END
"If that is how you feel, there is nothing else to say about it. However, if you ever need my aid in this matter, I will do so freely, as a repayment for the transparency." There is something rotten about having to word their relationship as transactional, but there is a desire to respect Inan's boundaries and they have time to build on the fragile trust he had chosen to extend to her after Fen'harel's betrayal. "I will, yes. I am curious to see what this Count is capable on this matter. You?"
"If that is how you feel, there is nothing else to say about it. However, if you ever need my aid in this matter, I will do so freely, as a repayment for the transparency." There is something rotten about having to word their relationship as transactional, but there is a desire to respect Inan's boundaries and they have time to build on the fragile trust he had chosen to extend to her after Fen'harel's betrayal. "I will, yes. I am curious to see what this Count is capable on this matter. You?"
"That's not my intention for coming here," Inan was not looking for permission, "I only wanted to be transparent." He thought carefully over his words to follow, elves had to be mindful of such things but whenever Inan spoke it was from the heart. "My brother died long ago, I won't know a drow renowned for terrorizing my people." Even if it hurt to think of Somniar as such, it didn't make the notions any less true. Onto some brighter tidings, Inan had also been meaning to ask, "Will you be attending the party in the mortal realm?"
"Well, that does complicate things," she admits slowly, yet reluctantly, eyebrows raising until they almost reach her hair. It's a rather scandalous bit of information, frankly, and she is aware that it will draw a great deal of negative attention towards Inan. Yet, for her the matter is simpler. The warder bond it's a great means to monitor a warder and wardee, and she has sensed the worry behind his words: Inan does not mean to betray her, and until that changes, she will not treat him any different. "For you, more than anything. We are both aware that public opinion is a fickle mistress, but I will not forbid you from meeting him if you desire."
"It's my brother, he's a drow. I think he might be the Court's spymaster: Somniar." Inan had brushed against him only briefly, but the man had not been far from the warder's thoughts since. "We haven't been in contact, save for one brief altercation before the war began, but I couldn't in good conscience continue on without telling you about the association." Many elves knew drow by virtue of their life cycle, but few were connected to those who'd ascended as far as the Court.
Decay it's an eternal cycle of life and what comes hereafter. A constant movement in the flow of eternity, it is not hard to lose oneself to the rot if wandering outside the chosen path. Slowly, carefully, she wades through the bogs, her magic keeping her muck free as she wanders through her domain, eyes narrowed as she looks around for any sign of cracks on the foundation. Her song had been strong and sure as she built the Dusk Court, but one can never be too careful, when her people are the ones at stake. Routine check ups across her court serve to calm her, as well as to get to know more of her people as she wanders.
This time, however, she is heading deeper into Trickster's Bog with Inan by her side, her head tilted to the side in consideration as he awaits for him to breach the silence with whatever that is bothering him. A sigh swells int he back of her throat for a moment as he once again chooses formality to create a barrier betwem the two of them, but keeps it to herself as she sends him a curious look. "What is it, Warder? "
@thegoodfellow location: Dusk Court notes: creepy
Travel between the fey forest and the realm of the elves was simple, Inan had taken to patrolling the borders and living beyond the Moon Gate for its ease. His home was already among the trees out there, a small farm that he didn't wish to uproot. Their power had grown, some exponentially, but if the common-blooded fey had weak magic to begin with, multiplying it didn't increase it as significantly as it did for the noble elves. Inan had become stronger, certainly, but the gap between the two bloodlines only became more distinct. It was not hard to understand how one had come to subjugate the other so many years ago.
Robin was safe within their Court, something that Inan hadn't truly felt since Titania reigned over the Otherworld. Here they were though, wandering amidst the muck of the bogs, the stirring decay and mysteries beneath their feet as Inan's footfalls carried him lightly across the surface. "My lady, there is something I feel I must tell you." Keeping secrets from the chancellor wasn't in his nature, but if she were to keep him as her warder then he needed to be honest with her.
END
"Well that is concerning," she admits as her brows furrows when hearing about Nirvaan's current predicament. There is no doubt that Aurora will want to hear about that, the way she holds her warder dear. Biting her lip thoughtfully as she narrows her eyes, Robin nods to herself as she glances to Inan. "I shall find Laer, I might be running dry magic-wise but I have improved my physical combat skills. Please go to Aurora and tell her about Nirvaan," she says, then hesitates, before continuing, deciding that it is not the time to push. If Inan wants to hide behind his formalities, he shall have them fully. "Good Hunting, Warder Inan. Dar'eth Shiral."
"Well that is concerning," she admits as her brows furrows when hearing about Nirvaan's current predicament. There is no doubt that Aurora will want to hear about that, the way she holds her warder dear. Biting her lip thoughtfully as she narrows her eyes, Robin nods to herself as she glances to Inan. "I shall find Laer, I might be running dry magic-wise but I have improved my physical combat skills. Please go to Aurora and tell her about Nirvaan," she says, then hesitates, before continuing, deciding that it is not the time to push. If Inan wants to hide behind his formalities, he shall have them fully. "Good Hunting, Warder Inan. Dar'eth Shiral."
Familiarity had bloomed between himself and Fen'Harel once, Inan wasn't interested in venturing down that path again. Not yet, anways. "Nirvaan was in the forest fighting a drow when everyone fell apart, I saw a demon catch the Spring chancellor, Laer and Aurora I think are there-" Inan pointed, "and there." He thought it was pertinent that Aurora should know her warder was in danger but he kept this notion to himself, Inan was faithful and loyal, he'd do what the chancellor asked of him. He just wasn't' going to start using her first name now. "I'll find them both and then return to you, my lady."
"Robin, Inan, call me Robin," Robin says, a fond smile flitting through her lips as she sees his reluctance to drop the formalities. It is good for her, to have someone to depend on after the last few months. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to keep him by her side, their bond would make it more convenient if they separated to cover more ground at a quicker speed. "Your place it's by my side, yes, but we need to cover a lot of ground in a small amount of time. The less time we spend apart, the better for our chances. Did you see where the others fell?"
Tamlen's nature remained a great mystery, but Inan understood now why they said power was seductive. The warder had never been stronger, sharper, or faster than when he'd felt Tamlen's power come flooding through his warder bond with Robin. Joined in body and soul, Inan did wish that Robin wouldn't put it like that, but he kept it to himself, he knew how the summer fey were when it came to carnal pleasures but the warder had always been more reserved. By no means prudish, just far more private. "What would you have me do, chancellor? My place is at your side." Inan did not enjoy the thought of leaving Robin in this moment, but he would do as he was commanded regardless.
"We are going to have to talk about how formal you are," Robin muses with mild amusement as she bumps her shoulder against Inan's in a friendly manner. It is a small teasing comment, but she means it. She wants the same sort of wardship Laer and Aurora have, one built upon trust and understanding, and the formalities need to go if she wants that to happen. She doesn't want a blindly loyal guard, but a friend and advisor willing to tell her she is wrong and offer her another perspective. Robin knows she is prone to pettiness and cattiness, and she believes that Inan's diligence might prove the perfect counterbalance. "Correct. I need to find Laer first to confirm what the Master of Secrets vacation means for Tamlen, but if he is not gone, then we will likely join in body and soul once more."
The city had fallen into chaos, the King a frenzy of power that Inan had never seen. Hellfire and changelings, his dark blade at his side. A bow of ebony obsidian ringing through the air. The Titan. There was much that Inan was unfamiliar with here, but hunting drow, defending people, and battle were three things that felt as though they had never changed. "Understood," Inan said measuredly, Robin was about as far from Fen'Harel as a person could be and for that he felt that he was grateful. "do you intent to reunite with the others? We were all scattered."
Magic has always been a second thought, the swell of it coming to her aid without hesitation or thought. Rarely has she used as extensively as she does in battle, and rarely has she been left with nothing but the dredges of it after a spell. But the Titan is no ordinary spell, and her magic is not limitless. The thought tastes bitter as she feels Tamlen's death and falls. There is no enough to gather the dredges to stop her descent before Inan catches her, and Robin does not even try, trusting her warder to accomplish his duty. As they descent unto the roof, Robin eyes their surroundings thoughtfully and notes the direction the other Chancellors fell. She will have to rejoin them sooner rather than later. "Exhausted, but that will not stop me," she admits with a thankful nod as she stands and stretches for the first time in days. "My thanks for the rescue, my dashing knight. But do drop the title, it's altogether too stuffy and I have never been one for pomp."
@thegoodfellow location: Rome notes: warder things
Everyone connected to Tamlen felt the sudden severance of his life. Sharp and swift. Time was all but an illusion to the fey, they'd been at it for days, but moments later the Titan began to glow, then broke apart as the chancellors were scattered. The well of magic he'd had access to gone, Inan still had his own, and even without it that would not have stopped him from coming to Robin's aid. She fell and the warder lept to catch her before he landed with the soft footfalls on the opposite rooftop, the chancellor in his arms. Around them the city was in flames, the streets were a butchery, and the sky was an obsidian night. Cloudless. Starless. There was just the drow above them. Inan set her down on her feet, "Are you alright my lady?"
Autumn is in the air, the spores tethering themselves into body and brick alike. It is a relief to have a clear sign that her plans had taken root, that her time spent studying under the elders and the Wisdom Daimona had been worth their while, even if it had meant ignoring the world outside the forest. A world that she no longer feels responsible for saving, not when she needs to focus on her people first. The Lupo pack is moving, so the Eye should be taken care of, which means that the Courts must turn their eyes towards the Drow.
At the same time, she cannot just move without consulting the Elders. Not without documenting her every action to provide a sense of accountability for herself, a paper trail for others to go through if there was ever a doubt of her allegiances. Fen'harel's legacy loomed over her, their shadow as dark as the magic of Lloth's priests. The legacy of thousands of years of lies cannot be erased easily, and she is the one left to hold the weight of an embittered people.
"Inan," Robin welcomes warmly as he steps into the alcove of the Chancellor's Estate, glad to see him returned from a self-imposed exile that the Elders had not thought he deserved. His words settle heavily over her shoulders as the implications dawn on her. Head tilting to the side in consideration, Robin smiles kindly and steps forward, one finger settling under his chin to keep his gaze on her. "As my warder, or my watcher? I am aware that the council would like the later, and I do not begrudge them for it, but I would appreciate your honesty."
@thegoodfellow location: Autumn's Fields, Chancellor's Estate notes: idk when this takes place but I would like it to be when he becomes her warder thanks
Fall's fields were a pale shadow when compared to what they'd held in the Otherworld, but in every corner there was the essence of those hoping to rebuild. Their kind were used to preparation and to anticipation, often their place to look ahead at the coming and cold and understand what had to be done. Forethought in action as Inan wandered with a characteristic autumnal breeze at his back; his presence was light and deceiving, weak magic bolstered few environmental effects but Inan had never cared to be as flashy as some of the others.
Robin's presentation at the Equinox denoted her ascension, maybe undetectable to some but he remembered who she'd been before the Council had tapped her, and he felt the difference now. The myriad shift of small magic that was pronounced among them, spores and rot that were too small to see but for fey of their court who'd trained for so long, it could be felt. She had changed, but time would tell if it would be for the better.
Inan landed on a knee, his head bent towards her as he crossed an arm across his chest. "Chancellor," he should have been here sooner, months ago, but he was here now. He'd sworn the words before, he would gladly do it again, but he would do better this time. Blue eyes shifted from the ground at Robin's feet towards her features, "I was summoned by the Elder Council, if you'll have me, my sword is at your side."