Valan on Lyf's behalf?" Lavern asks in a huff, annoyed that he now has to get this directly involved in the politics of Arkala. He hoped that would just fall on Lyf, Malachi, and Nisha. The people who actually know about this shit.
Castien nods. "Indeed. Not only that, but you will not be the only Dev'Alrich to compete."
Lavern may not be a genius, but he can connect the dots here pretty damn easily. This is why their father wanted to speak with both of them. While Lavern will be representing Lyf Du'Gidea in Exer'Valan, Ana will represent Castien.
Fuck.
He keeps his stern glare on his father, not bothering looking at his older sister to see her reaction. She already knew this. Knowing her, even if this did bother her, she wouldn't say anything. If their father wants it, she has learned to just bite her tongue and nod her head in compliance.
Once upon a time, Lavern tried to be the same way. As a kid, what else was he supposed to do? It was his only defense. But as soon as he was old enough to hold a dagger, he started sharpening his tongue as well. Sure, talking back never ended well, but that's also why he got good at hiding. If anything, he has his father to thank for making him into such a good Cle.
Lavern scoffs and shakes his head. "So by 'doing something worthwhile for the name', you really mean that my death by Ana's hand will only make good things come your way. Is that it?" It's not too surprising, but it still makes his anger boil in his veins.
Castien chuckles and steps closer to him. "I'm surprised at how quick you are to understand the situation. I thought becoming a cutthroat only caused your intelligence to fracture, but at least my son has upheld some form of intellect over the years," he snides and ruffles Lavern's hair, making the boy growl and slap his hand away.
"Don't even try to condescend me. I—"
Castien simply stops him from talking with a backhand across his face.
Damn, it has been a while since he was last home. Despite all the fights he has been in as a Cle, something about this pain feels different. He has tried finding the words to describe it for years since he left, but he has still turned up nothing. There's no way to explain it to himself.
Maybe he doesn't want to.
He glances over at Ana to see she has her head down, frozen as a statue. He can't tell if she feels sympathy, which is highly unlikely, or maybe disappointment. She always did tell him that it's smart to stay on their father's good side, but he never listened. Maybe now she's seeing how she was right, at least in her eyes. Lavern doesn't care what happens to him, so long as he annoys his father in the process.
Castien returns his hands to cross behind his back and he smirks. "The event will take place tomorrow at dusk. I suggest you prepare, unless you are above that as well. Ana, you will spend the rest of the evening on meditation and focusing your magic. Now go, both of you," he orders.
Lavern instantly gets up and glares at his father as he pushes past him towards the door. Ana slowly stands as well and walks away.
"And Anahella," Castien says and looks back at her. She stops at the door and waits for him to speak.
His eyes narrow. "Do not disappoint me."
Ana tenses and unconsciously stops blinking. She merely offers a rigid nod of affirmation. "Of course, father." She waits for him to nod in response before hurrying out of the room.
She has to win. She will.